Woken up by a noisy sealion nearby... Boat made ready... last check on gmails.. photos... last big hugs, before Steve, LaDonna and Rob helped with my lines and then we were away... motoring into the usual murky, calm conditions I've come to expect - the 'June gloom' I've repeatedly been hearing about...

A slight SSE wind near shore became light WNW a couple of hours later. I'm expecting strong NNW winds off Pt Conception which I'll try to stay well clear of, in the hope of rather less strong winds but I'm looking forward finally to getting sailing, although I hope I won't be forced S of W. There's a slight SW swell - nothing much.

A small fishing boat was laying pots in the shallows near land (depths up to just 20m are found for up to 5 miles or so from shore) - white floats with black flags waving above them - fine in calm conditions but not so easy to spot in rough seas. Some dolphins and birds had clearly found some fish off in the distance.

In the poor visibility, with occasional fog patches, radar is helpful and I'm keeping an eye out for small fishing boats (often without AIS) - and for the Blue whales that are supposed to be around here - would be great to see them! Santa Cruz Island is to the S - SW, with Santa Rosa Island beyond.

11.20 am A large group of dolphins came speeding by, headed towards shore - must know there's fish that way!

1 pm Had to fall off a building W-WSW wind.. Trying to motor directly into strong wind just doesn't work but by using some motor as well as sails, it's possible to make a fair speed closer to the wind, especially in swell! Hoped the wind direction would change for the better but it forced us to head NW. We've been running parallel to coast and wind is probably doing the same. But the sky has cleared - it's nice to see sunshine again.

6pm - Seas have been pretty rough up to now, with big swell and lots of 'white horses' but they're a lot smoother now, with no whitecaps and smaller swell. The wind has been from SW & has eased now to 10-13kt.. I wonder how long that will last - I'm expecting conditions to get stronger as we approach Pt Conception, 25 miles away.

.........................

Well that calm interlude was only brief - maybe we were in the lee of the Channel Islands just then? Fairly quickly, seas and wind built and we were in big steep seas and strong wind around 30kt, frequently up to 35kt. For some time I had the second reef in and we were doing fine, but when we were consistenly in 30-35kt wind I reefed down further, The description 'washing machine' was very apt - the boat was being tossed and knocked around all the time by the big steep waves and the wind was whistling in the rigging - all very unpleasant, despite a myriad of bright stars overhead!

A major concern was to keep well away from Pt Conception with added problems caused by the shipping lanes close by and San Miguel Island and its rocky islets not far off to the S, with the presence of oil rigs to avoid off the northern coast not helping. The strong wind forced us onto long, slow tacks - to N and SW. I used the engine to help keep as close to the wind as possible and push through the waves in an effort to get W, crossing the shipping lanes quickly when no ship was in sight.... but we made painfully slow progress.

I had to stay awake almost all night, with brief naps while sitting at the chart table, to keep us safe. The wind showed no sign of abating and it was difficult to maintain speed and head in the best possible direction. I'd hoped to heave to for some sleep but that was impossible without the sea room available. Eventually, by morning, the wind began to veer to the WNW and showed signs of easing - we were finally able to head almost directly W, although still into big, steep, often-confused seas. The forecast is for more of the same for several days to come but keeping S of Pts Conception and Arguello on a westerly heading should keep us out of the strongest winds and seas.

Just to clarify.. Monday was spent in the S. Channel Islands - but not the ones in the English Channel ... not Guernsey, Jersey, etc... but south of Los Angeles, California. Maybe named after the Santa Barbara Channel to their north?

What a lovely surprise I had on coming in to dock next door to friend Steve's boat 'Westerly' Monday night... not only was he there to help take my lines - but good friends LaDonna and Rob as well - I'd totally forgotten that they have been based here for some time. Big hugs all round and then I welcomed them on board to catch up on news.

I'd had a difficult time before that, trying to get onto the fuel dock on arrival here Monday evening. The fuel dock was occupied by a jet-skier right in its centre who was clearly having a problem refuelling. Clearly didn't occur to him that he culd have but moved over to make room. And then I heard they were closed... or maybe not...? "We're open for you but not the other boat" ... pointing to another yacht that was now circling around near me. And as I got close to the dock, "We're closed... and there's an overtime fee...." "What...?" "You can come in..." By which time I'd started reversing and had to go around for the fourth, or was it the fifth, time? What confusion...! .... But he kindly waived the $50 overtime fee - and eventually even gave me a hint of a smile.

Tuesday was relaxing - catching up on some emails and looking at weather charts using LaDonna & Rob's good Internet access, some provisioning using Steve's truck (would have been a long walk otherwise - the marina area is v. big and the shops a good distance away), some chatting - a radio friend, Tim AA6GP, came to visit from Ventura, ...a lovely long shower (!)... and some cooking - ratatouille - for our evening meal, together with Rob's lovely garlic shrimps, on 'Gazelle', their boat nearby. All very pleasant but the overcast ('marine layer') hung around all day long so only a brief glimpse of the sun.

Sunday - A good mix of relaxation and some useful boat work ... !

Morning was sunny in Isthmus Cove. Went with Harbor Master Jeff's daughter Hayley in the 'shore boat' (a.k.a. 'water-taxi'!) to have breakfast (a burrito!), followed by a walk over to Cat Hbr where I climbed up to a high viewpoint overlooking the entrance, from where I could also see over to San Clemente Island on the S. horizon.

Cactus flowers were in bloom but the wind blowing N over the high peaks on the island caused cloud to form there which hid the sun and made the air cool. I heard that it was quite usual for Cat Hbr to be overcast when Isthmus Cove is in sun. Buffalo and foxes were introduced here a long time ago - the buffalo mainly stay on the wild high ground but occasionally wander down this way.

I finished half the burrito for lunch in sunny Isthmus Cove - busy with lots of hikers and campers, just arrived on the midday ferry from L.A.. This is a popular destination or people wanting to get away from the busy city into the remote, wild mountain areas of Catalina.

Back to the boat - to check on the old wind transducer - dead! - and try to find the grub screw I'd been told must have come loose on the Hydrovane windsteering mechanism - sure enough, there it was ...A simple, quick fix with Loctite being used on the grub screw before re-inserting it and tightening up. No Loctite was seen on the grub screw so, presumably, that's why it had come loose and allowed the pin it was holding in place to come loose also.

By now, a S. wind was blowing strongly (around 15kt) in the Cove - Jeff told me that it was usual in the summer afternoons and fanned out over the cove to give different wind directions depending where you were. Being tied fore and aft in the mooring field, it felt odd for the bow not to be facing into the wind.

The busy mooring field became a lot less so, as boats returned to the mainland after a weekend away.

No good sunset - the sun was partly hidden in the low cloud layer that was forming as the temperature dropped towards evening.

Monday:

Up early to let go the mooring lines and make for the mainland, planning to arrive in Oxnard around 5 pm.

Flat calm, overcast, cold... the usual California coast morning weather...! I raised the mainsail in the remote hope I might get a chance to use it - but knew that was unlikely...

We motored NW, diverting to make a quick passage across the Traffic Separation System leading SE towards and past L.A.

Just before we did that, I got excited thinking I could see some whale flukes astern - went over that way - a small group of dolphins were leaping as they headed SW... Oh well!

There had been a warning put out on VHF 16 by the Coast Guard that some Blue/Fin (?) Whales had been spotted in the Santa Barbara Channel, just north of the Santa Rosa and Santa Cruz Islands. They requested ships in the area to reduce speed to 10 knots. (We usually make 6 knots maximum!) I'll be passing that way on Wed, so maybe I'll see them if they're still around, as could be possible - they are known to stay in that area.

Looks as though we should make Oxnard before 5pm - it's now (1.30pm) only 17 miles away. Still only 2-5 knots of S wind...smooth sea.... Murky conditions and poor visibility (radar on) all day long - ugh!

Away soon after 5 a.m. in half-light...

Mains'l raised ready but almost no wind. Murky, grey, cold... Good ebbing tide in the long entrance channel - excellent! Went right to the end - warnings were "Don't cut the corner!" - so headed well off before turning to round Pt Loma and setting course for Catalina. Big area of thick kelp to be avoided at all costs off Loma Point - even found it at 85m/250ft depths further on!

Sealion honked noisily at us as we passed his resting place on green buoy "7".

Tide turned not long after that so we got benefit of flood going N - very helpful!

Not many other boats initially, but plenty later on. It's Saturday!

GOOD NEWS - wind info is showing on screen - yippee! So Kasey's trip up the mast for me yesterday and my visit to West Marine for replacement transducer has paid off.... Thanks, Kasey! (Pacific Offshore Riggers is a good outfit!) And thanks to friend Ray Marchetta for all his advice and help :-)

Around 9am, finally had enough wind (4-5 kt!) from SSE to unfurl genoa but not until 4 pm did wind increase to nearer 8-10 kt to give a reasonable 'push', so we were motor-sailing nicely - but motor still essential to keep up speed.

Sky cleared by mid-afternoon so air warmed up. Sea still fairly calm, with slight SW swell and small surface ripples... Needed the extra push from some wind to overcome ebb now beginning....

It's a good 85 ml journey from SDYC to Two Hbrs on Catalina Island, so quite a push. Hoping ETA of 8.30pm is going to give enough daylight. Harbourmaster Jeff is expecting me so he'll be ready to guide me to my place in the mooring field and show me where to tie up.

6pm Just ESE of Avalon - the main village on NE side of Catalina. High mountains on island caused wind to veer completely - quickly furled in genoa which was being backed... Next is to drop the mains'l when and where appropriate...

9pm Safely tied up to mooring buoy in Two Hbrs, Isthmus Cove, Sta Catalina Island. Helped in by Jeff, hbr Master - thanks! Beautiful sunset - justbmade it in before dark. Will stay Sunday.

Thursday 5.45am LT/ 1245 GMT

Passing Coronados Islands of Mexico in cold grey pre-dawn light and flat calm sea - motoring, as usual!

Border with USA is 7 mles to N and Hbr Police Dock in San Diego harbour, for check-in to USA, is 17 miles away - about 3 hours, giving arrival there around 9 a.m.

Calm sea overnight. I had to sit in cockpit all night - too many Mexican fishing boats around - none with AIS. Came too close for comfort to one of them so sat up( wearing several extra layers!) and got short naps as and when nothing ahead or around.

Waiting to see if any sight of sun around dawn - I doubt it.

By 9:30 a.m., finally tied up to Police Dock and awaiting officials after phone call to office in town using phone provided at dock. The tide was flooding in strongly on arrival at the beginning of the long channel leading to the harbour entrance so we made good speed but it made getting in alongside a problem. Had to go out and change mooring lines and fenders to opposite side of boat so that we could come in heading into the flooding tide and the slight wind.

Sun had come out and sky was clearing - I had nearly taken down the bimini awning on passage here - but now it's proving useful again!

I'm having to go into town to get the 12 month Cruising Permit for the boat whereas the Customs and Immigration officials did their paperwork on the dock. Rod, W6MWB, of the SDYC radio group (who run the W6IM Winlink station) came down to greet me and will take me for provisioning later.

I'd like to sort out my wind instrument while here - would be nice to have it working while sailing up to Canada!.

Friday

Topped up fuel at fuel dock yesterday lunchtime near San Diego Y.c. before moving over there to tie up over Thurs/Fri nights. Spent evening with Rod and wife as well as being taken for provisioning trip to Trader Joe's - Rod has kindly been driving me around - many thanks for that, Rod!. This morning to riggers, on to West Marine for replacement wind transducer and over to Downwind Marine to say hallo.

Priority has been to try to sort out misbehaving wind instrument. Was delighted to meet up with Ray Marchetta over coffee this morning - an old friend from my first time in San Diego, who has a wealth of marine electronics experience. He put me in touch with Casey - rigger from Pacific who went up the mast for me to replace the wind transducer - but nothing changed, so now I must check all connections and wiring for corrosion or breakage, to find the fault. At least I know the transducer is now OK!

Also spoke to Shea Weston, of Sailmail, about an auto-tuning problem I've been having with my Airmail boat radio email system - more checking needed - of settings and connections! Should be a simple fix...

Had lunch with boat-friend Jeff, on 'Joy' in La Cruz earlier this year, and radio friend Mark, AF6TC - nice to catch up with them both.

This evening it's barbecue night at the Club - so will hope to be meeting other friends from previous stays in San Diego.

Then it's early to bed - on to Ctalina Island very early tomorrow - at first light, if I can get up early enough!!

----- End of Original Message -----

9 a.m. Still motoring, occasionally with help from sails overnight - but not now - no wind at all! Sea is so calm I spotted a moth on its surface as it passed us by. Very little swell either.

Hot and sunny, I hear, on land... but moist air here is being affected by the cool seawater - water temperature down to 16C now, compared with 23C air temperature. Visibility down - not quite foggy but nearly so.

Midday - 100 miles from San Diego making good speed in the flat conditions. Sun trying to get out from behind cloud layer - warming the air a little but no more...

Made radio contact with pilot friend heading from Austin to San Diego - aeronautical mobile talking to maritime mobile...!! Poor conditions initially, so couldn't chat properly but better contact was made once the plane was further W - at a better distance from "Nereida" for contact... By 1pm, I heard the other station well, but was very light still to him - eventually, at 2.30pm, we made good contact and chatted for quite a while - SSB/HF radio is great!

Sea is still as smooth as an oil slick... two small feathers on its surface... Tide must have turned and be ebbing now so body of water is moving S - our speed north over the ground has become less.

4.30pm What excitement! A fright had me jumping to the wheel to turn us away from what looked like a long fishing net across our path. I was on deck to check swell, wind, clouds & temp for my daily weather report when I spotted it... It turned out (I think!) just to be a long line of murrelets, or similar, but birds often rest on nets at the surface, so who knows...

As I got us back on course and up to speed, having cut the engine, just in case, I noticed other dark bodies surfacing at times - a group of dolphins. They came straight over to the boat, jumping out in pairs as they did so - I encouraged them to jump more....

Looking down into the calm sea from the bow, I could see them clearly as they dived and twisted, ready to leap out again- and they were looking right back up at me! Wonderful! Just to add to the good feelings, I could see some blue sky over where land is to starboard and a hazy sun was showing through the breaking cloud layer...

The other excitement is that of an imminent landfall. Much as I love being at sea, coming in to land is always exciting, with lots to prepare for but also to look forward to. Where & how will we dock? What is involved in the paperwork for coming into a new country? Friends to meet up with? Some shopping needed? And always the ongoing journey at the back of one's mind - any urgent jobs that need to be done ready for that?

I expect to check in at the harbour Police Dock tomorrow morning & I'm looking forward to being back in San Diego, even if only for a day or two before I move on north again.

Tuesday - what a murky, cold start to the day, after frequent fog last night! Sun tried hard to get out in afternoon, so it warmed up a bit.

Wind has been from SSE-SSW, initially light and just about filling the headsail, which was regularly collapsing briefly, so eventually it had to be furled in.

I was expecting to stop in Ensenada for fuel before taking off W into the winds around the N. Pacific High, but lin view of my expected evening landfall, I'd clearly have to wait around, so I decided it made more sense to keep on going overnight the sixty miles to San Diego to get fuel there the next morning - so yet another change of passage plan!

Winds are expected still to be light inshore until the weekend so I'll continue on towards Pt Conception - where it's blowing a NW gale close to shore - no problem in getting wind near there to go offshore and definitely not a place to try to head further north at present!!

The further NW we go, the closer the Pacific High is to the coast - so the less motoring in light winds will be needed get to where we can, hopefully, sail on.

The seas are long and gentle and mainly following - from SW quadrant so that makes for a much more comfortable ride, although rolly if dead downwind with sails filled.

Downloading the usual lot of weather-faxes - computer connection to modem keeps hanging up, so I have to keep a constant eye on screen to make sure faxes are not missed - a real time-waster!

Grey-blue sea with wavelets ... long rounded swell... light grey sky... sun trying to peek through - today's picture...

Monday

No fog or sea-mist seen overnight - unexpectedly - and a bright moon shone through the occasional thin cloud layer. Air and sea temperatures have dropped dramatically the last day or so.

By 10 am, we were anchored not far from the catamaran Ku'ola in Bahia de Tortugas, after a lively sail in strong winds that had suddenly come overnight from the S - a good F4, with plenty of white caps. We seemed to have been overtaken by a small localised depression and a nasty short swell was coming directly into the Bay. I tried to set a snubber to stop the chain snatching at the windlass gipsy in the rough conditions but lost it and had to improvise an alternative in a hurry...

I'd hoped to catch up on some sleep after refuelling soon after my arrival but Enrique seemed to have run out of fuel ... "Manana" he said... I wasn't too happy with that, since the unusual S winds forecast for the next few days are perfect for getting N, rather than being headed by the usual NW winds. But the delivery skipper of Ku'ola was in a hurry to get to San Diego so he negotiated with Enrique to collect fuel from the village Pemex station and bring it out in his panga - well set up with a big tank and a good fuel pump run off a generator. Eventually, that happened but a payment problem for Ku'ola had to be sorted out with a visit to the village and my fuel delivery was well-delayed into the afternoon, as a result...

I spent a time sorting out some running rigging, clearing up and making a meal - the rough conditions had returned after a short, sunny, calm spell and I was in no hurry to leave, but once conditions lessened again, I felt I should move on to make use of the S wind. So mainsail and anchor were both raised and by 5 pm, we were away...

There was a good S wind and I happily cut the engine, once on course beyond the Bay , to make 5.7 kt under sail - lovely! But not for long... Fog descended and the wind dropped, and with it our boat-speed. Within half an hour of leaving, we were only sailing at 3 knots. On with the engine again....we're motor-sailing... Radar has been playing up occasionally but just now it's working fine - just when it's needed... I'm feeling well under-dressed on deck in bare feet and shorts - cabin temperature is 24C and sea temperature, 17C. I'm wearing a jacket and warm vest for the first time in a long while and will soon be in long trousers if the sun doesn't get out soon. (In fact, it turned out that the fog was patchy - we're now under fluffy cumulus clouds with another big lurking fog bank ahead.)

Our course is around Punta Falsa and Isla Cedros and on NNW towards Ensenada, which will put the present wind directly astern. Forecasts suggest light winds, so it looks like more motoring - better in light S wind than almost any from NW...

Sunday

Heavy dew overnight - so wet, I was able to give windscreen a really good clean - can see through it nicely now.

A sure sign of not much wind is the ensign drooping, the mainsail not filled, and apparent wind, due to motoring, dead ahead.. and not much of it! A gentle WSW swell of 2-3 m at 6 seconds is actually quite pleasant.

Overnight chop from slightly stronger wind has died down, so we're now making around 5 knots instead of 4 knots.

We're on course for Bahia de Tortugas, just SE of Punta Falsa and Isla Cedros, expecting to arrive sometime Monday for fuel.

Bahia de Ballenas and San Ignacio are 35 miles to NNE now - a well-known area for being taken out in local pangas to get close up to whales in the right season.

............................

2pm: Better! Wind has backed so we're motor-sailing on port tack, with wind in mains'l and genoa! Still needing motor to make good speed in light wind. Without motor, only 2.4 knots; with some motor, 5.3 knots. (Later, we got up to 6 knots with less motor).

Hardly any cloud. Land out of sight. Downloading weather-faxes from Pt Reyes, considering routeing options (as always - constantly on my mind just now...) and trying to get up to date with emails - way behind with some of them...

Hoping tonight to see the Space Station passing overhead - it's supposed to be travelling over the Baja peninsula from Turtle Bay down to Cabo San Lucas - so I'll be looking for it.

............................

7pm Wind has dropped so basically motoring now - light winds forecast for several days...

A sailing catamaran astern, catching up - "Ko'ula", headed to Turtle Bay for fuel as well. Fast delivery trip to SD - perfect conditions for them, with the f'cast light winds.

0235 (Monday!) GMT/ 8.35pm (Sunday) LT :- Sun setting - looks very much as though a fog layer will develop soon - very hazy and misty-looking. Radar not working "No scanner" message when I just tried it.... Good thing approach to Turtle Bay will be in daylight... Sea-lion just swam by - nearest land is 15 miles away. Heavy dew settling everywhere - very damp toight

Watching out for Space Station .... 0300GMT/9pm LT - It just faded away into the misty SE horizon, dead astern of us, having passed overhead as a very bright object , despite light in W sky still and a bright moon quite high in E - no mistaking it!

Pleased to say radar scanner is working fine - sometimes get confusing messages .... seems OK. Always nice to have use of it in foggy conditions.

Saturday

1300GMT/7am LT Oyster pink-grey cloud layer at sunrise over Isla Santa Margarita which forms the S. side of the entrance to Bahia Magdalena, with lovely Baja mountains behind and calm, slightly ruffled sea - beautiful! Unfurled genoa and fell off a little to keep it filled - memories of being surrounded by whales at sunrise as I came out of the Bay, after having anchored overnight just inside there one April night - ten years ago!

Later: Might need to furl genoa back in - making very little difference to our speed and not worth going twenty degrees off our course... Oh well, was worth trying and gave some exercise to start the day!

10am - had chat over VHF with nearby boat "The Small Crew" - on way back home to San Diego after having spent from November onward fishing and relaxing in Mexico. With slack water, I was able to calibrate the speed impellor on board (boat speed = speed over the ground, SOG, if no current is moving the body of water). Called them again to check the sea water temperature - mine has been reading far too high and, as fishermen, I presumed they'd have a fairly reliable water temperature reading. So that has also been calibrated - to quite a bit lower than before. Good day's work!

Still only light headwind - now making 5kt under motor - had increased motor revs slightly to increase boat speed. Calm seas with no chop, so efficient use of engine. Turtle Bay (Bahia de Tortugas) is two days away, if light wind persists!

1945GMT/1.45pmLT Off Cabo San Lazaro. Making some tacos for lunch - thanks for the 'carne asada', Donna - excellent!

Just tried Manana Net - but was just awful because autopilot transmits loudly and constantly on exactly that frequency so couldn't carry on a conversation . Too bad since they heard me clearly and I would have heard them if it weren't for the interference - switched to another frequency nearby and all was fine!

Tried doing without the motor - under full sail alone, very close-hauled in about 10 kt of WNW wind, speed dropped to just 2.5 kt! Back on with the motor and we're making 5.7 kt motor-sailing, almost on course for Turtle Bay I checked our consumption: main fuel tank still has enough for over three days so no problem getting to TB.

Lots of shipping off this coast - all seem to be keeping 30-40 mls off the coast, so well away.

4-5pm LT - decided to cut engine for hour of peace while I had some tea and relaxed on deck. Speed dropped to 3.7 kt and eventually to 1.9 kt - so engine on ... and back on course.

.....................

Have no choice at present but to head NW up the Baja - can't get W in WNW wind... Mix of motor-sailing and motoring...

I'll see what the winds are doing once I'm in TB and/or approaching Ensenada - might be headed by stronger NW by then...

All a guessing game - if I can take offshore 'Clipper' route, I'd like to do so... But heading north just now, out of hurricane area, has to be good!

.....................

Friday - We leave the Tropics - just sailed north of 23.5N - the Tropic of Cancer

We've had a good ride so far ... Last night, the sea was calm and reflected the near-full moon - a lovely sight.

Ever since yesterday, when the wind died, it has stayed light, with seas to match. Just as well, since what wind there has been has come mainly from the NW quadrant - our general heading.

Having spent a lot of time downloading grib weather files and plenty of weather-faxes, plus info from ham friends via morning Radio Nets, I've come to the conclusion that I have no choice but to head up, mainly under motor, the long Baja coast. The plan was to head west to find good wind around the High pressure area offshore to take us northwest initially.... But with an increasing region of very light wind over the coming days, it was going to be impossible to get well offshore sailing and I'm not keen to use too much fuel at the beginning of my trip.

Instead, we'll head up the Baja against very light winds, motoring a lot but with mainsail hoisted - ready to take any wind advantage possible, together with the genoa (big headsail) whenever possible, as well. It's surprising how a little bit of motor produces a fair amount of apparent wind and so helps boat speed a lot when close-hauled (tight on the wind). So long as the wind is light it works well and, often, coming off the wind a tad, just to fill the genoa and get it working, makes for a big increase in speed - the gain is worth going off course slightly, even though it has to be made up at some point.

I plan to re-fuel in Turtle Bay, 300 miles NW, and I'm hoping that, slightly offshore there, the winds will allow me to sail west - as originally planned. So the forecasts seem to show might be possible - but nearer the time, all will be made clear. Sailors have to learn to be patient ... and planning always needs to be flexible .

In these gentle conditions, under a sunny sky but with noticeably lower temperatures, I've been catching up on emails ... and catching up on sleep also.

Fortunately, most of the busy shipping has been 30 miles offshore from us - giving no cause for concern when I take a nap. AIS is such a blessing - I 'see' the ships and they 'see' me - from a long way off...

I was delighted yesterday to spot a shearwater around sunset. I'd assumed the bird I saw, as I was adjusting the sails, was a booby, looking for an overnight roosting place and was surprised when it made no attempt to land on the boat - until I realised my mistake. I saw lots of similar ones in the Southern Ocean, especially around the S. Atlantic, and so this bird looked very familiar in the fading light of a glorious sunset.

Having arrived at Cabo San Lucas after 1:30 am to anchor and get to sleep, I was up late. I checked the problem fuel filter bleed point of yesterday - looking good and dry - Thanks so much to Thomas and David for their help ...! had breakfast, checked emails, downloaded weather grib-files and made sure the boat was ready for sea before freeing the trapped main halyard so I could raise the mains'l and then raised the anchor.

There was very little wind in the anchorage but I expected more out of its protected waters . Sure enough, there was a good Force 4 with plenty of whitecaps and rather rough seas - it was good to be reefed down already, as I turned off the motor, unfurled some genoa - and went below to put on a long-sleeved top - it was cool in the breeze!

Wind eased once a several miles from the Cape - let out canvas to try to keep up speed but wind direction still not good - we're currently headed SW in WNW wind! But al least we're headed W-ish and, if wind dies more, might end up motor-sailing - in a better direction perhaps...

......

Offshore enough at 4pm to be able to tack around - speed v. low so motor-sailing at 4kt and making NW but that will eventually take us into the Baja coast - need WNW course to keep well off the coast further north and can't make that with present wind direction. Routeing looking very difficult with wind forecast to die almost completely for next five days offshore - the Trades are a good distance off the coast and would take quite a bit of motoring from here to reach... Further N, they look to be nearer to land.

At least heading NW feels better than heading SW!

Looks as though I'm being forced into the 'Baja Bash' to get N - at least for now.

Tuesday - Clearly, I should have gone up the mast to check on damage caused by a bird perching up there as we were nearing Zihuatanejo last week. Just before 9:30am today, I noticed that all the wind info that had been consistently appearing well since before leaving Ixtapa had disappeared - nothing at all, not even the zero wind-strength reading that had appeared after the incident. Looking up at the mast top, I can see the transducer dangling.... it must have broken away from its base fitting. So annoying...!

There's clearly only a light wind, as is forecast for the next few days. The mainsail is slack, showing almost no apparent wind, so even bearing away from our preferred route won't help our speed much, if at all.

I'm looking at my course options in view of the light winds from various directions forecast for the next five days.... A strong possibility is to head for Cabo San Lucas for fuel - nearly 5 days and over 500 mls away. There's a big High sitting not far to our NW & very little pressure gradient right over to the Gulf of Mexico. Decision time will be by late tomorrow. The priority is to get away from the hurricane region a.s.a.p. I've adjusted our course slightly to make CSL more directly, should I decide to make for there.

In the meantime, I seem to have picked up a cold :-( but I was cheered up a lot chatting to radio friends on the East coast and elsewhere early this morning... I can never understand cruisers being told not to get a SSB radio - a 2-way (expensive!) chat on a satphone can't compare with the community support and free info (safety, weather, emails, etc) available using a radio.

It turned out yesterday that the main reason for the Immigracion ladies wanting to come to the boat in Ixtapa was to see her and take photos of us all!! All very cheerful and didn't take long, ending with lots of 'Buen Viaje', but delayed my departure. I'm sure the document they gave me could have been handed over at the Capitania, as were those from the Aduana. Would have saved me several hours' delay leaving.

Well, we were forced eventually to bear away to fill the main as the wind increased and the genoa unfurled. For a time, we were doing really well, making a good course at around 6 kt - but that didn't last very long. We've gradually had to bear away more but even so our speed has dropped - we're often struggling to make 4 kt SOG, even though we're motor-sailing. Fortunately, having deliberately headed offshore last night, we were 20ml off when we first had to bear away, so although our course is taking us closer in, we're still over 15 mls off. I'm sure this is the afternoon onshore breeze affecting us so we'll see what happens come nightfall , when that wind usually dies away completely. The waves keep stopping us, killing our speed. Forecast is for winds from NW quadrant for several days - NOT helpful since that's exactly our preferred course!

Sure enough, by nightfall, we'd had to tack around to avoid ending up on the rocks near Pta San Telmo with the wind having veered to NW, so we're now headed back out to sea for a bit, waiting to see what the wind decides to do next. Present course is just a tad S of W... so not too bad We're still motor-sailing with full genoa and mains'l, having to make as good a course as the wind will allow, trying to get NW in quite boisterous WSW seas........

6pm Wed

Overnight, the sea was glassy smooth so I finally furled in the genoa & motored directly for Cabo San Lucas - a refuelling stop on Saturday, hopefully.

Once the wind filled in later this morning, it was nice to be making a good speed (over 6kt) close-hauled with full genoa and mains'l and, later, the stays'l - but without the motor helping a little, our speed would have been nearly halved. I just had to bear away 10 degrees off our rhumb-line course to keep the sails filled as the wind veered. If I weren't so keen to get out of the hurricane area as soon as possible, we could be gently sailing but until we're much further north I can't relax, so I'm keeping our speed up as much as possible, knowing refuelling is an option in Cabo. We've plenty of fuel on board but we also have to go with the wind when it strengthens.

The wind slowly veered later yesterday by quite a bit... I'm waiting to see if it keeps doing so again today - maybe we'll need to tack away from land eventually before the wind dies down overnight again - if the pattern repeats.... I have to keep 'tweaking' the sails and our course.

Hot and sunny again today after a hazy start, with a lovely starry sky overnight, slightly cloudy.

I keep sneezing - this cold has made me need a lot more sleep than usual but it's not so bad that I can't function.... It's a nuisance, though.

Fortunately, there's very little shipping around and what there is shows up on my AIS screen when a good distance away. Last night, the tanker 'Xin Sha Tou', on her way to China, changed course slightly to avoid us and pass starboard-to-starboard. The wind was quite strong and veering, we were very close-hauled and it would have been very difficult to sail more upwind to avoid her, as I explained over the VHF to the Captain, so he took the necessary action to pass well clear. I thanked him and we exchanged the usual good wishes for a good voyage.

Well, the wind veered a bit more but had become lighter by nightfall, so rather than going even more off our course, I furled in the headsails and we're motoring - but on our rhumb-line course.. Our speed had dropped sufficiently later this afternoon for arrival at Cabo San Lucas on Saturday to be doubtful - drat!

Time for food and then into the sleep routine - cold is still doing well....

Thursday - Glassy calm sea early on and for most of the day, with a slight breeze starting up in the afternoon and slowly increasing so that by night-time we were driving into bumpy seas and a bit of a headwind.

A couple of dolphins came close midday, one jumping high out of the water and landing with a big splash from a belly-flop. I hoped they might stay to ride our bow wave or play around for a bit - but they continued on their way. I did find another dried-up squid on deck - that makes three for this journey - presumably from our good, but well-heeled, sail a day or so ago wetting the decks..

After a lot of sleep overnight and well into this morning, I was feeling bit better so got some boat jobs done. In clearing up some papers, I noticed one talked about AIS settings on the plotter. Reading it more carefully, I was able to get the plotters showing AIS info on their screen - something that had annoyingly gone missing a while back but has turned into an easy fix! I'm delighted - it's so easy to get a ship's info from it's AIS icon on the plotter screen, if needs be.

I also transferred some fuel into the main tank and must transfer some more tomorrow to make sure the main tank doesn't run out before reaching Cabo. We've lots more fuel in jerry cans available for that. And I finally dealt with some increasingly smelly potatoes - they grow some lovely potatoes in Mexico but they are very moist and go bad quickly in the heat, especially in plastic bags, even though with mesh on one side - they need to be kept very well aired and not in plastic. At least that also motivated me to cook a meal tonight - a potato and onion omelette - similar to a Spanish 'tortilla'.

ETA Cabo is definitely Sunday - morning, I hope. I also hope this headwind doesn't get much stronger so as to slow us down much more.

Present position tonight is due W of Banderas Bay - about 25 n.ml. W of Cabo Corrientes, headed NW to Cabo San Lucas, 225 n.ml.away.

Friday...

Up early to contact radio friends, in between naps - still needing plenty of sleep and sneezing now and then...

Have been spending a lot of time looking at weather grib files and weather-faxes, trying to decide on how best to tackle the sail north from Mexico. Plan is to use the old 'Clipper' route offshore rather than bash and motor my way up the US west coast or the even longer alternative of sailing out to Hawaii and then N - that would be a really big detour...

Sunny, hot day, once morning cloud layer dissipated. We've been motoring solidly against a gentle breeze but I noticed just after midday that the wind was more N. Tried cutting the engine and sailing - seemed fine to begin with and the peace is always very welcome. But our speed slowly dropped - from well over 4 knots to 1.6kt an hour later - at which point I was forced to act... Oh well..! I just hope I don't have a problem in Cabo refuelling when I get there on Sunday.

No dolphins seen, only the occasional 2 or 3 boobies coming by - and leaving presents... grrr! Starry sky at night is always a delight, as is the dark sea, sparkling with diamonds of light with our wash. The crescent moon set last night glowing a deep orange.

About to transfer some diesel into the main tank - seas aren't too lumpy just now so best to get on with it.

Then I'll consider my options on getting some wind info - there is a possibility.... and it would certainly be helpful to have.

Present position is 170 n.ml. SE of Cabo San Lucas and about 60 mls SW of the Islas Marias - the largest of which has a penal colony for dangerous felons.... The word is not to approach too close - and not to pick up anyone swimming in the water nearby!

0600GMT - 1am LT in Banderas Bay over on the mainland coast down to Acapulco but 11pm Friday in Cabo San Lucas where I'm headed - a two hour time difference on the Baja peninsula once I get there.

I just centred the mainsheet traveller by the light of the moon - I'd hauled it to windward this afternoon when trying to sail close-hauled. We were now motoring into quite rough seas.

Suddenly, I became aware of fluttering in the bow. One booby was already ensconced on the starboard rail of the pulpit steelwork and another was desperately trying to land on the port side - not an easy task in the darkness because the bow was pitching every few seconds into the choppy oncoming waves which were frequently breaking over it.. Round and round the bird came, repeatedly swooping in, trying to grab the rail with the beating of its wings catching the red of the navigation light and the red-lit spray of the waves. Eventually, it joined its partner on the starboard bow - but only landing on the wire, not the rail, and amid a not-too-happy noise from the first bird. The two of them were doused with seawater every minute or so - amazing that they were able to hang on and balance there, such a very wet, uncomfortable ride it must be. But stay they did.

I've had to increase the engine revs to give us a better speed with the chop slowing us down. I might have to add some more fuel to the tank tomorrow - it's nice to have a sight glass showing the fuel level directly - no guesswork needed!

I checked by torchlight - the birds had settled in for the night - look like a pair of red-footed boobies. But two hours later, when I went to unfurl the genoa, in hope of motor-sailing a little more off the wind - they'd gone.... Plan to motor-sail didn't work - we were too close to the wind, even with a small change of course, so in came the genoa after a short time, and back on course. Lovely starry sky - Southern Cross almost disappeared, Cassiopaeia high up in the opposite half of the sky.

Morning - sunrise ~1230 GMT = 5.30am Baja time = PDT Radio chat for short time with W. coast friends after contacts 2 hrs earlier on E. coast. Australia coming in well. Best contacts made before sun gets too high. Had tried unfurling genoa to motor-sail but had to bear away 10 degrees off course to keep wind in sail & even then it tends to get backed in quite a strong wind from W.... Speed is varying a lot. Presently heading towards San Jose del Cabo since Cabo San Lucas is just a tad too upwind at present. Off to get another short nap...

Midday - Well, it's about time I learned the lesson - when sailing, sail the boat properly and don't be misled by trying to use the motor to help to make directly for a given place, to arrive at a given time...! The boat ends up being sailed badly... and you can't fight a good-strength wind, you have to work with it... "Nereida" isn't a motor-boat...!

We're sailing fine now, making 5kt or more SOG but headed only just W of N.... So we'll have to tack at some point to make San Jose del Cabo - which is less upwind than Cabo San Lucas and will hopefully not charge quite as much for refuelling. I've heard it can cost US$100 or US$150 just to tie up to the fuel dock in CSL.- and I'm sure their fuel price will not be cheap! If a night entry becomes necessary, I know San Jose from 2014 and entry is quite straightforward..

6pm Tried tacking - ended up heading SW - so not a good option. Nearly lost the small staysail pole when a genoa sheet got tangled with it. Have tacked back onto NNW course but slow progress with WNW wind having died down a bit. Sun getting low... Might not make San Jose Sunday without using motor, just 70 n.mls away, bearing 305T - but possible if wind lightens more and I've fuel enough.

0210GMT (Sunday!) 7.10 p.m Saturday LT/PDT Just went to check if the lovely red sun had set below the horizon - and a solitary booby landed on the port pulpit - clearly settling down for the night. I wonder if it's one of the two that perched there last night? Transferred last of my fuel reserve - now have about 85 litres in the main tank - enough to motor for over a day @3 l / hr so we should be OK to get to San Jose - still dead upwind and 63 miles away as the crow flies - but we'll probably take twice that getting there, unless the wind dies away completely. Sailing gently at 4.3kt NNW. Time to cook before it's totally dark - I've some potatoes to use up...

Morning: Two boobies perched on the bow pulpit overnight - male and female red-footed... having a good ride while they rest and preen themselves. Joined later in morning by another, perched on anchor. Low line of sea-fog stretching along from coast ahead down southward toward Cabo San Lucas.

Motor-sailing (since sunrise) directly towards San Jose del Cabo - SW wind in genoa & main so making fair speed without needing to push too hard with motor. Hoping for early afternoon landfall, to tie up to fuel dock, ready for topping up tank and reserve jerry cans. By 9a.m. LT/PDT (1600GMT), wind died , seas calm, genoa furled in... Fenders and mooring lines made ready for San Jose fuel dock arrival ... ~ 1p.m.?

11amLT 10ml off San Jose (ETA - and sea fog on the coast to the S is still there - but finishes just to S of San Jose, where we're headed. Still have one brown booby on board - seemsdetermined to make the most of the ride and wasn't disturbed when I furled in the genoa beside it, with the wind having gone too light to fill the sail.

LATER:

Safely tied to fuel dock at San Jose before 2.30pm LT after motoring in flat calm for some time.

More in fuel tank than I expected - fuelled up OK and fixed a few problems - including switch I was using for fuel transfer. Unable to fix wind transducer problem at mast top, unfortunately - no spare on board, to my surprise. Can see it up there at a funny angle - bird must have broken connection to wire down through mast

Met up with 'Pacific Provider' and went for meal later - late back to boat to sleep and be ready to leave at first light in the morning.

Monday 13th ..... Maybe I should not have left??

I went to leave today - and ran straight into (forecast) strong winds and seas. I expected to cope with the conditions but made a right mess of reefing down, with one batten getting caught in a lazyjack and, after sorting that out, the second reef line getting caught around the end of a batten near the first reef point - more time spent, heeled well over in the big seas and then hove-to, sorting that problem out. Realised, too late, that I'd left a seacock open that should have been closed ... etc., ...etc... So finally turned around to sail back and am now safely at anchor off Cabo San Lucas, sorting things out and tidying up down below! Will wait to see what tomorrow brings....

It's been a good reminder of ocean sailing and the need to be totally prepared!! It's been nearly three years since I did some 'proper' ocean sailing - easy to forget how carefully things must be tackled in strong conditions...

All fine now, except I just noticed a pin seems to want to come out of the wind steering mechanism - will have to find a way to try to keep it in place somehow... maybe wire it in some way... I'll be needing my wind-steering on the way north, mostly close-hauled - especially now that I've no wind instrument functioning.

...........

It's lovely to be gently bobbing about at anchor, especially after the banging and crashing around earlier! It's busy here in the daytime with lots of holidaymakers rushing around madly on personal watercraft and lots of local boats taking people out for fishing or 'around-the-bay' trips or paragliding. Of course, lot of sailboats and 'party' catamarans with loud music suddenly appeared near sunset.

This evening, I'm still busy, trying to sort through a variety of things and organise them. At least the boat is better-prepared now.

The wind is clearly blowing still, off to the west beyond the distinctive rocky, scenic Cabo outcrops - every now and then, a gust comes through.

Tuesday Lovely, sunny day, as usual, without too many disturbances from jet-skiers and other small boats full of holidaymakers - or maybe I'm just getting used to them? A productive day - having found a vital pin yesterday that kept trying to come loose in the wind-steering mechanism, a priority was to fix it in place somehow, bearing in mind I'd be wanting to use the wind-steering a lot in the coming passage. Overnight, to make sure the pin wasn't lost, I taped it over with Gorilla tape - with a strong adhesive backing, it did its job well. I decided that a penny washer, together with a couple of other smaller washers, could be wired in place to stop the pin coming out. The hole in the penny washer was just too big but with the smaller washers reducing the hole, the result was fine. Using mousing wire, which is quite flexible, it didn't take too long to sort out - see photo. The rest of the day was spent sorting out the boat with a long passage in mind - I got out my clear Lexan washboard and put it in place and cleared and cleaned the cockpit, as well as down below. I had plenty of time to catch up with some overdue emails as well as downloading the usual batch of weather faxes (Pt Reyes comes through better than Honolulu) and grib files. The weather news this morning was of strong NW winds persisting over the day off the Baja coast - so not a time to get going since I want to head WNW, if possible. Tomorrow, the winds might still be fairly strong and from WNW, which could well cause me a problem, but they should be slowly easing over the next few days. The seas will, as usual, take a time to lie down giving a rough ride for a time. I might try leaving tomorrow and see what it's like once a few miles out of the Bay. It's very protected in here, so very deceptive. The swell has been causing a lot of surf on the nearby beaches - I hear the sound of waves crashing all the time when on deck. I'll try to get a good sleep tonight - might be my last for quite a time if it's as rough out there to begin with as I suspect it will be...