Summer(?) sailing adventures

Early morning departure from Port Angeles

 I have spent the last month doing boat things instead of land things.  Marshall, who figured large in our trip last year from Seattle to San Fransisco, allowed me to come along on his trip this year.  So August 30th I was on the Coho ferry headed to meet up with him and his other crew Rudy on the good ship Tenacity in Port Angeles.
Due to some weather in the straight of Juan de Fuca it was a couple of days before we headed to Neah Bay.  One night of rest in Neah Bay and we were on our way South!

Appropriately named!

The crew of Tenacity making the turn at Cape Flattery

A midday departure from Neah Bay and we were motoring in light wind and swell, as we made our way around Tatoosh island things got pretty bouncy and Marshall and Rudy got kind of wet trying to secure the anchor in bow roller as Tenacity gave them a few good splashes.  With the anchor secure we settled into our watch schedule and started passing by the washington coast.  On the second night we crossed the bar and went upriver to the docks in Newport.  It was an uneventful arrival except for the seemingly huge dredge with all its crazy lights working in the entrance.

Tenacity sitting at dock in Newport sandwiched between two
Westsail 32's

Marshall and Rudy have a fond goodbye.

With the weather around Cape Blanco looking rather unpleasant our stay in Newport was extended....until Rudy would no longer be able to continue.  Work was calling and he had to get a move on.  He had his gear packed and sitting on the dock waiting for the bus when the captain of the french boat Tanga came by looking for crew.  He wanted to make a straight shot to San Fransisco and his boat was fast enough to beat the blow that was approaching Cape Mendocino.  So Rudy and I both jumped at the chance for a quick ride to San Fransisco, Rudy would get to work on time and I would get to have the experience of a fast boat!  Plus we each got our own cabin!  Quite a change from the cozy quarters of Tenacity.

The dolphins loved Tangas speed and we saw lots of them playing with her.

After less than 72 hours and having travelled some 500 miles we had successfully rounded Cape Blanco, Cape Mendocino and were inside the San Fransisco Bay!  What a great experience!

Me, Captain Gabby, and fellow crew, Rudy on the approach
to the Golden Gate bridge.

The weather in SF was quite pleasant

Rudys sister in law kindly took me in to her lovely home in Oakland and I arranged to transport back to Newport and Tenacity.  I ended up on an overnight train ride back to Albany, Oregon, where Marshall picked me up in a rental car.  We did some Costco shopping and sightseeing and then drove out to Newport to prepare Tenacity for her departure.  We had a very early morning departure from Newport, in the dark again, and then headed south.  During the afternoon we started to hear weather warnings for further south so prudent seamanship dictated a stop in Coos Bay.......
Not in the plan and it became another night time bar crossing, this time an unfamiliar one!  A wee bit stressful, but in the end uneventful.  Thank goodness for radar and GPS!

Sunrise as seen from the train.

Potluck supper on Halcyon I in Coos Bay, yup its a hard life....

A fixer upper I spotted in Coos Bay, someone loved this boat once.

When we left Coos Bay we had another early start, in the dark, our goal was to make it around Cape Blanco with lots of  daylight.  The wind was calm and the seas were pretty flat and it stayed that way all night and well into the second day.  We got some sailing in later on and rounded Cape Mendocino in daylight as well, then as we approached Punta Gorda things got a little more exciting, in the dark of course the wind picked up into the 30 knot range and the sea got pretty bouncy, so we put in some reefs and didn't get too much sleep till it quieted down sometime in the middle of the night....

Sailing at night, with a nearly full moon, spectacular!

Entering into Fort Bragg, it is one of the most picturesque
harbours that I have seen, this photo does not do it justice.

Fort Bragg, another early departure but in the daylight this time!

We spent a couple of days enjoying Fort Bragg along with the lovely folks of Halcyon I, who are on their way to Mexico as well.
I was feeling some urgency to get back home, I need to spend a full five months in BC to maintain my medical coverage, and Marshall had a friend to meet in San Fransisco so we tore ourselves away from Fort Bragg as soon as the small craft warning was lifted, and headed out.  We did notice the rough bar light was flashing as we headed out but it looked fine from the inside......as we got further out we came to understand what was meant by rough bar.  We encountered some pretty big swells with some of them topping out at 10 feet.  The coast guard came out just behind us to do their morning bar report, at which time they reccommended that all vessels contact them before exiting....hmmmm....however we also saw an small runabout heading out for some fishing at the same time as us, they were able to travel much faster than we could and were out of the worst of it long before we were.  Once we were far enough out to no longer be affected by the rough bar conditions we turned left and headed south.

The coast gaurd doing their morning rounds of the bar.

Another sunset at sea

The next morning we were on the approach to San Fransisco Bay and I got to sail under the Golden Gate bridge for a third time in two years.  And we did actually get to sail, after motoring almost the entire distance the wind filled in just before the bridge and we had a lovely sail in warm sunshine all the way down the bay and under two more bridges to Redwood City.
I left Tenacity the next day to head back to BC and prepare for more Mexico adventures with Scott on Kialoa.

Golden Gate coming up.

The Golden Gate bridge

The Bay bridge

The San Mateo bridge

On our way back to BC

Santa Rosalia is a bit of an anomaly in Mexico, founded by a french mining company in  1884 in order to exploit the deposits of copper in the area, the town was built out of lumber imported from the Pacific Northwest.  It gives the town a very different feel to anywhere else we have been where cement block is the building material of choice.

We left Santa Rosalia in the early afternoon for the 75 mile crossing to the mexican mainland.  The crossing was uneventful and we were able to sail halfway.  We spent a couple of days in the San Carlos area before moving on to the Marina Fonatur in Guaymas where we spent a week working on the boat and preparing it for 6 months storage.

Our cozy quarters in San Carlos

San Carlos has some very dramatic scenery

We have encountered very few mosquitos but there are lots
of flyingbugs called bobos.  They do not bite but they
swarm over your face and crawl up your nose and in your eyes.
 Scott pulled out the protective hat after accidentally swallowing
a couple of them!  In spite of the fact that they are a good
source of protein he chose not to repeat the adventure.

Some of the fish boats in Guaymas

Searover II is on the left, Ponga on the right is attempting to
get them off.  

Guaymas harbour is quite shallow and the channel into the haul out yard is not marked.  Our friends on Searover II ended up stuck in the mud on a falling tide.....luckily the tides here only change around 3 feet so they were never in any danger but they did stay stuck for about 8 hours.  In the end there was no harm and no foul just a delay in their haul out.

Here we are removing our forestay so we can fit
a bit better in the lift.  

The local taco stand

the dry storage yard at Marina Seca

Goodbye Kialoa, see you in 6 months

The bus we rode to Phoenix was very comfortable.  This is a
military checkpoint where all the passengers must get off the
bus and have their luggage checked for contraband.

Scott and his sister MaryAnn enjoying a walk in the fresh
spring greenery.  Note the long pants and shoes with socks!

 So when we were done getting the boat ready for storage we hopped on a bus to Phoenix.  The bus was modern and extremely comfortable.  No chickens at all!  From Phoenix we flew to Nashville Tennesse, where we are visiting with Scotts sister MaryAnn and her husband David.  The weather is a little cooler than we are used to and the scenery is so much greener!  On the 27th we will be flying in to Vancouver and then back to Saltspring.  So the adventure ends for now......

Oh the places we have been!

Since the end of January we have been cruising at a very relaxed pace.  We are where we want to be and it has been wonderful.  The part of Mexico where we are, on the southeast coast of the Baja Peninsula, is quite undeveloped and quiet with lots of excellent anchorages.  There are many reasons to linger. And since a picture is worth a thousand words........

Swimming with the sea lions at Los Islotes was a real
highlight for me.

Sometimes the water was so clear it felt like we were flying.

Taking a rest from hiking on the giant chair

The best kind of rodeo riding

Los Gatos is known for its cool red sandstone

The lovely protected anchorage at Agua Verde

On a fun canyon hike near Puerto Escondido

Loreto

The pelicans are fantastic!

Heading out for a hike at Bahia San Juanico

Dramatic scenery abounds!

How much luckier can we get?

Fresh fish for dinner

Mulege bomberos fire truck, yes they could probably use some
newer equipment.

sharing the anchorage with whale sharks!

Anchored in the harbour at Santa Rosalia, the abandoned copper smelter in
the background.

We observed an Easter reenactment of Jesus last day, the procession wound its
way through the town of Santa Rosalia, stopping at the stations of the cross
 and culminating in the crucifixtion at the top of a hill

Our next step is to cross the sea of Cortez, it is only 72 miles across from here, and then get the boat ready for storage and come back to BC for the summer.  See you soon!

A little teaser

Yes we are still alive!

We have been cruising in a part of Mexico that is very undeveloped and internet does not exist in most places.  Where it does exist it tends to be slow and unreliable.  We are slowly working our way north into the sea of Cortez enjoying a relaxed pace as we work our way towards Guayamas.  We plan to haul the boat out in mid April and then head back to BC for the summer.  We have been told it gets too hot here.  I was willing to try it but Scott is not and really it is wonderful in BC in the summer.  We are having fun, getting some great weather and seeing lots of cool places.

Just one of the beautiful places we have seen,