November 30, 2018
Last summer I noticed salt residue near the autopilot ram and below on the water muffler. It confused me as I couldn’t tell where it came from but I cleaned it up and put it on the watch list. A month into the fall season I realized the source, the air vent for the Vetus Anti-Siphon Valve for the exhaust/sea…
November 29, 2018
After a morning playing in the kayak and in the water, it was time to get to work but first Julia had an important task, her final exam. She had been doing a great job handling Strikhedonia so for her final exam it was up to her to get us from Ballandra to Puerto Escondido. I would be her first…
November 27, 2018
Our timing was pretty good but not perfect as we were just beat by Stargo (whom we had met in San Juanico) into the anchorage. We brought the total to four boats, which meant we still had a good spot to anchor. Through the early afternoon three more boats pulled in and I was taught that I should have pulled…
November 27, 2018
**First an important note – There IS bighorn sheep hunting that takes place on the island so consider than before heading off on this hike and if you do proceed wear brightly colored clothes** Red route is my best guess, based on our hike and looking at satellite imagery. The Blue route spur is where we lost the trail and…
November 25, 2018
Looking at the forecast, the day after Thanksgiving was the only possible day to sail south so off sailing we went. From the anchorage the sea looked calm, not the 13-15 knots forecast. But once out of the protection of the bay we found it truly was blowing. We had a sporty sail south to Isla Coronado moving along at…
November 22, 2018
I love when a plan comes together. Often times when there is calm weather a west wind will form overnight and then dissipate a few hours after sunrise. We took advantage of this phenomenon and sailed north to San Juanico. Well at least half the way. Which in the Sea of Cortez, when on a schedule, is unusual. Feeling the…
November 20, 2018
After breakfast it was time to move to the north side of Carmen to a fan favorite, Vee cove. Also on the agenda was fishing. The lack of wind meant more motoring but once on the east side of the island there was enough wind to try sailing. “Try” is in operative word – as we soon gave up and…
November 19, 2018
Heading in north this time of year often makes sailing impossible but we did sneak in 15 minutes with the engines off. Overall just another motorsailing day. Two other boats shared the Salinas anchorage, Sunshine and Brandywine. Being lots of space, we choose a spot a few hundred meters away and relaxed with a cervaza. Initially we wanted to snorkel…
November 18, 2018
The winds toyed with us, what started as a day motoring turned into motorsailing then the winds reach just high enough for us to shut off the engine. Slipping through the water a 3.5 knots we didn’t have a care in the world. For five minutes. The winds promptly dropped and along with it our speed – 3 knots, 2.5…
November 17, 2018
After five nights and four days I was feeling like a charlatan, seeing as Julia came all the way from Germany to go sailing and thus far has been stuck on a mooring ball. The weather system gone, it was our chance to bug out of Puerto Escondido. Many of my friends had planned to head Isla Monserrate but Agua…
November 15, 2018
It was a busy day, finish cleaning the inside of the boat, laundry, picking up rental car, filling diesel jerry cans and dropping Mike off at the airport. Whew. And with Mike on his way I waited for my new crewmate, Julia, to clear customs. Next up, enjoying good beer and lunch at El Zopilote Brewing. Provisioning followed and then…
November 10, 2018
Ballandra was just a few hours south and provides good protection from all but winds from the west. Pulling into the anchorage we were the seventh boat and all the spots tucked into the north bay were snagged. We would have take a spot near the middle which, the next day, would subject us to wrap around swell. But on…