Cabo pics

In the town of Todos Santos, north of Cabo San Lucas on the Pacific side of the peninsula.

The marina in Cabo San Lucas.

This sea lion is at the marina in Cabo. The fishing boat that she is behind had bought several tuna, and the deckhand filleted them here in port. Easy meal! He would put them on the transom, and she jumped up and took them! I did not have my camera then, sorry.

We are currently in Bay de los Muertos, and tomorrow will be headed towards La Paz. I took a lot of pictures today at a resort here, so they will be on the next update.

Cabo San Lucas

We left Mag Bay early on the morning of Monday, November 29th. The wind had been howling from the northeast for a couple of days, and was forecast to blow for one more day, so we figured that if we would stay in really close to the shore it wouldn't have enough fetch to build up big waves. We stayed about a mile offshore in the morning, as we motored southeast along Isla Margarita. The shoreline jumps several miles east at the end of the island, and I thought that we may get the wind there. It was around 1400 hours when we finally got there, and it was clear that the forecast was wrong about the big winds. We did get a little from the west later that day and evening, but most of the time we used the motor along with the sails. We proceeded direct, and before dark we were far enough offshore that no land was visible anywhere. Daylight found us approaching Cabo Falso, and then it was only another couple of hours until we got to Cabo San Lucas.

Cabo San Lucas is a dramatic ridge line that runs east-west and ends in a series of tall rocks. The bay is open to the east. We anchored on the north side of it, along a sandy beach, in about 20 feet of water. It was so clear that I could see the bottom as soon as I donned my goggles and put my face in the water. The beach is lined with hotels, and the water is full of jet skis, glass-bottomed water taxis, and plenty of other boats. The hotels play their music very loud, so it's quite different from Mag Bay and Turtle Bay. To conserve water, I go snorkeling each morning, and then rinse with fresh water. On the west end of the bay, they have dug a man made harbor that is very protected. Their are hundreds of slips in there, and a dinghy dock all the way up at the end, near the marina office. There are high end stores around the harbor, and several blocks of gringo alley type stores catering to people who show up on cruise ships. 

The second day that we were here, we joined some other cruisers and rented a van to drive up the Pacific coast to a town called Todo Santos, where the real Hotel California (remember the 

Eagles?) is located. I made sure to not check in! We left Cabo around lunchtime, and we were hungry, so we stopped on the outskirts of town at a real Mexican restaurant. They didn't seem to have menus, but I ordered cauldo chivo. Hope the spelling is correct. It was a fantastic bowl of soup with goat meat. Topped with fresh chopped onions, cilantro, lime juice, and a little hot sauce with a tortilla on the side, YUM! It was interesting to travel by highway, and driving through the desert was a treat, but really it's just another tourist thing and we didn't even go to the beach. 

Friday, we moved into the marina and stayed there two nights. It was kind of nice to have the boat in flat water and to be able to step off onto a dock. It had been nearly a month since we were last able to do that. It was also nice to have electricity, water, and showers! For this 35 foot boat, the fee was 54 dollars per day. When we are anchored out, getting to shore often means getting wet. Hitting waves in the dinghy sends water spraying over the bow. The water taxi charges $5 per person each way, so that's out. One morning I swam to the beach, but that's not practical if you're buying groceries. So it was nice to be able to just walk away and see the sights. I needed to see a dermatologist, and was able to get the name  and phone number of the one here in Cabo. I was able to get her on her cell phone, but I could not figure out what she was saying when she told me where her office was located. She did tell me to call at 2 pm, and I decided to be in her office at that time. I went to the marina office, gave them her name, and they looked her up on Google. They gave me her address, and I was sitting in her office before 2 pm. She got me in at about 2:15, checked me all out, gave me the sunscreen lecture in Spanish, and sent me on my way for 600 pesos - about 45 dollars. 

Saturday morning, I took the dinghy out in the bay to Greg's boat and picked up Kalel. We went across the bay to Lover's Beach, and then went snorkeling at a rock called Neptune's Finger. The fish were amazing. So was the surge from the ocean swell, and it certainly stretched my snorkeling comfort zone! It's a small world! Later in the day, I moved a load of clothes from the washer to the dryer and headed back to the boat to wait on the dryer. Along the way, a guy came and started walking beside me, close, to get my attention. I looked at him, and it was Jack from Tomahawk Bay back in Portland! He was here with his sister and her husband, we sat and had a cerveza. I enjoyed visiting with them very much! Jack is a sweetheart and it was good to see someone from home.

The Sea of Cortez is prone to strong winds from the north in the winter. These northers are reported to kick up really steep waves, and this year it seems that there have been a lot of them. We have been watching the forecast for several days, and one was forecast to start blowing late Sunday. It looks like it will be windy for most of the week, that means we'll be here for a while.  We will be leaving here on Thursday morning, Dec 8, headed to Los Frailes, which is a bay about 45 miles northeast of here. We will make some sotps along the way, but should be in La Paz and internet coverage in a week or so.

20 November

We are in Mag Bay and have been here for a few days now. It's really Bahia de Magdelena, and it is so long and wide that I can not see across it. We are anchored off a small village, and have spent a considerable amount of time there. No internet access, so this post will be uploaded later. We are here with 7 other sailboats currently, and we know most of them. This morning our friends Rick and Kira, on s/v Nyon, sailed for Puerto Vallarta. I hope to meet them again, somewhere! 

The sail here from Bahia de Tortugas was not uneventful! Our intent was to stop along the way at a place called Bahia San Juanico, but before we got there we ran over some floats and got the ropes wrapped around the prop. It was just after daylight, and the wind was about 15 knots, and we were not using the motor. The water going past the prop makes it turn though, so it can wrap lines even when it's not in use. Maybe the wind was closer to 20 knots - the waves were pretty tall and steep. We were about 20 miles offshore, so we hove-to and Ed put on his mask and fins and went in the ocean to take a look. It was pretty wild with the waves, and there was danger that the boat would hit him, so he decided to wait for calmer conditions before going under the boat. We discussed our options, and decided to continue on towards Bahia de Magdelena. San Juanico would have had us sailing to anchor in a place where there is a shore-wise setting current and rather small anchorage. Later that afternoon, the wind had dropped a bit, and the sea was calmer, and Ed was able to get the prop cleared. We continued sailing southeast toward Cabo Lazaro and Mag Bay, and the wind blew enough that we sailed all day and all night. The next morning, we were at the bay above the entrance to Mag Bay, which is called Bahia de Santa Maria. It is about 4 miles wide and 11 miles long, and we entered it and went to the northwest end of it. We anchored there for a night, and the water was 80 degrees, so I went snorkeling. Having not swam for about 10 years; it was fulfilling! I went swimming the next morning also, and then we left for Mag Bay. Just as we were leaving the Bay and entering the ocean, I saw a whale come out of the water in the distance. It continued coming out of the water, and the whole whale was in the air! You would not believe the splash that an adult Gray Whale makes when it free falls into the ocean! The spray that went up hung in the air for what seemed like minutes. I saw 2 breeches that day, along with a lot of fin slapping.

Back in Turtle Bay, there was a Mexican guy who hung out at Rogelio's palapa, named Kalel. Not sure if that's his real name or not, but he pronounces it like Superman's real name. He told us that he was from Cabo San Lucas, and was trying to get $100 dollars for a bus ticket to get back there. He speaks English as well as Spanish, and is a very nice and funny guy. He was very helpful to us and the other cruisers in our group during our time in Turtle Bay, and I really like him. One of the boats is a single hander from Canada named Greg, and I suggested to him that Kalel might be interested in going as far as Cabo with him. Greg talked to Kalel, and now Greg has crew who speaks fluent Espanol!

Yesterday morning while drinking my morning coffee, I opened a can of corn and used some to bait a hook. I immediately caught a small fish about 5 inches long, and kept it for bait. Later, I took it in the dinghy and went fishing for Rock Fish or Halibut. The problem is that I don't know enough about the habits of my quarry to be successful, yet. I did catch 2 nice fish that were each about 12 inches long, but I released them. It was fun, but I probably should have brought them home and made fish tacos out of them.

Yesterday was "Flag Day" here in Mexico, and last night this little town had a parade and then the whole town had an event at the basketball court. The townspeople brought various food items to sell to each other, and it was interesting! I tried two things: Champra something, which Kalel says is made from flour, milk, and chocolate cookies. It was thick like pudding, and warm, and served in cups. Interesting, but not something that I would drink very much of. The other thing that I tried was a flat crunchy chip like thing that was topped with lettuce, avocado, tomato, and drizzled with crema. It was good, but huge, so I ate half and gave the rest to Kalel. 

22 November

Well, we're still here at Mag Bay. Not sure why -  It's not that I don't want to stay - but better places are waiting! Today I aired up the kayak to get away for a little while, and went to shore and visited with Kalel. We hatched a plan to go snorkeling in an effort to find some scallops, and we came back to the boat and got the dinghy and Ed. We also told two neighboring boats that we were going, and Dave and Neal brought Dave's dinghy. We went about 2 miles to a rocky point, and then spent a couple of hours snorkeling. All the scallops that we found were empty. Kalel thinks that they were eaten by octopus. He caught one and we put it in the bucket. We also found several lobsters and they went in the bucket, too! When we got back to the sailboat, he and I cooked the lobster in butter and garlic, and we had a small feast for 9 people. Then we got the pressure cooker out to cook the octopus. Kalel cleaned it while I got about an inch of seawater in the bottom of the pan, and then I put the lid on and cooked it. I forgot to time it, but I think that it cooked for about 20 minutes after the pressure came up. When it came out of the pressure cooker, Kalel cleaned it up some more and cut it up into bite size pieces. He put it on a plate and squeezed fresh lime juice and hot sauce onto it, and oh my it was good! But back to the snorkeling for a minute - I am a really novice snorkeler, but It is so much fun! I snorkel around the boat here in the morning (it's my bath) but the water here is between 20 and 30 feet deep with a sandy bottom. I can't see it, so it's just about the swimming. But when I got to the rocky area today, and nearer shore, I was amazed by all the fish! The lobsters are not easy to find, because they are hiding under the rocks. Very fun!

29 November

We ended up waiting through thanksgiving, and having a get together at the dulceria on the beach. Teri and several others went to San Carlos and Cuidad Constiticion to get fixins for thanksgiving dinner; it's a "30 minute ride in a fast boat" from the village where we were anchored. Apparently it was quite a trip, because when they arrived in San Carlos, they loaded the panga on a trailer and continued to ride in the panga, on the trailer, for some distance. Teri was not back from that excursion until well after dark. In the meantime, a new cruiser had arrived in Mag Bay, and anchored at Belcher's Cove, which was a couple of miles away from us. They were not able to get their engine started, and somehow I ended up going to see if I could fix it. This boat was beautiful: a 2008 Bruce Robert's design, 54 foot steel hulled center cockpit cutter rig. It had an 84 hp cummins diesel that would not start. I spent most of the day - Thanksgiving day - trying to get it to run. It wasn't easy, because there were a couple of problems. The full tank (one of four) had a plugged fuel line, which I was able to blow out by inserting the fuel hose into one of those compressed air horns and squeezing the button. The major problem turned out to be that the electric fuel solenoid in the injector pump was not working. It took a while to figure that out, because I could hear it operating so I thought it might be working. I took it out and the piston was free, so I put it back together and bled the system yet again. Eventually, everything pointed to that solenoid. So we pulled the piston out and put it back together sans piston. Problem solved! By the time I arrived at thanksgiving dinner, everyone had finished eating and I had to scarf it while they were cleaning up.

The next day, when there should no longer be any possible reason to stay another day longer, we got stuck in a weather hold. The wind howled from the northeast for a few days, and we did not weigh anchor until early on Monday the 28th. The forecast was still for wind from the northeast up to 30 knots, but I was pretty confident that it had blown itself out, and we left Bahia de Magdelena in light winds from the northeast before sunrise. The trip to Cabo San Lucas was about 158 miles direct, and a direct route would take us offshore a considerable distance, which would result in a longer fetch for the wind to build waves if it was from the northeast. We figured that by the time we cleared Isla Margarita (early in the trip) that we would be able to decide whether to proceed direct or to stay close to the shore and take higher winds but smaller waves. 

Look for my next blog update to learn what we actually experienced!

Turtle Bay

Bahia de Tortugas, Baja California Sur. On the charts, it's called Puerto San Bartolome. To cruisers, it's simply "Turtle Bay". The trip here from Ensenada took us 49 hours, and was about 290 miles. Leaving Ensenada, we were visited by several Blue whales, and two of them got to within 50 yards or so from us. They are huge, and graceful, and their spout is like a "V". They are a heck of a lot bigger than this boat! We motored away from Ensenada into a direct headwind, having to go west to get out past Punta Banda, at which point we turned to the southeast and set sail. We motor sailed for a few hours, and then were able to shut it down and let the wind take us. The wind was forecast to be light, but it freshened to 15 - 20 knots and seemed to stay that way all the way here. At one point during one of the nights, I saw it hit 29 knots, and since I was steering the boat, Teri came up to help me reduce sail somewhat. With moderate swell and steep wind waves, it was actually a rather rough 2 days.

The Mexican coastline is very scalloped, and about 100 miles south of Ensenada we left the coastline and took a direct course to pass just to the west of Isla Cedros. This course took us quite a ways offshore, and for the first time I was able to look completely around the boat and not see land. It was also amazing to go for a day and night without seeing any other boats! With the wind blowing up pretty good waves, we made good time but I was very aware that we were on our own. In addition to the isolation, there were also all the warnings that the charts are not totally accurate and some of the coastline was last mapped by the U.S.S. Ranger in 1890 -1892. To drive the point home, the first afternoon out of Ensenada we sailed past two haystack type rocks that were not on the charts! So getting offshore further was good, because the water was charted to be about 7000 feet deep. 

We sailed down the west side side of Isla Cedros, and after clearing it by a good margin we turned southeast again, rejoining the coastline at Punta Eugenia and continuing another 20 miles or so to Turtle Bay. It was morning, and the wind was blowing briskly from the northeast, so it was on the beam or forward a little to close hauled. It was my watch, and the autopilot was doing a great job of driving the boat, so I was kicking back and trimming the sails for maximum speed. I was over 7 knots for a long time, which was perfect because it was fast enough to convince a Yellowfin Tuna that the cedar plug we were towing was its next meal. The handline went tight and I yelled "fish on!" and pulled it in. Ed estimates that it was about 20 pounds, and it was a beautiful fish. In all the excitement, I did not get a good picture of it. Ed filleted it immediately, and we had fish for three days! Too bad we don't have any wasabi aboard!

We had met several cruisers in Ensenada who were heading south, and many of us left there on the same day. I'm happy to report that they all arrived here, although some of them took considerably longer than others. Today most of us got together on the beach at a small place that is run by a guy named Rogelio. He has a little snack bar and happens to sell cerveza for 15 pesos, and it didn't take long until we had quite a party going. It was fun to get to know some of the other people who are doing the same thing as we are, and compare stories about the trip from Ensenada. Many are from the Pacific Northwest. 

SEVERAL DAYS LATER: Well, it's Monday morning, and the storm has passed. We moved to the south side of the bay in advance of a storm, and had a windy but not too rough ride. Those who stayed on the north side reported 6 foot waves breaking, and a local sailboat actually sank. The top of the mast is still sticking up out of the water. We are gathering last minute provisions, and plan to leave this afternoon. We only have 75 gallons of water capacity, and ran out last night. This morning Ed had Enrique bring 50 gallons, and we poured a 7 gallon jug that we had aboard in the tank too, so we have 57 gallons in the tank, and our reserve is empty. So, we are leaving with about 70% of our capacity - not sure about the wisdom of that, but it'll be interesting! In the meantime, I'll be fishing and sailing.

We checked out of the Bay Club Marina on Monday, the 1st of November. Moved the boat about a half mile to the "Police Docks". Because there is no place that anchoring is allowed (during the week), we took a slip there. Met some other boats who were also about to head south, and talked about the weather forecast that included Santa Ana Winds gusting to 70 knots. We decided that we were far enough south to be safe. 

Ed got up at midnight and got under way. When my watch started at 0300, we were in Mexican waters. Tijuana was astern and the Islas de Coronados were coming up on starboard. The wind was on the stern at about 5 knots, so we were motoring. Within a half hour, the wind began to freshen, and soon we had enough to get over 6 knots. The motor pushes the boat along at about 5 knots, so another knot is a 20% increase! Seas were gentle, and the autopilot was doing a fine job of driving the boat, so I was able to move forward in the cockpit and play with sail trim and look at the sky and ocean. It was a moonless night, but with fog forming and a kind of haziness that limited visibility to overhead. I saw a lot of falling stars, and the reflection of Jupiter on the water was amazing.

 On Teri's watch before my next one started, we were beam reaching on a starboard tack. The wind was light, but out of nowhere it started gusting to 28 knots. Teri has that kind of luck; not enough wind for awesome sailing, punctuated by "what the hell was that" conditions! We were about 5 miles offshore, and it was katabatic wind flowing out of the huge Guadelupe Canyon. We got a little thrill out of that and both sails got reefed for a little while! 

My next watch started at 1000, and again the wind built, so I shut down the engine and sailed the rest of the way to Ensenada. I love it when I have full sails up, 15 to 18 knots of wind on the beam, and 7 knots over the ground! Don't think it's quiet, because at that speed there is a lot noise as the boat hits waves. In fact, the wind pushes up these little (sometimes huge) waves, and then they fizzle and reform, and they do not die quietly. So even without us there, would it be noisy? If a tree falls in the forest, and there is no one there to hear it, did it make any sound?

The approach to Ensenada was uneventful. We are at a marina called Baja Naval. It is nice, and very close to downtown Ensenada. After clearing customs, Teri and I walked for a while, and got a couple of margaritas for the walk back to the boat. It's kind of fun to walk around with a margarita in a styrofoam cup, and these were excellent! Upon returning to the boat, we ran into our neighbors on s/v Eagle, Tom and Jeanne. We had talked with them on VHF several weeks ago after leaving Monterrey, and we had met them in San Diego. Since Teri had a lasagna in the oven and we had just bought some fresh bread at the panaderia, Teri invited them over for dinner. They brought a salad and a bottle of red, and of course I had opened a large bottle to start breathing before they arrived, so we had a feast! I very much enjoyed the evening with good food, good wine, and getting to know this wonderful couple!

Today the three of us walked into town and had a taco and a cervesa for lunch. Muy bueno! They are forecasting gale force winds tomorrow, so we are staying put until after the system blows through. In the meantime, we'll keep enjoying life here in Ensenada! Hasta luego!

We arrived in San Diego on Sunday morning, and spent most of the day being lazy because we were up all night crossing down from Catalina Island. The Harbor Police Docks on Shelter Island are OK, but bathrooms and showers leave a lot to be desired. On Monday morning, we tuned in to the cruisers net on VHF, and found out about a coffee klatch at Downwind Marine scheduled for 10 AM. So we put the motor on the dinghy and drove over to a nearby beach, and walked the rest of the way. While there, we met some other cruisers, and from one couple we learned about about a great deal on a slip that they had found. Calling that marina, we were able to get a slip for 2 weeks for $261. So we moved the boat to Bay Club Motel and Marina, and this is a great spot!

It is about a 1/2 mile walk to Downwind Marine, and also to West Marine. I am amazed at how many marine businesses are here - it's a whole industry here! Today I splurged and bought a fishing pole, which I plan to use once we get south of the border (I have a Mexican fishing license, but not one for California). I see fish tacos in my future!!

Ed has been working on getting insurance coverage for Mexico, and finally got that secured this morning.    We have researched the paper chart options and have decided to go with the Yachtsman brand; the book that covers the west coast of Mexico costs $100. Not a bad price, but they are not as nice as the Maptech paper charts that we used on the way down from Astoria. Even though we have a chart plotter at the helm, and Ed has charts in his laptop computer, the paper charts were indispensable in making the trip. Every hour, we would write down our GPS coordinates, speed, and heading on a log that I created. Then we would put a X on the chart and note the time. This way, if the electronics fail, we know where we were at the last hour as well as the speed and heading since then. Paper charts also helped in planning. Before departing from any port, we would look at the chart, decide where we wanted to go, and chose the waypoints for each leg. Then we would measure the length and heading for each leg, and after programming the waypoints into the chart plotter, we could check the headings and distances against the chart. Don't leave home without it!

Not sure what I will do with all my time here - we are not leaving here before Nov 1. Maybe I'll slip the line in the water behind the boat and see what kind of fish are swimming around. I have been walking every day and getting at least a mile, usually 2. We have a list of chores to do on the boat, including washing it inside and out, and some repairs to do.  Last night, Teri and went to a seminar to learn about cooking meals in pressure cookers. There were about 40 people there, and the 2 guys with the pressure cookers did a great job. I learned a lot and look forward to practicing some of it! We are planning to take Ed and Teri's grandsons sailing on Saturday! Hope I can still remember how to sail!

I am going to try to change how this blog looks for this post:

A bison on Catalina Island

Arriving at Avalon in the fog!