Early Summer 2001

Monday, June 11, 2001 

We arrived at the Portland Oregon airport late Thursday night and were greeted by a happy, excited granddaughter Emily and her mom.  We spent Thursday and Friday night in Vancouver with Gretchen, did some Portland-type shopping, (West Marine), much playing with our granddaughter and visiting with Gretchen.  Saturday afternoon Gretchen loaned us her car.  We drove east to The Dalles, picked up our mail at Linda’s and settled in with the Lovell’s for a few days.  Sunday sister Judy had a graduation party for her youngest and his wife who had just graduated from college.  There we met many old friends and enjoyed our visit with them.  Sunday night we made a quick trip to say hi to Craig and Mary Crichton and shared photos of our trip to the Yucatan and theirs of their cruise in the Caribbean to Costa Rica. 

This morning, we dropped Gretchen’s car off for a brake repair as they had failed on us late Sunday.  Tedd Lovell loaned one of their cars for us to use until the repairs were completed.  Bill renewed his driver’s license and then it was off shopping.  We know where to find things in our old hometown.

Thursday, June 14, 2001

Wednesday I spent the entire day helping Gretchen along with Susie, my youngest sister and her daughter Alyssa, paint Gretchen’s little house.  Gretchen currently has it rented out while she is attending school in Vancouver.  Bill ran errands for us, between his own chores of plumbing repairs.

Today we were up and out early to return to Vancouver so that Gretchen could use her car for Emily’s school conference and a job interview.  By noon we all drove on to Susie’s place in Ocean Park WA, near the coast.  Gretchen and I took Emily and Alyssa to the beach while Bill helped Susie with her computer.  While walking the beach we found one new Nike shoe from the latest washed-overboard container of them.

Monday June 18, 2001

We returned to Vancouver Friday afternoon.  We had a relaxing weekend.  Bill spent much time on computers surfing the Web, cleaning up/updating Gretchen’s and her friends’ computers.  Gretchen and I went shopping once to the Troutdale area and also to Jansen Beach Mall.

Saturday June 23, 2001

Back in Mazatlán: we are getting ready to head north into the Sea of Cortez to enjoy snorkeling, sailing and fishing for a month plus before we have to pull Lanikai out of the water for bottom maintenance.  We arrived back in Mazatlán Thursday afternoon after an early morning departure from Portland.  Yesterday was mostly a day of rest and getting used to the high heat and humidity again.  Bill did install two of the new replacement florescent lights that do not create as much RFI in my ham radio. 

Our last few days in Oregon were as busy as the rest.  We made one more run to The Dalles on Tuesday morning so that we could attend the evening meeting of The Dalles Yacht Club and see some of our old boating friends.  That gave us one more night with the Lovell’s and a chance to pick up some last minute mail that had arrived at Linda’s. 

Wednesday June 27, 2001

We have kept busy, although slowly so, in the warm tropical air that has settled upon Mazatlán.  We are down to one project that needs to be finished before we can untie the dock lines.  We fueled up on Monday just in time, as soon after we finished a decree came down from the bigwigs that no more fuel was to be sold.  Seems that the fishermen in Mazatlán are picketing the Pemex distribution center over the high prices.  They are allowing very little fuel to reach the service stations causing a real fuel shortage in town (in fact all over the west coast of Mexico).  Today was one of our more hot/humid days yet so we contented ourselves with inside projects with a large fan blowing on us at all times.  Bill sent/received and answered some e-mail.  He then got the navigation computer set up for travels.

Saturday June 30, 2001

Friday, the one project grew to several, mostly just tying up loose ends and stowing the many left over parts, pieces and tools from our winter of projecting.  We found time to do a few of the projects from the “it would be nice” category.  Thursday Bill did the checkout paperwork dance, going to immigration and the port captain to get stamps on our paperwork and to the bank to pay the fees.  We had hoped to leave the marina early this morning but it was late last night when Bill finally made the last cuts on his wood chunks and we still had the shade tent to remove and stow and a dinghy to bring on board.  It was a hot day and working outside had to wait until sunset.  Tonight the boat will be readied for an early morning departure.

Bill spent the entire morning getting the cockpit windows ready to install.  In the end we installed only the center one and plastic rollup ones on the two side windows so that the breeze will not be too stifled as it tries to cool us.  We then made an early afternoon trip to the mall for lunch and a last ice cream before we leave (there is no ice cream available in Bahia de Los Angeles so it will be San Carlos before we again encounter some).  The mall is also air conditioned so it was a pleasant place to spend the afternoon.

Wednesday July 4, 2001

We made it to the Baja side of the Sea of Cortez.  We left the marina early Sunday morning and spent the day anchored off Isla Venados across from the tourist area of Mazatlán.  All day we enjoyed the many tourists traveling between shore and the island in catamarans, kayaks, pangas and other floating things.  Bill started up the water maker, and finished up a few other loose ends.  Monday, after ham radio net weather reports we upped the anchor and headed across.  We had great sailing both Monday and Tuesday but had to motor through the night.  Today we motored all the way as the wind never topped 5 mph from the stern.  Monday night we crossed tracks with many small thunder cells but never actually got caught in one.  They did bring good winds to fill the sail for a short time.  Our first anchorage here in Baja is at Isla Monserratt as we could make it there in the early evening.  Our original plans were to stop at La Lancha at the north end of Carmen Island but we would not reach there until midnight so opted for the closer site.

Saturday July 7, 2001

Thursday, our first day anchored here, we got the snorkel gear out then spent about 30 minutes swimming around the boat just getting used to the idea again.  The rest of the day we read, enjoying the cooler, dryer weather of the Baja.  Radio reception is much better here than in Mazatlán and I had a nice chat with my father this morning.

Yesterday, Bill got the dinghy engine going and we took off to explore the nearby reefs on this island.  The water is getting clear but still somewhat cloudy.  Too much weed growth over our favorite snorkel spots for a great snorkel but we did see fish when they came out from their hiding spots among the weeds. After a morning of snorkeling we rested the afternoon away.

Today we were again in the water in the morning.  In the afternoon we moved to the north end of Carmen Island where we anchored on the southwest side of Punta Perico where we found a nice little nook with a sand bottom.  Our trip was a motorboat ride in calm wind and flat seas.  It also was very hot so we put the barbeque to use to cook our dinner.

Monday July 9, 2001

Yesterday was another hot day, but in the afternoon we did get a nice breeze out of the northeast.  Bill spent much of the day at his computer getting started again on the navigation/star chart program that he started writing last summer.  We did take a few hours off in the early afternoon to check out the reef off the point.  Much nicer snorkeling here as the reef had very little seaweed.  The water could be clearer though; we had only about 15 feet of visibility. 

Just before sunset we were treated to a show.  A pod of about 50 dolphins spent about 30 minutes gathering their dinner in our bay.  They jumped, did flips, flapped the water with their tails and even leaped clear out of the water.  Likely they’re foraging; they even came real close to Lanikai.  We also enjoyed some great star watching after dark, clear skies and no city light to interfere. 

This morning our dolphin friends were back fishing in the bay again.  By noon the wind was picking up from the southeast and the waves reflecting around Punta Perico were getting obnoxiously large.  We finally gave up and upped the anchor at about 1:00PM heading to the north side of Carmen Island at Puerto La Lancha.  We had a nice sail but upon arriving we noted that the swells were also reflecting into that bay so we continued on to Isla Coronado in dying winds.  We anchored just north of the spit in very calm waters.

Tuesday July 10, 2001

We woke up to a sticky boat this morning.  Something had brought the humidity up and the sky was cloudy but there was nothing obvious either on the weather faxes or on the weather reports.  Since Bill had not felt good yesterday we decided to stay in this calm anchorage while he played more with his program and I read.  The sun came out late in the morning and I even went for a swim but the water still has not passed into the magical warm zone and so is very green and cloudy.

Thursday July 12, 2001

Yesterday we planned to move north as soon as the wind came up.  We finally got a breeze out of the SE and took off north.  We had a wonderful sail until about 2 miles south of our intended anchorage.  The wind blew a steady 10; that kept us moving at about 4.5 knots with all three sails set.  A great ride!!!  After the wind died, we continued on under “iron jib” anchoring behind Punta San Antonio just before sunset.

Today we dinghied out to the nearby reef and then the further out reef.  The bottom was real weedy and the water not very clear but worst of all it felt cold.  Our outboard decided not to start up for the return trip until we had paddled the dinghy halfway back to Lanikai.  Bill is still making progress with his program and enjoying exercising his brain.

Sunday July 15, 2001

Yesterday we had a great sail from Punta San Antonio to the north end of Bahía Conception.  Most of the way we had the spinnaker up.  The wind was real light but that sail pulled us along at 3.5 to 5 knots in only 4 to 8 knots of wind over the boat.  We trailed a hook the entire way, but never got even a nibble.  But there are reports of Dorado being caught in this area so there is hope for next time.

Friday Bill got started on the wiring and installation of our cockpit lighting and yesterday morning as we got underway he finished up.  Last night we had lights in the cockpit for dinner and even better light for reading later on, then red light for star watching.

Today, since the main engine ran less than an hour yesterday, Bill cranked up the diesel battery charger to charge the batteries.  It took some time to bleed the motor before it would crank up but it is up and running now.

Today we also checked out the snorkeling nearby.  The area is quite murky and barren as well, but at least the water is warm so we enjoyed several long swims.  As dark approached we dinghied over to Elan to enjoy evening cocktails with Guy and Deborah.

Wednesday July 18, 2001

Monday was spent just relaxing, reading and Bill worked more on his ongoing program.  We did spend a few hours snorkeling off the point.  The water was still too murky for a great snorkel but at least there were fish to see.  Late in the day we took the burnable trash to shore and Bill burned it all up while I hunted the beach for seashells.

Yesterday we again moved further north and are now anchored in Sweet Pea Cove off Isla San Marcos.  The sail from the north end of Conception Bay to Punta Chavato was a great reach in about 20-knot winds but as we rounded the point the thunder heads built onshore and stole all of our wind.  It was a motorboat ride the rest of the way in.

This anchorage is also murky water but it is full of life.  There are large Mantas that jump right near the boat and swim at the surface with the tips of their wings breaking the surface.  In the evening we had a large fish boil around the boat for almost an hour while we read in the cockpit.  They seemed to like our light on the water.  A pelican even took advantage of the after-dark fishing, catching fish by swimming into the boil.

Friday July 20, 2001

Yesterday we had a semi ok snorkel on the reef at Punta Piedra Blanca.  The water seems to be clearing up!!  Wednesday our snorkel turned into a swim to the reef and back to Lanikai with nothing much to see but murky water so Thursday’s snorkel was an improvement.

Bill is still spending much of his time on his program with both of us getting more of the many numbers needed for locating the planets.  Today he started to do one of the many small projects but after hunting down the parts and paperwork he discovered that his ohmmeter was dead.  He then spent several hours cleaning it trying to get it to work with no luck.  By now it was late afternoon.  We never did get any snorkeling in today.

Saturday July 21, 2001

Great snorkeling today!!  The water still could be clearer but we were out for two hours in the clearest water so far this summer.  Visibility was about 15 feet and just a foot below the surface it seemed to be much clearer.  Tomorrow morning we will again snorkel here and then move on to the Midriff Islands and the Bahía de Los Angeles area.

Monday July 23, 2001

We had a great overnight trip north to Isla de Las Animas.  The first part of the journey was a motorboat ride in glassy seas but we did hook two nice Dorado.  Both fish made it onboard and Bill cleaned them for eating. We got four meals from each plus ceviche from the leftover small bits.  The second fish was hooked as soon as the mess from the first was cleaned up.  Several hours before sunset the wind finally picked up and soon after we got the jib up the winds reached 30 mph.  We enjoyed a great rowdy sail for over 2 hours.  We then seemed to drive out of the windy area but still enjoyed sailing in the evening land breeze of 10-15 knots for another three hours.  We dropped the anchor about 8:00 AM this morning in 22 feet and could see the bottom! 

Since last night was so pleasant and beautiful neither of us got much sleep so today was sleep catch-up time.  We napped, read and typed on computers.  For dinner we enjoyed fresh Dorado.

Tuesday July 24, 2001

We went snorkeling early today and that was a good thing because the wind picked up before noon and blew hard the rest of the day.  The snorkeling was fantastic!!!  There were lots of pretty fish and clear water to view them in.  Also interesting rock formations and very little plant growth.

Wednesday July 25, 2001

The wind continued to blow from the SE almost all night.  It kept us cool, but after the reef covered at high tide we got some nice waves rolling into the anchorage. 

This morning we took off in the dinghy to snorkel and had to hunt to find a spot where the left over large waves were not breaking.  We did find a great spot and Bill shot his first triggerfish of the season.  We brought it home, cleaned it, chopped it with the food processor and covered it with lemon juice for an afternoon feast of fresh ceviche. 

Friday July 27, 2001

Yesterday dawned cloudy and ominous looking.  We did not snorkel until late in the afternoon and then it was just off Lanikai to the reef on the east side of our little bay.  The water near Lanikai was about 28 feet deep and from the surface the water was so clear that we could count the links on our chain as it lay on the bottom.

Today we again went around the west corner to snorkel and again found clear water and lots of fish to view.  Bill tried to get a triggerfish for diner and although he shot a few they all managed to get away so we will have Dorado again.  We were not alone snorkeling today as Linda from Hawkeye and three folks from Nancy Blacket were in the water too.   Bill is still spending much time on his navigation program.  Currently he is adding the ability to print out nautical almanac-like pages.

Sunday July 29, 2001

Yesterday was a rainy-type day.  Actually we only got real rain for about 30 minutes in the late morning but that was enough to rinse most of the salt off of things.  It then remained cloudy the rest of the day with a few passing dribbles from the sky.  Bill and I spent the day enjoying the cooler weather and reading.  We did have a nice 10-15 knot breeze most of the day.

Today we are moving from Las Animas to the Bay of LA in order to refresh the larder with a few fresh veggie-type items and to have a meal out.  Also a biggie is to dump the four weeks of accumulated trash.

Later:  We had a light- to no-wind kind of trip and had to motor the entire way but we are now anchored off the village of Bahía de Los Angeles.  We did have an obnoxious swell coming from the SE for several hours of the trip and with no wind in the sails, the boat rolled from side to side.  After arriving we dinghied in to Guillermo’s and enjoyed our first restaurant dinner since leaving Mazatlán.

Monday July 30, 2001

We went into town today and did our grocery shopping, picking up a bag of fresh salad goodies.  We also tried to fill the propane barbeque tank but they could not fill tanks as their big new storage tank was still waiting for the bureaucratic ok before it could be filled.  Currently they were only exchanging empty tanks for filled ones and ours was not a size that they had so we would have had to purchase a tank as well.  We purchased one of the small disposable tanks to get us to San Carlos where I expect our tank can be filled.

We did enjoy another meal in town before returning to Lanikai.  In the late afternoon, we dinghied over to Dreamweaver.  We visited with Toby until well after dark.  Linda had ridden up to San Diego so the boys were behaving like bachelors for a few days.

Friday August 3, 2001

Wednesday evening we joined the other boaters anchored here for a chat with beers at Guillermo’s.  After visiting for many hours we moved down to La Hamacas for a late dinner before returning home to our boats. 

Yesterday we spent the entire day on the boat.  Had a nice bath-swim in the bay and I spent the rest of the day reading while Bill made more progress with his program.  The annual fiesta “Bahía de Los Angeles days” got under way yesterday, with music well into the morning.  We had planned to attend and eat dinner ashore but it was one of those hot no wind days so we opted to eat on the boat and wait to join the festivities today.

We did get to shore for dinner at the festival but did not stay too long as the Elefante winds (hot dry westerlies) were blowing sand through the grounds.  Although the food was good it was no fun trying to keep the sand out of it at the same time trying to keep the plate etc from blowing away.

Monday August 6, 2001

Saturday we left the bay with the intention of anchoring off the rustic resort of La Unica in Ensenada El Pescador.  Strong winds on our nose that came up after we left the bay caused us to have to short tack through the offshore islands.  Since it did not look better in the main channel we turned tail and anchored in real secure Puerto Don Juan for the night.

Yesterday early in the morning we moved down to El Pescador, still in contrary winds that had us again tacking but at least the tidal current was with us and the winds were not as strong as the day before.  These last two runs reminded us of previous sailing on the Columbia River.  After anchoring we waited until late afternoon when the swells and wind were less to go ashore.  Our friend Magdaleno was not there, but we visited with his two relatives that were left to guard the place in his absence.

Today early in the morning Magdaleno’s friends stopped by the boat to say that they were going to town to see what happened to Magdaleno, as he had not yet returned; one of them had to get to work in the village.  They asked us to keep an eye on things until someone returned.  It was not long before Magdaleno with his family stopped by Lanikai to say hi and invite us in to visit.  Bill and I gave them a chance to get settled in and then followed them ashore.  We spent the rest of the morning visiting.  Magdaleno is interested in many things and we practiced our Spanish while discussing the earth, planets and stars with him.

We returned to Lanikai for lunch and a swim before upping the anchor and heading south.  There was extremely light- to no-wind for the entire passage to San Francisquito, an isolated bay and our jump off point to San Carlos on the mainland.  We anchored after dark with the moon rising just in time to light the final entrance into the anchorage.  On the way, as we passed the entrance to Bahia de las Animas, two very large blue whales surfaced not 50 feet of our starboard side.  They swam along with us for a short time and then circled around past our stern as they were leaving the bay .  Toward dark we passed three large pods of dolphins.  The dolphins in each pod seemed to be swimming in a line across the channel; the line stretched as far as we could see in both directions and probably included a few hundred dolphins.  The first pod overtook us porpoising, jumping and tail flapping.  They then turned around and passed us again.  The other two pods were not nearly as spectacular as they made fairly rapid passes going the opposite way up the channel as we were.

Thursday August 9, 2001

We made it to the mainland side of the Sea late yesterday afternoon after a wild Columbia Gorge-type sail from San Francisquito.  We left at noon on Monday to make the crossing to San Carlos in blue skies and no wind.  The tide was running against us and must have been about max for there were large whirl pools in the bay and just outside as we left.  We expected to have a few hours of current against us and then have it turn as the water left the sea and have a longer period of the current in our favor.  By the time the tide was to change again we hoped to be far enough south that it would have much less effect.  That was not to be; we never in the 30-hour crossing noticed the current in our favor and usually noted a strong northerly push.  The first 4 hours was nice motoring on flat seas although we did pass through some current rips.  Then we entered an area of very confused seas but little wind.  Our speed got down to 2 knots over the ground.  When the wind picked up, right on our bow of course, we pulled up the main hoping for a nice push from it but still we traveled at 3 knots or less.  Finally, at 3:00AM, with the wind kicking up to 25 mph, we gave up on the motor, pulled up our smaller jib and tacked across the sea.  With much effort, and much tacking, we hit land about 30 miles north of our destination, found a point to hide behind and dropped the hook.  Today we are resting with plans to complete the journey to San Carlos starting very early in the morning, hopefully before the wind gains too much strength.

Saturday August 11, 2001

We arrived in San Carlos anchoring in the bay at 8:30 AM Friday morning;  we were awake at 2:00 AM and soon had the anchor up.  Lanikai motored down the coast only getting a little wind just around sunup.  Bill called the marina only to discover that no slips were available and would not be.  When we then lowered the dinghy for the trip to shore, it’s little outboard motor failed to start. It had gotten too much water on the crossing and even had water in the oil after Bill pulled its starter rope many times hoping for some life.  It took him most of the rest of the morning to get it going and by then it was very hot.  We waited until late in the afternoon for our shore trip.  Two runs were made in; the first to dump trash and get fresh water for washing salt off of things and the second was for ice cream and a shower.  We never found the ice cream as that store was closed for the summer, but we did enjoy a nice salad and nachos at a deli-bar that was even air-conditioned.

Today I put the water to use washing all of our laundry and using the rinse water to wash salt off of some of the many salt incrusted goodies hanging from Lanikai’s rails; I even cleaned the rails.  Bill was also busy with projects as he got more holes drilled in the cockpit front windows and frame to be able to more firmly attach the windows.  Since we are not using the solid acrylic windows but plastic roll-up-able ones, Bill pounded grommets into them in the correct spots to make use of the new nuts.  The nuts will be epoxied into the new holes tomorrow.

Tuesday August 14, 2001

The last few days have been real busy but the boat is out of the water and work has started on readying her for a month or so of bottom drying while we travel stateside.  Sunday we finished readying Lanikai for being trailered out of the water.  Bill finished installing the t-nuts in the many holes he had drilled Saturday in the cockpit front using West System epoxy to hold them in.  He also installed the snaps around the aft cabin windows to hold the shade and mosquito netting panels that I had sewn before we left Mazatlán.  Then after dark we deflated and rolled up the dinghy, installing the out board motor back onto its stern mounts.  I spent the day finding more things to rinse in fresh water.  Monday morning early we moved Lanikai to the launch ramp where Bill used the fresh water spigot to good advantage rinsing much salt off of her topsides and as high up the mast as the stream of water would reach.  By our 9:00 AM haul out time we were already on the trailer and getting started on our journey to Marina Seca about half a mile away.  We rode the distance on Lanikai, climbing down a ladder after we arrived at the office area of the yard.  Bill discussed our desires with the management and by afternoon the boat was moved to the sand blasting area.  Bill and I in the mean time had found a room in the “Pink Palace,” the motel favored by the cruisers.  The two of us spent the rest of the afternoon on Lanikai preparing her for the work to be done.  Today Bill went to the yard early while I took off to the Port Captain's office.  The sandblasting of the paint from the bottom was accomplished by late this afternoon.  I spent some time waiting for the Captain to arrive but by noon the official paperwork was finished.