LandfallVoyages

Today  started off rather inauspiciously with a cold, grey overcast that betrayed no hint  of the gorgeous day we had yesterday,  but by the time we stowed everything that needed stowing, the sun was starting to peek through. After we filled our freshwater tanks and pumped out the holding tank,  El Sol had Señor Overcast on the ropes and as we sailed out of Dana Point, warm temperatures and blue skies prevailed.

The seas were small, you could hardly call them swells– more like long, lazy ripples which were well organized with a longish period, making for a very comfortable ride.  The winds were SSW, maybe 5 to 10 kts. We were closehauled the whole way and with a little assist from our  engine, we averaged 6 kts, which is not bad at all.

San Onofere Nuclear Generating Station

Steve caught a bunch of kelp off San Onofere and that was it for excitement until we got a little farther south and ran across the CG George Cobb doing military maneuvers off Camp Pendleton. At least, that’s what showed up on the AIS. I don’t know what kind of Navy boat was actually out there, but I’m 100% sure it wasn’t a Coast Guard buoy tender. It sat out there, a massive grey rectangle in the middle of the special restricted area just off Pendleton. I’m guessing it’s restricted for training purposes only. At any rate, we gave it a wide berth and as we got closer and it got bigger, we were able to see several different types of helicopters circling around, approaching the decks (maybe landing also, it was hard to tell) and then jumping back up into the sky to do it all over again. All the while, the sound of heavy artillery came booming down from behind the hills, spilling out over the highway and on down to the sea.

On Maneuvers

Miracle of all miracles, we got into port well before dark and pulled up alongside the harbor police, who were in the process of tying up their boat and collecting their gear. “Where should we go to check in and get a slip assignment?” we asked.”Just pull in to any of the open slips over there, ” the one guy said, gesturing vaguely in the direction of the slips in front of the big Oceanside sign. “Come check in tomorrow morning at around 8:30.” As we pulled away I shouted, “Why are you guys so hard to get along with?” That got them chuckling a bit and one shouted back, “Because we had a couple of cases today and we’ve been going hard since breakfast and we are hungry and beat.”

So far, San Diego County harbor police are pleasantly different from their brethren in Orange County. They’re a lot less actively aggressive, you know– more kickback, more all about helping people. For instance, we had a guy come uninvited on our boat this morning. Just some random guy we didn’t know in a Bob Marley t-shirt and black hoodie. We could hear him moving around on deck. Steve jumped up into the companionway and said, “No dude, get off my boat. Listen, there’s one thing you’ve got to learn about  boats right away–you don’t step foot on somebody’s boat unless you are invited.” He just kind of stood there, not responding in any way. “Now,” Steve said. The guy kept standing there for a minute more and then stepped back down onto the dock.  And stopped. He wavered, staring at some point far over the horizon. We asked him if he was ok, if he needed help or anything. He never said a single word, only stood there swaying a little back and forth with that blank look on his face and eyes full of confusion. Then he turned and walked around to the boat in the next slip  and tried to get on theirs, as well.

We called the harbor police and they came along and gently scooped up our uninvited guest. After they established that no one was hurt and nothing had gone missing on any of the surrounding  boats, they sat down and talked to him for a good long while.  One of them even threw an arm around the guy, trying to comfort him. It was really good to see.