we left april 7th from san diego  on prefrontal winds- some to 25+kts, under jib n jigger.. was a good sail – we didnt run out of wind until salsipuedes,  at which time  i looked at  one of my crew and decided to go into ensenada….. there wasnt much  breeze anymore and what we had at that time was flukey and weak.   on our way into ensenada harbor, before we actually got to  the entrance,  the ships bell fell—- oops -i was having thoughts about  trying to finish to  turtle bay,  but the bell made my  brane  scream  we needed to enter ensenada– so we did.  we  docked at  botes juanitos,  a friendly and family run  organization, where i remained for 1 week, when newport ensenada racers arrived– i was anchored in harbor for that .    after the week   of anchoring, i  docked at  ensenda marina for  a couple of weeks– found crew i didnt get along withand  was gifted a flubug as a result— took 3 weeks to rid meself of that one.

sailing out of ensenada  may 6th  with juan lu from botes juanitos was  a goood trip–we made cedros with only a few major repairs done while  underway–sold my avon and  nissan  3.5 HP engine for  diesel and oil and filters…..  by cedros,  found the starter wasnt  functional anymore— sailed on 25 kt  breezes half   way   down cedros onth einside before running out of air—  became  becalmed for 36 hours, making  fun looking patterns with spot.

dawn  monday we finally made   it thru the entrance into  the bay  at the village of cedros, where remained for 4  or so days  repairing a starter which turned out to be the wrong one for my perkins 4-108. came off the westerbeke 4-107  that  was in the bird  when purchased by me.

when finally we were repairwed and   everything was functional ,  we  left cedros after a night f partying with some of juan lu’s friends who reside  on cedros.

we sailed nicely under  reeefed  jib and  reeefed  mizzensail for most of the  way to cabo–during the nght  north of cabo we encountered some decent brezes  measuring 60 kts on  our anemometer.  we broke 8 ktson speed under sail f or jib n  jigger  formosa sailing..LOL… most folks i heard  have reported 4 kts  without reefing….oops–  we did receive seas over the  bulwarks at the waist of  my ship–lol but the cockpit remained dry– these boats dislike quartering seas—- everything   waas everywhere– we had a lot of chop but the tops of seas were still not windblown–LOL… rolly ride but fast!!!!

cabo   was reached at daybreak– actually the time was 0530— fueled with 20 gallons diesel– felt  20 gallons  more appropriate than 15 ….  we left with prediction of goood  breezes  for us, and received glassy seas  no  more than  an hour out of cabo san lucas,  lasting until  mazatlan.

arrived in mazatlan old harbour with  a total of 3 gallons diesel remaining in  tanks..LOL…….  close one !!  i  saw the masts of my friends” schooner  before we  arrived at the  opening to the harbour, and   we anchored  near them — there  were 3  sailing boats   owned by cruisers  on our arrival– patricia belle, schooner,  third day, a  force 50 ketch, and a  cute lil traditional cutter named arctic tern, out of maine.

so faqr, there has been a  pacific low  offshore  stalled, so winds ar eon the noses of those  sailing north — looks to be  dissipating vs relocating by week‘s end, so my neighbors will be  abandoning this  harbour for  points north…for hurrycame season, it has been recommended i  go to marina mazatlan for  docking  behind the condos, where the wind is blocked, so i will try that, at least until i am repaired again  and up and running…..

i still have to repair my alternator bracket, polish my fuel and  install a racor system for the fuel lines. a lil diesel wont hurt, either-LOL

i will also replace my bottom fishing gear– was removed from boat while in cedros–oops along with my ipod  which was gift to me  pior to leaving sd….. oh well– juan lu installed my stereo, so i have tunes again… hooooyaahh..man was worth his weight in 24 kt gold….

i LOVE my formosa even tho formosa my life i will need to work on her– the  decorative cap was  destroyed  by winds  when i was using it for  anchoring my  mizzen  preventer–oops—–there are some goood hardwoods here in mexico– will make  one out of one of those instead of teak— mebbe will last a lil longer than just 37 or so yrs.>LOL

 

still seeking  souls who  desire to sail with me— am always open for crew!!