bikes, whales and Blue Footed Boobies
24 January 2010
Jan 2009
Once you leave the dock or maybe just your back yard you realize the wonderful and exciting things that people are doing. Torrey Pass and Lucy Poulin had left Alaska the previous Sept and were simply pedaling to Argentina. They are from Montreal and have spent their lives on bikes. Bike couriers, competitors and guides. They have never owned a vehicle. Torrey an English prof and Lucy in design with Chatelaine magazine ( Lucy is not a Chatelaine type of girl) but they wanted to do something of note. Pedaling from Alaska to Argentina qualifies. They arrived in La Pas and ran into a bit of a roadblock; the Sea of Cortez. Kurt from s/v Raven ,after meeting them in the bathroom of Marina Palmira, brought them for us to meet this "lovely Canadian couple". How could I help them; I have a 32 foot boat? Soon we had a tape measure out to size up their bikes, equipment, and our Maggie ( dingy). My main concern was protecting their equipment from salt water. Elizabeth and I decided we would give it a shot,we would transport them across the Sea. Packed up we headed out beating into 20k of wind. They had hardly been on a boat before; soon Lucy was green and puking over the side but still willing to give it a go. We had better anchor and get them feeling better. Bahia Ballandra where they snorkelled and spent the night. Lack of wind the following day found us motoring south in sun and smooth. Muertos, then Fraile anchorages as we got to know each other. Their metabolism was still on pedaling mode, a fact that they had warned us about. Boy could they pack away the groceries.At Fraile anchorage we dinged to Cabo Pulmo for a lovely day of snorkelling and swimming with the sea lions. Crossing was delayed for a day waiting for a weather window as a northerner raged. Pulling anchor with their bikes and equipment tarped in Maggie on the deck we were off. As it turned out we didn`t have to worry; smooth seas on an overnight passage to Isla Isabela, a nature reserve nw of Puerto Vallarta. Nice to be with people that are enthusiastic and keen. Lucy and Torrey kept night watch and enjoyed flying fish leaping over the boat . Closing on Isla Isabela as the sun rose over the Mexican mainland whales breeched and sea birds were everywhere. They liked it, you just had to be there. Anchoring at Isabela was a bit of a challenge but we got hooked with the help of Chris on Namaste. The next 3 days were spent ashore photographing Boobies and frigate birds that nest on the island. While on board we watched whales breach and slap the surface a short distance off shore. The last day caught us weathered in by a northerner; large waves rolled past. We were glad we were there hunkered down behind the island ,hoping the wind didn`t switch to east or south. Purchasing fish off the locals kept us fed; we were almost out of food. Wind subsided and we made the passage into San Blas entering over the bar with assistance from Captain Norm Goldie who was on shore with a radio. Our time with Torrey and Lucy, 9 days in all, was coming to and end. They had been such great company not to mention cooks and crew. They had willingly done it all. After a day of provisioning we had heavy hearts to see them pack their bikes and pedal off. We had enjoyed immensely our time with them, what fine ambassadors for young Canadians as they pedal to their goal of Argentina. Elizabeth and I realized how much we missed our boys; Torrey and Lucy had filled that void for awhile. They are currently in Argentina nearing their goal. Check them out at pedalingsouth.com.