After such an eventful arrival yesterday morning in the driving rain dodging thunderstorms and lightning bolts, today’s departure is positively peaceful.  It’s very calm, still cloudy, but no rain.  We’re motoring to San Diego with an expected arrival time of around 0700.  We’ll check in at Shelter Island, but I called them yesterday and it’s not likely we’ll get a slip.  We’ll likely have to anchor out.  Not a problem, but makes it a lot more hassle to provision for the trip into Baja using the inflatable.

Two Harbors was a nice spot, but next time I take a shower there I’m wearing shoes, but I’ll get to that in a minute.  Coming ashore is nice.  You just call the Harbor Taxi and for three bucks, they come out and pick you up in a small launch.  Nice!  I organized my gear; laundry, soap, shaving kit, grocery bag, garbage to dump, all accounted for.  Then a call on VHF channel 09 and the launch arrives.

Went up to the laundry, got the clothes started, then went to the shower and that’s when the problem started. Got in one of the stalls and the coin machine was broken.  OK, moved to another stall…coin machine, good…took off my clothes, opened the curtain and YIPES the local wildlife started scurrying around. Cockroaches, crickets and earwigs daring me to turn on the water.  Well, I’ll tell you-they won round one. Clothes back on, went down to the handicapped stall, CHECKED the shower first.  Immaculate (well, no wildlife anyway).  Took off clothes, set up my soap, put the money in the meter and…it was broken.  Put on clothes, moved to another shower, it was muddy, but worked and only one cockroach on the curtain.  That was easy, I just flicked him into one of the other stalls!  That’s taking a shower in the cruising life (oh, did I mention I forgot my towel and had to use my jacket to dry off?).  Oh and the shoes?  That’s to stomp on the cockroaches so I can use the first shower in the future.

A final thought: The crew asked me to mention that while stealthily stalking Island Buffalo, Geoff stepped in some Buffalo poop, let out a kind of shriek, then fell and slipped down the hill after which Jansen was laughing so hard, he also stepped in it.  Alcohol might have been involved.  As Amanda noted; “Boys will be boys”.

(this photo courtesy of Geoff – more at GeoffreyByrne.com)