The Crossing to PV

Lanham's brushing his teeth when he notices...

another one of the gorgeous creatures that hitched a ride on Solar Wind

As we set out at 11 AM on Saturday from the marina at San Jose del Cabo, we had in mind that we wanted to sail more than motor on this leg.  We usually cover between 120 – 160 nautical miles in twenty-four hours. The distance-to-go was 285 miles and since we would be out two nights, the timing was not that crucial. We would hit Puerto Vallarta in the daylight on the third day (or even putter in the Bay of Banderas until daylight if need be) so we would not worry about making particularly good time on this crossing – just make it comfortable and reduce our fuel consumption and engine noise.

Turns out we made GREAT time, sailed the entire way, and could have avoided running the motor at all if we wanted! As for comfort – it was a lurching, lumpy rollercoaster ride – not the best conditions for doing engine work. About a half hour out of the marina, with the jib up, Lanham fortuitously decided to give the Beemer (our engine) another visual inspection, in light of all the filters and connections that we had redone during our maintenance day. We had turned on the watermaker and were not getting normal activity on that (easily fixed by putting silicone on the gaskets of the filter canisters we had replaced).

What he did see that caused him to turn the engine off immediately and spend the rest of the afternoon sweating like a sponge in the 180 degree engine compartment was a rusted through hole in the salt water-cooled exhaust pipe (see exhibit A, below). Sully the autopilot was a help while we drained the coolant, removed the pipe, and sealed it all up for the ride. Melinda got to sail, while Lanham got to the repair. The sea-spray was such that we had to keep the forward hatches closed and the temperature in the bucking cabin made working really pleasant!

Exhibit A

Once again, Lanham amazed me with his perfect assortment of tools onboard, his patience and resourcefulness, and his minimal use of swear words! He might explain his solution more precisely, but from my observation point, he used a Dremel (small drill) to clean the area with the rust and hole, rebuilt the area with liquid steel, maintaining the hole through the center with a chopstick, held it at the proper angle for about an hour while it cured and set, then a few more hours clamped to the workbench. He went over the outside with high-temperature tape, painted it for rust protection, and then had to re-solder a tab to a nut for wiring the temperature sensor. Maybe you had to be here, but to me it seemed an unlikely fix on dry land, and nothing short of a miracle (exhibit B) on the rolling seas.

Exhibit B- post patch

 We took our nighttime turns at watch. Cooking and eating were not of great interest – good to have precooked rice and spaghetti sauce, plenty of instant (yes, we’ve stooped that low) coffee on hand. I tend to be sleepy early on, taking a nap from about 8 to midnight. Then we overlap a bit, and Lanham tries to nap from 1 to 5. But with the two of us it has been very fluid, all about sleeping when you can, enjoying the buzz of a coffee and being fully on when you are awake. On this trip, the wind was steady from the same direction so there was very little sail trimming and no tacking. The wind speed did fluctuate from an occasional low of 8 kts to gusts of 30 kts. So while the wind was not too strong, the swell was large – as we looked over our shoulders the waves coming at us were 6 to 8 feet high. (Slim, you know the look) 

We kept the mainsail double reefed, and adjusted the jib furling as the wind rose and fell to keep the boat from being overpowered. Occasionally we could adjust coarse 5 to 15 degrees to quarter the waves and make the roll more comfortable. Once it is dark, the most constant activity becomes watching the radar, matching it to lights we see on the horizon, and marking them as “targets” in order to get a read on their distance and heading. There is a lot more to learn about the capabilities of radar, but having the basics is enough and it’s been indispensable.

On Sunday afternoon, Lanham put the repaired exhaust pipe back in place. We crossed our fingers and started her up. The patch held, we ran it to temperature, and it’s holding still. This allowed us to rest assured that we could get into town under motor if needed the next morning. We have ordered a new pipe to have a spare. It’s custom fabricated, as is everything for our BMW. It will come from Ontario to a yacht broker in Puerto Vallarta, maybe, if we are lucky, and if it doesn’t cost more than the pipe itself for the import tariff… we’ll see… it’s an experiment… in the meantime we are growing to trust the repair.

MYSTERY SOLVED!

This is such amazing news it gets its own blog post! 

While YOU may not have been staying awake at night trying to figure out what the mysterious bubbling sound is coming from the underside of our hull, WE HAVE! And we have asked everyone who will listen if they have ever heard such a sound. We have been baffled. They have been baffled. We know you have too!

We have an answer – at least one that fits our symptoms so closely that we are satisfied. WE HAVE PISTOL SHRIMP!! Actually, they are not along for the ride, they are just down there, doing their thing and we are hearing them.

Seriously, google it! You can even see a u-tube video of them doing their thing. They are common is tropical waters. They have one large claw which they cock and let loose with such force that they create a bubble which they propel to stun their prey. The bubble has such velocity that it reaches the temperature of the surface of the sun... the surface of the sun!?

Now, there will be doubters among you. We too, are in wonder of their constant activity level, their appetite, their science fictional methods, and their proclivity to situate their feeding grounds under Solar Wind day after day. And why doesn't every boat hear it? But -- hey -- it's too far fetched to make up and we all believe what we WANT to believe. We would so much rather believe in pistol shrimp than constantly thinking that the boat is sinking or the batteries are frying or the bottom blisters blistering.

So, seriously. Look 'em up. The inner tubes are grand for questions like:
What's that snap, crackle, and popping sound under my boat?? 

Here at The Cape!

Made it to Cabo San Lucas this morning – in record time – about 26 hours of flat 8 to 10 knot winds. Motor sailing made the most sense, and with a boost from the sails we cruised the 175 miles in comfort, taking to 2 to 3 hour watches. As usual the sunset, starry night, and sunrise showed off. The temperature and humidity have definitely picked up. We’ve jumped in the water a couple of times and hosed off with cool water at the transom hose.

Rounding Cabo Falso with Cabo San Lucas on the right.

The terraced development on the cape.
We read this area was still a fishing village only 40 years ago. Yikes!

Everything on the boat is working – sigh -- and we really feel like we are living in comfort with the refrigerator and watermaker! While en-route we baked corn bread, roasted poblano chilies, cleaned the grill, washed the windows and wrote some sailmail.

A big part of the daily routine is checking the weather through sailmail sent faxes and computer generated GRIB files. We have more sources when there is internet available, and whenever in port of course there is the grapevine – sometimes more talk than anything, but all good to include in the planning.

Part of the busy construction going on at this marina --
is the tourism economy back??


We have come a little beyond the Cabo San Lucas marina, hotel, beach, habor scene to a smaller (and very beautiful) marina at San Jose del Cabo. This is a new development that got slammed with the economy in 2009 and is just getting on its feet again, hoping to be really ritzy – in addition to the marina, they advertise 2 pro-designed golf courses, future home sites and attractions such as a botanical garden and a pool to swim with dolphins.

The marina grounds are beautifully landscaped and everyone working here very friendly. We continue to use our Spanish – and they humor and help us! Sometimes, they just shake their heads and say, “Try English…?”

After checking in at the marina, which involves presenting our papers of boat ownership, clearance into Mexico and proof of Mexican liability insurance, we toasted our arrival with cold cervecas and tapas, gathered laundry which we will happily pay Guermo’s sister-in-law to wash tomorrow, and got of the bikes to go explore town. 

We had a wonderful ride to the plaza, along the cobblestone back streets and of course found another little place for dinner. San Jose del Cabo seems like a plenty big enough city – we are happy to skip San Lucas for now.

 Signs of the Day of the Dead celebrations in the town square

A highlight was when Guermo and his wife, Michelecarmina brought back our laundry and agreed to come aboard for a margarita and some informal Spanish lessons. They were very sweet and clearly touched that we wanted to visit with them – rarely, if ever had been ON one of the boats in the marina.

Today was BIG boat maintenance (oil change, wash down, etc, etc.) and tomorrow we will get to a market. Because we know some of you reading are saving your pesos to come here yourselves, we will mention that sending a couple loads of laundry out was about $20. The marina is $100 a night. Twice the rate in Ensenada, probably a little less than in Cabo San Lucas central. 

We expect to spend one more night in the marina, then watching the weather and deciding when/where to cross over to the mainland west coast – probably to Matzatlan, further south to Puerto Vallarta, or all the way south toward Ixtapa. Will keep you posted! Thanks all for keeping in touch. Emails from you all have become more and more precious!

The Ride to Mag Bay

It's getting greener... 

We took off from Bahia de Tortuga as the sun set, about 12 hours before the bay undoubtedly filled up with the 120 boats that make up the BaHaHa flotilla. We motored as the full moon came up, just 15 miles around the “corner” to Thurloe Bay. Our purposes were two-fold. We wanted to get a jump on the next morning and we felt like it would be a good place to practice anchoring in the dark. It was. No problems, but definitely a new and not totally comfortable sensation to be easing in toward shore, and decide where to set the hook without a visual of the surrounding topography. The depth sounder is great, but we have learned we can’t rely on the GPS coordinates that are given in the guidebooks or the electronic charts of Mexico lining up with reality. It was a calm restful night and fun to see the surrounding bay (another big wide open one) in the first morning light.

Another day, another fish! An hour and a half into the next day, we needed to slow up and take about an hour out to “process” our second big Dorado catch within the week. We are getting more efficient (safer and less messy, too) in our gutting, filleting, and packaging routines. This one gave us 6 large steaks, more beautiful sushi, and ceviche. The rest of the day was fantastic sailing! Running downwind, 14 -20 knots, 5-7 mi/hour, nothing but the sound of sun, wind, and waves! We turned into Bahia Asuncion (you never get to “tuck” along this coast – the bays are too big – they require a 10 mile detour to get anchored). Fish BBQ, good holding, and off the next day.

An hour and a half into the morning travel, just as we were deciding whether to make it a shorter day, or start our long overnight run to Mag Bay, we had another fish on the line! Who put that hook in the water?? Lanham??

This one was a 10 lb tuna (yellow fin?) with deep purple meat. That helped us decide. Time to go in and cook more fish – the freezer was maxed out! We cut the day’s mileage at 20 (now seems like a short day) and found a sweet anchorage by noon off a village called Hipolito. For us it will always be the Easter egg town. The houses and shacks were all painted bright happy colors, looked tidy and well cared for. As it was a holiday, El dia de los Muertos, we did not want to intrude on family celebrations, so we stayed aboard and enjoyed a relaxed afternoon napping and reading.

Hipolito in morning light

Off at 8 am, Friday November 2 gave us a great ride. We flew the spinnaker (or it flew itself) without any main, which is the best because you have such a great view. The wind kept going our way, so we kept going through dinner, evening watches, and until after midnight when it finally died and we had to motor. It was a big cooking day for me in the galley. I was feeling overdosed on fresh seafood (can you imagine!) and made a big pot of beef spaghetti sauce (Italian spices, not a bit of cumin) and a loaf of banana chocolate chip bread.

We are one of the few boats sharing this giant bay, before the
BaHaHa boats arrived.

Saturday, we pulled into the famed Bahia Santa Maria. This is 20 miles north and on the other side of a low sandy bar from the famed Magdelena Bay, the only true all-weather anchorage or place to take care of boat repairs on the Baja coast. Fortunately, we did not need either so we stayed at the beautiful and more remote Santa Maria for 3 days! 

Our first two days we shared it with 4 other boats, and then “overnight” the BaHaHa boats arrived, and we were joined by 120. There is room for a 1,000 in the bay so it wasn’t really crowded, just populated, and kind of fun as a contrast. We ended up sharing a fish dinner with John (acquaintance from Ensenada) and his crew, we listened in to their social net, and scooted out 24 hours ahead to get some southing on the group.

We brought the kayaks up this estuary into mangroves. Tons of birds and even saw a hungry looking coyote.
Better than "Wild Kingdom"

A couple of bathing beauties -- just trying to even out our tans!

            We couldn't get enough of photographing the miles and miles of wind sculpted dunes.
Walking barefoot was like a Dr. Scholl's spa!

This stop, Bahia Santa Maria, may be our favorite so far – for its shear beauty and the variety of geography to explore. First we were taken by the greenness of the hills – realizing how little green we’ve seen. We took the dinghy in to the sandy beach (another soaking in the surf on the way back!) and ran the beach barefoot, walked the incredible miles of dunes, and checked out the estuary. Lanham did some snorkeling and we kayaked the surf (no camera with us for that, thank goodness). The swimming was wonderful and a breeze kept us cool day and night. It was nice to feel so secure in the holding of the anchor, be able to leave the boat open and unattended and we got the dinghy wheels out and working.

A highlight was our hike to the top of one of the 1,000 foot peaks. It was easy footing, the cacti were just interesting and healthy, not aggressive, and the views – well, check it out!

 Once we reached the ridge we had views of the bay, dunes and estuary on one side and the wide-open Pacific on the other. We had a picnic lunch, felt proud of ourselves and didn’t want the day to end! I finally got out my art supplies and did a landscape of the hills. It’s one of the places I won’t soon forget!

The fishing huts located at the head of the estuary are the only settlement on the whole bay.

The micro-views of cacti and desert wildflowers
were as impressive as the macro-views.

Can you say "Gringo"?

The scene at our early morning departure. BaHaHa boats just waking up.

On to Cabo – expected to be a 30-hour run. We left at 6 am to get in the following day about noon.

Writing from Bahia de Tortugas

We did well on our first night passage with just the two of us. I should say, I faired well, getting about 6 hours sleep, and lucking out by getting to catch the sunset and the sunrise! The full moon’s rising and setting have been equally mesmerizing…What a way to watch the world turn…

Morning watch -- warm clothes still feel good

I think Lanham slept quite a bit less, but was still energetic when we arrived about 10 am at Isla San Benitos. We were able to sail most of the night! in 10-15 knots. We only saw one freighter about 2 in the morning, but we did learn that there is lots of chat, music, cat-calls, and even farting sounds broadcast over VHF channel 16 through the night in Mexican waters.

Sunrise over Cedros Island

And in the other direction, the moon is setting.

This is a beautiful area of islands and waters that are absolutely teeming with sea birds and dolphins. We sailed through a herd(?) of dolphins that must have numbered 400 – the water was 

literally bubbling with them jumping in all directions. They especially like to swim along right under the bow, mostly staying clear of the boat, but sometimes nudging us – what must they be thinking about us??

The fishing village of San Benitos (we didn't go ashore) but our telephoto
lens gives us a good view

We anchored among the rocks in 30 feet off West Benitos Island. A very small town, but large enough to have a two-towered church was around the corner.

Before we even had the anchor set, we had the traditional visit from a panguero and made a trade of 3 langostinas (lobster) for 2 cans of cold beer. Word got back to his buddies, because in a half hour another boat pulled up, clearly hoping we had more cerveca to trade -- four more lobster for 2 more beers. With dinner chilling in fresh seawater, we sun-screened up and headed out in the kayaks to explore the sea elephant colony (from the water) and the tidepools.

With the water at 76 degrees, I used my shortie wet suit and snorkel gear to swim around in the turquoise water. Lots of little fish, the most tropical looking species was an abundant bright orange goldfish shaped fish, ranging from 4 to 8 inches. We didn’t get too close to the sea elephants – just close enough to smell them!

We feasted on lobster, with olive oil and lemon, and slept a solid 10 hours. Again, the flopper-stoppers were put out to reduce our rolling in the swell. We had decided to only go a short 15 miles the next day, breaking the 65 miles to Turtle Bay into two shorter days and giving us a more leisurely start time.

We are so glad we decided to take our time… on the way to Isla Cedros we put in the line and caught the biggest fish to date – a beautiful, maybe 30 pound dorado (mahi mahi). While we are certainly enjoying the fresh seafood, it is with mixed feelings that one brings such an amazing and beautiful creature on board. We have also had 3 or 4 large ones on the hook that have shaken free and we are always a little happy to know that they CAN win sometimes.

The light at play in the hills

Our only chance to use our well-stocked first aid kit so far.
L stubbed his toe big time on our little hike. That will sound familiar to his big sisters.
All healed now and he was good about not swimming for a few days!

Another variety of fish tacos and iced coffee for lunch underway.

We followed the guide books’ recommendation to yet another gorgeous and protected spot in Bahia del Sur on Cedros Island for Sunday night. A long relaxed afternoon of swimming, sunning, (a little on board work-out with my weights), and then making sushi and grilling dorado steaks, proceeded a full moon kayak into the beach. We had watched a local family of 6 hike down the cliff side to enjoy this little beach earlier in the day. Our excursion left us soaked as we negotiated the surf to get back to the boat – but our inflatable kayaks are intrepid!

And so… Monday morning we got an early start, motoring by 6 and arriving in Bahia de Tortugas by 1 pm. It is a well-protected bay, and we are one of 4 sailboats anchored here. We are very glad not to be one of the 120 boats that will arrive as part of the BaHa Ha Ha in about 2 days. Too crowded for us! We plan to get going by Wednesday morning and stay a little ahead of them.

Once anchored we turned off the computer (and anchor alarm – ahh!) for the first time since Ensenada – what a champ! We took the dink in, tied up at the rickety metal stairs on the town pier and gave the gang of young men a propina to watch the boat. They are gearing up for the yatistas arriving and were ready to sell us fuel and anything else!

Lanham explained that his “pelo es no muy corto!” Pedro jumped right in and walked with us at a breakneck speed to the shop and house of Jesus, the local pelucuero for un corte de pelo. This was a great intro to the working part of the village. Jesus’s family was all in the next room with the TV blaring, and his kids kept bopping in eating sweets and talking about Halloween. Pedro, a one armed, baggy shorted, fifteen-year-old liked the tip we gave him for the walk to the barber and wanted to hang out with us hoping for more.

He showed us to the minimercado, where we initially tried to pay 700 pesos for a box of cereal and 2 cans of juice. The shopkeeper wouldn’t take $56, only $5.60 and we all got a good laugh. Pedro then walked us to a family restaurant overlooking the bay. We managed to ditch Pedro there, with another small tip, and we chatted with the gringos that were from the two other sailboats.

Cute dogs about town

Maria's restaurant, where we made a friend and found a spotty internet connection -- Solar Wind is out in the bay -- plenty of room for more boats

King of the roost

 After a great selection of beef and shrimp tacos, we made friends with the waitress and owner. She hoped we would recommend her place, which she took over from her brother only 2 months ago. Her English is about on par with my Spanish, but she was so happy to try to talk. She has big plans for her new venture. She would like it to be a gallery/museum in addition to a restaurant. The first item in her collection will be her fossilized sharks tooth, which she proudly showed us. It came from the mountains, inland (I think!! I understood). She wants to have a school for children to study music on the top floor of the museum/restaurant. She asked if I could maybe put a letter on the Internet, telling people about her place. When I asked the name of the restaurant, she thought about it… and finally said, there are 4 Marias in my family and named them all. We agreed the place should be Los Cuatros Marias! And she added, Los Cuatros Marias y Melinda! So – here’s my plug for Maria and her project. The next time you are in Turtle Bay, you must stop in. And ask about the shark’s tooth fossil!

Maria made a cake to sell to the upcoming BaHaHa crowd and insisted that we try a piece.

Before heading back to the boat, we walked the town a bit more, found the elementary school (one of my favorite photographic subjects wherever I go), looked for the tortillaria, but only found the panderia (with the ubiquitous dry sugared stale sweet rolls) and enjoyed watching the dogs and kids playing on the abandoned boats on the beach.

Lots of pride evident at the escuela primeria

Shade- wherever you can get it! 

We are headed back to Maria’s this morning to – we hope – post this on the blog. While there is no reported Internet Café in town, we did see a kid on his computer and Maria asked him for his code… it all seems pretty mysterious to those residents that we’ve met… maybe there is internet… maybe not… sometimes… mas o menos…

Next post will probably be after we hit Cabo San Lucas, but the deLorme tracker is working well and we have been posting our position nightly. Also, you can send short emails to WDF6911@sailmail.com and we will probably answer back! Thanks again to everyone who is reading along and sending their good wishes and thoughts! What can we say? We are having the trip of our dreams???