Friday December 3, 2021
Bahía Papalote
Departed 0825. Couple days of wind ahead. Sailing south as far as possible with this wind. Tortuga is 275nm distant. Adios Bahía Papalote!
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| Adios Bahía Papalote! Looking back - Bluewater is motoring away |
Leg 13
Departure Time: 8:25am PST Friday December 3, 2021
Departure from: Bahía Papalote, Baja California, México
4 souls aboard
Lawrence Kerver
Gloria Vilchez
Andrew McMullin
Ryan Bernhardt
Destination: South as far as possible
Estimated Distance: 275nm to Bahía Tortuga (Turtle Bay)
Estimated Time enroute: Several days
Conditions: Good wind, fresh!
Exciting times for Bluewater and crew!!! They reported good wind for their long journey to the next anchorage. They've got beautiful views of the open Pacific ocean, a fresh breeze, and seasoned crew members ready to put in the effort for back-to-back overnights at sea. We may never know who is on watch at any given time but they need to take turns manning the helm (autopilot can be tricky, ha-ha), trimming the sails, watching for traffic, evaluating changes in weather including wind speed/direction, and navigating. And let's not forget meal planning/preparation/eating and coffee making/drinking. Did I mention fishing? Fun!
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| Bluewater's Navigational Instruments They are south of Ensenada, heading 205° (southwest) offshore where the coastline juts out Wind 16.8 kts, Speed 6.3 kts, SOG (speed over ground) 7.4 kts |
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| Good speed! Now 7.2 kts, SOG 8.5 kts |
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| Bluewater on a downwind run with the screecher (head sail) out front Port view |
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| Bluewater sailing south Starboard view |
FISH ON!
Through messages that came much later, I learned that late Friday afternoon they hooked/fought and landed a huge Bluefin Tuna!!! Truly magnificent! Lawrence confirmed that they fought that fish for 2hrs 20 minutes. They couldn't even lift the thing so I don't know how they wrestled it onto the boat. Nice work! They estimated it at 150lbs and who am I to argue? We are seething with jealousy but LOVE the photos...
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| There is Lawrence on Bluewater's starboard bow pulpit fighting a huge Bluefin Tuna at sunset Does it get any better than this??? |
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| Ryan is taking a turn battling the huge Bluefin Tuna with Andrew at the ready |
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| Lawrence confirmed that Andrew has a foot tattoo so there he is with this prize! Magnificent Bluefin Tuna fresh from the Pacific Ocean! |
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| Lawrence and the Bluefin Tuna Sushi tonight! |
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| Andrew with the Bluefin Tuna |
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| That bucket says it all! Andrew looking mighty happy with that fresh tuna! |
Word has it that of the 2hour 20minute fight to reel in this tuna, Andrew manned the rod for more than half of the total time. I'm told that there was a LOT of activity surrounding this catch since they were on a fast downwind run when the tuna hit and had to alter course, start the engines, take down sails, heave to, etc etc etc. It was truly a group effort - a LOT of work that paid off handsomely!
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| Filleting underway! Side 1 |
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| Side 2 |
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| Lawrence on duty - Fillet master! Mother would be proud - surely she's looking down from above. |
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| Messy job but someone's got to do it! |
Per a phone call from Lawrence, he said they ended up with about 80lbs of tuna fillets. Bluewater uses solar power to cool a refrigerator and freezer which is awesome but they are relatively small. However, he has a GIANT cooler and they have been freezing water bottles in Bluewater's small freezer and using them as ice (rotating them in and out of the freezer as necessary). The large cooler was full of fish fillets. However, Bluewater shared the bounty. Of the approx 80+ pounds of tuna fillets, much of it was given away to other cruisers and locals.
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| Japanese Marauder Lure that caught tuna |
Lawrence sent this photo of a lure so I asked if that is what the tuna hit and he said: Si!
Saturday December 4, 2021
...sailed through the previous night and still sailing south...
9:12am update from Lawrence via text:
Buenos dias. We’re having a great sail. Made around 125 miles in the last 24 hrs. Hoping to arrive at Bahía Tortuga tomorrow in the morning or early afternoon. Caught a nice tuna at sunset last night. Fought like crazy. Hope all is well
Per Mark, 125nm is a GREAT run in a day - WOW! And what's not to love about catching a tuna!!! I was hoping they'd send pix and they did!!!!
And another full day and night at sea, tick tock...
Sunday December 5, 2021
Arrived! Bahía Tortuga
5Dec 8:04am PST Text from Lawrence:
Good morning. We made it through the rowdy night. Surfing waves up to 12+ kts at times. Saw wind gusts to 29 kts with 6-8’ seas. Put in the 3rd reef and boom preventer just after dark. Had to gybe several times 😳 Coming into Bahía Tortuga in the next couple of hours. Gloria may take a bus from here… 😂
I’ll let you know when we arrive ✌🏼
283 miles
And then a couple of hours later:
Just arrived 1020. Anchored off the pier in Tortuga. Bay is empty! 2 other cruising vessels
Bluewater checked in safe & sound @ Bahía Tortuga!
Actual Arrival: 10:20am Sunday December 5, 2021
Actual Distance: 283nm
Duration: 50 hours! (2 days + 2 hours nonstop sailing!)
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| Gloria is out getting exercise! Paddle boarding in Bahía Tortuga |
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| Boat overrun with birds |
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| Duplicate photo of Gloria |
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| Wait what? Neighbors with a bunny? |
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| Nice Day! |
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| Birds and Love Birds |
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| LOVE it! |
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| Lo & Glo...glowing |
Monday December 6, 2021
Bahía Tortuga
6Dec 5:49am PST Text from Lawrence to his siblings:
Happy late birthday (sister) Gloria!
6Dec 6:36am PST:
We have this TelCel service so calls and text work but no data. We might find some WiFi up in town and I'll send pics if possible.
The next 3 photos are date-stamped late morning, i.e. before noon 6Dec2021
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| Now THAT'S a very balanced boat of pelicans!!! |
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| Fun collection of canned goods including ABALONE, SEA SNAIL, PISMO CLAMS and more CARACOL (Snail) and ABULÓN (Abalone) |
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| Gloria in front of Parroquia Sagrado Corazón Catholic Church in México I like the map of Baja on the face of the church, upper right; the hook on the left side of Baja represents the geography of Vizcaíno Bay halfway down Baja on the Pacific side |
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| Bahía Tortuga is NOT small; It's just small compared to Sebastián Vizcaíno Bay |
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| The "hook" along Baja's Pacific Coast is Vizcaíno Bay |
We found WIFI! (and photos arrived via Text)
6Dec 12:22pm PST:
Lunch, laundry here in Tortuga. Likely departing this evening for Bahía Asunción about 60 nm South. Surf break possible
And when I asked Lawrence if Ryan is feeding a dog in the photo below, he said:
The dogs followed us in a pack up to 8 all day
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| Lawrence, the pier, some flags and a view Bahía Tortuga |
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| Dog, Gloria, Dog, Ryan, Andrew |
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| Sardines! Gloria actually traded some tuna steaks for a ride back to Bluewater from this local fisherman! |
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| PEACE LOVE SURF, Gloria and another dog |
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| Gorgeous view of Bahía Tortuga from the beach |
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| Duplicate photo to show where Bluewater is anchored |
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| Andrew Paddle boarding near Bluewater, Bahía Tortuga |
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| No shortage of pelicans on that pier! Bahía Tortuga |
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| Ryan, dog, dog, Gloria and Fuel Attendant filling Bluewater's portable tanks |
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| Ryan, dog, Gloria, dog |
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| Look at that face! |
Holy cow...there are A LOT of dogs wandering around looking for attention!
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| Lawrence & dog friend saying goodbye on the beach, Bahía Tortuga |
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| Gloria and an abundance of bird life! Bahía Tortuga |
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| Gloria, a one-armed man and a dog on the pier late afternoon, just prior to departure Bahía Tortuga |
6Dec 5:17pm PST:
Sorry, that's our last connection. We're departing
soon ✌️
And with that, they're off again!! Stay tuned
Next Stop: Bahía Asunción about 60nm south...
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