Spinners!

It was high noon and the eighty seven foot long, drug enforcement Coast Guard Cutter called Black Fin was docked next to us as we refueled for our departure. We were making preparations for our last overnighter on this trip. Our next destination, Marina Del Rey. The sixteen hours it takes to make this run would put us into port around four in the morning.

The weather was looking tame and we headed out to sea and sailed for hours with little excitement. Which was nice for a change. I caught up on some reading and took several cat naps.

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The further down the coast we traveled the more the traffic on the water increased and the more the VHF marine radio chattered away. The highlight of the radio chatter was when a when we heard this;

"This is a US Warship, we will be conducting a live firing exercise in the vicinity of 32.17.00 N  11.16.40 W.  Please keep clear twenty miles from this point. Any boats with concern please contact me at one six."

  I'll tell you, if that doesn't send you to your charts to see where you are in relation to that point, nothing will.

Just a few, out of dozens of oil platforms we passed.

As dark approached, the radar was a great help in figuring where the boats all around us were heading. We didn't want any collisions or close calls.  At one thirty in the morning we were about three miles out from Marina Del Rey and about two dozen maybe more, Spinner Dolphins sped along with us, jumping and darting all around the boat. And again, marine life photography plus darkness made it impossible to share with you my exact experience but it was similar to this video, only darker, and in english.

The final entry into the Harbor of Marina Del Rey was a bit tricky at night with multiple entries, traffic coming out and sleep deprivation setting in.  But we managed to sneak into the guest dock and crawl into our sleeping bags at the wee hour our four thirty.

~J~