Busy summer back home

It's been a long time since an update; we have been kept busy during our stay back in Victoria BC Canada...

One evening, we were lucky enough to receive free tickets to attend a concert held by ZZ Top, a great rock/bluesy band, and yes they are still sporting their long beards.

Mount Washington on Vancouver Island opened up one of their ski runs on Father's Day so Jordan, his son Aaron and gal Dee, and I drove up for the day. The 3 of them enjoyed the novelty of skiing in such warm weather with Aaron and Jordan wearing shorts and T-shirts! Me - not a skier.

Summer skiing

Nothing like a picnic by the ocean to escape from the heat (29°C/84°F!) So one day, Jordan and I packed up a lunch with champagne and headed out for a relaxing day watching the boats go by...and wishing we were on one of them!

Jordan has somehow been able to find a bit of time to get back into painting, which I personally think he is great at. His usual medium is watercolours, but his 1st attempt with acrylics for a wedding present made him want to try another, both of which turned out fab. I had copies of his paintings made into notebook covers with lined paper by www.MySkoobi.com. Cool!

A friend wanted to trade vehicles as he needed a truck for the weekend - so we got his powerful little red Mercedes Benz in exchange...a good trade I think! Speaking of cars, we went to see Tennessee William's play called A Streetcar Named Desire where the acting was superb.

We hiked at Englishman's River while staying with our friends at their cabin - what a great place to get away from it all!

Down by the river

Attended Taste: Victoria's Festival of Food & Wine, an evening of sampling scrumptious wines and tasty eats. Our favourites:

• an oven-fresh delectable quiche made by Antichi Sapori Italian Food Company of Victoria BC (www.antichisapori.ca)
• an aromatic red wine called 207 Freud's Ego with chocolate fragrance and oak taste brewed by Therapy Vineyards of Naramata BC (www.therapyvineyards.com)
• a scrumptious, velvety cheese called Romelia by Salt Spring Island Cheese Company which was heated before spreading on a cracker to melt in your mouth (www.saltspringcheese.com)

One weekend, we hopped on the motorcycle and headed to China Creek Campsite at Port Alberni for a weekend of camping in a tent. Sleeping in a tent is something that neither of us has done in years. With temperatures around 25°C (77°F), it was a great riding and camping experience. We ended it by taking a scenic zig zaggy ride up and down Mount Arrowsmith on the way back to Victoria.

High altitude Mount Arrowsmith lake

And on the way back, we stopped at Parksville to take in the amazing annual sand sculpture contest.

A detailed sand castle about 2.5 m (8 feet) tall

And of course, went to the annual Symphony Splash where we were fortunate enough to watch from the best location, up close in a boat. (The Symphony Splash is where the Victoria Symphony performs on a barge located in the Inner Harbour to a crowd of thousands.)

We also enjoyed getting together with many of our friends and relatives. I headed off to several areas of the Prairies to visit my family (and celebrated my Dad's 80th Birthday!) and to see my very beautiful great granddaughter for the very first time...very sad to leave. While I was away, Jordan spent time in the Penticton area for a family reunion and his parents' 65th Anniversary!

After a productive stay at home, we are driving tomorrow to head south once again with a few detours along the way. After hooking up our new toy, The Wirie, on Sea Turtle, we should have great internet service access from our boat to hopefully post our adventures more frequently than in the past.

New addition to our family

Exciting news...our great granddaughter Chiara Dawn arrived early this morning, 19" long and weighing 6 lb. 14 oz. Yes, she is great, but in this instance "great" refers to being my grandson's daughter.

Hellooo World!

And as I am sure you agree, she is a cutie...

She is only 3 days old above, looking very bright-eyed. We will definitely be stopping in for cuddles when we travel to Alberta soon. Congratulations to the proud parents as we send you our love!!

Travel daze

On May 14th, a pre-arranged taxi picked us up at the dock at 08:30 to take us to the Nuku Hiva airport on the far side of the Marquesan island to start us on our trip home to Canada. The road to the airport is approximately 18 km in a straight line, but this road is so curvy and winding that the ride took about 1.5 hours.

Our lovely taxi driver stopped at a few prime locations along the way to allow us to take a few quick photos and view the panorama. If you ever anchor at Nuku Hiva with your sailboat, we highly recommend renting a car and checking out this road with its amazing top-of-the-world sights.

Looking back to where SV Tango is still anchored

Unbelievably curving, snaking, twisting road to Nuku Hiva airport

Looks like we are about to drive off the end of the earth

Upon arrival at the airport, we were surprised to see several horses kept so nearby. They were friendly and didn't seem to mind being there. We flew from Nuku Hiva to Hiva Oa for a brief stop and then on to Pape'ete Tahiti where we had to wait several hours for our next red-eye flight to Honolulu. During our wait, a friendly couple gave us a free bottle of delicious champagne! After this late-night flight of almost 6 hours, we then had a shorter wait until our last flight to Los Angeles USA.

So after going through a few time zone changes, about 16 hours of travelling, 13 hours of waiting, and 2 bad movies, we were very tired upon arrival in LA - it had been a long 2 days of travelling from 08:30 May 14th until 16:45 May 15th.

From LA, we went to Palm Springs where we relaxed, visited with special friends, and rode on the Aerial Tramway. This tram has a rotating floor so you can see all around you, making the experience more enriching (and at the top of the tramway are great areas to hike and camp).

Aerial Tramway heading back down to the station

Next, we picked up our old KLR motorcycle at Yuma, where temperatures were reaching 38°C (100°F), and brought it to Palm Springs for storage. On our way back to Victoria BC Canada, we stopped in Old Town Sacramento where the 18th annual Pacific Rim Street Festival was on-going with many people in attendance.

The Hornblower going under the raised bridge

We will now be in Victoria until mid-September. Our current plans are to then drive to Palm Springs and go down to Copper Canyon in Mexico on the motorcycle before returning to Sea Turtle in San Carlos (not far from Copper Canyon).

We are both missing being on the boat very much and look forward to continuing our adventures aboard!

Survivor!

After Jordan and I visited Rose Corser's museum/boutique and the nearby Hotel Keikahanui of the Marquesas, we took Holly and Denis back to see these sites the next day. This museum has many one-of-a-kind items that have been donated by locals and the hotel is very beautiful. Don't forget to check out the Photo Gallery for Crewing to Marquesas pictures, including a couple of the museum and hotel.

Then Holly, Jordan, and I went for a longer hike to find the location where the Tribal Council of the 1990s Marquesan Survivor TV show was filmed (we saw the canoe that was used on the show at the museum). We came upon this gentleman of the Tribal Council:

Actually, the picture was taken of a picture inside the hotel! So we hiked up a mountain and back down over the ridge looking for the location of the Survivor Tribal Council; we don't think we followed the directions given to us correctly. The beach we found was a bit rocky and not very deserted. But we saw this old outrigger...

and this hanging skull...

Who knows...maybe we did find it. But, a little disappointed, we trekked back up and over the ridge and back to Tango where we were greeted with glasses of Sherry to enjoy on deck. Another great day after all!

Snorkelling and sightseeing

On Monday, checking Tango into the Marquesas with the Gendarmerie (French Police), who only spoke a bit of English, was not too difficult as Denis is fairly fluent in French.

A tip for sailors - we discovered that you need to have your MMSI* number with you when you check in so when Jordan and I sail here in a couple of years on our own we will remember to bring ours with us to the Gendarmerie's office.

Internet is VERY slow here so trying to book our flight home was extremely frustrating, but we managed to book a flight from Pape'ete Tahiti to Honolulu and then from Honolulu to Los Angeles USA yesterday. Could not get an "E" ticket from Nuku Hiva to Pape'ete so we went to the local Air Tahiti and booked a ticket today. The agent also reserved a taxi for us for the trip to the airport which is supposed to be a visually spectacular ride.

Jordan inquired about scuba diving but the diving boat was on the hard so Holly, Jordan, and I decided to go snorkelling. We took the dinghy out to the point and saw parrot fish, schools of teeny bright blue fish, small orange and/or yellow fish...and...a big manta ray and a long brown shark swimming right beneath us! How exciting! Later, Jordan and I went for a walk and a beer ashore for a nice break.

A common sight

Back on Tango, we discovered that a pastry man comes to your boat each weekday morning, delivering goods that you have ordered the previous morning. What a delicious treat.

Another great day in paradise!

* MMSI - Maritime Mobile Service Identity (a number assigned to maritime radios in order to make calls)

Exploring Nuku Hiva artifacts

French Polynesia is made up of many island and chains of islands. The most easterly chain is called the Marquesas. A few facts I read about the Marquesas and Nuku Hiva Island where we are anchored:

• The town that we are near has a population of around 3,000 and lies in an open volcanic crater.
• This town, called Taiohae, is the largest town of the Marquesan Islands.
• We noticed that tattoos are very popular amongst the local men and women.
• Nuku Hiva is 339 sq. km.
• The largest island in all of French Polynesia is Tahiti (Nuku Hiva being the 2nd largest, depending on your source of info).
• Famous writer Robert Louis Stevenson spent time on northern Nuku Hiva.
• Painter Paul Gauguin spent his last years in French Polynesia.
• And Moby Dick author, Herman Melville, jumped a whaling ship in 1842 at age 23 to land at the Marquesas.

After Holly and Jordan cleaned Tango's bottom of parasites, the 3 of us hiked up the side of a mountain to discover the artifacts that we had been told about. We hiked about 1.5 km along a roadway and then at least another 1.5 km up and through bush, etc. along a semi-trail.

We took a break as Jordan tried to crack open and peel off the husk of a coconut that we found. Success! The juice managed to escape but the fleshy coconut fruit was delicious. We soon ran into a local, very muscular, older man with a large knife that helped to remove more of the shell, making it easier for us to consume.

This is how you do it

As we hiked, we noticed all the pigs with piglets, roosters and chickens with chicks, horses with young colts, goats, and all the differing plant life along the way. We finally reached the site which was well worth the lengthy hike. Here, Jordan retrieved several fresh, juicy, mangoes using a long stick found propped against a tree. They were delicious and we all thoroughly enjoyed the treat as the juice ran down our chins!

Nuku Hiva site

We then took in the all the different tikis, huts, vegetation, and rocks around this magnificent sacred site. Tikis are stone and/or wooden figures in a human form. The earliest did not have eyes carved.

Jordan beside a stone tiki, and...

...a wooden tiki (photo courtesy of SV Tango)

When the sun was starting to go down, we discovered an easier route to return and started on our way back. Growing in trees along the roadside, we found several star fruit which we tasted. They were sooo delicious - tasted just like orange pop.

Then near the bottom of our trail, a local woman pleaded with us to take several of her pamplemousse (very thick skinned grapefruit). So by the time we returned to Tango, we had fresh hand-picked mangoes, starfruit, and pamplemousse for a delicious breakfast the next morning. Store-bought produce has never tasted this good. What a great day!

Crewing to Marquesas

On our way...left La Paz as crew aboard SV Tango with Holly and Denis on April 14th to head for San Jose del Cabo (N23°03.37' W109°40.21'). After all final details and last minute provisioning were completed, we headed for the Marquesas (Isles Marquises) on April 18th at 08:00. A couple of dolphins appeared to wish us good luck on our journey. A waypoint of N05° W130° was set. Land disappeared totally at 14:30! A summary of the voyage:

• Spotted a total of 6 boats throughout the trip (3 freighters, 2 fishing boats, and 1 oceanography vessel).
• Whales, dolphins, flying fish, and blue-footed booby birds visited us. Air horn was used to dissuade landing of these messy and destructive, but cute, birds.
• Tiny Clarion Island was spotted off in the distance on April 21st - last chance to jump ship!
• Lots of cloud cover, we were expecting more sun.
• Lots of confused seas, we were expecting calmer seas.
• One mechanical failure - generator would not keep running - but was an easy fix.
• Pretty sunsets and sunrises out in the middle of the ocean, but not as spectacular as seen on land. Well, this sunrise was pretty awesome...

• Changed course on April 27th to head south towards the equator - in the doldrums the next day.
• Holly, Jordan, and I got in the ocean to check out prop zincs and have a warm swim at N03°25.860' W125°43.345' as Denis kept his eye on us. I was very surprised to feel so nervous and worried about letting go of the boat!! Temperature of the water was 28°C (82°F). Water below us was well over a kilometre deep and was a beautiful vivid purple blue. We all re-boarded safely.
• Crossed equator early in the morning at 01:14 on May 3rd!! The southern trade winds were kicking in and cloud cover was finally disappearing.
• Gazed at the countless stars, distinct Milky Way, the Southern Cross, and bright falling stars from our stateroom hatch on many evenings.
• 3 large fish got away - but finally this 34 kg (75 lb) Marlin (Shortbill Spearfish) was landed by ecstatic Jordan on May 4th!

• Change of plans - going to the Marquesan Island called Nuku Hiva instead of the Marquesan Island called Hiva Oa as Nuku Hiva has more anchorages available and calmer anchorages.
• Constant kathunks, crashes, and loud banging noises, rigging humming, winds whooshing - catamarans are MUCH louder than we expected. Restless nights.
• Land ho at 08:00 on Saturday, May 8th, after 20 days at sea! Jordan spotted a dolphin off our port side.
• Total distance travelled was 2,797 nautical miles from San Jose del Cabo to Nuku Hiva.
• Greatest distance in 1 day was 172 nautical miles.
• Average speed was 5.8 knots, motored for 4 days.
• Length of voyage was from April 18/10 at 08:00 till May 8/10 at 12:00 noon Pacific Daylight Saving Time for a total of 20 days + 4 hours.

Anchored at Baie de Taiohae (Hakapehi) (S08°54.969' W140°06.038') on Nuka Hiva at 09:30 local time, which is 2.5 hours earlier than Pacific Daylight Saving Time. This is a large, busy anchorage with lots of boats coming and going (counted 50 cruising boats at anchor one day).

Yellow points in the following picture are Tango's positions every 12 hours (at 12 noon and at 12 midnight approximately). Jordan's son Aaron plotted the position reports on Google Earth and emailed this to us at the completion of our crewing adventure. (Click on it to blow up)

One of two official entry ports (Hiva Oa being the other), Nuka Hiva is a very laid back place. Almost everything is closed on Saturdays and Sundays and most places close for a 2 to 2.5 hour lunch break. Many businesses also close early in the day. Lots of exploring to do before our flight home...

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.

Muertos Cove

We haven't been doing too much at Los Frailes (Mexico) in the last couple of days but I did manage to finish sewing the new compass cover. And yesterday while Jordan was trolling in the bay, he saw 2 whales passing with 1 repeatedly breaching and flapping its large fin on the water. He called me on the VHF so I too was able to see them.

We walked a long distance to grab a bite to eat and enjoy a cold beer, but when we arrived, the restaurant/bar was cerrado (closed). We later found out that Dave of SV Mista Breeze did the same thing!

Winds finally calmed down and predictions sounded good so at 00:15 we pulled anchor. Seas were a bit choppy but much better than the first time we tried to leave here. We had wind on the nose for a bit, but again, not as strong as the first time we left Frailes to head north up the Sea of Cortez.

After motor-sailing all evening and morning, we pulled into Ensenada de los Muertos (N23°59.366' W109°49.693') at 13:00 and found a beautiful open-air restaurant/bar (meaning no doors or windows but covered by a thatched roof) right on the beach with friendly English-speaking staff.

Beach restaurant (once again, courtesy of SV Intrepid)

Too bad it's so difficult to reach the shore from a dinghy. There are 2 sets of extremely haphazard stone steps to shore that are tied by rope to the floating minimalistic dinghy wharf. One set of steps is missing most of the sharp jutting stones and the other set is built for giants! The entire area has no lights so you must be sure to bring a flashlight at night.

So windy

We've been spending a lot of time with some fellow cruisers, SV Adios, who have shared a lot of boating tips and great recipes. They also informed us that occasionally at 09:00 a truck shows up with fresh produce to sell, which we all took advantage of.

Cool clouds of Los Frailes (courtesy of SV Intrepid)

The guys have been snorkelling (still too cold for me) and fishing and Jordan lucked out with first a small Sierra Mackerel and then another huge one that Adios cooked up for everyone to feast on on New Year's Eve. This is a very delicious tasting fish.

We decided to hand over our Little Pea Green Book. We chose the close-knit family on Adios as hosts to continue this Great Big Adventure. What is the Pea Green Book? To discover the adventures of Pea Green, see below:

Click here www.peagreenbook.blogspot.com or the blog link on the right side of this page entitled "the Little Pea Green Book". (Note that the link on right will also display snippets of new entries so you will know when that blog has been updated without having to open it to see if there is anything new.)

It has been very windy everyday here, making for wet dinghy rides and feeling boat bound, but it finally eased up today. So we decided to pull anchor from Los Frailes (Mexico) at 23:10, but after a couple of hours, heavy headwinds and seas turned us back as we were only making a couple of knots per hour.