Glory Days May - June 1997

Glory Days
Gulfstar 50

May - June 1997

May 7-24	We remain anchored out in the channel. It is a quick dinghy ride to the La Paz Marina, so we are able to buzz in for faxes, errands or to meet friends. We have made many new friends in the last five months and most of them we are seeing here again; as they too are heading north into the Gulf of California to escape the coming hurricane season. As we trade stories we find that we have sailed further south than most of the first year cruisers. Some only made it here, to La Paz, or over to Mazatlan. Of course, there are others that continued on to the Panama Canal or the South Pacific but those folks seem to be rare. The majority seem to want to take it slow, either because they find the sailing intimidating or because they want to take time to do some inland trips as well. Some are even turning back to the US now, headed home. To us it seems that our adventure is just beginning. As I, italics Rod, get more confident with my knowledge of all of the electrical and mechanical systems on the boat, I am enjoying this a lot more. It takes many months of operation and then troubleshooting the inevitable problems to really know the systems and be able to mentally analyze a symptom quickly and fix it, rather than agonize over it for days.

	We did not plan to stay in La Paz this long. But after feeling listless, having cramping stomachs and loose bowels for days on end we decided to consult a doctor. Sure enough our lab results show that we both have intestinal amoebas. Apparently you can get these little "buggers" from eating the food, drinking the water or breathing dust filled air. In other words, sooner or later everyone gets them. While we wait for the prescriptions to work their magic we read several books and Brenda learns to play a few games on the computer. It's l00 degrees here every afternoon, so we get out the sun awning that has been stored away in a locker. For two thousand miles we have been carrying four long PVC pipes tied to the lifelines. Now we insert this pipe into the sun awning pockets and tie rope pieces into the grommet holes and after some trouble have the boat in shade from the mast to the stern. Also Rod installs one more l2 volt fan in the galley; he doesn't want Brenda to say it 's too hot to cook.
May 25	We've been anchored in La Paz for three weeks. We're anxious to start sailing north again and reach some of those cozy anchorages with clear warm water and serene landscapes. We have recovered from our illness and handled some business via numerous faxes, but there are still a few more items to attend to before we leave the city. In order to break the routine, we decide to sail about l0 miles north and spend a day in a nearby cove. This allows us to run the water maker, which we must do regularly even if we don't need the water. (Otherwise the membrane will fail.) Also, this gives us a chance to go swimming. Actually, Rod spends his water time (2 hrs) scrapping growth off the bottom of the boat while Brenda pleasure snorkels. The lesson learned is that I will never try to get another 4 months out my bottom paint when it is obviously depleted. Way too big of a boat to be scraping barnacles off using a putty knife!!) We end our day with a nice candlelight dinner on the boat. During the night the wind picks up *(these are the famous La Paz area Coromuels)* and by midnight we hear it howling. The wind waves are causing us to pitch about five feet. Rod doesn't get much sleep fearing the anchor is going to pull and we will be washed onto the beach. Finally about 2:00 am we decide to move to the other side of the bay where it is more protected. This is quite an adventure; pulling up the anchor and motoring in the dark with howling wind and big waves. Thank goodness we bought those earphone walkie-talkie sets because we can't see or hear each other, while Rod is at the bow with the anchor chain and Brenda is at the back with the steering wheel. The wind and waves are strong and with the motor at 1500 RPMs we hardly move. Brenda guns the engine and by 2:30 we are re-anchored in a more calm spot. (The winds in the Sea are like a moody stallion. They have a set pattern, to which you adjust. Then they do the totally unexplainable and usually with great enthusiasm. It prevents one from getting settled into a false sense of security, which is good.)
May 26	When we wake the wind is still blowing. But by noon the seas calm and we pull anchor and head back to La Paz. *(It is straight upwind to La Paz and we want to sail it, not motor.)* We tie up to the fuel dock and wash the salt spray off the boat and Brenda does several loads of wash. We want to get the dust and dirt off of the boat before we head north. We also are able to reconnect with some friends and we walk to dinner for some of the greatest papas (roasted potatoes with carne asada and queso) and tacos we have had, and that accounts for a ton of tacos.
May 27-28	We are running out of time, our Mexican visas expire June 30. Brenda calls today to confirm our June 26 reservation to have "Glory Days" pulled out of the water and stored for three months. She also rides her bicycle to a travel agent and buys plane tickets to fly to Idaho on June 29. This gives us a month to sail 350 miles to San Carlos/Guaymas, where we will store the boat. Rod checks out with the port captain and does some last minute shopping at the hardware store for small items needed for that endless "to do" list.
May 29	We time our early morning departure from La Paz with the ebbing current. Once we are out of the channel the wind fills in and we are able to sail. Since the winds are light we decide to fly the spinnaker. We look behind and see our "buddy boat" Rovia doing the same. (As the wind dies, we decide to install the sock over the chute. It shouldn't have been that hard but 2 hours later, in 100 degree F temps, it is finally going up and coming down correctly.) Rovia and Glory Days join three other boats at the Caleta Partida anchorage. After a refreshing swim a pot luck dinner is organized. It's fun. We get the chance to meet some other cruisers and we eat freshly caught tuna compliments of Rovia. *Rod's brownies are a real hit. Nothing like sugar to tame the beast.*
May 29	Since we sailed most of the day yesterday, it seems appropriate to linger and enjoy the scenery today. We hail Garth and Sandy on Rainbow and ask them to join us for snorkeling. We pick them up with our dinghy and then motor out to the point where there is a reef. At the reef we discover we forgot to bring an anchor. Rather than going back to the boat we pull up along the rocky volcanic shore and Garth scrambles out and picks out a rock. He then ties the rock to a line, we motor back to the nearby reef and Garth tosses our "anchor" overboard. Unfortunately the water clarity is almost zero and we see no fish. This is the same water we snorkeled in with Tim and Cindy only three weeks ago; since an algae is blooming, causing the water to be an opaque green, we can only see vague shapes with a visibility of only 5 feet maximum. The snorkeling is disappointing but the swim is refreshing. Back at the boat while showering Brenda discovers she has numerous stings. No one else has been affected. This is not the first time Brenda has shown a sensitivity. Now she itches as though she has poison oak. Next time she will wear her wet suit...
May 30	Experience has taught us that here in Baja the winds are strongest early in the morning. We have the anchor up by 7:30 and are underway to San Evaristo, which is located 29 miles north. We are delighted with the 20 knots of wind. By 8:30 we have caught four fish, all bonitos. Rod doesn't like bonitos so they get tossed back. As the sun rises in the sky, the fish stop biting and the wind calms also. The light wind coming from behind us (the south) makes for perfect spinnaker sailing again, so up goes the chute, this time in a much more professional manner with all of the practice we've had *(this is our third time using it)*. Brenda gets out the video camera and records the peaceful sail under the colorful sail. We drop our anchor in about 15' feet of water about 1:30pm. We're now 45 miles north of La Paz, in a small sheltered cove.
May 31	After Rod's cup of coffee we take the dinghy to shore. Brenda insists on a long walk, she continues to worry about our lack of exercise. She wants to get started early before the sun gets too hot. There are about ten shacks that make up this village. All the people and children seem very friendly. As we walk along the dirt road we see women doing their daily chores (cooking and washing) outside in the open air. There is a small salt harvesting operation here. As we walk among the salt evaporation ponds we meet the two brothers who work this operation. Today they are shoveling salt into 50 kg. bags (the temps are 95 to 100-ugh). We see donkeys wandering among the brush and cactus. These are probably their beasts of burden to carry the bags. We see no evidence of power equipment; in fact the only source of power in the village seems to be a few individually owned solar panels. Fishing is the other source of income. By l0:30 the air temp is l00 degrees. We cool off by "buzzing" the rugged coastline in the dinghy. The seawater is much clearer here and we locate two snorkeling sites for tomorrow.
June 1	We are expecting our friends on Rovia, Makini, and Sea Lark to sail into this cove today. That will bring the total to seven sail boats anchored here. Snorkeling turns out to be great! As we float above the ocean floor we see several stingrays glide by, as well as many porcupine fish and numerous other colorful fish. Rod sees his first eel of the season and a turtle with his head poked into a dark crevice (must be an ostrich turtle). Our friends do arrive and we invite them over for appetizers. So as the sun sets we munch on nachos, cheese and crackers and other finger food. We've met so many nice people....
June 2	Glory Days, Makini, and Sea Lark leave San Evaristo today. We all head for Los Gatos, thirty-five miles away. Again we have a lovely day of sailing. Glory Days is the last to arrive, because we sail all the way there. The others used their motor when the wind died down in the afternoon, while we sailed the entire way there using our spinnaker. And today we finally caught a yellow-fin tuna! We've been trying for six months to hook one of these beauties. Rod filleted out the l2 pound tuna while we were underway on the deck of the boat. We froze about 10 pounds and set aside the rest for dinner. After anchoring in Los Gatos, Brenda sliced some of the tuna and we ate our first Baja sashimi with wasabi and soy sauce. It was sooo good! It seemed to melt in our mouths. Our intention was to have sashimi as appetizers and then BBQ the rest for dinner. But it was so good raw we never lit the BBQ.
	Los Gatos is marvelous anchorage with sandstone walls and formations in layers of color ranging from turquoise to peach. As we watched the sun set on this natural beauty we decided this was the special night we had been waiting for. After saying a short blessing, we opened the bottle of Dom Perignon champagne that was given to us as a going away gift.
June 3	Our evening in paradise, last night, was short lived. When the sun went down the wind direction changed and the waves began hitting us broad side. All night long we were rolled from side to side. Everything on the boat that could rattle-did. At daylight, every boat in the anchorage pulled anchor and headed out. Too bad, this one of the prettiest spots we've seen. We all head for Bahia Agua Verde (Green Water Bay). Since our destination is only fifteen miles north and since we got little sleep last night and the wind is light at <5 kts, we motor all the way (so much for this purist sailing stuff). Agua Verde is a sheltered bay with three distinct coves. There are at least 15 sailboats here. We find our own little isolated cove with a sandy white bottom that offers good holding and protection. In the late afternoon a local fisherman comes by with lobster and fresh dorado. We trade him a pot from our galley for two lobsters. Tuna last night and lobster tonight. What a life!
June 4	We visit with some of the other boaters and learn that sand scallops are growing here in about 3-5 feet of water. We don our snorkels and flippers and look for the fan shaped shells. Sure enough, upon careful inspection, we find them poking out of the seaweed. With determination we are successful in pulling them from the sand. In an hour we harvest about fifteen, enough for a dinner. Rod saut�s them with garlic and butter and serves them on linguine. Delicious!
June 5	Just another nondescript day in paradise. Sun, snorkeling, and reading our books.
June 6	Yesterday the wind was still and boy was it hot! But today the wind picks up and some gusts are 30 knots. The good news is that now the temps are comfortable. The bad news is that the wind is coming from the north and blowing us onto the windward (or is it the leeward) shore. So to be safe we pull anchor and move to the other side of the cove for more protection. The wind blows all day and all night, so we spend the day on the boat. This gives us a chance to start sanding and varnishing the woodwork. We need to apply another 3 coats before leaving the boat for the summer.
June 6	We start the morning listening to the "nets" on the SSB. We hear many tell of their very uncomfortable night and of some boats whose anchors didn't hold during the gusts. The weather reports say the winds will gradually diminish and shift to southerlys. Most of the cruisers seem to be intimidated by these winds, which in the open waters are blowing from 20 to 30 knots. But for us, these winds are similar to San Francisco Bay. So we decide today would be a good day for sailing. Glory Days kicks up her heels and is beating at 7.5 knots in 20 knots of wind. She is very comfortable at this point of sail and with a reef in the main she stands up to < 15 degrees of heel and points a couple of degrees higher into the wind. For those non-sailors out there---this is a good thing. We are perplexed as to why we see other sailboats in this wind motoring. Humm. We make Bahia Candelerous Pico anchorage by early afternoon and join Makini in this small well-protected cove. After snorkeling the east wall of the bay we have time for a snooze before we join Jim and Sandy Anderson for a great steak dinner. Life really is good, urp!!
June 7	We start our day early (7:00am) with Brenda sanding and Rod varnishing. We want to get a second coat of varnish on before it gets too hot, otherwise the varnish won't cure right. Brenda got stung again yesterday when we were snorkeling, even though she had on her wet suit. It took about l2 hours for the welts to show up around her wrist (on that soft skin right between where the suit stops and the gloves start.) Obviously she is super sensitive because Rod swims with just his bathing suit is not bothered. So today, Brenda wears socks on her hands while snorkeling and escapes any further torment. Tonight Jim and Sandy row over to our boat for a reciprocal dinner. Our menu consists of scallops for appetizers (which we harvested today-some rock and some sand scallops) and for the main course tuna from our freezer, that we caught on June 2.
June 8-9	We leave Makini and continue north to Danzante Island. This was a short trip, only about an hour. We are the only boat here. It is nice to have our own private spot. We anchor in about 20' of water and the water is so clear we can see the anchor and the chain lying on the bottom. We have heard that the further north one goes into the Sea of Cortez the clearer the water will be. Guess it's true, this is certainly the first time Rod has not had to dive to check the set of the anchor. We enjoy our two days of solitude. We get a third coat of varnish on, and cross off a few more items of the do-list each morning. Then in the afternoon we reward ourselves with snorkeling and reading. We end each evening with star gazing, satellite counting, and watching the falling stars.
June l0	Time to move on. Our destination today is Caleta San Juanico (San Juanico Cove) about 40 miles north, on the coast of Baja. We have decided to pass by the town of Loreto since it's a 300 peso taxi trip to check in at the port captain's. This means we will not be able to re-provision but Brenda has stocked our cabinets well and although we will not have fresh vegetables (except Idaho potatoes) we still have our meats in the freezer, lots of canned goods, pasta and a variety of dried beans (also from Idaho). We hope to supplement all this with fish and more scallops. Before we leave we row to shore with most of our trash. A little paint thinner added to our pile of bags makes a nice little fire. Our bottles and cans we will carry with us for another week, until we get to a town with a trash disposal.
	The seas were flat when we started our day's journey and there was no wind, so we were forced to motor. But by lunchtime we had enough wind to fly the spinnaker. About 3:00 there were white caps approaching. We "socked the chute" and unfurled the jib instead. By the time we reached our anchorage the winds were gusting to 30 knots. The larder is growing bare so the Dorado we caught was greatly appreciated.
June 11	The gusty winds of last evening lasted all night. Since Rod tends to get less sleep when the wind is blowing this hard we moved around a point into a smaller anchorage named Ramada and enjoyed 3 days of relative comfort. One of the boats here organizes a potluck dinner. So we have a good dinner and meet several more cruisers.
June 12-17	A few more boats joined us here, in Ramada Cove. Two more dinnertime potlucks are organized, this time on the beach. Every boat in the anchorage participates, so we have 20 fun loving souls and l0 great dishes, including fresh dorado cooked three different ways. One afternoon Nancy and John, on Cruiser, invite us to join them for a beach and hooka outing. A hooka is a generator that compresses air, connected to two 50' long hoses with regulators on the end. The hooka is seated on an inflatable cushion. This enables two people to go diving without wearing tanks on their backs. Of course, the maximum diving depth is 50' (the length of the hose). This was a good adventure but the highlight of the week was the night we went squidding. Rod and I joined three other dinghies about l0:00pm on an evening with a full moon and flat seas. We were armed with a flashlight, a fishing pole, a glow-in-the-dark lure, a bucket and a knife. The squid are attracted to the glowing lure and latch on. Rod's salmon pole was bent over double pulling these amazing creatures to the surface. At the surface they provide water works entertainment.. They squirt 2 gallons of water out of their propulsion system in 3 seconds and anything and anyone in its sights gets a very thorough salt water wash down. This was a lot of fun. We caught 2 of these 4-foot long squid and the 4 pounds of meat provide us with more than enough food for several delicious meals.
June 18	Ramada Cove and San Juanico are lovely. Once the wind died we had many special days. We could easily spend more time here, but we have a time schedule to keep. So today our goal is a 45 mile sail north to Conception Bay. We are delighted with the warm southerly winds, that push us toward our goal all day long. Again the winds are light and we fly the spinnaker, this gives another 1.5 knots of speed. It takes us about 10 hours to reach the mouth of Conception Bay; which calculates to an average speed of 4.5 knots for the day. Again some of our buddy boats arrived ahead of us, but they motor most of the way. We sail when others motor. I guess we are lucky. We are younger and up to the challenge (and work) of flying a chute. Other boaters feel a spinnaker is just too much work and or too dangerous in the highly variable conditions of the Sea of Cortez. Carol and Carl on Princess, from New York, invite two other couples and us over for dinner. So after a quick dip in the sea to cool off we join them about 8:00pm. Another fun evening sharing cruising stories and lies.
June 19	As typical after a daylong passage, we sleep in late and then spend the day relaxing. We are always surprised by the amount of energy it takes to do a passage; even a short one. About sunset we take the dinghy to shore for a beach walk and later several other cruisers join us on the beach for an impromptu happy hour. Ann and Ian from Allana Marie, from Tucson, bring plaster of Paris to the beach and teach us how to make sand and shell sculptures. We're like kids playing in the sand!
June 20	The town of Mulege, population 5,000, is located about six miles across the bay. We haven't been to a town in four weeks. Our cruising guide tells us there is not good anchorage there, but the lure of fresh vegetables and fruit as well as a restaurant meal is just too much to resist, so we decide to take the dinghy across the bay. The streets are paved and the people friendly and we find ourselves charmed by this little town. We hear mention of a pig roast tomorrow night, on Saturday, so we make reservations for eight. We figure we can find at least three other boats interested in an adventure. Speaking of adventure: the trip back across the bay, after our visit to town, was quite a ride! The wind picked up while we were exploring Mulege, causing 4 foot waves on the sea. So although our 15-horse motor moves us right along , we still bounced and bobbed in the seas and by the end of our 45 minute ride we were exhausted. For those of you contemplating a cruising adventure, we are sure happy with our hard bottom inflatable (it's 10'3" long) and our 15 horse motor. It is more than adequate the majority of the time but in situations like this we wouldn't want to take on rough seas in anything any smaller. Those people with inflatable bottom dingys have learned not to make such trips. It would not only take them two to three times longer to make the return trip but they would be thoroughly drenched. In the extreme, it is safer, too.
June 21	First day of summer. Hard to believe. We have been enjoying 90 degree temps for a couple of months. Sure enough, there are lots of cruisers interested in roasted pork . Rather than make another trip across the bay in our dinghy we decide to move Glory Days to another anchorage on the other side of the bay. At 5:00pm we meet five other dinghies on the beach and we all walk to the road to hitch a ride to town. Since there are no local buses, hitchhiking is fairly common. We split into two groups. The first vehicle to stop is a paneled van, six of us crawl in the back which is very dusty and crowded with tools but we are glad to get a ride. The driver plays loud Mexican music and we can barely hear each other speak, but he is kind enough to drop us right in front of the restaurant. Our other friends soon arrive also having found a ride with locals. The pig roast is geared for tourists and we are entertained by a mariachi band and offered a large buffet meal complete with carved pig and a free margarita . We have a good time and enjoy how special it feels to be served and entertained.
June 22	This morning we start our trip across the Sea of Cortez to the mainland of Mexico. Our destination is San Carlos/Guaymas. We hope to sail rather than motor so we are anticipating a 20 hour trip. We have mixed emotions regarding this trip. Looking back over the last seven months we have had a grand time and we don't want it to end. On the other hand we are anxious to see our friends and family again. Most of the day we are blessed with good winds, but as the sun gets low in the sky the wind dies and we are forced to drop the sails and turn on the motor. Otherwise the boom with the main sail flops back and forth as we sit waiting for a puff of wind. Since we are motoring our estimated arrival time has advanced . At l0:00pm Brenda goes to sleep for two hours and relieves Rod at midnight. Rod sleeps for about one hour and when he wakes he is greeted to the lights of the approaching coast. We navigate into the harbor and drop anchor about 3:00 am, four hours ahead of schedule.
June 23-25	We have three days to get our boat ready to be pulled from the water and stored "on the hard" for three months, during hurricane season. There is a lot of preparation work that must be done. We wash everything with fresh water to remove all the accumulated salt crystals. We wash and remove both sails and store them down below. We remove all the misc. items we normally store on deck, like the extra diesel and gas cans, the life rings, the outboard motor , the fishing pole, the swim ladder, and bar-b-que. We apply three coats of cetol onto the toe rail. We change the oil in both the generator and diesel engines. We put aluminum foil on all the windows. I defrost the refrig and freezer. Rod flushes the engines with fresh water. We do all this work at the marina where there is little breeze and the humidity and temps are in the 90's. On the 25th we check into a motel with air conditioning. It is such a relief!
June 26	The hydraulic lift/trailer that the boat storage company uses to pull Glory Days out of the water is quite impressive. Rod and I sat on the boat while it was raised out of the water and driven three miles down the street to the storage yard. To bystanders we must have looked strange 10 feet up in the air sitting in our cockpit. After the boat was placed on blocks and braced in place we put the boat cover over the boat and tied it securely into place, climbed down a ladder and covered the cockpit drains with screening, and taped the through hull fittings and exhaust pipes. The screen and tape will prevent wasps from building nests inside our boat while we are gone. We were sad to walk away from our home. Glory Days has served us well over the last 7 months.
June 27	With all our boat errands done we feel like we are on vacation. We start the day by walking from our motel to the bus stop for a ride to a restaurant for breakfast. After returning to the motel we finish our packing and the motel owner takes us to the city of Guaymas (about 20 minutes away) where we buy tickets for an air-conditioned bus ride to the US border. The bus is nice and clean with reclining seats and a video player that plays three American movies with Spanish subtitles. It takes about 5.5 hours to reach the border town on Nogales. We unload our baggage and find a taxi to drive us to the immigration office. After our passports are checked, it is a short walk to the Greyhound bus station. Here we buy tickets for a two hour bus ride to Tucson, Arizona . At the bus terminal in Tucson we ask a taxi driver to recommend a motel. At 8:00pm we check into Howard Johnson's. How nice it is to carry on conversations in English!
June 28	We use this day to explore Tucson by foot. Not too much to see...but we are delighted to find a coffee shop that can serve us cafe lattes and fresh bagels. Something we couldn't find in Mexico.
June 29	We fly from Tucson to Salt Lake City. Rod's parents meet us at the airport and drive us to their home in Kimberly, Idaho three hours away. We will stay here for three-four weeks. A family reunion is planned for mid July.

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Revised: May 17, 2003.