Sloooowwwwwww start... 24:06.34N,109:48.65W

Moondance
Alex Belmont
Wed 2 May 2012 20:05
Well, here we go again. Welcome back to the blog. This time we're on the
lovely little boat, Moondance. Managed to get out of La Paz a mere two weeks
after I originally would have liked. Not too bad.

Anyway, the boat is still not quite put away. We have a hammock of fruits
and veges hanging right in the middle of everything, bags of the more robust
vegetables on the cabin sole, bits and pieces scattered about, etc. oh well,
at least we got the anchor up. And the mess is slowly resolving itself.

Forty-eight hours out of La Paz - we're almost through the Cerralvo channel.
That's gotta be a record for slow progress. We've had 24 hours of dead calms
(I mean absolutely DEAD, glassy, not a breath of air), 23 hours of winds on
the nose, and one hour filled with very light wind on the quarter. Yeah, not
the nicest conditions. At
least it has been pretty flat water.

We've been stuck in this channel for almost 18 hours. We're finally at the
southern end, beating toward open
water, doing everything we can to work against this current. the tide should
turn in about an hour, at which time we will be on our way again. Let's hope
the wind soon turns northerly like it's supposed to be around here. Weather
predictions
showed a few days of westerlies, shifting north. Not the conditions we've
seen so far.

We could be passing Cabo San Lucas now if we had motored. Who wants to motor
though? We also would have had to stop to refuel if we had done that. I'd
rather go slow and not have listen the the racket of a two cylinder
diesel...

Moony has actually been performing quite well considering the
less-than-ideal conditions. She is pretty heavy with all the food, water,
gear, and such, but doesn't feel too weighed down. I can hardly wait to see
what she makes of the trades. Should be pretty magical.

OK, more to come soon. Let's hope for some northerlies!
_________________________________________

Welcome new viewers! This is Rose speaking, now crewing on Moondance!
I know I mentioned that there would be pictures... just wait for it! I will work on
an album on my end of the line which will be posted somewhat after this crossing!
Meanwhile, you can stay posted on our evolution thru this very blog and go to my
Facebook to find out how to stay in touch! PLEASE send me your emails... I forgot
to write them down so I could write to you and now I payyyyy... THANKS! That's
all folks! Stay tuned for more. ;)