THE 2024 BAJA BASH

June 12-13, 2024

Dawn in the Cabo San Lucas Anchorage

The plan was to get up at 5:00 and leave ASAP. When I got up, I discovered that something Brad had dug out of the refrigerator the day before had given him food poisoning. He wasn’t as sick as I’d been but was still pretty wrecked. I was in similar shape. Somehow, we managed to get the hook up and depart. Progress One had left an hour or so before us.

I took the first watch from 6:00 to 10:00 so that Brad could sleep. We had up to 15 knots of wind rounding Cabo Falso, but the seas were gentle and we were able to proceed at 6 knots. It was the easiest cape rounding any of us had ever seen. We caught up to Progress One during Brad’s watch from 10:00 to 14:00. I was still not able to eat much and just wanted to sleep, so I stayed below.

Passing the Cabo Arch

We ploughed along all day, making better than 5 knots. Progress One was struggling to make 5 knots in the big seas. The wind dropped to almost nothing. I took the watch from 14:00 to 18:00 and then went below to make macaroni and cheese with hamburger mixed in. It wasn’t haute cuisine, but we were both able to stomach a small bowl for dinner. I tried to sleep after dinner, but we had started slamming and I was unable to sleep.

When I came back on watch at 22:00, Brad had hardly hit the bunk before he requested that we slow down a little to stop the slamming. It was more comfortable, after that. It was a cold, dark night. There was only a quarter moon and it set around midnight. Still the wind was light, and the swells were large, but well-spaced.

Brad took the watch from 2:00 to 6:00 and I slept like a baby. We were both starting to feel better, although it was a slow process. It was hard to tell if I was queasy from food poisoning or seasickness. Maybe it was seasickness brought on by the food poisoning. Whatever it was, it wasn’t bad. I just didn’t want to eat.

Glassy Seas on the Way to Mag Bay

The seas were glassy when I came on watch at 6:00 on Thursday morning. I counted my blessings and chatted with Chuck on Land for Sail who had left that morning. He commented that, “Good things come to those who wait.” I spotted land before 7:00.

By the time I got off watch at 10:00, I was ravenous. I ate two bowls of mac and cheese and went back to bed. We were almost to Bahia Santa Maria by the time I got up at 14:00. The land surrounding most of Bahia Santa Maria is so low that it is difficult to tell exactly where everything is until you get quite close. The most sheltered anchorage is behind the hills on the north side of the entrance. While it is tempting to tuck into the northeastern part of the bay when you look at the chart, the low sand spit, there, offers no protection from wind.

Sunset in Bahia Santa Maria

We dropped the hook in 26 feet of water in the lee of the hills at 15:45. Progress One pulled in just as we were contemplating dinner at 18:00. We had pork chops and leftover mac and cheese for dinner. I picked the mango and jicama out of the salad I had made before I got sick and fed the limp lettuce to the fishes. We both retired early.

June 14, 2024

We had no reason to get up early on Friday morning. I woke up at 5:30, as usual, but soon went back to sleep until 7:20. The sun was up by then and the cockpit looked more inviting than it had in the early morning gloom. We drank coffee and Brad made smoothies. He transferred fuel from the jerry cans into the tanks and checked the engine fluids. I did dishes and worked on my blog. It was a day of rest between legs.

Panorama of Bahia Santa Maria

Boats began arriving in the early afternoon. Soon, Triumph, Anna Maria, Motu, Land for Sail, and another boat had joined us in Bahia Santa Maria. The weather predicted for Sunday had deteriorated a bit, so we decided to leave around midnight to try to make it to Asuncion before the wind kicked up. It got quite windy as the afternoon progressed and it didn’t stop when the sun went down.

Land for Sail in Bahia Santa Maria

I made salmon, potatoes, and salad for dinner and then lay down to try to sleep. The wind was howling. I started to have doubts about leaving that night, but knew it was our only window to get across for at least a week.

June 15-16, 2024

The wind had finally begun to abate by the time we got up at 23:30. Progress One was already pulling up their anchor and Land for Sail had their lights on. We paraded out of Bahia Santa Maria and turned north. It sucked. Brad took the first watch and I tried to sleep. Usually, it’s the creaking of the bulkheads that keeps me awake on White Wind. I couldn’t even hear that noise over the waves slamming into the bow. The seas were so rough that we would launch off a wave and then slam back into the water, the whole boat shuddering. The forward cabin was uninhabitable. Even in the main salon, I had trouble staying in my bunk. It was impossible to sleep.

Land for Sail at Dawn

I took over the helm at 4:00. The sky quickly began to lighten. I passed Progress One early in my watch. Land for Sail was close off my starboard beam. The clouds turned purple at dawn, but it was too cloudy to see the sun. Dolphins came to greet us. They came leaping out of the sides of swells. Their antics were quite acrobatic. The wind had only increased overnight. Most of the night it had blown a steady fifteen knots on the nose. By 6:00, it had increased to twenty. It was cold, but dry.

Our Dolphin Escort

I huddled below from 8:00 to noon when my next watch began. The sun finally came out about 13:00. The wind had dropped back to about fifteen knots, but the swells never abated. We continued to slam. Brad had slowed us down to 4 knots to prevent us from launching off waves quite so often, but we seemed to slam just about every time I started to relax.

My watch ended at 16:00 and I went below to huddle under blankets and try to warm my hands and feet. It was cold even in the cabin. I baked cornbread to serve with canned chili for dinner. The oven warmed the cabin, and I could finally take off my hat and coat. It was still very rough. When I tried to check the cornbread for doneness, the pot leapt out of the oven. I caught it with the door, but the cornbread, which wasn’t done, slumped to one side. Fortunately, it still tasted delicious.

I was back on from 20:00 to midnight. A fog had risen, and it was very damp. By the end of my watch, water was dripping from the canvas. My gloves were quickly soaked. We had left Progress One and Land for Sail seven or eight miles behind us. We had lost Starlink and were flying blind, weatherwise. Our experience did not correspond with the last models we had seen. Blair reached out to land-based friends via InReach for weather updates. They didn’t help much. It should have been more pleasant than it was.

The seas finally began to abate after Brad took over at midnight. The wind continued to blow at fifteen knots. I drank a cup of hot tea to warm my core and then collapsed into my bunk and slept like a rock, swaddled in three layers of blankets, until my alarm went off at 3:45.

Fog off Abreojos

All day, we had debated whether to try to reach Asuncion or just settle for Abreojos. Wherever we landed, we were likely to be stuck there for a week. Brad was miserable and just wanted to put the hook down and have it be over. Blair and I were unexcited about spending a week at Abreojos. As the seas flattened out and fishing boats began materializing out of the thick fog, the matter came to a head. White Wind had to turn if we were going to Asuncion. We conferred via the radio. Brad, who had thawed out and slept some, agreed to go along with whatever we decided. We restarted Starlink and looked at the weather. The forecast showed calm conditions all morning, increasing gradually in the afternoon to 15, gusting to 20, by early evening. White Wind would probably be anchored by then, but Progress One was two hours behind. Still, the day’s peace was all we could see for the next week. That fact, combined with the fog, inclined us to stay offshore and head for Asuncion. I made the turn. We were committed, but it looked like we could avoid the worst of the wind by staying close to shore and could always bail out at Bahia Hipolito if things got too bad. My watch ended at 8:00 and I went below to drink hot liquid and write before crawling back under my blankets.

Arriving in Asuncion

It stayed foggy all morning, but wind and seas remained calm. We were able to roll out the headsail and made great time. I slept through my downtime and came back on deck at noon. It was still foggy. By this time. We were only a few miles offshore but couldn’t see anything but fog. Fishing pangas would suddenly materialize out of the murk. Going as fast as we were, it was disconcerting. Fortunately, we were able to see the shore just as we neared the anchorage in Asuncion. Usually, we anchor to the right of the pier but, as we entered the bay, I saw numerous fishing floats marking nets strung in that area. By 14:30, we had the hook down near Moon Nah Mah Na and Anna Maria.

We relaxed for the rest of the day.

June 17-18, 2024

By the time we got up on Monday morning, some of the other boats had already arranged for Fernandito (Lery Espinoza’s substitute) to bring them fuel. We decided it would be better to get our fuel in the morning when it was calm, so we arranged to do so on Tuesday morning.

We hung at anchor all day. It was windy and the boat was sailing around its anchor. I took the opportunity to make spaghetti sauce with the hot Italian sausage I had found at Walmart. My stomach was already a little iffy, but I still enjoyed my dinner. Not for long, however. Shortly after I went to bed early, I was up again to vomit. The rocking was quite pronounced in my forward cabin, and I was seasick. I vomited until the coffee I had drunk for breakfast came back up. It wasn’t until 2:30 that I was able to go to sleep. The lack of exercise was playing havoc with my digestion.

I slept until 8:20. Fernandito was supposed to fuel Progress One at 7:30 and get to us at 9:00. No sooner had I gotten up and dressed than Fernandito arrived at our boat. I threw some shoes in a dry bag and hopped in his boat, forgetting to bring my phone which was still tangled in my unmade bed.

Getting ashore was uneventful. Fernandito drove his launch up onto the sand and we hopped out between waves. Then he hitched his boat to his truck with a line and hauled it above the waterline. Brad and Darren from Land for Sail set off with Fernandito to the Pemex station. I was shaky and ravenous and set off in search of food.

After walking a little way towards where I thought there might be a restaurant, I realized that I wasn’t in any shape to be walking. I retraced my steps to the market near our landing and bought some electrolytes and cinnamon rolls. I sat in the sun and nibbled at my breakfast. A local dog joined me and snuggled up to me. His warmth was welcome.

The original plan had been for me to wait ashore until Blair and Doctor Mike arrived and then walk around Asuncion. I quickly realized that I needed to rest. When Fernandito and the guys returned, I decided to go back to the boat with them. Getting the boat back into the water with fifty gallons of fuel and four people turned out to be a challenge. Fernandito did a mighty job of keeping us from turning sideways and rolling over, but we still got swamped by a big wave. We were soaked to the skin. That was the last thing I needed in my condition. I spent the rest of the day huddled under blankets, trying to get warm.

The Lights of Asuncion

I didn’t want to eat anything that might plug up my system, again. It was dinnertime before I dared to eat some jicama and mango salad and a kiwifruit. A little later, I heated up some beans and those hit the spot for both of us. They were warm and filling.

We planned to make the jump to Turtle Bay later that night. I sat down to write a bit before trying to catch another forty winks.

The wind died down, nicely. Seas were flat. We pulled up the hook at 23:00 and headed out of the bay. Land for Sail was right behind us and Progress One soon followed suit. Eventually, Moon Nah Mah Na joined the parade. I wondered what the residents of Asuncion thought of the fleets of sailboats that mysteriously appeared and disappeared in the middle of the night.

June 19, 2024

Land for Sail in the Moonlight

There was a bright moon and we had good visibility. Land for Sail stayed nearby all night. Progress One quickly fell behind and was passed by Moon Nah Mah Na. I had the first watch until 3:00. While we started off making good time with calm seas and barely ten knots of wind on our nose, we soon ran into adverse current and slowed to three knots. Blair on Progress One was the voice of gloom and doom, certain that he would get stuck in the following afternoon’s blow before reaching Turtle Bay. Moon Nah Mah Na passed us just before the end of my shift.

Brad took the watch from 3:00 to 7:00. He increased the engine RPMs and headed closer to shore and managed to shake the current. Soon, we were making five knots, again. I was able to sleep during my off time. By the time I woke up, it was clear that we would make Turtle Bay long before the wind kicked up.

I took the watch, again, at 7:00. We passed Land for Sail as we made the turn to head into Turtle Bay. We stayed fairly close to shore, although I headed slightly away from shore to avoid the kelp that grew at that latitude. It wasn’t foggy or particularly windy, but it was still chilly. Brad came on deck as we passed the reef, and we took in the mainsail as we crossed the bay. We anchored under the cliffs to the left of town at 10:25. Progress One arrived about noon.

At Anchor in Bahia Tortugas (Turtle Bay)

We were immediately accosted by a panguero offering to supply us with fuel. We didn’t need any but did ask him to come back the next morning to take us into town. Once the boat was settled, I took a long nap.

By 16:00, I just couldn’t sleep any more. I got up and spent the afternoon reading and writing. It grew windy in the afternoon, but calmed once the sun went down.

June 20-21, 2024

Turtle Bay Pier

It was calm and sunny when we got up on Thursday morning. I drank my cocoa in the sun and warmed up for the first time in days. Ernesto, the panguero, came to get us at 9:30. He didn’t like where we were anchored, although he relaxed once we told him we had 200 feet of chain out. The issue was that, had we drug, there was a reef behind us.

We went ashore, visited the grocery store, and dropped off our laundry for Ernesto’s wife, Dolores, to do. They had a litter of very cute puppies for us to play with. Blair and Doctor Mike set off to explore the town, but Brad had become concerned about our anchor. We headed back out to the boat and moved closer to Progress One.

Party on Land for Sail

We lounged around the boat until 16:00 when we all went over to Land for Sail for happy hour. The crews of Juliet, Triumph, White Wind, and Progress One were all in attendance. We had quite a spread of appetizers and Joseph from Triumph brought his rum keg. I was still babying my stomach, so didn’t imbibe, but Doctor Mike brought me some antibiotics that he hoped would clear up my digestive woes. We spent a very pleasant couple of hours putting faces to the names on our What’s App group and voices on the radio. We exchanged gossip about mutual acquaintances, and I received a tip about a boat that might need crew to go to the South Pacific in 2025.

I was, however, glad to get back to our boat where I was able to make something to eat and drink that wouldn’t upset my stomach. I was ravenous after not having eaten much for three days. Thursday was supposed to have been the windiest day and the forecast for outside the bay looked horrendous. It was a little breezy inside the bay but had calmed down by 18:00 when Charles from Juliet ferried us back to our boat. We passed a calm night.

Turtle Bay in the Morning

Friday morning was much quieter in our new spot where the fishing pangas weren’t racing around us at the crack of dawn. It was more overcast than the day before, so I didn’t venture outside until the sun came out around 8:30. Once again, Ernesto picked Blair, Doctor Mike, and us around 9:30 and took us to shore.

Johana's Restaurant

We walked up to the top of the town and then stopped into Johana’s restaurant near the big cell towers. She made us a delicious and hearty breakfast. It was the first real meal I had eaten in days. I wasn’t sure it was a good idea, but I couldn’t resist the huevos rancheros, although I resisted part of the crispy, fried tortillas. She had two cute chihuahua mix dogs and some adorable kitties to play with. We enjoyed a leisurely breakfast and chatted with a gringo motorcyclist who happened by. Johanna commented that all her customers were Americans. We were glad to see that at least some business came by land, since sailors all tended to arrive in clusters.

Baseball Field in Turtle Bay

After brunch, we strolled past the baseball stadium (Baseball is HUGE in Turtle Bay.) and checked out the soccer stadium under construction. Then I guided everyone down to the beach to see the plaza which none of the others had seen before. After we checked out the plaza and the Bahia Tortugas sign, we walked back to the small park near our laundry and stopped to sit in the shade while Blair made friends with the local dogs. Brad and I wandered up to the church, which I had never seen, and then continued on to check out the fishing co-op’s boat yard and very steep launch ramp. The operation was quite impressive. We discovered a boat parts store and a fuel station over there.

The Bahia Tortugas Sign

Blair and His Friend

Brad in the Fishing Co-op's Yard

After our walk, we picked up our laundry and caught the family in the middle of their dinner. Ernesto and his teenage helper finished their meal and then met us at the pier to take us back to White Wind. Blair and Doctor Mike had wandered off and we had to round them up to catch the panga ride. We said goodbye to them at Progress One because we would not see them again once we left Bahia Tortugas. They were not stopping in Ensenada to check out as I was required to do as a legal resident. We never knew when we would see each other again.

Back at the boat, Brad put some raisin bread in the oven, cleaned out the engine strainer, and checked the fluids. I put away my laundry and sat down to write and swat the annoying but slow flies that tormented us. I soon dispatched them all. Then, it was naptime.

Sunset in Turtle Bay

June 22-24, 2024

Progress One Leaving Turtle Bay

The whole fleet left Turtle Bay on Saturday morning. Moon Nah Mah Na was first out of the bay. They went outside of Cedros, and we never saw them again, although we did hear them on the radio when we reached the top of Cedros. Progress One, ever the early risers, were next. Juliet followed. They sailed fast and we never saw them again, although we talked to them the whole way. They kept us apprised of what to expect. Land for Sail and White Wind left about the same time. Triumph brought up the rear. They also went outside of Cedros. That turned out to be the slower option.

We left at 6:00. As usual, I took the first watch. We followed the coast and then turned north inside of Isla Natividad. By 8:30, we were able to sail for a while. We passed Natividad sometime after 9:00. We saw a barge delivering kelp harvested at the island to Turtle Bay where it is used to make gelatine. We could see quite a village on the island but didn’t get close enough to discern details. I hadn’t taken the inside route since 2001 and must have been off watch when we passed that way as I had no recollection of having seen the island before. It was interesting. 

White Wind's Path North

Unfortunately, I slept through most of Brad’s watch from 10:00 to 14:00, so I didn’t see much of Cedros. By the time I got up, we were sailing well east of the island and couldn’t see details on shore. We had stayed within sight of Land for Sail and Progress One, although Progress One was falling behind. The seas were fairly large, but all coming from the same direction. Things wandered around the cabin and I found our mermaid figurine cozied up to the banquette in the dinette.

Brad Passing Cedros

I came back on watch at 14:00. It took another couple of hours to pass Cedros and start out across Vizcaino Bay. We had worried that it might be rough at the top of Cedros, but it wasn’t too bad. We had been tacking up the channel, “like an Americas Cup boat, “ according to Progress One. At the top of Cedros, we tacked west, following Juliet.

Brad took the helm at 18:00. It was just rough enough that neither of us felt like cooking or eating much. We grazed for dinner. Brad took in sail before it got dark and gave up on the sailing thing to make a beeline for Ensenada. We lost Progress One but remained close to Land for Sail.

There was a lovely full moon when I came back on at 22:00. It was a perfect evening and not too cold or damp. Perversely, it seemed to get warmer as we traveled north. Brad took over at 2:00 and the seas had calmed enough that I slept peacefully until 5:45.

Full Moon Over Vizcaino  Bay

The sun was just rising when I came back on at 6:00 on Sunday morning. While Saturday had been pleasant enough, we had seen more wind, all day, than the model had predicted. Sunday dawned just as calm as foreseen. The surface of the water looked almost oily. We motored north all day, keeping within sight of Land for Sail. Eventually, we lost radio contact with Progress One. A humpback whale surfaced between us and Land for Sail but he didn’t hang around.

It was nearly the longest day of the year and the sun didn’t set until 20:30. I made arrachera fajitas because we didn’t want to have to dispose of the arrachera at the border. Hamburger, we could toss, if necessary, but the arrachera was precious. Brad wouldn’t see any more until he returned to Mexico.

The sunset looked especially spectacular through the porthole in the main salon. The reality was disappointing when I popped my head outside to take a picture. I was off watch until 22:00 but there was a SpaceX launch scheduled for 20:45 and I didn’t want to miss it. I bundled up and went outside to watch it with Brad.

Sunset Through the Porthole

      It wasn’t fully dark when the rocket launched. We saw the streak of light as the rocket ascended from the horizon into the cloud cover. We could see a bright spot passing behind the clouds until it finally broke out of the band of clouds and gave us a spectacular show. The moisture in the air reflected the light from the rocket like a massive veil. We had definitely been in the right place at the right time to witness that launch.

I came back on watch at 22:00. It was colder and damper than the previous night, but still not unpleasant. Wind and seas were calm and we continued north along the rhumb line. The full moon rose just as my watch began and I had plenty of light to see. Land for Sail stayed just off our starboard bow most of the night. I went below at the end of my watch and slept soundly until 5:45. I had not napped the previous afternoon and passed out as soon as my head hit the pillow.

Morning Fog

It was very foggy when I got up on Monday morning. The fog lifted a bit by 7:00 and we were visited by a pod of dolphins. It warmed up quickly but visibility remained poor. By 8:15, I could see the rocks on the south side of the entrance to Bahia Todos Santos clearly, but still couldn’t see Isla Todos Santos.

Entering Bahia Todos Santos

Finally, the island loomed out of the murk and I made the turn into Bahia Todos Santos and headed for the Cruiseport Marina. Brad came on deck just before my watch would have ended at 10:00. He took the helm while I readied the dock lines and hung out fenders. We nosed into our slip just after 10:00, right on schedule.

Approaching Ensenada

First order of business was a shower. By the time I got my things together and came up the ramp, Brad had already checked in and was ready to go to the port captain. It would have been disrespectful to arrive at the port captain’s in my current state, so I insisted on a quick shower and a change of clothes before we left. We ended up having to wait for the crews of two other boats, anyway.

We were at the port captain’s by 11:30. It didn’t take long to clear through immigration, but we waited for nearly two hours before we could complete our arrival and departure paperwork with the port captain. Having only slept for about three and a half hours the night before and not having had breakfast, Brad had to poke me to keep me from dozing off and falling out of my chair. It was after 13:30 before we returned to the boat. The marina would take care of cancelling White Wind’s temporary import permit (TIP) after we departed. The TIP was due to expire and needed to be cancelled in case Brad were to want to sell the boat. He could apply for a new one if he returned to Mexico in the future.

Back at the boat, I made an omelette out of leftover sausage and cheese and then almost immediately passed out. Brad stayed awake and puttered around the boat all afternoon, transferring the fuel in the jerry cans into our tanks and cleaning the cockpit. I slept through it all and didn’t awaken until nearly 19:00. Even then, I wasn’t hungry. Brad made a quesadilla and I polished off the leftover mango and jicama salad. We shared the last packet of oreos. Brad retired early and I sat down to write until I could think about going back to sleep.

June 25-26, 2024

Waiting for a Cruise Ship to Manuever

We pulled out of the Cruiseport Marina at 7:00. It was cold and overcast. A huge cruise ship was turning around to back into the dock and we had to wait for him to manuever before we could pass. Brad took the first watch for a change. We put up the mainsail and motored across Bahia Todos Santos. I ate some leftover arrachera and a couple of eggs and tried to nap.

Brad called me up about 9:30 because a large pod of humpback whales were swimming parallel to us. They weren’t cavorting much but they blew constantly and we saw their backs and an occasional tail as one sounded. They kept pace with us until we put up a headsail and increased speed. The whales were making about 5 knots.

I took the helm from 11:00 to 15:00. Just before 14:00, we passed six tankers anchored off Rosarito. Marathon Oil (Arco) has built a fuel storage and transfer facility there which has increased the number of tankers visiting the port.

Brad took over at 15:00 and I went below to sleep. We approached the border about 17:00 and Brad began the process of clearing us into the United States using the CBP Roam application. It took some time and we had begun to think we might have to stop in San Diego before we finally received our clearance.

Sunset Passing San Diego

I took over at 19:00. The sun set at 20:00. There wasn’t a lot of wind, but the seas were rough and neither of us really felt like dinner. It wasn’t cold or damp, so I spent a fairly pleasant watch despite flailing all over the place. I watched the fireworks as we passed Seaworld. Brad tried to sleep.

I was just getting cold when Brad took over at 23:00. I made myself a hot chocolate and went straight to bed. It was hard to sleep. We were jerking around so much that I dreamt we were in a high speed chase while towing White Wind on a trailer. The moon finally came up during Brad’s watch.

It was colder and damper by the time I came back on watch at 3:00. We were off the coast of Orange County. The moon was hidden in the cloud cover but at least it was lighter. In the distance, I could see a cruise ship headed to Catalina. It started to get light about 4:30 but the sun didn’t climb above the marine layer until after 6:00.

The Sun Climbing Above the Clouds

Brad took over at 7:00. By that time, we were in the lee of Catalina and the seas had calmed down. I slept until 10:00 and then got up and made a grilled cheese and arrachera sandwich. We both stayed on deck as we passed Palos Verdes and sailed across Santa Monica Bay. We pulled into our slip in Marina Del Rey by 14:00. We were done with the bash!

The Breakwater at Marina Del Rey