Category: 2007 Nov Blog

November 9

We motored the 45 miles or so from Oceanside to San Diego in flat, calm,
gray conditions. We motored by the San Onofre Nuclear Powerplant and
through the Camp Pendleton Marine Base training area. We saw this
incredible alien-looking craft approaching us and Scott decided to turn
behind it, as it was moving toward the beach at about 50 mile/hour. The
Marine hovercraft makes an impressive site. See the photo gallery.

We did not know in advance where we would end up and had heard it was
unlikely to find a slip, especially since Beach House requires an end tie
due to our extra wide beam. We checked in with the Harbor Master and were
discouraged to hear the only available moorings were off the beaten path
clear out in Glorietta Bay. We radioed San Diego Yacht Club and were
thrilled that they could accommodate us for two nights at their guest dock.
Cindy wasted no time jumping into their perfectly heated pool and luxuriated
in their shower afterwards. The Friday night party on the deck next to us
only added to our celebratory mood at arriving in San Diego.

November 10

It felt like a coming home party to see buddy Ty Hokanson the next morning.
He and Cindy caught up on the drive back to Newport Beach to retrieve our
car. Skye met Cindy at Fashion Island Mall with the delivery of mail & the
girls enjoyed a day of shopping & dinner.

November 11

One day a year the tall ships of San Diego go out for a sail. The \”Star of
India\” and the tall ship from the movie \”Master & Commander\’, HMS Surprise
are docked as museums in San Diego. They had set sail for their fund
raiser. How lucky were we to be out on the water with them. \”Linx\” and
\”Californian\” were the other two tall ships (as the old time sailing craft
are known as) out for the sail. See the Photo Gallery.

After that thrilling encounter, we made our way past the Navy ships and
aircraft carriers to Knight & Carver boatyard. Ty had parked his car at the
shipyard so he could drive home after helping us move our boat. It\’s an odd
setup, but train tracks run right through the yard. At night when the boat
yard is closed, trains pull in and load up hundreds of new cars that are
brought in by ship. In the process of loading one train car at a time, the
train moves several feet, stops for an unknown period of time, then moves
again. Sometimes backwards, sometimes forward. You can\’t guess which
direction or when it is going to move so there is no safe way to jump
between the railroad cars. Since Ty\’s car was on the opposite side of the
train we just had to wait. We had dinner and were amused by this unique
situation.

November 12
Boats are meant to be in the water. That\’s why it is always a bit unnerving
to haul out. We have had Beach House out of the water 5 times in 3 years. It
was nice for us that Ty was working on another boat in the yard and gave a
good report on their workers. Things never go as smoothly or as quickly as
you would like, but in the end, the intended jobs got done. G-10 skirts,
stern anchor holder, wax inside of hulls and the main project, replacement
of our underwater keel coolers for the refrigeration system were all
completed. Robert Van Ness of \”Captain Frost\”, not only replaced our keel
coolers with the zinc models, but also gave Scott an education on the care &
maintenance of the Frigoboat refrigeration & freezer units. We have been
very happy with this equipment so far, and Cindy prays to the refrigeration
gods to continue blessing us with cold & frozen food throughout the tropics.
Scott being less prone to prayer, stocked up on every possible spare part
and fluid the units require.

Meeting Robert had another unexpected and delightful benefit. He was moving
his own boat, giving up an end tie slip at Marina Cortez. We were thrilled
to rent it and have the convenience of being at a dock instead of a mooring.

November 17

Oscar introduced us to Phil\’s BBQ. We enjoyed seeing his Ocean Beach home &
seeing Cosmo again (great Dane mix). The amazing flavors of the chicken &
ribs were topped off by a terrific pumpkin pie baked by the Julian Pie Shop.

November 18

Former dental patients & friends Craig & Cici moved from Marina del Rey to
San Diego a year ago. Their Challenger 50 \”Windsway\” is moored near the
airport. They were our tour guides to Cabrillo Lighthouse and a walk through
Balboa Park.

November 19, 20, 21

Cindy drove Scott to the Navy base every morning for his Basic Safety
Training class, required to renew his Coast Guard Captains License. This
involved three days of class and some practical lifeboat exercises in their
pool.

Ceci & Ty with their respective dogs, took Cindy for a hike at Junipero
Serra Dam.

Shea Weston was on the boat many days over the next few weeks. The various
projects he worked on included chasing electrical gremlins, generator issues
and finally getting our autopilot to not make wild turns while transmitting
on the HAM radio.

We also got our Vacuflush (electric) toilet replaced. The old one was acting
a bit like a bidet when flushed.

THANKSGIVING November 22 – 25

We gave thanks that Skye took the Amtrak down to join us for the long
weekend. While waiting for her delayed train to arrive, we took a tour of
the HMS Surprise that has been turned into a museum. Scott is on his 4th
book in the long seafaring series by Patrick O\’Brien.

To celebrate the holiday, we moved our boat back to the San Diego Yacht Club
and enjoyed the buffet they provided. We all enjoyed a tour of the Midway
aircraft carrier the next day. The audio tour was very informative. Skye &
Cindy were happily surprised to enjoy it as much as Scott did.

Saturday night we hosted dinner for our San Diego friends with our new
favorite take-out food, Phil\’s BBQ. Ty, Skye, Oscar & Cindy went out dancing
at 2 clubs afterwards. Scott kept the light on.

Skye was happy that cousin Daniel Palay returned from his family visit north
in time to take her to breakfast & back to the train station. We knew we
would see her soon in Los Angeles, so the parting was not too too sad.

Later that day Cindy & Scott enjoyed having the Wilson family onboard.

November 26-27
While Scott attended the Maritime Institute refresher course in order to
pass the Radar exam, Cindy drove to Escondido to meet Linda at her 2nd home.
The ladies enjoyed uninterrupted hours of talking, eating all their favorite
things and took in a day at the Wild Animal Park. Cindy was enchanted by
the baby elephants, prairie dogs and cheetahs.

November 29

We moved the boat back to the end tie dock at Marina Cortez. The yacht club
limits guests to 10 days per year. Plus we were going north and would be off
the boat for 8 days.

November 8, 2007

Cindy is one of the few women boaters that prefers to be at the helm rather
than handle the lines & fenders for docking. But she is quick to relinquish
her post to Scott when the parking space seems a bit too tight.

Scott is the master of backing our 25 feet wide beam into a 25 ½ foot space.
The best description of what it\’s like to dock a boat was written by Suzanne
Giesemann, author of *It\’s Your Boat Too*:* *\”There\’s always that element of
\’what could go wrong?\’ because a boat doesn\’t handle like a car. You can\’t
step on a brake and stop in an instant. A boat doesn\’t only move forward and
backward, it moves sideways too – sometimes when you wish it wouldn\’t. Boats
also turn differently than cars and take longer to do so.\” Having twin
engines is certainly an advantage but depending on the amount and direction
of both wind and current, docking our rather large house can be interesting.
We have mixed feelings when someone unknown walks up and offers to help. Do
they know how to catch & secure a line? Or will they cause more trouble than
help? In Oceanside a helpful volunteer appeared on the dock and before you
know it we were secured for the night. We checked in with Harbormaster
across the street. Laundry was piling up so we obtained a key to the public
facilities about half a mile walk from our dock. While the wash was going we
introduced ourselves to the friendly folks at the Oceanside Yacht Club. We
hadn\’t thought ahead, we could have docked there, but no matter, we were
only there for one night & already tucked into the public dock.

KIT, Scott & Cindy

November 1-8, 2007

We spent a week on a mooring in Newport Beach Harbor. It is the greatest
deal in southern California. Public moorings are only $5 per night. We were
adjacent to very expensive homes, hopefully improving their view with our
lovely yacht. We were on the main channel, not right near the shore, so it
felt quite private. Our nearest neighbor was the sea lion that claimed the
small sailboat next to us. See photo gallery. We enjoyed checking out all
the fancy homes via dinghy rides around Linda Isle and Balboa Island. Other
than the fact that the weather was cold & gray, it was lovely. Cindy sought
out the YMCA to get in her swims. And discovered a nearby Gelsons.

Scott & Brad Phipps of Back Bay Marine continued to be frustrated by the
generator output problem. Many hours, tests and reconfigurations were spent
trying to sort out what eventually was discovered to be a multitude of
compounding problems.

November 3, 2007

Cindy was overwhelmed with gratitude when Eva Robles emailed an offer to
drive down and clean our boat one last time. Eva & sister-in-law Eloisa,
were our interior housekeepers, with Pancho Robles washing down the outside
of *Beach House* for the 3 years we lived aboard in Marina del Rey. It was
the cleanest house we ever lived in. They scrubbed us to a shine no matter
how much we messed things up. And with all the work we did over those 3
years we really made a mess sometimes. But more important than the service
they provided, Eva & Pancho became our friends. They cheered us on during a
multitude of disruptive projects. And provided a comforting ear during the
dark days following the deaths of both Scott\’s parents. Their beautiful
daughters Melanie & Eva Joan always made us smile. We are hoping the family
will be able to meet us when we arrive in their home port of Punta Mita,
near Puerto Vallarta.

Scott was proud to finally show *Beach House* to friend & mentor Merald Keys
and wife Marianne. We enjoyed lunch with them at the Balboa Yacht Club. For
many years since meeting Merald at his class to prepare for the US Coast
Guard Professional Mariners exam, Scott taught for him, 1 night per quarter.
It has been a relationship of mutual respect and affection.

November 6, 2007

Craig Johnson spent the day setting up and teaching us how to link any
combination of our 3 laptop computers with a peer to peer network.

November 7, 2007

Cindy got a boost by a visit from her PT girlfriend Lori, who drove down
from Santa Monica. They took the dinghy & walking tour of the area. Scott
joined them for a delicious dinner at El Torito Grill which is a big step up
from the normal chain. Super yum.

TUG & TOW STORY

We had an \”in your face\” reminder that one must always stay alert when on
the water. We had experiences sailing in Spain & have heard many stories
from other boaters around the world that you cannot rely on other boats to
be properly lit at night. In fact many small fishing boats zoom around in
the dark without any lights at all. Somehow we expected more from a busy US
marina. We were returning to our mooring by dinghy one evening and had the
proper lights on. Cindy in the bow of the dinghy observed a boat overtaking
us & alerted Scott who was driving. He said, \”It\’s a tugboat\”. Well if it\’s
one thing that Scott impressed on Cindy\’s brain over these past 3 years of
life on the water, it\’s that where there is a tug, there is very likely to
be a tow. Scott did not see a pattern of towing lights on the tug and began
to turn behind it. Cindy had immediately looked back beyond the tug & saw
the huge barge being towed. It was difficult to see the tow line between the
two vessels. The barge was not properly lit either. The captain of the tug
hailed us at the same time Cindy yelled and Scott made a quick reaction to
steer us away from harm. Every year boaters are killed by the tow line when
passing between a tug & a tow. We were upset to have a close call with this
danger. We learn from every experience, relying on our teamwork to keep us
safe.

Dear F&F,

Long Beach is very large with many marinas & an active boating community. We
enjoyed watching the many dinghy racers, kayaks, outrigger canoes & shells.
A highlight for Cindy was docking anywhere that she could go swimming. We
enjoyed being guests of the Long Beach Yacht Club and their lovely pool.

October 26, 2007

We were invited by our friends Mike & Beth Lonnes to the October dinner
meeting of the Blue Water Cruising Club. To get there, we dinghied 10
minutes from where *Beach House *was docked, over to Bob & Terri\’s Cal 48 *
Listo* at Alimitos Bay Yacht Club. The family of 4 live aboard. We are
always impressed to meet people with children on boats. We rode in their
van to Croatian restaurant Ante\’s in San Pedro. We were already acquainted
with many of the other members due to frequent trips to Big Geiger Cove,
Catalina, the club\’s anchorage. We enjoyed the evening of swapping sea
stories. Cindy won a soft blue blanket in the raffle drawing which we have
used nightly.

October 27, 2007

We were surprised our first morning to see John Carroll of *Arana* paddling
by on his paddleboard. He keeps his boat at California Yacht Club & we were
used to see him paddling in Marina del Rey. We weren\’t aware that he spends
much time in Long Beach also. Always fun to see a familiar face in a new
place.

Scott\’s Aunt Barbara drove down from the San Fernando Valley & joined us at
the Long Beach Yacht Club for a delicious lunch buffet. She then gave Cindy
a ride back to Marina del Rey to retrieve our car. Despite sitting neglected
for 5 weeks, Old Bessie started right up. Before departing our old stomping
grounds, Cindy\’s PT friend Barbara met her for a walk. And one more trip to
beloved Gelsons. She reported feeling kind of odd, that she didn\’t really
belong there anymore…

October 28, 2007

The next day friends Linda & Martin drove down (also from SF Valley) for
Cindy\’s pancakes & to report on the land-based Beach House. They are kindly
overseeing it for us. Linda & Cindy are used to seeing each other regularly,
so treasured one more dock walk, not sure when or where they would meet
next.

Later that day the amazing & wonderful \”T\” from House of Stainless showed up
to take our old dive ladder for modification. Since we raised the swim steps
it needed to be lengthened. He took his measurements for the ladder & also
to design a bracket to hold our 3rd anchor on the stern of the boat. \”T\”
miraculously finished the ladder modifications in three days!

October 29, 2007

Cindy is thrilled to have the car to zip over to Trader Joes. Scott made a
couple of trips to West Marine.

We finally forced ourselves to stow \”the elephant\”. The elephant was a
collection of dive gear & miscellaneous other items kicking around the
cockpit for which we did not easily find a place. By completely emptying
out all the cockpit lockers, tossing out some items and repacking the
lockers more efficiently, we are proud to report that we took care of the
elephant problem. Well, that particular elephant anyway. Boats do have a
tendency to \”grow\” elephants. It is a constant challenge to have a place for
everything & put everything in its place. Which is really important to feel
ship-shape & not cluttered.

October 30, 2007
Mike Lonnes & 2 chaps from Safe Navigation helped us swing our compass. This
involves aligning our magnetic compass to a known corrected gyro compass to
eliminate any errors due to influences of the boating equipment around the
compasses fixed location. Mike also helped Scott finish up some projects
that didn\’t quite get done in Marina del Rey.

October 31, 2007

We made a quick trip by car to Marina del Rey to pick up our mail, put
things into & take things out of our storage unit and the obligatory trip to
our hometown West Marine. When we returned to Long Beach we set sail for
Newport. Yes, we had good wind & were actually able to sail for most of the
20 mile trip.

Friends Tom & Gail Levy picked us up & took us to dinner at PF Changs at
Fashion Island. Tom was an endodontist in Scott\’s dental practice, in
addition to being a clinical instructor at USC School of Dentistry. After
dinner they generously gave us a ride back to Long Beach so we could
retrieve our car. With the help of friends such as these, we were able to
leap-frog our car down the coast all the way to San Diego. It was a huge
convenience to have land transportation to buy food, supplies & parts.