Cruising World – August 2019

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53

night at the dock courtesy of the Dana
Point Yacht Club.
Dana Point is the zenith of Dana lore;
statues of him abound around the town,
and a reproduction of the brig Pilgrim
lies in the bay. He is immortalized for
an incident that happened at San Juan
while they were collecting and loading
hides. Dana wrote that tossing the hides
from the bluffs down to the beach was
much quicker than carrying them down
the dangerous cliff path. When a hide
got stuck part way down the cliff, he was
lowered down “by a pair of top-gallant
studding-sail halyards” to dislodge it. In
doing so, he became a bit of a local legend,
and the area previously known as San Juan
was renamed Dana Point.
When we woke the next day, the wind
had veered to a robust southwesterly, and
we had a glorious sail down to Mission
Bay—a large, shallow inlet that lies just to
the north of the city of San Diego. Low
bridges prevent sailboats from accessing
most of the bay, but Mariners Cove is
a lagoon close to the entrance channel,
and it’s where we found a spot to anchor.
Sipping sundowners in this tranquil cove
while basking in the golden light of the
setting sun was heavenly. The next day
we rounded Point Loma, giving it a wide
berth because of the kelp field on its sea-
ward side, and passed through the channel
into San Diego Bay.
Dana considered San Diego to be “the
best harbor on the coast, being complete-
ly land-locked, and the water as smooth as
a duck pond.” These days, the duck pond
behind the sandbar is filled with container
ships and naval vessels, superyachts
and sailboats. The anchorage rules in
San Diego require visiting boats to be
inspected for safety and seaworthiness at
the Harbor Police Dock. Having passed
inspection, we were issued a 30-day
permit for the A- 9 Cruisers Anchorage
that is located conveniently close to
downtown. From the anchorage, it is just
a stroll along the waterfront to reach the
Maritime Museum and USS Midway, and
a short walk up the hill to the San Diego
Zoo in Balboa Park. The downside of the
anchorage is that it is located adjacent to
the runway of the international airport,
and the noise pollution is off the scale.
The late-summer and early-fall months
were a perfect time to be cruising south-
ward down the California coast. Although
the winds were often light, we could rely
on the afternoon sea breeze to switch on
the turbo, and on our good buddy, the
south-setting California Current, to
keep us moving in the right direction.
We greatly appreciated the yacht-club
reciprocal-membership system, and
give a big shout-out to the clubs that

generously hosted us along the way. In the

200 years since Dana visited California,

mega-metropolises have mushroomed in

once-deserted bays. Harbors are now clut-

tered with marinas and anchoring rules,

but for the most part, we were pleasantly

surprised to learn that there is still room

for the freedom-loving cruiser to swing on

the anchor and be delightfully content.

CRUISING CALIFORNIA

Beach lovers and the beautiful people of Hollywood agree on one thing: They all

love the surf, sand and scenery of iconic Malibu (top). A pair of sailboats are in

full dress, flags flying, for a nautical celebration off Santa Barbara (above).

After purchasing Distant Drummer

in Thailand 13 years ago, Suzy and Neil

Carmody have crossed the Pacific, and

sailed down the West Coast from Alaska

to Panama. This year they will transit the

Panama Canal to cruise the Caribbean.

For more on their adventures and tips on

living aboard, visit their blog (carmody

-clan.com).