BAJA BASH 2018

May 29 – 31, 2018

Tuesday morning, I took BART to the San Francisco airport and flew to Los Angeles.  At LAX, I met my fellow crew member, Brad, and we then flew to San Jose del Cabo.  We arrived in San Jose del Cabo at 3:00 and were met by my friend, Carlos, who drove us back to Cabo San Lucas for a late lunch.  Brad and I got our first margarita and some tasty food.

After lunch, Carlos took us to the Aguila bus station and we caught the 5:45 express bus to La Paz.  Brad and I arrived at the bus station in La Paz, caught a cab to the marina, and arrived at Marina La Paz about 8:00.  We weren’t hungry after our big lunch, so we got settled on our friend Blair’s boat, Progress One, and went to bed early.

Progress One in Marina La Paz

Wednesday, our only mission was to provision the boat.  We originally thought we were going to leave on Thursday morning, but later decided we would rather hang out in La Paz where there was good internet than spend another day in San Jose del Cabo.  Our friend, Greg from Scout, arranged a ride to the grocery store for us with one of his crew members and we filled a cart with supplies.  Blair hadn’t had his boat very long and had never had a cook aboard, so we needed to purchase just about everything.  We thought we had really gone overboard until we saw that Scout had filled two carts.

It didn’t take us long to stow our groceries.  Progress One, a Tayana 37’, had ample storage space.  By early afternoon we had our chores done for the day and were able to walk into town to Tacos Fish for some lunch.  I spent the rest of the afternoon lounging and practicing the guitar until 19:00 when we went to Scout for drinks.  I brought a cheese platter and Greg made gin and tonics.  We sat in his spacious cockpit and chatted with his crew until nearly 21:00.  None of us were hungry enough to warrant going out to eat again, so we had a snack and retired early again.

Progress One with Sun Shades up

Scout had a busy day on Thursday, getting ready to leave with us, but we were already prepared to go, so had a relaxing day.  At 9:30, we went to Olympia’s for a lovely breakfast with Greg, Max, and John from Scout.  We spent a very lazy afternoon and I got some guitar practicing in before the sun sank low enough for us to take the sun shades down and stow them in anticipation of an early departure the following day.

After dark, we rendezvoused with the crew of Scou,t once again, and strolled up to the Salad Club for dinner.  It seemed like a good plan to ingest as many vegetables as possible before setting off.  By the time we had a leisurely dinner and walked back it was bedtime for our team.

June 1, 2018

La Paz in the Rear View Mirror

Blair, who is usually up by 5:00, slept late, so we didn’t get up until 6:30.  We still had plenty of time to shower and be ready to check out when the office opened at 8:00.  Blair got our departure paperwork there instead of waiting until we got to San Jose del Cabo.    We cast off and left the dock about 8:30. Brad took the first watch and steered us down the La Paz Channel and out into the Lorenzo Channel.  There was very little wind and it got hot early.  We put up the sun shade.

Blair Looking Through the Cerralvo Channel

I took the helm at noon.  We were doing three-hour watches.  We continued through the Lorenzo channel and headed for the Ceralvo Channel.  We continued motoring because the wind stayed light.  About 14:00, we saw a large school of dolphins and I even saw one baby.  They were all around us and a few came to play in our bow wave. 

Blair took the helm at 15:00 and I took a nap on the cabin top in the shade of the main until we gybed and I lost my shade.  At that point, I had run out of excuses and went below to catch up on my writing.

At 18:30, I started preparing arrachera fajitas and salad for dinner.  Blair barbecued the meat in the cockpit and did a fine job.  We ate in the cockpit as the sun went down and then sat outside to enjoy the sunset and the cool evening air. 

I took the watch at 21:00 and everyone had gone below by 22:00.  It was very dark until a large orange moon startled me by appearing on the horizon.  There was a container ship just motoring out of sight when I first came on but I didn’t see another boat all night.

June 2, 2018

Blair took the watch at midnight and then he and Brad tried to sail for an hour or so around the 3:00 AM watch change.  Every time the motor or sails changed, I woke up.  I slept most of my down time, but not for long stretches. I was taking over again at 6:00, so got up in time to dress and make coffee beforehand.  It was still warm enough to wear shorts and, though I put on a long-sleeved T-shirt, I didn’t need it.

Sunrise off San Jose del Cabo

The sun finally rose above the clouds at 7:00 and soon we were all in the cockpit, enjoying the cool air.  We were on the final approach into San Jose del Cabo.  I dozed a bit and then it was time to ready the boat for arrival.  We pulled into the dock just after 10:00 AM.

The crew of Scout and Josh from La Gitana were on their way to breakfast, so we quickly tied up the boat and joined them at a little breakfast spot across the street from the marina.  We had a nice breakfast, but we were all a little bleary and eager to get back to the boat for naps.  Blair checked us in and then I trekked across the hot, dirt yard to the showers.  The showers were nice, but the women’s side wasn’t air conditioned (the men’s was.)

The Marina at San Jose del Cabo

We exerted as little energy as possible for the rest of the day.  I slept, played with my phone, and practiced the guitar.  When it cooled off in the late afternoon, I was able to write.  We went to Scout for cocktails and air conditioning at 19:00.

Breakfast Across from the Marina

We reached a consensus that we would go to George’s Restaurant, just over the hill from the marina, for dinner.  George’s was a patio restaurant attached to a nice hotel.  We were the only customers, but they had a couple singing and playing guitar to entertain us.  It was a little pricey, but the food was good enough.  I had some nice chicken enchiladas in green sauce and a weak, overpriced margarita.  We were in Cabo.  Unfortunately, I missed my friend, Carlos, whom I had been awaiting all day.  He came during the twenty-minute window when I forgot to tell him where we were.  That was disappointing.  He had left by the time I thought to update our position.

The margarita did its trick and I went straight to sleep at 22:30 when we returned to the boat.

June 3-4, 2018

We were all up early on Sunday morning.  We took our last showers, returned the keys, and left the dock at 7:35 AM.  Seas were flat and winds light.  The tide was going out and we made over six knots all the way to Cabo Falso.  The seas were larger going around the cape, but nothing unmanageable.  We were around the cape and heading north by mid-morning.  It was a lovely day and we all said that, no matter what might come, this bash was already better than our previous experiences fighting to get around Cabo Falso.

Leaving San Jose del Cabo

I had the 15:00 to 18:00 watch.  Things got lumpier as the afternoon progressed, but I still managed to cook fried plantains, pork chops, and salad for dinner, after I got off watch, without too much trouble.  Scout disappeared over the horizon by late afternoon, but La Gitana hung a couple of miles behind us all day and night.

Cabo San Lucas

After dinner, the seas got sloppier and we slowed below five knots.  There still wasn’t much wind, but it began to get uncomfortable.  It also got cold.  The water temperature had been 80 degrees at Cabo but had dropped to 55.  I tried to sleep from 8:00 to midnight, but it was too rough to sleep well.  My next watch was from midnight to 3:00 AM.  I managed it in just warm leggings and a hoodie, but I had to put on shoes and socks and huddle behind the dodger.  The moon came up about 1:00 AM.  I couldn’t see La Gitana’s running lights once the moon came up, but it was comforting to see her on the radar, three miles off our starboard quarter.

I made cocoa and sat with Blair for a bit after he took the helm at 3:00 AM.  Progress One was a nice boat and very functional in most ways but the stern light was mounted on the arch supporting the solar panels and reflected off the white solar panel backs, flooding the cockpit with white light and destroying our night vision.

Fog rolled in during Blair’s watch.  He saw a cruise ship approaching on the AIS.  Though it was no doubt lit up like a Christmas tree, it passed unseen within half a mile of our boat.  Despite the rolling, I slept well until about 8:00 when Blair invaded my cabin to use the single sideband radio mounted there.  I stayed in my bunk until the net was over and then got up to get ready for my 9:00 AM watch.  It was too rough to think about eating or drinking coffee.  I had spilled cocoa all over the galley when I prepared some the night before.

The question of the day was whether to stop at Bahia Santa Maria or press onward.  The weather was predicted to deteriorate on Wednesday afternoon.  If we stopped in Bahia Santa Maria, we wouldn’t have time to get across to Turtle Bay or Ascension before the winds piped up.  We could be stuck there until Saturday.  We consulted the other boats and friends on shore who had access to the internet to try to make a decision.  La Gitana had a dog on board that really needed to get to the beach.  They were leaning towards entering Magdalena Bay, spending the night, and continuing on in the morning.  Scout was making for Turtle Bay, already being thirty miles ahead of us and drawing a mile further ahead each hour.

It was sloppy through the morning but flattened out as the afternoon progressed.  The fog didn’t lift until after I got off watch at noon.  I slept from noon to three and then got up to write.  We discussed the weather again and decided that, while we probably couldn’t make Turtle Bay before it got unpleasant, we could probably make it to Asuncion.  Asuncion was fifty miles closer.  They also had the advantage of having better fuel prices.  Enrique at the fuel dock in Turtle Bay was reported to be charging $10/gallon for diesel.  While Asuncion had no fuel dock, there was a panguero named Juan who would make a fuel run to the Pemex station for $40 or so.  If you needed much fuel, this quickly became a bargain.  It was disappointing to pass Bahia Santa Maria by, but it would have been frustrating to be trapped there all week.  We hoped we could continue at our current speed and outrun the winds to Asuncion or, better yet, that the predicted high winds wouldn’t materialize.

I started dinner early so as to have it ready by the time I came on watch at 18:00.  Dinner was chicken adobo with Spanish rice and salad.  I even made a lime vinaigrette.  We ate dinner in the cockpit as my watch began.  The fog had come back in so there wasn’t any sunset to speak of.  The overcast was higher than the night before, however, so it wasn’t as damp and felt a lot warmer.  It was lonely out there.  We didn’t see a soul.  We had watched La Gitana sail into the mouth of Mag Bay as we passed about dinnertime.

We continued on past Bahia Santa Maria and then we were committed.  Seas stayed calm.  I tried to go to bed at 21:00 when my watch ended but wasn’t really tired enough to sleep.

June 5-6, 2018

I got up at 2:30 AM and boiled water so that I could have a cup of cocoa for my watch.  Seas were still calm and the air was still pretty dry.  There was no one around.  My watch was completely uneventful.

Overcast Skies North of Mag Bay

I went back to bed at 6:00 and managed to sleep until 11:00 AM.  The sun still wasn’t out when I got up.  I boiled some eggs and used the hot water to make myself coffee.  Blair was sleeping on the settee in front of the food lockers, so my breakfast options were limited.  I ate the last remaining banana and dressed in time to take my watch at noon.

There was a fast ship showing on the AIS when I took over but he was far away and passed unseen.  We motored on without change until 14:00 when fifteen knots of usable wind blew up and we rolled out the headsails for the first time, which gave us an extra knot.  For about fifteen minutes, we actually killed the motor and tried to sail, but the wind instantly died and we had to turn the motor back on.  By the time Blair came on watch at 15:00, the wind direction had changed and we had to roll up the headsails again.

I went below to write just after 15:00.  I wasn’t tired enough to nap and it was too early to start cooking.  We were making good time and were almost half way across to Asuncion.  It looked like we would arrive early on Wednesday morning before the wind really started to blow.

Dinner was hamburger patties with mashed sweet potatoes, broccoli and salad.  We tried to barbecue the hamburgers but it was too cold and windy.  I had to bring them inside and cook them in a frying pan.  I took a short nap after dinner before reporting for my 21:00 watch.

It was a little lumpy when I came up and that had slowed us down to about three knots.  It got windier and windier until by 22:00 we were making less than two knots.  The autopilot was having a hard time steering and no adjustment of the sail made any difference.  At 22:30, Blair came up and I turned the autopilot off and started to drive.  That helped a little, but we were still moving too slowly.  By 23:00 we had decided to shift course and head for Abreojos, which was only about twenty-five miles distant.  The minute we changed course, the wind came from off the beam and we began to charge forward at four-and-a-half knots as our motion eased.  The only trouble was that we didn’t want to arrive at Abreojos in the dark.  We eased off the engine until we judged we wouldn’t make landfall until early morning.  On that heading, the autopilot had no trouble steering the boat and I was able to return to the shelter of the dodger for the last hour of my watch.

Sunrise Over Abreojos

It was still a little lumpy when I went below at midnight, but the waves died down after an hour or so and I was able to sleep until about 5:30.  When I came back up at 6:00, the sun was rising and Abreojos was in sight.  We dropped the sail and motored slowly past the shoal and into the anchorage, dropping the anchor in twenty feet of water just east of the church on the beach.  Pangas were speeding out to fish.  Abreojos was a bustling little town, but there was no pier so any landing would have to be through the surf.  The local pangueros had a tractor to launch and haul their pangas. It was cold and the water was only 58 degrees.  Going to shore didn’t sound very appealing.  Once we got the boat settled, I went back to sleep for a couple of hours.

Tractor Hauling Pangas in Abreojos

It was nice to be stopped.  I got up and made bacon and French toast for breakfast.  We had not had any cell service when we first arrived, but it kicked on about 10:00 AM.  We spent the day reading and communicating with folks on shore.  Josh on La Gitana arrived about mid-afternoon and it was a relief to see that he was alright.  He immediately put his dinghy in the water and took his dog, Sachi, to shore.  He must really have loved that dog to wade through waist high freezing water to take her to the beach.

The Church in Abreojos

It stayed windy all afternoon and evening, so we stayed hunkered down in the boat.  I made chicken in green mole over rice for dinner and played a little guitar.  There wasn’t much to do so we read and went to bed by 22:00.  I woke up at midnight and noticed that the winds had calmed down.  La Gitana left for Asuncion shortly thereafter.

June 7-8, 2018

Abreojos

We were all awake early, having gone to sleep early the night before.  We made coffee and lounged around the boat.  The winds stayed light.  We hatched a plan to leave that night at midnight to try to make Asuncion before the wind came up the next afternoon.

There wasn’t much to do that day.  We read and Blair puttered around the boat.  I practiced the guitar in the morning.  Mostly, we kept an eye on the wind to see what time it would pipe up again.  Fortunately, the day was warm and we got a chance to get thoroughly dry and warm.  The wind didn’t start up again until 15:15. That, combined with the message that Josh had made it to Asuncion by 10:30 in the morning gave us confidence that we could cover the fifty plus miles to the next anchorage before it got unpleasantly windy again.  Our shoreside weather watchers agreed.  We made ready to go.

I started dinner at 17:30 so we could eat and have time for a nap before our departure.  We had salmon, broccoli, and potatoes for dinner.  I sautéed the salmon in butter and garlic.  It was a big meal and we all got stuffed.  We tried to sleep after dinner, but we were all antsy and didn’t rest well.  We had intended to leave at midnight but ended up leaving at 22:30 because the wind had died down and we were eager to get started.

The wind had died down, but the seas were still rough and it was a bouncy ride.  We couldn’t go as fast as we would have liked.  About the time that Brad came on watch at 2:00 AM, the wind really started to blow.  We had a steady twenty knots on the bow and gusts to twenty-five.  We slowed to about 3.5 knots and started to worry that we wouldn’t make Asuncion before the afternoon wind came up.

Dawn on the Way to Asuncion

An Offending Scupper

I came on watch at 5:00 AM.  It was still very windy.  I had not slept because it was too rough and I was bouncing all over my berth.  Fortunately, I had the quarter berth so I didn’t need to worry about falling out of bed, but I still emerged feeling rather bruised.  It was very rough, windy, and wet.  Progress One had one very annoying feature.  There were scuppers that directed any water that landed on the deck into the cockpit, across the forward seats, and out the other side.  Since we tended to sit on the forward seats to shelter behind the dodger, this was most upsetting.  We had to stack cushions up high enough to keep our rears somewhat dry.

The wind dropped ten knots at dawn and by 7:30 an offshore had filled in enough to allow us to fly the jib for the first time since we started north.  We charged along through the gradually shrinking seas and made up all the time we had lost earlier in the night.  It seemed like I had just gone to sleep when Blair woke me at 10:30 AM to help with dropping the main and anchoring in Bahia Asuncion.  We anchored in twenty-five feet of water off the beach where the pangas launch, next to La Gitana.  Sachi barked at us to let Josh know that something was approaching the boat.  She kept a good anchor watch.

Asuncion

The Cove Where Juan Launched His Boat

It was quite windy and we were starting to see a southerly swell from hurricane Aleta in southern Mexico.  The swell was predicted to become quite large, so we wasted no time in calling Shari and Juan to come and get us so that we could fill our fuel jugs before it became too rough to do so.  It was already too rough to launch a panga from the panga beach, but Juan launched his little boat from a cove on the other side of the point and came around to get us.  We loaded four people, Sachi, and about ten fuel jugs into Juan’s boat and zoomed around the point through the building swell to the sheltered cove on the other side.  Despite the cold wind, we had all worn shorts and sandals so we could hop out into the water and help drag the boat ashore.

La Bufadora Inn

Shari picked us up in her truck and drove us the short distance to the La Bufadora Inn where she generously allowed us to take showers in two of the rooms that hadn’t been cleaned yet.  We showered and sat in the sun on her lovely, sheltered patio, enjoying the view until all of us were clean and presentable.  Then Shari drove us into town where we bought her lunch at Mary’s Loncheria.  The food was mediocre, but cheap and filling.  I drank a beer and split a second one with Shari in hopes that it would help me to sleep later.  After lunch, Brad and I bought a few groceries from the store across the street while the others went to the Pemex station to fill the fuel jugs.

Mary's Loncheria in Asuncion

The swell was continuing to build, so we wasted no time in driving back to the beach and unloading the fuel.  With all the heavy fuel jugs, we needed to make two trips to transfer everything to the boats. Josh and Blair went first with the jugs we had borrowed from Juan so that they could transfer the fuel to La Gitana while Juan came back to get us.  Juan’s little boat looked very low in the water as they headed through the swell and out of sight around the point.  Shari took Brad and me back to the inn to wait.

The La Bufadora Inn had six rooms and catered to fishermen and the odd tourist coming to see the whales in Laguna San Ignacio.  It was a quirky place built from a variety of materials over the years.  The rooms were comfortable and reminded me of a guest room at your grandmother’s house.  Brad and I basked in the sun until we saw Juan coming back around the point and then we headed back down to the beach.  The tide had come in which made it easier to launch the boat.  We loaded the remainder of the fuel jugs and our groceries into the boat and then waded into the freezing, 58-degree water until the boat was free of the land and we could hop aboard.

Brad on the Patio at La Bufadora Inn

We had a very wet and somewhat terrifying ride back to Progress One.  I was on the windward side and took the brunt of the spray, soaking my fleece and shorts.  Huge waves towered over the rear of the boat, threatening to swamp us, until Juan gunned the motor and we shot forward out of their paths.  It seemed to take forever to gain the point.  It was somewhat less windy on the other side, but the swells were larger.  Fortunately, they were far apart and we were able to get the fuel jugs and ourselves back onto the boat with only a few minor cuts and scrapes, although the boarding ladder came unlatched and might have sent Brad into the drink if Blair hadn’t grabbed his backpack.  I was completely drenched and nearly hypothermic, so I made a beeline for my cabin to put on dry clothes and then made a cup of hot coffee.

None of us had slept the previous night, so we all slept through the afternoon.  Everyone was concerned about the building southerly swell because Bahia Asuncion, where we were anchored, was open to the south.  As near as we could tell from the weather predictions, the coming night would be no worse than the one we had just endured, so we decided to leave for Turtle Bay that night once the wind dropped.

Once again, we were eager to be underway and we pulled up the anchor about 22:30 and motored out into the night.  The moon had not yet risen and it was pitch dark.  I knew that there were rocks and islands off to the right, but I couldn’t see them in person or on the chart plotter because the satellite overlay didn’t offer enough contrast from the dark blue of the water when in night mode.  I had to trust to the course drawn in bright purple on the chart plotter to navigate past these hazards which I found disconcerting.  Eventually, we were able to raise the main and start the autopilot.  I was then able to leave the helm to Blair and crawl back into the warmth of my bunk.

June 9-10, 2018

The Moon at Dawn

The night continued calm.  I got up and dressed at 3:00, thinking that we had started the watches at midnight when, in fact, we had started them at 1:00.  I wasn’t about to take all my gear off again and couldn’t crawl back into the quarter berth with it on, so I napped on Brad’s bunk for an hour.

The seas were calm but we had about fifteen knots of wind on the nose. I had to tack back and forth to keep the sail full.  My fleece was still too wet to wear, so I was glad that it wasn’t too cold or wet out.  I had to make do with two long underwear shirts and my foulie jacket.  The sun began to rise by 5:00 AM and cleared the mountains by about 6:00.  Its warmth was very welcome.  We made very good time, averaging over five knots all night.

Blair took the helm at 7:00 and I went below.  I had slept so well the night before that I had no desire to go back to sleep.  I made myself a cup of coffee, wrapped myself in my sleeping bag, and sat down to write.  Before I had even had a chance to bring my blog current with the past day’s activities, Blair was calling me on deck to prepare for arrival in Turtle Bay.  We had made it from Asuncion in ten hours, arriving in Turtle Bay at 8:30 AM.

Arriving in Turtle Bay

We had nothing to do and time to spare, so relaxed until about 15:30 when we went ashore to get some dinner.  We walked up the hill past the Pemex station to Restaurant Tortugas.  They appeared to be closed when we arrived but the owner opened the door for us.  She looked a little alarmed when we told her there were five more people on the way, but we were undemanding and happy to receive whatever she could give us and so she eventually relaxed.  When everyone had arrived, we had the crews of Scout and Progress One plus Victor from Dark Star and Josh and his dog Sachi from La Gitana.

The Former Fuel Pier in Turtle Bay

Alicia, the owner, was low on provisions but she had beef and chicken and managed to feed all of us a basic dinner.  There was good internet and we were in no hurry, so we spent a leisurely afternoon there, leaving well before dark.  A hurricane had demolished the floating fuel dock where we used to purchase fuel in Turtle Bay.  The proprietor, Enrique, now delivered fuel directly to the boats.  The former fuel pier had locked the gate when we returned and we couldn’t get to our dinghy.  We had to wait while the fellow came back to open the gate for us.  He was very nice about it.  The ride back to the boat was only slightly wet.  Brad and I had had a couple of beers and it was all we could do to stay awake until a reasonable bed time.

Sachi Visiting Progress One

We all slept peacefully and awoke early.  Sunday was a repeat of Saturday.  We lounged all day until 15:30 when we all went to Scout for mezcal margaritas provided by Josh from La Gitana.  After our drinks, we went ashore for dinner again.  This time, we tied the dinghy up to the ladder on the landward side of the gate.  Restaurant Tortuga was closed so we had to go to Maroco, the only place in town that was open.  They were a little bit apprehensive about letting Sachi in, but she was so well behaved that soon they liked her as well as everyone else did.  Sachi had definitely become the mascot of our entire gaggle of boats.

The wind had kicked up and the ride back to the boat was a bit wet, but I had worn nylon shorts and my foulie jacket, so didn’t get anything wet that I would need to keep me warm on the next passage.  Once again, we were sleepy after dinner and struggled to stay awake.  I worked on my blog.  We planned to get up very early the next morning to start the (hopefully) last leg of our passage, so didn’t have to stay up very late.

June 11-13, 2018

We got up at 3:30 AM on Monday morning, hoping to leave while the winds were light.  It was howling outside.  We had all gone to bed very early, so weren’t sleepy enough to go back to bed.  We made coffee and sat around, talking and playing with our phones, until 7:00 when we decided it wasn’t going to get any better so we might as well go.  We hauled up the anchor and I took the first watch as we motored out of the bay and headed for the Keller Channel.  La Gitana preceded us and Scout and Dark Star were close behind.

Leaving Turtle Bay

The wind abated somewhat after we left the bay, but seas were lumpy all day and it was tough to stay on course.  Scout soon passed us and La Gitana elected to pass inside of Isla Cedros but Dark Star stayed with us as we crossed the Keller Channel and continued up the west side of Cedros.  I came back on watch at 16:00 when we were about half way up Isla Cedros.  My watch was uneventful.  We stayed in radio contact with Victor on Dark Star.  Scout was already north of Cedros.

Dark Star off Isla Cedros

When my watch ended at 19:00, I cooked up some hamburger and made fusilli with meat sauce for dinner.  It was fairly rough while I was cooking and Blair joked that we should start a reality show called Extreme Galley.  It felt good to get some hot food in us.  I tried to sleep after dinner, but it was too rough.  I had napped for maybe an hour during the afternoon but was dragging when I came back on at 1:00 AM.  I had to drink a diet coke to stay awake during that cold and lonely watch.  A freighter passed us going south and we could see Dark Star as a small blip on the radar off our port quarter, about three miles back.

I went to sleep after I got off watch, having been awake for 25 hours, but only managed to sleep until about 8:30 because it continued to be rough.  I wanted to sleep more, but it was hopeless.  I got up and boiled some eggs.  We were starting to consider which foods we needed to eat before customs in San Diego made us throw them away.

I had a pleasant watch from 10:00 to 13:00.  The sun came out and it was almost warm.  Dark Star was still close by but was now off our starboard bow.  We were now north of Isla Cedros, crossing Bahia Vizcaino.  Despite predictions of lessening wind, it remained very rough.  I cooked up some hamburger patties for lunch and then tried to sleep.  I was exhausted and the continued rough seas were starting to get to me.  I needed to rest.

Sunset Crossing Bahia Vizcaino

I got up at 18:00 and made arrachera tostadas and mango and jicama salad for dinner before I went back on watch at 19:00.  I still didn’t have much of an appetite, so just ate a couple of bowls of salad for dinner.  It was surprisingly warm during my watch.  I had to take my jacket off.  Still, I was glad when my watch ended at 22:00 and I could crawl into my bunk for an actual night of sleep.

Brad woke me a few minutes before my 4:00 watch and I had to scramble to get ready in time.  I seldom overslept but had been quite exhausted.  The seas had abated somewhat and I was sleeping quite peacefully.  My watch was uneventful.  There wasn’t a soul around. Victor on Dark Star had headed for Ensenada as fast as he could go, being a single hander.  We continued to slog straight for San Diego. 

The clouds were resting on the water, obscuring the land as we passed San Quintin.  We could see the glow of lights and got cell service, which was welcome.  Days were running together and the grey skies and lumpy water seemed our whole world.  The passage seemed endless.  Blair got up and made we cocoa at 6:30 and we watched a large pod of dolphins leaping all around the boat.

When my watch ended at 7:00, I shed my foul weather gear and pulled out my computer to write while I finished my cocoa.  It was the first time in three days that it was calm enough to write without risking sea sickness.  After writing, I took advantage of the calm weather and made bacon and eggs.  Then I lounged until my next watch at 13:00.

The sun was out in the afternoon and it was very pleasant as we made our way up the coast.  After my watch, I made chicken thighs and potatoes for dinner, which we were able to eat sitting at the table without risk of our food flying across the salon.  We motored slowly north, gradually ticking off landmarks on the chart.

We were passing Ensenada when I came on watch at 22:00.  After a week of barely seeing a soul we didn’t know, there was suddenly a lot of traffic.  The U.S. navy was conducting an exercise off southern California and we could hear them hailing each other on Channel 16.  Warship 49 seemed to be coordinating operations.  There was a sailboat inshore of us, paralleling our course, whose AIS signal came and went all night.  The water temperature was ten degrees warmer than it had been further south, which resulted in warmer air temperatures as well.  It was a pleasant, if very dark, night.

June 14, 2018

Arriving in San Diego in the Fog

I had gone to sleep after my watch at 4:00, only to be summoned about 7:30 because we were arriving in San Diego.  Warships were chattering on the radio and we could see them all around us.  A Canadian ship passed us on the way down the channel.  There were two boats ahead of us at the customs dock.  They had already called the customs officers who were on their way.  I finished packing while I awaited our turn to clear in.

Canadian Warship

Blair had to call customs and give them our passport information over the phone so that they could do background checks before the officers processed us.  We waited for the other boats, but the process went pretty quickly once they got to us.  Apparently, there is some sticker that you need to have to enter the USA.  It costs $28.24.  It is best if you buy it online because, if you don’t have it, you will have to come up with exactly $28.24 or make a trip downtown to the customs office.  Paying the $28.24 to the customs officials will not get you a sticker, but it will get you into the country.  If you want an actual sticker, you will have to pay another $28.24 to buy one online.  This is only necessary if you plan to exit and enter the country more than once per year.  Stickers are only good until the end of the calendar year, so Blair opted to wait until 2019 before purchasing a sticker.  That this system was completely ridiculous was lost on the customs officers whose only response was, “It’s the government.”

The Crew of Progress One at the Customs Dock in San Diego

As soon as we were cleared, I said goodbye to Brad and Blair and we carried my bags up the ramp and down to the next dock where Scout had spent the night.  Two of Scout’s crew had left as soon as they arrived in San Diego and I had agreed to help sail the boat to Marina del Rey.

My Cabin on Scout

Scout, a Jeanneau 52.2 was a far cry from Progress One.  I was assigned my own cabin with en suite head.  We left almost immediately because the skipper, Greg, hoped to get to Avalon before dark.  Having been denied a much needed shower on shore, I showered aboard Scout as soon as we cleared the San Diego Channel.  It was grey and gloomy when we left.  Warships were looming out of the mist all around us.  Some of them looked very stealthy.  The radio chatter was continuous.  They seemed to have lost a target and civilian boats kept calling in its location as vessels encountered it adrift.  It was probably not as lost as it appeared. 

Greg at the Helm of Scout Leaving San Diego

The sky cleared somewhat as the day progressed and the wind, which was forecast to be ten to twelve knots in the area, rose to twenty with gusts to twenty-five.  We put up the sails and cut the motor, sailing at least half of the way to the island.  It was still very hazy out and we couldn’t see Catalina until we were about ten miles away.  Even then, it was indistinct.

It was nearly dark when we dropped the sails and hailed a harbor patrol boat to get a mooring assignment.  Being Thursday night, we were able to get a mooring very close to the shore in Avalon.  The moorings were very close together and Scout was very large but, between Greg’s skill and the bow thrusters, we managed to squeeze between two other boats and pick up the mooring without incident.  Moorings at Catalina are well designed.  A float with a long wand is attaching to the bow hawser, making it easy to pluck out of the water.  Following that line will eventually bring you to the stern hawser, although the arrangement of Scout’s forward fairlead and cleat took up so much of the line that we were never able to get to the stern loop.  We tied the line off on the stern cleat where we could and relaxed.

It was nearly 21:00 and we didn’t think we’d be able to find an open restaurant if we went ashore, so we stayed on the boat and I made penne with meat sauce for dinner.  We were all hungry after a long day.  By the time dinner was prepared and consumed and the galley put to rights, it was nearly 23:00 and we were all ready to hit the hay.

June 15, 2018

Avalon Harbor

We rose early and called the shore boat to take us to shore for breakfast at the Pancake Cottage.  The waiter very kindly offered me the senior breakfast which, with a large pancake, two pieces of bacon, and a couple of eggs, was still more than I could eat.  The restaurant was on the waterfront and we enjoyed the view as we absorbed coffee and calories.  

After breakfast, Greg went back to the boat to secure a slip reservation in Marina del Rey while Wally and I strolled around Avalon and out to the casino.  We couldn’t go inside but enjoyed the impressive murals in the entry.

Mural Outside the Casino

Avalon

We pulled out of the harbor before 10:00 and headed for the mainland.  The wind just was not cooperating, so we had to motor all the way.  It was Father’s Day weekend and there was a steady stream of boats heading to the island from Long Beach and Marina del Rey.  Seeing so much traffic seemed very foreign after a thousand miles of empty water.

We crossed over to Point Firman and then entered Santa Monica Bay.  We passed a large pod of dolphins on the way.  We were still a couple of hours away from the marina, but it seemed like we were home as we passed familiar landmarks.  Finally, we slipped into the southern entrance to the breakwater and headed for the fuel dock.  We dropped the main at the entrance to A Basin and then circled in front of the fuel dock until space opened.  After filling the tanks (The attendant was surprised to hear a sailboat ask for a hundred gallons of fuel.) we motored slowly down B Basin looking for our slip assignment of 1717.

Scout at Burton Chace Park

The slip was the second one in from the seawall and barely wide enough to accommodate Scout.  We had to squeeze the fenders between the boat and dock.  It was a masterful parking job on Greg’s part.  Unfortunately, when Greg reported to the office to check in, the Assistant Dock Master refused to honor the reservation made by the Dock Master and we were forced to move across the main channel to the public docks at Burton Chace Park.  We finally parked the boat at 17:30.