Going South
As we wrote to you in our last newsletter, we were invited to a weekend of fun under the sun by Lynn Sisco, President of Parrotheads Baja California in Puerto Salinas on the last weekend in July.
This marina is a brand new development about 60 miles south of San Diego. It is very close to the La Fonda Restaurant. This marina does not have a breakwater so the entrance is constantly being dredged. Boats with 4-5 feet draft don’t have a problem; anything deeper may need a guide to enter. Once inside there is enough depth for any type of boat. The marina is trying to establish itself as a center for Baja fishing tournaments to attract more customers.
Sunday morning, after recuperating from the festivities, we went to La Fonda for brunch. We both did a double take when we saw Don and Pat Coffelt sitting at the next table. It’s a small world. There are PMYC members roaming around in the world…
The next day we briefly went to San Diego to provision one last time. You know, those little things you forgot, like stock to print your boat cards (business cards), some new special hash browns we were introduced to at Silver Gate YC, candies for the little kids underway, etc... Yes, the waterline is history again, but what’s new?
Tuesday, August 02, 2005 it’s time for one last load of laundry, a visit to the port captain to get the crew list valid for all of Mexico, to load up on ice for the sundowners, to stow everything away and a great dinner at Mexico’s oldest French restaurant “El Rey Sol”. The next morning we left for Punta Colonett, some 69 miles south of Ensenada. The skies were grey and foggy at 7:00 AM.
The real adventure begins – un-chartered waters for us from now on.
When leaving Cruise Port Marina, the route takes you along the old half sunken SS Catalina. What a sad sight. There is still talk about raising and restoring her to her old beauty. Seeing the reality makes you question the sanity of this whole project. As we were trying to leave Ensenada Harbor, one of the regular cruise ships was entering the harbor. As the saying goes, “Tonnage rules”. We made a u-turn and waited for this monster to finish entering the harbor. Conti, this is what you do when the other boat is way bigger than you. You don’t play chicken with it.
All the way to Punta Banda the ocean was like a mirror. It remained flat all the way with no wind. I guess Murphy exists also in Mexico. As soon as we approached the anchorage, the wind picked to 15 knot gusts.
Punta Colonett is easy to recognize; a big mesa looking like a Milky Way bar, caramel in the middle and dark chocolate on top. Once around the corner, the anchorage is about a mile along the cliff just past the gorge (a big “V” in the wall). We anchored in about 25 feet of water with a sandy bottom. The anchorage was surprisingly calm, although it had the looks of Paradise Cove. This was our first night totally away from civilization. A deserted cove, pitch black surroundings and a sky full of stars.
As the movie title says: “A day without a Mexican”. We may be in Mexico but we miss our favorite one, the one and only “You”, I mean the one and only “Gonzo”…
All the way down the coast we had regular encounters with red tide. The phenomenon is due to a population explosion of toxic (not to humans) naturally occurring microscopic plankton. The bloom occurs when the ocean has warm surface temperatures, high nutrient content, low salinity and calm seas. It makes for a great light show at night, when you can see the fish swimming by your boat. You can see the waves breaking on the beach and if you have salt water flush in your toilets, you don’t have to turn the light on at night in your head. The light show in the bowl will illuminate the whole room.
After a very quiet and peaceful night, we departed next morning to San Quintin. As we were leaving the anchorage a nice wind came up. We hoisted the spinnaker and cruised along at 7 knots. It didn’t last long. The wind died and the iron Genny came back on. It went like this all day, even so we tried a few times to sail.
Underway we decided to have a look at the anchorage in Isla San Martin called Hassler Cove. Most guides describe it as an anchorage not suitable during N, NE and NW winds. Even so we had a northwesterly, the anchorage was nice and flat. We opted to stay for a night or two. We had to anchor twice, since our first attempt resulted in scooping up a whole farm of sea grass from the bottom. On our second attempt the anchor finally bit securely. The boat settled nicely at anchor and it was cocktail hour with melted brie and mini toasts. A bee decides to come and visit us from the island. It kept circling the boat without entering it. Somehow it must have figured out that it was persona non grata on the boat, especially given the past experiences from Carrillo Beach. It just keeps circling.
The next morning we were watching the fishermen bringing in their overnight loot of crabs. At the very end they raised a net in the cove containing a lot of fish as well as a lobster. After they emptied their loot in their icebox, they came over to our boat and offered us the lobster in exchange for a couple of beers. A few oatmeal cookies on top of it resulted in an additional half a bucket of crab legs. Not a bad deal. Dinner was secured.
The dinghy went in the water for some explorations. We went around the bend looking for the little lagoon shown on all the maps. Unfortunately it was hidden behind a big kelp field. We beach landed by the fishing camp and went to explore by foot. A short walk through some scrub and we got to the bay. It is home to some seals and a whole
Legion of Gooney birds. When they saw us approaching, they all decided to take off at the same time. It felt like a scene from “The Birds” by Hitchcock. We tried to climb to the top of the island but there was no trail. Plus the Cactus needle balls stopped us from any progress. We just wandered about the little fishing village houses (or ruins). The beach was littered with a green channel buoy, lobster hooplas, shoes, cans, etc.
We went back to the boat to prepare our seafood festival with some fine wines. A peaceful night was followed by an invasion of flies from the island in the morning. We must have a special attraction for unwanted critters. After a quick breakfast, we lifted anchor and made a beautiful spinnaker run to Cape San Quintin / Bahia Santa Maria. Originally we decided to anchor right behind the cape, but there were so many shoals. We opted to make a run for Playa Santa Maria across the bay and anchor in front of some hotels. Another cruising boat was already there. They were on their way north without an engine. A while later a steel hulled French flagged ketch pulled into the anchorage dropping anchor right next to us, even so the anchorage is huge and empty.
After a long day working on minor boat projects, it was time to sit down for cocktail hour. We barely had our first sip when out of nowhere a Mexican Military Speedboat showed up and boarded the steel ketch next to us. This must have been a planed and targeted boarding. When we looked over to the beach, we saw a Mexican Army detail standing guard parallel to the ketch. It lasted almost two hours. We assumed we were next and got ready for their boarding party. Once they finished with the ketch, they sped off and never bothered us. Afterwards the captain of the ketch informed us that they went through the whole boat. They even drilled holes into his water and fuel tanks looking for drugs. Can you imagine the screams if this had happened aboard Maitairoa? While he had been boarded before, it was always with a dog, which he actually preferred.
Punta Baja was our next stop, 28 miles down the road. We left San Quintin under spinnaker, again with the perfect conditions. Unfortunately it lasted only for four hours, the chute came down and the iron Genny came back to life. Entering the anchorage after rounding the cape, we saw some campers up on the hill. It turns out this is a famous surfers location. We anchored close to the village for what turned out to be so far, the rolliest anchorage we have been in.
The next morning we lifted the anchor and headed for Bahia San Carlos. Along the way lays Isla San Geronimo and the dangerous Sacramento reef. We plotted a course to the island and then to Punta San Carlos, inside the reef as suggested by the cruising guides. What they failed to mention was the giant kelp forest along the coast. Some of the nicest kelp we have seen in a while. This kelp was so thick that you could walk over it. So much for the short route. We went outside of the island and the reef, being it the safe way to go. We spent a peaceful night in a sandy anchorage of 25 feet of water nicely tucked in by the village. Our AM departure was set for 7:00 to Bahia Playa Maria, some 60 miles down the coast.
Several hours running a chute is a sailors dream, but the wind gods like to mess around a bit. The oil industry needs our support once in a while, so on comes the venerable Perkins.
This was also our first encounter with large schools of dolphins. They stayed and swam with us for several hours, almost until we entered the anchorage. Finding a good anchorage was difficult because we had some many to choose from. But once we saw the fishing village, we aimed straight for it and anchored in 15 feet of water over a sandy bottom.
In the morning, we launched the skiff and went ashore to go the village. We hadn’t seen anybody in the village and were somewhat curious. It turns out it was a deserted fishing village with signs dating back to early 80’s. It was obvious that some sporadic visitors used this place to party, judging from the recent trash lying around. The village location was absolutely spectacular even so somewhat spooky. Several graves scattered around the village and a little shrine with fresh flowers and candles made the whole place even more eerie. This village obviously was once a working fishing town, judging by the large amount of left behind lobster traps and pangas on the beach. All still are in relatively good condition. Strangely there were also a large amount of partially stripped cars scattered around the village. It looked like a mechanic had been working there too.
And when we saw the following writing on one of the vans, it was time to leave. It said:
I feel sorry for the fisherman
Four drowned while in their pangas
Emeraldo and Juanito were burned
A manta ray killed the other one
And a heart attack the last one
Eight in one year
Beware of the devil.
We opted to return to the boat and get it ready to leave next morning for Bahia Santa Rosalilita., some 22 miles further south. The winds coming directly from aft made for a leisurely sail downwind. Since we were in no rush, we unfurled the jib only and went smoothly at 4-5 knots downwind.
Santa Rosalilita is a small town and will be the Pacific Coast’s harbor for the planned land bridge to the Sea of Cortez. The Mexican government is planning to haul pleasure boats from this point across the Baja Peninsula to increase boating tourism. This way pleasure boaters will not have to make the long trip around Cabo San Lucas and can still take their boast to the Sea of Cortez. The problem with the whole project is that the government put a halt on it. The recently built small marina needs to be constantly dredged, since it rapidly fills up with sand. Time will tell.
As we went ashore to explore the village, we were greeted by Luiz, a small boy from the village. He was totally amazed by the dinghy. Apparently he never saw one before with wheels on. Our main mission was to see if we could get some fresh veggies, which we were able to get including some potatoes and apples. One thing we noticed right away was that every house had solar panels. Even the street lights had some. This village has no electricity, yet satellite dishes were abundant on the roofs. Everywhere we went we were greeted with a friendly smile.
The next morning we left bright and early to across the bay of Vizcaino for Cedros Island. After a great sail across the flat ocean, we arrived at the north tip of the island where a small fishing village is located. It had a beautiful anchorage tied in with an orchestra of seals. We opted to continue further south along the island since a night concert of this magnitude was not on our schedule.
The east side of Cedros in many places reminded us of Catalina Island, just with much higher elevations. The clouds rolled over the high mountain tops and combined with the setting sun made for a nice panorama. We finally settled in front of Las Palmitas atop a small shelf in 20 feet of water for the night, just north of Cedros village.
After a nice peaceful night without any barking seals nearby, we lifted anchor for Turtle Bay. Again motoring for the first few hours waiting for the wind to build, we went by Cedros Village towards Keller Channel. As we went along Isla de Navidad (Christmas Island) Sue was wondering if Santa had her Xmas present ready for pick up. She tried to raise him on the VHF but no answer. Guess he must have been out playing with the elves on the beach. Big disappointment on Sue’s side, knowing how much she likes presents….
Along the mainland coast we went again. The mixture of ocean and desert side by side is fascinating. The colors of the dry desert land meeting with the blue and green waters of the pacific is just mind boggling.
A nice downwind sail finally took us to Turtle Bay where we dropped anchor in front of the pier.
Yippee, we made it, the half way point to Cabo!
Monday, August 15, 2005
Tuesday, August 2, 2005
New Mexican Check-in Procedures
New check in procedures are in effect now. There is a new building next to the Port Captains office across the street from Agencia Arjona. It is called Centro Integral de Servicios.
It contains all of the necessary offices in one room.
It contains all of the necessary offices in one room.
As you walk in, there is a placard explaining the check-in sequence and procedures.
The 5 windows are:
Immigration, Port Captain. Customs, Fishing License and Payment Center
They are open 7 days a week. Monday thru Friday from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM and Saturday, Sunday and Holidays from 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM.
You start with immigration by filling out the Tourist Cards furnished by the officer. Once you returned them filled out, go to the payment window and pay for them. Back to immigration where the officer will hand you the tourist cards (ask for 180 days validity) and the stamped crew lists.
With the crew lists, copy of your documentation, your liability insurance policy and copy of your passports, go to the port captain. You can pay his fees right at his window. He will sign your crew lists and return them to you. Return to immigration to leave a signed copy of the crew list with the officer.
Now you go to customs to get your import permit for your boat. The agent will want to see copy of your boat registration. He will fill out the form and ask you questions regarding the boat like what type of engines, models, etc... Once he gathered all of this information, he will print it out for you and sign it. Again, go pay for his services at the pay window.
Last stop is fishing permits. Get a permit for the boat and one for each crew member, valid for one year. You will need your passports and boat documentation. Once he fills out the papers, go pay for the services and get the permits. If you have crew for the time of the delivery south only, get fishing permit only for that period, not for a year.
Voila, you just finished checking in to Mexico. It’s that easy.
The staff is very helpful and cordial. The whole process takes more or less about an hour to an hour and a half, depending upon how many people are ahead of you. It is best to go early in the morning, since at about 11:00 AM the ship agents for the different marinas show up to do the bulk processing for all new arrivals.
If you plan to cruise in Mexico, you will need to check out of Ensenada. All you have to do is fill out a new crew list with destination Puerto Madero, Chiapas. On the sentence where it says: “ con escala en los siguientes Puertos:” fill in only “intermedios”. Pay your port fees at the port captain’s office, leave a copy with immigration and off you go.This will let you cruise all over Mexico for as long as you want. Every time you arrive at a new port, all you have to do is either call the Port Captain on CH. 16 and announce your arrival or use the log in the marina you are staying in. Same procedure with leaving the harbor.
Documents needed for entry:
Crew list and 5 copies
Copy of boat documentation
Copy of boat documentation
Copy of passport of every crewmember
Mexican liability insurance
Credit Card (Visa or MasterCard)
Documents needed for exit:
New Crew List and 5 copies
Your arrival crew list
Ship papers and passports.
Make extra copies of your crew list and boat documentation, because in many ports, they want a copy of them for their files. In most cases all you do is sign a log book and voila, that’s it.
Keep in mind that rules do change. These rules were in effect in August 2005
Monday, August 1, 2005
"The adventure begins - Marina del Rey to Ensenada"
Life outside the PMYC Fishbowl
After living more than 2 months in front of PMYC’s fishbowl, it was time to cut the lines and go cruising. Although we miss the knocks on the window, the rating scales, the cheering and booing department, helpful comments about our “hillbilly front deck” and even the occasional cell phone calls during visual on-deck projects, we LOVE sitting here at Cat Harbor enjoying the view with only the stars twinkling on us.
As we had been threatening to leave for a while, we randomly picked June 10th as our final departure date. We did not realize that June 11th was PMYC’s birthday party, aka “Casino Night”. Thankfully Sue recently returned from Vegas.
After a famous steak dinner with the Jeffries’ gang at “Petrelli’s”, we arrived back at the boat to find it nicely “TP’d” from top to bottom. It wasn’t difficult to figure out who the main instigator and associates were. An unknown to us go-away party was underway at PMYC, while we were at dinner. Thanks for the going away gifts, especially Fred and Ellen’s giant bottle of Grey Goose. It will be cherished.
Friday June 10th we wake up bright and early to run final errands, wash the boat down one more time with fresh water and fill up the water tanks. Friends started to gather early at PMYC to send us off. After a few last minute cocktails at the club, it was time to cut the lines. While the tunes of Unkle Monkey played, (thanks Steve for the music and the monkey) Frankie kept cutting and re-cutting the same dock line.
Off we went amidst a cheering crowd on PMYC’s guest dock to our next destination…., Randy’s fuel dock. We filled up our tanks, said good bye to Randy and headed out to sea as Mike and Candy waved goodbye from their main channel balcony.
Our first destination was Cat Harbor where we arrived after a leisurely sail past the West End of Catalina. We settled in the anchorage against the wall between the two sea bass fish pens, relaxed and toasted to the beginning of a new chapter in our life.
Saturday we watched the MDR sail boaters cross the finish line in Cat Harbor and BBQ’d with friends at Del Rey YC (Don Currie, Leslie Bond, Jaime Cantu, John South, Marty Fliegel, among others). Afterwards we hooked up with fellow cruisers, the “Mayor of Ballona Creek”, Hans Etter, Eddie, Kat & Rob. We learned not to drink bluish drinks. made by Bacardi (Zombie). It looked more like watered down anti freeze. We’d rather stick to our pinkish looking Grenades.
After a few days of “boat cleaning”, we took a road trip to Avalon with Al and Karen. We played tourists while Karen was at the dentist. Actually, we ended up at JL’s Locker for a few cocktails with Al while we waited for Karen. When we arrived back to the Isthmus at Al & Karen’s house, we turned on the news to learn about the possible tsunami attack. “Suddenly Tsunami” was in full force.
We spent a few more days in Cat Harbor and motor sailed around to meet the gang in Avalon for Father’s Day. A good time was had by all. Everyone departed on Sunday as we ventured north up the coast to White’s Landing for the evening. It was so beautiful and peaceful that we stayed a few extra days. It also helps to know the Harbor Patrol for runs to Avalon and ice. Thanks Bruce.
It was time to return to civilization for a few days. We had a marvelous sail to our new temporary home at the guest dock at Cabrillo Beach Yacht Club in San Pedro. It is a wonderful facility with generous, friendly members. We rented a car and headed north to run errands. The two weeks of relaxation was gone the minute we hit the 405. All we wanted was to return to the boat and get back out to the tranquility of the ocean. When we returned to the boat the next day, we had several visitors. Bees. The sun was about to set and the bees went away. The next morning the bees were back in full force swarming the boat. Not just the galley as the day before, but all around the boat. Sue threatened to end cruising then. Alex went down below and killed several of the bees. Sue agreed to return to the boat. She remained in the galleys spraying Clorox all over the galley and at new bees. The fly swatter is a very effective tool.
That evening we were able to attend the “Lobster Feast” dinner at CBYC. They fed 280 people with Maine lobsters flown in early in the morning, a bag of clams, corn on the cob coleslaw and bottles of wine on every table. We were having such a terrific time, we made arrangements to stay another day. The conversation turned to our bee’s drama. A few members were shocked and told us of a similar story in Long Beach. A swarm of bees took over a lifeguard stand and a hardware store. It was still to be determined if they were African bees. Thankfully our bees left when the Clorox was sprayed. We’ll never know.
On a sad note, Sue’s grandmother passed away at this time. She will be missed.
It was time to work on the boat so we headed back to the island. Again we had another marvelous sail. With the 4th approaching, we were having difficulty finding a slip on the mainland. You guessed it. We stayed in White’s Landing. On one of our daily trips to the hardware store in Avalon, we bumped into Bob Smith. We were able to join him, Helene and some of their friends for a few cocktails at J.L.’s. We also saw “Oasis” and stopped by to visit with Bob and Carol. They invited us aboard “Oasis” with their family on the 4th to watch the fireworks. We couldn’t have asked for better company, burgers or a view. Thanks Bob and Carol!
With the anchorage to ourselves again, it was time to relax. We enjoyed a few more days in White’s and decided it was time to return to our cruising schedule.
With the 4th of July festivities behind us, we headed for Dana Point on Wednesday. We dropped anchor opposite of Dana Point Yacht Club. Thursday night we were able to use their guest dock, as 3 reserved boats turned out to be no-shows. The DPYC Thursday night prime rib dinner is still incredible as ever. It’s highly recommended. While approaching Dana Point Harbor we were greeted by a red tide, which continued all the way down to Point Loma.
Friday morning we left for Oceanside, where we took a municipal slip over night. Oceanside Yacht Club had their docks full of boats for a charity regatta to be held this specific weekend. They tried to encourage us to stay for the weekend, but we opted to continue on to Mission Bay. We anchored for 2 nights in Mission Bay in as always flat waters.
Monday afternoon we arrived at South Western Yacht Club on Shelter Island. We were greeted by several club members. One of them, Frank Slatter, offered to drive us around for our shopping needs, which we gladly accepted. He did it for several days. Another member, Carlos (actually a former PMYC member and Port Captain under Lucas Willemse) offered us the use of his computer for email purposes. We spent some time with Carlos and his wife updating them on the doings at PMYC.
After 3 days it was time for another great venture across to Silver Gate Yacht Club. There we were actually assigned a slip belonging to one of their cruising members. Again, an incredible hospitality, very similar to PMYC’s.
Yes folks, the water maker is finally installed and working properly. After having to trouble shoot a mysterious fault for 3 full days (it would start and stop after 2 minutes), a missing magnet in the Clark pump was determined to be the culprit. With the help from Spectra and the local Spectra dealer, Daily Marine on Shelter Island, the magnet was installed at its proper location. Voila, it ran and ran and ran finally producing 15 gallons of water an hour.
While getting some last minutes spares at Downwind Marine, we ran into George from Presidio Yacht Club in SF. George had spent 3 days at PMYC around April with his 33 foot electro motor powered sailboat. Big hellos followed a long lunch and some beers, where he thanked us again for PMYC’s hospitality during his stay. George is spending the summer in SD after having gone as far south as Turtle Bay in spring.
One more stop at Costco, Trader Joe’s for a couple of cases of 2 Buck Chuck, Smart and Final, Vons, West Marine, Downwind Marine and the fuel dock, the waterline is gone again. In true PMYC fashion the members of Silver Gate Yacht Club treated us to several rounds of drinks at their bar before letting us depart in the afternoon. We headed for La Playa anchorage for some dinner and a brief Siesta, before our evening departure to Ensenada, some 65 miles to the South.
We departed SD around 9 PM, Sunday, July 24th, under twinkling stars and a half moon. We sailed outside of the Coronados until about 1:00 AM, when the wind decided to take a rest. It was motoring from there on all the way to Ensenada’s Cruiseport Marina, where we arrived Monday morning, July 25th around 8:00 AM. And the winner of the secret pool is……….??????????. We haven’t heard it officially yet, just thru the grapevine that a certain “Butte” won the overall pool. Is that Bob, Carol or the dog? We would love to hear an official confirmation.
Also, it took us a month and half to go from Marina del Rey to Ensenada. We managed to beat Paradise aka Turtle Express’ (Sid and Manuela) elapsed record.
After checking in with the marina and a long shower, we headed to town to file our paperwork with the Mexican authorities. What a fantastic system they now have in force in Ensenada. One building will get everything taken care of. We will write a several article about it for the next issue of The Log.
Cruise Port Marina is located in downtown Ensenada, next to the Cruise ship docks. There is no surge whatsoever and the town is only a 10 minute walk away. No need for taxis. Everything is within walking distance. We spoke to several other boaters. All of them had actually been before at Coral’s and decided to move to Cruiseport for the better location.
Now the real cruising life is starting, 80 cents fish tacos and a cold beer for lunch at the local street taco stand is pure heaven.
We went to the new La Vendimia Yacht Club in Ensenada last Thursday. They have once a week from 4 to 7 PM Happy Hour for it’s members with 2 for 1 drinks, free appetizers (BBQ ribs, potato salad, Mexican pizzas, asparagus, marinated hot dogs, etc..) Bob, what do you think? I’m sure you would have a huge crowd at PMYC. They have a very unique and entertaining crowd at this YC. PMYC’s burgee is hanging on the wall and we encourage every member to stop in.
This weekend we will be by car at Puerto Salinas Marina, where a fishing tournament is underway. Lynn Sisco, the local Parrothead President invited us for a day of fun under the sun. Lynn’s hospitality and friendship is well known.
Well folks, it’s time for you guys to start new bets. We are planning to leave beginning of next week for points south. More to follow soon ………. as time progresses…….
After living more than 2 months in front of PMYC’s fishbowl, it was time to cut the lines and go cruising. Although we miss the knocks on the window, the rating scales, the cheering and booing department, helpful comments about our “hillbilly front deck” and even the occasional cell phone calls during visual on-deck projects, we LOVE sitting here at Cat Harbor enjoying the view with only the stars twinkling on us.
As we had been threatening to leave for a while, we randomly picked June 10th as our final departure date. We did not realize that June 11th was PMYC’s birthday party, aka “Casino Night”. Thankfully Sue recently returned from Vegas.
After a famous steak dinner with the Jeffries’ gang at “Petrelli’s”, we arrived back at the boat to find it nicely “TP’d” from top to bottom. It wasn’t difficult to figure out who the main instigator and associates were. An unknown to us go-away party was underway at PMYC, while we were at dinner. Thanks for the going away gifts, especially Fred and Ellen’s giant bottle of Grey Goose. It will be cherished.
Friday June 10th we wake up bright and early to run final errands, wash the boat down one more time with fresh water and fill up the water tanks. Friends started to gather early at PMYC to send us off. After a few last minute cocktails at the club, it was time to cut the lines. While the tunes of Unkle Monkey played, (thanks Steve for the music and the monkey) Frankie kept cutting and re-cutting the same dock line.
Off we went amidst a cheering crowd on PMYC’s guest dock to our next destination…., Randy’s fuel dock. We filled up our tanks, said good bye to Randy and headed out to sea as Mike and Candy waved goodbye from their main channel balcony.
Our first destination was Cat Harbor where we arrived after a leisurely sail past the West End of Catalina. We settled in the anchorage against the wall between the two sea bass fish pens, relaxed and toasted to the beginning of a new chapter in our life.
Saturday we watched the MDR sail boaters cross the finish line in Cat Harbor and BBQ’d with friends at Del Rey YC (Don Currie, Leslie Bond, Jaime Cantu, John South, Marty Fliegel, among others). Afterwards we hooked up with fellow cruisers, the “Mayor of Ballona Creek”, Hans Etter, Eddie, Kat & Rob. We learned not to drink bluish drinks. made by Bacardi (Zombie). It looked more like watered down anti freeze. We’d rather stick to our pinkish looking Grenades.
After a few days of “boat cleaning”, we took a road trip to Avalon with Al and Karen. We played tourists while Karen was at the dentist. Actually, we ended up at JL’s Locker for a few cocktails with Al while we waited for Karen. When we arrived back to the Isthmus at Al & Karen’s house, we turned on the news to learn about the possible tsunami attack. “Suddenly Tsunami” was in full force.
We spent a few more days in Cat Harbor and motor sailed around to meet the gang in Avalon for Father’s Day. A good time was had by all. Everyone departed on Sunday as we ventured north up the coast to White’s Landing for the evening. It was so beautiful and peaceful that we stayed a few extra days. It also helps to know the Harbor Patrol for runs to Avalon and ice. Thanks Bruce.
It was time to return to civilization for a few days. We had a marvelous sail to our new temporary home at the guest dock at Cabrillo Beach Yacht Club in San Pedro. It is a wonderful facility with generous, friendly members. We rented a car and headed north to run errands. The two weeks of relaxation was gone the minute we hit the 405. All we wanted was to return to the boat and get back out to the tranquility of the ocean. When we returned to the boat the next day, we had several visitors. Bees. The sun was about to set and the bees went away. The next morning the bees were back in full force swarming the boat. Not just the galley as the day before, but all around the boat. Sue threatened to end cruising then. Alex went down below and killed several of the bees. Sue agreed to return to the boat. She remained in the galleys spraying Clorox all over the galley and at new bees. The fly swatter is a very effective tool.
That evening we were able to attend the “Lobster Feast” dinner at CBYC. They fed 280 people with Maine lobsters flown in early in the morning, a bag of clams, corn on the cob coleslaw and bottles of wine on every table. We were having such a terrific time, we made arrangements to stay another day. The conversation turned to our bee’s drama. A few members were shocked and told us of a similar story in Long Beach. A swarm of bees took over a lifeguard stand and a hardware store. It was still to be determined if they were African bees. Thankfully our bees left when the Clorox was sprayed. We’ll never know.
On a sad note, Sue’s grandmother passed away at this time. She will be missed.
It was time to work on the boat so we headed back to the island. Again we had another marvelous sail. With the 4th approaching, we were having difficulty finding a slip on the mainland. You guessed it. We stayed in White’s Landing. On one of our daily trips to the hardware store in Avalon, we bumped into Bob Smith. We were able to join him, Helene and some of their friends for a few cocktails at J.L.’s. We also saw “Oasis” and stopped by to visit with Bob and Carol. They invited us aboard “Oasis” with their family on the 4th to watch the fireworks. We couldn’t have asked for better company, burgers or a view. Thanks Bob and Carol!
With the anchorage to ourselves again, it was time to relax. We enjoyed a few more days in White’s and decided it was time to return to our cruising schedule.
With the 4th of July festivities behind us, we headed for Dana Point on Wednesday. We dropped anchor opposite of Dana Point Yacht Club. Thursday night we were able to use their guest dock, as 3 reserved boats turned out to be no-shows. The DPYC Thursday night prime rib dinner is still incredible as ever. It’s highly recommended. While approaching Dana Point Harbor we were greeted by a red tide, which continued all the way down to Point Loma.
Friday morning we left for Oceanside, where we took a municipal slip over night. Oceanside Yacht Club had their docks full of boats for a charity regatta to be held this specific weekend. They tried to encourage us to stay for the weekend, but we opted to continue on to Mission Bay. We anchored for 2 nights in Mission Bay in as always flat waters.
Monday afternoon we arrived at South Western Yacht Club on Shelter Island. We were greeted by several club members. One of them, Frank Slatter, offered to drive us around for our shopping needs, which we gladly accepted. He did it for several days. Another member, Carlos (actually a former PMYC member and Port Captain under Lucas Willemse) offered us the use of his computer for email purposes. We spent some time with Carlos and his wife updating them on the doings at PMYC.
After 3 days it was time for another great venture across to Silver Gate Yacht Club. There we were actually assigned a slip belonging to one of their cruising members. Again, an incredible hospitality, very similar to PMYC’s.
Yes folks, the water maker is finally installed and working properly. After having to trouble shoot a mysterious fault for 3 full days (it would start and stop after 2 minutes), a missing magnet in the Clark pump was determined to be the culprit. With the help from Spectra and the local Spectra dealer, Daily Marine on Shelter Island, the magnet was installed at its proper location. Voila, it ran and ran and ran finally producing 15 gallons of water an hour.
While getting some last minutes spares at Downwind Marine, we ran into George from Presidio Yacht Club in SF. George had spent 3 days at PMYC around April with his 33 foot electro motor powered sailboat. Big hellos followed a long lunch and some beers, where he thanked us again for PMYC’s hospitality during his stay. George is spending the summer in SD after having gone as far south as Turtle Bay in spring.
One more stop at Costco, Trader Joe’s for a couple of cases of 2 Buck Chuck, Smart and Final, Vons, West Marine, Downwind Marine and the fuel dock, the waterline is gone again. In true PMYC fashion the members of Silver Gate Yacht Club treated us to several rounds of drinks at their bar before letting us depart in the afternoon. We headed for La Playa anchorage for some dinner and a brief Siesta, before our evening departure to Ensenada, some 65 miles to the South.
We departed SD around 9 PM, Sunday, July 24th, under twinkling stars and a half moon. We sailed outside of the Coronados until about 1:00 AM, when the wind decided to take a rest. It was motoring from there on all the way to Ensenada’s Cruiseport Marina, where we arrived Monday morning, July 25th around 8:00 AM. And the winner of the secret pool is……….??????????. We haven’t heard it officially yet, just thru the grapevine that a certain “Butte” won the overall pool. Is that Bob, Carol or the dog? We would love to hear an official confirmation.
Also, it took us a month and half to go from Marina del Rey to Ensenada. We managed to beat Paradise aka Turtle Express’ (Sid and Manuela) elapsed record.
After checking in with the marina and a long shower, we headed to town to file our paperwork with the Mexican authorities. What a fantastic system they now have in force in Ensenada. One building will get everything taken care of. We will write a several article about it for the next issue of The Log.
Cruise Port Marina is located in downtown Ensenada, next to the Cruise ship docks. There is no surge whatsoever and the town is only a 10 minute walk away. No need for taxis. Everything is within walking distance. We spoke to several other boaters. All of them had actually been before at Coral’s and decided to move to Cruiseport for the better location.
Now the real cruising life is starting, 80 cents fish tacos and a cold beer for lunch at the local street taco stand is pure heaven.
We went to the new La Vendimia Yacht Club in Ensenada last Thursday. They have once a week from 4 to 7 PM Happy Hour for it’s members with 2 for 1 drinks, free appetizers (BBQ ribs, potato salad, Mexican pizzas, asparagus, marinated hot dogs, etc..) Bob, what do you think? I’m sure you would have a huge crowd at PMYC. They have a very unique and entertaining crowd at this YC. PMYC’s burgee is hanging on the wall and we encourage every member to stop in.
This weekend we will be by car at Puerto Salinas Marina, where a fishing tournament is underway. Lynn Sisco, the local Parrothead President invited us for a day of fun under the sun. Lynn’s hospitality and friendship is well known.
Well folks, it’s time for you guys to start new bets. We are planning to leave beginning of next week for points south. More to follow soon ………. as time progresses…….
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