Marine layer fog at Dana Point

A very enjoyable day out with Chris to Dana Point and San Clemente north of San Marcos. The marine layer drifted from over the ocean then drifted out giving periods of warm sun and cold breezes. Dana Point is named after the author R H Dana, well known for his book “Two years before the mast”

We walked alongside the marina which hosted thousands of large expensive boats all just sitting there. A stiff walk uphill took us to the top of the bluffs for a clifftop trail through native sage bush across which the misted drifted back and forth. The trail ended by making its way through expensive bluff top houses and Heritage Park back to the car.

After lunch we travelled to San Clemente to walk the boardwalk to the pier and back. The marine layer was dense through the walk. We had to divert to the beach part of the way as land slips had destroyed the walkways and had recently blocked the railway line. Some of the houses were perched precariously on the top of the bluffs, looking likely to slide down the cliff face at any moment.

The marine layer persisted all the way home until about 10 miles from San Marcos where the sun was shining brightly and the temperature much higher.

(The Marine Layer is a regular feature here, rather like a haar on the east coast of the UK. It is caused where moist air coming off the ocean is trapped beneath a high pressure above. As the air moves in land the warmth evaporates the moisture and the layer disappears)