Hola from Cabo San Lucas

We have arrived in Cabo San Lucas after a leisurely trip down the Baja Peninsula and boy has it warmed up!  It’s really too hot to walk during the middle of the day, our zero exertion time when we do as little as possible.  However, the mornings and evenings are very pleasant.

We arrived here on Saturday during a huge fishing tournament.  The marina offices were closed for some unexplained reason but we were assigned a slip by the security guards and told to settle up on Monday when the offices reopen.  Sandie took the opportunity to do laundry and then it was off to the night life.  We ended up at the Harley Davidson “Bikers” bar on the main walkway by the marina where they were holding their annual fundraiser to build hospitals for children.  We sat outside listening to live music while watching the various biker clubs arrive and park their hogs along the promenade. Fifty percent of the bar and restaurant revenue was being contributed to the cause so we did our part at the bar.

We left Ensenada on Thanksgiving Day after Sandie prepared our big meal the night before.  It was a pleasant sail to Punta Colnett 60 miles south which was an open roadstead and very rolly.  We caught our first yellow tail tuna and Brian made seared Ahi with sesame seeds for dinner.

The next morning we headed 190 miles south to Isla Cedros.  This was our first overnighter since Northern California and we did the whole thing wing-on-wing without having to alter the sails.  It was a comfortable night although the dampness forced us into foul weather gear.  The audible books on the Kindle were great while sitting in the cockpit cruising along under a full moon.  The next morning we saw that an upper batten in the main had worked its way forward through a broken batten pocket and was across the upper spreader.  We could not lower the main without taking action, and action we took.  Sandie raised Brian in the bosun’s chair while cruising along at 7 knots.  The view would probably have been great if Brian had opened his eyes.  The offending batten was retrieved and Brian was safely returned to the deck.

We anchored at Cedros in a place we remembered from our earlier cruising.  It was nicely protected and very flat.  We made homemade salsa and spent the afternoon partying in the cockpit while taking in the view.  The next day was an easy sail to Turtle Bay catching a nice dorado (mahi mahi) along the way.  We’ve been enjoying fish taco for our lunches.

We then did a day hop to Bahia Asuncion followed by an overnighter to Bahia Magdalena where we planned to wait out weather for a couple of days.  The trip was warm and dry so the night watches were very enjoyable.  Sandie discovered that she could watch movies on her computer while on watch which resulted in much greater watch times and more sleep for Brian.

We put the dinghy in at “Mag Bay” and visited the village.  It was the port captain’s day off so we missed him.  The weather we had expected blew through quickly and we headed for Cabo after only two days’ rest.  This overnighter was less relaxing as the wind clocked around a full 360 degrees during the night calling for lots of sail changes and waking the off-watch person.  We also had to reef the main for the first time since leaving Northern California.  Then the wind dies at sunrise and we motored into Cabo.

We have been continually accompanied by dolphins that swim along with the boat for 15 minutes only to be replaced by another group.  Brian put his hand over the side and a dolphin bumped him with its dorsal fin.  They roll on their sides and look up at you.  This never gets old.

There have been a couple of opportunities to use our spinnaker in light winds and calm seas.  We ghost along at 5 knots with just a gentle breeze over the deck.  Now we remember why we’ve been carrying it around for the last few years.

We plan to spend two or three nights here in Cabo before heading up into the Sea of Cortez and La Paz.  This will be our first up wind leg of the trip so it will have its challenges.  The last time we made this trip of 120 miles it took two grueling weeks.  It should go smoother with Persephone.

Dorado on the way to Turtle Bay

Shopping at the Super Merchado in Ensenada

Thanksgiving before heading south

A nice yellow tail

Dolphin friends

Seared ahi

Nearly constant companions

Sunset at Isla Cedros

Sunrise as we leave Asencion

Fish on!

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