TIJUANA MANANA

I will be flying up to Tijuana, not riding a stinkin' bus.  Actually the buses here are fabulous, but Volaris Airlines is matching the bus fare, so I don't have to do two 24 hour trips between La Paz and Tijuana.  What a relief.  Will be getting into San Diego in the early evening, probably to late to pick up the windlass at Cabrillo Isle Marina.  Shanta, in the marina office has been a real sweetheart about recieving our packages.  I hope to get them out of her way as soon as I can. 

I will have all my import information with me, so hopefully getting the windlass into Mexico will be no problem.  Don't know about all the rest of it.  Will see....

I am flying back on Saturday, installing the windlass on Monday and departing on Tuesday, unless our friends Jerry and Randi come down to La Paz for a visit.  We have been tempting them into coming down by offering them the chance to cruise up to Loretto with us.  Hope they can make it.  If they do then we will be on their schedule for a while.

ANDALE A SAN DIEGO

Just heard from Jim Thomas at Imtra that my windlass will ship today, and should arrive in San Diego in five working days.  That sounds like Tuesday or maybe Wednesday of next week.  I will be taking a bus to Tijuana, cross the border and ride the trolley into town.  Would love to do a immediate turn around and head back the same day, but probably will spend the night. 

I will also be getting a big Amazon order.  Two Kindles, a couple water hammocks, and other goodies not available in Mexico.  Would love to get a small rail BBQ grill for Grace, but don't know if I could manage to get it all back to La Paz.  We'll see.

I should say that the folks at Imtra have been great to deal with.  They gave me a good deal on a Muir Cougar windlass they have been dragging around the country as a boat show demo for the last couple years.  It has some slight cosmetic damage, which is just fine with me because if it appears used it might be easier to get across the border.  Jim is installing a 1200 watt motor that should give me plenty of power for heaving the anchor.  Will be glad to put this issue behind us and know we are bullet proof when it comes to anchoring.

POOH

Our windlass motor died in our first anchorage out of La Paz.  We have returned to La Paz to make repairs. 

This happened to us a couple of months ago in Santiago Bay.  We returned to La Cruz to make repairs, but apparently the motor rebuild did not do the trick.  This time we will be buying a replacement motor from Muir.  They have a new, much stronger motor available for our model windlass, so hopefully this will do the trick.  Will talk with Muir in the morning to get thier opinion of our options.

I might hop on a bus and run up to San Diego to take delievery.  We'll see.

LEAVING LA PAZ

Wow, we've been here a week already, and could stay longer, but its time to move on.  We are carrying much needed watermaker parts for Taking Flight, so we will be trying to catch up with them in the next week or so. 

La Paz will probably be the last place with a marina that we will see for a long time.  Same with internet.  Don't know how the access will be up in the Sea.  We have our internet through Telcel, so any place that has cell phones will also have internet, so we are hoping....

Our first stop tomorrow will be Caleta Partida, a bay on the west side of Isla Espirito Santo, about thirty miles from here.  We will be anchoring.  Hope my new windless motor is up to the workout we will be putting on it for the next five months.

DOCKWISE DAY

Today was the last day of Doug and Marcy's Mexican cruising adventure.  In 2006 I had the pleasure of crewing  aboard Charm on the first leg to San Francisco, and again today, when we loaded her on the Dockwise boat Servant 3.  It will take Charm from La Paz to Nanaimo, British Columbia, arriving in about two weeks.

SERVANT 3

Dockwise boats are designed to flood the aft section of the boat, creating a small bay.  All that one has to do is drive in and tie up.  Divers place cradle supports under the boats, the back door is closed and the bay is pumped dry.  Sounds easy but anytime you are maneuvering close to other boats there is a bit of anxiety.  Thankfully there were no winds or swell.

BIG BOYS FIRST

THOR GOES IN

CHARM'S TURN

STARBOARD TIE TO THOR

Once we got close to Thor the Dockwise crew took over, securing us in place.  All of the deckhands were Ukrainian.  The loadmaster was American.  His assistant was Spanish and the divers were Mexican.

ONE LAST WISTFUL LOOK

Sending your boat home like this is expensive, but makes a lot of sense, as the voyage back up the coast is against the prevailing wind and waves and current.  The waters off the northern California, Oregon and Washington coasts are notoriously challenging.  Many circumnavigators experience the worst conditions of the whole trip around the world here.  Dockwise is much easier on the crew and the boat.

                        



WE'RE IN LA PAZ

IT WASN'T HARD FINDING THE PLACE



We left Mazatlan about 1pm and arrived in La Paz almost exactly 48 hours later. It was a nice passage mostly, light winds on the beam and flat seas until we got to the west side of the Sea of Cortez.  Then we hit 20 knot winds coming down the Sea that were kicking up really nasty 4 to 6 foot waves that were about 3 to four seconds apart.  The winds were nothing, but those waves kicked our butts.  Very uncomfortable.



It good to be back on the Baja side again.  If you're a desert rat like me it's like coming home.

We're off this morning the help our friends Doug and Marcy load thier "small" sailboat, Charm,  on a much larger boat that will carry it up to British Columbia.  They will pick it up there and sail it back home to Olympia.  I crewed for Doug and Marcy on the Seattle to San Francisco leg back in 2006, helping them get started on their Mexican adventure, now I will be helping close the circle by assisting them this morning.

ON TO LA PAZ

MARINA MAZATLAN

We will be leaving today for La Paz, if we can get the bottom of our boat scraped clean.  We seemed to be running about a knot per hour slower then normal on the trip up from La Cruz, so hopefully getting this done will restore our speed, and also improve our fuel economy. 

La Paz is about 230 miles from here so we should be enroute about two days.  If the timing is right for a daylight arrival we will head straight for La Paz.  Otherwise we will anchor in Behia de los Muertos, about 60 miles south of La Paz.

Our stay here has been very pleasant.  We had a change to see our friends Jerry and Sally, former cruisers from Seattle who have swallowed the anchor.  They will be leaving for Arizona Wednesday to begin a one year land cruise around the US. 




JERRY AND SALLY'S BEACHFRONT
"CASA AQUARIUS"



The weather looks to be quite calm out there, with light and variable winds and a 1 to 3 foot swell from the southwest.  We'll probably motor all the way.

Just a couple more pics from our Jungle Tour in San Blas.  We we able to get up close and personal with some frightful creatures.  I had the impression they could come right thru the fences if they took a mind to.

ANDREW AND FRIEND

I WAS NERVOUS WHILE TAKING THIS

PICTURE

MAZATLAN

MAZATLAN

WELCOMING COMMITTEE

HE'S BIG!

GLAD HE DID NOT LAND ON OUR

WINDEX

Made it to Mazatlan.    Used a lot of fuel motoring against the 10 to 15 knot noserly winds and punching thru the 2 to 3'  wind waves.  No complaints though.  Its good to be here.

Mazatlan is the largest city we've been to yet.  There are miles of beaches, some with good waves and lots of surfers.  Behind the beachs are scores of condo towers,  many many more then have been built in Puerto Vallarta.

We gave our old friends Jerry and Sally on Aquarius a call and were gratified to find them home.  We were almost certain they had left to land travel in the US in thier new RV.  Got together for a nice lobster and coconut shrimp dinner, then retired to thier beautiful new beachside condo for a few after dinner drinks.  Being cruisers they know the difficulties of provisioning without local knowledge and without a car, so they are taking us shopping this afternoon.  

We are hoping to begin our southern crossing of the Sea of Cortez to La Paz Monday, weather permitting.  We are missing our Seattle cruising friends and want to catch up.  Ann and Andrew on Windsong will be staying here to get some boat work done.  Hope to see them on the other side.

ON TO MAZATLAN

We're leaving San Blas, a town with an enormous number of bugs, bicycles and bayou's.  The run up to Mazatlan is about 130 miles and will require an overnight passage.

I'd like a picture of the bugs, but they are named jejenes by the locals, and no see 'ems by cruisers.  They really are so small they are virtually invisible, but thier bite packs a wallow.  They and mesquitos thrive in the standing water that surrounds San Blas, but the locals make no attempt to control them, as the bug larvae that live in the water feed the booming shrimp fishery here. 

PUNTA DE MITA & JALTEMBA

Saturday we left Yalapa for Punta de Mita.  It is at the extreme northwest end of Banderas Bay, about 30 land miles from Puerto Vallarta.  We spent a quiet night anchored off the very nice Four Seasons resort. 

Sunday morning we went around Punta de Mita into open water and traveled about thirty miles north to Behia de Jaltemba, dropping the hook off Playa los Ayala.  Being Sunday, sunny, about 82 degrees on the beach and about 80 degrees in the water, the place was jumping.  One thing Mexicans know how to do is cut loose and have fun.  We were a several hundred yards off shore and still could hear the shouting and screams of joy over the sounds of the surf, pangas and jet skis.

RIDING THE "BANANA" IS A FAVORITE

Quit often boats would swing by to give passengers a view of the gringos.  One boat however seemed to be casing us. 

This guy came shooting across the bay, did a slow circle around us, then shot off again.  There have been reports of dingy motors going missing near here, so I locked our very desirable 15 hp Yamaha to the boat with two individual bike cables and locks.  The motor is still with us this morning.

Today we head for San Blas, about 30 miles north.



DAY ONE OF OUR TRIP TO LA PAZ: YALAPA

Our first day out of La Cruz was a short 16 mile sail to Yalapa, our favorite roadless village on the south side of Banderas Bay.  We will be buddy boating with Ann and Andrew on Windsong to Mazatlan.  They will be getting some boat work done there, so we will make the crossing to La Paz without them.

WINDSONG

YALAPA

OUR NEW FRIEND PHILLIPE
WHO HELPED US TIE UP TO A MOORING BALL
AND TOOK US TO SHORE FOR DINNER

JUDY'S NEW FRIEND

ANDREW AND THE BARTENDER INVENTED
A DRINK MADE WITH LOCAL
MOONSHINE



ANDREW ENJOYED HIS DRINK'S EFFECT ON JUDY



TIME TO GO HOME

HEADING TO MAR DE CORTEZ

We finally got out of La Cruz Friday morning.  We will be heading north into the Sea of Cortez, the body of water seperating Baja from mainland Mexico.  Vast areas of the Sea and it's shoreline are pretty much wilderness, unchanged from before the arrival of Europeans, except that the Japanese stripped the sea of marine life in the 50's, the Gringo's turned off the Colorado River to water the desert Southwest, and there are now  migrating flocks of cruisers in thier sailboats. 

The pristine wildness of the place is one of the attractions, another is that there are hundreds of anchorages along the shore. Cruisers do not have to do any overnighters while moving from place to place.  The water is warm, snorkling is good and fishing is great, as sealife has rebounded from the Japanese fishing era.  There are few restaurants, bars and marinas in which to squander our childern's  inheritances.  Another compelling reason for cruising the Sea is that most of us are directed by our boat insurance companies to move north out of hurricane prone areas.  It is possible to satisfy this requirement by heading to the northern part of the Sea.

We had one last rig check before leaving....



OUR RIGGER: KATRINA



Everything was lookin' good so off we go!