We're on the last stretch of coast before turning the corner into San Diego Bay. Suddenly there are strange noises coming from the back of the boat. The propeller is fouled. All around us is a thick carpet of kelp. There's so much attached to us we're trailing about 25 or 30 feet of the stuff behind the boat. Alan puts the prop into reverse to disentangle it - it works, but not for long. We make our way to the edge of the seaweed, and cut off the remaining strands.
Finally we enter the harbour, keeping pace with a US Navy warship. There's a big naval base here with both ships and aircraft, and the air is constantly abuzz with the sounds of helicopters and F14 Tomcats taking off.
Meeting us in San Diego are Dennis and Wendy Cullum. Originally from Britain (Wendy actually played lacrosse for Wales), they'd become involved after coming into the Spirit of Cardiff visitor centre a year or so ago. They saw that our route took us to their home town, and offered to help.
Apart from taking delivery of our crate of spares and supplies, they also kindly offer to put up three very tired mariners in their home on Thursday night. We're dropped off back at the boat early the next morning so Alan and Steve can complete servicing the engine.
Then we're joined by Elizabeth Fitzsimons, staff writer for the San Diego Union Tribune. She's doing a story about us - but we manage to surprise her by making her newspaper the recipient of our Cardiff plaque and letter of greeting from the mayor.
Our other San Diego supporter arrives - New Zealander Kristen Greenaway. We met six years ago when I was leading a trek in Nepal for Doug Scott. How time flies, and whilst Kristen doesn't appear to have changed a bit, I'm fairly certain that it's not the years that have driven me to my current haggard state, but the mileage - a mere 18,000 from Cardiff.
We are of course mindful now that we have no hope of breaking Cable and Wireless Adventurer's round the world record. In fact we've watched it slipping out of our grasp with every passing storm-dogged day up the coast of Japan, but were always hopeful that if better conditions prevailed we'd make up the time. Of course, they didn't. Instead we were beaten to a pulp by them, and even though we're now relishing calmer waters on our way to Mexico, we're still hurting from the punishment inflicted by the North Pacific.
But we will still come back with the UIM (Union Internationale Motonautique) record for the fastest (and only) circumnavigation for a powerboat under 50 feet, which in many ways will prove more difficult to beat than Cable & Wireless's overall record. Not to mention 31 port-to-port records - more world records in one go than any other boating expedition in history.
Even so, the trip has inevitably taken on a different slant for us. It's now simply a question of bringing boat and crew back home as quickly as possible. We're tired, physically and mentally drained, but we're two thirds of the way around the world, and funds permitting, we're absolutely determined to carry it through.
Clive Tully
FACTBOX
Eureka - San Diego
Time of leg: 2 days 10 hours 29 minutes
Length of leg: 760 nautical miles
Total distance covered: 16,911 nautical miles
Distance to go: 8,470 nautical miles
Average speed over leg: 12.99 knots
Time from Gibraltar: 67 days 15 hours 59 minutes
Fuel consumed: 1,987.9 litres
Average fuel consumption: 2.61 litres / nautical mile
Next stop: Cabo san Lucas, Mexico
ETA: Sunday
Copyright Clive Tully ©2002
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