WAITING TO BASH

Marina Puerto Los Cabos

Every year in May and June, boats gather in La Paz, San Jose del Cabo, and nearby anchorages, waiting for a weather window to begin the trip towards Ensenada and points north. Each crew has its own strategy, but they all seek at least two days with winds and seas benign enough to make it at as far as Bahia Magdalena. Weeks can pass without such a window. Captains get impatient and sometimes leave, anyway. Often, they turn back. Some struggle on, punishing crew and boat, alike. Rough seas continually halt the boat’s forward progress. A heavy boat with a strong engine can power through. Light boats get tossed about and catamarans get slammed underneath, as well as ahead. Even after the wind abates, the seas are rough for at least another day.

Insurance companies, fearing hurricanes, want captains to get their boats north of 27 degrees latitude before June 1^st, ignoring the fact that the weather prior to that date is usually impossible. White Wind and Progress One had both purchased extensions (excepting damage from named storms) through July 1^st. While the weather usually lets up sometime in June, more reliable weather doesn’t arrive until later. Hence, every year we stage somewhere and anxiously watch the weather forecasts.

White Wind arrived in San Jose del Cabo on May 28^th. Progress One had elected to wait in La Paz, hoping to join us when a weather window approached. Predict Wind showed us a 10-day forecast. There was no window for the foreseeable future. Brad paid the marina for the slip for a week, hoping things might change.

May 29 -31, 2024

Sculpture in the Plaza

Sunrise in San Jose del Cabo

I like walking in San Jose del Cabo. I got up early on the 29^th and walked into the center of town, a walk of about a mile and a half from our slip. It was very quiet. Nothing was open before 7:00 in the morning. I enjoyed the sunrise and the sculptures in the plaza. I made a loop and returned via the road parallelling the arroyo. I stumbled across the port captain’s office, which I had somehow never seen before.

Mission San Jose del Cabo

I came back and took a rather chilly shower and then Brad, Buddy and I walked over to Cafe El Puerto for breakfast. We hung out at the boat until it was time for Buddy to head to the airport.

It had been too early to drop our clothes at the laundry when we went to breakfast, so we walked back over there about 17:00 when it was slightly cooler. After having dragged our clothes a mile around the marina, we found the laundry inexplicably closed. I had walked over seven miles that day and my sprained foot was not happy.

Friday, we ate breakfast at the restaurant in the marina and then visited the marina office to inquire about renting a car. At nearly twice the price of a rental car in Loreto, we decided it would be more economical to take an Uber. The office staff assured us that the laundry was still functioning and should be open from 9 to 6. We called an Uber and dropped off our clothes before heading to the La Comer in San Jose del Cabo.

As Close As We Could Come to the Sunset

The La Comer was a nice store and we appreciated the wide selection. We could not, however, find any limes. They probably did have potatoes, but we ended up with three small jicamas, instead. We took another Uber back to the marina and hid in the boat. It was very hot. Unfortunately, there were also a lot of mosquitoes. The temperature was pleasant, outside, in the evenings but we were forced to install the mosquito netting and stay inside. I missed the lovely evenings in moonlit anchorages.

Our only mission on Saturday was to collect our clean clothes. Brad was suffering from the heat and didn’t relish the idea of walking back to the laundry. I was babying my foot, somewhat. We decided to put the dinghy in the water and row across to the fuel dock which was near the laundry. While Brad filled a couple of jerry cans, I scampered across the street and picked up the laundry. Then we rowed back to White Wind. I made arrachera fajitas for dinner.

June 1, 2024

San Jose del Cabo in the Distance

By Saturday morning, my foot was feeling well enough to take another walk. We needed limes and potatoes, so I set out in search of a farm to table restaurant/produce stand that I knew was nearby. On the way, I saw a sign for a nearby restaurant and decided to investigate. I never found the restaurant, but ended up taking a short cut across the hill topped by the giant cross and ended up back at the park adjacent to the marina. I didn’t realize that I had bypassed the turnoff to Flora Farms. Instead, I walked out the road towards the east cape until I hit the two-mile mark and turned back. I got a nice view of San Jose del Cabo in the distance and saw a lot of big, ugly houses under construction.

La Lupita Tacos

Sculptures Line the Marina

When I got back to the roundabout near the marina, I headed for the Oxxo to look for limes and potatoes. They didn’t have any but I did get a pastry and a vanilla cappuccino. A new strip mall had appeared behind the Oxxo. It contained an organic market (closed at that hour, of course), a pharmacy, a bakery, and what looked like a nice restaurant on the second floor. I had a nice stroll back to the boat, sipping my coffee.

By noon, Brad had finished his chores. He had purchased another week in the marina and decided to fly home until the weather improved. We decided to take an Uber into San Jose del Cabo to check out a restaurant recommended by a friend.

Just after noon, the Uber deposited us at La Lupita Tacos y Mezcal. It was more upscale than we had expected, but looked interesting. It was too early for drinking, but we were both hungry and the taco menu was intriguing. We each had one taco al pastor. Brad had a duck taco with mole and I had a barbequed lamb taco. All the food was amazing. We promised the waiter we’d be back, later, for drinks.

San Jose del Cabo

Frapuccinos!

Brad's Mirror

It was very hot, but we browsed through the toursit shops, looking for a small, ceramic framed mirror for Brad’s head. After visiting several shops, we found one but it had a blemish on the glass that they just couldn’t seem to remove. They offered Brad a discount, but he elected to keep looking. We wandered around in the heat for another hour or so and then stopped in a cafe for a frapuccino. After that, he decided to go back and buy the mirror. They had managed to remove the blemish in the meanwhile but still gave Brad the lower price. He bought the mirror and we went back to Lupita’s for our margaritas. Upon arrival, we were informed that we could not have drinks without also ordering food because it was election weekend and the sale of alcohol alone was prohibited. We weren’t at all hungry, so we walked back to the plaza and called another Uber to take us home. It was late by the time I made us quesadillas with leftover arrachera for dinner. Every night, we wanted to eat outside in the cool air but were plagued by mosquitoes. The natural mosquito repellent I had bought did little to discourage them.

June 2 – 5

White Wind in Marina Puerto Los Cabos

Sunday was kind of a lost day. It was too hot to do much. I spent most of the day working on my blog.
We rowed over to the fuel dock and then stopped to chat with some of the other boats that were waiting to bash. We formed a WhatsApp group to keep track of each other. We waited until well after dark before Brad barbequed a T-bone steak for us to eat with salad and leftover beans.

San Jose del Cabo Across the Wetland

Marina Pathways

Oasis in the Arroyo

On Monday, I got up early and took a two mile walk around the marina, beach, and palm grove. Nothing had changed much since 2020. Brad was busy making jalaeno cheese bread when I returned. I took a shower while I waited to get into the galley to make breakfast. Brad rowed over to the fuel dock for one last load of fuel and then we pulled the dinghy back up on deck. He took some cheese bread to the girls in the office and then left to fly back to Los Angeles. I spent a relaxing day practicing the guitar, avoiding the heat and ate the last of the chicken in green mole for dinner.

Brad's Jalapeno Cheese Bread

I meant to go for a walk on Tuesday morning, but didn’t feel very well when I woke up. My digestive system objected to the jalapeno cheese bread, apparently, as tasty as it was. I lounged around and then had a WhatsApp meeting with my homeowner’s association. The meeting was scheduled for 10:00, but we were all so confused by being in different time zones that we ended up having at 9:00.

The Cross on the Hill

I spent the afternoon reading and practicing the guitar and then walked over to the Oxxo to buy a bag of ice about 18:00 when it started to cool down. Our freezer kept things cold, but didn’t freeze water very well. I sat outside as long as I could tolerate the bugs and then went inside to make chicken thighs and tomatoes to serve over rice for dinner. Nerflix kept me entertained in the evenings. I recalled how I had first subscribed to Netflix streaming back in 2014 when I was stuck in Huatulco.

My guts were still not up to a walk by Wednesday morning and my sprained foot was still complaining about the short walk to Oxxo the night before. I was a mess. While it was boring to wait, I figured I could use the time to recover before we ventured around the corner. I spent another day reading, writing, and practicing the guitar, punctuated by texts and phone calls from other boats, trying to figure out what to do. We leaned towards leaving early on Saturday, but weren’t happy with the forecast for Sunday afternoon and evening. If we got slowed down by the seas, we’d get hammered.

Grey Goose left in the early morning, only to be turned back by 30 knot winds and sloppy seas. They left, again, later and reported 22-24 knots sustained winds and 5 foot seas. They turned back after their autopilot failed.  Tiddly, a 50’ power cat, also left. While they were slowed by the unpleasant conditions, they had enough power to plow ahead. I waited to hear how each boat would do as conditions were forecast to deteriorate on Thursday.

June 6-7,2024

The New Fence

Thursday morning, I tried to climb up to the cross on the hill as I have done several times in the past. I found a new chain link fence and gate blocking my way. Signs threatened video surveillance, so I elected not to circumvent the fence and climb up there, anyway. I hoped that the change hadn’t been the result of vandalism. I followed the other fork of the road until it dead-ended at a private house. Then I turned around and headed back to the main road. I followed the road around the section I had skipped when I was looking for Flora’s Farm a few days before. I found the turnoff, but decided against walking out there because it was already getting hot. I continued around to the roundabout near the Oxxo and returned via the marina walkway.

Coffee House

After breakfast and a shower, I humped my laundry ¾ of a mile around the marina to the laundry. I had to be ready in case we decided to leave on Saturday. After dropping off my laundry, I stopped into a coffee house nearby. The coffee house had a pleasant upstairs seating area, but my frapuccino was the most expensive and smallest one I have ever found in Mexico. I enjoyed the cold drink, but wouldn’t be returning any time soon.

After much conferring with Brad and Blair on Progress One, we decided to make an attempt on Saturday. Progress One left La Paz to sail overnight to Cabo. I amused myself in the usual fashion for the rest of the day.

A couple of boats left early on Friday. They reported winds of 25 to 35 knots. By 11:00, one had broken a dinghy davit and turned back. Another boat had a nervous moment when their anchor locker failed to drain and started leaking water into the boat. They located the source of the water and continued on. Conditions improved for them once they got out of the “blast zone” at Cabo Falso.

More Marina Sculptures

I walked back around the marina and picked up my laundry. I had hoped to rendezvous with Progress One at the fuel dock, but rough conditions slowed their progress and I missed them. Brad had arranged a flight for Saturday morning and hoped to be at the boat in time to leave around noon. I walked up to the marina office to try to find the port captain’s hours, but found the office closed. Lunch? Holiday? The posted hours showed they should have been open.

I took an Uber to the Walmart in San Jose del Cabo and bought provisions for our trip north. The forecast called for us to be in Mag Bay for a week, at least. I bought a lot of food and mineral water. We wouldn’t see another grocery store until we got to Turtle Bay and not much of one, there.

It was nearly 17:00 by the time I got back to the boat and stowed all the provisions. I was relieved to see that everything fit into the cupboards, freezer, and refrigerator. I was really enjoying the bag of ice I had bought, but it did take up a lot of space.

After I cooled off from my exertions, I swept out the cockpit. It had been windy and the cockpit was littered with palm blossoms.

June 8, 2024

We had planned to leave on Saturday. Brad came back from Los Angeles a couple of days early so that we could go. He arrived five minutes before the next weather report dropped. The wind came up just before he arrived. I started to get skeptical. The report wasn’t good. We conferred with Progress One and decided it was a no go. We thought we’d have a calm rounding of Cabo Falso and 40 or so hours before running into high winds near Mag Bay. The newest forecast (and our experience) showed more wind at the cape and earlier commencement of winds as we went north. Our window had shrunk to 24 hours.

Brad and I spent a relaxing day. I replaced some of the fishing weights securing our mosquito netting with a rod Brad had brought with him. Juliet made it to Mag Bay but reported the worst seas they had ever experienced for the last 20 miles before the entrance. He also regretted having left his dinghy on the davits. We came to the conclusion that the more experience you have with the bash, the more conservative you become about choosing your window. We were happy to wait.

Tresefes Upstairs

Lemon Mousse at Tresefes

Saturday night, Brad and I went to dinner at Tresefes, a new restaurant upstairs from the new market near the Oxxo. It was a very upscale place. We shared a plate of nachos and got one taco each. With nothing to drink but a bottle of Topo Chico, the bill still came to 770 pesos. However, portions were generous and everything was delicious. I got a beef rib taco which had so much meat in it that I couldn’t have eaten a second one. Brad’s fish taco had a large slab of fish in it. The nachos were more like little tostadas. We had to take a couple of them home with us. Our waitress recommended the lemon mousse for desert.  It was just about the most beautiful thing I had ever eaten, and tasty, too.  The mousse was encased in white chocolate in the shape of a lemon.  It was noisy on a Saturday night and I could have done without the three TVs, but it was overall a pleasant experience and the service was great.  It was a beautiful evening for strolling back to the boat.

Crescent Moon Over the Cross

June 9 – 10, 2024

Sunday and Monday were just more days of waiting. We got together with Chuck and Chad from Land for Sail and Grey Goose to discuss strategy. Progress One was still anchored at Cabo. Monday, my friend, Carlos, came over from Cabo and took us to lunch at Spicy Tuna, a new sushi bar in La Playa that had received good reviews. Brad and I split some excellent ceviche in plum sauce made from tuna, pulpo, and shrimp. Carlos ordered a sushi roll and some rice with shrimp. I had a little bit of his rice. The food was all tasty and we had a nice visit. It was good to catch up with Carlos. Unfortunately, he was too busy to come north with us, but he promised to visit me in La Cruz in July.

Brad grilled some fillets for dinner about 20:00. We had leftover risotto and I made a salad. We had eaten such a large, late lunch that I wasn’t hungry. I gave up after two or three bites of steak. We were both tired and wanted to retire early because we planned to leave for Cabo in the morning. I had no sooner gone to bed before I became violently ill from food poisoning. I couldn’t even keep saliva down. I vomited until 2:00 in the morning and had such awful cramps, chills, and sweats that I couldn’t sleep for more than 5 minutes at a time. I would have been sure I was going to die if I hadn’t had food poisoning before. Brad was fine. I would later learn that Carlos had also been ill. It must have been the shrimp in the rice.

June 11, 2024

Progress One at Cabo

I was pretty shaky in the morning, but managed to function well enough to help Brad get the boat out of the marina and stow the lines and fenders before going back to sleep. Seas were pretty calm and winds light as we made our way along the coast to Cabo, anchoring near Progress One by early afternoon.  Brad was on his own for food, that day. I still couldn’t stomach the idea of cooking or eating. He munched on leftovers and sandwiches.

It was noisy in the anchorage and there were a lot of boats. Progress One was anchored close enough for them to use our Starlink, but charter catamarans and power boats continually zoomed between us. We rocked some, but not enough to prevent me from dozing on and off all day. I was pretty wrecked. The lights of town were beautiful once the sun went down, but the music didn’t quit. I was glad we were only staying one night.