During the night the wind picked up with gusts to 18 knots along with some local swell which kept us pitching about at anchor but not enough to be a nuisance. At 5:00 a.m. we started getting rain squalls along with thunderstorms which lasted for a couple of hours and was quite spectacular over the bay of La Paz. All morning it rained heavily so we decided to stay at Caleta Lobos until Thursday to see if the weather improves, although the forecast was not too good. However, during the afternoon, the weather cleared and we moved Hilbre to the eastern anchorage which was calmer, quieter and not smelly. We were treated to a fine view of a Sun Dog just as the sun was setting and managed to get some nice pictures of the cove and boats with the Sun Dog in the background.

Of course, it has been glorious, sunny and warm since we arrived back in La Paz, but when we decide to go sailing, the weather goes downhill or so it seems. Such is the cruising experience; you take the good and the bad and make do with it. We seem to be getting more than our fair share of the bad however, we are out sailing again and that is a good thing.

We left for Caleta Lobos which is a short distance to the north of La Paz and even shorter from the Marina we were in. The seven mile trip took a little over an hour and a half and dropping anchor in the northern section of the cove close to an elongated island that forms part of the protection for the cove called Isla Lobos. The entrance is protected by a rock outcrop with a single white light on it called Roca Lobos and you pass to the north or south of this rock to enter the cove. Just south of the cove are some aquaculture pens which are becoming more common in many areas of Mexico. Often poorly lit and marked they require care when sailing close to the coast, especially when entering places like Caleta Lobos.

There were already three boats at anchor in the eastern section of the cove and over the next few hours another three sailboats arrived and dropped anchor. The evening was calm but there was no nice sunset, as cloud cover had set in. We were serenaded by the many birds that live on Isla Lobos where every rock is white from their droppings and as we anchored we noticed a slight smell from this. The birds were especially noisy and along with the Sea Lions bellowing on Roca Lobos, the noise did not quit until it was finally dark.

We arrived back in La Paz on Monday. The weather has been wonderful, low 80’s and light wind. We are preparing the boat for some local sailing to take advantage of the nice conditions.

We have enjoyed time with the family and friends over Christmas and New Year and it was good to see everyone and share in the Holidays.

We will be returning to La Paz on Monday, January 30th. The current plan is to get the boat ready and stocked for continued cruising, however we want to be in La Paz for Carnival which occurs from February 16 to 21. We hear it is a great time to be in La Paz. See WEB Link on the sidebar “Favorites” for more information.

This means we will probably do some short overnight trips or day sails during the week of February 5th., and be back in La Paz for Carnival. Our plan is to head off after Carnival to Espiritu Santo (Partida), Caleta San Evaristo, Puerto Los Gatos, Isla San Francisco, Balandra and back to La Paz. That should take about 7-9 days. We will then stock up for the trip to the Mexican mainland, not sure yet if we will go to Mazatlan or directly to Puerto Vallarta.

Our plan is to push on south very quickly to Tenacatitta and Barra and hang then out there for a while. Not sure if we will go to Manzanillo but that is about as far south as we will get this season. We will then head slowly up to Mazatlan from the south as the weather warms up. We still plan on bringing Hilbre back to the US leaving La Paz/Cabo around May 1-5 which gives us a good amount of time to get back to either Long Beach or Ensenada. We are tempted to leave the boat at Marina Corral in Ensenada for June and July while we decide what to do next, such is retirement, everything is flexible.

We are returning home for a few weeks over Christmas and will return to La Paz at the end of January to continue our voyaging. We had a very pleasant month exploring La Paz and have become familiar with the location of everything. We moved Hilbre to an upwind slip which makes the cockpit easier as we get good protection from our large Dodger and Bimini. I know we will be anxious to return to the boat in January so we can move on and explore new areas of Mexico.

We have been using the marina shuttle to get to and from town which is quite unlike any other Mexican town, it is neat and clean and people have a pride in their surroundings. There is the Club Cruceros at the Marina Baja who organize events for cruisers and fund donations to local charities, they also run the daily 8:00 am channel 22 cruiser net. We joined 250 other cruisers for a Cruceros sponsored Thanksgiving dinner at the Marina Palmira, a couple of miles from where we are staying. The food was plentiful with as much turkey as you could eat.

We have taken a number of photographs in the Marina and Beach Club area. The Marina is very well maintained, if we call for anything on the VHF, we get an immediate response and usually within 10-15 minutes someone shows up to help us with whatever we had needed. There is a central sewer system and every other dock has an outlet. So instead of moving the boat or having a floating pump-out station come to us, they bring a hose, hook us up at the dock and pump. It is all very convenient. Also, we have Cable TV and Internet at the dock all of which is included, they provide the cable modem and cables for us to use. Unfortunately, the internet is currently being repaired so we are reduced to using a slow WiFi link.

Grocery shopping is fairly easy as the Marina has a free shuttle service every two hours to and from town and twice a day they go to the BIG grocery store which is on the edge of town. There is also a well stocked grocery store a few blocks from the bus station which is convenient for smaller things. On one of the trips into town we went to the Bank and both of us had a haircut. Mine cost $3.50 and Anita’s $10.00 it was an interesting affair as I had a chance to delve into speaking Spanish and the folks in the salon were full of help and humor.

Many of the streets we have walked along have beautiful overhangs of Bougainvillea and shady old trees. We did find the traditional meat and fish market which reminded me of the old Birkenhead Market before it burnt down in 1969. I felt quite at home wandering the food stalls; it reminded me of my childhood and shopping with my parents.

I bought a pocket Spanish/English/Spanish dictionary which is easier to carry that some of the language books we have on board. I can decline Spanish verbs pretty well so our Spanish is coming along OK.

La Paz was famous as a center for Pearls however today there are none left, what there was passed into history by 1941 due to a mysterious disease. Today they are trying to revive the business but it is still early to see how they succeed. It is hard to believe that in the 1880’s, La Paz was the major center of business in the worldwide pearl trade. The Spanish arrived briefly in 1534 and then again in 1535 and 1596 then things went quiet for a hundred years or so. In the meantime La Paz became a favorite hangout for English and Dutch Pirates who raided Spanish ships using local weather knowledge. The Spaniards finally established the first mission in 1720 to try and counter the Pirates and this mission lasted a number of years. It was the local ranchers who finally established the permanent town in 1811.

Last Sunday was Mexican Revolution Day and during our shuttle drive along the Malecon we passed many people in national costumes, lots of horses and events taking place to mark this important Mexican holiday. This week the bi-annual Fubar arrived at our Marina. This consisted of about 50 power boats that had started out in San Diego and end here in La Paz. This made for more of a crowd and the Marina has had some special events including a film and opera night held at their open air amphitheater.

The film night was interesting as it documented a voyage by three Balsa rafts from Ecuador to Australia in the early 1970’s. Some of the people who had taken part in this expedition were present to answer questions. The film was called Las Balsas and all three rafts made it to Australia.

It is Saturday, November 26 and another Northerner is blowing which should finish by Monday. We are currently evaluating our next steps, cross to mainland Mexico, Mazatlan or stay put in Las Paz and spend more time exploring the islands in the Sea of Cortez.

We have now been in La Paz for five days. The first three I laid low to recover from an infection. The Marina is really very nice and we are tucked away beyond the main part of the marina in an area filled with shops and restaurants. There is a health club, spa and golf course all attached to the marina. We began to explore the area on Wednesday and the services, cleanliness and operation of the marina are quite exceptional. Because of this we have decided to stay here for at least a month.

Today, we went into town which is quite unlike any other Mexican town, it is neat and clean and people have pride in their surroundings. There is the Club Cruceros who organize events for cruisers, fund money and donations to local charities and also run the daily 8:00 am channel 22 cruiser net.

We walked along the Malecon for over a half mile and no one approached us with something to sell, the only thing we saw were smiles from the people we passed.

We arrived at the entrance to the Canal de San Lorenzo about 11:30 pm. This is a particularly nasty, narrow and shallow stretch of water that should be taken with a favorable tide. It forms a slot between the mainland and the Isla Espiritu Santo. The water depth either side of the canal is over 300 feet and as the central part of the canal is just over 50 feet, the flow of water builds considerable waves either side of the entrance. All of the water to and from the La Paz Bay has to get through this narrow gap.

To add to our misery we were going to have to fight our way through this channel against the tide. There are only two lights and because of our oblique angle of approach I made a direct line for one light. This was to avoid a shoal close to our port.  By 12:30 am we were in the middle of the channel fighting the strong current.  Running the engine at 2000 RPM we sometimes were only making two knots or less. We continued fighting the current and the waves for another hour and a half before we were finally clear of the effects of the canal.

We had heard over the radio that all of the sheltered anchorages on the way to La Paz were full of boats as it was the weekend. Because of the change to the buoys making the La Paz Channel we chose to stand-off and began our runs back and forth until daylight. We added diesel to our main tank and by 3:30 am we began our stand-off runs which were to continue until 6:30 am when we finally turned towards the entrance to La Paz.

By then I was not feeling too well and as we passed the Oil Terminal we turned left and entered the channel leading to the Marina Costabaja. We finally tied up at their fuel dock as the office was not open until 9:00 am.

We had done about 120 miles since leaving Los Frailes at 2:30 am on Saturday morning so we had been travelling for over 30 hours much of it in poor conditions and we were both very tired, it had been quite an ordeal. I had come down with something and had a fever. I went below and told Anita they would have to pry me off the dock if they wanted me to move Hilbre! I had a fever of 103.

The Marina told us we could stay on the dock as long as we wanted so I slept for a number of hours. In the meantime, Anita checked us into the marina and received an assigned slip in the inner harbor. Sometime later, when I was rested we moved Hilbre to the slip in the inner harbor, tied up, connected ourselves to power and I went below to sleep until Monday morning.

We had decided to continue on to La Paz. We were up by 2:00 am and another boat had just pulled in with their deck lights on and had anchored a few hundred yards further along the reef area. They turned their lights off; we turned ours on so we could raise the anchor. A Panga approached us at high speed and it turned out to be the park police who told us we were anchored too close to the reef. After telling them that we had been here five nights and were in fact leaving, they departed.

It had calmed down overnight and we headed out into only a slight swell quickly putting two miles between us and the Pulmo reef which extends out a mile and a half from shore. We then turned north motoring gently until the sun came up. We then got a nice land breeze of 12 knots so both sails were set and we enjoyed the nicest bit of sailing since leaving San Pedro. We cruised along under sail on a nice broad reach for about three hours doing 5-6 knots before the wind quit and we had to go back to the engine. We passed some large new homes being built along the shoreline and tourism is beginning to expand in this area.

We arrived in Los Muertos at 12:30 pm. anchoring carefully in about 35 feet of water. There were a number of other boats coming and going and at least 20 at anchor. Los Muertos or Bay of the dead is protected from the north wind, but like Los Frailes is exposed to southern wind storms. It gets its name from a ship with fever aboard that was refused entry to La Paz. Most of those on board died.  Because of increasing tourism to the area the name has been changed to Bahia de los Suenos or Bay of dreams! It will still be a while before the old name disappears.

There are two hotels and restaurants at los Muertos and we were considering going shore for a meal. When we arrived the sea was very calm however by 3:30 pm the waves had suddenly increased in size and frequency, so we held off seeing how things developed. Boats were sharing weather forecasts which were contrary, so no one really knew what was going on.  We were again on a lee shore in deteriorating conditions. By 4:30 some boats were leaving, probably to move around the headland to a small shore anchorage that is protected by weather from the south.

Just before 5:00 pm we decided the rocking, which put the bow under water and then the stern swim step which then lifted water through the open transom into the cockpit was enough. As we were preparing for departure, I looked up to see a French Boat that was also leaving was very close to an Island packet, almost in danger of colliding. The boat was doing some strange maneuvers and then I saw the issue; every Captains nightmare.

A body was hanging outside the boat at the bow and holding onto the pulpit for dear life. The Captain wisely put the boat broadside on to the waves and had gone forward to help the other crew member working the anchor get the individual aboard. They did so and the person just lay there. As the anchor was stowed and the boat began to make headway, the Captain and other crew member came forward and had to drag the person who had almost fallen overboard and was obviously injured to the safety of the cockpit.

We raised our anchor and headed out behind the French boat intending to see if we had enough daylight to make it to the other sheltered anchorage.

With increasing poor weather conditions we did not make it to the sheltered anchorage we had wanted to get to which is on the north side of Los Muertos.

As nightfall had set in and the area was unmarked. We continued though the narrowest part of the Cerralvo channel with the flood tide which gave us a nice push into the Canal de Cerralvo. This is a wide channel between the mainland and the 16 mile long island of Cerralvo. Boats leaving after us hit the ebb tide and had to push their way north in the Canal. We knew it was going to be a long night!

At first we had the wind directly aft and the conditions had calmed considerably. As we moved north through the channel the wind shifted to the North East and increased to 18 knots. We tried sailing however we could not point tight enough to really make use of this and had to go back to the engine. As we began to clear the shelter of Cerralvo the wind veered to North West, on the nose with increased wave heights with a short frequency. We continued to slog it out with two other boats also heading in the same direction. It was going to be tough. We arrived at the entrance to the Canal de San Lorenzo about 11:30 pm.

By the time we awoke, another group of boats were gone this morning but a fresh group had arrived from San Jose Del Cabo the previous evening. Most of them had tried to get to Los Frailes from Cabo San Lucas on Monday or Tuesday but were forced back and put into San Jose to ride out the storm. The early morning was calm and we took the dinghy ashore to take some photographs and do some snorkeling. We took some pictures of the beach and bay showing just our footprints and no one else’s.

The snorkeling was good, with lots of different fish and various types of coral in about 20 feet of water. This was Anita’s first real foray into some serious snorkeling, and she did well. I dived down to chase the larger fish and see if I could locate any Octopus which hide under the rocks but without success. The visibility was about 30 feet near the beach and we enjoyed seeing the many different and colorful tropical fish. As you moved further away from the beach area visibility, the number of corals and the variety of fish increased. However, the wind had now swung around to the South and Los Frailes is exposed to southern wind. The surf was building on the shore so it was time to cut short our beach trip before it got too bad to launch the dingy.

During the afternoon the wind and waves increased and we had swung around on the anchor and now had our back to the rock wall of Los Frailes but about 400 yards from it. Back on the boat, we took off the outboard and lashed the dinghy to the deck, ready for an early start tomorrow or a quick getaway should this be required.  To where, we do not know as we have no fixed itinerary. Will it be Mazatlan or Bay of the Dead (Los Muertos). We will probably decide in the morning but it is time to move on, we have been here for four days.

We inflated the dingy and attached the motor so we could go to the beach. There were already some boats on the beach when we arrived and we had plenty of help moving the dingy up the beach. A number of people were snorkeling in the rock headland next to the beach and were impressed about the quality of the snorkeling.  There were a multitude of fish, turtles and other things to see. We plan on doing this tomorrow as the weather is continuing to improve. It was quite a sight, Hilbre riding at anchor in the bay and us sitting on a beach with azure blue water breaking on the shore.

 We met a number of new cruisers, an Englishman from Middleborough who had lived in South Africa for many years and another cruiser who had lived in New Zealand. We also met the lone sailor who had arrived on Wednesday. He had sailed to Cabo from Puerto Vallarta and was heading up the coast to La Paz. He has been sailing around the area on his own for more than a year. One of the other cruisers with a water maker let him take a shower on their boat. Such is the cruising community, a small band of wanderers who help each other without any expectation of a return.

For dinner, we ate that last of Georges Dorado; a fine meal as we watched new boats arrive from Cabo and drop their anchors in the now calm waters of the bay.  It’s a wonderful full moon tonight and we can sit out and watch those arrive from Cabo who got stuck there due to the blustery weather.

Well, the ‘Northerner’ did not blow itself out. Even though we awoke to a calm day, the wind quickly returned with a sinking Barometer. We hunkered down all day and no boats departed save one that prudently came back after a short foray outside the shelter of the bay. One new boat did arrive in the afternoon, healed over and driven by the wind as it tacked into the shelter of the bay. It was a young solo sailor who had struggled by himself all the way from San Jose Del Cabo in a 27′ Ericson. In the afternoon, a few boats used their dinghy to get to the beach, the first we had seen ashore.

Los Frailes consists of a big rock headland connected to a fine sand beach that curves away to the South. At night we can hear the waves breaking on the headland. The headland has some great dive sites as we see Pangas go by with diver flags often anchoring near the cliff at the very edge of the bay. It is part of the larger national marine park reef system which includes the protected Pulmo coral reef, the only one of its kind on the West Coast of Mexico

We awoke at 5:30 am to the sound of wind gusts out of the north. These increased in intensity during the day and produced steady 18-20 Knot winds with gusts as high as 28 knots. It was not a day to be exploring but one to relax and keep an eye on the anchor and its chain. We had 125 feet of chain and another 80 feet of rode out and were secure, even during the high wind gusts. Finally, about 3:30 pm the Barometer bottomed out at 1011.7 and began to rise slowly. As I write this at 8:00 pm it continues its steady rise and the wind, while still gusting, is less frequent and less intense.

It was a good day to take stock of our anchor planning. We had added 125 feet of 3/8 short link G4 HT chain to the primary 40lb CQR anchor and backed this up with another 220′ of 5/8″ rode. I had also re-spliced a thimble into the rode and used a shackle to attach this to the chain. Hilbre also carries a spare 80′ of 3/8 HT chain as well as two shorter 3/8 chains of 30 and 25 feet.  In addition we carry 220 feet of 5/8 rode, 100′ of spare 5/8 rode and another 150 of half inch rode.  Some of this is used for the spare Danforth anchor as well as the smaller lunch hook anchor.

When it comes to anchoring, nothing is too much. During the day, we watched three other boats having to re-anchor because they were dragging. One boat did so at least five times during the day and we could see that she clearly moved downwind with each passing hour. This reminded me of the walks I have taken along various docks noting the size of boat verses the size of the anchor. It has always amazed me that people skimp on anchors, often using the smallest they can get away with; not a good policy and not one that will save them in a blow.

We hope that the ‘Northerner’ will blow itself out during the night and that tomorrow we will be able to launch the dingy, go ashore, stretch our legs and do some exploring.

We hauled up the anchor at 7:10 am on Monday and were underway to Los Frailes which is about 45 miles up the coast by 7:20 am. There were three or four other boats also headed out ahead of us. We stayed about three miles off-shore following the coast with the wind directly behind us. The 10 miles of shoreline between Cabo San Lucas and San Jose Del Cabo is lined with buildings, mainly hotel and Condo developments.  As we passed the lighthouse near Cabezza Ballena we waved to Ken and Nancy who had come to see is in Cabo on Sunday morning although they probably could not make out our boat.  The sea and sailing were smooth with a slight swell and 5-6 knots of wind. The cruising guides said this part of the coast was protected from the north winds that can, at times, howl down the Sea of Cortez uninterrupted for hundreds of miles. Once we cleared this section of the coast, we would see how things would change.

We began to feel the effects of the wind and swells between Punta Gorda and La Fortuna. The wind increased to 12-15 knots and the seas picked up with short, sharp 6 foot swells. This combined with a 180 degree wind shift meant we were now plowing directly into headwinds with the boat pitching heavily throwing seas off her bow and occasionally slapping down hard into a trough. There is a shallow area between Punta Gorda and La Fortuna which is popular with the locals for Gringo fishing trips.  As we passed many of these small boats, we wondered how the people who had hired the boat for a day’s fishing were doing in these very choppy conditions.

There also appeared to be an issue with GPS in this area. I noticed that according to the plotter, we were approaching the shore; but I could see clearly, we were at least three miles out. Eventually the GPS told me I was driving the boat along the coastal road! For the next 10 miles or so, the GPS played tricks, sometimes I was on land and sometimes at sea. It would give me position shifts of up to 10 miles in a matter of a second or so. The GPS coordinates were just as crazy. When I plotted them on the chart they concurred with the ships plotter; we were sailing down the highway. This could have been quite disconcerting at night as there are few visual signals by which to take bearings in this area.

We slogged on all afternoon beating into the weather, finally seeing our destination in the distance. One sailboat, a Swan 44 which was going faster than us passed close by and it was interesting to see the boat pitching heavily just like us with spray billowing out from her bow and water flowing back to the cockpit.

Los Frailes is quite a prominent landmark and appears as a big hump of rock. After an afternoon of being on a hobby horse, we finally pulled into the then calm waters behind the Los Frailes headland at about 4:30 pm and anchored in a clear sand bottom at 4:45 pm. It had taken nine and a half hours to do the 48 miles; not bad considering the rough conditions.

There were at least 15 other boats at anchor and only a few more arrived after us. It was nice to be in calm conditions, ready for a good night’s sleep. We did discover later that many boats that left somewhat later than us, had turned back because of the sea conditions.

Sunday morning we said goodby to George and Carl who left to fly back to Las Vegas.

We prepared to leave the Marina for the beach anchorage. Later in the morning, we met up with Ken and Nancy with whom we spent an enjoyable hour or so swapping stories as Nancy had sailed the east coast extensively and had lived on a boat for a number of years.

We gave our keys to the Marina, fired up the engine and motored out to join some of the fleet anchored off the Cabo beach. We put the anchor down in 35 feet of water, had a swim, a curry chicken dinner and watched the sunset. The anchorage is open and between the wash from the Pangas and the personal watercraft, it made for a somewhat rocky location.

We had expected the Marina area to be warm at night however as soon as the sun set, a nice cooling breeze set in so even though we used the AC at night to dry the boat out, it was quite pleasant sleeping conditions even without AC.

On Saturday we finally received our clearance documentation and then headed to the store to provision for the next leg of our cruise. Most of the Cantinas have free Wi-Fi so we were able to access the internet and upload information and pictures to the blog as well as review our email.

Saturday evening we all went to the Baja Ha-Ha awards ceremony and Hilbre had scored third place in her division along with a number of other boats. To get a first place, you really need to sail all the way and in fact a number of boats had managed to accomplish this feat, even if it meant spending little time in the stops along the way.  Everyone received an award of some sort and a small certificate confirming their participation in the event. We now have the famous Baja Ha-Ha fish in our cabin on board.

The large megayacht in the picture is Larry Ellisons (Oracle) new motoryacht.

We are at Cabo after completing the Baja Ha-Ha. Close to our slip was a small store and I had indulged myself in an Ice Cream. We had also picked up ice so we could now have some celebratory drinks. After logging in with the Marina, we now had gate keys. George and Carl disappeared to explore the waterfront bars and Cantinas while we tidied up the boat.

Friday morning we gave the boat a good wash down to get the salt off and tidied up some loose ends. George and Carl then went off to do more exploring and apparently had fish Tacos and a bucket of beer (usually six bottles) at a number of Cantinas. Apparently, we may have not fed them enough during the voyage. I had thought we were doing them a favor, helping them to lose weight, but in one day they seem to have made up for the loss. In the afternoon, there was the Baja Ha-Ha beach party however Anita and I were not ready as we had been waiting on our clearance documentation for the boat and crew into Mexico. That evening we dined on burgers at one of the Cantinas that line the harbor.

The harbor in Cabo is small and one side is lined with cantinas selling beer and food to the tourists who come by their thousands, some staying in condos, timeshares or hotels while others arrive by one of the many cruise lines that serve the port. When we had arrived on Thursday, the only cruise ship in port was one of the Disney cruise lines which left on Friday afternoon.  For the first time, we had an opportunity to see what Cabo is like without any liners anchored off-shore. It is much quieter and less crowded.

We motor-sailed almost all the way to Cabo and it was a fine sight bringing the boat into the final port of the Baja Ha-Ha. We managed to get a slip in the Marina in Cabo however there was much confusion over which slip to use and I had to back the boat in three times to two slips  before we were finally settled in and tied up for the night.

Cabo was warm and fortunately we have air-conditioning on the boat which is a real luxury on a small sailing boat. Tomorrow will be a day of cleaning and checking in with the authorities. We had covered the 196 miles from Bahia Santa Maria to Cabo in just over 30 hours.

It is now Wednesday, November 2nd and we are at sea and heading for Cabo San Lucas. The weather has warmed up considerably and the sea temperature reads 84 degrees. We are motor sailing as the wind is too light to use the sails.

We all left Bahia Santa Maria at 7:00 am, anxious to complete the final and third leg of the Baja Ha-Ha. During the morning we caught and released two nice Dorado as we have enough fish to last us for some time. We had lost one lure so we resorted to making them out of Beer and Soda cans. The Coors Light was snatched off the line and later in the day we had a fine catch on a 7-Up can. The first was at least 5-6 feet long and gave me a heck of a fight. Just as we were about to land it, the line snapped and the lead shot, which is use to weight the line, shot back and hit me hard in the neck. I was left with a nice Hickey, just as well Anita is on the boat.

It is November 1st and we are anchored snugly in Bahia Santa Maria, a broad bay. We are about a half mile from the shore and most of the Baja Ha-Ha fleet is between us and the beach.  During the morning the head gave me new problems, this time the plunger had stopped working. George and Carl went ashore by Panga at 11:00 am to join the beach party while Anita and I stayed behind, Anita to tidy up and me to fix the head.

I was very grateful that I had brought a full box of surgical gloves with me. Disassembling a head is a messy, smelly thing and something that most boats owner eventually do, if only to service them. I had done this twice before and already knew where the problem lay. It was with a small nut behind the plunger valve that had worked its way loose and dropped off. Sure enough, as soon as I had pulled the plunger apart, the nut dropped out onto the floor. This time I added a large washer and lock washer behind the plunger so this will not happen again. By 1:00 pm, we were heading to the beach in a Panga to join in the fun.

Bahia Santa Maria is a large a sandy beach with some good surf. There is no town, the nearest is at Magdalena Bay and both bays are separated only by a spit of land.  open bay flanked at either end by a range of hills. The Bay itself consists of There is a small fisherman’s camp but no town or village. A band drives in from Cabo to play for the party and the locals put on a very fine dinner of fish, shrimp, chicken and other tasty items in a fine hearty sauce. Everyone spoke highly if the food as it was very tasty given we were in quite primitive surroundings.

To get to the beach party, the Panga had hugged the edge of the small river that flows into the bay while dodging the breakers. The fishing camp is a couple of hundred yards up the creek and the party was on a bluff overlooking the bay with a fine view.

We stayed until mid-afternoon, returning to the boat to take a swim and a siesta. Tomorrow we begin the final 192 mile leg which will take us to Cabo San Lucas.

Mid morning on Monday, we finally sighted land and by early afternoon we had turned to port and were entering a fine broad bay with the wind gusting up to 16 knots. As we approached the boats already at anchor the wind dropped to about 12 knots but there were still small whitecaps everywhere. We put the hook down at 2:10 pm and had a congratulatory drink. We had covered 253 nautical miles in a little over two days and six hours.

We have been trolling a hand line and one from the rod and reel andsuddenly had two fish on the hook. One came free as we were pulling him in. The other, we managed to land but later cut it free. We had another bite in the mid afternoon, this time George landed a nice five foot Dorado of about 30 pounds. This time we had our plan in place and the fish was soon dead and being towed behind the boat to bleed. No blood, no mess and a nice catch. We immediately cleaned the fish and commenced to saw at least 12 nice steaks off the fish. We dined on fresh fish that evening courtesy of George’s culinary expertise.

The wind continued to be fickle and we finally turned the engine on again late Sunday night, by this time we were well over 70 miles offshore.

We had an 8:00 a.m. start from Turtle Bay It is Saturday afternoon and still no fish although others in the fleet are catching Dorado and Tuna. It was a slow start out of the bay with little wind to help propel us to Bahia anta Maria. We had hoisted the Spinnaker and most of the fleet had done the same so it was quite a sight with 140 boats all heading out to sea. The wind soon gave out and we took in the Spinnaker and turned on the engine

On the way out of Turtle Bay we had many Squid attacking our fishing lures. If you pulled the lures in slowly, close to the boat, you could see them come up and put their tentacles around the lure and then slide off it. They were about foot long and strong swimmers in groups of four or five. Some of the boats had crew pull their lures from the front of the boat while crew at the stern gaffed them aboard. There was a lot of chatter during the afternoon on the radio about cleaning and preparing Squid. All we managed as a couple of tentacles that got caught in the hook.

Having worked our way offshore about 15 miles we finally found some wind and again hoisted the Spinnaker. Unfortunately, the wind angle was not good and the only way we could keep the sail full was to continue heading offshore.

After dinner, we finally got a bite on the blue and white lure that we had on the rod and reel. We pulled in a nice Dorado (Mahi Mahi) of about two and a half feet in length. We were not really prepared to deal with it and it was quite a bloody affair trying to dispatch it. I had whacked it on the head four or five time with the winch handle before it finally lay still. The cockpit, crew and boat were all covered in blood however we had our first fish, even if it was something of a primitive and primal event. It took some time to clean up the boast from al the blood and afterwards, I took it below to clean and fillet.

Today, I went into town as we needed to obtain some fresh provisions at a small store. It is a rather typical rural town with no paved streets without any order to how the streets are laid out. Everyone we encountered was very friendly and helpful. With over 500 “Gringos” spending US Dollars, I am sure it is a major boost to the local economy.
Friday was the day assigned for the Beach and Pot luck party. The beach was around a small headland to the right of the town and not visible to most of the boats at anchor. It was quite a crowd with lots of food, beer and beach games. After school was over, many of the Mexicans brought their families to the beach to share in the fun. One of the catamarans in the Baja Ha-Ha got too close to the surf and became stranded as the tide was ebbing. Despite a number of attempts to pull the boat into deeper water by a couple of Pangas, they were stuck there until the tide turned. We saw the boat a few hours later after it had floated off with the rising tide.
We all managed to shower on Friday evening and I finally switched fresh water tanks having used up about 25 gallons over five days. We carry just over 70 gallons in three separate tanks so we are in good shape and plan on refilling these in Cabo.
The weather was pleasant during our stay and we could feel some warmth from the sun. The sunsets were pretty and at night, the entire fleet’s anchor lights lit up the bay, all bobbing slightly with the gentle swells that make their way into the bay. We enjoyed two restful nights at anchor preparing again to head off -shore to Bahia Santa Maria, 220 miles further south on Saturday morning.

Wednesday night we navigated down the western side of Cedros Island in very choppy seas. The island which had no visible lights on its western side until you turn east off its southern end was totally invisible to us in the dark. Daylight on Thursday saw an anxious crew looking forward to arriving at Turtle Bay and we finally dropped the hook in 30 feet of water off the small town at 12:10 pm. There were already a lot of boats anchored and more still arriving.
Our passage time from the start off San Diego was just over 64 hours and we had officially used the engine for 75 hours although the actual engine use including the rolling start allowance was 95 hours. We had covered a distance of 364 nautical miles.

Everyone except me went ashore in the afternoon, anxious to put their feet on dry land. I stayed behind to work on the head, tidy the boat and take a shower. We had done well with just two boat issues, the head and the boom washer, although the latter could have become quite serious, especially if the boom end had dropped onto the deck. I still do not understand how the cotter pin managed to work its way out however it is now securely fastened with the washer back in place the cotter pin ends nicely curled up. I had the head plumbing redone in San Pedro however the pump used to flush the toilet just pumped air. I managed to jury rig the system by stuffing a cork into the vent which allowed some water to flush the bowl after a number of pumps however it still proves unsatisfactory and will need to be fixed in Cabo.
The bay is quite large and the entrance easy with good holding in about 30 feet of water. The town has a jetty and is spread along part of the northern section of the bay. It is easy to get fuel and go ashore by hailing down a Panga with a horn or by calling for one on VHF channel 16. The charge for going ashore using a Panga is $2.00 per person. The Hilbre crew returned in late afternoon with some supplies and a report of good, cheap beer they had had in a small bar overlooking the bay.
I did not get to see the town until late Friday afternoon

Today was Carl’s Birthday and as a small Squid had landed on the deck overnight, we offered this and a gazoo to him as Birthday presents. By now the fleet had spread out and only sometimes did we see a mast in the distance.

At night it was easier to see other boats with their navigation lights. We continued on a steady sail south towards Turtle Bay.

Tuesday morning we again hoisted the spinnaker and continued south under moderate seas. As we all had Mexican fishing licenses, as soon as we had passed into Mexican waters we rolled out lines with lures but had no luck all the way to Turtle Bay although others in the fleet did manage to land Tuna and Dorado closer to Turtle Bay.

It is 2:00 am and quite dark outside, everyone is asleep below. There is nothing out there except for a small light far, far away. It is July, 1971 and I am standing the midnight to 4:00 am watch on a sailboat. My compatriots are two South Africans who own the boat and an American who, like me, is extra crew. We are off St. Lucia and it is really hot with almost no wind.
It is also dark outside but this time I am surrounded by at least a dozen or more lights of the other 140 plus sailing boats, all partaking in the Baja Ha-Ha sailing rally and en-route from San Diego to Turtle Bay, Mexico, our first stop. It is October 24th, 2011 and everyone is asleep below. I am left to my thoughts of tonight, previous sailing experiences and sailors past. The Chart plotter is on as is the Radar and all of the other sailing instruments. Sometimes the VHF springs to light with news of other boats as some have AIS installed which gives the position, size, name, speed and direction of boats over 100 tons. They relay this information to the fleet.
Some years ago, I had read my Dad’s journals that were a part of his sailing experiences in 1928. He had taken a contract with Lamport and Holt as a ship Medical Officer for two round-trip voyages from New York to Buenos Aires His journals were really a photo album in which he had extensively annotated each of the pictures he had taken. He had remarked that on passing Dominica, that he could smell sulphuretted hydrogen from the sulphur springs on that Island. That was almost 80 years ago and there was no Radar or Chart plotters, everything was done by Sextant and plotted on a paper chart. Morse code was the standard for communications.
The light in the distance had grown closer and now had my full attention as I could make out the navigation lights. We were just a small craft on the Caribbean Sea, without Radar. In fact our total navigation equipment consisted of a Sextant, some charts, a hand bearing compass and a small portable radio with directional antennae on the top into which was embedded a very small compass. We used this to tune in various radio stations and plot a rough estimate of our position. We had no way of communicating by radio and no engine to use to help us get out of the way.
I can watch the boats in the Baja Ha-Ha around me on Radar and plot their position, direction and speed automatically and even overlay them on the chart plotter. Of course I can communicate with the other boats via VHF radio. It is a nice night and we are motoring along at just over five knots using our diesel engine.
My Dad was on a coal fired steamship called the S.S. Vauban and he had talked of being coaled in Santos by hand with baskets of coal being handed up from a barge. The Vauban was one of the famous ‘V’ ships and she was built in 1912 with bunkers for 3,000 tons of coal. This ship was one of the many Passenger-Cargo boats that plied the world’s oceans before the age of air travel. A type of ship that is almost gone except for a few like the RMS St. Helena which sometimes still travels between the UK and Capetown.
It is 1971 and the light had grown brighter, the navigation lights indicated she was headed directly for us. She was about three miles away. I went below and alerted Andy who came on deck. We put the deck lights on and put our spotlight on the sails. The boat continued on its course. At less than a mile away, we raked her bridge with our spotlight. Suddenly we saw her sharply change course to port. She passed less than 400 yards from us, using a spotlight to look at us and leaving us rocking in her wake. She continued on her way disappearing into the night. She looked like a passenger-cargo boat, one that was still somewhat common in 1971; she was probably one of the famous Banana Boats.
Looking at what capabilities I have on my small sailboat is a far cry from my Dad’s boat and the boat I had sailed on almost 40 years before. As I thought about the tools at my disposal, I was reminded that it was time to go below and plot our position on a paper chart. Sometimes, things do not change, except in this case, I used the GPS coordinates provided from the chart plotter. I did not need to take a star sight and compute my position, even though we have a sextant on board.

Unlike Monday night, Tuesday night was rolly with quartering seas so Hilbre was moving around quite a lot. Neither Anita nor Carl had experienced a coastal passage in quartering seas and Anita got somewhat frustrated with the constant motion of the boat, but that is sailing.

It was an interesting start. We had been staying for a week at the California Yacht Marina in Chula Vista making our final preparations for the Baja Ha-Ha and awaiting the arrival of George and Carl who were to crew for us to Cabo San Lucas.
On Monday, October 24, we let go the dock line as 7:45 am and headed out from Chula Vista Marina to join the rest of the Baja Ha-Ha fleet who were assembling off Shelter Island in San Diego. As we left the Marina we were joined by Distant Drum whose skipper was doing his seventh Baja Ha-Ha. We arrived at the assembly point at 9:45 am, ready for the fleet parade out of San Diego Harbor.

Grand Poobah was checking off all of the boats by radio and we along with everyone else checked in for the start. Some were no shows and others had issues which delayed their departure, including one boat with a broken prop shaft.

Finally, about midnight, the wind was gusting to 18 knots so we took the spinnaker down. On the way to the foredeck I noticed a large washer sitting on the cabin top, this is not a good thing. While tying up the Spinnaker Halyard at the mast, I finally noticed the cotter pin keeping the main boom in its place was sticking up. On further investigation the cotter pin was working its way out of its socket and as it did so, the washer that I found on the cabin top had dropped out. We re-centered the boom spindle and then pushed the cotter pin back into place. We wrapped a small piece of line to cushion the spot where the washer had fallen out. We did a full repair on this in Turtle Bay.

We attended the obligatory final briefing for the Baja Ha-Ha which was held in the parking lot of the West Marine store in San Diego. Afterwards, we dropped the car off and headed back to Hilbre.