San Diego Arrival
Here we are, arriving into San Diego harbor!
Waiting
Having lunch in the marina. Custom clearance should be done around 2pm. We will see.... until we have the documents back, nothing is sure. Haha
waiting for clerance
Got up at 6am for a nice coffee. Rod went to the marina's office to give all the documents for the custom clearance: passports, info about the sailboat.... etc. It should take a couple of hours of administration to have the ok to go. We clean the deck with soap and brush then go to the coffee shop t...
7h19pm
Arriving in Ensenada just before sundown. Nice breathe taking is directly to the Marina. Amazing pod of dolphins playing at the bow of our sailboat. Good vibe
4h30pm
We don't know how long this will take but we hope to depart Ensenada Friday and arrive SD 12 hours from Ensenada
4h28pm
We will be in Ensenada tonight. Marina Coral. Slip D-44. We will go to the marina office in the morning to clear customs and Zarp
1h54pm
Winds picked up. We are flying at 6.5 mph. Heading toward Ensenada where we have a slip reserved. Shower tonight and a still boat that won't move for sleeping
11h35am
Wow. Clouds leaving. Sun and blue sky took their place. Amazing beautiful glassy Mercury blue waters. Spectacular. Are we on Lake Tahoe?? Loving every second
7h30am
I'm so impressed by Capitaine Rod. He is so disciplined, meticulous, patient, calm. "If it had to be done, it has to be well done". We are in good hands w him
7h49am
Ensenada, where clear customs is 70NM away. At 5mph that's ETA 11pm. Options: anchor outside and wait for morning, or go in at night? Captain Rod will chose.
7h27am
Last hour of my watch last night was hard. Made it through for the team. Waking up to super mellow seas. Sun still hiding begins a wall of cloud/fog. Love4all
10h29pm
Nights are cold these days. Wearing all the layers I can put. Also sitting out of the cold air, better to stay protected as 3 hours of watch would be long.
10h27pm
Staying vigilant tonight as we get closer to land and nearby small island. We can see the lights of houses on shore. Not many stars to see as it's overcast
2h08pm
Quite a monotonous day today. Cloudy with a chance of dolphins. Cruising at 5mph. Napping and relaxing when not on watch. Lunch: Bean & salsa in mini burritos
10h11am
Just saw an Albatross who came curiously by our sailboat. AMAZING and gorgeous bird! Love them. Such wingspans. Tilden an I chatting about "fear" in life.
9h37am
Seas are calmer. Still 15mph wind but swell with low frequency. Still no fish caught. Our port light (red) went off. Need to fix it. Time change. Good spirits
3h50am
Winds down to 15mph. Big swell remain. Speed around 3mph. If we increase speed w/ the engine the boat bashed a lot. We'll just take our time to cross the bay
1h13am
Just took over Tilden at the watch, 2am. I feel well awake this time for some reason. Slow speed 3mph. Into headwinds. Bumpy ride. They call it the Baja-bash.
6h19pm
Rod's 8pm->11pm. Tilden is 11pm to 2am. I am 2am till 5am. Then Rod 5->8am, then Tilden 8->12.... hope the night goes well in these conditions. Interesting
6h16pm
Tilden made a great soup+bean diner. It's moving like crazy inside the boat so we are hanging to all we can. Probably got a few bruises here and there.
6h15pm
Blowing 20 true wind speed, it is rocking! Captain Rod set the angle of the auto pilot and the size of the sails and we are all set. This should be good!
6h13pm
We took the back side of isla de Cedros which was smooth. Saw many whales, seals, dolphins! Came out of the protective side of the island to encounter wind.
6h34am
Off we go. Gonna be a slightly rough 2 days. Very bouncy but nothing Captain Rod or Lucky Duck can't handle. 15 to 20 knots. Let's eat a good breakfast and go
8h27pm
We are anchored in Turtle Bay for the night. It was good to take the afternoon to rest a bit, text and call loved ones, visit the town and some groceries.
8h55am
We will have to inflate the dingy and add the outboard engine, in order to take the empty containers and fill the up with diesel. Will have to go several time
8h53am
We are at 559NM out of 1,000. Completed 5 days with 120 hours. Big pod of dolphins followed us last night, playing right and left of our sailboat. Amazing.
8h51am
After a few rough patches super windy, the ocean is better this morning. Long swell. Rolling.Completely different environment. Arriving in Turtle Bay for fuel
10h31pm
Started my 11pm to 2am shift. Getting used to Navigating at night and not using the eyes to read the water. Relying on the plotter and it's numerous numbers.
6h39
We are at halfway point in terms of mileage. 500 NM. Let see what the ocean has prepared for us for the second half. Love you all!!
day 5
7:30pm. Wind starting to die. Swells are not as steep but gradually getting larger. We sailed 30 miles, tacked out 12 miles. Heading N again twrds turtle bay
6h34
Fortunately the winds direction were favorable to sailing. Steep short interval swells were better negotiable at a certain angel so Capt Rod decides to tack
Getting ready
Rod, Tilden and I two hours this morning reviewing the whole boat and its set up with the owner. Everything looks great. Then we went to the supermarket to get our ten days of food and water. And coffee. Haha. Brought all on board under tremendous heat. Sweating so much. Need to have this boat under...
Arrived in La Paz, Mexico
First day of the new adventure!! Captain Rod picked me up at home at 6h15am and we took off to SFO. Tilden, the other crew member is in the car as well. I can see instantly that we will get along just fine!!! I can feel those things! So weird to be in SFO airport. Nobody there, compared to what "it...