Friday, May 25, 2012

Plans – As Far As They Go – And Adios Until October

As we reported in our FAQ answers, we are looking forward to returning to Mexico for another cruising season in the fall.  Our present operating theory is that we will drive down the Baja to La Paz in early- to mid- October when the weather is reported to become just “really hot” rather than “hellishly hot”.  We then plan to turn Abracadabra from a floating storage locker back into a sailboat and head back into the Gulf of California.  This, we think, will be in late-October or early-November.  After a month or so in the Gulf we plan to travel to the Mexican mainland and south until we don’t want to travel south any more [this statement has been intentionally left vague].  We’ll keep in touch on that.
So what will we be doing until mid-October, you ask?  Well, because we have leased our house to a tenant, returning to our life in Sacramento is not an option.  And at this point we have plans for the beginning and end of our "El Norte travels", but are a bit squishy on the remainder:

We are now in El Norte, visiting siblings in California and Canada.  So far so good – no family relationships have been irreparably damaged, and we’ve been well treated and well fed. 
This weekend we will head toward San Francisco, where we have been invited to house-sit for some friends who will be traveling in France and Italy for six weeks.  That's just the type of friends we are - always willing to help friends in need!  We are very much looking forward to living in San Francisco again, and count ourselves very fortunate to have friends that want squatters (uh – that would be “housesitters”) for their beautiful condo near Mountain Lake Park. 
The end of our season in El Norte will be a few weeks in Canada house-squatting for sister Brenda while she travels to Croatia and Italy in September.  Again, we selflessly offer our services to someone who must travel in Europe! 
In between . . . well, we anticipate that we will be on the road in a way that we have not experienced for many, many years - and we aren’t quite sure how it will feel.  We’re much older than the last time we were this rootless and have come to expect a level of comfort we were willing to forgo in our youth.  This is the first time Molly has been a wanderer in her own country.  So, we’re interested to see how this summer works for us -- including how, or if our wanderings will affect our interest in expanding our cruising life to an area of the world where one can more comfortably live aboard year round.  Stay tuned!
This is our sign-off on this blog for the summer (with the exception of updating our marina reviews).  We will pick back up with our stories of Traveling on Abracadabra when we return to Mexico in the fall.  Best wishes for he next few months to our friends, relatives and other readers. 

And, if you have a nice guest bedroom on the Pacific Coast, don’t hesitate to e-mail us and invite us to stay - even if you don't get to travel in Europe! 
 

Thursday, May 17, 2012

Decommissioning and Season Stats – April 21 to May 7

Decommissioning:  “Decommissioning” is a fancy way of describing the process of preparing one’s boat home to be unoccupied during Mexico’s hot season and hurricane season (which overlap by several months).  Though many hearty souls stay in the Sea of Cortez during the summer – we have been offered the opportunity to house sit for some friends in San Francisco for much of June and July.  Let’s see – 110 degrees in a small fiberglass container, wondering if a “named storm” (that’s insurance-speak) will take place in the summer of 2012 . . . or staying in a lovely condo in the best city in the world (yes, New Yorkers and Torontonians -- it's true). 

So we “decommissioned”.  Everything came off of the topsides (sails, barbeque, lifesling, biminy canvas, life raft - everything) and was stored either below or with our boat managers.   Abracadabra began to look like a sailboat again!
All food items were removed to “disincentivize” (government-speak) any opportunistic critters in the area.  Everything was scrubbed, including the outside of the oven (removed from brackets, pulled out, and scrubbed – ugh, just don’t ever look there, at home or on your boat).  So we now have the cleanest, shiniest stove on the entire Baja coast - or perhaps on the entire planet!


All wood surfaces were oiled.  The head was scrubbed.  Abracadabra was so clean we briefly considered putting her on the market just because she looked so ready for boat brokerage pictures . . . but not really!
We arranged for Abracadabra to stay at Marina Palmira until October, and hired Buceo Bahia, a La Paz company, to take care of her.  They will periodically wash the bottom, check zincs, start the engine, check the electrical usage, and if (hopefully not) needed prepare her to weather any storm, including any “named storm”. 

After being squeezed out of the v-berth by topside stuff, (below is what was our bed!):

we were then squeezed out of the “guest suite” (aka the salon) by even more topside stuff!  Below Molly is taking refuge in the "guest suite" before the berth there was occupied by the life raft:



We finally decamped for a couple of days to a very nice bed and breakfast in La Paz – Casa el Centro.  We had thought we’d have time for a “vacation” once we prepared Abracadabra for the summer, but we had only a day in La Paz without trips to the marina to do some other last minute thing.  It's a boat - there's always something to do.
Season Stats:  We thought it would be interesting to consider our first season from a statistical point of view, so here are some “first season stats” for Abracadabra:  
  • Days of Travels On Abracadabra: October 7, 2011 – May 7, 2012 = 213 days
  • Nautical Miles Traveled:  2639
  • Guest Crew: Frank Chan and Irene DeBrujin-Chan; Rick Nelson and Corinne Hackbarth; Jodi Rafkin; Bob Romano; and Jim Thompson (thanks all -- we loved having visitors -- particularly fellow sailors!!)
  • Nautical Miles Traveled With Crew:  1424 w/ crew (1205 w/out)
  • Nights Underway:  19
  • Nights Underway With Crew:  10
  • Nights at Anchor / on a Mooring Ball:  39
  • Favorite Anchorage:  Chacala
  • Least Favorite Anchorage/Mooring:  Pichilinque or Yalapa -- it's a tie (though we would love to return to Yalapa WITHOUT staying on a mooring ball!)
  • Marina Stays:  155 nights (including two-ish weeks for repairs; two-plus-ish weeks to decommission; two week for a road trip and assorted days to recover from colds, etc.)
  • Engine Hours:  255.2 (assuming 4.5 miles per hour to take into account water making etc. = 1148 miles or less than half of the trip!)
  • Road Trips:  Guanajuato -- read the blog post about that trip and make sure you visit this wonderful city if you have a chance!
  • Injuries:  2 jammed/broken/and/or wrenched toes (1 Jodi, 1 Molly); 1 toe tip removal (Bryce - just the tiniest bit, but he's now finally installed a bungee cord to hold up the anchor locker hatch!); 1 broken foot (only the tiny little bones on top - but quite spectacular bruising - Molly); 1 set of blackened fingernails (Bryce - but he won't open that hatch the same way again); 1 wrenched shoulder (Bryce - but he's getting much better at controlling the dinghy).  Did we forget others' injuries (?) . . . we mostly remember our OWN.
  • Blog Posts:  25 to date
  • Most Interesting Page Views:   5 from Latvia (we think we know who is viewing in Kazakhstan, but who do we know in Latvia?)
Thoughts For Next Season Based On These Stats: 
  • We'd like to spend less time in marinas (though much time this season was due to repairs,  decommissioning time and road trips . . . so perhaps significant marina time is unavoidable?).
  • We'd like to spend even less time motoring (though sometimes having the motor on isn't for the sole purpose of making miles, but is necessary to fill batteries, and other times the motor is required to get there before dark, though perhaps we can become proficient in braille anchoring . . . )?  And why are we so obsessed with avoiding the motor?  Well, it's noisy and somewhat stinky, but most importantly, to quote our fellow sailor Frank Chan:  "Because we're sailors."
  • We'd like to have fewer crew injuries, so maybe we'll post one of those inspiring "X days without injury on this work site" signs . . . or better yet, buy sandals with toe protection!
Goodbye to Abracadabra:  Finally, on the 6th of May, we tearfully (though El Capitan might not admit it, he was spotted blinking rapidly as we walked away . . . ) left Abracadabra knowing that she would be in the good care of Buceo Bahia,


and on the 7th, we flew to Tijuana, picked up the cross-border bus . . . and arrived in El Norte. 

Soon we’ll blog briefly about our “plans” for the summer (such as they are) and update our marina reviews – and then sign off until we return to Mexico next fall to take up Travels on Abracadabra again. 

Tuesday, May 15, 2012

La Paz and the Gulf of California -- April 13 – 19

Our friend Jim Thompson joined us at the Marina Costa Baja in La Paz on April 11th.  Many of the pictures on this blog post are courtesy of our guest photographer! 
Marina Costa Baja is lovely – but a bit too full of mega yachts for the crew of Abracadabra to feel comfortable.  After a brief stay which included a couple trips into La Paz proper to try some of the local restaurants and provision at Mega (see our most recent Mazatlán post on why we go to such “mega” stores!), we set off for a seven day sail among the islands near La Paz.  These four islands – Islas Espiritu Santo, Partida, San Francisco and San Jose – are all part of Mexico’s national park system. 
As former civil servants we believe in government and what it can provide its citizens, so we did our best to honor the requirement that all boats that anchor in Mexico’s national parks purchase a park permit.  Unfortunately none of the places that are designated sellers of park permits had any available!  We were told that the park ranger (singular?) would be able to provide us with a permit once we were within the park area – that the ranger was aware that there were no permits available in La Paz.  During our five+ days within the park area we never saw a (the?) ranger. 
[Side rant:  Take comfort, all ye that hate taxes and the “nanny state” environments in California and Canada  – there are places where either taxes are low or their distribution is ineffective, government services are correspondingly limited, and one can roam in national parks freely.  We hope the intended irony of this last bit comes across in writing.  We’ve spent a little too much time listening to that subset of cruisers that want to live without rules (and, most importantly, the taxes that fund the enforcement of such rules).  Interestingly, our impression (albeit the result of a highly unscientific survey) is that these same “live free” people expect those around them to somehow spontaneously conform to the “live free” person’s view of proper behavior. . . hmmm.  Nasty, brutish and short, anyone?  Okay, off soapbox and back to our trip:]
During our week we saw spectacular stars, birds and sea creatures (below is a sea turtle):



Alas, whales appeared only at a far distance. 

We saw dramatic scenery, and stunningly blue and green water:


And we had several opportunities to consider that the locals have actually named the various types of winds that blow through the La Paz area.  Much like the oft-repeated story of the number of words northern indigenous peoples have for snow, these different names for wind offer a lot of information about sailing in the area!
Day 1 – Isla Espiritu Santo:  Our first day out we crossed over to the island of Espiritu Santo, which lies some 20 miles off of La Paz.  We had a lovely sail, and even flew the spinnaker late in the afternoon.  We anchored in Ensenada del Candelero (Candlestick Cove – Go Niners) and tucked in behind the huge rock that dominates the middle of the cove – Roca Monumento.

Having been introduced to the Coromuel (see prior post from our crossing to La Paz – this is a strong south or southwest wind), Bryce and Molly were able to inform Jim of the name of the wind that came up shortly after dinner.  Given the small size of the cove, our proximity to the somewhat daunting Roca Monumento, and the strength of our previously experienced Coromuel, we decided to take watches to confirm that Abracadabra remained securely anchored.
Days 2 and 3 – Isla San Francisco:   The next day we sailed to Isla San Francisco, an island north of Espiritu Santo.  The winds were brisk and from the north – the opposite direction of the Coromuel that had kept us up the night before -- and almost directly on our nose.  How unfair!  So we sailed a relatively ziggy and zaggy course in choppy waves to achieve our destination.
The Isla San Francisco anchorage was a bit crowded, including a very large and brightly lit motor yacht.  We were not invited over for a drink on the boat, nor were we offered a ride in their helicopter. 


But we showed them – we had our Cuban rum and Coca Light over ice without inviting them to join us.  Of course since Abracadabra’s ice maker (of which we are very proud!) only makes about 24 cubes every 24 hours, our revelry couldn’t really get out of hand.   
The anchorage at San Francisco provided both spectacular scenery – red hills rising above a clear aqua bay in one direction, and an arching white sand beach in the other – and relatively calm shelter from the north winds.
The next day we took a short dinghy ride to shore.  We might have impressed Jim with our ability to nonchalantly land the dinghy had we not confessed that the lack of surf in the anchorage made this one of the easiest spots to beach land that we’d experienced.  We collected a few shells, and then walked across the narrow spit of land between our anchorage and a little bay on the other side of the island.  Not more than a quarter mile apart, the two bays -- one with a southern exposure (our anchorage) and one with a northern exposure -- could not have been more different.  Because of the prevailing north winds, our anchorage had a beautiful soft white sand beach and gently lapping surf, the other bay was rocky and rough, with heavy surf.  Location, location, location. 
Day 4 – Isla San Jose:  The next morning we performed the hot-shot maneuver of sailing off the anchor to please our Captain.  Easy for him – Molly was at the helm and kept thinking how unpleasant it would be if the wind was too light, causing us to drift into our neighbor boats with a thud at 0700!  But as usual, El Capitain knew his boat and read the wind and we sailed out of the anchorage easily. 
The rest of our sail was more vigorous – we had winds from the north up to 18 knots, and steep wind waves.  We were now experiencing what the locals call a Norther.  A Norther is the result of a high pressure system over Arizona, and when one is trying to sail north – it can be quite cold.  When severe, a Norther is called a Screaming Blue Norther.  Fortunately, we didn’t get to the screaming blue stage - but the colder weather did affect Jim’s sunbathing attire:

On Isla San Jose we anchored in the bay created by Punta San Ysidro.  Once again there was spectacularly blue and green water and a long, white sand beach.  The island is also the home of some abandoned salt works: 



And some areas that looked like ponds still being used to gather salt:
Someone visiting the island had taken the opportunity to create what we think San Franciscans would refer to as “performance art” in one of the abandoned buildings.  Welcome to Zapateria Reno (Reno's Shoe Store):


We didn't find anything that was "just us".
Perhaps the most exciting moment of our time at this anchorage was provided by a fellow cruiser, who was performing some spectacular kite surfing maneuvers – including jumping over Abracadabra’s stern!  While yelling something like “OMG come look at this!” Jim did his best to capture the moment:


Day 5 – to San Evaristo:  The next day, after considering where we might be best protected from the Norther, and the fact that we needed to begin thinking about returning to La Paz to our south, we weighed anchor and motored to the mainland. 
After anchoring off of the little (no more than 20 houses) village of San Evaristo, protected from north winds by Punta San Evaristo, we agreed that, in honor of the Norther we would not leave Abracadabra unattended.  Bryce and Jim went to shore and bought a kilo of fish from some fishermen that were offloading their day’s catch.  Even better, the fishermen filleted the fish for us (no, Corinne we have not gotten any better at filleting fish!). 

We were told it was a pargo, though looking on the internet that seems unlikely – pargo is reportedly an Atlantic fish.  Whatever it was, it was really, really tasty when pan sautéed with some thyme and served with some rice and chayote squash and some lime for squeezing.  Clearly the culinary highlight of the trip.  Better (even Molly agrees) than the Betty Crocker brownies baked on the first night at anchor!      
While Jim took a turn watching our anchor position, Bryce and Molly took a tour of the village and chatted up some very tired looking kayakers who were hoping to get a weather report from us.  We passed on the information we had received from the kind folks on S/v Lumba Lumba – which was that the wind was to shift to a southerly direction - just in time for us to be sailing directly into the wind as we headed south.  This wasn’t what the leader of the kayak expedition really wanted to hear either, and we commiserated with him.  And after he was out of earshot we congratulated ourselves on the fact that, though we might be sailing close hauled and zig-zagging our way south, we at least didn’t have to paddle into the wind!).
Day 6 – to Ensenada Grande:  From San Evaristo we sailed south about 24 miles to a large anchorage on Espiritu Santo, aptly named Ensenada Grande. 
Ho hum, another spectacularly beautiful anchorage . . .


Day 7 – to Marina Palmira in La Paz:
And our final day, we returned to La Paz.  The winds were fascinating – by staying close hauled Abracadabra arced almost 90 degrees on the same closed-hauled tack, and we were able to sail into La Paz.  Just because he knew we could, El Capitain put up the spinnaker and sailed down the entry channel into La Paz.  It was his last sail of the season . . . and he wanted to make it count. 
We arrived at Marina Palmira, which is to be Abracadabra’s home for the summer season.  Jim departed,

and we began the process of “decommissioning” – or more accurately, preparing our boat and our home for the hurricane season.  More about that to come.