Sunny San Diego

What a sailor's haven this is.  There are boats everywhere, the sun is shining, and a nice westerly breeze comes up in the afternoon for some pleasant day sailing.  I could really get used to this town.  It's nice to get back to some bay sailing.  And this bay doesn't require you to put a reef in before you leave the dock.

We left Catalina on Thursday evening and had a relatively peaceful overnight sail.  A light breeze filled in just before the sun went down and stayed with us for the first half of the passage.  So, we were able to get some miles in under sail.  We fired up the engine for the last 25 miles or so and motored into the bay after sunrise with a navy warship and submarine just ahead of us. 

This is a very busy harbor with a large military presence.  We had a lot of targets on the radar as we approached the bay and kept a close eye on approaching ships.  Sunrise at sea is always a welcomed sight, especially in a shipping lane near land.  We motored down the channel in flat water to the police dock on Shelter Island where they assigned us a guest slip for the week. 

I'm not sure a week will be enough time for us here.  We have a few boat projects and some provisioning to do, but we'd also like to check out some of the sights before leaving for Mexico.  So, no departure date just yet.

The last time I sailed to southern California was in June of 2009.  That was on my friend, Gary's, boat when I crewed for him to the Channel Islands and then to Santa Barbara.  I haven't spoken to Gary since that time.  He continued south and dropped out of touch and I went back to Alameda and got married.  I tried to contact him on a few occasions without much luck but heard a rumor that he was living in San Diego so I thought I try to find him when I got here. 

A few hours after we tied up I was walking back from the showers and noticed a very familiar boat motoring past our dock.  Could it be?  I watched to see where the boat docked and hopped in the dinghy for a quick row over.  There was Gary, standing on the dock, chatting up his neighbor.  We had a laugh together and caught up a little on the past two years.  Turns out he was easier to find than I thought.  What are the odds of that happening again?