A Taste of Cruising Mexico

Vessel Name: Journey
Vessel Make/Model: Passport 40
Hailing Port: Ventura, Ca
Crew: Jeff and Dori Beller
About: We're home ported out of Ventura, California. Jeff is a software engineer and Dori is a special ed teacher. We're both on sabbatical from our carreers or early retirement. We're not too sure which and don't really care. Cruising fits us real well right now.
Extra: This is our third extended cruise to Mexico. I guess we like it there! We hope you enjoy reading this journal of our cruise.
19 March 2020 | Ventura, CA
12 July 2012 | Ventura, CA
20 June 2012 | San Diego, CA
12 June 2012 | Turtle Bay
11 June 2012 | Turtle Bay
04 June 2012 | Bahia San Juanico
02 June 2012 | Outside of the Baja
31 May 2012 | Cabo San Lucas
27 May 2012 | La Paz
22 May 2012 | La Paz
22 May 2012 | Southern Sea of Cortez
15 May 2012 | Bahia Candeleros
15 May 2012 | Bahia Salinas
15 May 2012 | Isla Carmen
15 May 2012 | Isla Carmen
15 May 2012 | Isla Danzante
02 May 2012 | Sea of Cortez
02 May 2012 | Punta Colorada (Isla San Jose)
02 May 2012 | Sea of Cortez
02 May 2012 | Sea of Cortez
Recent Blog Posts
19 March 2020 | Ventura, CA

Another Taste of Mexico

This is a photo from back in 2008, the first time Journey went cruising to Mexico. The boat was full and overflowing with guests come to wish us Bon Voyage before we set off on our travels. It is a memory we still cherish.

12 July 2012 | Ventura, CA

Home Sweet Home

Journey has been home for just over a week, after sailing into Ventura harbor on the Fourth of July.

20 June 2012 | San Diego, CA

Survivors of the Un-Bash

It seems there is no rest for the weary. (OK, after resting four days, I guess being weary isn't an excuse anymore.) Anyway, we've received a few 'gentle' hints from some impatient readers. They've noticed that our position reports show we've reached San Diego, but our blog hasn't been updated to reflect [...]

12 June 2012 | Turtle Bay

A Night at Anabel's

Last night we debated whether or not to leave Turtle Bay early this morning, but one day's rest just didn't put a dent in the sense of exhaustion we were feeling after this last week. So we put off our departure until tomorrow. Our reward for making that decision was spending this evening at Anabel's. There [...]

11 June 2012 | Turtle Bay

The Half Way Point

Arriving at Turtle Bay is a milestone because it means you've reached the half-way point in your trip up or down the Baja. Several of the boats who left Cabo with us had a little celebration by having a scrumptious potluck lunch hosted by Mary and Jack on S.V. Oriana. We also attended to mundane details [...]

04 June 2012 | Bahia San Juanico

The 'Un-bash'

With one-third of the trip north completed, the good news is that we haven't really been 'bashed' much at all. The closest we've came was the passage around Cabo Falso early Saturday AM which Jeff described in his last post. As he mentioned, once that was behind us, it was all motoring in calm seas [...]

Bashed!!

10 June 2009 | Bahia San Carlos
Dori
Jeff and I took a vote, and decided the worst passage we've done on this entire trip was the one from Turtle Bay, around Isla Cedros and back to the coast (130 miles). He was inclined to argue the point at first, but by the time we dropped our anchor here at San Carlos, he definitely agreed with me.

Actually, it wasn't all bad. We left Turtle Bay at 5 AM and the first ten hours of motorsailing were pretty laid back. It was comfortable enough that I was able to read through a whole stack of "People" magazines (a much-appreciated donation from Deb off Lion's Paw). Jeff grabbed a couple of hours sleep in the early afternoon. When he came up, he decided to kill the engine and try sailing. My turn for a nap, and when I got up at six o'clock, the wind and seas had built considerably. I figured I should fix us some supper before it got even nastier, but just then Jeff called out that we had a problem--the auto pilot had stopped working. Our system has a hydraulic pump, and it had evidently over-heated and seized.

We decided that hand steering would be easier if we started motorsailing again. But when we tried to roll up the jib, the furler got jammed up. Without our "third crew member" (the auto pilot) it was a bit of a three ring circus until Jeff figured out that the furling line got overwrapped inside the drum. With all that flogging, the jib got a small rip too. Just before sunset, we put a second reef in the mainsail. Having given the auto-pilot a rest, we tried it once again. It worked for about two minutes, then lost its course and jibed while Jeff was up at the mast. Another three ring circus ensued while we got that all straightened out.

All in all, we hand steered for thirteen hours, mostly in about 20-25 knots of wind with absolutely horrendous seas. Those kind of conditions really sap your energy. Neither of us got much rest all night. Even with our excellent dodger, bimini ,weather cloths and foul weather gear, we got pretty 20 soaked as waves broke over us and water poured into the cockpit. You can't tuck back into a dry corner when you have to sit behind the wheel and drive. It wasn't until the last two hours that the wind backed to about 15 knots and the seas improved from really, really ugly to just plain lumpy.

Finally, just after dawn, we approached San Carlos. Jeff went below and came up with more bad news. A wire had broken during all of the pounding and we didn't have power for the anchor windlass. Thankfully, we don't need the windless to drop the anchor, only to pull it back up. But it made it a real priority to get this right on the first try.

We did get the anchor down, and it appears to be holding (the wind in the anchorage is gusting up to 30 knots this afternoon).

Jeff has already repaired the windlass. He's also tinkered with the auto pilot, but we really won't know if it's going to work for us at all until we try it out at sea.

We are hoping things lay down a bit so we can move to Punta Baja tonight or tomorrow morning.

As far as memories go, this is going down as one that I don't ever want to go through again, Dori
Comments
Journey's Photos - Main
We've posted our favorite photos from this year's cruising in the Sea of Cortez
46 Photos
Created 8 July 2012
Four glorious days of surfing "the longest wave" at Matanchen Bay in warm water, tropical surroundings, and no crowds.
11 Photos
Created 13 April 2012
Dori shot these photos of a morning surf session at Barra de Navidad. She was standing on the breakwater which adjacent to the surf break, giving great access for pictures.
15 Photos
Created 22 February 2012
This is a morning spent touring the estuary and river above Matanchen up to Tovara springs.
28 Photos
Created 27 January 2012
Yelapa is a unique little hidden away village on the south side of Banderas Bay. No roads reach it and the only way to get there is by water.
14 Photos
Created 15 March 2011
14 Photos
Created 20 December 2010
40 Photos
Created 15 November 2010