June 10th (2009) – Turtle Bay – Jim’s Blog #92

[This is the third of five blogs describing our bringing the boat up from Mexico to San Diego - otherwise known as the Baja Bash, named for the bashing of the boat by contrary winds and waves all the way.]

Current Location – Turtle Bay – Lat: 27°41’ N / Long: 114°53’ W

06/08/09 - Jim G: We pulled up the anchor and headed north up Magdalena Bay looking for fuel. We understood there was fuel at San Carlos, which was about 2 hours north, and would require that we backtrack those two hours to get back out of the bay. We spent most of the day wending our way through a very circuitous route to Puerto San Carlos to replace the fuel we used getting to Mag Bay. It took us about 5 hours and 5 gallons of fuel to get the fuel and return to the mouth of the bay. We had a challenge finding the various buoys that marked the "Z" pattern for getting to the dock.

Note the zigzag pattern to go north to San Carlos (Photo courtesy of Craig H. - enhanced by Jim G.)

There we found a fixed dock that was about 5 feet higher than our deck at that time of the tide; so we were forced to scramble up the side of the dock using the stays to assist us.

A look from the stern at the shrimp boat behind us on the same dock (Photo courtesy of Craig H.)

Then I had to go through the bureaucratic processes as follows: 1) contact the port captain to report my arrival; 2) pay a $15 fee for the one hour we would be there (although there was no fee at any other port in Mexico); 3) get a ride with the port captain to a spot outside the port to pay for the diesel I would need in advance; 4) get a ride back to the dock to pick up our jerry jugs; 5) take the jerry jugs in the back of a pickup to the diesel tank farm; 5) get the jugs filled up with diesel (I paid for more than I needed, but I decided I didn’t want to go through the bureaucratic process to get a couple of bucks back); 5) deliver the jugs back to the boat; and 6) assist Jim D. in handing them down to Craig to strap back on the starboard side of the boat.

A look up to Jim D. on the dock and down to Craig on the deck of Aurora (Photos courtesy of Craig H.)






There were no fast food places nearby; so we decided to get out of there. The last hurdle was getting away from the dock against a wind off the port forward side. After two attempts to get the bow out against the wind, I reversed the engine and used the port-walk tendency of the engine and the wind to back out and away from the larger boat immediately behind us. We were very happy to get away from there and take the zigzag trip back.

As we approached our anchorage at the mouth of Magdalena Bay at the end of our 5-hour trip, we took a look outside the bay and decided it was nice enough to continue north to Turtle Bay without spending another night at anchor. Now we are heading directly for Turtle Bay, which is about 230 nautical miles from us and about 40 hours away. This is being written on Monday afternoon at 6PM; so there is a chance that we can be in Turtle Bay by 2PM on Wednesday if the sea stays this smooth and the wind at the current 10 knots on our nose. However, it is unlikely that we will be that lucky over a period of 40 hours; so we have some spots along the way we can stop if the weather gets worse.

The freezer is now defrosted without any effort on our part, and the drinks will soon get warm. We have some cottage cheese to get rid of, as well as some lunch meat and hot dogs. Then we can start on the canned chicken, beans, and vegetables to keep from starving. Actually, without a chance to exercise, but we're not sure how much of that weight is dirt. We haven't showered for about six days now, but luckily we are all accustomed to the aroma.

06/09/09 - Jim G: We're powering up to Turtle Bay as fast as we can go while the weather is good. Although the prognosticators are promising us 20-25 knot winds every day with a sea state of 4-6', we have been enjoying 5-15 knot winds with waves no more than about 3-5 feet. Therefore we are motivated to hustle while we can. Of course the lack of a refrigerator and the scarcity of fresh foods at the moment are also strong motivators. We finished up the cottage cheese, used the last of the sour cream on some Santa Fe style soup, and are down to carrots and onions in the vegetable bag. We still have lots of canned goods and plenty of bread; so we’re not suffering yet.

Last night from midnight to 3AM I had one of the best watches I have ever stood. The moon was one day past full, but it certainly looked full last night as it cast a golden path on the water to the boat. We usually stand watches sheltered under the dodger in the cockpit, facing aft, and getting up every ten minutes or so to look forward for any other vessels or possibly UFO's. I had on my warm weather gear and was perfectly comfortable in the cockpit, gazing up at the moon, and playing Sarah Brightman soprano solos on my iPod. It doesn't get better than that.

Sunrise on the morning watch (photo courtesy of Craig H. who must have had that watch)

Today I felt so skuzzy that I took a washcloth bath, changed all my clothing, and put on deodorant over the smell to save my own nose. Then I washed out the clothing I had been wearing for a couple of days and hung it on a makeshift clothesline across the cockpit. Jim D and Craig were not pleased to have their view impaired, but I think they appreciated the fact that I had washed the trousers I have been wearing since we left Mazatlan nine days ago. Hanging the clothing anywhere else on the boat invited a salt-water rinse.

Craig at the helm – the autopilot doesn’t get all the fun

Craig H: What a treat to get such a beautiful day. It looks as though we will make Turtle Bay tomorrow for a rest and what passes for modern conveniences in this part of the world. Like Jim, I had a great watch last night with a full moon, good music in the iPod, and reasonable conditions. However between 3AM and 6PM it gets pretty cold and damp. I am glad that Jim gave us a good list of the proper clothes for the trip - I stayed dry and warm.

Jim D: It has been an exceptional day on the cruise front. We’re making good progress without a lot of chop. I had the 2100-2400 watch last night and saw just a beautiful moonrise. The color of the moon was a bright orangish-brown, similar to an early sunrise.

Our good fortune with the WX should give us an arrival at Turtle Bay tomorrow in the daylight. That of course is always a good thing. The books say there are showers available there. We plan on using those! Turtle Bay coordinates: 27°51’N/115°17’W. We plan on resupplying there with fuel and food for the last long leg of the bash.

06/10/09 - Jim G: We have made it to Turtle Bay after 54 hours of steady motor-sailing from Mag Bay. This puts us half way to San Diego from Cabo San Lucas - the official Baja Bash trip. However, we are two-thirds of the way to San Diego from Mazatlan, where we started out. We are feeling a sense of accomplishment, particularly because we headed out in weather that was predicted to be much stronger than we encountered - a weather prediction that has kept some other boats from setting out. More later . . .