Stupid Weather!

This is the part of the trip that so many most look forward - the sail down the outside, the spinnaker billowing out in front of the boat, the sun sparkling on the water as the boat surges towards the warmer south. Instead, we're huddled in the enclosed cockpit, wrapped in layers of fleece and flannel, as Rutea pounds into cold head winds. The sky is completely grey and the temperature is hovering in the low 50's. Right now, we're underway towards Bahia San Carlos but it's badly exposed to the south and I'm afraid we won't find it too comfortable. That means we'd press on towards Turtle Bay and arrive there sometime tomorrow afternoon after an all-night passage.

The windlass gave me more problems this morning and it appears that Corie can't charge her laptop using the inverter. Other than that, things are exceedingly good aboard. O, except for the one other bad thing: Ruthie beat me at Scrabble.
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At 12/20/2010 9:38 PM (utc) our position was 29°40.79'N 115°37.59'W

Underway from Punta Colnett to San Quintin

It was a beautiful evening last night as we pulled into the south side of Punta Colnett. The water was flat calm, the skies painted with dramatic high, thin clouds which developed into a spectacular sunset. In the far distance we could see some buildings but they appeared to be nothing more than a fish camp. It felt about as wild and remote as a place could be.

As we were getting underway this morning, the chain piled up under the windlass and jammed. This caused the up button to weld itself into the 'on' position. The circuit breaker tripped. In removing the chain stripped housing, the two bolts nearly lost all their threads. I'm going to wait until we get into San Quintin to investigate further but it appears that we may have to manually deploy and retrieve the anchor until we can get some replacement parts. That's not too bad, though: Both Ruthie and Corie are really strong.

We still have winds out of the south so we're motoring once again. There should be a law against bashing southbound, even though the wind is light.

Fair winds and calm seas.
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At 12/18/2010 6:38 PM (utc) our position was 30°47.36'N 116°13.21'W

No Fair!

We left Ensenada before dawn this morning and made a left turn once we cleared Punta Banda. But instead of the prevailing northwesterly winds, we found southeast winds which are coming from the exact direction we're heading. I suppose I should have expected it. On the other hand, the winds are light, the sky is brilliant blue and the seas almost completely flat. Off to the west we can see the trough that's going to bring the storm to Southern California and we're hoping that it doesn't get any closer to us. Our destination for today is inside of Punta Collnet, a place where we've never anchored before. The guide books say it can be rolly so if it's too bad, we'll just press on to San Quentin.

Since all of you have been working so hard, go ahead and take the rest of the day off. Tell the boss I said it was OK.
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At 12/17/2010 6:32 PM (utc) our position was 31°26.87'N 116°39.22'W

Some pictures of our first couple of days

Hoisting the Mexican flag, waiting for Mexican Immigration, breakfast at Alfonso's and Ruthie at the helm.

And We're Off!

Our morning departure was, surprisingly, right on time and the passage down to Ensenada was uneventful. Ruthie and I teased Corie mercilessly about what an exciting time we were having. Some of the highlights that failed to generate enthusiasm in Corie were raising the Mexican flag and eating Cheez-its.

Early on in our passage, we noticed a good-sized motorsailer on the same course as us so I hailed them on the VHF radio and inquired about their destination. They said that they too were heading to Ensenada and then further south. I introduced ourselves as, "I'm Neal and also on board is my wife, Ruthie and our daughter, Corie." He replied, "I'm Paul and my wife is Darlene. We also have a dog and his name is Ben." Sometimes things get mixed up on the VHF radio.

Even though we've been to Ensenada many times, there's still a level of excitement as we pull into a foreign port, even one as mundane as Ensenada. Regardless, we had a nice meal at a good restaurant and got a short walk in. Perhaps because we left San Diego so early, the idea of a rowdy night doesn't sound very appealing. We do the Check In Cha Cha manana and try to get some updated weather reports before we leave on Friday.
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At 12/16/2010 4:16 AM (utc) our position was 31°51.30'N 116°37.33'W

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We're getting closer . . .

. . . but it's pretty hectic.  We know that soon we'll be under way and have more time to reflect, however, now it's a matter of dealing with what seems like a million details.  Our Fiesta por Adios was a great success and we got to spend the afternoon with family and good friends.  Now, it'd down to crunch time as we'd like to leave on Wednesday 12/15/10 at 0-dark-thirty.  The forecast is pretty good for the rest of the week.  Too bad the weather that we've had the last two days (highs in the 80's) won't hold for a while longer but soon we'll be far enough south that we'll be able to put the long sleeves away for what will hopefully be a long time.

Poor Rutea!  She's sitting low on her water line, a blatant indication that we've been putting way too much on board.  Plus, she lists badly to starboard, which is actually more a problem with her design than the way we stow our stores.  Her huge battery bank is on the starboard side as is the massive steering gear.  Also, the workshop with the spare parts stowage and the navigation station are on the starboard side.  The list is less pronounced if we empty the starboard water tank but I prefer to have it full.

I've been testing and re-testing all of the systems and everything checks out fine.  Of course, I'm the first person to admit that once we get away from the dock, all hell will probably break lose.  Right now, though, I'm too tired to think about it.  Tomorrow may be our last day in San Diego for quite a while.

Poco a Poco . . .

We pick away at our 'To Do' lists - the imperative here being the plural of 'list' as there are several which continuously gain and lose priorities.  The latest list is the one where we procrastinate until we're in Mexico.  It's so convenient, when faced with an unpleasant task, to just say, "We'll do that when we get to Mexico."  Another list has the projects on it which we're delegating to Corie who has the distinct disadvantage of not being here to protest the assignments she's being given.  There's still a long list of things we need to do before we leave San Diego and that's the most overwhelming of all.  The worst part of it is that it keeps getting longer!  Today I discovered a mysterious oily substance in one of our usually-bone-dry bilges - one of the jugs of very expensive diesel fuel treatment has decided to leak, creating a disgusting mess - I doubt I'll be able to put that off until we get to Mexico.  Hey, I know!  I'll put that on Corie's 'To Do' list!