A Message From Tom Manchester
2nd Trip On The “Easy”
Nov. 4, 2012
Left Camarillo at 10:48 on the Amtrak Surfliner going to San Diego with Steve. Arrived in San Diego at 12:48. We were met by Geraldo, a driver from the Corral hotel in Ensenada. We drove to the border and went though customs to receive our immigration visa. We arrived in Ensenada around 2:00 and checked in with the harbormaster to find the Easy slip. Easy was in slip B-32,. We unloaded luggage, met Jorge, his cousin Jial and 3 rd mate Luis . We went into Ensenada for a short sightseeing tour then to Hussang’s Cantina for a beer. Oh,I almost forgot, I got my shoes shined in Hussang’s by a guy you has been shining shoes there for 41 years. (that was a personal note). Left Hussang’s, went to Papa’s and Beer for dinner. After wings and tacos, we left Jorge and the boys to enjoy Ensenada and Steve and I went back to the boat for a cigar and a cocktail. We had to engage into a conversation about which way was north, south, etc. a normal conversation on the Easy! Tomorrow we leave around 9 am to go to San Diego after clearing customs here in Ensenada. Another great evening aboard the Easy. More tomorrow.
Nov. 5, 2012
Woke up around 5:30 and had coffee. Moved the boat to the gas dock so we could be first in line and head north to the U.S. border. Gas dock opens at 8:00. Next stop, Harbor master in Ensenada to clear Mexican waters and customs. We took the paperwork to clear customs at 9 this morning. It is now 1:15 . Jorge just went to pick up the clearance papers. We should be on the way to San Diego within the next 20 minutes. What a lovely experience we have had sitting in the harbor at Ensenada. Steve wants to do it again!!! One good thing, we fueled up this morning early. They are now out of fuel, thank goodness we were first in line. Seas are currently calm, so we should make good time heading north. Looks like Tuesday will be windy, need to get home before the weather changes. We left Ensenada on our way to San Diego. John, captain of the Scrambler left after us. He said he was going high tail it to San Diego. He passed us about midway, but we pulled up to customs in San Diego just as he was finishing. The Customs agents boarded the Easy, asked a few questions and were gone in about 15 minutes. The customs officers explained to Steve and Jorge about a “D” visa. This would allow Jorge to come and go into the U.S. because he is the captain of the vessel and is employed by Steve.
It is now 7:30pm and we cleared customs in San Diego despite Skipper Sharpe’s FAKE Cuban cigars. It took us as much time to clear Ensenada as it did to leave Ensenada and go to San Diego on the water . Of course we were running at 15 knots, burning 60 gallons of fuel every hour. But, it is fine because we were delivering a boat, not just cruising. We passed a few whales and a couple of pods of dolphins on the way. Currently we are in a slip for a few hours before we head back to Marina del Rey. Skipper is pretty sure we can get a few hours of sleep and leave before we get caught and have to pay for the slip. More to come in the last adventure of the Easy as we know it.
Nov. 6, 2012
Left San Diego about 4:30 this morning heading to Marina del Rey. Heavy fog going out of the marina. Visibility approximately 50 feet at best. While the Skipper was jacking around with the plotter, Captain Jorge and I were yelling at him to avoid the first port light buoy as we were leaving. Don’t blame the Skipper, as I said, we could not see squat. We eased our way out of the marina and set course to Marina del Rey. Still foggy, but visibility is better. Passed a fishing vessel and a war ship, but very quiet otherwise. Thank goodness the Skipper wanted to make breakfast. Right around 8:00, only 3 hours out of port, skip went outside the cabin to toss an avocado seed,and noticed the fenders were still hanging from the boat. Jorge and I were very embarrassed because we know the fishing vessel and the war ship both noticed our underwear hanging over our port side! Skipper has now decided Captain Jorge needs to own Long Beach, so we are going to Shoreline Village marina to have lunch. Jorge will be guiding us into the marina, because he needs to own it!
About 30 minutes outside Long Beach we ran into dense fog again. Skip decided Jorge did not need to own Long Beach today. We turned and headed towards Marina del Rey. We had a small concern however. Skipper was explaining “shipping lanes” to Jorge. The shipping lanes are like runways for the cargo ships. Smaller boats are to stay clear of the shipping lanes so the larger ships will not have a lot of traffic to worry about. We are now in dense fog, visibility about 20 yards, and moving directly through the shipping lanes. After about 30 minutes of navigational prowess we emerged from the fog without incident. We could hear the foghorns from the freighters and see their positions on the radar, but you still wonder where he is coming from. I learned that you never,ever want to see a bow of a ship coming out of the fog in your direction.
Motoring on from San Pedro to Marina del Rey was a nice “Easy” cruise. In fact, it was so calm and nice, Skipper and Captain Jorge gave me the helm. I scared a few dolphins and scattered a few birds, but did not run into anything. I may not become an admiral, but I can now get us ashore if need be. We motored into Marina del Rey around 5pm and put the “Easy” into it’s last slip while Skippered by Steve Sharpe and Captained by Jorge Agundez. The Easy as we know it, has been set for other charters. I am sure the captain and the skipper will miss her.
Steve and Jorge are now going to Florida to buy and outfit a new boat. The new boat is a 74 foot Chop Suey or Cheoy Lee, I keep messing that up!! We are all anxious to see the new boat after the skipper rigs it with all the electronics and toys on his list.
Until the next voyage, via con dios, and thank you all for the great experiences. Hope to see you in Panama!–
-Tom Manchester
This was Tom’s last trip on EASY. Shortly after he penned this letter, he found he was ill. He died about a year later. His family and friends gathered aboard the new EASY and his ashes were spread at sea, not far from where he took command of EASY for her final hours into port.
Tom was alive aboard EASY. Watching the sky, weather, water, reading, fishing, swimming, kayaking, and enjoying a glass of wine with his cigar. His trip up the Sea of Cortez was legendary and so was Tom. Tom’s ashes were spread in the sea. The entry ceremony is prominently marked on our EASY chart plotter. Tom left his mark on his community, everybody’s heart and on EASY’s charts.
– Steve Sharpe
A Message From Tom Manchester
2nd trip on the “Easy”
Nov. 4, 2012
Left Camarillo at 10:48 on the Amtrak Surfliner going to San Diego with Steve. Arrived in San Diego at 12:48. We were met by Geraldo, a driver from the Corral hotel in Ensenada. We drove to the border and went though customs to receive our immigration visa. We arrived in Ensenada around 2:00 and checked in with the harbormaster to find the Easy slip. Easy was in slip B-32,. We unloaded luggage, met Jorge, his cousin Jial and 3 rd mate Luis . We went into Ensenada for a short sightseeing tour then to Hussang’s Cantina for a beer. Oh,I almost forgot, I got my shoes shined in Hussang’s by a guy you has been shining shoes there for 41 years. (that was a personal note). Left Hussang’s, went to Papa’s and Beer for dinner. After wings and tacos, we left Jorge and the boys to enjoy Ensenada and Steve and I went back to the boat for a cigar and a cocktail. We had to engage into a conversation about which way was north, south, etc. a normal conversation on the Easy! Tomorrow we leave around 9 am to go to San Diego after clearing customs here in Ensenada. Another great evening aboard the Easy. More tomorrow.
Nov. 5, 2012
Woke up around 5:30 and had coffee. Moved the boat to the gas dock so we could be first in line and head north to the U.S. border. Gas dock opens at 8:00. Next stop, Harbor master in Ensenada to clear Mexican waters and customs. We took the paperwork to clear customs at 9 this morning. It is now 1:15 . Jorge just went to pick up the clearance papers. We should be on the way to San Diego within the next 20 minutes. What a lovely experience we have had sitting in the harbor at Ensenada. Steve wants to do it again!!! One good thing, we fueled up this morning early. They are now out of fuel, thank goodness we were first in line. Seas are currently calm, so we should make good time heading north. Looks like Tuesday will be windy, need to get home before the weather changes. We left Ensenada on our way to San Diego. John, captain of the Scrambler left after us. He said he was going high tail it to San Diego. He passed us about midway, but we pulled up to customs in San Diego just as he was finishing. The Customs agents boarded the Easy, asked a few questions and were gone in about 15 minutes. The customs officers explained to Steve and Jorge about a “D” visa. This would allow Jorge to come and go into the U.S. because he is the captain of the vessel and is employed by Steve.
It is now 7:30pm and we cleared customs in San Diego despite Skipper Sharpe’s FAKE Cuban cigars. It took us as much time to clear Ensenada as it did to leave Ensenada and go to San Diego on the water . Of course we were running at 15 knots, burning 60 gallons of fuel every hour. But, it is fine because we were delivering a boat, not just cruising. We passed a few whales and a couple of pods of dolphins on the way. Currently we are in a slip for a few hours before we head back to Marina del Rey. Skipper is pretty sure we can get a few hours of sleep and leave before we get caught and have to pay for the slip. More to come in the last adventure of the Easy as we know it.
Nov. 6, 2012
Left San Diego about 4:30 this morning heading to Marina del Rey. Heavy fog going out of the marina. Visibility approximately 50 feet at best. While the Skipper was jacking around with the plotter, Captain Jorge and I were yelling at him to avoid the first port light buoy as we were leaving. Don’t blame the Skipper, as I said, we could not see squat. We eased our way out of the marina and set course to Marina del Rey. Still foggy, but visibility is better. Passed a fishing vessel and a war ship, but very quiet otherwise. Thank goodness the Skipper wanted to make breakfast. Right around 8:00, only 3 hours out of port, skip went outside the cabin to toss an avocado seed,and noticed the fenders were still hanging from the boat. Jorge and I were very embarrassed because we know the fishing vessel and the war ship both noticed our underwear hanging over our port side! Skipper has now decided Captain Jorge needs to own Long Beach, so we are going to Shoreline Village marina to have lunch. Jorge will be guiding us into the marina, because he needs to own it!
About 30 minutes outside Long Beach we ran into dense fog again. Skip decided Jorge did not need to own Long Beach today. We turned and headed towards Marina del Rey. We had a small concern however. Skipper was explaining “shipping lanes” to Jorge. The shipping lanes are like runways for the cargo ships. Smaller boats are to stay clear of the shipping lanes so the larger ships will not have a lot of traffic to worry about. We are now in dense fog, visibility about 20 yards, and moving directly through the shipping lanes. After about 30 minutes of navigational prowess we emerged from the fog without incident. We could hear the foghorns from the freighters and see their positions on the radar, but you still wonder where he is coming from. I learned that you never,ever want to see a bow of a ship coming out of the fog in your direction.
Motoring on from San Pedro to Marina del Rey was a nice “Easy” cruise. In fact, it was so calm and nice, Skipper and Captain Jorge gave me the helm. I scared a few dolphins and scattered a few birds, but did not run into anything. I may not become an admiral, but I can now get us ashore if need be. We motored into Marina del Rey around 5pm and put the “Easy” into it’s last slip while Skippered by Steve Sharpe and Captained by Jorge Agundez. The Easy as we know it, has been set for other charters. I am sure the captain and the skipper will miss her.
Steve and Jorge are now going to Florida to buy and outfit a new boat. The new boat is a 74 foot Chop Suey or Cheoy Lee, I keep messing that up!! We are all anxious to see the new boat after the skipper rigs it with all the electronics and toys on his list.
Until the next voyage, via con dios, and thank you all for the great experiences. Hope to see you in Panama!
–
-Tom Manchester
This was Tom’s last trip on EASY. Shortly after he penned this letter, he found he was ill. He died about a year later. His family and friends gathered aboard the new EASY and his ashes were spread at sea, not far from where he took command of EASY for her final hours into port.
Tom was alive aboard EASY. Watching the sky, weather, water, reading, fishing, swimming, kayaking, and enjoying a glass of wine with his cigar. His trip up the Sea of Cortez was legendary and so was Tom. Tom’s ashes were spread in the sea. The entry ceremony is prominently marked on our EASY chart plotter. Tom left his mark on his community, everybody’s heart and on EASY’s charts.
– Steve Sharpe