Cruise Log #5, Mission Bay and San Diego
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Updated 22 November, 2004
1st of November, Dana Point to Mission Bay, 47 miles. SolMate's jump to San Diego was a real potpourri of conditions, started with the typical SoCal wimpy west wind that wouldn't fill a sail, switched to a Santa Ana gusting from the other direction, up into the high twenties. Later, the screaming meamies mellowed out for a momentary chute run, then it all shut down and we had to rely on Mr. Beke to chug us into the bay. The Santa Anas brought warm, bright sunshine and fairly calm seas, and the trip was really enjoyable. Well, except for this smart-aleck little 32-footer who kept sailing past us. The audacity. As he disappeared over the horizon, we figured it out: he was in a big hurry and had his engine running (gotta be, he couldn't possibly sail his little 32 better than we can sail our 40...).
Mission Bay was delightful, as always. The kayaks served as shoreboats, even loaded with a huge haul from Trader Joe's they served the purpose. We locked them to a hitching post on shore with the dinghy cable. Negotiating land was easy, too. San Diego's MTA buses and trolleys were easy to figure out with the help of their website - a wireless internet connection was available from the boat and very reliable.
From Mission Bay, we visited the Naval Medical Center, twice; once to make an appointment, the next time to get booster shots. Our military medical insurance is proving convenient, stateside, anyway. And, since the medical center is right in Balboa Park, we wandered through the museums and galleries. Coincidently, each gallery is free on specified Tuesdays. We managed to hit three or four of them before becoming oversaturated and heading back to SolMate's solitude.
3rd of November, Mission Bay to San Diego Bay, 13 miles ("for a three-hour tour" - ala Gilligan). With Gale's temperamental tummy, we're much more sensitive to boat motion. This was a day to pay attention. Stan and I both have guts of steel, but Gale sure doesn't. We slopped all the way around Pt. Loma with a combined 6-8 foot swell from the south and another one from the west. No matter which way we headed, there was always a roller at right angles to corkscrew the boat, laying first one rail down, then the other. Gale, tethered in the cockpit, handled the sliding every which way wedge between two cushions, and - no clean ups!
The San Diego Police Docks on Shelter Island were chock-full of cruisers when we arrived, mid-morning. We just lucked out and snagged the last slip. The cruiser's anchorage next to the Coast Guard was full. Our only other alternative, had we not scored a Police Dock slip, would have been the anchorage way down south by Chula Vista. That would have been a drag, too far from our parts and mail awaiting pick-up. For now, our luck is holding and we're enjoying our first tie-up and unlimited hot showers since we left Shoreline.
We're also enjoying the buzz. The docks are humming - 30 southbound boats tied up, here (ten are Canadian). Provisioning and paperwork, maintenance and cleaning, there's a flurry of activity (a few are fixing engine problems - let's keep our fingers crossed that Mr. Beke remains happy and healthy).
The San Diego Police Docks.
6th and 7th November, Downwind Marine, a local chandlery, hosted a cruisers' weekend with special deals and a barbecue. We won a cruising guide in a raffle, but left lots more money there, in return. I guess that's the point, isn't it, lure us in to spend money?
The foremost question on all of our minds is whether the Mexican government will ever streamline the checking in and out procedures. November 1st has come and gone; that was when the one-time check-in was supposed to go into effect. Now, the conjecture is that new procedures will kick in on January 1st. If we take our time making our way down the coast and only stop in out-of-the-way anchorages without port captains, maybe we won't have to do the paperwork cha-cha until the new process takes effect. It's possible that our first check-in could be our only check-in. Too good to be true?
Although the run-around isn't quite as complicated, and sharing the same language helps, the Canadians encountered check-in frustrations coming into, and cruising in, the US, as well. It seems that our procedures are just as flakey as the Mexican's, dependent on the whim of the customs official in each port. Each Canadian-flagged boat was required to perform a courtesy check-in at every US port they stopped in, and each boat was treated a little differently. One Canadian had his entry permit revoked, but reinstated by another customs officer in another port. Sounds just like the port captains of Mexico with each district setting their own rules.
SolMate's going to sidestep the issue, for awhile, anyway. Our plan is to avoid ports requiring check-in for as long as possible. We'll pick up our visas at the Mexican consulate in San Diego, so we're legal aliens, but we'll by-pass ports with port captains. Ensenada, Cedros and San Carlos in Bahia Magdalena are the ports on the Pacific side of the Baja with port captains, so we'll simply avoid those places and avoid the hassles, until, maybe, Mazatlan?
