San Diego, California...Arrival...Part I

Shelter Island, San Diego, CA.

We finally made it to San Diego!  We got here about two weeks ago and have been busy getting the boat ready for our departure at the end of this month for Mexico.  We have a list of boat projects that need to be attended to before we leave; mainly to ensure that we can obtain needed parts or products as we are not completely sure what we'll be able to find in some of the more remote areas of Mexico that we plan on visiting.  

Kona Kai Marina had some pretty big boats.

The trip down from Dana Point was uneventful and without much wind so we ended up motoring most of the way.  As always, we encountered a school of dolphins that swam with the boat and provided spectacular acrobatics for us. We also noted a different species of dolphin/porpoise that I have to investigate further before conclusively stating what they were.  We pulled into Kona Kai Marina on Shelter Island in San Diego Bay on October 30th, knowing that we would be moving within a few days as we wanted to locate a marina that could accommodate us for the month of November at a reasonable price. Our neighbor at Kona Kai had recently adopted a cat who hadn't quite acclimated himself to the boundaries of his boat and Richard helped the cat find his way back to his boat on a couple of occasions.  

We spent the next day checking out the many marinas in this part of San Diego Bay. We had contacted our friends Bob and Joyce of s/v Charra and they were staying at a marina in America's Cup Harbor so after exhausting our search on Shelter Island, we headed over to where they were staying.  We spoke with the marina personnel at Point Loma Marina and then decided to check out one more marina before heading back to our boat.  It turns out that this last marina was the one we would finally choose.

Osprey at dock in Sun Harbor Marina, San Diego.

Sun Harbor Marina boasts being the first LEEDS certified marina in the world and also provided us with a monthly rate that made us both happy that we decided to check out one last marina.  So the next day, Richard and I tossed off the docklines and made the short trip over to what would become our home for the month of November.  The marina is close to a number of amenities that we were looking for; specifically, West Marine and other chandleries are within walking distance, as are grocery stores, a post office, internet cafe, and restaurants.  As an added bonus, the people we have met on the docks, some permanent residents, others on their way south too, have been very welcoming and helpful.  I am always amazed at how easy it can be to meet new people with common interests while sailing and look forward to the new friendships that seem so easy to foster.