Start of the fall sailing season! Excitement had been building for a few weeks, as had the pile of boat parts. This year rather than the 11 hour bus ride I opted to meet my crew member Mike in San Diego, where we would use the CBX border crossing to the Tijuana airport for a flight to Hermosillo. I had arranged a taxi with Jose Arviso (+52 1 662 188 5649) to Guaymas for 1,600 pesos ($83) saving a lot of hassle and only costing about $40 more than the bus. This proved to be a smart move as we quickly picked up our rental car and made it to the marina by lunch time, including a stop at JJ’s for some tasty tacos.
Strikhedonia faired the hot summer and TS Sergio well. But while checking everything over I found that one of the Winston starter batteries cells failed. Fuck. I suppose this was better than the house bank, since we were able to pick up a new battery from AutoZone and it was a simple swap. Normal commissioning took three days and included two trips to Roberto the outboard guru – once to fix a gear shifting issue and another to unclog the carburetor jets. Just like that we said goodbye to dinners and Hammerheads and breakfasts at Barracuda Bob’s for the peace found when on anchor.
First stop was just a few miles away at Algodones, it was a chance for Mike to get some time on the helm and enjoy an absolutely beautiful day on the water. Only bummer was the large swell from hurricane Willa was creating a 6-8 foot pounding breakers on the shore so a margarita at the Soggy Peso bar was not in the cards. Instead we enjoyed watching the kite surfers and relaxed the afternoon away.
It was an early dinner and off to bed since our alarm clocks were set for 2:00am for our crossing to Santa Rosalia, and at the sound of the bell off we went across the Sea of Cortez. Once out of the protection of the mainland we ran into wind waves on to our forward starboard hull and occasional large southern swell lifting us up and gently lowering us back down. For about five hours we had somewhat uncomfortable conditions but around sunrise things settled down and we enjoyed the final few hours to Santa Rosalia in benign conditions. Jason on Volare sent a message when he saw a boat approaching and confirmed it was us. We were lucky as when we arrived there was only one spot left for a catamaran. Whew. Time to crack open the beers to celebrate a successful passage crossing and to hear about Jason’s summer adventure. The season started off in good fashion.
That night we headed up to the famous Chinese restaurant with Jason only to find they were closed. Guess I will not be testing the Mexican Chinese food waters quite yet since my last time in Ensenada back in 2016 when I ended up with food poisoning. Maybe that is a good thing. Instead Jason suggested a taco stand for Al Pastor tacos. Done. We had some kick ass tacos for cheap and left with our belly’s full and out taste buds tingling. With the 2:00am departure the this morning, sleep was calling.
No Comments