First things first. Today is my mom's 76th birthday. I literally can't say enough good things about the kind of mom and the kind of person she is. Anyone that knows her knows that she is a saint. My dad is an amazing person as well but since his accident over 30 years ago my mom has taken care of him and stuck by his side, even when things were not easy...which was most of the time. To Karla and I she is the best mom we could ever ask for. Caring, loving, kind, nurturing and ALWAYS supportive of us no matter where we were, what we doing or who we were with. She didn't care about our poor choices, bad habits or whatever, she just loved us and still does. She is truly a saint and I am so grateful to have her be my mom. If there is anything good about me, it is directly attributed to her. You can attribute the bad stuff to my dad. haha. Just kidding dad. I love you too. Best parents ever and I'm eternally grateful. Happy birthday mom and happy mother's day tomorrow too.
Now to life aboard. Today I had to drop Gregg off in Loreto so he could could catch his short, 30 hour bus ride home. Yikes, glad it is him and not me. lol. It was so awesome having Gregg aboard, truly one of the best friends in my life and someone I can always laugh with and tell anything to, no matter how long ago the last visit was. Last night we stayed up until 2am just talking, telling old stories and laughing. Good times. However, dropping him off did not go exactly as planned. The plan was to make the short 6 mile sail from Isla Coronados to Loreto, anchor off the beach, go ashore, have lunch, hang out some and then get him on the bus going the right direction...north. After dropping him off I was going to sail back out to Coronados to anchor and wait for good winds to get me up to San Juanico and the Bay of Conception, my stepping off point to cross back over the to the mainland and put the boat away at the end of this month. However, by the time we got to Loreto at around 10am the wind was blowing 20+ knots out of the north and there was 3-4' chop with whitecaps everywhere. Not exactly ideal conditions to anchor and leave the boat let alone try to launch the dinghy and put on the 135lb motor. Loreto is a "roadstead", just open beach off of town with zero protection except from the west where the beach is.
If I dropped the anchor it would be very difficult for me to even get off the anchor to leave being a single hander. It's not an easy task by yourself in heavy winds. So we revised the plan. I saw a fisherman in his panga (an open fiberglass boat about 15' long) near the breakwater entry so I grabbed my airhorn, gave it a blow and then waved him out to the boat. Gregg quickly packed the rest of his stuff while the fisherman waited in the windy, choppy conditions. Getting the panga close enough to the Liahona to make the drop was a trick and, quite frankly, the fisherman sucked at driving his own boat. The first time he approached he came in way too hot and rammed the side of the boat then with the swells bouncing hit the bottom of the dinghy hanging in my davits. I thought he might break the davits off. On that approach I took the opportunity to toss Gregg's backpack into the panga before it left it's marks on the side of the boat and drifted away. A couple more tries and he finally got close enough for Gregg to jump off the side rail into the panga. Whoa, that was sketchy. A wave goodbye and Gregg was off to fend for himself in town and hopefully get on the right bus heading north. I am sure he will be fine but I felt bad just kicking him over the side into the panga.
After the Gregg disembarking situation I then needed to get out of there to someplace that had a measure of wind and wave protection. Coronados would be good protection from the north winds and waves but it was due north, exactly where the wind and waves were coming from which meant beating into it for about 2 hours taking a pounding. Not very enticing. So I pointed the Liahona downwind toward Escondido about 15 miles to the south. The winds were blowing between 18-25 knots and the seas were building so running south, even though it is the wrong direction, seemed like the most reasonable thing to do. I only put out a double reefed genny, no mainsail and was doing over 6 knots, rolling and surfing to the safety of Escondido Bay. I got here around 2pm and the flat calm water in the protection of the bay was much appreciated and I am currently tied back up to buoy number 112. Gotta love that!
After a trip to the marina office to check in, instant message Marne and family, I am back aboard and enjoying the rest. I will wait here in Escondido until more favorable winds prevail to carry me farther north where I need to be in about 3 weeks. Ciao for now.
Bret (now back to singlehander status)
SV Liahona
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