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Well, we finally finished enough things on our to-do list and have Alyssa on-board, its as good a time as any to pull anchor (or unhitch from the dock) and head out to sea. We had planned on leaving yesterday but by the time we were ready to go it was 5pm. We called ahead to one of the only 2 fuel docks in the San Diego harbor and although they were open for another hour, they were 8 miles away. Rather than head out to sea with our fuel tanks half filled, we decided to wait it out until this morning.

We had planning on getting an early night sleep but instead we had a movie night. We dropped the dining room table to convert it into a large queen size bed and had the entire family sprawled out to watch Diary of a Wimpy Kid 3.  It was fun to have a leisurely eventing together. Following the movie everyone was occupied with making use of the last day in a month with internet access. We spent the evening posting a few videos for friends on our facebook page as well as some photos taken an hour earlier on our www.Facebook.com/FamilyAdventuring page. Within only a few hours we added a good number of new likes to our Facebook page. Fortunately our good friend Bruce in Alameda will help to keep that up to date as well as post our Ham Radio email messages to our blog site for everyone to read.

We pulled out of the friendly Chula Vista Marina around 9am. It was sad to say goodbye to a place that my wife had visited with her family 20 years ago when they came sailing on her similar voyage. Of all the Marinas we have visited along the coast the kids enjoyed this one the most. Yes it was a bit of a pain to walk 5 minutes down the long docks to the shower facilities but the restrooms, showers and other facilities were always so clean and well maintained. The fact that the marina is affiliated with the adjoining RV resort was a definite bonus. The kids loved going over to the swimming pool as often as we would let them. Teyauna now has floating figured out which is a good thing since she fell in the water 2 days ago while lifting the pontoon ladder onto the boat. Fortunately Alyssa was only 5 feet away and was able to pull her on-board.

We motored the hour and a half to the fuel dock. With a steady gust pushing us into the dock it was a bit tricky navigating but we managed by keeping lots of hands on deck to help out. While they filled the Diesel tanks on each side of our vessel, everyone was scurrying around taking care of other last minute preparations. Eli quickly took to his role as the water boy by filling the 4 extra 5 gallon pails we had strategically placed in the cockpit to collect rainwater. We felt that having the extra water to wash clothes would come in handy. Jaeden and Dailin helped with the lines and Kirsten was there to ensure that the bumpers were dropped down to protect the boat as we came to the dock and then turned the vessel around to fill the tank on the opposite side.

The fuel dock workers were intrigued (as are most people) with the size and ages of our crew and said they would read this blog.

After a short stop we were once again on our way. The wind which was next to nothing when we left had started to pick up. By the time we had motored only 5 minutes the winds were enough to move us faster than we could motor. We sailed our way out of the San Diego channel going a steady 7 knots. There was a small craft warning in effect which is great for our size of boat since it includes a steady wind of 18 to 22 knots. It was much better than I had thought when we set off earlier in the day with no wind at all.

After about 10 hours of sailing we have seen the wind speed remain the same and have maintained  a speed of between 7 to 9.5 knots. Already by 10pm we have travelled over 85 miles. I jokingly told the kids that if we held up this speed we would be in the Marquesas within 2 weeks. Not bad for a boat that has been weighed down with a couple tons of gear and provisions.

By the time we reached the open ocean everyone was feeling a bit sick. We are holding our breath waiting for the moment when the nautious feeling will subside. Jaeden however who has the iron stomach and the iron will was the only one to loose his dinner overboard. Everyone else is cautiously moving about the boat and as a result the sink is full of dishes and the table littered with toys and books, but when you are not feeling well, bending over to clean things up is the last thing anyone wants to do. I’m sure a few of us will be feeling a bit better by tomorrow.

We started our two and a half hour watch rotation at 7:30 pm. I’m next on watch in a few minutes at 10pm and will be there probably reading a book until 12:30am. Its a rather cool 14 degrees Celsius (57 Fahrenheit) and so we are bundling up and dreaming of the warmer tropical South Pacific weather we have been anticipating for the past few months. I’m sure we’ll be there soon enough but it sure would be nice to put away the warm, cozy, waterproof blanket that our great friend and sailing trainer Ron gifted to us after teaching us to sail on our way to Santa Barbara.

Tomorrow we expect to pass the only large island along our route. The 30 mile long Isla de Guadaloupe is a Mexican island that is the only land based navigation aid along our route. Although 225 miles from our departure point we expect to see it tomorrow afternoon for a few hours as we sail past.

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At 16/04/2013 8:26 PM (utc) our position was 32°37.45’N 117°06.16’W