After several anxious days of anticipation the big event finally arrived! With a good amount of lightening off in the distance, Tropical Storm Blanca came to Puerto Escondido and other places along Baja Sur. Downgraded from a category 3 - 4 hurricane just days before, TS Blanca packed a pretty good punch. Thanks to Pete, we had a very good idea of what to expect and when it was going to happen - he was spot on with his information, even the subjective! As usual with the tougher situations on this adventure, the main action began in the pitch black. And there was no build-up - one minute we're softly floating on glassy water the next it's gusting to 20+ and pouring raining. Through the night the wind increased and blew for all direction tossing the 30 or so boats in this well protected harbor around like toys in a bathtub. There were even some downdraft like events where the water SPLASHED in all directions and the wind waves flew out 360 degrees. At times there was stinging spray enveloping MissTeak. And in just 5 or 6 hours there was 6.5" of rain at the nearby Loreto airport (our dinghy is about ½ full of rainwater - an intentional move to keep it from flipping - thank you Barritt). The rain did provide an opportunity for me to pull out the scrub brush to clean the decks - MissTeak is spotless this morning. Our max wind was 40 knots (46 MPH) which isn't all that bad when you're in a protected harbor but, because the wind came from all directions and would abruptly change, it was a wild ride for most of the night and the noise was attention-getting to say the least. Our barometer dropped from 1011 to 1002 in a few hours but is now on the rise (meaning the low has passed and conditions will improve throughout the day although it is blowing 30 at this moment). Oh, and as luck would have it, at the height of the blow this morning, the admiral says to me: "did you notice how stable and into the wind Ralph and Helen's catamaran is riding?" - good god woman, give a guy a break! Weather permitting; we'll start moving toward La Paz on Wednesday.