yesterday's beach party at Bahia de las Tortugas (Turtle Bay) was quite an event. There were several hundred sailors who all brought potluck, and the locals had set up a dance floor and DJ, and a taco vendor sold great tacos for 10 pesos (1 dollar) each. People had to arrive by beaching their dinghy in the surf and one dinghy got flipped by the waves. There was a tug of war between the sexes, with women on one side (a hundred or so) and fewer men on the other (maybe 30). The women won handily. Pascale and I and another sailor from a boat called Vanishing Point shopped in the little town for a pinata and candy and trinkets to fill it with, and we had a pinata party for the 20 or so Ha-Ha kids.

This morning at 8 a.m. the fleet started, except us an a few other boats who lagged behind for various reasons. We had to get diesel fuel, and we had made an appointment the day before for diesel to be delivered to our boat at 7 a.m., but we have learned that the Mexicans here treat appointments and time estimates very liberally. We finally fueled up and were on our way at 9 a.m.

So now we're sailing on beam reach with about 16 knots of wind, just about perfect sailing conditions. Our boat speed is 7 knots. Our destination is Bahia Magdalena, which is about 220 nautical miles away. There will be absolutely no services where we will be anchoring, no town, no civilization, just a beach. But you can count on there being a good Ha-Ha party.

We just caught our first fish! It's a small tuna, we think a bluefin. I guess we'll be having tuna for lunch!