The Baja HaHa ended in Cabo San Lucas. When our terrific crew departed and the haha fleet began to disperse, it dawned on us – here we are, the two of us, alone on Footloose. With no more planned itineraries, which way do we go? This is what we dreamed of, the two of us on our floating home, free to choose our way. We decided to travel along the “East Cape” to La Paz. First to San Jose Del Cabo for a quieter Cabo experience. We were tired and this provided a few days of rest. We walked around the sleepy marina and quaint town, we swam at the hotel infinity pool, we met with other Baja HaHa cruisers. So, we’re not quite alone yet really.

Marina at San Jose Del Cabo

Watching Over the Harbor

Town Square

Infinity Pool at El Gonzo Hotel

Evening Walk, Art Fair

Sculpture Garden Walk around the Marina

Town Square, Art Night

Underway to Bahia Los Frailes, water on deck!

Michael & I are obsessed with the weather and so it turns out are other cruisers. We think about it all the time. We talk about it a lot. We study it plenty. We compare strategies and models. We use PredictWind with uneasy confidence. But eventually you just have to decide when to go. We are warned that the East Cape is tricky and the wind and currents can be rough traveling north. Michael & I wait an extra day for what looks to be a better weather window to sail to the Bahia Los Frailes anchorage with moderate winds, predicted to average 10-15 knots. We leave the dock at 0930am under calm seas and little wind. We hear Serafina, sailing ahead of us, call cheerfully on the VHF, “beautiful sailing conditions out here”. It is light wind and we are motoring. I was hoping to sail, but instead I start reading a book. A chapter in, Michael says, “it’s time to start sailing.”

The wind is picking up as we raise the main and unfurl the genoa. Within the hour, I see the apparent wind clock 20, “I think we should reef”. We do and quickly add a second reef. Serafina and Paradisea warn – “it’s very lumpy out here.” And it is — with a strong northerly blowing right on our bow. The waves, 5 feet at 5 seconds, are right on the nose. The spray is over the bow, coating the boat and our skin with salty residue. I’m queazy, but determined not to barf. With a bash like this, your goal is to get it over with as efficiently as possible. Unfortunately with the wind direction, we could not point at our destination. We try tacking to see if the other tack will give us any edge, but after the second tack, we acknowledge that we’re losing ground. We turn the engine on, leave the main up and point the boat directly at the anchorage. The waves are crashing and so is something else down below. Neither one of us cares to venture down for food or head. Serafina and Paradisea opt to turn back to San Jose, sailing downwind with speed and comfort. Footloose and Single D continue on. We’re more than halfway there after all. Michael encourages me with PredictWind promises, “this will ease up by 2.” It never does. Six hours later we cover the remaining 20 miles to Los Frailes, arriving shortly before 6pm, and anchor just as the sun is going down.

Smile, only 4 more hours

Majestic Sight, Los Frailes

The anchorage is filled with familiar HaHa boats. We feel welcomed and relieved. I coin the trip a bitchy bash, because she was. We sleep well and awake to a nearly empty anchorage. The fleet had been holed up waiting for a weather window to travel on and now they were all on their way, prompting Michael to get on the radio and ask “Was it something we said?” Single D responds with a laugh. They need to get to La Paz to get some electronics fixed. Rough seas take a toll on boats as well as crew.

Now truly alone in the anchorage, we recuperate and rest for a day. More boats join us that evening, including Paradisea and Serafina, who quickly pull anchor the next morning to head on to La Paz. We opt to stay for another day before heading out again.

Peacefully Anchored

Resting After a Long Day

Play Day After the Bash

The next morning at 0600 am we’re off. We motor sail, a perfectly boring calm trip to a gorgeous anchorage, Ensenada de los Muertos. We sail our Hobie kayak for the first time in Mexican waters. We meet a couple walking the beach who have been cruising in Mexico for 7 years. They are waiting to cross over to Mazatlan, while we are continuing north to La Paz. They tell us about Sonrisanet.org, for “definitive” Sea of Cortez weather news. Another resource to either affirm or confuse our departure decisions. (Sonrisa means “smile” in Spanish.) We wait another day.

Early Start

Underway to Ensenada De Los Muertos

Enjoying the Ride!

The next morning, we tune in to our single side band radio to listen to Geary’s report on Sonrisanet. His report doesn’t match PredictWind. We weigh our options. A new system is coming in. If we don’t leave Thursday, we may be holed up here for another week. We decide to go. We want to land in La Paz on Thanksgiving. Thursday is a beautiful day, including the best stretch of pure sailing we’ve had in a long time through the Canal de San Lorenzo. We turn toward La Paz and dock mid afternoon, leaving time for a siesta before Thanksgiving dinner at the Dock Cafe, Marina de la Paz.

I’m thankful for the wise captain (my love), family and friends back home, our strong boat, new cruising friends, beautiful vistas and safe passages. We plan to stay here for a while, so I’m also grateful to give PredictWind, Windyty, NOAA weather and Sonrisanet a rest — for a few days anyway.

La Paz Passage

Sailing, Canal De San Lorenzo

Thanksgiving Passage to La Paz

Captain Michael

Getting Closer to La Paz

Happy Day at Sea

Rounding Cape Conception

First Overnight, Building Trust

Leaving Monterey to head south would be our first overnight voyage alone without other crew. We would have a 3-hour watch schedule. We planned to go straight to the Channel Islands or to Santa Barbara, rounding Cape Conception at night, all weather permitting. We monitored Predict Wind Offshore for departure plans. According to the software, the weather and winds all looked benevolent, but still we were a bit uneasy, not yet confident with the predictions matching the reality. We checked NOAA too and monitored weather on the VHF radio. We waited for the best window and committed to the departure. We cleaned, provisioned, organized. There was a quiet anxious edge in the cabin as we both prepared. At last we talked about the anxiety and the tension lifted. Michael was reassured when I admitted that I was nervous too. In fact, he was relieved that I was scared (nice). I told him that some of this requires a good dose of trust and faith.  The boat was ready. We would depart at dawn.

We left the dock at 6 am in the dark fog, bundled in foul weather gear and drinking coffee.  I had the first watch 6:00-9:00 am, with Michael nearby. It will take some time for him to relax. He does need his rest. I assured him that I would alert him of anything I’m unsure of. I also pointed out (with good humor) that I care about the boat and want to live just as much as he does. Relax honey, I got this. During my first watch, he pretended to sleep in the cabin with one eye open. We quickly realized that the wind would not be as expected. Lacking knots and favorable direction, again we had to motor, which changed our timing. We made the best of our passage, motoring through the cold and dense fog.  I slept well during my off time. Michael slept some too, gaining some trust in me on watch. 

Porpoises on our bow

Michael woke me once for the best of reasons: porpoises dancing under our bow. There were 20 or more, diving and swimming with us. Delightful.  

Learning

Entrance to Port San Luis

Running low on fuel, we stopped at Port San Luis at 6am the following morning.  After fueling, the wind began to pick up and then some! With less than a mile off shore, we decided to turn back and anchor for a night.The Harbormaster recommended we tie up to a mooring ball instead of anchoring. And so we go —and in howling winds, we each take turns trying to drive and slow the boat down, while the other catches the ball with the boat hook. Surely we’ve done this before, but not with this strange type of ball setup, nor in these conditions. Several attempts with no cigar. And so it happened that we broke a rule. We yelled. Cursed even. A broken boat hook was thrown into the water (and recovered). We retreated and did the most sensible thing – anchored.  I felt ashamed for Footloose, our proud boat. I imagined her scolding us, “ excuse me, you are embarrassing me, you promised there would be no yelling. what happened to your normally calm manners?…”  Our calm manners did return and that evening we were treated to an amazing display of whales and a mass of seabirds feasting 1/2 mile offshore. The next day there was a small craft advisory warning with gale force winds predicted. We stayed on the boat, nervously watching for anchor drift. We remained at anchor for not one night, but three, waiting for the wind to calm down for the “Conception rounding”.  We kept our cool, visited Avila beach, did laundry with our on board bucket system, and waited.

Michael taking a break

Avila Beach

Port San Luis Anchorage

Avila Beach

Rounding a Great Cape, Point Conception

Enjoying the ride

Lisa after a long night watch

Sailing with the Reacher

Rounding the Cape

Cojo Anchorage (with shipwreck on beach)

All Systems GO, we left on September 24 bound for Conception. We got some wind and sailed for a while with the big reacher. We rounded the great cape under sail with daylight to spare, arriving in Southern California with gentle breezes and following seas. We anchored at Cojo Anchorage and toasted a beautiful passage. After a peaceful night, we were off to Santa Barbara. We motored along happily on a beautiful sunny day. Our cold weather foulies replaced by T-shirts and shorts!  We reached Santa Barbara Harbor on a balmy, busy Sunday afternoon. Michael cautiously navigated the channel teeming with boats, kayaks, paddle boarders, birds. It was crazy. He turned Footloose around to make a smooth starboard dock landing. I caught the cleat with the dock line and we parked. We made it!

Shorts and Sails, Santa Barbara Passage

Southern California, The Cruising Life

We made several stops in Southern California. We’re adapting to cruising. There’s a lot of planning and boat work, intermixed with quick bursts of seeing the sights. Our first stop was Santa Barbara, where we enjoyed 4 nights. Beautiful and HOT. We visited State Street, shopped at Lazy Acres market for more provisions, and took in the busy harbor activity. Linda, an old friend of Michael’s visited for fun dinner aboard.

Lovely Evening, Santa Barbara Pier

Busy Harbor

It’s Hot in Santa Barbara

Santa Barbara Dock

Fun with Dinner Guest

Little Scorpion, Santa Cruz Island

Time for the next destination, Santa Cruz Island. We anchored at Little Scorpion Cove. So glad we made it for one night to the Channel Islands!  We explored this cove by dingy, taking in the birds, caves and the quiet desolate beauty.

Caves

Birds & Boats

Serenity

Exploration

Up at 5 am and off to Avalon, Catalina Island. Another overnight and all was calm. We arrived Avalon on another busy Sunday afternoon and tied up to our assigned mooring ball amidst an armada of large boats. In the process, we wrapped a line on our prop and got to meet a local diver, who quickly undid our mishap. (no yelling involved, only check writing.)  After the serenity of Little Scorpion, Avalon was at first sensory overload. Soon, the island’s charm grew on us. The best part was having our friends Celia and Art join us on the boat for a few days. We toured the Island by golf cart, had movie night at the gorgeous Casino theater, and snorkeled off of Descanso Beach. 

Radar & Charts

Golf Cart Tour with Friends

Avalon Charm

Thesis moored next to Footloose

Dinner with Celia & Art at Lobster Trap

Pet Cemetery on Island

Michael & Marilyn, Catalina Film Festival

Descanso Beach

Footloose & Happy

Avalon Mooring Field, Sensory Overload:)

Movie Night

Avalon, Bell Tower

Visiting Wrigley’s Memorial, Beautiful Tiles

Garibaldi, Snorkeling Shot!

As soon as our friends departed, we decided to leave sooner than planned for our next overnight to San Diego.  We left at 5:30pm and arrived San Diego Harbor at 8:00am. We are now anchored in Glorietta Bay with a view of the Coronado Golf Course. There’s another Baja Ha Ha boat alongside. We’ll be busy here in San Diego too, preparing for the arrival of our crew and the start of the Baja Ha Ha Rally, which begins on Halloween!  In our brief cruising life, we’ve covered some 500 miles. It seems like so much longer than two months time.

San Diego Point, Land Ho

Arrival at Misty Dawn

Dawn Arrival, Watch Out

Military Presence, San Diego

Tug Boats for Aircraft Carrier

Good Job Captain!