San Diego: homeless
San Diego: homeless
Mission Bay was naturally the marsh at the mouth of the San Diego River before it was redesigned and sculpted by man.
The San Diego River does not exist except when storms drop rain on the mountains inland and then it floods Mission Valley. Or at least it did when I lived here many years ago. A flood control channel runs just south of this marina and the Mission Bay breakwaters. A bike path boarders it, which I rode most of the way to the WEST Marine on Sunday and again today to buy Jetboil fuel canisters at a sporting goods store.
What little water there is in the river is tidal. It is a paradise for birds, as was the marsh nature reserve on the approach to North Point Marina. And the narrow strip of land between the river and the western end of Interstate 8, if not paradise, is home to homeless people. I passed many on Sunday and a few today. Some stretched out sleeping; some with trash bags, collecting plastic, bottles and cans, which I am told they sell to recyclers: an ironic public service by the impoverished; and some were just sitting, staring out at the dry river.
In some ways I don’t feel that there is all that much difference between us, except that I would never be homeless because I can live on the smallest of boats.
Better by far to be homeless in San Diego than Chicago with winter approaching.
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Kevin, whose boat is two slips from GANNET, asked about my use of shore power, and when I told him that I haven’t connected to it because the adaptor I used at North Point doesn’t fit Driscoll’s outlets and West Marine didn’t have one in stock, he generously gave me an adaptor he wasn’t using. I am grateful. It will come in handy if I need to use my sander or power jig saw and perhaps if San Diego ever has weeks of cloudiness; but GANNET is presently self-contained. The solar panels keep the ship’s batteries charged, and I charge my computer, iPad, bluetooth speakers, Torqeedo battery, etc., from the ship’s batteries.
He also offered me use of a television he has aboard. This was thoughtful, but I declined. I am rather enjoying GANNET as a television free zone, particularly since I now have clear signals from the Tijuana classical music station.
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John relates that her/its? destination is about fifty miles northwest of Opua, where the new owner plans to repair and refit her/it. Certainly he would have done better to have bought her when she was still intact and only needed to have her deck recored. Still I wish him well.
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I have been painting. This is not news. What is, is that I am nearly finished.
A coat of white on the vertical surfaces of the cockpit yesterday was depressingly sketchy. A second coat today has shown dramatic improvement, although I see some spots that need touching up.
Tomorrow the first coat of non-skid on the cockpit sole. I may eventually put TreadMaster, or something similar, there, but for now it will be Interdeck.
I expect that at least a partial second coat will be required on Thursday.
And then, possibly, I will be through.
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Last night’s view from Control/Command Central. I haven’t decided which it is yet.
Tuesday, October 30, 2012