Sailing the Dream

Back to La Paz and Winter Weather Patterns

2012-01-15T08:23:00.000-08:00

It's been difficult to begin sharing our travels. Perhaps it's because I know we will be on an abbreviated schedule this season due to family milestones that far out weigh the mundane muses of our travels. There are two events this year that will draw us away from cruising the sea. The first is the birth of our first grandchild and the second is the marriage of another of our daughters. Both coincide with the fair weather in Mexico and both are far more important to us than our time on the boat.

So far this winter, southern California has experienced some warm and sunny weather caused by a high pressure dome over the four-corners area of the United States. This adiabatic phenomena results in an off-shore air flow along the southwest coast of California, accompanied by compression of the air mass as it moves down the coastal mountains, creating warm, dry and clear conditions. For those of us in the Sea of Cortez these same conditions result in a not so benign weather pattern.

That same high pressure ridge over the central western United States also causes airflow southward, across the low lying desert, down the Colorado river basin and into the northern reaches of the Sea of Cortez. While the air is usually clear, it has not undergone any abrupt elevation compression and remains cool. It flows southward, unimpeded along the entire fetch of the Sea of Cortez creating steep wind-waves (up to 10 feet) that are generally at a very short interval (5-6 seconds) creating what are described locally as a square wave pattern.

Winds generally will blow anywhere from a consistent 20-25 knots with gusts upwards of 30-40 knots. These conditions can last for days on end, creating a very uncomfortable environment to exist in and a potentially dangerous one to be sailing in. Most tend to hunker down in their boats to read and play games to pass the time. Depending on the proximity to the nearest land, venturing outside exposes one to blowing dust and sand. It loses it's charm after three or four days of constant blowing. This winter seems to have had more than its fair share of these 'Northers'.

We experienced these weather conditions during most of our stay in Puerto Escondido. Conditions were often severe enough to make it impossible to do any fiberglass work on our rudder. When all the repair work was completed, we also had to wait for a weather window in order to relaunch. Due to the high winds and accompanying gusts, the boat crane operators do not perform boat launching maneuvers during these conditions because of the danger of boats swinging in the crane slings.

After launching we spent a couple of days on a mooring ball in the protected harbor at Puerto Escondido before leaving with our buddy boat, Mingaat (Don Anderson and his Islander 36, along with crew, Captain Mary Campbell) for our trip south to La Paz. We spent three uneventful days covering the 120 nm back to La Paz, anchoring at Bahia San Marte the first night and Isla San Francisco the second before making our final push to La Paz.

The Start to the 2011 Cruising Season

2011-12-08T10:33:00.000-08:00

It has been a busy summer at home and we're finally ready to pack up the truck and head back to the boat. Citla has spent the hurricane season in the Fonatur boat yard in Puerto Escondido, just south of Loreto, Baja California Sur. We've been away from her since May and look forward to the reunion.

The drive south was uneventful until just north of Santa Rosalia in Baja California Sur. I'm only including this story to counter some of the paranoia and fear many people have regarding the police in Mexico. We had made the descent down the Tres Viregenes grade and were make time (e.g., exceeding the posted 80km speed limit) going south. Cresting a grade, about 15km north of town, I spotted a car about a quarter of a mile on the opposite side of the road. Almost immediately upon cresting the hill, the car activated it's overhead red-flashing lights. I turned on my flashers and began coasting down the dip in the road and back up the rise to the police car. A federal officer met the truck on the road and asked for my drivers license. After a brief series of questions, he advised the posted speed limit was 80km and not 125km (80mph). He told us, being a Friday evening, if he issued a ticket we'd have to stay in Santa Rosalia until Monday to take care of it. Instead he issued a warning and politely suggested we slow down. We thanked him and proceeded on our way.

Just north of town, at the Federal Police headquarters, another set of police cars were parked and a second officer stopped us, had a polite conversation and allowed us to be on our way. Needless to say, we heeded the first warning and drove the speed limit and were glad we did.

We arrived in Puerto Escondido to find the trailing edge of the rudder that had been repaired previously at Driscolls (along with unexpected deformations along the leading and bottom edge of the rudder). Since we had to repair the trailing edge, we decided to try to reshape the entire foil. Well, three weeks later, we're nearly there. It's not perfect, but much better than it was. We hope to have the boat back in the water this Tuesday. More later...

The Egret and the Oystercatcher

2011-05-16T11:27:00.000-07:00

On our way from La Paz to Puerto Escondido prior to Loerto Fest, we spent one night anchored just off the beach north of Punta Prieta. With the wind out of the southeast and the swell out of the east, taking the anchorage just south of Punta Prieta, in the cove at San Telmo, didn't seem appealing. We continued around the rocky promontory that is Punta Prieta and pulled within 30 yards of the beach, immediately west of the rocks. We anchored in about 12 feet of water over sand. The three foot swell outside of the point was still being refracted to where we were anchored, but was diminished in size to less than a foot. We joined s/v Intuition, anchored 100 yards further off the beach (draft of 8') and later were joined by s/v Far Country. The night at anchor started out with a little roll, but by midnight both the wind and swell had subsided.

As is our custom, taking the first cups of coffee in the morning in the cockpit, we spent time enjoying the desert scape and the bird life on the beach. There were several snowy egrets spread out along the one mile beach. We've always found these birds to be solitary but never had an opportunity to observe them when more than one was present. Over the course of a half hour, we saw a number of instances where if two

came within 20 yards of each other, whether walking along the sand or landing too close, the dominant bird would challenge the interloper, chasing him both running and in flight until the dominant birds' territory was reclaimed and his solitude restored. We observed this behavior several times, up and down the beach.

Scanning the beach through binoculars, we observed an Egret foraging along the shoreline in the close company of another individual. An American Oystercatcher and the Egret seemed to be enjoying

an early morning stroll up the beach usually with less than a foot separating them. We observed them as they foraged together for over a quarter of a mile, each alternating taking the lead. While this was interesting to us, given the Egrets normal solitary behavior, we were amazed at what we saw next.

As the odd couple made their way further up the beach, they were approaching another beach combing Egret. When within approximately twenty yards of the solitary forager, the Egret from the odd couple took flight and challenged the lone stranger for territory. After successfully chasing the lone bird away, the odd couple Egret flew back and landed on the beach right next to the Oystercatcher and they continued their intimate stroll along the beach.

Anyone who loves nature and animals in their natural habitat, will find themselves mesmerized by the opportunities cruising in the Sea of Cortez offers for such experiences. Encounters, such as these, leave me with the same wonder of the world around me as when I was a young child.

What We Love About the Sea of Cortez

2011-04-01T15:52:00.000-07:00

"...Let us go," we said, "into the Sea of Cortez, realizing that we become forever a part of it; that our rubber boots slogging through a flat of eel-grass, that the rocks we turn over in a tide pool, make us truly and permanently a factor in the ecology of the region. We shall take something away from it, but we shall leave something too." And if we seem a small factor in a huge pattern, nevertheless it is of relative importance. We take a tiny colony of soft corals from a rock in a little water world. And that isn't terribly important to the tide pool. Fifty miles away the Japanese shrimp boats are dredging with overlapping scoops, bringing up tons of shrimps, rapidly destroying the species so that it may never come back, and with the species destroying the ecological balance of the whole region. That isn't very important in the world. And thousands of miles away the great bombs are falling and the stars are not moved thereby. None of it is important or all of it is.

John Steinbeck, The Log from the Sea of Cortez

Some of the things we love about cruising in the Sea of Cortez include:

* The Mexican people in general and those of Baja in particular.

* The opportunity to experience and learn a new culture.

* The opportunity to learn a new language.

* Seeing the abundance of sea life.

* The clarity of the water.

* Sailing destinations within a days' sail.

* The pristine anchorages.

* The camaraderie among the cruisers.

* The rugged remoteness of the Sea.

* The tranquility to be found.

* The night sky with all the phenomenal stars and planets.

* Experiencing the historical city of La Paz and others on the peninsula.

* The opportunity to share this experience with friends and family.

Kevin Young's Sailing Visit to La Paz

2011-03-27T10:37:00.000-07:00

We took a short break from cruising, making a 10-day visit back up to San Diego. This allowed us to file our taxes and host a bridal shower for our daughter, Chantal. These events provided two reminders, that unlike our cruising existence, the real world continues to progress in an organized, temporal fashion.

We were joined on our return flight south by an old work friend and sailing enthusiast, Kevin Young. In spite of his trepidation regarding travel safety in Mexico, he placed his trust in our hands and accompanied us on our trip back to La Paz. We taxied from our house, dropping our daughter off at the airport for her return to San Francisco and continued on to the Greyhound bus station in downtown San Diego to catch the shuttle to the Tijuana airport. It was gray and wet in San Diego when we departed and continued to drizzle all the way to the General Abelardo L. Rodríguez International Airport in Tijuana.

The airport was busy when we arrived and Kevin and I had to apply for FMM visas (usually issued for 6-months, mine was about to expire) before checking in to the airlines. Our luggage was x-rayed upon entry to the

ticket terminal area; all checked luggage underwent hand inspection before being checked at the ticket counter; and, all carry-on bags were x-rayed once again when passengers were checked through the metal detectors. We're not certain if this redundancy in security either confused or impressed Kevin, but once into the airport concourse, the boarding and flight went flawlessly. We arrived at El Alto International Airport in La Paz in the early afternoon and were picked up by our friend Mike on s/v Trig, who was kind enough to drive our truck to the airport. In contrast to the weather in San Diego, it was sunny and bright in La Paz with the temperature in the mid-80's. After dropping our bags off at the boat, we made a trip out to Playa Balandra to show Kevin one of the beaches here in La Paz.

We spent the first full day after our arrival cleaning and provisioning the boat before exploring a little of the town. The following day we topped off the water tanks and prepared to get underway for a trip to the islands to the north of La Paz. We cast off around 11:30 a.m. and motored out of the channel and into Bahia de La Paz. We hoisted the main and unfurled the genoa and began a long tack to the west, paralleling the shoreline of El Magote. We noted large reddish-brown swaths in the water and determined them to be currents containing blooms of red-tide. We held this westward tack for about 6 nm before tacking toward Isla Espiritu Santo, to our north. About the same time, Kevin broke out the fishing pole and, armed with a silver Rappala, began trolling for fish.

We continued on this tack for another 12-13 nm before falling into the

islands wind shadow. We furled in the genoa and began motor sailing under main, alone. As the distance to the island was closed, we motor sailed past the anchorage and large beach at Bahia San Gabriel. We continued up the coast passing a large group of kayakers camped at El Empachado and on to the three lobes of Puerto Ballena. We passed on the inside of Isla Gallina and the southern most lobe at Ensenada la Gallina with one boat anchored there. The middle lobe, Ensenada el Gallo, had two boats at anchor, so we proceeded between the point of the island separating the middle and northern most lobe and Isla Gallo. The anchorage at Ensenada de la Raza, the most northern of the three lobes, was empty of other boats. Luckless with fishing, Kevin reeled in the fishing line and prepared to anchor.

Kevin dropped anchor at about the middle of this anchorage in about 20-feet over sand. He paid out an appropriate amount of scope before I backed down on the anchor, insuring its' purchase in the bottom. We all sat back in the cockpit to take inventory of this lovely anchorage. Mangroves framed the white sand beach to our east, which was tucked into the folds of the two promontories forming the north and south boundaries of the cove. To the southwest were the two small cactus covered islands, El Gallo and La Gallina, with their own flock of Frigate birds and seagulls wheeling over each. To the west the sun was getting low over the distant cliffs of the western shore of Bahia de La Paz.

With the sun getting low in the sky, Kevin set about shelling and cleaning

the kilo of shrimp we had purchased the previous day. Meanwhile, Kathie prepared the fresh garlic, olive oil and butter in the saute pan for the shrimp. She also cooked some whole-wheat fettuccine and added pesto. All of this was accompanied with a plate of sliced fresh tomatoes. We enjoyed dinner alfresco at sunset and savored both the food and the setting.

Nightfall brought a full sky of stars and planets, seemingly unaffected by the luminosity of city lights some 20 nm to our south. Night time also brought us a curious sea lion who played and fished within yards of the boat before finally leaving the cove. We all turned in to the start of a peaceful night at anchor.

All was well until shortly after 12:30 a.m. when the coromuel winds began to build out of the west. In addition to causing the halyards to clang against the mast, the winds also generated short wind waves which caused the boat to rock. Normally, the motion these bring would be soothing. However, since Citla tends to dance on her anchor, when the waves were bow-on they were comforting, but when the boat danced to the side, the waves caused a side-to-side rolling which makes it very difficult to sleep (unless one is in a hammock). Too tired to care about noisy halyards, I went back to bed to fight through the sideways rolling, hoping the motion didn't foretell of the boats dragging anchor.

We all awoke the next morning to bright sunshine and calm winds. None

of us were particularly rested from the previous nights noise and motion, but we enjoyed the serenity of the morning at anchor nonetheless. Kevin really wanted to do more sailing. Between the noise and motion of the previous night and his desire to confirm his flight back to San Diego on Saturday, he opted to forgo another night at anchor, but instead spend the day sailing and making our way back to the marina in La Paz.

We had breakfast while waiting for the wind to fill. Once the dishes were cleaned and everything was stowed, Kevin hoisted the anchor and mainsail and we made our way out between Isla Gallo and Isla Ballena to the north. The wind was blowing between 12 and 14 knots when we unfurled the genoa and took off to the northeast. It was decided we'd sail up island until reaching Caleta Partida, where we'd jibe and reach back towards La Paz. We enjoyed a glorious morning of sailing north along Espiritu Santo and then jibing and reaching back down the coast. Once as far south as Bahia San Gabriel, we jibed onto the opposite tack and were reaching west, towards El Magote in the distance. Once again, Kevin decided to drag the silver Rappala behind us in the hopes of catching a fish.

We had been on a deep reach sailing along at around 5.5 knots for over an hour when the fishing reel began to sing. I took the helm from Kevin and he took the rod and began to reel. Initially, his efforts were to no avail.

It was not until he tightened the drag considerably did he begin to make progress in closing the distance between the flashing neon color at the lines end and the stern of the still reaching Citla. After a bit more than 15 minutes of fighting the fish, Kevin landed a respectable Dorado weighing around 15-18 pounds. I spent the next 20-30 minutes filleting two large pieces of fish for the refrigerator. Once done, the bony carcass was disposed of into the Sea and the side deck was swabbed clean of the blood.

Invigorated by his first salt water catch (and the largest fish he ever landed), Kevin retook the helm continuing to pilot us towards our marina. The wind began to fade in late afternoon, so in with the genoa and on with the diesel. A bit more than an hour of motor sailing brought us to the channel mouth and 30 minutes later to the entrance of Marina de La Paz. After tucking the boat in, we proceeded to La Costa restaurant, fresh fillets in hand, and had the fish cooked and served with rice and drinks. The cooks prepared the fish using three different recipes: breaded and deep fried; with garlic and butter; and, Veracruz style, with tomatoes, green olives, capers and onions. There was more than enough fish for the three of us and each presentation was delicious. We left sated carrying almost half the fish as left overs.

We spent Friday walking along the Malecon and shopping for recuerdos (remembrances) for Kevin's kids and friends. Kevin also confirmed his flight and had the marina office print out his boarding pass. Later that afternoon, we took a drive out to the outskirts of La Paz, to visit the poorer neighborhoods. Kevin had observed earlier that most of the people of La Paz all seemed to be middle class. A drive through the dirt roads out towards the land-fill demonstrated that not all of the city's population is middle class.

Friday night was Kevin's last night in La Paz. Coincidentally, it also marked the last night in La Paz for our friends on s/v Merlot. They were leaving the following morning to head up into the Sea of Cortez and eventually up to San Carlos to store their boat for the summer months. Larry and Fran from Merlot, Mike from s/v Trig, Kevin, Kathie and I all went for a sunset dinner together on the second floor of Rancho Viejo Mariscos. We shared dinner and drink above a view of the La Paz harbor at sunset.

After our meal, Mike left to go back to his boat and the rest of us walked along the Malecon to our favorite ice-cream store, La Fuente, where we all ordered ice-cream for desert. We sat on the colorful benches in front of La Fuente for some time enjoying the scene and each others company. It was getting late and the crew of the Merlot had to turn in to be ready for their morning departure. We headed back down the Malecon toward the marina, joining families, kids on bicycles and others on roller blades, enjoying the fresh night air along the harbor.

We were up early Saturday morning and were able to send off Trig and Merlot from the marina; Merlot on her cruise north and Trig out to the

islands for the weekend. Kevin collected his belongings and packed for his afternoon departure. After breakfast we took Kevin to the Ibarra pottery studio in the southeast part of town where he purchased several unique pieces of pottery to be given as gifts. We returned to the boat around noon and Kathie prepared avocados, cilantro, tomatoes and warm tortillas to be served with the remainder of the left over dorado. It was fish tacos for lunch just in time before our departure to the airport. Just a bit after 1 p.m. we dropped Kevin at the airport in La Paz and he began his journey home.

Kevin had a very short stay in La Paz and we hope he enjoyed it as much as we did. We did have an opportunity to do some sailing and visit at least one of the offshore anchorages. Best of all, Kevin was able to catch his first salt water fish and, being a dorado (mahi-mahi), it couldn't have been much better. We'll be thinking of you while you're back at work...

Carnaval in La Paz

2011-03-07T10:06:00.000-08:00

If you imagine a stereotypical cross between an old-time country fair and

a family street party with a Latin flair you will come pretty close to Carnaval in La Paz. Cotton candy, balloon vendors, street food and carny rides fill over a mile long section of the bay-front Malecon for five days. The street is closed down to traffic in the evening and open to the people of La Paz to stroll and enjoy.

There are bands, belly dancers, Tahitian dancers, and live entertainment

of all kinds offered at several stages along the Malecon from sundown until the early morning hours. Games of skill and games of chance are offered up by barkers. There's even a large bingo-type game for young and old alike filling the promenade along the east end of the historic La Perla Hotel. All variety of trinkets are for sale, including purses, shirts, lighted head bands, theme-blankets (Winnie the Pooh, etc.) and more. Much of it is likely from Mexico, but I'm pretty certain China also has a presence.

Food and drink can be found all along the fair venue. Ice cream, sodas,

hot dogs, tacos, gorditas de Nata, hot crossed buns, candied fruit and vegetables (including squash and cactus), cold beer and mixed tropical drinks can all be purchased along the route. The restaurants along the way spill tables out onto the street to better attract and serve customers.

There are carnival rides for kids and the young adults (and, admittedly

for some of the less risk adverse older folks). These include everything from miniature Ferris wheels and merry-go-rounds to bumper cars (any direction of travel is okay) and 360-degree, hammer-rides for the older kids. The mechanical oversight and overall condition of these rides, while suspect under the best conditions, would cause insurance underwriters in the U.S. to succumb from shock and disbelief. There are even a few side-show acts showing animals that defy description and the "smallest girl in the world".

The last several days of the festival are highlighted by parades featuring

floats with the Queen of Carnaval and her entourage, as well as, floats featuring the junior kings and queens in elaborate costumes and the Queen from the previous year. There are bands on trucks, dancers on floats, dancers in the street and Corona and Pacifico beer trucks serving as spacers between the various groups. Everyone has eggs that have been emptied and refilled with confetti. These are broken over peoples heads or thrown at targets to cover them with confetti as the egg shell breaks and spills its' colorful contents.

It's not the biggest nor the wildest Carnaval celebration in the world, but it does have something to offer for everyone. Every year it is well attended by the people of La Paz and visitors that are lucky enough to be here during this time of year.

Hanging Out on the Boat in La Paz

2011-02-26T13:57:00.000-08:00

It's still winter in Baja California Sur. While the daytime temperatures can range from the mid-70's to the upper 80's, night time temperatures dip

down into the low-50's and occasionally to the high-40's. Like many of our fellow cruisers, on our previous trip to Mexico we headed south during the early part of the year, rather than staying in the Sea of Cortez. By going south during January and February, you follow the warmer weather and head back towards the Sea towards the end of March, when the night time temperatures and the water begin to warm. Cold 'Northers' also become a thing of memory. Fortunately, besides enjoying warm nights, warm water and secluded anchorages, the other draw to cruising is being able to visit foreign ports and immerse ourselves in both the culture and language.

Between the weather and guests, we've spent more time in town and less time on the water than on our previous trip. The city of La Paz has a plethora of activities to offer citizens and visitors, alike, so exploring the city continues to be rewarding. The Centro Cultural La Paz (the old ornate brick and stone city hall on 16th de

Septiembre at Belisario Domingo) has undergone reconstruction and now serves as a venue for cultural presentations. Currently, there is a comprehensive display covering both the natural history and the human history of Baja California Sur. Murals display photos, narrative and graphic art depicting all that can be found in Baja California Sur from antelope to vaqueros. On the upper floor there are art galleries featuring local contemporary artist. Also included in the building is a tourist information office and a good Spanish language book store.

This week, Kathie and I attended our first free cultural presentation given at Se Habla La Paz (a Spanish language school located in a beautiful

house on Francisco I. Madero, between Republica and Guerrero). These presentations are offered every Tuesday afternoon. They're presented in Spanish and last a bit over an hour. This weeks presentation was a history of Mariachi music. The group that attended was approximately 15 in number and was conducted as an interactive discussion that served to help build vocabulary, as well as a better understanding of the history and cultural significance of this traditional music.

During our time here, we have also attended a few of the Wednesday night jam sessions held across the street from Marina de La Paz at the

Ciao Molino Restaurant. Last night found us at the Teatro de Ciudad (located at Navarro and Heroes de Independencia) for Noche de Trova (or a night with the troubadour). It was a fund raiser for the Mexican Red Cross and featured a half-dozen groups from Baja California Sur with regional music, Cuban music and more traditional romantic Mexican ballads. The latter was performed by a group of fourteen guitarist none younger than 60, with most in their 70's and 80's. The music they presented was a crowd favorite and a show-stopper.

The music scene isn't as easily found in La Paz as in places like La Cruz de Huanacaxtle, it does exist, but is a bit more difficult to ferret out. The Roz in La Paz (http://rozinlapaz.com) website provides a wealth of information regarding music venues, as well as other cultural events that take place in town. This visit to La Paz we've made greater use of this information and have found a whole new facet of the city to enjoy.

With another Norther expected in two days, we'll likely continue or exploration of La Paz and some of Roz's suggested events!

This is dedicated to one of the friendliest and nicest guys on the staff of Marina de La Paz, who passed away this week. Nacho we don't think you realized what an impression you made on the marina guests and staff. Adios Nacho.

Willy Littig's Visit to La Paz

2011-02-18T14:34:00.000-08:00

Just before 8 p.m. on November 10, found us driving down Independencia, towards the Malecon, to the bus station in La Paz. We spotted our old high school chum and noted Salt Lake City stained-glass artist, Willy Littig, preparing to engage the services of a taxi. We picked him up and were off to the marina.

We spent the first several days exploring La Paz and sampling a few of the local restaurants. We finally had the opportunity to go out and cruise the Espiritu Santo and Partida islands about 20 miles northeast, off of the city of La Paz.

The day was sunny, clear and warm with very little in the way breeze.

Motor sailing off Pichilingue we spotted large areas in the water that appeared disturbed. Motoring over to these areas we discovered schools of rays swimming just under the surface. Periodically, the tips of their wings would break the surface, adding to the surface disturbance. After following this school for a time and disturbing their formation, we changed course and headed out towards the San Lorenzo channel and the islands.

On the way out we encountered our marina neighbors, Bruce and Judy, on the sailing vessel JUCE. They were motoring back after spending the weekend at Ensenada de Los Muertos. While they didn't have such a good anchorage at Playa Bonanza Saturday night, they did have a quiet time over Super Bowl Sunday in Muertos. We continued on our way towards the islands while JUCE headed back towards the harbor.

Just northwest of San Lorenzo channel and about two-miles west of the south end of Espiritu Santo island we had a strike on the silver and white Rapala we were trolling. After about 20 minutes of horsing the fishing pole we were able to land a tuna of about 15 pounds. The landing resulted in the typical bloody mayhem that makes fishing from a sailboat less than optimum. Off-setting the task of clean-up was that we now had fresh fish for dinner.

We continued up the western side of Espiritu Santo island, looking into each of the anchorages as we passed, in search for the perfect spot for the evening. While there weren't a great many boats out in the islands, each of the first several coves were occupied with at least a single boat. We searched from Bahia San Gabriel in the south, all the way up to Caleta Partida up at the northern tip of Espiritu Santo before finally settling on Ensenada El Candelero, one cove south of Partida.

We anchored in the northern lobe, just off the cliffs and about even with the eastern end of Roca Monumento, the large rock that defines the western edge of the reef that extends from the beach. Willy dropped the hook in about 20-feet of clear water over a sand bottom and we set the anchor after paying out a scope of about 6:1. About the same time, another sailboat motored into the southern lobe and set anchor on the opposite side of the anchorage.

Once settled, we enjoyed our setting with the cave-pocked cliffs and cactus to our north; sandy beach to our east; Monument rock to our

south; and, across the bay to the west, the spectacular mountain cliffs were highlighted with the pinks, oranges and blues of the setting sun. With the sun setting, we fired off the barbecue and put on a one-hour fresh tuna fillet. The evening was spent over dinner, chilled white wine and good conversation. As is usual when we're anchored, bed time came early. Save for a few fresh gusts, we spent a comfortable night at anchor.

We all were up before the sun crested the island peak to the east. Waiting for the sun to warm the cockpit, we watched several vessels motor north past the entrance to the anchorage. When the sun finally rose high enough to shine into the boat, we had already had our first cup of coffee and were enjoying breakfast. The sandy beach was populated with a flock of turkey vultures warming themselves in the suns rays. Our anchoring neighbor weighed anchor, motored over for a brief chat between boats before heading back to Palmira Marina in La Paz.

A short time later, Willy hauled up our anchor and we continued our journey north, along the eastern shores of Isla Espiritu Santo and Isla

Partida. The morning turned into a bright sunny day with just a wisp of a breeze and flat water. We rounded the northern end of Isla Partida a motored between the gap between the island and Los Islotes (the two guano covered rocks that rise abruptly off the northern end of Partida and serve as a major sea lion rookery). There were several tourist pangas around the island, but the only sea lions we observed we sunning themselves on the low rock bench between the two islets.

The eastern side of Partida is a high jumble of rock faces and rock slides that tumble down to the water. All along the eastern side of both Isla Partida and further south on Isla Espiritu Santo there are few inlets suitable for overnight anchorages. Making our way down towards the final third of Espiritu Santo, the wind began to increase and there was one other sailboat sailing to our southeast. By then we were already to the reef at Punta La Bonanza.

Rather than sail for the last mile, we continued motoring under mainsail

and gave the reef a wide berth before heading west-northwest to the anchorage tucked behind the rocky point at the north end of the sandy beach. As we approached in 30 feet of water, we dropped the mainsail and continued in to shallower water before Willy dropped the anchor in 3 fathoms over a sandy bottom. Having finished with backing down on the anchor to insure a proper set, we gathered in the cockpit for cold beers and chips while watching two goats saunter down the beach. Dinner included fresh tuna once again.

After a spectacular sunset to the west over the beach and low lying portion of the island, we were left with the flashing white light marking the end of Bonanza reef to our east; the flashing green light marking one end of the San Lorenzo channel that could be seen just east of Punta Morro to our south; and, the twinkling lights south on the mainland at Playa Tecolote. As the night progressed, the winds abated until just before day break and we had a peaceful night at anchor.

The breeze picked up at Playa Bonanza during the predawn hours

allowing us to do some sailing after breakfast and hauling the anchor. We headed south, past Punta Morritos, and towards Punta Coyote on the mainland. We were able to sail across the San Lorenzo channel before tacking back towards La Paz. We carried the port tack as far as the green channel marker to the San Lorenzo channel before the wind died. We furled the head sail and motor sailed the rest of the way into La Paz. Snug in our slip by late afternoon we enjoyed the sunset with another dinner of tuna, potato salad and tortillas. The three of us spent the remainder of the evening talking about former high-school classmates and wondering what they were doing now.

The next several days seemed to fly by. We had dinner with Galey and Max, who live in the La Posada neighborhood and spent the next few days around town and then out to Playa Tecolote and Playa Bonanza. For Willy's final night in town, we got together with several other cruisers from s/v Merlot (Larry and Fran), s/v Trig (Mike) and Hans (who had arrived from San Diego that afternoon) and had dinner at the new Rancho Viejo Mariscos. We were all seated on the second floor balcony of the Palapa, overlooking the bay. With margaritas, beer and wine all around, we enjoyed good food and good company for a memorable Valentine day dinner.

The final morning aboard for Willy, we had coffee before taking him to the bus terminal on the Malecon to connect with his shuttle to the airport in San Jose del Cabo. We had a great time seeing Willy again and enjoyed all the stories he had to share. He was an easy guest to have and we enjoyed our time while having him as a member of Citla's crew.

Hunkered Down in a Blue Norther

2011-02-04T17:05:00.000-08:00

Just so people don't get the idea that cruising is all fun and sun, we've been hunkered down since Wednesday in a classic blue (read: COLD) 'Norther'. The good news is we're not out on the hook, but rather rocking and rolling in our snug slip at Marina de La Paz. The wind has been blowing from the high 20's to the low 30's and yesterday's high temperature was 58F! Yesterday, the Captain of the Port shut the port down due to the weather. It's Friday now and this weather is expected to moderate sometime Saturday evening.

There have been boats, moorings and channel buoys doing the La Paz Bay 'walk around', coming free and moving with either the wind, tide or both, with cruisers and or the port workers in pursuit. One boat came into the marina yesterday afternoon with their 40-pound, high-tensile, Fortress anchor wrapped in a ball of chain. The bays bottom isn't well suited for Danforth style anchors. With the high winds and large tidal flows, often in opposite directions, boats tend to spin on their anchors. The boat with the Fortress anchor had lost it's holding and the anchor had become entangled in it's own chain. Fortunately, the crew of about five was able to retrieve the tangled mess, motor to a side tie in the marina and untangle the mess before heading out again to try re-anchoring.

It might be sunny, but we're bundled against the cold and wind. It is predicted to get warmer. Today's high is predicted to be 63F. We're considering a road trip to Todos Santos just to break our cabin fever. We are having an old friend visiting. He's scheduled to arrive Sunday evening and we're hoping that more benign conditions will prevail for his visit. The forecast is for calmer, warmer weather so we hope to get out and do some island exploration during his visit.

Marina's in La Paz

2011-01-22T15:58:00.000-08:00

Two questions we often get from friends and other sailors who haven't yet been to Mexico are: Is it safe; and, do you feel comfortable leaving your boat in the marina unattended. Much has been written about safety in Mexico and it has been my experience that it is nearly impossible to change peoples perceptions once they've decided that Mexico is the land of the headless corpses.

It probably speaks poorly to my credibility when I tell them that I feel safer in Mexico than when traveling in the U.S. That's not to downplay the tragic and horrible narco-violence that is a reality here in Mexico. However, virtually all of the violence is confined within the drug cartels or directed towards the federal authorities, politicians and proactive journalist. The violence is not endemic, but rather confined to the border areas and a few of the larger cities. It also must be acknowledged this problem is fueled and funded directly by drug demand in the U.S.

Marinas in Mexico are generally nicer and much more inclusive than what is found in the U.S.. In Mexico, as elsewhere, each marina has its' own personality. Since we're currently staying in Marina de La Paz, I will use this as an example of what to expect.

While the port of La Paz has offered shelter to sailors since it was first

visited by Hernan Cortez in 1535, the first pier in town wasn't constructed until 1863. By 1983, a handful of cruisers banded with a boat-builder (Max Shroyer) to develop a small marina along the waterfront that catered to cruisers. In the years since, it has grown to what it has become today, Marina de La Paz with 150 slips, and has been joined by a number of other marinas in town (Abaroa's; Don Jose's; La Costa; Palmira; and Costa Baja). As an historical aside, for those of you suffering from thalassoharpaxophobia, some of the last pirates to prowl these Mexican waters were Sir Francis Drake and Thomas Cavendish.

Marina de La Paz consists of a fenced and gated compound that

encompasses several satellite buildings and businesses, as well as parking for some of the marina tenants. There are the marina offices, which include administrative space and houses the high speed Internet server and WiFi connections. There is space for the reverse osmosis system (750gph) that supplies the marina's water needs and a large enclosed workshop space for the support staff and mechanics employed by the marina. Tenant amenities include spotless men's and women's bathroom and shower facilities (thanks in large part to Maria's efforts), a conference room above the bathrooms, the Club Cruceros Clubhouse (housing the charitable club, its' book and video exchange), and a small playground for children with slides, swings and climbing structures.

There is an on-site laundry facility; a yacht brokerage; a ships agent; a dive shop and a restaurant. Staff is on-site 24/7 to provide support and security for the tenants. The gates to the compound are closed and locked after 11 p.m. and reopened at the start of the next day. Security is always available to let you in if you're out after the marina is locked for the night.

The docks are floating and secured by pilings driven into the bay bottom. Slips range in size to accommodate 16-20 foot pangas, to 60' yachts. Side ties are available for multihulls and the several mega-yachts (150' plus) that spend time in the Sea of Cortez during the cruising season. We currently occupy one of the

40' slips. Several concrete barrier pilings have been constructed towards the entrance to the bay to help protect the floating docks and minimize potential damage caused by storm surge in the event of a hurricane.

The decking on the docks are composed of either ipe or treks. The newer additions seem to be going to treks. Each proper slip has 30 and

50 amp power, water supply (RO water) and a high speed Internet connection which are all inclusive with no additional charge. There is also diesel fuel available on one of the end docks. Pump out service is available at an extra charge and is handled by the marina staff with a portable tank and manual pump system. There is a permant staff of about 12 dockworkers, security and mechanics, along with an office staff of 4 in addition to the Shroyer family (Max, Mary and Neil).

Marina de La Paz offers a cruiser friendly marina to clean-up and provision. The staff is friendly and gracious as are the fellow cruisers who call Marina de La Paz 'home'. Using marinas is not for everyone who are out cruising. Staying at one, while inexpensive by southern California standards, still can put a big dent in your cruising kitty. It is another choice available that allows the cruiser to safely leave the boat to learn the language, to do more overland exploring and have an opportunity to get to know the people and culture of this beautiful country.

Return to La Paz

2011-01-21T14:58:00.000-08:00

It's good to be back in La Paz and in the boat. After being in the slip since early November, the decks have accumulated some dust and the stainless some rust spots. Inside the cabin, we didn't perform an adequate interior cleaning when we left for San Diego, so Kathie spent time sweeping and vacuuming the cabin, as well as deep cleaning the head. I managed to do a preliminary hose down of the deck, but with the sun and warm weather I found it too warm (read: 'too nice') to spend much time cleaning the outside.

We met our neighbors in the Catalina 30.9, JUCE, Judy and Bruce. It turns out the following day was Bruce's 65th birthday and we were invited to join them for dinner followed by birthday cake.

The celebration began with cocktails at the Dock Cafe followed by dinner at La Fonda on Nicolas Bravo. We were joined by Ricky off of HOTEL CALIFORNIA and John of CORAL ROSE. After a few more cocktails with dinner, Kathie and Judy had a challenging walk back to the marina for home made chocolate cake and ice cream! Both Kathie and Judy survived their ordeal, but Bruce awoke the following morning with his back wrenched.

Kath and I checked out the new CCC on Abosolo. CCC was purchased by a new owner and has been refurbished. The layout is more open with a large selection of food, produce, clothing, sundries and housewares. We also checked out the Weaver's on the Abasolo. The inventory was much less than what it's been in years past. Tourist downturn and the poor economy were given as the reasons for the lack of inventory.

As soon as we manage to find a secure permanent parking space for our truck, we would like to get out to the islands for some anchor time. We've spoken to Neil Shroyer about finding a space at the marina, but so far parking has been impacted. The next try will be to see if Tomas and Anna have space for parking. In the meantime, clean-up of the boat continues.

As luck would have it, in a town of about 300,000 people, we ran into Tomas and Anna at the marine store located in front of Marina de La Paz. We caught up over the next 30 minutes and made tentative arrangements to use their compound to park the truck if nothing materialized at the marina. It was good seeing Tomas. Neither he nor Anna seem to change over the years.

Road Trip to La Paz: Loreto to La Paz

2011-01-19T08:54:00.000-08:00

The last leg back to the boat started at 09:30 when we departed the Damiana Inn. Before leaving Loreto, we took a left at the first corner south of the Inn and drove the two blocks to the Malecon. The view across the water was of Isla Carmen. The sun was out, the air was clear and the island looked inviting. We continued north along the Malecon

before turning left back into the neighborhoods in town. The gardens were all in bloom with bougainvilleas being one of the predominant flowering vines. We made a quick stop at the Pemex on the outskirts of town. Once the tank was topped off, it was out to the highway and south to La Paz and Citla.

We continued south, past Puerto Escondido and skirted along the

Sea of Cortez for a few more miles before beginning our ascent west into the Sierra de La Gigante mountain range and across to agricultural communities of Villa Insurgentes and Constitucion along the Pacific coastal plane. The mountains in this area are steep, majestic and rugged. They're cut deeply with canyons and give rise to jagged, naked peaks. The climb lasted for the better part of 18 miles before starting the straight and gentle descent to the coastal plane.

The ride from Villa Insurgentes south begins as a straight and nondescript two lane tarmac that widens considerably as it enters Constitucion, with its traffic lights and cross streets, only to constrict again to two lanes at the south edge of town. The road continues to be straight for a few more miles before curving and undulating through the desert scrub, making its way southeast and back towards the Gulf of California.

Along this stretch, the road passes through a number of small pueblos and past several roadside monuments, some simple and others grand. Around 1:15 p.m. we got our first glimpse of the Sea of Cortez since leaving its shores south of Loreto. There's just a few peek views of the water with La Paz spread out along it's shore. By 1:30 we've arrived at the entrance to town at the Whale Tail monument and a short 30 minutes later are pulling into the parking lot at Marina de La Paz and back to our boat.

Road Trip to La Paz: San Ignacio to Loreto

2011-01-18T08:18:00.000-08:00

At this point, it must be clear to you, that our trip south was drawn out about as long as we could make it. Rather than the normal two long days of driving from San Diego to La Paz, we've managed to stretch our trip out over four days. Allowing more travel time made driving far less tiring. It also allowed us to stop at some of the places along the way that we enjoy. For the most part, the scenery along the length of Baja is a combination of gorgeous and spectacular; there are a few stretches, however, that do not live up to those superlatives. The downside to the beauty is that generally we're so busy taking it in, we forget about taking photos to share.

Travel between San Ignacio and Loreto has some of the steepest, longest grades of the entire route. The road from San Ignacio leads southeast across the mountains towards the Gulf of California. Kathie is not a fan of the long, winding down-hill descents with non-existent shoulders and very low guard rails to keep one from driving off into the abyss. Fortunately, on the drive south, the long drops into the arroyos below are in the north-bound direction. All the drama and tension seems well worth it when the first view of the Sea of Cortez comes into view just north of Santa Rosalia.

There was a strong norther blowing down the Sea producing wave crests and spume that was visible from our first glimpse of the water, several miles away. Once down along the shore and into the former French smelting town of Santa Rosalia, blowing dust took the place of the watery spume seen off shore. The wind was cool and, according to the locals, had been blowing for the past week.

Since we wanted to arrive in Loreto in time to make the trip south to the Singular yard at Puerto Escondido to arrange for boat-yard space in May, we didn't tarry in town, but continued on south. We skirted the beautiful and boisterous Gulf until arriving in Mulege, where we stopped for a lunch break.

Once on the road again, in less than 10-miles we were at the entrance to one of the jewels of the Sea of Cortez, Bahia Conception. There were several boats in the northern anchorage of the bay at Santispac, where a calm lee was provided by the rocky hillside just inside the entrance to this picturesque inlet. The length of the bay stretched out behind them, dotted with islands.

The waters surface was the same as what was observed in the Gulf. It was covered with pop-corn wave crests. The road follows the shoreline of Bahia Conception to its' southern extreme some 20-miles south, before heading inland and paralleling the coast until arriving at Loreto.

We turned off through the grandiose highway divider that fronts the western end of town and drove towards the Gulf and into the old-town area.

Our first stop was at the Damiana Inn to see if we could find lodging for the night. This is cozy little inn that is one of the old houses that has been converted into a small boutique hotel of approximately six antique filled rooms, each with their own private baths. Deborah, the enthusiastic proprietress of the property showed us to our room. Once we transferred some of our luggage to the room, we took our leave so we could make the 12 mile trip south to Puerto Escondido before the Marina office closed.

The Singular yard in Puerto Escondido is where we'd like to have Citla hauled out during hurricane season and wanted to make sure we would have space in May. Puerto Escondido, itself, is a recognized hurricane hole in the Sea of Cortez. The nooring field and anchorage is encircled by land, save for a very narrow entrance. To the west are the towering Sierra de La Giganta, rising but a few miles west to several thousand feet. To the east and south the Gulf is blocked by cactus covered hills, save for one small 'window' in the south which is divided from the Sea of Cortez by a high sandy berm about 500 feet wide. The boat yard is located at the southwest corner of the anchorage, closest to the base of the mountains. There are ample boat stands, chain and space. The yard provides power and water for any boats located along the southeastern fence line.

We parked outside the Marina offices and went to the second story offices to speak with Constanza Noriega about our future haul out. All the haul out and put in costs, as well as the monthly storage fees were given. Leaving the Marina parking lot and heading out, we saw one of our 2008 ha-ha sailing friends, Steve from s/v Sea Biscuit. We made arrangements to meet with him and his crewman, Jim, for dinner in Loreto later that evening. We met up with them later that night had a wonderful Italian dinner and strolled back to Damiana Inn for a comfortable nights sleep.

Road Trip to La Paz: El Rosario to San Ignacio

2011-01-16T07:59:00.000-08:00

We made the left turn, just beyond Mama Espinosa's, and proceeded east along the valley at El Rosario to the bridge that spans the broad arroyo. Kathie and I both marveled how great the weather was; clear blue skies with a bit of nip in the air.

This part of the trip covers some of our most favorite areas and is some of the most scenic desert road one could imagine. Within the first hour we entered the magical land of the cirios (Cirio columnaris), or boojum trees. Wherever you look there are the odd boojum trees among the majestic cardon cactus (Pachycereus pringlei). Their growth patterns are random and whimsical, each one different from the next. Traveling further south we begin to see more elephant trees (Bursera microphylla). Many of these plant species have a very limited distribution and some, like the cirios, are only found here in Baja as well as a very small area of the Sonoran desert on mainland Mexico.

The amazing flora becomes punctuated with rollicking boulder fields

as we approach Catavina. The topography of this area is fantastic. The clear air adds to the spectacle by providing a backdrop of detailed mountains to frame the rolling boulder and cactus foreground. We make a pit stop at the Desert Inn hotel (formerly, the Presidente chain) before continuing south.

An hour south of Catavina finds us at the turn off to Bahia de Los Angeles. The flora begins to change once Catavina is left behind. Climbing onto the central plateau Joshua trees (Yucca brevifolia) begin to dominate the flora and the boulder fields of the north are left behind.

From the turn off to Bahia de Los Angeles, it's a relatively straight ride south, to Guererro Negro. Shortly after leaving the town of Rosarito, there are glimpses of the Pacific that can be seen between the coastal hills. Soon we find ourselves traveling the nearly linear highway along the relatively barren coastal plain towards the evaporative salt pans of Guererro Negro. While still miles to the north we can see one of the mega-Mexican flags that is flown on the highway between the border of Baja and Baja Sur California.

We arrive at Guererro Negro just before 1 p.m. and travel into town to top off our gas tank and to pick-up more pesos at the ATM. Besides being the site of the worlds largest evaporative salt ponds, some of the best whale watching along the Pacific coast of Mexico is found in the lagoon at Ojo de Liebre (perhaps better known as Scammon's Lagoon). While tours can be booked from a number of places in town, it has been our experience the whale watching camp south of town is one of the best places to experience the Gray whale (Eschrichtius robustus) population. The camp is located about 10 miles south of town, along Mexico highway 1.

There are signs indicating "Scammon's Lagoon" with a whale icon showing the turn off. From the highway, it is about a 15km drive over well graded dirt roads, through some of the salt ponds, until you reach the shore of the bay. An Ejido owns the rights to run this camp site, with a picturesque restaurant, chemical toilets with a view, and a couple of dozen well separated camp sites along the shore of the lagoon. The Ejido runs several pangas that take guests out onto the bay to observe the whales as they nurse, sleep and play. While there is no guarantee, there is always a very good chance to encounter "friendly" whales that will view the people in the boats close enough to be touched.

A few more hours of driving and we arrived at the oasis of San Ignacio. What sets this village apart from others in Baja is the presence of two large spring-fed lagoons and a large (and now somewhat neglected) date grove. Based on previous visits to San Ignacio and recommendations of our friends Ted and Alicia from s/v Tumbleweed, we stop at the B&B run by a engaging Canadian couple, Jerry and Terry. We reserved a large yurt next to the lagoon for a

night. It was spacious with a king and queen bed, a seating area and a large private bath. We went into town to explore and have a bite to eat before returning to the large, but cozy yurt that would be our home for the night.

After a breezy night in the date grove, we awoke to a beautiful morning and had a delicious breakfast in the dining palapa with an eclectic group of Baja travelers. We took our leave of the B&B by 10 a.m. and after exploring town for one last time, we hit the road again, heading south towards Loreto.

Road Trip to La Paz: Tijuana to El Rosario

2011-01-15T08:54:00.000-08:00

We've finally wrapped up the house chores deemed necessary to complete before returning to Citla and cruising the Sea of Cortez. Now it's time to drive from our home in San Diego back to La Paz, where our sailboat is berthed at Marina de La Paz. We finished packing and loaded the truck the night before leaving. Early to bed for an early start tomorrow morning.

We made it to bed at 10:30 Monday night and then spent a fitful night fretting about not waking up early. At 4:30 a.m. the alarm went off and we got up, finished packing the last of our items and left the driveway by 06:30. We crossed the border at Tijuana at seven and drove south to

meet up with our old Baja buddy Dennis Seisun. When he heard we were heading south, he decided he needed a Baja fix and said he would follow us part way down the Peninsula. We met up with him just south of Playas de Tijuana, exchanged two-way radios and continued on south.

The road conditions between Tijuana and Ensenada were good along

the toll road. This sixty mile stretch has three toll plaza's each costing around $2.25 U.S. Traffic was relatively light all along our first driving leg. The roadway south of Ensenada was being repaired along many of the grades out of the various valleys. Still, we made the trip from the border to El Rosario, just shy of 200 miles, in six-hours, arriving at 12:30, in the afternoon.

We got a room at Mama Espinosa's before heading out in the Seisun's

Forerunner to visit Punta Baja, west of town. This place has special meaning to us; we spent the 4th and 5th of July, 2009 cold and wet, waiting out a blow from the north during our bash back from Baja on Citla. The weather today was glorious, with blue skies and blue water. A contrast to what we remembered from our last stay.

Fish, lobster and sea urchins are all taken from the waters in and around Punta Baja. We learned that the fishing cooperative just outside of town served as the processing plant for the sea urchin roe that is all shipped to Japan.

Road trips with Dennis are always an adventure, so we had to locate this cooperative and see if we could get a tour of the plant. With minimal directions we were able to locate the cooperative. Once there, we were shown the graciousness that characterizes our encounters with the Mexican people; we were invited into the Plant and given a

full tour,complete with a tasting of the fresh roe. While Kathie is not a big fan of uni, this was a hit with Dennis and I. Special thanks to both Daniel and Efren for their kindness and hospitality in sharing their operation with us.

What followed that day was dinner, margaritas at Mama Espinosa's and a good night sleep. We awoke to a gloriously sunny morning and enjoyedpumpkin bread and coffee with Dennis on the front patio. We took our leave by 9 a.m. and headed towards San Ignacio. Hasta pronto, Dennis, y bien viaje!

Overland Travel in Baja California - Tips on Driving in Mexico

2010-12-23T17:07:00.000-08:00

After an extended stay in San Diego and an enjoyable Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday, we're anxious to return to our boat in La Paz. We'll be driving our truck from San Diego to La Paz, which will give us a car for provisioning and side trips while cruising in the Sea of Cortez.

Travel in Mexico is easy for most cruisers, once they make their first port of entry. Most of us have researched the requirements for travel by private boat in Mexico long before we departed. However, based on concerns expressed by friends and questions posed in various newsletters, it might be helpful to some if we document our preparations and experiences while traveling overland, by car, back to La Paz.

Just as it is of primary importance when cruising, the mechanical soundness of our mode of transportation is the first order of business. We will have the truck (a 2003 Ford Ranger) serviced and the oil and filter changed before our trip to La Paz. The tires are not new, but still have a healthy tread depth, so we won't be getting new tires prior to leaving. The spare is a full size tire, is new and is inflated. The battery is original equipment and if the truck were an automatic I would consider replacing it, just to be on the safe side.

I normally carry jumper cables, a 20' x 4" nylon tow strap, a folding entrenchment tool (folding shovel),

at least one flashlight and basic tools for simple repairs. We won't be doing any off-road travel this trip, so these basic items may be a little overkill for normal highway travel. In addition to clothes and supplies we'll carry to the boat, we always carry extra drinking water, snacks and paper towels.

In years past, when we were doing off-road exploration of Baja, we'd

also carry extra fuel and camping gear. More recently, we found carrying extra fuel cans is discouraged by Mexican Customs and Immigration (we suspect the reason is to discourage the potential for refueling aircraft used in smuggling operations on remote landing strips in Baja). Pemex stations are fairly abundant along the highway in Baja. One of the longest stretches without a Pemex station is probably between El Rosario and Guerrero Negro (the Pemex at Catavina, about 80 miles south of El Rosario may be open), which is a distance close to 200 miles. In a pinch, we've found that some of the small stores and restaurants along this longer stretch may have gas for sale in 5-gallon cans, but don't count on this. The take home message is to top off your tank when you have the opportunity.

Car insurance is a must. Liability auto insurance for Mexico can be obtained on-line or purchased at the border before crossing into Mexico. We have found paying for yearly insurance on the car is less expensive than paying for multiple shorter coverage intervals. In addition to the insurance, you will also be given phone numbers for legal representation should you be involved in a mishap.

Mexican laws find their origins in Napoleonic law, and unlike the English based laws we're familiar with, you're technically considered guilty (or more accurately, not innocent) until proven innocent. Even in relatively simple accidents, fault is not assigned until after investigations have been completed. It's prudent to carry Mexican insurance and have access to legal representation while driving in Mexico.

After all these admonitions regarding insurance, you'll find driving in most of Baja simple and safe as long as it is done during daylight hours. The roadbeds may be narrow and often without a shoulder to pull off onto, but once south of Ensenada traffic thins out significantly and is nearly non-existent south of El Rosario. Do follow the speed limits in towns and be especially attentive to stop signs. Avoid the temptation of following the locals practice of rolling through stop signs, but always come to a complete stop before proceeding.

Last, but not least, bring your passport or passport identification card with

you before going into Mexico. You'll likely need it to secure your tourist permit (FMM, or short term, non-immigrant visa) which is generally issued for 180-days from the date of issuance. You will need your passport for U.S. Customs when re-entering the United States. In addition to the FMM, there is also a long-term, non-immigrant visa (FM3) which is renewable and allows for stays longer than the 180-day limit set by the FMM (the FM3 allows for a years stay and may be renewed yearly for a total of five years). There is additional paperwork and documentation required for the FM3 application and is issued by the Mexican consulate.

Stop at your first port of entry and apply for your FMM. This will require you to fill out a short information form at the Mexican customs office and then pay a fee at the National Bank (Banamex). The bank receipt will be taken back to customs where your paperwork will be stamped and processed. Depending on the amount of business being processed, the time required for completion may be as short as 45-minutes, but may take longer. Be patient and courteous, there can be substantial fines involved if you forgo this process at your port-of-entry and enter the country illegally.

At the port of entry in Tijuana, the Immigration offices (IMN) and bank are located to the right, as you drive across the border from San Ysidro. Park in the inspection area and proceed to the IMN office, where you will be given the paperwork to fill out. The bank where you must pay your fee (~$20 U.S.) is located in the same complex as the IMN office only a few doors away. Pay your fee at the bank and return to IMN with your bank receipt. The processing of your FMM application will be completed and you'll be on your way.

Recently (Nov. 2010), I was told that a criminal check will be run on your passport in Mexico City and this may add some time while you wait for your paperwork to be finalized. Once all is completed, you will be given a copy of your FMM and can leave. It is advised that you keep your FMM with you at all times while visiting Mexico.

Our next entry will be the log of our road trip south from Tijuana, Baja California to La Paz, Baja California Sur. I hope this has helped answer some of the questions for any of you who might be contemplating a road trip to Mexico. If you are, be safe, patient and friendly and enjoy your adventures in Mexico.

Reflections

2010-11-28T12:58:00.000-08:00

Having delivered the boat back to Mexico and, now, spending the holidays at home in San Diego has given me time to follow-up on other cruisers, via their blogs. Revisiting the latest adventures of friends we've met while cruising, as well as others we haven't met but have shared a kinship through cruising, gives me pause to consider how fortunate we all have been.

One common thread we all share is the support of our mates and families. I know that I am guilty of not telling my wife how much she has given to make my cruising dreams a reality and how much that means to me. I could never have done it without her support and encouragement. From cajoling me to buy our boat, to tending to the often tedious task of provisioning for our journeys, to putting up with my own foibles and insecurities when undertaking new challenges, her love, support and, most of all, patience have always embraced me. I can't imagine a better partner to share life's journey. Forgive me for not expressing my love and appreciation to you as selflessly as you have to me.

I'm envious of all those of you who have had the wisdom and courage to share your cruising dream with your children. I marvel at those who have. Contemporary families on s/v Just A Minute, s/v Don Quixote (Toast Floats), s/v Third Day, s/v Whatcha Gonna Do and s/v Endurance (to name a few) by allowing their children the freedom of a family adventure, have imbued in them a sense of wonder, responsibility and respect for the world around them that they otherwise may not have had. It's a wonderful gift to be able to share with your children.

The cruisers with families also comprise a subset of the larger group of people who recognized the advantage of undertaking a sailing adventure when they are still young, fit and capable of surviving by their wits. Windtraveler (s/v Rasmus), s/v Ocean Girl, s/v Sea Biscuit, and S/V Rebel Heart represent a few of these people who have chosen to live life rather than be paralyzed by the future.

I can barely wait until we return to our boat and continue our adventure. Meeting other cruisers and people in the communities we visit is a large part of the joy for me. I am very fortunate for this opportunity in life!

Fire Safety

2010-11-23T07:56:00.000-08:00

During our delivery of Citla to La Paz in November, we witnessed the horrific fire aboard Ker-Tidou, a Privilege 495 catamaran. If there is any silver lining to this tragedy, it is that it occurred in an anchorage (as opposed to off-shore) and the owner escaped without serious injury.

We are not certain what led to this fire, but the pangero on the Gordo Jr. fuel boat indicated

that he heard it was a burst propane line. Since the fire seemed to start inside the cabin and grew within minutes from a small plume of smoke to an all encompassing inferno, we guessed the flexible hose between the bulkhead and the stove may have been the cause. Given the wear on this connection due to the movement of gimbaled stoves, along with possible chafe, it seems reasonable that this may have been the culprit.

Since we didn't hear a distinct "explosion" near the start of the fire, we

assumed this wasn't due to a propane leak that occurred over time into the boat, but rather a spontaneous leak that had an ignition source near by. It may have been something as innocent as heating water for morning tea. Once ignited, the propane would have acted like a blow torch spewing fire out of a whipping hose end. Without being able to shut down the on-board solenoid valve to the tank, the fire would continue to grow and spread.

Whatever the cause, this incident reminded us not to become complacent about the use of our stove and oven and to review proper safety precautions when using it. Fortunately, Citla has a number of redundancies when it comes to propane safety. In addition to a proper propane locker with a solenoid shut off at the tank, there is also an emergency propane shut off switch, which controls a secondary solenoid before the propane enters the stove. This switch is located on our aft bulkhead, in the galley, within easy reach of the person at the stove. The last safety device on Citla is a propane sensor installed directly under the Force 10 stove. The indicator and alarm for this sensor is located directly next to the emergency shut off switch.When both solenoids are switched "on", we allow a few more moments before starting the stove to insure we have the continuous green light indicating the absence of free propane around the stove.

These mechanical safety devices, while important, should be viewed as contingencies in case individual attentiveness fails. Routine inspection of the hose and connections should be made regularly. In addition to this routine maintenance, discipline in operation of the stove must be followed. While we used to shut off the valve at the tank after each usage, when we were cruising for months we only shut off the propane at the tank during long passages or when we'd leave the boat for a period of time. Otherwise, we'd leave the valve open and put our trust in the redundant solenoids and propane sensor to keep us safe at anchor or in a marina. When operating the stove, we only leave the solenoids on while cooking; as soon as the flame is out, we shut down both the emergency shut-off as well as the main solenoid valve at the tank (this switch is located on our main electrical panel).

As an additional precaution, whoever is cooking is obligated to maintain watch in the galley as long as the propane is on. From a safety perspective, it is unacceptable to leave the stove unattended while it is in-use or ready for use. The emergency switch is useless if there is no one present to use it.

While the fire in Tortugas was horrible and left us sickened, it did serve as a reminder to review our own practices when it comes to safety aboard.

Back in La Paz

2010-11-13T07:56:00.000-08:00

We left San Diego, heading south from channel buoy #4 at 12:20pm,

Tuesday, November 2nd. For the next eight days, we made one seven hour overnight stop at Bahia de Tortugas to pick up more fuel and two more overnight anchorages at Los Frailes and Ensenada de Los Muertos before arriving at Marina de La Paz at around 15:30 on Wednesday, November 10th. Traveling a little more than 1,000nm in eight days left all of us a bit punchy for the first few days after arrival.

The trip was uneventful, as far as the weather went, but our seven hour

stay in Tortugas was punctuated with a horrific fire aboard a large cruising catamaran that took about 40 minutes to burn to the water line. There was an apparent failure of a propane hose that began the conflagration and all we could do was gape in horror, 200 yards astern of the burning cat, hoping that none of the crew were trapped aboard. Thankfully, the single-hand sailor doing the delivery escaped the fire and was treated at the medical facility at Tortugas.

This was essentially a delivery mission to get Citla to La Paz. With the able help of my nephew, Peter, and Alicia, our friend from our sister-ship, Tumbleweed ('82 Cal 39 MRK III),

we were able to make the trip in short order. While we experienced large swells the first three days in, the period between swells was long enough to make the 10-12 foot rollers manageable. We had very little in the way of wind for almost the entire trip. A majority of the time found us motor sailing. We were treated to wild life along the way, including whales and a number of different species of dolphins. We did manage to catch one skipjack tuna south of Bahia Magdalena.

Our luck with fishing changed once we entered the San Lorenzo channel, separating the Cerralvo channel from Bahia La Paz.

Within 30 minutes, Peter had hooked a bull dorado that I estimated to be approaching 40" in length as it jumped several times after being hooked, flashing its' green, yellow and blue body colors as it fought to get free. We rolled in the jib and centered the main in an effort to slow the boat while the dorado continued to strip out line from Peter's reel. As the fish appeared to be weakening, it made a run parallel to the boat, easily closing the distance from over 50 yards off the stern to being perpendicular to the boat in a few short seconds. It then turned towards the boat and made a run. The line slightly slackened and the dorado slipped the hook and was gone.

We barely managed to have the adrenaline rush of the hook-up subside and get the boat back into trim when the second fish hit the lure. This time, the fish ripped line off the reel as if the drag was off. Rather than coming to the surface, the fish sounded and continued to take line with it. In under two minutes this denizen had also managed to shake the hook-up. The best we could determine, judging by its behavior we had probably managed to hook into either a large tuna or possibly a marlin.

Both bait and dorado were visible during the remaining trip into the City of La Paz, our fishing was over,

along with the long ocean passage from San Diego. We side tied to the outside dock, astern of the 120' motor yacht, Tully, and finally were able to step ashore after being out for eight days. What was even more exciting, after checking into the marina, we all headed for hot showers followed by the best margaritas served at the Dock Cafe in the marina. We were all exhausted, but pleased to be clean and having the night watches over for the time being.

The Best Laid Plans Require Contingencies Especially for Bone Heads

2010-10-30T10:26:00.000-07:00

The past several days have been particularly hectic. A few of the loose ends have been tied up. Our Mexican fishing licenses have been secured and we installed new AGM house and starter batteries (two deep cycle 12V 4D's and one 12v group 27).

Upon vigorous sea trial testing of our Raymarine ST4000 Plus wheel autopilot it gave periods of shuddering response when large course changes were demanded. Upon removing the unit from the wheel and taking it apart, the two-year old drive belt showed signs of wear, which would account for this type of response. Unfortunately, Raymarine does not provide reliable support for their autopilots either due to the fact that they have been purchased by Flir or because a newer model was introduced several years ago. In any case, the drive belts for the older models are not available through Raymarine.

Several days of searching the Internet, calling suppliers and going to local marine stores in San Diego yielded no results. Fortunately, there are several industrial supply houses in town and I went to these as a last resort. While Graingers and McMaster supply were very helpful in giving direction, they could not cross reference the belt in question. Motion Industries could tool up to make a lot of these belts for us but would require at least two weeks before they could be manufactured and a minimum lot size would have to be purchased. A final stop at Kaman Industries in Barrio Logan proved to be a success. They identified the belt as being metric and were able to cross reference it. I ordered five belts from Kaman that would arrive in San Diego on Monday, November 1st (our planned departure date). To counteract the effects of a one day delay in departure, the cost of belts from Kaman will come in at about half the cost charged by Raymarine (when they did support this autopilot). Not a sterling recommendation for Raymarine. Here is where the bone head takes over.

I noticed the two belt wheels adjacent to the drive motor on the inner control head for the autopilot did not turn smoothly. Being a cautiously circumspect individual, I considered all the possible methods for lubricating said wheels. Given that the construction of this older model control head is a composite of a couple of different polymers and stainless steel, I had reservations about using petroleum based lubricants fearful that there may be some incompatibilities with one or more of the polymers. Years ago, I had purchased a small tube of graphite that I used to lubricate our house locks. I searched the dark recesses of the garage shelves and found a small dirty tube, smeared with what appeared to be graphite. Thinking myself as quite clever to have considered all my options and come up with an elegant solution, I opened the tube of "graphite" and proceeded to apply it liberally around the stainless steel hubs of each of the two belt wheels. Satisfied, I left the control head on the bench and went into the house to get ready for dinner.

The following afternoon Kevin Young, an old work colleague and sailing friend, came over to the house to help load the boat with provisions. Noticing the control head outer ring in the dining room, the conversation turned to autopilots and I recounted my tirade regarding the idiocy of Raymarine for not supporting their older models. I went on to recount the time spent finding a suitable replacement belt. We then retired to the garage to begin loading our provisions from the garage to the truck so we could haul it all down to the marina.

Kevin spied the inner ring to the autopilot control head on the garage bench and was examining it to understand how it functioned. Walking up, I proudly pointed out that, in addition to the bad belt, the two belt wheels were not working as smoothly as designed but I had successfully addressed the problem by lubing them with graphite. Kevin went to spin the wheels only to discover they were frozen solid in place. In disbelief, I confirmed what was already obvious; the wheels were now unyielding posts. I snatched the tube from the shelf, put on my reading glasses, wiped off the black muck from the tube and in the light of day with the garage door open discovered the "graphite" I used to lube the wheels with was a tube of black Loctite. I'm still not certain what was worse, the shattering of my ego over such a bone headed error or the realization that I had just guaranteed the purchase of a replacement autopilot. It turned out to be an expensive contingency that included the purchase of five drive belts that I no longer need. Hopefully I can recoup a small fraction of the autopilot cost by selling the drive belts on Craigslist.

The last change in plans involves our crew. Captain Morgan (Ted, not the flavored rum) has concerns about his dear old pooch, Hina. She's not been doing well and Ted was reluctant to leave her for weeks on end. She's definitely Ted's dog and follows him wherever he goes. The bond is heartwarming to witness and Ted's attachment to his dog, who he's had since a puppy, is equally as touching. His decision to stay close to his aging companion is understandable. While we'll miss his presence on the sail south, we're sure Hina would miss him more had he decided to make the trip.

Given the crew size will be three, we may also find it necessary to modify our plan of sailing straight through to La Paz from San Diego. We'll discuss sailing plans when the crew is all together in San Diego to see if we might make stops along the way. We'll also have the advantage of looking at a seven day extended forecast for the coast of Baja. As of today, while swells are predicted to be large (~12') for part of the trip, the weather window looks promising.

On the Cusp of Sailing South

2010-10-26T11:04:00.000-07:00

It seems preparations for this years trip south has been harried compared to 2008. Perhaps it is because we have a better understanding of what works and what we needed to change. For me, it's also been a case of not having a regular paycheck coming in since Kathie retired in '08. As a result, we've becoming more attuned to cash flow and the negative influence preparing a boat for a cruise impacts that aspect of living in retirement. So much to do and time is fading! Thankfully, even though Kathie will be foregoing the 800nm trip down the outside of Baja (Pacific coast) this year, she has been as enthusiastic and helpful as ever in getting the boat prepared for the trip. Perhaps she's just anxious to get rid of me for a couple of weeks while I'm sailing!

Travel plans have been set for my nephew, Peter (aka, P2) and we visited with our friends, Ted and Alicia (from S/V Tumbleweed; '82 Cal39 MRK III), in Madera when we traveled up to Santa Rosa last week. It seems all is a go for the first of November. Now, if only the boat were ready.

Again, thanks almost exclusively to my wonderful wife, the provisioning and meal planning has been mostly completed. All that remains is the last minute purchase of fresh fruit and vegetables and then to pack it all away on the boat. We're planning on a 7-10 day trip from San Diego to La Paz, so provisioning for a crew of four does take some planing.

The next step is to move everything from the garage onto the boat and stow it all away so we're ready to sail. With my nephew having to take time off for work and Ted and Alicia depending on the kindness of friends to take care of their two cats, Elvis and Flea Bag, along with their dear old dog, Hina, during their absence, everyone is in agreement on making it a non-stop (the Gods and weather willing) sail all the way from San Diego to La Paz. Getting to La Paz without stop overs would allow for more time to be spent in La Paz, itself. Ted and Alicia want to check on their boat and P2 would like to revisit some of his old haunts from his previous time with us during the summer of 2009.

Ready or not, we'll be leaving in five days! In this photo is only a partial load that has to be stowed.

Boat Haul-Out Prior to Departure

2010-09-14T08:57:00.000-07:00

It's been two years and several thousand miles since we had the boat

hauled, that and the fact that we want to check the prop-shaft and rudder post, it's time. We've been putting this off nearly since we arrived back from Mexico last July (2009). Besides trying to control our cash flow, we felt the bottom job should be done shortly before heading south again. Here we are at Driscoll's Boat Works on Shelter Island Drive.

Among the projects we hope to complete entail an out-of-water hull survey. This is to fulfill insurance requirements for our cruising policy for Mexico. We had an in-water survey done shortly after our return to San Diego that was required when we switched back to our lower cost Boat US insurance. Since we're heading back to Mexico and may be further south than 20 degrees north and intend to stay for more than 4 months, switching insurance carriers is necessary once again.

While the boat is out in the yard we'll have the bottom pressure washed and painted; the rudder dropped for inspection of the rudder post and for any signs of excessive play; pull the prop-shaft to insure it is true; check the cutlass bearing; align the engine to the prop-shaft; install a new pack-less shaft seal; and, put it all back together again and re-launch. I'll also wax the hull while it is out of the water and accessible.

It's now over a week and Citla is still in the yard, sans rudder. The survey

was done. A new stainless propeller shaft was fabricated and installed with a new pack-less shaft seal and new cutlass bearing. The engine alignment was checked. The hull was waxed and the bottom painted. A joint on one of the stanchion supports was re-welded. There was essentially no fore and aft play in the rudder, but some lateral play was noted. The rudder was dropped from the boat and the problem was corrected inserting an upper and lower bushing in the rudder post tube.

One note of interest, while the rudder was out we had a few days of unusually hot weather for San Diego, if this may have contributed to what we observed on the rudder is not certain. Apparently, the rudder was stored on its' side and when it came time to reinstall and paint it there were two areas where the foil had lost its shape and collapsed under the fiberglass. Both deformations were on the starboard side of the rudder; one towards the leading edge about 8" down from the top of the rudder and the other was on the bottom edge of the foil, covering an area of approximately 6" high by 10" long. It appeared that the underlying foam body may have had voids and in the heat the overlying fiberglass was drawn in, almost as if by a vacuum, leaving these hollow areas. The size of these deformations shouldn't perceptively effect the boats performance (the turbulence generated by the large three bladed prop is a greater contributor than the voids in the rudder foil). When the boat is hauled for hurricane season in Mexico, we'll strip the bottom paint off the affected rudder areas and fill these indentations with micro-fill and reshape the foil.

Since the relaunch from Driscoll's, ipe weather boards were installed on both port and starboard side decks to accommodate four 5-gallon diesel cans, each. These include stainless webbing anchors

and custom fitted 1" nylon webbing with quick releases included for each container. The weather boards were secured to two adjoining stanchions with a pair of stainless U-bolts at each end of the board. The inboard end of the U-bolts made use of double machine nuts to lock each leg of the U-bolt, with the outside of the pair a castle or acorn nut to provide a smooth, non-snagging finish. While not a permanent installation, it will provide far more security than the set-up that was used on our last trip to Mexico. During our bash north from the last trip, all the cans had to be secured from time to time, due to the constant and sometimes violent motion heading into wind and waves.

Since the boat haul-out and concurrent survey, we have also secured our new cruising insurance policy through American Marine Insurance Services who served as the broker to our new Markel American Insurance Company policy. The new policy covers the boat from Point Conception, California to Acapulco, Mexico, not more than 200 miles from shore. It was one of the few brokers contacted that provided west coast coverage and proved to be less expensive than the coverage offered through Blue Water Yachts, the company we used previously.

It's unfortunate that Boat US doesn't offer a more expansive insurance rider for Mexico. What they do offer is four month coverage, no further south than Puerto Vallarta. I'm unfamiliar with their hurricane season limits, but I would guess the southern limit would be no further south than Punta Banda (south of Ensenada). Because of the limitations on both the duration and range of the coverage, we had to drop this insurance for our Mexico sailing. Every time insurance is changed, usually there is a requirement to provide a current boat survey, which adds another $300 to $400 to the change. With regard to boat insurance, all that remains is to secure Mexican liability insurance. This can be done on line and is relatively inexpensive insurance to carry.

All that remains is to replace our wet-cell batteries that we purchased in Cabo San Lucas, with new AGM house and starter batteries (two 4D house and one group 27 starter battery). We will also secure Mexican fishing licenses for ourselves and the crew here in San Diego at the Conapesca office on Fifth Avenue. Then it is a matter of provisioning the boat; reinstalling the Furuno GPS (new lithium battery installed); getting a new Mexican courtesy flag; topping off the water and fuel tanks; and, securing the extra diesel jugs on the side decks. We hope to depart the port of San Diego the first week of November, 2010.

Whale Watching Road Trip

2010-02-26T08:43:00.000-08:00

The boat is still in San Diego and we're still in the house. In January, Ted and Alicia, from the sailing vessel Tumbleweed (a 1982 Cal 39 MRK III) who we met on the 2008 Baja-ha-ha and were neighbors with for a time in Marina de La Paz, stopped by to visit on their way back to La Paz. They had put their boat on the hard at the Singular yard in Fidapaz while they were gone for the summer. During their visit, we had mentioned that we might go down to Guerrero Negro to do some whale watching at Ojo de Liebre. Once they saw our pictures from the trip we made there from five years ago, they decided to drive up from La Paz in February to meet us there and experience this type of whale watching for themselves. A date was picked and plans were made to hook up in Guerrero Negro.

We left on February 17 with plans to meet the crew from the S/V Tumbleweed on the 18th in Guerrero Negro. It took the better part of two hours to obtain our tourist permits at the border in Tijuana. We got there by 9 a.m. but ended up behind a tour bus which required processing about 30 passports, causing the delay for us.

Then once away from Migracion, we headed south along the toll road to Ensenada. We encountered our first detour at Playas de Tijuana. Traffic was detoured into town and since we've never been to this barrio before, we decided to drive around and take a look. It turns out this area is a very nice neighborhood and one we'll likely come back to explore. We did find out that there is only one way into and out of las playas after we had driven to the extreme south end of town. Then it was back on the road on onto Ensenada.

The drive continued to be uneventful but more congested once reaching Ensenada. We made a quick stop at the Calimax supermercado south of town to pick up some limes, rum and bakery goods. Off again on the road south.

Once south of Maneadero, traffic thinned out significantly and the hillsides of Baja were more reminiscent on Ireland than Mexico. Due to the El Nino rain storms, all the hillsides and valleys were covered in spectacular shades of green.Continuing south, with the sun out and hardly any traffic, the miles evaporated. We did notice the damage to the bridge just north of San Vincente and were required to detour beside the bridge that crosses the arroyo just north of Vincente Guerrero. We reached San Quintin a little after 2 p.m., filled the truck with gas at the Pemex next to the Los Pinos tomato processing plant and decided to stay the night. We continued down the road to the Desert Inn Hotel (the former La Pinta in San Quintin) and took a second story room overlooking the beach.

Early the next morning we were back on the road south. It was a clear, sunshine filled day with very little traffic on the road. The drive between El Rosario and Catavina is one of our favorites. The landscape quickly fills with Boojum trees, Cardon cactus, Elephant trees and bolder fields. The blue sky is crystal clear and the visibility is unlimited. We drove for miles without seeing another car pass in the opposite direction. It captures some of the desolate beauty that epitomized the pre-highway Baja peninsula.

We pulled off of the road just before noon and drove to a quiet spot to enjoy a picnic lunch in the desert. Save for the periodic sound of birds, all was quiet and peaceful. The sun was high in the sky and the temperature was in the mid-seventies. After having a light snack, we took the opportunity to wander around and take in the natural grottoes and hidden gardens tucked among the boulders that surrounded our picnic site. Then it was back to the road, continuing to head south to our designated rendezvous in Guerrero Negro with our friends driving north from La Paz.

Late in that afternoon, we arrived in the little salt mining town of Guerrero Negro. It is located on the Pacific coast of Baja California in the state of Baja California Sur. The town owes its' existence to the worlds largest commercial, evaporative salt works. The evaporation ponds are fed from the waters of the large bay of Ojo de Liebre, or eye of the rabbit. It's more infamously known as Scammon's Lagoon, where, in the mid-1800's the whaling captain, Charles Scammon, harvested the eastern Pacific herd of Gray whales. During nearly a decade and a half of whaling, the herd was reduced from 20-30 thousand individuals down to around four thousand. Thanks to the cessation of commercial whaling along the eastern Pacific and conservation management of their habitat, their numbers have rebounded and they are no longer on the brink of extinction.

Once in town, we found our friends, Ted and Alicia, along with their two friends, Kim and Kim. The motel where they were staying was full, so we found another motel just around the corner that had a room available. The accommodations were sparse, but comfortable and clean. After settling in, we walked back to our friends motel and enjoyed a few cold cervezas and shared stories, while basking in the late afternoon sunshine. From there, we walked out to the main street and headed east for three blocks until we arrived at Mano de Leon restaurant. Besides several more rounds of cervezas and a few margaritas we indulged in a sea food feast of several dozen, locally harvested oysters on the half-shell along with what seemed to be an unending supply of giant sea scallops (also locally harvested) prepared in several different ways. Fully sated and feeling little pain, we wandered back to our respective motel rooms in the dark of night.

The following morning, we formed our two car caravan and drove south of town, through the salt works property to a whale watching campground at the edge of the backwaters of the Lagoon. The six of us were fortunate enough to hire a guide and a panga to take us out in search of Eschrichtius robustus or the gray whale. As in our previous visit four years prior, it wasn't long before we seemed to be surrounded by gray's wherever we looked. Some sleeping at the surface, others spy-hopping and occasionally we'd be surprised by some doing a succession of breaches. Radio contact to our guide from another pangero, told of the location of a group of 'friendly's' and we made our way to them. Drifting in neutral, towards the second panga, we could see, what appeared to be, several yearlings surrounding the boat. As we drifted closer, a couple of these whales came over to investigate the new boat on scene.

The whales natural curiosity is obvious as the deliberately either spy-hop right next to the boat to get a look inside or as they glide along the gunnel, with their turned slightly to the side to allow their eye to peer up at the faces hanging over the side of the boat, looking down. I'm not sure about the whales, but I can say for the people, there isn't a face in the crowd, young or old, on either boat that doesn't have a huge smile permanently affixed to their faces. The beauty, grace and wonder of these enormous creatures engender a joyful delirium that is shared by all who participate in this inter-species communion.

The three hour trip was over all too soon. To disengage from the whales the guide has to carefully engage the boat in reverse and slowly pull away from the mini-pod. Once clear, we're speeding through the enormous lagoon and back to the dock. For the entire return trip the smiles remain as we continue to observe a countless number of whales being themselves in their summer calving grounds.

We spent one more night in Guerrero Negro enjoying another sumptuous seafood feast and then meeting for coffee early the next morning before we headed back north towards San Diego. Ted, Alicia, Kim and Kim spent one more day at the lagoon before they, too, headed south to La Paz and their boat Tumbleweed.

The Joy$ of Boat Ownership

2009-12-24T11:56:00.000-08:00

We've returned from our road trip visiting our son in San Jose, our daughter in San Francisco and my wife's father in Santa Rosa. It was a short trip, but it was great to get up to the Bay Area and visit with everyone. We had an early Christmas with each of the kids and exchanged gifts. The biggest gift was being able to see each of them and spend some time with them.

Andrew is doing well, as are Chantal and Sean, who have settled into their cozy, new apartment near Golden Gate Park. Kathie's dad seems to be doing about the same; he looks good and is strong and healthy, but has lost most of his speech capabilities. He is able to read familiar words (no surprise that he has no trouble reading and saying 'ice cream', one of his favorites), but is unable to put complete sentences together. In spite of it all, he continues to be gracious and engaging with an easy smile, especially for the ladies!

Upon our return to San Diego, time was running short to finish our Christmas shopping and getting ready for the holidays. We'll be having a rather quiet Christmas at home, having Nicole and Danica over, along with Nicole's beau, Mike. We'll have the kids over for an early Christmas dinner and gift exchange. Due to work schedules, neither Chantal nor Andrew will be able to make it down to San Diego. If Hans recovers from being sick, he plans to go up to the bay area to spend Christmas with Andrew. Chantal and Sean will be going to Sean's parents for the Christmas weekend.

The mechanical work was completed on the boat during our absence. The transmission was repaired, the heat exchanger was boiled out and the mixing elbow for the exhaust system was replaced. The bad news was that it was noted that the propeller shaft is not in full alignment with the engine. Unfortunately, the motor mounts are at their full adjustment. It will be necessary to haul the boat in order to pull the shaft, check to see if it is straight; shim the front engine mounts; fabricate and replace the rear mounts. It looks as if, in addition to the transmission work, we're looking at another hefty charge for these repairs. With Christmas upon us, we'll likely schedule these repairs after the first of the year. We'll also take that opportunity to check the condition of the bottom paint and check out the play in the rudder. The good news is after these items are completed, the boat will be ready for another cruise.

The other news to report, is besides our good friends and Baja aficionados Dennis and Verna, we were visited by Betty and Jim of the sailing vessel Flibertigibbet. We're also expecting a visit from the crew of our sistership, Tumbleweed (another '82 Cal 39 Mrk III), Ted and Alicia, after the first of the year. They'll be heading back down to La Paz, where Tumbleweed has been kept on the hard over the summer at the Singular yard, near Fidepaz.

Here's wishing all of our friends and family a Merry Christmas and happy and healthy New Year! We look forward to seeing you all and making new cruising friends in the years to come.

Home in San Diego

2009-11-29T08:47:00.000-08:00

Okay, it's been awhile since the last post. We've been back in San Diego since early July 2009, after bashing back from Los Cabos. We spent the last three months living aboard at Half Moon Marina, enjoying the last half of the concert season at Humphreys by the Bay and getting to know many of our marina neighbors.

Besides socializing with our new neighbors at the marina, we also took the opportunity to work on plumbing, renew some of the exterior varnishing, replace the shaft zinc, replace our solar vents, replace our carbon monoxide alarm and take care of the engine electrical problems we had encountered in Cabo San Lucas. We now have three alternators (our refurbished original 85 amp Balmar, our 65 amp automotive alternator installed in Cabo, and a newly installed, refurbished 110 amp alternator). Our original Heart smart voltage regulator was found to be good and was reinstalled, relegating the Bosh automotive regulator, which was installed in Cabo, to the spare parts bin.

Prior to working on our electrical problems we also addressed some pressing sanitation issues. Upon our return to San Diego in July, the head and associated plumbing was investigated to determine the source of the plumbing problems encountered shortly after leaving Bahia Santa Maria. The problem was found to be the result of flushing a paper towel down the head, which subsequently packed up the three-way valve between the head and the overboard discharge side. Fortunately, the path between the head and the holding tank remained clear. The obstruction was removed from the valve, all the 'O'-rings were replaced and the valve was reinstalled. Once our electrical problems were completed, two more days were spent on the black water holding tank to replace and re-route sanitation hoses between the head and overboard discharge and the holding tank and the overboard discharge valve. These modifications were performed to address holding tank odor issues that had plagued us for months.

One last upgrade performed, before leaving for our shore-side residence, was replacing the two solar vents on the forward end of the cabin top. One ventilated the vee-berth area and the other the head compartment. Both had suffered water intrusion to their solar panels and only the vent on the starboard side (ventilating the vee-berth) remained operational and then only during daylight hours. Both were replaced with new solar vents that operate both in daylight and darkness.

Two more major issues remain to be addressed before years end. One is to service the engine and the other is to haul the boat out for inspection. The engine work entails refurbishing the transmission, the heat exchanger and the exhaust elbow, the last two items part of routine service. The transmission had been coming out of gear throughout the cruise, with the problem worsening during the bash back to San Diego. Trouble shooting during the cruise demonstrated that it wasn't a problem with the shift linkage, but rather was internal to the transmission, itself. Hauling the boat would provide an opportunity to inspect the rudder stock for excessive play. We may postpone the haul out until we're ready to depart on another cruise. A cursory inspection by a diver in San Diego indicated that there didn't appear to be too much play in the rudder and the bottom paint appeared to be good. Rather than hauling Citla this year, we'll begin routine bottom cleaning and wait to haul until next year.

Given that we were living aboard for a year and cruising most of that time, it's not an unusually long list of maintenance items to address. Upgrades to systems that would have made cruising more comfortable or convenient would include the following prioritized list: (1) A reliable SSB receiver for weather information; (2) Weather boards for securing fuel cans to the rails; (3) Solar panels; (4) Small axillary generator; (5) Windlass with ~100' chain for the anchor; and, (6) Water maker.

November, 2009 was the one-year mark for having moved out of our Point Loma house onto Citla. We finally began the reverse process of moving back shore-side. Progress was intentionally slow. We began missing life aboard Citla almost immediately. However, living aboard in San Diego wasn't filled with the same wonder and excitement that was felt when visiting new foreign ports. The simplicity of life and closeness of the cruising community remained, but the familiarity of our home port took the edge off any of the mystery or excitement we would have otherwise experienced.

The first week and a half in the house were spent doing a complete cleaning, inside and out. Structurally and horticulturally the house was in good condition; no major damage and the gardeners had done a great job keeping up the yard. The house was clean on a superficial level, but the furniture, area rugs, fireplaces, hardwood floors, patio and barbecue were all left in pretty poor condition and all the walls and switch plates needed cleaning and some doorways and walls needed painting, due to pet scratches.

Windows were cleaned inside and out; all the hardwood floors were cleaned and refurbished; both fireplaces were cleaned; the barbecue was emptied and cleaned; the refrigerator was moved and pet food and dirt was cleaned from under it; the wood cabinets in the kitchen were cleaned and bees-waxed; the dining room table was bees-waxed; the wood paneling in the dining room and family room were cleaned and waxed. Painting was initiated in the master bedroom with more to follow after Thanksgiving.

At this point, we rented a 16-foot truck and took 5-hours to move all the boxes from our storage into our, now clean, garage. For the next week, we sorted through our boxes and managed to haul a full pick-up truck of donations to the Goodwill. I would estimate this to be between 20 and 25% of the things we had in storage. We've already started our next Goodwill donation box!

We managed to move most of the remaining junk from boxes back into the house. We still have a stack of boxes that belong to our daughter and are being kept to serve as a place holder, in case she wants to move in with us. With Thanksgiving behind us and Christmas looming we still seem to have too much to do. We are making headway for some of the varnishing work on the boat. In addition to the hatch wash-boards, we've refinished the teak grate in the head and are working on the companionway ladder. Monday (12/14) Pac West Marine is scheduled to pull out the transmission, heat exchanger and exhaust mixing elbow. Thursday morning, we'll be departing for a road trip to San Jose (to visit Andrew), San Francisco (to visit Chantal and Sean), and Santa Rosa (to visit Kathie's Dad, Vern). It will be a short trip and we plan to return sometime Monday or Tuesday, the following week.

That's all for now. The next post will be a follow-up on the pending boat maintenance.