Last Saturday, March 3, we were scheduled for a 3 hour charter. By the time everyone boarded, the temperature had reached high 70’s and the sun was in full affect. I crewed that day, happy to be in a pair of shorts, and my Mom, Cindy, crewed as well. We had Captain Jesse in the helm, and were ready for another awesome day sailing in San Diego. Life is good.

A family loaded onto the catamaran, everyone was local and it turned out we even shared a mutual friend – our city is a big one, but the best part about it is that it doesn’t feel that way. There were about 30 onboard that day, all set to sail, so we left the docks of the Sheraton Harbor Island Marina in search of adventure.

Steve, a guest onboard that day, mentioned that he wanted to go out and really put our sails to use in our great Pacific Ocean. We were thrilled. So was Captain Jesse, if you can’t tell from his mugshot, below:

We headed west, away from the coast, for a full hour. As we passed the edge of land that is Point Loma, I wondered if I had ever seen it so green before. Perhaps the day was unusually clear, or perhaps I hadn’t taken the time to look so much before, but it was definitely a sight to be seen.

After we left the coastline, we saw some wildlife; from sea lions to seagulls, and the occasional lobster pot of course. That counts too, right? For those of you who have no idea what I’m talking about, lobster pots are portable traps used for catching lobster. Lobster fishermen place pots off the coast of Point Loma, and all around San Diego, in hopes of filling their cage with dinner. Diving for lobster is not only a way to get your next meal, it has also become a sport for some. In fact, some friends of ours over at URT Clothing came up with an event, the now inaugural “Lob-off”, where participants go lobster diving (last year, off Sunset Cliffs). “Prizes were given for the number of legal-size lobster and the biggest lobster caught and the state Department of Fish and Game monitored the contest.”

To read more about the “Lob-off”, check out the article here:
http://www.sdnews.com/view/full_story/16607158/article-Inaugural-‘URT-Lob-Off’-event-is-one-unique-lobster-snaring-competition-?instance=sdnews_n_page#ixzz1oXw8RDeh

Past the lobster pots and beyond the San Diego bay border, we headed out into the ocean and were greeted by beautiful puffs of wind. We let our forward sail unfurl, and went sailing.

It was such an epic day, just look at the San Diego skyline as it becomes our background.

After heading out as far west as time would allow us, it was time to head home. We had such a blast out in the ocean that our 3-hour charter was extended to 4 hours, but now we were headed east, back into our San Diego Harbor. I had to furl (or “roll up”) the forward sail, which is always a task on an especially windy day, so I got my mini-workout as everyone cheered me on. It always helps to have supportive teammates, thanks guys!

As we headed back into the calm of the bay, everyone’s cheeks had been sunkissed and our mission had been accomplished: we got some good wind sailing, and everyone left with smiling faces.

Another successful day out in the water in San Diego. No complaints here.
See you out on the water,
Lindsay