Mexico to Seattle - Day Twenty-six

A very successful rounding of Conception Point.  We are presently at 35 deg 26.8 min north 121 deg 04.2 min west which is just beyond Morro Bay and about 160 miles from San Francisco.  The official plan is to be at the fuel dock in Gashouse Cove in San Francisco on Monday, June 13th at noon. A crew change involving Peter and Don will be done at that time and a little refueling.  Presently we are straight into the wind.  We have dropped the staysail and are hugging the coast.  With a the wind at 20 plus, our speed is less than 3 knots.  The wind should reduce a little during the night when we hope make a little better time.  Will close for now.
Mike

Mexico to Seattle - Day Twenty-five

We arrived at Ventura at noon to pick up the auto pilot.  Fifteen minutes later it was installed and after a stop at the fuel dock, we began our 66 mile trip to round Point Conception.  At this time, we are still forty miles from it.  Our position is 34 deg 19.5 min north 119 deg 58.9 min west.  The sea state is not bad, but just enough to slow us down and force us to motor sail with the staysail and to bear off fifteen degrees.  At this rate we may get there around five or six in the morning.  Not much to report, so I guess that I will mention Paul's attempt at mashed potatoes last night.  Let's just say that a good portion was cast overboard and that the fish probably found them a wee bit salty.  But the chicken and canned peas came off just right.  Tonight, I cooked dinner.  At the crew's request, I boiled the water and served instant soup in styrofoam cups.  It was a KISS dinner.  Based on our sailing experience tonight I expect to project our arrival in San Francisco tomorrow.  Until then.
Mike

Mexico to Seattle - Day Twenty-four

Three days of San Diego and now to San Francisco.  During my stay, the navigation lights were repaired (again) which included rewiring the bow pulpit; sewing a zipper on the bimini and taping all of the hatches with "preservation" tape to reduce the water leakage.  The high point was lunch with Bob and Sherry Custer who were visiting family in San Diego before returning to "Ponderosa" in La Paz. On Wednesday, the new crew arrived.  They are my brother, Peter and Paul Grossman.  After barely 24 hours we seem to be melding well.  The W-H Auto Pilot did not make it to San Diego before we left, but will join us in Ventura tomorrow morning.  The trip so far has been pretty uneventful.  It is a motoring day with a brief wind opportunity.  Tomorrow we head for Point Conception.  Until then.
Mike

Mexico to Seattle - Day Twenty

Finally, the arrival time was grossly over estimated.  In my Day Eighteen writing, I predicted an arrival in San Diego after noon on Saturday based on our historic three knot average.  In fact, we got no wind, relatively smooth seas and averaged 5.6 knots.  We arrived at 0515 and completed immigration and customs shortly after 0700.  As we turned out to take a slip, "Darling" appeared from around the corner on her way to Sausalito.  After a mid channel visit, we bid farwell, took our slip and began the days projects.  We did get the auto pilot shipped for repairs with some hope it will be back on Wednesday in time to make the next leg.  Arranged Ralph's return to Puerto Vallarta and completed a few boat cleaning chores.  For the next couple of days, there are a more boat repairs, additional cleaning and provisioning scheduled.  There will be no writings during this stay.  Next writing will be on Wednesday or later if weather prevents our departure.
Mike

Mexico to Seattle - Day Nineteen

As usual, I was a little optimistic about our arrival time.  We should have arrived an hour late, but we discovered that a whole naval base has been created inside the commercial harbor and the direct path to Ensenada Cruiseport Village Marina is now just beyond a new inner harbor jetty.  They used to claim that it was the most protected marina from ocean swells.  Now it is even more so.  We probably spent an extra hour exploring the naval base, avoiding major anchoring features and the dredging operations.  It was well worth the effort.  Jonathan, the marina operator, is meticulously helpful.  After some good sleep and cleaning up, I visited with him to settle our charges and to prepare for the exiting process.  Before we left the office, all papers were neatly prepared by computer which made the bureaucratic process so much easier to bear.  A couple of others joined us in the process.  One of those was the new owner of a Nordhaven 58 traveling as cargo to Victoria and then to Anacortes, Washington.  The trip will completed in about eight days.  That will keep me thinking.  The vessel transportation was included as part of the buy/sale deal.
We are busy eating all the items considered suspect by the US Customs.  Ralph has prepared spaghetti sauce which incorporates about a pound and a half of hamburger meat.  I imagine spaghetti for dinner, breakfast and lunch. We are about to depart with a stop at the fuel dock at a nearby marina.  Next writing should be from San Diego.  Until then.
Mike

Mexico to Seattle - Day Eighteen

Just made what I hope is the last tack which will take us into Ensenada.  Our present position is 31 deg 25.6 min north 116 deg 49.2 min west.  We have sailed all day.  It was beautiful.  The yankee and the storm staysail up front and the triple reefed main.  We made great time and finally got the benefit of a wind direction change.  Then, we neared shore to tack.  Suddenly, the winds were 29 knots and Odessa thought she was a locomotive on her ear.  We doused the yankee and got her back under control, but it seemed that we would have to fight for the last few miles.  It appears that the intense winds were a local condition and now we are enjoying sailing again.  A slip at Ensenada Cruiseport Village Marina has our name on it. They are expecting a later arrival, about 2300 or 0000.  Tomorrow, showers and shaving.  Then, a visit to officials to check out.  Refuel and we will be on our way to San Diego later in the day.  Based on past experience, we will arrive in the afternoon on Saturday.  One of the things that has made this trip a little more challenging is that our autopilot stopped working on Sunday.  I had a chance to contact Wil Ham, the owner of W-H Autopilot on Bainbridge Island.  He and I are "working the problem".  "Carly" the monitor windvane is our new best friend.  Last night we had a good sleep at Cabo Colnett.  Tonight should be even better.  Will close for now.
Mike

Mexico to Seattle - Day Seventeen

Last night we put in at Bahia San Quintin.  Actually, it was early morning.  We got a few hours of good sleep and continued on.  Today, we have been motoring - no sails.  The weather is supposed to have picked up off shore, which we have discovered makes for difficult sailing.  Along the coast seems to be a little smoother, but at this point I am not sure.  Our current position is 30 deg 51.8 min north 116 deg 14.4 min west.  We are headed for Cabo Colnett for the evening.  Should be there by 2300.  It is a very straight forward anchorage so I am not concerned about a night time entry.  Tomorrow, we head out early for Ensenada.  It is 54 miles to the bay and a couple of hours to get in.  We will be sailing so maybe we can make some good time.  While in Ensenada, we will clear out of Mexico and fuel up.  Saturday will be the trip to San Diego.  Expect that we will stay at the Police Dock on Shelter Island, sometime Sunday.  Will need a few days to clean up, engine maintenance, and provision.  Based on weather, we could leave Tuesday or Wednesday.  Will close for now.
Mike