Turtle Bay, Cedros, Bahia Blanca, San Carlos... Ensenada

The Mexican Navy once again, telling us that high winds were due!

One more stunning sunset near Cedros Island.



Leif repairing a stay mid-channel nearing Ensenada.  Guess who cranked him up?



Ah, never been so glad to see a port! 



Panchita, the dock dog in Cruiseport Marina.

 I was so excited to leave Bahia Santa Maria, after spending so long sitting listening to the wind howl and holding on for dear life as the swells rolled through and pulled us on the anchor in the opposite direction.  We headed out early on June 11, after a few others had already pulled up their anchors.  The winds were predicted to be lighter than usual, only 15-25 kts on the nose. So off we went, and as we rounded Cabo San Lazaro the winds built up and lo and behold we saw a sailboat in a place where it shouldn't be... on the rocks!  The boats ahead of us radioed the Mexican Navy and the Coast Guard as to it's whereabouts.  We were too far out to offer assistance, as it was clearly on the reef and heeled over with seas awash it's decks.  It was a 60' ketch with 3 people aboard who were rescued safely earlier that morning.  It makes you stop and think a bit, stay awake on watch, check your GPS, don't take things for granted.   The Mexican Navy stopped by to ask if we knew anything about the crew, which we didn't, so off they went.   
  We motorsailed on through the day and night, heading for Turtle Bay and our next fuel stop.  The sea temp. has been really cold, 51.8 today, and the air likewise.  Arriving at Turtle Bay around 8:00 a.m. we fueled up and left for our next stop, possibly Isla Cedros.  The seas were fairly calm this a.m. and we made good time around the island.  The Mex. Navy once again stopped by to check us out and said high winds were predicted soon.  Not what we had heard, but good to know.  Sure enough, we hit 25 kts on the nose and big seas, the worst conditions yet.  Water coming over the bow, sides and stern, not a lot of fun to be on watch.  I'm also getting really tired, as we haven't been off the boat in a long time.  In a dense fog, we arrived at Bahia Blanca at 4:30 a.m. and finally found the so called anchorage, dropped the hook and dove into bed exhausted.  We spent the day napping and relaxing a bit.  When on watches over the past week or so we take 3 hour watches so around 2.5 hours of sleep at a time... maybe.  If the boat isn't pounding into the swells, and if we aren't healed over really far.  I made banana pancakes for the crew and did minor chores on the boat.
   Next day, up early and off for San Carlos.  It started nicely with 3-5 kt winds and 2-3' swell.  Then, it built up to 20-30 kts and 6'-8' swell which were breaking once again over the boat.  We bashed our way to San Carlos, and just as we were a mile out, our engine quit.  Oh great, we were motorsailing anyway, so we used the mainsail and sailed into the anchorage, dropped anchor and worked on the problem.  We weren't sure if it was running low on fuel or clogged filters, so Leif did the filters first, then tried to bleed the injectors and nothing worked.  Bummer.  Next morning we raised the main, and sailed off our anchor into the blustery morning.  As we left we noticed that the waves were breaking just off our side.  The tide was low and the whole bay was full of great swells for surfing, but not for a sailboat. 
   Now we had to sail the entire way to Ensenada, which means tacking far out and then tacking back into shore due to the winds.  We were looking at days of sailing with no hot water for showers or warmth or extra electricity.  Our solar panels do a great job normally, but it has been overcast and very gloomy.  They aren't charging up as much as normal.  Also we're out in the shipping lanes with no engine, just what I always wanted to do.  It's freezing cold too, sea temp at one point was 48 degrees!  Where are we, Alaska?? 
  Today, Saturday, June 18, we hoped to arrive in Ensenada, yet every time I looked at the GPS, it was going backwards in time due to lack of wind and our tacking out away from land.  Not very inspiring, I'm getting depressed.  I smell awful, am sticky, cold, damp, hungry, tired and amazingly not cranky.  It is what it is as they say.  Thank heavens, we hit some wind and rounded Todo Santos inlet at noon and headed into Cruiseport Marina.  We sailed into our slip using the main and tacking back and forth in a very small area down the causeway.  Leif is the man, he can handle this boat so well, keeps his cool and gives directions calmly and quietly.  I have to hand it to him, he's done a masterful job of getting us here.  I did help of course, by driving, standing my watches every 3 hours, and doing all the cooking and cleaning.  I even figured out how to fix the GPS when it died on us mid channel in the rough seas. 
   So, after a hot shower, change of clothes, and an excellent dinner at Sano's, we're back on the boat for the evening thinking of how to fix the engine.  Leif looked up on the internet about the problem he was having, and voila!! He fixed it.  We're back in business once again.  I have to say that these last 16 days on the boat were the longest of our trip, and I'm very glad to have that piece over with.  What a difference a day makes, each day on this leg has brought a variety of challenges and amazingly we have made it here, safely, although perhaps a little lighter in weight.  Don't care to see pasta or tuna for awhile thank you.