04/07/2007, 399 miles southwest of Cabo San Lucas at 18deg 23'N 114deg 38'W
No, I'm not there yet but I did round Isla Clarion, 2 mi. off on my starboard side. It's a desolate Mexican island about 2 mi. wide, best I can tell, and in the middle of nowhere. There appears to be a small compound on the SW side but nothing else. Maybe you can Google Earth it and see what it is. Probably a Mexican Navy outpost.
The wind continues to die so that my daily log was only 100 mi. I haven't hit the NE trade winds yet, maybe in a couple of days. They are usually 15 knots day and night.
The ice was finally broken. Yesterday I caught three yellowfin tuna, one of which I kept. All three were smallish, maybe five lbs, a perfect size for me. For dinner I had seared ahi and garden salad. Lunch today will be sashimi with wasabi and soy sauce. I searched the boat but could not find the pickled ginger. I know it is onboard as I brought four jars from Seattle.
Everything else is fine.
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Comments [2]
04/06/2007, 198 miles southwest of Cabo San Lucas at 19deg 39'N 113deg 32'W
I awoke to mostly cloudy skies and wind down to 8 kts. Boat speed has dropped appreciably and my noon-to-noon mileage is 128 for an average speed of 5.3 kts,, still not bad.
This morning I was escorted by a pod of about 12 bottlenose dolphins. What a sight! Some put on a show, jumping 10 ft into the air as if to get a better look at me. They were with me for about an hour then peeled off, probably to look for tuna, Hope they have better luck than me.
I checked in with a marine radio net this AM and spoke to my Seattle friends John and Kathy aboard "Freya". They made it into La Paz from Mazatlan after having fuel issues with their diesel. Other friends, Susan and Elba on "Infinity" are also having diesel problems but are pushing on under sail. They are about three days behind me and also bound for the Marquesas. The other radio check-ins traded information on location, wind speed, sea conditions, etc., some calling from as far as 2000 miles. There are 3 or 4 similar nets that I check in with daily, depending on radio wave propagation. There always seems to be someone to talk to and trade stories.
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04/05/2007, 170 miles southwest of Cabo San Lucas
All is well. The wind has lightened a bit to about 10 kts but I am still making decent speed. From noon yesterday until noon today I covered 148 miles averaging 6.2 kts. That is pretty good for my little boat! I don't expect that to continue though. When I make the transition from the northwesterlies (sailing a reach) to the NE trades (sailing downwind) boat speed will diminish. That will be in about 4-5 days.
Yesterday afternoon a large fish with a long dorsal fin made five strikes at my lure and then finally connected but broke the line. It must have been a good sporting fish, maybe a marlin or sailfish. Just as well that I lost it as they are difficult to handle even from a boat not moving. I'd settle for a 7lb yellowfin tuna (spell that SUSHI).
I've got my sea legs now and the boat motion is easy. Maybe I'll cook up a gourmet meal tonight. How about beef Wellington and Risotto? Or maybe cup-a-noodles and sardines.
Don
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04/04/2007, 30 miles southwest of Cabo San Lucas
The weather could not be better. There is not a cloud in the sky, I have 12 knots of wind from the NW, and I'm sailing along on a close- reach doing 6.5 kts. The seas are quite comfortable, 3-4 ft with not much swell. I could do this all the way to the Marquesas but I'm sure it will change. Today mostly I'm working on getting my sea legs and tending to small jobs around the boat. There are two lines out for tuna but no dinner yet. May have to settle for chicken. The sport fishing fleet from Cabo is out here somewhere but I have not seen them. They always know where the fish are. I saw another sailboat earlier today but I've lost them. It may be my friends on "Adio", a German aluminum boat built by its owners who are vets of the Pacific Coconut Milk Run and have spent many years ocean cruising. That's all for now - have to get back to work.
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04/02/2007, 30 miles from Cabo San Lucas
I spent last night anchored at Cabo Pulmo and today I am motoring to Cabo San Lucas to top off the fuel and spend my last night at anchor before heading west. No wind and calm conditions in the Sea of Cortez.
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04/02/2007, Los Frailes, Mexico
Motored last two days but did get the sails up for a couple of hours today. There was a small wasps nest in one of the folds of the mains'l. I've been at the dock too long! I'm anchored for the night at Los Frailes near Pulmo Reef. Tomorrow I hit Cabo for diesel. Two other boats left La Paz when I did and three more will leave on Wed. All is well.
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