A Racy Red Bottom

Here is a photo of Indigo with her newly painted bottom. Red paint, expertly applied by the workers at the Berkovich boatyard in La Paz.
This was the first time we had the boat hauled out of the water using an old-fashioned marine railway. You can see in this photo that the boat is supported on the steel crossbeams that make up the "car" of the railway. What you can't see is the amazing, classic old "donkey engine" nearby, which drives the winch cable that pulls up the car to bring the boat out of the water, or let it back down.

What you must imagine is that we are on the boat as it is pulled uphill out of the water, and lowered back down.  That means we are about fifteen feet up in the air, with the boat at a pronounced slant as we transit the slope.

Imagine also metal wheels on metal rails, and the creaking and jerking as the winch strains with the weight of boat and metal car. 

Like so many things in Mexico, this marine railroad looks a bit dated and rustic, but it works well and gets the job done.  Bit by bit, we learn not to expect things here to look like they do further north. 

Mexican Recipes in 48 North

In the May edition of 48°North, The Sailing Magazine, there is an article about the recipes and stories we have published in the blog The Mexican Recipes (http://themexicorecipes.wordpress.com.)

You can view the article here: http://www.48north.com . On this website there is a digital version of the magazine. Open the May edition, and turn to the article in the galley section called “Catherine learns about Mexican cooking”.

Internet in the Sea of Cortez

Here's what passes for an internet cafe in the Sea of Cortez. In the area around Loreto, there are robust cell phone signals. Given a cellular modem, a computer, and a rocky crag with distant views, we have pretty good internet. This particular mobile office is on enchanting Isla Dazante.

San Juanico Idyll

I thought about how to title this post about our week in the big bay of San Juanico, and the word "idyll" floated to the surface of my sunbaked brain. Uncertain of the meaning, I looked in the dictionary:  "An extremely happy, peaceful, or picturesque episode or scene, typically an idealized or unsustainable one." Yes, yes for the happy, peaceful, picturesque stuff. Interesting that last bit.

San Juanico is perhaps our favorite of all Sea of Cortez anchorages. It is a big bay, with many rocky cliffs and spires where several families of osprey raise their babies, and a variety of anchoring locations. There were many boats coming and going this past week, and it was also the week of the full moon. There were gatherings on the beach in the evenings to share food, drink, and stories, watch the moon rise and enjoy a bonfire. 

During the days, we kayaked and snorkeled in the increasingly clear water. With Jan and Joan from s.v. Dulce Maestra, made an epic kayak trip from San Juanico to Punta Mangles, where there are tall cliffs of amazing colored rock, and dramatic deep sea caves. We were blessed with favorable wind and current returning to San Juanico, so that the fifteen mile round trip was just a good workout. 

As for the term "unsustainable".  Although afloat, we are still living in the modern world, dependent on fossil fuel and complicated electronics and mechanical systems. Keeping everything running smoothly requires maintenance and ingenuity.  During our idyll, the Captain was busy trying to repair a leak in the engine cooling system. He traded 15 gallons of fresh water for a tube of fancy epoxy, and was gifted a roll of magic red tape.  The combination managed to staunch the leak. Perhaps we are barely sustainable, in the short term, with the help of a community of like-minded boating vagabonds. 

Spring in the Sea of Cortez

Indigo and her crew are enjoying the best of life on the boat - spring in the Sea of Cortez. We left La Paz behind ten days ago, and were lucky with three great days of southerly winds, so that we could sail north flying our spinnaker. The odd photo above shows the bottom of the colorful sail, with a view of one of the coastal fishing villages beneath.

We stayed at anchor in the bay of Agua Verde for five days while the wind blew hard from the north. This vista is looking north from the hillsides that surround the bay, showing the wind driven waves. Hard to imagine that the water in the protected bay behind me was calm and green.

We hiked all over the hills and valleys surrounding the anchorage, and talked with some of the locals. This boy was very eager to show us his favorite chicken. 

Spring really is a great time in the Sea of Cortez, in part because there are more boats here now, and there are more gatherings and opportunities to meet new people. 

Future Crew Member Appears!

Introducing Maya Grace Gigler, born March 24th to our son, Sam Taylor, and his wife, Kate Gigler.  Maybe we are jumping the gun, but she is a keen and happy creature, and we think she is good crew material. 

Backing up a bit, we spent February traveling, first to Mazatlan, where we stopped for a week, and then on to the Sea of Cortez. In late March we returned to La Paz, tied up the boat in a marina, and flew to Portland to welcome the new baby and share some time with her parents, and extended family and friends. 

Our time in Portland coincided with a long spell of very fine, sunny, warm spring weather. All the flowering trees - cherries, magnolias, and crabapples - burst into full bloom. Walking or driving around the city was a delight.

And, of course, we spent alot of time holding the baby. Eventually we had to leave her in the excellent care of her devoted, giddy parents.

Once aboard the airplane, there was no turning back. The jet stream was moving north to south as we headed to Los Angeles, and we had tail winds of 130 miles per hour.  Things are different up there in the jet stream; I never want to see winds of 130 mph on a sailboat.

We broke up our return trip with one night in San Jose del Cabo, where we stayed at the Hotel Casa Natalia, a study in color and great design. Now we are back in La Paz, have made some repairs, filled the boat with provisions, and are leaving momentarily for six more weeks in the Sea of Cortez.

Indigo's Isla Isabel

Most of the logs (or blogs) of boats that travel along the Pacific Coast of Mexico will include an account of a stop at Isla Isabel. This remote island, about twenty miles off the coast, makes an easy stop on the passage between the Baja Peninsula or Mazatlan, and the area around Bandaras Bay and Puerta Vallarta to the south.  This was our fourth trip along this stretch of the coast, but the first time we had visited Isla Isabel.

We arrived at Isla Isabel after leaving San Blas, a distance of forty miles. Most of the fishermen who work from the fish camp here are also based in San Blas. This is a serious fish camp, bringing in lots of fish in challenging conditions, and moving their catch across forty miles of ocean in open boats.

Isla Isabel is known for it's birds, especially its Frigatebirds and its Blue Footed Boobies. Hiking around the island is an exercise in avoiding the nesting birds. Creeping along the edge of a cliff, fifty feet above the surf, the hiker has to decide between a solid footfall and an aggressive nesting Boobie. If the hiker is old enough, the iconic images from Hitchcock's 'The Birds' might come to mind.

We arrived at Isla Isabel when there was only one other boat in the anchorage, and found a good spot to drop the hook in the area known to be a favorable anchoring ground. Our boat is at the left in this photo. This bay is known to be riddled with large rocks which can snag an anchor, so we attached a second line with a float to our anchor, to enable rescue operations if the anchor were to get stuck.

After several days of exploration, we decided to depart Isla Isabel in the afternoon, so that we would have plenty of daylight to troubleshoot problems with a stuck anchor. We were so pleased when we were able to lift the anchor without difficulty. But in the midst of our enthusiasm, we forgot the second line attached to the anchor, and - for the first time in eight years of sailing - managed to wrap that second line around the propeller. We quickly dropped anchor again, noting that we were just far enough off the breaking waves and rocks off our stern.

We were incredible lucky that the captain of a boat recently anchored nearly, had been snorkeling and saw our problem. He came over immediately, and proceeded to cut the offending rope off of our propeller shaft, far more quickly than we would have been able.

So we were able to leave Isla Isabel in the late afternoon light, feeling doubly blessed that we had been able to visit the island, and also able to get away from it safely!

More Birds from San Blas

We have traveled north from Bandaras Bay and returned to the small coastal city of San Blas. We quickly arranged a boat trip through the spring-fed Rio Tovaras, so that we could see more of the wonderful birds that reside near San Blas. This Green Kingfisher was one of several making great loops across the river at 7 am this morning.

We saw seven species of herons this morning. This handsome bird is a Tiger Heron. This view, through a telephoto lens, edited to correct exposure, is the best view we have had of this bird's wonderful markings.