THE TIME HAS FINALLY COME - WE ARE ON THE ROLL

The date of departure finally arrived.  At 0630, Abreojos left Channel Islands Harbor, arguably, for the last time. Destination:  Marina Del Rey - Pacific Mariners Yacht Club.

Just prior to our departure, we were met at the CIYC guest dock by our finest friend, Dana.  He came by just to say goodbye.  We said so many goodbyes this week.  Yet, I do not believe we ever say goodbye.  Rather, we say, "see ya later." 

This summer we cruised all over southern California and visited many cool places and met many really special people.  We spent the final 4 weeks before we left back in our home port, Channel Islands Harbor.  It was really nice to be there.  We call it home.  We stayed at the CIYC guest dock for most of the time.  CIYC has a really special Port Captain who went out of his way to make life easy for us.  When I was Commodore and Vice Commodore of that yacht club, I knew I could always count on him to make our visiting yachtsmen feel welcome and special.  Little did I know that one day I would be one of those visiting yachtsmen.  I cannot thank Bill enough for how nice he treated us.

Leaving Channel Islands Harbor, the water was very nice.  It was reasonably calm and flat.  The weather forecast was for southeast winds to 10 knots and then shifting to southwest to 10 knots.  The weather gods were telling the truth.  There was a southeast breeze pushing back against a 3-5 foot west swell.  At first it was no big deal.  It got a little lumpy later in the morning, but it was still a very nice passage.

When the sun came out, it was bright and nice.  I like having to put on the sunglasses at 0700.  Notwithstanding what was otherwise very nice weather, the water seemed quiet.  We saw no signs of life.  No dolphin.  No sea lions.  No whales.  Nothing.  Very few birds, even. 

Later it got quite foggy.  It got so foggy that it was difficult to see beyond the front of the boat.  Fortunately, there were no targets on the radar screen.  Even though most modern radar have a self-tuning function, when the wind opposes the seas like we were experiencing this morning, you tend to see a lot of clutter on the radar screen.  So, with practice, all those little blips can be tuned out and you begin to see what is really out there - a whole lot of nothing.

Fog is not a terribly unusual phenomenon in the Santa Barbara Channel and there are plenty of times we have had to deal with it.  Fog is rather unnerving, however, when you are in waters you are not completely familiar with.  It requires you to pay close attention to all the information at your disposal.  This information is not only electronic, but is a consequence of proper voyage planning and preparation.

The fog cam and went and once again we had gorgeous weather for what can only be described as an essentially boring passage from Channel Islands Harbor to Marina Del Rey.

You can see the AGLCA Burgee out on the front of the boat.  This is the flag of the America's Great Loop Cruising Association.  We joined this organization because it represents the cruise we will be engaged in over the next couple years.  The amount of information this organization marshalls is sometimes overwhelming.  But what they also do is organize it in a format that is easy to use and easy to learn.  Moreover, "Loopers", as we are called, have an amazing reputation for helping one another.  Information is the greatest thing we can offer one another and AGLCA makes it possible to share this information readily.  If you are interested, go to www/greatloop.org. 

We are currently docket at the Pacific Mariner's Yacht Club in Marina Del Rey.  Their port captain is a guy named Sparky Mundo (if you can believe that).  This guy is a real character.  We are in an impossible slip.  It took 6 fellows to get us jammed in there.  The front of our boat is sticking into a 30 foot slip while the back part of the boat is tied to a 48 foot Uniflite that can't fit into the slip it is supposed to be in.  Ok.  Getting in is one thing, but getting out is another.  I am fairly certain the width of the finger is not even long enough for our boat, so as we had to "shoe horn" in, we will have to "shoe horn" out.  They have told us not to worry; that there will be plenty of folks around on Thursday morning to help.  So, I'm not going to fret it at all. 

After we secured the boat, we took off on a walk.  We found ourselves in the heart of Venice Beach, California.  What a trippy place.  Very colorful, to say the least.  Marijuana smoke wafts in the breeze from seemingly every direction.  From every other direction, someone is trying to hand you a card for or to make an appointment at the local medical marijuana clinic.  There is loud music, colorful vestments, interesting shopping, and a lot of good restaurants.  We had lunch at a place called Hinano's.  This is arguably the best hamburger I have ever had.  The beer was ice cold, too, which really went down well considering it was 88 degrees down here today.  I think the highlight of the hike however was a bike we found.  This reminded me of a classic "Delano Street strip job."  Notice in the photo below that the guy's very expensive U-shape lock was still intact and in place.  Unfortunately........well, just unfortunately.

After we got back, we had dinner at the yacht club.  This is their Monday Night Football night and someone prepared an outstanding lasagna, salad, and garlic bread, all for $9.00 per person.  These are some really nice folks too.

Tomorrow, we start tearing apart the boat in earnest.  We have to remove everything off the decks and especially off the roof.  That means deck boxes, canvas, antenna, lights, everything.  We purposefully decided to come down here a couple days early to give us plenty of opportunity to take our time and do things right and slowly.

In just a couple of days, we will move the boat over to Windward Yacht Center, on the other side of the harbor for loading onto the truck that will take her to Rockport, Texas. 

So far, so good.