Chronicles of Carmen

SFBANTA Rendezvous 09 - Petaluma

2009-06-25T09:13:00.000-07:00

WOW – What a party! The 2009 SFBANTA Rendezvous was a fabulous event, and we were privileged to participate in it.

The party started early for us with a mini rendezvous off of the Pt Richmond channel on Wednesday morning with ourselves (Carmen), Riley, Emiko and Buoy Toy. This elegant procession made it’s way across San Pablo bay in near calm conditions and found the entrance to the Petaluma River without difficulty. Of course the task had been made easier by the coordinating committee choosing a low low tide for the run so that we could actually see the banks of the channels! Norma Jean joined us in flight up the river and we had a grand time upon entry into the Petaluma Turning Basin deciding who was going to face which way as we side tied to “reserve” the requisite amount of dock for the whole group.

Thursday morning saw a lot of debate surrounding when the remainder of the fleet would arrive and what we would do if any alien boats came through the bridge before the last Nordic. I will spare the reader the sordid details of that plan and merely report that we had a great time in getting everyone in and stern tied in a row. Your correspondent lost his hat in the excitement and more factually the wind. Mother Nature provided the wind to assist with stacking the boats, and it worked out very well, aside from the hat. The group elected not to pursue yet more fun by untying everyone and then sorting the fleet by size and alphabet – Our superb dock master Bob Scura just wasn’t keen on doing it all again. Thursday evening the group settled in and the partying began in earnest.

Friday saw about 30 folks squeezing bags on the dock at 0845. This is an integral part of the Bud’s Boiled Bag Breakfast which was again a great success. This was planned to be R&BBBB however Richard and Kathy were unfortunately unable to be at the Rendezvous due to last minute family events. It was a feast to remember.

The presentations that morning in the Petaluma Yacht Club were well attended and very interesting. Marilee of Waypoint enlightened the group with a very timely talk on electronic navigation and the related cartography. Your correspondent can testify to the fantastic service provided by Waypoint and would encourage anyone who has questions about electronic navigation including the computer versions to contact Marilee. Following Waypoint was Trident Funding.

The “Pair’s Pizza lunch” was great fun when the pizzas arrived. Good pizza and the delay to allow us all to work up a good appetite was a nice touch.

The afternoon was taken up with US Coast Guard Auxiliary Safety Checks and tours of the new Nordic 42 that Len and Steve of Ballena Bay Yacht brokers had kindly brought for inspection (oh and it is for sale in case you were wondering).

More fun was to be had in the PYC bar including a very lucid and I am told (by those who claimed to understand it) uplifting speech by the prime candidate for SFBANTA president (Bud Sheble) was followed by a really wonderful dinner at Graffiti.

Saturday saw the group with Mike Mirata of the US Coast Guard Auxiliary for a discussion of the major safety equipment and procedures to be aware of in their deployment. Mike was an entertaining and very informative source. Then the business of the day was conducted- this consisted of the general membership meeting and the election of the new officers. The pre inauguration concerns as to citizenship etc. having been satisfactorily resolved Bud Sheble was elected President; there being no physical ballots a recount call was not heeded. Scotty Irwin was elected Treasurer as we figured that if the ex pres didn’t know where all the cash was then nobody would. Richard Smith was elected in absentia as Secretary and the meeting duly adjourned.

Following the business meeting Christmas came again in the form of the raffle prizes so very generously provided by our sponsors. These businesses have seen fit to sponsor this event in these trying fiscal times and they truly deserve our support. What makes this even easier is that they all provide excellent products and services. Not to belabor the point but they are in alphabetical order;

Alameda Canvas and Coverings

Ballena Bay Yacht Brokers

The Boatyard at Grand Marina

Cummins West

Outboard Motor Shop

Pier 29

Star Marine Electronics

Thomas marine Propeller

Trident Funding Corporation

Twin Rivers Marine Insurance Agency

Waypoint

West Marine

Special mention to Nordic Tugs Inc our founding sponsor.

The cocktail party and BBQ Dinner hosted by the Petaluma Yacht Club were superb and the event ended on a high note with Del Shannon singing Runaway on the juke box at the club.

On a final note I think I speak for everybody when I say a big THANKS to the retiring board members and also to everyone who put in all the effort to make this event the great success that it was. THANKS GUYS.

Accolades to retiring board members:

Cathy Robie

Jim Moore

Wayne Farris

I am sure that they each thank their parents, first girl/boyfriend, significant pet, significant other etc. etc.

Accolades also to Mother Nature for the clement conditions and to the City of Petaluma for the great American Graffiti weekend event.

Submitted by your humble correspondent, Anthony Thorne from Carmen.

Back in the USA – post Armageddon

2009-05-10T13:42:00.000-07:00

So anyway we chickened out and had a delivery crew bring Carmen back to Ventura. It was supposed to be San Francisco, but the alternator quit at Santa Catalina and Ventura has a large Cummins dealer. Fate always has a way of exerting the upper hand.

We arrived in Ventura with our new extended family, Farley, our now six months old Havanese puppy came with us for a three day drive from Sidney, BC to Ventura. It all went very well.

So we relaxed after our trip, sorted out the boat in Ventura, and began looking for weather windows for the trip north. Weather windows are very similar to PC windows in that they are not very stable. If anyone had told me that calculators that sometimes crashed would become perfectly acceptable business tools before we entered the “personal and desktop” computer age, they would have been laughed out of town. Those days it was mainframes as big as today’s condos to do the payroll.

So our view was that we had to find several windows, one for the trip to Santa Barbara, a mere 2½ hour run, one for Pts Conception and Arguello to Morro Bay, another for the run to Monterey and yet another for the run up to SF Bay and Alameda. A study of the various weather forecasts showed that they were very similar to economic forecasts. Use with great caution and a good dose of sheer disbelief. Simply put the number of different forecasts equals the number of sources -1. The truth lies…….somewhere out there.

Speaking of economic forecasts – the atmosphere in the USA is very different from last fall. Now it is post Armageddon (the late fall and winter US & World financial meltdown) and it shows, things are very quiet, no one around at the marinas and such. Diesel is now nearly affordable. Of course the Canadian $ has fallen in exact proportion so again fate rules.

The micro climate of this area shows that two distinct windows are required, one across the Santa Barbara channel to Santa Barbara and the other out of Santa Barbara round the terrible duo and on the Morro Bay. On April 30^th the 1^st window opened. So we took it and had a fairly uncomfortable 2½ hour run. Farley was sick! Yes he was not a happy camper. Very little roll but boy the seas were short, and that was with no wind. Our new strategy is to concentrate on wind; if there is little wind we figure we can handle the rest of it. Wind waves on top of swell makes for bad news.

A change in the forecast saw us head out the following day instead of taking the break. We had a reasonable run to Morro Bay but again Farley was sick. Carmen, our feline companion, of course was not sick but also not overly pleased. We gained Morro Bay without incident, other that the use of a lot of paper towels. The forecast indicated a stay in Morro for the day so we did just that. On Sunday the 3^rd we set off for Monterey, a long but calmer run. There was again no wind but the seas were quite big, 8-10ft swells. The view from the pilothouse was like an alien landscape, gentle rolling water hills with a series of mountain ridges marching across the scene. The mountain ridges proved to be benign as we just went up one side and then down the other, quite an experience. Farley was not sick! Everyone was pleased.

The forecast for Monday was poor and so we lounged around for a day and then decided to split the next run into two days, one to Half Moon bay where we would take on fuel – seeing we were getting low, and the following day head up to Alameda. Both days were easy runs with no wind to Half Moon and little wind to the gate and beyond. Foggy though, yes the days without wind are very poor visibility days.

We passed under the gate at 1130hrs on Wednesday the 6^th and went over to Alameda. Visibility was poor at about ½ mile.

We made fast, and then pretty much crashed – had to catch up on our rest. Journey’s end.

Now we are looking forward to the SFBANTA Rendezvous and the special weekend that follows.

Winter in La Paz

2009-05-10T13:38:00.000-07:00

La Paz has its good, bad and ugly.

The “good” - the weather is nice, a little too hot, but no rain. The water is warm, or was but it has now fallen to 68 Fahrenheit. The wind blows a lot, in fact it nearly always blows whenever we go out to the local islands to anchor out, making the night decidedly uncomfortable. It seems to be calm when we are in the marina.

The town itself is quite interesting it has a newish walkway alongside the bay with some very striking sculptures. The actual commercial district is a few blocks wide and long. It has some very nice streets of residential houses, small but immaculate. It has no sense of a sidewalk. Those that exist do so in isolation of their next door neighbour both in terms of material and LEVEL. Grade is an unknown word here.

To walk anywhere, and we walk everywhere for the obvious reasons, you have to angle one eyeball on downwards to navigate the uneven sidewalk – pavement – dirt – cobbles – blocks – cement – whatever, and one eyeball angled upwards to see the low slung trees – cables – signs – awnings etc. It is most suited to mountain goats. The other neat thing is that all unused poles, iron stays, signs etc. are cut off at about 4” just to catch the unwary!

Folks here are proud of the safety of La Paz. We do not have any tourists like Cabo (used to have). However I see this as interesting for a town that has four different police forces plus armed military forces on show most of the time. All windows and doors are covered with iron/steel bars and our marina gate is covered with razor wire. So five armed militia groups and security guards everywhere as well as iron grilles – I suspect there might be a reason for it – but then again this is Mexico.

After about 5 blocks up from the waterfront it all goes to ugly, Mexico has a lock on brown and it also seems to know how to do real ugly. The folks are nice though.

Most restaurants and street vendors serve Mexican food, which seems to consist of corn (in a multitude of varieties) and beans. No one seems to be starving, however one must remember that two of the police forces are devoted to separating the non wealthy (make that real poor) from the in town poorer ‘non wealthy’. So although we don’t see them around town I have heard enough to know that they are out there … on the edges of town.

Places with real chutzpah charge in US dollars while most places work in Pesos, probably due to the fact that this is Mexico. If it has to do with Boats and Gringos then it is (way over) priced in dollars. See previous post about $56 burgers with limp fries in Cabo. Avoid if at all possible.

The language is interesting; Spanish is an old and cumbersome language that has been modernized by making it far more staccato and loud. So they do a lot of what seems like shouting, very fast, with no tonal variations. So pass the salt probably will sound very like abandon ship. It is a twisty language at best.

And so to the “bad” – no nation can succeed by eating Mexican food morning noon and night. Their meat cuts are weird and small. Their music is - well I guess Latin is the word. OK for the first five minutes, thereafter …..

The “ugly” you just don’t want to know. Believe me.

Life sans TJs

2008-12-11T07:23:00.000-08:00

Life sans TJs

So for those who are not familiar with TJs you are both blessed by being immune to this affliction and of course cursed because you do not know the joys of TJs. For all others this account may be a warning not to wander too far.

Is there really life without TJs? It depends upon your definitions of course. You can survive and find some alternatives; however you will forever remember that which you cannot find. Conversations with people you meet will have either as the third or fourth sentence something like “do you know where we can find TJs?” or “have you found anything like TJs?”

We search for anything that might be comparable –so far without success. We think that we should start one, and then realize that starting a business just to cater to ourselves is not very wise. Better than toxic debt perhaps, but not assured of a big bailout when the penny drops elsewhere. We play golf in the wrong circles.

So stock up is the key, but how do you stockpile non freezable perishables???? The affliction is relatively mild in its side effects – lack of sleep, dietary unhappiness, severe treat discontent, mild headaches and vast longing.

It’s like grieving – the stages thereof. We have done with denial. “it’s OK we can find everything here, well almost”. Moved through anger. “!!!!!” [Edited out]

We have identified that ”a longing to return to Canada for Christmas” is in reality, a want/need/desire to stop at TJs on the way back to the sunshine!

This one is obviously bargaining. In reality a $2000 trip just for a store? – It’s nuts. Next is depression – and so for cheap chemicals. Acceptance looks like giving up on life and accepting Fox News.

So take care where you go and think thrice if there is not a Trader Joes within range. Strange things will happen.

Carmen – sans TJs.

South to La Paz

2008-12-11T07:16:00.000-08:00

Santa Barbara Channel and the voyage south to La Paz Mexico

Our cruise of the Santa Barbara Channel was a wonderful experience. We went to the Channel Islands Harbor and Ventura. Both were great but Ventura with its harbor development was our favourite. Great for long walks, an easy run to shops and also to Santa Barbara by rental car. We resupplied and took in both Santa Barbara as well as a run up to Port San Louis and Pismo Beach. Well, as our time to move south was approaching, we set off to Avalon and spent another few days at this delightfully Mediterranean spot. Then into San Diego to get both our last TJ supply run and to get a water maker installed. After a week we were totally shopped out and we visited the Port Office to turn in our cruising permit. At San Diego we met some really nice folks in the marina.

So early on the morning of Oct 18^th we cast off and headed south to Ensenada, an easy run. There we took on diesel, at much reduced price and went to Costco and the Super Mercado to get our Mexican supplies – meat and long life milk. Checked out the weather and made ready for our first 36 hour run. An overnighter- our first. It turned out that if we left Ensenada at 0500 then we would make Turtle Bay at around 1700 the next day. So at 0500 on Tuesday October 21st we set course for Turtle Bay. It was dark and the sea was lumpy but our adrenaline was up for the challenge. The day came quickly and then departed even faster at sundown – the sunset here is a really short affair. The night was long, Jane took to 0100 and then I took the watch till 0800. During the coming day it was apparent that the northbound flood was quite effective as we had to speed up around noon to ensure our arrival at Turtle Bay before dark. I have no desire to enter an unknown foreign port at night. At 1710 we dropped anchor in Turtle Bay and immediately renamed it Dead Fish Bay. Lots and lots of small headless fish floating in the water. Alternatively hot and humid or warm and dry depending upon whether the wind was onshore or offshore. Periods of no wind merely stank. Our recovery was under way with the two of us deciding that disturbance of our sleep patterns was no easy thing at this age.

The SSB was not performing very well, it improved somewhat when the operator learnt that there were filters installed but we have no ability to get weather faxes yet. Received a voice forecast from Pt Reyes but could not understand the sea areas referred to. More research at the Internet Café in Turtle Bay solved that issue but the coverage is in no way coastal – which is what we need. Heard the Manana Net but the Sonrisa is too noisy to make out the words and the Baja Net is just noise. Will keep trying.

The weather information at the Internet Café showed all as ‘reasonable’ for seven days. So after declaring the town as a definite Hugh Huckley (read pug ugly) we decided to make our second overnight run to Magdalena Bay another 250 nm southeast. The second run was lumpier, darker and as we were not as well rested it was a major pain for me. Jane was better rested and therefore not so beaten up. Anyway we made “Mag Bay” on the afternoon of day 2 and dropped our hook at Punta Belcher, a beautiful anchorage.

At Mag Bay the weather decided to be hot. A spectacular electrical storm produced an unhappy cat and about a teacup of rain. Humid! Well after an evening attempt to start acclimatizing, and just short of killing each other, we elected to start the generator and run the air conditioning. Dispositions returned towards normal and so it was that the a/c proved to be invaluable. Little did we know for how long we would need to run the a/c.

From Mag Bay it is 155 miles of inhospitable coast to Cabo San Lucas. A 24 hour run. As it stayed hot we did this with the a/c running. Unfortunately this causes the infra red heat of the generator to radiate outwards to the water tanks on each side. They got progressively warmer, almost to the point where one could not shower - the water was so hot.

We turned into Cabo at 0630 in the morning after nearly being run over by a large fleet of sport fishing vessels literally tearing out of Cabo harbor. Our choice, due to the vast cost of the local marinas, was to anchor in the bay. Some anchorage! water skiers, parasailors, jetskis, water taxis and just to top it off, two very large cruise ships just on the outer edges of the anchorage. Somewhat like pitching a tent in the middle of Victoria station, or perhaps the middle of the junction of Yonge and Dundas streets. We had heard that Cabo is a unique experience, well it is very true. Unique. A zoo, party central and yes I do believe that I noticed my age!

We launched the tender and went ashore to find the Port Captain. All cruisers have to report their arrival and departure from each port area. There was confusion when we left Ensenada and we did not get our stamped “crew list”. This document lists all persons on board and it is the captain’s responsibility to keep track of them. Well we had to go to the Port Captain and have our Ensenada to Cabo San Lucas list stamped and then a Cabo to La Paz list issued and Stamped. These nice folks accommodated us.

Some shopping after a ferociously expensive burger at the Hard Rock Café – well it was air conditioned!. U$56 for two burgers with limp fries sets the tone of the place perfectly. Note that the boat a/c is still running as the day time highs are over 100 and the nights over 80. Jane and I wonder what the hell we have done. Pardon French.

The anchorage became more rolly and so on Nov 1^st we moved to Cabo San Jose, some 15 miles up the coast to see if the fuel dock was open as we needed to fill up with some fine Mexican diesel. No joke – Mexican diesel is different than US diesel, it is much cleaner, burns cleaner – no smoke – and supposedly has more power. We sure like it. After arriving at Cabo San Jose on Saturday afternoon we learned that the fuel dock was closed until Monday – or maybe Tuesday. I was not happy as I had only budgeted one night for a marina. Negotiation time.

Still we did manage to get in touch with Jane’s cousin Jill who has moved to Cabo San Jose so the visit had a very positive side. The road to the marina is something that defies any reasonable description and would be best tackled by a helicopter. Anyway after a great visit on Tuesday we set forth for Los Frailles an anchorage on the East Cape that is about a day’s run from CSJ. The anchorage was a bit crowded and we left the next day for Los Muertos. This is a really nice anchorage at the north end of the East Cape and a day’s run for Los Frailles and a day’s run to La Paz.

We stayed for the night and as we felt a need to get to La Paz, left the next morning. That morning I wondered why the local fishing Pangas that had returned to Los Muertos the previous evening were not setting out. After getting clear of the headland we discovered the reason, a Norther was running. We now know what that means but back then we didn’t. We should have turned back; but we carried on and the sea got progressively worse.

A Norther – and as we have since learned anything else here in the Sea of Cortez, causes a phenomenon universally known as square waves. Short sharp steep ugly things. We plugged on to the north for several hours before turning to cross into the Bay of La Paz. Then it was downhill to the port. Not a nice day but we survived it to arrive in Marina De La Paz at 1554. Time for tea.

More fun to come.

Bound for Santa Catalina

2008-10-06T07:47:00.000-07:00

Cruise to Santa Catalina for the Southern California Nordic Tugs Rendezvous
Well we did have a skippers meetings and all was well. Carmen had made a short shakedown cruise up to Benicia at the west end of the Carquinez Strait just in from San Pablo Bay. The skipper and crews of Buoy Toy and Hoot joined us at the Benicia Yacht Club and we went over the basics of the trip. Present were Shep and Nancy Jenks of Hoot, Wayne and Cal of Buoy Toy, and ourselves, with Linda and Cathy as outside auditors. We had returned from a brief but hectic visit to our BC home where we had sold our Salt Spring property and purchased and moved into a Sidney property. Now we were back in the bay area planning our trip south to the SOCAL Rendezvous at Two Harbors, Santa Catalina Island. This cruise forms a part of our overall plan to winter in La Paz Mexico.
The trip consists of four travel days , first to Monterrey, second to Morro Bay, third to Santa Barbara and then on to Two Harbors. Of course Murphy was around so Santa Barbara was not in the cards for Carmen, but more on that later.
The weather was deemed to be appropriate the evening before the designated day. So at O’dark thirty (Wayne doesn’t recognize numbers before dawn – whoever she was) and with excitement running high we cast off from Pt Richmond yacht club that had graciously hosted us for the night and moved into the channel. BTW Friday night there they have a super dinner. Carmen led as it was easier for us to get moving. In the middle of the channel we stopped to consult the instruments and Nobeltec, Raymarine and the radar all agreed we were in the middle and ready to turn right onto our exit course. At about this point I noticed out of the Starboard pilothouse door that Wayne and Cal had entered into a shouting match but decided to cheat the current and move out. Later I heard that they thought I was too far over to the shallows, again beginners luck.
So down the bay; behind Angel Island and out of the gate at slack water. Passed under the gate at 0631. There was little in the way of swell so a peaceful trip to sea. We turned to port at Seabuoy 8 and ran down the coast towards Monterrey on a fairly gentle sea. At 1726 we made fast at Breakwater Cove in Monterrey Harbor, after passing some large number of basking sea lions who seemed to be making a study of discontent. Strange bathroom habits too, as the air was rife (as in loaded) with what can only be described as an off-putting Pong. For some strange reason there was lots of mooring space at Breakwater Cove. Being close to deaf we went to dinner at the nearby restaurant.
The sea lion lullaby was not appreciated by anyone and some folks even stayed up all night to see if they stopped! The next day being a long one we elected to leave at 0400 the next morning. Again we started in the dark when we set off bound for Morro Bay.
The seas again were quite peaceful and the trip to Morro Bay was uneventful. We arrived at 1600 and at 1625 made fast at the Morro Bay Yacht Club, who again deserve a big thanks from us for all the help provided. Dinner followed and the deteriorating weather situation was discussed. The buoy data did not seem to be in line with the predicted storm, but we decided prudence was the better part of valor (not that I have met them). Also as some crews had had no sleep the night before at melodious Monterrey there seemed to be a feeling that a rest day was in order. We stayed.
On Monday Shep of Hoot asked if we had any ideas about his battery situation. It turned out that he had been concerned about the volts being under 12 all the way down. With the assistance of someone at the MBYC we found someone who not only knew about alternators, but had a shop – wait there’s more – he also had a truck and was scheduled to arrive at 0700 the next day. The atmosphere of frivolity was heightened by the arrival of Linda and Susanne at 1700.
Tuesday saw the group lounging around, shopping, sightseeing and generally relaxing. O700 did indeed see the alternator guy arrive (sans tools) to remove Hoot’s alternator. He said he would be back “tomorrow” which was a bit of a problem as we were leaving at 0500 to round Arguello and Conception on the way to Santa Barbara. Somewhat miraculously, after a phone call he agreed to deliver and install at 1900 (same day service!)
Wednesday 0500 saw the group move down the river to the sea and head out to the south. Arguello was passed with little to-do but the wind was rising and it began to blow the tops off of the waves around us making for a beautiful blue and white seascape. Luckily this was behind us so we started a surfing party all the way around Conception which was wonderfully clear in the rising wind. A wonderful day for a boat ride!
Nearing Santa Barbara the berthing situation changed as someone large took the last large slip. There was room for Hoot and Buoy Toy and after having been under way for some 13 hours or so, they went in. Carmen made arrangements at the Channel Islands Harbor (Oxnard) some 3 hours further on and settled down for the night run. We made fast at 2205, had a bowl of soup and crashed.
On Thursday Hoot and Buoy Toy made an 0700 start for Two Harbors while Carmen decided that a rest day was in order. Fortunately there is a West Marine within walking distance as our TV antenna had crashed to the boat deck (a trip it did not survive) as a result of the ratchet mount coming apart. The mount was reassembled and a new antenna put on top. This was the only casualty on Carmen for this trip.
Friday at 0745 we cleared the Channel Islands Harbor Masters office and arrived at Two Harbors at 1530, picking up the assigned buoy. The Santa Barbara Channel has so far proved to be rougher than the open Pacific, so much for my predictions of calm water.
On Friday evening there was a beach welcome party where we met with the Southern California Nordic Tugs group folks. A wonderful and very welcoming group of people. After the beach thing we, the Northern group, went off to dinner – we tend to do this daily.
Saturday early afternoon saw the ‘scavenger hunt’ affair that was won by Buoy Toy – congrats to Linda and Suzanne. This was a major victory as the winners of the scavenger hunt had the first choice from the prize table. The evening party was dinner catered on the beach and a very fine spread it was too. There was a nautical trivia contest that had a rogue geography question thrown in that all of the contestants had to guess at; only one guesser was successful, sadly it was not me. It was a great evening and we all went back to our respective boats well fed, watered and entertained.
Sunday saw the Northern group break up, with Hoot heading to family at Redondo Beach and Buoy Toy and Carmen heading to Avalon. Sunday and Monday were great sightseeing, shopping and eating days. On Tuesday Buoy Toy sadly had to leave for other commitments and the trip back north, our thoughts go with them.
Carmen will remain here until Saturday when we will head to Ventura for a few days, after which …. Well who knows.

North to the Bay Area – Spring 08

2008-08-25T22:02:00.000-07:00

A quick visit back to our land base and we were back at Ensenada readying for the northbound trip up the coast. To exactly where will be quite apparent when we turn back south!
We needed to go to San Diego to get our Inverter/Charger fixed. So we prepared for the trip by getting water, food, supplies etc. Numerous weather checks and then we set out on May 1st. Surprise – the sea conditions at Ensenada do not really resemble those of San Diego a mere 65 odd miles north. In fact they were quite different, 5-7’ NW swells quite close, or as I recall it 6’-8’ swells. Anyway the net result was that after about an hour and a half a check one of the gauges showed a problem. The skippers face had gone from pink to pale to near green! Well I never claimed to be immune. A hasty conference decided that the prudent course of action was back to where we started. This accomplished, we entered recovery mode.
More checks of the weather showed that May 3rd was a better bet and so prepared with the chewable stuff one hour before departure we set out for San Diego. We had arranged for a berth at Cabrillo Isle Marina. This time the sea conditions were better and the trip was uneventful. We arrived in San Diego to discover that this being a Saturday and it being Fleet week and the air races being on had turned the San Diego approaches and channel into a complete frenzy of sailboats under sail, sailboats under power, power boats drifting, power boats under power, seadoos, sailboards etc. etc. We wove our way around all of this to find the customs dock and then to find out that we were the first Canadian boat that this crew of CBP officers had seen and so there was some confusion as to what papers we needed. After all this fun we settled in at our berth.
Next day (Sunday) we pottered around the marina and did a little exploring. Monday saw us walking into town to sort out the cruising permit, found some lunch and back to the boat to meet the most inverter knowledgeable person I have ever met. Pulled out the inverter and sent it away to be “bench tested”.
Next day (Tuesday) we rented a car and did some major shopping to restock the larder in preparation for the trip north. The inverter returned with a new control board and we reinstalled it and then I was treated (literally) to a great hands on lecture about the Link 1000. Wednesday saw us finalizing our plan for the trip and the boat made ready. Thursday we headed out and set course for Avalon, Santa Catalina Island. After some 85 nautical miles we entered the outer bay and were met by the Harbor Patrol who promptly collected the fee and allocated us to a mooring buoy. I was really glad of my close quarters handling skills as the route we chose to get to that buoy squeezed through some very narrow passages between boats. We figured out how to pick up the mooring, with the Harbor Patrol standing by, and made fast.
What a fantastic place, pretty, calm, quiet. You just get overloaded by jet noise in San Diego when you are sandwiched between the commercial airport to starboard and the naval air base to port. Of course that only left the space directly overhead for the Coast Guard helicopters!
So what a change, we relaxed and as we had not yet launched our tender (fancy yachty term for dinghy) we dined aboard. Next day was launch day for the tender. I of course knew that this was going to be fun as the motor had not been run since October. I was not disappointed when after a very smooth injection to the water, the motor would not respond to a very low battery and old fuel.
We were located quite close to the fuel dock and I thought I could paddle the tender over there, so that would solve one of the issues. However they could not offer a jump start. So we called up Vessel Assist – who we could see about 185yds away – and they agreed to take me to the dock for fresh gas and then jump start the motor. That unlimited card turned out to be useful. After lunch we executed the plan and soon had all systems running.
We decided that Avalon was worth a longer stay not least because Pt Conception was clearly not passable in the current weather scene. Anything from 8 – 12ft short steep seas. This being readily confirmed by the lack of a berth in Santa Barbara, things were backing up as folks waited for Mother Nature to ease off a bit. Another Avalon charm being that at this time of year if you pay for four nights, then the next three are free! After San Diego this was a treat indeed.
We spent a great week exploring and just relaxing prior to seeing the next weather window come along. Thursday a week after we arrived saw us cast off and make way for Santa Barbara as the closest real harbor to the two Points. The sea state was quite calm. Unfortunately there was no room in Santa Barbara when we set out and still none when we arrived, that left us with the option of continuing through the night, or staying in the rather exposed anchorage or going back to Ventura or Channel Islands Harbor. Going back meant we would probably miss the window. Going on was not advisable as the seas were moderating overnight and an early arrival would be rougher, as well as neither of us having prepared for a two day run.
So we stayed and unfortunately the skipper showed poor effort when it came to laying a second anchor to hold the bow to the swell. So downright uncomfortable was the result. Mea culpa. Next morning there was little to persuade us to hang around and we soon weighed anchor (a trivia prize for all those who know the origins of that phrase) and set out for Morro Bay.
Some patchy fog with some confused, but small seas in places was the order of the day. After Pts Conception and Arguello the sea pattern was regular longish swells of four to six feet from the WNW with a NW wind of 10-15kts. OK Stuff. We cruised into Morro Bay and were referred to the Morro Bay Sailing Club by the Harbour Patrol. It was the cocktail hour and so there were multiple hands to assist us in rafting alongside and making fast. Formalities dealt with we went ashore for an ‘explore’ and dinner. Found a wonderful place called Shawns up on Main Street. Highly recommended.
Early next morning we slipped our moorings and made our way to sea, a little rougher today with a bit more wind wave build over the same swell. Monterey bound and very happy. All went swimmingly (if that is a permitted sailing/cruising term) until we were about four to five miles south of Big Sur. We were standing off the coast about three miles. First the fog and then all hell broke loose. Big Sur was in a surly mood. Very confused seas, steep up to 10-12ft I guess, as when I was sitting in the pilothouse they were way (yes way) above me, to the point that I couldn’t see up to the crests. Two or more different directions, up to 35 knots of wind, but not much in the way of breakers. Very very uncomfortable. It occurred to me after about an hour that when we reached Monterey I should call Jerry Husted and congratulate him on building a fine boat. But he knows that already.
We made it through and turned in towards Monterey with very occasional breaks in the fog. This meant that we could sometimes see the breakers, but not the buoys until we passed them close aboard.
Upon entering Monterey the sun was shining, the fog bank behind us and all right in the world. We relaxed and yes, went out to dinner. The weather forecasts indicated that we would be in Monterey for at least three days if not four before it calmed down out there. So needless to say our plans were changed for us by the wondrous Mother Nature as she provided a small one day window before some really ugly storm was set in motion. So we took the window and with less fuel aboard than we would have liked, set course for Half Moon Bay and Pillar Point.
On our journey north we had had the joy of seeing much more sea life. Pods of sleeping pilot whales and grey whales were very evident. Leaving Monterey very early we saw a grey whale not more than 30 feet directly in front of the boat. He/she wasn’t concerned so we stopped and it held its course for a few minutes before diving. Glad one of us was awake and on watch. The real highlight though is the dolphins. You see them out of the corner of your eye streaking through the water at great speed on their way to play in the bow and stern wave. They are amazing. Of course if you go to the bow and watch them you will see that they turn and look up for you. There is something really special about this communion.
After fuelling up we set course for Sea Buoy 4 in the San Francisco channel. A few miles up the coast we saw the Coast Guard standing off of Pt San Pedro, boarding a fishing vessel. Shortly after passing we saw their RHIB coming up fast and made ready for short term guests. They asked, came aboard, liked the Nordic and left. We continued up to our waypoint and then headed into the Bay and across to Alameda. Upon arrival we inspected the offered berth, decided it wasn’t to our taste and our friends on F dock invited us into our old slip, so we took it. Turns out that was the longer term intent of the Marina, so all was well. Made fast and settled in. More fun to come as they say.

Mexico - March 08

2008-05-11T11:27:00.000-07:00

After we had everything settled and we were berthed in Marina Coral we began our Mexican adventure, for the first time. We had been told at the check in that we needed to be back at 0900 to arrange for our papers. These are the arrival papers to be sorted with the Port Capitaine in Ensenada. Well we were late in getting up and so we arrived at the desk at about 0935. Aha Mexico did not change clocks with the USA and so we (as islanders) were astounded to see we were 25 minutes early!

Pedro took our details, keyed into a PC for a while and at exactly 0900 led us out to the car. He assured us that he would take care of everything; and what exactly was it that we declaring? No problems there and with the strict admonition to do exactly as told in the “office” he said all would be OK and that he would speed it up as much as possible.

Upon arrival at the Service Center (all of the relevant offices are represented in one building at Ensenada) we were “parked” in the corner at the bank counter and Pedro started filling in forms. It was a blur as he darted here and there with different forms, went behind most of the counters to talk personally with the officials and stopped back at us occasionally to request we pay the bank officer some money.

Not much money and a little while later we had all our paperwork and were ushered out of the building. On the way to town he had stated that at the end we would face what looked like a traffic light on the way to the exit. Push the button and if it went red then we had to talk to the officials, if green then depart. However we evidently looked “ok” as we were not even required to perform the button pushing ceremony.

So that was our introduction to Mexico, kinda fun. Lunch at the hotel restaurant and then back to the boat for a siesta.

Marina Coral is very nice but there is a strange sense of suspense. Everything seems to be ready except that there are no people. It turns out that most all of the boats are new or new to their current owners and have been brought here to wait out the California sales tax. This group, sometimes called the 90 day club, stems from the fact that if a California resident takes delivery out of state and then keeps the boat out of California for 90 days then there is no sales tax payable. Makes for a weird marina only populated by security guards, boat maintenance and cleaning crews. The Hotel itself is very nice.
We began a week long process of unwinding after the previous six months. After the first week we began to surface and see what was around us, a very lovely place.
Warm to the point of hot during the days and cool to the point of loving the hydronic heat at night. Yes we really really love hydronic heat. Lots of Palm trees, Oh and brownish red dirt - more on that later.

Our trips into Ensenada were somewhat regular based on our milk consumption. It seems the ruling commodity for Carmen is not diesel or water, it is milk. Fortunately the teas supply was adequate. We went where the taxis takes you to a small “supermarket” just off of the tourist strip in downtown Ensenada. Ensenada is a cruise ship stop and boy when they are in town it is a good time to be elsewhere.

One day as we went into town we noticed a funny looking logo on a very small cruise ship in the harbour. Seemed odd but it wasn't in the cruiseport either. Closer examination revealed that it had Vancouver 2010 in BIG script all down one side. Then we recognized it as one of the new BC Super Cs on its way north to BC. It had stopped in Ensenada for a few days.

Feeling yet more relaxed we decided it was time to visit the real Mexico, Costco and Wal-Mart etc! We rented a car from a place that had Hertz signs and forms and all that. The cars were discards from rent-a-wreck though. The first one had no insignia, a Chrysler steering wheel but Hyundai windows. Steered better going backwards – had over 86000km on the odometer. I do not know which parts had done the 86000km, but the others had gone further! To add insult to injury the engine check light was on, so we changed that for Nissan of indeterminate age with 65000km on the odometer. It ran better. Of course the small incident with the Ensenada police officer had no bearing on the situation. We found that Ensenada has a population of over 170,000 and yes it has much bigger and better stores. Prices are much less than those in California (unless you count rental cars). Mostly you can find the stuff you are used to but there is a lot of stuff that we did not yet understand the labels.

We went for a drive south into the mountains and over to see La Bufadora, a waterspout caused by a deep sea cavern and the ever present pacific swells. Needless to say the day we went was too calm and there was no action other than the countless local selling everything that you do not want. One day we went further south into the mountains and decided that Mexico is a series on large population centres connected by black top roads with everything else off road, literally. They don’t grade them or gravel them or oil them or anything them, traffic does all maintenance.

Not good for our little car so we passed up our visit to the missions and settled for a visit to a gringo retirement community built around a golf course. Very nice and not very expensive.

Gas is “prixe fixe” at about $0.51 per litre and yes (oh yes) diesel works out to $2.33 per gallon. We are converting all tanks to fuel! The water was clean and after the in-boat filtration it was perfectly drinkable. Maybe a watermaker would be a nice feature.

The weather calmed and we wanted to get out for a day or so and after consulting with the various guide books and planning charts it looked like there was a decent (in NW winds) anchorage at Ilse Todos Santos about 8 miles west of Ensenada. There are three protected covers, the central one being occupied by a fish farm. So out we went only to discover that the swell was twice that predicted but still not too bad. At Isle Todos Santos we found that the aquaculture or fish farm had expanded from one cove to all three. There was a little space in the south cove but by the time we squeezed into the available space we were so close to shore that the stink (of bird dodo) was quite objectionable.

So we left, cruised by the north cove which was totally full (two boats) and so decided that we would visit La Bufadora by sea and then probably go back to Marina Coral as the next good anchorage was some 90 miles away and it was 1500. La Bufadora was performing so we did get to see the water spout and most impressive it was.

Back at the marina I decided we would pretend that we were at anchor for electrical purposes and so we stayed on the house bank. This was fine until about noon the next day when I decided to plug us in. Well the problem was that the cooling fan on the inverter/charger was not functioning so the charger would overheat and shut down till it had cooled. The house bank recharge took about 12 hours to achieve. Repairs arranged for San Diego! To be continued.

Out of the Gate and turn left!

2008-03-24T20:59:00.000-07:00

So the day, long planned, finally arrived. We were off south to Mexico. Our crew, Captain John Curry had joined us aboard the evening before and the alarm went off at 0430. Man that was not cool. Up and ready, last minute checks and preparation on the bridge, instrument and computer lighting lowered to the point where when the dawn began to loom we cast off and made our way out of the marina and set course for the Bay Bridge. It was 0600, calm and cool.

By 0720 we were passing under the Golden Gate and running out to the west in preparation for the turn to port – heading for either Santa Cruz or Monterey. Some wind waves 2-4ft and some swells 6-8ft. Not bad for the great pacific in the winter but new to us on Carmen. Difficult to take pictures because you do NEED to keep one hand for the boat or you get some bruises (yes – okay - I relearned that lesson this day).

Revolutions for 10kts, not so economical but taking advantage of the weather is a must in March on this coast.

We made good progress, no seasickness and decided to push to Monterey where we arrived at 1600. Tired, so after checking in and dinner on Fisherman's wharf followed by some minor shakedown maintenance we retired early in preparation for another early start the next day.

Day 2 and again an 0600 cast off, bound for Morro Bay some 10 hours away. This day we were able to put the swell further aft which made it a bit more comfortable. Carmen like all boats will roll some in a beam sea but the hull design prevents a sustained roll and pops the boat back towards the vertical. Sometimes a bit too swiftly but on the whole not too bad at all. So at 1640 we tied up at the fuel dock, greeted by a very large sea lion who looks for handouts – or anything else he can reach!

Apres diesel we went in search of a space for the night. After a long discussion with the harbor patrol and the coast guard – the harbour patrol is an idea that Ganges could use - they keep order by knowing all of the mooring spaces and direct you to a place. We were eventually directed to the Morro Bay Yacht Club which we has already passed by as there was only rafting space. All the other places where already rafted three deep!

So we headed back to the club and put our crew ashore to negotiate a space. He was not able to persuade an older Catalina 30 to move so we had to raft outside of it. One of the members commented that the new clubhouse had arrived! This is after all mainly a sail club. After some consternation on the part of some members who were living aboard their boats on the club dock – strictly against the posted rules (do you detect a note of cynicism here) we made fast on the outside of the Catalina and between two larger sailboats. I guess you could call it a six pack. Went to dinner, planned the next day's run (Pt Conception) and retired.

Day 3 an even earlier start, the plan being to pass Pt Arguello and Pt Conception before the afternoon winds pick up. And they are six hours away from here. So at 0544 we cast off from our raft and headed out to sea. Jane remembers the lovely sunrise and sea otters enjoying an early breakfast. These early starts are not a great deal of fun as the excitement of getting underway wears off by 0730 when you look at the clock only to discover yes - it's 0730 and man are you tired!

Putting the swells a little further aft made the ride yet better and we made good progress towards the dreaded duo (Arguello and Conception). At between 1130 and 1200 we passed by about 5 miles off. No biggy this time. Turned towards the SE into the Santa Barbara channel and it felt good. At 1625 we were at the Santa Barbara sea buoy and made our entrance into what I can only describe as a magical harbour. Palm trees, folks walking and jogging. Man this is good.

A visit to the fuel dock and then off to our slip. A quick wash down (the daily ritual with the notable exception of Morro Bay), water the ship and off to dinner (yet again – it seems to be daily occurrence!). Past the biggest private sailing yacht I have ever seen - Lit up like a Christmas tree with upward pointing lights at all the spreaders (six or so) and aircraft warning lights on the tops of its two masts! Underwater lights for effect. Some 200+' and really really shiny.

Dinner was great fun and we took a walk around the harbour to celebrate out rounding of the duo and entry to calmer waters. Tomorrow we put in at Marina Del Rey to drop John off for the airport. An interesting item to note is that Yacht clubs will provide transient moorage if at all possible, to yacht club members, any yacht club. So for the purposes of Carmen's travels SSISC is a yacht club!

Day 4 and a more civilized start at 0800. Today we are bound for Marina Del Rey and it is a fairly simple run across. Dolphins and whales entertained us on this leg. A school of dolphins chose to break away from a feeding fest to swim with us, what a sight, five or six dolphins effortlessly keeping pace. At 1550 we were at the Marina Del Rey breakwater after admiring the undersides of all the jetplanes taking off from LAX and passing over us. Located the Pacific Mariners Yacht Club who were expecting us and made fast at 1620. Many helpful hands from the club, they had a prime space open for us. “Sparky” and the guys made us very welcome. John left for the airport and we went out for dinner to celebrate.

Day 5 and an 0650 engine start, cast off from Pacific Mariners at 0710 and headed out to sea with the intention of putting in at Mission Bay. The idea being that it is further to go all the way into San Deigo and then come back out in the morning if we do not have a need to. We located a berth at Mariners Village Marina in Mission Bay thanks to Gerry who coordinated our arrival from his home 30 miles away by cellphone. Berths are scarce here. Dinner and rest.

Day 6 and the final start at 1000 to head south of the USA / Mexico border. We passed by the Coast Guard and naval ships conducting exercises off of San Diego at the border and headed south to Ensenada. Not much to observe except for the magnificent coast, more like Northern California. 1730 we made fast at Marina Coral at Ensenada. There was a spring forward time change somewhere but it doesn't apply here until April. Very confusing. Due to a tranformer making an unholy buzz we moved to D dock straight off. Up to the Hotel for food and then sleep as we are both exhausted from the last six months. Now we can relax.
31 51.31 51.754 N 116 39.731 W
Days 6; Hours 55; Miles 538; Avg 9.87kts

Petaluma 08

2008-03-19T09:17:00.000-07:00

New Years 08 was a different experience for us both. We decided to join a like minded group of tuggers and cruise from our current location in the San Francisco Bay at Alameda to the very pretty town of Petaluma which is up the Petaluma river on the north side of the "bay".
The event was a "join us if you like" deal put on by Irwin “Scotty” Scott and he was astounded to discover that 11 Nordic Tugs responded. That caused some frantic organization work for bridge openings, restaurant reservations et al.
So at 0800 on December 30th we headed out into the bay and turned north for the Bay Bridge whereabouts we would rendezvous with another couple of tugs heading to Petaluma. Bright sunshine and low winds were the order of the day, making for a really great run.
With some caution we entered the outer markers for the river, out about 2nm just daymarkers to be seen, 12' under the keel and not much to Port or Starboard. RILEY in front seemed confident although CARMEN's skipper considered this to be prime anchoring space. Further in we went (getting shallower) past more daymarkers until we found the actual river entry. Same depths but significantly narrower, past an open railway swingbridge, under the highway (101) and on to the town.
The lift bridge at D Street opened on time and we entered the Petaluma Turning Basin. After a brief skippers conference Jim took the lead in organising the "stern tie". Now I have done stern ties in Georgian Bay, in Greece and once in BC, but his one was news to me. It only works in calm non tidal water as you actually hold the stern perpendicular to the dock with a long midships lines. For CARMEN we had no-one to our port as this is the gangway to the street and Jeanne Marie III to our starboard. So we only had one long line, which was not long enough but Jim performed a double sheetbend on the fly and voila! we were secure.
The other 8 boats came in later by which time most of us were up at the market. Dinner that first evening consisted of a planned pot luck served on the dock along with a lot of socializing. Breakfast the next morning was BBBB or Bud's Boiled Bag Breakfast. Superb it was, although there was ice on the decks! Low seventies in the PM, low thirties at dawn.
New Years eve was celebrated by all of us at Semolina a really great restaurant in Petaluma. A wonderful time was had by all. The new years eve was celebrated at NY time so most everyone was curled up by 11pm.
The group made our farewells and we all returned to our respective ports around the bay over the next couple of days. CARMEN lingered as long as possible but let go moorings on Wednesday Jan 2nd 0900. The return was a little different in as much as a south easterly at 25kts was kicking the shallow bay up a bit, no fuss just exercise the windshield wipers. En route we turned to the West and poked our nose out under the gate into the Pacific, little wind action but some long period swells, all good fun.
CARMEN returned to her slip after a call at the pump out station (all free here) and we relaxed and started planning the next chapter, Mexico.

The beginning

2008-03-15T10:18:00.000-07:00

Every story needs a beginning. This is it. The idea for this adventure was formed one spring on Salt Spring Island when after some interesting soul searching, both Jane and I decided that long range cruising would be a "good idea".
Simply put this lifestyle satifies enough of our desires to keep us both interested. Not to bore the reader with all the analysis but we are not homebodies, require change often and both love boats. So be it.
We decided to sell our Nordic 32 (Bluebird) and look for either a Nordic 37 or a Nordic 42. The 37 suited Jane's budget more but the 42 suited our space requirements. We looked at a couple of used 37's and a couple of used 42's. Space wise no contest, budget wise – not a lot of difference. If you cannot afford one then you cannot afford the other. I am now over 60 and have decided that money is not that useful on the other side of the turf. Jane is somewhat more conservative.
None of these vessels seemed to meet the somewhat odd requirements list that we had developed. We wanted a true all climate cruising vessel. That means Air for the hot parts, Heat for the cold parts, a Generator to run the Air, a Dinghy and Davit as well as ground tackle to hold the Queen Mary. Electronics to include AIS and Sirius weather and two independent computer navigation systems . A liferaft for big water use (just in case, no use having insurance if you are not around to make a claim) and enough water filtration to keep us healthy.
This list when analyzed is better satisfied by taking what Nordic calls an “all climate” model and “making it so”. Having air and an appropriately sized generator makes a better start to add hydronic heat to than the other way round. The downside of finding a little used dock to dock boat is that it has no dinghy and davit and just enough ground tackle to hold it in the marina on a calm day. The upside is that you get to choose the dinghy, davit and ground tackle. It's only money after all.
The surveys discovered some items of poor dealer installation and minimal maintenance. The sad truth is that you are either using your boat a lot and looking after stuff as it comes up, or you are deferring the evil that starts to lurk. Needless to say we knew we would be into the deferred category. Of course it just turned out to be bigger than planned.
The purchase was negotiated and the work commenced, and about six months later (don't ask!!) we were ready to shake it all down. So while it all took too long (did I point out that this took way too long) and cost more than planned, we did meet some fine folk, learn a lot of things that I don't really think I wanted and became a mite too stressed out. Fortunately we took a short cruise to Petaluma that relieved some of the stress. See – Petaluma 08.
Now for the Oscars...
We extend our thanks to the San Francisco Bay Nordic Tugs Owners Association (SFBANTA), of which we are proud roving members, for all their help and encouragement. Thanks folks.
Also we extend our thanks to Frank, Dave and everyone at Ballena Bay Yacht Brokers, Trinity and Sara at Ballena Isle Marina, Paul Klaer, Herman and Clay of Marine Maintenance Systems, Chris and the guys at Svendsens metalworks, the guys at Svendsens yard, Matt Carver of Carver Marine Services, Marilee at Waypoint, Sal at Sal's Inflateables.
Wayne and Linda Ferris deserve some sort of medal for mental health work as they kept us sane towards the end. (Note My definition of sanity).
This whole project could not have been done without the support of the Ballena Bay Cafe and Deli who make the very best BLT's and Burgers that I know of. No kidding.
Carmen now being ready to cruise, it was our job to hire an experienced crew and so Captain John Curry of Alameda was engaged, and to prepare for the voyage to Ensenada Mexico. See - Out the gate and turn left!