Chris and I have made it back to La Paz! We had a great 2 day sail from San Carlos to San Francisco island. Here are some highlights from the sail:
November 6, 2012 - DAY 1
Day 1 was fast, fun and wet. We were on a beam/broad reach and averaging 5 - 5.5 knots. My stomach felt a bit uneasy, but I was holding down my food. We had 2 bites on our lines, but didn't catch anything.
We were doing 3 hour shifts and Chris was on night watch. I was merrily dreaming away about all the food I would cook/eat when my stomach settled down when I awoke to water being dumped on my head. My first thoughts were, "where am? what's happening?" Then "crash", another wave hit and my head was further soaked. I quickly realized where I was…..in a wet and rocking boat. Ooops, I guess I should have closed that hatch above the settee before going to bed.
Chris yelled down below if I was ok.
"Yes, just wet"
"Sorry, the wind picked up. I'm going on deck to reef the main"
I really didn't want another splash to the face, so I stumbled quickly off of the settee and fumbled around until all of the hatches were closed. In order to reef the main, Chris headed into the wind on a close reach, which intensified the waves pounding into Starship and the queasiness in my tummy. Just get into the cockpit and you'll feel better I kept telling myself. I finally found my glasses, foul weather gear and and life jacket and made it into the cockpit.
Besides that excitement, we both had good night watches. We saw numerous shooting stars and Chris even found a guest squid on deck. Can we eat these little guys?
November 7, 2012 - DAY 2
This passage is definitely what I needed to get back into the cruising spirit.
We've had a truly magical evening. The wind had died down, but we didn't want to turn on the engine, so we were just drifting along at 1-2 knots with the tide while enjoying the sunset. Then we both heard a big "splash". DOLPHINS!!! We excitedly went to the bow hoping for a show and we were not disappointed. We didn't think the dolphins would stay long because we were moving so slowly, but we were sure wrong. We've never had dolphins swim so slowly to stay with Starship and they seemed in an extra playful mood. They would routinely jump and twirl out out of the water like acrobats. I was so amused and excited that I'd cheer and clap for each stunt. It seemed like the more I cheered, the more they would leap out of the water or continuously splash their tails. "Maybe these dolphins were released from Sea World", Chris exclaimed. We were too excited to run and grab the camera, but here's a picture taken of the sunset right before the dolphins came.
A few hours later on my night watch, I was treated to another spectacular show. I thought I heard breathing in the ocean, but I wasn't sure if I was just hearing things in the darkness and going crazy. Then I heard breathing again and the outline of a dolphin framed by bioluminescence. It was eerie and beautiful to see the dolphin's silhouettes glowing with yellow/green sparkles. They would leave a bright trail every time they zoomed by. I wondered if these were the same dolphins that visited us a few hours earlier. How truly fortunate we feel to experience these wonders of our world aboard Starship.
ISLA SAN FRANCISCO
At Isla San Francisco, we were treated to the best water visibility (40 - 50 ft) that we've experienced. It made for some great snorkeling and playing around Starship.
We also went on a beautiful hike along the ridge of the island.
Thank you Earl and Louise for having us aboard Serenity and all of your generous gifts. Visits on your air conditioned and spacious motorboat were highly luxurious for Chris and me. We've already caught a fish with your lure! We're just hoping for a different species of fish next time!
