Around the World

Oh where oh where have the fair winds gone...!!!

Again, we had to motor sail up to La Paz from Cabo San Lucas, as there was little or no wind out there at all. As the seas were so flat and we were making 6 to 7 knots on the motor, we decided to head straight for La Paz without anchoring, it was so calm out there and the trip only took us 22 hours, less than a day's sail/motor!
We had a very close encounter with a friendly playful whale in the Sea of Cortez, which Doug had to steer Cavatina away from to avoid and a large gannet decided to befriend us by landing on our wind vane antenna at the top of the mast, which Doug and Robert were not too happy about, as they were not quite sure if it would take the bird's weight! I enjoyed the antics of the two of them wiggling the shrouds back and forth trying to dislodge our visitor and eventually, after what seemed a fretful age to them, the bird decided he had rested long enough and flew away quite unaware of the trauma he had caused!
La Paz was a much welcomed change from Cabo San Lucas, very quiet and unspoilt with very little in the way of tourists, other than fellow sailors like us and I enjoyed the little time I spent there. It was nice to catch up with friends we had made along the way, so we spent our evenings sipping many a Margarita or two, maybe it was three!!!
I am now on my way back to the UK to spend Christmas with my family, Doug is staying in La Paz for another two weeks or so. We have now bought a water maker, so this needs to be installed and there are a few jobs which Doug would like taken care of whilst Cavatina is in La Paz.
We have had a few problems with the internet in Mexico, which has been a little frustrating and we are also having trouble uploading photographs to our Blog, but hopefully we can do this for you all very shortly.
I am sure Doug will update our Blog from time to time whilst I am away and I will take over again when I join him and Cavatina in the New Year. Bye for now!

Hi there all, sorry that it has taken me so long to update our blog, but we have had so much trouble connecting to internet here in Cabo, you would not believe!
Well, as you can see, we have arrived safely and I must say that Cavatina did us very proud...we arrived ahead of time on the 7th November in the first twenty or so boats out of a total of 163 that started, although we were helped out by our new engine, as again, there was not an awful lot of wind out there!
We left San Diego a little later than the rest of the fleet around 17.00 hrs, but to our surprise, caught up with them all fairly quickly. When Cavatina was under sail, she sailed like a dream! The weather was again fairly chilly, although Robert had promised, that once we had passed Santa Barbara the sun would come out and we could put on our shorts and tee shirts, so that didn't happen!
The trip to Turtle Bay was very enjoyable, a mixture of motor and sail when wind allowed. Doug and Robert decided to test the fishing rod that we bought before we left San Rafael and to our surprise, the line had not been out very long when we heard it reeling. We were all very excited, it seemed quite a big fish and Doug expertly pulled it in, at which point I started to feel very sorry for the fish, but the guys made it quite clear that they were not going to throw it back! It was a yellow tail and Robert estimated it weighed around 10lbs. After taking a few photos, I decided to retreat back to the cockpit and shrank in horror as I listened to the thud thud of the winch beating down on the poor little fish...I immediately lost my appetite for fresh fish!
We arrived at Turtle Bay on 30th October at 05.00 hrs and were very glad to be able to get some shut eye. It was quite a sight to see all the yachts moored in the Bay when we emerged again into the morning sunlight...yes...sunlight, the sun was shining down on us and it was actually quite hot! Hooray...shorts and tee shirts at long last!!! The locals made us feel very welcome and for them it was a once a year chance to make some extra money, which they took full advantage of, but we were only too pleased to oblige! Quite an eye opener to see how the community of Turtle Bay live, but adults and children alike, smiled constantly. We had two nights there and left early morning on the 2nd November for Santa Maria. The 15 to 20 knot winds that were predicted for later that day materialised and under sail, Cavatina actually touched nearly 8 knots - a most enjoyable sail. I even managed to stay upright in the galley, wedged in a corner and continued to prepare and cook supper...a 'one pot' creation, which was requested by the Captain, as apparently I had been overfeeding him and Robert with gourmet type meals!
Again the fishing rod went out and amazingly after only a short while we managed to hook a tuna, not as big as our first fish, but the guys were really pleased with themselves! I then asked them not to catch any more fish, as we had too much food in the freezer to warrant more murder onboard!
We arrived in Santa Maria on the 4th November at 01.00 hrs and headed straight for our cabins! In the light of day, Santa Maria was very different from Turtle Bay, lovely sandy beaches and more picturesque and we spent an enjoyable and relaxing two nights there. It was time to party party party for the Baja Ha Fleet and we enjoyed meeting and socialising with everyone, each having their own stories to tell. There were two other British boats in the fleet, but we never managed to meet up with our fellow countrymen throughout the trip.
We left Santa Maria on the morning of the 6th at 07.00 hrs and it is really quite an amazing sight to see so many yachts heading out in the same direction as we started the last leg of our journey towards Cabo San Lucas.
We made very good time under a mix of motor and sail and finally anchored in Cabo on 7th November at 14.40 hrs and boy, was it hot! Cabo is a very colourful and lively resort, a little different from Turtle Bay and Santa Maria, who had a quiet charm about them. We were on anchor for a couple of days and then we secured a mooring in the Marina, thinking, ah good, we will have internet...but it was not to be, so spent the next two days going off in search of Wi-Fi, so that we could catch up with family and friends, whom we knew were all waiting to hear from us. We have now been in Cabot for a week and have had a lovely relaxing time and it has been nice chatting to those that have done the trip with us and learning what their plans are from here. Some are heading off home, most like us, are continuing on to La Paz and spending Winter in the sun and there are a few that are heading out into the Pacific as we are.
We are leaving tomorrow (Thursday 14th) to head to La Paz and may anchor up once or twice on the way, but expect to arrive there some time on Saturday.
Robert will head back to Cabot on Saturday, a two hour ride on the bus and stay for a further week and Doug will drive me to Cabot Airport from La Paz on Tuesday, where I will fly out to San Francisco to connect with my flight back to the UK on Wednesday to spend Christmas with the family. Doug will stay in La Paz for a couple of weeks to do some tweaking on Cavatina and then decide for himself where to sail next! I expect to be joining him again early in the New Year, at this time...destination unknown!
Will write again to update you all on our trip to La Paz and then after that, will have to leave you safely in Doug's hands! Cheerio for now! PS photos to follow when we get to La Paz.

Prologue (the serious bit)

It all started twelve years ago. Vicki and I were sitting having lunch in the staff canteen at Lloyd's Register of Shipping, where we both worked. I had been 'ashore' for a couple of years and was missing my life at sea. We spoke about the future and I said that my retirement plan would be to buy a beautiful sailing yacht and circumnavigate the World. That 'plan' was never forgotten and over the years everything we did was geared to making that dream a reality.

That dream has just begun!

We found CAVATINA in Sausalito in 2010, she was called Christina then and up to that point in her life had only sailed the Bay. The next three years were spent getting her ready for the voyage of a lifetime, hers and ours......

On the 20th October 2013 we sailed under the Golden Gate Bridge, the first time for Cavatina and for us!

I will now hand over to Vicki, who is going to write for the next few weeks until she returns to the UK for a couple of months......

Just before I sign off, I would just like to thank EVERYONE who has helped to make all this possible......to all the wonderful people we've met along the way. To family and friends for support and encouragement......

To all in San Rafael......see you in about three years (maybe five)!

Hi there everyone!

First of all, we would both like to thank all of you who came to wish us 'Bon Voyage' on Saturday, we thoroughly enjoyed the afternoon and evening with you all, it meant so much to us. For those who came for breakfast on Sunday morning, again thank you, it was great to have you wave farewell and wish us well on the first leg of our trip, especially Michelle and Dave, who followed us out on Endless Summer as far as the Golden Gate Bridge and took some fantastic photographs of Cavatina for us. I have posted one pic for now, but will add more as time goes on.

We dropped the lines at midday and left a very sunny and warm San Rafael to head out into the Bay. As we made our way under the Golden Bridge, the temperatures dropped quite rapidly! After hearing many stories of mishaps and seasickness, I am very pleased to report that Cavatina sailed under the Bridge with great comfort and ease, which raised a cheer from her crew!

Like many before us......we stopped overnight in Half Moon Bay! After a good nights sleep, we left there at 7 am. We then enjoyed a windless motor to Santa Barbara, rounding the infamous Point Conception at 6.30 pm. We arrived there on Wednesday 23rd at 1.30 am. We took on fuel later that day, had a quick look round Santa Barbara and left at 7 pm for Catalina Island - still no wind!! We were averaging 6.5 knots and arrived Avalon, Catalina Is at 11 am. Had a nice time ashore and left for San Diego at 7 pm. Arrived San Diego at 7.30 am Friday morning. So a pretty uneventful and easy run down!

So the Baja starts tomorrow, we all assemble for the parade at 9.45 am with a shot gun start at 11 am. Our first stop will be on the 1st November at Turtle Bay Mexico, if we have internet, I will let you know how we fared!