Fuzzy Departure Plan

It is already Dec 4 and time is racing on. This morning I woke up to a foggy and cold morning (It cleared up after a couple of hours.) which was a reminder of the warm weather waiting in San Diego and Mexico.

Two uncertainties remain: (1) getting the engine oil changed (2) the weather. Once the engine oil has been changed I'll probably go on "weather watch" for an exit. In the meantime I'll do some minor preparation tasks such as topping up the LPG cylinder.

Even though the coastal hopping route to San Diego has attractions, and I've gone to the expense of purchasing the cruising guide for Southern California, my inclination at present is to swing out and make San Diego in one loop, passing outside of the Channel Islands. I know that there are advantages of coastal hopping, including great sight seeing. However, because I am sailing solo I'd like to minimize the dock work. Also, Pyewacket reported many cray pots along the coast. I don't want be caught at night near the shore with little wind and unable to motor because of the crab pots. It would also be nice to avoid the ship congestion in the Santa Barbara Channel.

I expect to spend 10 days at the "Police" dock in San Diego. In order to get certain things done (e.g. spear gun) I want to avoid being there during the Christmas-New Years holiday. To complicate things, there may be a reason (that I'll explain later) why I might want to depart from San Diego after New Years.

What does this add up to? Dunno. Fuzzy Future.