Moorea . . .

Captain’s Log

Neah Bay to San Francisco

Our trip around Vancouver Island shall not be soon gone from our memories. It is now time to turn our attention to the business of preparing ourselves and our boat for the trip South to San Francisco.

I had our boom welded by Frank a gentleman that has a box truck in the parking lot very near to our old slip in Everett. Kelly girl was busy in the galley preparing food for the trip South. We picked up the last of our mail from our Personal Mail Box and returned the key. We also went out for Mexican dinner and shopped at the Farmers Market with my brother and his wife Sara. Chris was very generous and lent us his car to us for a few days while we were back. Those last tasks being accomplished we headed out.

August 29^th 2005

Everett to Port Ludlow: 47°59.50’N Lat. by 122°13.50’W Lon.

The trip from Everett to Port Ludlow was uneventful. We motored all of the way to the South side of Whidbey Isl., then we were able to sail close hauled to Point No Point. The wind died so we started “Johnny” and powered the rest of the way to Ludlow. After anchoring and dinner KG and I boarded “Dux” and headed to shore to call my father. Just as soon as we started to row we heard my dad calling out to us from the dock! We picked him up and returned to “Moorea”. We talked late into the evening and had a good time as usual with him. He spent the night aboard with us.

August 30^th 2005

Port Ludlow to Sequim: 48°03.58’N Lat. by 123°02.33’W Lon.

My father left at 11:00 to return to his boat in Everett. He took with him another car load of stuff that we could not keep on the boat. The wind came up out of the South so we raised the spinnaker. What a ride at 5 knots in a light breeze. At the North end of Marrowstone Isl. the wind died so “Johnny” took over. Upon entering Sequim Bay a sailboat that was following our boat hailed us on channel 16. He wanted to know if we would like to go in through the channel first. I told him to go ahead, he passed us and then took a hard left out of the channel and almost ran aground! We passed him and then he followed us the rest of the way through the narrow channel. That night we called Valerie and Allan. Valerie is the daughter of my Grandparents long time friends Delores and Ronnie. The next morning Allan picked us up and took us out to lunch. We tried to pay but Allan wouldn’t let us. After lunch we drove around the town and then went to their house. The property is like a park! Green grass surrounded by trees with a large pond in the middle. We also got to meet their two dogs. This is the first time that Kelly and I had seen Mastiffs in person. Their heads are bigger than mine; I could not pick the dog up if my life depended on it. KG made the mistake of trying to play with the male and soon was running toward Allan and me for protection, good luck. Once Valerie arrived home all of us went for a walk up into a nearby neighborhood that overlooked the Straits of Juan de Fuca and back towards the Olympic mountains and their home in the valley. Very beautiful views indeed. Allan had caught some salmon earlier in the week and that is what we had for dinner. We were treated like royalty and they even offered for us to spend the night. We almost decided to stay but we needed to return to our boat in order to leave early the next morning.

September 1^st 2005

Sequim to Port Angeles: 48°07.24’N Lat. by 123°25.65’W Lon.

At 06:15 KG and I weighed anchor and motored out of Sequim Bay. We watched a beautiful sunrise. As soon as we entered the “Straits” the fog ate us up. After a few hours of motoring the wind started to blow so we raised the sails. Since it was still super foggy it was nice to sail because with the motor off we can hear fog horns and other boats better. At the time we were very close to the shipping lanes so we were tracking the other boats with our radar. It is sometimes hard to tell if the “blip” on the screen is a buoy, boat or land! We had a very close “blip” which turned out to be a ship because we felt his wake shortly after he had passed us. These are the times when you find yourself asking the question, “What in the hell am I doing out here risking life and limb?” But a few hours later the sun comes out and you soon forget how really freaked out you were. We tied up to the public wharf and paid the $10.00 for the night.

September 2^nd 2005

Port Angeles to Neah Bay: 48°22.23’N Lat. by 124°37.11’W Lon.

The wind on the way to Neah Bay was out of the West so we tacked and tacked and tacked our way towards the “jumping off place”. Just before you reach Neah Bay you see Seal Rock on the port. We arrived at sunset with just enough light to get the anchor set. The next day we tied to a dock for a few hours and finished our last to do’s. I walked to the Coast Guard Station and talked to a nice guy who gave me a weather printout for the trip to S.F. The weather looked good for the next 3+ days so we decided to head out that day. I also filled the propane tank for $5 and took on 7 gallons of diesel. We made a few phone calls to let people know that we were leaving and that we would call them when we arrived in S.F. We are planning on the trip taking anywhere from 7-14 days. Depending on the wind. Our boat only carries 26 gallons of diesel, but we also have three – 5 gallon jerry jugs on deck. We need the diesel to charge our batteries as we have no wind generator or solar panels.

Neah bay to San Francisco

September 3^rd 2005

Leaving Neah Bay

KG and I headed out at 14:00 the wind was out of the Southwest. After hoisting the sails we sailed close hauled into the Pacific Ocean. Our plan is to head offshore until we are at least 60 miles away from land. This will give us some sea room in case the weather turns bad. As we passed Cape Flattery the waves were coming from many different directions and the wind was between7-10 knots. The temperature was around 60° so we had our foul weather gear on to keep warm in the breeze. Before we left Neah Bay I ran what are called Jacklines, they are made out of a webbing about 1” wide. The Jacklines run from our cockpit to the bow of our boat, we wear a harness and the tether connects them together. That way if one of us should fall overboard we would still be attached to the boat. As the sun set we could see many running lights on ships and fishing vessels in the area. Using our hand bearing compass KG and I would keep track of their position relative to us. If their boat was at a bearing of 175° and after a number of minutes they were still at the same number, then you could be on a collision course. Either we would change course or take another bearing a few minutes later to see if they changed theirs. KG and I decided to take 2 hour shifts that first night. While on my shift at 03:00 the rain poured so hard that my visibility was reduced significantly. I just stood in the companionway under the dodger while “Monty” our self steering vane kept the boat sailing on course.

September 4^th 2005

Day 1: 47°50.04’N Lat. by 125°54.57’W Lon.

Our first twenty four hours had passed without incident. The chart showed that we had traveled 63 miles from Neah Bay. We were now far enough from shore to turn South. The second day went fairly fast. The weather was nice with clear sunny skies. Most of the swells averaged about 4 feet with a few close to 6 feet. We were sailing with 7-10 knots of wind that was coming out of the West. At 17:00 a pod of dolphins came to play with our bow. About 10 of them gave us a wonderful show for about 4-5 minutes. Oh, how I love to watch them swim! The water is so clear that you can watch them swim under the hull of our boat.

September 5^th 2005

Day 2: 46°54.35’N Lat. by 126°12.16’W Lon.

The third day our wind was non existent, the wind died at 02:00. I ran a preventer from the end of the boom forward to keep the sail out. Without it the boom would swing with great force in the swell from one side of the boat to the other. That type of shock loading is very hard on the equipment and can be dangerous to the crew. In the morning we ran our engine for about 2 hours. It helped to have the boat moving and it charged our batteries back up to a full charge. The two previous nights sleep was very difficult. Inside the boat we were getting tossed around like pin balls. The boat was very loud from improperly stowed items and the boats creaking wood interior. It was during my watch at night that I laid flat on my back in the cockpit and watched as the mast swung from one constellation to another. This was the time if any that I could have heaved, but I didn’t. The next morning in the water there were thousands upon thousands of “By-the-wind sailors”. Neither Kelly Girl nor I have ever seen or heard of such a creature. KG pulled one out of the water so that we get take a picture. I was calling them “Man O’ Wars”, but they did not have long tentacles. While at the aquarium in Monterey we found the proper name for the “sailors” that are part of the jelly fish family. They are oblong in shape and look clear while in the water, but once they are in a coffee mug they have a pretty blue hue to them. They also have an inflated half circle that rises up to catch the wind. Our second days run was less than the first at only 45 miles. We need some wind (and oh boy did we get some).

September 6^th 2005

Day 3: 46°03.66’N Lat. by 125°22.41’W Lon.

At 04:00 the stars were out, I saw 3 awesome shooting stars that had long bright streaming tales on them. The wind was still light in the morning but with the sunrise there was a red sky. The weather forecast was predicting 15-25 knots of wind and 9-12 foot swells. To prepare the boat we removed the jerry jugs from the deck and made sure everything was properly stowed. We are now sailing with the main and jib. As the wind increased we put a reef in the main which made it easier to steer. That evening we had a reef in the main and only ¼ of the jib unfurled. The wind was between 18-21 knots from the N.W. Today’s run was better than the last at 61 miles.

September 7^th 2005

Day 4: 44°36.55’N Lat. by 125°42.42’W Lon.

The wind has steadily grown in strength and along with that the waves are also building. We are surfing some of the waves with a boat speed of 6.5 knots. We shortened sail by putting a reef in the main. The day was sunny and the temperature was about 65°. The weather report is predicting 20-25 Knots of wind further South which is the direction we are headed! At 23:00 our jib was again reduced to only ¼ of its total area. The wind is registering on our boat between 18-21 knots with very lively seas. At 03:00 we had two reefs in the main and it was still to windy so we decided to take down the main entirely. We both went on deck to lower the sail. It was difficult because we were quite tired and the boat was rolling from side to side, and all of this in the dark. But we managed. In the log for that morning KG had written that the views from the top of the mountainous waves are beautiful, you can see the whole Pacific Ocean. We are traveling at about 3 knots with only ¼ of the jib and no main. At 18:00 The wind was at force 6 (22-27knots). This wind was creating waves between 8-11 feet. The waves were cresting and breaking against Moorea’s hull. At one point KG and I went below, put in the hatch boards, lashed the wheel to the port side and let the boat lye a hull. After awhile we got tired of the waves beating us up and not going anywhere so we decided to run with the waves with a ¼ of the jib out. This worked quite well. It looked like each wave would consume the boat, but as soon as it reached us the stern of the boat would just raise right up and over them. The day’s run was the best so far at 77 Nautical miles.

September 8^th 2005

Day 5: 42°58.87’N Lat. by 125°32.63’W Lon.

At 01:20 The wind had hit 35 knots on our wind speed indicator. Currently we are running directly with the wind bare poles (no sails). Our boat speed is over 5 knots at times. By 08:20 the wind was steady from the stern at 25 knots and the waves have built to 12 feet. Moorea went the entire day with only the jib. Later that evening the forecast was for another night of 25+ knot winds. It was a long day with a lot of wind, but we had the best day’s run yet at a record 99 Nautical miles. San Fran here we come!

September 9^th 2005

Day 6: 41°14.61’N Lat. by 125°15.33’W Lon.

Another day at sea and the wind is still with us. The forecast is for another night of 25+ knot winds. The swell and wind waves have became more unified so our ride has smoothed out a bit. KG and I took 2 hour shifts through the night because after a couple of hours our bodies were quite cold, damp and tired. One of the difficult things to do was using the head. First you must remove the appropriate clothing with red lights on while being thrown around in a small area (the small area is good because you don’t have far to be thrown). While on the pot you must brace yourself to keep from sliding off, once you’re done the toilet needs to be flushed which can take up to 150 strokes (I’ve counted). Then back on with the clothes (sometimes after that I step out for some fresh air). Our GPS speed was ranging from 5.7-8.1 knots with only the jib out. We have finally made it into California! Moorea finally broke into the triple digits for our day’s run with 108 miles.

September 10^th 2005

Day 7: 39°20.38’N Lat. by 125°20.30’W Lon.

Today the wind let up enough for us to put the main back up at about 09:00. Three dolphins swam with the boat for about an hour which helped to break up the day. The weather turned out sunny and about 65°. KG made bread and I put water in the solar power shower. Later at about 18:00 we took refreshing cockpit showers. That night we ate a wonderful vegetarian meal cooked and prepared by Chef Kel. Before the sun set we put a reef in the main just in case the wind kicked up. At 22:00 dolphins came to play with Moorea’s bow wave. They swam for about 45 min. in the moonlight, absolutely the nicest evening of the trip. The dolphins must be good luck because we traveled 114 Nautical miles for the day’s run. Sweet.

September 11^th 2005

Day 8: 38°22.39’N Lat. by 124°04.99’W Lon.

Early this morning the dolphins returned. It is really cool to see them swim in the dark through the phosphorescence, green streaks in the water circle around and cross our bow. Neat. At 06:00 we shook the reef out and ran the engine for 1.5 hours to charge up the batteries. We have made it far enough South to actually head for land! A large freighter due West of us hailed our boat to inform us the he was going to pass our bow by about 1 mile. I said thanks for letting us know. He said that they were 9 days out from Japan and looking forward to making port in San Francisco. We were hoping to see land before the night came, but mother nature had other plans for us. For dinner KG made a delectable Phad Thai dish. The sun set but we had a beautiful ½ moon to see by, until the fog rolled in at 21:00. Instead of trying to head straight for the Golden Gate Bridge we decided to make destination Drakes Bay next to Pt. Reyes. Our day’s run was only 83 Miles because the wind was down to 7-10 knots.

September 12^th 2005

Day 9: Sausalito: 37°51.72’N Lat. by 122°28.49’W Lon.

We used our radar to guide us past the other boats, buoys and land. In the foggy darkness we dropped our anchor, we still couldn’t see land. By 04:00 totally exhausted (because neither one of us slept while in the fog) we fell fast asleep and didn’t wake up until 12:00. By then the fog had burned off and we were able to see land for the first time since we left (it really did still exist). KG and I weighed anchor and motored towards the Bay. In about an hour we were able to sail. While sailing under the bridge it brought back many memories of the days spent sailing in the bay with my brother Jann and Granny & Gramps. By 18:00 we were anchored in Sausalito, CA. The first thing we did was to put the dinghy in the water and head to shore to call family and friends to let them know that we had arrived safely. Any future ocean passage will be compared to this one because it was our first. We are ecstatic to have made it and look forward to getting some good sleep. Later in the week we hiked up into the hills of Sausalito. Beautiful views of the Pacific Ocean and the Golden Gate Bridge.

September 18^th 2005

Sausalito to Richmond: 37°54.77’N Lat. by 122°21.15’W Lon.

Kelly and I set off for Richmond early in the morning. The wind was light but we were able to sail all the way. My Grandparents have arranged moorage for Moorea for two nights. They are driving down from Eugene, OR for a visit. They also have reserved a hotel room at the Quality Inn. The room had two queen size beds so we were able to spend a couple of nights on Terra Firma. As KG and I were pulling into the channel at Richmond Bay I saw someone waving from the shore, it was Granny and Gramps! They paid for our 2 night stay and then we moved the boat to our assigned slip. After packing some clothes, Granny and Gramps took us to the hotel room. The first day we drove to the Berkley Marina and walked the pier. It was a beautiful day with the wind blowing hard from the West. Our next stop was the Mormon Temple to see the gardens and spectacular San Francisco view. That evening they treated us to dinner at Spenger’s Fish Grotto. This was not the first time that we have eaten at this fine restaurant. Good food and good company! The next few days found us touring the old stomping grounds in San Francisco visiting places like the Maritime Museum, Ghirardelli Square, Pier 39, St. Mary’s Cathedral, Legion Hall, and Golden Gate Park. Our trip to San Francisco would not have been complete without having my grandparents with us. We did things that we couldn’t have done without them. Thank you Granny and Gramps!

September 22^nd 2005

Richmond to Sausalito: 37°51.74’N Lat. by 122°28.39’N Lon.

KG and I sailed back to the anchorage in Sausalito. We anchored next to some fellow cruisers that we had met our first day. Their names are Teemo and Carl. They are both now single handing their way to Mexico. Both of them built their boats out of steel. It was real interesting to look at the pictures of a boat that starts out from two sheets of steel and then becomes a seaworthy yacht. They are both super friendly and giving. We have had 3 pot luck dinners with them and I’m sure more to come as we bump into each other along the way South. The thing that we like the best in Sausalito is the library has free internet access that is never too busy to use. We find ourselves checking E-mail daily because it is so convenient. Later this week KG and I took the dinghy over to Angel Island . We packed a lunch and hiked to the top which had wonderful 360° views of the bay.

September 30^th 2005

Sausalito to Glenn Cove: 38°04.00’N Lat. by 122°12.77’W Lon.

This week find us heading North into the San Pablo Bay for Glenn Cove. My Aunt Joan wanted to see us and the boat because we were so close to her (she lives in Sacramento). She graciously paid for two nights in a marina. She used to have a home that overlooked Glenn Cove. On Saturday she came with my two cousins Chanae, Alicia. We also got to meet Mike who is Alicia’s husband and their two children Mike the third and Antonio. Chanae had her two children with her as well; their names are Rowan and Fallon. All ten of us went to a wonderful Mexican restaurant for lunch. It was wonderful to see the family. The children they grow so fast! Thank you Aunt Joan for lunch, moorage and the visit! It was so nice to see everyone again.

October 2^nd 2005

Glenn Cove to Sausalito: 37°51.74’N Lat. by 122°28.39’N Lon.

Kelly Girl and I had a wonderful sail back from Glenn Cove. At first the wind was coming from the S.W. and then more from the West. We had timed the departure with the tide so our trip back to Sausalito went very fast. At times the GPS was hitting 9 Knots with the current. Beautiful sunny day with extensive white caps on the waves. Every other wave would spray up onto the deck of Moorea.

October 3^rd 2005

Sausalito to Emeryville: 37°50.47’N Lat. by 122°18.71’W Lon.

While touring with the Grandparents we noticed an Ikea and a Trader Joes in Emeryville. We thought that this would make a good place to provision before we left the Bay area. We paid for one night at the dock. The thing we liked the best about Emeryville is that they have a free bus service called the Emery-Go-Round. We used this transportation to get around town. We watched a movie that night and took showers.

October 4^th 2005

Emeryville to Sausalito: 37°50.47’N Lat. by 122°28.39’N Lon.

The next day we were back at Sausalito. We decided to spend the night closer to the Golden Gate before heading out the next day. Again KG and I prepared Moorea for some more offshore (but not too far) work.

October 5^th 2005

Sausalito to Half Moon Bay: 37°29.85’N Lat. by 122°29.31’W Lon.

We left in the afternoon to catch the outgoing tide. The wind also had picked up by then. As we tacked our way out under the Golden Gate Bridge we said goodbye for now to a wonderful part of the country. We sailed all of the way to Half Moon Bay. What a ride. Just as darkness fell we had the anchor set for the night. Our favorite part about this bay was that it was so calm that night we felt like our boat was on dry land. We slept very well. KG and I didn’t even get off of the boat!

October 6^th 2005

Half Moon Bay to Santa Cruz: 36°57.57’N Lat. by 122°00.88’W Lon.

The next morning we headed out at 07:30. Our planned destination was Monterey Bay . We started sailing with full sail and were making about 3 knots. In the afternoon the wind was blowing so hard that we took the main down and ran with it. The wind was blowing at a force 6 (22-27knots). Our boat was going between 6-8knots. We realized that we would not make Monterey Bay so we headed for Santa Cruz. There again we never left the boat. The anchorage was exposed to the swell. Consequently we did not sleep well at all. We headed out the very next morning for Monterey.

October 7^th 2005

Santa Cruz to Monterey Bay: 36°39.19’N Lat. by 121°54.32’W Lon.

Another awesome sail, we made time across that bay. When we arrived we noticed a fellow cruising boat anchored near the pier. We anchored next to Frank and then he showed us where to park the dinghy to visit the harbormaster’s office. With a $20.00 deposit you receive a key that lets you into the showers for free! Once you are done with the key they give you the money back (this was our favorite part about Monterey). On the dinghy ride in to the marina from our anchorage we ran into Teemo and Carl! That night they had us over for a potluck dinner. Because our anchorage was exposed to the swell KG and I ran a stern anchor, which helped a lot. The following day KG and I went to the Monterey Bay Aquarium. This place is not to be missed when in the area. We spent a total of 5 hours in the aquarium and I don’t think that we saw it all. They also have quite a problem with the sea lions, some of them have even gotten onto sailboats and from the excessive weight the boats have sunk!

October 10^th 2005

Monterey bay to Santa Barbara: 34°23.13’N Lat. by 119°43.17’W Lon.

The time has come to leave Monterey Bay. We decided to fill up with fuel and water. We took on 14.7 gallons of diesel. The trip will take between 2-3 days. The wind was light when we left in the early afternoon. At 16:00 we were sailing with the main and 110° jib. Kelly Girl made an omelet for dinner, very tasty. So far today we have seen dolphins, whales, sea lions and birds. The wind died so we motored for a few hours. At 21:00 we were sailing again with the wind out of the N.W. at a velocity of between 11-16 knots. For the night watch we decided to take 3 hour shifts. The night remained clear so visibility was good. At 11:00 the next morning we were surrounded by fog, our visibility was reduced to about one mile. At 14:00 it was time to check our days run. The log showed that we had traveled 89.7 nautical miles. We sailed all day and the entire night. By 23:00 the wind was up to a force 5 (17-21knots). We had already put a reef in the main before the sun had set. That night we saw numerous ships heading out to sea. That is when I realized that our port light wasn’t working. I went up to the bow with my tether on to see if I could replace the bulb. We were traveling at over 5 knots with a lot of the waves splashing onto the deck of Moorea. After a number of minutes I was wet enough, so I decided to make my own out of a flashlight and the red cap for my navigation station light. It worked for a while until the batteries ran out. Two of the lights that we saw weren’t even ships; they turned out to be oil rigs of some sort. We kept taking danger bearings with our hand held compass, but the never moved until we figured out that they were stationary. Just as we arrived at Point Conception the wind died so we ended up using the motor the rest of the way. By 14:00 we had traveled another 101.3 nautical miles. We arrived in Santa Barbara harbor at 18:00. The weather was beautiful, sunny and warm. The beach has white sand and palm trees. Summer and paradise at last(at least for two days).

October 16^th 2005

Santa Barbara to Oxnard: 34°09.71’N Lat. by 119°13.37’W Lon.

The wind was light so we found ourselves running the engine all of the way to Oxnard. We were headed for L.A. but we did not feel like going through the night to get there. Oxnard is closer to Santa Barbara; it only took us 7 hours to make it. Since there was no place to anchor we paid for a night at the dock which cost $20.00. The harbormaster came down to our boat and put a fluorescent tablet in our toilet to insure that we were not pumping our holding tank over board. Other than that we had a nice spot right next to the shower facilities.

October 17^th 2005

Oxnard to Los Angeles (Marina Del Ray): 33°57.91’N Lat. by 118°30.60’W Lon.

KG and I left for L.A. at 07:00 after returning the gate key to the harbormaster’s office. It was partly cloudy with good visibility. The wind was nil so we had “Johnny” powering us East. At 11:00 the ocean looked like it was made out of mercury. Later on our radar we could see a storm pass with heavy rain and lightning / thunder. At one point KG and I saw a flash of light and not even a second later thunder that was so loud it hurt my ears! We were lucky that it did not strike the boat as I have no lightning protection. Again no place to anchor so we tied up to the guest dock next to a park. The price was reasonable at $17.50 a night. The time of arrival was 17:00. KG called her cousin Jana and her husband Tony who live in L.A. to find a time to meet. As it turned out they live only 1 mile from the marina! The next morning Jana came to see our boat, after that we went to see her apartment. Once Tony got finished with work we all went out for Mexican. Really good food and great company.

October 19^th 2005

Los Angeles to Newport Beach: 33°33.70’N Lat. by 117°57.35’N Lon.

After spending two nights at Marina Del Ray it was time to sail on. We left at 07:00 for Long Beach; our ultimate goal was to visit a used marine store called “Minnies”. They are located in Cost Mesa, which borders Long Beach. The wind started off light, but by 14:00 we were sailing at last. We arrived just before 17:00. We were able to find an anchorage in the extremely rich yacht basin. The next morning we were off to “Minnies”. It was difficult to find a place to tie up the dinghy, but we found a live-a-board who agreed to let us tie up “Dux” for a couple of hours. We made the 1-mile walk up to the store and purchased some used items for the boat at a reasonable price. After lunch at Carl JR. we headed back to Moorea with our treasures.

October 20^th 2005

Newport Beach to Dana Point: 33°27.47’N Lat. by 117°41.53’W Lon.

Since Point Conception we have seen many oil rigs, you can almost make your way to L.A. by connecting the oil rigs. Our original plan was to go straight to San Diego through the night. We left in the afternoon from Newport beach. While we were motoring South we noticed on our chart a marina at Dana Point. Just before the sun set we pulled in and talked to a worker at a bait shop that said we could anchor right there in the marina. We dropped the hook and slept very well.

October 21^st 2005

Dana Point to San Diego: 32°43.39’N Lat. by 117°13.36’W Lon.

Kelly and I weighed anchor at 04:00 and headed towards San Diego. We saw hundreds of dolphins swimming East towards the shore. They were really going fast; it seemed like half the time they were in the air. Obviously they were too busy to play with us because all of them swam by. We also saw a dead seal floating in the water. Some sea birds were having a smorgasbord. At 13:00 we had enough wind to sail, the tide must have been with us because our GPS was showing 6.7 knots. The wind died down at 16:00 so we used the faithful Yanmar, “Johnny”. Just off of Point Loma we navigated past a huge kelp field. Another sailboat decided to go around it while we chose to weave our way through the giant kelp. We dropped the hook in the La Playa anchorage. When we first talked about our trip down from Seattle it was easy to say we’re sailing to S.F. and then we will work our way to San Diego. Now that we’ve made it to San Diego I can say that it is a lot further than I had thought in my head. That being said I’m happy for all of the many different experiences and lessons that we’ve learned along the way. We plan on doing some more outfitting and visiting with family and friends while in town. Then it is off to our third country since we started this journey, Mexico.