May 24, Finishing prep for haul out. San Carlos, Mexico.

It was a calm and glassy morning when I awoke early to get a couple of workers at 7am on the docks to help with some of the exterior clean up of the boat.  Jimmy, originally from Africa, and Ismael, a local, came out early to wash, polish and wax the entire boat from the water line up including the all of the fiberglass and stainless.  Both very good men and hard workers, they have been going at it since early this morning and most likely will finish mid day tomorrow.  The boat looks so good.  I wish I had the drive to keep it like this all the time. haha.

While they did the polish and wax work I went about my chores organizing and decommisioning the boat.  A few items on the list today were diving the bottom to knock off any barnacles and clean away any moss growth.  Having new bottom paint is awesome as it only took me about a half hour in the water to do the entire job.  We also vacuumed the inside, cleaned the throw rugs and finished cleaning the heads. On the outside I was busy taking down the reacher including the blocks and sheets, removing any halyards, furling lines and other running gear that can be removed and storing it below to keep it away from the damaging effects of the sun over the summer months while it is on dry dock.  The main engine was checked over and raw water strainer cleaned.  Cushions were measured for future covers to be made while we are home over the summer as well as removal of electrical equipment in the cockpit like the radar, backup GPS, remote for the auto pilot and a few other things.  This is probably all a bore to most of you but I thought some of the cruiser wanna bees out there might be interested in at least a little detail of some of what is done to prepare for the summer on the dry.

Tallen got his third shot today and is definitely feeling a little better.  This afternoon he is off on the paddleboard with his backpack and shoes so he can go for a short run. Part of his Mammoth training. lol.  

Oh, a note on the dinner last night...we had 6 lobsters to consume between Tallen and I along with some steak and potatoes.  We couldn't finish all of the lobster so there is still one left in the fridge.  How much do you love having "too much lobster"?  I'm smiling and laughing right now because that is pretty freaking awesome and I'm definitely going to miss that over the next 4 months.  That will wrap it up for today I suppose.  Ciao for now.

Bret and Tallen
SV Liahona

May 23, Haul out chores...

In Bahia San Carlos just taking care of the multitude of chores that have to be done before the boat gets put away.  This morning I was at the fuel dock bright and early top off the tanks and wash the boat with fresh water.  I spent about an hour and a half with the hose washing everything from the hull to the decks and all the way up to the top of the sails.  The sails can get a little tricky as you have the entire sail unfurled while you are tied to the dock and it can get a little dicey if the wind comes up.  This morning it was pretty calm so all went well.

Other chores included taking cushions to my upholstery guy for a few adjustments, getting polish and wax for the decks and stainless, getting a new bolt for the bottom of the main sheet block (one that broke about a month ago and I had it jury rigged until now), washing and hanging to dry all of the lines and sheets, putting away all of the fishing and snorkeling gear, washing all of the towels on board, going through groceries to find out what stays and what goes and probably a few other items that I forgot.  It was a fairly busy day and now we are settling in for a good dinner.  Tallen is making some fresh guacamole and then tonight we are going to finish up the 6 lobsters that we have in the fridge.  Put that with some steak and potatoes and it won't suck. ha.  

That's about it for today my friends. My time here is short and although it is going to be great to see family and friends I'm definitely going to be a little sad leaving her behind and on dry dock for the next 4 months.  Ciao for now.

Bret and Tallen
SV Liahona

May 22, Affordable health care...

Not much to report today other than some in town errands and Tallen's health situation.  First thing this morning I took Tallen to see a doctor. The back of his throat looked terrible this morning, red, swollen and with white-ish looking sores.  Not good. He was in a lot of pain this morning.  Anyway, we went first to a pharmacy to see if they could help or recommend something. The girl at the desk said that I could see the doctor just next door.  I asked how much that would be and she said that his consultation fee is 50 pesos, about $3.50.  Hmmm....ok, I can afford that. lol.  Next door we went and met with the doctor immediately.  Upon examination he said that Tallen has a VERY BAD infection and recommended a shot once a day for 3 days and then some other meds.  Bueno.  I took the prescription next door to the pharmacy to get the needed meds, including the syringes and stuff for that, then back next door to Doc Victor.  Tallen got to show his derrier to Vic and after dropping trowel he got stuck with a needle in the keister, which he didn't like very much. lol. After we were done I asked what I owed him.  His reply was "whatever you like".  And then my reply..."no, like what is the fee"?  "Whatever you feel is fair", came the reply again.  So 50 pesos it was.  Pretty affordable medical care I would say.  He said he is just there to help wherever he can especially with people that can't afford it.  He retired from regular practice a few years ago and just wants to help.  My kind of guy! So with shots, oral meds and the doctor's fee it all came to about $8 bucks. Hell ya!  haha.  As for Tallen, he is already much better this afternoon and says his throat is still sore but WAY better than this morning.

That is it for today.  A few chores and an experience with medical care south of the border style...the way it should be. ha.  Ciao for now.

Bret and Tallen
SV Liahona

May 21, Crossing to San Carlos

I think this post is going to be a little short.  I got up this morning at 2:45am, anchor up at 3am and on the way to San Carlos.  My weather selection for crossing is definitely in need of some help.  This crossing wasn't horrendous but it was a windy romp across the Sea of Cortez in some very confused seas making the ride very uncomfortable.  It was a fast crossing with 15-20+ knots of wind the whole way.  All tallied up I think it cost me and Tallen about $6.00 in diesel for the entire trip as I only ran the motor a little in the dark, wee hours of the morning for about an hour and a half.  The rest of the crossing we averaged over 6 knots and that was with double reefed sails for most of the day.  After about 4 hours or so of sustained winds above 15 knots the seas tend to build and get pretty nasty, especially in the Sea of Cortez. Fortunately the seas were following us which was uncomfortable buy WAY better than beating into them.  About mid way we had a huge pod of dolphins surfing in our bow wave for over a half hour.  The seas were big enough that the dolphins would leave the bow wave, run off and catch a big swell or two, usually 2 or 4 abreast, then swim back over and hang out with us for a while.

The crossing wound up taking 12 hours exactly.  Very fast.  We arrived here in Bahia San Carlos at 3pm and we were happy to pull into the protection of the bay and anchor in smooth water.  We went into town to grab a bite to eat and now we are back at the boat and most likely going to crash early.  I'm totally beat.  Getting up early paired with untold sail changes to adjust for the varying winds and generally taking care of the boat on a rough passage definitely got to me.  I'm out!  

Bret and Tallen
SV Liahona

May 20, Isla San Marcos

Typical Baja Sunrise

Today has been a VERY easy going day with not a whole lot going on.  Tallen has had a very sore throat for several days now and it seems to be getting worse.  I have had him gargeling with salt water and taking throat lozengers as well as some Throat Cote hot tea but it doesn't seem to be making much difference.  I emailed Marne's mom Catherine, who is a nurse, and asked about antibiotics and so we have started him on some Cipro and I am hoping that it will start to make a difference soon.  I feel bad for him.

Around 10am he thought it would be good to get some fresh air so we took a dinghy ride around to the north side of the island.  I am not sure why but the water is very green and murky right now as well as a little chilly, around 65 degrees.  If the water held it's normal clarity the north end of this island would have absolutely amazing diving, both free diving and SCUBA.  SCUBA would be off the charts as the waters are littered with large vertical volcanic rock pinnacles that almost reach the surface and go down at least 40-60' with outcroppings and overhangs which would make it an underwater paradise.  As it is today, the visibility is less than 15' so we just drove on by wondering what amazing landscapes lie below the surface.  

On the way back we stopped at the ol' Honey Hole and took a spin through.  Upon entering the cave I saw my large moray eel friend wandering about near the entrance but he payed me no attention so I swam on by and went inside.  I saw several bugs, maybe 10 or 11, but they were all smaller ones so I let them be.  It looks like I must have harvested most of the larger ones over the last couple of days.  I am very curious to know the growth, birth and mortality rate of lobsters.  How long does it take for them to grow to a certain size?  Something I will have to Google when I get home.

This afternoon found Tallen napping and me reading along with slowly putting things away and securing the boat for the possible passage tomorrow.  Winds are supposed to be 9-14 knots out of the southeast tomorrow and if that is true it should make for a good passage.  If the winds are too strong, which make for uncomfortable seas, or coming too much on the nose I will probably turn around and go another day.  The passage should not be long as it is only about 75 miles which should take between 12 to 16 hours depending on our speed.  I want to tackle as much of it as I can in daylight so the plan is to leave between 3-4am having only a few hours of darkness before spending the rest of the day getting across.  We are not sure if we are going to go directly to San Carlos or up to Bahia San Pedro for a day or two.  That decision will come once we see which way the winds are blowing.  Our haulout day is May 25 at 4pm so we have a few days to play with.

This afternoon while Tallen was napping I went up top to arrange a few things.  While I was up there I heard a very loud blow hole spew and looked out the the west to see a huge whale just 75 yards from the boat.  I rudely awoke Tallen, grabbed the GoPro and headed out in the dinghy.  There were actually two of them and they were casually making their way through the anchorage and going north.  At one point one surfaced no more than 15' beside the dinghy exposing his massiveness.  Easily 40' long but gracefully moving through the water.  I don't know what kind of whale it was but it was very dark, almost black and very big.  We saw them 3 or 4 more times then lost track of them as they traveled long distances between breaths.  As we were heading back to the boat we saw one of them surface again about a half mile out.  It was shaping up to be a very ordinary day until the unordinary happened. Which is more ordinary than not. That is the unordinary happening just when you think its only ordinary.  Are you confused?  I think I am. lol.  

Long story short, I am constantly left in awe at the raw beauty of the Sea of Cortez.  I am always grateful for the life here on the sea and even though my circumstances may be somewhat unique or outside of the norm, wonders abound wherever you are. Put your cell phone down, turn off the TV and get off the couch.  It is out there waiting for you to be part of it.  Get some.

Bret and Tallen
SV Liahona