Cruise Log #4, Newport Beach and Dana Point
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Updated November 3rd, 2004
SolMate's intended route south
Newport Beach, October 25th - still wearing polar fleece, another Arctic storm is brewing. The Orange County Harbor Dept. allows 5-day mooring permits, with extensions. Tomorrow our five days are up, but the forecast is for rain the next couple of days. These fair-weather sailors will renew and hang around Newport a bit longer. Lots to do in ritzy Orange County.
After a night of rain and thunderstorms in Newport,
the sailing dinghy tied to the boat next to us filled
with rain water, only the top of its sail and the
transom remained above water.
Yesterday, with weather more to our liking, we kayaked the 3/4 mile to the guest docks, tied up and walked to the Sherman Foundation Garden. Only a block square, the garden was well-done, but overshadowed in this enclave of bazillionaires. The mega-mansions we passed on our way sported gardens equal to the Sherman's. Even the steamy, fragrant greenhouse with koy pond, tropical ferns and orchids, paled next to the ponds and fountains at Fashion Center Mall (all within walking distance of our mooring).
Today's mission ashore is a bus ride through less posh parts of Newport with two goals, a replacement for our rusted-out pizza pan and a fuel filter for the outboard. The outboard's been running roughly; lately it's been dying midstream and won't restart. Rowing is great exercise, but sometimes we just want to be there. We need a few extra fuel filters.
Since leaving the luxury of the dock with its unlimited utilities we've noticed how extravagent we've become with electricity. We indulge, watching TV and movies, listening to radio, stereo and the SSB and using the two computers. We've also been keeping the instruments (GPS, depth and wind gauges) on most of the time. Our frivolous gadgets, plus the fridge, suck up lots of battery power.
Gasoline consumption, too, has been higher than expected because we've been charging the batteries more often with the little Honda portable generator. Our one existing gas can isn't enough to support that habit, we need a bigger gas reserve (oh, goody, more junk to lash on deck).
To help alleviate the effects of our excesses, we're deep-charging the batteries with the generator, trickle-charging with solar. The generator is getting alot more use, but the batteries are charging more efficiently. Also, to level out electricity usage with production, the amp-hungry fridge is turned off at night, only running when there's solar power. The block of ice next to the cold plate has been keeping the box plenty cool overnight, and we've seen a marked improvement in battery efficiency. Whether or not this will work in the warmer waters of Mexico, we'll have to wait and see.
October 28th, Newport to Dana Point, 13 miles. Cleaning and more cleaning was the aftermath of Newport Harbor. The bay was so filthy with river runoff that our yucky mooring lines needed a good soaking in a bucket of soapy water. And then, the bay was so calm that our ten days on the mooring settled Gale's equalibrium and he lost his sea legs, which required another type of clean up once we hit the ocean and his tummy came undone.
He perked right up once we anchored at Dana Point. SolMate parked right out at the end, next to the Ocean Institute and in line with a sandy shoal at the breakwall. Last year we visited Dana Point, but we decided not to stay because so many boats were anchored willy-nilly, it looked more like a bumper car track than an anchorage. This time around, we snuggled up to the shoal where no boats could anchor between us and the breakwall. Then we set a stern anchor so we wouldn't embarrass ourselves by swinging into the sandbank. Our thinking was that at least one side of us would be protected from other boats.
solMate was the first boat in the Dana Point anchorage that day. It's a very narrow little anchorage, and etiquette dictates that the first boat gets to set anchoring precident (lah dee dah). Since we were anchored bow and stern, everyone else should have thrown out two anchors, too. Only one other boat, out of a total of twelve, did.
The anchorage was as crazy this year as we observed last year. For example, four boats rafted up, and only one of the four boats put out an anchor - a single anchor. The whole gaggle swung around in a total 360 degree circle as the wind shifted, like they were dancing the Virginia Reel. Thankfully, most all the boats stayed on the north side of the anchorage, well clear of us. No bumper cars.
