Current Location – Isla San Geronimo – Lat: 29°47’ N / Long: 115°47’ W
06/10/09 – Jim G: We ended the previous blog having just arrived in Turtle Bay, but didn’t include any details. As we entered the bay we were met by an enterprising panga, Anabel, which offered to provide fuel immediately. All we had to do to get it was to follow them over to a mooring ball, tie up to it, and then get fuel from their fuel barge. We had heard earlier that Anabel was the boat to deal with, because they made sure to zero out the meter before fueling and used an accurate meter to fill our tanks.
As we were following Anabel over to the mooring, we were approached by a panga representing the main refueler in Turtle Bay, Enrique. Other cruisers had warned us away from this guy, who was not above cheating at the pump. That individual, representing the Enrique cartel, stayed alongside begging us to use his fueling service and letting us know that if we later needed a taxi from the boat into town, it would cost us 200 pesos ($16) if we didn’t use his fuel. We ignored him until he finally took off. We fueled up both tanks and all our jerry jugs in short order for a reasonable price that was quoted ahead of time. We were impressed with the service and convenience of the refueling we had in Turtle Bay.
Turtle Bay as seen from our anchored boatAfter we anchored, we called up Anabel for a taxi ride into town – we didn’t want to inflate and launch our dinghy for such a short stay. Each of us had a bag of clean clothes and a towel for the shower we planned to take on land. We found that the hotel that offered showers was closed, along with the restaurant where we had dined on the way down. We finally found one restaurant and had a decent meal and some very cold beer. We had agreed to meet Anabel for another taxi ride out to our boat about an hour after we were ready to go back, and had no portable VHF radio to call him back earlier. That’s when we approached the Enrique taxi and were turned away because we hadn’t gotten fuel from them. The driver later relented when he saw a few pesos in our hands and took us out to the boat – indicating he was “not a happy camper” for refusing his fuel earlier – and not charging us the 200 pesos he had threatened us with.
We plan to take a rest day tomorrow, Thursday, and continue north on Friday. We are planning to festoon the deck with laundry tomorrow as we air out the boat and our clothing at the same time. The winds have shredded our Mexican courtesy flag and our Vallarta Yacht Club pennant, along with the cover on our dinghy. I'm not sure we can do much about those problems, but we can seal the forward hatch with something to prevent any more water coming aboard there. Apparently, when we forgot to latch it tightly on the first day out, it decided that it would continue to allow water into the boat, and it has.
On the way to Turtle Bay, we had a real challenge in pouring diesel fuel from our jerry jugs into the boat's fuel tanks while underway. Craig's steady hands kept the fuel flowing into the tanks and not onto the boat. Jim D has a fixation on keeping the place clean, and using up lots of paper towels to do so. We've all been sharing the cooking and dish washing, and are sorry that Sheilagh had not come along to handle those items for us. Sheilagh mentioned in a note that she was looking forward to cooking a big meal for us when we get back, and the universal response from this crew was "Well, why didn't she come along, if that's something she wanted to do? We could have kept her busy cooking - and she would have had no watches to stand either!"
Craig H: Great to get off of the boat for a bit. We went into town to check things out. We were hoping to get a shower at the local Hotel but no one was around. Had dinner at the Moroccan Cantina - couldn't figure out why that name, the food was sort of ok, and best of all we didn't have to wash our dishes. Tomorrow is laundry day and getting what food we can find. Fuel was taken care of very efficiently by a "we bring it to your boat operation" (Anabel) as soon as we entered the bay. If we get the weather window for Friday through Sunday as advertised we will get ahead of our schedule - stay tuned.
06/11/09 - Jim G: It was rest-and-recuperation-day today and we made use of it to do our laundry and get some groceries in town. Aurora looked like a derelict with two drying lines strung on both sides of the boat flying underwear, socks, and T-shirts. We all have greater respect for a washer and dryer – something that would be very nice on the next boat.
Jim D. on the left and Craig H. after hanging the laundry out to dryThe grocery store was minimal at best with the only fresh vegetables being tomatoes and avocados. The lettuce, zucchini, and onions were bedraggled, and there were no carrots or cucumbers at all. I asked about ground beef and I was taken to the back of the store where there was a cooler with various carcasses which could have been beef, and a butcher who couldn't speak English. We elected not to trust the "ground beef" we might have been given.
Two other sailors are anchored near us: one single-hander (Bob on "Kalona"), who had turned back from going north three times already, and a couple Sheilagh and I had met last summer in Agua Verde (Jim and Julie of "World Wind"). Bob decided he was not up to sailing single-handed, as he had done in his youth, and was waiting for another cruiser who offered to join him to make the trip to San Diego. Jim and Julie had battled north all day yesterday and couldn't even make it into Mag Bay because of the strong winds. I guess we've been lucky.
We are leaving in the morning to continue north, while the other two cruisers will be licking their wounds for another day or two. The weather forecast appears to us to favor going north right away; so we have decided not to hang around any longer.
We made some beef stew and mashed potatoes this evening based on a recipe Sheilagh sent us by email when she heard we were down to canned goods. Sure enough we had the requisite ingredients in the cans we had onboard, and we all loved the stew. Thanks, Sheilagh. That's it for now. We just watched the movie, "300," about the Spartans at Thermopylae, and Jim D and Craig are now in bed, probably exhausted by the battle scenes.
06/12/09 - Jim G: We were up early this morning and left Turtle Bay at 6:50 AM. We have had very light winds, although they have been on our nose; so they haven't helped us much. The seas have also been running very light, making the ride very easy. We've been running the engine solid for 13 hours now and have about 40 more hours to go. We anticipate arriving in Ensenada on Sunday, where we may stay one or two days. We have to make the rounds of the customs office and the bank to pay our exit fees and make sure we aren't transporting swine flu into the U.S.
We also anticipate arriving in San Diego at about noon on Tuesday or Wednesday, if we continue to be blessed with excellent weather. So far we have been very lucky with the weather despite predictions of difficult winds and seas. I've mentioned to Jim D and Craig that they haven't really experienced a true Baja Bash this trip; so we'll have to repeat it next year. Craig has said he would love to go south along the Baja coast, but he'd have to be senile to do another Bash. I can't imagine why he would say such a thing, since I have been very easy on the crew, even cooking most of the major dinners. Where have I gone wrong? I'll let them comment.
Craig H: Sheilagh's emailed recipe for beef stew, nicely executed by Jim was a hit two nights in a row. Amazing what can be done with limited resources! We have been really lucky today with the weather in an area that has turned back a lot of boats. Hopefully it will continue and we can get into Ensenada on Sunday. For me there has been a sufficient amount of bashing - I don't feel like I have been short changed in the least. We have a great crew - surprising how well three old Navy buddies can fall into a groove and make this all work so well. Most of the time things just get done without too much direction. Someone always seems to be ready to be on watch during the day, food gets prepared, dishes washed etc. Jim G. works the hardest with all of the additional "technical" chores like keeping the water maker working, holding tanks flushed , radio check-ins with the nets, and weather monitored. We are looking forward to ending our night watches, hopefully only two more nights of cruising left.
Jim D: I almost have the "Baja Bash" checked off from my bucket list. I told Jim G since he's the experienced one he can hire out now and pursue "Bashes" in retirement. We are taking advantage of excellent WX and making the most of it. West of Cedros Island today about 1200, what appeared to be a blue whale stayed with us for 2 dives, then left. Of course no one had a camera ready. Saw a few sea lions and dolphins, but a quiet trip so far with regard to the sea life.
06/13/09 - Jim G: I believe the gods were listening last night when we mentioned how easy we had it so far. At 8 PM last night the wind came up to 20-25 knots with a sea state of 6'+ and suddenly our forward progress was reduced from 6 knots to 3 knots. Not surprisingly, we didn't make the kind of miles we had anticipated and figured out in the morning that we couldn't make Ensenada on Sunday as we had planned. We can now say that we've been "Bashed."
Thanks to Rich and Debbie (of "Oasis") who made the trip last year. In an email we received on the trip they recommended a small island as a stopping place if we got tired. The island is Isla San Geronimo and we are anchored there tonight as we rest up and hope for more moderate winds tomorrow. We transferred the 30 gallons of diesel fuel in our jerry jugs into the boat while we have been at anchor - a much better idea than transferring the fuel on the go. Hopefully we will get a fairly smooth night's sleep tonight with an early start tomorrow in the hopes of making Ensenada before closing time on Monday afternoon.
Anchored off Isla San Geronimo, which is little more than a fish camp with a light house on top of the island (photo courtesy of Craig H.)Thanks to Steve and Denise (of "Brendon") who recommended we stay in Marina Coral in Ensenada and let someone there do all our paperwork (another email we received on the way). We have communicated with Marina Coral through Sheilagh on the internet and they are waiting for us on Monday we think.
In naming our boat "Aurora," who is the Roman goddess of the dawn, we thought we would be getting an advantage in sailing our boat. Aurora is the mother of the four winds and the sister of the sun and moon, all of which are supposed to make sailing easier for us. So much for Roman gods!
Craig H: Nice to have a good place to anchor in a protected area. This island is not on the top list of hideaways but is working really nicely for us. It is like being in a National Geographic article. Pelicans flying by about 3 inches above the water in groups of 20, elephant seals lounging on the shore (they are not quiet), smaller seals cruising around the kelp, a small fishing camp on the island, a lighthouse on the highest point, big breakers on the rocks at the point - wow. Last night the weather was a bit crazy, but Jim and Sheilagh's boat handled it beautifully and you just know Aurora can take a whole lot more than anything that we have seen - it is a good feeling in the middle of the night.
A couple of dolphins swam with us for awhile (photo courtesy of Craig H.)Jim D: It finally caught up with us with the bragging about the good WX. Last night was similar to an "E"ticket at Great America. No moon to speak of and the ocean, as the Hawaiians say, was "angry". Pulled in behind a small island at 29°47’N/115°47’W to have a nice meal and rest about 3:00 PM . Solved some of the world problems and will launch at 7:00 AM tomorrow to continue the "Bash".
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