Departure
Dec.10
(departure)
Happy Birthday Remi
12:30 we cast off from Ensenada. Breeze coming from the Northwest. No problems leaving but a bit of stress with the fresh wind paired with our tiny 10 horse power engine controlling this big heavy steel vessel! Blood pressures ‘a risin. That is why you always carry a roaming fender that can be placed anywhere at anytime.
Takes 3-4 hours to exit the bay and hit the offshore breeze. It appears our pals Oxyd sailed right out of the bay and took a massive lead on us getting out of here. Kailey even sent Max a message showing a small fish caught in the first few hours… looks like we are behind in more than one way. We still plan on taking the first place for the largest fish!
20:00-00:00 watch looks like a tea with me under a couple thousand bright lit stars. Light winds but we are moving in the right direction. I can’t find my tan coloured Nature Buoys cap anywhere on board. Trace my steps back to when I showered right before leaving port. It was hung on the clothing hook by the shower. That’s where it will live until someone finds a nice new to them nylon waterproof sail cap.
Dec.11
04:00-08:00
“That moment when your night watch turns into day”
Great consistent winds on our beam with a carrying current. South South East direction.
We make very little sail adjustments as our noon to noon reading says just over 100 knotty miles sailed in 24 hours. 90 miles on the rhumb line back to Ensenada. Full sails up for that duration. That’s a great start to the passage for us! Especially after our last stroll through the Pacific was a slow one. I catch a visual of a sailboat heading the same direction as us with the long eyes. Could it be Oxyd to our stern!? Would be wild if we jumped in front of them over the night. It’s funny that no matter who is sailing, if there’s two boats out there it is always a race. Doesn’t matter who or why. Makes for a good challenge.
Sunset tea. No fish.
Maintaining 6.20knots of speed for hours. All 4 sails are as trimmed a they can be. This truly is sailing.
22:30 fast sailing! Speeds are flashing 7.0-7.40 knots
04:40 in the morning the boat is moving too fast so we decide to reef down all sails. It’s the darkest night we have seen yet. Can’t even see the horizon line (new moon?) 8.2knots (15km/hr)
My head torch that I’ve had for the past year and 7,000nm of sailing suddenly throws in the towel. No lamp for me now.
“The night owl threw in the towel”
I’m lifting the main halyard back up when I small squid flies out of the water and into my face. Slapped by a baby squid in the middle of the night. Man did we have a laugh. It made it on the fishing hook in the morning.
Dec.12
Water rushing a few inches from your head through a steel hull is a totally different experience. This V berth bunk is great so far. Dry and it’s like living on a waterbed. Both walls tilted up so we can be on either tack and rest easy.
Our noon to noon reading is another 110 miles in the bank! We have sailed 220 nautical miles in 48 hours but the rhumb line (as the crow flies) is about 180nm.
Daily temps have been around +17 in the day but dipping down pretty chilly at night. Sometimes we can see our breaths so I’m definitely on the edge of underdressed for this trip. No real heat yet!
Unfortunately as I write this the winds are coming from directly behind us and reducing for the afternoon/evening.
We have decided on an East run and then gybe for a south run. We will sail further but at least we will not have sails flogging around.
Tiny white sails and a peach coloured spinnaker is in view about 10 miles to the north (behind us)! Must be Oxyd hot on our trot. Wrap them up, spank ‘em, and take them to school.
Dec.13
8.5 knots of speed! May want to consider reducing sail. Just on the edge of out of control.
04:10 engine is started for charging batteries. There’s been very little solar sunlight charge in the past 24 hrs.
6 small squids found on deck this morning. I hook one onto my fishing rod. A few minutes later the line is taken out super quick and snaps at the end of the reel.
I re-rig a simple hook and squid lure and right when I cast out, it’s taken for a run and broke off again. Our little rod/reel combo doesn’t have the capacity to handle these fish out here. Hopefully we can get one on the bungee hand reel setup we built. That has 150 feet of 80lb test attached.
3rd fish lost by 08:30am
Deep sleep for 3 hours. Back up on watch at noon. Shark spotted! On the surface cruising.
Winds have substantially decreased and we are moving along at 2-3knots. Oxyd is in view 6-8 miles to our starboard side. They are still flying spinnaker and have let us know they are continuing onto Bahía Asunción. 50 miles further down the Baja. We have altered our course (plan) and will join them. But why? Zero winds predicted tomorrow!
Our noon to noon reading is another 100 miles. We have sailed 320 nautical miles in 72 hours! Not so great if you look at our CMG (course made good) we are sailing over land 100 miles a day but not necessarily in a direct route. Hmm well that’s sailing right?
I can go home happy now. Black Footed Albatross spotted gliding behind us without a flap of the wings. Unbelievable
Large tuna snapped the line. Heavier gear required. 4 fish lost today.
16:00 two Gray Whales breach beside Le Patriote!
Wake up from a deep sleep for my 20:00-00:00 watch. I dreamt we had sailed Le Patriote all the way to Sylvan Lake, Alberta, Canada and we were becalmed on the road to the marina boat launch.. the cop had pulled us over for going too slow on the main road. The sails were luffing and falling on the streets. He was upset at first until we said we sailed it up from Mexico! He then giggled and helped us move along.
Near the end of my 20:00-00:00 watch we have medium winds but the autopilot (Rick) is having trouble controlling the boat. The belt driven motor keeps skipping. We try to rebalance the sails, add reefs to them all, and slightly change course. I check the belt tensioner and it’s fine but the belt is still loose. Realize the whole autopilot motor is peeling off the deck where it is mounted. I disengage “Rickety Rick” and we hand steer the 10 miles to Turtle Bay. It was just destiny to make it into this planned destination.
Meteor shower tonight while hand steering. 40-60/hr
