The next "step"...

Here we are, two months after departing Seattle, and at the end of our first week of cruising in Mexico’s Sea of Cortez. Not transitting, but actually cruising. Going somewhere one day, and not going anywhere the next. Looking at the charts and thinking about where next and when. Ahhhh…

This week Jerry and Cheryl joined us - "guinea pigs," the first test case of someone flying in for a little cruising. Over my 15 years as a yacht broker, i knew Jerry as a yacht surveyor and we related to each other on a little more than a business level. The four of us, i think, would all call this week a success. While we have to give Baja's good weather some credit, there are some interpersonal ingredients that made it so too. Jerry is a sailing enthusiast with lots of sea time, and Cheryl a willing, observant adventurer. They are avid hikers and campers, so they don’t go places to be pampered and are flexible with whatever comes up and however “it” goes. They take good care of themselves and can problem solve to do so. They are good communicators and contribute energy to wherever they are, whomever they are with, whatever they do. In the smaller (perhaps thus more intimate thus more intense) home/world of a boat, these characteristics are key…we have to be generous with each other. J&C came to “play,” so how could we go wrong? Additionally, day before yesterday their company softened Tyler’s departure for me. Instead of him leaving and me feeling the contrast more sharply of being alone, they were understanding, supportive even, of my tears. Thank you. They departed today and i feel more ready to transition into time alone.

We had next to no wind the first day as we headed for a bay on Isla Partida, so we motored mostly. We anchored off a middle beach of three and enjoyed snorkeling and diving off the boat in very clear water. I dropped my sunglass clip-ons while we anchored in 15’ of water (much to the interest of several blowfish). I watched where they landed on the bottom, then later dove down and retrieved them. We rowed ashore after that, good to get off the boat and "stretch" our legs, and had a tough row back as the wind built blowing onto the beach.

After witnessing a stunning sunset, we picked up the anchor and moved over to a more southern beach where we hoped to hide from the growing waves. It was an uncomfortable night. Cheryl slept on deck to ward off motion sickness and i slept on deck to keep an anchor watch. The anchor held. The next day we sailed for Isla San Francisco…choosing an anchorage on it’s eastern side to avoid a repeat of the night before.

Jerry and Cheryl took a tour with Sea Cow (the dinghy, remember?) after hiking around ashore. We once again had lost lures and caught no fish during the day, so when J&C got back, Jerry picked up Tyler to go talk to a few fishermen in their panga about

buying a fish and we enjoyed fresh fish that night afterall. It was great fun talking with these men (i wish i had taken their photo). We asked if they had any lobster or clams to buy – lobsters no, but clams they could bring to us in the morning at 8 for 10 pesos (75 cents) each. Tyler asked if they were soccer fans and said he was too…and gave them a kid size Brasil soccer jersey. Big smiles all around, and the next day they wanted to give us the clams for free. After this delivery to our door, i swam ashore and the

others beached the dinghy. We proceeded to enjoy a hike along the southern ridge. So much so that we decided to stay for the day and sail back toward La Paz the next day. Along the hike i tho’t of several of

you, my dear friends who enjoy the wilderness and hiking – i hope the photos give you some idea of our pleasure. That night we enjoyed a clam dinner with a spicy leftover rice dish – almost a paella.

Next day, sailing south, as we approached Isla Partida, we sighted more and more porpoise in the waves. They didn’t appear to be headed anywhere so much as eating fish all around us. Above a frigate bird floated. Then a few whales spouted nearby. We took all their hints, sailed a few passes thru their neighborhoods with a fishing line in the water. If i remember it correctly,Tyler had pulled the line in (to check the lure?) and as he barely started to lower it back into the water…the line took off and he

announced he had a fish on. “Really?” we responded. After all, he had hardly put 6 feet of leader in the water. We pulled the other fishing line in. Ty said the fish was gone. Pulled in the line, checked the lure, started to lower it into the water and bang, the fish bit again. Oh boy! And then the fish was gone again. Repeat previous scenario, only this time we actually watched as a tuna flashed by taking a few shots at the lure, missed, and then hit! This time, as it fought, it managed to get the line wrapped around its tail! (This happened to Cody off Catalina Island too) The fish was helpless (and likely embarrassed) as Tyler reeled it in. Thank you fish. Anchored between Partida and Espiritu Santo, we enjoyed fabulous dark dark tuna meat fish tacos and another quiet night’s sleep.

On the way back to La Paz, to drop Tyler for his flight the next day, we decided to watch for signs of fish and finally put to rest the myth that i cannot catch fish. I had rigged the previous day’s lure, but i hadn’t reeled the fish in, etc…and i might as well get some practice before i really am on my own. We had light winds and

sailed much of the day with the drifter alone, except for various motorings thru various schools, and finally i reeled in a match of the previous day’s fish. Voila. Maybe 8 pounds, dark dark meat...yum!

That day's final display happened as we approached the channel to the harbor: we witnessed a frigate bird from above and a dorado (or tuna) from below chasing a sardine straight toward us! The little guy didn’t have a chance. Jump and the bird had him, dive and the fish had him. It was stunning to watch everyone's agility. Much like the “wild kingdom” clip of a cheetah chasing down a very quick antelope... This got our blood going, and counter to our “take only what we need now” plan, we put a line in the water as we sailed thru another vast eddy of bait fish. We let Jerry have the fun this time as he reeled in a cierra.

At the dock in La Paz. Went out to dinner. Hooked back into shore power and internet. Next morning we walked with Ty to the bus station, got his ticket, went to a café for smoothies until it was near time for his bus, and said our goodbyes. On the way back to the boat, we stopped by the municipal market for J&C to look for gifts to take home to their kids (mostly grown up) and then sailed off for Balandra Bay (where i am while i write this).

That last paragraph is a bit clipped. I have so many emotions swirling in me around Tyler’s departure. At one level i hate to see him go, and at another i feel his need to go, my need to cheer him on…he’s ready…and so am i...still, this is hard. Parents who parent consciously and help their adult children go…know that it will take me (more than Tyler) a long time to process this part of my story. While we all have the same story line in common, the details are of course unique to each of us each time. As a dear friend said when she helped me, “we all travel the same landscape, i will know each feature, every rock you describe because i have paid attention...but i don’t know your path thru it.” Attention is sometimes a high price to pay, but at this point it’s a ‘seascape’ for me and i am grateful for it.

From here? I'll restock some groceries, do laundry, pick up parts to tackle some work the boat needs and head out for a few weeks...on my own this time, paying a little more attention to safety details, clipped in to the "jack lines" when underway. I hope to post here when i get back, so you'll know when that is. Until then, maybe think about when you can come for a sail.

One quote i really enjoyed from Ty this trip (which he attributed to someone else): “Our stories are our medicine.” And something to the effect that their medicinal quality can be lost if their timing is off or forced. Another thing i can learn from him is to listen as well as he does. To really listen. Thank you Ty.

Love and hope and peace,

jon