The weather continues to be excellent – 25 plus degrees during the day and a cool 22 or so in the evening. The sky is clear blue with occasional “fluffies” (a complex meteorogical term learned from the SONRISA Net weather guy (truly excellent weather reports!).  All going well we will depart shortly for Caleta Partida yet again to enjoy more of the spectacular sunsets provided by the just right confluence of geography, meteorology and planetary motion.

Marathon is currently resting in beautiful Marina Palmira on the outskirts of La Paz while the skipper has returned to the great frozen wasteland of the north for a couple of weeks to take care of a few details.  Barring a major snowstorm, boat and skipper will reunite on 17 December.  Yahoo!

We enjoyed some absolutely amazing downwind sailing for 6 of 7 days between Ensenada and Cabo san Lucas. Sailing that is normally only possible in one’s dreams!  We motored the last 8 miles into Cabo san Lucas, which seems to be more of a nightmare than a dream – somewhat like a large movie set for industrial tourism gone wrong.  However, the showers were nice after 7 days at sea.

Sadly, we left Lou behind in Cabo so that he could catch his flight back home to the rain, cold and darkness of Vancouver in November.  Peter and I moved on to San Jose del Cabo in zero wind using the engine. We went by 3 cruise ships in Cabo’s outer harbour, the tenders of which made the normal pandemonium at the harbour entrance appear to be peace and tranquility of the highest order.

Now, we are tied up right next to Paul Allen’s megayacht which comes complete with a helicopter.

Tomorrow we hope to sail or motor to Los Frailes and anchor.  Once in La Paz more pretty pictures and the digested thoughts of a now experienced downwind sailor will be posted, internet connection speed permitting.

An overnight sail took us from Santa Catalina to San Diego. Sadly, the wind only allowed about 2 hours of sailing the remaining 12 or so hours required the engine.  We arrived just off of San Diego at about 4 AM and decided to wait for daylinght before entering the harbour.  Interestingly, we were accompanied by a submarine on our way in.  We spent our first night at the very expensive but dissappointing Kona Kai Marina but then took advantage of Peter’s False Creek Yacht Club reciprocal opportunities at the San Diego Yacht Club – this is a very serious marina and it will be hard to pry us loose from here!

Sailing south towards warm water, gentle breezes and a new horizons remain prime motivators for sailors everywhere.  After leaving Santa Barbara we set our course for Avalon on Santa Catalina Island.  Proximity to Los Angeles has created an eclectic mixture of “California”, Europe and “boatyism” (my word) in a compact and remarkably charming anchorage.  Opening the hatch on to a tropical nouveau European fishing village architecture and environment enveloped in warm air where people move about, at least on land, using electric golf carts, created a Hollywood moment on the water.  Good for one night or so but likely to wear thin on a long term basis.  However, seeing palm trees through the hatch is a good thing!

Bonds between friends are often based on shared interests and experience.  When travelling by small boat it is frequently the case that we meet many like-minded people either on the dock or in an anchorage and our recent very pleasant  stay in Santa Barbara generated a number of new acquaintenances.  We were tied up on the main spine of the dock only a few boat lengths from the gate which meant that pretty much everybody in this large marina walked past Marathon either on their way to or from their boat.  The Canadian flag, the Hydrovane, the nifty canvas covers on the fuel jerry cans and the “currently cruising” ambience generated by all the other stuff hanging off of  the boat, prompted many people to stop and talk.

We were particularly lucky when the owner of “Ma’s Grappa” stopped to enquire about our trip.  Georgio, and his delightful wife, Gloria are now our new best friends in Santa Barbara.  Giorgio’s enthusiasm for sailing and boats along with a generous and warm heart for fellow sailors made our stay that much better.  He is also a distingquished linquist at UC Santa Barbara so our shared academic professional background, enthusiasm for sailing and cooking also contributed to the many hours of engaging conversation that we were able to share.  An invitation to a well prepared and delicious dinner in someone’s home always makes a visit to new city that much more memorable.  We remain very grateful to Giorgio and Gloria for their exceptionally warm and generous hospitality.

Our first morning in Santa Barbara revealed a major issue with the propane system – it had ceased working.  Discovering a major equipment failure on a boat,  is always discouraging,  but when the system is intimately connected to the production of coffee, it is a crisis.  An inexperienced sailor would immediately suspect that the propane tank was empty but experienced salts will of course know that boat problems are never, ever, that simple.  With all hands on deck we were able to bang and smack the propane tank solenoid with various implements until gas was again flowing. After coffee and breakfast the  propane solenoid, sporting screw connections as corroded as a crooked politician, was rewired and bathed in WD40.  All is now well and a once again dependable supply of morning coffee has kept a nearly mutinous crew on the straight and narrow.

An itemized list of broken and otherwise disappointing equipment will soon be published in this space.  A similar list of outstanding equipment will also be published.

We arrived in Santa Barbara on 26 October, roughly two days after leaving Monterey.  The first night out provided some strong winds and very big seas, with peak wind speeds occuring in the 35 kt range with 12 ft seas, just before and after midnight.  Lou’s midnight watch started with the addition of a third reef in the main.  Working at the mast on a gyrating boat is not easy at the best of times and the process is much complicated by darkness. Fortunately the development of small, light and red-lens equipped headlamps (along with good harnesses and tethers) reduces the risk associated with the arduous task of reefing after dark in big winds and seas.  Lou managed to put a really excellent reef in the main, in the dark, in big seas, and big gusty winds, despite flinging his precious headlamp over the side of the boat early on in the process,  thus requiring completion in the dark as the moon had gone down by this time.  A skilled sailor – but that’s what sailors do!

Approaching the “horn of the north”, just before midnight on the second night out started quite dramatically when we encountered a tug pulling a barge, with shore lights and oil rig lights contributing to a difficult working environment. We managed to miss the tug and its barge and then started paying a lot more attention to the oil rigs but fortunately they don’t move.

We rounded Pt Arguello just before midnight and just before the wind died down to nothing.  Starting the engine on a clear, windless night on what is allegedly the most difficult area for sailors on the central California coast, because of big wind, big seas and maximum fog, was somewhat anti-climatic after reading all of the helpful literature telling us that we could rest up from the ordeal just around the corner in Cojo.  We opted to keep going with the motor on and arrived in Santa Barbara at around noon.  People were swimming on the beaches and we were able to ditch our fleece and exchange it for short pants and t-shirts.  Just like the book said we could.

Now there is a gale blowing and we are likely stuck here until Thursday.  Very sad.

The following weather report for the stretch between Pt Piedras Blancas and Pt Arguello has us stuck in Monterey for at least another day – the prospect of bumping along in the dark has negative appeal:

 THU

 NW WINDS 20 TO 25 KT WITH OCCASIONAL GUSTS TO 35 KT. COMBINED

 SEAS 9 TO 11 FT DOMINANT PERIOD 17 SECONDS. PATCHY FOG IN THE

 MORNING.

  THU NIGHT

 N WINDS 20 TO 25 KT WITH OCCASIONAL GUSTS TO 35 KT.

 COMBINED SEAS 11 TO 13 FT.

If we leave Thursday or Friday we should be able to avoid the worst.

Two videos have been added in the “Links” section on the right hand side of the page.  In that same location is a “Position Report” which links to a Google map showing where we last transmitted a position report via HAM/Winlink.