Thursday, November 10, 2011

Docked in San Diego

Sunrise over the San Diego Coast
I arrived in San Diego yesterday at 7am.  The sail over from Avalon was refreshing, it felt good to be on the move again.  After leaving Avalon at noon the winds were 2 to 3 knots until I motored out of the wind shadow of the island, where the winds built to around 8 knots on my starboard quarter and I started to sail in the light winds moving at 3.5 knots.  It was nice to be sailing again!  The winds ranged between 7 and 15 knots until 4am at which point I was 18 miles from San Diego and the winds died quickly to 3 knots.  I started motoring directly toward my destination and within an hour the wind had veered and built so I could simply unfurl my genoa and continue on a beam reach on the same course toward San Diego, losing a little boat speed but gaining peace and quiet.

A note for non-sailors about the timing of this trip.  If you're wondering why I left so late in the afternoon to sail at night, it was to ensure an arrival in daylight in San Diego.  Avalon to San Diego is a little over 70 miles.  When motor sailing I travel at around 6 knots (6 nautical miles per hour,) which would make the trip a little over 11 hours.  There are only around 11 hours of daylight here now, so I would have been forced to leave slightly before dawn and motor the entire way to arrive just at sunset - which is not a very ideal trip.  By sailing at night I had more than enough time to take advantage of whatever winds there were and sail, while ensuring I had plenty of time to be there the next day before dark.  Leaving at noon gave me 24 hours to arrive the next day by noon, which was plenty of time.

I'm staying at the Kona Kai Marina, slip D-5.  When I first contacted the marina they said their price for the slip would be $2/foot per day.  Luckness is around 40' with the monitor wind vane, so that would have been a pricey stay.  After a little discussion, they offered me their monthly rate, pro rated for the length of my stay.  This works out to $21/foot per month, which is something like $28 per day.  Much more reasonable than $80/day.

I'll be here for perhaps a week and a half, and then leave for Ensenada, Mexico!
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2 comments:

  1. AnonymousNovember 10, 2011 at 8:55 PM

    San Diego, how lovely. I was a little surprised about your choice of sailing times, so thanks for the explanation. Is it getting any warmer? Hope the city of Seattle gets it's act in gear so you can continue south as planned. Today was warm and balmy, +10C 0r +50 for you Yanks! For Duncan in Nov. thais is good, as it's been quite chilly. I got snow tires on my car yesterday so I'm set for Christmas. Getting ready to head off to Vancouver to hear Laura's concert on Sat. and then to Banff via Calgary on Monday. Keep well. I think you are doing that, and it makes me very happy! Love, Mum

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  2. AnonymousNovember 15, 2011 at 12:49 PM

    There's a very large flag and some quite large heads in Ensenada - be sure to take a walk (or two, or three). Enjoy San Diego, in the meantime! When you head down to Baja California Sur, make sure to stop at Bahia Magdalena - by far, my favorite bay along the way. You can hike up to the top of the hills (nearly mountains - they're big) and have the Pacific off one shoulder and the huge bay off the other. Lovely, tiny town, fantastic people.

    My one suggestion - take presents for the kids you'll meet in Mexico. You'll see their faces and want to hand them something.


    Fair winds,

    Kit

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