Wind in Your Sails

by Sheila

Yup, that's me at the helm, acting like I know what I'm doing.  I am actually an expert Cooler Maiden and Deck Swabber...

 

My First Mate

 I mentioned awhile ago that we (along with partners) bought a sailboat in San Diego.  When we share this information with others we seem to get two reactions.  There are the people who say "the happiest days of boat ownership are the day you buy it and the day you sell it" types, who I suspect have never had the wind in their sails.  Then there are those that want to know all about it, saying it's something they have dreamed of doing too.

San Diego Harbor

 

 

La Jolloa

Our boat partnership is ideal.  We enjoy each other's company, and we all have different skills to contribute to the maintenance and ownership of a 37' sailboat that is docked in a marina.  Not only is it great to share the financial costs, but there are regular maintenance details that need to be taken care of with a boat that is always in the water.  And of course, we bought a bit of a "fixer-upper" - as you might guess with my frugal nature.  Unless you live on your boat (and we have come to realize that many people do),  it isn't likely that you will use it more than 25% of the time.  Our four partners use a Google calendar to sign up for the times they want to use it, and it has worked out great.  Our biggest problem is that we would all like to sail together, and we have difficulty coordinating calendars to do that!

Larry & Janet (aka Mom & Dad); Boat Partners!

Alec & Cortney

On a recent trip, our son Alec and daughter-in-law Cortney came over to sail for a few days with us.  We had a glorious time.  Alec is a natural sailor and Cortney  took to the helm like a duck to water.  The boat has two cabins, so sleeps four plus two singles.  We are especially excited about our little "condo on the water" come summer time to escape the Arizona heat and  sail in the cool breezes in the San Diego harbor.  There are so many Arizonans that flock to the beaches in Southern California that the locals have a name for us - "Zonies".

 

 

Our favorite breakfast spot in San Diego...

 

...and Brockton Villa in La Jolla

On this trip we did our usual exploration of local restaurants, and discovered two new faves.   "Jimmy's Famous"  and "Pizza Nova".  Excellent food, views and service!  And of course our two favorite breakfast places ever in the San Diego area (which we return to time and time again) - "Kono's" in Pacific Beach and "Brockton Villa" in La Jolla.  The potatoes at Kono's are to die for, and you have to try the Coast Toast that BrocktonVilla is famous for.  It is a fluffy (almost souffle-like) french toast with a hint of orange - delicious!

A peaceful place to while away the day!

I hope you get a chance to get some wind in your sails (or whatever else floats your boat) sometime soon.  There is nothing like being outside, soaking up sunshine in the cool ocean breezes while skimming across the water.  Hoist those sails and Bon Voyage!