MEMORIAL DAY 2020

A big THANK YOU to all the men and women who served or are now serving our country. Your sacrifice has helped us preserve our freedom and way of life. The Admiral and I are truly blessed to have fathers of the "Greatest Generation".  Both were USN Navy Sea Bees and served during WW II. They left the safety and comfort of their homes and families to fight overseas for our great country.  We are forever grateful for their example and service. May you rest in eternal peace.

EDWARD NESPOR

ROBERT RILEY

THINGS CAN TURN ON A DIME

One day I go to have the occasional clicking/grinding noise coming from my hip checked out and 10 days later, I'm eating a post-op turkey sandwich at Hoag Orthopedic. Emergency surgery was performed to replace the cup, liner and ball of the left femur. My twenty year old prosthesis finally wore out. Now it's time to rehab, a process that you don't want to rush. "Slow like a pro" is a slogan we use often on SV Serenity Now. It's now my mantra until I'm given the order "Full steam ahead". 

A few modifications were made to my walker.

WUHAN VIRUS GET-A-WAY

Two hours and 12 nautical miles up the coast lies one of the most interesting and protected harbors along our coast, Newport Bay. It ranks right up there with San Diego and San Francisco Bay. The Admiral and I, getting restless with our social distancing and face mask routine, ventured there for a two night stay. Being on a boat is a great way to keep your distance from others and it worked great for us.

The anchorage is at the east end of Lido Isle. It seems like a lot of others had the same idea because as the day wore on the anchorage became crowded, and the partying began. It was quite entertaining. The majority of boaters were only there for the day and made the most of it, the hell with social distancing!

Two additional positives during this stay, UCI did not have their crew teams working out (they start extremely early in the morning and are not quiet) and a very limited number of flights were taking off from John Wayne airport. The silver lining. GREAT TIME!

EVERY DAY IS DIFFERENT

You never know what mother nature has up her sleeve. You may be looking fastball and all of a sudden you get a nasty slider on the outside corner. We've noticed the red tide from a distance and today we sailed through it. At night the bioluminescence is spectacular, during the day it's downright ugly. It was a relaxing sail with light winds and plenty of sunshine but the water color struck us out.

This photo is courtesy of our Harbor Patrol.

GETTING ANTSY

We've pretty much followed the stay-at-home order to combat this Wuhan virus pandemic but there's only so much one can do to stay sane. Going through past blogs on this site is mucho fun so give it a try. Brings back soooo many fantastic times and memories. Give it a whirl, you'll like it!

WE HAD A VISITOR

Every once in a while a whale will wonder into the main channel of the marina. This gray eventually did a U-turn and found the open ocean to continue its journey north.

Not the best pic but the whale is in front of the boat in the center of this picture.

DINNER ON THE HOOK

The warm weather encouraged many locked-in boaters to get on the water. We decided to pack a dinner, head to Danalina and drop a hook. Bon appetit!

It's that time!

Crews were trying to remove something off the bottom but it was too heavy to lift with two inflatable air bags. (Three different uses of the same word, ha!) This is the sight of where the tall ship Pilgrim sank. On to plan B.

The lights of San Clemente and Capistrano Beach.