OK Rooster here's a fun story.....
I had this beautiful new Sea Ray Cruiser, that came equipped with a flying bridge and all the amenities any weekend sailor would need to get himself into a life and death situation... The craft was around 30 feet and was built to take on the open sea...Her only fallacy was she had me for a captain....
It was a beautiful early Sunday afternoon, in the month of October in Quivera Basin, which was an anchorage in San Diego Harbor...This is where I kept my brand new craft anchored...
On this particular day I was feeling extra frisky and decided to take out my current bikini clad sweetheart on a day time cruise of the southern California coastline....Afterall, it was a warm sunny day, what could go wrong..
For the first two hour or so, I stayed fairly close to the coastline enjoying the different vistas any weekend novice seaman would enjoy...There were other small craft about enjoying the southern California lifestyle too...It was a grand time to be the captain of your own Sea Ray cruiser, I even had my own white cap with an anchor on it.
The girl looked extra nice on the deck of the flying bridge...She was built for attention and liked being admired, so I did not want to disappoint her...She would wave and yell at every boat that got near us....
It was about this time she said "let's go further out to see, let's go to Catalina Island"...Not wanting to disappoint the bikini clad maiden, I turned my craft toward what I thought might be the general direction of Catalina Island, which happened to be 26 miles off the coast, just like the song said...
I really had no idea where I was going, but it made her happy, so I opened up those big Mercury inboard engines and let her rip toward Catalina Island...We were bouncing along through the chop when it finally dawned on me, where the hell am I going and what the hell am I doing? I must be nuts!
I did not have enough fuel to go that far and there were no gas stations on the open sea to get more....And besides all that, the sky ahead was no longer blue, but was quickly turning gray and the temperature was dropping.
Now, I had not yet completed my seagoing course, that most new amature sea captains take to familiarize themselves with the hazards of the sea, but also how to work the radio that tells you the changing weather forecasts, and most importantly, how to call the coast guard for help, when needed....
I had noticed, before I turned around, a number of small craft were heading toward San Diego harbor, at breakneck speeds...Some of them even sounded their horns at us...I thought they were just being friendly toward my bikini clad friend, but they actually were warning us of the massive fog bank that was fastly overtaking us...
My friend was now on the stern of the boat, and she had a little panic in her voice when she asked me if could I go faster, the fog was closing in on us....
This was now a scene right out of the movie "The Fog"...I mean this fog was starting to surround us, and the view I had of the entrance toward the San Diego Harbor Breakway Jetty was starting to disappear, and there were no white lines on the water to guide the way......
In a matter of moments we were completely engulfed in this wet like mist that prevented vision of no more than just a few feet, or so it seemed...I killed the engines and remembered from the one class I had attended to sound your horn in a fog bank and to ring the bell to let other craft know you were there...
By now I had my friend put on an extra life vest, just in case the worst happens, and we were sunk by another boat lost in the fog bank like us...
I had to maintain a brave face, for my now terrified crying friend...I told her this happens all the time, not to worry....But deep down inside I felt we were shark food...I had this one nagging thought of how in the hell did I get into this mess! But, just one glance at her bikini clad body, I knew why...Such a fool was I.
Then suddenly there was a slight breeze and the fog parted, just a little, where I could see the opening to the Breakway Jetty, which was the opening to the welcoming bosom of the Quivera Basin anchorage....
I fired up those big engines, sounded my air horns, while she rang the fog bell from the stern, and we made a bold dash toward the slight light ahead, that was quickly being overtaken by the fog that was moving inland once again...
I managed to "slowly maneuver" through the mass of boats at anchor, until I found my boat slip, and carefully swung my big Sea Ray into it's safe anchorage space....It was safe, and so were we...
I thought of that old poem line, Home is the sailor, home from the sea...But that fateful foggy day, several armature boatsman, like me, drown while trying to find the opening to the Breakway, which is the opening to the safe harbor.
Quivera Basin...
San Diego Coastline under a fog bank...
San Diego Fog bank....
The Breakway Jetty, which is off right at top....Miss this in the fog and you hit the rocky shore.