We survived!

Well, that sounds very dramatic, considering that we never saw more than clouds in the sky, about 20 minutes of some rain, and very little wind. The highest winds we saw in Bahia Willard were only in the 20 knots range and that was days after the storm formally known as Hurricane Jimena had past and was well on its way to Texas. But there were days of worry as we heard about the gathering storm. As the storm gathered strength and its path became clear to hit the Baja, are fears grew. Each new weather report sounded worse and worse. There are about 30 cruiser boats floating around the LA Bay area, with a hurricane hole nearby. We were a little worried about so many boats anchoring in the same area for a hurricane. Besides worrying about your own anchor staying put, you also have to worry about the anchor systems of the boats around you. Plus, we had just arrived in the area and had no time to scout out good anchorages and learn the lay of the land. It seemed like our best choice was to get as far away as we could and the next hurricane hole the guide books showed was a hundred miles further north. No problem in our fast little boat.

Imagine our consternation on the next morning when, as we were leaving, our port engine died before we had even pulled the anchor. And it wouldn't restart. The hurricane was supposed to be showing up in our area in three days. We didn't have time to fix it. There was nothing to do but continue on with one engine. Unfortunately that meant we were too slow to reach Willard Bay in one day. The feeling of anxiety, tension and worry had Patrick's and my stomach in knots. Our boat is designed to work on two engines, you can't solidly set an anchor with just one engine. Definitely not good with a hurricane coming. As we motored along, watching the sterns of Windfall and Third Day pull farther and farther ahead of us, Patrick was working on the engine. Finally after several hours, he had it running again, but we only had enough daylight to make it safely to Refugio at that time. Our friends on Windfall and Third Day weren't going to leave us, so all three boats pulled in and dropped anchor

Pulling into Refugio, we were blown away by its beauty and that night at our potluck, we were all throwing around the idea of weathering out the storm in Refugio. Then in the morning we learned that Hurricane Jimena was expected to go over the top of Refugio. So the pressure was back on and worse. We were all pulling our anchors at the crack of dawn in a race to Willard Bay. And of course, again the port engine did not work. I was beside myself. Once again we watched our friends leave us behind as we putted along, with Patrick pulling apart the malfunctioning engine underway. Thankfully there was wind behind us and our sails kept us from falling too far behind. Again after several hours, he got it running and we caught up with our friends just as we approached Willard Bay.

Willard Bay was everything we could have hoped for. We were so worried to see it and find out if it was already full with other boats hiding out, or if its description was not accurate in the guide books. Instead we found a great anchorage, nearly surrounded by land, with plenty of room for us to spread out, good holding sand bottom and a fairly uniform depth at a perfect 25 feet throughout the anchoring area. It was the home run, slam dunk we were hoping for. Once we had set anchor, so much of our worry abated, but still we were faced with the big unknown - where was Jimena going to end up?

Lucky for us, it came no where near us. As you probably know, she went right over the top of Santa Rosalia and caused much destruction there. We were so lucky that we got out of there when we did. We were only five days out of Santa Rosalia when the first reports of the gathering storm came through. Jimena plowed though the Escondido hurricane hole and five boats ended up on the rocks (only one was lost). Conception Bay was also hit pretty hard and I am anxious to see how Isla Coyote looks. Worst hit was San Carlos on the mainland side of the Sea. Jimena parked herself on top of them for many hours and we heard reports that fifteen boats were on the beach, some parked on land were tipped over, or flooded out by the rain. LA Bay got off pretty well with some wind gusts maybe to 40 and a brief torrent of rain. But as you can see from the pictures, Jimena was blessedly a non-event in Willard Bay. Sometimes they can get that far up, but not this time.

Since then, JaM has had more adventures. Third Day and JaM saved a panga full of paramilitaries with sub machine guns when their boat broke down (I got to watch my husband ride off in our dinghy with one gun pointed at his knee - not intentionally). We almost gutted our starboard bow on a very jagged reef while trying to find anchorage on a little-visited island (hmmm... maybe there is a reason why no one goes there?). We attended a party for the net-controllers at LA Bay. We've seen multiple whales, snorkeled for hours over fascinating reefs stocked full of fish. And generally have had a blast.

More later,
Laura

We're Leaving Santa Rosalia!!!

Okay, so we are about two to three weeks later than we said. But you try to get more than one thing done per day when it is hotter than the planet Mercury outside! But today we are ready. Our next stop is back to Isla San Marcos for one night and then north to Bahia San Francisquito, about 77 miles north of Santa Rosalia, early the next morning. In company with us are our friends on Pacific Voyager and Third Day. From B. San Francisquito, we will jump into the three islands off the coast which are Is. Salsipuedes, Is. Animas, and Is. San Lorenzo. Our boat is loaded with supplies so we won't need to hit a town for several weeks, which means no internet, no blog posts, no cell phone for the next few weeks. But when we return to internet access in Bahia de Los Angeles, we will have lots of pictures and lots of stories I am sure. So look for new blog posts in about three weeks!

Fair winds and following seas to us all,
Laura

Monsters of the Deep

Jack and I took our dinghy out the other night to try our luck catching Humboldt squid. Santa Rosalia is the Humboldt capital of the world. Every evening this time of year hundreds of pangas (small Mexican fishing boats, 17-20 foot, tiller steered) head out with each boat allowed 1000 kilos per night. Friends of ours on the boat Third Day said, "Hey let's buddy up and give it a try." We didn't get any six footers but the action was fast and furious. In the space of about an hour our two boats pulled in 15-20 squid and lost four times that. Most the squid were about two feet in length or so. I would guess eight to ten pounds. The other squid would attack the ones we hooked and the water would fill with squid. We saw some three to four footers shooting by as we pulled in ours. They would flash their colors as they shot by. These squid are cannibalistic opportunists. Much like some of the people I have worked with in my life. The experience was, well it was really creepy. But oh wow! was last night's calamari to die for.

DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME!!
We are trained professional midnight rubber dinghy squidders.

When you see Discovery Channel dealing with Humboldt's --- The TERROR of The DEEP -- This is where they are filming from. We kept the smallest one we caught as there is only two of us (remaining) to eat it.

Our friends on 3rd Day video-taped the evening and put together this You Tube clip. Enjoy!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B7iXYzWhACc&feature=player_embedded

Patrick

Santa Rosalia

Our time in Santa Rosalia is winding down. We are planning to leave on Saturday. Looking back on all of the things we have accomplished since coming back from the States, I am amazed. We have completed the new solar panel addition. It was mostly Patrick's work, but I helped since I'm his "monkey" - I am lighter, more flexible and not afraid of heights so I climb all over the arch and help him tighten screws and such. I sewed up new cushions for the outside cockpit area which increased our comfort level greatly. One of the biggest beefs we have with our Lagoon is that there really isn't any comfortable seating area. Patrick bulit and installed shelves into a closet to turn it from clothing storage into a pantry. Major improvement since now all of my food is easily accessible, visible and secure. Before, if I wanted a can of beans I had to take apart the dinette seats and dig down into a deep locker. We added water aerators, a small change but with big results. Now we are using 1/12th the water we were when washing dishes, which means we don't need to make as much water. I have cut out the fabric for window shades but have to wait and see if my sewing machine will agree to work for me. Very frustrating, but if it's broken maybe we can use it as an anchor? But biggest of all, we have gone through every storage area, organized and repacked it all to make better use of our space. Phew! And I learned how to make tamales!

Above is a picture of the famous church in Santa Rosalia, the Iglesia Santa Barbara. It's a pre-fabricated building designed by Frenchman Alexandre Gustav Eiffel (of the Eiffel Tower fame). After it was displayed at the World Exposition in Paris in 1889, it was bought by the French mining company that was encamped here in Santa Rosalia and installed here for its workers. Santa Rosalia is such a different looking Baja town due to its French influence from the Victorian era. It's strange to see the old Victorian wooden (the wood was shipped down from the Pacific Northwest!) homes and buildings lining the streets of the old town, most still in use.

Our luck continues.....

It's mid August and still no hurricanes! Lucky for us and everyone else out here. The light hurricane season has allowed quite a few boats to take a more leisurely jaunt to the North Sea. There are still several boats in Santa Rosalia who have not ventured north yet, and listening to the Amigo Net, there are even a few boats further south still coming north. The weather forecaster on the Amigo Net mentions every day how strange the season is. We are not complaining. We are hoping to be done with the last of our chores and on our way north within three to four days. We will be working very hard to keep us on that schedule. It is ten degrees hotter inside the Santa Rosalia harbor that it is just ten miles away on anchor. When the difference is between 90 and 100 degrees, that is a lot of motivation.
Laura

Hot! Hot! Hot!

103 degrees in the shade (if you can find any). Have no idea what the humidity is but it feels like a sauna (100%?) and still the relentless sunshine. But boy! are we happy to be back! The good news is that our skin looks fabulous - all pores are open and pouring. We are all losing the weight we gained when we were home and gorged on fast food and homemade cookies. It's just too hot to eat much. Our work list is shortening, but that's mostly because we just decided not to do some projects we had planned before we leave the marina. That's one way to get things done. So all and all - things are great. The one project we are going to finish before untying from the dock in Santa Rosalia is adding the extra solar panel so it can power our new freezer. The freezer is like magic! Ice Cubes! Frozen yogurt smoothies! Frozen blueberries and strawberries from home! It keeps a person civilized. (And no, we don't have air-conditioning on the boat.)

Laura

On the Road Again

So, it has been one long, long time, but finally we are getting back to our life on our boat. It was great seeing everyone, but we are all so happy to be getting back! We ended up spending the entire month of July back in Western Washington, instead of the two to three weeks we were planning on. It gave us lots of time to see friends, spend waaaay too much money, and spend time with family. I even took in a class reunion! That was a trip.

Our trip down is going a little slower than the one up. Last night we stopped to see Ken and Kim from Summerwings in their new home in California. It was so great to see them again. Their new home is lovely. Their boat is still available for sale in La Paz and can be viewed at http://home.mindspring.com/~kkcordes/id22.html. Currently we are about 100 miles north of Los Angeles and have plans to see Bill and Sue from Sunbaby tomorrow. They are enjoying their new granddaughter.


We plan to be back in Santa Rosalia in about three days. And then the work begins! Back up the mast to replace the parts we took down, new solar panel to be installed, boat cushions to be sewed. We hope to be out of there as fast as possible, but it will probably take four or more days.


Laura