June 4th (2009) – Cabo San Lucas – Jim’s Blog #90

[This is the first 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 – Cabo San Lucas – Lat: 22°53.20’ N / Long: 109°53.82’ W

This log was prepared on a daily basis to send to our wives and friends as we made our journey northward. I have included the individual dates and elaborated a bit (from the original emails) on what happened along the way.

06/01/09 – Two "old" Navy buddies volunteered to help me bring the boat up from Mexico despite my warnings that it might not be a pleasant experience. Sheilagh had read the handwriting on the wall after talking with other cruisers about the trip, and was unwilling to subject herself to the pain of “bashing” north against the wind and waves.

Both buddies (Jim D. and Craig H.) showed up on Friday evening from Hawaii and Seattle respectively. We caught up on a lot of news and finished provisioning the boat by Sunday night. We also took the bus to the other side of town and climbed to the top of the lighthouse to get some exercise. However, we all forgot to bring cameras; so we have no pictures from the top. Afterward we relaxed in the El Cid swimming pool to rest up from our labors.

The El Cid Swimming pool - none of us was willing to pose for this picture.

This morning we left El Cid in Mazatlan at 7 AM and headed out for a 32-hour trip. The weather was mild with winds no greater than 10-15 knots. It was a chance to let the new crew get acclimated to the boat and to the boat systems. Jim had been with us on the way down when we had no electronic autopilot for motoring. We used the Monitor wind vane when sailing south, but it was of little use against the wind. Both crew members appreciated the opportunity to let the boat sail/motor itself.

Craig H. and Jim D. enjoying the benefits of the autopilot in the mild conditions between Mazatlan and Cabo San Lucas






06/02/09 – We arrived at Cabo San Lucas at 2 PM, about an hour earlier than we had anticipated. There are anchoring areas all along the beach; so we elected a location that did not have loud music cascading down to the beach from the local Palapas. We were a bit concerned about our fuel consumption when we completely used up the fuel in what we thought was about a 39 gallon tank in only the first 22 hours of the trip – almost 2 gallons an hour. We decided to see how large the tank was when we refilled the next day.

A view of Cabo San Lucas through the front of the dodger - note the laundry drying on the safety lines (photo courtesy of Craig H.)









06/03/09 – This morning we motored into the fuel dock and filled up our two main tanks. We found that our two fuel tanks are different sizes. The one we emptied completely only holds about 31 gallons, while the other one holds approximately 46 gallons. For the past three years Sheilagh and I only ran the tanks until they were a quarter full and then switched to the other tank. We never had occasion to fill them from an empty condition to find out how much they hold. We determined that our fuel consumption was really about 1.1 gallon per hour, which was a great relief.

So far we haven’t touched the 30 gallons of fuel we have in jerry cans strapped to the starboard side deck of the boat (photo courtesy of Craig H.)

After refueling it was back into town in the dinghy to eat and do some shopping. For lunch today we had cheeseburgers at a Johnny Rockets franchise. It was great to get the taste buds activated by good old cheeseburgers fries and cokes - with a chocolate malt for me. We decided that we should eat at restaurants when we can, because we didn’t want to dig into our provisions until necessary and the crew didn’t trust the home cooking I would be doing enroute.

06/04/09 – We had to spend another lovely day in paradise here in Cabo San Lucas, waiting for the winds to moderate around the point. Tonight Craig and Jim D fixed a steak and fried egg sandwich for dinner and did fine. I got the dishes as my duty. Now I have confidence that they can survive in the galley, if I break an arm or something. Actually we work very well together and so far have not gotten on one another's nerves - as far as I know. However, I may be driving them crazy without knowing it. One problem is that things keep getting put away in places that are not where they belong – according to Sheilagh’s careful planning – and it is sometimes difficult to find the cooking tool, bowl, or pan that's needed for the next meal.

Tomorrow we've decided to get up early and try to brave the somewhat reduced winds that are forecast. If it gets too rough we’re in agreement that we’ll turn back and wait for even calmer weather. We want our wives to know that we are not just here for a lengthy vacation - we are really trying to take the boat to San Diego. That means we’ll head out into the Bash, shunning the good life at Cabo for the rigors and perils of the open sea. More later . . .