10/28/2008, Somewhere between San Diego and Turtle Bay
You couldn't pry the smile off my face with a crow bar. The night before the start I enjoyed a great Ha Ha Halloween party that ended with me sleeping with Mary Anne. Come on guys...you've got to admit she was the hotty on Gilligans Island. As for the actual Ha Ha ....30+ mile spinnaker run, sailing at 5+ knots almost without exception. Dolphins, whales, fish feeding frenzies and stars beyond compare. And that was just day 1. Throw in a lighting storm and balmy night for day 2 and you have an epic start to this voyage. And to top it all off....this all takes place on a great, sound sailing vessel that provides all the luxuries of home to enjoy with 4 great friends and 1 wonderful wife. Talk about the perfect elixir to forget the endless babble of the economy and some election that's slated for next week. This calls for the F word........Fabulous!!!!!
Ditto from the better half (AKA Mary Anne): Let me say in addition; when opportunity knocks, I highly suggest answering! Given the opportunity to join this Baja Ha Ha adventure I initially felt fear of the unknown and fear that I lacked the needed skills...All my fears have been minimized and I am now head over heels immersed in the adventure! What was fear has become ongoing curiosity, learning and complete giving over to the joy of sharing such an adventure with such wonderful friends and my best friend and hubby. The flying fish, the whales, the magical waters, the wind, the waves, the graceful and playful dolphins, and the stars...oh, the stars! The adrenaline I felt of initial fear has turned to adrenaline fueling the thought of the next day awaiting me and my mates aboard. Carpe Diem to all those who choose to stare down their fears and desires and accept the challenge and opportunities that may otherwise be missed!
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10/28/2008, San Diego
We arrived in San Diego Friday and had the quintessential dingy booze cruise. The weather was clam, warm, and sunny. We hit the right day weather-wise. While on the cruise we were haled to come aboard a fabulous catamaran "Corinthia". I find there is certain feel to hanging in the harbor and relaxing. This feeling I've only seen in two places; the second place is at small airports. They're parallel in many ways with people passionate about there endeavor.
After taking on provisions, some prep work, and the official costume party we departed on Monday. The first night and day was a little rough as our bodies adjusted to our new environments. By the second night we got in the groove and it's been all smiles since.
We've been working the watches in pairs and every three hour watch has been different. At night it's the stars illuminating creatures. By day the whales, flying fish, & Dolphins keep us on the edge of our seats. This is all truly amazing and exhilarating. .
We've been blessed with this journey courtesy of my brother Allan & his wife Rina and before I forget (I just went outside to watch dolphins ride the bow) we want to officiate this our highest gratitude to them both. We love you both and wish them the ultimate journey in the coming year.
Sincerely,
Mr. Thurston III & Lovey Howell
(Phil & Josie)
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10/26/2008, San Diego
Daughter Megan joined us at the HaHa costume party today, with a "goddess" costume hand-made by Rina, Josie, Bernice and Megan last night. She was the hit of the party, with lots of picture requests.... simply stunning.
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10/26/2008, San Diego
The FYFM crew heads out to fuel up, and a polished bit of boat handling puts us up against the fuel dock, with the dinghy in tow. So far so good. 5 knots of wind has us pinned against the dock, so I decide to spring off the dock. Casting off the bow, we hold the stern line tight and I back down (put it into reverse). Because of the curve of the boat as it reaches the stern, the bow pivots out, I push it into forward and take off. Corey releases the stern line, which wraps around itself as it tightened. We watch the line, thinking it's going to pull us back on dock, but fortunately, it unwraps and were off.... whew!
Then we head off to the pump out dock to suck 50 gallons of s^%t out of our holding tanks. We pull up nicely, pump out, and given the wind, attempt the same exact maneuver. Once again the stern line is released, it wraps itself and we watch as it nears the bitter end of the line. We expect it to release as before, but instead it catches with 1" of line left and ricochet's the boat back on to the dock. And to make matters worse, the dinghy that we were towing tucked itself around the corner of the dock and got stuck, so as we were trying to pull away we hear a horrible sound as the dink pulls against the painter (line that ties it to the boat) and somehow springs over the corner of the dock and back into the water. Looking at the dock, with a slightly different angle and a bit more pressure, we have a 6" gash in the side of our dinghy. What luck.
Corey jumps off the boat with a screw driver and releases the knot, which was not easy given that it wrapped around the cleat and tightened enough to stop a 30,000 pound boat. This was one of those moments that build humility. The smallest things can turn into cluster-f%$cks in a heartbeat, costing you big money to repair/replace... The difference between that and dodging a bullet is inches and/or seconds. This time we lucked out.
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10/26/2008, San Diego
The Follow You Follow Me Crew acquitted itself well at the Baja HaHa costume party, winning second place in the "tv shows' category. We blew the other Gilligans Island crew away, with a distinctive "lovey and thurston howell the third."... Thanks to John Papadopoulos and auntie Pep for joining us.... John made a great "professor, rounding out the Gilligan's 7. Great Party! Check out the gallery for more....
Credits: John P, Rina, Allan, Corey, Bernice and Thirston, I mean Phillip.
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10/26/2008, San Diego
Saturday was a great day as San Diego was buzzing with activity from the Baja HaHa fleet. The Follow You Follow Me crew arrives Friday and Saturday and we spent the day on final chores, topping off fuel and water, etc. Skippers rally meeting today is followed by the Halloween party at West Marine, where all 180 crews converge.
We leave for Mexico at 11am Monday... After the comfort of sailing the California Coast for the last month, with 7x24 internet and cell phone coverage, access to family, etc, it feels like we are preparing to sail to the metaphorical end of the world... visions of Columbus' ships getting to the horizon and falling over the cliff danced in my head at 2am this morning.
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10/22/2008, Shelter Island at San Diego
We arrived yesterday in San Diego after a 10 hour motor from Newport.... 10 hours on the same course, at the same speed...the only non-constant was the weather. We started at 5am with a bright moon overhead, but it quickly fogged in as we made our way south. The straight shot took us about 10 miles offshore, where the water was eerily flat. With the fog, there was no horizon, making it easy to become disoriented.... for those that get seasick easily, it was bad, as your eyes were no help in establishing a baseline for your brain. As dark turned to light, the fog eased slightly, but still no horizon. About 10 miles from Carlsbad, it finally started to thin and by the time we neared Point Loma (above pic) it had cleared and our (as well as daughter Megan's) excitement started to increase.
Megan is thrilled to have us visiting her new home in the east San Diego suburb of Spring Valley, having recently moved out of her 1 bedroom apartment in a neighborhood near the SDSU campus that was quickly becoming a battleground.
We've already run into Sherri and Rich Crowe on Tabu here at the Kona Kai Marina. Sherri was the skipper of the Alaska Eagle when Rina and I did the HaHa in 2006. There are blue HaHa burgees (flags) waving from many a mast, and we can't wait to get out there and visit. This week will be chock full of activity, with dinner on the boat tonight with Mom, Gene, Megan and Edd Ozard, dinner at Megan's tomorrow might, Phil Josie coming in for the HaHa on Friday and Corey and Bernice on Saturday. The big HaHa costume party is on Sunday and we depart for Mexico on Monday. A week vacation on our boat in Mexico for anybody who can guess what our costume theme is... There are 6 of us aboard. Go back and look at their pics early in the blog and see if you can figure it out.
In our copious spare time we will be finishing last projects and provisioning for Mexico, using our little port runner foldable bikes to visit the many marine stores in the Shelter Island area.
WooHoo, were almost there!!!!!
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10/20/2008, Newport Beach, Ca
Being in the same port for 5 days begins to provide opportunities to climb down from the rigors and activities of being at sea. While Rina has been out of town, I have been visiting with my aunt Pep and John, and then Mom and Gene arrived, all providing opportunities to visit and do stuff, but otherwise, it's been enjoyable finding time to read, tour the harbor and unwind a bit... it also helped that a bug/allergic reaction/food poisoning of sorts knocked me low, but more importantly it helped me slow down. The to-do lists do not swirl around my brain with the same velocity... and when a sudden urge to take action rears its head, I quickly quash it...
This will pass soon, as we head to San Diego to complete our final provisioning for Mexico and the Baja Haha. The next 3-4 weeks promise to be chocked full of activity, fun and new adventures. Rina reflected on the way into the harbor as she made her entry into the log book... "33 degrees, 36 minutes North Latitude...This is the furthest south we have been on our boat" From here on out, we will be breaking new ground.
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love and miss you!
10/16/2008, Newport Beach, Ca
Remember Tom Vu, (in)famous for those commercials of him on his yacht with all the lovely ladies in bikinis? We must have seen 5 huge motor yachts go by with wanna-be Tom Vu's and the requisite harem on board... amazing. There is also a top notch collection of sailboats in the harbor, including several round the world race boat winners.... Alaska Eagle, which Rina and I sailed on in 2006, several America's Cup cast offs and race mules. And by the way, no signs of an economic slump here!
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10/15/2008, Newport Beach, Ca
Arrived in Newport Harbor on a bright and brisk afternoon and saw a wonderful sunset moored near the entrance to Newport Harbor. The amount and variety of traffic that parades by our boat at all hours of the day is amazing.
We are visiting family here and get some land time.... Rina heads for Morgan Hill for Donnica's 40th Birthday Bash (Happy Birthday!) and I get the use of a car for doing shoreside errands....
Newport boats have been swamped by Sealions recently, but so far we have had no uninvited guests...
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