Coronado was an interesting small town, mostly associated with the naval base that is its neighbor. I spent the day provisioning and biking about. I counted no less than 5 weddings during the Saturday. Obviously, a burgeoning industry! The next day, I motored over to Southwest Yacht Club at Shelter Bay San Diego. Wonderful place and very accommodating. David Vincent, my new crew, came down to the boat and he became familiar with the boat. A walk to town for more provisions and then dinner out. We had one extra day in San Diego so opted to go to the Air and Space museum at the International Plaza which has, all told, 13 museums. Quite a place. The railway museum would make Sheldon drool. Here Uber for the two of use was cheaper than taking the bus. Weird. After an excellent lunch out, we were back to the boat and preparing to leave. Fueled up and off then next day (Oct 17th) at 10:00 all on schedule. David is very competent and looks like an excellent companion for the next month. We mostly motored down to Ensenada as the winds were light and we did want to get into port in daylight (didn't make it). As we entered the harbour we were going slowly and were blasted by a container ship coming in as we were right in his path. That sped things up a tad. Checking into immigration was relatively easy although we did have to pay our visa fee twice; and they gave us someone else's approved crew lists which had to be sorted out later but it could have been worse.

Ensenada had a number of Canadian boats, some known and some unknown. We heard Harry Nicols of Shala on the morning VHF net and got together with him for lunch. He has been here for 2 months and doing some more prep for going further south. Jean and Helen on Shamata are also here. Helen managed to break her ankle in 3 places on a hike on San Miguel Island. That is a story in itself but it is her story so will just say that she will be ok and dealing with insurance problems and cockpit stairs. The prices here are way cheaper. Two tacos and a beer run about $C5; as long as you stay away from the gringo bars. It is a cruise ship town and that is evident by the many vendors plying the trade. Three years ago, they built a beautiful fountain on the water front. It is called Ventana del mar. I suspect there is a great You tube video but it is a marvel of engineering and art with about 250 separate nozzles with lights that make the water dance and sparkle beautifully.

We walked about town quite a bit and went to the local museum. 3 nights was enough for us and it took us most of one day to get our exit visa from the port captain as he had a meeting with some big wigs in the navy and was not available to sign off. Frustrating. However, we got off the dock at 4:00 pm and plan on an overnight sail to San Quintin. Winds are strong and favourable so should be a good night. AS well, the moon doesn't rise until 7:30 and there is supposed to be a meteor shower tonight. Bonus!

The ride to San Quintin was uneventful except the anchoring. There is a surf line fairly off the shore that seems to move around. We anchored then felt like the surf was too close and then moved again, quite far up the estuary and in fairly shallow water. No problems but a bit unnerving. The next day, we had an interesting dinghy ride at Bahai San Quintin. The guide books said there is a museum and small village 5 miles up the estuary but that the entrance was clogged with sand. "Don't go in there and hire a guide to show the way". It was Sunday and no one was around so we poked our way along. We kind of got lost or misdirected but once turned around we made our way up the river. There was tons of aqua culture (mostly oyster beds) around but just a few industrial buildings around and only saw one person. it was a great challenge but no big find at the end of it. We left at 11:00 this morning and have only made 40 miles in 12 hours but it has been pleasant. The winds are light but steady and we are going fairly slow. Better to enjoy the upper 20s C weather we are having! Bahia Tortuga next.