Happy Halloween everyone! We're back sailing again. What a difference a few days make. Right now the wind is about 10 knots true out of the northwest and we have the red chute up. Seas are about 6 to 8 feet. Our average speed is 7 knots. Earlier today we hit 10.8 knots. These are the typical conditions for the Baja Ha-Ha.

Today's start was at 11:00am but the weather forecast showed dying winds so we left a couple of hours early. Sure enough, the wind is dying. Hopefully we can continue to sail for awhile.

As of this morning's roll call, only one boat has not checked in with the fleet. The boat is a Catalina 34 name Chardonnay and no one has heard from them since Tuesday morning. We're hoping they turned back. Surprisingly, minimal damage has been reported by boats. One broken boom, one destroyed mainsail, several destroyed spinnakers, and some ripped sails. The boat Southwind, owned by Jean on C dock in Oceanside has some alternator problems and is staying temporarily in Turtle Bay.

Yesterday's party on the beach was lots of fun. There must have been between 300 and 400 people attending the potluck. We brought our last 2 casseroles since they were no longer frozen. With all the fish Bill has been catching, we got behind eating the pre-prepared food. Speaking of fish, Bill caught a 200 lb yellow fin about an hour ago. Wait, no it's 20 lbs. Another fish story. It's been fileted and half went in the freezer and the other half will be dinner.

Last night we attend the local Dia de Muerte celebration, Day of the Dead at the downtown plaza in Turtle Bay. The locals created altars honoring family members who have passed on. The altars had various favorite mementos of the dead, including plates of food and beverages.

Position: N 27 17.2 W 114 40.2 Date: Saturday, October 31, 2009 Time: 1:00pm California time