October 5 Update: We are preparing to leave for Ensenada, Mexico on the 12th of this month. We have spent the last month visiting family and friends from Northern California to Arkansas. We also have spent a ton of money buying spare parts for the boat. We have learned that however much it cost here, it is twice as expensive down south. Between import taxes, shipping, tariffs and "gratuity" (we can't seem to find your package), the price will get inflated 2 fold. Forget about pirates out at sea, the pirates are standing behind the counter at the import office. Hopefully when we do need to get something, the experience won't reflect the horror stories we have heard. Time will tell. Meanwhile we are trying to get all the spare parts that we can afford and fit into the boat. We are both anxious to start our big adventure. Unfortunately the first few days will be spent in a boat yard in Ensenada. We will have the bottom painted and will install some new sailing instruments. Our depth sounder went on the fritz when we were at Santa Cruz Island and we've never had an anemometer that worked properly. Both of those devices are made by KVH, which is no longer in the instrument business. So we have decided to replace them with Raymarine. We should get worldwide support with them and they have been in business for 30+ years. New depth and speed thru-hull transducers will be inserted into the hull during the haul out. I will also head up the mast to install a new wind speed/direction (anemometer) at the masthead. Because we will already be elevated on stilts in the boatyard, I will be more than 6 stories above the ground when installing the unit. At least I won't be swinging back and forth up there like we would be if the boat was in the water. Look for more updates later this month and in the meantime check out our pictures link on the home page.
October 16-27 Wow. It feels like forever since I have posted. We left San Diego on the 16th and have spent the last 10 days at Baja Naval (a boat yard) in Ensenada, Mexico. Before arriving in Ensenada we spent a night at Coronado Island, just across the Mexican border. We left the marina at 1:00 p.m. and arrived at the island at dusk. The wind was light, not blowing more than 8 knots our entire trip of 20 miles. Not really what we had planned, arriving at 6:00 p.m. just as the sun was setting. We had hoped to have a little more sunlight to anchor by. As it was, we went through our normal anchoring routine in the waning light. The trouble was we could not get the hook to set in the rocky bottom. We could feel the anchor bouncing as its drug across the sea floor. After a few attempts, netting the same result and in near dark, we decided to let out some addition chain and just drift on the chain.
Neither of us was going to get any restful sleep that night knowing that our hook was not set. But there was not much we could do at this point. Now I do not recommend this, but I felt with the light breeze we would be safe for the night. I did set an alarm to sound if the wind exceeded 7 knots, which took about 30 minutes before it went off. After a quick look around to see if we were in any danger of dragging (the chain would go taunt at the bow before any movement would occur) I reset the alarm to 10 knots. The wind didn't top 10 knots all night, but occasionally we would swing around and the chain would drag sideways across the floor, making a horrible sound. At 4 a.m., we were both just laying in bed waiting for the swing and rattle. Unable to sleep, we got up and by 5 we were under way to complete our trip to Ensenada. The day started sunny, but by noon a fog bank slowly closed in around us. It was an odd fog, the sun and blue sky was semi-visible overhead but visibility around us dropped to a couple hundred feet. We turned on the radar and hoped we would not encounter any fish pens that Mexican fishermen deploy. These fish pens are 40 feet circular nets attached to floats and are marked by two 6 foot high markers. If you happen to get entangled in one of these nets, well you don't even want to think about that. We have heard horror stories about boats being stuck for days tangled in the nets. So we are going to do our best to avoid these nets, and we have learned they are everywhere. Especially in sheltered bays where one might like to anchor! So we were on our way into Ensenada, watching the blips on the radar move past us. Since we are motor sailing, we cannot hear them as they travel past, just little green blips on a screen. About 5 miles outside the harbor, the fog got really thick. Visibility dropped to a hundred feet. We were watching a blip get closer and closer to us, so I asked Jodie to keep a sharp lookout ahead. Then out of the fog comes a huge freighter just to the right (starboard) of us. This ship was massive, looking like a skyscraper from the cockpit of our boat. I turn to port to head away and he quietly disappeared back into the fog. Very creepy and scary. Luckily neither of us was going very fast, being cautious due to the fog. Freighters and fishnets, looks like cruising is going to keep us on our toes. We enter the Ensenada harbor and the fog quickly dissipates as we approach land. This trend will continue over the next week as one day is sunny, the next foggy. Many days we can see the fog hanging out just outside the harbor. Ensenada is a learning experience. Dealing with foreign currency, exchange rates and the local bus system. One thing we have learned is to ask a lot of questions. Such as, "The sign says dinner is 88 pesos (eight dollars). What is the cost tonight?" Seems like a lame question, but down here it is a valid one. So we pay the extra pesos (senor, that price is for a different menu), learn our lesson, and move on. Some things we knew. You simply can't beat street vendor food prices, 9 pesos for fresh ceviche, 10 for tacos and 30 for a very large hot torta sandwich. We currently get 13 pesos to the dollar, and it pays to pay in pesos. Most local merchants will only give you 10 per dollar, 12 if you are lucky.
There is plenty of the USA down here. Wal-Mart, Home Depot, Burger King, McDonald's, Napa Auto, AM/PM, even an Ashley's Home Furniture located in the strip malls in the newer sections of town. We are still hauled out of the water in the boat yard getting the bottom painted (keeps things from growing/attaching themselves on it). Also, I have installed new instruments into the hull, speed and depth, and they seem to be working fine. The wind alarm is a feature we used at Coronado Island on the new anemometer (wind gauge) that I installed before coming down here. All three came as a package and are manufactured by Raymarine. Hopefully they will last the entire trip and I can put away the lead weight and string I had been using as a depth gauge after our instrument died. For those who would like to know, take a 2-4 lbs weight, like a dive weight, attach a line or thin rope to it and place a knot at every 5 or 6 feet along its length. Voila! Instant depth sounder. Just like they used for thousands of years before electronics. Jodie will remind us, back when they used to wreck countless ships before electronics. Other items installed/completed either during our stay in San Diego or here at the boatyard:
The boat is going to be surveyed this morning before going back into the water. This is required for our new insurance policy. Nothing like having an expert crawling all over your boat telling you how you messed it all up. And also having to pay him a pretty penny for the critique. Well we are in Mexico, so maybe I'll drop some pesos in his hand instead. The boat has lived on jack stands for over a week. Now it is time to bring her back to the water.
Here we go...
Yes that flag is enormous.
Jodie hitching a ride.
We made it! Whew! They swore they have never dropped one.
We plan to depart for Cabo San Lucas, located on the southeastern side of the Baja peninsula, on Tuesday. It is a trip of over one thousand miles. We crewed on another ship 8 years ago along the same route to Cabo San Lucas. The difference this time, other than it being our boat, is that we will take some more time to stop and anchor along the way. With only the two of us, we would like to avoid as many overnighters as possible. That being said, we can only stop where a safe anchorage is to be found. This is the mighty ocean and he isn't obligated to providing us a rest stop every 40 miles down the coast. With a lack of any storms forecasted in the next two weeks coming down from Alaska, we should be able to pick our way down the coast at a leisurely pace. If a storm does arrive, we will have two really good spots to wait it out. The first being Tortugas (Turtle) Bay located 400 miles south of Ensenada and Magdelina Bay, around 700 miles south. Both are well protected with good holding ground, Tortugas being the more developed anchorage. We should arrive in Cabo san Lucas in 14-21 days. We will update then to let everyone know that we are safe and also fill you in on the adventure (or lack of) it took to get there. So it Begins, wish us luck! Michael and Jodie
|
|
| home | current log | past logs | photos | savannah | contact us |
|---|
