What a great start to an
adventure!! We left Newport Harbor on
Monday night March 18th as dark fell (after installing the final
large piece to our boat, the dinghy davit).
We had two glassy days with minimal movement down the coast. This was a welcome calm as it gave us time to
get our windmills installed and start generating power to recharge our
batteries. We have a bank of 6 batteries
that power all of our interior lighting (all LED) and devices. We also mounted our solar panels, but even
after specially ordering 12 V panels, we were shipped 24 V panels. Crushing.
Hard to return now. Courage did some strategic planning, etc. and
we finally got them soddered in and contributing. While the windmills kept us charged for the
most part for the first 5 days, on most days the solar panels are surpassing
the windmills noticeably.
Finally the wind picked up as we
passed San Diego and we had a nice downwind sail into Mexico. After 5 days without seeing land, we spotted
Baja Mexico and headed into Bahia Santa Maria, a great cove on the Pacific side
of the peninsula that makes up Magdalena Bay.
While being a cute and secluded cove with white sandy beaches, the
breakers were huge and there was no way we were going to venture through them
with the dinghy to get to shore. So the
next morning we headed off around the corner (one long corner) to Magdalena
Bay.
Magdalena Bay is a large protected
bay with a small fishing village to the northwest and further up a larger town
San Carlos. We saw a full size ship
heading into San Carlos while we were there.
The breakers were minimal and we could get to shore with ease. There was a large delta from an estuary
surrounded by mangroves. Such great
exploring!! We took the kayaks, paddle
boards, and dinghy up the estuary and saw many halibut and sting rays on the
bottom. There were also white ibis birds
along the way, which really stood out.
These shores are hardly visited – other than a fishing boat, we were the
only ones anchored out here. There were
so many undisturbed complete and beautiful shells. We also checked out some skulls and bones,
which we believe to be from dolphins due to the long snouts. In this bay many whales come to have their
young. They were still there and just
beginning to head back up north. An
adolescent sized whale came up behind the boat one afternoon, so Cassidy and I
jumped into a kayak to go get a closer look.
We headed out, but the whale had gone down so we weren’t sure where
exactly to be looking. It came up within
a few feet of our kayak!! Wow, so
amazing! She had the camera, but there’s
no way to get that sensation! It
proceeded to circle us with multiple surfacing episodes to breathe.
We had some great fishing along the
way. We have caught some yellow tail
tuna and some bonita. One morning we
woke up and a small squid had jumped onto the deck sometime in the night. We cooked him up and had calamari with
breakfast. Since we don’t have
refrigeration, our meat supply is limited and our protein is mostly in
beans. The fish is a welcome addition to
our meals. One night, after dark,
Cassidy heard the line pulling and went out.
She hauled in a Humboldt squid, at least 2 feet long, probably longer. What a funny creature!! His little jets were spewing out in all
directions and he was hissing! We
examined him, touched him, felt his tentacles and looked at his jet propulsion
mechanisms. Got a great (hilarious) video
that I will try to upload if possible.
Now that’s great (and memorable) family fun! We let him go, he earned it, and we
determined that calamari wasn’t really our favorite fish to eat. We so wanted some of those halibut we saw in
the estuary, but it wasn’t to be.
Overall, fishing has been both fun, educational, entertaining, and a
nice addition to our meals. We’ve also
released many when it seemed that we would not be able to consume any
more.
In the afternoon of March 26th
we headed out for Cabo. We had some
calms along the way, but arrived in the morning of March 28th. We hit the crosswaters from the Pacific and
the Gulf in the morning – great fishing!!
We were pulling in bonitas one after the other. Every time we would get the sails set, we had
another on the line! With the first
catch, we turned the boat upwind. In
doing so, we heard/felt a significant THUD x 2.
Looking out behind the port hull we saw a midsized whale heading off the
stern. Seriously? We hit a whale!! The whale appeared unharmed. After our arrival in Cabo, Cassidy swam on
the hull and saw no evidence of damage.
Turns out to be spring break in
Cabo, so there’s a lot of activity! We
had a little Easter egg hunt of our own on the boat. After our arrival here, we checked in with
the Port Captain, got our visas, then headed out. The water was finally warm enough to swim
in. Refreshingly cool, yet not
freezing. On such a warm day, it was
inviting. We kayaked to shore, played in
the sand and waves, then went to “Lover’s Beach” for a hike/swim. This evening we watched an almost full moon
rising over the horizon in the bay at Cabo.
It was a large orange glowing circle as it first appeared. So beautiful, we all went out to the cockpit
to enjoy it. So much activity here with
spring break, especially after having a week or so in the open ocean with only
us. Still with mariachi music playing
well into the evening at the bars on the beach only 200 feet away as I head to
bed. Good night all, here’s hoping
you’re loving every day as much as we are!
P.S. This morning we woke up to a
seahorse tied onto our kayak line. We
checked him out, then let him go. He
went right back and tied onto our kayak line.
Guess he’s found his place. We
saw a puffer fish on our way to and back again from shore. He puffed up and quilled out. Funny little thing. There were also tons of jellyfish on shore
and in the water. Courage got a couple
of stings that left a mark, so the rest of us didn’t really go swimming today,
but the kids did play with the ones that washed up on shore. Kayaking back to the boat Courage saw a sea
turtle that popped up right in front of his kayak. So full of sea life here!! Full morning.
Now off to shore to find internet and upload some things.
