November 2-4, 2005

San Diego

                         Entering San Diego harbor                                      Approaching Shelter Island

After a nice breakfast aboard, we weighed anchor at 9:45 AM, bound for Shelter Island in San Diego Bay.  Three and a half hours later, we were tied up to the Customs dock to request a guest slip.  While there are only 30 guest slips and almost all of them were full, we were fortunate to get an assignment.  And unbelievably, the cost is only $10.50 a night.  We were assigned  slip #26, right next to John and Donna on Kohilo, whom we had met in Cat Harbor a couple of weeks ago.  We immediately noticed that most of the boats here are cruising sailboats.  In fact, on our first day at the guest docks, we only spotted one power boat.  In talking to people, we've discovered that at least 75% of them are also headed to Mexico.

Being in Shelter Island is very convenient, although it is a bit of a walk from the guest docks to the business district. There are more marine stores and chandleries than I can keep count of.  We were able to get things we needed at Downwind Marine, Phantom Marine (Furuno dealer), Seabreeze (charts and nautical books), and West Marine.  (It is interesting to note that the West Marine on Shelter Island is the biggest on the west coast and really caters to cruisers.  For instance, they have computers with free internet usage so you can check the weather, your email, etc., as well as printers and copy machines that are also free to use).  Additionally, we purchased our Mexican fishing licenses through Dona Jenkins maritime services on Shelter Island, which saved us from the hassle of having to take a taxi into downtown.

On Friday, our last night at the docks and also my birthday, some of the ladies on the dock had planned an impromptu dock party.  Having found out it was also my birthday, they surprised me with a cake, candles, and a hearty rendition of "Happy Birthday."  Very fun.  But we were off to bed early because 4:00 AM will be here before we know it!