Magic

To have a thought, to find the words to express it, and then watch all the details happen that bring the thought into reality…this is magic. We create reality. As much as the original idea itself, THE key is to express it. Tied up at the marina in Guaymas, hearing Bud and Rhoda’s “hellooo” when they arrive as planned. Magic.

It turned out that my friends Rose and Jani had arrived the day before aboard their Halberg 46 “Lovely Lady.” They provided B&R with a welcoming cocktail hour of fresh prawns and champagne. Thank you very much. Before i got there i was intimidated when i read that its population was 130,000, but we all quite liked Guaymas. The next day we had my new friends, brits Tony and Jacqui of “Wind Strutter” (whom i had met in Bahia Concepcion on my way north about 6 weeks earlier) aboard for waffles for breakfast. We then did the last of our shopping to stock up and took naps to get ready for the night’s passage to Santa Rosalia. The passage went reasonably well. Started out flat so we motored, wind came on our bow with Bud’s watch, sailed about half of the 19 hours under triple reefed main and jib. At one point we passed a cloud of phosphoresence in the water. I had to check my thought..."no, we couldn't be in shallow water, must be a cloud of krill or small fish." Arrived around noon, and caught the four o’clock bus to San Ignacio. “Whirlwind.”

Tony and Jacqui had recommended a “Ignacio Springs B&B”. We managed to secure a night in one of their yurts and caught up with the sleep we needed. The next morning we caught the shuttle to San Ignacio lagoon, where we had reservations with Pachico’s Eco Tours to visit the whales in the lagoon. The shuttle ride was about 90 minutes thru, what seemed to us, bizarre and empty landscapes – desert and huge tidal flats.

We were in time to join a panga going out for the day with new acquaintances (two more brits) Eleanor and Steve.


They had visited the whales here three years ago…and apparently couldn’t wait to get back. I chose Pachico’s because Lynn of the kayakers who had me over for dinner at Santa Domingo had recommended them. Eleanor and Steve had chosen Pachico’s because it is a family run, small operation with a much more inclusive than business feel to it – they had been there about a week.

All the Pachico’s staff had a beauty about them, a belonging, the kind of folks you quickly realize you want as part of your community. In 1972, Pachico was the first fisherman to be approached by a whale and to share his experience (see more at pachicosecotours.com). His son, Jesus, now leads the camp.
Face it, i am a terrible whale photographer. It seems all i could catch was where they had been. So i’ll spare you the photos of telltale splashes. (photo courtesy of Bud)

Apparently the whales are more inclined to approach the pangas and be touched when it is calm and the boats aren’t tossing about – smart. Our day was windy, but we found ourselves closely surrounded at times by several gray whales and their calves. We felt their company strongly. At dinner in camp that evening, Eleanor described touching the whales earlier in the week giving her a profound feeling of connection to the world and universe. We recommend making the effort to get to this remote place and unique experience. When we got back to the boat the next day i wrote to Patagonia Inc to suggest they associate themselves with and help out Pachico’s.
The next day we sailed south in plenty of wind to Chivato, mostly under genoa alone poled out. Orchestrating those 28 nm in 5 hours comfortably took some intent and focus and felt like an accomplishment. Where we beached the dinghy, we met two young men who gave us a ride to the restaurant and joined us for dinner. Daniel, a photographer, had crewed down here for his friend Hayden aboard a Columbia 29. It was our pleasure to trade stories back and forth with them. While i write this entry, i listen to the wind howling out there. We are appreciating the shelter here too much to leave, and tomorrow’s forecast is for a bit calmer weather. So we will spend one of our “lazy days” at anchor here, enjoying each other, good food, conversation, books and maybe even a movie.
After that we passed up San Sebastian for the more dependable shelter of Punta Pulpito – so it was a longer day than planned. Given the amount of wind, which called for the better shelter anyway, we made the day with good speed. En route i learned something: don’t put out a fishing line when sailing downwind. Sailing upwind it is easy to stop the boat and reel in the fish. Sailing downwind, both i and the fish have to work against the boat speed. Almost lost our biggest “dark meat tuna” yet. We’ve been enjoying fresh fish tacos ever since.

From there San Juanico was easy, after which we took one of our lazy days to go nowhere else. We took the dinghy to the beach to view the “cruiser’s shrine.” Our Akimbo banner from Feb 1 was still tied to its branch. I then got a bit too ambitious with our dinghy exploration. Spray splashing us, we were glad to make it back to Akimbo.
The general weather pattern seems to build until sunset and calm at night. The wind started early the next day. Some 6’ breakers and 30 knot gusts as the morning went on. We made the 20 nautical mile run to beautiful Isla Coronados in 3 hours under genoa alone.

Pretty fast, and well deserving of full attention. I admit my pride in my two elder crew, to bite off this much adventure at their age. Delightful companions, they are “up for” whatever presents itself.
Another lazy day of a movie and beach combing.


Our last day out was our first “less windy” day and a beat (definition: wind ahead of us instead of behind us). It started out calm. We gave sailing a good try for a few hours but couldn’t hardly get over 3 knots of speed. The beauty of it was to hear the whales before seeing them. The wind began to fill and we finished our sail, thus the whole trip, with a beautiful, long, lifting tack to Puerto Escondido.

The Sierra Giganta closes with the the Baja coast here, moves from the background to the foreground. As we got closer to it, it was a real treat to share our appreciation of its beauty. Hiking in the Apalachian Mountains long ago, a friend taught me that i could simply point out the scenery that caught my eye, that i didn’t have to describe it and in fact words were often not up to the task, and even if they were if i had to explain it he likely wouldn’t “see” it, that i could leave room for it to speak for itself and him to see it for himself. The Sierra Giganta also inspires me to not attempt description. (for photos go back and look at entries around end of January and start of Feb).
Magic. Next up, Dave Tetta joins me to sail to La Paz by the 28th. After that, the approximate plan is to take a week to go see the Copper Canyon. Then i’ll see if some crew are trying to “hitch hike” a ride to Mazatlan, as i make my way south. Jack, Cinny and i are circling some ideas between there and Puerto Valarta toward the end of April, where i may leave the boat a while if another yacht delivery gets on my calendar in the PNW.
I realize i am “stretching my umbilical” with my community. But i hope you’ll you come create a reality with me too. That we won’t feel so far apart after all. To feel “just around the corner”, can we simply re-define “the corner?” Can you expand with me our idea of neighborhood and community? In the meantime, ponder this: i think we all have “something to say.” So if you were to write to the world, what would you say? Rhoda: “don’t be afraid.” Bud: “that which is not impossible is inevitable.” Me: “let us always increase our capacities to appreciate, and strive to meet those increasing capacities.”

P.S. Thank you more than you know for your comments. They give me company, i feel the love, they reduce my "voice in the wilderness" feeling - which actually feels good sometimes (key word "some").