28 January - 15 February 2009 - Mazatlan to Puerto Vallarta and Morelia

Morelia from our hotel room


One of the Plaza's in Morelia


Butterflies


more Butterflies ... millions of Butterflies


Wednesday, 28 January 2009 - Sunday, 1 February 2009
Mazatlan - Readjusting to the confinement of boat life. Changed the engine and transmission oil, oil filter, and raw water impeller and tightened the alternator belt. It’s a little bit early to do this work, at 690 hours, but better to do it where I have help than where I have none. I had the bottom cleaned, the oil pressure gauge re-installed, and I re-waxed the deck and hull for the umpteenth time. Saturday Steve and Weta (JAKES family whom we met in the sea this summer) hunted us down to take us out to dinner.
On Sunday went to a Super Bowl party at El Cid. The crowd was older than I, and very obnoxious. Why not enlarge on this point?

Monday - 02 February 2009
1000 - Skies clear. Wind NW, variable. Waves small and long period swells from the NW. We slip our dock lines and make our course for Puerto Vallarta (PV).
1200 - Julie is a little seasick adjusting to life underway. Winds NW 10 knots. I unfurl the jib and hoist the main sail. Doing 7 knots under sail alone, an easy ride.
1400 - Winds have increased to 20 knots. Placed one reef in the main. Doing 7.5 knots now, course steady at 153 degrees.
1800 – Sunset; winds at 10 knots. Doused the main and motor sailed with the headsail out. OK - Headsail out of what?
2300 - Julie is still seasick. Winds variable. I douse the headsail.

Tuesday - 03 February 2009
0200 - Pass Isla Isabella to starboard.
0400 - Crystal clear night; visibility excellent with a full moon. All of the constellations are visible. I can easily identify the Big Dipper, Altair and Pleiades. I should make it a night watch practice to get out the star chart to study, identify, and memorize the constellations. Swells eight to ten feet, often rolling the boat 15 degrees or more.
0600 - Julie reports for watch, apparently healed of mal-de-mer. Pass Tres Marietes (see 09 March, 2008 log entry) on starboard. I drop into the salon for three hours of sleep. It's really "saloon" but that would confuse the gardeners among your readers.
1200 - Round Punta Mita at the northern tip of Bandarras Bay. We’ve been warned not to cut the corner due to unmarked shoals: twenty-two miles to PV.
1400 - Whales sounding all over bay. This is their winter home prior to migrating back north to Alaskan waters.
1630 - Tie up Marina Vallarta (PV) - Slip C-25. Engine hours: 692.

Wednesday - 04 February 2009
0900 - Checked in with Marina and started boat maintenance: Lubed winches, replaced the bottom reef lines on the main sail, and retied Lazy Jack lines. The winches are used to crank in the headsail sheets (ropes that attach to the headsail). Reef lines are small ropes that go through the sail at three different heights on the main sail. Reef lines secure (tie-up) the sail to the boom when reducing sail area to compensate for increased wind speed. Lazy Jacks are lines extending down from the mast that help manage the sail when lowering it.
Efren Ramirez Calderon M.D. came to visit us at the boat. Efren is Esther’s medical contact here in Mexico. Esther is Julie’s friend from Alaska. Esther collects outdated medical supplies from the local hospitals in Anchorage, inventories them, and sends them to facilities worldwide that need them. Efren has many contacts in the local medical community and is able to distribute the unused supplies to the patients' and caregivers' advantage.
Attended to email. Julie heard from MERIDIAN (one of the boats trapped in Moro Bay with us and that also did the Baja Ha-Ha with us). MERIDIAN is in New Zealand now, having work done on their boat. They plan to stay on the hard for six months and tour around on land. MERIDIAN reports that many of the boats that have made the puddle jump (a euphemism for crossing the Pacific) are either up for sale or being put on Dockwise for the return trip. Dockwise is a freighter that hauls boats around the world. The center part of the ship actually sinks and the boats are driven onto the holding area. The sunken portion is refloated and the vessels are secured. The crews are citing parts failure and exhaustion from the long passages as the two main reasons. The marine environment is terribly harsh, perhaps the harshest I’ve ever seen. In my opinion, most marine suppliers and retailers do nothing to make life at sea easier. With very few exceptions the parts, materials, and workmanship are grossly inferior. If the component itself doesn’t break, then it was put in poorly or just plain wrong. Shoddy workmanship (our own troubles being just one of so very, very many examples) that we’ve seen coming out of Seattle, Port Townsend and San Francisco are routine, not rare. Perhaps it’s a reflection of what’s been going on in society as a whole, lately.
We were inside a coffee shop attending to email when a bee, in an unprovoked and unwarranted attack, took it upon himself to sting me. I felt a tickle on the top of my left foot and subconsciously massaged it with my right foot. I felt something different than the satisfaction one gets from itching a scratch and looked down to see a bee flopping back and forth trying to escape the stinger he had, maliciously and with intent, thrust into me. I extracted the stinger and killed the bee.

Bees: Mexico has swarms and swarms of bees. While at sea this summer, along with daily weather reports, we had daily bee reports. Some anchorages were worse than others and nearly every boat had some issue with the Mexican bees. For example, BEYOND REASON did a fresh water washout of their wetsuits they had used for diving. They left the wet suits on the cabin top to dry and came out some time later to find an entire swarm (thousands of bees) had taken up residence in the wetsuits.
The bees are attracted to fresh water. The hive will send out a scout bee (or several scout bees) to find a fresh water source. After finding the source, the scout returns to the hive, reports, and then the entire hive flies out to enjoy the waters. The trick is to kill the scout bee so he can’t report back. All the cruisers are pretty vigilant about two things in this regard: keeping sources of fresh water under tight wraps and killing the scout bee. In regards to the later, many of us have purchased electric fly swatters. They look like junior-sized tennis racquet, only they are electrified with a couple of batteries. The novice will swing and swipe the racquet-swatter like a normal fly swatter, often damaging the boat or shattering the racquet-swatter itself. Once experience is gained, an elegant dip of the racquet-swatter can catch the bee in mid-flight. Electrocution is a certainty, whether it results in death or merely a permanent palsy is often a matter of luck, for the bee. Julie, being the hunter she is, goes for the one-time clean shot kill. I tend to send the scout bee hobbling back to the hive, scorched wings, bent antenna and a permanently shorted-out navigation system. With so much damage to his internal electronics, his communication dance looks more like he has been into the peyote than on a scouting mission. No way can he communicate the trail back to the water hole.

Thursday - 05 February 2009
Puerto Vallarta - Awaiting Esther and Jan (Julie's friends from Alaska). To Zaragoza (a marine store) for Cetol, an extra Danforth anchor (13 pounds) and shaft zincs.

Friday - 06 February 2009
Puerto Vallarta - Five-dollar cab ride to the airport to pick up a rental car. Back to the marina to meet with Esther, Jan and Efren. Then to the community indigent hospital to distribute Esther’s medical supplies, enjoy a hospital tour, consult with the staff on further equipment needs, and get an X-ray of Julie’s ankle. The bone remains broken but the break is closing.
Lunch after the hospital visit was at a large open-air restaurant. The remarkable thing about it was they had no menus. A large (all you could eat) plate of beef, pork, chicken and lamb was set on the table for the party to share family style. No vegetables, no potatoes, nothing: just our drinks and this huge plate of meat. Back to the boat to make plans for our inland trip to Morelia.

Saturday - 07 February 2009
0900 - Depart PV for Morelia and the Monarch Butterflies (via automobile). It took nine hours driving time and that was staying on the toll roads, which cost about $50.00. The toll roads are not always divided highways, often under construction and include stoplights and huge speed bumps as they meander through small towns. Even so, they are better the libre (free) roads, which wind and twist every which way adding, in this case, four hours to the journey.
1800 - Arrive Morelia, a city of 600,000. Absolutely charming city, unlike anything we’ve seen in Mexico. It’s a very old city with a modern section as well. It is clean and organized. The historic portion of the city has multiple large plazas with majestic European-style cathedrals. The four us dragged Morelia’s narrow cobblestone streets disappearing into the historic district’s maze. We bumped into one dead end after another, passing marvelous stone buildings, balconied windows and always the heavy, sculpted wooden Spanish doors. After dark had destroyed any further chance of sightseeing, we found a hotel room and had the best and least inexpensive dinner we’ve had in Mexico to date.

Sunday - 08 February 2009
0800 - Depart Morelia for the town of Anganguao and the Butterflies. Anganguao is three hours more towards Mexico City and sits in the low foothills of the country. The road is narrow, loaded with huge speed bumps, passes through many small villages, but is marked well enough … with pictures of Butterflies. At Anganguao we climb steeply into the mountains on switchback roads with hairpins turns. At the top, we enter the butterfly sanctuary and are greeted by local Indians selling a variety of curios and more practical bottled water and surgical masks.
The trail to the butterflies was an arduous hike on a dusty, steep, winding, shifting, and uneven path. They had horses (ponies really) that one could rent, but we chose to hike it (Julies broken ankle and all). Many, many Mexican families were making the same hike but the remarkable thing was they were dressed in their Sunday best (not hiking gear). The men were in dress slacks and dress shoes and white shirts. The women were dressed equally as nice, usually slacks, and we saw more than one hiking the trail in high heels. No kidding: high heels! The little girls were in their pastel green and blue church dresses with white ankle socks and patent leather shoes. The older women were in dresses as well, and their footwear was only marginally more practical. All ages were represented on the trail. It took about two hours to reach the butterflies via the trail and at the end everyone was covered with the black dust of the trail, which was as fine as talc.
While the trail was busy, it was not overcrowded. Additionally and inconveniently, another gringo decided to join the four of us and our little Mestizo guide. This was important because Esther and Julie needed to pee. Jan was 25 feet ahead of us with the Mestizo guide and the inconvenient gringo waiting for hobbling Julie, panting Esther and me to catch up. I gave Jan the high sign and she led the two strange men further down the path (not an unusual thing for Jan to do at all). Oops, here comes a young couple sauntering romantically down the path. She probably weighed 225 pounds to his 265. Waddled past us they did: star-struck, hand in hand, completely unaware of taut bladders and spastic sphincters. Not quite in the clear, Esther made a command decision and firmly announced, “to hell with it!” One heartbeat later, Esther had made the necessary adjustments and was quietly watering the ground below her. Julie, in the excitement of Esthers’ decisiveness but positioned poorly, was caught completely unaware. Last out of the gate, she hobbled over by Esther (girls always pee in twos), made her own adjustments and commenced her business. The girls did finish in record time and at nearly the same time. Would that I could pee that fast. With guys, however, time is not critical, rather it’s more about creativity. Writing one's name, perhaps some artwork… leaving the world a little better place than one found it.
Over the entire trek we saw very few butterflies: 12, 15 tops. The butterflies remain high on the mountain in the morning, but as the earth makes one more rotation towards evening the butterflies follow the sun down the mountain and into the forest canyons. This is where we finally saw them; millions of them. The sky was lively orange and black confetti that flittered about. The trees, trunks, branches and needles were painted a flowing orange and black. The ground, too, was covered with butterflies.
Millions of Monarch Butterflies from the Eastern United States and Canada migrate several thousand miles, annually, to this specific spot in Mexico. What’s amazing is that the butterflies that make the trip down are not the same ones that make the trip back. In fact, it’s the third, fourth and even fifth generation that make the return trip. The Monarch Butterfly only lives for about two months and is the only butterfly that can cross an ocean.

Filling oneself on nature’s splendor made us quite ravenous. We found a comfortable log and wiped our dirty hands of the black trail dust as best we could and filled our bellies with Esther and Jan’s leftover cold steak from the night before. We’d paid off our guide, still unsure exactly what he did or how he hooked onto us, and caught the pony ride back to the car. Each pony has a wrangler. Some wranglers have two or three ponies and they accompany them on each trek from the stables to the butterflies. They usually make about ten round trips a day. The trips are 30 minutes each way of tough hiking over a rock strewn, tree root exposed, shifting and dusty trail. The wranglers didn’t hike. They jogged beside or behind the ponies, sometimes hanging onto the horses' tails. Even though the trip was arduous, the wranglers hustled the animals right along. Natural marathoners, these boys were.

We arrived back in Morelia just at dusk and found our way down the cobblestone street beneath the 16th century aqueduct to our hotel. We checked into an 18th century building that had been converted to a hotel. Our room had a window that opened to overlook the street below and the panoramic view of the cities many historic cathedral spires.

Monday, 09 February 2009
Morelia - Up early to explore the historic part of the city. The historic district has been in continuous use since the city's inception and still conducts a full day’s business. We walked under huge porticos where folks were enjoying morning coffee with pastries on tables draped in white linen. We strolled along the cobblestone streets, across the plazas where we saw school children, dressed identical in their uniforms, doing exercises. Inside the cathedrals we examined the vast expanse of the domed ceilings that reflected the morning light creeping through the stained glass windows onto the rudimentary pews and stern religious icons below. We toured local shops and wandered through the Mercados (a generic term for shops and marketplaces). All the buildings are stone and were constructed beginning in the 16th century by Spanish missionaries. Many have huge, heavy, wooden, double-entryway doors that open onto large patios. Some of the huge timbers, used for framing the doorways so many years ago, have dried, causing the dark frame to split at its base. Plaques throughout the city commemorate Mexican heroes. One of the more memorable plaques, on the corner of a hotel that used to be an administrative building in days past, honors the firing squad execution of a would-be revolutionary (right on this spot). Morelia was the birthplace of Mexico’s independence movement. The old city sits high on a hill and has a commanding view of the surrounding plains. Efren told us about one of his ancestors who was the “stupid hero.”

The city posted guards in the cathedral bell towers to warn the populace of the government troops approach. My ancestor was on watch during such an occasion and dutifully began ringing the bell, as well as waving a huge white sheet, to sound the alarm. A gust of wind caught the sheet and blew him out of the belfry onto the cobblestone streets several stories below. He saved the day but died stupidly.

1130 - Depart Morelia: an hour outside the city on the toll road we come upon and accident. There are four bodies strewn across our two lanes of the highway. None of the bodies was moving; one was covered with blood and another’s upper torso with a blanket. The lower part of that body’s left leg was traumatically amputated. Worldly goods, such as they were, were strewn over the highway. There was no evidence of a vehicle, broken glass, skid marks or any other paraphernalia one sees at a motor vehicle accidents. I’m sure the victims were all dead, or rapidly approaching that state. The only official vehicle on the scene was an ambulance with a couple of attendants. They were casually moving about, but not performing any health care procedures. We saw no police cars driving to the scene, even though at the next toll both (20 minutes down the road) there were five police cars in attendance. Efren, later, told us that accidents like this are not infrequent. The highways (toll and free) are populated with vendors selling their wares (baskets, fruit, trinkets, etc.) as well as the pedestrian traffic crossing them. Sometimes pedestrians get hit: often by one of the tractor-trailer trucks. The involved vehicle does not stop and the ambulance does not move the bodies until the police arrive and perform their investigation: all in all, a gruesome scene.
1900 - Arrive PV. Dinner with Ester and Jan in the marina and I drove them back to their hotel.

Thursday - 10 February 2009
0800 - Out to Nuevo Vallarta marina (a newer marina north of marina vallarta where we are staying) to gather information on going south. A complete bust, but we did visit with SULA (Herb and Betty whom I had known at our yacht club in Tacoma).
1000 - Retrieve Jan and Esther from their hotel room and spend the rest of the day on the boat.
1400 - Efren came to the boat to take Esther and Jan to the Airport and their plane back to Alaska.
1500 - We walked over to SUNSEEKER to pick up our Central American flags of the countries that we’ll be visiting as we head south. Some cruisers supplement their income by making flags of various countries
1830 - Up to a local hangout called Pizza & Beer in another attempt to gather information on heading south. Again, a complete bust! PV is not very helpful to cruisers heading south through the Panama Canal.

Wednesday - 11 February 2009
Puerto Vallarta - Lay day attending to email, finances and boat chores.

Thursday - 12 February 2009
Puerto Vallarta - Painted the dinghy with white latex paint for three reasons: to protect it for ultra violet damage, increase its resistance to wear, and upgrade its appearance. Only time will tell if the first two will work and the third showed only a marginal improvement. To add insult to injury, I painted ITCHEN on the tender's left tube. My granddaughter could have done as well. Julie completed an awning between the dodger and bimini.
Many visitors today: two couples from Canada, a couple of guys from Australia with babysitting duty, a couple from the San Francisco Bay area that had a boat named ZARAZAN. Everyone was very friendly and intrigued with our adventure.
1930 - Arrived at an upscale restaurant in old town Puerto Vallarta, whose admission was gained through locked doors. We were the invited guests of FISH n Chips. FISH n CHIPS is a 55’ Mickelson powerboat owned by Roz and Harry. Julie met Roz last year in Cabo San Lucas. They had followed our distress calls on the radio when we lost our transmission. Julie and Roz hit it off, and this is the first time we’ve been in the same port together.
The restaurant is called the Hacienda San Angels and is part of a hotel/bed and breakfast. The buildings sit in the hills of Puerto Vallarta and overlook the old city. Originally there were three houses, built in a semi-circle with a central patio. The multi-level patio is now the dining area and the houses have become guest rooms.

Friday - 13 February 2009
Puerto Vallarta - Stripped and varnished the Ensign staff and cockpit table and re-waxed the boat. Julie caught up on more sewing projects: bags for the fishing poles and spear gun, covers for the hatches, and an insulating blanket for the Engle refrigerator. Fella’s across the dock from us returned after a successful fishing trip and gave us a 36-inch filet of Dorado.

Saturday - 14 February 2009
Puerto Vallarta - Boat work.

Sunday - 15 February 2009
Puerto Vallarta- Bus ride out to Nuevo Vallarta Marina to purchase two used six-gallon diesel cans, for trip south. To CCC (the local grocery store) to re-provision and Julie purchased new bedding to reappoint the V-berth. Cleaned the boat bottom and the inside of the diesel cans.

November 13, 2008 - January 27, 2009 - Ellensburg, WA to Austin, TX

November 13, 2008 - December 18, 2008
Mazatlan - Not much happening, cruising-wise. I continue to do projects around the boat like re-doing the Bimini and having a new dodger installed, installing the boom vang (a rigid boom vang is steel tube that supports the mast and eliminates the need for a topping lift.), installing the whisker pole pad eye, cleaning and waxing topside and varnishing the cabin sole, scrubbing the boat's bottom and cleaning the dinghy; it’s always something on a boat. Julie has been up in Ellensburg, WA working for a stint and while she was making good money she has broken her ankle (taking care of her boss's dogs). I went up for Thanksgiving and will go up again at Christmas. When we return we’ll provision the boat, do some last minute checks, and start heading south for the Panama Canal.

We did buy a bread maker for making bread while in port. I’m having a little trouble with it though. The first couple of batches were doubles. I had put in twice the ingredients I needed and the loaves were very dense and very heavy. I talked to Molly and she told me to cut everything in half. I did and the bread started turning out great. So I added some rosemary and then changed the oil ingredient to bacon fat; that really made it taste good. Yeast is not plentiful here in Mexico, but I found some in a one-pound package. Before I could open it, I went back to the States and bought a fistful of yeast packets. I must’ve gotten some powerful yeast though because the bread started blowing up and then imploding on itself. It was still tasty, just terribly deformed. I’m working on changing the yeast-sugar ratio.

December 19 - 31, 2008
Ellensburg, WA - Flew into a very cold and snow-covered Seattle. I caught the airport shuttle to Ellensburg and Julie picked me up at the bus stop at 0300. The next day the airport and the mountain passes were closed. While in Ellensburg we made a trip to Seattle for boat stuff, to see Chuck and Shirley (I had met Chuck while when still working and we formed a lasting friendship) and Dik and Kathy (next door neighbors of ours in Federal Way). We even bought a truck in Seattle, but I had barely driven it about a block off the lot and it was low on gas, had no oil in the engine, and the front brake caliper fell off. Still, I thought it was an OK truck to buy. It was a big red F-150 Lariat with four-wheel drive and gray leather interior. Chuck and Julie thought the problems were an omen and I should cancel the purchase. To my regret I did, but what goes around, comes around, as you’ll see. We attended a Christmas party with Julie’s co-workers, but we had a quiet Christmas and New Years, just the two of us. For Julie’s birthday, we went up past Cle Elum and had lunch at a lodge and then went into Roslyn and petted the Elk. There is a fellow just outside of town with a couple acres of land and he feeds the Elk for the winter.

January 1 - 26, 2009
Ellensburg, WA - Packed the car for the trip south. The trunk of the car and the back seat were bursting at the seams we had so much gear. We left Ellensburg on icy roads, snow and sub-zero temperatures. Little did we know, but that would be with us until we exited Colorado at the four corners.
On our journey south we drove through Oregon, stayed the night in Idaho, and the following night in Wyoming where we saw many spectacular accidents - semis jackknifed in the road and cars flipped over on their tops. We arrived in Steamboat Springs, Colorado to do a couple of days of skiing. Our original plan was to take a driving vacation, visit family and friends and ski a little. Julie’s broken ankle allowed her to do only two of the three activities. She was bummed out. While in Steamboat, I skied and Julie rode the Gondola to the mountaintop to have lunch with me. The second evening we took a sleigh ride out to Saddleback Ranch where they prepared a dinner for us and then drove us back to our hotels. It was snowing and the sleigh ride was cold at minus-20 below-zero, but the hands provided us heavy horse blankets to put on our laps. It was quiet with only the sound of the sleigh gliding through the snow and the occasional sigh by the horses as they plodded along. Julie got to rope her first cow. It was the metal kind that the drovers put in the middle of the Ranch house for the dudes to lasso. She got it on her second try.
We left early the next morning for Denver and Pueblo. Rabbit Ears pass and Berthoud pass were nearly whiteouts. In Denver we visited with Danny (my oldest friend from my childhood) and his family and then moved onto Pueblo where we stayed the night with Bob and Carole (my in-laws). Thursday we started for Paonia, Colorado to see Larry (my second oldest friend from my misspent youth) , when we ran into a rock. The trip had been going magnificently and the car was doing just great until we hit a rock 26 miles outside Gunnison. I saw the rock and Julie had pointed it out to me, but I thought the car would clear it. I took it right down the center (as I usually do) but the non-giving, bully rock jumped up and bit the transmission. I stopped to make a quick check underneath and, like a ruptured artery; red transmission fluid was pumping out. It was still below zero. We spun the car around and high-tailed it back for Gunnison. We made it, though I can’t explain how the five quarts of transmission fluid lasted us the half-hour drive. We found an honest mechanic and five days and $1300.00 later we were back on the road headed south. It should be noted here that had I been allowed to buy the truck (that big, red, F-150 Lariat with four-wheel drive and gray leather interior) I would’ve cleared the rock. There is an Irish prayer that goes;

“ May those that love us, love us.
And those that don't love us, May God turn their hearts.
And if He doesn't turn their hearts, May He turn their ankles
So we will know them by their limping.”

Chuck walks with a limp and Julie’s ankle is broken! See how that works? What goes around comes around. However, being the fine figure of a man I am, I cinched up my Speedos and bore my sorrow with nary a whimper. We had only planned to see Larry for a couple of hours, but he wound up coming down to Gunnison (on Friday) and chauffeuring us up to his house (in Paonia) where we spent the weekend. This turned out to be the highlight of the trip. Paonia is a small mountain town that depends mostly on agriculture and mining for its livelihood. In a town of this size, it is uncommon to see an international classical quintet (viola, cello, harp, piano and flute) perform, but we did. They performed in the Grange, but just the same, culture is culture. We were invited to an after-concert soirée, at one of the sponsor's homes, that was held even further back in the woods accessed by a one-lane, winding road … a path really … (high clearance and four-wheel drive required). In addition to chatting with the cellist, we met an aerospace engineer who is now operating one of the many small vineyards in town, and there were any number of small craft pilots, of which Larry is one. Larry, his girlfriend Ethel, and I went snowshoeing and cross-country skiing on Saturday just up the hill from their house. On Sunday we drove down to Telluride and put in a day of downhill skiing. Julie tagged along, but with her broken ankle she was still doing penance for deserting her husband in the fall. While around the area we saw multiple herds of elk and deer and one fox. Larry and Ethel were most gracious hosts and drove us back down to our car in Gunnison on Monday. We left early Tuesday morning.
By Tuesday evening we were in Tuba City, AZ having dinner with a mutual friend, Helga Baca. We had met Helga back in our working days when we were both on assignment in Bethel, AK. That evening we drove into Phoenix, AZ.
My mother had fallen the week before and had been admitted to the hospital for hip replacement surgery. We arrived just as she was discharged from the hospital. It would be natural to assume we helped her convalesce, but she was moving around pretty well by the time she was discharged. Oh sure, we ran a few errands and moved some things around the house, but she was pretty mobile and independent. My brother and uncle live in Phoenix and check on her frequently. Julie tried to make marmalade jam with oranges from my mother's trees, but it turned out more like marmalade soup … just more penance as far as I’m concerned. After four days with my mother we drove to San Diego to hook up with Tim and dump our winter gear in storage. We had lunch and a movie with Tim and then he had to get back to Camp Pendleton. Our next stop was Austin, TX, a first for both of us. We drove across the deserts of southern California and Arizona and then climbed into New Mexico. We spent the night in Las Cruces (elevation about 6000 ft) and we returned to the cold. The next morning we drove through El Paso, TX where El Paso, America and EL Paso, Mexico are divided by nothing more than a chain link fence. The rest of the day we drove for what seemed like forever through the Texas hill country. The road is pleasantly meandering and the hills are just high enough to block any panoramic view but they are tastefully vegetated with Chestnut trees, I'm told. The highway was littered with over 50 dead deer. Every couple of miles we’d see a deer carcass on one side of the road or the other. There are high fences on the side but the deer apparently can hop right over them. We also saw long-horned goats; strange looking creatures. We drove though Fredericksburg: a quaint little town settled by German immigrants in the mid 1800’s. It retains much of that culture today. We arrived in Austin at Molly’s late that evening.
While at Molly’s I put the car on Craigslist and sold it within 6 hours. We attended two yoga (hot yoga) classes with Molly, learning exercises we can do on the boat. We went to one of Keelyns soccer games (again it was cold!!), a movie, and out to lunch for Texas barbequed ribs on one occasion and boar and ostrich sandwich (at Cabella’s) on another occasion. We had dinner in and dinner out and we haunted the local thrift stores for big suitcases. We found four and packed them to the brim with all the gear we had purchased and stuffed into the car.

January 27, 2009
0630 - Arrive Austin International Airport and check into Continental Airlines with four suitcases for a total of 200 pounds, one computer bag, a backpack and a chick with a broken ankle. The airline was decent and only charged an extra $50.00 for excess baggage and nothing for the broken ankle
1000 - Arrive Mazatlan, Singlar Marina, the sailing vessel ITCHEN. It’s good to be home.

October 26 - November 12, 2008 - La Paz to Mazatlan

Sunday - Tuesday, October 26-28, 2008
La Paz - Lay days and lazy days spent in the marina. Had drinks with a few fellow cruisers and swapped some stories. A few of the boats from up north are starting to trickle in. It’s an annual migration, up the sea for the summer (to avoid the hurricanes) and back down the sea to La Paz or points further south for the winter (to avoid the cold weather and northerners). Many cruisers elect to stay in Mexico for their cruising lives. Many others are commuter cruisers: six months in Mexico and six months in the States. It is true that the weather is beautiful, not a lot of sailing, but certainly no shortage of cruising ground, with marinas conveniently spaced and the States easily accessed. Many world cruisers say Mexico is their favorite cruising grounds. I don’t get it, but then what do I know?

Wednesday - October 29, 2008
1230 - Cast off from the docks at Marina La Paz. Skies clear, winds light and variable, and the current giving us a nice push out. Blake Rodgers, a single sailor from California signed on as crew at the last minute. I was warming up the engine and getting ready to cast off when he contacted me about crewing to Mazatlan. On the morning radio nets in La Paz I had announced that I would be going to Mazatlan and was looking for crew. I was somewhat hesitant, because one never really knows what they’re getting. One sailor called and said he would like a ride but couldn’t go until the next week. I didn’t want to wait that long.

I had just returned from my final provisioning (ice and beer) and the couple on the boat next to me said they heard a hail for ITCHEN and the crew position. I broadcast on the net and SARA ANNE came back saying they had seen a note on the bulletin board in the cruisers' lounge. I was debating about taking the long walk back up there when Blake called on his handheld VHF. We chatted, over the radio, for a minute and he came barreling down; we chatted, in person, a few more minutes and he departed to collect his gear and check out of the hostel.

Blake is from the Bay area, about 40 years old, single, has saved up some cash, and he is boat-hopping down to the Caribbean. He flew to La Paz, caught a ride with me to Mazatlan, will catch a ride (or multiple rides) to Panama, thru the canal, and then into the Caribbean. He describes his folks as original hippies. As testament to that, Blake was shipped off to Hari Krishna boarding school when he was a youngster. He attended a private college and has quite a varied background: computer programming and financial analysis, as well as practical skills like carpentry and mechanics. He was good crew. He stood his watches, kept his gear stowed, was affable, and he didn’t break anything.

Thursday - October 30, 2008
O600 - N23.26.025; W108.09.721; about one-third of the way to Mazatlan. The boat is moving along nicely and the sailing has been spectacular. We’ve had the jib out most of the night and the NE winds have been steady at 10-15 knots on our port quarter. The moon didn’t rise till about 0230 but the night is clear and the stars give ample light to see by. We’ve only seen a couple of vessels since we cleared La Paz and they were cargo ships; the radio has been quiet.
1900 - Check in on the SouthBound.net over the SSB. The controller was in San Carlos (hundreds of miles north on the mainland side) and there were cruisers on the net from all over the sea (including the weather guy who is in Oxnard, CA). The net was a little slow due to the many relays that were being performed.

Friday - October 31, 2008
0400 - We are closing Mazatlan rapidly. I slow the boat, as I don’t want to get to the harbor prior to daylight. It is poorly marked (by U.S. standards); additionally, it is narrow and shallow and takes a left turn just pass the break wall.
0700 - Daybreak and we can see the fishing boats exiting the harbor; skies clear, seas calm, no wind, and the temperature is 85 degrees.
0730 - Tie up at Marina Singlar, Mazatlan, Mexico. Engine hours: 660.
0800 - Blake grabs his gear and heads off looking for his next ride. I check into the marina, stop in to say Hi to Bob and Raphael and wander about a bit getting my land legs back.

Saturday - Wednesday, November 1-12, 2008
Mazatlan - Cleaning the boat and doing small projects. The weather has been very comfortable; not too hot during the day and cool enough to need a blanket for a small portion of the night. Fixed the dinghy leaks and tuned the dinghy engine. Fixed the computer wi-fi and the computer's operating speed. Ordered a rigid boom vang from Garhauer (best people in the business). I'll pick it up at Thanksgiving when I go up to see Julie (I decided not to install a boom gallows as it was about twice as expensive and the options it gave me just weren’t worth the cost). Filled with fuel: 19.41 gallons ($54.00 Mexican; $43.00 US). Fuel consumption is still about 0.4 gallons/hour. I’ve talked to most everybody on Skype or email, except Tim (who fell off the face of the earth). Brigid is in England and enjoying the first weeks at a new duty station. Molly/Bodhi/Keelyn are adapting to Texas and thinking about moving back to Colorado. I talked to both mothers. I usually Skype Julie once or twice a week as she is working lots of 12 hour shifts and needs her beauty sleep.

I have many more projects to complete and some are real stumpers, but I need to discipline myself better to work with what I have and understand that the boat will never be finished or perfect. That’s a harder pill to swallow than you might think. Most days I have trouble getting motivated, but slowly I’m developing a structure that serves as a booster to jumpstart me.

September 7 – October 25, 2008 – San Felipe to La Paz

The afternoon we departed Bahia Los Angeles in 20 knot winds


Brigid going for a swim in Puerto Don Juan while we waited out the Northerner



Julie with our Marina host (Fabian) and another cruiser.




San Felipe Marina


Panga fisherman and the shrimp catch for the day. Julie bought 2 kilo's of shrimp for about $6.00


This is our seal buddy that kept us company for 20 miles up to San Felipe


get set ...


get ready ...


ATTACK!!!


Get the idea ... Ace is not letting go!



Sunday – September 7, 2008
San Felipe – Cleaned the boat; repaired the dinghy bottom (fiberglass had worn through and the hull was filling with water) and cleaned and rebedded air nozzles/stems. Julie went up to check the email and sent JAKE down to tell me that “your mother had fainted in church, was taken to the hospital and your dad had given her last rights” … he almost had it right. What Julie had said was that “my mother had fainted in church, was taken to the hospital and that Father had given her last rights.” JAKE, not being Catholic, simply secularized 2000 years of holy orders with the misinterpretation of one simple noun. We called and my mother is fine, although she had just returned from another brief hospital visit, where coincidentally she was cared for by one of Julie’s friends from Alaska. Mini-potluck with MIATIA ROA and JAKE in the cruisers lounge.

San Felipe is small Mexican fishing village renown for its shrimp. In recent years it has grown in popularity with Americans because of its proximity to the States, the beautiful weather and miles of deserted beaches. The village has a population of about 25,000, mostly Americans and mostly gone, for now. The marina – the harbor, which includes the fishing fleet - is two-and-one-half miles south of town and has only one small tienda where limited supplies can be bought. They have the essentials though, beer and ice … everything else is a matter of opinion (in this heat). The marina has only 14 slips and is run by Singlar, the same chain of marinas we’ve staying at all the way up the coast. This one is different in addition to it small capacity, the marina offices are separated (by a public street) from the docks, hence access to the facilities is limited to working hours; they have no pool; no air conditioned cruisers lounge; and, the large screen TV and CD player is for show only (they’re not to be used) … go figure, right!? The docks are the sturdiest of all the Singlar facilities, though. For the most part the staff is accommodating offering to run us into town, allowing us to use the air-conditioned office for wi-fi access and skype calls.

Monday – September 8, 2008
San Felipe – JAKE and us rent a car from one the local Americans. The Thrifty rental car agency in town has three rental cars and they are all rented until December (are you getting a feel for the business atmosphere down here?). “Clyde” rented us his 1995 jeep Cherokee for $75.00 for the day; we paid $20.00 for one day’s insurance, which we got online at 7am; and, we paid $45.00 for gas. Total rental car cost $140.00; day trip to Calexico, good ol’ U. S. of A., priceless. In Calexico, our first stop was “Burger King” where we rubbed the hamburger grease, french fries and chocolate shakes all over our naked bodies. Having debauched ourselves with American fast food we set out to rape the “Super Wal-Mart,” pillage the “99 Cent Store” and plunder “Big Lots.” Loaded down with our booty, we made for the border and arrived back in San Felipe at 2130.

Tuesday – September 9, 2008
San Felipe – Into town with GRUMPY (48’ foot Defever Trawler) and MIATIA ROA for lunch; potluck dinner on the dock with all boats (JAKE, GRUMPY, ITCHEN and MIATIA ROA).
Wednesday – September 10, 2008
San Felipe – Remarked the anchor chain every 25 feet using a 3/8-inch line woven through the chain (the marking paint I applied in Santa Rosalie wore off sometime ago). At the 50-foot marks, in addition to the woven line, I’ve tied several bright colored strands of polypropylene. We’ll see how it works. Dinner aboard GRUMPY’s bridge deck; Julie made chicken curry, and the others brought rice, a cucumber/onion salad, beer, wine, gin and for dessert we had chilled fruit and homemade peanut butter-chocolate chip cookies. Yummmm ….

Thursday – September 11, 2008
San Felipe – windy with big swells from the east. JAKE shoved off at 0700 for BLA. We moved ITCHEN around into JAKES spot; it’s marginally more protected from the swell. Filled with fuel 107 liters = 26.5 gallons + the 20 gallons I’ve added since Santa Rosalia = 46.5 gallons total; engine run time = 152.5 hours (501.5 – 349) so…. 152.5/46.5 = .308 gallons/hour – all-inclusive motoring, motor sailing and battery charging. In the past six weeks we’ve sailed over 316 nautical miles, spent 42 nights at anchor, and used 47 gallons ($130.00) of fuel.

GRUMPY (a solo-sailor) has a dog; really he’s a protection dog … a highly trained protection dog. The dog’s breed is Belgium-Malinois. He is dark brown with a black muzzle, long-legged, shorthaired, weighs about 70 pounds and German Shepard in appearance. GRUMPY has over $7K wrapped up in the dog (Ace) what with purchase price and training. Ace is sharp as a tack, obedient to the “t,” quick as a rattlesnake and very affectionate, when not working. When working, he’s the exact opposite! This evening I got to help train with Ace. I put on an arm guard - a full arm-length carpeted pad that trainers wear while being attacked by a police dogs. On command, Ace attacked me (the arm guard); no matter what I did or how I swung him around he was not to release the bite, nor did he. Another command released his bite but kept him in my face, barking and snapping his jaws like an automated bear trap. This is a highly – highly(!) trained dog and his barking was meant to intimidate me and hold me in position; if I were to run (or even move for that matter) he is trained to resume the attack. While having all 70 pounds of Ace’s lean, muscular body strike at me with the speed of a lightning bolt, mouth frothing, teeth flashing and psychotically clamping his powerful jaws onto the arm guard was a rush in itself, it took every bit of cheek I had (from way down deep in the very center of my testicles), to not panic when the bite released and subsequent barking, jaw-snapping, snarling glare (I mean eye-to-eye glare) ensued. His barking and snapping jaws were as intimidating as anything I can remember and through it all, his eyes never left mine (nor mine his). When we all through, Ace was just another dog begging for attention and rolling on his back to get his belly scratched. Earlier in GRUMPY’s cruising life he was robbed, at night, while he was sleeping. At that time he had two other dogs but they didn’t quite cut it. Due to the substantial loss he underwent he got Ace. At one point, when JAKE was tied up next to GURMPY, Jake had gone out to take a dock shower. It was night and Ace was on the foredeck of GRUMPY, Jake was about to sneak in his quiet little dock shower and from the darkness, only a few feet from Jake, Ace starts barking and snapping and doing everything short of coming over GRUMPY’s rails. Subsequently, Jake’s shower took a little longer than originally planned (as he had soiled himself).

Friday – September 12, 2008
San Felipe – Prepare for trip to San Diego (did you know Diego is James in Spanish … so we were preparing for a trip to St. James, California).

Saturday – Friday, September 13 – 19, 2008
Depart San Felipe for San Diego with GRUMPY, Ace, MIATIA ROA (in GRUMPY’s truck (Ace rode in the pickup’s bed in his cage). Dropped MIATIA ROA at Mexicali (so they could pick up a rental car) and GRUMPY and us (me in the back seat with Ace) made for San Diego. More boat shopping and provisioning in San Diego; swapped out the fortress anchor (to light) for a regular danforth (I now have two danforths and a plow for anchoring), purchased another cooler/freezer, sold the porta-boat and picked up some shackles, a winch handle, propane hose (so I can drain propane from standard tanks into the boats smaller tanks) and some new dock lines to counteract the panga’s wakes. Julie food provisioned for me for the next three months … WOW! We stayed with Brigid and purchased her car and returned to San Felipe with our stash.

Saturday – Tuesday, September 20 – 23, 2008
San Felipe – cleaned bird droppings/slop off the boat, baked in the heat and sweltered in the humidity and prepped for the Seattle trip. Dinner and movies with GRUMPY in his air-conditioned cabin. Julie bought shrimp from the local shrimper’s. I mentioned earlier that San Felipe is the shrimp capital of the world … shrimp season started on September 24th and panga’s from all over the peninsula arrived via truck and trailer. There was a small festival on the docks proximate to the marina. The panga shrimper’s roared in and out all day, very close to the cruisers (docked in the marina slips) leaving huge wakes and really banging the docks as well the boats around. The marina refuses to take any action citing the fisherman’s power, but soon the tremendous wakes will rip out the pilings the docks are attached to and this small but nice marina will exist no more (it’s the Mexican way).

Wednesday – Tuesday, September 24 – 30, 2008
Departed San Felipe for Seattle with an overnight in San Diego. Did some shopping for JAKE and visited with Brigid who is packing for England. Two day drive to Seattle arriving Friday – stayed with friends over the weekend, picked up mail, registered the car and bought a thrift store breadmaker for $8.00. Sunday morning, I went to mass at St. Vincent’s (Julie is not allowed to go as she mocked the church choir), but I didn’t recognize anyone there. Monday, Julie dropped me at the airport and made her way to Ellensburg where she has taken a 13-week work assignment (she also wants to hunt and fish). I flew to San Diego, overnighted with Brigid and made and eight-hour bus trip to San Felipe, via El Centro, Calexico and two bus stations in Mexicali with the breadmaker and JAKE’s supplies. At 2100, I arrived back at the boat in 98-degree heat with 65% humidity.

Wednesday – Thursday, October 1 – 2, 2008
San Felipe – Cleaned the boat again of bird crap (it is sloppy and … and … ubiquitous). Installed the extended range wi-fi antenna and caught up on email. Thursday, I kept GRUMPY company on road trip to Ensenada (across the peninsula) and watched the vice-presidential debates on his TV aboard his air-conditioned boat.

Friday – Sunday, October 3 – 5, 2008
San Felipe – Re-installed the wi-fi antenna (still not working here in San Felipe), repaired the leak in the dinghy (hopefully), installed fins on the outboard (for better fuel consumption and stability), installed a 12 volt plug for the additional refrigerator/freezer installed a new inverter, got dinghy gas, fixed the cockpit table, painted the anchors and anchor chain, fixed the storage sliders (inside the cabin) and fixed the ties on the bimini sun shades. The panga’s (starting at around 0430) still roar in and out at top speed, creating huge wakes and bouncing the docks and the boats around. I called Ma, Molly, Julie and Brigid (to wish her a happy birthday) and caught up on emails. I tried to install the windows update for the computers operating system and it screwed up the computer (it always, always happens and I’m just pissed about it … I don’t know why I keep doing it!) I called Brigid and she told me how to the computer in safe mode so I’m updating this portion of the blog in safe mode, but I won’t be able to get online until it is fixed.
Grumpy made shrimp and invited me over for dinner.

Monday - October 6, 2008
San Felipe – Checked the engine and cleaned the bilge. Cleaned the head – the cat litter was a failure (too heavy, but it empties nice), so I’m back to peat moss. Cleaned the raw water strainer, washed the bird poop of the deck (again!!), cleaned the bottom and prop and did the laundry. Grumpy gave me his old Sirius radio receiver that wasn’t working. It turns out it just had a missing part on the 12-volt plug. I’ll need an antenna and a little portable (12-volt) radio and we should be good to go, but hey, we may just have a radio that’s works all way down to Panama to supplement our iPod. I paid the marina fee in cash … this Singlar Marina (a government owned marina, just like all the other Singlar marinas we’ve stayed at) doesn’t accept plastic.

Tuesday - October 7, 2008
San Felipe – To San Diego (via Grumpy) to pick up Brigid and JAKE’s parts (his engine has been overheating and needs to replace the raw water pump, raw water strainer and impeller – try to get those parts in Mexico). Brigid wound up riding back with one of Barry’s friends who was coming down to visit. We stopped in Calexico to walk across the border to get our visas, no problem … and started to walk back the way we came. A Customs Officer and Border Patrol officer quickly stopped us and directed to go through the border crossing – it’s free to get into Mexico, but costs to get out! Mexicali (Calexico’s Mexican sister city) is a large city and is undergoing road construction on the main drag through town. Of course, the detours are not marked – we made it through with only one wrong turn and the occasional heart stopping barking that Ace would mount if someone were to approach the truck to close. The detour, composed mostly of dusty narrow roads littered with trash and bordered on either side with homes cobbled together with whatever building material was available (discarded wood, flaking mortar, bricks and/or wire) was 10 miles long … for a 500-yard stretch of road that was being improved. We arrived in San Felipe at 2000, unloaded the cars and went out for a bite to eat.


Wednesday - October 8, 2008
0840 – Depart San Felipe. Clear skies, winds 5-10 knots E; small swells from the E. GRUMPY casts off our lines. Brigid and I stand three-hour watches even though she taunted me with 12-hour watches that real (Brigid) mariners (the U.S. Navy) stand aboard real ships (what does she know)!

Thursday – October 9, 2008
0130 – We’re caught in a strong north bound current about 5 miles off and a little south of Punta San Francisquito – our speed slows to 3.5 knots.
0600 – Sunrise, winds and seas calm.
1520 – Anchor in 15 feet of water off Bahia Los Angeles (BLA). Into town for internet and dinner at Guierllmos.
1735 – Up anchor for Puerto Don Juan as hurricane Norbert is expected to blow through (south of here).
1935 – Anchor in 16-feet of water in Puerto Don Juan; engine hours 535. Enter the anchorage in the dark under radar (the chart plotter is not to be trusted as the charts may be well over a hundred years old). Eighteen boats in the anchorage and PACIFIC VOYAGER called on the VHF to check me out. I went for a swim to clean off and showered on deck. Brigid (the real mariner) was afraid to take a dip, but her need for hygiene overcame her fear of the deep and she finally took a dip.

Friday – October 10, 2008
Puerto Don Juan – It Julie and my 4th wedding anniversary. I had been thinking about it all week and forgot to call her … yeah; I think I’ve said enough about that blunder. I ran the engine for 1.5 hours to charge the batteries. JAKE arrived at 0630 from Santa Rosalia (an overnighter) and came over about 0900 to collect their stash; that evening we went over for dinner. I took Brigid fishing (in the dinghy) and she caught her first fish (a sea bass). Brigid is neither a very active nor patient fisherman. She held the pole and when the fish didn’t sacrifice themselves immediately for her plastic lure, she became annoyed … the lure was there, the fish were there and she was there … why weren’t the fish biting her lure!? She did hook into some kind of a fighter though (probably a sierra or yellow tail) that took her lure in a heartbeat (my bad … I used to light a line). To her credit, every time we went fishing she caught a fish. She even caught a mackerel off the boat, just standing on deck and casting.

Saturday – Tuesday, October 11 - 14, 2008
Puerto Don Juan – Stuck here until Norbert passes, but now we’re hearing about Santa Anna’s up north driving high winds into the area. JAKE called on the VHF to tell me Julie had written his HAM email as she was having potentially huge problems with the car (I called and we got it settled). Winds are building, steady at 30 knots with gust up to 40 knots.; lots of wind but no fetch (waves). It’s funny though how quickly a group mindset … sets. 30 knots of wind is certainly sailable. Except for the wind the weather was beautiful. There are the waves of course, but sailing downwind they would’ve just been a push. Anyway, not only did no-one leave the anchorage, no-one left their boats; We’re stayed on the boat, as did everyone else. We read, watched movies, played scrabble, slept and were generally pretty board. It didn’t help that was Brigid’s vacation and I was worried about getting her back safely. She did good (much better than I) as she entertained herself with a couple of electronic gadgets (ZUNE and Sony DS).

Wednesday – October 15, 2008
0915 – Weigh anchor for Santa Rosalia via BLA; winds subsiding – down to 20 knots.
1115 – Drop anchor off BLA and into town for ice and Internet; lunch with JAKE and HIPNAUTICAL and Brigid entertained the crowd with sea stories (she’s such an old salt). All the boats that were in Puerto Don Juan are now outside BLA, doing the same thing we are and preparing to head south.
1430 – Weigh anchor for Santa Rosalia; winds 20 knots NNW, white caps NNW, skies clear. Once outside the bay, after making our turn south, we rolled out the headsail and a nice ride seven-and-a-half to eight knots with gentle four-foot rollers pushing us.
1800 – Winds have all but died now and the sea is starting to settle. We’re standing a rather informal 3-5 hour watch pattern. Brigid taught me how to use her Zune and standing the night watch flew by. Tomorrow I learn how to use the DS.

Thursday – October 16, 2008
0300 – Eight miles off Punta San Carlos; caught in the north current (flood tide) speed down to 3 knots.
0600 – Sunrise and the winds building NNW. MILAGRO is off our starboard quarter (they left San Francisquito (where they weathered the northerners) at 0330.
0800 – Fix Brigid and breakfast (bacon, eggs and toast) and change the propane tank out. I think, this one has lasted us since July 26th (just shy of three months).
0900 – Sailing under headsail alone, average speed seven knots and Brigid is teaching me how to use the Sony DS (I’ll buy it from her before the day is out).
1215 – Dock at Singlar Marina, Santa Rosalia; engine hours 569.5. Secure the boat and walk around town and lunch at the chicken place. Arrange Brigids travel; bus from Santa Rosalia to Tijuana (14 hours), a cab from the Tijuana bus station to the boarder (10 minutes), walk across the boarder to clear customs (up to half-an-hour) and take the trolley to San Diego (60 minutes) and she’s home safe.
1900 – Brigid departs for San Diego. She’s a good sailor and a good companion!
1930 – Called Julie.

Friday – October 17, 2008
Santa Rosalia – Cleaned and washed the boat; polished the rails and hosed-off the cockpit cushions; dinner with JAKE in town.

Saturday – October 18, 2008
Santa Rosalia – Changed the oil, filter and transmission fluid (570 hours); checked the belts, impeller and coolant. Klutzy day though; spilled fresh oil, dirty oil, oil filter oil … if it could be spilled, I spilled it on the engine, in the bilge, on the counter … you get the idea. Sent the propane tank up to be filled ($5). Cleaned out the back berth and found homes for items that had been cluttering it up. Worked on the water tank to no avail; my water pressure has been dropping noticeably more in port tank. Called Brigid and she is home safe! Out to dinner with JAKE, MILAGRO and WINDWARD BOUND.

Sunday – October 19, 2008
Santa Rosalia – Filled with fuel; 29 gallons plus a five gallon spare ($75); 69 hours since last fill = 0.48 gallons/hour. Helped JAKE cast off; they’ll go to San Carlos for bottom work. Changed the water pump (I had a brand new spare); put it in upside down and backwards and spilled lots of water the first time (of course), but I did better the second time. Cleaned the bilge and braided a new anchor bridle. I tried to make bread with our new breadmaker but half the flour didn’t get mixed in the kneading process. That loaf went over the side hit the water with a resounding PLOP. I hoofed it out to the local market and bought some more flour and tried it again. This time I watched the kneading cycle and helped it along. The bread smelled good, but came out very heavy and dense; I wonder if it me or the flour … I’ll knead to experiment. Finished prepping for tomorrows underway.

Monday – October 20, 2008
0920 – Depart Santa Rosalia for Santo Domingo (will harbor hop down the coast to La Paz); skies clear, no wind and seas calm.
Noon – Porpoises abound and the fish are really jumping. WINDWARD BOUND caught a beautiful Dorado and a couple of Bonita’s. I saw Dorado fly through the air chasing a small school of flying fish. The Dorado was good size and moving fast.
1700 – Anchor in 12 feet of water at Santo Domingo (top of Conception Bay); engine hours 578.2
1800 – There are three other boats here (besides ITCHEN) and we’re all gently rolling. It’s cool, no bugs and the sun is just going down in an orange and purple haze … this day is done … forever. Take a quick dip to check out the prop and bottom both are passable; soap myself up and rinse with fresh water. I feel pretty spiffy so I’ll make myself a drink with some of Brigids Caribbean Rum (coconut flavored?) and pineapple juice. It’s good (I don’t why I didn’t fix myself an after work drink when I was younger … I would’ve been a much better human being). I mix ‘em light and you can pooh-pooh it but the liquor lasts longer, the money to buy liquor lasts longer and I last longer. It’s quiet, calm and protected here in Santo Domingo Cove. On this quiet water, with a sunset that is throwing out every hue in the color spectrum to commerate its passing, I’m drinking Brigids Caribbean Rum, writing this and listening to Peer Gents Morning … it could easily have been named Sunset; the strings start out quietly (as sunset begins) and build with a crescendo of wind instruments (the days celebration of it’s last moments) and finally diminishing into a soft willowy whisper as the sun disappears on this day … forever.

Tuesday - October 21, 2008
0700 – Weigh anchor or San Juanico with WINDWARD BOUND. Skies clear; winds NNE 10-15 knots; swells NNE; rollout the headsail for another downwind run doing 7.5 – 8 knots. Dorado are biting and WINDWARD BOUND has caught two after being skunked all summer.
1540 –Anchor in 12 feet of water San Juanico; engine hours 586.8. Clean the bottom and scrub the prop. I guess cleaning the bottom is like mowing the yard, except I like cleaning the boats bottom more than I ever liked doing yard work. TO WINDWARD BOUND for
a Dorado dinner

Wednesday – October 22, 2008
San Juanico lay day. Laze about all day, watch three movies and take a long nap. MILAGRO brought me over a piece of chocolate cake and some homemade cookies. Plan Puerto Escondido tomorrow.

Thursday – October 23, 2008
0800 – Weigh anchor; skies clear, wind 5 knots NNW.
0900 - Wind builds to 10 knots NNW, roll out the headsail
1200 – Pass through Isla Coronado and Baja Peninsula (just above Loreto) and the water gets pretty skinny (2.5 feet).
1400 – Wind has clocked around to the Neand built to 20 knots. Swells NNE at about 6 feet; doing seven knots under jib alone. Pass by the Puerto Escondido window and unwilling to let the wind go I decide to make for Bahia San Marte (good protection from the north, but a care needs to taken when entering.
1530 – Cleared Isla Dizamante and the wind has died, unfortunately the swells are just reaching their peak. Big ten foot rollers tossing the boat for 40 degree rolls (port and starboard) … nothing to be done about it.
1830 – Off San Marte but need to go way south to avoid shoals; just as I make my turn the wind builds out of nowhere and not only do I the stupid swells to deal with, but this inconsiderate wind. Go nearly to shore and then hug the coastline back up into the harbor.
1920 – Anchor Bahia San Marte15 feet water; engine hours 600.8 (67nm made good in 11 hours); tucked in very close to shore and but behind the rocks (nearly flat calm in here).

Friday – October 24, 2008
0715 – Weigh Anchor; skies clear, no wind, low rolling swells from the NE.
1300 – Afternoon winds build to 15 knots; headsail out doing 7 – 8.5 knots.
1930 – Anchor Caleta Partida; engine hours 613. Arrived about 1845; seven other boats in here all anchored in a line one behind the other and right at the 12 foot mark; neatly tucked behind the bluff. I tried to go between them and the bluff, but the water was to shallow and swing room insufficient. Moved to the outside (more exposed to the wind), dropped the hook and it caught but kept slipping at high rpm. Raised the anchor and moved forward in the bay, dropped the anchor again … right on to solid rock (this whole place is an extinct volcano), backed down anyway till it caught in the sand and then backed down to 2600 rpm (twice!) to make sure it was in.

Saturday – October 25, 2008
0715 – Weigh anchor for La Paz; Skies clear and calm, seas calm
1230 – Arrive fuel dock Marina La Paz; engine hours 617. Fill with 19 gallons diesel ($64.23); 47 hours since last fill = 0.4 gallons/hour; reserved four nights in a slip; plan departure for Mazatlan on Wednesday.

Itchen Log July 26 – September 6, 2008 – Santa Rosalia to San Felipe

a party at La Mona ... really we're all taking a potty break




this is a small whale shark, but we had one come by as big as the boat ...



Don Juan the hurricane hole



this boat has seen better days




Saturday - July 26, 2008
Santa Rosalia – Lay Day – topped off with fuel (added five gallons) and water; worked on blog and found Santa Rosalia dollar store (purchased an electronic bug zapper, sandals for Julie, scrappers for boat bottom and other miscellaneous supplies).

Sunday - July 27, 2008
0500 – Depart Santa Rosalia for Bahia San Francisquito (BSF). It dark, overcast and a north wind; Swells from the east and a one to one-and-half knot current against us.
1130 – JAKE turns around and heads back to Santa Rosalia (trouble with his refrigerator). Not able to make BSF so make course for Bahia Trinidad (19 miles north). Only able to make three to four knots (current), still a lazy wind and east swells uncomfortable.
1515 – Anchor Bahia Trinidad 7’of water; engine hours 377. Protection from south; swells from east and wind from south, boat sets broadside to the waves and we rock and roll. Two shrimpers anchored off our beam. BBQ Arachara for dinner (not bad if cooked well). Elephantes (15-20 knots) out of the west; Elephantes are strong, hot, westerly winds that sweep over the Baja peninsula from the Pacific – caused by the temperature variation from the cooler Pacific to the warmer Sea for Cortez; they can get up to 40 knots. I Stand/doze a lazy anchor watch; winds not above 20 with gusts to 25 or 30 knots and we’re close enough to shore that there is no fetch. It’s like standing in front of a really powerful furnace!

Monday - July 28, 2008
0800 – weigh anchor at Punta Trinidad and plan BSF. Sky clear; SW wind and swells. Roll out jib and sail most of day at 6.5 – 7 knots (under jib alone).
1500 – Strong currents of tip of BSF; counter currents and rip tide at point. Even though we were a mile and half offshore it felt (and looked) like we going upstream against the rapids. Speed slowed to 1.5 knots.
1600 – Anchor BSF in two fathoms; engine hours 381; JUNIATA (37’ Pacific Seacraft) here. I’m not feeling good. My back is sore from weighing anchor in Sweet Pea Cove (after a night of drunkenness) and now I just feel lethargic and no appetite. This all started but I think it’s starting to catch up with me.

Tuesday - July 29, 2008
Bahia San Francisquito – lay day – Spend all day in berth; stomach and back and both painful and stiff; sleep and sweat, sleep and sweat all day. Joined in anchorage by SNOWGOOSE (33’ Hans Christian), ACAPELLA (40’ Valiant) and TONY REYES (a Mexican charter fishing boat, with about 47 pangas tied up around it and a slew of would be anglers). A TONY REYES panga (loaded with kids) comes over to talk with Julie and she trades them a bag full of candy for four, freshly caught, Red Snapper.

Wednesday - July 30, 2008
0700 – Weigh Anchor BSF and plan Bahia Don Juan. Clear skies, no wind, seas calm. Motored into Puente el Alacrans (Scorpion Point) where they boast “an all inclusive wilderness resort, accessible only by boat.” The resort is eight yurts (in very good condition) along with a lodge (another yurt with a house attached) along a strip of white sandy beach. We would’ve explored, but I wasn’t quite up to lowering and raising the anchor.
1735 – Anchor Don Juan in two fathoms; engine hours 393. Julie spots a coyote and we watch as he scouts the shoreline for dinner.

Thursday - July 31, 2008
Don Juan – lay day. Launch dinghy, mount engine and motor around bay (in stages – still feeling pretty well rung out). Very protected from all side and good holding ground. Visit two wrecked 40’ trawler-type fishing boats that have been washed ashore. They’ve been stripped of everything useful, but just the same the paint, decks and structure above the waterline are in good shape, maybe even re-floatable; but I think they are here forever.

Friday - August 1, 2008
Punta Don Juan – lay day. Quiet, we have the anchorage to ourselves. In the morning, pangas will bring vacation families over from Bahia Los Angeles to the see the sunken boats, picnic and maybe do a little clamming. Install a little cubby for my stuff in the head (now Julie has her own and I mine). JAKE arrives late afternoon, now success in Santa Rosalia, but he did run into SUNBOW at BSF. SUNBOW loaned him a refrigerator cooling pump, and now his refer is working better than ever and using less power. Calamari aboard JAKE.

Saturday - August 2, 2008
Up anchor Don Juan and round the corner 6 miles to Bahia Los Angeles (BLA). Walked into town, lunched at a local restaurant and used Internet.

Sunday - August 3, 2008
Up anchor and move down the bay to gecko beach to meet up with CEDLIEH (40’ Pearson). CEDLIEH is pronounced Kaylee (it’s an Irish dance) and they have a little house on the beach. Winds out of the north and had trouble setting the anchor; it took three times because the bottom is covered with ironweed and the anchor can’t ding into the sand. JAKE and ITCHEN joined CEDLIEH at their place on the beach, called Duffy’s Tavern for dinner and cocktails. Spent the evening talking, eating and playing darts. Dinked back to the boats in complete darkness, with no lights, no radio and no life preservers (we’ll need to work on that).

Monday - August 4, 2008
Gecko Beach, Bahia Los Angeles – lay day. Spent morning skinny-dipping
1300- Over to JAKE for a rousing game of American Trivial Pursuit. Jay from CEDLIEH stopped by with cookies Janice had made.

Tuesday – Wednesday, August 5-6, 2008
Motored back up to BLA village. Into town to explore and use the Internet. Swimming and check how the anchor is set. JAKE over for dinner of the Red Snapper Julie swapped in BSF.

Thursday - August 7, 2008
BLA – lay day. JAKE to San Felipe 143 miles up the coast. Sharon has been fighting a topical skin infection (pseudomonas) on her hands for the past four months and Jake has just developed a swelling in his left ankle. They’re going to get fixed and if San Felipe can’t do it then they’ll run up to the States. To ZEPHYRA (42’ Morgan Out Islander) for cocktails and then a Dorado dinner on ITCHEN.

Friday - August 8, 2008
BLA – I into town to use Internet while Julie stayed on boat and conned a panga fisherman out of his days labor – a sea bass big enough to feed four. Julie saw a nurse shark and her baby off the starboard quarter of the boat.
1640 - Up anchor BLA for Don Juan with ZEPHYRA. Caught a very small tuna (although it would’ve been a good sized trout) off the point, but threw it back.
1828 – Anchor Don Juan in our old spot; engine hours 407. At dusk the coyotes started howling from all pints around the bay. After dark we saw three scouting the shore no doubt for some dinner.

Saturday - August 9, 2008
0610 - Don Juan – lay day. Up to take Julie out fishing in the dingy, off the point. Trolled and jigged but got nothing. Hand sewed a rip in sunshade.
I’m perplexed about the boats power management. I think I’ve run my batteries to hard by often letting them drop to around 11 volts before recharging. I now charge the batteries every morning by running the engine for about an hour at 1400 rpm (idle is 1000). My dilemma is should I get other kinds of power sources. Most cruisers have a combination of engine, generator, solar and/or wind for their charging needs. I sold my generator because its amp output wasn’t large enough to charge batteries and I purchased a power pack (portable starting battery with 12V outlet) for emergencies. I figure solar and wind will run me upwards of $2000.00 (each) by the time I get what I need for my usage; which doesn’t include installation hassles and the caveat that if there is no sun or wind, then there is no power. I have a brand new engine that burns well under a ½ gallon an hour if just charging; at this rate I could run the engine an hour everyday (which I don’t) for a year for about $547.00 (about 182 gallons). This past year I’ve ran the two engines 700 hours, if a diesel engine lasts 10,000 hours at this rate this engine would last me 14 years. Another option is to just run the hell out of the batteries; the 6-volt golf cart batteries I’m now using are $100 each (two to a bank equals $200.00); replacing the entire bank every year is $400.00 which is even cheaper than the fuel I would use to recharge them. Based on the above discussion, it’s simpler and cheaper to just stay with what I have and either replace batteries or fuel, unless you see where I’m missing something. Thanks for having this conversation with me, it was very helpful.

Sunday - August 10, 2008
Don Juan – Changed to starboard water tank (port tank has lasted us 2 weeks … looks that will be the average). Battery Bank #2 at 11.5 volts – charged batteries with engine for an hour. Over to beach and on the way a panga load of fisherman gave Julie a fishing line with 6 hooked feathers on it called a “Lucky Joe” and told her how to jig for live bait. Onshore took a trail (ever watchful for rattlesnakes and scorpions) to the other side of the point overlooking the bay just south of us.

Monday - August 11, 2008
0900 - Weighed anchor for BLA for ice, club soda, beer and the Internet. Spotted two nurse sharks feeding. BLA is the breeding ground for the nurse sharks and they come up seasonally to … conjugate. Nurse sharks are very large, very gentle and plankton eaters with huge mouths (4’ in diameter) in which to sieve the plankton. They’re gray with white spots and these were swimming right on the surface; one came alongside the boat and was nearly the length of the boat and the another kind of courted the boat and then swam in front of it gently bumping his tail on the bow. Anchored in 3 fathoms of water; engine hours 409.

Tuesday - August 12, 2008
BLA – It rained this morning – not a big rain just enough to get everything wet. First rain we’ve had since Mazatlan last November. 1300 – Weighed anchor for fishing and Don Juan.
1700 Anchor Don Juan in three fathoms. Julie made some beer bread in the pressure cooker. A pack of coyotes serenaded us as they scouted the shore for dinner.

Wednesday - August 13, 2008
0815 – Up Anchor for fishing – not luck.
1100 – Anchor Puerto Penasco in three fathoms of water. Navy patrol skiff on shore with crew lounging at one of the tables in front of the boarded up fish camp shacks.
1509 - Winds and waves out of the SW so weigh anchor for Ensenda el Quemado. Fish a little on the way over.
1700 – Anchor at Ensenada el Quemado (The Burned Bay). Good south wind protection; engine hours 419.6. Only one other boat here; quite an elegant catamaran named Catherine Estelle hailing from Kodiak, AK. Story is the couple is quite reclusive and has been down here for some time (a least long enough to earn a reputation). They built the boat in an Alaskan native village never having had any previous boating experience. They launched it by rolling it, from yard to water, using 50 gallon barrels. We left them alone. Instead we went beachcombing on beautiful white sandy beach that had a plethora of fishing gear (nets, floats, line) and trash that had washed ashore; lots of little stingrays in the sand close to shore.

Thursday - August 14, 2008
Ensenada el Quemado – Beachcombing, swimming and hiking in the rocks. Saw a whale and her calf in the bay, but couldn’t get close to her.

Friday - August 15, 2008
0700 – Weigh anchor to fish and return to BLA for rendezvous with JAKE, to get ice and water.
1145 – Anchor in three fathoms or water; 423.6 engine hours. SUNBOW and JUNIATA anchored off village. 1300 – JAKE and BEYOND REASON arrive and anchor off village. Provision is 10 gallons of water check the Internet and go to JUNIATA for fishing lures and advice.

Saturday - August 16, 2008
BLA – Into village for more water; I get a little at a time until we’re full. I take in two five-gallon water jugs and fill them with purified water at the local tienda for $1.20 each. I have a little roller cart (the kind to carry luggage) and I put both bottles on the cart (about 80 lbs). I gingerly roll the cart about ½ mile, over a combination of paved and dirt road, back to the dinghy. I load the bottles onto the dinghy; pull the dinghy into the water and motor back to the boat. I hoist the bottles up onto to the boat deck while the dinghy bobs up and down with the waves, timing my … heft at the height of the wave. Then I siphon the water into the boats water tanks (which will empty the 5 gallons container in about two minutes). I’ve put 32.5 gallons of water in the port tank (which was empty) and I figure we have about 22 gallons left in the starboard tank, which we’ve using for the past week.
On one of our trips to the beach, Julie started talking with Guerillmo (the owner of Guerillmos restaurant on whose beach we land our dinghy). Guerillmo not only owns the restaurant, but a tienda up town, a fleet of fishing pangas, a hotel, a 5000 acre ranch, a couple of taxies (that double as boat launching vehicles) and who know what else. Guerillmo hooks Julie up with a fishing pole (what they call and “ugly stick” and line and lures and gives her a few pointers.
1100 – Weigh anchor and head to La Mona, an anchorage at the south end of the bay. We join OSO NEGRO, PACIFIC VOYAGER, EMERALD ISLE, JUNIATA, HYPNAUTICAL, SUNBOW, JAKE, CELIEH, BEYOND REASON and WINDWARD BOUND for the full moon festival. La Mona is a small estuary with rock on one side and sandy beach on the other. We all sat in the water at the mouth of the estuary, rode the tidal current, drank beer and chatted they entire afternoon.

Sunday - August 17, 2008
Quick trip up to BLA for firewood and water. Returned to La Mona and wind had piped up (15 –20 knots) and unable to set CQR (plow) anchor. This isn’t the first time this has happened and it’s not the first time I’ve seen these conditions give this type anchor trouble. After five times, we gave up and switched to the Danforth (which is half the weight) and the anchor set immediately. The plow is out! Forever!! I will sell it and never have another! Julie organized and early birthday party for me on the beach complete with potluck and bonfire. I got birthday cards, a canister of dark chocolate candy, a shell necklace, a CD, a bottom scrapper and a bottle of gin. Considering that these gifts came from a vessels individual stores (in some cases a means of generating income) makes them all the more thoughtful.
We have 426.5 hours on the engine; 77 hours since Santa Rosalia; we’ve used just less than ½ tank of fuel and we need to reserve 31 hours of fuel for a run to San Felipe (probably about a quarter of a tank. We’ll also need fuel for battery charging and any motoring we’ll be doing between now the time we move north.

Monday - August 18, 2008
1100 – Weigh anchor for BLA. Into village for water and fuel and Internet.

Tuesday - August 19, 2008
BLA – Finish filling water tanks (all told, I probably ferried about 14 five-gallon jugs (two at a time) to boat. I added 10 gallons of diesel (two trips to the Pemex station about mile down the road) to fuel tank (now ¾ full).


Wednesday - August 20, 2008
BLA – had winch handle re-welded. Crummy job, but I can grind it down so it fits.

Thursday - August 21, 2008
BLA – Called Ma to wish her happy birthday and ordered flowers for her. Final trip into village for ice and beer.

Friday - August 22, 2008
0945 – Weigh anchor for Quemado and some fishing along the way. No fish but ran into strong flood current coming out of bay and severe chop on the point.
1200 – Anchor in 3 fathoms of water, 15 knots of winds and light fetch. Danforth caught first time and stuck, drifted back using wind and power back (2000 rpm) to set anchor.
Qualms … I told you earlier I was through with the plow (CQR) anchor and probably any other stockless anchor. My qualm is how I got to where I am. I read lots of books (70% of cruisers use a plow anchor) and spoke with lots of folks (my plow has held me in one-thousand-knot winds) over the years about anchoring needs of cruisers. Based on this information and very little personal experience in using a CQR anchor, I developed a personal value system that dictated I use one. The CQR (the one I will never use again) was developed in 1933 by Cambridge professor for, I guess, small craft off the English coast (I’m sure the guy just looked at a field plow and figured that if it worked on land, it would work on the sea). The Danforth anchor was developed in 1939 in America (scientifically by the way). There are many differences in the anchors, major ones including the Danforth’s significantly lighter weight and it has a stock. All the books I’ve read discuss anchor size (i.e. weight); the bigger the anchor the better. The accepted ratio is two-pounds of anchor for each 1000-pounds of boat or one-pound of anchor for each one-foot of boat (for ITCHEN that works out to about the same figure). On one hand these parameters seemed arbitrary (certainly not very scientific), but on the other hand weight of the anchor seemed to, intuitively, make sense. So I was stuck with a heavy anchor that was supposed to be the definitive anchor for cruisers; an anchor that didn’t set 10% of the time (and usually at the worst time) for me; an anchor that I had dragged on and did not trust; and, as a result, a situation that was forcing me rework my anchoring value system. I had used the Danforth on previous boats without any problem or extra gear (like a windlass) and had always had good luck. These past few times when I was unable to get the plow to set, I switched it out for the Danforth and in the same anchorage the Danforth set immediately, but I just couldn’t get past all this marvelous praise for the CQR.
What to do? I started tearing through the cruising books on-board (Chapman, Roth, Royce, Cornell, Herreshoff, etc.) for an answer to my dilemma. Of course they all referred to the same lame criteria and put the plow on a pedestal, until I found one little pamphlet called “Anchors and Anchoring” by R.D. Ogg (co-inventor of the Danforth anchor). It discusses the principals of anchoring, rode, wind, current and wave drag loads, etc. The upshot being, the weight of the anchor has nothing to do with its setting ability or holding power. Setting ability is dependant on anchor design and holding power is dependant on the anchors surface area and its ability to bury itself; “… a 500-pound concrete block had no more holding-power than a four-pound Danforth properly set.” I’ve also noticed (and I think I can say with without exception), that every cruiser has a Danforth as a back-up anchor. Royce cites two instances where vessels were in danger of being washed ashore and each threw over a five-pound … five pound (!) Danforth at the last minute; each anchor caught and held with one holding for over 18 hours in 35 to 50 knots winds. Danforth anchors were used in WWII to kedge huge landing craft off the beach. The new Fortress anchors (aluminum-magnesium alloy danforth type anchors) broke the tugs that were trying to dislodge them in anchoring tests. So if these anchors are so good, and all cruisers have one for a back-up anchor, why aren’t they being used as primary anchors? I think cruisers think that weight is the be-all-end-all; how could they not, it’s difficult to find information that refutes the weight theory. I also think cruisers like the look of a CQR and/or Bruce hanging off the bowsprit; it looks really salty. Not me, I’m going with the Danforth as my primary anchor. Qualm resolved.
Second Qualm; Batteries. I guess I’ve been running my batteries to low. I only been using one bank at a time and apparently I’ve been taking them down to 11.5 volts (10% charge remaining). Discharging the batteries to this level will significantly reduce the lifetime of the batteries (like from 10 years to 3 years, I think), but I didn’t see anywhere in my two electrical books on-board where the specific voltage was covered. I will need to take another look at costs analysis; replacing four batteries every two or three years at $100.00/battery, fuel cost and engine wear resulting from using the engine as a generator; versus, the cost and associated hassles (mounting, storing, wiring … the begets) of solar, wind, towed and/or gas powered generator means of battery charging. Since I have the power pack on-board (emergency starting battery) I going to start using the battery bank in tandem (both banks at once) to minimize my voltage drop and charging time. I’ll get back to you on this.

Saturday - August 23, 2008
Quemado – Strong winds last night; one report had the winds at 20–25knts with gust to 35knts. It was a chubasco without the rain. Anchor held fine and no fetch. Charged for two hours this a.m.

Sunday – August 24, 2008
0730 – Out fishing in the dinghy with Julie. Trolled along the rocky shoreline with no luck. JICCARANDA came over and told us to try off the point; Julie got one strike and actually caught a sierra (whitefish) but the fish took the rapala (a fishing lure) and broke the line just as she got it back to the dinghy.
1100 – Up anchor for Quemado. Changed anchor from 22-pound Danforth to my shiny new ten-pound Fortress anchor, I bought in San Diego. Five-to-six knots on a broad reach under jib alone.
1300 – Anchor Don Juan in three fathoms with 20 knots of wind. Anchor didn’t set due to weeds first time, but set solid the second time. Four boats already here.
1800 – Latest weather report indicates tropical depression Julio is headed north; he has sustained winds of 40 knots and is currently Todo Santos (half-way between Cabo and La Paz on the outside) working his way north. Julio is expected to arrive in BLA on Tuesday during the day (we’ll see - I’ve become very leery of weathermen, rarely are they right, but they sure like the drama). Prudently boats are coming in though, as this is the only hurricane hole in the area. Six more boats have come in since we arrived for a total of eleven; six or so more are due in. We’ll have the entire Baja fleet (17-18 boats) here by Monday night.

Monday - August 25, 2008
Don Juan waiting for tropical depression Julio. All boat in 15 in total; 1 catamaran, 2 power boats and 12 sailboats. Dark, quiet and ominous day in the anchorage.

Tuesday - August 26, 2008
Don Juan - Sunny morning, no Julio; apparently he preferred the likes of the mainland (San Carlos) so bypassed us completely; I think we got about 10 drops of rain (maybe he’ll come back as a chubasco). Fishing this a.m. in the dinghy. Julie caught 2 sierra (mackerel) and 2 sea bass; she is finally happy
1055 – Up anchor for BLA; go the long way around so Julie can get some fishing in.
1310 – Anchor of village in three fathoms; Fortress not biting into sand; changed to 22lb Danforth and bit immediately… I think some weight may be needed to encourage the fluke to dig in.
1400 – Into village for water, dinghy fuel and Internet.
1630 – Out to MAITAI ROA (44’ Peterson, Alex and Sue) for cocktails. Julie scored some lures and fishing tips from Alex. Later MAITAI ROA, JAKE and us into town for dinner of shrimp tacos, beer and ice cream.

Wednesday - August 27, 2008
BLA – more water while I can and 5 more gallons of diesel fuel for a total of 21 extra gallons of diesel and a complete refill on the water tanks. MAITAI ROA, JAKE, JICCANRANDA and us into Guerllimos for dinner. The restaurant is little more expensive than some of the others in town, but they serve hamburgers. It was deserted, as are most shops and business this time of year and we were the only patrons their. We ordered hamburgers off the menu, but the wait staff told us the owner wouldn’t serve us hamburgers, as it was dinner-time. None of us were interested in anything else to eat (to pricey), MIATIA ROA (who spoke fluent Spanish) asked if they’d rather have the business or have us we leave. Initially, they were going to allow us to leave - this is a more common scenario in Mexico than not; we’ve all seen shops decline business rather than meet a customers needs. I don’t know about other cultures, but for Americans this behavior/attitude is extremely discouraging and frustrating. We talk about and are never able to come up with an explanation to this contrary behavior, but we all agree that it may explain the stumbling lack of progress this country repeatedly exhibits.

Thursday – August 28, 2008
Sailed down to Duffy’s (Celieh) for an early dinner and darts. Jay (Celieh) filled my propane bottles using the gravity method. Walked on the beach where we watched their dog (a Pomeranian called Buster) located a crab in the sand, dig like mad after it and then capture it in his teeth.

Friday – August 29, 2008
0730 – Weigh anchor BLA (Duffy’s). Quick stop in the village then north to Bahia Alcatraz. Caught the current through Canal de Ballenas (Whale Channel) and got up 7.7 knots
1330 – Drop anchor in 3 fathoms on a sandy bottom; engine hours 461.7. Took Julie out fishing with not luck
1700 – Out fishing again and Julie caught six tuna. MAITAI ROA and JAKE for dinner.

Saturday – August 30, 2008
0830 – Weigh anchor for Puerto Refugio, north end of Isla Angel de la Guarda. Caught the current again and this time did 8 knots. Two rainstorms formed on the island (off our starboard beam), one dissipated over the top of us and the other gave a little bit of rain as we rounded the north end of the island. Isla Angle de la Guarda is about 40 miles long and 12 miles wide and is covered by mountains ranging in height from 900 – 1300 meters. Puerto Refugio is at the north end of the island. The island … the mountains seem to cause its own little weather pattern. We watched several thunderstorms form on the east side of the island, rain on top and the west side of the island and then dissipate within just a couple of miles. The storm then appears to reform one it hits the peninsula. I guess the west bound, cool, moist sea air can’t quite get over the island hills so it clashes with the warm island air and something has to give.
1348 – Drop anchor in three fathoms of water on a sandy bottom; engine hours 467.1
1700 – Out fishing in the dinghy and Julie catches two tuna and two sea bass) the tuna put up a good fight but the sea bass just go limp once they are on the hook). Tide has gone down remarkably; we are in 5 feet of water and surrounded by jagged reefs. We move the boat out about 500 yards and re-anchor.
2200 – Thunder and lightening! Suddenly the wind swirls around us, dark clouds loom ominously as lightening arks across the sky and big drops on rain begin to splash on deck. Quick we take down the sunshade, secure the lose gear and close the hatches. Immediately, the wind died, the rain stopped, the thunder and lightening abated, and the clouds disappeared. That’s was it … a tempest in a teapot!

Sunday – August 31, 2008
Puerto Refugio – Clean the boat bottom, very few barnacles and just a little moss; only took an hour. Rained twice this morning (one was a decent shower). We’ve had more rain, around this island, in the past 24 hours than we’ve had since we crossed into southern California (almost) one year ago.

Monday – September 1, 2008
0756 – Puerto Refugio crystal clear. We can see the anchor out 150’ from the boat. Weigh anchor for Bahia Willard; winds SW 15-20 knots; waves SW 4-6 feet. Motor sail at 6.5 knots. No luck fishing.
1750 – Anchor in 3 fathoms Bahia Willard; strong wind but no fetch. MIATIA ROA, JAKE and Jakes family here (they came by land).
1830 – Dinner at hotel/restaurant (Antonio’s?) in south end of bay with Jake’s sister (Weta) and brother-in-law (Steve). Julie discovered she like’s fried tortillas. Met a couple (she from New Orleans and he from Montana) that had been traveling the Baja for the past year, pulling a fishing boat and living out of the back of their suburban. They were having a great time!

Tuesday – September 2, 2008
Bahia Willard – Picked up supplies Steve and Weta had brought down (Champagne and some spices) and had dinner on shore at their campsite; much hotter and buggier than the boat.

Wednesday – September 3, 2008
Bahia Willard – flat calm this am and getting hot, fast! Into the campsite and Steve and Weta drove all six of us, in their AWD Hyundai, down to a little tienda out in the middle of nowhere, literally! It wasn’t the end of the world, but you could see from here. We got some ice and ice cream and enjoyed air conditioning, however brief a moment. With deep ruts and jagged rocks, the roads here are worse than mountain trails. The roads are so bad in this part of the Baja that it took Steve and Weta 6 hours to drive the 90 miles from San Felipe to here (Bahia Willard). They’re camped at a place called Papa Fernandez who apparently was tight with the “Duke” (the many pictures on the walls would verify this). Papa Fernandez is a huge empty lot for RV parking and one small little restaurant that serves tacos, burritos and beer. The tienda I mentioned above is five miles (30 minutes by car) from Papa Fernandez and about five miles from the village at the south end of the bay; just another example of how the consumer is separated from businesses – it’s the Mexican way.

Thursday – September 4, 2008
Bahia Willard – Help Steve and Weta break camp and saw them off to further camping adventures. Finish the day in the luxurious heat of Bahia Willard.

Friday – September 5, 2008
0756 – Weigh anchor for Puertecitos, halfway between Bahia Willard and San Felipe. Not a breath of wind and no escape from the broiling sun.
1526 – Drop anchor in Puertecitos in three fathoms of water; air temperature 98 degrees and water temperature 98 degrees; engine hours 492.8; fuel 3/8 full. We went for a swim anyway … kind of like swimming in bathwater. Puertecitos is a small mostly American community that is pretty well closed up for the summer, as are most of the American patronized villages along the coast. But one friendly American soul, “Panama,” who had a house overlooking the anchorage gave us a hail on the VHF welcoming us to the harbor and offering to run us about in his truck should we need anything. In talking with other cruisers we first discovered than not many, if any, had headed north out of BLA and certainly not as far north as San Felipe; indeed, even the guidebooks give the cruising area little attention. Somehow though, they all knew that there were no anchorages and San Felipe would be a 30-hour run. As you’ve read though, on the trip from BLA to San Felipe we spent the night in lovely and for the most part fairly well protected anchorages and all easy day sails.

Saturday – September 6, 2008
0750 – Weigh anchor to catch the flood tide for San Felipe; temperature 100 degrees, humidity 70%, Barometric pressure is 28.30 pounds or 960 milibars. We hailed Panama to say good-bye. Just outside the harbor Julie notice a snake swimming, really skipping through the water. It was an odd thing to watch its silver skin reflecting the sunlight like a mirror, all the time with its head above the water (making good time, too). We watched for some time and as the snake disappeared in our wake. Julie radioed JAKE to be on the lookout for the snake in our wake (wouldn’t you just love it if this happened in a lake, just after a quake) and JAKE saw the snake. JAKE was reporting to us about the snake when a seagull swooped in to rake up the snake. Then another seagull, in mid-air, tried to take the snake away, but only got half, giving the poor snake a real ache.

Ode to the snake

Poor Mister snake
one morning did take
A swim between ITCHEN and JAKE

He got a real ache
when two seagulls did make
Him their breakfast … a fore and aft steak

1330 – A seal pup is swimming off our stern, sometimes coming up to the beam and then slipping back into our wake. Occasionally, he would pop-up take a quick look around and then duck just under the surface of the water and glide in the slipstream of the keel. We tried to feed him some smoke salmon, but he was totally disinterested.
1628 - Arrive San Felipe marina; engine hours 501.5. Into town with JAKE for dinner.