Traveling Terrapin

San Juanico

2005-05-04T07:48:00.000-07:00

We are currently in beautiful, much talked about, San Juanico...and poor Eric hasn't seen it yet (have been here a full 24 hours).
Seems that Montezuma's revenge has not been a problem but Mollie Stones revenge may have taken him out. Patrick kindly sent down 2 steaks and 2 halibut filets in a freezer with Bobbi. They tasted great but I must have won the steak roulette because I feel fine and Eric is bed-ridden.
We will be staying here for another night and then heading north to Punto Chivato and Santa Rosalia. In Santa Rosalia we will get preped for making the crossing of the Sea of Cortez...to San Carlos. We should be arriving in San Carlos/Guaymas on May 12th. At that point we will be hauling the boat out of the water and prepping it for the return to the bay area.
Matt

we'll try them all

2005-04-15T14:43:00.000-07:00

out of la paz between isla la partida and espiritu santo. yesterday's spearfishing brought in 2 strange ones..i'll refer to one as turd of the sea for its flavor and texture. eric brought it to the surface and knocked it out with an oar right in front of a family of first time snorkelers...they were shocked and awed. the more elusive, tastier ones are scared as we've stocked the boat with oxygen and will be leveling the playing field by diving after them in our next attempts. we need a fish eating guide to the sea of cortez but will try by elimination for now.

Position Update

2005-04-15T12:53:00.000-07:00

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Latitude 24° 31.924" N, Longitude 110° 22.787" W
The position report was received Friday April 15 2005 at 6:58 PM GMT

To view on Maptech mapserver, click on the link below.

http://mapserver.maptech.com/bp/mapserver/index.cfm?lat=24.532059&lon=-110.379791&type=0&zoom=50&scale=400000&icon=crosshair_yel_32_32_-16_-16|24.532059|-110.379791|http%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Eskymate%2Ecom%2F|06%3A58+GMT%2C+Apr+15%2C+2005

leaving la paz...

2005-04-13T14:54:00.000-07:00

well matt put on his best shirt and went down to see the man with the stamp, he decided he could do it after talking with matt, then made him wait an hour before he could find the time to put the stamp to the paperwork allowing matt to get the boat in/out of mexico with no problems.

moments like these and taking 30 minutes yesterday for 3 grocery store employees to determine they didn't know where the key to the tequila case is give us little insight into how things work, or don't work in mexico.

anyway, we leave la paz after a few extra days with stamp and tequila in hand.

still in la paz...

2005-04-12T18:05:00.000-07:00

well...we're waiting for paperwork from the mexican government to allow us to get the boat out of mexico. so we've been in la paz frequenting our favorite arranchera stand...5 more punches on the card and i get a free taco.

we went out to isla partida and espiritu santo, two islands out of la paz and anchored for a few days of snorkeling, kayaking and spear fishing. we finally had legitimate spear fish kills, or liggett did. its been our personal mission to chase every fish in the sea of cortez...our skills are improving and i think the fish know it.

back in la paz we've been exploring the town and having tequila taste testings. we had a day of diving with the sea lions and diving a wreck which had old trucks on the decks when it went down. I found a fish head the size of my own (obviously huge) and put it on as a mask 70 feet down to scare the other divers.

assuming the mexican official finds the stamp he has been looking for (we're sweetening the deal for him) we'll get the papers cleared and be on our way north tomorrow.

Bahia Frailes and La Paz

2005-04-04T14:05:00.000-07:00

We made it to Bahia de Frailes up north into the sea of cortez, as we pulled in it was a veritable sea food buffet....sharks were swiming, whales breaching, manta rays jumping in the air....pretty amazing. We ended up there a few extra days as the northerly winds were too strong to sail north..i mean we try and had our arses handed to us....25knot gusts and we were moving at 1 knot and hour against it...so we retreated to more snorkeling and drinking margaritas at the one bar in town. Ligget and I attempted a dingy run north to cabo pulmo and the winds picked up and swells picked up and we were surfing huge 7 or 8 ft waves, white knuckling the throttle and accelerated on the up and riding out the down. Bahia Frailes did not want us to leave. I made my first spearfish kill....i misidentified a ray for something else and got him right between the eyes...as i brought him in he gave me his last shock...it turned out to be an electric ray. do not worry...they are in abundance i hear.

Matt and bobbi took a trip into San Jose to pick up Matts brother and the cabbie blew his tire out and drove on dirt roads on the rim for 35 min at 1 AM till he could do it no longer. I hiked 2m out in the desert at 1am with tools to help them and only found some mexican cows...it was a long night

Anyway, we sailed north last night and made it to la paz and just had the best $5 meal at rancho viejo..its a must if you make it to lapaz. the cow never had a chance.

more to come....

cabo wabo!

2005-03-31T13:13:00.000-08:00

23 23' 87 N
109 25 24 223 W

we've left cabo san lucas finally. we spent a day snorkeling, rented an isuzu truck that had been converted to a humvee (think lots of plastic) and got it stuck in todos santos, explored cabo san jose. Eric and I, in a quest for a real locals bar walked deep off the tourist routes and ended up in a "sports bar" that ended up being a brothel. enough of cabo and the spring break scene, so we've entered the sea of cortez and as we anchored into bahia de frailles (sp?) we saw a whale breach 10ft, manta rays jump, shark fins (i assume a shark goes with), tortoises and dolphins...it was the buffet table at red lobster right off our bow. we're here for a couple days of snorkeling, diving, and we're contemplating bringing out the spear gun...will update.

Position Update

2005-03-27T01:39:00.000-08:00

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Latitude 22° 53.097" N, Longitude 109° 54.646" W
The position report was received Sunday March 27 2005 at 9:39 AM GMT

To view on Maptech mapserver, click on the link below.

http://mapserver.maptech.com/bp/mapserver/index.cfm?lat=22.884949&lon=-109.910767&type=0&zoom=50&scale=400000&icon=crosshair_yel_32_32_-16_-16|22.884949|-109.910767|http%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Eskymate%2Ecom%2F|09%3A39+GMT%2C+Mar+27%2C+2005

made it to Cabo

2005-03-26T15:38:00.000-08:00

We sailed into Cabo San Lucas this morning after 5 days straight on
the boat. Running shifts on sailing all night long has eliminated any
schedule or sense of morning, afternoon, evening...sleep when you
want..eat when you want...you can even have Tecate for breakfast we've
discovered.

Anyhow....sailing down the mexican pacific coast we passed maybe 5
boats the whole time...a little strange. It was nice to reach cabo
and at least see another boat. We spent the afternoon cleaning the
boat of 2 weeks of 3 guys trapped in the same 40ft space. enough said.

Going to sit here for a couple of days and get entry paperwork done,
restock, maybe snorkel a little and head up into the sea of cortez in
search of seafood.

Position Update

2005-03-26T01:36:00.000-08:00

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Latitude 23° 29.271" N, Longitude 110° 35.761" W
The position report was received Saturday March 26 2005 at 9:36 AM GMT

To view on Maptech mapserver, click on the link below.

http://mapserver.maptech.com/bp/mapserver/index.cfm?lat=23.487854&lon=-110.596024&type=0&zoom=50&scale=400000&icon=crosshair_yel_32_32_-16_-16|23.487854|-110.596024|http%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Eskymate%2Ecom%2F|09%3A36+GMT%2C+Mar+26%2C+2005

Position Update

2005-03-25T01:36:00.000-08:00

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Latitude 25° 10.752" N, Longitude 113° 4.191" W
The position report was received Friday March 25 2005 at 9:36 AM GMT

To view on Maptech mapserver, click on the link below.

http://mapserver.maptech.com/bp/mapserver/index.cfm?lat=25.179199&lon=-113.069855&type=0&zoom=50&scale=400000&icon=crosshair_yel_32_32_-16_-16|25.179199|-113.069855|http%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Eskymate%2Ecom%2F|09%3A36+GMT%2C+Mar+25%2C+2005

early fish catches the lure

2005-03-23T10:45:00.000-08:00

after throwing back 3 fish yesterday with hopes for the big one, we struck out the rest of the day. Captain Liggett holding down the early shift pulled in two fish, the second over 3ft. Apparently these fish only bite in the morning. John the mechanic in Sausalito informed us that tequila on the gills knocks em right out, but a 1/3 of a bottle later we had an angry drunk fish that required Dr. Liggett and Grogan to perform the equivalent of a back alley black market surgery. Matt came above deck...the shock possibly for the poor fish or the blood splattered all over the boat. after being on this haul for 40hrs straight watching liggett eat sushi off the carcass with coffee in the other hand at 9am didn't look so strange. we're 5 hrs off our first mexican port...it will really feel like mexico at that point when we negotiate for more diesel in Bahia de Tortugas with not a single peso and they don't take credit cards...perhaps they like yellow tail.

Position Update

2005-03-23T01:34:00.000-08:00

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Latitude 29° 13.694" N, Longitude 115° 34.383" W
The position report was received Wednesday March 23 2005 at 9:34 AM GMT

To view on Maptech mapserver, click on the link below.

http://mapserver.maptech.com/bp/mapserver/index.cfm?lat=29.228233&lon=-115.573044&type=0&zoom=50&scale=400000&icon=crosshair_yel_32_32_-16_-16|29.228233|-115.573044|http%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Eskymate%2Ecom%2F|09%3A34+GMT%2C+Mar+23%2C+2005

hola amigos...

2005-03-22T11:44:00.000-08:00

we've made it! we left san diego at 3pm yesterday, sailed the night and we're 100m into Mexico and outsmarting the mexican fish by 9am. we crossed the border and the fish started biting...we've thrown them back till we pull something big. liggett's leeks have been sitting up on a shelf wondering when they can start to rot so i think tonight will be fish and leeks for dinner.

we're 15 hrs in with 30 more before we hit Bahia De Tortugas sometime tomorrow afternoon. This is our longest haul to date. I didn't sleep well as i rolled back and forth in bed with the waves. Matt managed to hold down dinner llast night so we're feeling pretty good.

hasta manana

Position Update

2005-03-22T01:34:00.000-08:00

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Latitude 31° 40.450" N, Longitude 116° 57.556" W
The position report was received Tuesday March 22 2005 at 9:34 AM GMT

To view on Maptech mapserver, click on the link below.

http://mapserver.maptech.com/bp/mapserver/index.cfm?lat=31.674160&lon=-116.959274&type=0&zoom=50&scale=400000&icon=crosshair_yel_32_32_-16_-16|31.674160|-116.959274|http%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Eskymate%2Ecom%2F|09%3A34+GMT%2C+Mar+22%2C+2005

Position Update

2005-03-21T01:32:00.000-08:00

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Latitude 32° 42.831" N, Longitude 117° 14.001" W
The position report was received Monday March 21 2005 at 9:32 AM GMT

To view on Maptech mapserver, click on the link below.

http://mapserver.maptech.com/bp/mapserver/index.cfm?lat=32.713848&lon=-117.233353&type=0&zoom=50&scale=400000&icon=crosshair_yel_32_32_-16_-16|32.713848|-117.233353|http%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Eskymate%2Ecom%2F|09%3A32+GMT%2C+Mar+21%2C+2005

landed in marina del ray.....

2005-03-18T15:52:00.000-08:00

We've made it to LA...we don't have our satellite email hooked up yet..should be done in the next day so we'll post more frequently. We made it to LA after having to dive under the boat a couple of times to remove one school bag and a nasty attack of the killer kelp bed which wrapped around our prop leaving us stranded 6 miles off the coast at midnight. We've also lost the luxury of auto pilot...but after today's "chore day", all systems should be go. One guy told matt today that cruising on a sailboat is "doing boat repairs in exotic places." We've already made friends with mechanics and marinas down the california coast. Ligget has even optimized our space to hang clothes by professionally installing hooks in our rooms.

Its not been all work, we've seen many whales, whales breaching 10-15ft in the air, the other night I had perfect wind at my back, moon, clear skies and dolphins escorting us past Santa Barbara...jumping around the boat and weaving around for 2+ hours. I'm attempting to redefine "sport eating", with the kitchen no more than a few steps away from you at any point nothing is safe.

We're getting everything in line to take off from here and head straight to mexico....weather allowing we'll be out of here tomorrow.

untitled

2005-03-10T23:29:00.000-08:00

This is a test posting.....t-minus 1.5 days to take off and everything
is almost ready. Check back as we'll be posting more.