Julie Mays
01/18/2008, Shelter Island, San Diego

We slept in until 9am simply because it was too cold to get out of bed. But before long, the sun was out and it was the warmest we have felt it for some time now.

We moved the boat from the Quarantine dock over to the Public Dock next door. We got a slip for next to nothing, and apparently we are lucky because they are usually all full. There are hot showers, water and electricity on the dock and we are able to stay for ten days - really quite a deal.

After a good scrub of the boat, inside and out, Chris and I walked around Shelter Island which is absolutely beautiful. If I were a foreign boat and arrived to a public dock and surroundings as nice as this, I would think I just landed in heaven. As for Chris, he is in heaven. There are more marine services than I think we have seen anywhere - ever. Don't get me wrong, I'm always game for a good marine store, but there are also a few hair and nail salons calling my name.

We are sitting in a very cool coffeehouse called The Living Room that actually quite feels like one with sofas and tables everywhere. It's cozy, there is high-speed internet and great coffee, so we are pretty content. Even though it's Friday night and we feel like we should go out on the town, it's very possible we may not ever leave.

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Chris Mays
01/18/2008, San Diego, California

We arrived in San Diego and tied up to the police dock. Customs and Border Protection just finished checking us in. We had to throw away our fruit and eggs but that was it. They did not even ask about the gallons of Madagascar rum, Brazilian cachacas, and South Africa bubbly. I guess they have more important things to worry about like terrorists and drugs. Fortunately we do not have either of those aboard.

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Chris Mays
01/17/2008, United States/Mexico Border

We made it! Just crossed the border in to US waters for the first time in 3 years. It feels good to be back! We are headed in to San Diego harbor where we will tie up to the police dock to wait for customs and immigration. Barring any unforeseen eventualities and if we can find it we should be on the dock before midnight. I guess it is time to hang the "Q" flag from our starboard spreader for the last time during this cruise.

The 65 miles sail up from Ensenada was uneventful. We had strong north easterlies initially which had us beam reaching at over 9 knots. Then the wind backed to the north west and we were beating again. Finally it died all together so now we are motoring.

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