This journal starts 7 months after our adventures aboard Flyin Sideways began. There were many milestones along the way, and many people that contributed in one way or another to make it all happen, but it was mostly, a lot of research and hard work. The chronology of the beginning is well documented on facebook and on our blog; now, the internet is a luxury, enjoyed only in larger harbors. Karin and I, and Gypsy and Jack, have been on our own for a week, and doing great! Leaving La Paz was one of our happiest moments,.. our first anchorage was at Caleta Partida, on the north end of Espiritu Santo. Two days later, we headed out for Isla San Fransisco, another two days, and on to San Everisto. Along the way, we saw a large pod of dolphins, caught and released two Bonita, met Juan Carlos, and took the dogs to the beach a couple of times. We're now in Agua Verde. Gypsy doesn't like going ashore, and we can't keep Jack in the dingy. Having two large dogs on a boat is a challenge, but …..according to our broker,.Steve Dexter,....dogs love boats!

May 17, 2013

We awoke to howling Westerly winds, after a night of drag alarms, and rough conditions.

Enjoying the breeze in the morning, it settled down. I had to go underwater to check our zinc on the prop shaft, it was still there, yeah! Around noon we hauled anchor ,and headed for Puerto Escondido.

For several days we've been watching boats come and go, towing their dingies.... we made the decision to give it a try. As soon as we were underway, we didn't like it; the dingy was bouncing around, making noise, and causing us to worry and constantly look back to check. The wind and chop increased to the point that we sought shelter behind Isla Cosme. Dropping anchor right next to the rocks was unnerving, but we held long enough to haul in the outboard, and stow the dingy. Hauled anchor and got on our way. A nice breeze came up out of the west, so the headsail went up, and the engine shut down. That lasted about half an hour, then the wind shifted from the north and the motor was running again,... motor sailing. As we approached Isla Danzante, I had plotted our course, between a large rock, and the southern tip of the island; after some questioning from Karin, we double checked, and there is no passage there....oops! Chartplotters are not 100% Paper charts are a must! A significant heading change and we were good. As we approached Puerto Escondido, a severe gust of wind came off the island and ripped down our cockpit shade! Just as quickly, it was calm again. The harbor entrance was easy, we found our way to an anchorage. A nice couple came over in their dingy and welcomed us, very nice. A couple of days here to restock, clean up, and it's back to sailing!

May 18, 2013

After finishing off our morning coffee, and listening to the local cruisers net, it was time to get some things done. We heard about a pot luck this afternoon with some of the cruisers, so, Karin is busy preparing some stir-fry veggies and noodles, meanwhile I emptied our 5 jerry cans of diesel into the tank, almost topping it off. Next, was doing the same with our fresh water; o.k. tanks are topped off,

just a quick oil change, and we're good for a while.

Jack got to go for a dingy ride to the marina....he's developed some separation anxiety, so it's easier to take him with us. The Porto Bello restaurant has WI-fi, so, we got a margarita, and settled in for our internet fix.

Back on the boat getting ready for the potluck, we have to secure everything before we leave, or Jack will shred it. That said, we went to the potluck and had an enjoyable afternoon with some nice folks. As usual, when we approach the boat we wonder..”what did Jack eat?”, and as usual, he ate something!

We're going to have to put his crate together to have some peace of mind when we're away from the boat. He needs exercise, so I took him for a swim around the boat. The water temperature has finally warmed enough to be comfortable and refreshing. Yeah!!  

          May 24, 2013

The next day we rented a car and went to Loreto to fill up our Jerry cans and have a look around. There wasn't too much to see; an old church, a small street market, and at the Malecon, there is a nice bronze whale shark sculpture. We stopped for lunch at a small mariscos taqueria, good food at reasonable prices. Next stop, the liquor store... we restocked our tequila rations, and saw the coolest little dog on a bike!

“El Pescador.”. the supermarket, was o.k., but no seafood? We finished shopping, and as I returned to the car; Karin is buying giant shrimp from a woman in the parking lot! Perfect!

The next day we left Puerto Escondido for Isla Coronado. We sailed most of the way there in light to moderate winds. As we approached the anchorage, Karin said something about a fishing boat; I saw one off of our port side, then she said “no... over there!” I looked to the right, and saw a panga heading straight for us... at top speed.

Assuming it was a fisherman wanting to sell something, I stood up on the rail to wave him in. Instead, it turned out to be a gringo giving us a buzz job! Too bad he didn't see our fishing line, or he might have turned sooner; I screamed.. FISHING!!!! and he barreled right into it, almost taking our pole off of the boat. What a dick! If he didn't have a bimini, he might have lost his head. The anchorage was easy, but as soon as we stopped.... bees, lots of bees. Luckily, the wind came up and gave some relief.

We enjoyed a beautiful sunset, had a nice dinner.. pasta with sausage and alfredo sauce; Karin is amazing with her provisioning, I may get fat on this trip!

That night I decided to put a line in the water. Boom! As fast as I could put the line in the water, another fish. With Karins advice, we released them all. Honestly, 5 minutes and we had two grouper, and two triggerfish, but we have lots of food, so, no need to kill anything. It was fun, and apparently fish love chorizo! Our new staple for bottom fishing bait.

We really didn't see any reason to stay there more than one night. In the morning we decided to head for Punta Mangles, but shortly after we left Coronado, the wind kicked in, and we were sailing along at 7 knots. The wind direction dictated our decision to press on and find a suitable bay. We were having such a good sail, we didn't want to stop! We did practice “Heaving To”, and it worked well. We got back underway, and then it got really windy, with a moderate swell quartering off the stern. It was hard to keep the boat from rolling back and forth. Enough fun for one day, we dropped sails and made way for La Ramada; a small bay sheltered from the swell, but still allowing a good breeze. This is what we were looking for. Though it is shallower that we'd like (12'), it's sand bottom, and not crowded. The Ramada inn!

Friday morning, we got the dingy back in the water. The outboard has issues, but still runs.. so, we got the dogs to the beach for some much needed shore leave. Jack is nearly going insane; we've got to get him more exercise before he loses it. He is a good catch though!

Gypsy really enjoyed the beach at La Ramada. Getting back on the boat is still a bit of a challenge for the old girl but she made it again! She's such a good trooper.

As we mentioned earlier; chartplotters are not 100%. Right now we're anchored in 15' of water, not on a cliff!

 Tides can be tricky. When we anchored in 15' of water, we thought that the average tide around here was about 2 to 3 feet. With a full moon, the tides were significantly greater; at one point we were at 8.8 feet; we draft 7 feet! The next morning, we moved farther out to 25 feet, and slept much better last night.

Neptune must have liked our catch and release policy, because for the last two days, our neighbors, Terry and Dawn, aboard the trimaran; Manta, blessed us with fresh Yellowtail (Sashimi!), then Scallops yesterday! Man, we're eating good!

We're enjoying La Ramada, we could stay here for a while. We spent most of the morning cleaning up the boat, and taking care of some maintenance; cleaned out the bilge and changed the fuel filter.

Sunday morning started with a zero visibility fog. Our friends on Manta left this morning, before we cou

ld say..”so long, and thanks for all the fish!”

It's Memorial Day weekend back in the states; bbq's, picnics, parades, all in memory of our fallen soldiers. It feels so far away. That's not a bad thing, we're finding out that the little things in life mean a lot, and though we miss friends and family, it is great being on our own.

That afternoon, we decided to go around the point and check out the bay at San Juanico.

 Leaving Juanico, we headed north for Bahia Conception, but first; a recap of San Juanico.

Just a short hop from La Ramada is another anchorage, with a rocky beach that's home to a “sailors shrine”... a tree festooned with memorabilia, names scratched into limestone, and now, our little plane that says flyin sideways. We enjoyed a nice beach walk with the dogs, now we just have to get Gypsy and Jack back on the boat. To make a long story short; as Jack was going up the dock steps, Gypsy dove off the dingy! Didn't expect that. Karin and I had practiced lifting Gypsy with a harness.... just before we left for the beach. So, I dove in to get her, and in her excitement, she nipped my nose. Ouch!

Luckily, we had rehearsed; Karin got the halyard, I hooked it onto Gypsy's harness, and we hauled her on board. The steps down to a moving dingy aren't too bad for her, but, the first step up is too far for her to reach. She just said NO! We all had kind of a quiet night.....it was a difficult and scary experience.

San Juanico behind us, we're northbound again on our way to Bahia Concepcion.,22nm, we motored the first half, then the wind was with us for a broad reach at 5 to 7 knots, right on the exact heading for our course! Along the way, we encountered some brown gulls that circled us very close. A single file flight of pelicans close to a mile long was the best sight of the day. Playfully jumping manta rays have become routine. But ,it is never routine when the fishing reel starts its whine, as line plays out. This was a huge hit, the rod holder was turned almost ninety degrees, I grabbed the rod, before it was pulled from the holder, and... nothing. Either the line broke, or the fish bit through it; we'll never know. Losing the fish, and the rapalla lure was really frustrating. The fact that it happened again, about an hour later, made me really question, what am I doing wrong? Uh.. I'm not a professional fisherman, I'll be asking around for ideas and advice. I don't want to lose lures, I want to catch fish:)

We rounded the point into Bahia Concepcion, and choose the north anchorage at Play Sanispac.

The next day, we were going to hitch a ride to the town of Mulege. When we reached the highway, a truck came up behind us from the beach, we looked at each other, and he waved us in. His name was Jaime (Jimmy), he gave us a ride to town, and enjoyed what little conversation we could make in spanish. Mulege is a quiet old town, with cobbled streets, a small plaza, and several small shops and resturaunts. We went to a dive shop and met an American named Robert, who gave us good advice, and insights into the local business environment. Shopping is a necessary evil, not trinkets, but provisions. The market was good, and as we headed toward the highway, Jaime drove up, and offered us a ride back to the boat! It turns out, his grandmother owned the restaurant on the beach. She passed on, but it's still in the family, and he's helping out. Of course, we offered him some pesos for the ride, and as I expected, he would not accept anything, he was just happy to help us. Jose, the manager of the “beach park” was also very helpful, he brought 25 gallons of drinking water, and a case of Tecate to our boat by Panga. We saw him this morning, and bought more scallops! It should be a nice dinner tonight

Back to Playa Sanispac; I was unaware that salt water catfish even existed. Once we had anchored; catfish, lots of catfish, were swimming in the shadow of the boat. I guess they came up from 30 feet.

Karin wanted to cool off, but the catfish were swarming, picking at her feet! Killer catfish!

I tried the ladder, and one of them tried to eat my big toe.

That was cool, but no swimming!

Playa El Burro is 2 miles south of Sanispac,and has some interesting geology, a couple small resturaunts. And, no catfish. We found JC's, across the highway, and had some great tacos!, we didn't look for the petroglyphs, it was too hot We'll overnight here, and then Punta Chivato tomorrow.

An absolutely perfect night; a breeze, no bugs, and a ¾ moon. We slept outside, it was so nice.... we woke up at dawn, and began preparations for our departure. With everything secure, we started the engine, and a few minutes later, I went forward to haul the anchor. I saw something in the water to my left. A school of baitfish,?.... no; a 25' Whaleshark! It swam by a few feet off the bow, Karin got to see it just as it started to dive. What a great way to start the day! After we motored out to the main channel, the wind was picking up, so, we raised the sails; and sailed all the way to Punta Chivato.