OK, so my sister, Sue has noted that we’re slacking on the blog front, so here’s some catch up. Sorry we can’t post many more pictures for a week or so till we get in to Cabo. There’s just no internet. This is all by shortwave, so can’t post stuff that takes a lot of bandwidth.

Going back to roll call on the morning of 10/25, there was a “telling” comment from Riichard “Lat 38” Spindler’s lifestyle. One of the Canadian boats called in their position and Richard asked what they were having for breakfast. The response; “Gourmet porridge with walnuts and dates”. Richard’s response; “What’s so gourmet about that?!” Their comeback; “We were afraid if we didn’t say ‘gourmet’, you would say; ‘yuck'”. Richard’s comeback; “What!! We’re having leftover vegetable soup with Habanero sauce…or at least I am”. OK, maybe you had to be there and be sleep deprived, but it was funny at the time 😉

We did pretty well on the first leg. I think we were the first boat in our class to get in and even better, we didn’t motor, but sailed all the way after the rolling start (despite ‘Lectronic Latitude misreporting this). We looked at the grib files (wind forecast) and saw a band of wind about 15 miles off the coast. Well, it turned out we found it and sailed all night in a perfect 15 knots of wind right down to Cedros Island, while others were reporting being becalmed all night. Nice tactic! We rode this great breeze down the coast all night complete with gorgeous stars and….both watches saw amazing shooting stars. Ann and I saw one in particular that covered at least 30 degrees of the horizon as it streaked across the sky. We both just exclaimed: “oh, oh, wowwwww!” It was that kind of event and at 0300 anything that keeps you awake is amazing. (Elan: Danna and I saw a shooting star that seemed to go straight up from the horizon.) And let it be noted that Ann clocked our fastest speed at 8.8 knots!

We were also fortunate to finish fairly early. We crossed the finish line for this leg, which is about 20 miles off the bay to ensure folks don’t get too close to the coast trying to finish, at 1752. It was getting fairly windy and choppy by then, but folks who were out all night behind us reported some “not fun” conditions akin to a “washing machine”. Glad to get in before that. Conditions for the next leg, which starts mañana at 0800, are expected to be mostly 10 knots for the next two days. A little more during the first 24 hours and a little less the next day.

Yesterday, along with all the fun of the beisbol and seeing Bahia Tortuga again (I really like the people here) we had a very special and unusual thing happen. Ann and I were walking around town looking for the beisbol stadium and we asked a couple young girls; “Donde esta el beisbol?” (OK, our Spanish is a little basic). The girls, about 14 years old and coming home from school in their uniforms, pointed up one of the streets and said; “alli!”. So, Ann and I continued on our way. A minute later a beater Toyota pickup (half the roof was rusted through) pulled up and the two girls (again, about 14 years old at most) were in the cab and pointed for us to jump in the bed of the truck; with a huge fishing net and some other stuff. We jumped in, crossed our fingers and off we went. We both looked at each other and I’d swear I saw Ann make the sign of the cross. I just said; “hang on!!” Turned out the little girls were credible drivers and drove us slowly and carefully right up to the baseball field. What a delightful experience!

To my sister Sue: A quick note: We just put together the marshmallow guns you gave us as a going away present. We’re going to use them tomorrow at the start to blast the other boats. We inadvertently tested it inside the boat just now (there’s no safety on these things) and Ann accidently blasted Elan. He took three to the chest and fell backward in surprise. Of course I was worried about cockroaches coming on board looking for the wayward marshmallows so my comment (after confirming Elan wasn’t actually mortally wounded) was: “find them”. We collected some but could only find two, until Elan admitted; “I ate one”.

OK, so today was the Beach Party! What a fun day. We took a panga in to the beach about 1230. Then the festivities began. Pot Luck food; Ann made a huge batch of chocolate chip cookies last night as our part and there were tons of pasta dishes, ceviche from those who caught fish, the usual chili dishes, some BBQ and the locals set up a beer bar. All on a beach that is miles and miles long and deserted the other 364 days a year. There was a volleyball game (who knew Ann was such a great player!), Tug of War (the women won for the 18th year in a row, I think it’s a set up) and one of the catamarans that anchored too close to the beach went aground, got caught in the surf and was in some peril. A number of HaHa’ers pitched in (about 30 folks) and spent at least an hour pushing, shoving, pulling and otherwise straining to get the boat back off the beach. It was ultimately a success and seemed no damage was done. Ann, Elan and I took a panga back and had a Charisma with which to watch the sunset and then Ann’s request for dinner: “Huevos Boberos”. Elan and Danna went into town to catch the World Series (which we now know St Louis won) and Elan is now back on board. He traded with the panga drivers for his trip back. Instead of the usual two bucks for the ride, he gave them his Captain Hook hat. Score one for Elan. Danna is still ashore, undoubtedly complaining about Texas’ loss with other Ranger’s fans.

Lastly, a special call out to Geoff, Diane and Jansen who came with us last year. We were thinking fondly about you all today and our last year trip as we’re having new and fun experiences this year. Hope you all are doing well.