Excerpts from Talion's Log

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Part 4 - Back to San Diego and the '08-'09 Cruising Season

November 5-9

Lat:
22 52.90
Lon:
109 54.60

The final and fastest leg of the three was a run to Cabo San Lucas under the 1-1/2 oz spinnaker. We finished the leg in less than 24 hours with the likes of a 51' Swan, a Farr 44, and a J 130. We were only an hour behind the Perry 59 and the 63' cat Profligate. Wahoo! Festivities in Cabo San Lucas included the Squid Roe party, Mango Deck beach party (including Talion's entry of Seth and Leslie in the "From Here To Eternity" kissing contest), a visit from Patsy's niece and 11 of her closest friends and finally the Baja Ha-Ha awards ceremony where we won our class and a special award for being one of only 4 boats who sailed all the way. Sadly it was also Patsy's last time to see Denise, Paul and Andrea before they departed Mexico for their new life in Denver Colorado (:

What a happy crowd to finally be in Cabo

November 1-5

Lat:
24 46.50
Lon:
112 16.00

We arrived in Turtle Bay too late to explore much of the town, but in plenty of time for a good night's sleep and the Turtle Bay Pot Luck & Beach Party. We ate, kayaked, swam, played volleyball, body surfed, almost swamped the dinghy, drank, met new friends and reconnected with old ones. The next morning started the second leg which was a great spinnaker run in 15-20 knots of wind all the way to Bahia Santa Maria. We sailed fast and managed to keep up with the catamarans and race boats all night with the 1-1/2 oz chute. Dead down wind, no big problems, and great gybes got us into Santa Maria in just over 30 hours. We were surprised at what a beautiful green the hills around Bahia Santa Maria were, courtesy of the rain from Hurricane Norbert 3 weeks earlier. Leslie got some great cactus and spider shots! That night we invited the whole fleet over to drink wine and purchase wine glasses. A very fun group of people! The next day was the Ha-Ha shore party with a band from La Paz, beer, dancing and lunch cooked by the local women. Our crew was pretty mellow after our party the night before and we were back to the boat to get some sleep before the 7 am start the next morning.

Bahia Santa Maria is a huge bay seperated from Mag Bay by the sand bar in the background

October 27

Lat:
27 41.00
Lon:
114 53.00

This years Baja Ha-Ha crew included Portland friends Seth Constable, his wife Leslie Egenberger, and Craig Shaw. We didn't have much time in San Diego so we raced around to buy, install, repair, and provision. We also picked up parts and supplies for friends in La Paz. It was a very busy few days! The pre-race party was a blast and we were a hit with Leslie's two cases of custom Baja Ha-Ha hand painted glasses (see lesliepaintedglass.com). This year's entries included 137 boats and over 500 people. The start was in about 10-15 knots of wind. Perfect for the new 3/4 oz spinnaker! Eventually the weather turned to hot and sunny with little or no wind and stayed that way for the rest of the 3 1/2 days to Turtle Bay. The goal is to sail all the way to Cabo San Lucas but most of the boats gave up and motored this leg. Check out the picture of Seth and Craig paddling the boat with Kayak paddles! The race committee decided not to penalize us for this :)

The new/used spinnaker picked up in Annapolis

Otto (the Autopilot) does the driving which makes for a very relaxing race!

We really only paddled for about 5 minutes to a wind line

Oct 14-21

They don't call it the Baja Bash for nothing. The trip up the coast started with 12 hours of 20-25 knots on the nose and crashing into 8-10 foot seas. Not kind on the stomachs of the crew. Then we had a couple of days of fairly calm conditions perfect for Paul to catch a huge Dorado. A stop in Turtle Bay for fuel and then back out to more pounding, deck leaks, 30 knots on the nose, and upset tummies. The final straw was realizing that the guys in Turtle Bay did not actually fill our fuel tank. We ran out of diesel 5 hours before San Diego... just as we ran out of wind. Paul and Niki saved the day and pushed the boat with the dinghy. A memorable trip for all but Paul and Niki have decided that world cruising on a sailboat is no longer on their "to do" lists.

Oct 12-14

A few more days of waiting included dinners at the Ogiers, games of Trivial Pursuit, jewelry making with Denise, and out to eat at our favorite bar Shooters. Finally the part arrived in La Paz. Not wanting any more delays Patsy drove the 4 hour round trip to pick it up instead of having them deliver it.

Oct 7-12

Sitting in San Jose Del Cabo not only waiting on the part but waiting out the potential hurricane! Lucky for us the hurricane passed north of us. We're spending our time watching the DHL tracking of our "next day" package from California, the tracking of the hurricane, visiting time shares (for massages, horseback trips and cash), reading, family time for Patsy, and a little boat work. Took apart the exhaust system to get a pin hole welded... better safe than sorry.

Oct 6

Lat:
23° 03'
Lon:
109°40'

The morning engine check discovered that the newly rebuilt raw water pump's pulley was not only loose but was completely sheared off. We slowly sailed off the anchor in very light wind and headed for the next port San Jose del Cabo. We had great wind behind us most of the day until about 5 pm when it shut down completely. We happily accepted a tow from the marina staff.

Oct 4-5

Lat:
23° 22'
Lon:
109° 26'

Patsy and La Paz resident Niki Leilani left the blistering hot and extremely humid city and headed north for cooler weather, the Baja Ha Ha, and adventures along the way. We had a great sail down the La Paz channel and through the Canal de San Lorenzo but eventually ran out of wind and motored to anchor in Bahia de Los Muertos the first night. Another long, uneventful, and hot day of motoring put us in Bahia Frailes the second night.

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