Saturday, December 5, 2009
Puerto Balandra- Bahia San Gabriel Dec 5th, 2009
We left La Paz and off we went to Puerto Balandra. The wind was blowing from the north at about 10-13 knots, but there is little swell just chop as we made our way. We looked over the anchorage and decided it was to open to the north and we would have a very rolly night if we anchored. So we took pictures and made our way to Bahia San Gabriel on Isla Epiritu Santo. The bay here is a little more protected and so after three hours and 21 n. miles we anchored. I caught Sand Bass from the back of the boat so we had fresh fish for dinner. We took the dinghy and explored the shore and the lagoon where it seemed to be a Magnificent Frigate rookery. The night was noisy with the splash of the roll off the swim platform so we decided to head to our next location, Caleta Partida
Friday, December 4, 2009
Marina Palmira La Paz Mexico, Dec 2-4th, 2009
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Marina Palmira La Paz, Nov.28- Dec 2nd, 2009
Alexus and I spent a great deal of time on the boat while Lori did the tourist thing. Loe' and she went to the bus station to get their tickets for Cabo San Lucas as they fly out of Cabo to get home. It will take them about 3 hours by bus to get to the airport and about 2.5 hours by plane to get back to the bay area.
Well Lori left today and off she went and arrived safely at home. I know she was excited about the interior re-design Jude did on her boat. I am sure it is beautiful. We went into town and did more exploring, Loe stayed on the boat and got ready for her early departure tomorrow. Well, Loe left this morning and she arrived safely in SF that evening. We are on our own. The boat feels bigger, but we will miss our friends. It was a once in a life time adventure that we all shared. That evening Larry and Muggs came over for cocktail hour and we laughed the evening and night away with our shared adventures down the coast. Since October both boats have gone over 1425 nautical miles. Wow, when I think of that it is amazing!!
Friday, November 27, 2009
Costa Baja –La Paz Outskirts Nov. 25-27
Monday, November 23, 2009
San Jose del Cabo Nov 23-24, 2009
We all relaxed and spent time exploring the town of San Jose del Cabo. It really is a pretty little town and since I was out of perfume, we made a purchase.
We fueled at the dock and just spent time around the dock today. Tomorrow we move to our final anchorage, Bahia De Los Muertos and we have about a 6 hour cruise to get there. We will round the point and will be officially in the Sea of Cortez. Who knows, maybe the fishing will be good!
Sunday, November 22, 2009
Man of war Cove to Cabo San Jose Nov. 22, 2009
We are up again at first light. Today the seas have settled 2-4 foot swells and the wind is only about 3 to 4 knots. We are on our 185 nm leg which will take us about 26 hours. We dropped three lines in the water as we were leaving
We all caught fish except Lori, she did not want to, and since we had more than enough we were releasing all the small Dorado. I was showing Alexus how to play out the lure and set the reel for a strike when boom, she had a fish on. It was a Dorado and she decided to release it so we did. As she went through playing out the lure and setting the reel, just she was placing the rod in the holder, boom another strike and another Dorado. Fishing was really hot in that area. Since the seas were still calm, we had a fantastic lunch of fried perch and bass, Bonita Sushi and sautéed Mahi Mahi- (Dorado) in olive oil and garlic and dill with mashed potatoes and a caprese salad. Lunch is the only time we are all awake so it was a good meal. Loe now had the fishing fever though, any time there was a slight “zzzzzz” sound on the boat her eyes would light up.
The rest of our last overnight trip was also uneventful, thank you sea goddess! We were rounding Cabo San Lucas around 5:30am, not quite light enough to see much of Cabo San Lucas as we made our way to Cabo San Jose. We are all excited to be in port in a slip and not moving or anchored for the next two nights. Everyone is looking forward to a good nights rest. We arrive in
Saturday, November 21, 2009
Santa Maria Bay to Magdalena Bay, Man of War Cove Nov. 21, 2009
Well we are all glad it was a shorter day to Man O' War Cove in Magdalena Bay, only 32 nautical miles and 4or 5 hours. The seas were more active, swells were probably 5-8 feet from the NW and the winds was a constant 10 -15 knots from the north. The ride was a little rougher and we did not fish much on the way into
Friday, November 20, 2009
Turtle Bay to Santa Maria Bay Nov. 19th & 20th 2009
First light is between 5:45am and 6:30am so everyone is up by 5:15am we have 228 nautical miles to go from
Through out the day we mostly snack and eat simply, peanut butter and toast, cereal, and sandwiches for lunch. With everyone taking on their shift it makes meal planning a challenge, but no one is starving. Tonight is not as dark or as clear. We seem to have a little marine layer and the moon is a small sliver that will be around until 10:45pm. The seas calm down later at night and the hours seem long and boring, which is what we like. Watching the radar for fishing boats, pangas and other fleet members is the only pastime when on watch. Sometime around 2:30am a cruise ship seemed to be moving in close to the fleet. We were only about 10miles from the coast and the fleet that was out 15 miles had to manage around the cruise ship. The communications officer on the ship was extremely unprofessional and claimed that the fleet was under the influence of alcohol, and the cruise ship would not provide a bearing or intention of how they would pass the fleet. I noted the MMSI number, hailing identification, date, time, and the lat. and long. All 43 vessels agreed to file a complaint with Princess Cruises regarding the response from the Sapphire Princess. Other than that, the time passed and we arrived at
It was another panga adventure and another taco night. I think we are all tired of tacos. Lori stayed aboard and had hot dogs, actually a good choice. The panga here will take us in as running to shore is a challenge with the surf are skilled boat handlers and they make their way up the channel were the lagoon runs out into Santa Maria Bay. The panga drivers are local fishermen and they are very skilled and we are able to disembark from the panga off the side on a raised sand bank. Lori was right, tacos again, oh boy! The village is very small and mostly made up of fish camps. After a short period we head back to the pangas and head for the boat. Speaking of fish, we have been trolling and not caught a thing. Lori has been giving me a hard time as I promised we would catch fish. Oh well maybe next leg of the trip. Tomorrow is a short day from
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Ensenada to Turtle Bay Mexico Nov 16-17th, 2009
November 16, 17, 18th, 2009
We left at midnight of November 16th for our first overnight run. It was approximately 282 miles from
We all had trepidation about traveling overnight and besides that it was a new moon so it would be as Alexus said “ as dark as the inside of a cow”. Not sure how she knows how dark an inside of a cow is. Nevertheless, we created overlapping shifts of 4 hours on and four off. Loe, Rachael and Lori took four hours and Alexus and I took 4 hours overlapping their shifts. In this way we always had two people on watch and either Alexus or I with each of them as we were more familiar with the boat.
Well here is what I know. I would cruise overnight anytime over cruising in fog! The seas were calm, 3-4 foot swells and winds less than 10 knots. The sky was completely dark and the stars twinkled off the ocean as there was no moon. We all saw numerous shooting stars and there was one that looked like it was done by Disney. It went straight across the horizon with a long sparkling tail and everything!!!. The dolphins that play in the boats bow wake during the day, at night created phosphorus jet trails as a mark of their presence. And it was comforting to see the distant running lights of the fleet spread out over 10 to 15 miles and on the radar screen for those within 3-6 miles. My shifts were from 6pm to 10pm and 2am to 6am, so I had plenty of company for the first few hours and saw sunset and sunrise for two days running. Was it difficult? The motion and noise of the engines running made for difficult sleeping for all. However, we all were good cruisers and managed our shifts and 2 hour engine room checks with as much attention and good humor as fits of sleep allow. The confinement to the boat for 36 hours straight is also a challenge, but we all adjusted to it the best we could.
We arrived in
Sunday, November 15, 2009
Ensenada Mexico Nov. 14-15, 2009
It is a 9 to 10 hour ride for us to
Well today was our turn to fuel. We needed about 200 gallons to top off the tanks.
Friday, November 13, 2009
San Diego Nov 11-13th , 2009
We picked Lori up at the airport and returned to the boat. As she got settled we checked out the boat to see what provisioning we would need for the next two weeks. We heard that we could not take beef or fresh vegetables into
Alexus had Captain meetings at the San Diego Yacht Club to work on immigration, passports, visas and other administrative items. She will have another Captain’s meeting tomorrow concerning route, communications, and other critical planning issues. Rachel arrived at 2:30pm that day and it was wonderful to have a car and be able to pick her up at the airport. We were all smiles when we saw her. It had been a year and a half since we had last been in
Well Friday the 13th was not our lucky day. Lori and Alexus woke up with a touch of food poisoning or a 24 hour bug. So the crew had a lazy off day, which was a good thing. It would be bad to start with a couple of sick folks. As the day progressed they both seemed to improve and by evening seemed to be better and well enough to start out tomorrow.
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
San Diego November 9th - 10th 2009
We arrived in
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Catalina to Mission Bay
Down the Coast and Catalina October 2009
We had just rounded Point Conception when the fishing reel made that "ZZZZZZZ" sound meaning fish on. Yep, the little pink feathered lure had got another small skip jack tuna. Otherwise, after a 12 hour cruise we arrived in Santa Barbara....tired and hungry. So some of us ate the freshly-caught tuna as sashimi and others had theirs seared for dinner that night.We stayed in Santa Barbara for two days as we had traveled every day since leaving Alameda so a brief rest was well-deserved.
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Anchors Aweigh -Heading South for FUBAR Day 1
Thursday 10/15 - we are finally underway and headed south at 11:43 am, destination Half Moon Bay. We hope to arrive there around 5pm today. For all the cruisers and sailors... The seas at SF Buoy are 7.9 at 13 seconds from the WNW, winds are 7.8 knots out of the south. The seas at Half Moon Bay are 9.8 feet at 13 seconds with winds at 8 knots out of the south Weather partly cloudy visibility is around 5 miles.
Except for the typical fog under the GG bridge, the trip was uneventful and we actually arrived a little early. So we re-fueled, had a happy hour drink on the aft deck and then went to Ketch Joanne's for dinner. Bruce seemed to enjoy his first day at sea on the Pacific.
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Port San Luis to Morro Bay to San Simeon April 9 to April 17th 2009
We knew the extended weather forecast was for high winds; and since we wanted a short day to beat the winds, we cruised 3 hours from Port San Luis to
Monday, June 1, 2009
Part of Catch up Time April 1-8 2009
Ok, today is June 7th and two whole months have gone by and you probably wonder where the heck we are. Well, the trip to
We anchored in our usual spot at Port San Luis, and watched the abundance of marine wildlife circle the port.
Marina Del Rey-Santa Barbara- Channel Islands Apr 1-8 2009
We anchored in our usual spot at Port San Luis, and watched the abundance of marine wildlife circle the port.
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Marina Del Rey March 20 to March 31
We left Catalina and had heard from folks there, that the fuel price at
We spent from March 20th to the 31st having a great time in Marina Del Rey. Nikki and Erika were in town and simply ran us ragged. We had a busy and wonderful time, but either those two are too young, or we are too old for that pace. We saw the final run of the shows Erika will dance in for Holland America Cruise line and both Nikki and Erika with their busy schedules were able to spend a night or two on the boat.
We also got to spend some time with our good friends Neal and Eva. It was lovely to see them again, enjoy time together and catch up on what was new with them. Neal, we are thinking of you and wish you the best. Eva, I know you will take good care of Neal and he will be causing his normal trouble again quickly I am sure.
There was to be a break in the weather and we would head out for the Channel Island Yacht Club and if lucky have good weather for exploring the Channel Islands of off
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Santa Catalina Island So. California
We spent from March 12th to March19th exploring the
After spending about five days in Avalon, we made our way to the Isthmus Cove. We were one of about four boats in a cove that can handle 100+ boats. We took the dinghy to shore and walked about ¾ of a mile over to
In Emerald Cove we were the only boat. The water was unbelievably clear. From the boat I saw the orange Garibaldi, full size Halibut, a huge Eagle Ray, a couple of Sting Rays and a few Sand Bass. Because the water was so clear and the weather decent, Alexus put on her wet suit and did some snorkeling in and around the kelp forest. I followed her in the dinghy just to make me feel better and not worry about her. She was more than fine as she is a Master Scuba Diver and Divemaster.
We knew the weather was going to turn for the worse and we did not want to be stuck on Catalina, so we left on March 20th to head for Marina Del Rey and the California Yacht Club. We had stayed with the Club on our way south and wanted to stay with them again on our way back north.