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19 December 2019 | Marina Costabaja, LaPaz, BCS, Mexico
Eric Ahlvin | Overcast! 70F, calm

The Norther arrived as predicted before morning on 12/16. We were well sheltered at Caleta Partida but we could see the whitecaps in the channel. I set up the main to be easily raised and prepped the stays’l on deck. It’s a hanked on sail but we use an “octopus” to hold it so that it can be prepped in advance and then deployed quickly. We raised anchor and raised the stays’l before we got out of the shelter of the cove. As we came out from the cove into the Bay of LaPaz, the wind built to 20 knots and we were exposed to the short period 3 foot waves. We were motor sailing on a very broad reach (almost a run) with the wind and waves behind us. It was quite comfortable although we saw a gust of 28 knots, and more than 8 knots boat speed going down the front of the waves before I eased the throttle way down. Linda deployed the fishing lines and we enjoyed the sun on our last day of sailing for a while. We saw a Nordhaven 45 on a reciprocal course, quite close, and he was not having much fun bucking the waves.
After an easy three hours, we took in the fishing lines and sail and entered Marina Costabaja.
We’ll be here for a while. All (4) of our kids and their significant others will be coming down for the holidays. We’ve rented a condo for the week that they’re here and 6 of us will stay there (including Linda and I) while two couples will stay on Rover. After that, Linda will visit her mom in Ohio for a couple of weeks. We’ll have some friends visit us after that and then hope to be heading north again mid-January. Marina life is pretty nice for a change with restaurants and provisions handy, unlimited hot water in the showers ashore and access to the internet.