I apologized up front for this being such a long post but if I don't do it now I know I'll get preoccupied and forget. It covers leaving Ensenada through arriving in La Paz.
March 3, as we left Ensenada we had to avoid running over sleeping seals. I’ve never seen them do this at home but they’re oblivious to what’s going on around them.
Notes from my journal follow: Finally turned off the motor and started sailing doing 7-8 knots downwind. Cold at night. Watched the big dipper slide across the sky during my watches. We’re doing 1 hour on, 2 hours off between 6pm and 6am. It’s hard having to get dressed and go out into the cold from a sound sleep, I’m groggy and grouchy.
March 4, 1am watch a Princess Cruise ship came within 500 ft of us! It was huge. Close enough to see in the windows and get a wind draft off that moving mountain. Phosphorescence makes sparks in the stern wake and white lines etched into the black water, amazing to watch. Nighttime ritual for my watches at 7pm, 10pm, 1am, 4am--put on jog bra, t-shirt, fleece top, pants and sox, foulie bottoms, boots, jacket, 2 fleece hoods, harness and gloves. Then I go on deck. I reverse the order taking everything off after coming back in from my watch so I can sleep. Have developed an exercise routine to keep me warm and awake.
March 6, Turtle Bay. Sitting at the stern with hot tea and “The Story of Edgar Sawtelle”. I can watch and listen to the day unfolding. We arrived yesterday about 2pm. Jim and Teresa took the panga ashore while I stayed onboard listening to church bells and the rise and fall of conversation floating over from the fishermen. The wind periodically comes racing over the hills about 15 knots swinging us around on the hook (anchor). Only 4 other sailboats anchored here. The town looks small and pinched together into barren earth that changes colors with the sun. Dogs bark, pangas scoot across the bay and occasionally a car appears on a hidden road. I see no people or movement other than a white Ford van. Peaceful and languid. Now it’s noon and I’m swinging in the hammock on the foredeck watching pelicans make big lazy circles in the sky. Eventually one nose-dives into the water. I can’t imagine anything more relaxing than laying here in the hammock watching the pelicans. Maybe that’s what’s so special about this place. Without all the hoopla it gives you the space to just be. The wind pushes the hammock in a slow rhythmic rocking that’s both calming and comforting like being in a fresh air womb. Later a seagull sits in the water near me when I come up brushing my teeth. They’re smart and know to come around when we do things with our mouths.
March 7 we left Turtle Bay before 11am in a strong wind and sailed at a consistent 9 knots all day. It got warm enough to take my coat off! We sailed through a flock of pelicans feeding. Pretty cool. Saw several blow spouts from whales but none breeched. My memory of Turtle Bay is the cementerio Teresa and I visited. The graves were beautiful in their rawness and use of materials.
March 8, my 1am watch got off to a bad start with a loud boom over the v-berth where I sleep. The boom vang line broke and it took most of my watch to help Jim fix it then we had to make course corrections. I was wired after that so it was hard to sleep.
March 10, I’m laying in the v-berth (forepeak) just after 5:30pm. We’re headed toward Cabo after having left Magdalena Bay earlier in the day. The bay was huge, as big as the San Francisco Bay without the islands and bridges. We’d spent the better part of yesterday motoring to the far side by the pier but no pangas and we were too tired to inflate the dinghy. So we anchored in heavy wind and current for a night of rocking and rolling. After we left Mag Bay we sailed through several pods of dolphins. The last pod was huge, too many to count, and they stayed for almost an hour jumping in front of the boat and riding the waves.
March 11 started by seeing the last bit of sunrise. Later I had my first whale sighting, 4 whales coming up out of the water and flopping back down. Incredible experience. Then I got to see the sunset AND the full moon rise and climb into the sky. A big orange globe with darkish areas. What a day.
March 12 I'm thrilled to report we arrived in La Paz a couple hours ago. First and most essential was a shower. Hadn't had one since we left Ensenada. It's almost 6:30 here and the sun is about to set. Temperature is cooling a bit on deck and down below it's still warm. We plan on being here in the Palmira marina for a week. We all need some extended sleep as it wrecks havoc on the body I'll tell you. Now I'm having to adjust to land sickness, again. When I'm on land my equilibrium is still adjusting for the rocking of the boat.
Notes from my journal follow: Finally turned off the motor and started sailing doing 7-8 knots downwind. Cold at night. Watched the big dipper slide across the sky during my watches. We’re doing 1 hour on, 2 hours off between 6pm and 6am. It’s hard having to get dressed and go out into the cold from a sound sleep, I’m groggy and grouchy.
March 4, 1am watch a Princess Cruise ship came within 500 ft of us! It was huge. Close enough to see in the windows and get a wind draft off that moving mountain. Phosphorescence makes sparks in the stern wake and white lines etched into the black water, amazing to watch. Nighttime ritual for my watches at 7pm, 10pm, 1am, 4am--put on jog bra, t-shirt, fleece top, pants and sox, foulie bottoms, boots, jacket, 2 fleece hoods, harness and gloves. Then I go on deck. I reverse the order taking everything off after coming back in from my watch so I can sleep. Have developed an exercise routine to keep me warm and awake.
March 6, Turtle Bay. Sitting at the stern with hot tea and “The Story of Edgar Sawtelle”. I can watch and listen to the day unfolding. We arrived yesterday about 2pm. Jim and Teresa took the panga ashore while I stayed onboard listening to church bells and the rise and fall of conversation floating over from the fishermen. The wind periodically comes racing over the hills about 15 knots swinging us around on the hook (anchor). Only 4 other sailboats anchored here. The town looks small and pinched together into barren earth that changes colors with the sun. Dogs bark, pangas scoot across the bay and occasionally a car appears on a hidden road. I see no people or movement other than a white Ford van. Peaceful and languid. Now it’s noon and I’m swinging in the hammock on the foredeck watching pelicans make big lazy circles in the sky. Eventually one nose-dives into the water. I can’t imagine anything more relaxing than laying here in the hammock watching the pelicans. Maybe that’s what’s so special about this place. Without all the hoopla it gives you the space to just be. The wind pushes the hammock in a slow rhythmic rocking that’s both calming and comforting like being in a fresh air womb. Later a seagull sits in the water near me when I come up brushing my teeth. They’re smart and know to come around when we do things with our mouths.
March 7 we left Turtle Bay before 11am in a strong wind and sailed at a consistent 9 knots all day. It got warm enough to take my coat off! We sailed through a flock of pelicans feeding. Pretty cool. Saw several blow spouts from whales but none breeched. My memory of Turtle Bay is the cementerio Teresa and I visited. The graves were beautiful in their rawness and use of materials.
March 8, my 1am watch got off to a bad start with a loud boom over the v-berth where I sleep. The boom vang line broke and it took most of my watch to help Jim fix it then we had to make course corrections. I was wired after that so it was hard to sleep.
March 10, I’m laying in the v-berth (forepeak) just after 5:30pm. We’re headed toward Cabo after having left Magdalena Bay earlier in the day. The bay was huge, as big as the San Francisco Bay without the islands and bridges. We’d spent the better part of yesterday motoring to the far side by the pier but no pangas and we were too tired to inflate the dinghy. So we anchored in heavy wind and current for a night of rocking and rolling. After we left Mag Bay we sailed through several pods of dolphins. The last pod was huge, too many to count, and they stayed for almost an hour jumping in front of the boat and riding the waves.
March 11 started by seeing the last bit of sunrise. Later I had my first whale sighting, 4 whales coming up out of the water and flopping back down. Incredible experience. Then I got to see the sunset AND the full moon rise and climb into the sky. A big orange globe with darkish areas. What a day.
March 12 I'm thrilled to report we arrived in La Paz a couple hours ago. First and most essential was a shower. Hadn't had one since we left Ensenada. It's almost 6:30 here and the sun is about to set. Temperature is cooling a bit on deck and down below it's still warm. We plan on being here in the Palmira marina for a week. We all need some extended sleep as it wrecks havoc on the body I'll tell you. Now I'm having to adjust to land sickness, again. When I'm on land my equilibrium is still adjusting for the rocking of the boat.
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