Cabo San Lucas to La Paz

We enjoyed our stay in Cabo San Lucas despite, the once quite small town has gone through major changes. At least they did a good job building the hotels and condos along the beach, and so visible from the anchorage. After four days though, we were ready to move on towards La Paz. We stopped in Los Frailes, and next day in Bahia de los Muertos. It was Thanksgiving day, and we caught our Thanksgiving dinner on the way, a big Mahi Mahi, which we shared with a fellow boater, a single hander from Seattle.
After a couple of days waiting for the northerly to ease down we left the protective bay for the last leg to La Paz. The wind was still around 10 kn, and on the nose, so we motor sailed tacking our way trough the San Lorenzo Channel, where the rough seas got calmer. Being in warmer waters now, the engine temperature gauge was higher then normal, so high that Peter got concerned. He decided to change the pitch on the propeller, and for that we need to haul out. We passed the inviting anchorage Bahia Balandra, and headed straight for La Paz.

Thanks to our guide book, and the Mexican cell phone we contacted the first yard, and were able to haul out the same day. They did a perfect job putting us on the marine railway, and Peter was able to get to the job a couple of hours before dark. That night we spent high and dry, a really strange feeling, since our bodies still felt the movement.
Next morning we were back in the water, and then maneuvered the nearly 4.5 mile long channel into La Paz under power with the engine showing normal temperature. We dropped the anchor among a fleet of fellow cruisers.

Greg and Joss on vacation in Mexico stopped by for a short visit. We did a quick trip to the Island “Espiritu Santo”, unfortunately under power with no wind. It was also lightly overcast, and therefore a bit cool. We anchored for the night in one of the many inviting beautiful bays, swam, and explored the shore. The following morning after breakfast we headed back to La Paz,and this time had a nice sail with a light SW wind.

December 6. – 15. Philip and Spencer joined us for a family vacation. It was so great to have the boys; we had a wonderful time together, enjoyed each others company, played card games, laughed, and even had some sailing adventures.
We left Sunday after lunch, and got as far as Puerto Balandra, a big bay, about 12 nm from La Paz. As soon the anchor was set in a depth of 15 ft, of clear water the boys jumped overboard and swam to shore. Monday, the wind changed to SW, the perfect condition to sail north to Isla San Francisco. This small island, with its big crescent shaped bay, white sand beach, and hiking trail is a favorite place for the yatistas. And sure enough, we were not the only ones but still managed to find a perfect anchorage spot. Perfect, because during the night the wind changed to NW, and we were the best protected boat tucked in behind the high cliff. We hiked the trails, took lots of pictures, and swam around the boat. After two days it was time to move on, and with the wind still from the NW ideal to head back to the next island “Isla Partida”. The wind was around 20 kn, and from the sheltered anchorage the sea looked pretty rough. We did about 7 – 10 kn with the reefed Genoa only, and the dinghy in tow surfed the waves. About half way the dinghy flipped over, and got almost pulled under. We immediately pulled in the Genoa, got sideways to the waves which are slapping the hull. Peter had me holding the wheel, while he and the boys tried to retrieve the dinghy by getting it along side, and then to lift it up on the foredeck.
It was a difficult job, since the motion of the boat was violent rocking up and down, and only by the second try, after the dinghy suffered a big puncture from the wind vane, were the three men able to pull it on board.
That accomplished we set sail again, and found calm water but howling wind gusts in the anchorage of “Caleta Partida”. Only towards the end of the next day, after spending pretty much a day inside playing cards and reading, did the guys tackle the repair of the dinghy.
Friday, no more wind and flat seas, ideal to get to the famous “Los Islotes” rocks, a sea lion colony, where one can actually swim with the sea lions. What an adventure to have them swim loops around you, or do a dashing charge at you only to make a sharp graceful turn to avoid you. Spencer was even petting them.
From here we did a short (4nm) trip back to Isla Partida, and anchored in “Ensenada Grande”, in shallow turquoise water all by ourselves. About one hour after we went to bed we all were wide awake again because the boat was rocking hard in the choppy water. The wind was blowing from the SW, right into the anchorage. Knowing that the wind will blow throughout the whole night, we pulled the anchor and drove back to the previous bay, where a bite of the land gives some protection. Luckily it was also a full moon which made the midnight adventure more pleasant. After one hour we were all back in our bunks and slept well.
The sail back to La Paz was pleasant even dough still from the SW at 10 to 12 kn, which meant sailing into the wind as close as possible and therefore heeling quite a bit. Sunday, the last day before the boy’s departure we played tourist, and equipped with cameras walked to town. The easy nature and its tranquility make this town really enjoyable. We ended our Christmas holiday with Margaritas, and an authentic Mexican dinner. Early afternoon on Monday, it was time to bid our farewells after a wonderful nine days with our two sons. We sure are very proud of them.
Now we are moored in Marina de la Paz, where we keep busy cleaning, polishing, varnishing, and maintaining Sapphire to keep her in pristine condition. At least we try.
Sometime after Christmas we will make the passage to Mazatlan.

Best wishes for a happy holiday season.

San Diego to Cabo San Lucas

We left San Diego November 4th, preferable to stay for the election outcome but the forecast and the winds were good to go south, therefore we headed out. Right out of the sheltered waters from the big San Diego bay we got into totally confused seas with about 12+ kn of NW wind. In the afternoon the wind once again got lighter and lighter, and our speed was down to 3 kn. By 9:30 PM we started the engine since we were determined to get to Ensenada for the night. At 11 PM we finally dropped anchor in the harbor basin next to a pile of dilapidated fishing boats with barking seals.
Next morning after breakfast we moved into the marina to be greeted by another cruiser with the whole scoop about the checking and clearing in, and the great news about the election outcome. It took us all day to do the necessary paperwork since we also had to find an agent for boat liability insurance, which is mandatory for Mexico. We have heard about it before but couldn’t believe it. So well!
Another overnight sail brought us to Bahia San Quintin, a big bay. We had good wind until about 5 AM. As we were coming in two boats were heading out. After a days rest we did an over night to Turtle Bay. We had strong winds, up to 30kn and where sailing with just the reefed head sail going 6.5 to 8 kn. As one knows about every seventh wave is bigger, and just one of these, and even bigger washed over the boat so that we had about 1 ft. of water in the cockpit. We forgot to close the starboard side aft cabin porthole, and one big gulp of water came in to soak the port bunk. Quickly we folded up the blanket and sheets to safe the mattress from the wetness. As the wind got lighter and lighter we unfurled the head sail completely. The motion was getting more comfortable, and we got hungry so we decided to prepare breakfast. Since the wind vane was doing all the steering Peter came down to have breakfast too. We sat down at the table with fresh lattes from our espresso machine and soft boiled eggs. Suddenly the wind picked up with violent gusts. The boat started to round up since there is now way to much sail area for the wind vane to handle, and everything flew across the table on the floor. Peter was able to hold his cup and egg but I wanted to pick up the salt shaker, and at that moment lost the cup and eggs to the floor, where the mug went to pieces. Peter immediately went on deck to shorten sail and get back on course. Just 15 min. later the wind again died down, and we had an uneventful finish to Turtle Bay.
Instead of blowing up our dinghy we used a local panga taxi to bring us to shore to scout out the village, and have the laundry done (wet bedding etc). There were a few small stores, and we found fresh lettuce and avocados.
The morning we left, we managed to drive over a trap buoy. They are every where and one has to be on watch all the time since some of the buoys are very small. Sometimes they’re hard to see if the sun shines right in your eyes. Peter stopped the engine right away but we still got caught. Now what! Peter opened the flour boards, and turned the driveshaft manually back and forth. Unbelievably we got free, and were again on our way south.
After the morning shake up we had a wonderful sail with the spinnaker for about 2 hrs. The wind picked up, the spinnaker comes down, and just with the head sail we go about 6.5 – 7 kn. with the wind from behind. The motion is rolly - polly but we make good progress. As always we drag a fishing line, and this time we landed a beautiful yellow tail tuna on the boat which gives us several meals. With sunset the wind died, and we power the last bit to the anchorage with me standing on the bow keeping a worried lookout for trap floats. We made it, and by 8:30 PM drop the anchor in Bahia Acuncion. The following day during the next leg to Punta Abreojos we had to start out under power, then had a wonderful broad to beam reach sail. While reading in the cockpit we heard a big splash. Looking out we saw a group of humpback whales breeching and waving. It was so exciting to see them. Again under power we enter this anchorage just after sunset.
To the next destination, Punta Pequena San Juanico we started out under engine but then had a nice beam to broad reach sail with 10 – 15 kn W-SW wind. Again we not quite made the anchorage by daylight, and dropped the anchor in the beginning of this big bay.
Next day we moved closer in as well. There were two more sailboats, and one big mega power yacht at anchor in this very beautiful bay. After inflating the dinghy we went ashore. Surprise the main road is a real boulevard with fancy street lights, a median with palm trees, and real side walks. But the rest of the streets are the usual dirt and dust. We hiked out to the point (Punta Pequena), passed some fancy vacation homes behind fences or beautiful crafted walls. Going through a camp ground with quite a few campers, or surfer dudes we enjoyed a lunch in the nice cantina overlooking the bay.

Another uneventful same kind of an overnight trip brought us to Bahia Magdalena by daylight, 160 miles NW of Cabo San Lucas. Mag Bay, so called by the yatistas, is a huge enclosed body of water almost as large as SF Bay. We decided to head up to Puerto San Carlos and followed the narrow channel for about 8.5 miles. By that time it was 2PM, and we were to tired to inflate the dinghy.
After a good nights rest we felt ready for town. The port captain wanted to see our papers, which we had with us, and made us pay a small fee, who knows for exactly what. After that we were free to go. We walked the dusty road to the Mercado to get a few groceries and fresh veggies..
By the time we headed back to the boat, a westerly wind was blowing, making the anchorage rather rough. So we pulled up the anchor, and moved to this lovely spot, and anchored in 4ft. of water next to the narrow strip of land separating Mag Bay and Bahia Santa Maria.
It did not take us long, and we went to shore to hike the sand dunes and the salt water wetland. We found beautiful desert flowers in bloom.
We left Bahia Magdalena at 6:30 AM on Friday morning under power with flat seas. Later in the afternoon we were able to hoist the spinnaker, and did about 4.5 kn. Beautiful sailing but short lived, then already after 3 ½ hrs the wind died down again, and after packing the sail away we were under power once more. The night was dark, and we saw some other boat lights around us, traveling the same way. Always very eerie are the appearing monstrous cruise ships lighted from top to bottom, like a city.

Approaching Cabo Falso we were kind of greeted with a whole fleet of speeding motor yachts to get to the fishing spots. The flat sea turned to be very rough just by all the wakes from the racing boats. At 11 AM Saturday we round the famous rocks to witness now first hand the changed image of Cabo San Lucas. That big empty beach we saw in 1980 as we where there with our first sailboat is now built up with hotels, and condos. This coming January it is 29 years since we were anchored here. What an enormous change. This quite little town with just a few hotels became a tourist heaven for sport fishing and cruise ships. There are certainly not a whole lot of cruising sailboats here.
We drove into the marina to get fuel, and then headed out again to anchor of the beach. It is a bit rolly here from all the jet skis, water taxis and other boat traffic but not unpleasant, and actually fun to watch after weeks of solitude.

San Francisco to San Diego

We left San Francisco (8/26/08) with a good wind and nice sailing but it was very short lived. After 4 hours the wind got lighter and lighter and the seas got rougher and rougher; I know it makes no sense but there were 2 swell patterns and a bit of chop on top. We intended to sail straight for Santa Barbara and went out about 20 miles. We decided to alter course for Monterey about midnight since we had to start the engine when we were making less than 2 kn and rolled from toe rail to toe rail. We spend the day and night in Monterey and left the following day by thick fog (2 boat length visibility) just about the same we had for most of the trip. we ended up motoring all the way to San Simeon and entered the bay by almost zero visibility at 10 PM. (Thank god for radar and Chart Plotter) We stayed there for 2 nights and left in the morning early, again thick fog for Morro Bay. 4 Hrs. later we entered the bar at Morro Bay again all powering and near zero visibility. However the ocean was calm with a NW swell of about 6 feet (very comfortable) we really enjoyed Morro Bay over the Labor Day weekend with the fog finally lifting. Today was NW 10 - 15 kn wind forecasted and we thought to leave for Santa Barbara. Well, there was about 3-5kn SE wind and calm seas. (NW swell 6+- ft) 3 Hrs. later we entered Avila Beach and shortly thereafter the fog rolled in again. Well, the tomorrow forecast is again for 10-15kn NW wind and we will leave very early for Santa Barbara once more. 9/4/08We are in Santa Barbara after another trip mostly motoring from Avila Beach. At 4:30 PM we hoisted the spinnaker and sailed to Goleta anchorage with very light wind (boat speed 4.5kn). We just made the anchorage at 8:30 PM with the last of daylight. The next day we motored to Santa Barbara Harbor and were able to get a guest slip, unbelievably reasonable for this area (60 cents a foot).

Trip to San Francisco

We made it to SF, and already looking back it wasn’t even too bad. As we powered out the Strait San Juan de Fuca, no wind, Washington showed its most beautiful side. Clear, blue sky not a cloud and the still snow covered Olympic Mountains on the Peninsula. Entering the open ocean we were finally able to raise sails to a light wind from the NW. It was comfortable but still the ocean and I got seasick. The first night routine, 3 On 3 OFF was a bore, and by morning the sail started to flap. There goes the engine, we sure are glad to have one, the jib rolled in and the main tightened up we drive on like that for the next 28 hrs. We decide to turn in to Newport, OR, to wait for wind.
We are not the only ones, and find two other cruisers (Canadians) doing the same. The marina is next to a giant RV Campground with all the facilities. We took advantage of the small city van, to do a bit sightseeing, and grocery shopping.
After 4 days the forecast looks good with NW wind. So everybody decides to leave on Monday the 11th.
This time I took the seasick med. early on, and by golly I never got sick. The motion was at times quite violent, and one needed four hands to prepare meals as the wind was up to 35kn in the afternoon. But the boat handles real well, and everything works well. Thank God we do have Radar, and a GPS. The fog never lifted completely, everything got wet, and the cold reached through all the layers (incl. thermal underwear) right down to the bones. Prrrrrrr.

Thursday the 14th at 3 PM we sailed under the Golden Gate, and were greeted by the famous SF Bay gusts, laying the boat right down to its toe rails. After immediate shortening of the sails we carried on and decided to go directly to Mc Nears Beach by San Rafael to anchor, a favorite hang out from early days.
We both looked forward to a calm uninterrupted night.

We will spend the next 10 days around here, and visit with friends.

Our First Post

Our Son Spencer set us up with this blog and this is the first post!