From Avalon we went the 26 miles across the sea to Newport Harbor, motor sailing. We caught a guest ball about two miles inside. It was a long slog in and out but it was convenient to the dinghy dock. We were helped to catch the fore and aft balls by the very friendly harbor master. Our spot had a small trimaran behind with lots of anti-sea-lion stuff affixed to the deck. We eavesdropped on a conversation between the harbor master and the owner. The owner had just installed the stuff, was sure the sea-lions had been routed and wanted some documentation that he was off the list of trouble boats. The harbor master demurred and we went back to minding our own business.

That evening we heard sea lions barking in the night, quite close. At breakfast the next morning we watched a couple of sea-lions argue over possession of the trimaran. They had no problem jumping onto the hull and then lounging around in the mess they made. Luckily, we were up wind.

After a trip to Minney’s yacht surplus, some provisioning and a swim at the beach, we came back to the boat to find that the trimaran owner had installed a bunch of lawn chairs and some snarling coyote heads to deter the sea-lions. They must have worked because we had a quiet night before a roll-and-go and a motor sailing trip down to Oceanside. Small craft advisories and a gale warning were forecast for the afternoon, but we got out early and had a pleasant trip down the coast. At Oceanside, we got a side tie at the former Jolly Roger Restaurant Guest Dock. It was a great location and we arrived in time for Happy Hour. (see Photo: keeping an eye on Rover from the Jolly Roger Bar)

The next day we washed the boat (the first day at a dock in a week and a half), did laundry (much easier in a marina than by dinghy) and had a visit from my cousins Dan and Colleen. Dinner in the cockpit with a wonderful sunset and then another early morning roll and go. We’re motoring now to San Diego and have been watching several large pods of dolphins feeding, passing by and checking out the boat.