|
|
The
Baja Ha Ha Cruise to Cabo San Lucas
The Baja Ha Ha cruise is in its
14th year and was founded by Richard Spindler, Executive Editor of Latitude
38. In 1993 he noticed that a yacht club was doing a cruise to Cabo and
charging the participants more than $300. He figured he could do the same
thing and charge only $49 - which he did the first year. Obviously it has
grown and now costs more than $300, but there are 170+ boats and many things
to coordinate. No matter the cost, the whole event is based on having a
safe, yet fun passage.
Things got started for this year
in August with a BBQ and slide show preview held in Catalina. We were just
finishing our 4,200 mile road trip to the Northwest and headed to the boat.
We were joined by our dock neighbors, Mike and Nancie, for the
over-night sail to 2 Harbors on Catalina Island. The slide show was
informative and we were enthused about the other participants who attended.
We learned that the "mother ship" captained by Spindler - the Grand PooBah -
is a 65 foot catamaran. He will be making weather and special announcements
daily along the way over single sideband radio. We were cautioned to have a
kill switch on the dinghy motor since we will be doing surf landings at
Turtle Bay and Santa Maria. The entire trip will be along a coast that has
very few amenities or supplies, so we are preparing accordingly.
Agenda: Approximate - based on weather and sailing conditions
October 28th at 11:00 - Skippers
Meeting
October 28th at 1:00 p.m. - BBQ and Pre-Baja Departure
costume party. Our costumes will feature
PURA VIDA in t-shirt form.
October 29th at 11:00 a.m.- Official Start of Cruise
November 1& 2nd - Turtle Bay
November 5 & 6th - Bahia Santa Maria
November 8 & 9th - Cabo San Lucas Celebrations
Diary of Trip
San Diego was extremely smokey when we flew in on Thursday, Oct. 25th. We
could see more than a dozen small fires burning east of the city and saw the
incredible amount of smoke from the big fires on the south and north end of
San Diego. The boat was covered with soot and ash.
We spent all day Friday and part of Saturday buying the more than $1,000
worth of groceries that should cover our eating needs and wants until after
leaving Cabo San Lucas.
Tomorrow we will attend the Skippers Meeting to get details
of the cruise and will attend the Costume Party and BBQ for all Baja Ha Ha
participant. Watch for pictures and updates!
Pre-departure Party
Sunday morning and we finally have full electrical power,
plenty of fuel, and propane! Now it's time to relax and have some fun! The
Skippers meeting was held at West Marine in Shelter Island and the Grand
Poobah was in rare form! He had great information and lots of encouragement
to all of us who have not done the Ha Ha before. He, of course, will be on a
63 foot catamaran...pure comfort.
After the Skippers meeting the Pre Departure Party and BBQ started with the
traditional Halloween costume contest. We went as Survivor - Baja Ha Ha. We
were widely recognized but did not receive the prize (a new VHF Radio).
The
Survivors!
Bikini Man? He got lots of attention.
Baja staff kept it lively.
Last night in San Diego
The Start!
We woke to an overcast morning ready
to go - full of anticipation and excitement. After securing all items in the
boat we headed out to the starting line that was an imaginary line
just outside of Point Loma. All 170 boats were accounted for and we heard
the gun at 11:00 a.m. Our position was perfect to be one of the first boats
heading south after winds came up to 15 knots. It was a beautiful sail to
the Coronado Islands. Our route was inside the Coronado Islands, but we lost
wind and we slowed down a lot. We changed course to go west away from land.
After sunset the winds increased substantially. We experienced an accidental
jibe after the preventer failed caused the traveler to break, so we rigged lines to
hold the main sheet along the traveler. As the winds increased and the wave
activity became larger (winds 20-25knots and waves 6-8 feet) the auto pilot
was overwhelmed and stopped working. This was not good news because each
person on watch had to hand steer with following seas which pitched the
boat side-to-side and created a surfing action. Needless to say the next 170
miles were tiring, but all crew did great. It was a huge learning experience and one that we will use in
the future. One of the best parts
of the trip was catching our first yellow fin tuna and having it for dinner
that night. Thanks to Alison's handy fishing gear we hope to catch many more
fish!
Turtle Bay
What a sight for sore eyes! We were
all tired after doing 3 hour shifts at the wheel and sailing for 3+ days
straight. A beautiful bay awaited us and wonderful Mexican hospitality. The
town is small, but larger than we expected. They greeted us with pangas that
picked up our garbage and water taxis to take us to the very rickety pier.
On the morning "NET" we reported our mechanical issues with the autohelm, and a
generous soul, Dave, offered to come to our boat to take a look at it. He
and his sailing crewmember, Matt, showed up and spent several hours taking
the whole system apart and locating the problem(s). It now will work, but is
weak, so we will baby it along. We thanked Dave and Matt by giving them some
fresh tuna.
We decided to use our dinghy after cleaning ourselves and the boat to go to
town for a great lunch at The Vera Cruz restaurant. There are small grocery
stores, a clinic, a nice school, and an internet cafe'.
We slept well the night of November 1st - our first night at anchor and went to the big BBQ and Potluck on the beach
the next day. Local townspeople came out to sell beer, food, and
brought the children to play. The potluck food was excellent, the beer
flowed and we all had a chance to hike, fly kites, play volleyball. Lynn and
Paul got right into the volleyball while Alison and Dennis flew kites and
played with the children by making balloon objects.
After returning to the boat, Dennis and Lynn took the dinghy to town to
deliver the reading books, games and toys for the school, that we left with the Priest at the church. We stayed to see
the Day of the Dead service at the church.
Turtle Bay is a lovely Mexican fishing village in the middle of the Baja
peninsula. It is not accessible except by boat or roads along the
Baja peninsular which is mostly desert landscape. This particular sailing
event brings much needed money to the town.
Bahia Santa Maria
Once again the gathering of all the
boats on this trip is unbelievable that includes 27 foot sloops up
to 50+ Ketch models and plenty of catamarans. With
winds coming from our stern we need to fly the big blue, red and white genicker
(spinnaker). So, when you see 160+ spinnakers go up and the
boats start out to sea, it is breathtaking.
The winds were kinder to us on this leg of the trip and we only had to reef
the jib once. It was another 3 day-2 night trip getting into Bahia Santa
Maria in late afternoon. Our anchorage was in a huge bay with large peaks
protecting it from the Pacific. The anchorage itself was windy, but the
water was a wonderful 70+ degrees. We all jumped in and swam as soon as we
cleaned the boat.
Bahia Santa Maria is a small fishing village and not a town. Only a few
fishing shacks are seen except for the casitas recently built by an American
who offers to take people fishing. When the Baja Ha Ha arrives, the entire village and many people from surrounding areas greet the
crews with a fabulous fish and rice dinner and a BAND! Yep, they had this
terrific group of guys come from La Paz and play good ol' rock and roll.
Many of us were up dancing and having a great time. We gave out some gifts
to the children and thanked the people for their hospitality.
Dennis, Lynn and Paul hiked the peak behind the casitas which afforded a
wonderful view of the bay and the ocean.
Cabo San Lucas
The captain decided to leave Santa Maria early to allow us
to arrive in Cabo in the daylight. We had 180 miles and figured it would
take 30 hours, so we pulled up the anchor at 4:30 a.m. and took off. The
winds were perfect for a wing-on-wing downwind sail going at 6 knots. The
seas were calm.. At about 12:00
we were greeted by 8-10 dolfphins who provided the best aquatic show we
have ever seen. They would speed under our bow and cross back again and then
when a swell would lift our bow they would jump and spin about 4-5 feet in
the air. Some became jumping teams and did acrobatics together. It
was spectacular and it went on for 1 1/2
hours! They just didn't want to stop playing. In the book "Mind in the
Waters" is a quote that states, "There are two pillars
of intelligence in the mammalian world - humans and the
dolphin/whale species. But the dolphins/whales are smarter than humans because they never lost their ability to play."
We understand that quote in a new way.
The boat performed beautifully right up until the last 10 miles when an
alternator belt pully bolt came lose and bent. We didn't have the
ability to recharge the batteries and had to preserve power until it could
be fixed. Dennis managed to adjust the pully so that the engine would run
and we were able to motor to our anchorage in the bay.
We arrived in Cabo San Lucas at about 2:20 and found that the anchorage
normally available was significantly reduced due to a Hollywood film being
done in the area. Apparently it will be a film about the Dead Sea, but
looking at all the huge hotels and resorts this is definitely not a dead
spot! We squeezed into a small spot and anchored but kept our names on the list for a
slip in the marina.
After 5:00 p.m. we got the news that we could get a slip;
we quickly pulled up the anchor and drove the boat into the marina. This
marina is like "Little America" - so many U.S fast food and chain stores it
is amazing. We were told to go to dock C15, but when we got there it was
filled. The local security people pointed us towards another slip and we
started going into the slot, but we got stuck...we were too fat for this
slip! The local guys thought this funny. They called the harbor master who
assigned us to a spot near the dinghy dock. We were directly in front of
this amazingly beautiful and very LOUD disco. But, we have power and will
get the parts to fix the
various pieces of equipment that has broken.
The Awards Ceremony
The Grand PooBah came dressed appropriately in his tuxedo coat over
his sailing shorts and Baja Ha Ha T-shirt to hand out the many awards. There
were no losers in the group. Pura Vida placed 3rd in the Enchilada Division
along with about 14 other boats who did not place 1st or 2nd! Beer flowed and great
stories were shared by all. It was a fitting end to a wonderful adventure.
We cannot say enough about how organized and efficiently run the entire
event has been. Richard Spindler obviously loves to do the Baja and makes it
so enjoyable for everyone. Thanks to all the staff who accompanied him on
Profligate (the 63 foot catamaran)!
Cruising North to San Carlos
We left Cabo the morning of the
11th after filling our fuel tanks and jerry jugs. The morning was
beautifully clear with warm water and air. We tuned into Don Anderson on
his Ham radio show to get the weather along the West Coast
down to Panama. We learned winds would be light and
that no storms are predicted for the next week. We sailed for
a few hours, but as we rounded the tip of Baja the wind was on our bow
and we motored on to Los Frailes. This is a small anchorage so
named because the peaks look like Friars. Other friends were already at
the anchorage so we jumped in the water to swim and gathered for
appetizers and beverages.
The next morning we bunched into the dinghy heading to Cabo Pulma, the only coral reef
in the Sea of Cortez, where we rented scuba tanks and dove or snorkeled.
It was fantastic! Lovely coral heads and beautiful fish. The water was clear with visibility more than 25 feet.
An early morning start towards Bahia de los Muertos was again
dead calm so we had to motor sail the 45 miles to the anchorage.
To our great surprise, we found the Giggling Marlin restaurant where we ate wonderful fish dinners. The
beach was lovely and the sunset and sunrise the best to date and joined
others for a bonfire.
Off to La Paz to see what another "big city" looks like.
La Paz is more traditional and not covered by McDonalds or Pizza Huts and has
small shops, taco stands, mercados and very good seafood restaurants. We
called the La Paz Marina and got a slip for the night. This
offered us the opportunity to get rid of trash and go to the market to re-supply.
Dennis and Lynn walked the 10 blocks to the store to buy food and beer
and took a taxi back to the boat. Dinner was wonderful at La Costa, just
down the street from the marina. We saw a few of our colleagues from the
Baja Ha Ha and compared notes about the trip so far.
We Left La Paz at 9:30 a.m. after filling the fuel tanks again. The wind
has been so light we have not been able to sail. Again the winds were light and
we motored the 45 miles to Isla San Francisco where we anchored
for the night. Just as we were pulling into our spot to drop the anchor
we saw the most amazing site! Several manta rays literally flew out of the
water 3-4 times and came right towards the boat. I
think they just didn't like that we invaded their space! We
arrived in the late afternoon so we jumped into the water to snorkel and swim in the
crystal clear waters. Great fish and some coral was found along the
rocks at the entry of the bay. Another beautiful sunset and appetizers
made for a perfect day.
We left the anchorage on November 16th at 7:40 on a heading of 319
degrees North West with virtually no wind and flat seas. It was
gorgeous, but not at all good for sailing. The engine is doing a great
job and only burns a gallon an hour but we had hoped to do more
sailing. As we moved north in the Sea of Cortez it is apparent that we are
surrounded by much wildlife both on land and in the sea. We saw whales
swimming slowly going south and more dolphins dodged our bow. They
always seem to be looking for fun! The Baja coast consists of jagged
rock mountains and cliffs that descend abruptly to the waters edge.
There are low lying foliage and shrub trees making the mountains a
dark green/grey tone; a lovely contrast to the clear blue sky
that is unburdened by planes or sounds. Our destination is Bahia Agua
Verde. It took us longer than expected and we anchored at dusk. We
feel sad that we did not have a chance to see this lovely anchorage in
daylight because it is a sheltered bay with turquoise waters with
snorkeling areas on the east and west side of the boat. We ate another
great dinner prepared by Paul. At about 1:30 a.m. we are awakened by a
constant sound of burbling and water lapping against the boat. Dennis
was concerned that we lost our anchor hold and may be drifting. He
climbed to the deck and realized we are in the midst of a huge fish
"boil" - thousands of fish are bumping and swishing against each other
and the boat. When he shines a light into the water there is a sudden
flash and they are gone, but when the light is taken away they
return with a frenzy. Too bad they are too small
to catch!
Saturday comes early as we
pull anchor at 6:00 a.m. to get a good start at a longer leg to
Loreto and Isla Carmen. Loreto was one of the earliest
settlements on the Baja and holds much interesting history, but has no secure
overnight anchorage, so we decided to anchor long enough to walk into town and see the
historic church then sail to Isla Carmen. Lynn assumes her new role
as Dinghy Captain and takes Paul and Alison to shore. Indeed, the city
is very quaint and lovely. There are groomed trees that provide an
archway over the main roads. We stopped at a small shop/coffee store and
found a wonderful Swiss girl who offers to let us use her computer to
make flight arrangements for Paul and Alison. We are so impressed with
her and the shop we wind up buying many things from,
including music and hand painted clothing.
When we return to the boat we realize the wind has increased
significantly and have a fast sail the 9 miles to Isla Carmen on
a beam reach. This is another unbelievably beautiful anchorage so Dennis
and Paul jump into the water and head to the shore for snorkeling. They
found a moray eel, friendly angelfish, butterfly fish, Moorish idols, and
a puffer fish that followed them around as they explored. We can
see to the bottom in 18 feet of water with surrounding landscape
of cactus and scrub brush. Hawks and turkey buzzards circle overhead.
There is only one other boat in the bay which allows us to play the guitar
music purchased at the Swiss store more loudly. We found that it is so
beautiful that we will stay here longer and then do a 24 hour sail
directly to San Carlos, rather than go to another anchorage up the
coast. Our next morning finds us relaxing and moving slowly, but anxious
for more snorkeling! All of us spend at least 2 hours in the water
exploring all of the rocks, coral and fish hiding places. It is hard to
think that we must leave. We know we will be back.
We leave the anchorage at 3:00 p.m. with 20 knot winds and swells; it is feast or famine! The wind is on our bow so we
motor into the wind and waves. It makes the boat
pitch and roll for more than 19 hours as we take our turn at the helm.
Finally at 5:00 a.m. the winds calm and the swells die down. Our final
leg into San Carlos is relaxing. The peaks of Tetras del Cabres
loomed before us as we prepare to take our place in slip A-22 at Marina
San Carlos - our home for the foreseeable future. It is sad to have
the trip done, but great to reach our destination.
|
|
|
Open Ocean Sailing
IS
Different!
After all the preparation and adding the backup systems to
the boat our assumption was that we were ready for anything. We had been
told by a number of cruising sailors that things do break and that it is
just how it is. I didn't believe we would have problems....oh my. The
first night of the Baja Ha Ha cruise we noted that the wind was picking up
significantly. The seas were building and by about 9:00 p.m. we had 24 knot
winds gusting even higher and we had following seas of 6-8 feet. The boat
would lean with the gusting winds and then "yaw" with the following seas
making it very difficult to stand or do anything other than just sit. We
took our shifts on watch. My shift was 9:00 p.m. to 12:00 which was the time
that the winds were really building. I finally got done with my shift but
then could not sleep due to the noise of the wind and the sails clanging
against the shrouds and the boat creaking as it surfed down a wave and then
abruptly turn upwind to correct its direction. At about 6:00 a.m. I heard a
huge crash and much movement on deck. I stuck my head out and found the
crew jumping around trying to get control of the boat. Alison was yelling
different directions. The Preventer (a block and tackle arrangement that
keeps the boom on one side of the boat during a downwind sail) had broken
and the boom had crashed to the other side breaking the traveler as it went.
Dennis and Paul were rigging lines trying to hold the traveler in place and
trying to prevent another hard jibe.
The level of stress on the boat from this type of sea overcame the auto helm
and it just could not keep up with the following seas. At that point we had
to hand steer - which meant turning the wheel one way when we surfed down a
wave and the other way when the boat got to the bottom of the trough. For
three days we kept the boat on course but we were tired.
I cornered Alison and was in tears thinking we just could not do this...I
was in total mental collapse with fear. But, having been through much worse,
she assured me that we were still afloat and that we could jerry rig
anything we needed to get ourselves to Turtle Bay...which we did. And, when
in Turtle Bay we were fortunate to find John, another Baja cruiser on
Serendipity, who came and fixed the auto helm. With experience we became
comfortable and flexible and I know I will be calm with another incident
that will occur.
Lessons Learned!
On our first day of sailing in the San
Juan Islands we learned that tide changes matter! Big time! We
sailed the 42' Benetau to a small island north of Orcas Island. Jenni,
my sister,
and Roger sailed with us. We had hoped to get a mooring, but all
were full, so we decided to anchor near 3 other boats. During the
process of anchoring, we managed to foul the prop with the dinghy line,
so we had no engine. We put out a stern anchor in addition to the bow
anchor for good measure and decided to fix the prop problem the next
morning.
Lynn didn't sleep a wink as she kept bobbing up to see whether we were
dragging, and sure enough, at about 5:00 a.m. the boat was quickly
drifting toward shore and toward the boat moored close to us.
Fortunately, that boat saw the mess we were in and left (or he was
interested in early fishing). Quickly we took some line in the dinghy
and motored to the buoy and attached our boat to that mooring ball. As
we looked around we could see we were in a major channel where the
current was raging like a river.
For the next many hours Dennis and Roger tried to saw the rope from the prop. The water was a nippy 58 degrees and the current was
going under the boat so strongly that they had to pull themselves along
the rope to get to the prop - without a mask, snorkel or air! After
about 6 tries at trying to unravel the rope, Dennis was turning blue.
Hot tea, warm bodies and blankets followed. Roger then took a turn and
was smart enough to take a kitchen knife. He dove about 6 times before near
hypothermia set in. They took turns until finally Roger cut the rope
and we could start the engine. For the rest of the trip we were on a
mooring buoy!
Tide changes do count! And watching out for the dinghy rope helps also!
|
Laughs all Around! We laughed when:
 |
Dennis, taking the helm, turning the boat and throwing Kim, Edgar,
Gary, and Patsy to the floor as Lynn is saying, "Den, I don't
think our guests are uncomfortable!" |
|
|
Carol admitting she had never heard
of "She's a Brickhouse", the song!
|
|
|
Cameron steering with his feet! Never
accuse him of being nervous on a sailboat!
|
|
|
Parrot Jokes from our Mascot,
Motley Crew!
Arrrgh! So this guy goes into a pet store and sees a beautiful
parrot but it has a blue string hanging from one foot and a red one
from the other. He thinks this is a bit strange so he asks the
shopkeeper what the strings are for. "Well, this is a highly trained
parrot" the shopkeeper replies. "If you pull the red string he talks
in Spanish, if you pull the blue string he talks in English." "Wow"
exclaims the man shopping - that's really neat. "What happens if you
pull them both at the same time?"
"I fall off my perch you idiot!" screams the parrot!
Fowl Language:
A young man named John received a parrot as a gift. The parrot had a
bad attitude and an even worse vocabulary. Every word out of the
bird's mouth was rude, obnoxious and laced with profanity. John
tried and tried to change the bird's attitude by constantly saying
polite words, playing soft music, and anything he could think of to
set a good example. Nothing worked.
Finally, John got fed up and he yelled at the parrot. The bird
yelled back. John shook the parrot, and the bird got even angrier
and ruder. Finally, in a moment of desperation, John put the parrot
in the freezer. For a few minutes, John heard the bird squawk and
kick and scream...then suddenly there was quiet. Not a peep for over
a minute.
Fearing he had hurt the parrot, John quickly opened the door to the
freezer. The parrot calmly stepped out onto John's out-stretched arm
and said, "I believe I may have offended you with my rude language
and actions. I am truly sorry, and I will do everything to correct
my bad behavior."
John was astonished at the change of attitude. As he was about to
ask the parrot what had made such a dramatic change in behavior, the
bird continued, "May I ask what the chicken did?" |
|
|
|
|
