Bahia Magdalena – Man of War Cove
12/14
Woke up to shrimpers on a panga trying to sell us huge shrimp but we had our fill the past few days and turned them down, plus purchasing isn’t our style. We signed the log book of Gregorio the local port captain. It was interesting to see all the other boats we have met along the way with their dates of arrival in the same bay. We decided to stay put here and see what happens with this weather due to the fact that we haven’t had internet in a while to check it. We got a few decent forecasts from other boats but nothing seemed trustworthy for such a long run ahead of us. 12/15-12/17 we sat in mag bay with shifty weather. Calm nights turned into super choppy and windy early mornings. Opposite direction cloud movements above. No telling what was going on. We wandered the town, hiked the hills, read our books, and took photographs. They only had one small store open. It didn’t offer much. We met a few new boats, and found out that every boat was leaving in the morning for Cabo San Lucas. So why not hop on the caravan with 5 or 6 other boats and move on. We had the anchor up at 7:00AM a new day with clear skies. 14:00 125 miles to go! Motor and Jib only. Good speed. Passing Punta Tosca there was no wind. Must have turned into a hot high pressure. Our guess was the calm before that forecasted foul weather coming. Good passage timing. Predicting strong cooling winds off the land tonight. That seems to be what happens after a hot day. We passed 3 sea turtles. Tons of seal pods. Caught our biggest Mahi yet. Had a good night sail and then the wind died and the swell turned into a washing machine. 12/18 Slow pace sucky night. 13:00 10 miles to Cabo. This morning ‘Gabby Wray’ we met in man of war, parents and their 4 kids 22-30 was on the radio hailing for vessel assist 5 miles outside the cabo harbor entrance. If you know what vessel assist is, they absolutely have nothing of that sort here in mexico… It went like this “NO SPEAK SPANISH, NEED VESSEL ASSIST” wow…and their plan is to be in Wilmington, NC by June. About 90% of that trip is going to be in spanish speaking areas, good luck. They had a sucky night with a huge oil leak. I hailed back telling them good luck and that my only advice is to keep your sails up and all flammables away. 11:00 claire and I were on watch while dad was resting. We were starving after a full night sail eating bird food and slim pickins. We’re always trolling at least one pole so I let the line back a little more because the swell had changed and gave it a few tugs. Within 5 minutes. BAM! A striped marlin was on! Full on bill and open mouthed slashing out of the water behind us. Dad and I winched it in together as it spooled the whole reel out. Claire sailed us in slow circles for about an hour while we fought this beast. We got him up to the side of the boat for some photographs. My first marlin! Dad says it was at least 7 feet long and had to of been 350-400lbs. Not too shabby. Rounding Land’s end we had made it! It was Claire’s birthday and we had been up all night together celebrating on the night shift. For breakfast I made chocolate pancakes with a candle ontop! We pulled into a hectic touristy harbor which was a culture shock. We were in dire need of alcohol, greasy food, and a marina slip.
the perfect loaf!
oh ya!
claire turning into quite the photographer!
osprey’s nest with cool power lines. i thought my mom would appreciate this one.
seemed to be where the panga guys do their business
these loafs didn’t rise as well but still delicious. and we made ghetto focaccia.
march 13, 1908
local chicken coops
all i would need
STAY AWAY FROM MY CAT!
yes sir
frigatebird!
(dad: i think it’s called man of war cove because the frigates are also called man of war birds. not the jelly fish like we thought it might be.)
6-8 foot wingspan. they can not swim or walk and can only take off from a perch on a pole or a tree. there for they try to land on masts of boats, but they are so big they can mess up wind indicators or masthead anchor lights. we have a rubber mallet to rap on the base of the mast if they come around. females have a white breast. there of tons of them soaring the skies around here. they spend days and nights on the wing without landing.
our first sea turtle sighting!
marlin on spooled the whole rod. about an hour fight calvino style.
STOLAT!
i just want the batter
LANDS END! we’ve made it over 1000 miles.
Claire's getting quite good at baking!!
Very cool panoramic shots, especially seeing your 2012 version next to the 1908 version. Still just as beautiful and calm. Glad it's not a big resort.
Love the huge satellite outside of the shack.
Next time you pass chicken coops you should trade for some fresh eggs! Mmm breakfast! Some eggy in the middle with Claire's bread sounds good right now!
The Frigate bird sounds horrific! Keep Pina safe from their clutch!
Beautiful Mahi and crazy Marlin catch!! Nice work! Can't believe you reeled the whole thing in a full hour, alone, no chair! Woooo!
Happy Birthday Claire!! Missed you tons this year during your birthday, kept remembering all the fun we had last year's birthday!
I can feel the warmth of the sun through your photos! There seems to be incredible hiking! You guys are really cooking up a storm with that awesome oven, everything looks yummy:) Can't wait to taste your new cooking ideas from the local fare when you get home!
Just sent you a lengthy HAPPY NEW YEAR e-mail. My computer has been messing up and Vinnie has been working on it and I fear my e-mail to you didn't go through. =( So I'm trying to get to you this way to let you know that we're loving your travel log and thinking of you! HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! =) =) p.s. Will keep working on fixing our e-mail. =/
p.s. (again) HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY, CLAIRE!!