Sorry to bombard you with one gigantic post, but this is our first internet connection since leaving, so here goes….

San Diego

In the end we spent about a week in San Diego, putting the boat all back together after her highway journey. We were happy to get it back in the water and looking like her old self again- maybe its just me but there’s something unnatural about an ocean-going sail boat sitting on a semi truck with no mast, canvas, davits, etc.

Elan’s dad, Reed, made the drive down to San Diego with us and graciously agreed to drive our car home once we were ready. My cousin Greg and his girlfriend Heather came to see us off, although we took a little too long leaving and in the end we saw them off on an airplane. Elan’s Uncle Dick, a retired Navy officer, who lives in San Diego and volunteers as a guide on the aircraft carrier “Midway” gave us a personal tour of that very cool ship.

San Diego to Ensenada, Mexico

We left San Diego on February 16th at about 4am. We made our way through the several mile long channel in the dark, with just radar and nav beacons to guide us through. It was our first experience running in the dark, but luckily it was nice and calm until day break. Later that day we had our first taste of big, rolly, ocean swell, something we weren’t used to since most of our sailing has been in the San Juan Islands. Our boat handles it beautifully, and we are adapting quickly. In our rush to leave San Diego we didn’t have the inside of the boat quite as battened down as we should have, and paid for it as we watched what I have started calling ‘the blender’  toss our stuff all over the place inside the boat.

We arrived that afternoon to a marina in Ensenada. It’s always a little unnerving docking in an unfamiliar marina, and our fears were confirmed when our dingy (which hangs off the back of the boat on recently extended davits) kissed another boat as we pulled into our slip… no harm done, except to our egos. We later read in one of our guide books to watch out for the extra narrow fairways at that particular marina- tell us about it! Our boat, being full-keel, means it handles rough ocean water well, but doesn’t maneuver well in tight quarters, especially with big cross winds like we had (we were not the only boat who had a tough time). We weren’t planning on paying to stay in marinas much because you can usually anchor for free, so this just confirmed our plans. The next day, the marina staff took us to the customs offices and helped us complete all of the paperwork needed to check in to Mexico, which fortunately for us, didn’t require a boat search (I pity the poor fool who has to open every nook and cranny on our boat- its not for the faint of heart with all of the gear we have stuffed to the brim. Guess that happens when your boat is also your house.).

Ensenada to San Quintin

We spent two days in Ensenada getting organized, fueling up and clearing customs, then left mid day for a short run to Puerto Santo Tomas. Things were going so well as we motored south that we decided to skip Puerto Santo Tomas, and make an overnight run to San Quintin, 120mi in all, which let us skip a few marginal anchorages and also had the added benefit of letting us catch up with another boat that left Ensenada the day before us. We were a little nervous about the night sail, but the weather was perfectly calm, (we didn’t put the sail up once all day) so we figured it was a good day to try it. We took turns napping on cushions on the floor of the cockpit, which although not great rest, at least let us re-vamp enough to make it through the night. We had no moon at all, so it was dark, dark, dark. I found it ironic that here I was on my first ever night “watch” and all I could really watch was the radar and the GPS, because I couldn’t have seen anything out there even if I wanted to.  On dark nights like that one, its tough to stay awake because there just isn’t anything to see. I had hoped that our dog, Apollo, would at least be good company while Elan slept, but I should have known better, all he wants to do is cuddle up and sleep with whichever one of us is not on watch.  The stars have been absolutely amazing at night, I guess we have our isolation to thank for that- no light pollution at all. The weather hasn’t been too warm, we wear long sleeves all day and several layers under our “foulies” (our waterproof overalls and jackets that look like a snow suit but without all of the insulation) to keep warm at night.

We saw several whales the next day, which we think are California Grey Whales. They are grey, lumpy, and seem bigger than the orcas we are used to back home. We anchored in San Quintin mid-morning the next day and discovered for the first of many times, that what is called an anchorage around here is more like a tiny bit of land that juts out that you can duck behind during the prevailing wind.  We felt quite out in the open, but were excited to crash and get some rest. After a nap, we woke up to find surf crashing a few hundred yards off our side, which was bizarre considering we were anchored over a mile from the nearest shore. When the boat we were trying to catch up with arrived (they’d stopped to spend the night in a rolly anchorage) we ran to shore in our dinghies together and checked out the wind-swept sand dunes. It turns out we really like the group on that boat- its a nice couple from New Zealand and England, and her younger sister and her boyfriend. They are about our age, which is great, Elan and I had been prepping ourselves to spend a lot of time with other older cruisers. As it turns out, there aren’t many other people out here cruising this time of year at all (it took us 3 days to see another pleasure boat) so we are grateful to actually enjoy the only other people out here. We spent two nights in San Quintin waiting for a good weather window to cross over Vizcaino Bay to Cedros Island.

San Quintin to Cedros Island

We weren’t exactly looking forward to the run from San Quintin across Vizcaino Bay, which is the northern of the two large bights on Baja California. At 135 miles, it was the longest run we had ever done at the time, and required an overnight sail in an area that can have confused wind and seas. We were able to motor-sail for a few hours during the day (and hit a new max speed of 11 knots!), but things flattened out and we motored in calms seas all night.  At one point we had the sail and motor off and were drifting along at 4 knots, that goodness that current is working with us and not against us. In total, the run took us about 24 hours. Again that night it was super dark, but at least we wizened up at blared music all night to keep ourselves awake. I also spent several hours of my night watch reading a book with a red flashlight (red light doesn’t kill your night vision like white does) which worked well to pass the time. Really when it’s that dark out, all I had to do was check the radar and GPS about once ever 10 minutes.  We had been warned not to trust our GPS too much in Mexico because they can be inaccurate up to a few miles (so at night we steer miles clear of any obstacle). We were making great time and neared the island at about 3 am, but because we can’t fully trust the GPS that close to land, rocks, etc, we spent 3 more hours motoring around offshore waiting for daylight. Good thing, because when we finally anchored, the GPS put us up on the side of the mountain.  These days, Cedros, which literally means Cedars, named by Spaniards who mistook the islands juniper forest for cedars, is actually quite barren, with just a few cactuses here and there. We were not happy with our anchorage here at all. What our guidebook calls an anchorage is actually just the only shallow spot for hundred of miles around. It was literally just a narrow bank on the downwind side of the island. That afternoon the wind came up big time, and as we tried to take a nap, the wind blew us off of our anchor. It took us three more tries to get the anchor (which is actually bigger and burlier than what our boat should need) to hold. Needless to say, it was an uneasy night spent getting up every hour to make sure we hadn’t drifted off our anchor. Guess that’s what we get for anchoring up on the side of a mountain! 🙂

The scenery thus far has been mostly dry and rocky, with occasional cacti and batches of sand dunes. There are virtually no people or towns along the coast. Although there is a small town of a few hundred people on Cedros Island.

Cedros Island to Turtle Bay

We were anxious to get out of our anchorage at Cedros and move on to Turtle Bay which was supposedly a good rest stop with good anchor holding, restaurants and marine repair shops. Our trip was fairly uneventful, except that the seas got sloppy as we crossed between the end of Cedros Island and Punta Euegina (the last point on the big Viscaino bight I mentioned earlier). I ran below decks to grab something and looked up just in time to see Elan catch a big splash to his face and body… ahh my faithful captain! When we arrived (7 hours and 45 miles later) in Turtle Bay  (there aren’t actually sea turtles there any more, the main industry is squid fishing) we were happy to see two other sailboats- the first we’d seen besides our friends on Solent since we left Ensenada. We were disappointed to find that the town of Turtle Bay is falling into disrepair (there used to be a big cannery there but it closed in recent years) and that the other two sailboats were actually dilapidated and all but abandoned. Bummer.

We had our first mexican meal out with the gang from Solent at the only restaurant we could find. We spent a few days here, relaxing and working on a few boat projects. Elan finally broke down and shaved his beard for the first time in about 30 days- the longest he had ever gone. I was actually getting to like it!

Turtle Bay to Asuncion

We usually leave our anchorages at first light, to make sure we can make it to our next destination with enough daylight to anchor, but as we checked our oil before take off we thought we might have a problem with the oil and ended up doing an impromptu oil change. As boat projects usually go, its more complicated and messy that I think it should be, and in the end Elan and I both wound up with used motor-oil all over ourselves, the engine compartment, our new floor (everywhere!), and a few drops even made it to our couch. I’ll just say it was a grumpy morning spent scrubbing the interior of the boat when we finally got underway at about 8am. We spent the whole day motoring, without any sail-able wind. As we pulled into Bahia Asuncion, we were accompanied by a great show of dozens of dolphins jumping, splashing, and pacing alongside our boat. It was the most dolphins in the wild I had ever seen at once. We anchored at sunset and didn’t venture in to the small town of Asuncion.

Asuncion to Magdalena Bay

We pulled anchor at about 5:45am to set out on our now longest trip ever of about 200 miles, which took us 34 hours of motoring and motor-sailing. As we left the anchorage with Solent, it was overcast but the water was so calm and glassy, Elan said it looked like silvery, slippery, rolling mercury all around us. The shades of grey were really beautiful and we enjoyed the peaceful water even if it meant no sailing until later in the afternoon. When we finally did get the jib up, the wind stayed so constant that we left it up all night, our first time running with sails at night. We caught our first fish of the trip using a handline, which is basically just 50 feet of thin nylon rope with a lure on one end and a bungee cord on the other to tell you when you’ve got something hooked. It’s very low maintenance, and apparently this 20lb “Bonito” fish, a smaller breed of tuna, thought it looked just fine. We BBQ’d him up for dinner underway.

As morning dawned the next day, the wind and seas really picked up and I realized that we hit a new max speed of 11.4 knots surfing down a wave (on my watch- oh yeah!), we took our first smallish waves into the cockpit of the boat. We had expected the seas to be bigger here than usual because we were crossing the second big bight of Baja, and were fairly far offshore (I think about 50mi in any direction was the farthest), so after the rough water and overnight slog we were ready to anchor up in the first anchorage we passed, at Santa Maria, but in the end decided to go an additional 20mi to make it to Bahia Magdalena (Mag Bay) which we would have needed to do the next day anyway. Mag Bay is huge, maybe 20 miles across and is known for it heavy whale traffic. A sea turtle, about 4 feet across, swam past the boat just before we turned in to the bay. As we turned into the bay, we were running head on into a stiff wind and took some pretty spectacular waves over the bow, it was the first time we had ever seen the bow-sprit dive down into the water. It wasn’t scary, the waves weren’t that big, and we were tucked down behind the dodger staying dry. We took the first anchorage we saw, called Belcher’s point, because it was nearing dark, even though Solent made it 5 miles farther to a better, more protected spot.  We spent the whole night bucking the waves in our anchorage, but the anchor was holding well and we were so tired after the overnight run that we slept like logs.

The next morning we took Apollo in the dinghy to the beach near the boat, and I went nuts with all of the beautiful shells and sea glass we found there. Clams, abalone, muscles, crabs, puffer fish, turtles, and all kinds of bones which we assumed came from dolphins and whales. Elan, bless him, let me bring a whole bucket of shells back to the boat to try to make jewelry. I made a couple pairs of earrings out of pretty swirly shells, thanks to the amazing beading set that Elan’s mom built for me. Thanks Mary!

Later that afternoon, we motored the extra five miles to a more secure anchorage, called Man-o-War Cove, by Solent. We ran into the town of about 130 people and ate an amazing lobster dinner at the one and only restaurant. We spent 5 nights total in Mag Bay as we waited for a better weather window for our next passage. We spent the days working on the boat; we installed our new solar panels, wired new instruments and attempted to organize the v-berth.

I took my first real boat shower here (please, don’t do the math, I know it was a long time since my last land shower in Ensenada). The solar shower just inst warming up much on these 60-70 degree days, so I added a little boiled water. It wasn’t much, but it sure felt good to be clean! For anyone who thinks a trip like this is glamourous…. now you know it’s really not!   Lots of early mornings, sleep-deprived overnight trips, endless boat work (Elan’s got his head and greasy hands in the engine compartment as I write this), limited showers and I wont even get into the bathroom protocol… its no Princess Cruise, that’s for sure!

Speaking of bathroom protocol, many of you asked how we planned to handle Apollo’s potty breaks… well, I’m glad to report that our smart boy has learned to use his astroturf square up on the bow like a champ. He still holds it until he can’t possibly wait any longer, but in the end he’s been doing exactly what we ask him to. It’s not as gross as it sounds, we just fling it off and then douse the deck with a bucket of seawater… good as new!

Mag Bay to Cabo San Lucas

As we left Mag Bay at sunrise, we had whales surfacing and blowing in all directions around us.

This trip required another over-night run, but we are getting used to them and they don’t seem like such a big deal anymore. It’s been great having Solent to “buddy boat” with, I find it reassuring to see their mast light off in the distance at night as we sail along in the darkness. It was about 150 miles and roughly 30hrs of travel, but the weather is finally warming up to tee-shirt status and I even managed to sun burn my ankles on watch. It’s amazing that as soon as we crossed the Tropic of Cancer, in one day the temp spiked up and the water turned the most beautiful turquoise blue. Today topped off at about 80 degrees, which to us seems sweltering, but I’m sure our standards will be changing soon and we’ll be longing for the cool feel of 80 degrees. Apollo is finally starting to appreciate the super-short buzz cut he got right before leaving home.

We were excited to round the cape and see the famous arch at the tip of Cabo San Lucas. We were eager to have our first Mexican margarita (aka, not made by me on the boat) and insert ourselves into the craziness of tourism-driven Cabo San Lucas.  We actually experienced a bit of culture shock being bombarded by so many people and just the sheer intensity of being in a bustling resort town after only seeing people a few times during the last 18 days. We anchored as far away from the downtown area as possible, but even still the jet-skiers, para-sailers, and glass-bottom boat taxi’s go buzzing by our boat about 8,000 times per day. Nothing like being serenaded by the drone and wake of a drunken spring-breaker on a jet-ski. Nonetheless, it is pretty amazing to look out the kitchen window of my home and see the dramatic rise and fall of the rocks and arch on the cape. We have spent the last two days exploring downtown, eating out and of course drinking a fair amount of cold beverages with Lee, Serena, Katie and Louis from Solent. Cabo is crazy expensive and they charge for everything; anchoring in the bay, leaving a dingy at the dock. One water taxi driver tried to charge us $60 for the 10 minute ride from the boat to town…. in other words, we wont be staying here long. Its been great having the luxury of cold drinks and internet access, but we’ve heard things are cheaper and mellower in La Paz which is just a few short day-hops to the north in the Sea of Cortez.

On our last day in Cabo, we had not 1, but 3, big cruise ships anchored in the bay with us. Elan had run into town with Lee from Solent on Lee’s dinghy to get diesel, and while he was gone I could hear an especially close parasailing boat circling us, yelling and shouting. I ignored them for as long as possible (while Apollo barked at them) then finally went up into the cockpit. The nice gentleman was actually trying to tell me that our dinghy had floated several hundred yards away. At first he told me to start swimming, but then admitted that he had already called a friend in a water taxi to come pick me up and take me to it. Phew!! I take back any negative feelings I may have  had toward scamming boat taxis and wake-making parasailing boats!

All in all, the 750mi Pacific coast of Baja took us 18 days and 5 over-night runs to complete. It’s a long, open, and sometimes lonely coast where villages and other boats are few and far between. We were blessed with great weather for this initial break-in cruise, and we are happy to say that the journey will continue on. We are looking forward to the shorter runs between anchorages and civilization that the Sea of Cortez has to offer in the weeks ahead.

In the Sea of Cortez we also hope to be able to get internet access a little more often so these posts aren’t so long and far between. Keep the comments coming, but know that we can’t approve them until we have internet, so don’t worry if they don’t show up right away. Also, our SPOT updates are the only way we can get information out to the world while we are underway, so while they clutter up the blog with extra info, we think that it’s better than no news at all. We think of you all often and appreciate you following along with us.

Take care!

-A&E