October 27, 2008 - Monday

Finally, the day of the trip. After months and months of planning it is
time to get under way. I got up at 5:30, then went up and showered. I got back to the boat by 6:30 where I sat and did some last-minute work and e-mailed that back to the office.

The boat was just about ready to go so there was not a lot of work to be done. We finished disconnecting electricity, topping off the water tanks and generally getting ready to go. We got out of the slip at approximately 9 AM and headed out to the start line. I should mention, however, that it was very foggy; when I got up, visibility was approximately 100 yards. The fog came and went throughout the morning but was certainly still present as we made our way out to the start line. At the same time, the sun was also burning off the fog. As we exited the harbor there was a steady stream of sailboats also making their way out to the start line - about 140 boats all told. 180 boats registered, but about 40 did not show up. As we exited the harbor, the Cruise ship Carnival Spirit was entering. By chance, this is the cruise ship that Wendy and I will take on our March trip to Acapulco. I wanted to get several pictures to show Wendy as I know she will be excited. There were also a couple large Navy ships exiting the harbor as well as being present out at the entrance to the harbor.

Starting at 10:00, the Organization Committee conducted roll call. This is basically the guy who organizes the race each year (Richard)calling out your boat name over the VHF radio and you responding that you are present and the number of crew on board. They match this up with your registration forms to make sure everything matches. As was the case last year, we were concerned about the lack of wind but, as was the case last year, it started to pick up near the start of the race. The wind was approximately 10 knots at the start of the race - which is nothing special, but it was steady. The regatta started at 11:00 and the field quickly spread out until approximately 1 PM when there only a smattering of boats within view.

About 1 PM, we have crossed into Mexican waters and, because we all have Mexican fishing license, but not California fishing licenses, we put out two lines to see what we can catch.


It is always a decision as to go inside or outside of the Coronado
Islands (Not Coronado Island, but the Coronado Islands which are two islands off the Mexican mainland and not too far across the border). Based on the wind direction and speed we decided to go outside of the Coronado Islands. With Alison at the helm, we picked up boat speed and we ended up going between the North and the South Coronado Islands. The fog continued to come and go, but the wind held steady all day.

As far as shifts, Jackie has 6 - 9, Stan has 9 - 12, Alison has 12 - 3,
and I have 3 - 6. That is both a.m and p.m