San Carlos boat storage

At Guaymas (N27°55.358' W110°53.164'), we had Sea Turtle loaded onto a trailer and delivered to Marina Seca San Carlos (N27°57.23' W111°03.06'). It was a very odd feeling to watch our boat being pushed, yes pushed - not pulled, down the highway by a loader down the streets of Mexico.

New journey for Sea Turtle

First time we have ever had to prep our boat for a long-term storage of 4 to 5 months on the hard. Don't ever want to have to do that again! Especially for the extremely hot climate.

All items above deck that would be sensitive to sun had to be either removed or covered, such as sails, lines, blocks, etc. Before we stored sails and most lines, we washed, rinsed, and dried. We mostly covered our solar panels (to allow some minor trickle charge). The outboard had to be prepped before storage and the dinghy had to be deflated, cleaned, and folded down and stowed inside. We removed the blades from the wind generator and secured it from swinging. All fuels needed treatment and chlorine was added to our water tanks. As well as prepping for the harsh temperatures, preparation for possible hurricane winds is needed.

Inside, we removed the engine impeller, shut all through hulls off except cockpit drains, and covered all windows with windshield foil sheets to keep the scorching sun out. And dorades were covered with fine cloth mesh to keep pesky bugs out that could crawl through the screens already there.

Food - what to leave on board and what to remove?? We hemmed and hawed about what could withstand the blazing heat. Then we donated some to an orphanage and discarded some. The rest we were fortunate enough to be able to take with us to SV Tango for our upcoming voyage. We have been told that the interior of a boat can get as high as 60°C (140°F) when on the hard!

Tomorrow we fly to La Paz to start our crewing adventure aboard SV Tango...

Detour

We were presented with such an incredible offer that we couldn't refuse - we will be acting as Crew and heading to the South Pacific islands of the Marquesas on our friend's Perry 43 Catamaran, SV Tango. This is a non-stop voyage of approximately 3 weeks on a Cat.

So we hurried north up the Sea of Cortez, leaving La Paz March 31st. First stop was once again Ballendra and then El Cardonel where we met up with SV Whiteshell II. Strong north winds were blowing so we stayed for 2 nights.

Next stop, we anchored by the "hook" of Isla San Francisco (N24°49.195' W110°34.231'). If you look at a chart or Google Earth, you will see the hook is a comma-shaped piece of land. Left early in the morning for Agua Verde (N25°30.958' W111°3.732'), which means turquoise water. The sea was a very beautiful turquoise and the sand was coral coloured. We went ashore to the tiny village and bought some fresh produce.

Next, we headed to San Juanico. We had a great voyage, seeing rays, dolphins, and several whales close up such as this pilot whale...

We anchored at San Juanico (N26°22.044' W111°25.871') where we were holed up waiting for strong winds to die so we hiked and explored the land. We found Apache Tears, shiny volcanic black glass, on the hill. The next day, we discovered beautiful veins of crystalline deposits running deep down the sides of the hills on the opposite beach...

We also discovered a tree growing on the beach where cruisers have left behind a memento declaring their boat name, their names, and the date of their visit. What a mishmash of items - the good, the bad, and the ugly! Such as painted and/or inscribed pieces of wood, rocks, shells, sneakers, burgees, metal, and even a scrub brush! We saw several from boaters that we know, including China Girl, Dark Star, Keetya I, Intrepid II, Salish Sea, and Whiteshell II. We quickly hung a large shell but are hoping to replace it with something more permanent later in the year when we return.

Finally when the wind let up, we left at 18:45 on April 8th for an overnighter to Guaymas. We sailed into the north wind on a close reach at 5 knots until 02:45 when we had to turn on the engine and continued to motor-sail.

We will next put Sea Turtle up on the hard at San Carlos, as Guaymas is all booked up, and then fly out of Guaymas on April 14th to meet up with SV Tango at La Paz to start our great journey to the South Pacific!

Unusual sites

We've been doing tourist things with our friends, Ross and Linda from Victoria, who travelled to La Paz in their trailer last weekend and again this weekend (they've been touring around Mexico on a holiday). We viewed the Panteon, the whale museum, the museum of anthropology, and many other interesting sites and sculptures.

The Panteon...

No, those are NOT houses. Panteon means cemetery in Spanish, and all those cement structures are built over burial sites. Early in the morning every Sunday, a very large flea market is held across the street. Very different.

One very large whale, from the back...

and the front...

We also saw a whole lot of skulls (not real!) commemorating the death of Christ...

We had an enjoyable and interesting day spent with our friends from back home.

Sharks, mermaids & shells

We went in our dinghy around the tip of the Magote (a narrow strip of land across from our anchorage in front of Marina de La Paz) to search for rare "paper" Nautilus shells and whale sharks reported to be in the area. Nautilus shells are described as being paper thin and this type can be quite large. Unfortunately, our hunt was unsuccessful, but Jordan did find this lovely mermaid on the beach.

Sexy!

While trolling around in the dinghy, we spotted a few kayakers and headed off towards them - where we saw a large whale shark approximately 7 to 8 m (25 feet) long. Whale sharks are very docile creatures and their diet consists of eating plankton that they scoop up near the surface of the water as they swim with their mouths wide open.

Jordan immediately got into the water and swam alongside it and then dove underneath it. When he returned to the dinghy, he exclaimed Just like National Graphic! I bypassed the opportunity as I felt that I couldn't swim fast enough to keep up and the water was still very chilly.

Distant rendezvous

Good friends from Victoria, Linda and Ross, arrived in La Paz yesterday in their trailer. After a nice long visit, we discovered that they are heading to Todos Santos today to also see the Hotel California, and will be back in La Paz next weekend for some more touring and another visit with us. We had a few chilly cervezas sitting around the pool at their RV park.

Linda and Ross adamantly turned down swimming with the whale sharks with us, which we are looking forward to doing in a day or two!

As we sit here writing this, we are listening to the fish as they make very distinctive continuous loud slaps against the hull of our boat as they knock the krill off to eat. Quite a different sound than that of the tiny shrimp as they make an orchestra of popping sounds feeding at a minuscule scale.

Hotel California

On Wednesday, Jordan played his fiddle with a couple of other musicians for a very green St. Paddy's day and everyone's enjoyment. Then today, we drove to Todos Santos, about 50 miles SW of La Paz, with Beth and Sam of SV Dark Star to check out the famous Hotel California. As we entered the hotel, a band was playing the song of the same name that was originally released in late 1976 by the Eagles! Jordan was lucky enough to hear the Eagles play this song live long, long ago.

Go to www.hotelcaliforniabaja.com and click on Gallery for a slideshow that shows the fabulous, brightly coloured hotel and surrounding area.

That's fowl/foul

How did the birds know we were gone?? Somehow they figured it out, took up roost, and pooped everywhere!! As Jordan's mom says, It is the Poop deck after all. (The name originates from the French word for stern, la poupe.)

Pelicans relaxing on an anchored derelict boat

Then we discovered that tiny fish had taken up residence in the inlet for our toilet and then got sucked up and died. The little dead fish ended up in the rim of the toilet and the odour was nauseating. Jordan had to dismantle the toilet, take it to the dock, remove the dead fish, and deodorize with bleach to put everything back to normal. Now everything is scrubbed clean and smells great again.

Back in Victoria...

Jordan and I flew back to Victoria BC on February 23rd and were there for awhile taking care of business and visiting family and friends. We spent time pulling weeds and scrubbing the moss off the fence at our house, taking care of taxes, and running all sorts of errands.

First few days, it rained continually. Of course everyone said it had been sunny continually before we arrived! Temperature was good for Victoria but we were missing the 26°C to 32°C (80°F to 90°F) we had been experiencing back in La Paz.

I also flew to Calgary to visit my family and surprise my mom in Drumheller on her birthday - she was definitely surprised and not expecting me at all! Thanks go out to all our relatives for letting us move in with them and for transporting me back and forth from Calgary.

Was a sad day to leave...lots of love to all...but don't forget we will be back for the summer (May till September) as we could not complete everything during our time home. So now our plans are to sail north up the Sea of Cortez on March 30th until sometime in May and then put Sea Turtle up on the hard - probably in San Carlos or Guaymas.

As you've probably noticed by now from our previous posts, plans always seem to change once you start sailing!

"Carnaval" time

Our friend Terry flew home yesterday. We hope he enjoyed his stay...playing pool, sailboat racing, teaching Jordan backgammon strategies, attending Carnaval.

Carnaval runs from February 11th to 16th in La Paz. It sets up all along the Malecon (the strolling walkway along the waterfront) with an explosion of colours, crowds of people, booming noise from music bands, and rides that are exciting and probably dangerous. They display signs stating Atento Aviso, meaning Observe Warnings!

We were tempted into trying out one ride called Turbo Force, a 40+ metre high ride that spins fast with 2 riders in a seat at the top and 2 riders in a seat at the bottom of the frame, round and round, frontwards and backwards, till your heart is pounding in your head. Very nerve wracking!

You sit in this spinning seat pictured at the top here...and the long arm rotates the seat from the top to the bottom...around and around, faster and faster.

Turbo Force

There was also a mini ferris wheel and a mini bucking bronco for children that were fun to watch. Today, the last day of Carnaval, we watched the parade atop a concrete pillar where we had a great view.

Masked man

Check out our Photo Gallery under Baja Mexico for more photos and all the colours.

Race days

On Saturday the 13th, Jordan and I, with our visiting friend Terry, participated in our first ever fun-not-too-serious sailboat race, the 1st Annual Carnaval Perico Marinero Regatta. We figured when we entered the race that we didn't have much chance of winning and just signed up with the other 14 sailboats for the fun and social aspects of the race. We also thought it would be a good opportunity to finally try out our drifter/spinnaker (a light-weight sail used in light winds) that we had never flown before.

Originally, the plan was to race from La Paz to Calita Partida, and then race back to La Paz the next day. But the winds were so slack that all but 2 boats had to finally turn on their motors to arrive at Calita Partida before dark.

But the next-day return race to La Paz was much more exciting. Everyone lined up at 10:00 and started the race, except for us. Jordan was still attaching ropes to our beautiful drifter/spinnaker and Terry was diving down to try and remove tangled fishing line from around our prop shaft. So we did not start the race until 10:30, a half hour later than everyone else.

Right off the start line, our new big colourful, billowy spinnaker filled from the wind behind and gradually we realized we were starting to catch up to everyone and the race was on for us!

Sea Turtle flying her spinnaker (courtesy of SV Yellow Star)

We went from sailing at 7+ knots to almost standing still, depending on where and how the wind was blowing on our chosen path of direction. Then the last quarter of the race, once again, the wind really piped up. We passed several boats, and as we rounded the buoys entering the harbour, it was a neck-to-neck race with 2 other sailboats. But in the last half mile, we nosed past them to the finish line!

Approaching the finish line (courtesy of BajaInsider)

In the Spinnaker Class, our time was 6 hours 20 minutes, and Keetya's was 6 hours 23 minutes. But due to handicaps, we came in 2nd, officially 1 minute behind Keetya, the winning boat. Too bad we hadn't started on time! Congratulations to Keetya! It was a very exciting finish where I was able to be at the helm as 1st Mate, Jordan was a super Captain with his instructions, and Terry was a great crew member. Terry, new to sailing and used to fast cars and motorcycles, stated:

I never knew that racing at such slow speeds could be so much fun!

Company from Victoria

Terry, Jordan, and Judy at dock of La Paz Marina

We had company arrive on Tuesday the 9th - our good friend Terry from Victoria - so on Wednesday we took him sailing out to Ballendra (off the coast of the Baja where Jordan and I went previously on January 27th).

The next day we moved anchorage to a nearby bay and went ashore with the large camera. We hiked up to the top of a steep hill, around 200 m, and Jordan decided to take advantage of a great photo opportunity looking down. Oops! I had removed the camera card so I could download the previous photos and forgot to replace the card *#/>*!$<*!

So we then hiked down the other side and continued along a road till we got to a restaurant that Jordan had previously spotted in a dinghy ride along the coast. After lunch, we hiked back up and back down and returned to Sea Turtle, without pictures.

Unfortunately, the winds were blowing uncomfortably and Terry was feeling a bit nauseous so we all decided to head back to La Paz where we wouldn't bounce so much. Time to get Jordan's homemade "flopper stoppers" ready to attach as these have a good behavioural reputation to reduce rolling!

Musical pool

After a great week in the islands, we sailed back to La Paz on Wednesday, February 3rd. The following Saturday, we went to Tequilas with SV Moonraker so Jordan and Jack could shoot some pool on their one pool table. Very cool little bar with the best pizza that we have ever had - anywhere!

During some challenging games against some of the local Mexicans, in comes the Mariachi Band, dressed in white shirts, colourful red scarf ties, and dark black bolero jackets and pants decorated with lots of shiny silver buckles and fasteners. Very hot! They would play their music all around the pool table so the pool players would have to jostle for position, with Jordan having a horn blasted in his ear!

The band that played when the Mariachi group wasn't playing (2 guitar players/singers accompanying canned music - which doesn't sound like it would be very good) was quite exceptional. We plan on coming back another evening to hear them perform again, and yes, play more pool too.

Los Islotes seals

After a quiet evening at beautiful Ensenada Grande, we pulled anchor to swim with the seals at nearby Los Islotes which is about 800 m (0.5 mile) off the tip of Partida Island of Mexico.

Sunning seals

Jordan anchored to a mooring ball when we arrived at Los Islotes, and as the rain came down, we got in the water with the seals. They played tug-a-war with us with a dangling cord attached to our dinghy and also a cord attached to our inflatable ball. Such a thrilling experience it was to swim with these playful creatures and to snorkel and take in the hundreds of colourful fish below! We've never seen fish in such abundance during other snorkeling occasions, none of which the seals seemed interested in...

what fish?

It started to rain harder and the water was a bit chilly so we cut our adventure short. (We could only take photos of the seals with a towel protecting the camera from the rain so didn't get very good shots.)

We then anchored in a cove just below the white cross (N24°33.469' W110°23.834') which was beside our previous night's anchorage. The wind changed from north to a westerly that blew straight into the bay giving us a bouncy night.

Today from our boat we saw schools of fish too numerous to mention, a ray, a sea turtle, a dolphin, 2 different pods of whales - some breaching spectacularly, swam with seals nose-to-nose. And explored a blooming meadow with beautiful butterflies, ancient midden, and an old well in a gorge spotted with barrel cactus and many other desert flora.

Bright orange and yellow colours

Fish derby & Ensenada Grande

Yesterday at El Cardonel (Mexico), the fishing was great. Jordan caught a total of 5 Sierras and Jack of SV Moonraker caught 3. So Jordan decided to initiate a fishing tournament for today with an entry fee of 2 beers per person.

The day before when Jordan was having problems with his reel, Ian of SV Salish Sea gave Jordan an old weathered Peetz reel on the remnant stock of a broken fishing rod. Jordan was able to get his own reel working again so he embossed the old Peetz with 1st Prize Biggest Fish, El Cardonel, Feb 1st 2010, 1st Annual as the trophy for the event.

Cool prize

They all started from Sea Turtle at 09:30 as I sounded the horn and off went the gaggle of dinghies...

It turned out to be not the best day for fishing. Claes (SV White Shell II) got "Biggest Fish" with his Bonito, Ian got "1st Fish Caught", and Aquaman (James of SV Pyxis) got "Most Fish" (he was diving and spear fishing and caught 2 groupers.

Everyone returned back to our boat for awards and refreshments 2 hours later. Most of the winning beer was drank before the guys and gals returned to their boats. Lots of fun by all.

Boats that participated: China Girl, Dark Star, Endurance, Keetya, Moonraker, Nautilus, Pyxis, Salish Sea, White Shell, and Sea Turtle.

Jordan and I pulled anchor at 16:00 to head north to a rocky cove which was only 25 minutes away (N24°33.814' W110°24.192') where we met up with Moonraker and Nautilus. We had a very easy dinghy landing on the deserted sandy beach, Ensenada Grande, voted the most beautiful beach in Mexico by The Travel Magazine.

Bay of Ensenada Grande

We later explored in our dinghy the many spectacular rock formations and towering cliffs punctuated with caverns, caves, and ledges...

Check out our Photo Gallery for more photos.

Ensenada El Cardonel

We left Puerto Ballendra at 13:00 for a 3.5 hour voyage to Ensenada El Cardonel (N24°32.907' W110°23.289') with Jordan trolling a line off the back of Sea Turtle. As SV Moonraker was kidding Jordan about not bothering to fish again (on the VHF radio), he landed a Sierra Mackerel as we were entering the bay!

Two other Canadian sailboats joined the group of us, 1 being Rob and Kim of SV Keetya from Victoria BC, and throughout the evening several other boats also appeared.

El Cardonel is a bay that cuts deep into the island of Partida. When we landed our dinghies "on the beach", we had to hand-pull them in a very long distance as the water was so very shallow. Then everyone walked across the island to view where it drops off to a steep rocky cliff.

Cliffs of El Cardonel

Later, we watched all the puffer fish swimming around our boat and all the rays jumping in the cove.

Puerto Ballendra

Yesterday after our cheaper-than-home dental appointments, we left busy La Paz and headed north up the beautiful Sea of Cortez so we could start seeing some of the many islands. But our first anchorage at 18:00 was still on the Baja California Peninsula at Puerto Ballendra (N24°19.064' W110°20.11') where we met up with friends on 3 other cruising sailboats.

Approaching Puerto Ballendra

Today Jordan jumped in the dinghy to try fishing (with no luck) but he had 3 whales come within 4.5 m (15 feet) of the dinghy once he turned off the outboard. He said that as awesome as it was, it was also a bit nerve-wracking due to their huge mass! Sounds pretty dangerous to me.

Next, we all moved our boats to another nearby bay (N24°19.619' W110°20.004') where we had a potluck dinner with a mesmerizing bonfire beneath an almost full moon.

Bonding

Today at Club Cruceros (La Paz Mexico) coffee-time, I met a woman who lived in my hometown of Drumheller Alberta, which was quite a surprise, not too many cruisers from Drumheller! Her husband worked at the Q-91 radio station of Drumheller for awhile.

Jordan joined the jam session players last Wednesday evening with his fiddle/violin - a first for him. We all think he did a great job, and when we're not off sailing the islands, he may play again on another Wednesday.

Jordan playing

One day, 6 women sailors got together for female bonding and went off to do some shopping and had a delicious chatty lunch at La Bohemme where everything on the menu was scrumptious. Meanwhile, the hubbies did some "weenie welding" (male bonding). That's a new term I've never heard of before now! I think boat work was accomplished but also a lot of beer drinking. All round, a great day for everyone.

Waltzes of different types

This morning we experienced the La Paz Waltz, a "boat dance" well known to sailors who anchor in the bay here. Sitting in our cockpit, we watched as the strong tide flow and heavy opposing winds moved the anchored boats in circles as they came close to one another, and then, if they were lucky (or anchored far enough apart) moved away, as they appeared to be "waltzing" to and fro.

At first, we seemed to be away from the tide flow so were not affected very much, but then it changed and caught us, dancing us too close to 2 other boats. Needless to say, we weighed anchor and moved to a safer spot. It's very difficult to judge where to anchor when there is a current with an opposing wind as each boat moves in every which way, and not all in the same direction as usual when anchoring in other bays.

Today we realized how lucky we are. I prepared a special dinner for us and then as the CD spun I Can't Stop Loving You Jordan played along on his violin for me. After our meal, this time we danced, treasuring each moment we have as we sipped our margaritas. Here's to you, Tony, my friend.

La Paz

We had a good overnight voyage up from Muertos without fighting too much headwind and made much better time than we were expecting, arriving in La Paz (N24°09.386' W110°19.597') around 08:30 on Monday the 11th. We checked into Marina de La Paz, a very nice place with showers, cafe, book exchange, DVD rental, recycling, and Club Cruceros where cruisers can meet each morning for free coffee and socializing. And Imelda shows up here each morning to sell her delicious homemade tamales and other Mexican treats of which we have partaken.

There are 3 main nets: VHF 16 for Marina de La Paz; VHF 21 for news; and VHF 22 for weather, swapping goods, introduction of new cruisers joining the net, etc. Most amenities such as marine stores, plumbing or electrical needs, canvas places, dental, major supermarket, etc. are within walking distance or a short cab ride away. And a couple of blocks away is the Malecon - a walkway along the waterfront where several sculptures are displayed. This photo was taken in the evening:

Sculpture of mermaid and dolphin along the Malecon

Across the street from Marina de La Paz is a small cafe/bar that has a 'jam' session that we attended with great talent that was a joy to listen to.

We have decided to stay in La Paz for at least a couple of weeks to get several things done that we had originally planned to go to Mazatlan to get done there. Here everything is available, and between chores, we can cruise around to visit nearby islands. So we will skip Mazatlan. We want to get some dinghy chaps made to protect our dinghy from the ravages of the hot sun so it will last longer, get some stainless steel work done, and lots of dental work, etc.

We will be leaving the dock tomorrow morning to anchor out, with talk of perhaps heading to an island on the weekend with 2 or 3 other cruising boats. There we will go fishing (so far we have been able to keep our fridge stocked) and join up for a social evening. Yeah, I know, cruising life is pretty tough...will keep you posted when able.

Life of leisure

It's been a great stay here in the well protected Cove of Muertos (Mexico). We met up with several boaters, most of whom were from Canada! And we finally got a chance to do a lot of updates to our blog with Internet access at the friendly restaurant. I have also been adding a couple of pictures that Carol & Kelly of SV Intrepid have shared with us since our camera went swimming, such as the following:

Colourful flowers at the restaurant on the beach

We have been testing out a lot of ceviche lately and really loving it. So simple...soak lightly cooked fish (or shrimp) in lime juice for a couple of hours (some people say that you don't need to cook the fish - just soak it in lime juice - but we feel more comfortable cooking it first), chop up and then add chopped tomatoes, white onion, red onion, cilantro, more lime juice if needed, and a bit of clamato juice and salt. Scoop up with tortilla chips or salted crackers - so delicious! 

We heard about a hotel down the beach so we decided to take a walk and check it out. Wow! Absolutely fabulous place that used to be a private home which is now used as a hotel. The owner still spends time there when he is not in San Diego. It has several majestically tiled infinity pools, 18-hole golf course, tennis court, spas, numerous water activities, white sand beaches, and it even has a desalination plant.

The restaurant has an antique model train set-up that spans the entire upper area. Unfortunately, the train operator was away so we were not able to witness it in operation but we did go upstairs to check it all out. Great place to spend some holiday time if you want to get away from it all.

Check out their website at www.gransueno.com to see this luxurious place just down the road from where we have Sea Turtle anchored. Maybe you'll feel the need to visit here (Gran Sueno means Big Dream).

Time to move on...pulled anchor at 20:30 to head for La Paz. There hasn't been many places with grocery stores since San Diego so we definitely need to reprovision, plus do laundry and wash all the salt off Sea Turtle once again.