Letter-10 Los Frailes Dec 2, 2000

Well it's time I write again. It took a long time to leave San Diego. I
finally got the computer. Radio Shack, Tandy Repair Center, finally
gave up on fixing my laptop. They sent me to CompUSA and told me to
pick out an equivalent computer. Of course I chose the nicest one on
the shelf. They decided it had to be a middle priced one, so I thought
that I picked the best middle pried one! I got it back to the boat and
started installing the navigation software. Guess what? No serial port
to plug in the GPS. That's the only real reason to have the laptop! I
first tried to find a serial port adapter, but no luck. The only one
I found wouldn't work with Windows ME, the new version of windows that
the laptop came with. I went back to CompUSA, and after a long struggle,
and one more night, they traded me again for one with a serial port.

As you all know by now, we also decided to spend the extra money on the
radio e-mail box. It is a PACTOR Iie. It is a box about 1.5x5x8 that
plugs into the HAM radio accessory jack and the other end plugs into
the computer serial port. I write an e-mail, with normal e-mail type
addressing, then set the radio on the right frequency. I listen to make
sure no one else is trying to send, then I just click connect. It takes
over control of the radio, sending and receiving chirping noises. After
about 5 minutes it shows me the messages it downloaded and shows that
it sent the messages I wrote.

There are two kinds of radio e-mail, HAM radio and a comerical version
called Sailmail. The Sailmail costs $200 per year but the HAM is
free. However I  am not allowed to do 'business' over the HAM e-mail. I
can't e-mail a store and place an order for something. I can e-mail a
friend and ask them to get something for me though. God, I hope I don't
ever have to!

Now we are ready. That was Nov 12. We decided to leave right away, but
met a nice couple, Reg and Gail on Tides End. They said if we would wait
until the 14th, they would go with us. We did. Trinda decided that one
more trip to the marine store was in order! We bought a handheld depth
finder. It looks like a regular flashlight. You stick one end under
the water and push the button. It measures the depth up to 200 feet. In
the Baja and the south Pacific there are lots of places with very poor
charts. She decided that I could go ahead in the dinghy and be sure that
the water was deep enough for the Katie Lee.

OK, at midnight the 13th we pull the anchor in the USA for the last
time! We head out of the San Diego harbor with the night-lights of the
city lighting the way. As we go out and turn left again, (cruiser humor,
on the east coast they all talk about going out and turning right until
it gets warm!) It gets darker and darker. After we get past Tijuana,
the full moon comes out and it is a beautiful night. The phosphoresce
in the water lights up in our wake. The only thing that would make it
better is enough wind to sail so we could turn the motor off!

We were headed for the first little anchorage past Ensenada. One option
was to officially check into Mexico in Ensenada. We decided to wait. Our
visas will be good for 180 days after we 'enter' Mexico, so why start
any sooner than necessary.  As we passed that little anchorage passed
Ensenada, we felt fine, so we kept on going. We had met a number of
boats that left just before us and thought that we might catch some
of them. We kept going until the next morning when we made San Quintin
(That's pronounced Key-n-tin). There were several boats that we liked
the people on. We were excited to catch them. We didn't get the dinghy
out here, we just rested, talked on the radio and got ready to go again.

One couple and a single hander decided to go ashore in their dinghy. Just
as they got close a small wave cme in and started breaking just under
them. They turned sideways then flipped! They all got wet. Another couple
with a little more experience at surf landings, gathered a dinghy full
of clams. They came back out and passed the clams out to all the boats
in the anchorage, about 7 of us then. They were good. It seems that that
sort of thing happens more and more as we meet more cruisers.

The next morning we all sailed off for the next anchorage down the Baja,
Punta San Carlos, about 50 miles. It was a nice sail, we got to use the
spinnaker some too. Once there, again we left the dinghy rolled up and
tied down on the foredeck. It's too much work to unroll it and pump it
up for just a night.

The next leg of the trip is to a popular place, Bahia Tortuga, or Turtle
Bay as the cruisers call it. It has a nice little town of maybe 2000
locals, several restaurants and even a PeMex gas station. We got the
dinghy down here! Trinda put a hand full of candy in her purse for
the kids and off we went. We managed to land the dinghy on the sand
beach and a couple of boys ran up and offered to 'watsh you dinghy,
mister?'. Finally we agreed on $2 US for 2 dinghys for the day. We also
seem to have acquired a guide, for serviceo, which turns out to be $20
pesos! Miguel was a nice guy. I figured out pretty soon that I was paying
him, so I insisted that he talk to me the whole time! I got my moneys
worth. I had not spoken Spanish for several years, and the brush up was
worth every penny.

The next day, when we took the jerry cans in to get some more diesel,
we took the digital camera. We walked around town and took pictures of
a few kids. Several of us met at the far side of town by accident. I
got hungry, as usual. I decided that I wanted a few real Mexican tacos,
maybe even the fish tacos we always hear about. It was Sunday and no
taco stands were open. We asked a beer tienda lady, where we might find
a taco stand. She offered to make them for us, since we wanted over a
dozen. They were great! We took her picture too.

Back at the boat, we printed out the pictures and went back to town. The
kids were on the beach waiting for them. When we got back to the tienda,
she was gone, so we gave her picture to her competitor across the
street. In my broken Spanish, it took quite a spell to ask him to deliver
it to her. The pictures were quite a hit! They all really enjoyed getting
their pictures. Miguel was so upset that e failed to take his picture
that he talked Trinda into taking him back to the boat and taking a few
pictures there. He sure enjoyed it. While we were waiting for the printer
to print out the pictures, Trinda loaded him up with candy and cookies.

We all left early the next morning for Bahia Asuncion. Trinda caught
a small tuna on the way. Then I caught one too. Maybe they were bonito
tuna. We ate one for supper in Asuncion. We just anchored for the night
and left the next morning for Abreojos. Again an uneventful calm day
motoring along. Didn't get the dinghy down again. Next morning off to
Bahia Santa Maria. It was a beautiful morning. The wind was at our back
about 7 to 10 knots all morning. We flew the spinnaker till after noon. We
were able to keep up with all the other sailors for a change! The wind
and seas built through the afternoon. Because our wind steering system
is still not working right, we were hand steering. At dark, Trinda
wanted to put down all the sails, because it is hard to steer straight
downwind in the dark. Going downwind, we put one sail out on each side
of the boat. If the boat turns more than about 10 degrees, the sails
flop and try to break things. Our little auto-pilot that hooks to the
wind steering will only steer if the motor is running, and then only
plus or minus 25 degrees. So, with the sails down and the waves and wind,
maybe 6 swells with a 2 foot wind chop on top and 15 to 20 knots of wind,
we began to feel like a dishrag in a washing machine.  Just after sunup
we passed Navidad Island. And on into Bahia Santa Maria. As we entered
the bay, Trinda caught a 6 pound darado. This is the place where your
supposed to trade the fishermen for lobster. The wind was still blowing
20 knots in the anchorage. And after taking 2 or 3 hour watches all
night, we were too tired to worry about them We slept till after noon,
then talked to the other boats on the radio. No dinghy again. Most of
our now fleet of 9 boats went on to Mag Bay.

The next morning we decided to go on around to Bahia Magdalena too. Just
as we were pulling up the anchor, a ponga came by so I flagged him
down. I'm not too good of a trader. He talked me into two cans roast
beef and 6 candy bars for 6 small lobsters. Our friends did much better
at two beers and two candy bars for 4.

We sailed most of the way to Mag Bay at about 4 knots. It was only about
26 miles. Just as we turned into the Bay, into a 2 knot current coming
out, I caught a 14 pound Tuna. This one was a Skip Jack. We should
have thrown it back! I'm bot sure cats will even eat catfood made from
these! We kept it though. That night we had a potluck with 3 other boats
and brought the fish! We had the 10 lobsters too. We made sashimi from
half of the tuna and tried to grill the other half. The sashimi was
strong, but eatable. Grilled with lemon was worse! The lobsters were
slightly overcooked, but wonderful. Trinda, who has never cared for
lobster even liked them.

The port captain, Gregorio, came out in his ponga to check us in. It has
a red strip down the bow just like the American Coast Guard! I had been
warned about Gregorio. As he was pulling up I took his picture. When
he was aboard I ask if he would like a coffee, or may it was not too
early for a beer? He jumped at the beer, his 5th for the morning! One
boat didn't have beer and was charged $150 pesos (about $15US) for port
fees. We showed him the pictures on the computer and told him we would
bring them to town later.

This was the day after thanksgiving and we hadn't been able to slow down
long enough to eat! While we were sailing, the night before thanksgiving,
we decided that we would all get together Friday and have dinner at Santa
Maria. When it was so windy, and more folks were in Mag bay, we decided
to wait till Saturday. Well, Saturday was here. Trinda and I got up early
and started to cook. She had found cranberries in San Diego. But that was
it for the traditional dinner. I decided that I could make my southern
sage dressing with chicken breast strips and chicken bouillon. It was
Bob on TLC's birthday on Thursday so Trinda made a chocolate cake with
the special icing from Oleo's restaurant in Canada. She got a recipe for
cranberries and oranges from another boat (and the oranges) and did half
of them that way. I boiled the rest with too much sugar as usual.

We invited Gregorio and his family, since he offered to let us use his
palapa for the potluck. At 11:30, miraculously, it was all done. We got
in the dinghy and started off. All the others were just started too. We
didn't get very good directions to the palapa, just that it is in the
mangrove swamp over there. We all headed the direction we thought it
was and finally decided to go ashore, climb the bank and see if we could
see it. We were close enough. Trinda said we should pull the dinghy up
above the water line because we had not looked at the tide chart and
didn't want to come back and find the dinghy had floated away.

We walked about ½ a mile to the palapa. It was a thatched roof with one
wall, on the up wind side. A little table built into the corner and no
benches or chairs, with a dirt floor. It was on the edge of the little
estuary in the mangroves. It was a pretty setting.

Gregorio's family had brought a clam soup and tortias. It was pretty
good. They loved the sage dressing. Gregorio went back and scrapped the
bottom of the pot! All the food was good. We all took lots of pictures.

Since there was no place to sit, we seemed to get done quicker that a
normal thanksgiving dinner. By 3:00 we were all starting back toward
the dinghies. One look over the hill, and boy was Trinda wrong about
the tide. It did NOT come in, it went out about a half a mile! We could
see mud for 30 or 40 yards, so we started carrying a dinghy at a time
part way out. Then someone pointed out birds walking waaaay out! We
carried the dinghies a little different direction and finally got them
to float. There were at least 10 dinghies. It took 4 people to carry the
lighter ones and 6 for the big nice ones. Ours is a small one. Well it
was a nice day all in all.

The next day we all organized a ponga trip into San Carlos. It is a small
town at the head of the bay. We didn't try to take our boats there because
the channel is not well marked, and it is really shallow. We put 6 or 8
people in each of 3 pongas and started off for the 15 miles to town. This
is prime whale watching country in Jan and Feb. They showed us where the
whales rub on the beach and lots of birds. We got some groceries and at
lunch at a restaurant.

Trinda and I rode in the ponga driven by Gregorio's son. When he dropped
us off back at our boat, Trinda asked if he could get us some lobster. He
said he would have to see. He came back in an hour with 5! When we asked
how much we owed, he ask  what we traded for them in Santa Maria. I told
him 2 cans of roast beef and 3 candy bars, he became real confused. There
is a popular phrase they use in Spanish that I don't understand when
they don't know what to charge. He used it. After several minutes of
trying different words and ' no comprende' he finally said $5 US for
5 lobster. We agreed. We were just getting ready to cook them when
Heather on Twowowie came on the radio and said, "Doesn't anybody want
to play with me?". Trinda took the mic and invited them over to share
the lobster! We got out a couple of steaks and had a wonderful night!

The next day we took the dinghies up the bay to the sand bar separating
Bahia Santa Maria from Bahia Magdalena. We hiked across and walked the
beach. It is reported to be 'littered' with giant sand dollars. There
were lots about 5 to 6 inches across. It is amazing the amount of life in
the desert! The sand dunes on the bar were teaming with life. I found a
dry looking twig with 9 snail shells stuck to it. I was sure I had found
where they had been caught in a drifting sand dune and fossilized. But
no, one of them moved, they were eating the twig!

 When we got back, Gregorio was there with the fuel we had ordered. He
 had 2 55 gallon barrels of diesel and some 50 liter plastic jugs in
 his ponga. He had a battery and a small pump. He pumped from the jugs,
 so he could measure the amount we took. We had to pay $5.50 pesos per
 liter. We later paid $3,80 in Cabo San Lucas at the fuel dock.

Well it was finally time to leave Mag Bay. At about 6:30 7 of us weighed
anchor and headed out in the fog. On guy, Bob, didn't have radar and
was single handing. He was a little ahead. He became a little confused
after about an hour and asked for a little help from someone with radar
to insure he was a safe distance from the shore. We were about half way
to the mouth of the bay. Somebody said that they thought they had him
on radar, and he should make a 90 degree turn so they could confirm that
it was him they were looking at. He did and they said that they thought
it was and he was OK. A little later he asked again and they had him
go through the same thing. They never told him to turn back!!  After a
little more, Twowowie asked him for his GPS position and plotted it on
his computer, I plotted it too. After 5 minutes we did it again. They
had him going exactly the wrong way! We took over and steered him to us
and out to safety. Its strange what some people do without thinking!

We motored all the way to Cabo. There was just not quite enough wind
to be worth the extra effort to hand steer instead of letting auto do
it! We arrived about 11:00 and went straight in to the fuel dock. The main
reason for stopping was to go to the bank and fill the water tanks. We
did take almost  50 gallon of fuel too.

Because we stopped, we had to officially check in to Mexico. We paid
the port tax and got a receipt. Then we headed for the port captain's
office. Oops! Should have been the Migracion. I asked directions and
immediately had a guide and an agent. We went to the bank. Trinda got
us some spending money from the ATM. Just put in our Bank of America
card and get out pesos! I paid for the visas. Then to Migrcion where
they pointed out that in Mag Bay, the paperwork was filled out to go to
La Paz, and I said I was going to Puerta Vallarta. New papers had to be
filled out. Then back to the port captain. He closed for the weekend at
2:30. It was just before 3:00! I was disgusted! I took the guide back
to the restaurant where I found him and offered to buy him a beer and
a snack. While Trinda and I ate ours, he found out that the security
guard for the port captain's office would be there at 4:00! We enjoyed
the rest of  our beer and went back. For $50 pesos, about $5US he reset
the date on the stamp and cleared us in and out so we could leave in
the morning! He then showed us to the grocery store ad was amazed at
the things Trinda wanted and didn't want. While shopping, we found out
what he really wanted, a ride to the mainland so he could get back to
Guadlahara. We gave him $50 pesos instead and said good bye.

I don't understand how I manage to collect these guides so fast every
where we go. I just say hello and try to be polite and next I know I'm
paying for serviceo!

We left at 6:00 the next morning for Los Frailes. The wind was 15 to
20   on the nose, even though the course had a 45 degree turn around a
point! One of the boats commented that it takes quite a sailor to keep
the wind on the nose with that kind of turn! We made it about 3:00PM.

Twowowie and Wind Rider were there. When we arrived, I started getting
the dinghy down, but they came over and picked us up in their dinghy
for happy hour and homemade ceveche first. It turned into another potluck!

Larry, Trinda and Muffy On the way to Isla Isabela