Heading for Cabo
Sowell Family's Travels on Gijima
Skipper: Tim Sowell Admiral Tracy Crew Sean & Alex
Wed 13 Jan 2010 06:25
watch (10 pm to 2 am)taking over from Ed, we are about 100 nM from Cabo
moving at approx 7 knots, another clear night of stars with the odd cruise
ship lit up like a Christmas tree.
At midday we lifted the anchor after a couple of hours in Santa Maria, the
surf was too much to go ashore, so we just slept and had a great breakfast
and swim and shower. We traded 8 lobsters for 6 cokes and some candy, which
we will have tonight and in the first 1/2 we have caught two more yellow
tail. Sun is out, warm temperature and 10 knots of wind we are just cruising
down the coast past the entrance to Mag Bay. We decided over breakfast that
after getting the weather forecasts and models for the next 5 days, that
there was a weather window to go from Cabo to La Paz starting Friday/
Saturday and it was really the first window in a couple of weeks, so we are
going to do an overnight run tonight expecting to arrive in Cabo at the base
Baja Peninsula early afternoon tomorrow. There is a 30 + wind storm
predicted for Wednesday night which we are avoiding as well, so once in Cabo
Ed and I will look for the best time to start running up the coast.
The water temperature again has risen and the days are not too hot but just
right, and the water is refreshing, but the baroness and extent of good
beaches is huge, dotted by small fishing camps at certain locations, still
makes this an untouched part of the world.
As we past Mag Bay we had to nearly stop the boat for two playful Humpback
whales, they would not move, and just flapped their fins directly in front
of us, but as you would expect we then hooked another fish and it was our
first Mahi Mahi, we have basically filled the freezer at this stage and just
catching for our dinner which we already have surplus so we now being very
picky on which fish we bring in. Steve is challenged with how do we fill and
stack the fish in the freezer. The wind strengthen and the seas while nice 6
to 8 feet swells they are big long rollers, we were able to raise the
spinnaker in a wing on wing session for 3 to 4 hours which made a good
sailing session with the afternoon setting sun illuminating the coast
mountains in a orange, yellow, the spinnakers up, the odd whales and
dolphins playing in the bow wave, and we had the barbeque going cooking
steaks which we needed to use up before Cabo. The boat handled well in these
conditions we have been tuning the auto pilot to run not just on direction
but also off a set angle in the wind, and the system was able to maintain
the correct wind angle needed for the "wing on Wing" adjusting the
direction, this is pleasing to see.
Stay Tuned.