San Diego or Bust

We’re on our way to San Diego tomorrow - the last day of this first leg of our trip.  I won’t be surprised if I never see this harbor again.  It’s a nice enough place to visit, but there isn’t really enough to do here to make me want to come back.  There are a few sailboats scattered about, but it’s pretty well dominated by big motor cruisers with their generators and their lights and an armada of dinghies.  We stayed three nights out of a reluctance to get into San Diego any earlier than we already are.

There are other anchorages on Catalina, but… 1) It is Labor Day weekend so every boater in Southern California will be out here. 2) The anchorages don’t sound like they offer a lot of protection from swell generated by shipping in the channel.  There is swell in the harbor here and it is substantially better protected than an anchorage along the coast would be.  So we talked ourselves out of looking for something else and held onto our slip in the harbor for a few days. And, not withstanding the hustle and bustle of the harbor crowd, it has been a nice few days.

It’s about 70 miles to San Diego, twelve hours if the wind is as light as it’s predicted to be and we motor our way there at 6 knots.  I contacted the Chula Vista Marina where Quijote will stay for the next couple of months and got a slip assignment and instructions for a late arrival.  So we’ll get a early start and try to get there and refueled before dark.