Anyway, although we're still hanging on mooring balls in America's Cup Harbor, we've managed to get out and about the area utilizing our multitude modes of transportation (feet, kayaks, bicycles, rental car, and bumming rides from brother Vern). We're still sort of on track to head south come November, but having just read the hurricane season isn't officially over until Nov 30th, and the Baja Ha Ha fleet will have departed towards the very end of October, we might rethink our departure date to around end of November. That will give the hurricanes a chance to get out of our way and will give some of the stops down the coast a chance to restock after the Ha Ha depletes them during the first few days of November.
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| The old Naval Training Center w/Headqarters Bldg. in background |
Nancy got finished with a couple of more sewing projects, to wit: cover for windlass and cover for our backup Honda generator. We are very happy with all of them!
July brought us lots of joy, as son Steven flew in from Maryland on the 1st...just in time to celebrate the 4th with us. As you can see, since this isn't his first time visiting, he found the apropriate garb and made himself right at home on the foredeck. We actually walked to the airport from the dinghy dock, waited around for his flight to arrive, then after baggage retrieval, we three walked back to the dinghy dock, piled in and managed to arrive back at Shakedown with baggage and crew intact....
Fourth of July arrived (on time, for a change) and we were advised that where we are "anchored" in the America's Cup Harbor mooring field, is THE BEST PLACE on the waterfront to watch the fireworks. So, believing the old sages around here, we prepared accordingly. Got BBQ fixin's ready, then headed out in the dink to see what was up around the other side of Shelter Island. We saw a "Parade of Dinks" all dressed up in red, white, and blue bunting and flags, there was a water playground for the kinds, and lots of folks rafted up in a designated weekend anchorage preparing for the festivities.
Then we headed back to Shakedown to complete preparations for food, drinks, and fireworks. It was indeed a great place to be, as we were able to simultaneously watch all four (4) platforms they were shooting a coordinated fireworks show from. What a great night!
The following day, brother Vern visited and we all took turns paddling the kayaks and hanging around.
We got a chance to do a "Pub Crawl" through a number of micro-breweries in San Diego, with brother Vern being our guide and taxi. Apparently, San Diego has LOTS of these little places...(like Ballast Point, Stone, and Ican'tremember...)
The following day, believe it or not, we all piled into Vern's car once again and visited Ocean Beach, Pacific Beach and La Jolla Beach receiving a bit of de ja vous from visits in the past. We made a nice long, pleasant day, starting with breakfast and ending with another visit to a micro-brewery...
We did take another tour out in the kayaks, and took some walks, then it was (already!) time to say goodbye to Steven as he needed (after 13 days) to get back to the east coast....
The remainder of the now "empty nest" month consisted of addressing a number of issues on the endless repair list. Just keeps getting longer, and that's compounded by buying new things that can go wrong and end up getting on "the list". But that's what cruising is all about...RIGHT? One of the joys of doing some of the repairs/maintenance (in this case, replacing the mast headlight) is going aloft to work in the rigging. It's especially fun if one remembers to take a camera. So, here is a brief "birds eye view" of where we are and our neighbors and surroundings here in America's Cup Harbor.
We've made a concerted effort to get out and walk almost every day, barring unforseen circumstances (which always seem to pop up), have had the hull scraped (finally) by a diver. The daily needs of being "at anchor" ...which, we now realize has been since last Christmas, brings with it daily chores to keep things running smoothly. Things like walking to the grocery store for those items which require us to purchase more single-ply TP so the crappers don't clog up. Similarly, if we want to continue with our sanitary habits, water is required to be "trucked in" via dinghy and five 7-gallon containers on a regular basis (2-3 times a week). Showers are great, running the washing machine and dryer is also. We have to get fuel as well, to operate outboards and generators, so diesel and gasoline are regularly "trucked in". We like our coffee and food hot, so propane is also in the mix of what needs to stay up-to-date.
We managed to get our bikes tuned up and had a great 12-mile bike ride to Seaport Village, Ace Hardware in Liberty Station and back to the boat.
So, new fans have been installed (which Nancy just LOVEs) just in time to ward off the 85-90 degree swath of weather. The humidity has been pretty bad (horrible, if you ask Nancy), and has been hovering in the 85% range for weeks now. Even the local guy watching the parking lot at the Marine Exchange store says this is the worst humidity he can remember in his life (about the last 65 years is my guess). The main genset has gone south on us, and the troubleshooting is going to be extensive. A repair job on the forward house deck needs to be completed before it rains again (who knows when THAT will happen here).
One of Hal's younger brothers, Wayne, passed away on Friday the 29th of August, only 55 years old. Needless to say, much sorrow exists in the Rogers family.
More solar panels have arrived (3 x 100W) which should help with keeping the batteries topped off. Football season has arrived and we're on top of it. Hal's a die hard 49ers fan and Nancy still harbors feelings for the Seachickens (oops, Seahawks). You might be able to tell....
We are just about two months away from our projected departure to the south (Ensenada, Mexico to start with) and we've started visiting the Dentist and have scheduled our physicals and so on. We've got a few more "major" purchases to look forward to, such as a hookah diving system that supports two divers at the same time, a host of charts and guides, and lots and lots of single-ply T-P.
Will try to update more often because we'll be busy and getting busier as the departure date becomes a reality. We really like it here, but are most eager to venture "out there".....
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| The Windlass Cover |
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| Generator ready for complete protection |
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| Generator in its new cozy blanky |
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| Crew arrives onboard Shakedown |
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| Goofing off in the airport |
Fourth of July arrived (on time, for a change) and we were advised that where we are "anchored" in the America's Cup Harbor mooring field, is THE BEST PLACE on the waterfront to watch the fireworks. So, believing the old sages around here, we prepared accordingly. Got BBQ fixin's ready, then headed out in the dink to see what was up around the other side of Shelter Island. We saw a "Parade of Dinks" all dressed up in red, white, and blue bunting and flags, there was a water playground for the kinds, and lots of folks rafted up in a designated weekend anchorage preparing for the festivities.
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| July 4th on the water |
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| Parade of Dinks |
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| Water paradise for the kids |
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| Beer |
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| Burgers |
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| Atmosphere |
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| bada-bing |
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| bada-boom |
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| Kayaks ready for action |
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| Notice the sun shade above foredeck...got it at the PAYC "swap meet" in 2012 |
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| Vern and Steve finding their way to the front door |
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| The piping behind the brew |
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| Steve and Vern discussing world events... |
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| Breakfast of Champions |
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| "bulking up" |
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| Couldn't believe I'd ever see one honoring "live" military guys as well.... |
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| The outcropping and Steve taking picture for friends back in Maryland |
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| Nancy, Steve and Hal |
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| Steve in new headgear |
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| Steve giving Vern a "thumbs up" and the coolness of the place |
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| La Jolla beach |
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| The former Green Flash...sorry to see it had changed ownership |
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| Nearing the end of the day.... |
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| Hal prepares to pull a docking maneuver with Shakedown |
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| Steve finishes his final kayak ride.... |
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| About 2/3's up the Main mast looking aft |
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| Looking out to starboard |
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| Looking to port |
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| Looking straight aft towards Bali Hai restaurant at N end of Shelter Island |
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| Looking towards aft and to port |
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| Shipyards in background |
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| Our neighbors to the West (dead ahead of us) with Point Loma in background |
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| More neighbors forard and starboard of us |
We managed to get our bikes tuned up and had a great 12-mile bike ride to Seaport Village, Ace Hardware in Liberty Station and back to the boat.
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| Mexican Navy training ship port-of-call near the Maritime Museum |
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| Air Craft Carrier memorial |
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| Seaport Village |
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| USS San Diego memorial |
One of Hal's younger brothers, Wayne, passed away on Friday the 29th of August, only 55 years old. Needless to say, much sorrow exists in the Rogers family.
More solar panels have arrived (3 x 100W) which should help with keeping the batteries topped off. Football season has arrived and we're on top of it. Hal's a die hard 49ers fan and Nancy still harbors feelings for the Seachickens (oops, Seahawks). You might be able to tell....
Will try to update more often because we'll be busy and getting busier as the departure date becomes a reality. We really like it here, but are most eager to venture "out there".....
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| Looking aft and a bit starboard with City of San Diego in background |
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| Nancy wondering where her girlfriends Katherine and Judy were |
It's great to hear from the two of you! We've a had a pleasant summer (yes we actually had a summer) here in Marina Bay. Fair winds...
ReplyDeleteHal / Nancy - Merry Christmas and almost Happy New Year! I hope you are doing well. I was hoping to talk to you about anchoring / mooring etc in San Diego, we'll be there soon and your insight would be appreciated. You can reach me at cglubka(at)gmail(dot)com
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