5/11/10 - Santa Maria

We had all intentions of landing in Magdelena Bay today but plans have changed.  Our winds died down yesterday and we were moving pretty slow.  Andy was tired as I was kind of lazy and not helping a whole lot so we pulled into Santa Maria for the night and a much needed rest.  When we woke up this morning we listened to the weather and decided that with the winds blowing the way they are, we probably won’t get to do the things we want to do in Magdelena Bay (kayaking, swimming, etc) so we’re going to stay here today and head straight for Cabo San Lucas tomorrow.  It’s about 184 nautical miles from here.  With our good winds the other day, we made 150 miles in 24 hours so we’re hoping to leave really early and try to make similar time, getting us there Thursday afternoon (fingers crossed).

By the way, Scott, Terri, Bob...those are your boats at Sunrise...while you were sleeping, we were sneaking off to Cabo!

There are only about 3 boats on their way South (and we all happened to have the same idea for pulling into Santa Maria to rest).  Most of the boats we’ve seen were heading north and think we’re doing this a little backwards.  I guess we are but our plan is to be in the northern part of the Sea of Cortez before Hurricane season really picks up.  My uneducated opinion is that it’s very similar to when we lived in VA.  Hurricane season is from May 15 – November 30, but nothing ever really showed up until July, August and most likely September.  I was looking at a chart in one of our guides and it looks like in the last 50 years, there has only been 3 or 4 major storms in the Sea of Cortex this time of year.  So we’re taking our chances.

I was really worried about how I provisioned and stocked the boat before we left.  I have to pat myself on the back for this one (I haven’t been able to do that very much in the past few weeks).  We still have plenty of major food (steak, hamburger, etc.) but have used most of our fresh foods, which is exactly what I expected to happen.  I didn’t expect us to catch so many fish this early so we actually have a surplus in the fridge.  We have not gotten in shape and lost those few extra pounds like we planned.  We’ve probably eaten better than we have the last few months in San Diego.  A panga came by this morning and we bought 5 lobsters for $5.  His price went up after surveying our boat, but we negotiated by throwing in a bottle of wine.  He seemed ok with that.  So tonight we’re going to have the much awaited Lobster Tails (in butter, of course)!

I know some folks are wondering what we do all day and if we get bored.  I realize we’re new at this but thought it might be worth sharing.  While we’re sailing, Jake plays, watches movies and sleeps..a lot.  I read, cook and help Andy with the boat.  Andy sails, makes water and fishes.  When we’re at anchor, Jake does more of the same and we try to add some “schoolwork.”  At this point, I use the term loosely.  Andy makes more water, fixes things, studies weather and anchorages, drinks beer and hangs out with me.  I clean, cook, read and lately I’ve been working on my tan, but I’m not making much progress.  I also spend a significant amount of time doing laundry.  This manual thing is for the birds.  Everyone is under strict instructions to wear their clothes as much as possible before throwing in the dirty laundry (I think Jake may be taking this to the extreme). Everything out here takes two or three times as long to do (laundry, groceries, etc.) so there’s never too much down time. There are many things we need to do that we’re putting off, like making those mosquito nets and repainting our non skid on the decks, but there will be plenty of time for that.  Right now I have to take a break and finish watching Star Wars V with my over stimulated child.