We said our last goodbyes to Endless Summer at around 17:00 on a Thursday afternoon as she slowly pulled out of the boatyard in Puerto Penasco. The very capable driver (owner of the trucking company) with the semi-rig and a pace car was now on their way to the Commercial Port Of Entry at the Tijuana border. Destination... Driscoll's boat yard on Shelter Island in San Diego.

We followed the truck with our baby on it for a few blocks but with the hanging power lines and tight dirt streets, decided it was best to head north to the border before it started getting dark. We took the closer border crossing 60 miles from Puerto Penasco called Lukevillle/Senoyta, which we have crossed several times and is known to be a much easier and safer route. We wanted to make the crossing before sundown. Once back in the states, we took Highway 8 West to Yuma, which is about 2/3s of the way to San Diego, stopping at a hotel for the night. This was Bosun's first night in a hotel which he enjoyed greatly. He was up all night inspecting each and every inch of the room making sure it was safe. He had been in a lot of places but never in a hotel.

In the morning, we had a tasty American breakfast at a 50's diner that was right across the street from our hotel. Then on to San Diego to meet Endless Summer who was due to arrive at about noon. We got there with an hour to spare. It was quite a site seeing her round the corner. Wow, does she look HUGE on the trailer. Especially on the busy, tight and narrow Shelter Island Drive!

Now the fun begins - Putting Humpty Dumpty back together again... And just like Mexico, we found out the boatyards Crane is down!!! Driscoll's yard has all shiny and new equipment but the Crane, which was the same 'Grove' brand as the one in Cabralles yard in Mexico, just a brand new one, was having an issue. The problem was that this new crane is all computer controlled and the display died the day we arrived. Dejavu? At this point all we can do is laugh.

The plan was to lift the boat off the trailer and put her in the water with the Travel-Lift while the mast was still on deck, then use the crane to lift the mast off and install it back in the boat. Without the crane the plan changed and they wanted to leave the mast as is on deck till Monday when the mechanic was coming to 'Hopefully' fix the crane. This would be a problem as 1. all our lines and fenders were in the lazarette under the mast so we could not tie up properly, and 2. we needed to use the weekend to re-install the Dinghy Davits, Solar panels and Bimini. A weekends worth of work would have been lost because the mast was in the way! Fortunately, the yard crew was able to pull the mast off the deck using the straps of the Travel Lift and set it on some rolling mast stands so we were able get all this work done over the weekend. Yea...

On Monday the mechanic was unable to fix the crane and a specialist was needed, rendering the crane out of commission for an unspecified amount of time. The work around was to step the mast at Intrepid Boat Works, about 5 doors down the street. This is where it gets interesting; we moved Endless Summer down to that yards dock which they didn't tell us the dock under the Ways was being worked on and was missing some boards and there were no cleats to tie the boat up too. So we tied it up to the concrete pilings and it just happen to work out. Then, we walked back to Driscoll's to get the mast. Keep in mind the mast is about 70 feet long; all the standing rigging, roller-furler and spreaders were installed, and the radar was also on it. This weighs about 900 lbs.! Dave, Michelle and our hired rigger Scott rolled it out of the yard and down the street, holding traffic back. Wow!!! Definity not a normal day for us and quite the spectacle we are sure.

Luckily, after working with the rigger we hired to work with the crane operator, we were able to get it back installed with no issues since we took great care while disassembling the boat in Mexico. We marked all the turnbuckles to make tuning the rig and re-installation as seamless as possible. Also taking pictures of all the running rigging to ensure each line is run to the right clutches and blocks. After the mast was in place we motored back to Driscoll's slip, but we had one more task of putting the hard dodger back on. Being the crane was still down we decided that between the three of us we would hand carry it from the yard down to the boat and rig up a bridle to help hoist the dodger into place. Wow, DONE!!! A lot of work but still glad we decided to truck her.

The next day, we paid the bill, and we brough the boat to her slip on Harbor Island at Safe Harbor Cabrillo Isle where we finished up installing sails, dodger windows etc. before leaving the boat for 1 month while we went up north to visit family, take care of doctors' appointments and had an estate sale to prepare to sell Dave's Moms house in Roseville who moved to Sonoma. MORE WORK!!! Ready for a break now.

Anyway, she is all put back together again, we sailed her a few times, anchored her out in San Diego Bay a few times, and she was happy again. I guess we did it right!!! Ready to move North.

We Made it!!! And now the work begins...

Now that we are tied up in the Marina for about a week we can relax, right? No way, Jose! We ran over to Cabrales Boat Yard to talk to Salvador Junior about our haul out. We also talked to him a bit ago about his Yacht Transport business. For a reasonable amount of money, he could truck Endless Summer to Ensenada. Hmmm, interesting!!! Unfortunately, when we got there, he said he could not do it for a few months because his trailer just broke and needs to re-assess his transport business and all the logistics of it. He did give us the number to Takata Transport, a Commercial Yacht transport company that could pick us up in 2 weeks and drop us off right in San Diego. After some though of the Pro's and Con's of keeping the boat on the hard in the hot dusty boat yard and doing the Sea again in 6 months, we decided we had more fun in Southern California waters that had more to do and better sailing conditions.

Working with Takata Transport was easy and would use them again in the future. We agreed to the terms, which was unfortunately double the price of what Salvador was asking, and we had about 2 weeks to get the boat completely torn down and ready for the truck. But this was a stroke of luck as this was a top-notch company and the owner himself was going to be the driver and he would have a Pilot car along the way.

Next was to get hauled out. Keep in mind that Puerto Penasco has a 25' tidal swing which complicates the haul out schedule greatly and if a haul time comes available you need to jump on it. They need a +10 foot tide in order to haul a boat with a 6-foot draft. This is why we needed to haul this week and not the week after as there would be no water in the ways (haul out area) during business hours, only at night. Hmmm.

The next day it turns out Salvador said to stay with the boat, and they will call us if there is a haul out cancelation or no show. At about 12pm we got a call from the boat yard: "Can you be at the ways in 15 minutes?" "SURE, Yes we can, no problem" We packed up the power cord, brought in the water hose and dock steps and we were ready and in the slings in about 10. READY!!! On the hard we go!!! Being hauled out is always fun (stressful), boats belong in the water.

The ways, which is the area where the Travel Lift picks the boat out of the water in its slings, does not have docks on each side like in the states. Just rock wall jetties that the travel lift rides on. So, the boat needs to stay right in the middle which can be tricky if there was any cross wind. Luckily there was not much wind and the yard crew were there to take our lines as we approached, so no drama with the haul out. Just a little scratched paint where the straps had some sand or rocks on them and abraded the hull sides, Grrrrr. Always something. Seems all marks on our haul happen from others besides us. Crazy!!!

Once Endless Summer was in her spot on the hard, we got to work right away. There is no Rigger here in Mexico just the yard guys who are mainly there to help operate the machinery like the lift and crane. We needed to bring the boats height down to 13 feet from the ground for the trucking process. So, we took down the sails, the mast and boom, the hard dodger, the solar panels, the dinghy davits and Bimini. Anything that was higher than the lifelines had to come off and get stowed below, put in the car or maybe on the trailer. As things were filling up the cabin down below, we were slowly taking up all but two small spots to sit in the salon. Enough to eat on our laps and go to bed. So again, to pull the mast we needed to take off the sails, the main sail is a big job in itself as there is a lot of sail control lines to be pulled, the mast track cars to disconnect and the Dutchman flaking system to be removed. Then we labeled and marked all the running rigging before pulling it all out. We then taped all the standing rigging turn buckles so we knew where it needed to be tightened too to get the tuning where it should be when we put it all back together. All this is a big job, but we knew how to take it all apart as we did it 2 years ago when we had the rigging replaced in the states.

During this week of work on the hard in the Cabrales Boat Yard we were able to use the Cruisers Lounge which had a shower and some couches and was also Air Conditioned which was nice after a full day's work. Nothing better than that Long Hot shower. Its nice of the boat yard to have this for us to use and there is a wall that each boat can sign and put their boats design. It's fun to see other boats that we have met up on the wall. It's another Cruisers Shrine.

Once Endless Summer was so called "comfortable" in the boatyard, we quickly decided to run up to our RV lot in Arizona to pick up our car and do some work in the yard as it's been about 2.5 months since we were there last. We got a ride all the way from Puerto Penasco MX to Quartzsite Az. from a lady who takes people to the Phoenix airport all the time. We loaded our cat Bosun and 2 backpacks in her car, and we were off on a 275-mile, 5-hour ride. And she only charged us $100. SCORE!!!

Once home in our RV lot in AZ we were on a mission. As there was a LOT of rain while we were gone, we had WEEDS!!! We took an entire day and pulled them all one by one. It went pretty quick though as we spread salt around the whole yard before we left last time to keep the weeds at bay. We are trying this instead of poison as the cat likes to eat the grass/weeds when his goes outside. We are still assessing the viability of salt for weed killer. We think we had less weeds than most of the other lots so it's going pretty well.

After about 3 days of working in the yard and trying to relax for a day or two, we got a call from Salvador Jr. at the boat yard that we needed to come to the boat as his team was ready to take the mast out the next day. So, we hit the road back to Mexico at sunrise the very next day. So much for rest and relaxation. The border crossing went without a hitch, and we were back to the boat before cocktail hour.

Now it was time for the crane to pull the mast. We were told from others in the yard that the crane has been broken for 2 months before we got there with boats waiting for it to be fixed. Once we told the yard the truck was coming they yard got on it and got that crane running enough to pluck our mast out and lay it on stands on the ground. All we can say is WOW, this crane needs some work. It had no brakes so when they drove up close to the boat, one of the workers threw a railroad tie under one wheel and the driver puts it in reverse to stop it. "Usually, it stops!" we were told... Uhhh, stressful... Then to run the crane, they pour hydraulic fluid in as quickly as it was leaking out. But it was successful and got it done. The next day the hard dodger and boom were then pulled off the boat with a forklift. We decided at this point that's enough, we would lower the Bimini bows and davits ourselves.

The next day we wrapped the mast with the rigging still connected, the boom with spreaders in big plastic wrap to keep everything together and well protected. After a week of long hard days, Endless Summer was ready for the truck. And it was time for a Pitcher of Margaritas for the crew as we wait for the truck's arrival.

Monday got pushed to Tuesday, Tuesday to Wednesday, Wednesday to Thursday. Hey it's Mexico, MANANA TIME!!! Which doesn't mean tomorrow, but more like not now, maybe tomorrow. (All joking aside, the trucking company got stuck at the border with another boat when all the US border computer systems went down, that's why we got pushed out)

When the truck arrived early Thursday morning, the yard had to build some wood horses that supported the mast on the deck of the boat. This surprised us as in the past the mast had a special rack on the trailer for it to ride. Not this time, Yikes, this is how this is going to go!!! After they built the stands, loaded Endless Summer on the truck, laid the mast on the boat, put the hard dodger, boom and bimini bows on the trailer and tied it all down, she was ready to roll about 4:30p.m. We followed behind her for a few blocks but when she started to go under low hanging power lines and then ripped down some Crea-paper Mexican flag decorations we decided it was best not to watch. We drove to Yuma AZ, got a hotel for the night (yes, Bosuns first hotel room) took showers and crashed into bed...
Wow, what a day...

Next update will be from San Diego and the job of putting Humpty Dumpty back together again...

Also, don't forget to check out the Gallery page for all the pictures of getting Endless Summer ready for the truck. (Sorry they are out of order, 2 phones and a camera make it very hard to do)

Give us a quick hello, let us know you are still with us.

Cheers,
Dave, Michelle and Bosun (the cat with many miles under his belly, all by water, land and air)

We know, we know... It has been way too long since our last post! But we have to say we have been SO busy, as you will soon see, we just have not had time to post.

Our 107-mile trip from Refugio to Puerto Penasco was probably the best sailing we have had for the entire 500-mile trek up the Sea of Cortez. We set out at about 3:00pm on April 3rd to time our approach at our destination in the daylight hours of April 4th.

In relatively light wind on the nose, we pulled anchor and headed out. After a few hours, as forecast, the wind started to blow out of the northwest which had us with both sails up and motor sailing, allowing us to ease the throttle down to 1500rpm but still keep the same speed of 6.5kts. We passed through the Penasco commercial fishing fleet of about 20 large steal boats that looked to be dragging nets. We were glad we came accross them during daylight hours as they were not on consistent headings, crossing in front of us at times. Before we knew it they disappeared to the southwest.

The wind then built a little more from the west allowing us to shut down the engine completely and SAIL in the direction of our destination! And to top it off, as the sun started to set, we were graced by the presence of hundreds of dolphins swimming in our bow wake. It was one of those perfect sailing times when the boat sails itself, the autopilot effortlessly steering as the sails were perfectly balanced. It was "set it and forget it" sailing conditions as we didn't need to touch anything to make great speed of between 6.5 to 8 knots. We call this Champagne sailing, making for easy sleep for the off watch. At least till early morning when the wind went light, and the engine came back on.

Along this leg we were able to pass text messages with our new friends Todd and Shari on the catamaran Wildhood. We met Todd and Shari a few anchorages earlier in Sanispac. They recently purchased their beautiful 43 foot Cat in Puerto Vallarta and were now bringing it up to Puerto Penasco for the summer. Although we would be stopping at different anchorages along the way we would be arriving at Puerto Penasco at the same time and staying in the same marina there until we got hauled out and put on the hard in the boat yard.

For this last leg of the trip; Wildhood left from the Willard anchorage on the West shore of the Sea and we left from the Island in the middle, about 45 miles away. We were too far away to talk to them on the VHF radio which is only good for about 25 miles. Being able to text via Starlink was great to help us stay awake during the wee overnight hours while on watch and for piece of mind that someone was out there in the event of an emergency.

As the sun came up, we could see Wildhood on the horizon, right on schedule for our arrival in Puerto Penasco. We both pulled into the marina slips right next to each other and tied up. We made it to our final destination in the Sea of Cortez.

Remember to look at the Gallery of pictures. Not great ones, plus the dolphins are hard to catch in a camera.

The next blog entry will be a good one, and you won't need to wait a month we promise...

Best Regards,
Dave and Michelle and El Gato Bosun

We had an easy motor-sail of about 40 nautical miles as we ran from a forecast of heavy wind at the Don Juan anchorage and farther south. Our destination is Refugio on the far Northern tip of Isla Angel De La Guarda. It is said that this is a good spot for all but north winds but there is a small spot between the main island and a small rock island called Isla Mejia where one could find 'Refuge' from a norther as well.

We crossed over to the western shore of the island on the run north and from about 15 miles away we could see Sail Rock, a rock that rises about 60' out of the water in the shape of a ship under sail. And from a distance it really looks like it too. It is bright white from being 'Painted' in bird guano. It looks awesome but smells like, well... bird shit when downwind of it.

We rounded Sail Rock to Starboard to enter the natural channel between the main island and Isla Mejia to get to the anchorage. Using Navionics charting software, we were able to see that its very shallow with rocks just a few feet underwater if you were to take a direct course towards the channel. We are sure a lot of boats have been lost on this reef.

This anchorage is a nice spot and we've heard of boats staying here for weeks. There is a Sea Lion Rookery on a rock island close by. We could hear them barking way off in the distance. It is the closest anchorage to Puerto Penasco but it's still far at 107 miles to the south. This makes it an overnight run for most sailboats and trawlers heading to or from Puerto Penasco.

We were only able to spend one night here because of two reasons: 1.) The wind was coming up big time with a forecast of 30kts and would keep us here for longer than planned, and 2.) there were Bobo's, the little flies we had in other anchorages but this time it was much worse because of how many of them there were. It was mind numbing as you could not go outside without having them all over you. Although they don't bite, they tickle when they walk on you. I don't know what is worse, the 30kts of wind or the Bobo's... Probably the Bobo's...

The Refugio anchorage is the last stop before the overnight run to Puerto Penasco so stay tuned...

Cheers,
Dave and Michelle

Howdy,
Well we are just catching up with the blog after a couple of weeks sabbatical so here goes...

We had a nice 47 mile run from San Francisquito to Puerto Don Juan. About 7.5hrs and were able to sail a couple hours. We caught up to another boat that was in the last anchorage with us and heading to the same destination. They left 2-3 hours before we did that morning and we beat them into the anchorage. Yay! There was also a Trimaran that left even earlier that morning, once they were in sight they steered to another anchorage as it started to get a bit rough from the counter current. Too bad they did because it smoothed out a couple of miles later. Catamarans and Trimarans don't like going into the short chop wind waves, so we get why they diverted but understand they were in some windy conditions a few days behind us and had to hole up for almost 2 weeks before moving on. This is why we were pushing to get to this anchorage. The Dolphins like it too as you'll see in the pictures. Several of them came by to say hello.

Don Juan is known to be a great hurricane hole as it is protected from most sides from the waves. The winds were gusting into the high 20's overnight so we were glad to be in there because of it's wave protection. There is no fetch, or distance of water where the waves can build in the wind. But it was SO gusty! We think the wind goes over the hills ok and over the anchorage but every few seconds a gust takes a different path down the hill and right into the anchorage. It will be 5 knots for 20 seconds and then BAM, 28+ knots hits like a punch in the face. Problem with this is that in between gusts, when its only blowing lightly the heavy anchor chain drops straight down from the bow of the boat pulling the boat forward towards the anchor. Then the gust hits, blows the bow down wind until the chain goes tight against the snubber. CREEEEEEEK goes the snubber lines on the cleats. Then the wind goes light, the weight of the chain pulls the boat forward then BAM the cycle starts all over again with the next gust. Only this time the bow will fall off in the opposite direction from the time before. So, for about 5 - 8 hours we have this going on, all the while you are hoping your anchor doesn't drag or another boat doesn't drag down on you. Oh, and this usually starts at sundown till about 3am. Stressful to say the least. "How did you sleep?" "Terrible!!!" It rained overnight too but wasn't enough to rinse the salt off the deck.

Well, just like the many anchorages before, we were making decisions based on the weather and after 2 nights we had to keep moving north to the next anchorage or be held up for another week or more like the trimaran.

Next stop: Refugio on the northern tip of Isla Guarda, the last island and safe anchorage before the 107-mile run to our final destination Puerto Penasco to haul out for the season. Or something else...

Stay tuned,
Dave and Michelle

This is a short one this time as we were only here for 1 night after a 77-mile motor sail with about 2 hours of motorless sailing in between.

We left Santa Rosalia marina at 3:00am for this 12-hour leg which got us into this anchorage at 3:00pm averaging 6.5 knots. This allows us to slow down if needed to sail slowly in light wind or pull in a fish etc. and still have enough time to get into an anchorage before sundown.

Fun Fact: the picture for this post is of the sunrise, not the sunset for a change.

There are 3 anchorages within the San Francisquito area, we took the middle which is a very small nook of a protected anchorage with enough room for only a few boats. You can see this by clicking on the map to the right and zooming in to see the pin showing our position. We were the only one there for once although there were some campers on the beach and some homes on the hill above the beach. It was a very quiet and calm night with some loud coyotes on shore in the middle of the night.

Since it was only for 1 night and we wanted to get cracking up to the next anchorage, Puerto Don Juan, in the morning we should have flown the drone at this spot to get some better picture, but it was a little too breezy and time got away from us... Sorry, there are a few pix in the Gallery though.

Stay Tuned....
Dave and Michelle and El Gato Bosun
(The ships cat is doing great by the way, has not had any issues at all)