Category: 2019 – 2020 Season 1

We woke up at about 6:30. One of the two bigger power boats had left but there are still 11 boats at anchor here. The sunrise was beautiful! The water is calm and there is just a hint of a breeze. The plan today is to go ashore and hike for a bit, then come back to the boat for lunch and then out again snorkeling.

We had breakfast, did our devotions and then kayaked ashore. We went for a hike crossed the island and then up to the ridge to the south. We met a few people on our hike one couple was Clint and Reina Burnett on S/V Karma. They asked us to come over for happy hour at 5 pm, and we did later that evening.

We hiked back to the kayak and paddled back to the boat. Renee’ made banana break (Very good) and we played a game (Qwirkle, thanks Ken for suggesting it!) I won the first round and Renee’ won the second. The game is played with tiles, and you are supposed to play till you run out of tiles, but we played the first round until we ran out of room for the tiles on the table. When we tried to move the tiles further down the table we got confused on what the layout had been and decided it made more sense to call the game and start over. The second game ended when we looked at the clock and it was time to go. In any case the first game was not close and neither was the second one. Then we went over to the S/V Karma and chatted for a couple of hours.

S/V Karma Clint and Reina Burnett

sailblogs.com/member/karma

They have been sailing for a few years and are just back from the south end of South America, they have actually been to Antartica. I have not read their blog yet (no cell service here) but will be doing this when I can).  They spent 5 years down their and are in the process of sailing their boat back to the Puerto Penasco to get their boat ready to sell. They plan to move from a sailing yacht to a land yacht and do some driving. We got quite a few idea’s from them!

We got back at about 7:15 pm. Started the generator and had dinner. We plan to put the dinghy away after we shutdown the generator. The issue is that the exhaust from the generator is at the stern of our boat, gets the side of the dinghy dirty and wet as we try to put it away while the generator is running.

On the way back to our boat (in the dark) the outboard died and it was the same as had happened before, I apparently did not get the fuel line plugged in well enough and the outboard ran out of the gas that was in the filter system inside the engine. When that ran out the engine died. I had to unplug the fuel line and get it plugged back in again and then pump the priming pump to get it full and then start the outboard as we drifted away from our boat with the wind up. I really need to take a close look at what I am doing wrong the next time we do this and make sure I have it hooked up correctly so we don’t go drifting away in the dark sometime.

We ran the generator until about 9:30, then brought the dinghy back on board and tidied the deck and got ready for bed. As I was shutting down stuff at the Nav station, I noted that the hand held radio (which I keep on but plugged into the 12volt outlet) was dead. I did not find any obvious reason for this, and elected to figure it out in the morning.

If you want to know where we are, click this link:

https://forecast.predictwind.com/tracking/display/Make_Me_Laugh_Again

 

We got up early (6:30) and Renee’ got a shower while I got the boat ready to go. I filled the holding tank the rest of the way with water, unplugged the shore power cables, and when she was done with her shower Renee’ checked us out of the marina. Mike from Ikigai helped with the dock lines, and we were out by 8:30. 

We went to Costa Baja for fuel (only fuel dock in La Paz) the price of the fuel is the same in town as at the fuel dock, but there is a docking fee of 1.8 pesos per liter. Diesel is 23.90 pesos per liter, so, 25.70 pesos with the dock fee, and at 3.8 liters to the gallon, 97.66 pesos to the liter, or (at 17 pesos to the dollar) about $5.77 per gallon. We left the fuel dock at about 9:30 and were out and dumped the holding tank and started the water maker by 10:30. 

We turned north and decided that we could get to Isla San Fransisco today, rather than having an overnight on Isla Partida or Espiritu Santo. On the way, we saw a couple of turtles, and had virtually no wind or swells. So, we motored the whole way. 

We arrived about 3:30, there were a few boats already here (8 with us) by dusk there were at least a dozen boats, some are Catamarans, some are big power boats. It is almost crowded.

When we got anchored, I checked the satellite texts, and found that Melanie (Renee’s sister had contacted us to let us know that Bonnie (Renee’s mom) had been walking in the Walmart parking lot, and someone not looking had backed into her with their car. Broken Tibia and possibly ankle. NOT good!

We communicated about that for a bit, and then had dinner and cleaned up. 

If you want to know where we are, click this link:

https://forecast.predictwind.com/tracking/display/Make_Me_Laugh_Again

 

We took our showers, had our breakfast and got out to the shuttle. It was late, and we met John and Ellie (S/V Serenity). They have been sailing since 2002. They are on their 3rd boat. They have been as far as New Zealand to the west, and through the Panama Canal and across the Atlantic. They have done the Great Loop (power boat). 

We took the shuttle to church “Destino Christiano”. Then hiked back to the bank and took an Uber back to the boat. 

The “boat kids” came over for a couple of hours in the afternoon. Might be our last time together for some time. As we are going north, and they are going to the islands and then heading back up the west coast.

They came over and we played a game of Rummy 500, Mike from Ikigai was over for a bit as well, then Renee’ took them in the shuttle at 5 pm back to where their dinghy was. Then she went to the Bunco came at the cruisers club. While she was gone I washed the boat, and ran a load of clothes and got a shower. 

Renee’ won for most bunco’s and was back aboard by about 10 pm.

We took no pictures this day.

If you want to know where we are, click this link:

https://forecast.predictwind.com/tracking/display/Make_Me_Laugh_Again

We got up a bit early, had our breakfast did our devotions, got showers and made it to the shuttle by 9 am. We went to the Farmers Market in town, bought some veggies and pastries and then hiked back to the boat. We got it all put away, and then headed back out. We took an Uber ride to Walmart, and finished our shopping, then another Uber ride back to the boat and then stopped rushing around for a bit, followed by laundry, and dinner.

After dinner, we watched a movie. It was Ok, but not worth even talking about.

Tomorrow, we will go to church here in La Paz for probably the last time, and then coming back and wash the boat. We are still planning on leaving Monday morning. We have an appointment at the fuel dock to top off the tank at 9 am.  Then out of La Paz (velcro bay) we are planning on getting to Isla Partida, probably somewhere we have not already been and then the next day we will go up to Isla San Fransisco.

We slept in a bit, finally got up and had breakfast and did our devotions. This was one of those “retired” days. We had nothing to do and spent all day doing it!

Actually, I installed two cup holders in the cockpit. Other than that we really didn’t do much.

We went to dinner at the church, we had a quick walk for 2.5 miles, an hour to get there. We had a pretty enjoyable dinner and the couple that we sat with Chet and Rebecca gave us a ride back to the marina. Below are a few pictures that I have not posted and should have in the last couple of days.