s/v Sea42 - sailing the Pacific

Barra de Navidad (House Building 4)

2012-01-31T10:59:00.000-08:00

If you missed the other parts you can catch up on:

How this whole thing started.
Building the dock on the canal for Sea42.
Building the House Part 1 and finding the property.
Building the House Part 2.
Building the House Part 3.

I returned to California after spending a fun new year in Barra with my family. The builder had finished one bathroom in the house for us to use. This made life much easier as we all stayed on the boat for the 10 days we were there.

While we were there we completed the design of the pool and the kitchen. We also made a few changes to the layout of the interior. The builder Alex has been really flexible about this. For me that's really important as I like to change things as the project progresses and I finally see how things look in real life for the first time.

Sea42 tied up in our back garden. Most of the rendering on the exterior walls is now complete and the circular support for the palapa is in place.

Lionel our plumber sorted us out with some horses on our trip. We all rode to the top of the local hill that looks over the bay. The girls have been taking some lessons so we could all gallop back home along the beach.

Riding thro downtown Melaque. The horses didnt spook once even with the noisy traffic passing us and dogs running out barking to check whats going on.

Looking south across Barra Bay above Melaque. Barra de Navidad is in the distance

The girls had fun riding from the boat to the local beach

Riding horses around the half built house was quite a novelty

Eventually Mum got to ride as well

Building the spiral staircase. The maestro did all the math in his head and it worked out perfectly.

A final smooth coat is applied to the columns supporting the Palapa

Looking down from the roof where the palapa will be.The chalk lines in the garden are remains of our pool designing session on our vacation.

Palm fronds are delivered. Looks like the palapa roof could be starting soon.

The arched doorway to the TV room is prepared. The loose bricks below the arch are temporary and removed the next day.

Im flying down to Barra for 10 days this weekend to check on the progress and finalize a few of the finishes such as tiles and surface materials.

Barra de Navidad (House Building 3)

2011-12-24T18:39:00.001-08:00

If you missed the other parts you can catch up on

How this whole thing started
Building the dock on the canal for Sea42
Building the House Part 1 and finding the property
Building the House Part 2

So far everything had gone to plan. The building team varied from 12-18 people and they worked from 8-5 every day except Sunday. They cleaned up every day and did a big cleanup on Saturday. Nothing was too much effort and they made lots of changes for me when I asked. So far so good.

The forms are laid out on the second floor and roof level. You can get an idea of the view we will have from our roof patio.

The rebar is then laid over the forms in preparation for the concrete.

Lots of steel rebar all tied together.

Light fittings and conduit for wires are added

The roof is poured in a single day

A well organized team keeps a steady flow of concrete to the roof

Its inspiring to watch them work

Once the concrete is dry, work continues on the stairwell that gives access to the roof.

Meanwhile, the walls are beginning to look smooth after layer #3 of 4 is applied

The stairs to the master bedroom balcony take shape.

The double story pillars that will hold up the palapa are completed

Sometimes I have to look away when I see them work. No accidents so far, fingers crossed.

Well, thats about all for 2011, I am spending Xmas at home in California with my family and then we are all fllying down to Mexico for the New Year. We will stay on the boat and use the time to get some details about the finishes sorted out. Should have plenty of time to just enjoy some time in the sun as well.

Barra de Navidad (House Building 2)

2011-12-01T18:16:00.000-08:00

If you missed the other parts you can catch up on

How this whole thing started
Building the dock on the canal for Sea42
Building the House Part 1 and finding the property

Now that we had the land title in our name and the dock for the boat sorted out, we turned our attention to building our winter home.

The local architect/builder Alejandro Lazareno was recommended to me by Pepe Padilla, the realtor we used. He knows the area very well and used to be the mayor of the neighboring town Melaque. He had built many of the homes I liked in the area and this gave me the opportunity to talk to other home owners about their experiences. He builds a mixture of traditional mexican features with modern lines using lots of curved walls where other architects prefered more boxy designs.

We worked with him ofr many months, visiting other homes and choosing materials. There are a lot of items in a new house if you start from scratch!
There are many horror stories about building in Mexico, mainly they involve the builder running out of money as builders tend to underbid jobs in order to get work. Having a solid contract and ensuring the builder has considered all aspects/costs are vital. The builder I chose had completed over 50 homes, my 2 direct neighbors houses had been built by him and they were very happy. I felt I stood a good chance of getting what I wanted.
Completing the building contract took over 6 months as we had to wait for our title from Bancomer (Mexican Bank) and also because it took that long to design the house we wanted and to get the contract details correct. We first spoke with the Architect in February, by September that year we were ready to sign the contract and wire the deposit. Luckily the exchange rate moved in our favor in September as the US economy crashed, so we are glad it took so long. I just checked our gmail log for emails to our architect and counted 178 messages!

Breaking ground for our new house. Alejandro (our architect on left) discusses details with the main contractor. Sea42 is tied up at our newly completed dock in the background. October 2011.

As this is an earthquake zone (like San Francisco) I had specified a large foundation built on piers sunk into the ground.
We had all our plans checked by a structural engineer. Ill let you know how it works out after our first big quake. To add to the excitement of starting the house, hurricane Jova hit Barra de Navida directly 2 days after the photo above was taken. (the hurricane season in central Pacific Mexico runs Jul-Oct). It caused damage in the nearby towns and to some beach front properties in Barra. Our boat was spared as its really protected in the canals. I even got an insurance waiver to keep the boat in Barra during the hurricane season.

Damaged property on the sea front in Barra from hurricane Jova waves. No damage in the canals luckily.

Ground floor plans. dock/canal and pool on the left

First floor plans. Large round area is an outdoor palapa.

The nearly completed foundation. All this part is underground.

Looking from the street at the front

The foundations are sealed and filled with sharp sand

A dump truck fills in the palapa area. The drivers son supervises

Once the sand is tamped down, plastic barrier sheeting is placed with steel rebar in preparation for the concrete floor. PVC piping for the bathroom is laid out

The foundations are nearly complete. The orange conduit is for electrical wiring.

Ready to start first floor walls

Mixing concrete for the foundations

The first floor begins to take shape. On the right is the garage. TV room in the center. Kitchen at back.

Ingenious method to hold the pillar forms in place.

Cardboard tubes are placed over the steel rebar before they are filled with concrete. These will be the pillars that hold up the palapa.

The kitchen wall. A reinforced concrete lintel runs around the entire floor to provide support for doors and windows.

Looking through the hallway out the front door.

The forms are in place to pour the first floor.

Palapa and balcony pillars in place

Master bedroom balcony forms

The forms are ready on the first floor ready to add the steel mesh

The opening for the spiral staircase

Tying the rebar mesh together. Note the conduit to the light fittings.

All the wiring and piping in place before the floor is poured

First floor complete

Concrete is dry, so start on the 2nd floor walls

Very few machines, everything is done by hand and using locally available materials

I fly down in late November to check on the progress. There are already 4 yachts anchored in the lagoon.

Front of house. Office above garage on left. Kids bedrooms above kitchen on right

View of boat/canal from master bedroom shower.

Hallway to entrance. Kitchen on left

Spiral staircase from hallway. Entrance to garage on right.

Upstairs office/guest bedroom and balcony

2 tons of blocks and a 55 gallon drum full of water on the upstairs floor 10 days after it was poured. I'm not worried about it being strong enough now.

The palapa area and the master bedroom balcony take shape

Overlooking the marina from the master bedroom balcony

My neighbor dropped by after he caught this 100lb yellowfin tuna. He spared me a slice for dinner.

Checking the Jeep will fit in the garage. Should be enough length to fit 2 cars or the Jeep and a small boat.

A thin concrete coat is rendered on the walls. 4 coats will be applied in total. The final finish will be smooth and flat.

The 2nd floor walls in our master bedroom are almost complete.

The roof is nearly ready to pour. All in under 3 months.

The lower walls after 2 of 4 coats of concrete.

Continued ......

Barra de Navidad (House Building 1)

2011-10-01T14:03:00.000-07:00

I had dreamed about getting a vacation home somewhere warm to spend the winters. I had the opportunity to visit many towns on this sailing trip (over 73!) and since I had the time, pretty much every place I visited I looked into the real-estate market to find out what was possible.

Here's how my search progressed ....

Santa Barbara/Newport Beach/San Diego etc. I already own a house in Northern California and it may seem normal to people who live there, but the property taxes are ridiculous compared to the rest of the world. This really soured the thought of buying a second home in Southern California. Even if you buy an overpriced house on the water outright in California, the yearly property taxes are enough to buy a house in Mexico, every year! Also its not much warmer in SoCal in the winter. I can do better.

2 harbors Catalina, Southern California. Cant build here.

The Western Baja coast was too remote although I liked Turtle bay. Its also very cold in the winter.

Anchored all alone in the San Benito Islands. Absolutely no facilities!

Cabo San Lucas and the surrounding area is not true Mexico but an area we named "Gringo Landia". Its so touristy and full of pushy gift salesman that it virtually killed all the Mexican charm other areas are known for. Its strictly for rushed weekend trips.

Cabo San Lucas, no waterfront properties, very commercialized.

La Paz was worth considering. Its a tourist town, but mainly for Mexicans. It has a good selection of stores, near an airport and has great boating facilities. The nearby islands and bays are fantastic and only a few hours away. The main issue was finding a plot of land on the water where I could securely keep my boat year round. A second issue is that come Xmas and the new year it gets cold in the evening. Thats why most cruisers have headed to Puerto Vallarta in Banderas bay by the New Year.

The Malecon at La Paz, Baja

La Cruz in Banderas Bay was another lovely town. They have recently constructed a big modern marina and I really took to the charm of the village. It has a great cruiser community and easy access to an airport (PVR) to get home. La Cruz was on my short list.

For Xmas we spent some time tied up at the Marina at Nuevo Vallarta. This is a nice facility with big hotels but it again fell into the trap of "Gringo Landia" with its McDonalds, Starbucks etc and very little Mexican charm. This was the first location where you could buy some land directly on the canal system and have the boat in your back garden. Association fees for owning a house in the 'compound' where also at California levels.

The Marina in Puerto Vallarta had huge apartment blocks surrounding the docks but again very little Mexican atmosphere and no privacy

Other towns I visited between PV and Barra either had very weak boating facilities or where just too remote to access on a regular basis. You need a nearby international airport and good roads to your town as you will be visiting often if things go right.

Barra de Navidad as seen from Isla Navidad

When I pulled into Barra I soon discovered that the lagoon was the best anchorage I had stayed in on my whole trip. No swell and easy access to the town via taxi pangas or your own dinghy. There was no charge to anchor out and no time limit to how long you can stay.

During the Season, Dec-Apr a large number of cruisers from around the world stop here and it makes for a cool boating atmosphere. The town of full of Yachties and there is always something to do.

After I had been anchored in the lagoon for a few weeks I discovered the canal system. It was dredged out of the mangrove swamps in the 60's. The original inhabitants were moved to the area now known as the Bario in East Barra.

Aerial shot of Barra during construction of the canal system in the 60's?

A large part of the canal was reserved for the Cabo Blanco hotel which the whole area is now named after. It is not actually part of Barra but a seperate development owned by the family that owns the Grand Bay hotel (Leano Family?)

Cabo Blanco in 2007. The rate of development has been furious. Most of the empty lots are now built on.

The whole grass area left of the center canal was reserved for expansion of the Cabo Blanco hotel. The hotel is the S shaped building at bottom left. The Green area at the bottom right (below marina on center canal) was also reserved for a park, but has since been sold as lots.
The brown island just above the canals in the center of the picture above is Punta Vela. This is still undeveloped but has just been approved to sell as 26 individual lots (Dec 2011). The ownership was under dispute with the Mexican Navy (I was told) until now. It is planned to be a gated community and have its own marina (at right of island).

The lot we ended up buying on the center Canal

Once I had the idea that Barra could be a great place for our winter home and a mooring for our boat year round I started looking at all the available properties. Being able to have the boat tied up on your own land is a fantastic opportunity as in California owning a boat is very expensive with the property taxes and mooring fees you must pay. Property taxes and association fees for being on the canal for 1 year were less than I pay for one day in California!
If I could buy land with Canal access I could build a dock and potentially keep the boat in a secure area with water and electricity. The cost of the dock would pay for itself in a few years and I would have my boat in my back garden. My dream come true.
I especially liked the lot we chose as its opposite the Cabo Blanco hotel with 24 hour security and a guard gate at the start of our road. The road is a dead end so it *should* be safe when I leave the boat for the summer. So far no problems!

The previous owner of the property we bought also sold me his Jeep. Its been great fun.

Driving the Jeep in the local Jungle. You need the 4x4 option regularly

One attractive part about Barra and Cabo Blanco is that any potential owner can buy title to the property. Much property in Mexico is community owned and you must lease it thro the Ejido. Ejido land is potentially troublesome as you only have a contract with the local town over ownership. See the problems at nearby Tenacatita for an example of how Ejido land can lead to ownership disputes.

All titled property within 50 miles of the coast has to be purchased thro a bank trust. All property purchased in the Barra area usually is transferred using the Notary Public Narciso P. Lomeli in Cihuatlan. He brings the 2 parties together (buyer/seller) and makes out a contract. He advises when to transfer funds and organizes the bank trust. The whole process takes around 3 months. Our land was previously owned by an American citizen so we wired the money within the USA to do the purchase.

One of Lomeli's many certificates in his office

Read my blog about building our dock here

Building the dock first allowed me to experiment with the Mexican building process on a smaller scale before embarking on the large house project. It definitely taught me a few lessons about patience and expectations.

The completed dock and Sea42 tied up at her new home.

The center canal was my preferred canal for a number of reasons. It had the most depth. It was the widest. It had the best security. It had the slowest traffic. It had the nicest homes. Having the small marina at the end ensured it should be reasonably maintained.
Building in Mexico turned out to be a very similar process to building in the UK and the USA, There is a common misconception that in Mexico you can build what ever you like from corrugated sheets and a few planks, but if you follow the law it involves contracts, city permits, plans, engineering drawings, soil samples and liability insurance for your workers. Of course it is more flexible than the California, but then I need a permit to change a light bulb in CA!

One big difference to construction is that homes are built from steel reinforced concrete and not 2x4 sticks like California. This allows a huge flexibility in the design of the house. I did notice that while private homes in California are built from wood, government buildings and offices are made with concrete and steel.

continued .....

Barra de Navidad (Dock Building)

2011-06-20T18:04:00.000-07:00

If you missed the other parts of this blog, you can catch up on:

How this whole thing started
Building the House Part 1 and finding the property

After spending some time exploring the area I took a liking to Barra and its small town feel. Its still a fishing village at heart and I hope it doesnt get spoilt by tourism too quickly.

I decided a lot on the canals could be a perfect home for our boat as its a short 5 minute walk to downtown yet quiet in the evening. It can get quite rowdy during holidays in Mexico with all the festivals.

From the canals I can be in the pacific ocean in 10 minutes for fishing or visiting one of the many bays and towns nearby. When it comes to haulout time I will need to go to Manzanillo or Banderas bay.

I had no idea how to buy property in Mexico so I started reading everything I could about the process. Luckily internet connectivity is good in Mexico. Once your familiar with the basic buying process, its not difficult.

This looked like the perfect place for our winter home

Aerial view of Barra and the canal system

The Barra canals

The virgin lot! Behind us is the Cabo Blanco hotel with 24hr security and a guard house at the start of our road. This was an important factor in the buying decision.

Another view from our neighbors roof

65ft of water front on the property, but It will need a new sea wall for a 6ft draft sailboat.

I considered a floating dock like my neighbors directly across the canal but eventually concluded it would be too flimsy for a 10 ton yacht and a potential maintenance problem.

I found a respected architect/builder who had previously been the mayor of Melaque. I figured he must know how to deal with bureaucracy! He guided me thro all the permit process and supplied the workforce. In the end the 'permit process' was sweetened by taking a nice bottle of Canadian whiskey to the port captain.

First order of business was to dredge the canal to give 8ft clearance at low tide. I calculated a 6ft tide swing throughout any typical year and this gave me an idea how far down we had to dig. Next job was to find a big backhoe. We found what we needed in Melaque. A Case 650XL 4x4 with a huge reach. The lower arm below extends another 6ft.

We finally broke ground and started dredging an April 2011

My builder found some huge 4m long concrete pipes to use as our pilings. No wimpy PVC pipes here!

Driving the pilings into the peaty mangrove swamp. We discovered 2 axe heads and lots of pottery while digging the foundations.

We tied the pilings together with steel rebar and built a new sea wall behind the old seawall. Lots of pumps kept the water out. We had to do most of the work at nite to catch low tides.

Once the new wall was complete it was time to remove the old wall in front

A giant hydraulic pickaxe broke up the wall into manageable pieces.

Now the deep new sea wall was complete, we started on the dock itself

You can see how the new seawall is set back from the original wall to give Sea42 more space and protection.

Forming the steel cantilevers to be encased in concrete

Placing the final small pilings required some divers!

The front pilings are in

The forms are placed

Lay the steel and polystyrene honeycomb

Finally time to pour the concrete slab. I found a cement company that had a special concrete formulation for salt water applications

The completed dock Jun 2011! Its a tight fit but no problems getting Sea42 tied up. There is no floating dock. The boat is tied between four posts with sliding rings on solid 1" stainless steel rods. That allows the boat to rise and fall with the tides. Minimal moving parts, no rotting materials, minimal maintenance. It survived Hurricane Jova with no scratches.

You can see how the dock is set back into the lot and also projects into the canal on the ends. The pipes on the top of the pilings are for lights that I added later. 3 posts also have 110v electric outlets and water faucets.

The same view with the caps on the pilings. They are translucent and have low profile CFL bulbs under the caps on simple plastic mounts. There are 15 pilings with lights so keeping the system low cost/energy and easy to maintain was a priority.

The dock has now been in use for more than 6 months. Sea42 is the largest boat with the deepest draft in the canal system so I was concerned at first that I would hit the bottom at low tide and put too much stress on the dock when other boats and fishing pangas go past too fast and cause a wake. No problems so far.

The mooring system has been great. Getting on/off the boat requires a little care as the height of the boat changes with the tide and its also a minimum of 1ft away from the concrete dock. I should add a handle to the piling nearest the gate to aid getting on/off.

Im locked in the canal at low to medium tide as the area near the end of my canal is too shallow to get out into the main channel. I was down at the boat in November for a week and the high tides where all at nite so I couldnt get the boat out. I wouldnt be comfortable taking the boat out in the dark. If I need to be out on a certain date I may anchor the boat in the big lagoon in advance. Im used to doing that in the San Francisco bay as I was tide locked there also.

Barra de Navidad (anchor)

2011-01-28T17:57:00.000-08:00

I waited for a rising hi tide in the morning before heading over to the Barra lagoon from Melaque as the entrance is quite shallow and narrow.

View Larger Map

About 50 boats ranging from 30-50ft were already anchored in the lagoon so I took my time scoping out a space.
Even at high tide there was only around 12ft of depth and the actual area you could anchor in was quite small.

A useful aerial view of Barra that shows all the main parts of town and the bay. We ended up buying some land in the center canal (large green lot on the water, right of the S shaped hotel in the bottom left corner.

View of the Barra lagoon from the Grand Bay hotel marina. In the distance you can see about 50 boats are anchored out. Feb 2011. It peaked at over 60 a few weeks later.

A highlight of any stop at Barra is a visit by Emeric aka 'The French Baker of Barra".

There is nothing like hot fresh pastries and baguettes delivered directly to your boat in the morning.
He has a website now at www.barrabaker.com so you can place your order lying in your bunk.

I ended up anchored in the lagoon for around 3 months. As the temperature rose later in the spring the other cruisers continued south or headed back up into the Sea of Cortez for the summer. Soon I was the only boat left in the lagoon.

The afternoon winds were quite strong in late April/May so when I started construction of the dock I rented a slip in the Grand Bay marina. This also gave me shore power so I could run my AC system. It was getting hot! The summer rates at the marina are 1/2 the winter rates which sealed the deal.

Continue my story in Barra ....

Building the dock on the canal for Sea42
Building the House Part 1 and finding the property
Building the House Part 2

How this whole thing started

Melaque (anchor)

2011-01-26T17:23:00.000-08:00

I spent a few weeks anchored of the main town at Melaque. Its a working town but very liveable. I even got to fly home for a week while I left the boat at anchor. Again 2 anchors are needed as the swell wraps around the point at the entrance to the bay.

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You can get most things in Melaque, they have Banks and hardware stores, something for everyone. The town is very busy and popular with Canadians seeking sun during the winter season.

I had been reading about the lagoon at Barra for some time and took the dinghy across the bay to visit the town. Eventually I took the boat across and anchored in the lagoon, little did I know what I had started.

La Manzanilla (anchor)

2011-01-25T17:11:00.000-08:00

In the south of Tenacatita bay you find the small town of La Manzanilla. I really enjoyed this town. I anchored off the beach next to the big aquaculture nets. Immediately about 100 fish congregated under the boat. Again I used bow/stern anchors to point the boat into the swell and make like comfortable.

Getting ashore is fun as there is quite a shore break at times that can catch you out (more later)

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La Manzanilla is quite a busy town (but no bank) and has a large gringo population that lives there year round.
Do Canadians count as gringos?

Lots of nice places to eat and good street food in the evenings.

Visit the crocadillio to see some meat eating action!

I stayed for a some time and eventually took a group of friends I met in Sea42 around to Melaque. We had a fantastic sail and met a large group of dolphins is very clear/calm water of the beach at Tamarindo.

Tenacatita (anchor)

2011-01-24T16:17:00.000-08:00

As you continue south you round the spectacular Friars rocks

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A few miles further south you enter the bay at Tenacatita

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The first beach you reach is now under control of a new owner. He took control of the entire northern stretch of this bay by force in 2010 and bulldozed all the existing buildings and palapas. He intends to build a new resort. His ownership is being questioned in court and may one day return to its previous glory. Very good snorkeling around the rocks.

Around the next headland you find a very calm anchorage and an entrance to a lagoon. You can take a dinghy trip down to a larger lagoon. Fantastic wildlife to see.

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When I was anchored here I met the famous 'Chippy' the dolphin who swims around your boat and scratches his back on your anchor chain. He got the name from a large notch cut out of his dorsal fin. Apparently he has been here for years.

Ashore you can find a few small palapa restaurants. A must try meal is the Rolo Del Mar which is a fish filet stuffed with chopped shrimp and octopus in an almond sauce, wrapped completely in bacon and covered with more almond cream sauce. Wow!

As you can see from the map above there are lots of boats anchored here. Its very popular with cruisers on this coast as its so calm and protected.

If you walk 1/2 a mile NE along the beach you find a large all inclusive hotel that caters to European tourists.

I stayed a few days but decided to move on as the runoff from the lagoon made for murky water and I found too many flies around the beach area.

Careyes (anchor)

2011-01-21T16:05:00.000-08:00

As you head south down the coast you start seeing some really large homes on the beach and I mean huge estates. Then you round the corner into the bay at Careyes and the land of dream homes. I anchored off the small restuarant in 20ft sand bottom nearby to some pangas. I was the only big boat in the bay. Careyes is like the Santorini in the Greek islands with its steep cliffs and brightly colored homes.

I took the dinghy ashore to the beach next to the restaurant. No one around (as usual its like a ghost town).

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Fantastic snorkeling around the island and the small bay in the north end.

The main hotel has nice pools and bars which you can use.

20 miles of this coast was bought by an Italian businessman after the WW2 and he controls all the development in this area.

If you walk out of the main hotel and cross the main highway Mex200 there is a small artiist town with a great Italian pizza restaurant. very good pizza. There is also a Banamex ATM in an air conditioned booth that works!

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Paradise Bay (anchor)

2011-01-20T15:28:00.000-08:00

Also known locally as Playa Paraiso. A beautiful little bay a few miles south of Chamela. There is only room for a few boats and it can be a bit bumpy at nite, but well worth it. A bow/stern anchor combo is a must as its quite shallow and narrow. Lots of hermit crabs running around the coconut palms on the beach. A small hotel has a restaurant there and if you ask nicely the owner can fix you up with dinner, he speaks good English. Spend some time fishing and exploring the other small bays/beaches in the area.

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Bahia Chamela (anchor) - draft

2011-01-07T07:35:00.000-08:00

Sorry I haven't posted in so long, I'm way behind on my blog, the last real entry I did was back in October. Internet access has been very intermittent and when you do find it its very slow and makes uploading pictures and editing web pages painful.

As a temporary fix, I have decided to just put up mt current location and put 'draft' in the title. When I have better access to the internet I will upload the full story and all the pictures.

Everything is going great, I have had no failures or problems on the boat, the weather has been fantastic and the Mexican people I have met have all been very friendly.

I am now about 60nm away from my most southerly destination at Manzanillo, Im deep in the tropics now with palm trees, coconuts and crocodiles. I will then turn around and start heading back into the sea of cortez for the spring.

Punta Impala (anchor) - draft

2011-01-06T07:34:00.000-08:00

Yelapa (mooring ball) - draft

2011-01-04T07:32:00.000-08:00

Los Arcos (heave to) - draft

2011-01-04T07:31:00.000-08:00

La Cruz (slip) - draft

2010-12-28T07:29:00.000-08:00

Paradise Village Marina (slip) - draft

2010-12-20T19:23:00.000-08:00

La Cruz de Huanacaxtle (anchor) - draft

2010-12-19T19:22:00.000-08:00

Islas Tres Marietas (dinghy) - draft

2010-12-19T07:19:00.000-08:00

Punta Mita (anchor) - draft

2010-12-18T07:17:00.000-08:00

Isla Isabela (anchor) - draft

2010-12-17T07:15:00.000-08:00

Mainland crossing (passage) - draft

2010-12-15T07:14:00.000-08:00

Los Muertos (anchor) - draft

2010-12-14T07:12:00.000-08:00

La Ventana (anchor) - draft

2010-12-12T07:09:00.000-08:00

Espiritu Santos (anchor) - draft

2010-12-04T07:07:00.000-08:00

La Paz (anchor) - draft

2010-11-20T20:16:00.000-08:00

Ensenada de los Muertos - Cove of the Dead (anchor) - draft

2010-11-16T07:59:00.000-08:00

Los Frailes - The Friars (anchor) - draft

2010-11-14T07:59:00.000-08:00

Cabo San Lucas (anchor) - draft

2010-11-11T07:58:00.000-08:00

Bahia Magdalena - Mag Bay (anchor) - draft

2010-11-09T07:56:00.000-08:00

Bahia Santa Maria (anchor) - draft

2010-11-07T07:56:00.000-08:00

Bahia De Tortugas / Turtle Bay (anchor) - draft

2010-11-03T20:37:00.000-07:00

Isla Cedros (anchor) - draft

2010-11-01T20:36:00.000-07:00

Islas San Benito (anchor) - draft

2010-11-01T06:47:00.000-07:00

Bahia Sebastian Vizcaino (passage)

2010-10-31T19:43:00.000-07:00

I decided to jump directly from San Carlos to the San Benitos Islands, traversing the Bahia Sebastian Vizcaino. The wind and weather were favorable for a fast passage and would avoid the lee shore problems if I travelled any further south. I had to cover 80nm so I hauled anchor early so I could arrive before sunset.

I had read about the San Benito islands years before and was fascinated that somewhere so remote could still exist in this day and age where bartering and trading are the main way of life for the locals. I had bought along a few items to trade just for this occasion.

If your not familiar with Baja, I was sailing from the mainland near the top left of the chart to the small islands west of the large island (Cedros) near the bottom left.

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As soon as I sailed off the Pacific shelf into deep water I got my first decent strike on my tuna lure I got at Halfmoon bay a few years back.

Albacore tuna on the trolling line.

I was sailing pretty fast in 20+ knots on a broad reach, so the boat was moving about, making the fishing quite challenging. Bringing the fish up to the stern was pretty easy, but getting it on the deck and killing it proved to be more than I expected as I hadn't landed a fish this big before and I wasn't really sure what to expect.

I decided to kill it with my filleting knife while holding it in a bucket. This took a little more effort than I first thought so I pushed real hard and managed to not only stab thro the fish, but also thro the bucket and thro the cockpit cushions. Of course I did this 3 times before I realized what I had done. Then the blood started to squirt everywhere and lots of it, dark red and thick. I eventually got it top/tailed and filleted on the side deck and then spent quite a while cleaning up the mess with a scrubbing brush and buckets of water.

The meat was a semi clear pink color and you could squash it easily between your fingers. Dinner was going to be good tonite!

The sailing got better and better as the wind held its strength and direction throughout the day. I had the jib poled out and that proved to be a good downwind setup for the Catalina. The boat sustained over 9 knots SOG for hours on end and I was tempted to keep going for my first 200nm day. I got pooped once when a freak wave broke over the open transom and washed all the way up to the companionway doors. I had forgot to put in the perspex screen that prevents that from occurring as I never thought it would happen.

The ocean is really deep in this area, over 15,000ft just west of the islands, that's over 3 miles down to the sea floor! It gave me a weird kind of vertigo just thinking about it.

Later that afternoon, the San Benito islands appeared on the horizon and I prepared to sail thro the Canal De Peck between the East and Center Benito Islands. As I neared the pass it became apparent that the charts were useless in this remote location, they were at least 1nm off. Waves were breaking across the numerous rocks and shoals near the islands and I had my fingers crossed I was taking the right route thro the pass as it was quite narrow.

Approaching the Canal De Peck

I reduced sail and carefully rounded the Center island and relaxed in the lee, sheltered from the wind and swell after a rough passage.

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The recommended anchorage was just south of the fish camp on the West island where I could see one other boat anchored. I couldnt see a clear path to the anchorage so I carefully picked my way thro the thick kelp beds and dropped anchor 1/2nm off shore. All my GPS based charts had me located on land! You don't want to arrive here after dark.

Bahia San Carlos (anchor)

2010-10-30T18:41:00.000-07:00

My next stop on my trip south was Bahia San Carlos which is a popular windsurfing destination on the Baja coast as it is always windy.

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I decided the conditions were a little too advanced for me and the water a little too cold to windsurf but I admired the dozen or so people out on kites or boards negotiating the big surf and hi winds.

Powerful, consistent wind

Another beautiful sunset

Isla San Jeronimo (anchor)

2010-10-29T18:03:00.000-07:00

I finally fulfilled a childhood fantasy for my 46th birthday when I landed at my own island. Well it wasn't really my own, but since I was the only person on the island while I was there, I let my imagination run a little.

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Isla San Geronimo in the North with the treacherous Sacramento reef to the south.

I was totally blown away with this island and the wildlife. The rock formations and the tide-pools are incredible. Its well worth a visit if you are sailing down this coast.

Smooth sailing to Isla San Jeronimo

I anchored on the eastern shore at Sunset

In the morning I took the dingy ashore to explore the island. It was only a few square miles and not completely covered in Cactus like San Martin making it easy to hike around.

Easy landing near the fish camp. Sea42 in the background.

Abandoned shacks near the shore

5 graves on the path up to the lighthouse

The solar powered, automated lighthouse on the hill

Looking south from the lighthouse. Fishcamp on the left.

Looking north from the lighthouse

tubes of lava in the sandstone

beautiful carved sandstone

Amazing tide pools full of sea life

Unusual tubes that you could drive a car thro

remains of the roof of lava tubes

Sea42 anchored of Isla San Jeronimo

Bizarre lines and circles carved in the rock

Amazing tidepools on the windward side

Seals hauled out on the southern shore

San Quintin (Dinghy)

2010-10-29T17:16:00.000-07:00

The next day I put the big 15HP motor on the dinghy to take the 6nm or so trip across the bar and up to the old mill at San Quintin.

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The bar is located at the end of the narrow sand spit in the lower part of the map above where it meets the headland on the ocean side. Most of the pass is just a few feet deep and the sand bar is constantly shifting. All the charts and guides for this area do not recommend trying to cross it without surveying the area first and taking your own depth soundings. I crossed it at high tide and found the water depth to be enough that I could have taken the big boat thro with a little care.

After crossing the bar the water was completely flat calm and I made great time at 20+ knots with the bigger outboard.

Abandoned boat in the still waters of the estuary

A few abandoned boats were scattered about and a few small houses and fish camps on the shore. I finally made it up to the head of the bay after exploring the area.

Some recent development on the shore south of the Old Mill

San Quintin the village is actually a few more miles inland from where I eventually went but where I landed was the remains of an old water mill and a small settlement that was supposedly started by some English farmers way back yonder.

2 boats anchored at the Old Mill

The Old Mill restaurant looked very clean and modern and next to it was an empty R/V park. A few stores and small hotels lay a few roads back from the water.


The Old Mill restaurant (Molino Viejo)

The Mill water turbine that was powered by the strong tides in the bay.

Bahia Santa Maria - San Quintin (anchor)

2010-10-28T07:45:00.003-07:00

Bahia Santa Maria is a huge bay just south east of Isla San Martin. Not to be confused with the more popular bay of the same name near Bahia Magdalena where the Baha Haha fleet anchor every fall.

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I rounded the point at the entrance and immediately noticed that the charts for this area are not very accurate. The Pacific swell wraps 100 deg around the point and causes some big breaking waves inside the bay. I sounded carefully and anchored in 25ft of water after crossing a 15ft shoal. After anchoring I noticed that occasional swell would break across the shoal area after wrapping around the point. This could be really nasty if you entered the bay in the dark and anchored in the suggested chart area.

Later that day another boat with 4 people on board searching for hot surf locations of the coast anchored the other side of the shoal area. I took the dinghy out to talk to them and we followed a few whales about 20ft long that were rolling around in the bay.

I went over to the other boat that evening for dinner and ended up coming back to my boat in the pitch black. I had my fingers crossed that I wouldnt be unlucky and get hit with a breaking wave, 10 mins after getting back I heard a huge wave braking, I promised myself to not take that risk again.

Anchored in the remote bay south of San Quintin

Isla San Martin

2010-10-27T07:45:00.000-07:00

San Martin is a beautiful island in a classic cone shape. It has a nicely protected bay called Caleta Hassler to anchor at that looks like it was man made but is all made from volcanic rock.

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Sea42 anchored in the bay at Isla St Martin

There is no permanent residents on the island, but it has some temporary fish camps for visiting fisherman who often visit to set traps for up to 2 weeks at a time. Some of the shacks had definitely seen better days by western standards, but otherwise the fisherman seemed to be quite happy. They mostly seemed 20-30 year old men working the traps as it was quite hard labor. There were many remnants of older dwellings built from the local lava stone but they were all abandoned.

Fish camp near the beach

At the south of the island is a lagoon that I had been wanting to explore. It turned out to be quite small with a very shallow entrance with rocks awash at low tide. It had a wide beach with many sea lions. With nobody to clean up I found lots of seal remains in various stages of decomposure. Something I hadn't thought about before, but humans do a lot of housekeeping with dead bodies, time that would be much better spent cleaning up the plastic bottles that are on the windward shores of everywhere I have been. Plastic is a major problem as it takes so long to break down. Next birthday you attend, don't buy those Mylar balloons, I have lost count of how many I see floating in open ocean.


Permanently retired on the beach

I wanted to hike up to the top of the volcano to explore the lava tubes reported on the island, some big enough to walk thro. After a few hours of getting spiked by cactus I gave up trying to find the trail until I return next time. The worst cactus are about 2" across and round like a Christmas decoration. They lie in clusters on the ground and stick into anything that touches them. They have 1" plus needle spikes with barbs and are a nightmare to get out.

After I hauled anchor and was headed out the harbor for Bahia San Quintin, a panga with 4 fisherman pulled by and wanted to sell me Langosta (lobster). I got 2 for 100 pesos ($8). Not having cooked live lobster before I decided to pull the tail off one and BBQ it. I didnt find much meat in the rest of the animal so I chucked the remains overboard. It was good but a little dry so the next one I simply put the whole animal on the BBQ, This time it came out perfect and the tail came off with a lot more meat.

My first BBQ lobster.

Punta Colnett (anchor)

2010-10-26T07:44:00.000-07:00

Once I sailed out of Ensenada harbor and Bahia De Todos Santos the wind died down and the fog settled in. It was slow going but I made it to my next stop at Punta Colnett, named after a British surveyor that charted these shores 100's of years ago. It was dark and foggy as I sailed around the point and I had to anchor using RADAR, depthsounder and chartplotter only. It was a little unnerving but I found a good spot and settled in for the night. I woke in the morning to find I was the only boat in the anchorage and huge cliffs like at you see at Dover in the south of England.

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The cliffs at Punta Colnett at dawn

Ensenada (anchorage)

2010-10-25T21:23:00.000-07:00

After years of dreaming, planning and preparation I finally made it across the border! The last 3 months of cruising down from Frisco seemed insignificant in comparison to leaving the States, it was surprisingly overwhelming.

I swung by the Coronado islands to see if there was a decent anchorage for my first nite in Mexico. The only area usable was at the south of the island and that was being heavily used by commercial fishermen so I decided to give it a miss after my last experience at Catalina with late night fishing boats.

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Late in the day I pulled into Bahia Todos Santos and the Port of Ensenada. A big cruise ship was headed out the port just as I was entering and it really tested my AIS system which correctly detected a collision threat and set of all the alarms. Hope it works as well when I need it in the middle of the nite.

The cruisers guide mention a free anchorage under a giant Mexican flag right near the Melancon (boardwalk). I could see another sailboat in that area so I dropped the hook about 100yds away. The flag at Ensenada is massive, it must be about the size of a football field. The flag moves like any normal flag but in slow motion, very surreal to watch.

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I dropped the dinghy off the davits and looked around for a pier or dock to land on. I saw one small dock where the gate was open to the town so I tied up to that. A couple of young guys approached me from a boat at the dock and one of them spoke a little English. He explained the going rate for leaving a dinghy at the dock was $50 pesos (less than $5, just divide pesos by 10 to get the rough amount, right now it's 12 to the dollar. They also use the $ symbol for pesos which gets confusing). Since paying the guy would also include watching the dinghy it seemed fair so I headed over to the town a few blocks from the dock. I soon discovered all the trappings of a large city within a few blocks (even a Starbucks).

The next day I concentrated on getting my tourist visa and paperwork done with Mexican immigration. I got everything done except the check in / check out procedure for the boat with the Port Captain since it was a vacation day for him but not anyone else. I could have the paperwork done by an agent but it would cost 100's of dollars and it should be free. I was going to have to wait till Monday until he returned so I decided to stay the weekend in Ensenada and explore the city a little more.

I was been told that I couldn't stay in the anchorage and needed to tie up the boat at a marina. Turns out, I found you can anchor at Ensenada as long as you want but no one there likes it as they don't make any money out of you. Anyway one of the run down piers was run by an operation called 'Bandidos' (obviously named by a graduate of Marketing from Harvard). They offered me a deal at $20 a nite but I would need to squeeze the boat into a ridiculously small space after doing a 90 degree turn in a narrow gap. After hauling anchor and motoring over to Bandidos dock I circled a few times and decided that the small space and 20 knots of wind spelt disaster so a nearby dock that looked like a palace in comparison had a great space available and the owner was frantically waving me over. I decided to take him up on his offer and ended up at 'Marina Ensenada'. Within minutes I had met about half dozen other cruisers at the dock headed south and had the weekend planned out.

At Marina Ensenada. Huge Mexican flag in the background

Over the weekend I walked all over town, found some awesome local food, restocked the pantry and made lots of new friends. I also visited the Telcel store (Mex version of AT&T) and picked up a small Nokia phone with a prepaid plan and the 3G Banda Ancha USB card. This lets me connect the laptop to the internet anywhere I see a Telcel phone signal and download 3GB of data for around $44 a month.

Ensenada was as safe as anywhere I have been. I didn't see anyone even remotely intimidating.

Downtown Ensenada

I left Ensenada on Monday but decided to skip the port check in/out procedure and take my chances down the road.

Zuniga Shoal, San Diego (Anchorage)

2010-10-24T17:58:00.000-07:00

The anchorage is outside the harbor and is usually sheltered from the prevailing NW winds and swells by Point Loma. It would save me about 1hr the next morning if I stayed here before my passage across the US border to Ensenada in Mexico. As I was approaching the anchorage I passed a big dark grey nuclear submarine slowly motoring out of San Diego harbor. I stayed as far away as the channel would allow, but the coast guard still came racing over in his powerboat with machine guns on the bow, lights flashing to warn me to stay away from the sub or face the wrath of the Navy.

The anchorage at Zuniga shoals, San Diego

I rounded the submerged pier at Zuniga shoal that must have claimed many boats over the years as huge rocks lurked just a few feet below the surface, but tempted you with an easy shortcut to the anchorage. I dropped the hook in 12 feet of water next to about 6 other boats and settled in for the nite, it seemed like a great place until the wind swung around 180 deg to the south at 1am and blew 20knots for the rest of the nite. The swells and wind chop built until it was truly miserable and I left as soon as the sun rose to spend the last nite in the US back at Glorietta bay where it was nice and calm.

Police Docks, Shelter Island, San Diego

2010-10-24T14:07:00.000-07:00

On Saturday I called the Police Docks and they had a space available for me. I quickly hauled anchor at La Playa and motored the short distance to Shelter Island. View Map. I did all the paperwork at the office and then tied up at my new slip.

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Its so weird to be in a dock again. I realized I haven't been at a dock since Alamitos Bay back in August. This was the first time since then I would have access to a hose and shore power. I gave the boat a good cleaning to remove 2 months of salt buildup and then plugged in shore power and turned all the electric items on including the AC. It felt good for a while, but was a little claustrophobic being so close to other boats and the shore after being out on my own floating island for so long.

Since this really is the last US stop before you leave the country I met lots of other people in sailboats doing last minute jobs before they left for Baja. Its like a club meeting where people who have had the exact same dream as you, get together to swap stories. Everyone had had the same issues as me, years of planning and preparation and then solving last minute problems before finally casting off. Luckily since I had left 3 months ago, I had more time to fully test out the boat and get things fixed before I cross the border. If you don't get the work done now, its a long way to go before you can find any sort of marine related store down south in Mexico.

The only things I have left to do now are to refill my primary propane tank (gas cooker) and install the dinghy equipment I bought. I will do my last food provisioning trip when I get back from my trip home.

My first Mexican stop will be Ensenada which is only about 60 miles past the border. I will get all my visas and immigration paperwork done there as its an official port of entry for Mexico. I will also top off my fuel tanks for the long 750nm trip down Baja. I'm quite pleased about my fuel usage (considering the lack of wind on this trip) as that means I only put fuel in the boat once since leaving San Francisco 3 months ago and that was only 30 gallons. The tank says 2/3 full right now but its not very accurate. I'm guessing it needs around 20 gallons to fill it back up. If the wind dies at nite on the trip down Baja, I will want to motor to keep my progress up if I see a bad weather forecast.

A few people at the docks are preparing to do the Baja Haha rally which is sponsored by Latitude38, a monthly magazine about sailing on the west coast. I have been reading the magazine for years and considered doing the Baha Haha rally as it would mean sharing the long trip down Baja with lots of other sailors, as many as 200 are signed up. After some thought I decided not to do the Haha as they only stop in 2 places on the Baja coast and they do not allow single handers to do the event. I may try and be anchored at Turtle Bay or Mag Bay when they come thro.

I flew back to San Fran the next day and was home for Ali and Lisa's birthdays. When I returned to the boat the weather had turned and it started raining! I found a few leaks in the boat and plugged them up before leaving the docks to get my last fill up at the fuel docks.

I got to the fuel docks about 10am just before it really started to pour down. The guys let me stay for a few hours as business was so quiet. I had only been the second customer that day and only one other person pulled up in the next 4 hours. He estimated 75% of all boats in the marina were for sale with the downturn in the economy. I dont think its that bad but it was very quiet!

I loaded up on my last batch of groceries and then decided to head for the Zuniga shoals just outside the main harbor and anchor there for my last day before heading south. This would save me a few hours going back and forth within the harbor. I dropped anchor just before dark.

La Playa, San Diego Harbor (anchor)

2010-10-15T16:38:00.000-07:00

La Playa is a small bay behind shelter Island on San Diego Bay. View Map.You can only anchor over the weekends , but its nicely situated off a quiet residential area.

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The Anchorage at La Playa

I'm booked to fly home in a few days and I'm still looking for somewhere to keep the boat for 8 days. I cant leave it anchored anywhere so it means finding a slip. There are lots of marinas around, but they are are all full and with the Baja Haha sail rally (200 boats) starting in a few weeks all the available spots seem to be taken. I'm counting on getting a spot at the police docks nearby, but they are full at the moment. The girl at the office thinks a space may open up tomorrow, so I'm ready to move at a moments notice.

Homes overlooking the bay

I took the dinghy to shore to try and find a Spectra dealership that is nearby. Spectra make my watermaker and I need a new carbon filter for my trip as they only last 6 months. Shelter Island has so many boat related businesses, you could have a boat designed, built and commissioned just on one road! I picked up my filter and then found a store called the 'Dinghy Doctor'. He had all the weird pieces I need for my dinghy including wheels (to beach the dinghy), planing fins and a new motor hoist. I loaded all the stuff onto the little bike and wobbled back to the pier where I had left the dinghy only to find the gate locked. Luckily, after a while, someone was leaving the dock and opened the gate for me. If I had been any later I would have to swim back to the boat.

Glorietta Bay, San Diego Harbor (anchor)

2010-10-12T10:18:00.000-07:00

To get from Mission Bay to San Diego Bay you have to go about a mile out into the ocean to skirt the biggest kelp forest I have ever seen. It seems very popular for fisherman though as dodging the endless crab pot floats, (some the size of beer bottles and painted black!) made it a tough trip to relax on. I had to motor a portion of this passage as there was no wind (again) and you don't want to snag a crab pot float as getting a 100ft of poly line melted and knotted around the prop would be a miserable job to repair.

Huge kelp forest over a mile offshore. Pt Loma in the distance.

Finally some wind picked up as I rounded Point Loma (View Map) and I managed kill the engine and casually drift into the bay under sail power.

Pt Loma, the southern most point in the US

San Diego Bay is also home to the US Navy. Warships, submarines, helicopters and lots of restricted areas. This little aircraft carrier was docked off the city front. It made me wonder why so much of our money and resources are tied up in protecting ourselves from 'other' people. Of all the problems in the world, we are most scared of ourselves. I had never really thought about that until I saw this monster machine that had been purposely constructed to annihilate other humans.

Imagine this headed your way on a foggy night, its the size of a small city!

Below is a map of San Diego Bay. You can see part of Mission bay at the very top where I was anchored before (see last post). I'm now anchored at Glorietta Bay (blue dot) on the Coronado Peninsula. View Map. The Mexican border is the solid line at the bottom of the map

Map of San Diego Bay. Mexican border at the bottom.

I had only been here a few hours when some people I had met at a Newport Beach raftup came by. They invited me to yet another party on a friends boat nearby. Lots of great people and I picked up a few tips about traveling in Mexico. I slept well that nite. Certainly a fun group who like to party, probably 90% of all the alcohol I have consumed on this trip has been with that one group! I would have to toughen up my constitution if was stay around here for much longer or I'm going to fall out the dinghy soon on the way back to the boat.

Anchored opposite the golf course at Glorietta Bay.

The next day after a long lie-in, I dropped the dinghy in the water and pulled it up on the beach 100ft away on the golf course. I cycled around Coronado for a while and then had lunch at an Il Fornaio restaurant right on the waterfront overlooking the downtown San Diego. That meal was the most I had spent on one dinner since I left San Francisco. It was ok (I had the lasagna), but I have really been enjoying making my own food lately and the whole restaurant thing just hasn't been so appealing as of late and now seems to be a waste of money, I think its mainly because I have the time to make my own food, just as I like it. Before, when I've been in a rush, a restaurant has been convenient as it will get you something decent without much effort. I bet my view will change when Ive been out in the wilderness for a few months!

View from Coronado Island overlooking downtown San Diego

I went for a few bike rides around Coronado island and spent some time looking around the Coronado hotel. I had stopped here years back for lunch with the family on a car trip around California. If you ever visit San Diego, this is the place to stay.

The Hotel Del Coronado

I even got the bike fixed. Both wheels had been taco'd when I got run over at Dana Point and Ive been looking around for some 20" alloy wheels. The rear wheel was unusual as it had a 6 speed block and most 20" wheels are single speed on BMX bikes. Anyway I found a bike shop in downtown Coronado and they had both wheels in stock for less than I could order them online. They even let me use their workshop to swap out the axles and the gears onto the new wheels. I hadn't had a chance to do bike work like that since I was about 14! The 'new' bike is going better than ever.

That weekend I was scheduled to move the boat up to another anchorage in San Diego Bay at La Playa. It is close to the police docks where you do your immigration paperwork on your return to the US and they have slips you can rent for up to 10 days. I'm hoping to get to use those so I can leave the boat somewhere secure and fly home next week.

The wind was very favorable and I was able to sail the whole way out of Glorietta bay and up the San Diego harbor. I was busy tacking back and forth up the channel and apparently I got too close for comfort for a Navy warship coming down the channel.

Navy Warship 104

I was over 1/4 mile of his bow when I was directly ahead of him but the next thing I hear on the VHF 16 is ..
"This is Navy Warship 104, Navy Warship 104 calling sailing vessel Sea 42"
Oh crap! I looked back and took the picture above and realized maybe I had left it a little too close.
I responded on the radio and we switched to channel 12. Some small gray Navy support boats were buzzing around the warship and one was headed towards me. What have I got myself into now? They probably think I'm a terrorist and my boat is loaded with bombs.
The Navy radio operator was polite but firm. He wanted a larger perimeter around his ship and I was to stay away. I apologized and confirmed his request. I looked back and the support boats had turned away. That was a little too much excitement for one day.

Great sailing conditions up the San Diego harbor

I turned into La Playa (top left on above map) behind Shelter island and dropped the hook glad I'm not peeling potatoes in a Navy prison.

Mission Bay, San Diego (anchor)

2010-10-03T19:11:00.000-07:00

I'm close to the border! I can smell the salsa in the distance. Well I'm not planning on visiting any of the border towns like Tijuana but will make my first stop Ensenada which looks about a days sail south.

Anyway for now I'm in the final, most southerly US city on this leg of the trip. From a boaters perspective, San Diego is split into 2 areas, Mission Bay and San Diego Bay, split by the San Diego river.

Mission Bay, San Diego. Im anchored at the blue dot, bottom left.

Mission bay is a huge man made area dredged from mud flats back in the 50's. Most of it is accessed under a freeway bridge which is too low for my mast, but there is a general anchorage area before the bridge called Mariners Basin where I can stay for three days. View Map.

Sea42 anchored just off the beach

There are no docks or piers nearby, but I can drag the dinghy up the beach and cycle into town. Right next to the anchorage is a large park and Sea World, the huge Zoo with Orca the killer whale.

Sunset at Mission Bay

This part of San Diego has a distinctly different feel to it than the other towns in southern California that I have visited. It's very laid back and noticeably less pretentious, without the L.A. rat-race / 'look at me' atmosphere.

I couldn't resist taking a peek at this boat at the far end of the bay, his anchor and rode was still attached but it cant have set well as he must have dragged onto the beach and is now stuck in this interesting position.

Ive never seen a fin keel boat balance so well.

Looks like its been here a while....

I took a few bike rides around the area and found a great coffee shop near the harbor that was very laid back. I chatted with the owner for a while about the town and living near the border of Mexico.

Coffee shop making good use of old surfboards

Along the beach front is surfer paradise. Endless surf shops, hippie hangout bars and this park with an artificial wave machine.

On my last day I took my longest bike ride so far and made it all the way north to La Jolla which is like the Beverley Hills of San Diego. Beautiful homes right on the beach front some with their own private bay.

The sea front at La Jolla

interesting trees at the park

I want to fly home in a few weeks as it's birthday season at home soon and I can catch 2 birthdays in 7 days if I time it right. I've got the flight booked, all I need to do now is find a home for the boat. I can only stay here for 3 days, but in San Diego bay they have a number of places you can anchor specially set up for transients like me headed for Mexico. You even have to prove your not local to use the main anchorage. It will be great to get out of 'civilization' soon and anchor where I want without someone sticking there hand out for money or putting restrictions on how long I can stay.

I called up the harbor police and got 3 back-to-back 3 day permits at Glorietta Bay with is on the very exlusive Coronado Peninsula. Ill be right near the center of town which will be nice. I then have another permit for 'La Playa' cove for the next weekend. Hopefully by then I will be able to sort something out for the week I fly home. Looks promising though....

Dana Point (anchored)

2010-09-28T13:38:00.000-07:00

I decided to cast off from the mooring balls at Newport Beach around 2pm after going ashore to get some food shopping done and load some data on the iPad at Starbucks on Balboa Island.

I picked up the iPad when I flew home last week and I got to admit that Im really liking it. I got it mainly because my old Dell ships computer had a memory problem and I needed a new laptop to replace it. Navionics has all the latest Pacific charts on the iPad in hi-res and the 3G Ipad model has a GPS chip in it, so that sealed the deal. I soon found out that it's also a ton of fun and can do so much more (that is as soon as I wrestled it from the kids and then my wife). Anyway I managed to get it away from home and have it with me on the boat and I'm now typing this blog on the iPad and saving having to go ashore to use the Internet. You still can't upload pictures to the blog using an iPhone/iPad, but other than that the iPad is really easy to type on, actually easier than my notebook pc. I ended up buying the ATT data plan for $25 a month and that makes it more usable than justr WiFi only, at least while Im still in the US.

What I did do with my old laptop is remove the bad memory chip, it now has 1GB instead of 2GB and I loaded windows 7 on it. I wanted to keep the laptop as I have a cool long range WiFi USB card and antenna that I use to pick up networks at long range. I have the Engenius EUB9603H (from amazon $40 shipped) and combine that with a Hawking directional antenna. The omni directional antenna that comes with the Engenius is good, but the Hawking antenna does even better, but requires the boat to be still (not swinging on the anchor) as it's directional.

I chose Windows 7 because it includes a cool feature that allows me to share the network I have found with other devices on the boat, like iPhones/ipads that have WiFi. It's called the 'miniport virtual adaptor' software and it's easily setup using the tools that come with the Engenius device. I first scan the harbor for a remote open network and connect to it. I then start the virtual access point on windows 7 to create a new wireless network on the boat, I name the SSID 'Sea42' and then everyone on the boat can connect to it and the internet using the WiFi from their own devices. It's often slow, but it's enough to catch up on email etc.

I could only find 'pay to use' WiFi connections at Dana Point so I'm using the 3G on the Ipad and Starbucks WiFi to write this.

Ipad at the Nav Station

It took me about 4 hrs to get here, but I sailed the whole way and the wind was light and astern. I anchored in the north section near the tall ships and the museum which is very nice to look out on.

Anchored at Dana Point

I've been here nearly a week now as I ran into a little trouble, well actually, someone else ran into me when I was riding the bike to the coffee-shop one morning. The poor little folding bike now has two permanently folded wheels. I was scooting along the sidewalk and someone drove out of a parking lot and onto the road without looking and I got stuck under the front of his car. I ended up having to go to the hospital to make sure nothing was broken in my right ankle that got squashed. It all fine (nothing broken) but I'm wearing a splint and hobbling around for a few days until I can walk properly again. It was quite a scene as I did no more damage than if I had fallen off a ladder or something but since it was a road accident I had two firetrucks turn up with sirens, a group of locals helping me off the road, two different cop cars and a ride in an ambulance. Even though I only had a cut leg, they wanted to put a neck brace on me and I had to officially decline its use. I finally got back to the boat later that afternoon after a taxi ride from the hospital and the longest hop of my life to the pier and down the boat ramp. Moving around the boat is ok though as I can use all the handholds.

I was hoping to be in San Diego by now but I dont mind staying here a few more days as its been such a great anchorage and its been sunny and in the 80/90 range every day. Its so calm, its like anchoring in a swimming pool. Ive managed to get few chores done around the boat and dove in the water to scrub the hull and check the zincs. One of the big projects Im doing is to put in a salt water wash down system so I can clean the decks and hose of the anchor and chain when its covered in mud (nearly always). Ive got the pump and pipe work installed already and should have it finished today.

I'm anchored next to the replica of Henry Dana's ship

Dana Pt is one of off my favorite ports so far, the anchorage is really protected and I'm right next to 2 wooden masted tall ships. There is a nautical museum, a beach and park behind me and a bunch of shops/restaurants in the marina complex. You can stay up to 5 days for free, but the harbor patrol are letting me stay a little longer because of my accident. The main town and shops are up quite a steep long hill, but its a good workout on the bike.

Lots of history here with the tall ships and museum depicting life when California was just starting out. The town is named after Henry Dana who was crew on a 1800's tall ship that collected cow hides from the coastal Rancho's like this and took them back to the East Coast via Cape Horn. I read his book '2 Years before the mast' which has fascinating descriptions of life in early California and as crew on wooden ship before the era of the Gold Rush. Read the Wikipedia entry here.

looking down across the harbor from the cliff top.

I'm meeting more people sailing south for the winter as I get nearer to San Diego. When I turned up here the yacht next to me was skippered by a Welshman called Mike. He had recently retired and flown to California to buy a boat and start his trip to Mexico and beyond.We got to spend some time swapping sailing stories over a few drinks. Im sure we will meet up down south at some point.

This morning I tuned in the shortwave SSB radio to one of the many cruisers 'nets' around the world that covers the Pacific area from California to Mexico. I had been meaning to test my shortwave radio transmit power ever since I installed the Icom 802 radio last year, and I finally got my chance. The net starts at 7am each morning and I happened to be up early so I tuned in and listened to the initial weather report which is followed by a roll call where each boat can check in and give its location and report on local conditions. Its all run by volunteers and its a nice safety net that allows each boat to keep an eye on one other and make sure no one gets lost in the ocean. I didn't expect anyone to hear me but my radio worked and the operator in Mexico got my call sign and boat name and checked me in. I then heard another San Francisco sailor (on a Catalina 470) I knew check in and I got to talk to him on another frequency. I didnt really think my radio would work that well, but its nice to know I didn't mess up the installation that much. I even managed to pick up an Australian news program. I feel pretty confident that I can now contact civilization where ever I end up.

Another interesting thing here is the number of SUP (Stand Up Paddleboard?) users here. This looks like the next big craze to replace surfing/windsurfing/kayaks/canoes etc. I have seen dozens of people of all ages doing it here. People doing it with dogs, kids on board and even one guy with a bottle of champagne and glass on his board while he paddled across the harbor. This morning a group of people were doing aerobic classes on their paddle boards in the middle of the harbor.

A stand up paddleboarder (SUP) with his dog onboard.

I'll be moving on to San Diego in the next few days. I'm hoping for some co-operating wind but I'm not very optimistic. It 's been blowing at most 10knots at in the afternoon for a few hours, but thats its.

Newport Beach (mooring ball)

2010-09-22T21:00:00.000-07:00

I've been a bit lazy getting these blog posts up mainly since I haven't been very far since my last entry. I needed to get home for a few days, and put the boat on a mooring ball at Newport harbor, it's just a few hundred feet from the boardwalk and near the shops. I had met a local boater called Mike the previous week at the anchorage here when he was having a 6 boat raftup and party with friends from the Balboa Yacht Club. He was very helpful in getting me to shore (and a ride to the airport!) so I didn't have to leave the dinghy unattended for 5 days while I flew home. Thanks again to Mike, his family and friends for giving me a great time that weekend and taking the time to show me around the area.

it was a nice change to get home for a few days and catch up on lost time with the family and friends. It was weird at first wearing something else than shorts and t-shirts! A few things needed fixing round the house and I needed to pick up a few spares for the boat I had ordered online so it was a very productive trip.

I got back to the boat yesterday to find everything ok except it was covered in pelican poop. Not small dots like regular birds but like a pack of dogs with wings had flown by and dumped 100 balls of melting vanilla ice-cream over the boat. Aagh, it's so nice to be back. Cleaning that up kept me busy for at least a few hours.

I've been working on a single handers MOB (Man Over Board) solution for a few years now and think I have my best solution so far. I just picked up the last bits on the trip home. If your sailing on your own and go over the side more than a couple of miles from shore it normally means the end, you have about a hour or so depending on the temp of the water and then hyperthermia sets in. Just enough time to watch the boat sail off into the sunset and remind yourself what an idiot you were to let something like that happen. It's bad enough if you crew onboard as they have to know someone has gone over the side to help you, but on your own it's nearly impossible to survive without help.

I've put together a decent size package of items that fits in a REI bum bag that fits around your waist. In it I have my personal EPIRB (calls emergency services via satellite), a waterproof VHF radio with GPS and DSC. A knife, strobe light, whistle, horn and a powerful laser pointer with a 20 mile range. With that gear I at least have a fighting chance to get rescued which is a huge improvement over no chance. I have no intention of ever using it, but I now feel a little safer on those night passages. I just have to be very diligent and remember to put it on! But I should be also wearing my harness which prevents me going over the side in the first place, so that means I have to screw up to use my MOB bag. Oh well....

I'm planning on tidying up and then heading to Dana Point tomorrow. After that I have just a few more stops until it's time to cross the border and head for the tropics!

Newport Beach anchorage - revisited

2010-09-10T22:55:00.000-07:00

After 8 days anchored at Catalina I sailed back to Newport beach to the spot I was at a few weeks back. The weather was out of the south and made my cove at Catalina very uncomfortable as it was now fully exposed. Ive also been thinking of flying home for a few days to help Ali with some chores at home so being back on the mainland made sense. You are only meant to use the anchorage 5 days a month and I was here just 8 days ago, but it is a new month now! So far the harbor patrol guys haven't said anything so I guess I'm fine for now.

Its a ghost town here compared to just a week ago. After labor day this place just shuts down! I really like it a lot now its quieter. Ive been unplugged from the grid for nearly a month now, I'm feeling quite confident in the boat systems working well once I'm in Mexico. In fact I could use much more water/electric than I have been rationing myself as I appear to have plenty in reserve. Also the food stores last a long time with just one person on the boat.

I was chatting about 'dropping out of the system' with a sailor who returned from the sea of Cortez last year and he mentioned that when your out in the wilds of Mexico a interesting goal is to try for a whole month not to spend any money or use the internet. It seems simple at first, but when you think about it for a while you realize that it will be challenging and require some major adjustments in behavior. Normally that challenge would be hard to do for one day while in the US!

Time is running out fast now before I can cross the border into Mexican waters. I have a few more places I want to visit on the way down and I need to time in San Diego to get all my paperwork and visas in order. I need to stay above latitude 24 until November, but that still gives me over 500 miles of Baja coastline to explore before I get that far south.

Whites Cove (Catalina) - revisited

2010-09-10T22:15:00.000-07:00

After my 5 days was up at the free anchorage at Newport Beach I decided to head back to Catalina as I had really enjoyed it there. I have been suprised how well the boat systems are working without being connected to any power or water supplies. I have been totally self sufficient for a while now. In fact its been a problem that Im not running the water maker enough and that means extra cleaning of the reverse osmosis system that desalinates the seawater ( read about Osmosis on Wikipedia, its very interesting and explains alot about how salt is such a huge factor in our lives and everything on the planet) As you can tell I have had way too much free time!

I stayed at Catalina for another 8 days. I cant really put my finger on anything specific that I did, but now that kind of thing is worrying me less and less. Actually I did spend some time creating a device to stop the rocking motion of the boat due to swells when at anchor. As I had the time I spent a while looking at some commercial ideas and the science behind what makes the boat rock from side to side, sometimes quite violently if the swell frequency is right. Its mostly to do with the harmonics of the hull and its relationship with the swell hitting it, even if the swell are little ripples they can make it very uncomfortable if they are at the exact frequency that adds to the motion of each movement. There are some commercial product you can buy that are just big dampers that you put over the side of the rail in an attempt to slow down the rocking but they can get quite large and take up a lot of storage space. I read one post from a science major that described the theory and it gave me some ideas to try out. It gave me some work to do for a few days and it could make life at exposed anchorages more comfortable.

I ended up finding the best solution being a heavy duty milk crate (The traditional one full of holes) suspended about a foot below the water from the end of the boom. The boom swung out to side to face the oncoming swells. I normally use 2 anchors (fore and aft) to force the boat to face out to sea into the oncoming swells, but you always get other swells refracting of the cliffs or from other boat traffic passing by. Big tankers, sometimes miles away can be the worst.

Under the milk crate I attached about 20lbs of heavy chain to keep it weighted down. On top, after much experimentation I ended up using a plastic cutting mat (from the galley) that is the same size as the bottom of the milk crate. It is loosely zip tied on one end and then has a bungee cord across the top of it. What this does is to allow the crate to rapidly sink into the water, but as the crate rises the plastic mat closes all the holes in the milk crate like a large valve and has to move a large volume of water to rise. I experimented with different types of valves and larger crate sizes, but found all that was important was to slightly modify the boat harmonics to be asymmetrical to have the best effect. It didn't stop the rocking/flopping of the boat entirely but it reduced it significantly and was very simple. I'm sure all this sounds ridiculous so I will post a picture when I next use it.

If you have ever seen that famous video of a large bridge falling apart from swaying around in the wind, its the same principle. Watch the youtube video.

My thanks go out to Vons in Avalon (Safeway in SoCal) for letting me use various crates to use in my tests. Avalon was about 20 mins away in the dinghy and I could get intermittent Internet access on my IPhone to look stuff up.

Newport Beach anchorage

2010-08-28T22:17:00.000-07:00

I made good time sailing back to the mainland as the weather was building. I was looking forward to being in a calm protected bay and Newport beach is one of the best.

Tied up at the harbor patrol docks to get info on were to stay

There is a number of options at Newport Beach, you can pay an outrageous amount to stay in a marina, over 3x the price of the other ports I had visited or you can tie up to one of the many mooring balls around the bay or you can use the free anchorage area thats located right in the central spot near the beach and shops. You can stay there for 5 days in any one month so that seemed to suit me fine. Its so calm in here compared to being out in the open ocean, I slept well that nite.

The channel entrance to Newport Beach

Lots of bays and islands to explore

This has to be the sailing capitol of southern California. Every day I'm surrounded by big and small sailboats in races and just having fun passing just feet away from were I'm anchored. The shoreline is a continuous line of private properties, most with there own beach and docks for multiple yachts. There is a mixture of good and average shops and restaurants around. This area wasn't developed fully until recently and its still working out its issues, but for a boating family it has to be a great place to live.

Want a house with a beach and a dock? the one on the right is $35m. I'm anchored opposite for free.

Eel Cove (Catalina)

2010-08-28T21:36:00.000-07:00

There is an area at the North-West end of Catalina called Emerald Bay that is renown for its clear water and great diving. I had been at Whites cove for a while and decided to try it out. It was about an hour North of were I was and there was no wind so I motored slowly up the coast. As I was going past the Isthmus at 2 harbors I decided to look around to see if there are in fact any places you can anchor there as it seems all the good places are taken with mooring balls. The wind was howling thro the Isthmus as it often does in the afternoons and all the places with no mooring balls were in 100ft+ of water making it a risky proposition. I continued up the coast towards Emerald Bay and noticed a great secluded bay big enough for one boat just after the Isthmus around the Eel Cove area.

Anchored in my own bay surrounded by a kelp forest.

Emerald bay was just around the corner so I took the dinghy to take a look. It has some unusual rock formations and very clear water.

Emerald bay rocks

good water visibility

Back at my private cove I was reveling in how perfect it was, I had the place to myself, the water was so clear I could see both anchors in the sand and it was reasonably calm. I snorkeled around a little, made dinner and got ready for a good nites rest.

Calm, clear water in my own cove, but it changed later that night!

Unfortunately the weather was changing and a new front was bring more wind and bigger swell to the area. Because of my location it got rolly quite quickly, then to make it much worse I found out my cove was the hot area for commercial fisherman during the night. About 1/2 mile offshore a dozen large trawlers with bright lights start churning up the water and firing cannons to scare off the birds from all the fish scraps. It was miserable with the boat rocking violently from side to side and all the lights flashing on and off. Anyway, by the morning I had had enough and sailed 30nm east over to Newport Beach on the mainland.

Whites Cove (Catalina)

2010-08-27T22:36:00.000-07:00

I had a smooth sail across the channel in 15knots of wind and arrived in under 3 hrs. I was close hauled the whole way as I need to make as much windward progress as possible and got to really test the pointing ability of the new jib. I was headed for an area on the central east coast of Catalina called Long Point which was as far north as I could get in one tack. There is a recommended anchorage called Whites Cove in the lee of this point that looked just what I was looking for. Just like any good location on Catalina, all the best places are taken with mooring balls but there are a few spots left to anchor if you take the time to scope out the bay.

Whites Cove looking North, Sea42 on the right.

Most of the mooring balls are in the south of the bay

I set 2 anchors so the bow pointed out to sea and ended up being pretty comfortable being protected by the headlands and Long Point to the north. This is the most comfortable open water anchorage I have found so far. Its quite deep water at over 50ft, but the holding is good and the water visibility is great.

View of Catalina from the cockpit. I spent a lot of time sitting here!

I really like it here. The water is very clear and there is plenty of fish to see around the kelp forests near the rocks. Its quiet and if I need anything I can be in Avalon in 15 minutes assuming the waters flat and I can go full speed in the dinghy (25 knots). If its even slightly rough it takes a lot longer but the view on the way beneath the cliffs is pretty spectacular.

As I had the big outboard on the dinghy, I spent some time exploring the local coast and found a few camping spots on beaches that can only be reached by boat. Its very wild and untouched here. I had a big flying fish zoom by me one day while in the dinghy.

After a few days just sitting back and enjoying the view I decided to hike up the mountains to get a good view of the bay. Its been pretty warm so I set off early around 7am to avoid the heat. I didn't really know where I was going but I saw a few small trails in the distance and figured I cant be the first to try. I packed the radio and some supplies into my backpack in case I got into trouble...

view over the bay a few hundred feet up the mountain

A little higher, getting tired now .....

Top of the mountain, the boats are little dots now, and its getting hot.

This was about as far as I have hiked in a very long time. I looked around for some shade for a rest and tucked in behind some bushes to have lunch and some much needed water. There had not been much of a trail up to this point but I could see what looked like a dirt road in the distance and figured I could use that to get back. A few miles down the dirt road I was on a point over looking the bay near the boat but there the road ended, guarded by a huge bison!

The only other person I met all day. Quite friendly it turned out.

I just have to get down this small hill and I'm home!

I should have just gone back the way I came, but it seemed a very long way back and its wasn't an easy climb. Going up is always easier that going down and now I'm so close there must be some trails near the coast right???

I started down the cliff and soon realized if was just a mass of Cactus and dried out brambles. Anyway to make it short I spent hours retracing my tracks and ended up climbing down a creek bed and going over a steep cliff before I reached the shore. So I'm at the shore just a half mile from the boat, it should be easy from now I'm thinking. I clambered over the rocky beach and made it around a headland with the waves crashing all around me, just one more cove to go and I'm back. The only problem is that the last cove is surrounded by steep cliffs a hundred feet high and I cant get around the rocky point. I tried climbing out holding onto dried out roots and plants but had to give up before I started a rockslide,

I climb down this cliff and end up being stuck in this bay, No way out!

I went back down to the shore line and sat on a big rock on the waters edge (see arrow on picture above). I could leave all my gear here and try and swim for the boat, but then how could I land the dinghy in this rocky surf to pick my gear up? I thought about calling the coast guard when a kayaker came around the point. I called out and explained my strange situation. I ended up jumping off the rock onto the kayak and getting a ride back to the beach. Next time I get a trail map!

I dragged myself back to the boat and drank more that one beer after that.

A few days later I decided to take the dinghy ride 3 miles down the coast to Avalon, It was a little bit choppy so I couldn't go full speed but its a beautiful trip skirting the kelp forests at the bottom of huge cliffs. About 20 mins later I pull into Avalon and tie up the dinghy at the pier. Culture shock! Millions of tourists everywhere. It was overwhelming at first seeing so many people after being alone for a while, but I soon got used to it and sought out a coffee shop.

The beach area at Avalon

Avalon is a pretty town on the southern end of Catalina. Its the only real town on Catalina and has a good mix of shops and restaurants.

View of Avalon Harbor from the coffee shop. Electric golf carts to get around town

View over Avalon Harbor


The Casino Building is the big landmark of Avalon.

I spent some time exploring the small town. The island has an unusual history as its privately owned by the Wrigley family (of chewing gum fame) who lease parts of the island to various organizations. Read about it here. I ended up going to Avalon a few times to get access to the internet and get supplies.

Alamitos Bay (Long Beach)

2010-08-27T20:13:00.000-07:00

It was time for the family to get home so before we left Catalina I called around looking for a slip in the Long Beach area and found a slip at Alamitos Harbor. Its in a great location with Long Beach airport (LGB) just a few miles away with direct access to San Fran via Jet Blue which I could use next week to go home and help Sophie start High School. Ali and the kids stayed one more night and then started their trip back to the car parked at Santa Barbara Marina using the local train system.

One of the many parks around the bay

Over the next few days I got a chance to explore the local area on the bike and found all my favorite stores, get some laundry done and even located a Trader Joe's to stock up on chocolate. There is a nice downtown area that runs parallel to the beach on 2nd St, plenty to do and see.

I flew home for 5 days and then was back on the boat Tuesday. Its was quite depressing flying home in 50 minutes over the distance it had taken me 6 weeks to sail, the plane even starting braking over Monterey bay for landing at SFO, it took me 2 weeks to get that far ... Arghh....

Flying over Alamitos Bay, I can see the boat down there!

Everything was looking good when I got back to the boat, so I planned a trip back to Catalina. I wanted to find a quiet anchorage where I could fish, swim and do a little exploring of the island. The next day I stocked up on food and fuel and left Alamitos.

Two Harbors, Catalina Island

2010-08-09T22:04:00.000-07:00

We reached Catalina just before sunset and tied up to a mooring ball just 3 rows back from the beach. Two Harbors is a great vacation destination for boaters, one pier, one restaurant, one bar and a general store. It reminds me of some of the places you can visit in the BVI's, but its on the west coast. Next to Avalon, its the most popular yacht destination on the west coast and for good reasons.

The water around Catalina is very clear and there are plenty of fish to catch, you start with bread bait, catch a few mackerel, chop them up for bait and then start reeling in lunch. Within a few hours we had enough sea bass to feed all of us. We hoped to catch some halibut, but no luck this time.

View from the hammock....

You can only get ashore by dinghy (or swim). By the end of the week, the kids mastered starting the outboard and could get ashore by themselves to get ice-cream etc.

Two harbors bay

I intended to scuba dive and windsurf here, but I never managed to muster the energy. Its really a pathetic
excuse but you can really unwind here and its hard to get anything done. I did go snorkeling on the last day and later that day Sophie tried it for the first time, after a initial hesitation she really got into it and I literally had to fish her out of the water.

Cat Harbor on the west side of the Isthmus

Ventura

2010-08-04T22:00:00.000-07:00

The family drove down to Santa Barbara Saturday and we spent two more nights to explore the town and some time Sunday to drive around Montecito while we had the car. We visited 3 open houses and found Montecito to be very much like Hillsborough in its style and feel with the exception of Cacti everywhere instead of Oak and Eucalyptus trees. Sophie found 3 Yoghurt shops in Downtown Santa Barbara and found one that allowed you to take any amount of yoghurt and toppings and then just pay by weight, even Dad liked the taste.
Tuesday morning we got an early lunch and cast off for Ventura harbor about 25nm to the south. We wanted to make our way to Catalina Island and decided to do it in a few steps until Ali and the kids got their sea legs.
We pulled into Ventura about 6pm but not until we caught our first fish! We had put out a second trolling line on the stern pulpit that had a purple cedar plug I had bought on Sterns Wharf. I didn't expect to catch anything after zero luck with my squid lure, but within an hour of putting out the cedar plug we pulled in a 3ft long Pacific Barracuda! It was the biggest we had ever caught. After consultiung the fishing book and finding it edible, we quickly filleted it on the dock at Ventura and pan fried it for dinner.

Our first trolling fish, a Barracuda!

I was hoping to spend some more time at Ventura as its a nice looking port with some great restaurants, but we decided the next morning to push onto Catalina as the kids only have a week before they need to be back home. We left shortly after breakfast the next morning initially thinking to stop at Marina Del Ray, but after consulting the charts and the distances, we decided to do one long passage and make it to Catalina by nightfall. I had decided to do all our trips during daylight with the kids as they are not up to doing watches yet and also the winds in SoCal drop away to nothing overnight and make for a very rolly passage. Luckily there are plenty of ports in this area allowing us to make port by nightfall.

Santa Barbara Pier

2010-07-30T20:24:00.000-07:00

I had to move out of the Santa Barbara marina for 2 days while a Yacht racing event took over. I decided to anchor south of Stearns Wharf pier and scoped out a spot in the dinghy that seemed protected from the swells and wind. I ended up tucked in as close to the Pier as possible but had to stay at least 300ft away as per the local regs. I could get my space back in the marina on Friday afternoon and then Ali and the kids should be here on Saturday morning.


Anchored behind Stearns Wharf Pier

The anchorage worked out well, during the day when the wind and the swell were in the same direction it was very mellow, but as soon as the thermal winds dropped at nite the boat swung around to the south and rolled like crazy (around 2am!) Getting a good sleep was tough, but I'm getting better at sleeping thro it now. I set a stern anchor with the Danforth I have in the bow locker and tried holding the boat into the swell, this worked well, but then a moderate south wind kicked in the next nite and I had wind waves smashing into the hull that sounded like someone hitting the boat with a hammer. Tying up back in the calm marina seemed very appealing now, plus setting and retrieving 2 anchors took a lot of time and I have to sleep with the anchor watch alarm on which usually goes off as the wind shifts.

The start of the yacht race

Friday morning I took the dingy out to watch the start of yacht race. A lot of the boats were custom built, over 65ft and kitted out with carbon fiber masts and booms, some serious cash being spent on a fun race. They were all fully crewed and it was pretty impressive watching the teamwork involved in tacking and gybing, certainly more graceful (and faster) than when I do it alone.

After the race I hauled anchor and got my spot back in the marina, the end tie on Q dock, I then headed down to Brophy's bar that overlooks the marina.to get some lunch. I'd tried to go a few times before but it was always packed and had a long waiting list. It was packed again but managed to get a spot at the bar. The food and service was great and I got chatting with a few of the locals. Put this place on your todo list if you ever visit Santa Barbara, its a real gem.

Great view from the bar at Brophys

I've found a closer coffee shop (HotSpots) near the pier so I managed to update the blog. I have ordered a new long range USB WiFi antenna which has a built in access point so I can then share any connection I find with other laptops and IPhones. Its the Engenius EUB9603H which was recommended by Allan from s/v Follow You, Follow Me' who I met on the docks the other day, which reminds me I also bought his boat bikes from him and some charts for the south Pacific. He is on the return journey to Redwood city from New Zealand and used to have the slip directly behind me at Bair Island Marina, it was real coincidence to run into him. We spent a few hours talking about his trip and all the experiences he and his wife had had with their boat, which included being towed in the south Pacific when their rudder fell off.

Anyway, the bikes have worked out great as they really extend the distance I can travel when I stop somewhere. When I'm done they fold up really small and go in a bag. They don't weigh much and they are built specifically for storing on boats with (mostly) Aluminum and stainless steel and seem to resist rusting in a very salty environment that would destroy most bikes in a few months.

I've been riding all over Santa Barbara and even found a Trader Joes. The rack on the back fits a 12 pack box of Corona perfectly, I got a few comments on my way back to the boat with that! Having the bike reminds me of getting my first motorbike when I was 16 and the freedom it gave me.

Port Runner Aluminum folding bike, my new ride!

HotSpots coffee shop on State Street

Cool skate park next to the beach. Time to be a teenager again!

The family should be here in the morning and we will hang out here for a few days and then head for Two Harbors at Catalina Island via Ventura Harbor and Marina Del Ray if the weather holds. Ali will be driving here in the car and I want to drive around the area and explore Montecito a few miles down the road.

Santa Barbara

2010-07-27T12:28:00.000-07:00

We had a fantastic sail back from San Miguel Island with 20+ knots of wind on the beam to start and slowing to 5-10knots from astern by the time we reached Santa Barbara. About 1/4 of the way the fog cleared and we had clear blue skies and shorts and t-shirt weather. Welcome to SoCal!

I really like Santa Barbara. It has everything. Great weather, a huge beach, clean marina, clear blue water, lots of sea life, fantastic views over the Channel Islands and downtown that rivals anything with the best shops and restaurants.Its hard to live here unless your retired or a student at the university as there is not much of a local industry, but this makes it very laid back and far removed from the rat race in the bay area. Montecito is the Hillsborough equivalent in the local hills overlooking the bay, one day....

There is a big boat race in a few days so I will loose my spot in the marina. Im OK for 4 nights, then I will anchor off the pier for a few days until there is space again.

View of the Santa Inez mountains from my dock.

Stearns Wharf off downtown Santa Barbara

I'd fallen way behind on my Blog, mainly because I didn't have and WIFI access and posting on my Iphone meant only short text messages and no photos. I finally caught up after a few days in Santa Barbara by spending the morning at Starbucks on State Street. If your used to my blog, you will notice I update the posts as I go along, often you will get a brief initial entry and later I will update it with more info and photos. If a previous posting seemed short, reread the posts and you will be sure to not miss anything.

Cuyler Harbor, San Miguel Island

2010-07-27T11:34:00.000-07:00

San Miguel is the most remote of all the Channel Islands and the cruising guides have heavy warnings about the many reefs and strong winds. The Wikipedia entry describes the approach as "A Mariners Nightmare!". All these warnings mean San Miguel is virtually untouched and rarely visited (less than 200 people a year) making it very unique. Its a National Historic Place and a nature reserve, requiring a permit to explore. There are zero facilities and you can only get here by private boat making it a truly unique place. My sincere thanks to Chris for giving me the confidence to visit this island. I'm sure I wouldn't have done it by myself.
The first European Explorer Juan Rodriguez visited the Island in 1542 and reportedly died here, a monument to him is up a small trail from the beach.

Its only 40 miles offshore from Southern California and millions of people, making it strange to have such a wilderness so close to one of the busiest areas in the USA.

As soon as we got the anchor set securely, we dropped the dinghy off the davits and headed for the beach to see the Elephant seals. We could see and hear about 20 of them from the boat. We had no problem landing the dinghy on the pristine white sand beach. The Elephant Seals are huge, the males reaching up to 6500 lbs (think of 3 large cows or 2 cars) and make a sound like a roaring lion.

2 Elephant Seals check out our boat anchored in Cuyler Harbor

2 males fighting

Hauled out on the beach

Not too bothered by me taking photos

A few males played in the water off the beach

A mix between a seal and an elephant?

They are BIG .....

A pristine beach


Don't get this fishbone caught in your throat. I think its from the spine of a blue whale.

Joe and Chris at Cuyler harbor, Sea42 anchored in the background.

The next morning we hauled anchor and set sail for Santa Barbara about 40nm east.

Point Conception

2010-07-22T11:44:00.000-07:00

We left Morro Bay after getting some breakfast at one of the waterfront eateries. We got a good breeze until we cleared the southern point of Morro Bay when it died to a few knots. We decided to head for San Miguel Island where the elephant seals have a colony. It's a tricky approach and would mean sailing thro the nite around point conception and arriving at the island the next afternoon.

Since I have my friend Christophe with me for this week we decided on a 4hr watch schedule. Since we had so little wind it made for some serious rolling. Everything on the boat was clanking squeaking and creaking. That combined with trying to pass the most dangerous point on the California coastline with the shipping lanes and the oil rigs made it very hard to relax.

Anyway we had no problems besides getting very little sleep and by the next afternoon we dropped anchor in Cuyler Harbor an San Miguel Island

Morro Bay

2010-07-21T10:10:00.000-07:00

We left San Simeon the next morning after a very rolly nite at anchor. An unusual south swell was causing breakers on the beach so we couldn't land the dinghy, so we moved onto Morro Bay Harbor about 4hrs south. We tied up at the MBYC (local yacht club) dock. Cleaned up the boat and chatted with some of the local sailors organizing the kids sailing program. Morro Bay is one of the few stops on the coast where you can get fuel and provision and there is always some interesting stories as people pass thro here.

A few hours later I'm sitting below and suddenly feel a big thud, I run up to the deck and a big multistory powerboat had reversed into me. I called out to the skipper who obviously didn't see me and the boat just turned and came at me again. After much shouting he stopped. The skipper was an old disabled guy and only had is poor clueless wife as crew. I finally got them to put some decent fenders out and helped them raft up to boat.

A large powerboat rafted up to me at MBYC. Morro Rock in the background.

Morro Bay is a working fishing port, but like all similar ports along the coast (ie Halfmoon Bay) the fishing industry is dieing due to overfishing and overly restrictive laws that make fishing unprofitable and they are resorting to tourism. A big power plant is situated here just next to the rock that kills the view, but its looking like it may be decommissioned as its only running at 5% capacity and that would really help the resorts appeal.

The Morro Bay power plant. Hopefully it gets pulled down soon.

All the rocks along the breakwater have squirrels living in them! A really strange sight. They seemed to be used to humans and come running over to meet you and even start nibbling at your shoes. I havent seen squirrels living on the beach before.

Friendly squirrels living in the breakwater rocks

The next morning a small 27ft boat pulls up to the dock with 3 young guys in it. They had been out in this tiny boat for 3 weeks, working their way up to Santa Cruz. We invited them aboard for a beer and got to hear some fantastic stories of places they had visited in the channel islands, falling overboard and a broken mast. It was really inspiring to see them charging full speed into a full on summer adventure and not being overly concerned about all the risks. It reminded me of my younger years when I started traveling on my own.

I hope they make it back to Santa Cruz safely, its looking like mild weather for the next few days for a northbound passage. Since May at least 5 people have died in small boats along this coast after being washed overboard by big waves.

I finally tried some oysters. The local pacific oysters are huge and available all along the water front restaurants. The idea of swallowing a slimy raw shellfish had never been appealing to me for some reason! I decided to order some on the halfshell (traditional style) and some Rockefeller cooked ones. The Rockefeller oysters were very tasty but could have been anything. The raw oysters were so big it was difficult to swallow them whole and reminded me of trying to swallow a large pill. I tried chewing one but it was way too slimey and made me think of liver flavored Jello. At least I got that todo item checked off the list.

San Simeon (Hearst Castle)

2010-07-20T22:09:00.000-07:00

Just anchored at San Simeon after a mostly foggy, cold and windless Big Sur passage. Ironically, there is a strong NW wind on this coast 99% of the time, but this time we had to motor at the end to make the anchorage by nightfall. We did have some good sailing at times, some blue whale sightings and had a large pod of dolphins join us, so I cant complain.


Big Sur coastline

I anchored here at San Simeon on my last trip and was really looking forward to spending some quality time here, exploring the coast and maybe visiting Hearst Castle, but a strong southerly swell will make landing the dinghy difficult in the surf and I have first hand experience of that as I flipped the dinghy on a breaking wave last time I was here! Looks like I will have to save this great anchorage for the next trip.

In the morning we will haul anchor and set sail for Morro Bay about 4 hrs south of here.

Monterey Harbor (continued)

2010-07-19T14:33:00.000-07:00


Monterey Museum next to the Plaza

It's Monday already and I'm still in Monterey. I've been having so much fun I decided to slow down and enjoy my time here. Met some great people and even got some work done on the boat. The family drove over for the weekend and we spent some time exploring the town and even sailed out to Point Pinos to do some whale watching. I intend to cast off Tuesday morning and continue my quest south. My friend Christophe managed to get some time off this week to join me for the Big Sur passage which should be fun.

Scenic walk to Cannery Row

The new Plaza


Lots to do on the Pier


Downtown Monterey

Sunset view from our dock

Monterey Harbor

2010-07-14T23:06:00.000-07:00

I hugged the coast down to Monterey from Moss Landing as a reasonable swell was running from the NW and it was blowing about 15 knots on the beam making for a perfect passage. I got all the white canvas out and never dropped below seven knots, a truly great sail along a fantastic coastline. I hope I get more days like that.

I called up the harbormaster on the VHF and got the end tie on B dock overlooking the pier, I couldn't ask for a better location.

The water is so clear here, I can even see my rudder from the dock and there is fish swimming around it!

I love this place, I have a constant show from all the sea-life right from my cockpit. You get used to the barking seals after a while ...

Lots to do here, with the pier just steps away and the historic downtown to visit. I think I will stay here a while.

I walked around the pier area and got some roasted sardines that were very good. Lots of nice looking seafood restaurants on the pier and they are all giving away samples of their popular dishes. By the time I got to the end of the pier I didn't need to get dinner.

The next day I washed all the salt of the boat and tidied up a bit, then headed downtown. I was looking for a WIFI connection because I couldn't find anything from the marina that wasn't locked, even with my long range antenna. I found an open WiFi network at the end of the high street and sat on a bench to update the blog. When I finished I noticed a Trader Joe's round the corner and loaded up with all my favorite goodies. Of course I then found a Peets Coffee with Wifi next door which I could have used. 5 years ago when I did this same route I had much less trouble finding internet access as most wireless networks were open.

Moss Landing and Elkhorn Creek

2010-07-14T22:54:00.000-07:00

I left Capitola in the afternoon after sailing around to Santa Cruz Pier and back with some friends that live in Capitola.

Admiral Mimi at the helm. The new captain also insisted we re-tuned the radio station to something less ancient.

I got to try out the big spinnaker on the downwind run back.

I then headed for Moss Landing which is a few hours south. Moss Landing is a real fishing port with a fish processing plant. There are some very interesting old sailboats in the marina, a real trip back in time.

The harbor is full of seals and otters. A huge seal was asleep on the dock next to me when I pulled up.

The next morning I tool the dinghy down Elkhorn Creek. It's a beautiful area full of wildlife.

I wanted to wait for the afternoon winds to pick up, so I spent some time wandering around downtown. Did you know the Shakespeare society and its museum is located in Moss Landing? The guy in the museum is keen to raise money to save the collection and gave me a tour and a history lesson. A little embarrassing to be schooled on Shakespeare by an American, but it was interesting.

There are a few antiques/art stores and some Mexican restaurants. I didn't get to try any as I ate on the boat.

After picking up some fresh fruit from the local market on the side on Highway 1, I checked out of the marina and cast off for Monterey at the south of the bay.

Capitola

2010-07-13T11:04:00.000-07:00

Last time I was in this part of the coast in the boat I stopped at Capitola, but the pier dock was closed because it was too early in the season. I have been meaning to stop here again, as it looks like a great spot to visit.
I left Santa Cruz Marina in the morning as the fog burnt off and set sail for Capitola. Its only a few miles so even as the wind was real light I sailed at a few knots and enjoyed the scenery. I skirted the edges of the kelp forests and got to enjoy the clear waters of Monterrey bay.

You tie up to mooring balls just west of the pier. Capitola is unique with all the funky colored beach houses.

Access to the pier is easy with a ramp that lowers to a dinghy dock. Sea42 is on the mooring ball in the background.

There is a great bar/restaurant right on the end of the pier called the Wharf House. Fish n Chips are world class! The whole pier and items in the restaurant sway as the swells roll under the pier. Its surreal!

Its interesting how different it is to Santa Cruz considering how close it is. There is a definite pride of ownership in this town.

I called up an old friend who lives in Capitola and got to go surfing at the local break behind the kelp. Even though its been 16 years since I last surfed I had a great time and actually managed to stand up (briefly) 3 times. I was exhausted after that and slept well that nite. Its pretty rolly off the pier as its open to the Pacific, so I moved to one of the aft berths. It worked out well with a lot less motion than the vberth.

Downtown Capitola is right at the end of the pier with a great beach and lagoon. Lots of nice places to eat right on the bay. This is somewhere I could live.

Santa Cruz Harbor

2010-07-12T10:50:00.000-07:00

After a rolly nite anchored off the pier I decided to try for a space at the harbor because Ali and the kids are driving over today and taking the dinghy over to the pier was a little tricky with all the seals on the landing and it was closed at nite. I radioed the harbor master and he fixed me up with a great alongside tie-up underneath Aldo's restaurant.

The fog burnt off in the afternoon and we had a great day at the boardwalk as the kids tried out the rides

Had a great breakfast at Lindas Seabreeze cafe a few blocks away. Also the Calamari at Aldo's is amazing. They gut and prep the squid on the dock and fry it immediately.Its better than anything I have had at any fancy restaurant.

The family is headed home tommorow, so I will continue south as soon as the wind picks up and hopefully the fog burns off.

Santa Cruz Pier

2010-07-10T07:46:00.000-07:00

Im anchored south of the Pier just a few hundred yards from the beach. It's hot and sunny and Im surrounded by the screams and music from the boardwalk fair rides and a hoard of huge seals under the pier barking like crazy. A total change from this morning with cold fog and fishing boats.

Anchored off the Santa Cruz Pier and Boardwalk fair

I had the best sail so far on this stretch of the coast. The fog burnt off and the NW wind built up to 25knts at the end. It was light wind at first and I got to try out my small spinnaker from my last boat. It's in good shape but it's for a 30ft boat, so I was interested in if I could use it without a spinnaker pole. With sheets just tied to the beam ends, it was great up to 10 knots, I then tried using a block on the end of the boom to stabilize it which worked well, but then got a little out of control and I had to douse it quickly as the wind built. Great fun for a while though as it pulled me along like a kite at 5 knots.

Half moon bay

2010-07-08T19:12:00.000-07:00

Finally, made it out of the bay and into the Pacific! As soon as we got under the golden gate bridge we were greeted with dolphins.

Ali finally got to sail under and out of the Golden Gate bridge.

Once around mile rock we had a nice beam reach until a few miles from Halfmoon bay when the wind died. Ali and the kids went home today, so I'm back to singlehanding again. The guy at the pump said it's ok to stay tied up to the fuel dock for the nite.

I'll head for Santa Cruz tomorrow. Hopefully I get some sun for this next leg. Enough of the lousy weather, its meant to be summer!

Weatherfaxes thro the SSB are coming in strong and clear now I'm in the ocean.

South Beach harbor

2010-07-07T15:54:00.000-07:00

Finally the weather is looking up, we should be good for sailing out the gate tomorrow. We sailed across the bay and tied up at Southbeach harbor. Ali will catch the train up to the city tonite and meet me and the girls for a meal out in the city. Hopefully the weather holds. Im tempted to stay at SouthBeach another few days as Paul McCartney is playing at the ball park next to the marina. All the tickets are sold out long ago, but we can anchor in McCovey cove and hear the concert pretty well. Its the same cove the kayakers go to pick up the baseballs that are hit out of the park.

Tiburon & Sausalito

2010-07-06T11:42:00.000-07:00

We left Angel Island this morning for Sams Anchor Cafe at Tiburon. There is a coffee shop here we like that has great eclairs. The weather is very overcast and windy (from the wrong direction) partially caused by 2 hurricanes of the Mexican coast. We need these to pass so we can get back to the regular NW winds and sun for our passage to Halfmoon bay. The unusual weather is forecast to end this week, but every day it seems to slip.

Its great to be out port hopping again. Everyone is interested in what we are up to and were we are headed.

There is free wireless internet at Sams so I'm using that to get software loaded on the laptop. We will probably head over to Sausalito tonite and either anchor out in Richardsons bay or tie up at our favorite alongside at Schoonmaker marina.

Sausalito is a main hub for sailors passing thro San Francisco on the tradewind route south, Plenty of marine supplies, restaurants and a low key funky atmosphere make this a cool stop.

We hit our usual Pizza place in Sausalito for dinner and headed back in the dinghy for a very quiet night.

First nite at Angel Island

2010-07-05T21:04:00.000-07:00

We cast off at 9am this morning. Got a great send off from my neighbors at the marina. My daughters Sophie and Lisa are going to spend the first few days with me and then Ali will join me to sail under the Golden Gate and down to Halfmoon Bay. We are tied up to the moorings at Angel Island for tonite.
The new jib sail is working great and allows me to sail much higher into the wind. It's also reefs really well which was handy as it was blowing 30knots across the slot this afternoon.
All the new boat systems are working well.

Final cleanup

2010-07-03T16:14:00.000-07:00

Ali came down to the boat today to help me be brutal about tidying up and removing unnecessary junk. She is infinitely superior in packing/sorting/organizing than me and we managed to remove about a cubic yard of stuff that I didn't really need. I actually have room for some clothes and food now!

The A/C system worked out great as it was hot today. I'm so glad I took the time to install it now.

The all important "Gumby" survival suit. You don't even need a boat with this!

Toy Story

2010-06-29T12:21:00.000-07:00

I finally got around to taking my water toys to the boat. The big items are my windsurf board/sails and my scuba dive gear. I've been putting it off because I didn't think it would all fit. Anyway the big windsurf board is on the forward port stanchions and the dive tanks went in the bilge after I cleaned and dried it out. Should have done it ages ago. I've stopped working on the boat by midday as it's too hot, and it's only 75! A sure sign how little work I'll get done when it's 90!

The giant 8.5 meter windsurf sail I'm taking with me.
Great fun in light winds, but it gets overpowered quickly.

Official launch date

2010-06-28T17:13:00.000-07:00

I'm planning to cast off July 5th around 9am. I have to wait for the tides in the South Bay to flush me up to the city and to get sufficient depth to leave my Marina. Ive handed in my notice at the Marina and it will be sad to leave there, everyone has been great, especially Ian the harbormaster.

Waiting to head out the golden gate and turn south

My wife (Allison) and my 2 girls (Sophie 13 and Lisa 11) want to do the first leg down to Halfmoon bay as they haven't sailed under the Golden Gate bridge yet. I've been out many times, but we have never managed to do it all together.

I started to installed a high water alarm in the bilge today and also finished plumbing in the water maker to my main tanks. Everything looks good at the boat, I see no reason for delays. There are a few more jobs to complete, like the RADAR mount on the mast that is loose, but instead of re-riveting it, I'm going to replace it with a gimbaled mount that will still work when the boats heeled over.

Last week at home

2010-06-26T18:52:00.000-07:00

Its hard to imagine that I will be casting off in a few days now. Had a relaxing weekend and managed to catch a few world cup matches on TV. Sad to see the US team dropped out as well as the UK.

We made plans for a house for our new pet duck who is 3 weeks old and has moved into our pond after being in the brooder for a few weeks. Ali found her running around the tennis courts just a few days old and rescued her.

She can't fly yet, so she runs around the garden exploring. I'm not sure how long she will stay once she can fly, but its great fun having her here now, very entertaining as she chases after the fish and swims underwater!

There are quite a few other jobs that need doing around the house and garden, but I'm sure I will be more motivated to do them when I get back home from time to time.