11/15/2009

A quick note to let you know we've arrived in Los Cabos, after a fantastic passage down the wild West side of the Baja. Great weather and good times, including some great downwind sailing for a few of the days. A lot of firsts along the way, including first warm water fish landed on Liberte, a yellowtail tuna. Thanks to Bill and Marie for the fishing gear. Good eating with ceviche and fish tacos. Me gusta! Now we slow it down and go into cruising mode, to see what island anchorages lie in store in the Sea of Cortez. More to follow...

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11/09/2009

Liberte has gained a few degrees south, and a lot of degrees in heat. Bueno! Off come the foulies from two overnight watches, and on go the shorts and flip flops. We´ve just arrived in Turtle Bay, having logged nearly 300 miles from Ensenada in the past 43 hours. Sammy the sailing dog´s first big passage and she did great. Weather is absolutely spot on, and sea life is all around us. We took on fuel today transferred from panga, and ate a Rebecca made breakfast with real corn tortillas in the cockpit enjoying the sunshine. In this little fishing village, we feel we´ve truly arrived in Mexico. Sweet.

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11/06/2009

Our crew from Ensenada to La Paz: Rebecca, Samantha the "perrita" sailing dog, Scout, Ginjer with a J, and El Capitan with Bluewater Barbie.

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11/06/2009

Please note the new 'Liberteeny' dinghy on the foredeck, very smart, as well as the 'Scottimini' bimini and of course, the mighty Solar Stik. And a fine, fine crew.

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11/06/2009

Bienvenidos a Mexico! Liberte is happily lounging at Marina Coral, after a day of clearing in boat and crew at the excellent facility here. Our agent with the hotel handled all the dealings and they took fantastic care of us. It's a highly recommended way to enter the country. Also, the gym, swimming pool and hot tub under the stars are mighty civilized.

A word about our route and communications: We plan to depart here tomorrow mid-afternoon, bound for two days underway to Turtle Bay, a remote village roughly halfway down the Pacific outside of the Baja. I've filed a float plan with Gartly Curtis, and will be in touch with Gartly enroute.

While we are cruising in Mexico, there are several ways to reach us. The best is e-mail, which we will be checking at regular intervals throughout our trip. We would love to hear from you at the following gmail addresses: rebeccakilmer and captaindavidkilmer. Our cell phones are on a Mexican plan and work in many places: Rebecca's cell 208.699.2789 and Dave's cell 208.699.2761. We'll want to talk fast! We also have a satellite phone on board, and that number is 881 651 455 988. This phone is not always turned on, but you may be able to leave a message. It's spendy to call. The sat phone is programmed with our Dr. Mary Duff, and the emergency numbers for the US and Mexican coast guards.

We would love to hear from you by e-mail, and we've enjoyed the many well wishes and Bon Voyage message we've received so far.

Que te vaya bueno!

Capt. Dave and crew

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11/04/2009

Yipee! The boat chores are wrapped and Liberte and crew are ready for passage south. We plan to cast off dock lines tomorrow pre-dawn for Ensenada.

Rebecca and Dave flew in from Coeur d'Alene with Samantha the boat dog comfortably under our seats on Southwest Air. Scottie had the boat looking great after her month after Harbor Island West. He's been a busy guy and accomplished a lot to get us on our way.

We've quickly adjusted to boat time, with some hottubbing at the marina pool, walks with the dog along the harbor seawall, and excursions to the marine chandlery and chart store. On Scottie's watch, or "Scout" as he is known for sussing things out, our dinghy program got a major upgrade when we welcomed "Liberteeny," our gently used AquaPro 9-foot RIB with aluminum floor. She's powered by a 2-stroke 8 horse Merc, with which Scott reports he was keeping up with the 30-mph traffic on Harbor Island Drive. Sweet!

We've also installed the "Scoutimini," our new bimini sun awning, custom-designed by Scott.

We were happy to take Rebecca, the California Girl, to In-and-Out Burger for lunch, and send her for a well-deserved massage. We're headed for the airport to pick up my buddy from Kenya days, Rick Hintz, who's just coming back from a trip doing good deeds in India. Pretty fun it worked out to see him for our Bon Voyage.

Recommended stops in San Diego: Cabrillo Lighthouse with amazing views of the harbor, Sailing Supply, Seabreeze Nautical Books, and Hector's for burritos. Harbor Island West has been a great place to stash the boat for the month, and now we're eager to be on our way.

We have reservations at Marina Coral in Ensenada, which gets great recommendations and has full services to make our stay pleasant. Scout's friend Ginjer, a Montana hardcore sailor girl, will join us there. Ginjer is handy on the boat, is fun to hang with and speaks rippin' good Spanish - in all, a fine addition to the crew.

See you down the road.

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