Amazing Shoreline

We anchored right offshore of this headland in Ensenda Grande. What a sight to see.

The lacy top layer hangs down like icicles over the sculpted bedrock in fasinating shapes along the shoreline in Ensenda Grande

Trading for fish

When we left La Paz for the two islands just off the coast we did not know what we would find. We had heard there was fantastic snorkeling, incredible cliffs and beautiful anchorages. However, no one told us we would be able to trade two hats and two drinks for calamari!! We had taken off on a kiyak exploration our first morning in Caleta Partida Cove when we heard the fisherman on the beach calling out to us about calamari. Of course we had to check it our and with Kat doing most of the talking, she does well speaking Spanish, we learned that they wished to trade fish for hats and cold drinks. This we could do.

They even delivered the fish right to our boat. Not sure exactly how much we got but it was enough to split in half so that both boats had more than they could possibly eat at one meal. Now that we are at El Cid we will take the huge fillets to the chef and he will bread and deep fry what we have left.

The day after our trade we were brought another delivery of dorado fillets for two shirts and a pair of tweezers!! I might run out of hats or shirts eventually but I would be well fed if I stayed here longer.

Swimming with the sea lions

On Monday we went to the northern most islands off Isla Partida which are called Los Isolotes and is inhabited by a sea lion colony. We read in Charlie's Charts that you can actually swim with the sea lions if you are brave enough. Rog and I were both very hesitant to say the least but after putting on our wet suits we were so hot we had to dive right in. We were quickly surrounded by dozens of sea lions that were very curious about us. We had been told not to feed the sea lions or even extend our hands towards them. Jay Watt got a little nip on his second dive of the day.

We had gone to Islas Espiritu Santo and Partida on Thurs to explore the beauty and wildlife. We were joined by the Watt family on Kat Den Rie and the recent college grads on Triumph. Gary just received his degree in marine biology so we learned so much. He had a great underwater camera and took most of these amazing pictures.

The sea lions loved to roll around just like puppies, diving deep kept them busy all morning.

This sea lions looks very curious about the bubbles come up from down below--do we have a diver in the water??

The sea lions loved to play and wrestle. We have twenty diving around our boat for the better part of the day. Snorkeling in the area was amazing too. Huge schools of fish were everywhere,



By the end of the day we were all very tired and I had a little problem getting out of our dingy and onto Triumph. I slipped when boarding the trimaran and you can see the results in this picture of me. It sure gets a lot of comments but I hope this fades quickly. All in all this was a wonderful adventure and I am so glad we joined the others on the outing.

We lost a day

We arrived in La Paz after a beautiful trip. Once again Rog hooked up the big one--but this time he got away without taking anything with him. I was down taking a nap when I felt the boat lurch, thought something had hit us. As soon as the engine slowed I knew we had "fish on" so I prepared the net and gaff. By the time I got back into the cockpit the fish was gone and we never saw it. But we sure felt it!!

We were suprised to learn it was Sat. when we checked into Marina Palmera. What happened, we were sure it was only Friday. Where did we lose a day?? We are not sure but that is what cruising is all about, letting Rog relax in the hammock and Di just keeping a close eye on everything.

We got up early Friday morning after spending the night at anchor in Ensenada De Los Muertos to make our passage to La Paz. Not sure how long it was really going to take we had the anchor up at 6am. Not my usual time to get up but if we wanted to get into La Paz before nightfall we decided to leave at first light. It turned out to be another beautiful day of motor sailing north. Winds were light, current strong and the islands we passed were huge and incredibly beautiful. Rounding Punta Prieta and seeing La Paz for the first time was exciting.
Thursday were went from Los Frailes to Ensenda de los Muertos. We were able to sail half this leg and arrive well before dark. I tried my Internet just for fun and found I had a very strong signal. However, if you look at the picture above you can see that we were out in the middle of nowhere!! We met up with several boats from the Ha Ha to learn that a golf course was being built by a former football player just past the sand dunes!! There is a beautiful boat launch under construction too--so anybody coming down next year please let us know what has gotten finished.

Los Frailes looked very inviting after our bash up the coast. We saw 25knts of wind right on our nose on this passage. The anchorage looked calm but the wind continued to blow for another day and a half. We did enjoy a morning of snorkling and an evening of fine dining on Kat Dan Rie. Nobody pulled anchor so all was well

Tues Morning

Rog was tried after our stay in Cabo so he decided to catch a few zzzs in his hammock on the way up to Los Frailes. Of course we did not know at the time what lay in store. Another noserly for Rog!!!

Cabo Evening

After all the excitement of the Ha Ha we decided to chill out in Cabo for a few extra days. We moved Di's Dream from the noise of docks and close by cantinas to the peace and quiet of the anchorage. Well, we thought it would be quiet but all the little jet skis and pongas woke us bright and early. Doesn't anyone ever sleep in Cabo??

Saturday Night Awards

The final night!!

A fabulous evening with new and old friends alike celebrating a fast and warm Ha Ha! Such a great time with humor and sea stories all based primarily on recent experiences that we can all relate to after better than a week "out there".

In our Jalapeno division of eleven boats Di's Dream finished 2nd just minutes behind the first place boat that sailed day and night with a radial chute a pole out, and an all guy crew! I think we are very happy with the speed and performance of Di"s Dream as we take the chute down and sail with white sails only after dark. Should the wind or sea conditions warrant being more cautious with one helmsman managing the boat we always consider the safety of the crew first.

Everyone on the boat played a big part in the process as it was comfortable and a fun trip even with a couple exciting moments and situations like anchoring at one am in Bahia Santa Maria with no moon and 20-30 knots of gustong wind and a dead spot light!

Di and Rog at Awards

Congratulations from the winning skipper Tom

A few thoughts from Rog and Richard.....

The first ever one design fleet for the Ha Ha in 15 years! Eleven Catalina 42's!!!!

Farallone Yachts provided hats and very nice Tequila to each Catalina 42 skipper

in honor of such great support from these Catalina Yachts owners and crews.

Frank Butler and Catalina Yachts sent a nice letter to the Grand Poobah and owners congratulating them on their support and spirit for the 15th anniversary Baja Ha Ha.

Party time

If you look real close you will see Rog enjoying a double shot of tequila. He is never one to let an opportunity like this pass him by. Boys --you would have been real proud of dad on this trip. He not only sailed the boat beautifully he also partied hard

We are finally all cleaned up on the boat, I have had time to run out to Wal Mart to buy a new camera and now it is time to meet up with old friends. Paul and Kathy were in town to catch a little r&r away from the Tequila Rose before the make a trip back to the states

Marilyn and I had to show off our HaHa tattoos!! No Jenny they are not real

Marilyn was the first off the boat!!! We have a slip for a few days here in Cabo just so we can clean up Di's Dream. She needed a little tlc after the trip down

Our first reminder that Cabo is all about time shares

Bahia Santa Maria

Bahia Santa Maria was our second stop and a very welcome one at that. We sailed the entire leg with lumpy seas and spinnaker flying during daylight hours. We thought we were pulling into a much needed rest spot at the anchorage around 1am to find 25 knts of wind. Not fun anchoring when we were being blown all over the place and it was hard to determine how close the boats were. When we finally got the anchor down, drinks and strong ones at that were necessary. We went to bed around 2:30 for some much needed rest. When we awoke the next morning our location perfect - no boats close and land was even farther away. We hauled up the anchor and moved closer in by friends.

The beach party was very fun, make sure and ask Eric about Heather!! He didn't make me promise not to share the pictures.

The ponga was the best way to go ashore and the driest. We had seen too many groups end up in the surf so we took the easy way in.

The start for the last leg of the trip was a 7am so the captain and crew of Di's Dream stayed fairly sober for a change. We had been one of the first five boats to hoist or spinnaker on leg two and were trying for a repeat performance. She was up and flying quickly but we were so busy dodging 130 other boats I never looked back to see who else had hoisted the chute.

Spinnaker flying

We have been waiting for someone to offer up pictures of our spinnaker flying but it was our great send off gang that finally sent us something we could post. We were able to hoist the spinnaker right after the start and keep her up until nightfall. This got us off to a great start that would find us flying the chute everyday. Tuesday, the day after the start saw very light winds and finally forced us to bag her. Our cute could be a little temperamental and would not let Rog take his eyes off her for one moment. Generally she behaved well but did need a couple of band aids before it was all over. She usually acted up every time we got a "fish on" . Regretfully, being completely focused on the chute cost Roger his prize rod and reel when the monster of the deep hit and took the rig to Davey Jones Locker. Hopefully that monster fish is wearing that rod and reel proudly.

Off to a great start

Close up As our friends left we are sailing south