Tuesday, November 27, 2012

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 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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