Chapter 11 - Cabo San Lucas and another Garmin disaster.

We left Mag Bay pretty early in the morning knowing we had another over night sail ahead of us and light wind in the forecast.  Mag Bay was a great stop and allowed usto rest a bit.

On the trip south, we sailed through and along with a pod of Humpback whales.  Some were breaching, some were fin slapping, and others were beating the surface of the water with their flukes.  The sounds were remarkable; a deep hollow boom heard from miles away, well after the event.

The night was otherwise quiet.  We motorsailed almost all night long.  The wind picked up in the morning and we shut the engine off and rolled out the headsail.  Before long, the wind was up to 20 knots and it was time to reef the headsail.  The main was already reefed.  We have been caught a couple times by inaccurate weather forecasts and since it is just the two of us on the boat, prudence dictated that we reef the main before needing to.

Well, we were clipping right along and as we were just approaching 20 miles from Cabo San Lucas, the evil Garmin deamons bit us again.  You may recall that when we got to Dana Point, our Garmin autopilot went nuts for no apparent reason.  But, with help from Joel at Beacon Marine and Electronics, we got it straightened out.  This time, the chartplotter at the nav pod (upper helm) decided to die.  It flashed and then was stuck on the Garmin logo screen and would not boot up from there.  So, fortunately, we have redundant systems on the boat and we made it into Cabo safely.  Unfortunately, and notwithstanding Joel's best efforts from 1000 miles away, this unit is nothing more than a paperweight and, the internal power supply having suffered a fatal contracture. I am now at the mercy of Garmin customer support.  We'll see how that works out. We need to have them ship us a new unit.  Apparently, they will honor the warranty - so they say.  It's as if they knew they had the potential for this problem, but did nothing about it.  Can you say, "RECALL"?  For now, I am forced to navigate from the helm with my phone. Why not just switch the units out - move the one from the nav station to the upper helm, you might be wondering?  I could do that, but then I would not have sonar.  So much for redundancy.

And that, folks, is all she wrote.

Anyways, our approach to Cabo was interesting.  I have never been here before so the scenes were all new.

So, we anchored in front of the town.  LOUD is an understatement.  There are hundreds of boats moving in every which direction - tour boats, pangas, water taxis and the ubiquitous water toys - jetskis, seadoos, etc.  It's hectic and it's chaos, but that's Cabo for you.  

In spite of the hectic nature of the town, we did enjoy several meals in the harbor and walks around the area, lots of margaritas and interesting spectacles.  Everyone on every street is a salesman and wants to sell you something.  Whether it's a hat or an opportunity to take a photo with a lizard, it's all there.  And yet, people are remarkably friendly and helpful.  It's easy to get the vendors off your back by smiling and saying, "no thank you."  We did some grocery shopping, and even found a lavanderia that did our laundry for us for a ridiculously low price.  That, to me, may have made it worth coming here.

I feel like I learned nothing about Cabo San Lucas other than it is an adult resort town.  There is little here other than resort after resort lining the beaches, the roads, and everywhere the eye can see. They take in 12 or more cruise ships per week.  There are a couple of remakable shooping malls within walking distance of the harbor - one of which is a very exclusive luxury item mall.  I am pretty sure that all clocks tick tourism here and that this is the entire basis of the economy of Cabo San Lucas.  Fun place to stop, but I don't see myself coming back here for any particular reason.

Our view from the anchorage.

Moonlight photo experiment.

So, tomorrow (Saturday) we will be heading into the Sea of Cortez.  Our first stop will be a place called Cabo Frailes (pronounced Fray-lez).  I'll be navigating there with my cell phone as I have no chart plotter at my helm for the moment.  Pray for us.  No, pray for Garmin! I understand it's quite pretty there with nice sandy beaches and clean, clear water for swimming.  We'll be there for a couple days at least waiting for the next opportunity to move north without bashing our teeth in.  Hopefully Garmin will have managed to find a solution by the time we reach La Paz - it is under warranty after all.**

** Just to be clear, Joel is my friend and will always be.  I do not begrudge him for this equipment failure in any way, shape or form.  The equipment is defective and that's what a warranty is for.  Were we in the states, this issue would be resolved in 5 minutes.  But, because we are a cruising boat presently in Mexico, things are more complicated.  Thanks to Joel for putting in the warranty claim for us.  That should help.

Chapter 10 - Magdalena Bay

We are now sitting in Cabo San Lucas.  Got here yesterday.  Before I tell you about that, let me tell you about a great side trip to Magdalena Bay and the village of Puerto Magdalena that the HaHa totally missed.

A short 5 hour sail (motor) down the coast and then back up again on the inside of Magadalena Bay has us anchored in front of the town of Punta Magdalena.  It is really cool here.

The arrow points at where we are anchored.

Magdalena Bay (Bahía Magdalena), on the Pacific side of Baja California Sur, is one of the most remarkable natural harbors and ecosystems in all of Mexico.  It is a huge protected lagoon system stretching roughly 50 miles along the Pacific Coast of BCS. It's as big as San Francisco Bay.  It’s formed by long barrier islands—Isla Magdalena and Isla Santa Margarita—that create calm interior waters sheltered from the open Pacific.

Magdalena Bay is one of the three primary gray-whale calving and breeding lagoons in Mexico. Mag Bay is also legendary for inshore and offshore sports fishing. Of greatest interest to me is that Magdalena Bay is one of the most biodiverse coastal wetland systems in the Pacific featuring Mangroves, Dunes, Estuaries and Oyster beds.  Therre are hundreds of bird species here including ospreys, heron, Pelicans and a variety of other migratory waterfowl.

Puerto Magdalena is a small, remote fishing village on Isla Magdalena, just inside the northern entrance of Magdalena Bay. It is not connected to any road system on the peninsula; all access is by panga or boat.

With no road access, the village can be reached only by water, giving it an isolated, traditional character that remains largely untouched by modern development. The population typically ranges from about 30 to 100 residents depending on the fishing season. Nearly all families rely on the sea for their livelihood, working cooperatively in small-scale fisheries that have sustained the community for generations.

Services in Puerto Magdalena are extremely limited. There are no formal grocery stores, fuel stations, repair shops, or marine services. Instead, small tienditas occasionally carry staples such as tortillas, soda, chips, and occasionally eggs or canned goods, though supplies may vary greatly depending on recent deliveries. There is no reliable source of diesel fuel, and water is not potable; visitors must bring their own. Electricity comes primarily from generators and solar panels, as the area lacks a formal electrical grid.

The local economy revolves around fishing—particularly snapper, grouper, lobster, and crab—and seasonal participation in the gray whale tourism industry between January and March. While whale-watching operations are more developed in Puerto San Carlos across the bay, some residents of Puerto Magdalena assist with panga-based tours or related services. Cruisers anchoring nearby in Man of War Cove sometimes purchase fresh fish or lobster from local families or hire panga rides for shore access.

Life in Puerto Magdalena is quiet, peaceful, and community oriented. The village includes a small church, modest homes, and sandy paths rather than paved streets. Children often travel to the mainland for schooling. Despite its simplicity, the community is known for being warm, welcoming, and safe. Visitors frequently describe friendly interactions with residents, including offers of home-cooked meals or stories about life in the bay.

For cruisers, Puerto Magdalena provides cultural richness rather than logistical support. Man of War Cove, the primary anchorage, offers excellent protection with good holding in sand and almost no ocean swell due to the sheltering barrier islands. The setting provides unmatched access to dunes, mangroves, wildlife, and the calm interior waters of the bay. However, it is not a place to obtain fuel, perform repairs, or extensively provision.

The community’s remoteness and simplicity are part of its appeal, offering a peaceful contrast to more developed towns elsewhere along the Pacific coast of Baja California Sur.

Lots of bird action here including this Osprey causing headaches for the electrical grid.

Not sure when this garbage gets picked up, but at least its not all over the place.

We thouoght about renting a car.......

Man-of-War Cove in Magdalena Bay takes its name from the historic use of the anchorage by naval warships, known as “men-of-war,” during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The cove offered excellent protection, deep water, and reliable holding ground, making it an ideal location for naval vessels from the United States, Britain, and Mexico to anchor, resupply, and conduct training exercises. Its strategic position within the sheltered interior of Magdalena Bay made it a preferred stop for fleet maneuvers and a safe haven from Pacific weather systems.

Here is a short slide show with images of the estuary at Mag Bay.

Chapter 9 - Leg 2 of the Baja HaHa - Turtle Bay to Bahia Santa Maria

 

After a nice few days in Turtle Bay, the fleet was off again - this is Leg 2 - a 227 nautical mile run south to Bahia Santa Maria - a big sheltered cove just to the north and outside of Magdalena Bay, aka Mag Bay.

The sail down was relatively uneventful.  We sailed most of the way in spite of the fact that the wind was consistently from directly behind - dead down, as they say.  I believe I have mentioned before that Tazzy does not sail well in dead down conditions without employing the spinaker pole and setting up a wing on wing sail configuration, which, unfortunately, is something Brenda and I have not practiced.  12-15 knots in the middle of the night is not the time to start practicing something like that, especially when it is just the two of us.  We'll get it down, but later.  In the mean time, we sailed zig zags down a rhumb line.  It worked fine.  At night, we rolled up the headsail and just sailed with the main.  We still made respectable speed and the ride was smooth and quiet.

The fleet pouring out of Turtle Bay heading south.

The ride down to BSM was not completely boring.  The fishing was good.  I caught a couple Bonito and filed them for Scupper and Lilly - WOW!  these cats like fresh fish alot.  They will surely get their fill on this trip.  But we did not just catch Bonito.

This DoDo, aka Dorado, MahiMahi, or Dolphin Fish came by and bit the shit out of a green squid luer on a steel leeder dragging behind the boat on my hand line.  When the line got pulled out of the clip, I wasn't sure whether I had anything or not.  As I pulled in the line to check, it got really heavy all of a sudden, and then I saw the flash of color and new we had a Dorado, but I didn't know how big it was until I started to pull it over the life lines.  Then it was chaos as I yelled for Brenda to get me the gaff (which she wisely brought up earlier) and the net.  Once I gaffed the fish, I pulled it up and dropped it into the net we call the "Lily Grabber" (just in case she falls OB).  I was not going to lose that fish.

So there it sat in the net until it crossed the rainbow bridge and I could filet it without it jumping off the boat.  Like, I've had that happen before and it was not happening this time.  Ultimately, as stoked as I was to have caught this beautiful animal, I always find it sobering and a little sad to know I killed a magnificent creature such as this.  Moreover, according to rumor, I may have destroyed a family.

It is believed by sailors that Dorado romantically pair up in couples. While animals that mate for life are rare in the animal kingdom, crews often witness how, when a large male Dorado is spotted, a female is almost always nearby. Rumors created by sailors tell of this tear-jerking behavior; that if one of the two is caught, the other will linger in that same area for life, waiting for its partner to return. Fortunately, this is only a rumor.  Dorado can often be seen traveling in groups of up to 50 or more fish to minimize their risk of being attacked. As these fish age, they tend to travel in smaller pods and, in some cases, may only travel in pairs, sparking the rumor that they mate for life. Unlike marine mammals that give birth, dorados are born from eggs and are not given support or nurture from their mother or father. Therefore, survival often depends on their ability to adjust to their surroundings quickly and find shelter in large groups.

The Dorado is one of the fastest-growing fish, reaching sexual maturity within the first 6 – 12 months of life. Female Dorado can lay anywhere from 100,000 – 1,000,000 eggs at a time two to three times a year. Their average lifespan is three to four years, with a few fish sometimes living to the age of five— these lover-fish live fast and die young.  Fortunately, the fish I caught was not bearing eggs.  Nevertheless, I am comforted by the fact that this one has probably layed hundreds of millions of eggs during its life, thus helping ensure there will be many more to grace the dinner table.

Per usual on this rally, we arrived at BSM at night.  It is always a little hectic to enter into a new place at night, especially after certain morons who will remain unnamed (actually whose boats will remain unnamed) and who left TB early to arrive at BSM in daylight hours, radioed to the entire fleet that the entry to BSM was littered with crab pot buoys.  The problem was not the announcement, but the way it was done, or was not done, I should say.  Now, any reasonably competent mariner might get on the radio and let folks behind know there are hazards forthcoming.  But, a competent mariner would include certain details including, but not limited to a more specific geographic location, the depth of the water the traps appear to be in, what the trap markers look like, etc.  When querried, all this butthead could say was to just stay in deep water when entering the bay.  Duh!

Frankly, there has been alot of this amongst this rally's participants.  It's like summer camp and amature hour all combined into one.  Folks displaying the wrong lights at night; folks not understanding the ColRegs and the rules describing priority of movement.  Most folks know that there are no lanes on the ocean and boats can travel in willy-nilly directions.  But, we have rules that are desiged to prevent collision or allision.  Collision is obvious.  Allision is the act of a vessel striking a stationary object. There are some very competent sailors in this group, but there is an equal number of baffoons who couldn't tuna fish, not to mention their VHF Radio's AIS.  There are a lot of broken boats and boats that never should have left port.  It seems for many, polished topsides trump a well maintained diesel engine.  I have always maintained, in response to clown shows that critique my toe rails, that my varnish will not get me around Point Conception.

Moreover, generally, the group is very cliquey.  Folks hang out with their own - generally from their yacht club.  I sort of had a feeling this was going to be the case.  I, frankly do not know why I came on this rally.  It's all about rush, rush, rush to the next opportunity to get drunk, with little attention given to the weather or the conditions - and planning - it's amazing that 95% of the boats all have to arrive at night.  Were I king, I would not do it this way.  Unfortunately, we have missed many cool places that are now behind us.  Oh well.  I should have listened to you, John.

So after we are checked into the country having paid an agent to help do so while here at BSM, we may do our own Baja HaHa thing for the remainder of the trip to Cabo San Lucas.  We'll see.  I really want to slow down.  I want to go explore Mag Bay.  And I have never been less interested in anything in my life than guzzling window cleaner at $35 bucks a pop at Squidrow with a bunch of A-holes I have no interest in getting to know. (I think the Canadians in this group are still stinging from game 7 - Yeah Dodgers!)

In spite of it all, Brenda and I have enjoyed our own company and even managed to meet a couple nice people along the way.  We have learned a great deal and expect to continue to do so.  It will be nice to throttle back and do things at our own pace and not be lectured to about how to live our lives.  Oh yeah and throw more money at the locals. That is an unstated purpose of this rally.

Sorry for my perhaps mean spirited rant.  I am tired and frustrated.  But this too shall pass.  It's the first full day in BSM and there is supposed to be a beach party this afternoon.  How anyone is going to get on the beach here is still a mistery.  So, we'll see.

More later.

We decided ultimately that the Ha Ha is just not for us. So, we notified them of our intention to proceed on our own and at our own pace.

Bahia Santa Maria is a great anchorage with absolutely nothing to do but stretch out and relax.

The HaHa beach party.

We did manage to get checked into the country here, however, arrangements having been made by the HaHa and paid for by us to have officials come from nearby Puerto San Carlos to do the formalities aboard Profligate - the 65 foot catamaran.  It was sort of a shit show as the "agent" who set this all up failed to let a lot of folks know what was going on with their credit cards and payments.  So, there was quite a delay as several boats (like 20) had not paid their fees.  Once that got sort of straightened out, the line started moving.  We were all organized and had everything in order - yes, we bothered to read the directions.  So, the process was smooth and done.  I was at the table for less than a minute.

We hung out in BSM for a few more days all alone.  It sure was quiet once the 400 or so 65 year old ladies and their wives departed.

All alone.

Yesterday, we left BSM and headed south again.  We decided we wanted to visit Magadalena Bay.  We are presently anchored in front of the town of Puerto Magdalena.  It's sort of a "resort" town that caters to whale watchers.

More later.