Month: April 2021

The wildest marina in the world

Living on a boat in the Cabo San Lucas marina is a bucket list item I didn’t know I had. It’s like parking an RV in time square for a week. Sure it’s loud but it’s where the action is. Our boat was the only one in the marina that didn’t come and go 4 times each day, with a new fishing group or bachelor/ette party. 

We explored, ate tacos, and set to fixing the boat. We attempted to re-epoxy the handrail and it was mostly a success. We put forth our best effort at repairing the sail, but our 1930’s sewing machine wasn’t up to the task. The sail will have to remain in its wounded condition until a professional can tend to it in La Paz. 

Our community has been amazing in supporting us and surprising us with blessings from afar. Thank you to everyone who sponsored a meal or a drink. We feel so so loved and also so so fat. But very happy either way. 

A special shoutout to Hailey and Kyle for using hotel points to put us up at the Cabo Inn for 2 nights in the honeymoon palapa. We had the whole top floor to ourselves, a comfy bed and a warm shower…and surprisingly few walls – which made for an awesome experience. 

The pinnacle of our time in Cabo was to fulfill the destiny of my hair. I started growing it before we had ever set foot on the boat, with the intent of not cutting it until we succeeded somehow in the sailboat journey. So Cabo being our southernmost stop, it was time. Taylor got out the scissors and set to work on the best haircut of my life. 

The Tennessee Tophat, the Kentucky Waterfall, the Missouri Compromise, the Neck Cape, Business in Front Party in Back, THE MULLET! 

Within an hour of the haircut I had 15 shoutouts/compliments, and a couple rounds of drinks paid for. It was a great investment. 

36 hours of movement… all thanks to our motor

After a few hour rest at Bahia Magdalena, we roused at 5 and set off for Cabo. There was no wind in the forecast but that was fine by us. The morning was incredible. We saw more birds, dolphins and baitfish in the 30 minutes either side of sunrise than we’d expect in a lifetime. 

Dolphins are so neat.

They escorted us for miles. 

We didn’t get bird or fish pics. But here’s a cat.

The pacific was calm and skies were sunny so we lounged casually on the bow, and listened to audio books. Sunset brought fog and a windless wavy night. 

We started seeing sea turtles! They are impossible to photograph because they’re skiddish and just under the surface but it’s the best confirmation that we’re nearly in the tropics.

Wednesday cleared up and the morning was easy. Signs of civilization dotted the shore and eventually we spied bright green golf courses and massive resorts. As we got closer boat traffic picked up from 5 boats in 1000 miles to 50 per. 

The resorts are massive, modern and pretty cool lookin from the water. 

We hooked a fish right outside the main bay but couldn’t land it. The price to pay for barbless hooks. We’ll settle in to the Cabo marina. Take a few days to relax and mostly to repair the damages incurred along the way and figure out what’s next. Hopefully lots of visitors in the Sea or Cortez. Anyone who wants to visit, we can promise good food, warm weather and refreshing water. Anytime between now and July 1st we can probably make work. We’ll be standing by our phones and planners. 

Bahia Tortugas and Bahia Asunción

Ok, these came out of order. It’s much harder on the phone to schedule posts so read this one first!!!
Update: We made it to Cabo! A year ago we doubted our ability to make it to San Francisco and although it was a bumpy ride at times, and the schedule wasn’t ideal (financially) we’ve had a blast and are so incredibly excited to have made it this far.

Look out for emails the next 3 days as I’m gonna try to catch up on missed posts from the Baja stretch, WiFi pending.

In the mean time:

We spent 2 days in turtle bay. It’s a cute but dusty little town. The locals were very helpful, and presumably everyone knew of us as we were the only boat anchored in the bay. A man who spoke a few English words met us on the beach and offered to take our trash to his dumpster. He pointed us in the direction of the grocery store with a water filling station. En route a 12-ish-year old boy met us and offered to show us the rest of the way. We’re glad he did because it was an unmarked bright green building. Inside he helped us find the water spigot and offered a tour of the grocery store. We hauled our water back to the dinghy and strolled around town musing about becoming ex-pats in a cute town like this. 

We were alerted to the carne asada tacos being served at 6 at a little restaurant and promised to come back. We took everything back to the boat and dinghied ashore again for dinner. The 6 o’clock invitation must have been cancelled because we were the only ones there. Taylor went rogue and got fish tacos which was wise. They were far superior to the beef. I suppose it makes sense in a fishing town.

The next morning we pulled the hook at first light and set off to our next stop. The morning showed us the calmest open ocean we’ve ever seen. So under sail, we decided to fish. We almost immediately caught fish and the fight was harder than usual because we couldn’t simply throttle back because the sails kept pushing us along at 5 knots. We hauled in a tuna! It was a bonito but unlike the ones off Catalina it was 12 pounds and 33 inches! We filleted the first fish and quickly caught 3 more. Taylor’s was a little larger but we had enough meat for days so we released the rest.

The last few hours into Bahia Asunción were great. The winds built to 26 knots gusting to 30 but since the sun was up and we were only a few miles from safe harbor we kept the sail up and flew into town with the boat heeled and waves coming over the bow. 

Asunción protected us from swell and we made ceviche. The next morning we opted to delay our town adventure so we could sleep in and tidy the boat. The dinghy got a bath and a fresh coat of sunscreen. The dodger windows needed to be scrubbed and as always the boat needed to be put back together after a hard sail. 

We were a little ripe after 10 days since our last shower so we jumped in. The water is still freezing. Here’s hoping that the next turn will bring warm water. 

We’ve been using dr. Bronner’s soap since it sudses in saltwater and wanted to try to shampoo our hair. Unfortunately, we didn’t know the soap turns into wax in cold enough water so we were unable to rinse it out and ended up in a much worse situation than before. No pictures of this process as we were wet and flustered.

We had tuna steaks for dinner as a consolation prize. We tried dunking our heads in a bucket of slightly warmed water but are still rocking the mostly waxy hairdo. 

The following morning we wandered the town, collected some essentials (tecate), got a wonderful lunch and some much missed WiFi. 

If the weather holds we’re planning a 4 day sprint to Cabo.

Asunción to Mag Bay to Cabo

We woke up at 2 am Sunday to check the wind. It was calm enough but we were tired and decided to re-start at 3. Anchor up and coffee made we set off for Bahia Magdalena. It would be 40 hours ish, and we had a few alternate anchorages if we ended up going too fast or too slow. The morning was cold and dark. The moon had already set but the Milky Way is incredible with absolutely no light pollution aside from our running lights. 

Early Monday morning we caught a bonito and although not as large as our last one (maybe 9 lbs) we had hooked it agressively and opted to keep and fillet her. We switched to a barbless hook after that and caught a few more large ones. They’re aptly named ‘bonito’ but it’s hard to get a good picture on a catch-and-release without feeling like they’ll die. But maybe we’re conditioned on sensitive trout, and ocean fish are much heartier? Any ichthyologists feel free to chime in. 

Monday made for good sailing. We had 15 knots on and off all day and a gentle following swell. We motored a little but kept the sail up. We made some dumb decisions here. I tied a preventer line onto a handrail to keep the boom from swinging wildly in the light air. But I didn’t make it tight enough, so it was able to shock load a couple times and we ripped off the stainless steel handrail. Then later we found out one of our sliding boom shackles was tangled against a reef line and as we reefed in the afternoon winds, we cranked a big rip in the bottom edge of the sail. So we have some repairs waiting in Cabo and probably won’t be able to hoist full sail for a few days. 

The night shift was uncomfortable as the swell backed to the west and hit us more on the side than we prefer. We still found a few hours of sleep here and there. 

The next day required some motoring but things went smoothly and we dropped the anchor in Bahia Magdalena at 7 pm Sunday night. We saw a few late season Gray Whales milling about in the bay so that boosted our energy. We cleaned, refueled using our Jerry cans, cooked the fish, celebrated the leg with a mojito and promptly fell asleep. 

The next stretch could be another 40 hour leg, this time with no wind in the forecast.

Mark’s halfway!

We left San Quentin in good weather at 8 am and motored our of the bay for 2 hours. Once free of the bay, we caught the wind and sailed south. The next 26 hours were ideal and we didn’t do much.

We reefed and un reefed as winds dictated but mostly bobbed along until we reached the north end of Cedros island. (We didn’t sleep much though as the ‘bobs’ were substantial). Once behind Cedros the wind and swell died so we comfortably motored the last 3 hours to our anchorage. The port captain spoke a little English and cleared us to anchor just outside of the break wall. We dinghies to town and had a simple dinner. We asked for restaurant recommendations but I believe we were led by family and friends rather than culinary advice because the restaurant was just ok. 

After a pretty rolly night sleep, we set off and had the best day of sailing yet. 

Consistent 15 knot winds and sheltered by the islands, we sailed comfortably to Bahia tortugas. Along the way we caught our first Baja fish! A Mexican barracuda! A 3 foot chunk of firehose as our fishing guidebook described. But sufficient for many fish tacos. 

Turtle bay marks the halfway point to Cabo and the first (actual) comfortable anchorage since Ensenada.

Back under sail

22 hours after leaving Ensenada we anchored at Isla San Martin. It was a mostly easy crossing with sustained winds of 17-22 knots . Windier than we prefer and most sailing was done with both reefs in the main and the headsail put away. 

We had a few hours early Thursday morning of no wind, and drifting slowly exacerbates the swell. Without enough water flowing across the rudder the autopilot gets confused. Hand steering is necessary, because it gets really uncomfortable to be broadside to the swell. 

Right at 5:30 am when Taylor’s sleep shift ended we fired up the motor and puttered onward. Taylor killed the motor and hauled up full sail at 7:30 when the wind returned and gracefully gave me another hour of sleep sans grinding diesel. The sailing was fast the rest of the morning. A south swell was predicted so we opted for the south and west protection of Isla San Martin. But that left us exposed to the 20+ knot winds from the north. After 20 minutes at anchor we pulled the hook and sailed another 3 hours to San Quentin bay. The bay is protected to the north from waves, but being just a low sandbar we still had 20 knots of wind all night with chattering wind waves.

There are a few buildings on shore, and the occasional dune buggy running the beach but it’s easily the most isolated anchorage we’ve been at thus far. 

We opted to stay aboard scooter and not dinghy to shore. With these winds, and a motor failure, we wouldn’t be able to row back home, and would end up a few dozen miles down wind. 

Rumor has it pangueros will come alongside to offer rides into town but we never got more than a polite waive from the 1 panga going to fish. 

Since starting sailing I’ve read a lot of old sailing books and one thing I’ve decided is sailors were HARD folk. Even 20 years ago, without the cheap access to gps, sailing was really hard. And then to add on the misery of years at sea against one’s will, the work required to keep a wooden boat held together, and all the ropes are the same color! 

We’re so incredibly blessed by a fiberglass boat that doesn’t leak, and by 5 devices that can readout our exact location (within a few feet) all the time. 

Sailing used to be terrifying. Without charts, without schedules, casks of moldy water.

Sailors were allotted a pint of rum a day, to blend with 3 pints of water. This 25:75 blend was called grog and hopefully killed any bacteria in the months-old-water-casks. So a 1/2 gallon of wine strength drink was meant to keep you alive and hydrated. Occasionally they were awarded more, hence the origin of the term ‘groggy’. too much grog. 

We felt softly akin to this term this week. If you add enough bleach to Mexican unfiltered Dock water it’s safe to drink and,according to sailing books, a bottle of white wine per 50 gallons negates the bleach taste. So our drinking water is a fractional homage to the grog of the olden days. 

Who knows what’s next!

We made the short trek from San Diego to Ensenada Friday! It was about 13 hours with a little rough patch of southerly swell and wind coming out of San Diego.

We were stuck on the boat for the first afternoon and night while we awaited a health inspector to come clear us to leave the boat. Then we got a van to the Port Captain office to clear customs and get our Vessel Import Permit. 
Once officially in the country we settled into planning and more provisioning. We didn’t bring any fresh food or meat into the country per the laws, but they didn’t really seem to care. Nor did they care about all of the prep we did for Captain Eunice’s paperwork. 
Wind and waves for the next stretch is rough but not as rough as the apps trying to predict the weather. We’ve vised and re-vised our plans every couple hours. 

Amid the planning, we’ve had so much fun. Most people know my favorite thing in the world is grocery shopping and this has been a next level experience. The exchange rate is great, the produce is fantastic, and then all the little things are so fun! Like the fresh tortillas fresh bakery, fresh chips, etc.
We’ve occupied our time with a four way blend of:

• Preparing and provisioning (constant boat projects)
• Enjoying the ‘marina’ amenities (attached to a 5 star hotel).
• Watching basketball at the only restaurant in walking distance.• And exploring Ensenada. The $2 uber into town, $2 affogatos, and $2 micheladas have made our stay far 2 hospitable.
• The next 14 days look less comfortable. It’s 300 miles to Turtle bay, the next real haven, then another 400 to Cabo.
  We’re optimistic, have lots of playlists and books downloaded, and are eager to get some miles behind us.
  Also, since moving onto the boat, any part of Mexico became the official goal, so we feel content in clearing customs. Anything after this is bonus. Granted, we said the same thing when we successfully made it to San Fran.

The next post will likely be a sat phone text transcript. Feel free to comment what stats from the passage you’d like included. For instance the number of hats purchased and Micheladas enjoyed are both 1. 

To Ensenada and beyond!

At the risk of jinxing ourselves, we’re ready to leave San Diego, and set sail for Mexico!

At the start of the week, we got word we could clear customs and enter the country legally. We set out to finish the 100 tasks needed to prep Scooter to be back out at sea day in day out. Task number 1 was to come up with 100 things we need to do, which was surprisingly easy. And once we got to work, every two completed tasks reminded us of at least one more.

 know what you’re thinking, how did you have so many tasks left after waiting to go for 5 months…and you’d be absolutely right to think that. We’re wondering also. But many of these jobs are time-sensitive, like filling our spare water tanks, getting all of the fruits, vegetables, and fresh meat off the boat. But still, we probably could’ve spread out some of the jobs over the months. 

As of this week Scooter has:

• Functional Navigation lights for night sailing
• A working knot log (speedometer)
• A fixed dinghy motor with ample spares
• Increased diesel capacity for a 600-mile range!
• Baja Charts (if our digital options fail)
• A Spanish-English dictionary
• a whopping 73-gallon freshwater capacity
• spare baseball caps to barter with fishermen for fish.
• dry goods provisoning
• backups on backups on backups of anything we could think of (and fit onboard)
• And 90 other things we chipped off the list.

Other highlights of the week:

Our aft bedroom had developed a small leak and the rain made it a moldy mess. 

Round 1 of our sendoff party turned into a fun dinghy ride…no surprise there. 

Molly Collins, Taylor’s childhood hero, & friends came to visit and tour the boat. 

We had a sushi night sendoff with Chuck and Kitsy. Making sushi in a full-sized kitchen is way more fun than on a small boat, and watching march madness on a big TV is way more fun than on a phone screen.

And Taylor made a badass tote-bag out of some very high-tech sail material!

Assuming departure goes as planned, we’ll leave San Diego harbor Thursday night just before midnight. Sail overnight and arrive in Ensenada mid-afternoon Friday, then begin looking for weather windows to head south. 

We want to thank everyone who has made San Diego home. This week of warm sendoffs has made us feel very bittersweet about leaving. We never expected a few family connections and some random contacts to turn into such an incredible community. This is the longest Taylor and I have been in one place since we got married and we could not be more grateful for what everyone has done for us. 

Thank you! 

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Also, if you’ve made it this far you’re a serious reader/supporter so thank you for that. We’re not sure what emails will look like when we’re out of cell service in Baja but our sat phone will work so I may be able to post brief text updates every week. And hopefully when we do return to civilization the pictures can make up for it.