Back in La Paz, Mexico

Well, I made it. My first single handed voyage. For those that don't sail, single handed means that the skipper of a vessel, sails or motors his/her boat while there is no one else as crew on board. However in my case I truly was not alone. My buddy Wilson is still on board but he is of little help to me other than to sit there to listen to my chatter.

There were a number of boats leaving Mazatlan within the same week that I left. I can only assume they did so since life around the docks without Dennis would be too boring. Also the mothers of young daughters are happy and relieved now that I have moved on. I was afraid to tell them I would be back in November.

Boaters don't need much for an excuse to party and sense many of us were leaving, we decided to have a dock side party to wish everyone well.


Even the dogs were sad I was leaving. I always had doggy treats in my pocket to give to them when we met on the dock.



These are a great couple from Seattle. They have two young boys, their sons, with them. One of which enjoys the sailing life and the other want to return to get his driving permit. They were one of my boat neighbors in Mazatlan.


Bill and Jean were boat neighbors back in California. They started their cruising life a year before I did.

This couple were my next door (boat) neighbors in Mazatlan and we did many things together while in town. A great couple and lots of fun.

I enjoyed my time while in Mazatlan. It is a great city to visit and experience the people and their culture. Mexicans that I have met while I have been down here have always been wonderful, loving, helpful, friendly and always happy. We could learn a lot from these people on how to enjoy life and to be more helpful to each other.

I selected a day to leave when there was a full moon. It is a wonderful time to be sailing during a full moon. It also helps you to avoid fishermen in small boats that are within 10 - 15 of shore. It is not fun to dive under your boat to remove a net that is wrapped around your propeller.

This is what sun-up looks like in the ocean. I wanted to arrive at my first anchorage while it was still light so I scheduled my departure at 3:00 in the morning. That meant I needed to get up at 2:00 to prepare for push off.




Now that the sun is up, you can see forever. The seas are calm but the winds are too slow to make any headway on the sails. So I needed to motor, which any sailor hates. My new first mate, auto-pilot, is doing a great job so I am going down below to make myself some breakfast. It is going to be a long two days and one night before I make it to my first anchorage. It will take 36 non stop hours to reach Muertos which is the first anchorage. During the evening when normal people are sleeping, I set the alarm for 20 minutes. I wake-up, check all of the systems and traffic if any on my radar and if everything looks good, I set the alarm and start the process all over again.


This is about all there is at the first anchorage other than more boats that are also anchoring here for the evening.



After I put stuff back in its place and cleaned up, I made dinner and settled down for the evening. Before going to bed, I decided to have one shot of tequila and smoke a Cuban cigar while looking at the full moon over the quite waters in the bay. Don't worry Steve. There are still some left to smoke when we get together after Robin and Hector's wedding.



The next morning I get up a 4:00, pull the anchor up at 5:00 and I am off again. I did not need to wait too many hours this time before sun up but to kill some time I tuned up my ham radio and was talking with people in L.A., Minnesota and Wisconsin. Around 8:00 I made myself some scrambled eggs and another pot of coffee. This time the winds were good enough to set sail and turn off the engine. I am now in heaven again.


I am now turning the last corner and can see La Paz off in the distance.


Those not familiar on how to find your way across a ocean let me be the first to point out that you have options other than having to use a sextant. Their are virtual highways in the water that you set up on your computer and you follow them as if you were headed for Lake Tahoe. They can take you right to your slip if you want them to.


The winds were light now and behind me so I thought I would put the Big Bertha up and fly the colors. I am really in heaven now. I caught the attention of one of the local sea critters who had to come up for a look.


Here are a couple of movies and songs that I wanted to share with you. They both are appropriate for the moment.








Here I am, entering the harbor at La Paz. The city front along the water is nothing like Miami Beach but there are many people that are thankful for that. La Paz, by most comparisons is a small city but not without its charm. It is difficult to describe the many benefits of La Paz in this short blog. La Paz can be best experienced by coming here for a visit. That is what is called and invitation.

These are a few photos of the beach front along down town La Paz. The next two photos are of an area that is being built up as you approach downtown.



This is the downtown area. Notice that there are no high rise hotels or office building.





Well that is it for this blog. There have been two blog postings in a short period after a long delay. Sorry for that but their may again be a delay before I post my next one.

In the mean time, be safe out there and as always you are all welcome to come down to sail with me.

Denny