Today was a sailing success!

I got on the water today by calling last night and reserving the Catalina 250.  Further I was able to talk Mandi, Sam and Madison into all going!  We had to disrupt Maddie's nap time but it was worth it.  We woke her up 45 minutes into her normally 2 hour nap and headed down to the bay.  Usually when we sail out of the San Diego location we park at Petco and walk the mile over the convention center.  With Madison we decided to park at Seaport Village and just pay for parking.  It ended up being $8 because they give you two hours free if you buy something.  We bought cookies, another winner!

I'd never sailed the 250 so I was looking for a bit of a primer before we left.  I didn't get too much but I looked around to orient myself and saw all the things I would hope to see. Other than the additional three feet the biggest difference was that the winches were up on top of the cabin.  There are two rail seats on the stern too and they look really comfy!

Satisfied, we stowed our gear and got underway.  I'm sure to the observer it would appear we are getting underway for at least a weekend or more as opposed to our planned 4 hour sail based on the amount of gear we bring aboard.  But with lunch, jackets for everyone, camera, and a full bag of stuff just for the baby we really do only bring the bare necessities.  While stowing stuff I was really impressed with the cabin.  Although sparse in some eyes, it was quite a bit more plush than the Capri 22. There was a standup head, two burner stove, proper table, Ice chest, sink, and two double berths.  I could spend a comfy weekend in this thing if I had to.  And the piece de resistance?  It had a radio inside and speakers in the cockpit!  We were serenaded sailors!

Once out the marina Sam took the helm while I raised the sails and Mandi tended to Madison, who was NOT crying!  The new PFD was another success.  Main up, finished with winch and winch handle this time,  and jib unfurled.  We headed west since Sam and I had such a grand time down there last time out.  We were in a lot more wind today than I've ever been in, though that's not really saying much.  Things were getting bouncy and no doubt the west end of the bay gets most of the traffic.  We were past the Midway and preparing to tack and head towards shelter island when I looked at mama.  We weren't all having as much fun as Ray was...

I asked if perhaps we should find calmer waters and with such an immediate affirmative response I fell off down wind post haste.  As luck would have it the wind was from due west and dead astern if we went wing and wing running to the Coronado Bridge.  However the wind was unsteady at best, this should have been a clue.

One nice thing about the 250 is that the boom is well above the cockpit so that when we did our accidental gybe the only thing in harms way was the mainsheet, and traveler and the boom itself...  It was something of a helpless feeling as I watched the boom swing over from starboard beam to port beam.  My only reaction was to yell watch it!  Nothing broke and no one got bonked so we tried a broad reach and moved ahead...  As we headed toward the bridge we passed close by one of the channel bouys.  On top of it was a sunning Sea Lion.  I tried to start a conversaton but he couldn't be bothered.

We ran under the bridge, which I hadn't actually been under in years, then south past the Navy ships and nearly to South Bay.  It was very comfortable sailing and we were having a grand time.  Madison decided to finish her nap about this time and we reached as far south as I wanted to go.  San Diego Bay gets pretty shallow on the south end, as I found out in my ASA 101 class...  So we turned back west.

Huh... Now who woulda thunk that the same wind that was pushing us leisurely downwind at 5 knots was also making waves and gusting pretty good right in our faces when we turned around...  So we tacked.  Mandi wasn't completely down with burying the rail and I had no capacity to reef the main.  So we ran in a less than efficient configuration and I had to work hard to keep the bow from bearing too far from the wind lest we heel more than the crew preferred.

Getting back under the bridge then became an interesting endeavor.  We stayed on port tack as long as we dared without tempting the Navy Patrol boats to give us a visit, then we tacked.  I thought we might slip between bridge supports 19 and 20 but we were making so much leeway that we shot the bridge between 18 and 19, which was completely fine.  Now it was a matter of easy tacks.

Madison was awake and it seemed like a good opportunity to let Mandi try her hands on the jib sheets.  Sam held Maddie for a bit while Mandi and I sailed the boat.  I could tell instantly that getting Mandi involved improved her outlook on sailing ten fold.  This is something we'll need to work on more.  I could tell she had suddenly relaxed and was enjoying herself and the day.  This was another winner.  We tacked and played a while longer then Maddie started getting restless so mama took her back.

Sam helped me clean up the boat and took the helm while I brought down the sails and got things secured.  Another easy docking with the help of the dock hand and we were almost finished with a near perfect day. We picked up some Stone IPA on the way home and that closed out a damn fine day!

There were a lot of winners this day.
Seaman Ray