Ensenada to San Diego

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" rowspan="2" width=210 BGCOLOR="#9999FF" TEXT="#080000" bgproperties="fixed" background="11e924263.jpg"> <div> <IMG SRC="1c8b4760.jpg" border=0 width="180" height="118" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> <A HREF="http://www.trouvera.com" target="_blank" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.trouvera.com" target="_blank"><U>Trouvera</U></A> on the wind</div> <div> <I>COPYRIGHT </I><I>Roland Melzer </I><I>© 2001</I></div> </td> <td valign="top" colspan=2 height=75 BGCOLOR="#99CCFF" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <B> </B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#0000CC" FACE="Times New Roman" ><B>   |   </B></FONT><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#0000CC" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE=" "><U>home</U></A></FONT></div> <div> <A HREF="cruising_log.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Cruising Log"><U><B><IMG SRC="0430e0e0.png" border=0 width="14" height="14" ALT="up" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A><B>  </B><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="14" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" WIDTH="14"><B>     </B><A HREF="id191.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="SO37 Cornwall cruise"><U><B><IMG SRC="0440e0e0.png" border=0 width="14" height="14" ALT="previous" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A><B>  </B><A HREF="id148.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Serendibs Normandy Cruise 2001"><U><B><IMG SRC="0450e0e0.png" border=0 width="14" height="14" ALT="next" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A></div> <div> </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" height=405 colspan=2 BGCOLOR="#99CCFF" TEXT="#080000" bgproperties="fixed" background="91940403.png"> <div> Ensenada to San Diego</div> <div> <B>Tornadoes, Whales, and Nuclear Subs </B>by Roland Melzer</div> <bR> <div> <I>Sailing is a human activity.  (We like to think it is all about </I></div> <div> <I>nature, the great outdoors, the challenge, the adventure, the competition, </I></div> <div> <I>the technical difficulty; but in truth this is not so.)</I></div> <bR> <div> Our boat is a Jeanneau Voyage 12.5, a 1989.  We had it down in Ensenada </div> <div> Mexico for a little over 3 months; Ensenada is only about a 1 - 1.5 hour </div> <div> drive south of the US border.  It is also a great city to go and visit, </div> <div> since by far it doesn't have as much of the border town tourist flavor, and </div> <div> is a real working town with industry, larger harbor, active fishing, etc. </div> <div> We were careful with food, and so didn't need both of the heads on the </div> <div> boat.</div> <bR> <div> And so it was time to bring it back up to San Diego.  Planning the trip, we </div> <div> found it to be about 55 - 60 nm and so we estimated about 8 hours. </div> <div> Watching the weather, the forecast was clear and apparently this weekend </div> <div> was a clear window between storms.  None of the various sources predicted </div> <div> anything challenging coming, there was a high pressure center over the </div> <div> Pacific about 400 - 800 miles off the coast, which usually means that the </div> <div> storms coming from the North Pacific (which is where the originate on the </div> <div> west coast during winter) would be pushed north of Southern California. </div> <div> And winds should be from the west, a typical pattern.  Here are some of </div> <div> the sites from which I gathered information:</div> <div> http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/afos/LAX/CWF/LAXCWFSGX</div> <div> http://meteora.ucsd.edu/climate/calif_marine_fcst.southern</div> <div> http://www.ndbc.noaa.gov/station_page.phtml?$station=46025  </div> <div> (this last one is quite interesting, it has almost-real-time sea conditions from a buoy near Catalina Island; most of the weather received in San Diego goes over this location a few hours before it arrives in San Diego).</div> <bR> <div> The conclusion was either:</div> <div> 1.  swells 10-12 ft, wind waves 6 ft. and winds 15-25 knots.</div> <div>         or</div> <div> 2.  swells 6 ft., wind waves 2-3 ft., and winds 10-15 knots.</div> <bR> <div> These sites aren't 100% accurate.  But we concluded that the more </div> <div> challenging forecast was for a couple hundred miles offshore, since the </div> <div> less challenging forecast was labeled "coastal".  We would be sailing only </div> <div> 3-5 miles offshore the whole way.  We got the stronger conditions.</div> <bR> <div> Crew:  myself, Pat my lovely and capable first mate, two 12 year old girls, </div> <div> and my son at 9 years old.  Our 17 year old daughter declined, but to </div> <div> encourage her I offered to change the boat name to Boat-Mall, or </div> <div> Boat-Party.  We settled on "MALL-PARTY-boat", but I couldn't afford $135 </div> <div> for new Coast Guard documentation.</div> <bR> <div> The plan was to leave when enough light to leave the Ensenada breakwater </div> <div> without using any floodlights, so at 6:40 am we were underway.  We expected </div> <div> to motor for a few hours in the morning, then some sailing when the wind </div> <div> came up.  About 15 min. in the journey I could see the weather was going to </div> <div> be a bit more stormy than a typical clear winter SoCal day.  An hour later </div> <div> we saw a vertical cloud, hanging down from the otherwise flat cumulus type </div> <div> formations.   And someone says "I wonder if that is how tornadoes start". </div> <div> Well this is the type of curious and exploratory attitude that we </div> <div> encourage in children, no?  However it got longer, and longer, and then the </div> <div> usual:  "Dad, do something!".  My first instinct was to satisfy the </div> <div> curiosity of these growing minds and change course for a closer look. </div> <div> Remember that Rousmaniere says:  "If it doesn't feel right, don't do it". </div> <div> I of course converted this into "If it feels OK, go for it".   However, </div> <div> like boat instruments which are intended only as a guide, so are the formal </div> <div> rules of logic.  In any case as this funnel cloud stopped before it hit the </div> <div> water, and then disappeared, and then two more formed, we held our course, </div> <div> as the wind got stronger and the swells higher.</div> <bR> <div> At about this time, the 3 kids started showing that lackluster look of </div> <div> early seasickness.  At least their curiosity, ever so dangerous, </div> <div> diminished.  We hoisted the main, for stability and a little power </div> <div> advantage, wind was at about 45 degrees off the bow, and variable.  I was </div> <div> dressing in the fifth layer of clothing, gloves, etc. and having a ball. </div> <div> The kids of course (by instinct again) discovered that given their </div> <div> condition, the cockpit was much more pleasant than down below.  So here </div> <div> come the blankets, coats, pillows, chips, drinks, books, walkman, and </div> <div> 143,867 other items to make their trip more pleasant.  The cockpit starting </div> <div> looking like a slumber party; luckily I had my feet planted before all this </div> <div> junk arrived.</div> <bR> <div> And so we went on, occasionally we spotted dolphins, then came one of my </div> <div> proudest moments.  My 9 year old son said he was going to be sick.  He </div> <div> moved to the stern, unloaded his burden, he hit only fiberglass, and no </div> <div> teak, then said "I feel better now".  Wow, he did it like a man, was I ever </div> <div> proud!  We know sailing can be relaxing, but our relaxation was metered by </div> <div> that repeated challenge to parents:  "when are we going to be there?"  As </div> <div> the wind built, on the nose, I reinforced that my 8 hour estimate was </div> <div> exactly that, an estimate.  Immediately feeling a bit more social, my </div> <div> daughter asked:  "I know we've discussed it, but Dad what would you do if I </div> <div> fell overboard".  I suggested it was the right time to practice.</div> <bR> <div> About 1/2 way, we were quite distant from any ports, no other boats in </div> <div> sight, and we saw a few whale spouts about 100 years dead ahead.  "Get </div> <div> close Dad"!.  Yeah, right.  For Christmas I received the book "In the Heart </div> <div> of the Sea".  I finished it in a few days;  it is the story about the </div> <div> whaling ship Essex, true story, that was rammed and sunk in the 1800s by a </div> <div> sperm whale in the Pacific ocean.  Herman Melville based his novel Moby </div> <div> Dick on this true story.  -- We were in the same ocean.  So logic kicks in </div> <div> again:  same ocean, whales migrating south, we are heading north, spouts, </div> <div> they are near the surface, our dingy is not inflated, no boats in sight, </div> <div> and of course the whales definitely hate me.  Trying to be courteous, I did </div> <div> change course to veer around them, thankfully they preferred to ignore us, </div> <div> and not start trouble.</div> <bR> <div> Then around 13:00 the wind got stronger, the waves higher, and the spray </div> <div> over the bow started.  I love kids, and always want to help them. Here is a </div> <div> typical interaction:</div> <div> "Dad I'm getting wet".</div> <div> "Then go below"</div> <div> "No!"</div> <div> "Then stay up here"</div> <div> "No!"</div> <div> Unfortunately I forgot to keep the phone number for my Philosophy of Logic professor.</div> <bR> <div> Land ho, San Diego is in sight!  Oh good, we should be there any second, </div> <div> after another 3-4 hours.  Crossing into the US took a great deal of time. </div> <div> It started with:  "There is the US, so we must be in US waters".  I </div> <div> suggested this was erroneous logic, and that although there isn't a line </div> <div> painted on the ocean, we would know for sure when the fence on shore was </div> <div> clearly a straight line directly abeam.  Remarkably, although this time we </div> <div> were not in a long waiting line, getting to the US took as long as the wait </div> <div> at the border while driving across in a car.  To add even more excitement, </div> <div> at the line was a coast guard cutter, or immigration service boat, floating </div> <div> at the border obviously waiting to capture us.  As we crossed he started </div> <div> moving in the same direction, and parallel to us.  "Dad, do something, they </div> <div> are going to board us!".  My response at this point:  "Huh, du wut?", as </div> <div> the wind and swells were howling.</div> <bR> <div> As we entered San Diego bay, a very loud fog horn was ominous.  A closer </div> <div> look revealed a giant submarine obviously nuclear, heading out as we were </div> <div> heading in the channel.  Nothing dangerous, but we have never seen a sub </div> <div> underway so close to us.  Quite a sight.  My crew figured that a war had </div> <div> started somewhere in the world, and we didn't know about it, since we were </div> <div> cruising for such a long time without any access to news reports.</div> <bR> <div> Finally we are nearing the customs dock, and everybody comes more alive. </div> <div> It is about 16:30 and we have barely an hour to clear customs and get to </div> <div> the new slip.  The customs guy was great, he didn't want to "know nuthin' </div> <div> about nuthin', just sign here".  Luckily his dog didn't find the Cuban </div> <div> cigars and fireworks; smelly stuff, it probably smelled them from the dock, </div> <div> but 5:00 was quittin' time for the dog also.</div> <bR> <div> And we pull into the slip with 10 minutes of light left.  Yes!  We made it. </div> <div> And then it started again:  "I'm hungry".  "I'm tired".  "Can we go home </div> <div> now".  "Let's stop at In-and-Out Burgers".</div> <bR> <div> "Ok guys, congratulations, that was great, you are the best crew a father </div> <div> could ever have!. We'll have to do that again some time".  Once in the </div> <div> water, I recalled that I neglected to teach them their response if I was </div> <div> thrown overboard.</div> <bR> <div> Fast food hamburgers never tasted so good.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Roland Melzer</B></div> <bR> <div> COPYRIGHT © 2001</div> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>