December 1-10, 2008 We have settled into Cabo over the past week. It is certainly nice to have a large city at our disposal after a month of small fishing towns. It also has all the trappings of a big city - big stores with big prices, traffic, litter and pushy vendors. But it is hard to beat having a Walmart, Costco and a Home Depot all within a mile of the anchorage. We are fairly immune to Cabo's sparkle and dazzle, keeping ourselves busy doing low key activities like exploring the town, lying on the beach, and snorkeling/diving. We were able to get a lot of tropical fish pictures. Here are a few of them. You can see more by clicking on the Photos link located on the Home Page.
The town is easy to get around via the local buses. No such things as shock absorbers on buses.
However I did have to walk a considerable distance to get the propane
tank filled. The filling station (there is only one) is located 6
miles past the edge of town (due to a city ordinance). I took the
bus to the city limit and had to walk the rest. Two kind older men finally picked me up four miles out (had my thumb out on one hand and the tank in the other the whole trip) and gave me a lift the rest of the way. Then at the station, a family in a pickup waited for my tank to be filled and offered me a ride back into town. I guess they saw me walking on the road on their way to the station. It was very kind of them to wait and I had no idea what they were doing till after my tank was full. Then their youngest, a boy no more than 4 years old, came right up to me and asked if I wanted a ride back. Of course I had not the faintest clue what he was saying, but quickly caught on when his father pointed to the back of the truck. The ride back to town was great, the wind cooling me down and I could actually enjoy the scenery. Not wanting to trouble them, I had them drop me off at the first bus station that would take me back into downtown and gave them a hearty "Muchas gracias!" When I got to the boat, Jodie was very happy to see me as she was just starting to worry. It had been 3 hours since I had left on the great tank adventure. I am sure in the future that there will times that this propane trip will seem easy by comparison. It will soon be time to leave Cabo. We are still trying to decide whether to make the 140 mile upwind journey to La Paz or head across the Sea of Cortez to mainland Mexico. We may wait it out, hoping for a southerly breeze (or no north wind) to make the trip to La Paz.
December 11-12, 2008 We left Cabo at the crack of dawn. I actually did not hear any cracking, just the sound of another cruise ship dropping anchor. Two days ago I pulled up our flopper stopper, noticing that it was discolored in several areas. I thought it was algae growing on it and was going to give it a cleaning. When I got it out of the water, it was pitted in spots due to electrolysis corrosion. I had not added any sacrificial zinc to the flopper since we had not had any problem with electrolysis before now. The flopper that Andy and Josalyn had given us doesn't have any pitting, and they used theirs for at least a year. All boats bleed a little electricity, but this damage was done after only a week here in Cabo. My only guess is that it is the close proximity to the cruise ships and their massive electrical needs that is causing the corrosion. Of course, all of our other exposed metal on the boat has sacrificial zincs to protect them. It was only the flopper that showed any signs of corrosion. So yesterday I purchased some zincs and will attach them to the flopper before using it next time. We have a slight breeze from the northwest as we leave Cabo, helping us as we motorsail to the east. We are heading to Los Frailes, an anchorage about 45 miles to the northeast, around the cape. As we continue to make our way east, the wind slowly swings around to a more northerly direction. When a break in the coastal range opens and a valley appears, the wind kicks up to 15 knots and we get a chance to shut down the engine. We sail along, enjoying the scenery and fishing. I am catching small (12") blue fin tuna and releasing them. They are aggressive, hitting a lure that is almost half their size. As we begin to round the eastern side of the cape, the wind hits us full force and the wind waves climb to 4-5 feet. Not fun. It is 1:30 in the afternoon and we are about 15 miles from the anchorage, dead upwind. So close and yet so far. Given the conditions we don't think we can make it before dark. We might, but it would be close to dark and really uncomfortable for the next 4 hours. No one likes to go backwards, but do we really want to continue into the headwind? The wind waves are stacked tight, 4 to 5 second duration, making the boat pitch up and down with a rapidity that is starting to make me queasy. Sooner rather than later, we turn around and head back the way we came. The nearest anchorage behind us is 12 miles back. The conditions had only deteriorated in the last mile, so we backtrack till conditions calm and decide to make our own anchorage along the coast. We select a spot in front of some upscale beach homes. The coastline is semi-rocky with sand beaches mixed in between. Our charts indicate where any underwater rock outcropping might be a danger at low tide, but they do not reflect all dangers and we proceed with extreme caution. We select an area that has a nice sandy beach at the shoreline and drop anchor in 30 feet. The water is clear and we can see various dark areas indicating submerged rocks. I don the snorkel gear and dive in to check the anchor. The anchor lies in a small patch of sand, but the chain is draped across two small ragged underwater rock outcroppings. I swim along the shore, always on the lookout for any sharks. Another hundred or so feet away is what I'm looking for; a large sandy area 100 plus feet round with only small rounded rocks breaking through the surface. Nothing that can possibly catch the chain or foul the anchor. I swim back and just as I reach the boat, bam, I get stung by a small jellyfish across my chest. Oww! Ah well, it happens. We re-anchor in the sand patch and set out the flopper stopper. I dive in again and things look good. I'm sure the homeowners got quite shock when they arrived home and saw us anchored in their backyard. The next day we finish the trip to Los Frailes. It is a cute spot with an R.V. park and pallapas along the beach. Just to the north of the anchorage lies the El Pulmo Reef. It is the only live reef in the Sea of Cortez (according to the guide book). Tomorrow we will dive it, filling our tanks today in preparation. We have a high pressure tank compressor on board to fill our dive tanks. It is very handy to have a compressor, though it is a bit loud when running. It takes us a little less than an hour to fill both tanks.
Just before dusk that evening, we started hearing splashing sounds outside (not an unusual occurrence). We stuck our heads out to see what it was and were surprised to see not fish jumping, but bat rays flying through the air. Over and over three different rays kept leaping out as high as 4-5 feet into the air.
Made me contemplate what they think of when they leave their universe and enter ours? The air, so very thin and cool. Bright, sometimes sharp light, reflecting off nearly everything, including the surface of the world they just left. Their own body weight increased dramatically. And us, floating on top in our white castles. Then, splash! Back down into a world that makes perfect sense. And their world is so much more vast than our own. I believe that they know equally as much about our world as we about theirs. Ok, no more deep thoughts.
December 13, 2008 Around 9 a.m. we head over in the dingy, loaded down with our dive gear, to the reef. There is a slight south breeze and small 1 foot wind waves. It is going to be a little wet coming back, but since we'll already be wet from diving it is no big deal. The reef was easy to locate and we spent a little over an hour exploring. The visibility was a little cloudy and the day was overcast, so the pictures aren't as bright as we would have liked.
After diving, we head back to Savannah. The south wind increased while we were diving and the wind waves had built up to 2-3 feet. The ride back was an adventure all its own, with wave after wave spilling over the front of the loaded down dingy. We had to dig the dingy water pump out from under the gear to pump out the incoming water. Also, I had accidentally set a dive tank on the dingy tube inflation valve and the constant motion had caused it to open slightly. 2/3 of the way back, the tube on my side of the dingy was half deflated before we noticed what was happening, allowing water to enter the rear of the dingy. I shifted my weight to middle of the dingy (no fat jokes!) to stop the water from entering that side. Conditions were so rough that spray kept pelting us and I had to put my diving goggles on to see. That was a pretty funny site. We made it back to Savannah without sinking the dink or losing any of our gear. The wind was blowing a steady 20 knots with gusts to 25. This was definitely not in the forecast and put us in precarious position 100 feet from the beach. The technical term is "anchoring on a lee shore". We quickly raise the dingy, stow the gear and take a rinse off in the shower. We head out of the anchorage and bear north, running with, and taking advantage of the strong south wind. There is an anchorage about 15 miles north, Point Arena, which will provide protection from these south winds. We had planned on bypassing it, but it now makes a great stopping point for us. We just make our way into the open water when Jodie screams out "WHA WHA WHALE!" slapping her hand on the autopilot control. Seems that a whale decided to broach directly in front of us. It had risen up three feet out of the water and no more than ten feet in front of us. I release the autopilot and crank the wheel over. We miss the whale and next see him 20 feet to our starboard, moving away. This leads to my question of the day: Whale, majestic creature or public menace? You decide. I know which way Jodie leans on the subject. When we arrive at Point Arena 2 hours later, we are faced with two fronts pushing against each other. A northerly wind is running into our south breeze, taking the force out of it. Looking at the wind waves it seems that the north wind is winning out and that we have arrived at just the right time to avoid a headwind. We drop the hook in 20 feet and settle down for the evening.
December 14-15, 2008
Shortly after leaving Point Arena, I drop some lures in and catch my first keeper. A nice Dorado, known as Mahi Mahi in restaurants. This catch will provide us with a couple of nice meals. And your too late, I've already heard all the "nice hair" jokes! The following day we rise before the sun and set off to La Paz. We planned on stopping at one of the many anchorages around the La Paz area, but enter the large bay early enough to make the final 12 miles into the city. We begin to enter the channel leading into the harbor when we realize that all three of our charts show different channel markings for the entrance. We head in cautiously, failing to see a partially submerged channel marker and manage to run right into a sand bar. Whoops. Going in slow pays off here as I quickly switch into reverse and gun the engine, easily pulling us off the submerged sandbar. We turn around and follow another sailboat into the channel, favoring the far side of the channel. Turns out it is Mac and Catherine from Indigo. We had briefly met them a couple of weeks ago in Bahia Abreojos along the Pacific Coast. We probably only know 4 boats that might be in La Paz right now. And of course we go aground right in front of one of them. The next day we find out that they hit the same sandbar on their way out two days earlier! Btw, there is no more unsettling feeling than the bottom of the boat bumping the floor of the bay. Not recommended. The anchorage in La Paz is filled with more than 50 boats when we arrive. There is still plenty more room and we settle into an open area off the beach.
December 22, 2008 We've been in La Paz for a week. Exploring the town and running errands has consumed the majority of our time. There is quite a large community of foreigners living and passing through La Paz. Each morning there is a Net that is run on the VHF radio. Who's coming? Going? What is going on with the weather, fishing, movies, mail. It goes on and on. The most popular (lengthy) segment is the trading portion. Need or got an extra sail? Dingy? Spear gun? Prop? Etc. The most helpful to us is the services segment. People have been living here a long time and they will help you find anything that you need and the directions to get there. The town of La Paz is laid back in stark contrast to Cabo. It's a relief. Cabo was just a bit too much for us. La Paz is suffering due to the lack of tourism this season. We talked to a local boat charter service and fewer North Americans are coming down this season. When they are here, they are keeping a close eye on their wallet. The only relief has been Europeans. The strong Euro has given them tremendous buying power worldwide. For some reason, there have been more Italians than they have ever seen this season. 3 out of 4 tourists using their charter service have been Italian.
How cute is this? We believe these two are siblings walking home from school.
It is Christmas in La Paz for us this year. We know its Christmas because we can see Santa sitting in his sleigh mounted on top of a giant Coca-Cola can going down the street towed behind a truck. Christmas, brought to you by the people at Coca-Cola. Feliz navidad! Speaking of the holidays, we hope you all have a happy one. New years might find us in Mazatlan. Or not. We will see. Happy Holidays everyone! Michael
Sunrise in La Paz.
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