We celebrated Brenden’s birthday at Isla Mitlan, and the day started with a spear fishing expedition, of course. Steve speared a yellowtail, so Brenden got birthday sahimi after all, and Brenden speared a trigger fish, so he also got birthday ceviche. Dinner was rounded out by homemade bread, pasta with red sauce (of course), roasted zuchini, and sugar cookies. Since Alex got a giant oreo for his birthday Brenden had to have a giant sugar cookie. The birthday present Alex picked out at the village was absoultely perfect for Brenden. It was a *lego* battleship game!
Lego Battleship for BrendenA giant birthday sugar cookie
Brenden wanted to go to La Gringa for his birthday to play in the estuary, but since the forecast was for strong (20+ kt) winds from the SW we decided that being tucked in behind Isla Mitlan would provide better protection. Our first full day there, which was Brenden’s birthday, was not bad and the boys spear fished and then we had an awesome pasta dinner and sugar cookie celebration for his birthday. The next day, though, the winds blew hard out of the West, so we had a fair amount of wraparound swell, which wasn’t great, but it wasn’t too bad either. Then the next day it blew hard straight out of the NW and we had to get out of there. We ended up retreating to La Gringa for protection from the NW swell.
Logbook – September 24, 2013 (La Mona to Isla Mitlan)
Passage Log Highlights
1219 Depart La Mona
1447 Fish on! Sierra
1650 Arrive Isla Mitlan
Daily Notes
Caught 2 sierras underway. Second one was huge but it got away while we were anchoring. First one was big enough for sashimi dinner.
Brenden shot 2 parrot fish for his birthday ceviche
La Mona to Isla Mitlan. Light winds and a tack.Isla Mitlan is a small island next to Isla Coronado (Isla Smith) and the anchorage is between the two islands.Lady Carolina and one other boat in the anchorage. It was a tight fit.This is Volcan Colorado, which we had wanted to hike up to, but with the strong winds it didn’t work out. It is on Isla Coronado (Isla Smith)En route to Isla Mitlan the boys had caught a sierra, but we lost it b/c it got pulled into the prop when we were anchoring. Brenden got all suited up and jumped in to find the sierra as soon as we were anchored. He didn’t find it, but he did get a Parrot fish for his birthday ceviche.Peaking up the channel to the Las Rocas anchorage
Spearfishing party! Steve caught a yellowtail, B caught a triggerfish
Ceviche, sashimi, bread, pasta, suchini, sugar cookies
Email to family and friends dated September 25, 2013
Subject: Happy Birthday to Brenden!
We moved yesterday to Isla Mitlan. We had a nice sail, although slow, and several times the wind died completely on us, but we made it 11 miles in 4.5 hours, lol. The boys caught 2 sierras while underway, but one was dragging in the water behind one of the props when we were anchoring and it got caught in the prop and fell off the stringer. As soon as we anchored Brenden was suited up in his wetsuit to dive looking for the sierra, because, you see, they make good sashimi (not as good as yellowtail, but pretty good). He couldn’t find the sierra but he came back to the boat for his spear because, “there were fish everywhere” and not long after that he came back with a couple parrot fish, so he could have “birthday ceviche.”
The yellowtail expedition will be leaving later this morning, because more than anything, Brenden wants “birthday sashimi.”
At BLA village Alex found a lego Battleship game to give to Brenden, and he was so pleased that it’s the perfect present for Brenden. We should have a nice day today, the plan is to have a big pasta dinner with Lady Carolina this evening, and then maybe have all the other boats in the anchorage over later for drinks and desserts. I haven’t decided if I’m up for that yet after being up half the night last night moving anchor locations because we got too close to an underwater pinnacle rock. Love and miss you all, -D.
A fine catch at Brenden’s “spearfishing parting”HAPPY BIRTHDAY BRENDEN!!!Alex picked this gift out in BLA Village. In case you can’t read the sign on the gift.. the P.S. at the bottom says “I dibs beating you first.”This is a reenactment of Brenden’s surprised face when he realized the gift from Alex wasn’t just the game Battleship, it was Lego Battleship (where you build the ships out of Legos) Giant birthday sugar cookieThis is also a reenactment. Mom’s a little slow with the camera tonight.
Logbook – September 26, 2013 (Isla Mitlan)
Daily Notes
The wind blew hard all day, 20-33 knots. We decided to put out more chain.
We didn’t get off the boat all day. Brenden finished test lesson 120!
Needed sweatshirst for the first time last night in a long time.
It’s officially the end of summer! Breaking out the sweatshirts!
Email to family and friends dated September 27, 2013
Subject: Brrrrrr
We got blown around pretty good yesterday with steady wind in the 25-35 kt range, and we picked an anchorage with SW protection, because that was the forecast, of course it blew more NW and we basically had white caps breaking under the boat. It was like being underway! It’s calmed down this morning, only 10-12 kts, but it’s supposed to blow hard again today. The wind has also brought cold air with it, in fact the boys put sweatshirts on last night, we slept with the salon doors and windows shut for the first time in I can’t remember how long, and when I got up this morning it was 68 degrees! Looks like summer is over. Love and miss you all, -D.
Logbook – September 27, 2013 (Isla Mitlan to La Gringa)
Passage Log Highlights
1310 Depart Isla Mitlan
1405 Arrive La Gringa
Daily Notes
68 degrees when I got up this morning!
Wind from the NW blew us out of the Isla Mitlan anchorage. BIG swells when leaving, I got sprayed from the bow while I was at the helm
Killer game of hearts – Brenden had a comeback win by accidentally shooting the moon
Dinks on Exodus with LC & Odyssey
Edit: Tim and Steve were out spearfishing when the wind shifted and kicked up and they had no idea the conditions we were facing. Carolina and I went crazy waiting for them. I was on high alert makin sure we didn’t drag, and as soon as they got back we raised the dinghy and got out of there!
These are the swells coming into the anchorage. They don’t look nearly as bad in the photoWaves crashing against Isla MitlanSerious swell pummeling Lady CarolinaIsla Mitla to La Gringa to BLA VillageBrenden shot the moon!
Early in the summer, Jake, from sailboat Jake, announced the dates for the BLA full moon parties. However, since he was spending the summer in the Puerto Escondido area this year rather than coming up north, he was looking for someone to be the coordinator for the parties. These are an annual thing, so it seemed appropriate that a BLA summer veteran would step up to do the coordinating, and that’s just what happened. Dazzler was interested, so I emailed Jake to get more details, printed out the response, and handed it off to Dazzler. Unfortunately, they weren’t able to make it up to BLA after all, so the job of coordinating fell, by default, to Lady Carolina. Dazzler had given him the print out, which when he saw the email was addressed to me he was floored. He kept pointing it out to me as if I should actually be the one coordinating, however, I try very hard to not let myself be the default anything.
The first full moon party was in August at La Gringa and entailed a “floatie” contest and a beach potluck. Steve found all kinds of creative ways to announce the party on the various radio nets, but here’s the quick version of the floatie contest. Basically, there would be prizes for each of 3 categories: 1) Best store bought floatie, 2) best floatie made out of noodles, and 3) best floatie you could throw together with whatever you have in your boat (the prize for this 3rd category was clearly the most coveted, at least by Steve.) The concept was that we would get to the estuary just after high tide and ride the “rapids” out as the current gets stronger and stronger. It was actually a lot of fun!
Tim gave the boys the job of building a floatie out of water jugs (the big 5 gal size), boat fenders, and thermarests. They had a lot of fun and put one together, and they were actually quite proud of it. But Tim made them dismantle it since it only fit one person, and he wanted something all of them could ride (can anyone say requirements creep?) So, they ended up making 3 small floaties so they each had one, but in the end, Lady Carolina kicked butt in the floatie contest by using wood planks, fenders, a wind scoop as a spinnaker, and a very large Canadian flag. All the boys enjoyed riding that raft, even Tim. There was one hysterical moment where Alex was holding his soda up and then he fell off, was dunked under water, but managed to keep his soda right side up and out of the water. Get that kid a beer!
There were a lot of very creative rafts including a throne raft made of Pacifico beer cans by True Companion. I was one of the judges along with Sue of Mai Tai Roa and Trisha of Interabang. It’s kind of a known joke that the judges for this event will take any and all bribes. However, Team Canada (aka Lady Carolina) was the only one who really took advantage. Joel gave us bags of cookies and big hugs. I swear that had nothing to do with them winning, though.
The winners — Team Canada
After the rapids died down we all retreated to our boats for some relaxing, and then reconvened on the beach for a potluck. Steve marked the potluck site with one of his many bright orange shirts, and Tim set up our surfboards on water jugs to use as tables for the food. Once everyone started arriving and the food was being spread out we all noticed something a little peculiar. The food was heavily, and I mean heavily, skewed towards desserts. Somthing like half the dishes there were dessert dishes. At one point Brenden came up to me and told me there was the best bread here, the best he’s ever had, and he’s had about 4 pieces. So, I had to go try it, and it turns out it was cake. Very delicious and not too sweet peach cack, but definetly cake. Brendedn ended up getting sick and spending most of the night bent over one of the back swim steps.
The orange shirt marks the spotPotluck on the beach at the La Gringa Full Moon Party
Overall, it was a fantastic day. We got to meet most of the fleet that was staying in the BLA area for the summer, and Lady Carolina got bragging rights for winning the floatie contest.
Joel accepting the award for best homemade floatie
The second full moon party was in September at La Mona. There was no floatie contest for this one, and although there was an estuary, the choke point wasn’t as tight so when the tide was going out it was more like a whirlpool to sit and relax in than rapids to ride floaties down. The full moon fortuatously fell on “talk like a pirate day” so that was good for lots of fun and jokes. This party was slightly more sparsely attended than the La Gringa party, but fun was still had by all relaxing in the whirlpool and getting our competitive juices flowing with games of bocce ball. We had a fantastic potluck, but suprisingly, this time, no one brought any desserts. Having flashbacks from the last potlulck, Brenden respectfully asked me to make something that he would definitley know what it was, so I just made pasta in red sauce, and he scarfed it down.
Relaxing in the whirlpool at La MonaBocce Ball at the La Mona Full Moon Party
The day after the full moon party we tried to organize an appetizer and drink “progressive” where everyone visits each boat for a short period to eat and drink. The wind didn’t cooperate, though, so our “progressive” turned into an appetizer potluck on the motor vessel Mai Tai Roa. Thanks to Alex and Sue, we all still had a great time.
BLA VIllage to La Mona The geography of the La Mona anchorageThe estuary at La MonaBrenden trying to stay cool in the waterAlex getting ready to hit the waterThe beach at La MonaAll the boys in the waterIn the water at La MonaSeptember full moon party – relaxing in the whirlpoolSeptember full moon party – relaxing in the whirlpoolSeptember full moon party – A game of bocce ballDo they need a judge?Tim takes a turnNot to be outdone by Steve
Logbook – September 20, 2013 (La Mona)
Daily Notes
“Progressive” on Mai Tai Roa
Deanne’s “Me time” cut short when 4 boys showed up
Check in from Morro Bay on the South Bound Net
Brenden’s ready for some serious fly swatting Brenden’s ready for some serious fly swatting Tim relaxing in the salonA game of lego finger twister
Logbook – September 21, 2013 (La Mona)
Daily Notes
D – exploring on shore
Boys – dinghy fishing
We had calm mornings here, so I paddled to shore and walked almost every dayA view of the anchorage at La MonaExodus at anchor at La MonaBoats at anchor between the rocky shoreline and the desert mountainsAnother shot of Exodus at anchor“Shipwreck” ashoreWhat little remains of a sunken PangaHey Hey!My footprints in the sandThe rocky shoreline at La MonaAlex’s catchKyle at the fish cleaning tableBrenden looks a bit disgusted, but he got the job doneThis is our EPIRB. Thankfully, we never needed it.Not sure exactly what’s going on here. I guess the boys still aren’t too big to wrestle with dad.
Logbook – September 22, 2013 (La Mona to BLA Village to La Mona)
Passage Log Highlights
1009 Depart La Mona
1117 Arrive BLA Village
1349 Depart BLA
1458 Arrive La Mona
Daily Notes
We sailed Exodus to BLA village and back in order for Alex to buy B a birthday present
Bell Peppers!!! Red, yellow, orange!
Ad hoc party at the whirlpool
Bitter, bitter civiche
There are actually houses all along the La Mona coast (except the small stretch where the estuary and the “SS Minnow” are. Sailing Vessels Sara M and True Companion.Bird watchingThe houses along the shoreline at La MonaA palapa on shore at La MonaAd hoc party at the whirlpool – Tim and Joel kept busy building a dam
Logbook – September 23, 2013 (La Mona)
Daily Notes
Deanne almost forgot about the Amigo Net
75 deg this morning! My coffee is actually enjoyable again
Carolina’s birthday – drinks and dinner w/ LC and Chara
Morning paddle – lots of jumping fish adn an uninterested pelican
Reminded that TBV left San Diego on the same day we did
The annual BLA “regatta” was held the day before the La Mona full moon party. And once again, somehow the Lady Carolina crew were put in charge of organizing when Pit on Karma Seas left a little earlier than planned for San Carlos. So, Joel was the regatta Grand Pubah, which included officially starting the race, making game time rule decisions, and awarding the trophy to this year’s winner.
The regatta was a race from the BLA village anchorage to La Mona and back. The Exodus crew got all decked out in our matching blue Exodus shirts (thanks Marsha!) At least we looked good, because it was all downhill after that. The plan was to raise anchor about 20 min before start time so then we could get the sails up and engines off in time to cross the start line under sail. However, when we were raising anchor and the windlass cut out on us. After troubleshooting for a little while we ended up raising the anchor manually, and by that I seriously mean manually. Tim raised it hand over hand. Mine and Alex’s jobs were to feed the chain into the locker and Brenden’s job was to standby with a hook that was attached to a line attached to a cleat and hook the anchor chain secure when Tim needed a break. What fun! By the time we raised anchor and got our sail up the “race” had already started, but we actually weren’t in last place, believe it or not. We had a great sail across the bay, but when we got back (in 4th place, I might add) the windlass still wasn’t working and we had to drop the anchor manually as well.
It was a lot of fun seeing all the other boats under sail, and the winds were in the mid to high teens, but we were sailing into the wind both directions, I’m not sure how that worked out. The only rule established ahead of time was that the lead boat decided which buoy to round and then all boats would follow around the same buoy. However, two lead boats diverged pretty substantially, so as they were each approaching different buoys, a ruling by the Grand Pubah had to be made, and in keeping with the laid back cruising philosophy it was determined that any buoy would be OK. True Blue V round their buoy first, and we followed Sara M around a different buoy. Although we finished back in the pack, we could at least celebrate that we had beaten Lady Carolina.
When we got Exodus settled back at anchor at the village, Tim and I decided to get the water hammocks out and relax in the water with a cocktail. Of course, right at that time and Elefante (strong westerly wind) kicked up, and between the hot wind and the big swell, our relaxing float was anything but. Luckily it didn’t get too bad and we were all able to meet on shore for a great dinner together at Costa del Sol.
Team Exodus during the RegattaEveryone together for dinner at Costa del Sol
We went back to the village to provision, do some laundry, and for the annual BLA Regatta!
Logbook – September 16, 2013 (BLA Village)
Daily Notes
B caught a small yellowtail off back of boat. Sashimi snack.
D – trip to tienda x 2
Logbook – September 17, 2013 (BLA Village)
Daily Notes
Regatta !!!
Issues with windlass again. Had to manually raise & lower. Got a late start in the regatta – came in 4th place (1. TBV 2. Trimaran 3. Sara M). Great sail up wind both ways.
Elefante – strong, hot westerly up to 26 knots. Temp got over 100 deg with very low humidity.
Dinner at Costa del Sol w/ Odyssey (Ken & Denita), TBV (Craig & Leanne), LC, Sara M (Alan), Mai Tai Roa (Alex & Sue).
Tied out dinghy to LC’s dinghy
Beautiful morning for a regattaThe sunrise reflecting off of BLA VillageThis is where the boys like to sleep these daysThe boats in the anchorageExodus crew is ready!Our anchor windlass picked this moment to crap out so we pretty much started in last place, right behind Lady Carolina. We didn’t end in last place, though.We finally got the anchor up and our sails raisedThe Exodus pose!Mom at the helmTeam Exodus!Lady Carolina approaching the turnaround pointLady Carolina approaching the turnaround pointMom having some fun at the helmAlex looking sharp in his Exodus crew shirtSara M with the maroon sailsTim at the helmBrenden keeping busy during the regattaThe lighthouse at Punta Arena right near the villageAfter the race the hot wind kicked up and the temperature reached 100 degWhen Alex saw this picture he said, “creepy, Mom”The after party at Costa del Sol restaurant
Logbook – September 18, 2013 (BLA Village)
Daily Notes
T/Steve – worked all day to fix the windlass. Help from Alan (Sara M) too.
D – laundry, internet, groceries
Looks like it’s getting to be a full moon – it must be time to head to La Mona for the September full moon partyThe cockpit table became a workbenchWorking on the anchor windlass
Email to family and friends dated September 18, 2013
Subject: Regatta
We had the annual cruisers “regatta” yesterday across the Bay of LA with 8 boats “racing” from BLA village to La Mona and back. Our day got off to a rough start when we were raising anchor and the windlass cut out on us. After troubleshooting for a little while we ended up raising the anchor manually, and by that I seriously mean manually. Tim raised it hand over hand. Mine and Alex’s jobs were to feed the chain into the locker and Brenden’s job was to standby with a hook that was attached to a line attached to a cleat and hook the anchor chain secure when Tim needed a break. What fun! By the time we raised anchor and got our sail up the “race” had already started, but we actually weren’t in last place, believe it or not. We had a great sail across the bay, and we all wore our blue Exodus shirts (thanks Marsha!), but when we got back (in 4th place, I might add) the windlass still wasn’t working and we had to drop the anchor manually as well. Needless to say today’s top priority if fixing that windlass. We had a great dinner onshore with everyone last night as well. Tomorrow is the full moon party and potluck at La Mona so hopefully, we can solve the windlass problem today so we don’t have to manually anchor again!
Love and miss you all,
-D.
Email to family and friends dated September 19, 2013
Subject: Hurricane Manuel
To our surprise (and apparently the surprise of the forecasters) Manuel was upgraded to a cat 1 hurricane yesterday and is parked near Los Mochis in the sourthern Sea of Cortez. The forecast track has it continuing N and dissipating over the mainland, but there’s lots of uncertainty so we are all watching it closely. Tropical storms love the warm water in the sea. As of right now, we aren’t seeing any affects up here, not even any cloud cover. I just wanted to let you know all is well up here and we are watching. This SSB radio, while expensive, has been very much worth it to me. In addition to keeping in touch with all of you when we are away from internet (which seems like most of the time) I can download weather any time so I can stay informed on wind and sea state predictions and tropical storm information. Several boats up here don’t have SSB, and they rely on those of us that do to relay information over VHF, which we all do, because that’s what we do, have each other’s backs.
Speaking of… Tim thinks the windlass is fixed after working on it all day yesterday, and he got a lot of help from other cruisers. There’s a guy up here who is a single-hander of a 60 ft schooner, and he built the entire boat himself, down to cutting and sanding the wood. Amazing! And he doesn’t have an engine either. He’s a really nice guy, and he came over and helped Tim for awhile yesterday.
Today is talk like a pirate day, and it’s also our full moon party and potluck, and we are going to have a bocce ball tournament. Should be a lot of fun.
Love and miss you all,
-D.
Logbook – September 15, 2013 (La Gringa to BLA Village)
Passage Log Highlights
1334 Depart La Gringa
1524 Arrive BLA Village
Daily Notes
Boys cleaned the hulls before leaving La Gringa
Delay weighing anchor because the windlass cut out mid way. Turned breaker off/on then it came back on but immediately tripped again when activated. Could not get it to work manually. Tim cleaned it, then it worked (electrically).
The bottom of a glass bottle of tonic water detached itself so I has to clean the sticky mess out of the bilge.Mask faces after cleaning the hullsHeading back to BLA Village
One of the perpetual highlights of the summer had to be all of our dinners and evenings on the Exodus forward deck (aka “the net”) with Lady Carolina. We potlucked together more often than we not, and usually one of us was doing the Southbound Evening radio net at 6pm, so we usually started right after that ended. We became like one big family, comfortable enough to try new recipes on each other, some with success, some not. The four boys would always do dishes together while the adults retreated to the net where it was a bit cooler. One night we were out there talking until past 1 am! One night in the logbook it reads, “had a plate full of fish for dinner with Lady Carolina,” and I had to laugh when reading it. We had been having safe arrival cocktails together, and dinnertime was approaching, and neither of us really had anything prepared, but we wanted to keep hanging out so we just cooked up a big plate of fish. That’s it, that’s all we had for dinner. A “plate full of fish.” Sometimes, the company is more important
The anchorage called Alcatraz wasn’t in the guidebook, but we had heard about it from other cruisers, so we decided to make a pitstop on the way from Puerto Refugio back down to La Gringa.
Logbook – September 11, 2013 (Puerto Refugio to Alcatraz)
Passage Log Highlights
0910 Depart Puerto Refugio
1604 Arrive Ensenada Alcatraz
Daily Notes
Survey the little cove, fish on, no helm control
Dorado!
Dinks on Exodus w/ LC and TBV. LC stayed for dinner.
Religious discussion on the net – boys to LC to watch a movie
Puerto Refugio to Ensenada AlcatrazOn passage from Puerto Refugio to Alcatraz both Exodus and Lady Carolina caught Dorados so we had to pull up next to each other to compare and snap photos. Here’s Tim with his.And here’s Kyle with his.The geography of Alcatraz
I thought I’d add this section and use it from time to time to share some of the more embarrassing and not so glamorous aspects of the cruising lifestyle.
So, yeah, I pee in a bucket. Let’s just get that one right out of the way.
I suppose that requires some explanation, and to sum it up: power. Everything comes back to power. Our head plumbing uses freshwater (which is somewhat atypical, many boats use saltwater) and we get fresh water by running our water maker, which requires power. When we had a few socked in days in a row due to tropical storms on the outside of Baja and our solar production fell off dramatically, I made an evaluation of our water usage and concluded that my toilet flushing was using too high a percentage of our water. Being boys and all Tim, Alex, and Brenden just go off the back of the boat, and I must admit in more remote anchorages I have done that too, but usually it’s not feasible. So, I started just dipping into the water down the swim step, but then I was wet all the time, which was a pain, and it was a little too time consuming to change in and out of a swimsuit every time I had to go. So, I recalled another boat telling me that they all pee in a bucket because their tank was so small and that they would pour the bucket down the sink. Gross. That was a show stopper for me. But being a catamaran it was an option to just take the bucket out to the back swim step a few times a day to empty it. So, problem solved. I guess.
So, those of you who think we are living the dream, just remember that the dream does not come without sacrifices. Like peeing in a bucket.
Gresham Family Exodus 