Categories
Conclusion – The Same Only Different
This last month in the Sea of Cortez we visited a lot of the same anchorages and a few new ones, but it was like we were in a different place altogether. The weather was much cooler allowing us to go on the many hikes we wished we had gone on before. And the landscape was green! No longer the barren dessert we experienced on our way up north. We even had to switch our tables back and put our big table back inside because we were finding it too cool to have dinner in the cockpit. It was all the same, only different. Looking forward we can’t wait to see some truly new and different places as we make our way across the sea and down the Mexican mainland.
Categories
Tim’s Birthday
While we were still out at Ensenada Cardonal, I let the cat out of the bag while chatting on SSB with some of our friends that Tim’s birtday was coming up. Wow, did that snowball. By the time we got into La Paz, it turned out that Tim’s birthday celebration was actually going to be a bit of a reunion of the BLA summertime crew. We were planning to go to The Shack (awesome burgers, Negro Modelo on tap) and when we got a head count the morning of Tim’s birthday and we had over 20 people, I thought we should go down and give them a head’s up that we’d be coming. The Shack had moved locations since we had last been in La Paz to a nice spot on the malecon, although some people saw it as if they were selling out or something. I figured as long as the burgers are still good, I’m all over it. So, Tim and I walked down there, and my heart absolutely sank when we realized they were closed and found the sign that said they are, in fact, closed on Wednesdays. Wednesdays! Who closes on Wednesdays? We needed a plan B, and fast. So we got on the horn (aka handheld VHF) and called around to get some input, and we ended up walking to the location where The Shack used to be. There’s a new restaurant there called Fuego y Lena and they have pizza and burgers, so we thought that would be perfect and made a reservation. I think we made the owners day by saying we’d be bringing 20+ people there that evening. After getting that taken care of Tim and I ducked into the restaurant Stella, and did what we used to do all the time while traveling, but seem not to make time for anymore. We just sat there and had a drink. Or 2.
The birthday dinner at Fuego y Lena turned out great. The food was slow to come out and some people got a little annoyed, but I have no problem dealing with that sort of thing as long as everyone’s pleasant and enjoyable. After dinner, the kids, including Steve, ambushed Tim with shaving cream as he was leaving the restaurant. It was pretty funny, and unfortunately I don’t have any of the photos of it. The kids actually thought they were buying silly string, so they didn’t intend for it to be quite as messy as it was. But all in the name of fun and games.
Categories
La Paz (The Final Time)
December 2-5, 2013
We headed into La Paz for some provisioning and to wait for Lady Carolina to be ready to make the crossing over to the mainland, and we had a grand celebration for Tim’s birthday.
Logbook – December 2, 2013 (Isla Partida to La Paz)
Passage Log Highlights
- 0915 Start engines
- 0930 Depart Isla Partida
- 1000 Autopilot & speedo cal complete
- 1024 Engines off Main + Genniker
- 1239 Main + Spinnaker
- 1328 Spinnaker – no main
- 1411 Wind died – spinnaker down, engines on
- 1643 Arrive La Paz
Daily Notes
- Previously, had to start engines to steer while slowing to real in a fish
- Recalibrated depth sensor to be under the keel
- Ran into Sara M in the channel
- No joy on getting a marina slip
- Back w/ Lady Carolina again!
Logbook – December 3, 2013 (La Paz)
Daily Notes
- D – run on the Malecon!
- Grocery run
- Dinner on Exodus w/ LC and Dazzler
Email to friends and family dated December 3, 2013
Subject: Back in La Paz
Not much to report, just that it’s strange being back in La Paz again. We are anchored right next to Lady Carolina amongst a sea of boats, and we had a great time catching up last night. There are several other boats here we know from our summer up in the sea, so Tim’s birthday is looking like it’s going to turn into quite the party tomorrow. We’ll be in La Paz until at least Thursday, and will hopefully grab some wifi at some point. All I know is I’m running on the malecon this morning!
D
At 12/3/2013 2:42 PM (utc) our position was 24°09.90’N 110°19.48’W
Logbook – December 4, 2013 (La Paz)
Daily Notes
- Happy Birthday Tim!
- The shack is closed on Wednesdays 😦 Last munite change of venue to Fuego y lean (where The Shack used to be)
- T/D – snuck a relaxing drink in at Stella
- Big Party 0 LC, Dazzler, True Blue V, Mai Tai Roa, Sara M, Interabang, True Companion, Drifter, Entres Nous – BLA Reunion
- Boys – sleepover on LC
Logbook – December 5, 2013 (La Paz to Playa Bonanza)
Passage Log Highlights
- 1055 Depart La Paz
- 1530 Arrive Playa Bonanza
Daily Notes
- Boys passage with LC
- T/B – In the water as soon as we got to Bonanza. Pargo, parrot, green jack.
- Alex – serious migraine
Categories
Ensenada el Cardonal (Isla Partida)
November 28 – December 2, 2013
This one of the few anchorages we hadn’t visited on Isla Partida previously. It is a very deep bay that protected us well from the strong north winds, even if it was a bit gusty at times. We had a pleasant walk across the island, and Tim and the boys put together a “treasure” and hid it up in a cave, and then they created a map that they put in a bottle and set adrift. Only time will tell if anyone every finds it.
Logbook – November 28, 2013 (Isla San Francisco to Isla Partida)
Passage Log Highlights
- 1015 Start engines
- 1027 Depart Isla San Francisco
- 1042 P engine off. No wind no sails
- 1507 SB temp alarm while running @ high RPM, immediately lowered RPMs to fwd idle. Alarm stopped after 30 sec. P engine on.
- 1520 Arrive Isla Partida
Daily Notes
- Thanksgiving dinner – BBQ chicken, mashed potatoes (yum), salad, apple crumble (double yum)
Email to family and friends dated November 28, 2013
Subject: Happy Thanksgiving!
We are not taking the day off from school, but don’t feel sorry for these boys. We took a day off last week to hike into the canyon behind Puerto Escondido (awesome hike!) and we took a half day off already this week when Tim got back. So we are THANKFUL that we have the flexibility to do things like that.
Love and miss you all!
At 11/26/2013 8:12 PM (utc) our position was 24°49.27’N 110°34.38’W
Logbook – November 29, 2013 (Ensenada el Cardonal at Isla Partida)
Daily Notes
- All alone in the anchorage this morning
- Double yoga on the bows
- B – spear fishing under and around Exodus. Speared his own sashimi
Logbook – November 30, 2013 (Ensenada el Cardonal at Isla Partida)
Daily Notes
- Hike to the other side of the island, NE strong winds
- T/B – spearfishing – 2 speedy fish
Email to family and friends dated November 30, 2013
Subject: Isla Partida
Well, we are back at our old stomping grounds at Isla Partida, one of the islands just north of La Paz. We made contact with Lady Carolina last night on one of the radio nets, and they aren’t going to be ready to leave La Paz until next weekend or early the following week, so we will likely go into La Paz and join them on Monday or so. Then our plan is to round the cape back down to Los Muertos (one of the first anchorages we went to after Cabo) and then cross over to the mainland. We plan to stop at Isla Isabel, which is nicknamed “the galapagos of Mexico” due to its rather isolated wildlife. It will be about a 250 mile passage, so I’ll let you guys know as our plans firm up and we know more specifically when we plan to depart.
Everything is great here… yesterday after school Brenden saw what he calls “speedy fish” under the boat, so he suited up, grabbed his spear, speared one, cleaned it, rinsed it, bagged it, chilled it, and then just before dinner, sliced it, mixed up some wasabi, and enjoyed his own sashimi appetizer. He did it all on his own, no help at all. Love it!
At 11/28/2013 10:36 PM (utc) our position was 24°33.10’N 110°23.17’W
Logbook – December 1, 2013 (Ensenada el Cardonal at Isla Partida)
Daily Notes
- Cold, gray, and windy. Game of craps after school
- T/Boys – hid a treasure jar up in the cave
Categories
Isla San Francisco Again
November 25-28, 2013
The last time we were here was in the spring and we were just venturing north into The Sea of Cortez and we were in the company of 4 other kid boats. This time we are “summer in the sea” veterans and we were all by ourselves.
Logbook – November 25, 2013 (Puerto Escondido to Isla San Francisco)
Passage Log Highlights
- 1501 Engines on
- 1545 Depart Puerto Escondido
- 1616 Engines Off Genoa only. No speedo.
- 2045 Power cycle nav (SOG said 2.0 kts, IPAD said 6.6 kts)
Logbook – November 26, 2013 (Puerto Escondido to Isla San Francisco)
Passage Log Highlights
- 0229 Watch change, double reef genoa
- 0413 Engines on
- 0443 Arrive Isla San Francisco
- 1106 Engines on to reanchor
- 1133 Reanchor complete
Daily Notes
- Arrived at dark – anchored away from other boats – rocky rolly
- T/Boys – spearfishing after school – parrot fish, pargo, langosta
- LC no show for Southbound net
- Taught the boys how to play craps before/after dinner
Email to family and friends dated November 26, 2013
Subject: Made it to Isla San Francisco
We left Puerto Escondido around 3:30pm yesterday and had a fast overnight sail to Isla San Francisco, arriving here before dawn, around 4am. Anchoring at night is not one of my favorite things, and the anchorage was crowded, which meant we had to pick a spot a little less protected than ideal. Tim and I both went to back to bed after anchoring, and woke up to a very rocky rolly Exodus. With daylight, we move into a little tighter formation with the other boats and we are now a little more comfortable.
We had some fun yesterday before Tim arrived back at Puerto Escondido yesterday. It was very windy (20+kts) and I was doing dishes and just happened to look up to see our dinghy floating away. I called to the boys and Brenden was all over it. Right away he stripped down to his underwear and asked, “mom, should I jump in?” I thought for about 1.5 seconds considering our options before giving him the green light to jump in and go get it. As he’s swimming out there I had visions of La Paz, and asked Alex where the dinghy key was. Luckily it was in the dinghy. Brenden started it up and got it back to Exodus and with laughter shared with us how his underwear came down when he jumped in so he had to stop swimming to pull them up.
It’s usually Alex’s role to be johnny on the spot to save the day, but yesterday Brenden stepped happily stepped into that role. It was fun to see.
We will stay here a couple of days before joining Lady Carolina in La Paz.
Love and miss you all,
At 11/26/2013 8:12 PM (utc) our position was 24°49.27’N 110°34.38’W
Logbook – November 27, 2013 (Isla San Francisco)
Daily Notes
- Agate hunting after school. Walked over to the NE anchorage – found the wind from the NE. Sounds and smells reminded me of the Pacific Ocean.
- Craps in the afternoon
Categories
Runaway Dinghy
We had a little bit of fun the morning Tim arrived back in Puerto Escondido. It was very windy (20+kts) and there was actually a fair amount of fetch in the main anchorage. I was doing dishes and just happened to look up to see our dinghy floating away towards the fuel dock. I quickly called to the boys and Brenden was all over it. Right away he stripped down to his underwear and asked, “mom, should I jump in?” I thought for about 1.5 seconds considering our options before giving him the green light to jump in and go get it. As he’s swimming out there I had visions of La Paz, and asked Alex where the dinghy key was. Luckily it was in the dinghy. Brenden started it up and got it back to Exodus and with laughter shared with us how his underwear came down when he jumped in so he had to stop swimming to pull them up. It’s usually Alex’s role to be johnny on the spot to save the day, but this time Brenden stepped happily stepped into that role. It was fun to see.
November 16-25, 2013
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.
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!!
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
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
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
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
Logbook – November 24, 2013 (Puerto Escondido)
Daily Notes
- Dinghy tried to escape (painter chafed through) Brenden jumped in to get it
November 14-16, 2013
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.
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!
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
Adios, Isla Coronados
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
Categories
San Juanico (The Final Time)
November 12-14, 2013
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.
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
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
Gresham Family Exodus 