Trip across a Sea
Nov 21
Up at 6. Good strong coffee.
P̶a̶s̶s̶a̶g̶e̶ c̶h̶e̶c̶k̶l̶i̶s̶t̶ i̶s̶ a̶s̶ g̶o̶o̶d̶ a̶s̶ I̶ c̶a̶n̶ g̶e̶t̶ i̶t̶ d̶o̶n̶e̶.
Install reefing lines (our main has three) on the boom and mainsail.
We plan on departing at noon today so after all the engine checks, I try to fire the engine.. We are having no luck at all! Go through the systems and bleed the possible air from the fuel line. We double check the fuel pump is pumping, put it back together and it fires right up.
This excerpt below was taken from the Struggler logbook to save retyping. Simply skip this section to continue forward:
11:40am anchor up
12:00 diesel and petrol refuel at fuel dock.
12:30 engine on. Depart fuel dock
12:50 Genoa up. 5 knots of speed. Smooth seas.
14:00 One reef in main and Genoa.
Averaging 6 knots. 220 degrees ordered on course.
Choppy seas coming down the channel.
A few big waves up and over the dodger.
My new nature buoys cap, a sacrificial gift to the sea… well shoot!
16:00
Watch change. Second reef in both sails
7.8 knots of speed have been seen. Big rollers coming in now and breaking good.
17:15
Rolled in another reef on Genoa. 3rd reef?
Main eased way out to spill some wind at reef 2. Thinking about maybe 3rd reef in main? 20-25 knots of wind.
20:00
Reefed Genoa. 2 reefs in main.
6 knot average. 44 miles into passage. HUMMING
20:10 chafing furler line found on first stantion back from bow. Genoa rolled in fully. 2 reefs in main.
Winds are straight on the beam. ‘Slightly’ calmer seas.
2100
shook out second reef. Slow going with only heads’l
0220
1-2 knots of speed. Plenty of wind. DANG
Put out reefed Genoa to continue on with lighter winds.
0300
Engine on. Genoa furled in
0445
Anchor down. 14 feet of water. 100’ chain.
Engine off. Punta Chivato
We ended up doing the 80 mile passage in 16 hours which is about 5 miles per hour. We met some new friends Sea Dreams of Clyde who left the same San Carlos anchor at 5pm the same day we left at 1pm and we arrived at the same time! (We got line honours as we crossed into the bay first though ;) We have very similar boats in size so the passage really should have taken 12 hours. We were on course for a 12 hour passage. Looking back we could have set the Genoa where we wanted her, lashed down the furling line to a toerail and kept crushing along at 6-7 knots all night (which, looking back I should have done)
It was a learning experience and I feel happy and proud of what we did. We slowed down a bit to learn the system and get there safe.
“Smart sailors are never too proud to head back”
-Hal Roth
Nov 22
When we arrived in this anchorage “last night” at 5am and dropped anchor we slid into bed and crashed like a rock. Up at 9am with the sun blasting down and no winds aboard the Struggler. It felt like the worst hangover. Everything felt tipsy and we hadn’t touched alcohol for days. Body was completely drained of everything. Hands aching from furling lines, pulling sheets, cuts, and salt. Billy asks how is this even possible to sustain out at sea…..? “It gets easier 24-36 hours in ;)”
The day was spent cleaning up this ship. I got the pangita (tiny dingy) back onto the water and rowed to shore while bull pulled out the slide guitar and spent the afternoon picking away at some old time “country tunes”.
A few hours spent walking the beach exploring old ruins of the Hotel Pasada de Los Flores. Unbelievable! Destroyed in a hurricane (2015/2016?) but it looks like everyone left just a few months back. With all the stone and glasswork it was one of the coolest ruins I’ve ever explored.
Walked all the way to a beach that was made completely of shells. Definitely an experience I have never witnessed before. Layers and layers, multiple feet deep of shells. No sand.
Back on deck for a sardine on rice dinner. Billy lands another new species. A rooster fish! It was on his must catch list this trip. Very cool to see in person.
We are invited over to Sea Dreams of Clyde. What a wild British built boat (with a hard as Fuck dodger). A tour with beers and a sip of Whiskey to ease the pain. They proudly show us the details and custom work they have done over the past 5 years of living aboard. A Canadian fella from Nanaimo (Gabriola Island) and a sweetheart gal from Bellingham Washington USA.
We row our way back to the Struggler but she must have heard us talking on the way back because she says we “made her jealous when we arrived back talking about Clydes fine details…”
Im proud of this little Islander 36’. Love to see other tricks, ideas, and inventions cruisers have created after years of sailing. Clyde and crew will sail the Baja until March then fly to Tibet to guide a few trips to Mt. Everest base camp. They will then fly back to Mexico in May and sail to Hilo Hawaii, onto Alaska, and back to hometown Nanaimo BC Canada. The passage from Hilo to Alaska could be 18-20 days at sea. Very cool route to take on. They plan on sailing the inside passage in mid October of next year which will show some of the wildest coastlines in the world. Filled with spawning salmon and hungry ol Grizzly bears.
Nov 23
We should sail on…
Set sails south towards the majestic little green oasis town of Mulegé. “The mouth to Conception Bay”
My good friend Naomi tells stories of spear fishing here and sailing up the river to the cute little town. Pretty cool she did this on her own many years ago. Brave.
For some reason the dream of any sailor is to pull up the anchor and sail off without touching the engine. The conditions here are just right so we hoist the anchor and unfurl the sails. There is ZERO wind. Just outside of the bay we can see a few small ripples so we grab our dingy paddles and starter rowing this giant 13 ton canoe out to sea. What a funny site that would have been to see. We spend 15-20 minutes rowing and giggling at the situation. What a great feeling when the sails begin to fill and the boat start sliding across the calm waters. 1, 2, 3 knots and we are well on our way! Just under 10 miles to Mulegé. The day is spent fishing, reading, and working on the boat. Bill catches a few sand bass while under sail and we make ceviche for lunch. Up the mast for an inspection and a photograph of the open ocean. Quick swim while sailing at 2 knots. We have a safety rope out the back we like to call the ‘swim rope’.
We pull into the anchorage wing on wing sailing and drop the anchor in 14’ feet of water. Put our 100’ feet of chain out because why not? Arrive at 3:20pm making it a 6 hour trip to get here! Not a speed show but one of the best sails yet by far.
Anchor watch for 30 minutes and we row into shore on yet another wild Goose chase. We read on the charts there is a brewery in town so we start walking the dirt road up the river to the town. One of the most amazing beautiful little green lush town. The streets, sidewalks, and houses are all small and tiny. Houses are painted bright colours and the locals all greet us with a wave and a smile. Never been anywhere like this in my life. We never planned on coming here and never knew this town existed 2 days ago. This is the entire point of an adventure without a schedule. Let the people you meet guide you to the b west spots. We soon learn from talking to a few people the brewery is on the other side of the river and out of town! 9km walk they say. So we get walking and throw out the thumb. Not easy getting picked up out here.
We make it out of town and start climbing up what feels like a mountain road in the country. Each car passes and no one stops. Then a car stops in the middle of the road for us! She opens up the door and its Susey from Germany haha
She offers a big smile and says hop in. She is traveling the Baja alone by rental car and offers to drop us off up ahead. We finally find the cute little brewery and the 3 of us grab a crisp cold cervesa. Pool table on the roof and a great way to spend sunset.
Back at the Struggler the water is illuminated so bright with wild phosphorescence.
Nov 24
Up in the morning for spreader jumps into the water and a halyard swing. Hike up to a little lighthouse. We meet a fisherman who gives us 3 Pinto Bass! Back to the boat we BBQ them and enjoy some Struggler Salsa. We have heard from the locals that there’s live music at The Racing Bar just up the dirt road. We can hear the music across the bay at night. We arrive in at 7pm to a completely packed outdoor bar. It feels like a retiree party with 75 people all in the 55-75 year range. Dancing up front and we are welcomed with many smiles and offers for drinks. Feels like a regatta party back at the sailing club. We are the youngest people by many many years. Lotsa of ol timers start telling fishing tales and let us in on a few secret spots.
The young guy playing is ‘The Bo Show’ from Montana. He’s touring the Baja in his old camper van, what a great singer/songwriter. Lots of country and western classic songs as well as original tunes about life on the road. Just what we need. He is also joined by a local guy named (?) on the mouth harp. Legendary.
The tequila here is served in large shot glasses that hold a comfortable 3 heavy shots and is sipped not shot. Yuck.
We watch as the old timers get drunk and drunker, drink after drinks and leave one at a time into the evening. The fireplace in the middle of the bar is kept fed with mesquite wood all night. As the bar empties and the drinks keep flowing we see fewer and fewer faces. Vision blurs.
The lone bartender starts closing up the bar and comes over to us at the fire, grabs a few logs of wood and says have a good night as he feeds the wood to the fire. Gives us a smirk. He locks up and walks out… That is the new definition of closing the place down.
Seen a flash of 3am at some point.
Susey says goodbye and crashes in her car for an early departure to La Paz tomorrow am. I think she fancies Billy pretty good but the words of her boyfriend at home keep her on the straight and narrow.
Row home under moonlight.
This town is “Delightfully Decrepit”
Nov 25
Not an early morning out the roost today.. Nasty tequila.
11:00am We hoist the sails and sail into Conception. No engine needed on this rig.
Once we start making the way south into the bay we hoist the colours high! First pride spinnaker run this season. Wing on Wing with the kite up and cruising downhill at 6.5 knots! Its been fun getting to know this ship. It handles these seas on her own. The waters turns more turquoise as we make the wide starboard turn into a well know cruisers destination called Playa Santispac. Only 1 other sailboat in this bay. Lots of campers on the beach as this beach has the main Highway #1 from the USA to Cabo running right by it. Looking forward to some beach fires and some guitar under the stars.
Evening is spent on the beach chatting with traveling couples and touring their rigs. So many different ways to camp out and see the wild.
One older couple from BC trade a joint for some of their wifi HA! Here you now see the logbook updated after days of no service.
Nov 26
Walking, exploring, photography, spearfishing, chores, dinner.
FaceTime with Mom to hear about the -30 degree weather and snow back at home.
“everything moves slow when its 30 below”
Nov 27
Sail day.
Destination Playa Burro or Playa Coyote.
“With sailing, the biggest obstacles may be the cries of those who say it can’t be done. Often, it can be done.”
-Hal Roth
“Waterfront gossip sometimes has little value; the loudest talkers in the boatyard may have never left the harbour”}
-Hal Roth
Bill lands 3 new species before I’m up out of the bunk today. A barracuda, small stingray, and another silvery fish?
We have a stiff coffee on deck and a brunch with fish and vermicelli noodles.
On the passage over from the mainland I noticed our halyard winch on the mast was spinning but not locking. On our master to do list in Guaymas boatyard was servicing all winches which obviously hasn’t been done yet once we hit the water. This is why we spent so much time on the hard because it gets harder to hit the bottom of the honey-to-do list once in bays like these.
I carefully peel the retainer ring off the winch and place it down in a little cup of “parts” and then before I could even noticed the cover of the winch goes ting, ting, ting, with a graceful last bounce right over the toerail and into the sea below!
“If she’s round she’ll roll”
Well shoot. I cannot believe that just happened after being so careful with things on board for what feels like forever! I make a note of our GPS location and grab 2 separate visual locations off the land and our boat. Bill and I grab our goggles and start diving down 15’ feet each time…
Its not the Bahamas out here so once you get down to 15’ you really dont have much time to look around and It really isnt clear in the first place. We grab a scuba diving weight belt and keep looking around for an hour. We decide after exhaustion we lost it. The very crucial plate is now home to the sea.
The most important lesson learned here would be as soon as anything goes overboard (if it ever happens again ;) throw your stern or dingy anchor in directly after an item goes in, lash a floating fender on there, and this way with a line attached to the anchor you would know exactly where it landed. (Or close enough to recover later on)
Shoot. Dang I feel like an idiot on that one.
Once underway I start reviewing our used parts list on the boat and rip out all the cushions under the lazarette. There I find a 3” cover for a used winch below. Perfect fit. Cheap price to pay for that lesson. We are back sailing and pull up beside Playa Burro. One other sailboat moored in the bay. More permanent homes here compared to campers. We explore the beach after dark and find the only bar in the area. Few brews and back to bed. Perfectly calm evening.
Glad its flat because we are anchored in 14’ of water with a steep shoal leading right up to the beach directly behind us. Ill probaby pull out and paddle a bit deeper tomorrow morning.
We hear the sounds of a live band up at the bar across the street. We row in for a packed house and live music ending well into the night. Somehow Billy ends up on stage playing and singing his song to the crowd. They are up and dancing No Problem!
Nov 28-29
Lost in Conception.
“It’s better to have tough feet, than tough shoes”
-drunk barefoot sailor guy at Mulegé Brewery. Boat name “Sea Bear”
Nov 30
We cast off with no engine again for a quick little day sail up to the entrance to the mouth of the bay called Bahia Santo Domingo. Everything goes great until something doesn’t. Winch handle at the mast winch flies overboard while healed over sailing into the wind. This winch is cursed. (or slippery)
Another unfortunate sacrifice to the sea. We have 1 of 2 handles left onboard. We’ll tie this last one up in the cockpit..
tack, Tack, TACK!
As we were rowing to shore for a walk and evening fire, we Swamped the dingy with the waves crashing at shore. Not terribly bad but lots of stuff got wet including my cellphone. Now its having trouble turning on and won’t charge up.. Goodbye
A place here with no footprints, no power lines, no roads, and no garbage. I walk in a completely untouched area with crazy rock formations of sand, red rocks, and green mossy coves. Kingfisher perches up on a cliff above the waterline. We come across some sort of old camp on the beach. Shells of every colour and shape are endless. We find a large sea turtle rotting on the beach.
First beachfire. No beers.
A slow row back to the boat for a rolling rolly night. This bay is not covered from much of the swell. All good.
“You gotta let a bird fly when she’s feeling’ hemmed in”
