We were mainly in Puerto Escondido because of its proximity to the Loreto airport and it was a safe place for the boys and I to stay while Tim made a trip back up to The States. We had a great hike up into Tabor Canyon (aka Steinbeck Canyon) and did some serious provisioning in Loreto. We were here for a week, and we were more than ready to head out the afternoon Tim flew back in.
Depart Nopolo Nov 16 1430 – Arrive Puerto Escondido Nov 16 1618Puerto Escondido is a large hurricane hole on the central region of the Baja Peninsula. There is a very small marina and a very large mooring field, but we typically chose to anchor just off the marina. At this point we tended to trust our anchor more than a mooring.
Logbook – November 16, 2013 (Nopolo to Puerto Escondido)
Passage Log Highlights
1243 SB engine on. Watermaker 3 hours.
1422 Start P engien
1430 Depart Nopolo
1618 Arrive Puerto Escondido
Daily Notes
Lazy internet morning & early PM at Nopolo
Gusty passage to PE
Dropped anchor, dinghied ashore, and LC (Lady Carolina) arrived
Unloaded the car – eaten alive by mosquitos
Dinner at Portobello – TOO EXPENSIVE!!
Getting ready to leave NopoloRaising the anchor – the fuses haven’t blown yet!
Logbook – November 17, 2013 (Puerto Escondido)
Daily Notes
D – run up to the hwy, trip to Pedro’s
Boys dinghy fishing w/ LC at sunset
LC over for spaghetti dinner
Dishwashing buddies, together again (we had been away from Lady Carolina for over a month!)
Logbook – November 18, 2013 (Puerto Escondido)
Daily Notes
D – after school internet day – uploaded a ton of photos
T – hooked AIS to GPS – success! Still can’t see AIS on chartplotter
A/B – dinghy fishing at sunset w/ LC boys – movie on LC after dinner
Working on wiring up our new VHF radio with AIS to the nav systemNew compass Tim installed at the nav station
Logbook – November 19, 2013 (Puerto Escondido)
Daily Notes
Hike to Tabor Canyon w/ LC. Amazing. Boys all jumped in the water.
D/Boys – laundry and hanging out at The Portobello
T – worked on 12V panel @ nav station
Ready for a hike!How did Alex get up there? And more importantly, how did he get down?Serious rock climbing — Brenden and KyleUm, why is Tim undressing?High fiving after the manly double canon ball into the dangerously deep natural poolOK, now it’s onCutting away at the nav station to install a 12 V panel for charging our handheld VHF radios, the wifi routers, the inReach, and a few other misc items.
Logbook – November 20, 2013 (Puerto Escondido)
Daily Notes
Tim left for LA – ride to the airport w/ Precious Metal
Boys over to LC to help clean bird poop
Drawing games on Exodus. Alex made top ramen for dinner.
Logbook – November 21, 2013 (Puerto Escondido)
Daily Notes
Excellent school day – done before noon
Boys to the restaurant
Mom- chores on the boat
Pizza for dinner. Started reading 20k Leagues Under the Sea
Logbook – November 22, 2013 (Puerto Escondido)
Daily Notes
Gusty winds @ night. Noisy rigging. Not much sleep.
Logbook – November 23, 2013 (Puerto Escondido)
Daily Notes
Loreto day! AM – D provisioning
Afternoon – lunch w/ A&B
While Tim was away we rented a car for 24 hours and did some provisioning in LoretoThis is a vista along the highway between Puerto Escondido and LoretoOf course, we stopped for a nice lunch (no that’s not a margarita Brenden is drinking)We will miss LoretoDonut is getting his Big Nate fix on
Logbook – November 24, 2013 (Puerto Escondido)
Daily Notes
Dinghy tried to escape (painter chafed through) Brenden jumped in to get it
We had a dinghy catastrophe the last day in PE. The painter chafed and the dinghy started wandering and Brenden was Johnny on the spot stripping down and jumping into retrieve it. Luckily the key was in the dinghy…You never know what you are going to get with homemade bread. The boys called this one “the wave”
We had the north anchorage of Isla Coronados all to ourselves, and this time the water was crystal clear and the weather was agreeable to hike to the top of the volcano. But our stay an Isla Coronados was short, because we needed to get to Puerto Escondido for Tim to catch a flight back to LA for a few days. But before heading into PE we stopped for a night at Nopolo for the best free wifi around. We didn’t take many (any?) photos while at Nopolog because we all had our noses in our computers and/or iDevices, because, duh, we had wifi.
Depart San Juanico 0844 Nov 14 – Arrive Isla Cornados (North side) 1303.
Logbook – November 14, 2013 (San Juanico to Isla Coronados)
Passage Log Highlights
0820 Engines on (SB @ 0833)
0844 Depart San Juanico
0909 P engine off
1136 SB engine off. Main + Genniker.
1237 Engines on
1303 Arrive Isla Coronados N side
Daily Notes
Isla Coronados all to ourselves
D/T – scout the trail head – ready for the hike tomorrow
Breakfast for dinner!
Tim and I went ashore to scout the trail head. You can see that Exodus is all alone in the anchorage.A very nicely marked trail leading away from the beachOur hiking destination (the top of the volcano, not the outhouse in the foreground)
Logbook – November 15, 2013 (Isla Coronados to Nopolo)
Passage Log Highlights
1431 P engine on
1434 SB engine on
1440 Depart Isla Coronados
1552 Engines off. Main + Genoa.
1653 Engines on
(Illegible – one of the boys’ handwriting) Arrive Nopolo
Daily Notes
Hike to the top of the volcano (Isla Coronados)
Caught 4 sierras and 1 HUGE crevalle jack (20 lb) underway. Kept 1 sierra for sashimi
Dinner at the restaurant at Nopolo
Do they look ready for a hike or what?This next series of photos are the views as we made our way to the top of the volcanoThe terrain was rocky most of the way upMade it to the top! It took us exactly 2 hours for an elevation change of about 1000 ft.Just a lizard enjoying the million dollar viewHey look, mom went on the hike too!Made it to the bottom Adios, Isla CoronadosA huge crevalle jack caught on passage when leaving Isla Coronados. Tim let it go, because they are not good eating. It was quite an ordeal to reel it in, thoughDepart Isla Coronados 1440 Nov 15 – Arrive Nopolo illegible time written in the logbookAnchored at Nopolo
Email to family and friends dated November 16, 2013
Subject: Nopolo then Puerto Escondido
Hi, We are currently anchored off of the resort at Nopolo. We got here right around sunset after spending the day at Isla Coronados hiking to the top of the dormant volcano. It was a somewhat challenging hike, and both boys did it with minimal complaining. Lady Carolina gets back today to Puerto Escondido, so we are going to head in there this afternoon. There is also a big 20th anniversary yacht club party there tonight, so maybe we will join in that. We will stay in PE until Tim arrives back from LA on the 25th so we should be pretty well connected until then. I’m not sure if we will have wifi from the boat, but we should have a cell signal and can at least go ashore to get wifi.
-D.
At 11/15/2013 2:55 PM (utc) our position was 26°06.78’N 111°17.00’W
We delayed going to San Juanico because we kept hearing on the radio net that there were lots of boats there. But we could delay no longer. It seems we have gotten caught up in the traffic of cruisers returning to The Sea and crossing over to Baja from San Carlos. During our previous stays at San Juanico we anchored on the southern side, but this time we explored the north.
Depart Punta Pulpito Nov 12 at 1142 – Arrive San Juanico Nov 12 at 1400The beautiful anchorage of San Juanico. Previously we had anchored down near the most southern tip, the the wind direction this time of year dictated that we snuggled up to a bunch of other boats on the north side.
Logbook – November 12, 2013 (Punta Pulpito to San Juanico)
Passage Highlights
1133 Engines on
1142 Depart pulpito
1150 Engines off, Genniker run
1400 Arrive San Juanico
Daily Notes
Anchor windlass stopped working as we were dropping anchor – dropped manually
Dinghy excursion to beach – mom walk, T/boys – bocce
Safe arrival cocktailWe dinghy’d ashore so I could walk along the beach and the boys could play some bocce. We parked the dinghy in the lagoon.All the boats in the anchorageI have no idea what this is, but I saw it as I was walking along the beachCamo pelicans
Logbook – November 13, 2013 (San Juanico)
Daily Notes
D – Paddle all around the N. bights
T/Boys – spear fish. 1 parrot fish & 3 sporty fish. B shot 2 of them w/ gun
D/Boys – dinghy excursion to the sea caves
Game of hearts after dinner
Brenden snapped this photo of Moondrifter leaving the AnchorageBrenden created a model of himselfThe next series of photos are from my paddle board excursion to the very north point of the anchorage and then back along the shorelineThe north pointSome caves, no I didn’t paddle inI was a little restless in the afternoon, so Alex humored me by taking me on a dinghy adventure to see some see caves.Brenden came along reluctantlyLooking south to the southern point of San Juanico
We had only planned to stay here one night, but it was such a great anchorage we stayed longer.
Depart Punta Chivato Nov 8 at 0644 – Arrive Punta Pulpito Nov 8 at 1549
Logbook – November 8, 2013 (Punta Chivato to Punta Pulpito)
Passage Log Highlights
0633 Engines on
0644 Depart Punta Chivato
0815 Port engine only
1244 Port engine + genniker. 5.2 kts N
1536 SB engine on
1549 Arrive Punta Pulpito
Daily Notes
1244 – so far caught 1 green jack, 1 bonito, 1 skipjack (threw back) and 1 booby (who hitched a ride on the SB swim step for a while)
Earlier this morning – yoga on the SB bow accompanied by dolphins
T/boys – dinghy fishing and climb up to obsidian vein
Crazy fish belly flops for the first time in a while (can’t even remember when)
Dolphins underway between Chivato and PulpitoTim trying to feed the dolphinsThis little guy got snagged by one of our fishing lines. Once Tim freed it, it hung out with us for a whilePunta Pulpito is a prominent point that can be spotted from a ways outRounding PulpitoThe dramatic black streak is a vein of obsidianThe boys dinghy fishing just off the pointMosquito smashingTucked in beneath Punta Pulpito
Email to family and friends dated November 8, 2013
Subject: Just arrived at Punta Pulpito…
… which is just about 8nmi north of San Juanico (one of our favorite places, we went there when G&M were here). The passage here was pathetic, no wind, so we motored the whole way. Although with the calm conditions I was able to do some yoga on the bow and was pleasantly surprised to notice I was being accompanied by a pod of dolphins. We considered aborting and stopping at an anchorage at the mouth of Concepcion, but we really wanted to come here because we missed it on the way up due to the prevailing wind direction. Tomorrow with no school and supposedly a calm day we hope to pack in spear fishing and some hiking. Time for the “safe arrival cocktail…” -D.
Logbook – November 9, 2013 (Punta Pulpito)
Daily Notes
D – paddle board, crystal clear water. short shore excursion – too many snails and crabs
T/boys – spearfishing off of Punta Pulpito – Alex can dive, yay!
T/D – hike to the top of Punta Pulpito – awesome views!
Joined by a power boat, Amiga, in the anchorage
D going for a paddleI took this next series of photos while out paddle boarding. I headed south from the anchorage, and I am loving my new waterproof cameraLooking back at Exodus and PulpitoI stopped at the beach to walk around a bitSnails were everywhereDinghy fishing successAlex dropped Tim and I ashore so we could hike to the top of the “pulpit”On the way upLooking north towards Bahia San Nicolas (we anchored there previously on our way up)Made it to the topAlex’s view of us from ExodusHeading back downLooking towards San Juanico at sunset
Logbook – November 10, 2013 (Punta Pulpito)
Daily Notes
T/boys – Spearfish to the south – 4 lobsters
D – organized the chart plotter waypointns
Logbook – November 11, 2013 (Punta Pulpito)
Daily Notes
T – spearfishing, 3 lobsters
After school bocce ball with Bob and Janie from Amiga
Lobster appetizer + Monday night pizza night
We met a really nice couple on AmigaLobsters again!
Email to family and friends dated November 12, 2013
Subject: Still at Punta Pulpito
We have stayed here longer than we thought because we kept hearing on the radio nets that there were a ton of boats at San Juanico. We’ve been here with a power boat named Amiga, and yesterday we hung out with them and played bocce ball in the afternoon. We will probably move to San Juanico today, because this morning they said there’s only 12 boats there now. Yesterday we made pizza (homemade dough and sauce). At home, it was always Monday night pizza night, because I never felt like cooking after going back to work on a Monday, so we had Monday night pizza night here, but for altogether different reasons. Love and miss you all, -D.
On our way up we stopped on the north side of Punta Chivato because the prevailing winds were from the south, so this time, with north winds, we anchored on the south side. We were here during a pretty good blow, so we didn’t even get off the boat.
An overnight passage from San Francisquito to Punta Chivato. Depart Oct 5 1255, Arrive Oct 6 0750.
Logbook – November 5, 2013 (San Francisquito to Punta Chivato)
1833 Main (2 reefs) + genoa port tack. 18.4 kts NW
2043 Main (2 reefs) no headsail. 20.7 kts NW
Daily Notes
2 fish on. Skipjack bleh!
Fishing underwayEveryone gets a turn!
Logbook – November 6, 2013 (San Francisquito to Punta Chivato)
Passage Log Highlights
0630 Engines on
0750 Arrive Bahia Santa Inez (Punta Chivato)
Arrival at Punta Chivato. I had the morning watch, and Tim was a bit annoyed I went around the small islands. (Looking at satellite imagery now, it would have been fine to cut across. But we didn’t start using satellite imagery for navigation until we were in Fiji, and I didn’t trust the charts and it was dark, so I went around.)There is a resort here, shown in the background of this photo, but it was completely dark at night, so we think it was closed down.Tim stayed occupied cooped up on the boat……and so di d the boys
Logbook – November 7, 2013 (Punta Chivato)
Daily Notes
Tim swapped out VHF radios
A finished test lesson 1001
Wind died down in the late afternoon. T & boys dinghy fish while I made chili and bread
(Edit: The new VHF radio has 2 new features we didn’t have before: an AIS receiver and a mic at the helm. Having an AIS receiver made passage making safer since we can see the location, speed, heading, etc of other vessel who are broadcasting instead of just relying on the radar. We didn’t transmit AIS, which would have been even safer, and I would recommend that no cruising vessel should be without AIS receive and transmit.)
Our new VHF radio on the left (on the right is the SSB)New VHF remote microphone at the helmI think this is looking south across Bahia Santa Inez towards Point Concepcion
Email to family and friends dated November 7, 2013
Subject: Punta Chivato
Hi All, We arrived here yesterday morning and had a decent passage here through the night… mostly 18-22 kt winds, as hight as 26. But this time it was all on our stern so we didn’t get tossed around too much. Yesterday in the late morning after anchoring we saw as high as 30, but we are in a good spot for NW winds. It’s supposed to blow pretty hard today too, so we are just going to stay tucked in here and catch up on schoolwork. We will probably keep heading south tomorrow and get to the Loreto/Puerto Escondido area next week some time. Not sure if Tim’s let anyone know yet, but he has to fly to LA to deal with some issues with his real estate business. He departs Wed Nov 20 and returns M Nov 25. The boys and I will just hang out in Puerto Escondido while he’s gone. Not a great place, but hey, at least there’s a restaurant with internet. And actually there’s supposed to be a great hike, and since it’s not suffocatingly hot anymore, maybe we’ll give that a go. Love and miss you all, -D.
We made an uneventful two night passage from San Felipe to Bahia San Francisquito, bypassing the BLA area altogether. We were here once before on our way up, but this time was much more enjoyable because it wasn’t as hot and there weren’t any mosquitos.
San Felipe to Bahia San Francisquito
Logbook – October 31, 2013 (San Felipe to San Francisquito)
Passage Log Highlights
1515 Depart slip to fuel dock
1608 Depart fuel dock
1653 Engines off. No speedo. Main + genoa.
2005 Main + genoa, wing & wing
Logbook – November 1, 2013 (San Felipe to San Francisquito)
Passage Log Highlights
0638 Main + genoa, wing & wing
1438 Whale shark sighting
Daily Notes
Smile moonrise
Alex & Dad – arduino
Tim ordered an Arduino starter kit and he’s teaching the boys about circuits and computer programming. This picture was taken on passage.They look like they’re having fun, don’t they?Passing Puerto Refugio and Roca Vela
Logbook – November 2, 2013 (San Felipe to San Francisquito)
Passage Log Highlights
0922 Arrive San Franciquito
Daily Notes
Family shore excursion – last time we were here we never went to shore. Limestone formation & cake. Rocky shoreline but beautiful white san beach.
Started B on Z-pack for his cough
Mom to bed early – boys watch a movie
Yummy dorado fish tacos for dinner (2 dorados caught on passage)
Where we anchored at Bahia San Francisquito
Email to family and friends dated November 2, 2013
Subject: Made it
We made it to Bahia San Francisquito earlier this morning. It was a pretty uneventful 2 night passage with steady wind in the 10-15 kt range from mostly behind us. The boys caught 2 Dorado yesterday, so we had a sashimi appetizer last night and will have fish tacos tonight. All is well on board Exodus. -D.
Entering San FrancisquitoA dinghy excursion ashoreMaking sure the dinghy is high enough on the beachExodus all alone in the huge anchorageThe ravine behind the beachWe came upon the remains of a turtle nest. A hole and broken shells, hopefully those little guys hatched and made it safely to the waterAlex and a Zen momentCaves in the distanceOf course, they had to go explore those caves in the distance
Logbook – November 3, 2013 (San Francisquito)
Daily Notes
Mom – run on the beach, awesome!
T/Alex – langosta hunting, came back with 3 scallops
B – too sick to dive.
Scallops, and yes, hot dogs for dinner
A great run on the beach
Logbook – November 4, 2013 (San Francisquito)
Daily Notes
Back to school!
T extended the flag pole (new pole)
D – run on the beach, prep food for passage tomorrow
A little morning yoga on the port bow
Email to family and friends dated November 5, 2013
Subject: On the move again
Hi all, We plan to head south today for another overnight passage. There’s supposed to be a blow from the north of over 20kts, but it should work to our advantage this time because it should be right on our stern. We’ve got intermediate anchorages picked out should we need to “pull over.” It’s been nice at San Francisquito this time. Last time we couldn’t really go ashore because of the bugs but it’s cool enough this time that’s not an issue and I’ve even been able to run on the beach in the afternoon imagine that. Our next stop is likely the southern side of Punt Chivato, which is just north of Concepcion Bay. It’s calm here right now, but in prep for the blow while underway I’m getting all of our passage food prepared now, because the less I have to do, the less likely I will get seasick. We were back to school yesterday, and it went pretty well. The boys didn’t complain too much. Love and miss you all, -D.
There is nothing in the log book for the days we spent in San Felipe after the boys and I returned back from our trip to The States and when we departed to head back south. But there are a few photos, so I’ll share them here.
Exodus in the marina facing the harbor entranceThe huge tide swings in San FelipeMost of the boats in the harbor with us were fishing vesselsWhile we were in San Felipe we met some scientists from San Diego who are studying and tracking the Vaquita population. The Vaquita is a small porpoise that lives only in the far north of the Sea of Cortez. They are severely endangered due to human fishing activity. Brenden is concerned for their plight, so he made this drawing to help spread the word. For more info, visit http://www.vivavaquita.org/This series of photos was taken on our last morning in San Felipe when I went for a run out on the breakwater wall. They pretty well capture the San Felipe Harbor.
Email to family and friends dated October 31, 2013
Subject: Leaving San Felipe Today
We plan to leave San Felipe today, so we only have internet for a few more hours 😦 We aren’t sure how far we will go on this first passage. We are going to hug the coast and most likely skip Puerto Refugio, but it will depend on weather and how we feel. I had a great time up in the states, but it’s nice to be back on Exodus with Tim. Alex and I took the rental car back to Mexicali yesterday and then rode the bus back. He didn’t want to go with me, but then I told him it was for safety in that he’s big enough now that I would be safer if he went with me than if I went alone (just due to safety in numbers). He puffed his chest out a little and said, OK. He always did like being “grown up.” Love and miss all of you… -Deanne
Facebook post October 31, 2013
Adios San Felipe. You were a nice haven from the weather but we will not miss the pelican poo
We took a bus from San Felipe to Mexicali, rented a car in Mexicali, and drove to my mom’s house in Brawley. Then we caravanned with Mom and John to Vegas and spent a wonderful weekend there with family for my sister’s wedding. Then we drove to our friends’ house in Redondo Beach and spent a couple days drinking nice wine, shuttling the boys to their friends houses, running Alex around for dentist appointments, and eating nice food. Then we spent one night at my dad’s house in San Diego, then back to Brawley for my stepsister’s wedding. It was quite a trip, but poor Tim had to stay in San Felipe to take care of Exodus. He got so many projects done while we were away!
Waiting for the taxi at the marinaAt the bus station in San FelipeOn the busThe rental car – Alex hopped right into the front seat, because he’s 12 now, so he knew I would let him. He and Andrew called shotgun on each other all weekend.Mmmmm…. ice cream at Gramma Nay’s houseSurprising Papa and Nana (They didn’t know Alex and Brenden were coming)Surprising Andrew! (Andrew took a train and two buses from SLO to Vegas. So glad he made it!!)Dinner at Tbirds. So fun seeing Andrew and Dylan together again.Breakfast at the hotelWe went to the strip for a couple hours. Alex and Brenden complained the whole time because all they wanted to do was go back to the hotel and watch TV. Andrew was a good sport, though.Paris?Caesar’s Palace. The die is cast.They were actually standing like this waiting for me to come out of the restroom. I made them reenact for a photo.Surprising Ethan and Cammy (cousins)Brenden showed us his mad hula hoop skillsAt the rehearsal dinner – The Bride and The Mother of the BrideWe got to the wedding a little earlyFamily was supposed to sit in the gazebo, but the kids didn’t want to, so we put them in the front row with Andrew as supervisor.Beautiful couplePapa and Nana with all the grandkidsMama with all her boysDance floor funAndrew was the only one who could get Alex on the dance floorPlayin at the hotel poolBig good-bye hugs for the cousinsWe made it to Redondo Beach – Brenden and Monkey playing tug-tug-tugAlex with his bud ChrisBrenden with his buds, Anthony and JasonRound Table Pizza!Good friends and good wineKale salad. Mmmmm…. not many leafy greens in MexicoA run on the strand in Manhattan BeachBrenden with his bud NelsonAwesome dinner at Flemming’s. I forgot to take the photo BEFORE I started eating.Alex waiting for his dentist appointmentFro Yo!Helping Gramma Nay with dishes at the churchReading their Big Nate booksAll the stuff staged for cramming into the rental carWhile we were away, Tim hung out with Daniel, an employee at the MarinaHe also designed a part that would allow us to operate our anchor windlass manually. This is the man (and his son) who machined the part for us.Functioning A-OK.
San Felipe was a stop of necessity, and not really a typical cruiser’s destination. But after a horrific passage it was a safe haven and then an easy place for Tim to stay with Exodus while the boys and I crossed to border for my sister’s wedding. It seemed different than the other Mexican towns we had been in recently, maybe due to it’s proximity to the border or maybe because I had been there before. In any case, our stay here marked the end of another era as the weather changed and we now considered ourselves fairly seasoned cruisers.
The San Felipe Harbor, Marina Fonatur
Logbook – October 10, 2013 (San Felipe)
Daily Notes
Exodus boat cleaning day
Met Todd, SV Updog, 19 foot boat, dinner on Exodus
Had to wear Uggs & Sweats!
It’s cold here! Brenden needs a blanket.Getting some work done.Putting Brenden to work too……and Alex didn’t miss the fun.
Logbook – October 11, 2013 (San Felipe)
Daily Notes
Internet Day
The San Felipe HarborOur neighbor boat in the Marina Fonatur
Logbook – October 12, 2013 (San Felipe)
Daily Notes
Hot coffee tastes good again
Walked along the beach to town. Short Malecon. Lunch @ Taco Factory
Found small grocery store
Looking towards the beach south of the harborNot many boats in the marinaWalking along the beach to town (It’s a couple of miles north of the harbor)At low tide truck’s just drive down the beach to pick up the pangasGoofing off on the MaleconChecking out the bus schedule (we have to take the bus to Mexicali because there are no rental cars)
Logbook – October 13, 2013 (San Felipe)
Daily Notes
Cleaning & Laundry Day
Getting closer to full moon, the tide just keeps getting lowerThere’s an island in the harbor nowYes, Alex is carrying Brenden back to the boat
Logbook – October 14, 2013 (San Felipe)
Daily Notes
Finally published essay & fixed FB page
Had water delivered. Decided to dump tomorrow.
Tim went to town with Todd (SV Updog)
Tim hanging out with Todd on SV Updog (What’s updog? Nothing, what’s up with you?)
Logbook – October 15, 2013 (San Felipe)
Daily Notes
Headed out to dump heads
Dinner & Dodger game at Fat Boy Pizza
The bridge/ramp is nearly horizontal at high tide (there is about a 20 ft tide swing here)This time we walked to town closer to low tide
It was a long night on passage from Puerto Refugio to San Felipe. You can see that the inReach coverage was spotty as well.
Logbook – October 8, 2013 (Puerto Refugio to San Felipe)
Passage Log Highlights
1131 Depart Puerto Refugio
1231 Port engine off
1239 SB engine off, Main + Genniker
1524 Dorado! 8.6 kts SE
1742 Main + Genoa, 15.7 kts SW
Daily Notes
Southbound Net – Steve asks, “Any Exoduses underway?”
Fish On!Alex ready with the gaffeA nice Dorado
Logbook – October 9, 2013 (Puerto Refugio to San Felipe)
Passage Log Highlights
0300 47.6 kts wind! No main, 3 reef genoa
Daily Notes
Gale force winds
So happy to be @ San Felipe
Alex had to take the 8-10am watch
Summary of passage sent in email from airmail account
Wifi from the boat
Shore power working well
Alex made top ramen when we got here
Alex busted out the fans right away, but it’s much cooler here than in Santa Rosalia
Went to bed with Exodus still a mess
This was by far the strongest wind we have had on passage so far
Email to family and friends dated October 9, 2013
Subject: we made it
We made it to San Felipe, and holy crap, what a night. We left Puerto Refugio about 11am yesterday and for the first 6 hours or so we had light winds from the ESE and confused seas such that the sails had trouble staying full, and we limped along at an uncomfortable 2-3 kts. Then the wind picked up to 12 kts or so and within the next hour they had picked up to a steady 20. (Steve, this is about when we talked on the Southbound net). We were expecting about 20-25 kts during the night, and we put 2 reefs in the main and 1 in the Genoa just to be on the safe side. I went to bed with plans to get up at 2am for my watch and did very little sleeping because the seas were still very confused just bigger so they tossed around quite a bit. At midnight I heard the engines come on so I came up to see 37 kts on the instruments and Tim is preparing to drop the main sail. I took the engine controls to try to steer us to the wind to bring down the main and since Tim was already wearing my foul weather jacket I got totally drenched. We brought the main down and then just had the smallest possible Genoa still out. The washing machine was on turbo cycle, we were getting tossed like crazy! I went below to change into dry clothes and find another jacket, and that’s when the sea sickness started, the worst I’ve ever had. I was pretty much out of commission. Poor Tim had to have watch duty all night! I got up around 3am and tried to “suck it up”, but I just couldn’t manage. At that point he had seen sustained winds over 40 kts with gusts up to 47. We were running downwind with no sails and dragging warps to slow us down. When I got up again at sunrise the winds had died to below 15 kts but the seas were still a mess and we had minimal Genoa out and were dragging warps still to only go about 1-2 kts. At this point we were way off course, about 40 miles due East of San Felipe. We were hoping the seas would settle down a bit so we just sort of hung out there for an hour or so. The seas never really did settle down, but I thought we needed to make a move so I pulled in the warps and started the engines and just powered through the remaining swells. I was worried the winds would pick up again and even contemplated heading to Puerto Penasco at that point since at least then the main swells would be on our stern. It turned out OK since the wind did pick up again to 20kts, but this time from the North, so while it confused the seas even more, it at least didn’t cause them to build. Alex even took a watch since I was still in pretty bad shape and Tim desperately needed some sleep. He had instructions to wake Tim if the wind shifted or got to 25kts, which thankfully it never did. We had a very uncomfortable ride but we pulled into the marina here in San Felipe about 1:30. I have never been so happy to be in a marina. Exodus did awesome, and at no time were we in any real danger since Tim handled every situation extremely well. It was inevitable that we would see this kind of weather at some point, and we’ve come through it stronger, and at least for me, with an immense amount of confidence in Exodus and Tim.
Steve, I’m sorry I didn’t check in this morning on the Amigo net but I really was barely functioning. I’m wondering if this rivals your guys’ experience on the southern crossing! Also, can you be sure my yahoo email is ok to send to your winlink account?
There is supposedly wifi at the marina here, but we haven’t gotten it to work yet. Hopefully soon.
Love and miss everyone, -D.
One additional bit about that night that I’d like to share was when I came up to the helm after Tim and turned the engines on in order to drop the main sail, I looked around at the seas battering us, and cried, “Tim, this is horrible!” His response was priceless. He said, in a very calm voice, “No, it’s not. It’s fine. Everything is fine. Just point us into the wind.” To which I thought, “Ok, sure, I can do that.” Pointing us into the wind is something I’ve done hundreds times while anchoring and raising/lowering the main. I was only a little bit offended when he called back, “Don’t put it in reverse!” We were going about 6-7 kts, did he really think I would put it in reverse? Well, better safe than sorry.
Tim’s “Of fish and men” essay was so good, I’ve been trying to get him to write his version of the San Felipe passage. Maybe eventually…
Gresham Family Exodus 