Mission Bay and Another Kind Gesture From a Stranger

The real question is not whether life exists after death.

The real question is whether you are alive before death.

Osho 

Down the hatch... hairy meets hairier

We enjoyed a very decent sail with winds upwards of 12 knots. 31.7 nautical miles in 7.4 hours, cool and sunny. Arrived at sun down, just in time to find a good anchorage in Mariner’s Basin, Mission Bay. We are surrounded by about 50 other boats – busier place than expected but quiet.

Finally figured out why our Hydrovane (autopilot) didn’t always keep us on track over the last few days. Its rudder would be jammed with kelp. I guess we had never sailed through such heavy kelp beds before. At least it’s something we can control, not a major problem needing a fix.

City work crews were pushing beach sand up in higher berms in preparation for the winter storms so we had no safe place to leave the kayak out. Some nice lady saw our predicament and said we could keep our kayak in her yard. It’s hard to believe this whole area is man-made, sand/mud dug out of swamps to make bays, coves, and living areas but there is the cost of constant upkeep to stay abreast of Mother Nature.

We have overall been impressed by the generosity and kindness of the people we have met so far on this trip.

This area brings back good memories for Mike who met Bäbel, his previous girlfriend from Germany, here.

With the high cost of anchoring in San Diego Bay and Ensenada not open until Monday, we decided to stay an extra night in Mission Bay