Author: Scott and Kathy Erwin, Sail the World

Mexico!!! Our Ensenada marina is full of anticipation!!
We have been here for about 5 days and the Hotel Coral Marina is full of people waiting to launch…..
So far we have found that there are 3 types of people staying here at the Marina. (Hundreds of boats here)
The first group is the live aboard group from the states that still have a few years to work and dream before launching retirement or ??????? These people work down here or spend weekends and holidays biding their time. Our dock neighbors are one of those and they have a 40ft Catamaran here in Ensenada and they also have a boat in San Diego which they live on during the week. He is from Russia and she is American. They are retiring next year and want to sail south on their Catamaran. Destination is undetermined. This “first group” is the “locals” group and are very established in the Marina.

The second group (the biggest group) is the most recently retired and/or some young(er) families.

This includes us. We are all waiting for November and the end of Hurricane season to head south. Some are working on/preparing their boats, some are managing dock parties and socializing and some play solitaire waiting….
….but all of us are discussing what we plan to do in the next year(s). One couple (wife) is wondering WTF they did and the wife wants to sell the brand new Beneteau 51. She made it clear she HATES the boat (and sailing) and is waiting for hubby to get this out of his system. Lol
Another couple has a 9 year old daughter and will home school her for the next year(s) in Central America.
What is amazing about this second group is that they come from all walks of our society. Some have new boats not knowing how to sail. Some are single men and are following a dream that they’ve had since a child. Some are families with 1-3 children. (We’ve enjoyed watching the young kids), and many are recent empty nesters or retirees waiting to make their dreams happen. This “group two” is full of life!!!!!
Mexico, Caribbean, South Pacific, Japan…. These people dream big.
The third (and smallest) group is the “been there done that” group that have been to Mexico and beyond. Many in this group are taking a break, heading north or waiting to go to the South Pacific once Covid is under control. Group three councils “group two” and tempers everyone dreams with advise on destinations, gear, schedules and Covid managing in foreign countries.

Kathy an I have 6 more weeks here in Ensenada. Sea Bella is getting hauled out Saturday and we are painting the bottom and tending to some general maintenance.
We listen to “group three” closely, but it sure is fun to hang with “group two”. We have the large anchor(s) and the flexibility of carrying proper canvas in a fresh breeze……
……..but cocktail hour down the dock rings early…daily…and Hussongs and tacos are just down the street.
Ha
Like I said, full of anticipation!

San Diego Harbor is rich with Navy ships of all types. Sailing next them, they felt so monstrous. We enjoyed using binoculars and sighting the number on the side of the war ship, then learning more on wiki.

Hanging around these Naval Bases all week reminds me of stories of my Dad, Don Brown, who served here in the Navy during the Viet Nam war. He is currently a happily retired math teacher and life long surfer living in Santa Cruz. He was stationed here for a bit near Point Loma. He was working on the USS Pritchett DD-561 (similar to the USS Russell, #59 pictured above) when my oldest brother Jeff Brown was born, not far from where we were in the Coronado Cays.

It turns out that Scott’s Dad, Ashley Erwin, now living in El Paso, was also stationed here, in ’63 and ’64, but on a submarine. Ashley was in the Navy for 20 years and later lived on a 45’ sailboat also. Yes, “son of a son of a sailor” comes to mind.

Sue and my step father Roland Krevitt, currently reside in the beautiful country house where I grew up, in Scotts Valley, Ca. They all follow us on maps via AIS.

Below is a little history that I learned while lounging on the beach today. By the mid 1900’s, the San Diego Naval Base had grown to 7, 000,000 square feet with berthing facilities including five giant piers, see pictures, of more than 18,000 feet of dock space. The land totaled more than 921 acres. Today it has 1,600 acres.

I took this picture while driving our temporary truck over the huge Coronada Bridge. These barracks down here could accommodate 18,000 enlisted men. More than 3,500 sailors could be fed in the galley at a single sitting. I am sure glad I am not their galley cook! Watching these naval ships amaze me, so does knowing that San Diego Naval Base is the largest and most powerful navy base in the world.

Just one day at a glance, while chillin’ at Harbors in So Cal: french press coffee in bed, Kathy made egg/onion/tomato burritos, Scott changed out propane tank 1 to number 2 and we carry 3. Kathy went for a paddle to spy on the backyard gardens of the rich and famous, dinghy’ed to the beach for a picnic lunch and a long walk, bought 3 jugs engine oil at West Marine, napped in the sun on the bow.

Just one day at a glance, while chillin’ at Harbors in So Cal: french press coffee in bed, Kathy made egg/onion/tomato burritos, Scott changed out propane tank 1 to number 2 and we carry 3. Kathy went for a paddle to spy on the backyard gardens of the rich and famous, dinghy’ed to the beach for a picnic lunch and a long walk, bought 3 jugs engine oil at West Marine, napped in the sun on the bow.

I thought I had learned this back in college: *beat the heat *go at dawn *some machines eat quarters *bag of quarters are heavy *wear less clothes *buy a bigger backpack *find machines with dock carts *bring a good book…

Great 1st week on the go. We had plenty of time for decompressing, and enjoying no cell or internet service. The many island coves we anchored in gave us tranquility and hours of thought and planning. After our 1st quiet night in Cojo, we sailed and motorsailed in an average of 4 knots of wind, about 8 hours a day. The Channel Islands are rugged and mesmerizing (Santa Cruz, Santa Barbara and Catalina). The scenery, sealife, and our new life on the boat are all amazing! 10 days later we are in Newport Harbor enjoying quite the opposite experience: hundreds of fancy boats, mansions on the water, shops, restaurants and friends. It is busy boating around here, some not ever leaving the bay and many not knowing how to anchor. Life is all good! (Scott keeps saying he wishes we could have half of the wind down south we had up above Conception). We had our challenges too, rollie anchorages, organizing the new way of life and keeping the water out (leaky hatches). Heading to San Diego next week.

Great 1st week on the go. We had plenty of time for decompressing, and enjoying no cell or internet service. The many island coves we anchored in gave us tranquility and hours of thought and planning. After our 1st quiet night in Cojo, we sailed and motorsailed in an average of 4 knots of wind, about 8 hours a day. The Channel Islands are rugged and mesmerizing (Santa Cruz, Santa Barbara and Catalina). The scenery, sealife, and our new life on the boat are all amazing! 10 days later we are in Newport Harbor enjoying quite the opposite experience: hundreds of fancy boats, mansions on the water, shops, restaurants and friends. It is busy boating around here, some not ever leaving the bay and many not knowing how to anchor. Life is all good! (Scott keeps saying he wishes we could have half of the wind down south we had up above Conception). We had our challenges too, rollie anchorages, organizing the new way of life and keeping the water out (leaky hatches). Heading to San Diego next week.

Did it!! We actually left! Sailed south 10 hours. Scott loves his remote control autopilot and I love the peace/quiet. We set anchor in 23 feet of water for our first night on our big adventure! Cojo, quiet, beautiful, little sandy, and deserted anchorage just north of Santa Barbara. We napped, paddled, walked, ate, drank and FULLY enjoyed the first day of actual retirement.

Hi Fabulous Followers!
We have had some few, frustrating delays with some battery/electrical issues this week. As I always like to say, “life will throw you only what you can handle”. So there it is. We will launch very soon, fingers crossed, hopefully in a few days. Scott is READY, I am READY, land life is finally ready, paperwork is ready, family and friends are ready, weather looks great, its all up to God and Sea Bella. In 2014, when our son Derek (18 yrs old at the time) left home for the Army, he was so ready, eager and excited. We could only embrace it and join him in his excitement as he “launched”.  
We have felt this same support and encouragement from friends and family these last few months. This support has been the most helpful and emotionally loving thing . Leaving is not hard for either Scott or I, since we are damn excited. We are so delighted for this support from EVERYONE! Thank you from the bottom of our hearts!