Well, the crew and I have been here a week. Time to start posting some commentary on what we think it's like, at first blush, living on Poco in Ensenada. I've included a pic in this post of what it looks like from Poco looking toward the boatyard/office. I'll take the time to post some other pics shortly.

From Cap'n Tom's perspective, things here are good. Very good. But fattening.
Food is much less expensive here overall, in the restaurants as well as the grocery stores. Eating out was getting out of hand quickly! At half the price of the US, it's a quick habit to acquire! There are many seafood places, as well as Chinese, Thai, Sushi, Italian, etc etc. And obviously many Mexican restaurants. While all I've been to are good, three stand out.
First is El Rey Sol. It's everything the web says it is and more. Incredible!
Second, I'm a believer that every decent town has a great chicken joint. By definition. The one here is El Charro. Mesquite rotisserie in the front window! Awesome!
Third, nearly every taco shop, stand, wagon, kiosk, vendor in town! Standard price is a buck a taco, or better yet, 10 pesos per. While the details vary, the standard is to choose your meat, then add whatever condiments/salsas you want. There are typically at least half a dozen and sometimes as many as a dozen or more, different goodies to choose from for dressing your taco. Add a beer for 30 pesos and you're good to go. Most of the stands offer more than just tacos of course. My favorite (at the moment) for instance is Tacos al Lucero, which is right next to the Mercado Negro, the fish market. The ladies there serve lots of different kinds of seafood and everything I've tasted has been excellent, including a dozen very large oysters, fresh shucked in front of you, for a bit under $8 US. But tacos are still the mainstay. Or were. Now that I've finally gotten to the store we'll be eating in a lot more!
What?!?! You mean there's more to life than food and drink. Damn! I knew there was a catch!
The crew was talking about their first impressions as well. They still want to take more time to assess their new digs since, as Bear reminded me, they aren't as hasty as people, Still, they have some preliminary observations.
Bear is also a big fan of food of all varieties, and is most happy on that count. He also has commented that he really appreciates the much quieter nights here. Well, except for Friday and Saturday nights when the bars and clubs stay open late for the revelers. But that hasn't bothered Bear at all, as he tends to stay out with them, not getting back aboard until 2 or even 3 a.m. And aboard Poco, with things shut down, the noise level is almost zero.
Billy has noted that the people do tend to be a bit more friendly than in the US, as is typically reported. Everything moves a little slower and a little bit more deliberately. Much as Beavers do, according to Billy.
Roadtrip just wants to get going south. He is, after all, the navigator.
But it was Santa that had the best observation so far. He said he had been trying to put his finger on it for some time but just couldn't quite get it. Then he found an entry, just a few days ago, in a blog called "100ish Reasons I Love Mexico", by one Tucker Bradford. Therein, Mr./Ms. Bradford states, "I love the beauty in decay. The cycle of death and rebirth that is persistently evident." Santa explained that he, as an immortal being, is constantly amazed at many cultures in the modern world that try and hide the cycle of life and death that everything in our world is subject to. He pointed out my home country as a prime example. To a significant extent that doesn't seem to be the case here, said Santa. There appears to be no cult of youth, no great emphasis on the facade, be it a persons face, or a building's paint.
He is cogitating more on that, and I expect we shall hear from him again.

Yup, the crew is happy to be in slip B12 at the Marina Baja Naval in Ensenada!
Perhaps it's coincidence, perhaps fate or karma, but just like the last trip down here in July, this passage proved to be . . . interesting. Luckily, we had our Chief Engineer, Swabby Bobby Burden on board again. Without his presence we would still be in San Diego!
The plan was straightforward; sail from Chula VIsta up to the police docks on Thursday. Grab 5 - 6 hours sleep that evening and head out around 1:00 a.m. Friday morning the 2nd. But, of course, there was a catch.
The forecast had a big storm coming in! Gale warnings were out for the coastal waters and Northern California had already seen gusts up to 70 kits. Not so good. On the other hand, the winds weren't as forecast Thursday morning. Or even close. So, we headed up around noon or so. By the time we got to the police docs the wind had finally come up some, from calm at start to 12 - 15 kits. After checking in and getting into our assigned slip (with much messing around due to vagrant winds) we prepared Poco for heavy weather sailing and crashed for the evening. By then the forecast winds of 20 kts and up had vanished. It was dead calm.
When we got up at 1:00 a.m. it was still dead calm. You could just see the gale warning flags hanging completely limp on their staff. So, off we went.
By 2:00 a.m. or so we had cleared Pt. Loma and the wind finally started to come up. We were quickly doing 5.5 - 6.5 kits in a 17 + knot wind with gusts noticeably higher. Poco was pretty much rail in the water, flying down the coast! During daylight this would be no big deal but it was a little unsettling in the dark. But it was speedy!!
Then, the wind stopped.
Somewhen before dawn, over about 20 minutes, the wind went from it's small craft warning level to dead calm. Again. Since we didn't have all month to get there we fired up the Iron Wind and started to motor southward. We were treated to a beautiful sunrise while moving in calm steady seas. All was good, if noisy.
Then, the engine stopped.
After messing with it for just a few minutes it became obvious that the fuel pump had failed us. And there was no spare aboard.
With no engine and almost no wind we sat around bobbing up and down in dismay. The sails were hoisted again and the occasional gust kept us from drifting toward the shore, which was still several miles distant. We were about a third of the way to our destination and after some time spent bobbing, thinking and feeling generally depressed, I was ready to call Vessel Assist and get towed back to San Diego. All was not well!
But Swabby Bobby, Engineer Extraordinaire had other plans. They went something like this; "Model A's didn't have fuel pumps."
Huh?
SB's plan was simple. And elegant! Unhook the fuel line going into the carb, take one of the deck gas cans and run a siphon hose from the can to the engine. Get the siphon going and start the engine.
Huh?
SB insisted that it would work and would be far preferable than returning to San Diego under tow. The rest of the crew and I certainly agreed with the later part, so SB went below and stuck his head into the hot, fumey engine compartment as Poco continued to bob and weave like a worried prize fighter.
Another interesting thing. It appears that the "Bobby" part of SB's name doesn't refer to his love for bobbing around in the open ocean sucking in warm engine fumes. So, after he came out of the head having purged himself of all doubts and uncertainties, as well as the remains of the peanut butter sandwich he had for breakfast, he climbed up to the cockpit and supervised my installing the new and improved gravity fed fuel system. It only took a few minutes to get it hooked up and we hit the start button.
Three cheers rang out from the crew as the little engine fired right up! Sipping gas from the siphon hose, the engine was put in gear and once again we pointed south to Ensenada!!
With only a couple of minor hiccups, it worked fine all the way here. There was that moment it died just as we were headed for the crashing surf against the rock jetties at the harbor entrance! But SB got it going again. And the time about 50 yards out of the slip when it tried dieing again. But we goosed it forward with one last effort and glided into the slip, to be greeted by two of the fine Baja Naval workers who helped tie us up.
I'll post more about Ensenada and the marina here later, but for now, once again Three Cheers for Swabby Bobby Burden! Not only did he have the skill and knowledge that got us here, he now also holds the honor of being the first person, crew or passenger, to officially lose his cookies aboard Poco a Poco!
Hip, Hip, Hooray!
Hip, Hip, Hooray!
Hip, Hip, Hooray!

Just got back after a great trip to Tucson for Thanksgiving week. Stayed with Bob and Mardi, helping around the edges cooking dinner for 5 dozen people. Saw some folks missed some folks, and ate waaay too much food. It was a good, good week.
Also, with just a little luck, Bob will be coming over in a day or two or so and sail with us down to Ensenada. It will be that much better!
I was really happy to see that the crew had taken great care of the boat while I was away. Looked almost identical to how I left it last Saturday!
But now, we're down to the last few days of stateside residence. The list of things to do has shrunk to almost nothing. In fact, I could probably just take off next Thursday as things are and be just fine. Nonetheless, there are several chores I want finished before departure time. The most important is to provide a lee cloth for the two storage shelves in the cabin. Most of the ship's stores are there, along with tools, and it doesn't need to be flung across the cabin in rough seas. Also, I want to make some covers for the shroud turnbuckles to keep both the sails and the dinghy from getting torn or punctured (again!). Some PVC and paint (to keep the UV away from the PVC) will do the trick. Then, I'll do a once over on the engine, change the fuel filter and maybe add a pint of oil or so. It needs changing shortly but I'll wait until we are in Mexico before getting in to it that much.
And that's about it.
Not much of a hassle to become an expatriate, is it?

By the time most people read this, assuming anybody at all reads this, my old blog and website at treesman.com will be history. Adios. Sayonara. Auf Wiedersehen. See ya later. Goodbye. Hasta la vista. Baby.
The idea has always been to sail southward. First to Mexico; Pacific Baja, La Paz, the Sea of Cortez. And then perhaps south from there, as well. Zihuatanejo is such a lovely sound!
But somehow things got off to a slow, slow start. The crew and I have been living aboard now for over a year and still we sit, right here, in Chula Vista. I blame it all on the Hotel California syndrome. It's so easy to live in California. Comfortable, convenient, never too hot and never too cold.
Then again, the crew blames it all on me.
But now it is finally time to move. Not too far but then again, not too close. More importantly, we will be moving in the right direction.
November 30 we sail with the tide! Out of Chula Vista Marina slip C1-17 and headed for the Baja Naval marina in Ensenada, Baja Calfiornia, Mexico. We plan on anchoring off South Coronado island Wednesday night and with an early departure Thursday morning we should make Ensenada by early afternoon on December 1st. Poco and crew have done this passage once before; just back in July. But this time it's a one way trip.
There are a few complications, but we'll make it on time.
For a decade I've been reading the ever present advice that cruisers give to wannabe's about when is the best time to go. The answer is always the same.
The best time to go is now!