Susan, Sequoia, and Todd go sailing

When discussing a departure date for our next trip to the islands with our buddies on Theophilus, at first we were a bit hesitant. We’re having the UV cover on our jib replaced, and we didn’t want to make a trip without it. But then Ron casually mentioned that he’d also been talking to Isis and Monsoon about all making the trip together.

“Theophilus is our buddy boat!” ranted Capn Envy. “Did they even think about how this would make us feel?” “Relax,” I said, trying to calm him. “I’m sure Ron is just using them so he’ll have enough bodies for a volleyball game. It doesn’t mean anything.”

But of course, we couldn’t just sit by while these upstarts tried to weasel their ways into Theophilus’ hearts. Jib or no jib, we had to join that floatilla, and do all that we could to drive a Sugata-sized wedge between Theophilus and any crew foolish enough to try to steal them away from us! Read the rest of this entry »

On Thursday, April 23, we set out from La Paz for another trip out to the islands. I could tell Capn Cranky Pants was not pleased as we got underway. “Are you unhappy about going out?” I asked.

“Yeah,” he grumbled. “I’d be glad if Theophilus were coming with us. As it is, I’m just gonna have to read and snorkel.” “That is pretty rough,” I agreed. I thought about putting him in charge of cooking for the week, you know, to give him something to do; but the thought of meals consisting only of ham, cheese and eggs gave me pause.

Our first stop was a new to us: Playa Bonanza, on the East side of the islands. Its emerald waters and 2-mile long white sand beach make it a beautiful anchorage. Koiya and I swam ashore to get a closer look at some goats, and ended up meeting Mrs. Gull, who squawked and flew at us because we unwittingly got too close to her nest. Later, we were happy to be visited by dolphins feeding on the fish in the bay. Read the rest of this entry »

Ever since our first season in Mexico in 2007, Koiya has been obsessed with the idea of swimming with dolphins. Whenever we see them at anchor, she runs to get her swimsuit, and begs us to dinghy her closer to them.

When anchored out in La Paz, pods of bottlenose dolphins come by the boat a couple times a day. If we’re below, we’ll know they are close by the explosive sound of their exhalations as they surface.

A couple of mornings ago, we heard the tell-tale sounds and Koiya decided this was her chance. She threw on her suit and waited at the swim ladder. As the dolphins neared, she slipped gently into the water in front of them. Though they were busy feeding, they weren’t startled by her, and simply dove just underneath her, to resurface nearby. It was only a few seconds, but she was thrilled. “I swam with dolphins!” she cried. Read the rest of this entry »

We’re back in La Paz, having spent a week out at Espiritu Santo with our buddies on Theophilus. For sharing meals, drinks, hikes and just bumming around, they are great company!

After a night in Caleta Lobos, we anchored in Ensenada Grande and Toro gave Captain Ron a haircut in exchange for two bottles of Pacifico. Say what you will about Captain Ron; he was wise enough to get the haircut before he let Toro drink the beer!

The next day was cool and overcast, so instead of swimming we went for a “hike”. I say “hike” because “scramble” would be a more apt description. There isn’t really a trail; you just hop from rock to rock. Read the rest of this entry »

Though we were having a great time in Bahia Concepcion, strong North winds were forecast for Friday, March 27, so we decided it was time to head further South. On Thursday afternoon we moved to Punta Santo Domingo, a great jumping-off point for heading South from Concepcion. Around 4am on Friday the North swell started rolling in, so we knew the wind was on its way.

We had the anchor up at 7am, and motored out to the sea, but the wind was still light. Just after 9am we thought the wind was just enough for our spinnaker, so we raised it. Not much later, the wind shifted, so we had to jibe the spinnaker to the other side of the boat. As soon as we got it set on the other side, we got hit by a big gust of wind. The large sail snapped and strained; obviously there was too much wind for it. So within about 20 minutes, we had gone from “Maybe we can carry the spinnaker” to “One reef or two?” (To “reef” is to shorten a sail; we can put up to three reefs in our main sail, when the wind is too strong for us to carry the whole sail.)

Todd went forward to set the stay sail, and had just got the sail ties off when a big swell rolled the boat. He lost his balance and went back… back… his eyes big as saucers… back… and SAVED! as his butt caught the life line and he bounced back onto the deck! In his bright yellow foul weather gear, the whole scene reminded me of a WWF wrestler springing off the ring lines. I made a mental note to buy him one of the Mexican wrestling masks that they have at all the mercados. Read the rest of this entry »

Baja is great because there are few mosquitos or no-see-ums, so you don’t have to worry about biting insects. But there are bobos: little non-biting gnats. So no big deal, right?

You would think. But these tiny bugs have a giant-sized capacity to annoy! They land on you, and you feel a little tickle on your skin. You shoo them away and within a second, they land right back on the exact same spot. If you grit your teeth and ignore that, they will then start landing in your hair and buzzing. Then they will crawl behind your sunglasses. They will not rest until you run below for cover, wailing like a banshee and slapping yourself randomly all over your body.

But with her “make lemons into lemonade” attitude, Sequoia got the bright idea to capture a bobo and make it her pet. She used cardboard, tape and plastic to build a Bobo Hotel, complete with a cotton pad bed and decorations. I noticed there was a little sign inside that said “Bob’s Palace”.

“Bob?” I asked. “After your annoying Uncle Bob?”
“No!” she said, exasperated. “Bob is short for bobo.”

But after the first bobo she caught escaped within seconds, she decided it was because he didn’t like the name Bob. So the next one she caught she named Steve. Then I was convinced she was naming them after her annoying uncles!

Steve was with us for an hour or so, escaping somewhere near La Paz. But I have no doubt we’ll see some of his relatives the next time we’re out.

We left Santa Rosalia on Tuesday, March 17, and had a great spinnaker sail down to Punta Chivato. The next morning we headed down into Bahia Concepcion, and again had a good sail, this time under main and jib.

Bahia Concepcion is a large bay on the Baja side of the Sea of Cortez. Within Concepcion is another smaller bay called Bahia Coyote, and within Coyote are a number of beautiful, beach-lined coves. We had heard of cruisers spending weeks here, hopping from cove to cove, so we were excited to see if it measured up to the hype.

As we neared Bahia Coyote, we were joined by a number of large bottlenose dolphins. Though they didn’t surface much, we were thrilled to see their powerful, graceful movements as they rode our bow and wake. Read the rest of this entry »

Sugata has reached La Paz, and we’ll be updating our blog very soon. But in the meantime, we interrupt our regularly scheduled posts to send our condolences to our friend Peter Truce, whose boat Heat Wave was lost at sea in the Double Handed Farallones Race. While we’re relieved that the two racers survived, we’re saddened by the loss of this little firecracker of a boat.

I found it especially eerie because in his email informing us of the loss, Peter says “a life raft below probably would not have helped.” Why is this eerie? Well, Peter is the one who gave us our life raft, which we carry below!

Read about the loss of Heat Wave, and the amazing survival of her crew, here. On the bay on a calm day, this boat could get your heart racing. I shudder to think what kind of ride it was with 40 knot winds and 10 foot seas.

Adios, Heat Wave! I’m gonna miss singing that song, and Todd will miss sailing on you!

Just a quick update from an internet cafe in Mulege (pronounced mu-la-HEY). We’ve been enjoying ourselves in Bahia Concepcion: swimming, snorkeling, hiking and hot springs! Today we’re in town getting groceries, and planning to head south with the wind on Friday. The plan is to scoot down to La Paz to meet up with our friends on Theophilus. Will post pictures and more as soon as we can!

Santa Rosalia is a low-key Baja California town that was founded by a French mining company in the mid-1800s. The biggest tourist attraction here is the church, which was designed by Gustave Eiffel (as in Eiffel Tower). We’re not sure how this quaint little place, with its French colonial architecture, has not been overrun by gringos- there’s not even a local gringo bar!- but we’ve sure enjoyed exploring the town, stocking up on groceries, and getting our fill of restaurant dining.

As Santa Rosalia is on Highway 1, the main highway that runs the length of Baja, it is a great jumping-off spot for exploring inland. We did some reading and found out that near San Ignacio, a little oasis town about an hour inland by bus, there are two main tourist attractions: cave paintings, and a lagoon where gray whales cavort and give birth. As it turns out, February and March are the best time to see the whales, and this particular lagoon is known to have the most “friendlies”, whales that enjoy interacting with humans.

Though I loves some archaeology, Like the ones i know on https://www.archaeologist-near-me.co.uk/pre-construct/. I was a bit hesitant to make the trek to the cave paintings for a couple of reasons: I was afraid the other tourists would take one look at Todd’s large overhanging brow, and assume he was one of the artists; and, the last time we saw pictographs in Sedona, Todd kept saying things like, “That’s supposed to be a deer? Chuh! I could do better than that!” and “These pictures look like they were done by Montessori school dropouts!” Read the rest of this entry »