Marina Del Rey to San Diego

After the work on the rudder had been completed, I was ready to leave Marina Del Rey and sail to San Diego, with a stop over in Dana Point to catch some sleep. Passing by San Pedro and Long Beach gives an impressive view of the mechanism needed to get all the goods and products from Asia into the US. Cargo ships, tankers and massive cranes decorate the environment.

Long Beach Port in the morning mist

Once this section is passed, we’re back to nature. The sun was warming up the day and a seal enjoyed an early sunbathing.

Seal sunbathing off Long Beach

Dana Point has a beautiful harbor and they provide two reasonably good anchorages for cruisers to stay a few days without having to register and pay for a slip. As I got settled, I was the only boat anchored. A 12 knot gust was keeping the sky crystal clear.

Sunset in Dana Point harbor anchorage

After leaving early, I was well underway towards San Diego, Passing the beautiful beach of Oceanside, I was about to round the southern tip to get into the San Diego bay. Little did I know about all the kelp growing around this point and I found myself in the middle of a kelp forrest. The engine was having a hard time keeping up with weed wrapping around the propeller.

It was quite a stretch getting up the San Diego bay to Harbor Island. But all came to a rest once we were tied up and settled in our slip for the next two weeks.