Sorry about that!

We had the good intentions of updating as we go and all of that, but found that putting stuff in here has been bumped down the priority chain.

Well here goes the catch up-

After many days of panic stricken stress we actually made the start of the 18th Annual Baja Ha-ha sailing rally.

Ahhh, good ol' Murphy had other plans for us- Steve didn't notice the overheat on the perkins until we were in dire straits. Had to sail back into San Diego and be put into the public dock by Vessel Assist. Talk about an inauspicious start!

Well it was the compound issue of a hose not being clamped correctly when we had the cooling system serviced- happens to be the one under the alternator- which caused the thermostat to get so hot it fried it's little guts out, and that led to the exhaust gases removing the baffle in the exhaust elbow, which if you know diesels, ain't good.

Clamped the clamp, put in a new thermostat, and "Rube Goldberged" a replacement exhaust elbow using a westerbeke unit, some plumbing fittings and rescue tape.

And we are off! 24 hours after the official start, we sailed out of SD bay. A truly bittersweet moment as we have grown to really love San Diego.

Had pretty good winds for our go and soon we were past the Coronado Islands. Hey wait a minute, there is a power boat approaching very quickly- they have guns and they have masks and heavy machine guns pointing right at us. Well that was interesting- turns out the Mexican Navy were just interested in our next port of call. When we answered Bahia de Tortugas, it seemed that did the trick and we were sent on our way with no stop or boarding required.

Ok, first night was really good- great sail. The next day saw the winds steadying up, but the seas were getting confused. Wind on the beam, waves from the bow and stern which leads to some very rocky motion. We actually came up with a new descriptive term for that type of wave action.

Steve had just gone off the 1100-0100 watch and I was safely ensconced in the cockpit when, looking below, I saw a flash of yellow right behind Steve's head. We start sloshing our way to the other beam and I see that yellow flash again. Curious, I went below for a peek, and lo and behold- the lemons had gotten loose from their confined space and were running free.

And thus the term "Lemon Tossing" seastate was born. A uniquely descriptive term, yet oddly easy to understand.

After what seemed to be a long three days, we entered Turtle Bay, actually putting a couple of boats in our wake, which means a lot to a former racer, but not to anyone else.

Anchoring was really nice in a sandy bottom, not the kind you get from sitting on the beach though. We hitched a ride from one of the many Pangeros- fisherman who traded their nets and lines for the role of water taxi for the day. Went to shore in time to join the famous Turtle Bay potluck- well famous to me any way. Got to eat some great food, meet more great folks and watch while a great boat dragged anchor and ended up on the beach. "Younger Girl" is a Lagoon 380 that really wasn't designed to be a beach catamaran, but she was that day! Everyone pitched in to haul her off, locals and sailors alike, and soon the entertainment was at an end. We were beat and decided that retreat was the better option, so back to Papillon we went and we spent the evening get ready for the next leg.

Turtle Bay to Bahia Santa Maria was great and while we had no real expectation on the sail nor the destination, we weren't disappointed in either. We had set our new-to-us asymmetrical spinnaker and were making some wake when I got the call from Steve at about 0600- "Dan wake up, I think something's wrong with our sail", a prime example of understatement. The halyard had chafed through and we got to drag it in while the boat was pitching and rolling under bare poles. Got it in and secured, set the boat up for running downwind under genoa and main and off we went again.

Steve hooked up a beautiful Yellowfin Tuna and the decks got a little bloody.

Bahia Santa Maria is amazing and the little village there really benefits from the feast they put on- I was told by a local that the money is going towards building a school. I am sure that we helped a lot! They put out a spread of shrimp and marlin that is unrivalled by any fancy restaurant. And the view? Just beautiful, absolutely breathtaking. Again, great anchorage, great people and great fun- it just doesn't stop! The Rock and Roll band that showed up for this event travelled 140 mile down the "highway" (this is Baja after all) then 40 miles down a dirt road to where they crossed a stream then hit the beach at low tide for the next 20 miles. And when they got there they played for tips only!

The trip from BSM to Cabo San Lucas was typically slow, but we are now in shorts and tee shirts and we are going to cross the Tropic of Cancer (now called the Tropic of Taurus) which means we are actually in the "Tropics"! Yes it is hot, but the seas are stunningly blue, and warm as well!

The first sunset on this leg was met by a green flash! No not the kind from the sunset, but from the 36-40" Dorado we hooked up! Damn lucky fish- sunset meant we really didn't feel like cleaning it or the bloody mess it makes on the side decks. So it is now a wiser fish for the experience and we got our green flash!

More to follow- along with some pictures, but we are off to the Mercado here in Puerto San Jose del Cabo.