La Paz and The Push-Off

Hello from La Paz! And goodbye from Mexico!

As you may have noticed if you’ve been following our tracker, we are still in La Paz! One week turned into almost two, but, at last, we are just about ready to set sail into the great blue yonder! Yes, it’s 1am, and yes we still have fruit and vegetables all over our cabin floor.

I have been consoling myself by talking to other boaters around here… EVERYONE gets delayed. It’s pretty funny really… we tell ourselves it’ll only take so long, it’s really a simple job, we can stow that stuff easily… all the while knowing, understanding, that these things have a mind of their own and foil you when you least expect it.

But you know, if you’re going to be delayed anywhere, this sure is a good place to do it. La Paz has a huge cruisers community, complete with 8am radio meeting, helpful neighbours (usually on bigger boats with more tools), and a selection of Marina’s. We visited local community garden projects, went on epic walking and biking missions, climbed the mast twice, spliced, whip-stitched, varnished, varnished, varnished, and made good use of the endless supply of beer and ice-cream.

Charlie’s birthday happened last week, and his sister even flew down to meet us, since her birthday was the very next day! It was a wonderful two days of complete relaxation, lazing on the beach and ignoring our job-list. We managed to smuggle in a Huge Pacifico Beer-Shaped Pinata, filled with more lollies than I care to describe.

Stickers, a toy tool set and a sling-shot were some of the gifts he received, so it seems everyone is well-aware that he has a lot of little boy in him

We even got a couple of hours of sailing in while Johanna was visiting. It was great to get out and remind ourselves marina’s are not where Portal belongs.

On the way here from Cabo San Lucas, we finally met a boat named “Reseinder” that had been leap frogging us all the way down the Baja Coast. The two owners, Jerid and Scott, are sweethearts and shock of all shocks – they have a cat named “Pixel”!! I almost fell over when they told us over the VHF radio. What are the chances? They have been docked two boats over from us here in La Paz and are one of the many boats that helped us with various tools and project ideas.

We met two other boats with similar routes – Bruce, Catherine and Luka on “Marionette” a 50ft Cheoy Lee build. They are a Kiwi-French family and will be leaving tomorrow morning on route to the Marquesas. I don’t expect we’ll stay close for long, but it’s nice to know they’re out there!

The second boat is a little more our speed – a 30ft Newport named “Azul”. Her owners Mike and Nea are kindred spirits, going small and going now. Actually they are leaving on Saturday, but we should be sailing around the same route, so I’m sure we’ll see them again.

Portal is more loaded down than she has ever been before – with over 160gals of water, 20gals of fuel, three full propane tanks and more food/produce than a French Polynesian market It’s nice to know we’ll be getting lighter and lighter as we head South West and I for one don’t need any better excuse than that to eat a whole pineapple a day for a week!

We have really enjoyed our time here and all the great people we’ve met. Paul and Celeste on The Beguine have become good friends, and we now can search for familiar faces in further reaches of the world. What a great country, full of friendly, helpful people. We didn’t experience anything close to crime or dishonesty during our time here, and we all hope to visit again. We can only hope for similar treatment on the rest of our journey.

For now though, it’s a wide open ocean and no-one but Neptune to treat us right. At least 4 weeks at sea – We’ll see you on the other side ladies and gentlemen!! Adios!

Pixel spent a lot of time sleeping! The heat was getting to her I think…

We overhauled our winches and made them shiny!

Charlie the instructor…

We taped and varnished everything (finally!) and got at least three coats on it all. We’ll need three more for the South Pacific sunshine, but it’s a start and she looks great!

Pixel, the model cat. She made friends too – with ‘Stow-away’ a 5yr old male beauty.

We scrubbed her bottom, which was surprisingly clean. It’s nice that we can reach everything in a few breaths!

Charlie requested a haircut and dread for his birthday… then Babsi wanted one… then Lydia too. Now we all have at least one dreadlock

Chapter 1, Completed!

Cabo San Lucas. The tip of Baja California, the first milestone of the voyage, where the land ends and the ocean begins, where we enter a new phase. It already seems like long ago that we spoke of resting here, provisioning for our journey west, across the Pacific. Los Angeles and our life there have begun to drift into memory, as we settle into this new life on the sea.

Actually, after hearing various accounts of Cabo – ranging from: “it’s like the zoo – nice for a day”; to: “it’s like Venice beach on steroids, stay away!”, we decided La Paz would be a better launching point. Tomorrow we will sail into the Sea of Cortez and explore the last of our relaxed Mexican anchorages on route to the ‘Peace’ city, where we plan on spending a week before sailing off into the great expanse.

For now though, we are at the zoo, and it’s fun for a day. Jet ski’s whiz past our little ship, as she sits snugly to two anchors overlooking the majestic rock formations that this town is famous for. On shore, hotels and designer brands line the beach while men yell ‘taxi’ or ‘fishing trip’ as we walk by. Still, it’s land, there’s internet and coffee and tacos and beer and we are happy.

The ride here was a bumpy exciting one! We left Bahia Asuncion with 25knot winds on the forecast – ready for a fast passage to Mag Bay. Sure enough, 25 to 30knot gusts pushed us to our destination, averaging over 5.5knots per hour. The wind was exhilarating, even pleasant… but the seas such breeze kicked up, especially as we were sailing relatively close to the coast, was challenging, at times terrifying! Huge walls of water rose up behind us, and just when I was sure it would rain down upon us, Portal would gently lift her stern, white wash would snow around us as it broke, and we’d surf down the wave. Well offshore waves tend to roll out, creating potentially bigger swells, but much longer and therefore smoother ones. Coastal sailing like this means short sharp waves that kick up in different directions, often pushing us 40 degrees off course. Constantly correcting our position, we were grateful for our short 2hour helming shifts.

I was glad for the experience though, and proud to see our little ship so well handled by the crew. We made good, simple meals and even managed some sleep here and there. By Mag Bay though, we were beat and ready for rest!

An overnight stop in Bahia Santa Maria, where we spent a memorable morning sunbathing, skinny dipping (dipping is all it was – the water was still freezing!) and lazing around in the little deserted anchorage, before heading 20miles up the road to Mag Bay proper. During that afternoon sail, we – at long last – caught a fish! What a delight!! A small tuna, a foot and half long, fed the four of us gleefully as we giggled around the table, bathed in our cozy cabin lights. This day was a real treat – simply relaxing!

 

The next leg was 150nm to Cabo San Lucas. Our forecast read light breezes, so we pushed off around 2pm, hoping for a 4knot average – bringing us into the Cabo bay by early morning. We should have known though – Portal doesn’t ‘do’ slow anymore. She hurried along at 6knots and our new arrival time became more like 11pm. I am REALLY not a fan of landfalls in the dark (such stress and anxiety!) but seeing it was an easy to identify and open bay, I reluctantly agreed to enter whenever it was we arrived. Around 10.30pm, Charlie and Lydia put two reefs in the main and ran in under such reduced canvas. A good thing too, as the stretch between the two capes – Cabo Falso and Cabo San Lucas -  often have famously strong winds by the day’s end, and tonight was no exception. I heaved the tiller over to windward, holding it there with my thigh, working us closer to the coast. Beam on to the wind and waves, Portal and I would hold our breaths as large walls of water crashed into us, momentarily heeling us over with a deluge of spray into the cockpit. I begun yelling in an old-salt Irish accent, encouraging us on, despite my white knuckles and 40knot gusts.  The crew down below listened to my ranting and the crashing waves, while Charlie constantly confirmed our position on the charts. It was an exciting entry!

A mile offshore, the mountains finally blocked our breeze and the waves calmed down. We identified the large rocks at the entrance and rounded the point well clear. Thankfully the bay was surprisingly calm and uncluttered and we soon found a suitable anchorage spot. Another two hours later (!), and some very stereotypical husband/wife anchor yelling and grunting, we were satisfied with our holding and tackle – two anchors, cqr at the bow and danforth on the stern, with 3-1 scope on both. As I finally lay down to sleep that night, I wondered when the last time was that I had felt so utterly exhausted – mentally, emotionally and physically. A deep pride in our sturdy little vessel overwhelmed me as I drifted into slumber.

We awoke to the sights and sounds of Cabo San Lucas, with all it’s circus and commotion. After a much needed cleaning of the boat inside and out, we splurged two dollars on a water taxi and headed ashore. Again, we have rejuvenated and reconnected – ready for the next and final leg of Mexico.

Baja California in a little boat…

Portal swings briskly from side to side, as we watch the flock of birds from the beach. There is a stiff breeze and we are grateful for this reasonably protected anchorage here in Bahia Asuncion.

We arrived yesterday, after another early morning start from Turtle Bay. Since  leaving Ensenada, our first Mexican port, we have had great passages to various small bays and islands. Our first stop to Isla St Martin was somewhat disappointing -  we had hoped to explore an enclosed lagoon on the small desolate island, but I awoke with a migraine and spent the day vomiting, as Charlie and the crew moved us to the mainland, 10miles away. We read about a small village there, with a few resources, and the local “Carlos” who would answer our radio call with information. As it turned out, anchorage was taken in 5ft at low tide (barely enough for our 4ft keel) and well offshore so that rowing to land was out of the question. Mr Carlos never answered our curious calls, and our active imaginations have since surmised that the small town must have been decimated by the Cartel, nothing left but torn Tecate signs.

We fled that wild and lonely place, around 4am, with our sights set on Isla Cedros. Anticipating two nights at sea, we were thrilled when we averaged over 5.5 knots, making anchorage by the following evening. Along our way, we were intercepted by a most humbling sight – Three Californian grey whales chose to swim with us for over two hours. We turned our engine on immediately and tried to alter course, but they insisted on accompanying us, sometimes getting so close their blow-water splashed in our faces. Rising up on our stern, then diving below our keel, it was a most terrifying and beautiful experience! They never so much as nicked our vessel though, so I suppose they were well aware, and had no intent of harming us.

Arriving in Cedros, we rowed ashore in our trusty dinghy “Luckey” and were again surprised -  a quaint and vibrant town of 2500 inhabitants surrounded us, the people a friendly and relaxed bunch. Colourful buildings with descriptive drawings painted directly to the facade, small side streets of cobbled stones, and cute business’ like the Papeleria selling paper supplies. Being Easter, there was a local parade through the town, complete with Jesus on a cross and his disciples, being banished by the Romans  as the story was read aloud through a truck’s sound-system. We made good use of the local internet cafe and taqueria, making friends with the jovial by-passers. We were all a little sad to leave the following morning, grateful for the unique small-town experience, void of tourism.

At 2am we set off for our next stop – Turtle Bay. Another pleasant and swift sail, saw us anchoring in the well protected bay around 1pm. Touched by the tourism of the annual “Baha-ha-ha” cruisers race, it was never-the-less an enjoyable resting point with delicious coffee and plenty of fresh food and water provisions. We spent the afternoon relaxing on the beach under palm-tree umbrellas, grateful for some rest after such an early start.

The next morning was again a pre-dawn rise though, as we needed to make Bahia Asuncion before dark. We again averaged over 5knots, with reefs in the main and jib, flying downwind in sharp heavy seas. Occasionally we would spot another sailboat beating their way north, and all agreed they were crazy! Thankfully an hour or so of daylight remained after entering the bay, since we dropped anchor 4 times before finding a good hold. Eventually we had success by removing our CQR and installing our Danforth anchor instead. A lighter, weaker anchor, but more appropriate for the loose sand we found here. My muscles were pulsing with exhaustion, after hauling 40ft of chain in and out, in and out, though I still don’t regret removing the poorly placed windlass Portal originally came with.

Now we are here, giving ourselves a full day of rest, drinking coffee and chowing down fish tacos. This is a large bay with a significant village, and so far we have had much help from the local people, particularly in refilling our propane. We will restock on food and water here, then make the run to “Mag Bay”, 200nm from here. Provisions don’t sound promising there, but being a well-protected anchorage, it will be a good rest stop before another 150nm downhill run to Cabo San Lucas. We are definitely taking longer than expected along this western coast, but have decided it is well-worth the delay – such nice communities and the glimpse into rural Mexican life is not to be missed.

Letter Writing in Ensenada

It’s a tough life… internet on the boat!

A lazy sail

Our new drifter – what fun to use!

Whales!

Holding our breath!

At least twice as long as our boat, and easily one boat length wide…

Terrifying beauty

Pixel lazing in her favourite spot – on top of the dodger cover.

Lydia’s eternal struggle for clean hair – here she tries the ‘hang and dunk’ method…

Barbara does some dishes

Captain Charlie on the electronics

Cedros village grocery

Easter on Isla Cedros

Our new friend Armando helps us get propane in Bahia Asuncion

A Mexican fisherman’s home

Bahia Asuncion

 

 

 

 

 

Adios America!

Hello from Mexico!

We left Marina Del Rey on a breezy afternoon and had great conditions. Cruising along with full sails up and pushing 7knots, we were a happy crew! By nightfall the wind had all but died though, and after an hour of bashing sails, we turned on the engine. The block on our main sheet traveller had broken under the stress – our first casualty of the trip. She’s an old boat, and things are bound to break – but so soon into the voyage was a little disconcerting! Still, we lashed down the traveller and pushed on for Catalina, thankful that the fracture happened in light airs. Our ‘iron jib’ reliably propelled us forward, all be it at 3knots, and it was several hours later than any sort of wind piped up.

We sailed the last miles into Two Harbors, on Catalina Island, and as we had been there twice before, the late-night land fall was only mildly worrying. It is well lit and buoyed, so we picked up a mooring easily enough, and all fell soundly to sleep.

We spent a full day recovering from the stress/excitement of leaving, just lazing about the boat and beach. Our friend Bob was sailing from MDR to meet us there that evening, but ran into serious trouble with fog, freighters and no radio. Charlie and I even went out on a late-night rowing rescue mission after we lost contact with him, though we couldn’t find him. Later we learned he had turned back and was safe and sound, thank goodness.

Another two nights were spent at different anchorages along the catalina coastline, honing our skills and finishing small tasks. By Thursday afternoon the wind looked good and we were ready to push off for San Diego.

The first few hours were hopeful, with great breeze off our beam. Once again though, by 10pm a dense fog rolled in and the wind completely abated. We were loathe to turn on the engine again, but at 0.05knots we decided it was time. Not a puff came our way until well into the morning hours, just 10miles from San Diego. The fog had lingered through the night too, and I was VERY thankful for our AIS device, which shows us nearby traffic and let’s them see us too.

So then we were in San Diego! Our final port in the USA and a great place for repairs and final projects. A whole six days went by as we rested, tromped around the city on business missions, readied the rest of the boat, and restocked on provisions. We were all anxious to get going, and days seemed to fly by with little productivity. In hindsight though, we achieved a lot and finished some important tasks. Finally, by Thursday afternoon we were off and away, ice-cream, coke and chips in hand (America FUCKYEAH), cruising out of the country on a steady 6knots.

We made great headway in such good breeze and 4 hours later were almost half way. Then the wind died. Around 10pm. Sound familiar? This time we motored in big swells and the constant rolling afforded little sleep. Thankfully, around 4am, she piped up again and we were able to make steady progress with full sails.

At 11am, we pushed into the Ensenada Chanel, jumped off the boat and begun life in MEXICO! Yeeha! Clearing into customs was simple, thanks to the helpful marina we stayed in for a night, and the tacos and tecate (beer) taste GOOD!

Mooring field at Two harbors

Our stern anchor keeps us from swinging

Lydia and Babsi row a stern anchor out

Darling Portal. She’s a little heavy in the stern, with everyone in the cockpit!

A row in the early morning

Our never-been-used Drifter sail. Excited to try it out!

During

Before

During

After!

The captain’s quarters – Vberth

Barbara’s Side, Port Berth

Lydia’s Berth, Starboard side

The galley

AIS – A lifesaver in the fog

The Nav Station

Portal’s solar panel set up – 4x30watt panels, give us plenty of energy.

Luckey, our trusty companion.

Track Portal!

Hey everyone! We have begun our voyage, and are having a great time so far.

Here is a website you can use to track our progress – every ten minutes!!

http://share.delorme.com/lilybarlow#

 

And at last! The Master List gets thrown out! Woohoo!

Fair winds!

Portal Departs Marina Del Rey

Visitors amongst the chaos…

We were so lucky to have so many guests visit us these last few months. Charlie’s mum, Pam, came for a visit late last year and partook in crazy engine-less fog-sailing, my sister Suzie came all the way from New Zealand for a week of Portal lazing, our dear friend Andy came for a night and stayed for a month (but we wish he’d stayed longer!), Mum and Peter arrived early February with energy and enthusiasm to carry our projects forward, Allie, an old friend, stopped by for a night, Charlie’s bike buddy Chris helped out for a week, and finally my Dad, by the end of February, with dehydrating expertise and all-round adventurers wisdom. Everyone helped a lot, all in their own way, and it was great to have the company!

Ally visits our little home

Mum, Charlie and I trying to stay warm!

So easy to please… asleep amongst the chaos

Dad Dehydrates!

Crazy Chris helps us re-wire