Le voyage: November 2005

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By the way if you click on the pictures, they become bigger( as I am computer ignorant, I didn't know that)!...And you can add comments too! Wouah! Those computers! Ghislaine

Ensenada... on

Correction: It was not 5 months but 3 months after they pitchpoled that it took for Barry and Toni, who was several month in her pregnancy, to reach Winter Harbor on Vancouver Island.

Ensenada

We see the huge mexican flag(100 ft by 50 ft) flying at the top of an amazingly tall post way before we reach the entrance of Ensenada harbor which inspires Domi's comment:" That would make a great spinnaker". We meet "Deja too" on its way out and exchange greetings. As we crawl into the crowded harbor, Manuel on his "ponga" signals us to follow him to the well named marina " The Bandidos". He leads us into a tight corner washed by a tremendous surge, too late to turn back, but Super-Skipper-Domi manages the boat skillfully to its new home, helped by Gail and Garth. Nice to be welcomed by friends. It is very warm and sunny and we take off for a mexican meal in a little town bustling with excitement as everybody is preparing for the departure of the famous international Baja 1000 off road race. Ensenada being our first port of entry in Mexico, we go through the paper work with "no problema". We like Ensenda, find a place to leave the boat for a month and get a flight to spend Christmas in France. 50000 people assist at the departure of the race and we are amongst the crowd at 6 am to watch 200 dirt bikes, quads, dune buggies, trucks flying above the man made dirt ramp that marks the beginning of the race and go back to the boat to discover in town another 200 vehicles ready to go! After that, we stay quietly aboard! The evenings here are quite the same than in Sechelt. People around the table sharing Ghislaine's couscous and wine but the stories are incredible sailing stories like the one of Toni and Barry on "Nutshell" who were lost at sea for 5 months after their boat pitch poled.

More pictures and San Diego

We found a place at the transient dock for 10 days and meet some wonderful people, Gail, Garth and Nick on "Simplicity", David and Judith on" Deja Too", Terry and Gary on "Eshi" and the ones we call the kids, three young men from Seattle, Jeff, Matt, Casey on their way around the world on "Sohcahtoa". Iain and I visit the magnificent zoo and Domi goes on repairing. Good place to shop but in our opinion, not cruiser friendly. As we cannot find a marina that will take our ununsured boat, I cancel my trip for France to visit my father and Iain decides to go back to Canada. We stay for the cruiser's party offered by Downwind marine store and its welcoming, helpful staff. We leave at night after a bottle of champagne offered and shared by the kids and we set off for a night of fog on our first leg alone (Domi and Guilou). Mexico, here we come!
(Note: the pink blanket over the boom is our computer room)

More pictures

Five more .......

Monterrey and Santa Barbara

The trip to Monterrey was uneventful with the regular cold and swell, did we forget to mention fog? Except for a nasty, short, and very high swell as we pass Point Conception, that keeps our deck awash and forces salt water through the piping all the way from the stern to the foc'sle on our way to Santa Barbara . In Monterrey, the usual welcome committee of sea lions is now supported by the Coast Guards, both committees happy and noisy! It is warm and sunny and there is a lovely market. It is time for Ryan to leave us and we are sorry that he does have to go back to work, sorry for him... and for us as we are going to miss a wonderful friend and great navigator. Santa Barbara reminds us of the french riviera and we get a taste of the warmth waiting for us farther south. Lucky Ghislaine has a wonderful birthday dinner at the Brothys Brothers, a rather reputable little restaurant on the harbor and a sunny birthday sail, one of the first of the trip, alas not for too long as the wind dies down again. We are still visited here and there by the dolphins and the funny little "potatoe" birds, pedaling above the water like if they were on a trampoline.

Oups... forgot the pictures...

The pictures!

Along the Washington, Oregon and Northern California coast

Gone is the idea of sailing 100 miles off shore straight down to San Diego. We are hopping from harbor to harbor when the nasty bar let us in or out...Grays harbor is a delightful fishing village with a strong flavor of the fifties. We recover, eat, drink, rest and fix things and fix things and fix more things. More moonlight ride, dolphins shimmering along the boat, visit of a humpback whale across our stern, tuna following us and more fog and cold and waves and the frustration of seeing the last hour to reach Coos Bay changing into three hours due to an unexpected 30 knots wind in the nose. On the radio, as we are passing an impressive and restricted bar for smaller boats, "Nutshell" from Nanaimo is asking for assistance due to loss of power. The local Coast Guards manage to make it look like child play as they pass the bar on their way out. And there we are in Coos Bay for another "Deja vu": eat, drink, rest and repair, repair, repair...
Three day later, the bar lets us out again for Mendocino. We make a quick stop for refuelling in Crescent city where now the familiar concert of sea lions welcomes us. A local fisherman has told us about a way close to shore between the rocks. We go for it and have a magnificent sunrise after the fog lifts up and sight Cape Mendecino with a whale in the background. By now Ghislaine has discovered the best spot in the cockpit that she will hog until the weather warms up and everybody share the watches...and tries to steal her cozy blanket when she is not looking.
A rather potent storm west of B.C and south of Alaska is now sending us 19 feet swells which makes the arrival in Bodega Bay quite spectacular. The sound of the breakers reaches us through the fog before we can discover the eerie sight of the swells crashing on either side of the bay. The pelicans are the welcome committee now as we enter Bodega Bay channel through the foaming, turbulent water. Another well deserved break in a safe harbor.

Victoria, B.C

After a night in Pender Island (Gulf islands) and a morning in the hot tub of the marina in Bedwell Bay we set off for Victoria and have our first encouter with a group of porpoises to the delight of Mia who exclaims: " I didn't know they were for real!"
In Victoria, we meet frederique et Francois, a french couple who sailed "Croque Pomme" from French Polynesia and have been cruising B.C and Alaska for a year or so. Francois helps us to get the email through the ham radio working. We celebrate Thanksgiving in front of the parliament building. Renee and Dan fly back to Sechelt. Lily and Mia stay one more day and bus back to the Coast. Time to leave Canada...and the comfort zone! After passing Niah Bay, the open ocean grabs us and..... two down. Ghislaine and Domi are out while Ryan and Iain share the watches. it is cold, wet, rolling from side to side... plainly uncomfortable. However, the sight of dolphins, whales, birds, the magic of a night in the middle of the ocean and the knowledge that every mile southward gets us closer to the warm weather make it worthwhile.

Secret Cove

First stop for another evening of fun and to pick up Iain and Dan. In the morning, the weather is so lovely and the mood for a good time still with us, Lily, Mia and Renee decide to come for the first leg of the journey to Victoria. More visitors, Lorne, Iain's mom and Bronia for the last good bye. Andre and his daughter Alexia follow us in Marianna III prawn fishing boat to Thormanby Islands and in the distance, in Reception point, Denise waves her handkerchief as we set sails.

Leaving Sechelt B.C. Canada

On october 6th, three days after coming back from France for the funeral of Guilou's mother, we leave our home of one year and half with Ryan Shellborn on board. He will stay with us until we reach Monterrey, California. Despite the rainy cold early morning, friends have gathered with books, chai tea and gifts to see us off. The sound of Maria's drum and the song of an eagle accompany us and flowers are thrown in the wake of the boat as we leave Porpoise bay, heading for Secret Cove via the Skookumchuck rapids. (Don't miss the slack time as this body of water runs in excess of 12 knots during spring tides).