–>
Sunday, April 27 – Turtle Bay
 |
| Cross above Cabo San Jose Marina |
We spent a couple of pleasant days at San Jose del Cabo. The marina is comfortable– although not anywhere as nice as Costa Baja with very industrial artwork. We enjoyed dinner at Sharon and Dave’s condo where we discussed politics until 11:30. Pretty late for us folks. The next two days we provisioned and cleaned before picking up Joan and Clark at the airport. We had a good dinner at the Tropicana, recommended for Mexican food. Although it was not the fish tacos which I had expected, the food was excellent and the entertainment unexpected. Halfway through dinner a large group in crazy masks and very enhanced bosoms danced their way up the sidewalk and around us looking for donations. They were a hoot.
 |
| Art???? |
We left San Jose del Cabo on Friday the 18th. The going was not nice and Earl decided when the wind hit 30 that we would be well served to go and anchor for the night in front of Cabo San Lucas. It was both Good Friday and Joan and Clark’s 50th wedding anniversary.
 |
| Joan and Clark – 50 years and going strong |
Holy Week is a big holiday for the Mexicans and we felt rather as if we had anchored in the middle of an amusement park. The beach was literally covered with beach umbrellas and people, while a few brave souls were in the rather chilly water swimming or kayaking. One woman was attached to some kind of device that powered water jets under her feet and sent her soaring into the air. There was music blaring and everyone was apparently having a wonderful time. A barge anchored near us selling beer was covered with drinkers. At sunset, a number of boats turned on decorative lights and then there were fireworks. It was very festive. Not exactly what I would have thought for Good Friday in a Catholic country.
 |
| Cabo beach |
 |
| Party Boats |
 |
| Beer Barge |
We celebrated the anniversary with pepper steaks, champagne and a frozen Costco chocolate cake that we are still have not finished a week later.
Saturday morning just as the sky was lightening, we started off for a long run to Santa Maria just north of Mag Bay. As we rounded the Cape we were treated to the sight of a large whale breaching beside us. I guess he was wishing us a good trip north. It was a lovely start to our bash.
 |
| The Cape (Cabo San Lucas) |
Between Cabo San Lucas and Mag Bay it is a long 152 miles at 6 mph with no place to stop. It was choppy when we started and got worse. No fun! We bucked our way north and worked muscles we had forgotten about trying to keep from falling as we made our way around the boat. Daisy had the worst of it. She could not stand on the bow to relieve herself and even walking in the boat was tough. Earl finally put a towel down on the back deck so that she could get some traction. It took her several days to recover. The weather got worse during the night but by the time we arrived at Santa Maria, 172 miles from Cabo on Sunday the 21st it was actually becoming pleasant.
 |
| Bahia Santa Maria |
We were exhausted and spent the next day recovering. Apparently we are all 5 years older than when we came south and probably we are better off not doing too many over night runs. We celebrated our safe arrival with a luxury dinner of rack of lamb and the next night suffered through fresh lobsters that Clark bought from a pangero. They were probably not legal since we have since been told everywhere else north that the season is closed.
 |
| Lobster Night! |
We saw what may be the new generation of Baja fisherman. Still in pangas, these guys wore nice raingear, spoke some English and had a boatload of hammerhead sharks, which must be a profitable catch. From what we could understand, the fins go to Asia and the bulk of the meat is made into surimi.
 |
| Panga load of hammerheads |
 |
| Clark and Daisy fishing |
The trip south along the Baja with the winds on your tail is called the Baha Haha and it was a pleasant trip. The trip north is rightly called the Baja Bash. As one of the guide books put it: The prevailing wind and swell that was fun at 15 -20 knots going downwind, can become a bear when beating into an apparent wind in excess of 20-25 knots. The advice is to hug the coast to reduce the winds but that adds about 100 miles to the distance. It is also advised to travel early in the day before the afternoon winds come up. Thus, we have been making more stops than we did going south and instead of the 8 days it took us from Ensenada to Cabo in 2009, we will be lucky to make it in two weeks.
A 3 am departure from Santa Maria on Tuesday, April 22 got us to Juanico 7:20 pm. It was a long overcast day, but seas were reasonable. We saw a few large grey whales. One crossed right in front of the boat so Clark slowed down and gave it the right of way- it was coming from the right. The time was filled with lots of knitting and naps. Joan is a machine, whipping off a cap a day.
An 11 hour run got us from Juanico to Abre Ojos at 7 pm on Wednesday. It was choppy, but we were treated to gulls fighting for position on our front railing and porpoises came for Daisy’s delight. After we anchored, two pangas, each modified by the addition of a cabin, came by. They were the Mexican federal fish and game checking to see if we were poachers.
 |
| Gulls on the railing |
 |
| Mexican Fish and Game |
 |
| Leaving Abre Ojos at dawn |
Thursday April 24th was a choppy nine hour ride from Abre Ojos to Asuncion which we left early so as to get to Turtle Bay in time to do some shopping on the 25th. The conditions were wonderful as we neared Turtle Bay but the weather report was for some big winds on the afternoon of the 26th and lasting through the am on the 28th. We were tempted to run north, but Turtle Bay is by far the best anchorage in which to wait out the weather. So there we stayed
It would not be boating if there were not some issue. The first day out Clark mentioned that the water pressure was low. It would start out fine but quickly fall off. There were lots of theories and heavy engineering discussions between the capitanos. The first attempt was to check the electrical connections. That was declared a success – at least for 15 minutes. The next attempt, on the theory that something was stuck in the line- was to blow air through the pipes using an electrical air pump. Again a success. Again short-lived. The final (always the one that works) was replacing the pump. Apparently the pump that we had replaced just before leaving La Paz had a connector that was cross-threaded and allowed air to leak into the system. Somebody goofed, but all is well that ends well.
The water maker was also not working well. It kept shutting itself off. We assumed it was connected to the water pressure issue. But it turned out not to be so. So when we finally had water pressure, we did not have enough water to take showers and do laundry. The situation was becoming desperate when Earl checked the filters and discovered that they were plugged with plankton. New filters and new water pump and life is good. We are all less fragrant.
Joan, Clark and I took a panga ride into the pier to do some shopping in Turtle Bay. The panga ride was fine, but the landing was not ideal. We tied up at a dock that was far beyond rickety. The pangero demonstrated walking precisely in the middle so as to keep from tipping into the water. When we got to the stair of the pier, we were faced with a sad looking stairway about 2 feet across the water from the shaky dock. We made it and walked a guano covered pier to shore.
 |
| Guano encrusted dock (smelled good too!) |
We had toured Turtle Bay on our way south and it was as dusty as we remember. The buildings by the pier are derelict and rusty and the town is worn. The grocery store was more impressive than I remember – probably due to 5 years of shopping in tiny village tiendas on the Baja. The fruit and vegetable selection was not large but we got enough to see us to Ensenada.
 |
| Turtle Bay – not really a resort community |
We stayed at anchor for two days and watched as the harbor filled up. A number of other boats joined us to wait out the weather and we watched a surprising amount of commercial fishing traffic. There were a couple of old seiners and the scene was pretty remenisant of our Alaska fishing days.
 |
| Commercial fishing boats |
So here we sit making water and doing laundry and resting.
Tuesday, April 29th – enroute to Bahia San Carlos
After considerably checking of weather, we left Turtle Bay at 7:15 on Monday morning headed for the north end of Cedros Island. It looked as it we would have a lumpy but not impossible ride that day and better weather the next. We were met by good sized swells with white caps on top. Thank God for stabilizers. The Serenity rides like a duck. Joan and I spent the morning knitting, playing cards and killing flies. We apparently brought a boatload of them with us from Turtle Bay.
As soon as we got in the lee of Cedros Island the water flattened out. The south end of the island has a deep harbor at which ocean going tankers are filled with salt. The salt is produced in Scammon Lagoon, loaded on barges and tugged over to the island. The barges are equipped with conveyer belt system to unload the salt on to the shore where it is added to the huge pile that is already there.
 |
| Loaded salt barge |
The ride up the east side of the island was scenic. The hillsides are very dramatic. As we got to the northern end, we started passing beaches covered with sea lions. They lie on the shore like cord wood and bark.
 |
| Sea lions on the beach |
Our anchorage was steep, so we anchored close the beach and the seals. Earl put out 150 feet of chain and we enjoyed quiet rocking and noisy seals. Earl got up in the middle of the night and saw some of them swimming through our underwater lights.
We started off a dawn on Tuesday to head north to San Carlos,
We had very large swells, 9 or 10 feet, but we seem to be getting our sea legs. Daisy even made it to the front deck and managed to do her business. A true Salty Dog. I have rediscovered the technique of bracing oneself in the galley that I had mastered when we commercial fished. It must be like riding a bike – one never forgets. The boat continued to perform beautifully and we passed a pleasant day. As the evening approached the seas flattened and the report for Wednesday is excellent. We will probably do an overnight from San Carlos into Ensenada.
Wednesday, April 30, heading north from San Carlos
Well we had quite a night! The anchorage in the bay is a good way off the beach, but as we anchored we could hear the surf roar. It seemed almost as if it echoed around the little bay. At 1 am the wind came up from land to the NE. By 2, the boat was pitching and we could hear loud banging noises. The wind was warm – 78 degrees – and wild. We clocked 56 mph. Earl and I went upstairs in our nightclothes to see what was going on – my initial thought was that the stabilizer had somehow gotten fouled. But no, our trusty chain hook on the bridle had failed and was inoperable. Earl managed to find our spare bridle in a storage box on top of the house and went out to hook up the replacement and retrieve the bent one. As soon as he had that done, he replaced the hook on our bridle with a different model. Just in time, as the second one also failed. By this time Clark had come up and we gave Earl our moral support from the cabin as we watched him bent over the bow roller, his nightshirt around his ears, attaching the bridle. It was an unforgettable sight – no photos.
 |
| Twisted chain hook #2 |
As it grew light around 5:30, we began the process of pulling up an anchor that was more than well-set in wind that was still gusting 45. With the wind on our starboard we blew out San Carlos and headed north.
Fortunately, once away from the shore, the Santa Ana type wind dissipated and we are enjoying a good ride with long swells. We had some unexpected visitors. Some little yellow birds –identified by Clark as Wilson Warblers-, apparently blown offshore, landed on the boat and flew in and out of the cabin. They were not the least afraid and made themselves at home, helpfully doing away with the last of the flies that we had been carrying with us. One landed on Daisy’s back and rested, then another tried to preen Daisy’s beard. Joan had one on her finger and Earl’s head was apparently also an appealing perch. Delightful!
 |
| Wilson Warbler on our camera. Chain hook #1 in background |
 |
| Earl’s new friend |
Friday, May 2, 2014 – Ensenada
We did an overnight to Ensenada, arriving about 8 am. The seas were wonderful! Earl had planned on being able to get our check out documents, but, as Joan reminded me, when in Mexico, expect holidays. May 1 is Labor Day here and nothing was open.
We took on fuel, significantly cheaper here than in San Diego, and Earl rinsed the first layer of salt and grit off Serenity, before finally going to bed for a few hours of sleep. He does not sleep much during overnights. Apparently he has inadequate confidence in the crew.
While Earl slept, Joan, Clark and I went to the grocery store to pick up a few items – oranges for 2 mornings worth of juice, some bread, cookies and mangos and, most critical, a toilet plunger. It was a short distance, but the heat was awful and it seemed like a steep uphill. We got back only to find that we had left the plunger behind, so back to the store I went. Death march.
Dinner was in the air-conditioned boat. We are trying to use up any food that might be confiscated, so we had the last of our steaks. Yummy. We finally finished off the last of the Costco cake. My freezer is definitely looking rather empty.
Today is a little cooler. We have gone downtown to complete the process of checking us and the boat out of Mexico. The marina provides an assistant to take care of dealing with all the official personnel, but it was still a 2 hour process. We are currently sitting in our air conditioned cabin while Serenity gets a much needed wash. (Earl is not impressed by the job that is being done). This evening we will go for an on shore dinner courtesy of Clark then we will be off early in the am so as to arrive in San Diego while customs is open
 |
|
| Cabo north to Turtle Bay |
 |
| Turtle Bay north to Ensenada |
