Hola from Ensenada Mexico!
When last I updated the blog we were in Oceanside. My mother and brother were visiting us in a couple of days so we spent several hours on Tuesday scrubbing the boat down til she sparkled. Then on Wednesday we got a strong north wind that blew tons of dust and dirt from nearby Pendleton marine base over the marina. By Thursday morning Sunny looked like she hadn’t been washed in weeks, grrr!!
Thursday we had a wonderful lunch and visit with mom and Chuck. The wind had died down and the weather was very pleasant. One of the negative things about going cruising is that we’re not sure when we’ll be able to get back and see friends and family.
There was the cutest little “tug” tied up just across the fairway from us. It was only about six feet long but was like a big tug only in miniature. There was a tiny bridge, bitty steering wheel, and even a little dingy on deck. I’m not sure what they use it for, it looked like a small wake would swamp it but obviously someone spent a lot of time and thought in it. There was a guy working on it almost every day we were in Oceanside, obviously his baby.
On Friday, 10/30 we had a wonderful trip from Oceanside to San Diego. We almost got to sail part of it! Coming out of Oceanside we had 8-10 knots on our beam and we raised the main and our Genoa (large sail on the front of the boat). We thought of turning the motor off but we would only be able to make about 3-4 knots in that amount of wind and we needed to make at least 5 to be able to get into San Diego before the police dock closed. Plus we hate coming into port in the dark, even into an area we know well such as San Diego. We tried everything to “encourage” the wind to build enough, we whistled, we touched the mast, but we never saw more than 10 and after a few hours it had dropped enough that we had to bring in the sails. Oh well, it was nice while it lasted :-)
We saw several whales and were visited by a large pod of dolphins!!! They played on our bow for probably 15 minutes. It’s amazing how quick and graceful they move through the water. There were even a couple of babies swimming alongside their moms.
When last I updated the blog we were in Oceanside. My mother and brother were visiting us in a couple of days so we spent several hours on Tuesday scrubbing the boat down til she sparkled. Then on Wednesday we got a strong north wind that blew tons of dust and dirt from nearby Pendleton marine base over the marina. By Thursday morning Sunny looked like she hadn’t been washed in weeks, grrr!!
Thursday we had a wonderful lunch and visit with mom and Chuck. The wind had died down and the weather was very pleasant. One of the negative things about going cruising is that we’re not sure when we’ll be able to get back and see friends and family.
There was the cutest little “tug” tied up just across the fairway from us. It was only about six feet long but was like a big tug only in miniature. There was a tiny bridge, bitty steering wheel, and even a little dingy on deck. I’m not sure what they use it for, it looked like a small wake would swamp it but obviously someone spent a lot of time and thought in it. There was a guy working on it almost every day we were in Oceanside, obviously his baby.
On Friday, 10/30 we had a wonderful trip from Oceanside to San Diego. We almost got to sail part of it! Coming out of Oceanside we had 8-10 knots on our beam and we raised the main and our Genoa (large sail on the front of the boat). We thought of turning the motor off but we would only be able to make about 3-4 knots in that amount of wind and we needed to make at least 5 to be able to get into San Diego before the police dock closed. Plus we hate coming into port in the dark, even into an area we know well such as San Diego. We tried everything to “encourage” the wind to build enough, we whistled, we touched the mast, but we never saw more than 10 and after a few hours it had dropped enough that we had to bring in the sails. Oh well, it was nice while it lasted :-)
We saw several whales and were visited by a large pod of dolphins!!! They played on our bow for probably 15 minutes. It’s amazing how quick and graceful they move through the water. There were even a couple of babies swimming alongside their moms.
We spent five nights at the San Diego police dock. Using our folding bicycles, we did some last minute provisioning and sightseeing. I also took Ginger to the vet to get her caught up on all her vaccinations as well as get her an international health certificate. Initially I was going to have to strap the cat carrier on the back of my bicycle and ride to the vet, about three miles from the dock. While doable, it would have probably been rather traumatic for all concerned. I met a wonderful couple on the dock, Katrina and Rob, and Katrina offered to drive me to the vet. This worked out great and Ginger was only partially traumatized about being stuffed into her carrier and tortured by the vet :-) Thanks Katrina!!!
We saw a number of cruisers that we had previously met and compared tales. I look forward to meeting the same people over and over again as we head down the Pacific coast. It’s interesting that a large percentage (more than ½) of the cruisers we have been meeting are Canadian.
One day we rode our bikes in a big loop around San Diego and ended up at the marine museum. The museum has a fabulous collection of old and reproduction boats as well as two submarines you can crawl through. I’m glad we got these bikes; it’s really expanded our exploration area. Here’s the Star of India, built in 1863, she’s the museum’s flagship.
The Star is the world’s oldest active sailing ship (though not with those sails).At Tuesday, Nov 3 at midnight we left for Mexico in very dense fog. We could barely see about 200 feet, I’m so glad we have radar! Other than the fog, it was an uneventful trip and we got to Ensenada Mexico around 2pm the next day. We decided to stay at hotel Coral marina, a very upscale hotel and marina a couple of miles north of Ensenada. Two years ago when we were down here after just buying Sunny, Coral’s rates were prohibitive and we stayed near the cruise port, but between the poor economy and the bad rumors in Mexico, business is very poor and Coral’s rates are a little more affordable for us. The marina and hotel are beautiful and everyone has been very nice.
As soon as we got in we hoisted our yellow quarantine flag. This tells officials that we are newly arrived.
We checked into Mexico the next day. The last time we were here I did the check-in myself and though I succeeded, it was very confusing and nerve racking. This time I decided to pay $60 to have the Coral staff walk me through. It was very much worth it and now we are legal. The quarantine flag comes down and the Mexican courtesy flag goes up
We spent several days exploring Ensenada and provisioning for the run down the Baja coast. They have done quite a bit of work around the main plaza and it looks very nice (unfortunately I forgot my camera every time I went to town; I need to get better at bringing it). Transportation around town is very easy, there are busses that run frequently that only cost 8 pesos (~ 60¢) and a taxi is about $6. We saw several cruise ships come in so the swine flu panic seems to be easing.
We’re planning on leaving today (11/8) for the next jump, a 24 hour run down to San Quintin. I’m not sure how available internet will be for the next few weeks so don’t worry if I don’t post for a while. I promise I’ll be better about taking pictures :-)
-Carolynn
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