Month: August 2018

Hola amigos! It’s hard to believe we’ve been in San Carlos for a month already! A lot has happened since arriving so I’ll do my best to recap. The purpose of coming to San Carlos was to be in a place that we could easily reach San Diego, and leave the boat in a safe place during our absence.

Upon arrival we anchored Perspective outside of the marina and waited until August 1st to move her into a slip. It has been hot and humid here and we were excited to get to the dock so we could use our air conditioning. Brad and I were armed with big plans. His plans involved engine maintenance and installing a second alternator. My plans involved our sewing machine. Our plans together involved a trip to San Diego to renew Brad’s Visa, see family/friends, and some boat shopping!

We ended up scheduling our trip to San Diego the 3rd through 13th. We had lots to do before we could leave Perspective for 10 days. This included a thorough cleaning/wipe down of all surfaces with vinegar to prevent mold. All food had to be removed from the fridge and freezer. Windows and hatches needed to be covered in tinfoil. The water maker needed to be pickled, the dinghy needed to be locked down and the paddle boards needed to come inside. We managed to do all these things and got out the door by 7am.The drive to San Diego was nicer than we expected and the roads are well cared for. There was one surprise though, picture this…a freeway with a big sweeping corner followed by an unmarked speed bump. An unmarked speed bump! Were they trying to kill us?! We must have missed the sign explaining that it was coming up ahead. Brad’s quick reflexes took us from 80km to about 50 as we hit the bump. We were left quite surprised and definitely more vigilant!

San Diego did not disappoint. We found ourselves busier than ever visiting with family and friends, and for that, I am so grateful! Even Sydney got to catch up with old boyfriends and girlfriends from her previous beach life. I could go on and on, really, our time in San Diego was out of this world and it’s because of our friends/family that made it so special! Many thanks to everyone that hosted us, and those that drove many miles to see us. We love you!

Pictured below….The Del Mar crew at the races, it was a real treat to see Gareth in town! A photo with Chris, just missing Beth! Thanks for showing us a fabulous time in OB, and for introducing us to your new girl! My old boss and I during my visit to the office. Thanks, Nikki, for carving out time so we could catch up! Don’t forget your passport homework assignment. 😉Summer Concert in the Park in Del Mar…Time well spent in Nautwater…Family time in Julian…Catching up with Doug, who drove all the way down from LAX to enjoy a dinner with us…And before we knew it, it was time to pack up and say goodbye. Sydney stole my seat on the way out…Brad did not mind. 😂It was so easy to fall back into the old lifestyle, especially after spending so much time with family and friends. But we knew we had to get back to our girl and continue our adventure. Thanks to Dave and Jamyne on Magic Dragon, we heard that Perspective handled herself well during our absence. Even so, we were anxious to get back and settle in.

The boat was clean and put away for all of a day, and then it became a war zone of sewing supplies, and tools! Remember those projects I mentioned earlier? Well, they were not forgotten by us either. Brad dug in to the alternator project and I started sewing. We realized San Carlos was not the most ideal place to shop for boat parts, which left us in the slip for longer than we wanted. Luckily, Amazon works just fine here in Mexico! And Brad was not afraid to hop on buses and run all over Guaymas looking for parts. As of now, Brad has installed the second alternator and rewired both, installed an alternator regulator, changed the engine oil, changed the engine coolant, changed the transmission fluid, changed the Honda generator oil, changed the water maker oil, installed two new galley faucets that no longer leak, and I’m sure there’s more that I am missing. He has been a busy, busy bee!

As for me, I’ve sewn two new hatch covers to block the bright sunlight, three pillow cases, four jerrycan covers, 2 cockpit pouches and a lifesling cover. Whew! Luckily Jamyne was around to offer her expertise and moral support as I got stuck. I am so happy that these projects are done, and our gear is being protected from the sun! Even Dave and Jamyne got to play with the Sailrite. They suffered a torn sail on the way to San Carlos and were able to fix the sail with our machine. We are sooooo happy for them and can’t wait to see the sail fly again.Basically San Carlos has been a place for us to catch up on much needed projects and as a bonus, in the air conditioning! It wasn’t all chores for us though, we did manage to take the dinghy out to Martini Cove a couple of times. We were surprised to see the water was so clear, and also surprised to see that it has been so fished out. This did not stop the boys from spearing to their hearts content! Jamyne and I also shot fish, with our cameras. Here are a few of my favorite photos from Martini Cove…The little guys pictured above are in the Blenny family. They are super territorial, and masters of blending in. It’s been a fun challenge for me to capture them with the camera, as they tend to move erratically.

We did see some amazing sunsets here in San Carlos…Here are some fun times that Sydney wanted me to share with you. She went to her old stomping grounds and reunited with her crew. And she had a fun ride to the beach in a topless jeep! She enjoyed beautiful yards and lots of pillows on her vacation from the boat.What’s next for Perspective? We are leaving San Carlos and overnighting to an island called San Francisquito. The distance is about 105 nautical miles and Perspective will be on a downwind course. Weather depending, we will be there for a bit and then we will make our way to Bahia de Los Angeles through the end of hurricane season. We are so looking forward to a change of scenery, but do appreciate what San Carlos had to offer us. I hope this post finds you happy and well! Cheers!!!

Hola Amigos! It was officially time to leave our bee friends behind. Our next stop, 70 nautical miles away in San Carlos. Magic Dragon was also making the trek and left at 9 in the morning, we planned to leave around 5pm. We chose the departure time based on our expected ETA in San Carlos. We wanted to arrive during the daylight and this would give us plenty of cushion in case the winds died down. Speaking of the wind, the forecast showed the winds blowing all day and night with a break from 1am to 4am.

With all the bee action, we couldn’t wait any longer. Brad pulled the anchor at 3pm while I steered us out of the cove. We hoisted the main and waited til we got around the cove to unfurl the headsail. Once the sails were out the wind seemed to die. Brad decided to wait it out based on the land near us, and he made the right choice. Once we got around the island the winds picked up and Perspective propelled forward like a freight train!I watched as the winds crept up from 12 to 23 knots and we decided to reef the main. This would flatten the boat out and make for a more comfortable ride, and as a bonus we would be prepared should the wind get any higher. Reefing involves Brad (or occasionally me) going to the mast, carefully lowering the sail to the marked point, clipping onto the reef point, hoisting the sail til it’s tight along the mast, sheeting in the reefing line and then coiling up the main halyard. This is not something you want to be doing when the boat is really heeled over, so it’s best to reef early. Brad has done this so many times that it takes him just a minute to do and during that minute I’m on pins and needles waiting for him to get back in the cockpit. What can I say, I’m still a nervous nelly!

We discovered that even with the reef we were going well over 8 knots which is usually an excellent pace. In this case it was a pace we were not planning on when we decided on our departure time. This made our ETA into San Carlos way earlier than expected and we would be arriving at night. Ugh! Other than reefing the main we didn’t try very hard to slow Perspective down because we were too busy enjoying the amazing sail. Perspective handles herself so well and is so comfortable while under way. It would have been a shame to reign her in while she was stretching those legs!

A few hours into the crossing we spotted Magic Dragon on our chart plotter via AIS. AIS allows you to see other registered vessels, including their speed, closest point of approach, distance from your vessel and bearing. Basically AIS is SUPER handy to have in addition to radar. We gave them a call once we were in radio range to see how they were doing. Jamyne mentioned they were having an issue with their transmission and were fine to continue sailing the rest of the way. The winds were steady around 17 knots on our beam giving both Magic Dragon and Perspective a great sail.

Our new ETA into San Carlos was around midnight. Around 10:30pm we were faced with thunder, lightning, and strong winds. Our position was only a few miles offshore but based on the conditions we decided to practice heaving to. This was something we did on the previous boat, but hadn’t tried on this one. Brad did the appropriate steps and the boat sat comfortably in the water going 1.5-2.5 knots. According to the forecast, the winds would be dying around 1am but they kept steady. At one point the winds gusted well over 30 knots. With us being a few miles ahead of Magic Dragon we gave them a call on the radio to give a heads up. It turns out we were too late and they had suffered a torn headsail.

We kept the boat in the heave to position until the winds died down. It was bad enough to arrive in the dark in an unfamiliar place, and we did not need high winds to further complicate things. Around 5am we finally had our chance. We still had some moonlight to help us navigate in, along with our charts. Once our hook was down we called Magic Dragon and offered assistance to help them anchor since their transmission was on the fritz. Turns out they were able to come in and anchor just fine! Yay! We caught up on some precious sleep and reflected on our passage. Overall it was the finest sailing experience we’ve had so far. It reminded us just how great of a vessel Perspective is and how well she takes care of us. I’m also thankful to Brad for keeping calm with all the wind and lightning. His calmness and actions kept me sane! If you’re into stats, here are the stats from our trip…it’s a bit blurry because the boat was rocking around so much when the photo was taken. 😉Well there you have it folks, the story of our crossing! Next up will be more about San Carlos! I hope this blog finds you happy and well, cheers!!!