Cruise of the Confidence 2013-10-21 to 10-31

San Diego: 32*42.53N 117*14.11W

The next morning we called our friends at the Customs and Immigration and they said they would be down shortly to check us in. In the. Meantime we arranged our moorage for the week at the municipal marina/harbor polic transient dock immediately beside the police dock. Moorage was $1 per foot which we were told was about the cheapest rate we would find for tying up at a dock. We were surprised to even get a slip as the Baja Ha Ha. was set to leave on Monday and there were 150 sailboats in the harbor taking part. The Baja HaHa is an organized event put on and sponsored every November by 38 North - a boaters magazine. It really is a big boat cruise for those sailors heading to Cabo San.Lucas. It gives first timers the support of going offshore with others, the marine stores put on seminars, helps them to be  properly prepared. It really is a big party! For cruisers like us  - we prefer to be out of that scene and will plan to be behind them by about a week or so.

So the custom guys showed up but unfortunately they did not have the correct form in order to clear our entrance. But they gave us 48 hours to head into the main office to complete the paperwork. They did take our passports, which we both found a little disturbing - never had to surrender my passport before. But at least we were free to get off of the boat.

After getting secured at the marina we decided to go for a walk and get our bearings. Shelter island is more like a long narrow peninsula with the main channel on one side and the marinas on the other. It is lined with hotels and parks and all kinds of marine services.

 Paul would be in heaven as David was. 

First stop: ordered parts from the Yanmar (make of our engine) dealer. They could not do the work right away but they recommended a mechanic who might be able to - Jim Wilson from JW Marine Service.

Next stop: talked to an electrician whose name we obtained from the Marine PhoneDirectory - yes Paul - yellow pages just for boat stuff that is an inch thick! He said he would come down in a couple of days and make an assessment with regards to our charging system.

Next stop was at at Sea Monsters to see about getting the name put on the boat. He would come down on Wednesday and come up with some designs.

Next door to him was a communication electronics store that had a different WiFi antennae that was way cheaper and apparently a lot easier to install with better support services. Said we would think about it and maybe come back tomorrow.

Next block and across the street was Rigworks so we went in and made arrangements to have new lifelines made up.

Then we checked out Downwind and San Diego Marine Exchange.   Purchased the wheels for the dinghy to make it easier on us and the dinghy for bringing it up onto the beach. We were also able to get more water filters and biocide for our water maker (difficult stuff to find)

We also found a place where we could get our mail sent.

And all of this within. 2 hours. Now you can see why David was happy.

Back to the boat where David worked on his revised shopping list.

Wednesday: the mechanic came down and he said that our issues were minor and he could fix them with minimal cost.David installed the missing second stage filter system and JW helped David install a fuel priming system to make priming a non-issue. David did an oil change, checked the water impeller. The best was the bill because JW only charged us for one hour of labour and also passed on lots of good information. This work was actually done on the following Monday after all the parts came in.

Thursday: Rented a car and went down to Customs to get our clearance. We found it without too much difficulty. Another $19 and we will have to go back to,clear 48 hours before departure or we will not be able to enter Mexico. Then we spent the afternoon picking up groceries and parts. We brought in the old life lines for a template and the riggers started that job. We decided to buy the Rocket wifi antennae andI, the new boat techy was able to get it up and running!! Susan would be impressed. I did have to consult with the help line in Florida but I have to say that this guy (Jason) was fantastic. He not only walked me through it, he explained the system and how it all works so I could understand.

David also went on Craig's list and found a secondary anchor - in case we ever lost ours or had to put a stern anchor or to minimize rolling when we are anchored in a blow. w
We got the propane tanks filled and found out that Mexico does not require the stem to be changed so our tanks will be good till New Zealand.

Friday: The wheels were put on the dinghy and the new life lines installed. David got a new t-shirt from them which only cost $400.

Saturday: laundry day but we had a car so David dropped me off at a regular laundromat. I knew everyone there and had a great time talking to people.  Most of the people there were part of the Baja group. I was running out of quarters so I asked the owner where the nearest bank was - he just threw about 3 dollars on the counter and asked me if that would do it. then he offered me a beverage.

Sunday we took some time off and drove up to the Cabrillo Monument at Point Loma - beautiful view of the harbor though the picture does not reflect that.

Then we drove around to where the decommissioned Midway is docked.

  

 We walked around the park where the statue of the sailor and nurse are kissing after the announcement that WWII was over.

 And of course we had ice cream.

Monday was the day JW came down and the work on the engine was completed. I drove to the Fabric Outlet  (UFO) . Great deal on sunbrella at $25 a meter plus heavy gauge needles and uv resistant thread. Now I can start on all of my projects. Also went to Best Buy and replaced my iPad - an early Christmas present from my wonderful family!!!

Tuesday was a visit from the electrician. David worked with him which was great because it not only reduced the number of paid work hours but he also taught David a lot. They put in the new voltage regulator (3 stage charging solid state), new solenoid charging unit, new Xantrax Prometer which monitors everything to do with the batteries and charging system. He also tested a lot of the wiring that was in place and determined that a lot of it had no function so he instructed David to remove it and thus simplify the system. Mark (Mark's Marine Electric) was a gem - David said he does not know any electrician who would have been able to do what this guy did for us!

I was not idle during all this time - put the bathing suit on and cleaned the decks and all of the stainless on the boat. Did some more provisioning and stowing and cooked us up a belated Thanksgiving turkey dinner with all of the trimmings.

David and Michelle made it in and we also got an invitation to watch the last game of the World Series on the Odyssey with Robert and Jackie. That was a treat.

Next day we returned the car and got ready to depart.

All in all we both have to agree that our stay in San Diego was very successful. We got a lot of work done - some of you might be asking why we did not do this in Bellingham. Well the real reason. - we ran out of time and consequently doing it in Bellingham would mean postponing our departure for another year - something we just did not want to do. And now that we know who and where the experts are - well it was worth the gamble. Probably didn't save much money but what  we got done was done well.