FUBAR Odyssey: Presented by San Diego Yacht Club and Mexico Tourism Board

STILL LEARNING

BOAT NAME: Still Learning BOAT TYPE: Westbay SonShip SKIPPER: Douglas & Retha Diener EXPERIENCE: 1 Years BUILT: 1999 PURCHASED: 2008
FAVORITE DESTINATION: We have owned our boat for a little more than one year and we have cruised San Clemente Island, Catalina, local harbors and Ensenada. We enjoy cruising, whale watching, fishing, diving, and meeting new friends. We like the excitement of Avalon, the solitude of San Clemente and the wonders of the marine environment.
FAVORITE BOATING EXPERIENCE: As a marine biologist I have had many ocean adventures. This spring we were on our way to Avalon when we encountered several blue whales. We slowed and held our course and had the pleasure of the whales accompanying us for about 30 minutes. On the return to San Diego we encountered a small school of Dahl's porpoise and several Risso's dolphins. Beautiful weather and great marine life.
ABOUT THE CREW: Douglas Diener, a marine biologist, consultant and professor will be the captain. My wife Retha is an educator and business owner and will be the admiral. This will be our first long distance cruising adventure on our own boat. Crew members include David Green, an underwater photographer, longtime fishing partner and builder of diving equipment for Cousteau and others. Terry Elkins is longtime boater, marine and plein air artist from Bridgehampton, NY.
WHAT'S IN A NAME: "STILL LEARNING" We find that life is a continuous learning experience, if you're not learning something new, then you must be getting old. We have found that owning a large boat is a major learning experience and we are happy to report that we are "Still Learning" and enjoying the experience.
REASON FOR PURCHASING THIS BOAT: We had been looking for a comfortable cruiser, not necessarily a trawler, but one that could kick up her heels if needed. We liked the lines and the boat is extremely well built and had been well cared for. Still Learning was more boat than we needed, but it had everything we wanted and came with a great slip in downtown San Diego.
PREVIOUS BOATS OWNED: Aqua Sport 24
INTEREST IN THE FUBAR ODYSSEY: We feel safer cruising with others that have experience and appreciate the scheduled logistics and support provided by FUBAR. We hope to meet new friends and learn how to safely undertake long distance cruising. We plan on leaving our boat in La Paz for a couple of months and cruise the Sea of Cortes during the Xmas/New Year holidays, looking for others with similar plans. Returning to San Diego late January or early February.
BOATING STORY: It was a clear, but cool winter night while diving for lobster off of La Jolla. After a dive of about 45 minutes we surfaced to find that the fog had moved in and we could not find the boat! After swimming circles searching for the boat we made a long swim to shore. We waited until day light and the fog lifting so that we could swim back to our boat. A long night to remember but the lobster were great.