We're anchored! It's not a quiet little cove, but it is home for the next few days. There's a shoal area off the point where the incoming swell breaks with a roar, dissipating most of its energy. That's a good thing for our comfort.
Eric just reported stats for our latest leg. We were under way for 77 hours during the leg. All but six hours was spent sailing. That leaves us with enough fuel to motor from here to Turtle Bay, where we can buy fuel again. We're close to the half way point of the trip. Good progress!
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Tuesday, April 7, 2020
Layering up
The weather has been much cooler than I anticipated. At the time I was packing to join Rover, I was inclined to pack light rather than bring a lot of stuff I'd end up not using. I eyed the sweatshirt, jacket and foul weather gear I had laid out and thought to myself that half that pile would turn out to be unecessary. If Mexico was as warm as it I imagined it would be, it might all turn out to be unecessary. The trouble was I couldn't decide which to leave behind. In the end I brought it all, and a wool hat as well, and have been very glad to have them.
Last night during the cold, clear, moonlit night at three in the morning I had on a shirt, sweatshirt, jacket and foul weather gear with wool hat and hood pulled up tight, and still I felt myself slowly freezing, wondering: why can't I see my breath in these temperatures? It probably wasn't as cold as it felt, but hours of inactivity in a cool breeze will make anyone thankful for all the layers they can muster.
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Last night during the cold, clear, moonlit night at three in the morning I had on a shirt, sweatshirt, jacket and foul weather gear with wool hat and hood pulled up tight, and still I felt myself slowly freezing, wondering: why can't I see my breath in these temperatures? It probably wasn't as cold as it felt, but hours of inactivity in a cool breeze will make anyone thankful for all the layers they can muster.
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Monday, April 6, 2020
Wildlife under way
The wildlife around us is displaying some curiosity. It started with humpback whales pacing along side the boat at a distance of twenty yards, blowing their fishy breath and matching our speed. We've never seen them do that before.
Then last night a cormorant circled the boat for quite a while, landing first on the pulpit at the bow, then on the BBQ at the stern and back again. Our relative wind accounting for true wind and boat speed was high enough that he had a difficult time maintaining his perch on either, but he tried for quite a while. Perhaps he was looking for a rest.
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Then last night a cormorant circled the boat for quite a while, landing first on the pulpit at the bow, then on the BBQ at the stern and back again. Our relative wind accounting for true wind and boat speed was high enough that he had a difficult time maintaining his perch on either, but he tried for quite a while. Perhaps he was looking for a rest.
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Sunday, April 5, 2020
Zagging
We've enjoyed a good couple of days tacking our way north toward an anchorage at Abreojos (open eyes) Bay. The wind has been blowing between ten and fifteen knots the whole way, which is perfect for this boat for the sail plan we have up. We've been doing a consistent 4.5 knots of boat speed all night long, which will get us there without burning fuel except to raise and lower the anchor. Nice!
We've been tacking every four hours when the watch changes and we have an overlap of crew. More hands makes the job easier, especially if we want to put in or take out a reef at the same time. The inReach tracker should be showing long, four hour zags.
The seas have been fairly modest the last couple of nights too. That makes life easier: easier to work, eat, and sleep. I'd complain about the lack of exercise, but I'm afraid it wouldn't endear much sympathy from a world in lockdown. Part of me is eager to get home and part of me is revelling in what I have, careful of what I wish for.
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We've been tacking every four hours when the watch changes and we have an overlap of crew. More hands makes the job easier, especially if we want to put in or take out a reef at the same time. The inReach tracker should be showing long, four hour zags.
The seas have been fairly modest the last couple of nights too. That makes life easier: easier to work, eat, and sleep. I'd complain about the lack of exercise, but I'm afraid it wouldn't endear much sympathy from a world in lockdown. Part of me is eager to get home and part of me is revelling in what I have, careful of what I wish for.
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Friday, April 3, 2020
Pescado
We're spending a second night at this anchorage in Bahia Santa Maria. The wind was up this evening, so we're waiting it out and will make an early escape in the morning for our next segment, which should take us about three days, depending on conditions.
A fisherman came by the boat this morning asking if we could spare some batteries for his handheld GPS. We gave him some and asked him to drop by again in the afternoon if he had fish to sell. It turns out he did, so we paid him a few bucks in pesos for a couple of fish. Linda cleaned them, Eric cooked them on the barbie, and we all enjoyed them for dinner. They were fresh, tender and delish.
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A fisherman came by the boat this morning asking if we could spare some batteries for his handheld GPS. We gave him some and asked him to drop by again in the afternoon if he had fish to sell. It turns out he did, so we paid him a few bucks in pesos for a couple of fish. Linda cleaned them, Eric cooked them on the barbie, and we all enjoyed them for dinner. They were fresh, tender and delish.
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Thursday, April 2, 2020
An hour in the bank
We have limited fuel for the eight hundred or so miles we need to travel between Cabo and Ensenada (fuel stop to fuel stop). If we tried to motor the whole distance, we'd probably run out of diesel three quarters of the way there. That means we'll have to sail about a quarter of the distance, which translates to sailing half the time when you consider the additional distance and inefficiency of sailing upwind.
Going south was easy: we set our sails and fly downwind in a straight line. Going upwind involves considerably more work and discomfort. However tempted we may be though to make quick miles with the motor when the going gets tough or the wind goes flat, we have to keep in mind that half of our time must be spent sailing. We have to make miles under sail whenever we can. That obviously assumes the sailing is productive.
Today was a successful day in that we were forced by the conditions to motor for three hours and we were able to sail productively for four hours. That's an hour in the bank for later withdrawal.
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Going south was easy: we set our sails and fly downwind in a straight line. Going upwind involves considerably more work and discomfort. However tempted we may be though to make quick miles with the motor when the going gets tough or the wind goes flat, we have to keep in mind that half of our time must be spent sailing. We have to make miles under sail whenever we can. That obviously assumes the sailing is productive.
Today was a successful day in that we were forced by the conditions to motor for three hours and we were able to sail productively for four hours. That's an hour in the bank for later withdrawal.
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Sent via SailMail, http://www.sailmail.com
Wednesday, April 1, 2020
Rest Day
It was a rest day today, so that means boat projects. Kay and I were tasked with cleaning the bilge. Rover has a lot more bilge than Quijote does. Apparently a (hawse pipe) cap was left off that seals the port where the anchor chain comes in and out near the bow and it let sea water into the boat when waves crashed over the bow. That water found its way into the (bilge) bottom of the boat. So first we had to hand pump and wipe the bilge dry, then fill it with fresh water, then pump and wipe it dry again. It was a fair amount of work.
Kay and I also made tacos for dinner tonight. They turned out well considering we don't have cheddar. Mexicans use a cheese like cheddar called wahaka, probably spelled something like Juahaca. It doesn't have a lot of flavor, but does better in the heat than cheddar does. It's kind of ironic considering how much cheddar a Mexican restaurant in the States must go through.
While we were doing all that, Eric and Linda were busy beavers knocking items off their check list: cleaning the cockpit, making yogurt, weather forecasting etc, etc.
It was a busy rest day.
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Kay and I also made tacos for dinner tonight. They turned out well considering we don't have cheddar. Mexicans use a cheese like cheddar called wahaka, probably spelled something like Juahaca. It doesn't have a lot of flavor, but does better in the heat than cheddar does. It's kind of ironic considering how much cheddar a Mexican restaurant in the States must go through.
While we were doing all that, Eric and Linda were busy beavers knocking items off their check list: cleaning the cockpit, making yogurt, weather forecasting etc, etc.
It was a busy rest day.
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Sent via SailMail, http://www.sailmail.com
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