MARINA DEL REY TO LA CRUZ 2021

 October 26 – 27, 2021

My friend, Karen, gave me a ride to the Puerto Vallarta Airport and dropped me in front of the Covid testing tent. The line was short and, as I was aleady in their system, I was whisked along to the cashier and, 500 pesos (about $25) later, into a testing cubicle. They told me I could expect to receive my results via email in 30-45 minutes. I went into the airport and got myself some lunch while I waited. I had given myself three hours to complete the whole checking in process, but couldn’t make any more progress until I had my negarive test results. I waited and waited. The line to check in appeared very long and, after an hour and 15 minutes, I began to get concerned. I went to the results window at the tent, but there was no one there. Fortunately, they were still not busy and the young woman at reception was able to get my results for me.

Results in hand, I hurried over to immigration to check out of the country. As a legal resident of Mexico, I didn’t have a tourist card to surrender, so I had to get one from immigration before checking in. Fortunately, the long line I had seen was not for American Airlines and I was able to go straight to the check in counter. I got to the gate shortly before they began boarding. The flight went smoothly.

Upon arrival at LAX, I collected my bag and then went about trying to get an Uber to the marina. Every airport is different, but most of them now have a designated area for Uber pickups. At LAX, this area was in a parking lot outside the airport and I had to take a shuttle bus to get there. I was shocked (and fairly horrified) to discover that an Uber to the marina cost nearly $50. We would later discover that, at peak times, a taxi was actually cheaper.

Brad met me at the boat and Curt arrived shortly thereafter. Brad made me some soup and homemade bread for dinner and then went home for the evening. Greg, from Scout, stopped by for a short visit and then we all made an early night of it.

The Crew of White Wind in Marina del Rey

The next morning, Curt and I walked to Noah’s Bagels for breakfast and returned just in time to meet Brad. After taking some crew pictures for us, Brad’s wife and dog left us and we set about taking an inventory of the food on hand and making a shopping list. We made a quick trip to Costco and then headed to Ralph’s for the majority of our shopping. After loading our shopping onto the boat and stowing all the goods, we went out for a late lunch at California Pizza Kitchen before delivering Curt’s Jeep to the long term parking garage at the airport. We had no luck getting a signal with Brad’s phone, so we couldn’t call an Uber. We hailed a cab, instead, and were pleasantly surprised to learn that the metered fare was half of what I had paid the day before.

We had planned to go out for dinner, but made do with snacks and a beer before hitting the hay early.

October 28 – 29, 2021

We couldn’t leave the marina until the office opened, so we spent the morning filling the water tanks and stowing last minute items. At 9:00, we returned the keys and set out for the fuel dock. After fueling and purchasing last minute snacks, we headed out the south entrance of Marina del Rey and were on our way.

Glassy Seas

Seas were flat and nearly glassy. We had to motor, but we made good time.  There was a shortage of truckers and cargo ships were unable to unload.  There must have been a hundred ships anchored outside the Port of Los Angeles.  We wove our way through the obstacle course.

Anchored Ships on AIS

The day passed uneventfully. I made pork chops with salad and macaroni and cheese for dinner and we began our watch schedule at 19:00. We had decided to keep rotating three-hour watches. Curt had the first watch from 19:00 to 22:00, followed by Brad from 22:00 to 1:00. I came on at 1:00. There was a beautiful half moon that gave plenty of light. It was very damp, but not terribly cold. The three hours passed very quickly even though I had forgotten my headphones and my phone died and wouldn’t allow me to charge it from the cockpit outlets because it sensed the dampness and told me to unplug it immediately. We were just passing the Coronados when Curt came on watch at 4:00.

I went back to sleep after my watch and slept until it got light around 7:00. It was much warmer when I got up. About noon, I made bacon and eggs and we had a nice brunch. We pulled into the Cruiseport Marina in Ensenada at 14:00.

We couldn’t leave the vessel until we were cleared by the public health official. She didn’t arrive until nearly 16:00. She took down the information from our vaccination cards and took our temperatures and then pronounced us free to go. We went up to the office to check into the marina, but it was too late to go to the port captain that day.

The Cruiseport Marina Office

Greg stopped by to say hello and we met some of his crew. Then the three of us shared a bottle of wine before meeting up with the crew of Scout for dinner at the lasagne restaurant just outside the marina. We were all in bed before 21:00.

October 30, 2021

White Wind in the Cruiseport Marina

Having gone to bed early the night before, we were all up early enough to have a leisurely morning before heading up to the office at 9:00 to meet the marina employee who took us to the port captain’s office and immigration. Despite being relatively empty, the process took a couple of hours and it was nearly noon by the time we returned to White Wind. I made some oatmeal while Brad and Curt transferred the diesel from the jerry cans into our tank. After breakfast, they took a cab to a gas station and refilled the jugs with diesel. Not long after they returned, we received our exit papers and were free to go. We left the marina about 14:00.

Leaving Bahia Todos Santos

It was a cold, gray day. We motored across the bay and took the channel between the islands before turning south. Curt took the first watch at 16:00 but, halfway into his watch, we discovered that the bilge was full of diesel. I took the helm while Curt and Brad looked for the source of the leak. It turned out that we had overfilled the tank and it was leaking out of the top of the tank where the sender was attached. We increased the RPMs on the engine to burn off fuel a little faster and they mopped up the mess. Brad had been concerned that everything was going too well and actually relaxed a little after we had detected and corrected a problem.

Just before dinner, two whales crossed just in front of our bow. While boaters are directed to stay at least 200 yards away from whales, no one tells the whales to give boats a wide berth. They passed so close I feared we might hit one.

I made chicken masala with veggies for dinner and Brad took his watch at 19:00. I wrote for an hour or so, trying to get caught up on my blog which I had neglected for over a year. Then I took a little nap before my watch which began at 22:00.

It was cold and overcast with no moon, but much drier than the previous leg. I was comfortable enough and saw very little except the light at Punta Colonet and a fishing boat lit up like the sun that appeared on neither radar nor AIS. After my watch, I stayed up, reading, for a couple of hours and then slept until my alarm went off in the morning.

Halloween, 2021

Isla San Martin

Curt wished me a happy Halloween when I emerged from the forward cabin. There was a bag of candy set out in the cockpit. I took some cocoa and a bowl of granola up with me and stood my watch from 7:00 to 10:00 alone. It was dismal and cold and no one wanted to sit outside unnecessarily. We passed Isla San Martin on my watch and saw no one except a panga in the distance and a freighter passing us on the outside. Curt relieved me at 10:00 and I went below to write. At noon, I reheated a leftover pork chop and the remainder of my lasagne to help in emptying the refrigerator, which was crowded with leftovers.

I napped for a couple of hours and then came back on deck for my watch at 16:00. Our autopilot had mutinied in my absence and, while doing an admirable job of holding a course, refused to be turned off, even when turned off at the breaker box. The moment we put it on standby, it described a circle and fought for control of the boat. We figured we could anchor under autopilot in Turtle Bay, so left it alone for the time being, not wanting to upset it so that it might stop functioning. Being Halloween, we nicknamed it Chuckie.

It Got Dark Early on Halloween

It grew cold and dark early on my watch and was too overcast for a nice sunset. We caught a large clump of floating kelp and had to stop and reverse to dislodge it. I was on watch during the dinner hour and Brad wanted to use up leftovers, so no one prepared dinner. After my watch, I made myself a quesadilla and ate a banana. Then I read for a bit and had a snooze before my watch at 1:00.

November 1, 2021

It wasn’t a bad night for standing a watch. It was dry and the seas were calm. We made better than six knots all night, touching seven knots at times. The moon threatened to come out as we neared Cedros Island, but then retreated behind the clouds. We saw no one.

Curt’s alarm went off at 3:00. I went below to verify that it was his alarm I was hearing and to make sure he was still alive. I found him snoring peacefully next to his beeping phone. As he wasn’t due on deck for another hour, I left him alone, figuring he would wake when next he drifted out of deep sleep. I was wide awake and not uncomfortable. He finally appeared, bleary eyed, about 4:45, grateful that I had let him sleep. I went below and slept until nearly 8:00. The gentle rocking motion of the boat had provided all of us with a good night’s sleep.

Passing Cedros Island

The sun was out when I came on deck and we were passing Cedros Island and headed for Natividad. Dolphins leapt about the boat. We reversed to shed another lump of kelp. The sun was welcome after days of overcast and I stayed on deck through my watch from 10:00 to 13:00 before repairing below to write.

We pulled into Turtle Bay about 14:30 and dropped anchor off the end of the pier. Hardly had we dropped the anchor when a panga approached us to ask if we needed fuel. I was assigned the duty of negotiating with the fuel guys, since I could speak Spanish. I told them we needed about 159 liters, so they went back for the boat with the large fuel tank.

Turtle Bay

I chatted with the fuel guys while we were tying their boat alongside and agreed on a price of 32 pesos per liter. The fuel guys had purchased a new spigot in anticipation of the Ha, Ha fleet’s arrival. We were their first customer and they had to hack the end of the spigot off with a saw before it would fit in the tank. We lent them a pipe wrench to tighten the spigot onto the hose and reamed out the spigot to keep metal shavings out of our fuel. Then I called out the quantity as we filled the tank and jerry cans. Turtle Bay has been known to cheat sailors or charge exorbitant prices, but we had no problems and concluded our transaction in a friendly manner. I lent Brad the pesos to pay them in cash and, not having been gouged, we included a tip.

Curt Barbecueing Hamburgers in Turtle Bay

We spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing and then barbecued hamburgers for dinner. Despite having slept pretty well the night before, we were all asleep by 20:00.

November 2, 2021

Dawn in Turtle Bay

We got up at 6:00, had coffee, and prepared to sail. By 7:00, we were weighing anchor and following three other boats out of Turtle Bay as the sun rose. It was quiet in the bay, but the wind picked up as the morning progressed. By 9:00, we were able to cut the motor and proceed under sail without losing speed. Then it became a race. We had lost two of the boats while we were motoring, but were fairly well matched with a sloop called Stella J. Curt took the watch from 8:00 to 11:00 and he and Brad enjoyed racing. We hit speeds up to 7.4 knots. I went below to write and get out of the wind.

Testing the Whisker Pole

We sailed right along until 10:30 when the wind died. Then we relaxed and drifted with what wind we had, knowing we could make up lost time with the engine if the wind didn’t fill in. I came on watch at 14:00. Brad casually mentioned poling out the jib and I took up the challenge, figuring it would give us something to do. Brad had never used White Wind’s whisker pole before and it took us a few tries to get the jib sheet run correctly. The pole closely resembled a spinnaker pole, its butt being attached to the mast and running up and down on a track. It was odd to attach a pole to the clew of a roller furled sail and I didn’t quite trust it. We had a spinnaker halyard to use as a topping lift, although we had to be careful to keep it from getting furled up in the jib. We did not, however, have any sort of a foreguy and the pole bounced a lot. I kept a sharp eye on the forestay, as a Hunter has no backstay. Still, we made good time, zooming along at seven knots until the wind began to die near the end of my watch and we stowed the pole.

I made chicken and rice with tomatoes and chiles and went down for a nap about the time Brad took the watch at 20:00. The wind built into the low twenties and the boat began rolling uncomfortably. I was unable to sleep. We were sailing nearly dead downwind when I took the watch at 23:00. The wind speed had dropped to the low teens, but the seas remained lumpy. It was warm enough that I had to remove my coat. The wind continued to drop and then began to blow lightly on our nose. Brad had headed slightly inshore in an attempt to make our passage more comfortable. I returned us to our course, hoping that sailing close hauled would steady the boat. It made little difference. We rolled all through my watch and it took nearly the length of the next watch before I found a place I could sleep without sliding onto the floor or being brained by loose water filters.

November 3 - 4, 2021

I got up at 7:30 and blearily prepared to take my watch at 8:00. I had not slept much. The temperature outside was pleasant, but the rolling persisted. The wind had returned to our stern. We had lowered our speed during the night, trying to improve the ride, but had decided just to make a run for Bahia Santa Maria with the day.

My watch was uneventful. Several sport fishing vessels appeared on the AIS, but we never saw any of them. For the first time, I had difficulty remaining awake. I was glad when Curt relieved me at 11:00, but was still unable to sleep. I got up at 14:00, made some udon noodles for lumch and then sat down to write. Sleeping crosswise in the settee had been my best position, earlier, and I tried, again, to nap there after lunch.

Sunset at Sea

I came back on at 17:00. We had talked to our friend, Blair, on the radio. He had ducked into Bahia Santa Maria to avoid the swells, but had resumed his journey a couple of hours before we got there. He had weather information and promised us a night with good wind and gusts up to twenty.

As I was on watch, Brad made burritos for dinner. I saved mine until after my watch at 20:00. I wasn’t hungry and preferred to wait and watch the sun set. We were passing Bahia Santa Maria when I came back on watch at 2:00. The swell had died down and the gusty winds never materialized. We enjoyed a pleasant ride south.

We put up the pole and sailed for a couple of hours on Friday morning, but the wind died and we were forced to take it back down and motor. We soldiered on. Curt made chili and cornbread for dinner. It was finally warm enough to spend the night on deck in shirtsleeves and I began to feel that we were truly in Mexico.

November 5, 2021

I had the 5:00 to 8:00 watch and got up to find Brad drifting off Cabo Falso, waiting for dawn so that Curt could see Cabo San Lucas as we passed. By 6:00, all three of us were up. We had overshot the cape by more than we realized and it was after 8:00 before we passed Cabo. All of a sudden, there were a hundred boats issuing from the harbor and speeding off in all directions. A big fishing tournament was under way. By the time we reached the mouth of the bay, the boats had scattered and we scarcely saw another until late afternoon.

Passing Cabo San Lucas

We passed Cabo and headed for San Jose del Cabo. We had hoped to acquire a slip for the night, but the fishing tournament had every slip in the marina taken. We stopped to take on fuel and offload garbage, but found the little market/restaurant that had been near the fuel dock out of business. We didn’t really need anything, so we conducted our business and got out of there.

I had the watch from 14:00 to 17:00. We sailed most of that time, tacking back and forth, trying to clear the point so we could strike out towards Mazatlan. I rigged lines from the bow of the dinghy to the bow of White Wind and from each dinghy pontoon to the mast so that we could tack without fear of snagging the jib sheets on the dinghy. The weather was perfect and the water temperature was 83.5. Belatedly, we realized we should have anchored long enough for a swim. We enjoyed the respite from the engine noise until the wind died near the end of my watch and we rolled up the headsail.

After my watch, I prepared spaghetti for dinner and we had a relaxing meal in the cockpit. After passing a number of returning fishing boats in the late afternoon, we saw no one again that night. The water was flat, the skies were dark, and we were alone on the sea. It was bliss.

I was in such a state of relaxation that I somehow slept through my alarm and was half an hour late for my watch. Brad had started the process of baking bread and was letting it rise until morning. For some reason, he had our watch alarm, which usually goes off every 20 minutes, turned off and I spent a glorious watch alone with the stars, heading back to my bunk at 2:00.

November 6, 2021

Passing Freighter

I awoke before my alarm and rose to a nice, sunny morning. There was no wind, but the seas were calm and we were making good time under motor. I had the watch from 8:00 to 11:00 and Brad baked and served cinnamon raisin bread. A large freighter steamed past us at 18 knots about 10:00 and then we were alone again. When I got off watch at 11:00, I made smoothies for Curt and myself and cleaned the galley. Then I settled down to write. Time passed quickly but the days ran together and it became difficult to remember the course of events if I allowed too much time to pass between writing sessions. The previous two days I had spent my spare time diligently forcing myself to learn all the different scale positions of the guitar, something that I had been unable to find the time to do with all the chaos of moving, painting, and preparing for our voyage.

Sunset on the Crossing

We continued south all day, passing the Marias Islands. The prison was long closed and the islands converted to a national park, but they were still not open to the public, possibly because of the continued existence of booby traps intended for escaped prisoners. Many friends had tried to anchor there, but all had been run off after a single night, if not before. The weather continued fine and there was a beautiful moon to light our way, after dark.

November 7, 2021

The Marietas Islands

Morning saw us nearing Banderas Bay. We saw whales near the Marietas Islands. We sailed along the northern shore of the bay and finally dropped anchor in the La Cruz anchorage. Eager as we were to get ashore, we couldn't get the fuel tank for the dinghy to work, so had to spend another night in the anchorage until we could get a slip in Marina La Cruz. It was good to be home.

The Happy Crew in La Cruz