CABO TO LA PAZ 2018

November 9, 2018

Scout in Puerto Los Cabos

After spending several days with friends in Southern California, I flew to San Jose del Cabo on Friday afternoon where Greg, the skipper of Scout, and some of his crew met me in a huge Chevy Suburban and escorted me back to the boat in Puerto Los Cabos.  They had just completed the Baja Ha-Ha and I was replacing one crew member who had departed.  This year’s crew consisted of Harvey and Jules from Venice, CA, Bob from Minnesota, and Mike from Davis whom I had met a couple of months prior at the Latitude 30 crew party.  Scout being a Jeanneau Sun Odyssey 52.2 with three cabins and three heads, we were a full boat but not overly crowded. 

Back at the boat, we had a welcome beer, chatted for a bit, and then repaired to El Marinero Borracho (the drunken sailor) for dinner.  The weather was perfect for al fresco dining and it felt good to be back in Mexico.

November 10, 2018

Saturday morning, I got up early and went for a run around the marina and along a road paralleling the beach before turning inland and finally following the road back to where I started.  I returned in time to join the others for breakfast across the street.  We spent a leisurely morning and early afternoon and readied the boat for our departure the following day. 

At 2:00, we hopped in the car and headed for Cabo San Lucas proper.  Our first stop was the Costco where we stocked up on beverages and a couple of food items.  The Costco in Cabo has a lovely view from the parking lot.

View from the Cabo Costco

Our next stop was the Baja Cantina in the marina where we were due to meet my friend, Carlos, at 4:30.  We enjoyed drinks and then, when Carlos had failed to appear by 5:00, ordered dinner.  Carlos finally arrived just as we were leaving to go to the Baja Ha-Ha awards ceremony.  Since I had not participated in the Ha-Ha, I visited with Carlos for an hour or so and then joined the others.  The ceremony was long, but we stayed until the end to be polite.  We were more than ready to head for home and bed by the time it had concluded.

Jules was sleeping in a hammock suspended between the mast and the forestay, so I had one of the aft cabins to myself.

November 11-12, 2018

A norther was brewing in the Sea of Cortez.  We decided to head straight for La Paz, hoping to arrive before the blow.  We would have liked to leave early but had to wait until the rental car representative arrived to retrieve the Suburban.  We finally pulled away from the dock at 9:45, but then had to make a U-turn when we realized we had forgotten to return the gate keys.  We did a touch-and-go, handed the gate keys to the security guard, and ultimately left at exactly 10:00.

The East Cape

We had no useful wind, so we motored out of the bay and headed for the east cape.  The weather was delightful despite the lack of wind for sailing.  Everyone was enthusiastic and stayed in the cockpit nearly until the end of the first watch which Greg and I took from noon to 17:00.  Harvey made spicy chili out of a variety of canned goods and we had a warm and filling lunch about 15:00.

Sun Rays Approaching the Ceralvo Channel

Mike and Jules were on from 17:00 to 21:00 and I went below to try to sleep.  I had been nodding for the last 30 minutes of my watch and managed to nap for about an hour before waking and spending the next six hours staring at the ceiling of my cabin.  About 20:30 I got up and made myself a snack, hoping a full stomach would help me sleep, all to no avail.  We entered the Ceralvo Channel about the time I got up, but it was too dark to see anything.

Harvey and Bob had taken over at 21:00 and Greg and I relieved them at 24:00.  It was a very dark, moonless night.  There were several other boats ahead and behind us and we could see their lights and hear them on the radio.  All of us were pushing hard to get to La Cruz before the wind started blowing.  We were ahead of schedule and entered the San Lorenzo Channel about the time we took over.  We would have liked to slow down so as to arrive in La Paz in daylight but didn’t want the wind to catch us in the San Lorenzo Channel.  We slowed a bit but were still making over six knots.  We tried sailing for half an hour or so but, of course, the wind dropped until we were moving too slowly.  Finally, we motored on through the channel until we arrived in Bahia La Paz.

Bahia La Paz

Mike and Jules took over at that point and sailed the boat back and forth across the bay from 3:00 to 7:00.  The Ha-Ha had been windless and that night was the most sailing they had done for the entire trip.  The wind began to pick up when the sun rose, and they had a boisterous time.  I managed to sleep for a few hours until the seas got lumpy and woke me.

Greg’s reservation at Marina La Paz was not until the 15^th because he had planned to visit the islands before arriving in La Paz.  He didn’t have a slip assignment, so we sailed back and forth, listening to the net, until the office was open, and he could procure a slip.  Then we headed down the La Paz Channel to Marina La Paz.

After securing the boat, we headed up the dock, threaded our way through the coffee klatch at Club Cruceros, and wandered up the street to Coco’s for breakfast.  I had foolishly eaten a banana and a bowl of cereal early, so I settled for a strawberry licuado while everyone else had a nice breakfast.  Then we returned to the boat for much needed naps.

It was a lazy day of recovery.  Some of the crew explored the town while I stayed behind and practiced the guitar.  After a happy hour shared with our boat neighbors who were glad to see Greg returning, we all hiked up the hill and polished off two kilos of arrachera tacos at Rancho Viejo.  Some of our number still had room for ice cream and I went along for the walk up the Malecon to the ice cream store with the polka dot trees.  Bob and I stayed outside to avoid temptation.  By the time we returned to the boat, it was nearly 22:00 and time for a good night’s sleep.