A Warm & Clear day

It was nice to be on the water again and heading to Isthmus Cove on Catalina Island for a few days on a mooring. When checking the engine a number of weeks ago, I discovered the Heat Exchanger had once again developed cracks in the brackets holding it to the engine. This had happened once before in 2011 and we had the brackets welded. This time I decided to replace the entire Heat Exchanger with a new one. This has worked well and the engine runs a few degrees cooler than it has, which is to be expected.
The trip over was quiet but we did manage to get some sailing in as we also did on our return trip. It has been a great opportunity to test all of the boats systems and everything is working beautifully.

We were last in Isthmus in October 2011 just before heading to San Diego and then Cabo San Lucas and our three years of cruising in Mexico. We always enjoy being in Isthmus and took the opportunity to do some pleasant walks on the Island.
Our next task is to have the bottom painted otherwise our regular service and maintenance program keeps Hilbre in perfect condition and ready for any cruising we decide upon.

On our return to San Pedro, we discovered that our friend George on Avalon Blew lll had relocated his boat back to the Shoreline Marina in Long Beach as he found the Cabrillo Marina in San Pedro too quiet. We like the quiet and flexibility of the Marina Management in San Pedro.