Day 3 - Approaching Turtle Bay
29 October 2014 | 28 32.93'N:115 46.27'W, Near Cedros Island, Baja, Mexico
Mark
Since our last blog post yesterday morning, things have changed significantly. Just after the post Dave caught the first fish of the trip. It was a bluefin or albacore tuna - we are not sure which as it didn't quite match the pictures in our book. It was about 12 lbs and made for a great dinner for all of us! We even have some left over for ceviche today.
As soon as the tuna was aboard, the wind came up and we (finally) started sailing, after a full 24 hours of motoring. The wind built throughout the day, warm and fun, but never enough wind to cause any concern or spillage. Once again, we had the kite and mailsail up with the stereo going in the background.
Late at night, at about midnight when I was about to go off watch, the wind started to build to just under 20 knots and we really started romping along. With the wind and waves, it became quite noisy on the boat so even the off watch crew got to "enjoy" the rambuncious motion. Sharon claims that she became airborne in the forward cabin - a definite possibility. As Phil came on deck for his midnight to 3am watch, we doused the spinnaker, jibed, and headed offshore again, pointing directly at our next jibe mark about 80 miles away.
Unfortunately, the wind slowly dropped as the night wore on until we had to begin motoring again towards our destination. We are all hoping for some wind again later today.
As the wind was dropping, our designated fish-killer, Dave, put the hook in the water again and was quickly rewarded with a strike. This time we had a Dorado on the line - Dave's first Dorado. It was a good fight, and Dave is full of complaints about being tired, but seems to still have a smile on his face. I should also note that he is stinky. Mister Dorado is now safely filleted and stored in the fridge, ready to be part of several upcoming meals.
We are not about 80 miles from Turtle Bay and hope to drop the anchor tonight, maybe as early as midnight. Then, we have a few days to enjoy in Turtle Bay as we sample some cheap Mexican beer!