A Month In The Sea.

Sea of Cortes.

January and February 2010. We had a wonderful time in the Sea. It is hard to think that there could be a better place to be. Hopefully, the photographs will speak for our time there...

Jan2010 PuntaSanEvaristo

Feb2010 PuertoGato

Feb2010 PuertoAguaVerde

The Biggest Storm...

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24.82N 110.57W. Sea of Cortes, B.C.S., Mexico.

20 January 2010. Isla San Francisco -- or Francisquito, as the locals call it -- is a striking island! The geology is just incredible and the rock walls come alive at the edges of daylight. "The Hook" is the main anchorage -- you can see a few boats at anchor in the satellite image. It provides good holding for all but west winds...but a quick sail around the island to the east side takes care of that.

The big storms that slammed the Pacific Northwest were predicted to continue their move south and hit Baja shortly after we left the marina. We determined that Isla San Francisco would be the best anchorage in the Sea and it proved out. We set anchor in the main anchorage and set to wait out the storm with just three other boats.

The anchorage was relatively comfortable given the strong NW winds. After two days, the system passed southward resulting in SW winds and building seas. By 1430, the SW winds had picked up to 20+ kts and seas were over 3' -- we "decided" to pick up anchor and move to the east side. Rounding the hook was a bit stiff, we had to head straight in to the seas to avoid getting pushed over. Once around the hook, we were able to gradually change our point of sail and head around to the east anchorage. Once we made our way to the east side, the seas subsided and all we had to deal with was the wind (which was enough). We had to set anchor twice, as our first attempt left us dragging. There was only one other boat at anchor -- at first -- so we had our choice of anchor spots in the relatively small anchorage. After an hour, two of the three boats at other anchorage followed our example and moved to the east. It was pretty cozy as all had to anchor in pretty close to the other.

Come the next day, the winds backed down and we moved back to "The Hook" as the next system was due. We set anchor in light SW winds and all was relatively calm until the following day when NW winds reached 30+ kts. We scoped out to 160' of chain to make sure we held tight and waited out the storm.

After seven days at Isla San Francisco, the weather cleared and we headed out to another anchorage -- this time along the Baja coast. We left very impressed with this island and were certain that we had found the best place in all of the Californias to weather out these storms. Baja was definitely better than the Pacific Northwest...and our little Francisquito was the best of all -- i.e., of course, if you happened to be in a boat waiting out the weather. (I added that last bit for all of you reading this thinking that the best place would have been in a house...and what were we thinking being out in all of that!)

Sea Trial.

24.2N 110.3W. Sea of Cortes, B.C.S., Mexico.

19 November 2009. The biggest news with Gitano is that we put her up for sale. We have come up to this line several times over the past two seasons...but always backed down when it came time to pull the trigger. This past October, however, we placed the ad in our favourite sailing magazine (Latitude 38) and quickly began answering calls and emails. We ended up fielding about fifteen queries, yielding three potential buyers. Of these three, one bought another boat, while another arranged to meet up in La Paz to check her out.

We spent a few days at the marina cleaning her up and stowing as much as we could off the boat and out of sight. The evening before meeting with our potential buyer, Steve and I sat side-by-side on the settee, looking all around our nice, clean boat with the same thought...we "don't want to sell her..." But we had made a commitment to this guy and, if he wanted to buy her, we would have to sell.

Dennis arrived the next day and Steve spent the afternoon going over all her systems and answering his questions. The next day, we went out for a sea trial. The day was perfect for sailing. She showed herself to be the racer she was...with speeds up to five knots in light winds. He loved the boat. However, he needed to talk to his partner about it. The next day, the deal was off as she said "no." He really looked disappointed and we felt bad for him....but good for us.

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Splash! and Life at the Marina.

24.2N 110.3W. Marina Palmira, La Paz, B.C.S., Mexico.

November 2009. Steve and I appear to be "stuck" here in La Paz.

After eight years of mostly "make it work" projects and maintenance on the boat, it is time for us to take on some bigger projects. We replaced all the batteries. The starter battery was toast on our return and was replaced (obviously) before we went in the water. The house bank was eleven-plus years old. Cruisers were in total disbelief that we were utilizing such and old bank -- but with frugality and a watchful eye to keeping them properly charged, we had managed to keep them going a long time. We finally felt it was time to change them out and are dealing with the transition (mostly unhappily) from the old gel cells to the new golf cart batteries. Other projects include new marine grade wiring up the mast for our navigation lights and two new float switches for the bilge. Needless to say, we are getting to know Victor, the electrician, pretty well...luckily, he is a great guy and interesting to be around.

We drew the line, however, with our refrigeration system... and look forward to our love-hate relationship for another season.

All these projects require many trips to town. Luckily we still have the Lincoln and know the streets of La Paz pretty well. It is amazing to see how much La Paz has grown over these past eight years. We enjoy the older parts of the town with its cobble streets and incredible buildings...

Dec2009 StreetsOfLaPaz

On the Hard.

24.18N 110.30W. Atalanta Astilleros, La Paz, B.C.S., Mexico.

03 November 2009. It is great being back on Gitano! It is hot and dusty and we have much work ahead of us...but it is so nice.

Fledglings.

24.2N 110.3W. CostaBaja, La Paz, B.C.S., Mexico.

We came across a pair of juvenile Osprey with their mom on their first "fly about." It looked like she had chummed them out with a fish perched on a power pole near their nest. We caught them and they weren't too happy with our presence. Not wanting to spook them, we decided to take off after only a few minutes. They were spectacular!

Haul Out Hell.

24.18N 110.3W. Atalanta Astilleros, La Paz, B.C.S. Mexico.

To make a long story, short, it should have taken only a few hours, however….

For those of you not familiar with the haul out process, here is a brief overview. The boat is tied up to the dock. Line handlers use the dock lines to pull the boat into position as a trailer is launched down the ramp. The handlers float the boat unto a trailer. Once in position, the keel is set on a foundation with the boat kept upright with the use of four padded supports. Once the boat is securely set on the trailer, the trailer is hauled out of the water and the boat moved to its space in the yard. From the trailer, the boat is put is put up on stands and the trailer removed. Relatively simple and easy…right….right?....???...

We scheduled our haul out date – our first haul out date, as it would turn out – in a week of relatively low tides. Our boat drafts six feet and we need a high tide high enough to allow the boat to float onto the trailer. Steve spoke with the yard boss and, while he was concerned with the tides, he thought it might be possible to haul the boat out. So….we let loose from the marina and headed over to the haul out yard. The crew lined up in place, the dock lines deployed and the trailer launched. Yet, two hours later, the boat was still in the water and the yard boss finally conceded that it was a “no go” for the day. So…we pull in the dock lines and head back to the marina. It was a bit of a nasty bash back as the wind had picked up and the boat got a nice salt water shower for its efforts.

Dejected, we tried to put a best face on the situation….while we would have to reschedule our flight reservations in addition to the new haul date, we were staying at a nice marina and had been enjoying our early morning workouts at the gym.

Eight days later, with the high tides higher, we once again set loose from the dock and head over to the haul out yard. On our approach, we find no line handlers and the gate is stilled closed. uh oh… We land the boat and head in to the yard to try to find out what is going on. We finally find one of the line handlers and he says that there is “no one here.” what?! He goes on to say that the yard boss’ mother had died the night before and he was not there. We had to wait for the secretary to show up to find out more information. She said only the yard boss could haul out boats…and he would be gone for over three days…too bad for you. Steve told her that the delay would cost the yard at least $200 to change our flight reservations again…oh….well…she will talk to her boss and see what can be done. Interesting enough, within fifteen minutes there was a new story. Mauricio could haul out the boat as he had been trained to do so. However, this would be his first boat that he would haul out on his own…but no worries…he was trained and he can do this. ok…. so let’s get going… On second thought, so much time had passed this morning, the tide is now too low, so we have to wait until the next day.

Come the next morning, we meet up with the young crew. They are excited, nervous…acting as if they have done this a thousand times before….but numerous signs of the cross and edgy laughter give us a different impression. Finally the dock lines are freed from the dock and in the hands of the handlers. The trailer is launched down the ramp. Gitano is guided to the trailer bed and...stop… start… stop… start… stop… The tractor is moved. The lines are pulled. The boat is moved this way and that. The captain dives to check the underwater clearance and position of the boat on the trailer. Levers are pulled. Lines pulled some more. The boat is rocked. start… stop… start… stop… The green crew is having problems…taking their time…being very careful with each step. The slowness is wearying. This is taking a lot longer than normal. Other boaters are coming by…eager to hear that all is well as they are hauling out tomorrow or some later date…not happy to find out that the captain is away for days…not happy to find out that this is the first haul out for the crew. The boat is finally positioned on the trailer and the crew starts to pull it out of the water when….stop!... The constant start and stop action on the cable has fouled it…now this needs to be relieved before we can proceed. The crew pulls out hammers and probe bars…all looking at the problem…all trying to come up with a fix…and heaving and hammering and pulling to get the cable back in place. Three hours into the beginning of the task…the boat is still in the water. The nervous crew – now under the watch of the owner – works to release the fouled cable. Finally, it is back in working order. It almost noon and Gitano is finally being hauled out of the water. Finally, she is trailered in to the yard and the crew spends the next hour settling her on supports freeing her of the trailer. What a long morning! What a relief!

We fly out the next day. We have only an afternoon and morning to get our final chores completed and the boat closed up for the season. We don’t panic as we have done most of the work already…but the day-and-a-half delay on getting to the yard is significant. So, we set to work, relieved that we are finally on the hard…unbelieving at all that went wrong with this task.

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Apr2009 Haul Out

Last Call.

24.2N 110.3W. Marina CostaBaja, La Paz, B.C.S., Mexico.

Monday is our last day in the marina as we haul out Tuesday morning. We are sure going to miss our early morning workouts in the little gym and the endless supply of fresh water for Gitano. We will make the most of our day running errands and doing a few more little chores...

Cheers!

Artisan Festival.

El Triunfo, B.C.S., Mexico..

On Sunday, we took a run in land to the old mining town of El Triunfo to check out an Artisan Festival. The festival was small but the music and the dance troup were fun and we enjoyed our dusty day in the sun amongst the ruins.

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Apr2009ElTriunfo