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Jim Baumgart ([ date ] [ thread ] [ subject ] [ author ]
Hello all, we are just returned from a great 3 day cruise San Diego - Two
Harbors (Catalina) - Dana Point - San Diego.
We departed San Diego (Chula Vista Marina) at 5 AM Friday will full fuel,
full water, lots of food and toys, and no working autopilot. It was to be
our longest passage to date. The hardest part was getting out of the
marina and through the south bay channel in the dark. I was looking
forward to a sunrise on the water but we never saw one, just endless grey
skies and dark water. We saw lots of dolphins and bait fish and even saw
barracuda leaping out of the water in the Pt. Loma kelp, but we didn't have
time to wet a hook. We were looking at a 7 hour trip at 12 knots and we
were not stopping unless an Albacore jumped in the boat.
We actually made 12.5 knots most of the way, at 2200 RPM on the twin Cats.
We pushed it to 14 knots once in the lee of the island because wife and 1
child were seasick - I wanted to get them on land. We discovered that my
wife steers better than I, and it is very hard to hand steer for more than
2 hours or keep it within 10 degrees, and that the longest passage seems
short if you can sleep a lot. I always start and finish and she steers the
middle while I sleep or play with the kids.
We were lucky and arrived at 2 Harbors by noon, it was a beautiful sunny
day and we got a mooring for the 3 day weekend! It was very crowded but
fun, and the kids loved playing on the beach, dancing every night with
glow-in-the-dark necklaces, and hiking the island. The water was 62F so
swims were short. We went fishing one day and so we burned off a little
more fuel than I would like so we wanted to fill up before returning.
Diesel at Two Harbors (or Avalon ) is $2.35/gallon!
So instead we came home via Dana Point, it's only 42 miles from Two
Harbors, and fuel was only $1/gallon (I pay $0.85 in San Diego). We put
179 gallons on board. Dana to San Diego was 56 miles and then 12 miles to
Chula Vista for a run of 110 miles today. We left Two Harbors at 5 AM and
were in the slip at 3 PM. We cleaned up, unloaded, washed down, and were
eating California Rolls and Goyoza by 5:30 PM. We were able to run nearly
15 knots coming home, with a quite strong wind and waves behind us all the
way, still at 2200 RPM. The wind blew us into the slip so hard after we
were in and I jumped out to help tie up I thought I left the drives in
forward gear somehow!
We had a lot of fun and now a run of 40 to 50 miles seems easy.
Another thing I learned is that if you have the power to run at 12 to 15
knots it's hard not to use it just for range and mpg. Obviously, when we
run from Two Harbors to Santa Cruz Island via Santa Barbara Island, it will
be different, we will need to conserve fuel. But we didn't really need it
today.
West Coast Cruise
Please join us for a totally unofficial and 100% fun cruise July 12 - 25.
Come for all or part! Families with kids wanted. We will be having a
birthday in Emerald Bay (Heidi will be 8). Trawlers, sailors, or row boats
are welcome (actually, I've never been aboard a real cruising sailboat).
We will meet in Emerald Bay July 12 through July 14. Fill up with that
expensive fuel and to Coaches Preitos on Santa Cruze Island July 15 - 19.
Ventura Harbor July 19 - 20. Marina del Rey July 21 - 22. Dana Point July
23 - 24. Home to San Diego July 25.
By the way, we are cruisers, and fisherman, swimmers, hikers, a happy
family on the water, not a gold plated yacht nor a boat full of wild yahoos.
Hope to see you there!
-JimB
Jim Baumgart
<")))>><
(760)749-4257 San Diego
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