I was waiting happily for crew to arrive, and for the right weather window, and planning for everything to be just right. But, with TWO potential tropical storms (according to NOAA) brewing in the south of Mexico, it is time to go.
The first storm is brewing off the coast of Acapulco, and the second one a bit further down. The first has a 20% chance of turning into a hurricane, and it is traveling West, North-West–basically, towards Hawaii. The second storm went from a 10% chance to a 20% chance, and is traveling North, North-West. Neither of them currently are pointed towards the Baja . . . but, that could always change, and I am not taking any chances.
Marishanna sets sail tomorrow in the early morning hours. Yesterday, I provisioned the boat. Today is diesel, water and all the last little bits that need to happen, and tomorrow before dawn, we set sail for California. The goal is to be above latitude 27 in roughly three days (approximately 300nm). Fortunately, the weather looks decent – to good, and even more fortunately, I will be buddy-boating with some neighbors from Alameda (literally, other liveaboards from the same dock, even) and, I think they are sharing one of their crew with me for at least the first part of the trip.
This is a short promo video I made for Captain Bob of L’Atitiude 32. It is a gorgeous boat, and Bob provides an amazing sailing experience. So, if you ever get down to Cabo San Lucas, save a day and go sailing with Day Sail Cabo. (www.daysailcabo.com)
I have been in Mexico for a bit longer than seven months–arriving at the beginning of November. While here, I missed a few holidays to say the least.
My job at the family holidays, over the past 5 years or so, has been to bring apple pies. Of course, my mother does the majority of the rest of the work, but apple pies, from scratch, is my thing . . . .
Around Thanksgiving of last year, I naturally had a craving for apple pie. And, well . . . It never went away. And, well . . . basically, I have been craving apple pie for almost 7 months (it is not an easy item to obtain down here, and CNG for the oven on-board is non-existent in Baja).
One day, two cruisers sailed into town. Ryan and Kristina have been on a grand adventure, and we have enjoyed the sites of Cabo San Lucas together, and we got to talking–about cravings. Of course, I related my 7-month obsession with apple pie, and we all laughed . . . until yesterday . . . When they brought me one.
I am looking for a few good sailors for the return trip. The details of the boat are on this blog, and I will provision the boat–you must simply cover your flight expenses to Cabo San Lucas, and return transportation to your home town.
The trip from Cabo San Lucas to San Diego has no place to get off, although we will be stopping in Bahia Santa Maria, Turtle Bay, and Ensenada for our final check-out of the country–with the possibility of other stops along the way to avoid bad weather. Your help on this stretch of the trip would be for the duration of the Cabo to San Diego leg. Of course, you will have to suffer vistas like this . . . but, you will have your share of watches, too. 4-hour watches during the daylight, and 2-hour watches at night–and, we will be fishing the entire trip.
If we were to sail straight through without stopping, and with perfect weather, it could take optimistically 6 days to get to San Diego. Realistically, it will be more like 10 – 12 days–and, if we have to wait out bad weather, or mechanical problems, it could be another 3 – 5 days on top of that.
Once in San Diego, we will be there for a few days to visit friends, re-provision the boat, and check into the country. The legs are much shorter once we are back in the US–San Diego to Morro Bay (with the possibility of stops at Catalina, and Point Conception between), Morro Bay to Monterey, and Monterey to SF.
If you are interested in getting some sea miles under your belt, please contact me through the website, or email me directly at: timothy@isailaway.net
My cousin was down to be my crew member for the return trip, and after more than a few delays, he ran out of time. Rather than taking the trip solo, I am still here in Cabo–waiting for additional crew. Perhaps another two weeks for me down here until departure time . . . .
