Today the good ship Diamond Girl was greeted to San Diego Harbor with fire boat shooting water and crowds of on lookers along the shore. They were all thinking the same thing, "Its not possible, these guys really made it?" Actually we quitely arrive at about 8:30 this moring while the harbor was still asleep. Our quite arrival was certainly a welcome ending to four very interesting days a sea from Monterey. It is safe to say that Mark, Glenn and I were pretty full of ourselves after going the first 800 miles from Mill Bay to Monterey. We had met the challanges of fog, squalls, strong winds and working on three to four hour of sleep each day. As you know Monertery was spectacular and all that was left was to sail the last 400 easy miles to San Diego. Well that was our plan. Just our of Monterey Bay the boat was set upon by killer kelp. Well it did try and kill the engine. It was just starting to get dark and there was steam coming from the exhaust. Well that can't be good. So we slowed down and the steam kept coming. Finially it was either turn arround and limp back to Monterey and get there about 3 in the morning or McGiver something to pep up the engine. We diagnosed the problem as a clogged water intake. We called the Volvo dealler but he was closed. Then Glenn refused put on the wet suit and go over the side to clear intake. With Glenn watching in awe, Mark and I used the foot pump that inflates the dingy and a roll of black electrical tape to make seal on the hose to back preasure the engine water feed hose. It was quite complicated but soon Glenn reported a large clump of kelp floating from the area of the intake. Presto, the engine came to life. In hindsight going back to Monterey might have been a better choice, even if the engine was working perfectly. At about 8pm it got windy and the fog set in. This was not like the other fog we had encountered, it came with 20 knot wind attached. It was beyond dark in the cockpit that night. Plus we were still basking in our shorts we had worn in Monterey so we were freezing. Finially someone recommended we put on long pants. This wind/fog lasted all night and into the next day. It was just dreary. The next night the fog came earlier and the wind was bigger but we were better dressed. We each had our foul weather gear on and cold was not a problem. We were sailing around Point Conception and the Channel Island that night about 2am and we had to make a significant turn south. The wind and the waves had been comng from directly behind the boat for almost all the trip and this night was no exception. That is until we made the trun, then we were sideways to the swell and the wind. When I came up Glenn was at the wheel and if he had had a pipe in his mouth you would thought he was the guy yo u see in the slicker at the sea food resturant. It was very difficult to get the boat to follow its course to the next waypoint. Then it was my turn at the helm, I quickly found out what a great job Glenn had been doing. It was exceptionally difficult to get the auto pilot to work. It was totally black outside and all you could hear were crashing waves. At one point we both thought we saw George Cooney float by. Then it was Marks turn, It was too rough for me to sleep below, besides Glenn already had the best bunk, so I was asleep sitting in the cockpit while Mark was at the helm when the top of a wave came right in the back of the boat! Yikes, I woke up to white foam everywhere. For just a second the boat healed over, puking everything on the port side to the starboard side. Amazingly neither Mark or I got wet. Glenn slept though the whole thing. But boy was the cabin a mess. Okay, to be fair, the mess we had built up on the left side just moved to the right side. After we made it past the island the weather suddenly changed, the fog lifted and the moon came out. It was wonderful. We had survived, actually it was not nearly this bad but you wouldn't keep r eading if I didn't make it exciting. The last day of the trip was spent under sunny skies but with the challange of crossing the commercial trafic lanes around Los Angeles. Of couse it had to be at night. We looked at our radar and there were big frieghters and oil tankers everywhere. Then, just as suddenly as the fog left so did the ships. We called the trafic control and told them were were making a run to cross the lanes. They wished us luck and we didn't see another ship for almost two hours. The rest is history. After 24 hours of listening to the motor running on glassy smooth seas we arrinved in San Diego. I can say all three of us were ready to be here. Larry