Log Book
Oct 2009
Oct 2009
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| October 2009 |
San Diego to San Francisco with Sam on Catch the Wind
For the trip up to Richmond Yacht Club I had as crew a member of Southwestern Yacht Club in
San Diego – David - who was recommended to me by the past commodore of SWYC who loans
me one of his cars when I'm in San Diego - and a gentleman named Jean from SF that heard of
my need for crew through Single Sailors Association. We had a very uneventful trip up the
coast.
We sailed the entire way on Oct 4 from San Diego to Oceanside, except for exiting and entering
the harbors, even flying the asymmetrical some. We spent the night at Oceanside Yacht Club
on a reciprocal from RYC. The next day we motored in 0-8 knots of wind, mostly 4-6, apparent
on the nose to Newport Beach where we stayed on the public dock for about $10. We had a
nice visit with Chan LeFebvre, the gentleman that I bought CTW from in 1978. The following
day was sort-of long, but we sailed much of the way to Marina Del Rey and spent most of the
night at Pacific Mariners Yacht Club, again reciprocal. Dinner was with Vic Santoro at Chart
House. A long day and night and half of the next day brought us to Santa Barbara. Bob picked
me up and I visited with Linda (my ex-wife – we are still friends). I used their computer to check
the weather. We left SB about 9 PM or so. (About 7 or 8 hours in a berth at SB cost me over
$40 - the only marina I've paid more for was at Cabo San Lucas and that was $165 per night!)
The passage around Conception was OK, mostly motoring in dead calm until approaching
Conception. But soon the winds built to 20-25 knots with strong chop. The combination of the
extra weight of cruising gear and the bimini-mounted solar panels increased the leeway and
decreased the speed so we weren't making any progress to windward under sail. So I finally
started the engine. This was my worst passage in that area, not as bad as many people have
and much better that my worst passage around Point Sur. We motored through the day and
another night and got to Morro Bay the following day. We stayed on the guest dock at MBYC
one night, rafted one boat out, for $20. After doing some laundry and getting a new starting
battery and a few groceries, we got some rest and left in the dark. Three days and two nights of
motoring on glass took us to SF. We unloaded Jean and fueled up at Gas House Cove. David
and I had brunch at Sam's Café in Tiburon and at 2:30 PM on Sunday afternoon we were at
RYC.
Jean and David wanted ocean experience and especially night ocean experience. Both were
long-time sailors that hadn't yet ventured very far out of their respective bays. (Jean had been
a merchant marine, but worked in the engine room. He saw the ocean only a very little bit while
a merchant marine.) They took the night watch, both at the same time almost all night, and
most of the days (after a nap). I was relegated to cooking and maintaining mostly. I arrived in
SF on Oct 11 more rested than after any previous passage from southern California to SF. This
trip took one week. But after 4 days of cleaning and straightening CTW at RYC I was as tired
as after previous passages. A good trip, all-in-all.
Meanwhile, in Maricopa, Arizona with Susie
Susie continued with physical therapy 3 times a week; cards at the community center several
times a week; and resting and recovering as her body dictated. But alas all was not well. She
began having heart palpitations a few days before Sam was scheduled to arrive back in
Arizona, and began consultation and tests with a cardiologist.
Together Again
On Oct 16, Sam flew from San Diego to Phoenix and Susie picked him up at the airport. The
results of her cardio tests (echocardiogram, nuclear stress test and Holter monitor which is a
portable EKG she wore for 48 hours) indicated that mechanically her heart is fine, there are no
blockages or abnormalities, but she has arrhythmia, or sudden increased heart rate. In other
words, as Susie’s mother said, she has “an electrical problem, not a plumbing problem.” It can
be easily controlled with medication – and 12 hours after starting the metoprolol the episodes
stopped. She is trying to avoid caffeine (no more diet cokes, only decaf tea in the mornings,
chocolate in moderation) and only occasionally does she have an episode – usually if she
ingests caffeine unintentionally (like drinking one of those few brands of root beer that have
caffeine added). The cardiologist said that this problem is likely related to the anesthesia
during her knee surgeries (3 surgeries in 14 months) and perhaps is congenital (Susie’s father
had this problem). The clinical name for the condition is super ventricular tachycardia or SVT
for short.
Arizona to California
On Oct 24 we left Maricopa and drove to Lake Havasu City. We stayed off the freeways, used
the back roads and highways. On the way, we stopped at Parker Dam for a photo-op. We
spent the night at Havasu.
Next day, after checking out the London Bridge, we headed for 29 Palms. Again, no freeways.
Stopped at Joshua Tree National Park Visitor Center for a few hours. Then looked for a hotel.
Susie was “picky” and decided that hotel #3 would be OK for the night. We had microwave TV
dinners in our hotel room. After taking a ½ mile hike at Joshua Tree and driving most of the
day, Susie was very tired this night.
Oct 26 we drove to Desert Hot Springs, where Sam half-owns a lot. We went by City Hall and
got a map of the neighborhood and drove over to check it out. His lot is next to another vacant
lot, but on either side of both lots there are houses built. Almost all of the lots are built out in
the neighborhood. After Sam talked with a local real estate agent to get some idea of sale
potential and prices, we drove on to Palm Springs for a hotel room. After checking in, we went
to the Palm Springs Tram and rode to the top at Mt San Jacinto State Park, at about 8,500 feet
elevation. The tram car floor rotates around so you can see how high you are off the valley
floor from 360 degrees! We splurged and had dinner with a view at the top. Susie was able to
climb the stairs and up a trail to the best view of the valley. Quite an accomplishment for
someone just 6 weeks off knee revision replacement surgery.
The next day Sam lost a cap – not just a piece this time but the entire cap with the post still
attached. Which was a good thing. He called a local dentist in the phone book and amazingly
got an appointment that afternoon. The dentist was able to clean the hole and the cap/post
and re-cement it back in place. And it turned out to be a good thing we stayed another day in
Palm Springs – there were wind gusts that afternoon and much of the night up to 70 MPH - Not
a good time to be driving to California.
Oct 28 was the first time on our trip back home that we used a freeway for more than 4 miles.
Drove to Riverside and stopped at California Citrus State Historical Park, which is a beautiful
place. They have working groves and many varieties of citrus – among them what is called
“Buddha’s Hand” which is the predecessor of the modern day lemon, cultivated in China
centuries ago. We got to sample this fruit, and another called an “Australian Finger Lime”
which was as described, about the size of a little finger and very, very tart! We bought some
citrus jellies, orange blossom honey, orange soda flavor candies and chocolate covered orange
jellies. Of course, we also stopped at the road-side stand and got a bag of fresh Valencia
oranges. Good eating! Before we left Riverside, we drove down Victoria Avenue, which is an
historical neighborhood with over 25 varieties of trees and roses growing along the sides. In
the afternoon we proceeded on to Bellflower, where Sam’s cousin Bobby treated us to a motel
room for the night. Went to dinner with Bobby and his friend Danny at Outback Steak House, a
special treat.
The next morning Susie was still worn out. She had hiked probably more than ½ mile – uphill –
at the Citrus park and needed more rest for her leg. Sam took Bobby to breakfast while Susie
slept in, then we drove on to Los Angeles. We were able to make a surprise visit with Sam’s
cousin Janet, and also with her son Brad and his family with 3 lovely daughters. We found a
hotel room in West Los Angeles that was fairly reasonable, and had dinner on Fairfax at “the
original Johnny Rockets” which was the very first one that opened.
Oct 30 we had lunch with Sam’s Uncle Lou at Factors Deli (where we had gone the previous
day with Janet) because Susie wanted a pastrami sandwich. She was almost stared out the
door when she ordered pastrami on wheat (not rye). Good thing she didn’t ask for mayonnaise,
too, which is her condiment of choice. Imagine – a Kosher deli pastrami without rye and without
mustard. What WAS she thinking? After lunch, we drove up to Pine Mountain Club which is
near Frazier Park. What a beautiful change – 5,000 foot elevation, cool weather, beautiful pine
trees. We had an invitation from friends John and Bridget Wilson of the sailing vessel
“Sailsoon” whom we met several years ago in Mexico. They have a cabin in PMC and it was just
what we expected – warm and cozy with a great view. We got to have a fire, too! John and
Bridget drove us up to the top of one of the local mountains, for a short hike and more great
views. We stayed two nights, swapping stories and sharing good food. (What’s the difference
between a fairy tale and a sea story? See answer at end of this day’s entry.) After so many
nights of hotels and cheap restaurant food, it was wonderful to have home-cooked meals and
good company. Bridget made fresh bread in her machine (we gobbled that up for lunch) and
fresh bread by hand for dinner (that didn’t last long either) and one morning Susie made fresh
cornbread for breakfast. This was a great visit. (A fairy tale begins “Once upon a time –"
whereas a sea story begins “This ain’t no shit –“)
On Nov 1 we drove north to Clovis, for a visit with Sam’s son David. He fixed us a wonderful
dinner and we had a good visit. Unfortunately what we thought were Sam’s allergies turned out
to be a head cold. Apologies were sent to Uncle Lou and John and Bridget. The next morning,
after David left for work, we caught up on all the laundry and packed up again. We drove
straight through from Clovis to Richmond, arriving in the early evening at RYC and back home
on Catch The Wind.
Future Plans
We will live on the boat at Richmond Yacht Club for a few months. The renters in our Antioch
house have been given generous notice, until Jan 15, because we did not want to force them to
move at the holidays. Sam and Susie are both looking for employment. We hope to move back
into the house in Feb 2010. CTW will be used for weekend sails around the bay and RYC
cruise-outs (such as the annual “turkey trot” with RYC to Benicia Yacht Club over Thanksgiving
weekend). We hope to replenish the cruising kitty and replace some of the funds we spent on
Susie’s knees. In addition, if we live in the rental house for 2 years years, the IRS presently
says that we can sell the property without paying tax on the capital gain. This is not a good time
to sell a house, so while we live in the house and work, hopefully the property value will
improve. We hope to return to the “cruising lifestyle” in a few years. In the meantime we will
continue to enjoy life as it comes – sailing, seeing old friends, and dancing!
For the trip up to Richmond Yacht Club I had as crew a member of Southwestern Yacht Club in
San Diego – David - who was recommended to me by the past commodore of SWYC who loans
me one of his cars when I'm in San Diego - and a gentleman named Jean from SF that heard of
my need for crew through Single Sailors Association. We had a very uneventful trip up the
coast.
We sailed the entire way on Oct 4 from San Diego to Oceanside, except for exiting and entering
the harbors, even flying the asymmetrical some. We spent the night at Oceanside Yacht Club
on a reciprocal from RYC. The next day we motored in 0-8 knots of wind, mostly 4-6, apparent
on the nose to Newport Beach where we stayed on the public dock for about $10. We had a
nice visit with Chan LeFebvre, the gentleman that I bought CTW from in 1978. The following
day was sort-of long, but we sailed much of the way to Marina Del Rey and spent most of the
night at Pacific Mariners Yacht Club, again reciprocal. Dinner was with Vic Santoro at Chart
House. A long day and night and half of the next day brought us to Santa Barbara. Bob picked
me up and I visited with Linda (my ex-wife – we are still friends). I used their computer to check
the weather. We left SB about 9 PM or so. (About 7 or 8 hours in a berth at SB cost me over
$40 - the only marina I've paid more for was at Cabo San Lucas and that was $165 per night!)
The passage around Conception was OK, mostly motoring in dead calm until approaching
Conception. But soon the winds built to 20-25 knots with strong chop. The combination of the
extra weight of cruising gear and the bimini-mounted solar panels increased the leeway and
decreased the speed so we weren't making any progress to windward under sail. So I finally
started the engine. This was my worst passage in that area, not as bad as many people have
and much better that my worst passage around Point Sur. We motored through the day and
another night and got to Morro Bay the following day. We stayed on the guest dock at MBYC
one night, rafted one boat out, for $20. After doing some laundry and getting a new starting
battery and a few groceries, we got some rest and left in the dark. Three days and two nights of
motoring on glass took us to SF. We unloaded Jean and fueled up at Gas House Cove. David
and I had brunch at Sam's Café in Tiburon and at 2:30 PM on Sunday afternoon we were at
RYC.
Jean and David wanted ocean experience and especially night ocean experience. Both were
long-time sailors that hadn't yet ventured very far out of their respective bays. (Jean had been
a merchant marine, but worked in the engine room. He saw the ocean only a very little bit while
a merchant marine.) They took the night watch, both at the same time almost all night, and
most of the days (after a nap). I was relegated to cooking and maintaining mostly. I arrived in
SF on Oct 11 more rested than after any previous passage from southern California to SF. This
trip took one week. But after 4 days of cleaning and straightening CTW at RYC I was as tired
as after previous passages. A good trip, all-in-all.
Meanwhile, in Maricopa, Arizona with Susie
Susie continued with physical therapy 3 times a week; cards at the community center several
times a week; and resting and recovering as her body dictated. But alas all was not well. She
began having heart palpitations a few days before Sam was scheduled to arrive back in
Arizona, and began consultation and tests with a cardiologist.
Together Again
On Oct 16, Sam flew from San Diego to Phoenix and Susie picked him up at the airport. The
results of her cardio tests (echocardiogram, nuclear stress test and Holter monitor which is a
portable EKG she wore for 48 hours) indicated that mechanically her heart is fine, there are no
blockages or abnormalities, but she has arrhythmia, or sudden increased heart rate. In other
words, as Susie’s mother said, she has “an electrical problem, not a plumbing problem.” It can
be easily controlled with medication – and 12 hours after starting the metoprolol the episodes
stopped. She is trying to avoid caffeine (no more diet cokes, only decaf tea in the mornings,
chocolate in moderation) and only occasionally does she have an episode – usually if she
ingests caffeine unintentionally (like drinking one of those few brands of root beer that have
caffeine added). The cardiologist said that this problem is likely related to the anesthesia
during her knee surgeries (3 surgeries in 14 months) and perhaps is congenital (Susie’s father
had this problem). The clinical name for the condition is super ventricular tachycardia or SVT
for short.
Arizona to California
On Oct 24 we left Maricopa and drove to Lake Havasu City. We stayed off the freeways, used
the back roads and highways. On the way, we stopped at Parker Dam for a photo-op. We
spent the night at Havasu.
Next day, after checking out the London Bridge, we headed for 29 Palms. Again, no freeways.
Stopped at Joshua Tree National Park Visitor Center for a few hours. Then looked for a hotel.
Susie was “picky” and decided that hotel #3 would be OK for the night. We had microwave TV
dinners in our hotel room. After taking a ½ mile hike at Joshua Tree and driving most of the
day, Susie was very tired this night.
Oct 26 we drove to Desert Hot Springs, where Sam half-owns a lot. We went by City Hall and
got a map of the neighborhood and drove over to check it out. His lot is next to another vacant
lot, but on either side of both lots there are houses built. Almost all of the lots are built out in
the neighborhood. After Sam talked with a local real estate agent to get some idea of sale
potential and prices, we drove on to Palm Springs for a hotel room. After checking in, we went
to the Palm Springs Tram and rode to the top at Mt San Jacinto State Park, at about 8,500 feet
elevation. The tram car floor rotates around so you can see how high you are off the valley
floor from 360 degrees! We splurged and had dinner with a view at the top. Susie was able to
climb the stairs and up a trail to the best view of the valley. Quite an accomplishment for
someone just 6 weeks off knee revision replacement surgery.
The next day Sam lost a cap – not just a piece this time but the entire cap with the post still
attached. Which was a good thing. He called a local dentist in the phone book and amazingly
got an appointment that afternoon. The dentist was able to clean the hole and the cap/post
and re-cement it back in place. And it turned out to be a good thing we stayed another day in
Palm Springs – there were wind gusts that afternoon and much of the night up to 70 MPH - Not
a good time to be driving to California.
Oct 28 was the first time on our trip back home that we used a freeway for more than 4 miles.
Drove to Riverside and stopped at California Citrus State Historical Park, which is a beautiful
place. They have working groves and many varieties of citrus – among them what is called
“Buddha’s Hand” which is the predecessor of the modern day lemon, cultivated in China
centuries ago. We got to sample this fruit, and another called an “Australian Finger Lime”
which was as described, about the size of a little finger and very, very tart! We bought some
citrus jellies, orange blossom honey, orange soda flavor candies and chocolate covered orange
jellies. Of course, we also stopped at the road-side stand and got a bag of fresh Valencia
oranges. Good eating! Before we left Riverside, we drove down Victoria Avenue, which is an
historical neighborhood with over 25 varieties of trees and roses growing along the sides. In
the afternoon we proceeded on to Bellflower, where Sam’s cousin Bobby treated us to a motel
room for the night. Went to dinner with Bobby and his friend Danny at Outback Steak House, a
special treat.
The next morning Susie was still worn out. She had hiked probably more than ½ mile – uphill –
at the Citrus park and needed more rest for her leg. Sam took Bobby to breakfast while Susie
slept in, then we drove on to Los Angeles. We were able to make a surprise visit with Sam’s
cousin Janet, and also with her son Brad and his family with 3 lovely daughters. We found a
hotel room in West Los Angeles that was fairly reasonable, and had dinner on Fairfax at “the
original Johnny Rockets” which was the very first one that opened.
Oct 30 we had lunch with Sam’s Uncle Lou at Factors Deli (where we had gone the previous
day with Janet) because Susie wanted a pastrami sandwich. She was almost stared out the
door when she ordered pastrami on wheat (not rye). Good thing she didn’t ask for mayonnaise,
too, which is her condiment of choice. Imagine – a Kosher deli pastrami without rye and without
mustard. What WAS she thinking? After lunch, we drove up to Pine Mountain Club which is
near Frazier Park. What a beautiful change – 5,000 foot elevation, cool weather, beautiful pine
trees. We had an invitation from friends John and Bridget Wilson of the sailing vessel
“Sailsoon” whom we met several years ago in Mexico. They have a cabin in PMC and it was just
what we expected – warm and cozy with a great view. We got to have a fire, too! John and
Bridget drove us up to the top of one of the local mountains, for a short hike and more great
views. We stayed two nights, swapping stories and sharing good food. (What’s the difference
between a fairy tale and a sea story? See answer at end of this day’s entry.) After so many
nights of hotels and cheap restaurant food, it was wonderful to have home-cooked meals and
good company. Bridget made fresh bread in her machine (we gobbled that up for lunch) and
fresh bread by hand for dinner (that didn’t last long either) and one morning Susie made fresh
cornbread for breakfast. This was a great visit. (A fairy tale begins “Once upon a time –"
whereas a sea story begins “This ain’t no shit –“)
On Nov 1 we drove north to Clovis, for a visit with Sam’s son David. He fixed us a wonderful
dinner and we had a good visit. Unfortunately what we thought were Sam’s allergies turned out
to be a head cold. Apologies were sent to Uncle Lou and John and Bridget. The next morning,
after David left for work, we caught up on all the laundry and packed up again. We drove
straight through from Clovis to Richmond, arriving in the early evening at RYC and back home
on Catch The Wind.
Future Plans
We will live on the boat at Richmond Yacht Club for a few months. The renters in our Antioch
house have been given generous notice, until Jan 15, because we did not want to force them to
move at the holidays. Sam and Susie are both looking for employment. We hope to move back
into the house in Feb 2010. CTW will be used for weekend sails around the bay and RYC
cruise-outs (such as the annual “turkey trot” with RYC to Benicia Yacht Club over Thanksgiving
weekend). We hope to replenish the cruising kitty and replace some of the funds we spent on
Susie’s knees. In addition, if we live in the rental house for 2 years years, the IRS presently
says that we can sell the property without paying tax on the capital gain. This is not a good time
to sell a house, so while we live in the house and work, hopefully the property value will
improve. We hope to return to the “cruising lifestyle” in a few years. In the meantime we will
continue to enjoy life as it comes – sailing, seeing old friends, and dancing!
| PHOTOS for Oct 2009 |