Refer to maps in Log 6 for charts of the travel. (click here)

Log 8:  Summer in the Sea 2001

May 10 - November 28, 2001

The departure from an anchorage in the wee hours of the morning is a magical sensation.

As you might guess from this image, the Sea of Cortez lured us back for another summer.  Our second year delivered unexpected surprises, which you can glimpse from some of the photos below.

Note:  These recent web pages use small "thumbnail" photos to highlight our experiences, hopefully speeding up your browser.  Click on any thumbnail if you want a better view.

On This Page:

Views & Geology   Eating   Nature   Baja Flowers   Work   Friends

Sunrises and sunsets that cannot be ignored.

Anchorages:  Our little slice of heaven.  A Mexican cemetery is never far behind the scenes.

Geology we only wish we understood.  

Cruisers refer to the first geological profile as "Snoopy"--can you see why?

(We are recruiting volunteers to give cruisers a geology workshop onboard--food & beverages included!)

Click on any thumbnail on this page to see the full photo.

Lobsters acquired by Different Worlds and Reason for Al's birthday were happily shared by  Alouette de Mer, Chez Moi, Icicle, Spray Venture, Cantata, Kynda, Temptress and Aerabella.  On Isla Coronado, just 20 miles NE of Loreto on the Baja Peninsula, the beaches offer a wonderful venue for these activities.  And the water, with 30-foot visibility, makes spear-fishing an attractive sport.  More often than not, most of us return with bent points from missing those speedy groupers and hitting the rocks.  Picking scallops off the rocks is tempting--and equally yummy--but since it's illegal for us to take shellfish from Mexican waters, we'll never know...will we?

I know, I know:  Ravioli is not a Mexican dish.  But when the holiday season is upon us, we can't help but think of all the fun we're missing while the family is making them at home in San Francisco.  So we have a pasta-maker on board and invite some very close friends to help us with this major project.  They really do have to be close friends because Diane has a reputation for exacting perfect performance out of the "volunteers", some of whom take it a little personally.  As you can see, it's a lot of work, but we were all happy campers (if a little over-stuffed) at the end of the meal.

Group Photo:

Adults: Les, April from Chewbacca, Diane, Aggie from Wanderlust, Reinee and John from Scarlett O'Hara.

Children:  Quincy and Kendall from Chewbacca.

Click here to see ravioli in the making.

This is a great "saga".  Les and John (from Scarlett O'Hara) could tell that the ladies were feeling a little despondent at the thought of spending Thanksgiving Day at Agua Verde, a picuresque but remote anchorage north of La Paz.  So, the guys decided to make it special by serving barbequed goat.  First, they had to find the goat.  Although we had seen numerous such animals climbing the hills, and could hear their bells tinkling in the distance, all the local goats, we were told, were pregnant females and not to be had.  After three days of inquiring, they arranged for one to be purchased from an inland rancher.  (In a village with a population of 300 you'd think that'd be easy, but nothing in Mexico is "easy").   When the word got out that they acquired a baby goat ready for the spit, 15 boats suddenly converged on the quiet anchorage of Agua Verde for “Goat-Fest 2001”.

As luck would have it a shrimp boat was visiting the anchorage and a bucket of shrimp was added to the menu.  Riley and Maureen on Alouette De Mer cooked up spicy Cajun style shrimp feast; pecan and pumpkin pies, sweet potatoes, stuffing, cranberries, ham, and every manner of traditional faire arrived by dinghy including the delicious guest of honor, Mr. Goat.  The spirit of Thanksgiving was prevalent as we gathered to toast our good fortune and strong bonds of friendship.  Life is indeed precious and beautiful in this slice of Baja paradise.  The delicious dishes were consumed with relish by the crews of: Alouette De Mer, Chewbacca, Gemini, Scarlett O’Hara, Nintai, Espresso, Wanderlust, Dream Weaver, Sea Bud, Faniche, UFO, Katie Lee, Wild Spirit,  Desperado and Simple Pleasures

Quincy and Kendall noticed that the goats in Agua Verde were very nervous as boats up & down the Baja arrived for the feast.

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Click on any thumbnail on this page to see the full photo.

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Nature

It's difficult to properly categorize these phenomena, but easy to appreciate their sheer beauty and wonder at the creative force behind it all.

 

Nature at Its Finest   Hurricane Juliette diminished to a "tropical depression" before crossing over the Baja and sneaking up on everyone.  The anchorage named "Don Juan" near Bahia de Los Angeles is a "hurricane hole", meaning a well-protected place to hide from these sobering storms.  Fifteen boats huddled in that area for four days, thankful that it was only a "tropical depression" when it passed 50 miles away from us.   Damage in La Paz was significant, as can be seen from the Cruceros web site.  Another site, xxxxxxxxxx , tracks  patterns for past hurricanes.

 

Click Here for Other Memorable Images of Nature.

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Baja Flowers 

Usually, a walk along a Baja road is a dusty, rocky adventure.  This year, we were treated to hills blanketed with green and sprinkled with colors from blossoms in all sizes and shapes. 

Click Here for more flower photos.

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WORK!?%#@

You might think that all we do is eat and play, but cruising is not just fun and games.  Fixing the boat, painting the bottom, doing laundry and shopping become especially challenging when there are few parts available and the temperatures near 100 degrees.

Fixing the alternator bracket (again!) involved fabricating one with the help of Johnny from Topaz, then climbing into the engine room to install it almost blind-folded.  And shopping involves everything from walking a block for a quart of milk to taking an 8-hour bus ride to San Diego for boat parts and essential goodies like See's Candy.

 

Jobs like careening to paint the bottom, cleaning clams, and doing laundry keep cruisers out of mischief.  Les is sometimes overwhelmed by it all, but Cami doesn't seem to mind supervising these menial tasks.

 

It is worth the effort after all!

(At least Gemini, Dreamweaver and Scarlett O'Hara think so when those perfect days come along.)

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Friends

People we meet along the way always play a special role in our adventures.

Scarlett O'Hara, Chewbacca, Good Medicine and Juandra brought some especially good times to Gemini during the summer of 2002.  Good Medicine made a major upgrade to a Tayana 42, while Juandra decided to move their boat to the east coast of the U.S. this year.  They will be missed!

 

Click here for more photos of cruising friends.

  Click here for Winter/Spring 2002:  The Mexican Mainland.