The Vortex Voyage

Monday, October 24, 2011

Leaving Ensenada

We're just making our last minute adjustments - putting our steps and bikes, etc on board. We're fueled up, our water tanks are full and so are the fridge and freezer.

We'll be leaving within the hour.

Next update, from somewhere else.

Wednesday, October 19, 2011

Red Tide, Glowing Fish and A Wet Security Guard

Hi all,
We thouht we'd make a quick posting as we have a few moments.

We've been busy making all our last minute repairs and stocking up (lots) before we take off.

Things have been interesting around here. For the past week or so, there've been these "Red Tides". At first the water just got sort of cloudy. Then it turned red. It's neat, for some reason it's making some of the fish phosflorscent (not spelled correctly). At night, there are these little glowing trails in the water as fish swim close to the surface. It some kind of natural phenomenom, too many microscopic organisms or something like that. Alas, it is poisonous. It's killing a lot of fish and birds. It's really starting to stink.

The other morning, Sharon got up for her usual trip to the facilities. It was early and still dark. There was a man in the water in the slip across from us. Turned out that one of the security guards fell in. Sharon couldn't get him out so quickly ran up to the security station for help. Bit of a mystery there, poor guy. I think he was in there for a while.

The hotel/marina is hosting what looks like a beauty pageant here this weekend. Could be interesting except that they make us move our cars whenever they have an event like this.

We hope to make one more post before we leave on Oct 24. Boy it's coming quickly,

Friday, October 14, 2011

October 14, 2011- Preparing for the BaJa HaHa

Its nice to be back in Ensenada. The weather has gotten a little colder. Normal daytime temp is around 20C, but we've been up to 25C. Nighttime cools off quickly. We hit the dewpoint right after sundown and things stay wet until sunrise again.

We're leaving in10 days! It is exciting and a little scary thinking about it.
It took us a while to get moving after we arrived. Somehow, our power was turned off long enough to have thawed everything in the freezer. It took us all day to clean it up. Then Neil got sick. We also discovered that water got into one of our food storage areas. That was a hell of mess (and stink) to clear up. The smell was so bad, we're not sure we'll ever get it out of our heads. Hopefully all the bleach and vinegar we used did the job well. We're learning a lot!

We've been busy, as usual. We have a few minor things to take care of before we leave. We've been getting updated Mexican papers. We're working with a nice lady and she says once we're done, we can drive our car in Mexico (we couldn't get it licenced in Canada anymore). We will also get free medical care. We need to make some minor adjustments to the dinghy setup. And we have a new loadhailer speaker to install. We need to install new wires for our steaming lights. We have a second anchor holder for the bow coming that needs to be installed. No skidding material has been installed, for the most part on the parts of the deck that didn't have it (the house). We'll probably finish it today.

Neil is learning a bit about scuba. We've got all the equipment and he's been trying it out in the pool. (Sharon has her license.)

We're not sure where we'll end up in La Paz. There are many marinas there and some beautiful anchorages. We're planning on using the time there to decide how we prefer to journey - via the marina/city life/car, etc way, or via the free and natural way, on the hook.

Everything is under control. We're almost ready for the big trip.

Monday, October 3, 2011

October 3, 2011- LA

Hi everyone,
This is just a quick note to let everyone know that we once again had trouble getting into the US.

When we left Ensenada we decided to go via Tecate instead of our usual border crossing near San Diego. There was a major construction accident at the border that crushed 50 or so cars and sent many people to the hospital. As a result, many of the gates were closed and we weren't sure we'd be able to get across in time for our flight.

Though the line up at Tecate was short, they held us there for 7 hours, with their nonsense again. I tell you, there are a bunch of idiots on power trips manning the US border. The officer handling us was so stupid, he thought our file stated that we are NOT ALLOWED TO LEAVE the US!?!?!? He also had his days all mixed up and thought we had crossed the border the day before. We left a day early and its a good thing or we would have missed our flight for sure.

Coming back was also a nightmare. We got to the airport 4 hours ahead of our flight, but Customs dragged their asses and made us miss our flight again. So, here we are in LA, the only flight we could get. We're leaving soon to catch a train to San Diego where our friend Bert is picking us up.

I don't think we're ever going to try getting into the US ever again. We leave for La Paz at the end of October, so we'll be able to catch our flights back home directly from Cabo San Lucas to Toronto. NO MORE US BORDERS!!!!!

Saturday, September 17, 2011

Sept 10 – 13, Ensenada to San Quintin

We just completed our first real voyage. We left Ensenada at 9 am on Sept 10 and returned to Marina Coral on Sept 13 at 5 am.

It was quite an adventure for us. We saw lots of whales and were fortunate enough to have the camera in hand when a blue whale came within 20 feet of our boat. We caught a giant squid and several sea gulls. We used our Auto Pilot (AWESOME) and cooked while underway. We spent 3 nights out at anchor and got a few surprises.

The first night we had calm seas all night and everything was great when we were moving. We used the GPS and radar and arrived at San Quintin at around 7:30 am. We dropped anchor to try to get some sleep, but we got a surprise when the anchor dragged cause the seas were calm no more so we left at first light.

The second night there was so much rocking and rolling, and clanging and banging around that we again left at first light.

The next night was quieter and we had a really good sleep. The forth night we were going to anchor out at Todos Santos, the island near our home marina. But there was a boat on fire there, so we decided to go the extra hour and a half and head for home.

We got a lot of it on video. Sorry there are so many clips, but they are pretty short.

We did enjoy the trip a lot, though. We also learned a lot. We have a few more, little things to take care of, but we’re almost ready for out trip to Cabos San Lucas. Actually, we will visit there, but we’re headed into the Sea of Cortez. La Pas.

Friday, September 9, 2011

Sept. 9, 2011 Marina Ensenada

Hi everyone. We’re a bit late with this update for a couple of reasons. As usual, we’ve been very busy. Right now, we’re preparing for our trip south, which means making sure all the equipment and systems are in working order.

We now have both water tanks up and filled as well as both fuel tanks. We’re ready to go across the ocean now (but don’t worry, we have no intention of doing so). We have over 250 gallons of fuel and 240 gallons of water.

Getting the house ready for sale has been consuming some energy as well. Not too bad, cause our agent Stephanie has been doing a great job. And it didn’t hurt that Edna and Dong, the downstairs tenants have been helpful, cleaning the house and mowing the lawn. I think it goes on the market today, but we won’t be taking offers until we get to Toronto.

We tried going up and down the mast ourselves and are sure we can do it now. See the video with Neil way, way up there.

There was a huge power outage here yesterday. We understand it took out most of Southern California as well. It was a good exercise for us, though. We were able to switch our batteries over to the house set and run off the inverter. We made sure the fridge/freezer worked and we watched some video off the PC, battery power. It wasn’t long enough for us to get used to living off the grid, but it did ensure us that everything is working properly.

Monday, August 29, 2011

August 29, 2011

Hello friends and family.

Well, we took a big step the other day. We signed up for the BA JA HA HA. We’re paid up so we’re committed. The plan is to leave from Ensenada, meet up with the other boats and go from there. We’re also planning on taking our Mexican captain so we will have some additional experience and safety onboard. There are parties and meetings in San Diego as well as a parade. We’re thinking about whether or not we should go to any of them. Our information package is being sent to Toronto so we can get it when we visit.

Which, incidently, will be on Sept 17. This time we’ll only be there for 2 weeks. Border crossings are getting easier. Our last two times, we were pulled over for additional screening, but no one wanted to see our papers, besides our passports. Perhaps our file is getting cleaned up. Anyway, we’re selling the house in Scarborough and we expect to be reviewing offers when we’re there. We’re selling it with optional furniture. Hopefully, the new owners will want it, so we won’t have to deal with it.

We’ve been technically challenged the last little while. The power supply unit on the dock for our boat suddenly stopped working. Luckily for us, there is no one in the slip next to us, so we’re plugged into their outlet. Our cable went out and just came on now. It was out for a week and because of that we’ve watched most of our dvds. They were supposed to be for when we are at anchor. We’re going to have to get some more, that’s for sure. Our Magic Jack isn’t working. Our subscription ran out and when we went to renew, we were automatically taken to the Mexico site. We thought we set it up properly, but the system wouldn’t take our credit card. The system isn’t very flexible and we’re waiting for someone to fix it for us. Its been over a week too.

Otherwise, we’ve been learning more about the boat. We’re figuring out the GPS unit. We found out it includes a chart plotter, which is excellent! We’ve also trying to figure out the radar and inverter.

We got our dinghy davits. They look beautiful. Now we have to get a pulley system and we’re rolling! We also got a new anchor installed. Our chain is out getting painted. We’re slowly getting her into tip top shape for our departure. The HA HA leaves on Oct 24. Not too long now. It’s a little scary, but very exciting.

Today we went inland a bit to visit Mexico’s wine country. When we left the marina it was 22.5 degrees. About ½ hour later, it was 43 degrees. Both of us felt, though, that we could handle this type of heat. It is dry and in the shade with a little breeze, it wasn’t too bad. If the Sea of Cortez is like this, it’ll be great.

Here are a few short videos of our day. We were at native Mexican lands and you’ll see some historic structures and some colourful clothing.

Bye for now.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=met2krG4Z0U
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G07SN0DA8K0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ahopnt4UVT8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ahopnt4UVT8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mTImwD4jcCw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9IXz8NpWP1U

An Ensenada song we got Neil Diamond to do
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i0lg5cY4UQI