Attu

 

On Wednesday, January 3rd we departed on our longest leg, to date.  We expected to sail for 3 days then arrive in Bahia de Bartolome (colloquially called, Turtle Bay), Mexico.  The first day was enjoyable:  sunny, lightly breezy, and we spent the day tacking our way out of Bahia de Todo Santos.  Then we came upon some rain clouds that didn't blow over, as expected.  Winds blew 20-25 kts with gusts up to 35.  We encountered wave heights up to 20 feet, some of them breaking waves, which Mark skillfully avoided.  Cold and tired we sought protection from the weather on the east side of Cedros Island only to discover that the wind was blowing equally hard, but in the opposite direction.  No protection there. 

 

We finally found refuge on the south side of the Island, just 30 nm from Turtle Bay on Saturday, January, 6th.  Sleep never felt so good and we nearly hibernated for two days. 

 

 

 

 

 

We arrived in Ensenada the next morning and spent the entire day checking in.  The process has reportedly been streamlined.  In the past cruisers needed to visit several offices scattered across town.  Now Immigration, the Harbor Master, Customs, and the bank are all in one building.  The rub is that we were required to go to each office twice in a certain order, which with the additional flood of cruisers backed up from the holiday weekend took all day.  So much for a  streamlined check in process. 

 

 

We stayed in a marina just two boats away from where "The" Black Pearl is moored when she is not filming Pirates Of The Caribbean.