Debra and Andy
07/04/2012, San Diego

We arrived in San Diego yesterday, and the trip from Ensenada was totally by motor due to the wind speed and direction, as well as our desire to be on a schedule. The excitement for the day was the numerous pods of whales that we encountered, one being within 100 feet of Murar's Dream. We did see a couple of tail flips which were spectacular, but we were unable to catch them on camera so that we could share them with you. We radioed the Coast Guard station in San Diego as we crossed the border to let them know of our arrival. They instructed us to report to the customs dock, which we did successfully. The procedure is that there is a pay phone outside the harbor patrol office where you dial *82, and you are connected to Customs and Border Patrol. They then send out an officer to clear you through customs and immigration, and you wait at the dock for them. Our clearance went quite quickly and smoothly, the officers being very professional. We were then released, and we headed over to our reserved dock at the Sunroad Marina on Harbor Island. It is a great location both for access to the San Diego area as well as a great viewing spot for the fireworks which will take place tonight. After checking in, it was off to C Level, a restaurant on Harbor Island, for an early evening dinner before returning to the boat and a well-deserved, long night of sleep.

Today, Andy did a morning bike ride to Point Loma, and then we went for a walk around the island. The number of people who have already set up their picnic areas in the park on the island is unbelievable considering that it will probably be 9:00 or 9:30 before the fireworks finally go off. After it finally got dark, we went out to the south shore of Harbor Island to watch the fireworks display. At about 9PM, there was a huge display of fireworks, all going off from the three designated barges throughout the bay, which lasted about 30 seconds (see lead photo). We then waited for almost another 1/2 hour until a police car drove by, announcing that the fireworks were over. Apparently, they all went off simultaneously due to a computer glitch. We really felt sorry for all those people who spent the whole day camped out along the shore waiting for what was supposed to be a well-coordinated display from three separate barges accompanied by music over the radio. The company hired to do the display will have a lot of questions to answer tomorrow. We will stay here through Thursday night to meet up with some Mexico cruisers who live in San Diego before heading on the final legs of our Mexican journey with an interim overnight stop in Dana Point, about ½ way to MdR.

The Baja Bash

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Debra and Andy
07/02/2012, Ensenada

Our four nights in Ensenada have flown by, managing to get in some tennis at the hotel courts yesterday, and we are ready to set off for the U.S. tomorrow morning at 6AM. That way, we will arrive in San Diego by mid-afternoon and be able to check through customs and immigration during regular business hours. Today, we handled the process of obtaining the documents required by Mexico to leave the country. Fortunately, the marina supplied a person to assist us through the process which involved activities at three separate counters in the immigration building. The process began and 9AM, and, by 11AM, he took us back to the marina before the papers were actually issued as he told us that it could take two more hours before they would be ready. We were not too concerned since we had always planned to leave on Tuesday, but the yacht next to us was chomping at the bit to get out and on their way to San Diego today. After returning to the marina, we decided to walk back into town, a trip of about 3 miles along the shore of the bay (check out the picture of Debra holding up the huge Mexican flag at the port), to go to a restaurant which was recommended for its pozole. We were not disappointed. We took a taxi back to the marina expecting to have our paperwork for our exit, only to run into one of the crew for the other yacht waiting outside the marina office for their papers, and it was already approaching 2PM. We started to get a bit nervous ourselves because we understood that the papers needed the original signature of the port captain, which was the hold up, and the office was set to close at 2PM. We went back to the boat and awaited delivery of our papers. If we had to wait for Tuesday morning, this was going to put a lot of pressure on us to get to San Diego by the close of business on Tuesday, and Wednesday was the 4th of July. About 2:45PM, we heard the engine of the other yacht fire up, and we confirmed that the exit papers had finally been signed and delivered back to the marina, which gave us both a huge sigh of relief. We spent the rest of the afternoon making final preparations for our departure tomorrow and finished off with a nice dinner onboard, turning in early for a good night's sleep.

Absent some unexpected development, this should be our final blog from Mexico.

The Baja Bash

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Debra and Andy
06/29/2012, Ensenada

"Bashing" is a lot like child birth (even though neither one of us has personally experienced the latter). When it is happening, you never want to experience it again, but, as soon as it is over, and with an end result which is so rewarding, you forget all the discomfort and do it again. Based upon multiple weather forecasts from different sources of a short "weather window," we chose to leave the protection of Turtle Bay on Wednesday afternoon for the last leg of our journey to Ensenada. Although it was not a perfect window (winds of single digits and waves less than 4 feet), our decision was definitely influenced by the additional forecasts of much stronger winds and higher waves that were predicted to start on Friday afternoon and last through the weekend which would have kept us at anchor at least until Monday. By leaving Turtle Bay on Wednesday afternoon, it meant that we would reach Ensenada sometime on Friday afternoon and therefore ahead of the next, forecasted blow. How easy it was to put out of our minds the discomfort that we felt bashing that last 24 hours into Turtle Bay during a good weather window and were soon experiencing some of those feelings once again once we got out of the protection of Bahia de Tortugas. The worst feeling, much like the contractions in child birth, is the bow slams (the name we have given to these events where the bow comes slamming down on the back side of a large wave, usually crashing into the wave just behind it with a loud bang and shudder which shakes everything in the boat including you). To give you an idea of the severity of the slam, it only occurs in the first 5-10 feet of the boat, but it was strong enough to take the outboard engine for our dinghy off of its mounting bracket and almost falling overboard. You don't know exactly which wave will make this happen or how frequently it will occur, although there is generally a pattern to this phenomenon. Especially during the darkness of night, you don't know which wave will cause the bow slam or not, even though you can feel the bow being lifted by a large wave. However, you cannot see what is just behind it, which is what actually causes the slam (If the waves are well-spaced, the boat simply hobby horses due to the wave action). Besides, nighttime is even more uncomfortable than daytime due to the cold temperatures in this part of the Pacific Ocean. When we are in the cockpit and on night watch, we have to bundle up with wind-proof jackets and pants, as well as hats and gloves, to stave off the low sensory temperatures due a significant wind chill factor (See cover photo without hat). Again, like child birth, you have to go through these most unpleasant events to reach that end goal, which in the case of the Baja Bash is getting home to the U.S. The distance to be traveled is around 800 miles, and your average speed is about 6 knots, so you can do the math to calculate how long we had to deal with this phenomenon. The bottom line is that it would appear that, no matter what the weather forecast is, you can count on an unpleasant journey north just about any time of year.

We are now securely docked at Marina Coral in Ensenada after successfully completing the first two, and most difficult legs of the "Bash." We are both quite tired after two nights of bow slamming, but this morning finally brought relief in the form of waves that were sufficiently spaced to allow us to gently rise and fall without pounding into the next wind wave. We even had the opportunity to sail downwind across the last 8 miles of the bay where Ensenada is located. Unfortunately, we missed the opportunity to get our Zarpe (Mexican exit papers) before Monday since the office closed at 2PM, just as we were entering the breakwater to the marina, and it is not open on the weekends. We will have to wait until Monday to take care of this formality and not leave to San Diego until Tuesday unless we can luck out and get our papers early enough Monday morning to still make it to San Diego before dark. In the meantime, we will do our best to enjoy our stay in Ensenada.

The Baja Bash

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Debra and Andy
06/26/2012, Turtle Bay

The fresh tuna was, indeed, a wonderful meal, culminating with seared Ahi tuna over salad greens. It was then time to settle in for another long night of sailing. Things went quite well with continuing, favorable winds and seas well into the following morning. However, by afternoon, things began to change for the worse. The first sign of problems to come was the presence of closely spaced, wind waves on our nose, even without the presence of winds to create them where we were. By mid-afternoon, the winds built into the mid-teens, and the waves became uncomfortable. However, this was not the worst of it. By nightfall, we found ourselves with the additional burden of a very strong (3 knot) current on our nose, dropping our forward speed by over 2 knots, ending any possibility that we could make our next anchorage, Turtle Bay, the following morning, as we had originally hoped. Even though we were already 18 miles offshore, Andy decided to tack out in hopes of getting out of the current (heading closer in was not an option due to dangerous reefs at Abreojos Point, which was the probable cause of the winds and waves). Although this did help with our progress (we managed to get far enough out to reduce the current to only 2 knots), we knew that we were in for a long night and the possibility that we might not make our destination the following day during daylight hours. We also experienced a new, mechanical problem of serious proportions. Some of you may remember about the cracked water pump strain cover which caused all of the water to leak out of our second water tank as we were heading south to start the HaHa in San Diego. Well, Andy discovered during one of his night shifts that the water pump was continuously running when he saw the power light for the pump flashing on the electrical panel at the navigation station. The gauge for the second water tank was already reading on empty, even though we had filled it with the water maker earlier that day. This was therefore an indication of what appeared to be another, serious water leak. Debra joined in for the hunt into the cause of the situation, but its source could not be found. It was not a cracked water pump strain cover, and what was really strange was that there was no evidence that the water (65 or so gallons) had gone into the bilge before being pumped overboard. We therefore went into semi-emergency mode, only turning on the water pump for brief periods as water was needed until we could detect the ultimate cause, which would have to wait until we were calmly at anchor. Lo and behold, once being in the quiet of a calm anchorage, the source of the problem was discovered-Apparently, due to the pounding that we were taking in the strong winds and waves of the previous night, the faucet handle in our forward head had somehow opened itself. We are not sure how it happened, but once it was shut off, the problem was solved, and we are again back to full use of our fresh water system. Now back to our continuing saga.

Fortunately, the winds and waves did calm down in the early morning hours, and we even had a favorable wind shift which gave us a boost around dawn for an hour or so. As we entered into the afternoon hours, the winds and waves again began to build on our nose. We knew that reaching our destination before dark was still a reality and truly essential. Turtle Bay is notorious for the presence of kelp, much of which is free-floating and therefore a motoring hazard since you cannot see it at night before it fouls your propeller. Some of you may remember an earlier blog when we caught kelp in our propeller off of Santa Barbara in the darkness of night on our return trip from San Francisco to MdR. We continued to have the current on our nose, and with a forecast of winds building into the 20+ knot range, we knew that we would likely be in for a long afternoon pounding into high winds and large wind waves. By late morning, Andy again called for a long tack to the west before the wind and waves got too strong so that, if and when they built up, we could attack them at a better angle and not impede our progress too much. This was a good call, as the winds and waves came on like a barn burner in the early afternoon. They were so strong that water would spray over the bow and come splashing onto the dodger windows at mid-ships as we hit some of the more steep waves. After tacking back in the direction of our final destination, the winds were howling, and the seas were foaming. Nevertheless, with a more favorable travel direction, we were able to reach Turtle Bay by 4:30PM, as we managed to avoid the numerous, large clumps of floating kelp along the way. After setting anchor and due to the lack of sleep during the prior two nights on the move, Andy was so tired that he fell asleep for several hours while Debra forced herself to remain awake until early evening in the hopes of having a long and continuous night's sleep. She has proved successful in her effort, and Andy joined her after writing this blog and taking a long-needed shower before bedtime.

The Baja Bash

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Debra and Andy
06/26/2012, At Sea off Baja

Our departure Friday at midnight appeared to be a bit iffy due to the fact that the winds started to blow in the Cabo marina at midday, and, according to the "Bash" bible, winds in the marina meant strong winds at Cabo Falso, the point that we would first round to head north and back to the U.S. As the day progressed, the winds did not substantially taper off, but we decided to go to sleep at 9:00PM and set the alarm for 11:30PM to see wind conditions at that time. Upon going up on deck after being awakened, the winds had substantially died down but were not totally absent. Nevertheless, we decided that we would go for it, turned the gate keys into security, cast off the dock lines, and headed to open water. Once we turned the corner out of the protected harbor, the winds began to build on our nose, and we were being squeezed between the shore and two fishing boats out for the night's catch with nets trailing. Despite the fact that the winds built into the 20 knot range, it was quite manageable, so we decided that we would round Cabo Falso and head for home.

After our first night at sea since crossing from Mazatlan back to the Baja, the sun rose behind clouds which seemed to cover the entire sky. What we have noticed almost immediately is how much cooler it is on this side of the Baja, something not unexpected but can be unpleasant when on night watch. Days, on the other hand, are quite pleasant. The bible had advised that trolling was in order as we headed north in what are described a rich, fishing ground, so we set out the fishing line at dawn. After a couple of hours, we had our first strike. Once again, we had a Dorado on the line, and this one did not get away. After landing it, Andy took on the task of fileting it on deck. We then cleaned the deck from the mess created by landing a fish, only to have a second strike-another Dorado! It was Debra's job to land this one. It was a little smaller than the first one, so we decided to spare it for a future fisherman when it grows up. Using a pair of pliers, Andy was able to grab the hook and reverse it, releasing the fish unharmed. Just after this happened, it was time for a third strike-this one on our hand line which has a very large hook. Andy brought it in by hand to reveal a third Dorado, about the same size as the first. Not being too greedy and already having enough Dorado for at least 2 meals, we were going to let it go as well, but when Andy brought it close to the boat, he noticed that the hook had gone through one of the fish's eyes, which would doom it if it were let go, so it was time for a second round of fileting and cleanup. At this point, we decided that it was a time to bring in the rod and reel lure but left the hand line in the water in hopes of snagging a much larger fish-hopefully a tuna. Debra was just coming on deck when she noticed something in the water just in front of Murar's Dream, and she went to the helm to avoid it. We passed nearby, and Andy saw that it was a large clump of seaweed. As it passed behind the boat, the lure from the hand line went taut, and Andy could see that we had our fourth fish on the line, all in less than an hour. Andy drew in the hand line to discover a nice sized Yellow Fin Tuna on the hook, so our wish came true. It meant sushi for dinner! After it was fileted, we decided that we had landed and cleaned enough frish for the day so the hand line was also secured. Debra put the tuna filets into the refrigerator for cooling and made an Asian marinade for one of the filets to be seared in a pan for dinner. She also made a batch of wasabi (thanks to Marsha who had brought us a lifetime supply of wasabi powder for exactly this purpose-Thank you Marsha!). Tonight we will feast on sashimi and nigiri (we have sushi rice which we will make) as an appetizer, followed by seared Ahi tuna accompanied by a nice salad. Who could ask for a better meal anywhere?

The Baja Bash

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Debra and Andy
06/19/2012, Cabo San Lucas

On our second night in Los Frailes, Andy was sleeping on deck to make sure that we did not drag our anchor and end up aground on the beach due to the wave action and swell coming out of the southeast and having anchored with a lee shore (the boat anchored upwind of the shoreline). At about 4AM, he felt the winds beginning to build out of the southeast which is contrary to what one would normally expect with a nighttime-an offshore breeze. Discretion being the better part of valor, we made the call to pull anchor and depart just in case this was the foreshadowing of stronger winds to come before sunrise which would make our departure much more difficult. After retrieving the stern anchor, mounting the outboard engine on the transom, and lifting and securing the dinghy to the foredeck, we raised the anchor and, with the aid of our electronic chartplotter and GPS, headed south out of the anchorage in the pitch blackness of night in this remote area of the Baja Peninsula. We motored until dawn and tried to set sail on a few occasions throughout the morning when it looked like the wind was going to build from the right direction but to no avail. It became a day of 100% motoring and motor sailing our way to Cabo. We knew that we would be arriving in Cabo on the last day of the G20 conference, so we expected some navy presence and a possible boarding as we approached Cabo. Our first encounter was with a small craft with about 8 navy personnel onboard and were told that we were too close to shore so that we had to alter course to head further out to open water. As we were doing so, we noticed three, large motor yachts which were crossing through the same area that we were ordered to vacate, so we expected them to also be diverted, but that was not to be the case. In fact, they were being accompanied by several navy patrol boats, one of which decided to approach us at high speed (see attached photo). We had some trouble communicating with them over the radio, but they simply paralleled our course, staying in between the three motor yachts and us until the yachts turned to and stopped at the area of Lover's Beach and the famous landmark of Los Cabos-the arch carved through one of the pinnacle rocks at the end of the point. It then became clear that these three yachts were transporting dignitaries from the G20, and we later learned from one of the dock personnel that this convoy included El Presidente, this being the second time that we were diverted due to his travels. However, we were allowed to fall in behind the convoy so that we could enter the harbor which was full of tourist boats being kept inside the harbor by local law enforcement until El Presidente and his entourage and guests finally departed the area. This made our entry through the narrow harbor entrance a little difficult as we had to dodge these numerous boats, but we successfully maneuvered through, stopped at the fuel dock to re-fuel in preparation of our upcoming "Bash," and finally docked at the space which we had previously reserved at the marina. After getting checked in, it was time for lunch at one of the restaurants bordering the marina and then back to the boat to take care of assorted matters which required telephone service and internet access-something we had been without since leaving La Paz. We then were able to get in a bit of exercise as we walked to the local Telcel office to re-activate our wifi service which we will need for access to current weather information during the upcoming "Bash." We ended the evening with dinner at Nick San, an outstanding sushi restaurant, returning to the boat to bring everyone up-to-date with the latest blogs. Tomorrow, we begin the process of preparing Murar's Dream for the "Bash."

The Baja Bash

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