San Diego is a looong sail, and due to work schedules and El Nino weather issues, Mack decided to do the sail in a few parts. The plan was to make three hops along the coast depending on conditions. On the first day, Mack and Scott left Gypsy's slip and planned to get around the peninsula. They ended up getting to Dana Point. They docked her in the marina with plans to make another hop the next day. In the morning there was a small craft advisory, but since everything looked okay, they headed to their next stop. The radio kept SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY YOU ARE GOING TO DIE though, so about two hours in, they decided to turn back. Gypsy napped in Dana Point for a week before we could get off work and make another hop.
Mack, Scott, and I met up late on Friday night at the boat. We slept a few hours, and then Mack and Scott woke up at like 5 a.m. to get things going. I took some drugs and went back to bed until like 9. It was chilly on the water (it is January), but the sun was out and I had my powerful sleeping bag to keep me warm.
I was on drugs, which meant I was basically in and out of a coma every hour. I'd periodically pop my eyes open, looked around, and remark, "Wow. This is gorgeous." Sailing is hard.
Just as we were getting San Diego in our sights, Mack and Scott were discussing docking at Mission and then finishing up the last leg in the morning. The sun was out, we were making good time, and by their calculations, we had another four hours of sailing. So, the girl on drugs in a sack on top of the roof said, "Why don't we just go for it?" And the boys, who never listen to what she says, listened to her.
As we plugged along, we got stopped by the San Diego sheriffs, who asked us if we'd been on international waters and if it was just us three. One of the guys was holding on to his boat in such a way that he kept flexing his arm muscle and generally being all man in uniform gorgeous. I'm pretty sure the oogling girl on drugs in a sack, the brown guy with the Isis beard, and Scott the vodka loving pastor were quite an unusual bunch, but the cops believed our story and went away. We got Gypsy going again and watched a humpback whale flash her tail at us.
San Diego's port is bordered by a giant kelp forest that entangles boats on one side and submerged rocks from an old jetty on the other. There are channel markers though, and as long as you stay in them, you are fine. Trouble is, just as we were getting to the start of the kelp, fog swallowed us. We could see enough ahead of us not to cry, but it was hard to see the markers to know which direction was safe. To demonstrate, at one point I saw what I thought was a building in the distance. I figured maybe it was a bait shop or some other weird little floating gas station or something. Nope. Submarine. A submarine was leaving the port as we were approaching it. Because fog and kelp and rocks are not enough of a challenge, here's a fucking submarine.
It took a while, but we managed to head toward all the right markers and avoid death. As we headed into the bay, we breathed a sigh of relief and got some better visibility. We passed the San Diego skyline and headed into container ship territory. Scott had booked a slip in the farthest recess of the bay, which meant we had to sail for another 3 hours once we got into the bay. It became night as we went on, and we kept seeing these posts in the water with signs on them. As if we could read them in the dark. Were they telling us where to go? Or were they telling us to stay away? We stayed away and held our breath. The scariest part of not seeing came as we were approaching a bridge. They had lights and then no lights. People tend to go toward places that are illuminated. Water tends to be where things aren't illuminated. I am blind at night, so I handed the tiller over and retreated into my sack since my nose and hands were frozen.
We managed to avoid Navy ships and container ships and posts of despair and Mack brought Gypsy home to her slip. We tucked her in, told her thanks, gave her a kiss, and said see you soon. I hate to see her go, but I am so excited about the experiences we'll get to have on our new boat thanks to everything Gypsy taught us.
You can read about the next phase of our sailing adventure at www.sailingkenutu.com.
