November 16, 2003 - First Letter Home

November 16, 2003
Cabo los Frailes
Baja Califonia
Hola, Nuestros Familias y Amigos!
That’s all the Spanish for now, if it’s Spanish at all. Well, its been more than a month since we left Loch Lomond Marina in San Rafael. We have sailed down the California coast, participated in the tenth annual Baja Ha Ha race from San Diego to Cabo San Lucas, and have pounded our way into the Sea of Cortez to reach Los Frailes. So, I guess that gets you up to date. Bye for now.
P.S.
Leaving Loch Lomond, heading for the Golden Gate Bridge to begin our cruise was extremely exciting for us. We dressed in our foul weather gear, knowing it would be cold and foggy, and we weren’t disappointed. Only part of the bridge was visible as we passed under it, but we were thrilled to be on our way. Before long we had made a left turn and were heading into ADVENTURE!.
The trip down the California coast was very eventful. Our first stop was Half Moon Bay (a small first step I know, but a beginning none-the-less. After a last minute haul out for mechanical repairs and bottom paint we were beginning to doubt if we would get off at all.)
Our next stop was in Santa Cruz to visit Portia’s son Mako. We felt pretty good about making it there in two days, but realized that Mako could have driven to see us in Corte Madera in an hour and a half. Who cares, we're sailing! Next was a sail to Stillwater Cove off the Pebble Beach Golf Course, a beautiful anchorage which provided a perfect sunset. Since this was October 8, that night we watched Total Recall in honor of the new governor elect (one more reason we’re happy to be leaving California.) The next morning we were awakened by the tapping of a sea otter having his breakfast. Just the beginning of an eventful day.
We started sailing in light winds and decided to try out our new spinnaker. As the winds stiffened we had sense enough to take it down, and soon were shortening sails as the wind and waves increased. By the end of our sail to San Simeon we had sailed through winds in excess of forty knots and waves between eighteen and twenty feet! But we had also seen dozens of dolphins riding the waves and leaping out of the water. What a trip!
The next day we enjoyed the hospitality of the Morro Bay Yacht Club and discussed with other sailors going South the prospects for continuing on. Most were inclined to hold over for a day to see if the weather changed for the better. Later we heard a report that the winds would only be fifteen to twenty knots and the seas only ten to twelve feet, so we decided to take off for Point Conception. Point Conception is supposed to be one of the potentially most dangerous passages on the West Coast, but it proved to be a pussy cat for us. The waves were small (three to seven feet) and the wind a comfortable eighteen knots.
On this leg of the trip we saw hundreds of dolphins and a remarkable display from two whales who were feeding. At first all we saw was a collection of birds, seals and dolphins all gathered in one spot. Then we could see two whales repeatedly rising out of the sea to heights of ten feet or more. As we got closer we could see that the whales were rising with there mouths open, scooping in enormous amounts of water and, presumably, food. The whales later swam by about thirty feet from us. What a sight! We believe they were probably humped back whales. They appeared to be about twenty feet long. (During the first leg of the Baja Ha Ha race (about ten days later) we saw a whale that must have been twice the length of these two.) As we rounded Point Conception, we could feel the air warm up. Since that point we have been taking off layers of clothes adapting to warmer and warmer weather. We have gone from foul weather gear, gloves and hoods to swim suits and sun block. We prefer it this way!
After Point Conception we spent two days nearly alone in the Channel Islands, two days in Marina Del Rey where we visited with family and friends, three days in Catalina with friends and the jazz festival, and then made our way to San Diego. There we visited with Portia’s brother and fiancee, Debbie, met up with Steve and Marguerite Lonneman and John Olcese (our crew for the Baja Ha Ha Race), completed (we thought) engine, generator, watermaker, and electrical repairs and re-provisioned the boat.
One morning in San Diego we woke up to find the boat black! California was burning! We have never really heard a lot of details about the fires and the damage they caused, but we hope that everyone receiving this email was safe.
Having Steve and John on board proved invaluable. During the race we had fuel and water leaks in one engine, constant electrical problems and the generator failed. John and Steve, with the help of a local mechanic in Turtle Bay, kept us going. After the first leg of the race from San Diego to Turtle Bay we found one engine compartment flooded with six or eight inches of water. The problem was eventually identified as a faulty chevron seal (a seal we didn’t even know existed.) We didn’t have a replacement, so Portia and Steve went ashore to try to find one. We had no luck at auto parts stores and outboard motor shops, but got some exercise walking the dirt streets of this small, but spread out town. We were finally directed to a tractor mechanic named Urbano. He did not have the part we needed, but was able to take a spring from a similar part and fashion it to fit our seal. It was an amazing feat as the spring was tiny and he had no special tools. After toiling for 30 minutes, he happily gave the rebuilt seal to us and refused to take any payment. Steve and John were able to jury rig the generator to keep it working so we could make water and keep the refrigerator cold.
We didn’t win the race to Cabo, but we made it to Cabo alive! There was almost no wind during the first leg of the race, though we tried to sail the entire first night. During one stretch we traveled about six miles in six hours. With day break we gave up sailing and motored through the next day and a half to reach Turtle Bay. The overnight sails were tiring because of having to do watches around the clock. However, we did drop anchor one night before Turtle Bay at Cedros Island where we traded one beer per lobster tail. We ended up with 11 lobster tails. That was a nice night with sea lions on the nearby beach serenading us with their various calls. The Grand Poobah (the actual title of the race coordinator) eventually cancelled this leg of the race.
We did well in the next leg, a two day downwind sail to Bahia Santa Maria. It was a beautiful sight with 100 boats flying their colorful spinnakers heading south. Using only our spinnaker we made great time until the spinnaker exploded at about 9 p.m., two hours from the finish line. The scene was just like the movies, three of us going forward to take down the ruined sail and put up a new one in the least amount of time possible. We accomplished the change without losing anyone, so I think we did pretty well.
After the finish we decided to motor to the bay. A big mistake! First our gennaker got fouled and we had to go forward again to clear it. This time we were not going down wind. Clearing the sail in twenty-five knots of wind and pounding seas was less than fun. Then came two and a half hours motoring at a right angle to high winds and high seas. At 3:00 a.m., we navigated in nearly total darkness, using our radar, GPS, navigation computer program, binoculars and eyes to find the entrance to the bay. When we finally entered the bay and found a spot to drop anchor, our electric windlass would not work and the guys had to manually drop the anchor and chain. The wind was blowing 25-28 knots by then. Needless to say, it was a challenge and we were extremely relieved when we finally got the anchor set.
We had two days at Bahia Santa Maria to recuperate before the final day and a half run to Cabo San Lucas. In the next few days, we resolved the problem with the electric windlass and continued to work on the low battery problem. Things got much better when we bought lobster at $2 each from a local fisherman who came by on his panga. There was a Baja Ha Ha party on the beach complete with rock band and cold beer. On the 112 boats in the Baja Ha Ha there were 400+ people, many of whom came to the party throughout the afternoon. There were panga "taxis" that ferried us at $1 each to the beach as it was difficult landing the dinghy in the surf. We returned to the boat to enjoy the lobster, which at this time of year is plentiful. We were told that a can of Spam can often be traded for 10 tails.
We have now said goodbye to our friends who, I’m afraid, were happy to get off the boat. In Cabo we replaced all our batteries, and now seem finally to have adequate electricity for the boat. We also rid ourselves of a French VHF radio which didn’t receive all the channels used in these waters, had the starter on one engine repaired, and polished the boat.
Cabo is a sports fishing capital, full of enormous boats which go out for marlin, wahoo, tuna and other big fish. We read that there was recently a fishing tournament where one boat won more than 1.3 million dollars in prize money. I got out my rod and reel, but haven’t caught much yet. In Cabo we also partied with the Baja Ha Ha crews, found a very good Japanese restaurant and, to top it off, had great sandwiches at Senor Greenberg’s the Mexidelicatessen.
It has been such a rush racing down here, taking part in the various Baja Ha Ha parties, and getting repairs and laundry done. There has been little time to just relax. It seems that we are walking all over town looking for various items every day at the hottest time of the day. Temperatures have been in the 90s. The evenings here are terrific. It cools down and becomes very comfortable.
Mexico generally is supposed to have moderate winds providing good sailing. Baja, however, is subject to northerlies which can get up to hurricane strength. We haven’t faced that, but rounding the end of Baja to head towards La Paz we ran straight into twenty-five knot winds and standing waves. We have stopped at Los Frailes (about forty-five miles from Cabo) for a couple of days to relax. We’re hoping the winds will taper off a little to make our trip to Ensenada De Los Muertos (about forty-seven miles), and then La Paz a little easier. Today we went diving at the Cabo Pulmo Reef, the only living hard coral reef on the west side of North America. The reef is teeming with many varieties of fish. At one point we were surrounded by a school of thousands of Amberjacks, each about eighteen inches long. We saw many large Groupers, the largest of which was as long as Steve is tall. It must have weighed several hundred pounds! We saw bullseye and torpedo rays and hundreds of puffer fish of all sizes.
Tomorrow we plan to sail to Los Muertos. The weather is supposed to be good until the evening, so we’re expecting a pleasant trip. We are having a great time. Oh, I almost forgot - we don’t miss work even one little bit!
Be well, and we’ll try to keep in touch.
Love to all,
Steve and Portia
P.P.S. 11/19/03
Monday we tried to sail North to Los Muertos. Sunday had been a perfect day for it, light winds and flat seas, but we were diving. We had a good sail East for a couple of hours with moderate winds from the Northeast, but soon after turning Northwest the winds began to pick up and shift to the Northwest. We found ourselves facing headwinds of twenty to twenty-five knots and steep rising waves. We made little progress North so decided to return to Los Frailes. Going South we made speeds of ten to twelve knots. Because of the winds we have changed our plans. Tomorrow at 4 am, we will sail East to Mazatlan accompanied by 6 or 7 other boats. It should take us 26 hours. An impromptu potluck today on the beach was attended by 20 people from 9 boats at anchor here. We all share similar experiences and living conditions.
Although it has been great fun, it has also been hectic. The Baja Ha Ha was fun but required us to stay on a schedule, and once in Cabo we spent most of our time getting the boat prepared for the real cruising to come. We hope to take it easy once we get to Mazatlan and catch up on correspondence.
P.P.S. 11/24/03
We made it to Mazatlan on schedule. It was a phenomenally wonderful 24-hour sail with northwesterly winds on our beam all the way with relatively calm seas. We are enjoying Mazatlan where we plan to stay for a week or so. We are at a very nice low-key marina and plugged in to full power which means we don’t have to worry about charging batteries and we can run our air conditioner, if needed. We now hope to find some tennis courts to see if we can remember how to play!