Ship’s Log
Friday, June 27, 2008
2008 June 10-26
Dear F&F;,
Puerto Escondido is 18 miles south of Loreto, Mexico. In Spanish this means
“hidden port”. There are no docks only moorings, which are permanent anchors
that you tie your boat to. This system is common in Catalina’s main harbors
so we are used to it. We had heard that when originally installed 2 years
ago, the moorings here were not made properly. The lines were inadequately
small & the chains to the cement anchor block were not secure. In strong
winds, boats had broken loose of these poorly made
moorings and were damaged. Since then they have upgraded the mooring
installation and are now safe. But many boaters are still leery due to
stories of problems in the past, so it is not very busy. Many cruisers do
not stay onboard in Mexico during the summer hurricane season. They will
dock their boat somewhere they consider safe & then go “home” if they have
another home. Those of us who are full time (not seasonal) cruisers move to
a non-hurricane region, like where we are now. Later in the season,
we will have to keep a close watch on potential hurricanes that can come up
into the “Sea of Cortez”. We had heard the diving was great in the Sea of
Cortez which is the inside of the Baja Peninsula. So despite the warnings of
it being hot hot hot all summer - here we are.
I only endured 2 days of heat before I flew out of Loreto to visit my family
in northern California. Scott stayed with Beach House. It had been 6 months
since I was in California. This was the longest span of time to not see my
Dad in many years. I was so happy that his dementia seemed just about the
same. He still knew me right away. He can still walk pretty far, has good
enough balance to step down into the ditch & enough flexibility to bend over
& pick up trash which is one of his main activities.
Otherwise he naps a lot & will randomly sing a gravelly rendition of
“Amazing Grace”. He remembered that I am the daughter from LA. He is
affectionate, polite, enjoys nature, lives in the moment and never
complains. We should all be like him. He will be 92 in November. I am
wrecked each time I say goodbye, never knowing if this is our last time
together.
My sister Alberta & brother-in-law David, in wonderful Sebastopol, provide a
lovely “home away from boat” for me. I also got to see Karen & Ron in Santa
Rosa. Karen & I have been friends since 5th grade. I met Ella her first day
as a physical therapist about 20 yrs ago & always enjoy her & Leo’s
treehouse-like home in the Guerneville Redwoods right on the Russian River.
I was very happy to finally have Karen & Ella meet each other, something
we’d never been able to manage in my past trips. They both
agree that the fact that they still work can be so inconvenient!
As great as it was to see my friends & family it was really hard for me to
be apart from Scott. Most boating couples are extremely close or divorced.
He called me every night from the satellite phone, which besides being
expensive, he was running out of our pre-paid minutes over a weekend, so not
able to buy more. Conversations were brief & not very satisfying. When he
took our laptop computer to the harbor office, he could hear me on Skype
(internet phone) fine, but I could not hear him well enough
to have a functional conversation. Very frustrating. After being together
24/7 for the past 9 months I was having serious deprivation syndrome. Each
day was full so I tried to just stay in the moment, enjoying the people I
was with, knowing I would not see them again for a very long time. But still
it was hard. I am very glad that on our next trips we will be together.
Besides wanting to visit family & friends, the main purpose of my trip was
to bring a ton of boat stuff back with me. We had heard everyone gets the
“green light” coming through Loreto Customs & Immigration. (A Red Light
means that they go through all your belongings). There are so many things
that we need & have no means of getting here. With our residence visas we
are entitled to bring a certain amount of stuff for our “residence”.
Blessedly, the officials had no more interest in seeing my stuff
than I had in showing it to them. That was a relief!
Skye was kind enough to let me borrow her car to do my errands while she was
at work. This ensured we saw each other twice a day which was great. She is
a key member of our shore side support team and would join us onboard more
often if she didn’t have to work so much. We are extremely proud of her hard
work & ambition in the business side of the entertainment industry. Bravely
following in her grandparents footsteps (Art who worked at Warner Bros TV
and Anne Nelson, still at CBS TV).
Scott’s Aunt Barbara in the valley & PT friend Lori in Santa Monica provided
my LA “homes away from boat”. More key members of the Beach House support
staff. If you live in the LA area & didn’t know I was in town, please
forgive me. It was absolutely impossible to see everyone I would have like
to in the short time I was there. Skye kept reminding me: “Your life is a
vacation. This is a business trip.” She was absolutely right.
Our sailor friend Mike was kind enough to agree to let us ship stuff we
needed to his business mailbox. He had been emailing us that it was
accumulating to quite a large pile of boxes. Despite his warning I was still
stunned when he met me in the parking lot of our LA storage unit. The back
of his SUV was FILLED bottom to top, front to back with boxes. I was driving
Skye’s Honda Accord. It was obvious there was no way I was going to be able
to fit all that stuff into her car. So we opened everything
& sorted what I would take now & what I could leave in storage for the next
trip. After an hour I had a Honda full of boat stuff & Mike had a truck full
of boxes & packing materials. Thank you Mike! We appreciate your generous
help. And thank you Beth (Mike’s wife), for putting up with all our crap in
your garage…
A few random examples of the goodies I came back with:
*Spare fin straps - Scott had broke one & we only had 1 spare. Yes he has a
spare pair of fins, but his primary ones are better.
*Software - a program called Lightroom to help with photo editing. Now that
we are diving more he will be getting more into underwater photography which
is his passion.
*Spare O-rings for underwater camera & video with accompanying grease. Not
good to let your O-rings dry out.
*1 ft x 2 ft plastic hatch - fits under the helm, ours got a crack & leaks
in water.
*Rebuild kit for our shower sump pump. Our shower drain is below the
waterline of the boat, so the water has to be pumped up & out. Fortunately
this arrived just in time as the rubber parts broke.
*Spare control panel for our watermakers.
*Spare refrigerator door handle. Keep in mind that this boat is only 4 years
old. We have already replaced the door handle TWICE! You could live in a
house with 10 kids for 20 years & never break a refrigerator door handle. It
is bizarre how expensive, yet unreliable boat stuff is.
*50 ft of stereo speaker wire & small speakers so we can get music in our
bedroom through the 12 volt stereo & not have to run the inverter which
takes more battery power.
*20 ft of coated cable to use with our dinghy anchor. Line can get chafed
through on rocks or coral. This will be stronger.
*Back-up Skype headset - our other back up was doinky & broke. If our
primary one breaks we would be out of luck without a spare.
*Current HAM radio licenses. Scott renewed ours online & they were mailed to
Tracy who runs our mail service in Washington & pays our bills. She sent
them to LA friend Mike who held everything for my arrival.
*Cleaning product for the vinyl headliner which is everywhere except the
bathrooms. The vinyl is susceptible to sun damage even though interior.
*Cleaner & polisher (helps get rid of small scratches) for the plastic
windows. We can’t use windex, it ruins the finish.
*Coolmax t-shirts & tanks for both of us. Cotton holds moisture. Coolmax is
much better in hot climate. We will give away most of our cotton stuff.
*Favorite type of sunscreen - Neutrogena dry touch for sensitive skin.
*Assorted DVDs
*2 bottom & 1 top king size sheet. I am a thrasher & had ripped up 1 bottom
sheet. The first night I returned I shredded the other old bottom sheet!
*A year supply of my contact lenses, after I saw my eye doctor & he said he
thinks my prescription will be stable for at least that long.
*Seasick meds, valium, sleep meds (helps keep boating fun).
*Malaria meds (won’t need these until further afield, but have to start
stocking up). My pharmacists said I’m his favorite customer. Not sure, but
it may have something to do with me spending $500 every time I see him…
*Assorted bug sprays from very toxic DEET (which my dermatologist said to
only use on clothing, not skin) to Avon Skin So Soft body oil which has
citronella.
*Biggest single item: our HAM radio which we had shipped from Mazatlan via
DHL ($150 postage & insurance) to Washington state for repair after it
abruptly stopped working for no known reason. We had the company that fixed
it send it to our friend Shea in San Diego for bench testing. Shea sent it
to friend Mike in LA who gave it to me. Its 3 components filled up half of a
mid-size suitcase & weighed 20 lbs. Without the radio onboard for 2 months
we had no free way to send & receive email. We had to
use the Iridium satellite phone, using pre-paid minutes ($1.25/min). The HAM
radio is also our free source of weather charts from NOAA (National Oceanic
and Atmospheric Association) & the way we check in to various boating
networks. We are very happy to have it back & only pray it doesn’t go on the
fritz again. Not an item that we carry a spare of.
I was prepared to pay the overweight baggage charge at LAX. Skye dropped me
plenty early and the sweet baggage ladies didn’t want to take my money. They
kept shooing me away to the side so I could re-shuffle the weight of my bags
to get under the 50 lb limit. It took me 3 tries! It was annoying, but
became a challenge. My carry on weighed more than a large dog, but no one
was weighing that, so I just rolled it on. And was oh so happy to let them
check it at the jetway since the plane was a little
tiny 1 seater-aisle-2 seater. No room in the overhead bins or under seat
areas for more than a daypack or large purse. Yippee! I was onboard, soon to
see Scott & had all precious cargo - success!
While I was away, Scott met & dove with Terry of “Manta”. Terry has been
living on his trimaran & diving out of this area for 27 years! Former Navy
Seal, very sweet, fun guy, likes to catch seafood. There were 4 lobsters in
the freezer when I got home - yum! We are excited to tag along with Terry
this summer, learning all the cool dive sites. Not many cruisers are scuba
divers. Terry is happy to meet like-minded folk. And we are so thrilled to
have a personal tour guide of this area. We are using
Puerto Escondido as “home base” and plan to take 1-2 week dive trips out to
the many islands within 20 miles of here.
Scott & I had a very happy reunion at the Loreto airport and I got the
“green light”. Scott unpacked my bags like it was Christmas and was very
proud of all I managed to schlep. The “what we still need” list began
immediately. Which led to our decision to DRIVE to San Diego July 16. See
the next Web Post…
That’s all for now. Don’t forget, you can write us at whatever email
addresses we have given you or always at this one…..beachhouse51@gmail.com
KIT (keep in touch),
Scott and Cindy…..Puerto Escondido, Mexico
Friday, June 06, 2008
2008 May 10 - June 4
Los Frailes to LA PAZ
We enjoyed 4 scuba dives over 2 days at Los Frailes marine park. We wanted to stay longer but a local man in a panga told us where we were anchored was not allowed. According to our cruising guide books, both Rains & Cunningham, we were in an allowed anchorage & clearly our anchor was in sand & nowhere near the reef. But having no defense in foreign waters, we left under threat of being reported to the park authorities. It was very sad for us to leave this beautiful dive area sooner than intended.
Jim & Linda of m/v “Outward Bound” a 47 foot Nordhaven consoled us with happy hour aboard their lovely yacht.
May 11 - Los Muertos
“Outward Bound” was on the same path as we were so we buddy-boated for the next 2 days. It was a beautiful sunrise as we motored away from Los Frailes and we were entertained for an hour by the jumping rays. ***See photo gallery*** The reason for their behavior is a mystery. This article offers some interesting information on mobulas, which are small rays. We believe the species we were watching were “Golden Cow Nose Rays”.
http://www.malbertphoto.com/mobulas1.html
Seven hours later we were anchored in Los Muertos. The word muertos here refers “to the dead-man mooring system” used in the early 1900s for barges that loaded ore from nearby silver mines. Early guidebooks told of giant buried anchors called “dead men” or muertos.” We read of this tale in The Rains Guide to Mexican Boating. We picked up Jim & Linda in our dinghy for an easy “wet landing” on the beach. There were many cars parked right on the beach with families enjoying the calm cove. We enjoyed
dinner at “The Giggling Marlin” palapa restaurant. The chile rellenos were delicious.
May 12 - La Paz
We had a sunrise start again for another 7+ hour day motoring to La Paz. The closer we got to La Paz, the hotter it got. It was 100 degrees when we tied up to the fuel dock to take on diesel & check in with the harbor master. Marina Costa Baja is quite new and beautiful. They were very full. They found our reservation, but put us on a dock built for mega-yachts. The power outlet needed to be rewired to fit our power cord. The very friendly dock worker promised to be back in 1 hour. Two hours later
I am literally having a meltdown. I am curled up, in the coolest part of the boat I can find, barely breathing, completely depressed & upset that we had to leave the wonderful idyllic anchorage of 2 nights ago and come to this godforsaken inferno. Scott, initially frustrated by my despair, soon came up with a brilliant solution: start the generator so we could turn on the air conditioner! At least I didn’t feel like I was going to die of heat stroke. We also put up the “circus tent”, our additional
awning that helps shade the saloon & galley. Abelardo (the primary dock supervisor), did return eventually and we were able to use shore power instead of the generator. It was the first place we ran the air conditioning all night to sleep. Although the temperature did drop about 25 degrees overnight.
This marina has a couple of features we have not seen elsewhere. 1) They have hard-wired internet connections. They give each boat a cable and modem. Our main laptop would not connect. This is the computer that is the primary for our onboard network. So we had only 1 computer connected to the internet. Sharing a computer is one of the compromises of boating I don’t like, but Scott & I manage to take turns. (Two and a half weeks later we made a Skype call to our network guru Craig Johnson and he
had all 3 laptops on the internet in about 10 minutes!)
2) Holding tank pump out stations on all docks. This is very convenient so it encourages all boats to use their holding tanks instead of flushing directly overboard. Sounds gross, but it is common all over the world. Consequently this marina has fish swimming in crystal clear water all along the docks. Fabulous.
May 13 - Downtown La Paz
We listened to the La Paz radio net in the morning and heard that yesterday was the first 100 degree day they’d had. Lucky us. Fortunately since then it has mostly been in the high 80s to low 90s.
There are 2 other marinas closer to town. Costa Baja is the furthest away and the nicest. Scott knows I love to swim every day I can & they have a great pool, so here we stay. Every 2 hours there is a free shuttle for the 20 min ride to town. We were happy to see Marv & Ardy of s/v Odyssey, our prior buddy-boat as well as John & Sharon of s/v Sunbow that we met in Ensenada (fellow catamaran owners). We all went to a fun lunch spot called Mr. Azucar (Mister Sugar) and enjoyed their great food. While
in town we visited the very well stocked English language bookstore and picked up the newest Sea of Cortez guide by Shawn Breeding and Heather Bansmer. We highly recommend it. We also bought “Diving and Snorkeling the Sea of Cortez” by Susan Speck and Bruce Williams which we hope to put to good use all summer.
Right near Marina La Paz where our friends were docked, was the Carey Dive Shop. We decided to gain some local knowledge by diving with them & signed up for 3 tanks on May 15.
May 14 - Clean Boat & m/v “Speedbird” Party
Whenever we can hire someone to wash the boat we do. She is a big girl and after being “at sea” a few days she gets really crusted with salt. We greatly appreciate boat washers everywhere.
We met Mary Rose and Peter of m/v “Speedbird”, another big & beautiful Nordhaven (57 ft) on the shuttle ride to town yesterday. They invited Jim, Linda, Scott & me for happy hour. There were actually several hours of happiness as we swapped stories and enjoyed the abundance of yummy food and beverages. We have a fondness for Nordhavens. Mary Rose and Peter are upsizing to a 64 footer, so Speedbird is for sale. Peter & Scott both looked a bit stunned when I suggested a direct swap of our boat for
theirs, but no deal. That’s ok. We love our “slow bird” and with diesel prices going up and up, we hope she will use her own wings instead of just her engines.
May 15 - Carey Divers
There were 2 other divers, 2 snorkelers, the Captain, naturalist and dive instructor in the Carey panga. The intention was to motor 2 hrs to Isla Islotes to dive with the sea lions. One hour into the trip the panga engine quit. The radio didn’t reach the dive shop on shore, but they got through on a cell phone. While waiting for their 2nd panga to come fetch us, we got a tow into Isla Ballena & did a dive. It was great to visit all our fish friends again. Scott took his underwater camera on her maiden
dive. He had the wide angle lens expecting sea lions, so it was frustrating to shoot small fish. But he learned a few things about his digital rig and is determined to learn more & get better results.
All people & dive/snorkel gear & lunch transferred to the working panga, but we had to tow the broken one around. Consequently we didn’t get to the sea lion colony. The next 2 dives were on wreck. First m/v ("motor vessel") Fang Ming. It was a 250 ft fishing vessel that was used to smuggle people from China to the U.S. Mexican officials intercepted it, impounded the boat & returned the people to China. After languishing for 10 yrs, they decided to sink it to create Mexicos’ first artificial reef.
Many fish call Fang Ming home so it came to good use.
The 2nd wreck was the Canonero 59. It was a retired Mexican naval vessel, 150 ft. Also a lovely artificial reef. Despite the air temperature in the high 80s, I was pretty cold going into the 3rd dive with water temps only 75. Scott & I joke about “therapeutic hypothermia”. It is wishful thinking that getting cold by being in the water will help you feel cooler for the rest of the day. This day it worked because we had the wind chill factor of the 25 mph, 2 hour panga ride back to our boat. We got
great information about many sites from Matias and Mauro. Mauro is a passionate naturalist who shares our love of marine life. We look forward to diving with Carey Divers again later in the summer.
May 16 - Our 15 Year Wedding Anniversary
Scott asked me what I wanted to do on our special day. One of my favorite activities abroad is going grocery shopping. So we took the free shuttle from marina Costa Baja to Soriana which has just about everything. I stocked up and it took me 5 hrs to “process” & stow everything once we were back to the boat with the food. Processing involves things like: removing all cardboard packaging (can harbor cockroach eggs). Putting food into vacuum bags to stay dry & fresh (nuts, grains, tortillas). Taking
the skin & bones off cooked chicken to fit more compact in the fridge & freezer. The highlight find of this shopping trip was Swiss chard. I ate all of it, not sharing one bite with Scott (whose favorite vegetables are peas & corn).
May 18 to 25 - Carmina’s Visit
Thelma Carmina Thompson Robles lived with Scott’s parents for 10 yrs when he went to college. She returned from Guatemala to care for Suzanne when she was ill at the end of her life. We had originally planned to be in Guatemala this year. When we decided to slow down & spend more time in Mexico, Carmina was sad not to see us for so long. So we flew her in to join us for a week in La Paz.
We had 2 glorious days off the dock at Isla Partida. She is not a swimmer, but with a floatation belt, quick lesson on wearing a mask & breathing through a snorkel she was mesmerized by the sea life and we snorkeled together a long time. She did great. Scott went under the boat on scuba & replaced our zincs that protect our propellers, sail drives & fridge/freezer keel coolers. We had a lot of bees seeking fresh water after we rinsed off in the cockpit. They were only thirsty & did not sting us
at all. A panga of fishermen came by also seeking fresh water & we filled their 6 gallon jug.
There was a strong “Corumel” (sort of a Santa Ana type wind) that night & the anchorage was very rolly. We decided it was best to return to our marina in La Paz because the prediction was for 3 more days of very strong winds. We went with the wind to visit Isla Islotes, the sea lion rookery we missed with Carey Divers. Then motored down the east side of the island which provided some protection from the wind. When we entered the San Lorenzo Channel the wind was in our face at 25-30 knots. Carmina
earned her sea legs by chopping vegetables in the galley while the boat pounded into 2-3 foot wind chop. I kept checking that she did not cut off a finger, but she was a real trooper. (See our photo gallery for pictures of Camrinas’ stay with us).
Docking the boat was a challenge as the wind was blowing us off the dock hard. Scott, the master docker, took the helm & 2 Costa Baja dock hands helped to finally tie us up safe. We enjoyed Carmina’s special dinner of Guatemalan enchiladas. They were a tasty & colorful combination of beets, peas, carrots, chicken and tomato sauce spiced with bay leaf & thyme.
Carmina & I took the free shuttle to town one day. We swam & snorkeled in the beautiful pool another day. A good time was had by all. She couldn’t stop thanking us for her “millionary weekend”. We are looking forward to visiting her in Guatemala early next year.
May 26 to June 4 - Adventures in Escrow
We were looking forward to getting off the dock & heading north up the Sea of Cortez for more diving. We got a call from the real estate agent that we had another very low offer on Scott’s parents Palm Desert home. We had fallen out of escrow once and had super low offers twice, so were pretty much expecting to hold it for the summer season & re-list in the winter.
It took 5 days, but buyer & seller managed to bridge the wide gap with a generous concession by our agent. Since we had already been through a “dry run” of escrow abroad, the stack of documents we had to print, sign, scan & email back as PDF attachments were familiar to us. We couldn’t have been in a better place to do all this since marina Costa Baja is the only marina we have seen with hard-wired internet modem & cable. When we tried to do this from the Grand Bay marina in Barra de Navidad it was
excruciatingly slow and tedious. Now we just zipped right along. Our only snag was getting an “Apostille” from a Mexican notary for the grant deed.
After 2 trips and $400 to a very nice Mexican notary we received an official translation & “Apostille” of our Grant Deed in Spanish. Our escrow agent said Riverside County would not be amused.
So after some research & phone calls we rented a car on June 4 & drove 3 hrs each way to Cabo San Lucas where Mike Houston saved us. He is the American Consular Agent and for $30 provided a federal notary to our document. . Another “thank goodness” that we were here, where we could do this sort of business & not in the back of beyond where a flight back to LA would have been required.
The only bummer besides the long drive, was getting pulled over by the police on a bogus charge. We were accused of driving TOO SLOW & spending too much time in the passing lane. There were 3 cops in the police car and our rental car marked “Dollar” evidently broadcast “get your mordida dollars here”. Mordida literally means “the little death” which is the Mexican form of bribery. We did not have time to follow them back to the station to get an official ticket. We did not have adequate Spanish fluency
to argue our way out of it. So for $80.00 US the cop let us go. And we made it to Cabo 1 hour before the consul office closed. Adventures in paradise. We are happy to report that this is only the 2nd incidence of this kind we have experienced in Mexico in 6 months. We understand that it is standard operating procedure in many 3rd world countries.
Stand by for more updates. We are currently in Agua Verde, 25 miles south of Puerto Escondido where we get our next internet opportunity.
Scott & Cindy s/v Beach House
Friday, May 09, 2008
Dear F&F;,
2008 May 9
Los Frailes, Cabo Pulmo Marine Park
Today was the day. We are so excited to report that we are “living our dream”. Many of you have written us: “Congratulations on living your dream.” To me, before today it felt more that I was in pursuit of, en route to but had not quite yet found my dream. Today the dream came to life. WE WENT SCUBA DIVING & SAW LOTS OF WONDERFUL THINGS!!!
Yes I like sailing. Yes we have a very nice Beach House. Yes it is fun to take your whole house with you to another country. Be able to explore all day and come back to sleep in your own bed. The jungle cruises have been exciting. Hiking with nesting birds very special. Learning about the local culture & history fascinating. Participating in a dinghy raft-up potluck memorable.
But 99% of my motivation to pursue this water-based lifestyle is that I love scuba diving. It is my passion. Every time I swim in a pool, I imagine myself surrounded by tropical fish. Every time I practice ujiyi breathing (one type of yoga breathing) I hear the same sound as when I breathe through my regulator underwater. Every time I see a bird soaring I know that sensation: weightless in water, free to move in all directions.
Scott & I used to take these amazing live-aboard dive trips to exotic diving locations. We have been to Cozumel, British Virgin Islands, Solomon Islands, Palau, Yap and the Red Sea. We maximized each 10 day trip by diving 4-5 times a day. It was thriling, yet exhausting. For those of you who have seen Scott’s pre-digital underwater slides, you know what an artist he is. We have a “point & shoot” team approach. I point & he shoots. Works great. He might sit in one spot focused on one creature for
an hour & I swim circles around him. I do not have the patience or multi-tasking skills to be an underwater photographer myself, but I love to let him “do his art”.
Each of these trips cost thousands of dollars. We always left wishing we could stay longer. How great would it be to be able to sit for a month in one spot & just dive 2 or 3 times a day & feel relaxed & have the benefit of time? So we did the only sensible thing: bought this boat in order to travel to the world’s best diving.
Every time we snorkeled previously in Mexico we could barely see our fins. This has been the main factor that has kept us from pulling out the dive gear before now. In the worst places, only inches of visibility. Awful, green or brown murky pea soup. Only at Isla Isabella could we begin to see that there were indeed tropical fish in Mexican waters. This gave us hope. We were thrilled that today we could see through the water about 20-40 feet. Divers call this visibility.
The temperature was 75 degrees on the first very shallow dive (8-10 feet). 73 degrees for the second dive, down to 40 feet. On the first dive I was completely comfortable for 45 mins in my 5 mm thick neoprene wetsuit. On the second dive I started to feel cool at 20 mins, but was fine to continue another 15 mins. The air temperature is 89 degrees, so I got warm really quickly once out of the water. Spending time in water below body temperature is a great way to keep cool. Nothing like a little therapeutic
hypothermia. We look forward to spending several hours a day in the water all summer here in the Sea of Cortez to help us manage the heat.
We always wear our shark shields when we get in the water. For detailed info on this gizmo see the really neat video at http://www.sharkshield.com In brief, it is an antenna that we strap around our ankle that repels sharks. You can rest assured that we have no intention of being part of the food chain. In return, we do not each much fish. Scott does not care for it, so except for the occasional camarones (shrimp) we are nearly anti-fishetarians.
We dove at Catalina & the other Channel Islands in the past several years, but we had not been warm water diving since January 2000. I remember this specifically because we went to Maui for my 40th birthday. The diving here reminded us quite a bit of diving in Hawaii. Hard coral on top of rocks form the reef, which is 4 miles long by a quarter of a mile wide.
For the second dive we tied our line to a friendly local dive charter boat & got some good information about this area. Diego brought 2 divers from San Diego on the 1 hour panga ride from the beach town Buena Vista, north of here. Simon from England, works as divemaster, although Diego is also a divemaster, as well as an avid fisherman. This reef is a protected marine park, so no fishing or anchoring on the reef. But there is plenty of sport fishing (especially marlin) just outside the protected
area. There were about 6 other panga dive boats out today over a large area. Our catamaran is anchored well away from the reef. We dove from our dinghy closer to the reef, careful to set our anchor where we could clearly see sand on the bottom and not harm any coral.
Diving is such an experiential activity that trying to describe what we see feels terribly inadequate. But since many of you will never blow bubbles beneath the surface of the ocean and want to know why we love it so much, I will do my best to share the magic with you & pique your imagination. All are familiar friends. Here is a list of the various sizes, shapes & colors of marine life we saw today:
Parrot fish: 2 feet long, bird-like beak, various shades of green & aqua (largest we have ever seen).
Wrasse: face green & pink stripes, body blue & green striped (swims like its trying to constantly stay afloat).
Tangs: yellow, blue
Butterfly fish: silver, white, black stripes
Trigger fish: dusky blue
Damsel fish: dark blue
Banded (or arc-eye) Hawk fish: 2-3 inches long, red & white plaid body
Cow fish: 1-2 inches long, rectangular body, brown with white spots
Barred spiny puffer fish: brown & yellow
Nudibranchs: 1 inch, black with orange fringe
Green moray eels: 5-6 feet long, 6 inches in diameter (saw 8 of them).
Fiddler ray: buries in the sand, body 15 inches round with 1 ft tail. Light & dark patchy pattern
Banded guitar fish: 4 ft long, brown, green & beige
*You’ve got to love the scientific name of this guitar fish - Zapteryx exasperata*
And many, many more that we have not identified yet.
Scott’s underwater photos will do more justice to these beautiful creatures. Since we are just getting our onboard protocols going, today he did not take the camera. We are hoping this is just the kick off to a whole summer of fabulous diving & amazing photos in the Sea of Cortez.
We will stay here at least one more day in this incredibly calm and beautiful place. Soon we head for La Paz.
Scott and Cindy
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