We set sail out of San Diego Harbor at 11:00 am on Monday, 10/25/10. We'd just returned from Florida a few days earlier. We didn't feel ready, a long list of incomplete tasks remained on out Boat Prep list. The departure date marched closer. We picked up our young crew, Evan and Briana, at the train station in San Diego - bright-eyed and eager. It was so great to have our friend Ray and Jennifer, and Beth and Alan come down to the farewell party to see us off. Beth was on the verge of tears during the whole party, sad to see us go.
The start was very moving, to be a part of this annual event after having it as a goal for so long. Ten minutes after the start we had our first challenge - the davit cross bar broke. Fortunately, I was steering the boat so I didn't see Tom and Evan lower the dinghy into the water while underway. Nor did I see Tom climb into the dinghy to set it up to tow behind. There was some wind, but nasty mixed seas were the biggest challenge. Nala, one of our cats got seasick. Then our crew became ill as well and were unable to stand watch their first night at sea.
After clanging, banging and flopping around for over 24 hours, I pulled out the chart to try to find a place to seek refuge, rest and pull the dink on deck. She would not survive being towed much longer in these conditions. It was about 10 am, but we were over 30 miles off the coast. We decided to head to Bahia San Quitin and we able to set the anchor before the sunset. We were all alone in a very peaceful anchorage, had a great Chicken Parmesan dinner that night and a much needed night of sleep.
At day break the next morning we hoisted the dinghy on deck and made the run to Turtle Bay going inside Cedros Island. We anchored the following day before sunset. It was much colder than expected - both the air and the sea. It seems the cold summer and fall we had in SoCal wasn't just localized. The town and people in Turtle Bay were wonderful.