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| Anchored alone at South end of Turtle Bay |
Turtle Bay
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| Gas station on dock at Turtle bay |
After arriving at Turtle Bay and talking to Andrew and Brian
on the big catamaran, we decided to explore the deserted south end of Turtle
Bay. We moved both boats the 4 miles across the bay and set the hook
again.
We walked the beach and checked
out all the conch shells and plastic trash that washed up on the beach. Later
that night Brian and Andrew came over to Mariah and cooked up a yummy curry
fish dish with fresh pineapple, bell pepper and onion. I supplied the brown
rice and drinks.
We baked oatmeal
cookies and watched another movie into the night.
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| Brian and Drew arriving for dinner |
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| Shells on south beach of turtle bay |
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| Pile of cans on walk. |
On Thursday, Andrew
and Brian returned to the main anchorage while I set off alone across the
desert to the beach across the peninsula.
It was about a 2 mile walk each way with unique desert features like
scrub, trash and shell piles.
It was a
great walk and I appreciated the exercise.
There was a religious shrine, ornately decorated, out in the middle of
the walk in the middle of nowhere.
When
I returned to Mariah in the afternoon the wind was up to 15-20 knots and I was
on a lee shore.
It was a wet kayak trip
back to boat but I got the anchor up and returned to the main anchorage across
the bay.
Later
Thursday afternoon, I attended a cruiser potluck at Antonio’s beach bar. There were about 10 of us from various boats.
It was a tame evening with many of us drinking soda instead of alcohol. The food was great and my pineapple right-side
up cake survived my kayak beach landing unscathed and was a great hit. I just cooked a pilsbury cake and added
pineapple rings and brown sugar on top.
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| My first pineapple cake |
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| Potluck group at Antonio's Bear Bar |
Friday was spent walking around town a bit while
waiting for better weather.
We explored
the local church and admired the nautical
themed stained glass.
I also did a little final grocery shopping
and got another cake to bake before departure for leftovers at sea (gotta feed
that sweet tooth).
We learned from
Antonio that the fisherman make excellent money by getting top price for fish, abalone,
and giant squid that is shipped abroad (much to Japan).
Unfortunately, the fisherman often blow their
riches on drugs which is such a shame.
Antonio, who owns a humble beach bar, is a part of group trying to
improve life in Turtle Bay.
He’s a great
guy and extremely helpful to cruisers.
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| Shrine in middle of nowhere. |
Departing Turtle Bay for Ensenada -
Saturday May 18, 2013
Saturday was the
big departure day!!!
The winds are
suppose to peak today at 18-25 knots from the NW and then begin to calm over
the next days.
Everyone has different
plans but my plan is to leave early while the wind is low and motor up the
protected east side of Cedros island and anchor for the night at the north
end.
My plan went pretty well Saturday
but I did experience fluky winds from 3 different directions during the
passage.
I tried not to anchor near an
arroyo (valley) but I still had high gusting winds (williwaws) into the night
maybe up to 30-40 knots.
I had to turn
off the wind generator before it blew up.
The sea lions on the beach serenaded me through the night.
Luckily the anchor held fine but if it
dragged it would have just been out to sea which aint so bad.
There was a small town just up the beach from
where I was anchored.
I guess these
small fishing outposts all have 3 staples:
a church, generator and school.
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| Small fishing village on Cedros Island. |
Sunday and Monday
blur together after departing Cedros Island.
I mostly motored, read, and watched movies. I spotted a small whale two different times
and also had occasional dolphin and sea lion visits. I also had 2 or 3 sailboats off in the
distance. The one boat that passed close
was a 50-60’ Gunboat catamaran with orange hull and black sails. At a cost of over 1 million, he was still only
motoring at 5 knots to my 4 knots, but a
lot more comfortable I would imagine. He
would have flown by me if we were sailing off the wind or down wind.
Tuesday I realized
I should stop in Ensenada to get diesel because I was cutting it too
close. I actually sailed much of the day
but was making slower progress due to being 20 degrees off course. I really enjoyed the quiet of sailing over motoring.
At dusk I was still 30 miles from
Ensenada so I had to motor at 1 knot through the night so I could pass through
the opening into the bay at first light. My plan worked out well and I pulled
into Ensenada about 11 am after fueling up at Marina Coral.
Ensenada – Tuesday May 21, 2013
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| Visiting Dolphins |
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| Rough Ensenda Dock
I have many memories of Ensenada from
both childhood and university days. My
family used to pass through Ensenada on the way to camping at Estero Beach. We always parked on the same street with 3
foot curbs and there was always the same old lady with bottle glasses selling
fish tacos from a push cart on the corner.
After tacos, we would walk the streets looking at the various
shops. As a young adult, my buddies and
I would pass through Ensenada in various surfing/camping trips and visit the
famous Hussongs Cantina and the newer Pappas and Beer dance bar across the
street. Its amazing we survived those
wild days!!
I was planning on anchoring for free but
it appears that anchoring is no longer allowed in Ensenada bay so I took a slip
offered by the young security guard for $30.
It was a surgy slip with lots of squeaking from the fenders. The fancy Coral Marina was $70 so I guess $30
was a better deal. I put out all 6
fenders to protect Mariah. The other
boats on this dock are pretty beat up from the swell.
I spent the rest of
the day walking around the touristy parts of Ensenada. I found Hussongs (the same old bar)and Papas
and Beer(also appears the same but has a larger and louder version also across
the street.) I also found the corner
where my family always parked (25 years ago) with the 3 foot curb. The taco
cart is gone but the same leather shop remains.
The shops still carry much of the same junk like ceramic hamburgers and
surfing monkeys. However, I also found
some nice new products like stained glass and metal art. I bought Mariah a metal sculpture of a face
with wind blown hair (Mariah’s theme) to hang on the wall which I may add back
lighting. I also had fish and meat tacos
from an enclosed street cart (trailer) and napped at a small park near the
really huge Mexico flag with the really big gold colored political heads below. The streets were filled with tourists from
the visiting Carnival cruise ship. I
planned to get a token beer but I was tired and just returned to Mariah for a
quiet night. A good day overall…mission
accomplished of walking down memory lane at Ensenada. I must say the tourist area and marina walk has
improved with age.
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| Same old Hussong's Cantina |
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| The corner where my family used to park for fish tacos and shopping. |
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| Everyone needs a ceramic hamburger |
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| Big Flag with the big heads |
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| They call the winds "Mariah" Metal Sculpure |
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| One picture tells it all |
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| Mossy art |
Tomorrow,
Wednesday, I depart for San Diego. The
cruiser’s net reported gale force winds coming but a San Diego report called
for low winds, which was confirmed by someone at the Ensenada Marina. So let’s hope for low winds for my last 70
mile passage.
Cheers from Ken and Mariah
Quick note...I arrive friday Morning at San Diego after riding through a big 8 foot swell. All is good. More later.
M
