La Paz, December 10, 2012

Hello Boys and Girls,

These last 2 weeks SV Mariah and I have been visiting La Paz and the local Islands. In fact, I am just getting ready to sail off again for the next week so I will post more details upon my return. Let me just say life is great in La Paz and the local islands have beautiful anchorages, great snorkeling and outdoor adventures. The highlight in the islands these past 2 weeks was snorkeling with friendly sea lions at a rookery. Very cool!!!

I just wanted to say "hola" and hope all is well with you all. I will attach some photos.

Cheers from La Paz,
Ken and "Mariah"

Cabo San Lucas to La Paz

 

Thursday  November  8 – Arrived Cabo San Lucas (updated)

Arrived at Cabo San Lucas about noon. What a zoo!!  Cruise ship in the harbor, jet skis buzzing around, and music blasting from shore bars. It was still great to get here though. After getting fuel and water we anchored in the bay awaiting a slip.

We learned that customs may take our uncooked meat and veggies so we made a dorado stir fry to use up what was left. Other than some chicken that went bad we did quite well with food and were down to our last gallon of water in the tank.  We still had 10 spare gallons in jerry cans.

I dropped the crew on the shore via dingy for drinks while I returned to the boat for some quiet time. I cleaned the boat a bit, swam in the 80 degree water and took a long awaited shower. I really enjoy the crew but it was nice having the boat to myself for the afternoon to clean, tinker a bit and relax.

I received a call on the radio that there was a slip in the marina available for Mariah so, after some hesitation to make this decision alone, I decided to take the slip. In addition to abandoning the crew on the beach, this meant pulling up anchor alone and negotiating the marina without crew.  Luckily I was able to find the slip and tie up without incident.  I tried to call the crew on their handheld radio without luck.  Luckily they figured it out and found me at the marina, but after swimming out to the anchorage at night and finding Mariah gone.

Thursday night was the big celebration at Squid Roe. We all celebrated our arrival with toasts and dancing. It was great celebrating with all those familiar Haha faces. We recognized boat names more than individual names from all the radio roll calls and radio chatter.

 

Friday November  9 – “Taking care of business” and HaHa Beach Party

It was nice to be at a dock. We had water but no electricity. I tinkered on the boat much of the day and found a Starbucks for wifi and airconditioning (what heaven!!). Crew did laundry and walked around town. I also got a Mexico phone for communication while in Mexico.  We all attended the Haha beach party in the late afternoon which was a relaxed affair.

Saturday November 10 – Snorkeling and HaHa Awards ceremony.

We spent the day exploring “Lovers Beach” and snorkeling off of “Seal Rock.” The snorkeling was excellent with clear warm water and large variety of fish. The downside is that it was very busy with divers, and tour boats so we had to be careful of boat traffic, but it was all part of the experience.  Lover’s Beach had heavy surf on the Pacific side so snorkeling around the famous arch was out of the question.  The beach landings were a bit sketchy and we were almost swamped once but it was okay. The dingy has large beaching wheels that flip down to help roll up on the shore.

That night was the awards ceremony for the HaHa. There were approximately 150 boats in 14 divisions based on boat size and speed. Mariah was in the Burrito division. Each division has a 1^st and 2^nd place and everyone else was 3^rd. This was based on sailing and motoring time in each leg. Needless to say, Mariah earned a 3^rd place with most everyone else. There were also silly awards handed out like “Chatty on the radio,” and “best spinnaker disaster,” and “most helpful to others.” It was all in great fun. The award ceremony marked the official end to the 2012 Baja HaHa. We were now on our own but had many new friends and acquaintances.

Sunday November  11 – Another chill day

Not much to report today. Spent some time tinkering and relaxing on the boat. Enjoyed being at the dock but it was HOT without a breeze. Visited a hotel on the beach and swam in the pool and tried the hot tub. It was nice seeing how the other half live. Not bad but I like life on a boat. We also moved back out to the anchorage to save money so that meant dinghying back and forth to the Marina.

 

Monday November 12 – Adios to Andy (Drew) and Brittany (Brit, Sunshine, Squeaks)

We walked Andy to the hotel to catch his shuttle to the airport. Brittany later took public bus to the airport. It was hard to see them go. We have all shared such a wonderful adventure together and it was hard to see it end. 

It was so darn hot at Cabo!!  James and I went to see James Bond Skyfall at the mall in the Marina.  Movie $4.00. Airconditioning priceless!!

Tuesday Novemeber 13 – Adios to James, Hola groceries.

I dropped off James at Profligate (60’ catamaran) for his cool new ride to Puerto Vallarta and then went in search of a hotel pool.  While Drew and Brittany had to return to reality and work in San Diego, James has until May or June to continue sailing to Panama or the South Pacific. Pretty Cool!!!

I was unable to find a public pool in town so I got some beef tacos at a small local stand, visited Starbucks again, got groceries and returned to Mariah.  I was now officially on my own which was both exciting and scary. Several boats were making their way toward La Paz so I planned to follow. The first stop was Los Frailes.

Wednesday November 14 – Cabo to Los Frailes (the friars)  43 miles

I raised anchor at 6:30 am and motor-sailed east toward Los Frailes. It took about 10 hours of motoring with the mainsail up for a little boost. I sailed with the motor off for 1 hour of shear sailing bliss but the wind became light again. 

 

Caught a Sierra Mackerel about 30’ long but threw it back due to reports of poor flavor for eating and I didn’t want to carve it up for bait. No other bites which was disappointing since I’m finally out of fresh fish.

Los Frailes is a somewhat protected bay next to a small fishing village. It is named after a rock formation at the point which kinda looks like 4 friars climbing the edge of the hill. Cabo Pulmo is east around the corner famous for its protected coral reef.

I arrived around sunset, anchored, and headed over to “Moontide” (46’ catamaran) who was hosting  happy hour.  After a relaxing day of reading underway, it was nice to be among friends again.  One of the captains reported snagging an old 500# anchor with his anchor when departing Cabo.  Im glad I didn’t have to deal with such a mess. We all enjoyed the sunset together and returned to our respective boats.  It gets dark about 6 pm and Im ready for bed by 8pm.

 

Thursday November 15 – Kayaking, Snorkeling, and Happy Hour on Mariah at Los Frailes

I set out with Don and Kile from “Distraction” to kayak  over toward Bahia Pulmo for snorkeling. It was a 2 mile upwind paddle but scenic view of the cliffs and lazy sea lions basking in the sun. We found a perfect little sandy beach to land on and hike around.   I wished I brought my camera but left it behind. We snorkeled off the beach and around the point checking out the variety of fish and the limited coral. We then kayaked ¼ mile off shore to “White Rock” which was a random pinnacle rising from the sea. We anchored the kayaks with my grappling hook anchor and snorkeled around the pinnacle. Great fish viewing but was most significant was the massive school of tiny bait fish. They were so thick you couldn’t see through them.  It felt so wild to be off this somewhat desolate coast kayaking and snorkeling off some random rock.  Luckily the kayak trip back to the boats was downwind and much easier.

I decided to host happy hour on Mariah that night after attending happy hours on other boats. I put out the word on radio and kayaked around the harbor announcing the event, knowing I only have room for 10-15 guests on little Mariah. I also asked for people to bring drinks and treats since I had little to share. We had a great time with about 15 guests which significantly lowered Mariah’s waterline. Crews attended from “Distraction”, “Scott Free”, “Swagman”, “Shingid”,  and others.  I got several compliments that I really know how to throw a party, but all I did was bring great people together on cozy Mariah and added a little music. It was easy!!

Friday November 16 – Quiet Day at Los Friales

I decided to stay another day at Los Frailes since it was such a wonderful anchorage. In the morning, I took a 2 hour walk up the beach past the fishing village, some campers in RVs and along 3 expensive looking beach homes.  It was a hot walk but I enjoying the quiet along the beach with only the small waves lapping on the sand. After returning to the boat for lunch and some relaxing, I kayaked back to the near by beach for some more snorkeling.  Again, a large variety of reef fish could be seen.  I even saw a spotted ray off in the distance.  A similar ray leaped out of the water yesterday which someone reported was a mating ritual (he did seem happy doing a back flip).  It was a great snorkel but my mask kept filling with water – I need to shave closer I think.

After watching the sunset and having spaghetti for dinner, I watched a DVD (Saving Silverman) and went to bed by 8pm.  I slept out in the cockpit with a view of the stars. The stars became amazingly bright after the moon set later in the evening.  It was surprisingly cool at night but I was too lazy to get something to keep my head warm. Another great day in paradise. 

Saturday November 17 - Sailed to Los Muertos

Motor sailed all day to Los Muertos in company of other boats. Very relaxing: read and enjoyed the scenery. Dropped the hook in Los Muetos (Bay of the Dead). Spent the next 2 days anchored in high winds. I was fighting a cold so relaxed, read and strolled the beach.

 I was invited ashore with John and Deborah from SV "Scott Free". We hiked to the golf coarse on shore and to the fancy bar with an incredible train set along the ceiling. It was so calm ashore but blowing 20 knots at anchor. My wind generator was working overtime cranking out up to 20 amps and solar making 10 amps.

Spent 2 evenings at the restaurant on shore with 10 or so cruisers. Nice company with many stories.

 Los Muertos to Ballandra Bay toward La Paz.

Mariah and I left at 8 am from Los Muertos with boats "Scott Free" and "Swagman". Our goal was La Paz which was 65 miles away but it was getting dark and I did not want to enter La Paz harbor in the dark so I pulled into Ballandra Bay which ended up being a beautiful and protected stop. I arrived at 6pm sunset after  motor sailing against mild wind and chop and passing through Lorenzo Channel between the mainland and Espiro Santo Island. There are no words to express the beauty of Ballandra Bay.

I did catch a 2 foot tuna which filled my fish stores and made fish tacos for lunch.

La Paz- 2 days

Spent 2 days at La Paz getting fuel and groceries. Marina La Paz has a great cruising community with a daily radio net that covers weather, events, crew needs, etc. They also have 10 am coffee and treats at the local club where cruisers exchange pleasantries and info. They had yummy lemon bars on my visit.

Returned to 3 days to Ballandra Bay

Spent more time at Ballandra Bay snorkeling, hiking, and stand up paddle boarding. Such a beautiful bay. I guess Ballandra is spanish for mushroom which is the rock in the below photo which has been repaired with rebar and cement after being damages. Mariah anchored in only 12' of pool clear water. I can see the puffer fish swim by the anchor.

Cheers from paradise!!!!!, Ken

HaHa Legs 2 and 3

Thursday  November 1 – Land Ahoy!!!

Today was our third day at sea and with a crew of 4 total we were all quite well rested. With watch shifts of 3 hour each, we get 9 hours off watch at a time. During the day most of us are us and around except for naps, but at night the crew member at watch is all alone to their thoughts. Watch consists of watching for other boat traffic, monitoring our position and course on the GPS and watching wind direction/force and sails. We tend to read or update our logs during solitary watches.

No fishing today because we have no more room for fish in the fridge. So we spent the day napping and preparing meals with fresh fish.

The big event today was arriving at “Turtle Bay” at sunset.  It was great to arrive before dark to allow a safe entrance into the bay as well as to get a good view of town and the anchorage. We anchored in 20 feet of water close into the public dock. Instead of assembling our dingy we payed $5 to hitch a ride in a panga to shore. We walked through this dusty town to the Veracruz restaurant where about 50 HaHa members were eating and drinking.  The locals we passed along the way were very friendly. We had some dinner and drinks at the restaurant and chatted with others before returning to an open bar on the beach and talking more with another crew. We then returned to Mariah via another Panga and called it a night.

So, from San Diego to Turtle Bay it was about 360 miles which we sailed and motored in 3 days and 6 hours.  We averaged 100 miles each day which was my goal.

Friday November 2 – “Lifes a Beach”

We started the day going to town to access wifi at the Veracruz restaurant and getting some groceries.

We then pulled up anchor and moved closer to the beach party and anchored just of the beach in 17 feet of water. The weather was breezy and cool with cloud cover but still okay for beach activities but cooler than the previous heat wave in San Diego.

The HaHa beach party began around noon on a beach east of town separated by some medium hills.  There was a basic concrete structure where locals sold drinks.  Two shade tents were located next to the bar, a volleyball net was set up on the beach and speakers played music.  The beach began at the cliffs below hills that served as a wind block and went on for miles to the east around the bay. At the beach some water was draining out of an inland estuary which was mostly dry at low tide. At my last visit in ’09,  this drainage was much greater and folks were riding the current out to sea in all kinds of floating devices or just floating on their backs.

Three of us went ashore in the 2 kayaks and 1 stand up paddle board while James swam. Andy flipped in the small beach surf but was fine. The Mariah crew spent the afternoon playing volleyball, chatting with other crews, climbing the local hills for views of town and the bay, and enjoying the potluck lunch. Andy and I also tried towing the stand up paddleboard with the power dingy. It was great fun flying around the bay…kinda like wakeboarding but less maneuverable.

We returned to Mariah at sunset, ate dinner and relaxed to the movie “Hot Tub Time Machine.”

Saturday November 3 – Day 1 Leg 2, Back to sea

Mariah pulled anchor at Turtle Bay at 7am and was at the starting line at 8am.  We hoisted the spinnaker which worked for an hour but then the winds grew light and we had to motor. It’s always a beautiful sight at the start when the fleet is close together and all the spinnakers are flying.

The electric autopilot failed to work this morning. James and I spent the next 3 hours repairing the motor unit. It appears that a pin fell out so that the gear was just rotating loose on the drive shaft. It took quite some time to disassemble the whole unit to find the problem, do the repair, and reassemble the unit. The gears were in a metal housing full of oil so it was messy work. But luckily we were able to fit it and return to hands free steerage.

We covered another 100 miles today. The winds were 15-20 knots from the north allowing us to sail from 5-6 knots. There are reports of a tropical storm south of Cabo San Lucas which the fleet is monitoring but is not expected to be a problem.

The radio reports other crews catching fish. One caught a 52” Marlin while others caught more dorado and tuna. The water temp is 70 -75 degrees which I think is favorable for fishing.

Sunday November 4 – Day 2 at sea

Light winds today so we motored most of the day until dusk when we could set sail again.

Movies included an afternoon matinee of “Out There” which was a surf film. We hoped the film would get us excited for surfing at our next stop. The evening show included “Knight and Day” which was an adventurous romp.

Fishing was poor today. Brittany reeled in a very small tuna type fish which we returned to the sea. We soon after had another larger hit on the same lure which broke the fishing line at the pole which must have jammed.

James and Andy played a chess game which must have lasted 1-2 hours.

The highlight of the day was probably meals. We had ceviche on crackers as appetizers and fresh fish and chips (breaded tuna) for lunch. Dinner included 3 Boboli pizzas; one with pepperoni and the last of the mushrooms and two more with chicken pineapple chunks. Its great to eat well at sea.

Monday  November 5 – Arrived Bahia Santa Maria 

Its strange being “off grid” with no information of the elections. Maybe one of the other boats will find out the results because otherwise we wont know the presidential outcome until Cabo San Lucas at the end of the week.  In this age of “being connected” and knowing news immediately, its odd being out of contact…but also kinda nice and lower stress.

We sailed wing and wind through last night averaging about 4 knots with a moderately bumpy ride.

No fish strikes today but there was a large school of dolphins which may have been herding a school of fish away from us.

We arrived at Bahia Santa Maria about sunset. Most of the fleet had arrived earlier in the day and had already explored the beach and local hills. After anchoring close to the beach in 16 feet of water we took the dingy over to Scuttle Butt (Formosa 41) for cocktails, snacks and conversation.  After that we visited the large party of about 50 sailors on Moontide (Lagoon 47) which was tied to Talion (Gulfstar 50) which were spacious and luxurious yachts. It was nice talking with different crews about their experiences.  For example, Exodus (Lagoon 40) was being sailed by the couples selling and purchasing the boat. Additional crew were comprised of a chef and an experienced mechanic/sailor. The new owners planned to cruise with their 2 young children after learning the ropes of their new boat.

The winds howled through the anchorage that night at 20-25 knots. My wind generator was cranking out the amps. We left the party early and had a windy and wet ride back to Mariah and got to bed early in anticipation of a big day tomorrow.

Tuesday November 6 – Bahia Santa Maria

Busy day today.  It started with wholewheat and apple pancakes and a 3 hour hike up the local hills before it got too hot. My choice of sandals was not the best for climbing on loose gravel but they worked okay. We climbed straight up the hill without a trail, along ridges and over many false summits until we arrived at a summit with a 360 degree view of inland sand dunes, the sea, and the sandy beach encircling the bay. A fellow named Nima shared a huge bar of chocolate, tea, and bagels with peanut butter.  On one summit along the climb was a huge bird nest resting on the rocks about 5 foot in diameter.  The nest felt like something out of a prehistoric era. We didn’t see any snakes along the climb but there were huge spiders and their webs along the way. Apparently there was a recent storm which brought rain resulting in greenery, small flowers, butterfies and some large moth looking creatures, some of which ended up in the spider webs. There were no snakes and only one report of a lizard. We climbed down another route which involved some scrambling over loose rocks but ended in a dry ravine.

The next activity was trying to surf the small waves with the inflatable stand up paddleboards. We already surfed the waves with the kayaks on the earlier trip to the beach to hike. James and I spent 2 hours paddling in 75 degree water and attempting to catch waves. It was tough to keep standing balance while attempting to catch a wave. Most waves I would either lose balance and fall off or bury the nose of the semi rigid inflatable board and flip over. We learned a few tricks and caught a couple of rides but really enjoyed just being out there n the warm water with music from the live band on shore.

Speaking of shore activities, the HaHa had locals organize music, $15 fish and rice platters, $3 beers, and we received our immigration papers. Volleyball was played all day on the beach and one guy paraglided from the hill above down to the beach. At dusk, the Mariah crew took our dingy up the waterway inland through mangroves and up to a local fishing village complete with shacks and solar panels. Small fish jumped along the way and we spotted gray heron and other birds feeding.

We returned to Mariah, loaded the dingy and all the toys and set sail about 8pm. We left early since we were always the ones being late and wanted to arrive in Cabo San Lucas in time for the Thursday night party at Squid Row. The 20 knot evening gusting winds died as we left the bay and were becalmed and motoring by midnight.

Wednesday  November 7 – Another day at sea.

It was nice being ahead of everyone for once due to leaving last night instead of this morning.  We motored all morning until the wind filled in a bit in the afternoon. We flew the spinnaker until sunset when the wind died and then motored again through the night.

We caught a smaller tuna to add to the fridge of meat.  Its always exciting to catch a fish and much easier  to slow  the boat under power. We also had another hook up that got away before we could see it. They seemed to like the squid looking lure.

Movies included “Super Bad” and “Dead Calm.”  Our one big meal for the day was fresh tuna melt, french fries, and a cucumber salad…Yum!!

Thursday  November  8 – Arrived Cabo San Lucas 

Arrived at Cabo San Lucas about noon. What a zoo!!  Cruise ship in the harbor, jet skiis buzzing around, and music blasting from shore bars. It was still great to get here though. After getting fuel and  water we anchored in the bay awaiting a slip.

We learned that customs may take our uncooked meat and veggies so we made a dorado stir fry to use up what was left. Other than some chicken that went bad we did quite well with food and were down to our last gallon of water in the tank.  We still had 10 spare gallons in jerry cans.

I dropped the crew on the shore via dingy for drinks while I returned to the boat for some quiet time. I cleaned the boat a bit, swam in the 80 degree water and took a long awaited shower. I really enjoy the crew but it was nice having the boat to myself for the afternoon to clean, tinker a bit and relax.

Friday, Saturday, Sunday November 9-11  Life at Cabo San Lucas

Have been busy doing boat stuff, snorkeling, and visiting with the other boaters. Also got a Mexico cell phone to keep in touch with family. Cabo is like the Vegas of Mexico so a short visit is nice but we are ready to move on to La Paz which is a quieter town. We may not leave until Tuesday due to expected high winds until then.We have also been at the Cabo dock which is expensive so plan to move to the anchorage tonight.
Hope all is well with you all!!

Cheers from Ken and crew

Baja HaHa Leg 1

Monday Oct 29 - Departure

 

Departed San Diego slip today at at 10 am. It was a mad rush to install new batteries and get last minute supplies. Very stressful, but with the help of crew, we got it all done in the nick of time. The crew consists of  Drew (Andy),  James, and Brittany. 

We met the Baja Ha Ha (HAHA) fleet parade beyond the motor yacht of reporters and the tug shooting spouts of water high in the air. There are about 150 boats in the HAHA this year.  We were directly on the start line as the gun sounded at 11am. Drew gunned the engine (due to no wind) which soon overheated and died. We were all a panic, but it started again and cooled down at lower speeds. We motored for about an hour before the wind picked up and we could set the spinnaker. It’s a beautiful sight to be among 100+ sailboats, most with spinnakers set.

We sailed through the day in light winds and motored at dusk when the winds became light. We motored all night until able to set sail again the next day. The crew are getting to know each other since only Drew and I were acquainted prior to the HAHA. 

Tuesday Oct 30 – FISH on!!!

We were able to set sail again at 7am and sail down wind all day. In fact, we sailed all Tuesday night wing and wing without touching any sailing lines. I know this because the crew would have woke me if any conditions changed.

Today was significant for our fishing success, or partial success, because we landed 2 out of 5 hooked fish. “Mariah’s” score is 2 fish and the fish scored 3 of my lures. We landed 2 tuna about 2 feet long each, perfect for fileting. We had fresh pan fried tuna steaks for lunch and some sashimi for dessert with brown spicy mustard with olive oil in place of soy sauce and wasabi. We are left with two 1 gallon bags of tuna fillets in the fridge which is about all we have room for. The tuna make a bloody mess on deck but we were better organize on the second fish. “It takes a village” to land a fish on a sailboat under sail: one to reel the fish, one to try to slow the boat under sail, and 2 to try to net or gaff the fish.  James is the assigned fish cleaner since he is a commercial fisherman.  The fish seem to strike all at the same time: we had 2 fish on 2 lines initially and were able to net a tuna but the dorado avoided our gaff and broke the line stealing our lure. The dorado is a beautifully colored green fish with bright yellow fins and a big forehead.

Drew tried to teach us the card game “Hearts” but fish kept interrupting.
 

Wednesday – October 31  “Smooth Sailing”

We sailed all night wing and wing dead downwind making 4 to 5 knots and spent the whole day Wednesday doing the same but achieving 6 knots in the afternoon as the wind increased to 20 knots. It was a bumpy ride most of the day but we were making good speed and were still able to enjoy the ride.

James and  Brittany braved the galley under bumpy conditions to make a “fresh tuna” grilled tunafish sandwich. It was a deeelicious meal except half way through lunch we were interrupted by another fish taking our lure. This time we landed a 3 foot long dorado which filled 2 more gallon zip locks after being filleted. The fridge is about  1/3 filled with tuna and dorado fillets so we’ll have to put a hold on fishing for now which is a shame because its such a rush to land a fish as a team.

We finally were able to sit down and play some cards  today.  Andy gave us a sound beating at hearts and even “shot the moon in one hand.” I’m a slow learner at cards but it was still fun.

We tend to watch one DVD at night and viewed “50 first dates” at night. It was a challenge to watch the movie and avoid getting seasick while holding on to avoid getting bounced out of bed. Speaking of sea sickness, Andy appears to be suffering the worst because it only takes him a few minutes of standing inside the cabin to get sick and rush outside to lose his latest meal. However, I admire his ability to recover promptly afterwards with a cheery comment and hearty appetite.

Thursday - November 1

Arrived Turtle Bay at Sunset Thursday and had dinner ashore. More details later.  Friday is beach party. Next Blog from Cabo San Lucas next Friday.