Back to the Islands....

At least it was back to the islands for me.....

We left on Thursday, Nov 27, and Turkey day in the US. There was a big dinner set up by Club Crusarios. Tickets were on 10 pesos, and 200 were expected. We skipped out and chose to head out to the Islands. Started later than I had hoped, 11 am, and had a nice breeze to start. It soon died and we ended up motoring most of the way. Anchor set by about 4:30 in the same little bay that Nathene and I had anchored in when we had the water pump problem last year. All was well and then a west wind picked up and blew right into the bay making for some pretty big swells. Mike did not like them…. And in the back of my mind, I could hear Nathene saying “make it stop….”. The wind pretty much blew all night. Mike survived but it was pretty hard on him. In the morning we watched “Maranatha” pull anchor and leave with its support boat running around it taking video…
Friday was partly cloudy. We moved to Ensenada Grande, which is really 3 different bays and we anchored in a tight little hole in the south bay. The next bay over has a beach that was rated as one of the top 10 in the world last year. Rod and Mike did a little kayaking and saw all of Ensenada Grande. They both seemed to be quite impressed with the kayaks and are thinking of buying their own. If they do buy them, I should start getting a commission from Advanced Kayaks because that will at least 4 or 5 people who have bought them after trying mine.

I snorkeled in the bay where the boat was anchored. Saw lots of different fish, schools of different species with all colors and hues, some pretty big, lots a sea anemones, etc. Most of them were right along the rocks right next to shore or up against the cliffs. There were schools of larger silver fish that we saw local fishermen catching with nets last year as well but they tended to keep out and away from the rocks and more on the sand in the open water. Saw a few rays laying on the bottom and lots of puffer fish.

Later I kayaked around and saw all 3 bays as well as the nice beach. Took a few pictures and back to the boat, dodging the big motor cruisers that set up in the same bay. “Maranatha” was the big boat in the anchorage on Thursday night, it has been significantly dwarfed. I climbed the hill above the boat and took a few pictures then we cooked up a nice steak supper. Evening spent sitting quietly talking and listening to a local station Rod found. First nice one we’ve had.

The wind picked up after dark and blew pretty much all night. It was bumpy, Mike did better thanks to modern chemistry but I think we were all up several times with a few loud clanks and bumps. The anchor held, we did not move, but I think the loud clumks were either from the anchor chain when it snapped tight or from the boat ladder which was left down and against the rudder.

Breakfast and because of the north wind, we chose not to go further north to check out the sea lion rookery. Instead, we caught the wind and it pushed us into La Paz, sometimes breaking 6.3 knots, which is clipping right along in Tansi!

Tied up to the dock, cleaned up, put things away, and made of list of what worked and didn't work for the next trip out. That will be the crossing, and most likely departure will be Tuesday morning.

Crusty and Crab arrive….

I’ll let you figure which one is which. I got here Saturday, spent most of the time cleaning the boat and doing some maintenance items. They arrived on Monday after a long, long trip. But it did go well, other than Mike being checked and rechecked by every security guard that laid his/her eyes on him.

Spend the next day or two still on maintenance. Fixed the fuel tank, did not move it back but instead rigged up the old tank under the quarter berth and gave up on the new tank. Looks and works well. Replaced the leaking seals on the water pump on the engine so it is now dry and also replaced the fuel gauge, and it works! What a bonus.

We moved the fridge out from under the table, I find it works great when we are in port and had a hard time leaving it behind. It now sits in under the radio and looks great. That compartment was pretty much filled with junk. Threw some out and stored the rest elsewhere.

When not working on the boat, Boomer would come by and keep Rod and Mike amused. Boomer is one of the colorful individuals that can found around here and lives in the Marina on his boat year round. He gave us a ride into town for groceries and provisions. It was very kind of him to do that. Thursday morning it was cast off and head for the islands. These islands which are a marine sanctuary, of which Isla Espiritos Sanctos, is the largest. They are a unique world class destination.