Well folks, it’s Turkey day. Time to pick up where I left off. Since the last blog entry, here’s a brief summary of what has transpired.
ADIOS, CABO.
Cabo San Lucas is a pretty place. After days at sea it was really nice to feel solid terra firma under our feet for a couple of days, fill up on tacos, peruse social media, buy supplies, etc. We even went to the beach like regular turistas. However, I must say that the “Cabo Wabo” vibe got old really fast (no disrespect to Sammy Hagar). Literally everywhere we went in that town, we were aggressively peddled any number of services including cigars, cocaine, water taxi rides, mota, lobster dinners, etc. Not a sincere conversation to be had with anyone.It really hit home when Courtney and I walked by a dog training/kennel establishment. It was an expansive place, with tons of dogs, and a really official looking dog trainer. When he saw us looking at him, from no less than 100 yards away mind you, he yelled “Hello! Wanna get high” as he pointed up at the sky. For us, that was our signal to skip town.
You can’t blame anyone for it. Cabo is a tourist hub. As gringos, we are the catalyst of the local economy. The locals are doing what they’re supposed to do. It’s just not my idea of a good time. I longed for La Paz, a town where gringos are almost invisible, where you can interact with locals like a regular person, have real conversations, and not be treated like a commodity all of the time.
SO WE HEADED NORTH
Well, not really. We rounded the tip of the peninsula, which meant we followed the coastline southeast a little bit, then east, then northeast, then north, then… you get the picture. The objective was to get to La Paz, with one or two stops along the way to avoid having to do night shifts–enough of those.
LOS FRAILES
Just a heads up–this is the part of Baja where it gets really god damned gorgeous. White sandy beaches, cacti, aqua-blue crystal clear water, the whole nine. That was our scenery as we crawled forward, mainly taking wind on the bow. Our speed was reduced to about 6 knots.
Must find anchorage. No more night shifts. Did I mention we were tired of those? The cruising guide recommended a bay called Los Frailes, or “The Friars” if you must translate, because there are rock formations on the hill that look like friars on a hike. Never saw them. Anyway, we anchored at dusk. That process was interesting because the bay was bisected by a deep underwater canyon that ran right up to the shoreline. It was literally 800 feet deep only about 100 yards off the beach. We found a good patch of 30 foot deep sandy bottom on the south end of the bay, and dropped the hook.
What an epic place! Beautiful beach, great for long walks and frisbee-throwing to Brody (our resident Australian Cattle Dog), and some of the best snorkeling I’ve ever experienced, over at the north end of the bay.
The winds came. That gave us second thoughts about leaving prematurely for our second leg. And Los Frailes was oh soooo nice. So we stayed for three additional nights. Thanks to some lucky angling, I was able to pad our dwindling food supply with Sierra Mackerel, a fish afflicted with an unfortunate evolutionary trait–they make great ceviche.
On our last morning one of our faithful crew, Ashkan Farida, had to head back to the states for work and familial responsibilities. Thank you, Ash. It was a pleasure having you, and everyone felt safer having your tech-saavy and boating intelligence on board. Additionally, your turbo-tea and quinoa bowls were highly appreciated.
TO BAHIA MUERTOS
With a crew reduced to four weary souls, Brody (cattle dog numero uno), Courtney Ray (mi amor) and Lee Nelson (resident jokester) headed north to the last stop before La Paz, a lovely place called Bahia Muertos. We pulled into the bay just after sunset, and just before moonrise. Sketchy. Dark as shit. I couldn’t see squat, other than the anchor lights of the 10 or so boats anchored there. I was puzzled as to why they were anchored so far off the beach, so I tried a spot closer in. As the anchor chain was being dumped, I noticed the depth under Grace briefly rise up from 25 feet (good) to a shallow 10 feet (not fucking good). Whether it was a big fish or a small shoal I’ll never know, but I took the anomaly as a sign to re-set somewhere else. I found a great spot in the North end of the bay, about 400 yards from the beach, according to radar, which is very nice to have in situations like these, when you’re relying on your GPS chartplotter too heavily.
BAHIA BALLANDRA
The sun rose. We left Muertos. A little bit of a shame, because Muertos is a lovely place with spectacular fishing and perfect beaches to explore. Save it for another day.
After about 6 hours of nearly windless motoring, we made a great decision. Rather than go all the way into Bahia La Paz, our ultimate destination, we opted to stop at Bahia Ballandra for the night. Despite being just outside the city limits of La Paz, Bahia Ballandra is the quintessential Baja beach paradise. It’s fucking fantastic. Miles of frosty beaches. If you’ve ever seen a postcard from La Paz, or if you simply google the place, you’ll see it. I should have awesome photos, but I don’t. Lee Nelson, care to assist? We anchored there for the night. Courtney and I slept on deck. Sort of a mistake, seals and rays crashed the surface all night long, keeping me awake and scaring the crap out of Brody.
The next morning, we motored into the narrow channel that all boaters must navigate into Bahia La Paz. Almost hit the shoal. Lee Nelson, thank you for bringing that to my attention!
JONAH AND MEGAN
Just like he said, Jonah’s sweet 40-foot Tartan ketch, Orion, was parked right outside the entrance to Marina Day La Paz. Jonah and Megan weren’t home, but were easily summoned on the VHF radio and were kind enough to take our lines as we docked Grace in her slip. What a nice welcome! Jonah is an old pal from Topanga Canyon, the just-outside-LA enclave/town/village where I grew up. The couple had been cruising the area for a few years, blogging about it, and inspiring me as I prepped Grace for Baja.
REST. AND MORE REST.
We didn’t, to quote a cheesy corporate cliche, “hit the ground running” when we arrived in La Paz. We ate. We relaxed. We ate more. Relaxed more. Slept. Ate. Repeat. For me especially, the trip down was exhausting. Arriving in La Paz was the conclusion of 30 plus days of hard-core prepping and hard-core sailing. This blissful period of recuperation included several EPIC dinners, and ZERO intestinal maladies, which is a rarity for yours truly.
VAYA CON DIOS, BROTHER
Lee Nelson, thanks for crewing on the way down!
To sum Lee up, he’s an endlessly positive dude, very passionate and knowledgeable about sailing, and is basically a clown 24/7. Levity is a great thing to have during an adventure, especially when fear can sour moods and spread sad-faces. I strongly recommend having a Lee on board at all times during passages. Come back any time, duder!
COURTNEY RAY
Three days later my first mate and girlfriend, Courtney, regretfully had to go back home to finish up a nursing gig. She’s coming back relatively soon on December 20th, but it’s going to be tough. I’m without the person who holds everything together on Grace, especially her scatterbrained skipper. And it’s no easier on her end. She’s without me and her dog, the greatest pooch that every pawed the earth, Miss Brody. I can only hope the next few weeks go by quickly. Brody feels the same way. I love you, dollface. Get back here soon!
HERE AT LAST
In the coming weeks, my plans include boat chores, finishing up a writing project, cruising the local islands with Jonah and Megan, fishing inside the bay, working out, watching movies, speaking Spanish, socializing with the local boating community, and, most importantly, throwing the frisbee to Brody at least every other day. I can’t lose sight of what’s really going on–I am absolutely, positively LIVING THE DREAM. Right now!
PS: Happy Thanksgiving to the FAM: Mary, Spencer, Kye, Megan, Casey, Chuck, Elliot, Isaac, Edie, Miles, Heather, Michael, Michael, Wendy, Ramona, Lyla, Amy, Jason, Betsy, Leslie, John, Andy, Marian, Molly, Ben, David, T. Weste, Charlie, James, Thea, Noah, Jeff, Maria, Megan, Eden, Kate, etc. (if forgot anyone, sorry!), and those who couldn’t be with us, including but not limited to Mary Joe and John Tiffin, you’re missed, majorly.
Sailing Grace 