Knots - Dana Point to Mission Bay, CA

Tomorrow marks two weeks since we left Ventura.  Fifteen minutes ago we motored past a small pod of whales three miles off San Clemente.  Had we been distracted by other tasks we would have missed seeing them.

The sun is in my eyes - we are headed, more or less, due east, avoiding the military base.  My biggest fear was getting seasick.  This is my second day without taking seasick medicine, but the seas are relatively flat with minimal swells.  There are lots of things I could be doing – cooking organizing below, polishing stainless, sanding teak.  However, I am content to sit in the cockpit looking out – hoping to see some sign of life other than the occasional sea gull, listening to the chatter on the VHF radio.

Earlier, Michael taught me how to tie a bowline knot.  I have learned and forgotten many times.  Now that I have untied my knots to shore life, it seems important that this time I learn the knot and not forget it.  Michael asks me what are the three things I should know about knots – I tell him (1) easy to tie, (2) easy to untie and (I pause to think) (3) does what it’s supposed to.

Forty nautical miles from Dana Point to Mission Bay – forty long, boring miles – not unlike the car trips my family took in the fifties through New Mexico and Arizona, unending desert with an occasional roadside stop.  Only, there are no roadside stops here, but a step below deck and we have all the conveniences of home.