Back in U.S. Waters

Solitude and crew left San Quintin at 5am on day 12 for an overnighter to Ensenada. The windlass made a comeback and is working again after drying out yesterday, we will have to take it apart when the boat is back in L.A. and we are due for a new windlass. It was good news that Jim did not need to haul our 56 lb Rocna anchor and chain up by hand. They are staying closer to the coastline on the way up to Ensenada and starting to benefit from the protection of Point Conception, a headland that reaches out into the Pacific just north of Santa Barbara, CA, that forms the start of the Southern California Bight continuing down to San Diego, CA. The conditions for their sail today are easy breezy. There’s a photo here of our Mexican flag, which was brand new when we hoisted it up the rigging just one month ago and has been shredded by the winds coming up Baja over the last two weeks. 

Solitude and crew pulled into Ensenada’s Hotel Coral y Marina at 2:45am on day 13. They tied up to the fuel dock and went back to sleep for a few hours until they could meet with marina staff. After some rest they refueled and all had hot showers. At 11am all the paperwork was done and they were checked out of Mexico (Solitude included!), so naturally they went into town for a big plate of tacos. Their last meal at their last stop in Mexico. At 5:30pm the same day Solitude pulled out of Ensenada and crossed into U.S. waters overnight, adios Mexico! By 3am on day 14 Solitude was tied up at the San Diego Harbor Police Dock to check into the U.S. and later that morning Solitude moved to a guest slip at Southwestern Yacht Club for the night. Lorin arrived by car shortly after with so much excitement as she saw Jim, Tasha, and Ralf walking up the guest dock; along with a few tears to see and hug these guys.

We had lunch of Crab Louis salads at Bali Hai Polynesian restaurant in San Diego, a welcomed treat for many reasons – vegetables being highest on the list. We ran a few errands in town and came back to the boat for an afternoon of lively conversation in the cockpit with company from Ralf’s daughter, son-in-law, and granddaughter, also one of Tasha’s friends who lives in San Diego. Tasha made Pain Killers for the group; a cocktail of orange juice, pineapple juice, coconut cream, rum, and nutmeg. Later that evening we had a dinner celebration at San Diego Yacht Club and Ralf’s family joined us. Jim gave a nice toast to Tasha and Ralf, acknowledging the ease of having them onboard and their unrelenting excitement for the trip, readiness to go at every moment in the middle of the night, and positivity to stay the course even through the toughest, coldest, and wettest days out in wild seas. 

We had a quick crew change in San Diego when Ralf hopped off the boat and Lorin got on for the last overnighter to L.A.. At 8:30am on day 15 we left San Diego for Los Angeles. The conditions were rolly with some short, steep chop in the early evening. We cycled through watches all day. As we got closer to L.A. we could see the glow from Avalon on Catalina Island to the west and around midnight Angel’s Gate appeared in the near distance; a landmark signaling the entrance to our homeport. We passed through Angel’s Gate at 12:30am on day 16 with the Port of Los Angeles lit up around us and headed down the fairway for our marina. We pulled into our slip at 1am. Solitude is home and my goodness what a feeling for the crew who has been out at sea for the last two weeks on this epic journey!

Solitude is back in her homeport after two and a half years in Mexico. Jim and crew covered 1,099 nautical miles on this trip from La Paz, BCS, Mexico to Los Angeles, CA through the infamous “Baja Bash”. Solitude is an incredible boat, once again we cannot say enough good things about Island Packet. She is in need of a serious cleaning inside and out to get back to looking as good as she performs. Thank you to our captain, Jim, for taking such good care of the crew and the boat on this trip, always meticulous about your engine checks, keeping things onboard running smoothly as you continue to push forward, and making sure everyone is safe and comfortable. Thank you to Tasha and Ralf for crewing onboard Solitude to help make this trip happen. We are grateful for you both and happy to have formed two new special friendships. We are already making plans for when we can see each other again.

Solitude will be in Los Angeles for the foreseeable future. We are looking forward to trips to Catalina Island, jaunts along the California coast, working on a few bigger boat projects, and getting Solitude ready for her next big adventure.