Blog #052 – Viva La Mexico

December 28, 2018, 2:44 a.m. and it’s a lonely night at sea. I am on the mid-watch, and the only one awake. Silhouette and her crew are finally free of the dock and back at sea. It was nearly 10:30 p.m. when the last dock line came aboard and we backed out of the slip. Our niece, Rachel and her son, Aiden are crewing for this leg of our journey to the Sea of Cortez. They are going as far as Ensenada and staying a few days before catching a bus back to the U.S. Aiden is almost 12 but is as giddy as a little kid, and very excited to take this trip. I think his mom is just as excited.

Our outbound passage from Chula Vista Marina went well. Liana and Rachel helped me identify all the navigation marks and we slipped through the calm and glassy bay. The lights of San Diego were beautiful. Only one boat passed by us as it left a huge rolling wake. We slipped quietly under the towering Coronado Bay Bridge. Each of the bridge supports were covered in Christmas lights at the base and that made them easy to see. The USS Midway Aircraft Carrier that is now a museum had a string of Christmas lights stem-to-stern and over the highest point of the superstructure. On North Island a huge sign said, “Fly Navy.” As we were passing Ballast Point I told Aiden that he had to come back into the cockpit because soon we would start to feel the rolling waves of the ocean in the channel. Rachel asked if they needed harnesses yet and Liana came back and got tethers for each of them to snap into the life lines. The first rolling wave moved us sideways and our glassy calm bay had been replaced by a turbulent ocean inlet and just like that the weather turned cold.

As I am writing this we are passing between North Coronado Island and the mainland of Mexico, well south of the border. We’ve only seen one ship underway all night long. It was a sport fishing boat out of San Diego with 50 or so anglers onboard. Their bright deck lights made it look like a city going by. We would have preferred a day-sail to Ensenada, but it just wasn’t in the cards. Our window of opportunity was short before another low pressure system would make us hold out until possibly the first of the year. The goal is to make Ensenada before early afternoon when there is a low, low tide. It’s just a 13-14 hour trip but the timing has to be just right or we will have to wait overnight for the next high tide to get into our slip. So I am pushing Silhouette at 6.5 – 7 knots and this will get us there on time.

Rachel and Aiden are sound asleep under a mountain of blankets on the port side of the cockpit. Rachel was feeling seasick earlier and the waves are just now starting to calm down a bit but still wishy-washy. They are 3-5 ft heading towards the shoreline and they roll under us and throw us off balance. Things are sliding back and forth across the cockpit with each new wave. We are passing the Rosarito Oil Terminal and three bulk carriers are sitting at anchor. The city lights seem to go on forever down the coast. I wish everyone else was awake to see it. Oh well, this is my favorite time of night at sea for the solitude. I missed this, the crisp air and the sound of the waves rushing by. The way the moonlight spreads out over the water making each wave come alive with light.

The butterflies were going crazy before we left, though. I spent hours checking and rechecking every little thing. It’s been several months since we have been out to sea. Leaving late at night and with a short weather window between storms all weighed heavy on me, along with the extra responsibility of added crew who were no sailors. In the end, everything went as planned.

Except for the seasickness. It started with Aden when he woke up and I heard him choking. I leaned over to ask him if he was ok as he vomited on the deck in the cockpit. I asked him to lean over the side and hung onto his harness as he emptied the contents of his stomach on the deck. He had a few tears in his eyes when it was over but he handled it like a champ. This was only the beginning, unfortunately. Several times during the next six or seven hours he would lean out and I would grab his harness. I would get him water and he would always politely say, “Sorry for puking on your boat, Uncle Steve”. I would smile and just tell him he wasn’t the first and he won’t be the last. Rachel never threw up but she stared aimlessly out to the horizon holding it back. She eventually took some seasick pills and fell asleep. Liana took some too and went down below for a few minutes that turned into all night long. Those seasick pills can make you sleepy. Before she went down to lay on the settee in the salon she gave some to Aiden but for him it was to late, he immediately threw it up.

I was stuck getting us to Ensenada due to the medical mutiny of my crew. The waves got worse again just before morning. It was like a washing machine with very confused seas. No real way to sail to make it more comfortable. My arms and legs were getting tired from constantly shifting my weight from side to side and holding on. I actually bruised my buttocks from colliding constantly with the aft cabin hatch. The morning was miserably cold but everyone woke up to watch the sunrise around 7:00 a.m. and then they fell back into their cocoons. Aiden slept sitting up because he wanted the breeze in his face. We had to get him gloves because his hands were freezing. He has long hair that dropped down over his face and he only woke up to puke. Then he would sip some water and be asleep again in a moment or so.

Around 9:00 a.m. I turned Silhouette between two islands, Todos Santos and the mainland, Punta Banda. It was rough to begin with going through the breakers at the pass and then all of a sudden the waves ceased from tossing us back and forth and it was calm. The pass was blocking the rough seas. Now were we safely in Bahia Todos Santos with only about nine miles to go. My mutinous crew started to come back to life, except for Aiden – he was sound asleep still sitting upright with his head tilted back, his mouth agape and his arms outstretched. His face now baking in the morning sun. We didn’t have the heart to wake him up after such a rough night.

Liana decided she should feed me since I had been driving the boat since we left San Diego. A ham and egg sandwich and a cup of coffee was exactly what the doctor ordered. After a quick breakfast Liana took over the helm and I ran around the deck putting all of our fenders out. Then I took back the wheel and Liana and Rachel got all the lines ready. The morning was bright and warm. We could see the entrance to Ensenada Bay and were now in the inbound channel. As we got close to the turning basin three giant cranes could be seen along the container dock and to starboard was a Princess Cruise Line cruise ship. We could even see the long wrap around waterslide on the upper deck. Liana dialed up channel 77 on the VHF and talked with the dock master at Baja Naval. Three men were waiting for us on a finger pier at the end of A Dock. The girls threw them the lines and we only had one “oh crap” moment when the wind made us dangerously close to the motor yacht next to us. I jumped from the cockpit and we pushed away and the three men heaved on the lines and our two-seconds of panic were over. We were moored. Silhouette and her mutinous crew were now in Mexico.

After we tied up the rest of the lines we had a chance to wash off the decks. We scrubbed them and hung floor mats out to dry in the sun. Then we had to get checked into the country. With the help of the ships agent from Baja Naval we cleared-in with customs but the Capitan de Puerto would have to wait until morning since they closed at 3:00 p.m. I finally got a chance to take a long winters nap. At this point I knew I was coming down with a cold and a long wet night without sleep didn’t help. I was coughing up a storm and my nose was running. We decided to stay at the marina for a month so I have plenty of time to get back to healthy.

Thank you Lord for yet another safe passage.