Our stay in Agua Verde was very nice. First night we had one of Jerry's fantastic Cuban dinners aboard the air conditioned MV Daymaker as well as a lesson for Sue in how to properly prepare fried plantains the Cuban way. And yes, they have to be super ripe and almost rotten to be considered for preparation. Thanks Jerry and Kelly, the dinner was great. And Gigi appreciates you bringing us the cat carrier down Debbie got for us in Los Angeles. Even so it is meant to be for transportation only, the cat decided to make it her new cave.
While in Agua Verde, we got to meet Tim and Cindy on SV Masquerade as well as Jamie and Eileen on SV Flying Cloud. An improntu Boccia Ball game was organized on the beach and Steve and Lisa (SV Flying Free) as well as SV Idefix, SV Southern Belle and SV La Solana all joined us. Lot's of fun was had trying to chase that little white ball on the beach.
We made a quick trip to the local tienda to pick up some fresh eggs, tomatoes and Zucchinis and off we went in search of some empty anchorages to our next destination, Yellowstone Beach on Montserrat Island. Last year we did a drive by while going south and planed to stop by there this year on our way north while the southerlies prevail. The anchorage is wide open to the north. It has a beautiful yellow rock formation on the beach hence the name. The contrast of crystal clear aquamarine water with the white beach and yellow rocks is incredible.
Tomorrow we plan to leave for either Candeleros Chico (if vacant) or Candeleros.
Wednesday, June 27, 2007
Sunday, June 24, 2007
"Summer in the Sea of Cortez 2007 - Part 2"
We spent 3 nights in El Cardonal and enjoyed the visit of Tracey and Julie (SV Eagle Dancer)while relaxing in this windy spot. It was a great place to wind down and go back into cruising mode. Actually, so relaxing, we didn't even launch the dinghy.
While Eagle Dancer went back to La Paz (thanks again a million for taking our trash along), we headed north to Isla San Francisco in company with SV Winsome (Irwin and Jaye). The very light winds came first from the south and then from the east.The seas were flat and the sailing was very mellow, from 2 to 5.5 knots.
Arriving in Isla San Francisco, we tucked in deep into the hook to be protected from any southerly weather which might come up during the night. We spent two lovely nights there, having Winsome over for drinks the first night (they left next morning) and SV Tequila Rose (Paul and Kathy) the other night. We had met Paul and Kathy during the day on the beach and had them over so we could get to know them better. We had heard them many times before on the various nets.
Friday morning we departed for points north. Our original destination was Los Gatos anchorage. The winds again were participating coming from the south at a brisk 15-18 knots. It was a beautiful sail downwind, wing on wing. Doesn't happen too often in the Sea of Cortez. When we arrived at our destination, we saw Vitta e Bella entering the anchorage right in front of us. They scouted the south and north bay, and all we saw was rocking and big swell rolling into the anchorage. We quickly decided tokeep on going for our new destination Nautilus Beach (aka Playa con Grava). The downside of this decision was that we wouldn't get the chance to get fresh lobsters from Manuel, the local Panga fisherman. We were really looking forward to it. Oh well, next time.
Along the way we lost our first lure. It's a bit tough to try to reel in a big Dorado while surfing down wind at close to 7 knots. Should have brought the lures in a lot earlier. Win some, lose some and learn along the way. So the score is Dorado 1, Maitairoa 0. Hopefully we can turn this score around rather quickly, since Gigi has been having a fit every time the reel goes off and nothing gets landed. We opted to release Mexican Bonito, since we didn't believe, it was up to Gigi's level of gourmetfish eating. Spoiled brat has been fed Dorado before.....
Rounding Punta Marciel, it was another mile and a half to Nautilus Beach. We never anchored there before and it was on our list of anchorages to visit. To our surprise we found SV Winsome tucked in there. We dropped the hook in 20 feet of water in crystal clear water.
Winsome left next morning for points north and we had the anchorage all for ourselves.Alex went fishing and got some Grouper for Gigi. She's back in Cat Heaven as she devoured the fresh fish for breakfast. Sue finally got a chance to inflate one of the Kayaks and go kayakin. The water is crystal clear but still cold around 77-80 F. Today we will move over to the village and get together tonight with Jerry and Kelly on MV Daymaker for one of Jerry's famous Cuban dinners. They are friends of ours from Marina del Rey and are bringing us a new Cat Carrier and a spare part for the ice maker. We are also looking forward to hear the newest chapter in the Howard and Nancy wedding drama.
While Eagle Dancer went back to La Paz (thanks again a million for taking our trash along), we headed north to Isla San Francisco in company with SV Winsome (Irwin and Jaye). The very light winds came first from the south and then from the east.The seas were flat and the sailing was very mellow, from 2 to 5.5 knots.
Arriving in Isla San Francisco, we tucked in deep into the hook to be protected from any southerly weather which might come up during the night. We spent two lovely nights there, having Winsome over for drinks the first night (they left next morning) and SV Tequila Rose (Paul and Kathy) the other night. We had met Paul and Kathy during the day on the beach and had them over so we could get to know them better. We had heard them many times before on the various nets.
Friday morning we departed for points north. Our original destination was Los Gatos anchorage. The winds again were participating coming from the south at a brisk 15-18 knots. It was a beautiful sail downwind, wing on wing. Doesn't happen too often in the Sea of Cortez. When we arrived at our destination, we saw Vitta e Bella entering the anchorage right in front of us. They scouted the south and north bay, and all we saw was rocking and big swell rolling into the anchorage. We quickly decided tokeep on going for our new destination Nautilus Beach (aka Playa con Grava). The downside of this decision was that we wouldn't get the chance to get fresh lobsters from Manuel, the local Panga fisherman. We were really looking forward to it. Oh well, next time.
Along the way we lost our first lure. It's a bit tough to try to reel in a big Dorado while surfing down wind at close to 7 knots. Should have brought the lures in a lot earlier. Win some, lose some and learn along the way. So the score is Dorado 1, Maitairoa 0. Hopefully we can turn this score around rather quickly, since Gigi has been having a fit every time the reel goes off and nothing gets landed. We opted to release Mexican Bonito, since we didn't believe, it was up to Gigi's level of gourmetfish eating. Spoiled brat has been fed Dorado before.....
Rounding Punta Marciel, it was another mile and a half to Nautilus Beach. We never anchored there before and it was on our list of anchorages to visit. To our surprise we found SV Winsome tucked in there. We dropped the hook in 20 feet of water in crystal clear water.
Winsome left next morning for points north and we had the anchorage all for ourselves.Alex went fishing and got some Grouper for Gigi. She's back in Cat Heaven as she devoured the fresh fish for breakfast. Sue finally got a chance to inflate one of the Kayaks and go kayakin. The water is crystal clear but still cold around 77-80 F. Today we will move over to the village and get together tonight with Jerry and Kelly on MV Daymaker for one of Jerry's famous Cuban dinners. They are friends of ours from Marina del Rey and are bringing us a new Cat Carrier and a spare part for the ice maker. We are also looking forward to hear the newest chapter in the Howard and Nancy wedding drama.
Sunday, June 17, 2007
"Summer in the Sea of Cortez 2007 - Part 1"
After two and a half months in Marina Palmira (La Paz) we were finally able to leave the dock and head into the Sea of Cortez for the summer. While in La Paz, we had the transmission overhauled, repaired a defective intake Valve on our Entec generator and had Danny build us a series of new bags to stow boat gear away. In addition we were able to fix some of these mean water leaks boats do develop over time. But not all was work, we also enjoyed the good restaurants of La Paz and even managed
a Costco trip to Cabo together with Tony and Peggy of S/V Comanche. We had lots of laughs and fun during this trip, including a stop at the Hotel California in Todos Santos. And by the way, "topes" (those mean Mexican speed bumps) doesn't mean "topless".
We also had many memorable events during our stay, Lance's (S/V Milagro) and Julie's (S/V Eagle Dancer) birthday dinners at the fantastic "3 Virgins" (Maria, the head chef and co-owner makes a killer chocolate cake), celebrated "The Cat's Meow" 3rd year re-floating as well as a celebration for a running engine (always of course with champagne), visit by High and Low Maintenance John and Vicky from Barra de Navidad and our second cruising anniversary (again with a bottle of good bubbly). On a sad
note, we lost a fellow cruiser Tania from S/V Amazing Grace to a long battle with cancer. A week later a dear friend and PMYC member Nancy Dillman passed away under similar circumstances. We are sure they are both up there watching over all of us.
Sue learned to bead while Alex went to Puebla to visit his ailing Grandfather. Our new crew member GiGi is amazing. Besides being an acrobat, she is a fast swimmer able to claw herself along the dock out of the water without assistance. During the second swimming outing she received some lifting assistance from Alex as well as a fresh water rinse.
Now, fully provisioned for the summer stay in the Sea of Cortez, we are at our first stop (El Cardonal on Espirito Santo Island) after our motor boat ride up here. As luck would have it, the southerlies blowing all week decided to take a break and the wind clocked to the north right on our nose. It feels good to be back on the water and away from the marina. We plan to stay here probably 2 days to stash some last minute provisions away and ease back into the cruising mode.
a Costco trip to Cabo together with Tony and Peggy of S/V Comanche. We had lots of laughs and fun during this trip, including a stop at the Hotel California in Todos Santos. And by the way, "topes" (those mean Mexican speed bumps) doesn't mean "topless".
We also had many memorable events during our stay, Lance's (S/V Milagro) and Julie's (S/V Eagle Dancer) birthday dinners at the fantastic "3 Virgins" (Maria, the head chef and co-owner makes a killer chocolate cake), celebrated "The Cat's Meow" 3rd year re-floating as well as a celebration for a running engine (always of course with champagne), visit by High and Low Maintenance John and Vicky from Barra de Navidad and our second cruising anniversary (again with a bottle of good bubbly). On a sad
note, we lost a fellow cruiser Tania from S/V Amazing Grace to a long battle with cancer. A week later a dear friend and PMYC member Nancy Dillman passed away under similar circumstances. We are sure they are both up there watching over all of us.
Sue learned to bead while Alex went to Puebla to visit his ailing Grandfather. Our new crew member GiGi is amazing. Besides being an acrobat, she is a fast swimmer able to claw herself along the dock out of the water without assistance. During the second swimming outing she received some lifting assistance from Alex as well as a fresh water rinse.
Now, fully provisioned for the summer stay in the Sea of Cortez, we are at our first stop (El Cardonal on Espirito Santo Island) after our motor boat ride up here. As luck would have it, the southerlies blowing all week decided to take a break and the wind clocked to the north right on our nose. It feels good to be back on the water and away from the marina. We plan to stay here probably 2 days to stash some last minute provisions away and ease back into the cruising mode.
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