SF Day 3

Arnold and I had a very productive day using the transport that John and Priscilla made available to us.

The day started with some difficulty when we heard Pyewacket's engine start up in the next berth. Soon Arnold and I were out there working their lines while they backed out. I was still wearing my bedroom slippers. The entire thing was a seamanship fiasco that taught me a mercifully cheap lesson in how not to go about helping somebody else. Noel asked me to hold a stern line and use it to bring his stern around as he backed out. On the bow Jackie tossed out the bow line and asked Arnold to uncleat it from the jetty and throw it on the boat. That left Arnold with no control of the bow. Noel's big 54 or so footer started to back out and I pulled on the line to swing him around. I asked Arnold to push the bow away from the jetty. Then it was Arnold who alerted us to the fact that Pyewacket's bow was headed for Pachuca. Jackie scampered over and Pyewacket's bow was over Pachuca's gunwale far enough so that she was able to push frantically on my boom to fend off their boat. Pyewacket's anchor caught my rail then we heard a screech and a "thong!" and Pyewacket was free. Off went Pyewacket and I went over to Pachuca to survey the damage with as philosophical attitude as I could muster. Mercifully there was very, very little damage. The top rail had a slight kink but no strand was broken. The rear sancheon had a very slight bend that could have even been there before. To Noel's credit he returned later to assess the damage and agreed that all was well. The big lesson that I learned was to take care of Pachuca first. Either Arnold or I should have been posted on Pachuca to fend off. One of us would have been sufficient for casting off lines. The other lesson that I learned is not to rely on the other skipper. The instruction for me to pull on that stern line was extremely unwise because the angle of my pull was too sharp for me to be very effective and in any event I ran out of line before Pyewacket was half way out of the pen and I to let it drop into the water yelling to Jackie that the loose line must be recovered. Also, allowing Jackie to cast off the bow line was foolish. We should have discussed the plan ahead of time and vetoed that proposal. Finally, Noel was at the helm and had a commanding view of the situation yet it was up to Arnold to sound the alarm. The entire event was an exercise in poor seamanship and judgement and I am grateful that I learned that lesson at a reasonably cheap price. The damage could have been horrendous.

I spent an hour or so washing my two pairs of Wal-Mart $15 sailing shoes and our two sets of Ronstan sailing boots in a weak solution of detergent and bleach. So out to dry on the boat was most of our wet weather gear including my life vest and faithful sailing jacket which Roland had given to me before my departure from Fremantle.

I then took some measurements for our visit to West Marine and uncoupled our 5 gal LPG tank and we were soon on the road.

The first port of call was the San Diego Yacht Club. I was graciously received and my membership to the Fremantle Sailing Club was accepted, although my membershipcard expired in 2008. I explained that I've been away for 18 months and that a quick visit to the FSC web site should confirm my status as a fully paid up member. It was agreed that I would request the FSC to send a letter to the SDYC. [Note: I spoke to Brenda this afternoon. She found my 2010 FSC membership card and will mail it to John and Priscilla's home tomorrow.] I was issued with a permit granting me access to the club until 2 Feb. There is no reservation system and it is first come first served so the plan is that a day or two before we must leave the Police Jetty (which is on 2 Feb) I will apply for a slip at the SCYC. I was told that the chances for a berth are very good because of the modest size of Pachuca with her 39-ft length and 12-ft beam. Arnold and I left the club confident that we would be able to spend an extra week or two in San Diego and get to spend more time with our cousins and get to see the city.

We then got LPG for out tank which took 4 gallons meaning that we had approximately 0.7 gallons left when we sailed into San Diego. So our calculated risk to not fill our LPG tank until we reached San Diego had paid off. The attendant said that getting LPG in Mexico would be no problem.

We dropped into "Marine Exchange" where I picked up a refurbishment kit for my Whale Gusher Titan pump which unfortunately I must use a lot. This was very good because it will enable me to keep the pump going until I return to Australia.

We then had lunch at Arbee's and while there I got a message to call from Customs and Immigration. I returned the call and the lady, Rene, said that they were aware that I was in San Diego and how long had I been here and why didn't I notify them. I got a mild scolding on the responsibilities of being the Captain and Owner and what stiff penalties could be levied on me. I explained that I tried about 5 times to call their number from sea and when I could still not get phone service from only 9 miles out I notified the Coast Guard on VHF 16. They got back to me and said that all was OK, so I assumed that I had met my obligation. Big mistake. Rene said that the Coast Guard and Customs & Immigration do not communicate. I replied that fine, I could accept that, but why didn't the Coast Guard simply tell me that I should contact Customs and Immigration? Besides telling me that contacting the Coast Guard was useless Renee gave me the useful fact that it is OK to pull into a port without announcing myself, as long as I make that telephone call within 24 hours of my arrival. Looking back, my mistake was in not calling Customs & Immigration after my arrival even though I thought that notifying the Coast Guard had been sufficient.

Renee advised me to visit her a day before my departure to obtain my Clearance (Zarpe). I thanked her for answering my question on how to get a Clearance and that I would indeed see her.

Looking back the experience was a combination of poor instructions given to me, bad judgement on my part, and an understanding approach by Customs and Immigration.

We left Arbees and visited West Marine where Bill was extremely helpful with my need for a depth sounder. A display has been ordered and will be in tomorrow by 11 AM. The in-hull transducer in in stock. Bill said that the in-hull transducer will read as much depth as the thru-hull one, but I will not be able to get water temperature. I find that a small price to pay for not having to dive over the side to scrape growth off a thru-hull transducer such as the one I had on my previous boat Angie. Arnold and I prowled around the gigantic store and made notes of other things that we will purchase on our return tomorrow. They could not help me with the chart of Drake's Passage and referred me to the nearby "Seaview" bookstore. Arnold and I found it and to my delight they had in stock a wonderful chart covering the entire west coast of Central and South America, including Drake's Passage, and west covering the Galapagos and Easter Island. We started chatting about our cruise and plans for visiting the Sea of Cortez and I was shown a wonderful cruising guide that I could not resist purchasing. ("Your'e a great sales person." I told her.)

After that we visited the laundromat for an hour then headed back to the boat with our clean laundry and booty. The first thing we did was to bring in the gear that we had left drying on deck. I telephoned John and he gave me the good news that he won't need his truck until Wednesday. I am telephone him tomorrow after noon and if I confirm that the depth sounder gear has arrived at West Marine he will meet us there so that we can make the purchase with a "Port Supply" account. After a beer and a few chores Arnold and I left the boat and are here at "Von's" at a comfortable table in their court yard using their wireless internet facilty over Starbuck's coffee.

It's been a busy but very satisfying day.