Debra and Andy
06/05/2012, El Cardoncito

We left San Evaristo early in the morning in hopes of beating the afternoon winds which were forecast to continue out of the SSE, and we were heading in that direction. We started in moderate headwinds, and, much to our surprise, the winds totally subsided by late morning, so we were excited to explore a new cove on Isla La Partida, El Cardoncito, only a day trip under motor. This was a tiny cove just north of Caleta Partida, a much larger cove in which we had previously anchored during our prior visit to La Paz last year (Can you believe that we have now been in Mexico for 7+ months?). We were the only boat to anchor in this tiny cove, and we both agreed that it was the best secluded cove that we had experienced in Mexico to date. The water was clear, and the change in color from dark blue to light turquoise as the cove shallowed was both dramatic and beautiful. We launched the dinghy and motored over to a coral reef just off the southern point of the cove for some snorkeling, and it did not disappoint. The clear water, together with the variety and number of fishes, made this the best snorkeling experience yet. We returned to the boat in anticipation of a very quiet night but were rudely greeted by increased winds and waves as the sun set. We spent the night experiencing what we believe to be a mild Corumel-brisk winds blowing at night out of the west in the area around La Paz. With exposure to west winds, it meant a long night of watching to make sure that our anchor did not drag in the 15+ knot winds, and the waves continued to grow throughout the night making it one of the more unpleasant anchorages that we have experienced in Mexico. Nevertheless, all went well as Andy set the anchor alarm to go off if the boat were to move more than 50', and he also slept on deck to be ready to handle any possible emergency due to the narrowness of the cove.

Sea of Cortez

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Debra and Andy
06/05/2012, San Evaristo

Sunday morning began with the typical clear skies and cooler temperatures, so we left our anchorage in Agua Verde and headed south. We knew that this meant headwinds, but it was time to move on and keep working our way towards La Paz. After rounding the point east of Agua Verde, we were provided with a very special treat-our first observation of Orcas! Debra was on deck and spotted what appeared to possibly be a spouting whale. Upon closer view and when we were within less than 100 yards, the white markings on the sides and belly of the mammals could be seen through the water and when some of them started surfacing, it was obvious that this was a pod of killer whales in the act of feeding as they swirled and surfaced repeatedly. We slowed the boat for a longer view but agreed not to turn back and possibly disturb them. It was quite the site. The wind and swells were on our nose, and they continued to build throughout the day. By mid-morning, we were pounding a little more than we would like, so it was time to start zig-zagging a bit so that we were not heading directly into the wind chop. It meant a little longer day of motoring, but it was definitely more comfortable. Our planned destination of Caleta Nopolo, 38 nautical miles south, was altered to San Evaristo, an additional 6 nautical miles, when we checked out the anchorage and found that the wind and waves were bending around the southern point into the anchorage making it an unsuitable spot for the night. San Evaristo clearly provided better protection from winds and waves from the SSE. This would be our third time anchoring at this cove-not one of our favorites but definitely on our way to our final destination of this trip-La Paz.

Sea of Cortez

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Debra and Andy
06/05/2012, Agua Verde

It sure feels good when Murar's Dream is ship shape and ready to sail. We came up with a partial fix for the generator. Andy goes into the lazarette and catches the overflow from the radiator reservoir into a large bucket while Debra operates the water maker, which we can do for about 15 minutes until the bucket of overflow is full. We then toss the captured water back to its origination-the sea. This means that we are producing about as much water as we use daily, which is a good thing. We still have the second tank as a backup, and it is full. The Colorado family (Bob, Jodi and Dakota Showman and Dakota's friend, Lucas) arrived right on time for our afternoon trip. We circumnavigated Isla Danzante just across the channel from Puerto Escondito. The only disappointment was a lack of wind, so we were only able to sail for about 30 minutes of the 3+ hour trip. However, everyone seemed to enjoy themselves, especially the two high school boys (Dakota and Lucas) to whom Andy gave some boat handling and sailing pointers as they worked the jib sheets and each took a turn at the helm. After returning to the lagoon, they got off at the fuel dock while we re-moored the boat and came to the dock in the dinghy. It was then off to the home in which they were staying just outside Loreto where we both enjoyed showers with hot and unlimited water. It was then off to Loreto for some provisioning, a trip to the ATM (the exchange rate was the highest yet at 14.35 pesos to the dollar) and dinner. We went to an outdoor bar at one of the hotels on the malecon where they had an all-you-can-eat pizza special. We were joined by the contractors who are building the Showmans' new home, along with their families, so there were about 12 of us, and quite a few pizzas were consumed but not by Debra due to her gluten intolerance. Debra ended up dining on some local, fresh fish (cabrillo) which was excellently prepared in butter and garlic. The margaritas were quite strong, and Debra is paying the price today with a mild headache. After dinner, the Showmans drove us back to the marina, and we dinghied back to the boat for a good night's sleep.

We left the lagoon at 10AM on Friday for the next leg of our journey back to a previous anchorage, Bahia Agua Verde, on our way back to La Paz. The forecast was for some brisk winds out of the SSE, the direction we needed to head, so Andy came up with a route which involved ½ motoring around an offshore island before turning SSW to our final destination. The winds did not disappoint, and we had to reef the sails to accommodate the building winds. There was some significant wind chop so it was good not to take the direct track to Agua Verde as it would involve a bare pole motoring into that chop. With our indirect course, we were able to motor sail with the mainsail until we reached the turning point and sailed the remainder of the trip reaching speeds in excess of 8 knots in 15-20 knot winds. We securely anchored in one of the coves which protect us from the strong southerly winds, even though we continue to hear it whistling through our rigging. We decided to make the remainder of the day a laid back day with dinner aboard. The increased air temperature was noticeable, especially at bedtime. Even though it would cool off into a comfortable temperature in the cockpit, it was still quite warm down below until after midnight. Andy would fall asleep on a cushion in the cockpit while Debra handled the cabin temperature until after midnight when Andy would come down into the aft cabin for the remainder of the night. This looks like it will be a consistent pattern for the coming days until we make it over to the Pacific Coast and start bashing back to LA.

Our laid back behavior extended into day 2 at Agua Verde. After listening to the cruisers' nets and getting the weather forecast, we decided to spend the day at anchor. We ran the generator to make some water and charge the batteries using the procedure Andy had developed for that process despite the continued water overflow by the generator while in operation. We then did a brief snorkel to the rock outcrop near the boat where the temperature was still quite refreshing (mid-70s) and then took the dinghy ashore to hit the local "minisuper" to grab a few more staples for the remainder of the trip to La Paz. It was then back to the boat for an afternoon of assorted activities including reading and playing electronic games on our Ipads. Debra whipped out some guacamole for the late afternoon snack while we engaged in several games of all fives dominoes which culminated with a shellacking by Debra scoring 52 to 22! We grilled some steaks onboard for dinner and ended a peaceful day as the sun set and the temperatures cooled before turning in for the night. We will get an early start tomorrow since the forecast is for winds to continue out of the SSE, the direction that we need to head as we move closer to La Paz.

Sea of Cortez

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Debra and Andy
05/30/2012, Puerto Escondito

Well they say that the definition of cruising is fixing things in exotic places, and our return to Puerto Escondito has lived up to that definition. We knew that re-riveting the radome bracket was a must, but we were confronted with two new problems when we returned to Murar's Dream. First, we has been warned that we might have a leak since the bilge was taking on water, and Andy was able to determine that we have a serious problem with the generator. It seems to be taking on salt water into the fresh water cooling system-not a good thing. The problem is something that will require the skills of a good mechanic, and our best shot is La Paz which we should reach sometime early next week. The most disconcerting result is the inability to run our water maker, so we will have to use the water we have onboard more sparingly, possibly until we get back to LA. Fortunately, there are a couple of marinas along the way to re-fill our water tanks, and we will be stocking up on drinking water just to be on the safe side. The other problem was that the bilge pump had stopped working which explained why we were getting a bilge alarm when we returned onboard yesterday. It was a relief that we had a spare bilge pump onboard, so after some trials and tribulations, Andy was able to install the new bilge pump which is working like a charm. We went to bed after a long day of travel, having to get up at 4AM to catch the 6:30AM flight to LAX in order to make the 10AM flight to Loreto. Everything went according to plan, and we arrived on time in Loreto at 1:15PM and were picked up by our boat sitter who brought us back to Puerto Escondito and the commencement of problem solving for the boat repairs.

We began today with the goal of fixing the radome bracket, and the first hurdle was to find a strong enough air compressor when Andy was able to find out from the manufacturer of our hookah compressor that it did not generate enough air pressure to operate the rivet gun that we had brought back from Colorado. We lucked out when the man who he had met at his haircut last Friday was also coming to Loreto, and he was able to secure a large air compressor from the construction company which was building his new vacation home just south of Loreto. His family had come down to the boat for an anticipated day of sailing, but until the radome was re-secured, sailing was out of the question. They had a Yukon so Andy went with them to the contractor's office and loaded the compressor in the back of the SUV, returning to Puerto Escondito with it. We had been able to go from our mooring ball in the lagoon to the marina dock for a Mediterranean-style docking (dropping the anchor well off the dock and then backing up, tying the transom to the dock and tightening up the anchor line to keep us perpendicular to the dock between other boats similarly docked). This was the first time that we had tried such a procedure, and, after one unsuccessful try by not dropping the anchor far enough off the dock, we were able to dock and secure the boat without difficulty. We plugged into the shore power and are now fully charged after draining the batteries the final days before our return. Things got interesting when the boat's AC circuit could not handle the load of the compressor which we had placed just off the boat and ran 150' of hose to let Andy take the gun up the mast to the radome in our boatsun's chair about 40' above the deck. One of the local bottom cleaning divers came to our rescue when he brought over his smaller air compressor which our AC circuit could handle. We also were able to use our new "marriage savers" (wireless, hands-free headsets) which allowed Debra to operate the winches according to the instructions provided by Andy. In past trips up the mast, communication consisted of shouting which could at times not be heard due to background noise such as wind. After a few trips up the mast, the task was completed, and we now are back, ready to sail again with a secure radar system.

Tomorrow the family from Boulder (Debra actually knew the wife from a past tennis tournament when the two of them were matched head-to-head) will come back to the boat, and we will take them out for an afternoon of sailing and snorkeling around one of the islands just outside of the marina. They will then take us to Loreto for dinner, and we will be able to go to the local market to provision for our next leg to La Paz, and that brings you up to date on our journey in Mexico.

Sea of Cortez

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Debra and Andy
05/18/2012, Somewhere Over Utah

Here we are sailing along at about 600 knots at 30,000 feet as we head back to Colorado. Since leaving Coronados, most of our focus has been on our preparations to return to Colorado for 12 days. We left Coronados early Thursday morning to get back to Puerto Escondito where Murar's Dream is now happily moored awaiting our return on the 29th. Before mooring the boat, however, it was a trip to the fuel dock for re-fueling and a long-needed, soap and fresh water bath for the outside of the boat since it had not had this type of bath since we left Mazatlan-This was the first place that could provide the fresh water necessary to accomplish this task. We arranged for someone to take care of her in our absence since the batteries will need to be charged every few days to keep the refrigeration working so that our perishable provisions stay frozen and/or refrigerated for our return to cruising the Sea of Cortez. Once safely moored, the first order of business was laundry so that we would have clean sheets and clothes upon our return, a task which Debra handles extremely well. After laundry was completed, the three of us went to the marina restaurant for a nice lunch while overlooking the lagoon from our second floor location. After returning to Murar's Dream, it was time to tackle the latest problem-The rivets attaching our radome to the mast had given way. This meant that Andy had the task of riding the boatsun's chair up the mast to make a temporary fix by securing the radome to the mast using ropes until rivets are obtained and re-inserted. Andy and Rick visited with the local boat repair facility and arranged for the re-riveting to take place upon our return to Puerto Excondito since new rivets needed to be obtained in order to make the repair. We all returned to the boat where Debra and Andy continued the preparations to depart on Friday to the U.S. while Rick took the dinghy ashore to visit with friends from Marina del Rey who were also moored at the lagoon. When he returned, we all decided to walk the mile to the hotel/RV park where there was a restaurant. After a fairly mediocre dinner, we walked back to the marina along the road in pitch black conditions which proved somewhat eerie.

Friday morning meant another trip up the mast to make final adjustments to the temporary fix for the radome while Debra continued final preparations for closing down Murar's Dream. We then made our final lunch aboard the boat before performing a final cleanup and returning to shore to be driven to the airport in Loreto. Unfortunately, the plane ended up being almost 2 hours late, so we did not arrive in LA until 5PM and did not clear immigration and customs until 6PM. Fortunately, we connected with Trent who offered to come to the airport and join us for dinner, so he picked us up in our Audi which has been quietly awaiting our return while in the underground garage at Esprit Marina. Due to limited time (our flight to Denver was leaving at 8:15PM), we went to a nearby Persian restaurant which Andy had discovered on one of his earlier visits to LA before finding and purchasing Murar's Dream. Trent then dropped us off back at the airport and returned the Audi to its home at Esprit Marina until we return to LA sometime in early July. We will arrive in Denver near midnight, so it will be a taxi ride to our townhouse in Louisville before we can bring a conclusion to this very busy day.

Sea of Cortez

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Debra and Andy
05/16/2012, Isla Coronados

Our next, planned destination was a return to Isla Coronados, about 30 miles south of Punta Pulpito. The winds were forecast to come out of the southeast, which gave us some encouragement that this might just be an all sailing day. After leaving the anchorage at about 10AM, the winds began to build, first at about 7 knots and then increasing in the 8-9 knot range, making it suitable for sailing. Although we could not head directly for our destination, we were able to tack back and forth, making slow progress for our next anchorage. The winds continued to build throughout the afternoon, which is common as the land heats up creating an onshore breeze. By 1PM, we were sailing in 10+ knot winds for the remainder of the trip until just before reaching our destination. This was, by far, one of the better days of sailing that we have experienced in the Sea. Upon reaching the cove, we set anchor amongst the 10 other boats already here, and Rick and Debra once again took advantage of the cool waters by taking short swims. Debra took the opportunity to swim over to Di's Dream for a brief visit, since we had anchored about 200 feet to their port. Andy took advantage of once again having some internet access by catching up on his hotmail and taking care of some legal business in preparation for our return to Colorado next Friday. Andy prepared a tasty dinner of sweet and sour, but this time it was seafood based. Andy fileted the small fish that they had caught at Punta Pulpito, which we confirmed was not poisonous but only via taste testing, everyone having awoken the next morning without any bad symptoms. Since it was not enough protein for three, Andy had combined it with scallops to be used as the base for the dish. After dinner, Rick decided that he wanted to again try his luck at Mexican Train, so we played a three person version using all nines dominoes rather than the all twelves used for a larger number of players. Debra's luck continued as she easily won, and Rick managed to improve his play so that Andy proved to be the ultimate loser this evening.

Before leaving for our next destination, Candeleros, Andy and Rick launched the kayak for a trip to the "spit" (a thin strip of low lying land projecting off of an island) where there was a large bird rookery. The sea gulls were not happy with our presence, and two of them swooped down on Andy to warn him not to get too close.

Sea of Cortez

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