VIdeos uploaded

Now that we have a better internet connection, here are the first and last videos you will see. Since Patrick lost the GoPro we wont be having any more cool action shots :( He would like to inform the readers that he is starting a GoPro fund for his birthday wishes. If you would like to contribute a birthday gift (April 4) in the form of some cash for a GoPro email him!

Day 13: Bahia San Francisquito to Santa Rosalia

With a 78 mile journey infront of us, David decided an early start was needed to avoid arriving in the dark. So we left at 12, midnight! It wasn't too bad, alternating watches of two hours all day long. Navigating by stars was really neat, and David used Mars while Patrick followed Scorpio.

Daylight came and all day long, no major incidents or things to write home about. Except we almost hit a whale. One dove right in front of us causing us to steer sharply and then surfaced just a dozen yards away. A close call.

We raised Santa Rosalia early in the afternoon and within sight of the harbor started reeling in the meat hooks. As soon as David started reeling in the pole, he had a fish on! Turns out it was a yellow tail! A little one, but a pretty fish and good hamachi sashimi!

It sure is nice being in a harbor again. Hot showers for the first time in weeks, and calm fseas. Also, a town to explore and buy street food. Patrick had a tamarindo paleta but it was not as good as his!

March 5: Sweet sail to little SF (San Francisquito)

We had 35 miles to cover today and wanted to sail some of it, so we got an early start at 0630.

After motoring for a bit, we were soon able to set the sails.  Eventually, we were able to sail wing-on-wing across to San Francisquito bay.  We ended up rounding the point and staying at Punta Santa Teresa near the San Francisquito resort and airstrip, but saw no planes.

Patrick went spearfishing, but came back emptyhanded.  But we went to bed early, lights out at 1800 since we were planning to depart at midnight for Santa Rosalia and civilization!

Day 11 Puerto Don Juan to Animas Slot

With a mere 15 miles to travel, we elected to sail most of the way to save gas, even if that meant drifting at times in dead calms. For about half the day we had a light and variable breeze, but Blue Eyes is able to sail reasonably well in light air. After being becalmed for over an hour and still half a dozen miles to the anchorage, we elected to motor the rest of the way. As luck would have it, once we had the sails in and about 4 miles from the anchorage, the wind picked up to a nice clip, but we had already committed to motoring.

Upon entering the moorage, we were treated to a private, remote location. Beautiful lava walls around us, a little island nearby and a beautiful sand beach. Patrick went spearfishing to supplement the fish we still had from the Sheepshead. He managed to get a dousing of the Sheepshead, a Mexican Hogfish. Despite their name, they are actually beautiful fish. Check it out below.

Patrick is really enjoying the spear fishing because it allows him to snorkel (which he has always loved) with a purpose, providing dinner. It offers a new way to look at a reef of fish and allows him to select what will be eaten for dinner.

Fish tacos for dinner, guitar, rum, and a beautiful sunset in our secluded anchorage. Life is good! 

March 3 - off to Puerto Don Juan

We finished our resupplying at LA Bay (some food and more gas), and moved east to Puerto Don Juan - a natural hurricane hole.  it is a natural harbor with a dog-leg to get in.  But it provides protection against waves from any direction.  And it reduces wind too.

Here is LA Bay, out first touch of civilization in a week, and last supply base before Santa Rosalia:

A good thing it reduces wind as we had some strong wind getting from LA Bay to Puerto Don Juan over here and well into the evening.  We were able to sail almost the whole way with only a double-reefed main.  It saved us some gas and was just as quick as motoring.  Plus, that's what we came down here to do! 

Here is Patrick at the helm while we're getting blown along:

We had the place to ourselves and were able to enjoy a bottle of Epic Brewing Company beer, and a lovely sunset.  Plus, we can sleep in tomorrow and take it easy as it is an easy 15 miles to the Las Animas Slot.

The beer:

The sunset:

March 2nd: Bahia de los Angeles

As you can guess by all the new posts, we made it to Bahia de Los Angeles village (LA Bay) where we have found working internet.  Amazingly, there is no working WiFi here nor even cell service.  People here use VHF radios to talk to each other...talk about lack of privacy in a small town!

But there are a couple of old-school internet cafes with desktops and very slow DSL connections.

After refueling our gas cans (via a walk and hitch-hike), we make it to an internet cafe.  Thus all our recent posts at once.  Over the next day or so, we will be reprovisioning and getting ready to our next stop: Santa Rosalia.

March 1 - Escape the Refugio to Isla Mitlan

The winds howled last night, but by 9am they have died down enough for us to poke our noses outside puerto refugio.

Although there is still some wind, it is in the low teens, so we decide to motor on to our next destination.  The wind and strong current are against us, so even going full throttle we sometimes see our speed over ground drop to less than three knots.

Adding to this we get a significant amount of rain, maybe a half inch over the course of the day. Good thing we brought our foul weather gear.  This is so much rain for this part of Baja that there is a risk of flash floods and landslides on land.  But that shouldn't be a problem for us out here on the water.

We persevere and make it to isla Mitlan by late afternoon, a serene little anchorage between a smallish island and a smaller one.  The water is relatively calm, the wind blocked by the neighboring islands and we are able to relax and celebrate in our small way that we have moved beyond the confines of Puerto Refugio.

We are less than 10miles from Bahia de Los Angeles and its town/civilization.  So hopefully tomorrow we will be able to upload some of these posts