Latitude 20 degrees

Ha Ha to San Jose Del Cabo (10/25/10 to 11/4/10)  written by D. Millard

Dick and Jan Lipinski joined us in San Diego to act as our “crew” all the way to Cabo.  They are from Anchorage, Alaska, and this was to be their first experience in a sailboat.  After attending several of the Ha Ha meetings it was time to leave on October 25….first stop Turtle Bay about 2 days sail to the south!  We had asked Jan and Dick if they ever got seasick , they both said no, but we found out later that Jan’s  experience had been on large cruise ships.  We left San Diego with the  seas quite large( 12-15 feet), and rather lumpy !  This leg of the Ha Ha was an overnight passage, with huge following seas, and the wind right at our backs. During the night passage, we soon learned not to look back at the waves coming from behind us.  It seemed like there was a 12 foot wall of black water coming right at you (which there was), but the stern of “Lardo” always rose to meet them.  What a boat!  The most exciting part of the leg was when Dennis decided to put a reef in the main going downwind at night in 14’ seas with the wind blowing 20 knots.  Never could get it reefed due to too much wind, and decided to just drop the main instead.  During this melee the mast mainsail winch got popped of the mast, and was fixed later in La Paz.  Lucky for us we have winches on both sides of the mast so we could raise the main with the other winch when needed.  Dick did his first watch at night during this night passage.  Dennis told him that he would be in the cockpit with him, and brought a bedroll up and proceeded to go to sleep in it.  Dick said “you can’t do this to me, I am a novice!”   Ha!  He found out how to do a night watch….Dennis told him ”just don’t run into anything” and went to sleep.

 Jan was very seasick and remained that way all the way to Turtle Bay.  She was a trooper and stuck it out…..when we got to Turtle Bay Jan announced that she was cured and shouldn’t  have any more problems.  Needless to say everyone made sure she took her pills before we left Turtle Bay!  Turtle Bay itself is a fishing community of around 3,000 people.  A beautiful bay, and a nice Mexican town full of nice people!  We had to enter Turtle Bay at night, and vowed never to come into a harbor at night again…..too dangerous.

Our next stop was Bahia Santa Maria, about 240 miles below Turtle Bay.   In order to arrive during daylight hours we left Turtle Bay at about 10PM.  We again had lumpy seas.  The seas came from a storm originating near Hawaii.  It carried quite a punch and manifested itself in the large confused seas we were experiencing.  Mary Lee, Dick, and Dennis alternated time at the wheel to get us down the coast to Santa Maria.  Santa Maria is a wild, wind swept Bay with a very small Mexican fish camp population.  It had a gorgeous lagoon and we used our zodiac dinghy to get to and explore.   With about 150 boats anchored in the bay, many people “lost their boats” in trying to get back to them in the dark.  After we finally found Lardo we set outside and laughed at all the other boaters in dinghys searching for their boats!  After spending 1 ½ days there it was time to take off for Cabo.

In keeping with our plan to arrive at our next landfall during the day we left Bahia Santa Maria about 10PM.  It was really foggy at the time, and ghosting our way out of the bay was quite stressful due the fear of running into another anchored boat.  The seas were again confused with cross seas and wind right on the stern.  We motor sailed all the way to Cabo, and caught Dorado, Yellowtail, and Sierra on the way down.  Everyone were pretty much “old salts” by this time.  The night skies were amazing, and we got to reacquaint ourselves with some of our old friends in the heavens.  When we rounded the corner of Cabo Falso we were hit with pretty good seas and strong winds right on the nose.  Due to very limited slip space in Cabo we decided to continue on to San Jose Del Cabo.  It was a good decision.  This beautiful little port had available slips, which became a home base for exploring San Jose del Cabo.

Sailor Teri  (11/6/10 to 12/6/10)  written by M. Millard

I received that dreaded phone call from my sister Cathy in Bahia Santa Maria that my sisterTeri had been admitted into emergency.  To help you understand where I was at the time, Bahia Santa Maria was at least consecutive two sailing days from San Jose del Cabo (with no stops along the way).  The only other alternative to get back to civilization was to crawl over a long dirt road to La Paz which may have taken at least several days as well.

At that time we really didn’t quite understand what was happening.  From the time that Teri was admitted on Tuesday, 11/2 (oddly enough, the 20^th anniversary of my Dad’s passing) to  the time that I flew out on Saturday, 11/6, the diagnosis went from one year to six months to get your but up here.  When Teri visited me one month prior in San Diego, she complained of digestion problems, little did I know that she ultimately had a very fast growing aggressive cancer complicated with kidney/ liver failure,  pneumonia and spiraling out of control diabetes.

The day that I flew out, Dennis and the Lipinski’s brought the boat up to La Paz as I went ahead and flew out of San Jose Del Cabo, in a daze and still not understanding the serious of Teri’s health issues.  It was one of the most stressful days in my entire life trying to get out of Mexico, but everything went like clockwork and I think that my guardian angel was watching out for me.  The customs agent very nicely drove me20 miles to the airport (as I didn’t quite have enough pesos on me).  From there, I flew to SFO and easily made all of my connections to Kaiser Oakland.  

Fortunately, I made it in time to see my sister Teri before she passed on Tuesday, November 9^th ( my mom’s 85^th birthday).  It was very difficult to see her in the hospital room but I am so grateful that all of our family, cousins, and friends were with Teri until her passing and that I was able to tell my sister in person that I love her and that I got to spend the night with her before she passed.  I stayed on for her funeral on November 15^th, Teri’s 60^th birthday and Dennis too was able to join us.  I remained on to help with settling Teri’s affairs and for Thanksgiving with my mom, sister Cathy and nephew Sean.

On a positive note, Teri had listed on her driver’s license that she wanted to donate her eyes.  Shortly after her passing, our family was notified that the transplant surgery was successful and that some lucky individual this Christmas holiday has the gift of sight.  It is such a comfort to know that a little of Teri remains with us physically on this planet.

I returned to Mexico on December 6^th and still grieve the loss of my sister.  Fortunately I have Dennis with me to gently move me forward.  Teri loved sailing and hence her computer ID name was “Sailor Teri”.  She will be with us in spirit as we continue our world wide navigation; and each morning I greet the day saying Hi to Teri, looking at a cute picture of us sailing together, and knowing that she’ll be watching over us on our travels.  As my wise 12 year old grandaughter, Maddie reminds me,  “Don’t cry because it’s over, smile because it happened.”

Cruising the Sea of Cortez (MaryLee and Dennis Millard) - LaPaz (BCS), Caleta Partida (BCS), Punta Evaristo (BCS), Bahia Agua Verde (BCS), Topolobampo (Sinoloa)

After enjoying the quaint historical city of La Paz with a beautiful malecon (waterfront) and our stay at the Marina de Palmira with  a spacious harbor including great amenities such as a tennis court and swimming pool at Marina Palmira Hotel plus a nearby swimming beach; we took off North to cruise the Sea of Cortez for about a week.  December has great weather in the high 70s and low 80s – perfect for cruising as long as you can time your cruise to avoid those nasty northerlies.  Fortunately, we got a great weather report so off we went.

First stop was Isla (Caleta) Partida – about 4 hours from La Paz- and enough time to kayak to shore for a little exploring.  It was absolutely beautiful – tucked into a little cove with crystal clear blue-green water.  Caleta Partida is a breached volcanic crater that separates two islands – Islas Espiritu and Partida – high desert cliffs eroded into colorful formations.   Just a few cruisers and a few fish camps in this cozy cove.  The island just to the south of Partida (Ispiritu) is separated only by about 30 feet of water.   Espiritu  also has large deep coves.  We didn’t anchor in any of these because  high winds  called “corumels” sometimes visit them at night, and you can find yourself anchored on a lee shore with 6 foot waves and 35 mile an hour winds coming at you.  Partida, conversely, is safe and secure with none of this danger.

Pulled anchor the next morning and headed on north to Punta Evaristo (about 6 hours of easy cruising in very light winds).  We’re rediscovering that every where in the Sea of Cortez, where the desert meets the sea, is absolutely stunning!  We got one large Bonito, and fortunately were able to unhook him and let him go.  Not our best choice for dinner!

Punta Evarista has an excellent anchorage with a circular cove, high colored cliffs dropping into the cove and a nice beach.  Quaint fishing village with a road that leads up to a village .  We kayaked to shore to check out the town which included a small market, school and salt flats.  From our boat we loved watching the fishermen catching bait using throw nets,  and the pelicans (plus one boobie bird) diving endlessly in this little cove filled with fish.

Next moring we departed early for Bahia Agua Verde.  Still warm temp’s that made it so nice for cruising and swimming in the Sea of Cortez.  To get to Agua Verde, we passed a sucession of steep rocky bluffs broken by arroyo’s that break through to the shore.  The colors of the rocks and the brilliant light gives this desert a stark and dramatic beauty similar to the Arizona Grand Canyon. Dennis caught fish a Dorado along the way.  Arrived about 4:30.

Spent almost two days in Bahia Agua Verde which was super cool as we got to get a nice flavor of the town and speak to the locals in our very broken Spanish.  During our first evening there at anchor, along about sundown, we heard these cries in the steep hills near us sounding like “Chaw! Oui! Oui!” over and over.  We looked up and saw a large herd of goats run around the steep hill, headed for the village.  Then a few minutes later, as it was getting dark, a slender girl in a bright yellow shirt came around the steep hill.  She had been sent out to round up the herd and get them back before dark.  We sat and watched her and the goats for several minutes.  It was almost surreal, observing this slice of village life in such a beautiful setting.

 We also spent an evening chatting with some very friendly American cruisers, Brian and Dot (WA) and Kim and Jane (Texas).   They did the Baja HaHa several years ago and left their boats in the Sea of Cortez.  They get back as often as possible and are working their way South to Puerta Vallarta.

We kayaked to town and were greeted by a very friendly seven year old boy who was more than happy to be our host.  He showed us the schools, churches and the small tienda store.  I’m sure that he knew everyone in this community of about 200 to 300 fisherman and their families.

Met four 13 year old boys at the store, and Dennis proceeded to eat 2 very large and hot jalapeno’s….….boys were in stiches.  They kept staring at Dennis with a serious clinical expectation of what would happen to him.  Their eyes were like saucers! 

Also, met a Czech at the store who recommended that we alter our cruising route and head to Topolobampo instead of San Carlos, as we had originally planned.  We decided to take his advice because the logistics of getting to the Copper Canyon were easier if one used Topolobampo as a starting point rather than San Carlos.

Easy over night to Topolobampo except for that damn winding and shallow channel that we went aground.  Fortunately, Dennis very quickly put us in reverse and we got off the shoal very quickly.  This has been our only situation so far where our RayMarine chart plotter failed us.  The locals indicated that there was a storm several months ago and perhaps our navionics have not been updated to reflect that.  A little harrowing for cruisers.

Topolobampo, Copper Canyon, El Fuerte (MaryLee and Dennis)

After our all nighter and hair rising experience entering the Topolobampo port, we crashed the next day to rest up for our trip to the Copper Canyon.   We wandered around town and found a great restaurant that served an excellent garlic camarone dish and a fantastic road side stand that served the best fish soup loaded with camarones, squid, octopus and sierra fish that would put Tadich Restaurant in SF to shame.  Topolobampo is predominately a shrimping community – with many shrimp boats filling this scenic bay.  Please no English is spoken here,  fresh produce comes once week to the farmer’s market on Thursday’s,  and no llavanteria’s (laundromat’s) either (our’s was the only boat in the marina with undies hanging over the lines versus Christmas lights).

On Monday, Dec 20^th, we got up at 3:30 a.m. to catch the 6:00 a.m. train in Los Mochis to the Copper Canyon (Mexico’s equivalent of the Arizona Grand Canyon).  Excellent scenic ride through the Copper Canyon.  Dividesero was the mid-point, with stunning views of very large Grand Canyon like vistas.    We arrived in Creel about 4:30 p.m. and easily found a lovely hotel in Creel – beautiful Mexican/Spanish style architecture with breakfast and dinner included in the prices (USD 38 per night).  The family style meals were regional dishes that included several servings.  Creel is tucked away high up in the mountains with an indigenous Indian population that still have preserved their culture and dress in traditional Indian clothing.  The next day we toured the area and met a Dutch couple (Ruude and Sonja) and an Italian honeymoon couple (Ricardo and Claudia).  Scenery was fantastic!

After Creel, we took the train back with a stop in El Fuerte.  Again we were snagged at train station and got to stay at the lovely Hotel del Posado for 500 pesos/night (as opposed to 1400 pesos/night).  El Fuerte is a lovely Spanish/Mexican colonial town established in 1564.  We toured this lovely historic town plus rented bikes.  We easily mountain biked  along the river up to Don Juan’s home to see the Petroglyphs and do a little bird watching.   Don Juan is an elderly gentleman that very nicely allowed us on his property plus guarded our bikes.

Cruise from Topolobampo to Mazatlan to Isla Isabella to San Blas to Chacala to Puerto Vallarta (MaryLee Millard)

On the first day of this leg (Topolobampo to Mazatlan – approximately a two day sail), we sat around the Topolobampo marina most of the day waiting for our departure time of 3 p.m.  We had calculated a late start in order to arrive at the next stop during daylight hours….no more landfalls at night if we can avoid it!   Fortunately, the marina owner sent over two trays of oysters on the half shell right before our take off – he must of known that we were getting a bit ancy for our start time – this very nicely took the edge off.

We had a terrific sail from Topolobampo all the way to Puerto Vallarta.  For the most part we had great weather and good wind along the way plus some motoring days as well.  We were so happy that we had our friends Bob Scholl and RB Ward join us – fantastic sailors with lots of blue water and SF bay area sailing experience.  Bob had previously sailed the Baja Ha Ha and RB has sailed to Hawaii six times; RB will also join us for the Marquesas run.

Along with our crew, we also had two uninvited guests join us from Topolobampo to Mazatlan – two frigate birds joined us for the night sail and roosted on top of the mast.  As soon as we got to Mazatlan, Bob hoisted Dennis up the mast to repair some minor damage that the birds made.  Next time this happens, we will be prepared as Dennis managed to negotiate the purchase of a slingshot from a 10 year old boy in San Blas.  But I need to add that this kid was pretty saavy – the starting price somehow went from 5 pesos up to 20 pesos – this kid was pretty darn sharp!

Our first stop of interest was Isla Isabela, an uninhabited island except for the game warden’s residence who overseas this magnificent bird sanctuary, home for the frigate and boobie birds along with iguana’s.  Great cove for diving with an occasional whale that might visit too.

After Isla Isabela, we headed to San Blas and Mantanchen Bay.  San Blas was once a major center of Spanish domination of the west coast of the Americas.  Now it is a delightful town with a wonderful colorful and historic past.  This town has fantastic outdoor markets with plenty of fruits and vegetables, the overgrown ruins of a large fort, and an historic cathedral.  There are also many nearby banana plantations so we treated ourselves to some tasty banana bread.  Unfortunately, we missed out on some great lobster which we discovered shortly after lunch – as you leave town towards Mantanchen Bay – the streets are lined with grills loaded with lobsters!  Well worth a stop to get the flavor of Mexican life with relatively few tourists.

Next destination, was Chacala.  This cove hosts a beautiful little beach lined with palapa restaurants, coconut palms, and a small American community of about 20 who fell in love with this small charming Mexican town relatively undiscovered.  Although the anchorage was a little roily, it didn’t take long for some of the gringo’s to swim out to our boat and invite us to a  birthday party.  Just about all the Americans who lived in this small village showed up!  Then it was time to head for PV.

We all caught fish along the way, including dorado which fed us for several meals and the trophy 50 pound Rooster fish that RB caught – not bad for beginner’s luck!  

As I’m sitting here in Puerto Vallarta updating our blog, Dennis slaves away doing routine engine and boat maintenance.  Right now everything is pretty much all over the boat with just a little tiny room for me to work on the computer.  Every now and then he pokes his head out of the lazaret (the gateway to the engine), asking for the WD40, a flashlight or some other thing-a-ma-jig; and even once in a while a minor curse word comes out of his mouth.  This is just a part of the “behind the scenes” work that goes on to keep the boat in ship shape condition.  I must add that at least this work is being done in heavenly weather in PV and I sure don’t miss that Northern California winter.  Of course I did my share today too – I had to pedal on a loaner bike to the American consulate (to find out about French Visa requirements) and the grocery store.

After our crew left, we remained in Puerto Vallarta to continue exploring delightful little communities such as La Cruz de Huanacaxtle and Yelapa.  Yelapa was well worth seeing as it’s only assessable via sea or over a long cobblestone trail that follows a river for many miles before it reaches any main roads to civilization.  This scenic cove is pretty roily and the best bet into town is via water taxi to avoid a surf landing; but beware, you need to leave town before 6:00 p.m. as the town rolls up its carpets promptly at sunset.  We found out the hard way because we got back to the beach about 7:00 p.m. only to find out that our water taxi guy deserted us.  Dennis saved the day and knocked on the door of every home along the beach front to search for a willing soul to give is a ride back to the boat.  Fortunately a bilingual Mexican man from Guadalajara aided Dennis in his search.  About an hour later, Dennis returned with Wilbur who very nicely took us back to our boat for 600 pesos which was totally worth the price as poor Wilbur had to guide his kayak in the dark night through the surf to get to his ponga and then pick us up off a very steep pier.  Yelapa is truly a beautiful place…..it seemed that every other home had horses, and a lot of people  got around on horseback.   The village has a river running through it, and one can walk behind the village upriver on paths.   We had our first sighting of an Elegant Trogen  Glossy Ibis, and Guan, a chicken/turkey like wild bird. 

We found that PV was great for shopping and provisioning but we were totally surprised by the amazing growth and higher cost of living since our last visit 25 years ago.

Well this ends our Mexico chapter and early March we will set sail to the Marquesas islands, first group of islands in French Polynesia.  A special thanks to our grand-daughter Madison Millard for all of her help with this blog.

Hasta la vista for now.