Sailing with Tim & Patti

Patti is an excellent driver...and she doesn't need a Greek sailing cap to prove it.

Weather in our favor, Patti MacRae, Tim Rowan (good Portland neighbors), Marv and I sailed out of La Paz and spent a few days in the islands to the north. On the way, we searched for whale sharks, saw one in the far distance, and then settled for fair winds and gentle anchorages on Islas Partida and Espiritu Santo

Getting there was just part of the fun.

Dave and Suzanne...First time on paddle boards!

Jessica and Byron, aboard Sterling, a sailboat here in port, have two proto-type paddle boards that they encourage people to use...research to see what's good and not about them. Fortunately, the winds have died and calm seas prevail.

Dave and Suzanne look like professionals.
Knees relaxed at all times, Dave!


Even though we didn't get much sailing in (because of the winter storm), Dave and Suzanne had a busy week...they were able to swim with the whale sharks, kayak into the mangrove swamp, snorkel and kayak at Bahia Balandra, go whale-watching, explore a lot of La Paz, and give us the pleasure of their company. They are always welcome on Odyssey!

Bahia de Magdalena

The grey whales are coming south! Even in the turbulent sea, we could see them spout and sound, flipping their tails as they dove after taking deep breaths.

On the trip out to the mouth of Magadalena Bay, Enrique stopped an incoming shrimp fisherman, we bought a couple kilos of shrimp and took them to Magdalena, a very small fishing village on Isla Magdalena.

The trip back from the mouth of the bay was a treat...6 foot seas in an open panga with a 20 knot wind in our face means 45 knot wind and waves splashing all over us. Our clothes were salt-encrusted and we were soaked through by the time we got to the restaurant.

It was cold, cold, cold, cold. Bundled up in our winter coats, we enjoyed the shrimp boiled up whole by the cooks at Magdalena...they were as fresh as you can get them, and, add Enrique's special hot sauce that he mixed up to go with them, delicious!

Did I mention it was cold?

Bahia de Magdalena

What do you do when guests come to visit and the weather doesn't cooperate? We welcomed our nephew, Dave Swank and his friend, Suzanne Hebert, only to have a "norther" with winds of 50+ knots per hour blow up in the Sea of Cortez. Here in La Paz and nearby islands, it only got up to 35+ knots, but that's too much to be comfortable...certainly not your "kick-back-and-bask-in-the-sun-Mexican" vacation.

So we drove across the Baja to San Carlos, Baja Sur, a small town located on Bahia Magdalena, where we charted a small panga to go out and watch for whales.

Even in Bahia Magdalena the winds were brisk. Our panguero, Enrique Senior, took us into the mangrove swamp first, bustling with bird-life.

Spectacular flocks of white ibis, yellow-crowned night heron, great blue heron, little blue heron, white egret, and green heron...the swamp was filled with them!

Nopolo

La Familia Leon...residents of Nopolo Sur and always a welcome sight as we anchor off shore.

Yuvia. Gotta love the hat!

Stylin' sunglasses on Jacob who is just learning to walk.

The panga tied up just at shore...back from a trip to La Paz with Senor Leon (grandfather of the children) aboard...

Photos by Breton!

Los Gatos

Beautiful sunrises are better in Los Gatos. Such a lovely, lovely anchorage! Thanks for the memories, Breton!

Okay, what would you think if you were just sailing along in quiet seas, minding your own business when a whale spouts a couple hundred yards away? Exciting to see, right? A reminder that we are sharing this space with lots of other creatures, a humbling realization. Then what if this whale doesn't go away, but follows after you? Getting closer and closer to your stern each time it surfaces to spout? Are you a little nervous yet? We were. But it turns out (at least this is what we think...but, then, who are we to know what the whale was thinking?) the whale was curious about who we were...this large hulk silently slipping through the water in its territory. Once it determined we were 1) not food, 2) not a threat, and 3) not able to speak whale, it altered course and disappeared.

Puerto Escondido to Los Gatos

The stretch of Sea from Puerto Escondido to La Paz is filled with amazing creatures. Here we watched manta rays take flight again...can anyone tell us WHY they do that!?

We were fortunate to have a companion on this leg of our trip...Breton Shwartzenberger was hitching a ride south. He had just finished a stint with the NOLS program and was on his way home to Vermont. Yes, you can get to Vermont by sailing south along the Baja peninsula...you just have to know how.

Already an accomplished photographer, Breton put his camera to good use and shared his photos with us.

And how do you keep a sail filled when there is no wind? It takes an experienced sailor. Many thanks to Blue Moon for these shots of Odyssey!