Crossing the Sea -- Again

 Hola Amigos, 

We left La Paz Saturday AM and spent a lovely night in Caleta Lobos, listening to the sea lions on the offshore rocks.  Yesterday we spent all day making our way south – sailing, then motoring, then sailing, then motoring again.  Instead of anchoring at our intended destination, Los Muertos, we ended up at La Ventana because we wanted protection from a SE swell that was running. It's a lovely long sandy beach that the windsurfers and kite surfers use for launching into the channel here between Cerralvo Island and the Baja Peninsula.  Had a peaceful night here until 3 AM when the winds picked up from the NE and we got up and studied our weather forecasts, and determined that if we didn’t start making the crossing today back to mainland Mexico, it could be a while before we would have any favorable winds to get across.  With the first tropical depression already making its way WNW off of southern Mexico, we decided it was best to just get going.  So we are off!  Will be heading for Mazatlan, San Blas, or Isla Isabela, whatever makes most sense given winds….  Should be about a 2 -3 day crossing. 

Some Islands, and Scorpion Bay!

Since my last post, we’ve gotten to do some sailing, snorkeling and surfing – in between trips back to the marina to complete our engine repairs.  First we headed north for a week in the Sea of Cortez.  Isla San Franciso and Bahia Amortajada were highlights.  The water was cold, but we managed with our shorty wetsuits.  We finally got some crystal clear water for a day – saw the anchor at 25 feet, and had some really nice snorkeling – seeing bigger fish and more varieties, as well as some healthy corals (although I am also seeing what I think might be some coral disease). 

Isla San Francisco

At our first stop, Tim was checking the engine to see if the oil/transmission fluid leak repairs were holding up….  And he sees this big hole in the side of the transmission, and a large bolt down in the bilge.  Uh-Oh!  So we didn’t want to go further north without having the mechanic’s input.  So, back to the marina.  On the way back to the marina we had a nice day sail – catching several Bonita (a dark meat tuna which we don’t like so we let them go). 

Once back in the marina, Tim got right to work with the mechanics again, and they were able to get a longer bolt which seems to be working so far!  Fingers crossed. 

Since we were in the marina, we checked the swell report, and saw that there would be waves over on the Pacific side.  So we decided to leave the boat again, and do another road trip to a different surf spot -- ~6 hours away. We’d been hearing of Scorpion Bay (San Juanico) for years – it is world famous for its long rides – if all the points connect, it can be over 1.5 mile long ride we hear.  We were worried about crowds, and it did get a bit crowded (25 – 35 surfers at one break) – but we hear it can be much worse when better swells hit in the summer.  It was quite the surf scene – surfers camped all along the coastal cliffs, overlooking the various point breaks.  I surfed at 2^nd point, while Tim got waves at 2^nd 3^rd and 4^th points on various days. We met several folks that had surfer friends in common – it was a small world experience for sure!

We’ve been back in La Paz this week – mainly hoping to get Tim his second vaccine shot and catching up with friends.  Yesterday we tried to get Tim’s second shot – they were giving the Pfizer shot to those over 50 and pregnant women, so we were told to go and see if it would be possible.  Unfortunately, after a long wait they refused to give him the shot, since it had only been 19 days since his first shot, not 21 days.  And they don’t know when the next Pfizer shots will be distributed, so it could be up to 3 more weeks.  Given that, and with hurricane season starting up, we’ve decided to move along, and head back south and look for a good weather window to head back across to the mainland and the marina where Tim will leave the boat (most likely La Cruz) for the summer. 

Meantime, we did have fun hosting our new friend Fiona and her pooch Waka on the boat for a night. 

Summer is definitely setting in here.... 99 degrees today.  Tim and i can't wait to get back out on the water where we'll have better breezes.  

Explorations around La Paz

Wow, the last two weeks have been a blur -- first we took the boat out to an anchorage between two islands, called Caleta Partida.  There we spent a few days enjoying the bay & its wildlife (dolphins and turtles), trying to snorkel in freezing cold water (i would get numb after 5 minutes even with my wetsuit!), and exploring the sea caves on the back side of the island with some other cruisers.

Caleta Partida Anchorage

Almost Full Moon at Caleta Partida

Sea Caves back of Espiritu Santo

From there we decided to head back to La Paz to try to get some repairs done on our leaky engine.  Tim was concerned that with the lack of wind around here, we'd end up motoring a lot and the transmission has been losing a lot of fluid.  So that resulted in hiring mechanics that Tim worked with all last week to get the transmission out of the boat -- lots of pounding on the coupling, and heating and greasing was involved before they finally succeeded! 

Transmission is out!  Off to the shop for new seals!

Once the transmission was safely installed back in the boat, Tim and I rented a car and headed out to visit friends and check out some surf spots.....  It was super fun to see our old friends from Punta Mita - Dean and Yumiko and their two kids and explore the East Cape area near San Jose del Cabo with them.  

One the way back to La Paz, we stopped on the Pacific side of the Baja, near Todos Santos to check out a surf break called Cerritos -- we found an adorable little hotel, but were reminded of the importance of checking on whether the room would have hot showers (it didn't!).  Luckily there was a hot tub so we were able to warm up when we got out of the water.  Tim surfed a short session in the AM and then I took the longboard out to play in the shorebreak -- I was able to paddle around and even to jump up and ride a few *mini* waves, so I think that my hip injury is getting slowly better!

Here's a map showing the loop that we did... heading south on Route 1 from LaPaz, we took the route over the mountains to Los Barilles, and then south to San Jose del Cabo, and then came back along the Pacific side...

Now we're back at the marina in La Paz, Tim's back at work with the mechanic, while i hang out in the coffee shop doing computer work!  Best news today is that we've got an appointment for Tim to get vaccinated here next week.  Fingers crossed the supply of Pfizer vaccine holds out and that he is able to get the shot!

Midnight Blue is in the Sea of Cortez

It's come to my attention that blogspot reposted a post i made back in 2012 from the ocean off Oahu!  Not sure how that happened... i was working on this post and must have clicked on something??  Anyhow... see below for the latest! (and forgive the terrible layout... i haven't figured out that stuff yet)

Hola from La Paz, Mexico, on the Baja Peninsula!  Tim and I are at it again, sailing around cruising on Midnight Blue.  You can see where we are on this tracking page: https://forecast.predictwind.com/tracking/display/SV_MidnightBlue (note, this tracking should be working by tomorrow).

We left Punta Mita on Friday April 9th, one week after I arrived in Mexico.  That first week was a whirlwind, visiting with friends on Easter and having a pizza night (tim had some great helpers for cooking the pizzas).

Our first day out we sailed to Isla Isabella where stayed for 2 nights, hanging out anchored next to some pinnacles covered in blue footed boobies (birds!)...  all around that area, we kept passing Olive Ridley turtles on the surface, many of which were accompanied by birds on their backs!  Sunday April 11th we set sail for Baja, where we landed at Los Frailes anchorage after about 48 hours...  mostly motorsailing, as we had really light winds most of the way.

At Los Frailes we did a hike up to the top of the mountain, to get a view of Pulmo Reef on the other side -- one of the few hard coral reefs in Mexico apparently.  It's a national park, so we couldn't bring the boat there (no anchoring) and since we didn't fhave permits we didn't feel good about dinghying around to check it out.  In the view shot, our boat is anchored in the middle.

Funnily, i didn't take any pictures at our last anchorage, Puerto Ballandra, just 12 miles from La Paz.  We had a nice afternoon there -- paddleboarded in to the beach, checked out the famous mushroom rock, and then Tim made us Pizza (Yum!).  Just as we went to bed that night, the wind really kicked in, and by 10 PM we were dragging anchor and in for a long night...  there was a big expensive modern catamaran boat behind us and we got way to close for comfort.  So, needless to say that was not a very restful night.  We left as soon as the wind died (about 10AM the next morning!) and motored in to a marina in La Paz.

On the way we passed seven(!) cruise ships anchored in the bay....  Apparently it's a cheap place to leave the boats when they're not being used. 

Planning to head out again tomorrow.... will post again next time we've got good internet (could be a little while ;-)

Wow, is it really almost May?

Been a while since I've posted (he he he).  Seems that blogging is not something I do when we are sitting still in one place.  We've spent the winter right here in Punta Mita, Mexico.  Upon anchoring here in December, we set about catching up with friends, surfing as much as possible, and of course, looking for work.  On the work front, it's been a disappointing season.  Despite our valiant efforts, neither of us has had much success finding any steady work.  On the surf front, it has also been a disappointing season.  We've had some fun waves, but not many bigger swells this year...  we've been calling it La Nada, because it's not an el nino year (typically great for surf here) or la nina year (typically bad for surf).  So I guess it's been a normal surf year, but we were hoping for better! 

In February we had big visits with Jane's family – first Jane visited her Mom, then Mom came down from Lake Chapala (outside Guadalajara, about 5 hours away from us) where she was staying for two months.  Jane's sister Nancy & her boyfriend Jason also came down from WA for their annual flee from the NW winter. 

Night out in Puerto Vallarta

It's been nice being back in Punta Mita.  We felt totally welcomed back as we saw old familiar faces all over town.  I've especially hanging out with the newest addition to the gang --   our friend's Jason & Ana's baby Ela!  

Beach day with baby Ela!

The biggest change here has been how many other boats are anchoring here for long time periods....  it seems the surfing sailors discovered Punta Mita while we were away.  All winter, there were a minimum of 15 – 20 boats anchored, and at times up to 30+!  Previously, we always felt like we had it all to ourselves.  It's been fun to have some neighbors, but not so fun when they take over the surf break and aren't always respectful to the locals.  But we did have some fun beach parties with other boaters, including a holiday carol sing. 

Another development this season was the increase in crime in the anchorage.  We had a panga pull up at 3Am one night and try to steal our dinghy.  Luckily, Tim woke up and scared them off before they succeeded.  Another boat nearby was left unattended for several months and it was broken into with lots of stuff stolen.  So, we've had to take boat security more seriously and we now raise the dinghy every night on the side of the boat.

The latest big news here is that our friend Marjie has published her new book..... starring our very own Captain Tim!!  The book was inspired by a day sail she took a few years back with some girlfriends, but it is fiction (I keep reminding myself of that as I read it, since i'm also a character in the book – the jealous, left behind girlfriend!).  If anyone is in the Punta Mita area right now, the book launch is this Sunday April 28^th in Sayulita – from 6 – 10pm at El Break restaurant on the beach.  Come join us!  The book is akin to 50 Shades of Gray – by that I mean it's definitely got some detailed romance (read: not for immature audiences).  Just a warning in case you're curious enough to buy it and read it.  If you are, here's the link to where Marjie's got the book for sale.  And no, we don't get any kickbacks for this, or royalties...

http://www.lulu.com/shop/marjie-martini/in-search-of-capn-tim/paperback/product-20961502.html;jsessionid=31C65C1AE89EF95EA740003250792005

Me, Pinkie, Cap'n Tim, Marjie (aka Peaches), and Kemi

Well, I'm going to close and not sure if/when I will continue blogging... you just never know.  We're still working out our summer plans – not sure where we'll leave the boat just yet, but we should be heading up to Seattle in June. 

Full Circle

Just a quick note that we have made it back to Punta Mita.  One year and seven months? in the Pacific...  Feels good to have come full circle and be anchored in front of my favorite surf break.  Tired from our two night passage from Cabo, will post pictures and more soon!

In and Out of Cabo San Lucas

Anchored in Cabo San Lucas
Location:  22 degrees 53 minutes North, 109 degrees 53 minutes West

Famous Cabo Arch

Phew, what a crazy place.  We sailed in on Friday morning, to be greeted by what seemed like hundreds of sport fishing boats just around the corner from the anchorage.  At first looking in the binoculars we weren't sure what we were seeing, but little by little figured out it was a whole bunch of fishing boats just sitting around.  Thought maybe it was a 'day after Thanksgiving' tradition, party kind of thing (at 9 AM tho?), but apparently it's everyday here.  The boats that sailed in yesterday morning reported seeing the same phenomenon.

Fishing boats on the horizon

To get anchored, we had to motor around the cruiseship and dodge the fishing boats and jet skis and parasailers crowding the bay.  For two days we had cruiseships anchored right by us...  but sunday and monday were relatively quiet with no cruisehips in port. 

One of several cruiseships we've shared the anchorage with at Cabo!

It's quite the party town, luckily we chose not to pay $100/night for a marina slip, which is surrounded by the nightclubs that go all night!  The pirate party ships that come around the anchorage were entertaining, we managed to sleep pretty well despite the music they blare.   Looks like this will be our last stop on the Baja -- winds are looking favorable for crossing the Sea of Cortez over to mainland Mexcio so we're planning on taking off tomorrow.  Heading for Punta Mita directly unless the winds try to push us in another direction.  Should arrive in Punta Mita on thursday or friday!

Hangin' with the locals in Cabo!