Baja has been busted!
Hi all,We made it. Got into Cabo San Lucas late last night or early this morning. Left Ensenada at 4:30 pm on March 12th. A late start, after solving some diesel tank problems that I created by removing the old tank because of it's location and a serious venting problem. But in the process, wrecked the new tank..... To quote an old late 60's hippie...."what a bummer!". We fixed it by reverting to old technology and just set up the fuel line to draw from a jerry can. Sounds pretty primative but worked very well.
We had actually arrived on March 10th with some problems of course. Henri Soulodre arrived via Mazatlan to Tijuana then caught a ride to Ensenada. Rob left from Edmonton and we were to meet in Denver to catch the connector to San Diego. My air crew "slept in" and I missed the connection only to arrive several hours later. One bag was lost and caught up with me the next day. The hotel shuttle waited for me with Rob and we drove to Ensenada with no problems. Saw the ship from "Master and Commander" on the way, pretty cool.
It took us 81 hours non-stop from Ensenada to Turtle Bay. Really cold the first night with heavy 
dew and each watch was freezing. Had one serious mishap that damaged the steering system on the last day. Set up the emergency tiller which worked fine. We were able to fix it in Turtle Bay and were back to wheel steering. The night watches were both a pain and almost wonderous. 
We were tired, it was cold, sometimes dark with no stars, fog that was so wet it was almost raining, cold and damp, and for this trip no moon at all. But the stars were amazing some nights and we often had dolphin pods around us. We saw constalations that I had not recognized before. During this trip we crossed a very large bay and were about 70 miles out ot sea, nice to see Cedros Island at the far end.
Got into Turtle Bay late on the 4th day out. Welcome to rest the night without having to do watches and steer. The captain grave the crew thier rum rations as per tradition and the crew slept well, secure at anchor with howling winds outside the bay. Toured the town which was really welcome but has been described as "Coyote Ugly". Pretty sad though, we got a little turned around and ended up having a local "tour guide". Miguel attach himself to us and led us around 
like a mother duck and us following like ducklings. Must have been funny for the locals to see. There were some other boats there, most from the Newport to Ensenada race and returning. Just for the record, while we were not in that race, we managed to place first in our class and first overall in our race to Cabo. We left Turtle Bay with a few more groceries, fair winds, and most importantly, we had showered.
The next stint was to Bahia Santa Maria just north of Mag Bay. We went the most direct route again, crossing a very large open bay putting us well away from shore on the open pacific. Lots of rolling seas, making sleep sometimes difficult. We arrived at Santa Maria just before sunset and anchored in a secure but remote anchorage. Slept well then Henri and I took the dinghy and paddled to shore and walked the beach. Not much to see but nice to get away. Rob kicked back, did a little cleaning and waited for us to get back. A local fisherman stopped in and we bartered for some lobsters. 
We traded a few hats, some pop, gatorade and 5 bucks for 6 lobsters. We boiled three and grilled three. What a meal!
The last leg took us to Cabo San Lucas, 175 nautical miles, great winds for most of the time, and we made it in just 36 hours. Really glad to see the harbour lights. Cabo was sort of a shock to us, going from dark nights and little human contact to a great big tourist zoo. The marina holds 300 boats, and we are surrounded by fishing boats that would average in cost over $250K. We are bringing down property values big time, but they still are fine
taking our money for the slip. Late last night, we toured around Cabo because the marina was rocking with music from the local establishments and we could not have slept anyways. We found a great little taco and buritto stand which made our night. Showers were also most welcome. 
Today has been a recovery day, crew resting, touring the beach, etc. a few more rum rations, etc., all in moderation. Tomorrow, Henri and Rob leave for Mazatlan then home, I will leave the marina for a few days and moor outside in the Bay until Nathene arrives Sunday or Monday. Too expensive to stay at this marina which is over 3 times what we were paying in most of Southern California.
dew and each watch was freezing. Had one serious mishap that damaged the steering system on the last day. Set up the emergency tiller which worked fine. We were able to fix it in Turtle Bay and were back to wheel steering. The night watches were both a pain and almost wonderous. 
We were tired, it was cold, sometimes dark with no stars, fog that was so wet it was almost raining, cold and damp, and for this trip no moon at all. But the stars were amazing some nights and we often had dolphin pods around us. We saw constalations that I had not recognized before. During this trip we crossed a very large bay and were about 70 miles out ot sea, nice to see Cedros Island at the far end.
Got into Turtle Bay late on the 4th day out. Welcome to rest the night without having to do watches and steer. The captain grave the crew thier rum rations as per tradition and the crew slept well, secure at anchor with howling winds outside the bay. Toured the town which was really welcome but has been described as "Coyote Ugly". Pretty sad though, we got a little turned around and ended up having a local "tour guide". Miguel attach himself to us and led us around 
like a mother duck and us following like ducklings. Must have been funny for the locals to see. There were some other boats there, most from the Newport to Ensenada race and returning. Just for the record, while we were not in that race, we managed to place first in our class and first overall in our race to Cabo. We left Turtle Bay with a few more groceries, fair winds, and most importantly, we had showered.
The next stint was to Bahia Santa Maria just north of Mag Bay. We went the most direct route again, crossing a very large open bay putting us well away from shore on the open pacific. Lots of rolling seas, making sleep sometimes difficult. We arrived at Santa Maria just before sunset and anchored in a secure but remote anchorage. Slept well then Henri and I took the dinghy and paddled to shore and walked the beach. Not much to see but nice to get away. Rob kicked back, did a little cleaning and waited for us to get back. A local fisherman stopped in and we bartered for some lobsters. 
We traded a few hats, some pop, gatorade and 5 bucks for 6 lobsters. We boiled three and grilled three. What a meal!The last leg took us to Cabo San Lucas, 175 nautical miles, great winds for most of the time, and we made it in just 36 hours. Really glad to see the harbour lights. Cabo was sort of a shock to us, going from dark nights and little human contact to a great big tourist zoo. The marina holds 300 boats, and we are surrounded by fishing boats that would average in cost over $250K. We are bringing down property values big time, but they still are fine
taking our money for the slip. Late last night, we toured around Cabo because the marina was rocking with music from the local establishments and we could not have slept anyways. We found a great little taco and buritto stand which made our night. Showers were also most welcome. 
Today has been a recovery day, crew resting, touring the beach, etc. a few more rum rations, etc., all in moderation. Tomorrow, Henri and Rob leave for Mazatlan then home, I will leave the marina for a few days and moor outside in the Bay until Nathene arrives Sunday or Monday. Too expensive to stay at this marina which is over 3 times what we were paying in most of Southern California.
posted by Rick @ 3/21/2007 06:27:00 PM
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