Shakedown cruise to San Pedro

We followed our friends on Windward about 15 miles up the coast from San Carlos to this beautiful crescent-shaped cove. For two days we snorkeled, sea kayaked, collected murex shells left behind by fishermen, and hiked along the beautiful Sonora desert coastline.


This sea cave was over 100 yards deep, with a small beach at the back and ropes for tying up pangas. Looks like local fishermen camp here regularly.

The first norther of the season was predicted for later today, so we sailed back down to Algodones, a more protected cove just outside of San Carlos. The wind came up, as predicted, while we were on our way. We had an uncontrolled jibe while looking at the chart and trying to figure out our approach to the cove. Later, while we were dousing the mainsail, the traveler car blew off the track, probably due to the earlier jibe. This is a picture of Solera, a vintage Columbia 40, that sailed back to San Carlos at the same time as we did.

Now, at 4:30 PM, we're safely anchored behind Venados Island, watching a pack of kiteboarders ride the 25 kt winds back and forth between the beach and our boat. Replacement parts for the traveler have already been ordered from San Diego, thanks to Skype Internet phone.

Happy Anniversary

No, not our anniversary. But I'm getting ahead of the story. Today was a busy day, a difficult day, and a sad day.
A busy day, because we still have a lot of work to do before the boat is ready for cruising under sail. Today we had a marine surveyor look over all of the boat's systems and equipment so that we can try to get insurance for our bluewater crossing next spring. As usual, this survey adds more tasks that need to be done. Vicki needs the rest of the afternoon to run errands. We want to finish things up so we can move out of the slip and onto a mooring, saving about $30 a day.
A difficult day, because on top of the boat work I have a ton of papers to grade. I spent at least 8 hours on the computer today and this evening. My shoulders hurt.
A sad day, because of my mom's continuing illness. She's been in the hospital for almost 3 weeks now. We keep hoping for good news, but today we heard of more setbacks.
Finally, at the end of the day, something happened to make all our cares drop away. We went for a walk along the malecon, the walkway ringing the marina. Its cool in the evening, and the stars are out, so its always a nice way to finish the day. But on the way back, something special happened. We heard music, and it turned out to be a small, lively band playing cumbias under a small ramada overlooking the sportfishing dock. As we approached we could see a single couple dancing to the music. They beckoned us over and encouraged us to join them. They had the waiter bring us a couple of cognacs. The music is great - the band segues to Carlos Santana, Tito Puente, salsa, tejano. We're all dancing and laughing together. Timbales, guitar, bass, vocals all sound so nice under the stars. Anna is talking and flirting with the band while Ralph tells us about their lives in a small town 3 hours to the south. They're celebrating their first anniversary and a safe return home from a visit to the US. The band was playing in the restaurant where they had dinner, and they liked them so well they hired them to come and play music by the bay, just for them. After a few more songs its time to say goodnight to our new friends and head home.
This is the kind of magic that makes life wonderful. We head back to the boat refreshed and happy and ready for tomorrow.

Splash!

We put the boat back in the water today after completing the re-commissioning tasks outlined in the previous post. The engine started on the first compression stroke, and best of all, the boat still floats! There is a tiny leak above one of the new seacocks we installed, but not enough to worry about at this point; we're keeping the valve closed for now anyway. We still have a lot to do before we're ready to put to sea, and we'll likely be in San Carlos for another week or so. But its really nice here so we don't mind. We're seeing a lot of cruising friends from last season, and meeting new ones. On Saturday, we'll meet with two couples who have already sailed to the South Pacific; we'll be asking a million questions and buying some of their charts, in preparation for our own passage next spring (if all goes well).

Fitting out for a new cruising season in San Carlos

We had an easy drive across the border and down to San Carlos on Wednesday. If you listen to Fox News, you probably think that Mexico is one big gun battle. However, its a big country -- most people are unaffected by the war between the government and the narcos. There were plenty of tourists (mostly Canadian snowbirds) at the immigration station. I read somewhere that tourist numbers actually have risen this year, despite all the violence.

The boat had already been moved from the storage area to the work yard by the time we got there. It didn't look too bad - a thick coating of dust on the outside, but perfectly clean on the inside, with no sign of bugs or other pests having gained entry. The batteries still had a good charge and plenty of water, after having been checked only once since May. We did have one major cleanup - a brand new, unopened gallon of Delo 400 motor oil leaked about half of its contents into a locker, and from there into the bilge. We had double-bagged all aerosol containers in a contained space, on advice from other cruisers, but hadn't thought to containerize the oil.

Before launching, we have to replace two thru-hulls that had been removed before storage (check), replace the impeller in the raw water pump (check), re-install all of the running rigging (check), install a new steaming light, put up the bimini, dodger, and sails, install new zincs, paint the bottom with antifouling, and wax the topsides.

A few of the replacement parts I brought down turned out to be the wrong size. What do they say - measure twice and cut once? Oh well, at some point you have to improvise, and we are in Mexico, the land of master improvisers. They look at my old parts, and chuckle at me for thinking they are no good anymore.

It has been good to see old friends from last year's cruising season. And it feels really good to be back in Mexico - everyone is friendly and laid back, the sun is warm, and the fish tacos are cheap. We can't wait to get back on the water!

Pirates in the family!

During the time we've been away from the boat, I've been doing some genealogical research. I was pleasantly surprised to find that one of my ancestors is Sir Edward Morgan. Edward was uncle (and father-in-law) to Sir Henry Morgan, the 17th century Welsh privateer. Both Sir Henry and Sir Edward were authentic "Pirates of the Caribbean" and reportedly flew the Jolly Roger during their various exploits. Arrrr!

All or nothing - Port San Luis to Santa Barbara on Bravo

Despite the high winds when we arrived, Port San Luis soon calmed down and proved to be an excellent and comfortable anchorage. Huge flocks of black storm petrels covered the water, interspersed here and there by sea lions, harbor seals, harbor porpoises. Two humpback whales even made a pass through the harbor!

The weather forecast showed a small craft advisory with winds of 20-25 kt and 6-8 ft seas for the next 3 days, but Bravo is heavily-built and rigged for all conditions, so Adam decided to head out in the morning. We started with partly furled genoa, staysail, and single reefed main; by the time we had come abreast of Pt Sal, we had reduced sail to a triple-reefed main and staysail, and were still making close to 8 kts, beam reaching in 30 kts of wind. Our course took us 10 miles south of Pt Arguello before jibing back towards Pt Conception and the Santa Barbara Channel. Visibility varied from 1/2 mile to 2 miles, and the wind blew cold.
Cindi took the brunt of a couple of cold waves while working at the mast, and we took a bit of spray in the cockpit, but otherwise Bravo kept us dry and comfortable. The seas grew to an estimated 12 feet, the winds built to the mid-30s with several gusts over 40. After we safely jibed over, conditions seemed to abate, and we started to feel relieved that we had seen the worst. By the time we had come abreast of Pt Conception, the fog had cleared, and the sunlight made the wind seem much warmer!
Within 6 or 8 miles of passing Pt Conception, the winds dropped, and kept dropping. We couldn't shake out the reefs quickly enough, and soon we were motoring in 2 kts of wind!
We motored the rest of the way to Santa Barbara, picking up a slip in the marina at around 11pm. A great feeling to have successfully passed around "the Cape Horn of the Pacific" in a full gale in a capable ship!

motorboat ride

We passed under the Golden Gate about noon on Saturday, and motored down past Monterey and Big Sur during the night. Sunday morning Adam put a fishing line in the water, and had a 20-lb tuna within 10 minutes! We have pulled into Port San Luis for the night. The wind piped up from nearly nothing to nearly 30 as we approached the harbor. The next leg will see us around Pt Conception and into the Santa Barbara Channel. We hope to see the Channel Islands, but it is currently gusting 46 knots at Santa Rosa Island, so we may give that a miss!