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 1st and 2nd
place and everyone else was 3rd. This was based on sailing and
motoring time in each leg. Needless to say, Mariah earned a 3rd
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
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