Update from Ensenada Grande

We have finally left La Paz and are now anchored in a gorgeous spot called Ensenada Grande. The water is flat calm, the boat is anchored in about 20 feet of water and we are surrounded by beautiful red rock rising out of the sea. The water is about 77 degrees which is perfect for cooling off in the heat of the day.

We have spent one full day here and we spent it by first sleeping in mainly because we were tired. The night before was a bit restless because we had a power boat come in late at night and anchor uncomfortably close to us especially when the wind picked up at around midnight. We have an Ipad application called Anchor Watch that sounds an alarm when the GPS location of our boat moves out of an identified boundary. Well the alarm went off at about 1 am indicating that the wind had shifted causing our anchor to drag a bit and then re-set itself. As a result we were now only about 100 feet away from this power boat and the wind was still blowing around 17 to 20 knots. The anchor was holding so I re-set the boundary for 50 feet and then went back to bed but didn’t sleep much. Not much fun but all part of the adventure. In the end the anchor held and we enjoyed a great day in this beautiful spot.

After getting a late start because of sleeping in we decide to just spend most of the day lounging in the cockpit reading and relaxing. I did a little bit of work cleaning the water line and the propeller and a few barnacles that had attached themselves to the hull.

It was so nice to spend a day relaxing after all of the work that we did for the past six weeks in La Paz upgrading the boat. Here is a list of the things we accomplished while we were there.

–Installed the new water maker
–Installed a 37 gallon fuel bladder that will allow us to carry more diesel fuel and extend our motoring range without having to store jugs of fuel on the deck of the boat.
–Made new screens for the opening ports and companionway to keep the bugs out and allow the breeze to blow through.
–Installed dinghy wheels that will make it easier to haul the dinghy up the beach when exploring new beaches.
–Re-plumbed the electric and manual bilge pumps and added a secondary backup electric bilge pump.
–Added new custom swim ladder. We paid someone to do this one for us and it turned out great.
–Fixed the SSB radio that I reported earlier had smoke coming out of it when I turned it on. Turns out the remote power switch was the
culprit so the technician just bypassed it. Now it turns on immediately when we turn on the switch at the electrical panel.
–Waxed the hull above the water line.
–Applied a fresh coat of water sealant to all of our external teak.
–Installed a new bilge alarm
–Installed new cabin fans in our cabin and the forward cabin.
–Fixed the boom vang mount that broke on our way down to Cabo from Newport Beach.
–Fixed the roller furling for our yankee jib by drilling and tapping some new holes and adding new screws.
–Added new shelves in one of our hanging lockers and the battery compartment.

So as you can tell we were very busy in La Paz much like we were in San Jose.

Working every day on boat projects is definitely not what we came here for. However, there are some pluses to time spent on boat projects. Self sufficiency
o There is for me a great deal of satisfaction and peace of mind that comes with the work it takes to know your ship and all its systems
Learning opportunities
o There is always something new to learn. This then gives you the ability to help someone else later on and pass on your knowledge.
Attitude check
o The work isn’t always fun when you’re in the middle of it. There is a saying that is actually on the back of my t-shirt as I
sit here writing this (“Attitude” the difference between an Ordeal and an Adventure).

When I look at the above list of projects, it seems like we should have been able to get these things done in just a couple of weeks. I am reminded though that some of the time was spent waiting for parts to arrive and finding a custom stainless steel fabricator that could make some of the parts we needed. I should also say that we did have lots of help finding what we needed from a couple (Tom and Jeanne Brown) that run La Paz Cruisers Supply (http://www.bigleftturn.com/lapazcruiserssupply) right here in Marina Palmira. If you are a cruiser stopping in La Paz they can direct you to anything cruising related that you might need. Without their help we would have probably spent even more time trying to accomplish these projects.

Now I am very happy to say that all of the major projects are done and we are ready for some serious exploring.

La Paz wasn’t all work. We met some cool new people on the docks and we enjoyed some wonderful meals and drinks with them either on our boat or on theirs. Sometimes we had to pay the price for that fun the next day resulting from a bit too much wine or rum the night before. But it sure was fun. One couple performed for us by playing the accordion and singing. Good times.

Tom and Jeanne Brown were nice enough to share their experiences with us of the cruising areas we were planning to see as we travel north into the Sea Of Cortez. It helped us to decide on some places we definitely wanted to see and also about how long it would take to see them.

Now that I’m not so focused on working on boat projects every day I hope to be updating the blog more regularly to keep everyone more informed on the details of our adventure.

Time for another margarita.

As they say in Mexico “Vaya con dios”.

Mike