Log of the Emily B

Cruising Days 9-10

Had a nice cruise yesterday 24 miles to Isla Coranados, with its beautiful white crescent beach and lovely turquoise waters. Wind came up from NE but we were sheltered in the island's cove. Now underway headed for my favorite spot- San Juanico, where it should be nice for the next few days, while wind is forecast to come from the north. Smooth seas and no fish (yet), but having wonderful, relaxing time. Says D, "All is well onboard Emily B!"

Days 7-8

We are still anchored in Los Candeleros in front of the glitzy resort hotel. We dinghied in last evening for dinner in the palapa style bar and then took a tour of the premises. The pool area was full of other cruisers in various states of
Inebriation after enjoying the happy hour there. We had 30+ knot westerlies last night until daybreak. There are now 20 boats anchored here, a popular spot in the SE winds we have been having during the days.

Cruising Days 5-6

We had a great time at Isla Santa Catalina. There were lots of birds- Heerman's gulls, boobies, pelicans- and beautiful rock formations. At sunset we dinghied out to watch the solar eclipse- Dean devised a pinhole contraption so that we wouldn't look directly at the sun. Peaceful night at anchor and the next morning we went fishing (not catching :( ) in the dinghy along the western shore. Two Mexican fishing pangas came in around noon with some sort of catch which they proceeded to butcher on the beach by the fishing camp there.

Around 3pm the SW breeze started so we decided to move on to Yellowstone Beach, on the north end of Isla Monserat. However, there were still swells coming from the north so we diverted to the S. end of that island where we watched a beautiful sunset and afterglow of orange and pink as Venus rose in the western sky. It was a bit of a rolly night as a westerly came up from the Gigante mountains onshore. We had a quick breakfast and then motored a couple of hours to Bahia Los Candeleros,which is sheltered from the SE winds that were predicted for today. They came in full force, over 20 kts, but we are snug here. There is a large resort hotel in this bay that broadcasts wifi out to the anchored boats, so I am able to catch up with emails and make this post. Not sure if the connection is strong enough for photos, but I'll try.

Cruising Days 3-4

We stayed an extra day at Rincon watching the myriad rays belly-flopping on the water, rowing, relaxing. Around 5pm, 2 large power boats came in. One of them, Spirit Quest, we had met 5 yrs ago in Pto. Vallarta. Had cocktails with them, then watched sunset from dinghy. Today cruised in flat seas 38 miles to Isla Santa Catalina, ten miles off the Baja shore and rarely visited. Huge stands of organ pipe cactus surround our isolated anchorage.

Cruising Day 2

Motored 10 miles north to a small bay around the corner from Nopolo that some friends recommended. Breezy whitecaps outside but flat calm when we came around the corner. Anchored in 50 ft along some steep tall cliffs. Lazy time reading, doing chores, rowing to shore where we saw bright red and blue crabs scampering along the rocks. Position: 25deg02'N, 110deg47.48'W.

Cruising Day 1

Left LaPaz 0945 w/choppy seas 1st 3 hrs. Cruised west side Islas Partida and Espiritu Santo, seas calmed, nice ride across to San Jose Channel. Saw humpback whale blow and dive, also several manta rays jumping out of the water and flapping their wings. Now anchored north of San Evaristo village in front of the salt flats, safe from the southerly winds but nice breeze from the valley. Position: 24deg,55.3'N, 110deg,42.6'W. (look on Google Earth).

La Paz Sunset

We are back in La Paz again, but only for a short time. While here, we have managed to catch up with many of our friends, have enjoyed fine dining, walks on the malecon, Dean has played music with his buddies and I have had a couple of fantastic days at the bridge table (one more tomorrow).

There is a resident great blue heron here on the dock that I almost stumbled into one morning on my way to the bathroom. I came within two feet of it before it rose up gracefully and flew away. Also a black-crowned night heron flies by frequently, which I managed to capture on my iPhone. And an osprey seems to be making itself at home on the top of the mizzen mast of a sailboat across from us in the marina. It has been very hot with temps over 100F the past few days but we have our a/c running in the boat which keeps it quite comfortable.

 

We'll untie from the dock on Thursday, if all goes as planned, and head north for San Carlos. This is a great time of the year to be cruising in the Sea of Cortez with the water warming up enough to swim and snorkel. We also hear that there are a lot of whales out there this year and we have renewed our fishing licenses and our park passes for the islands off Loreto. We plan to spend 2-3 weeks lazily making our way through the lovely islands and anchorages between here and San Carlos. Won't have much internet along the way but will make blog posts via our satellite system and ham radio. BTW- the first tropical storm of the season has formed farther south but is not forecast to threaten us this far north. Mid-August is the time the hurricanes start coming up into the Sea of Cortez and we'll stay close enought in Tucson after that for Dean to drive to the boat if a storm threatens. In the meantime, we'll be moving around quite a lot for the next 2-3 months, so stay tuned for more of our adventures.

Brussels at night

Quick trip to Brussels was fun. Photo of centuries old town hall in main plaza Grand Place where bought chocolate and had dinner in typical Belgian restaurant (great beer!). Now at Washington Dulles between planes on way home.

April in Tucson

We were surprised one day to find flowers growing in what appeared to be an abandoned corner of our yard. The yellow ones are cat's claw, but I don't know about the pink. Things are in bloom all over Tucson and the weather has been quite extreme--39 degrees with rain and snow dusting the mountains last week, now 100 degrees outside. Our evaporative cooler is keeping it nice and pleasant inside.

Our U-boxes arrived loaded with furniture and file boxes. Dean had to repair some of the furniture that had fallen apart en route and we managed to fit it all into our house (except for an extra table).

Jacob continues to advance. He is crawling on all fours but not content with that, he is now enthralled with standing upright and holding on to the edge of his play pen.  Yes, it is true that I am besotted with the little fellow. We had a fun brunch out with Laurel, Noah, and Jacob last weekend and I was lucky to babysit with him nearly every day last week, as Noah and Laurel were celebrating their fourth wedding anniversary. Good times here in Tucson are coming to a close for now, however, as we start gearing up for our trip back to Emily B in La Paz and some cruising in the Sea of Cortez. But first, a quick trip to Brussels this week for a research meeting.

Passover Seder

Laurel and Noah have embraced their heritage and plan to raise Jacob in the Jewish tradition. We hosted a Passover Seder at our home Friday night, with all the symbolic foods, including matzo ball soup and haroseth (a mixture of apples, walnuts, wine, and honey) and readings about the flight of Jews from slavery in Egypt. (Think Charleton Heston and The Ten Commandments). The ceremony was updated to include Miriams Cup to honor women's roles.

Jacob had missed his nap, but was still game to participate in the festivities. He enjoyed playing with the matzo crackers and the rest of us enjoyed a yummy roasted chicken with vegetables. It is wonderful to live close enough to family to celebrate these important holiday traditions after being away in Mexico for the past five years.