High School Reunion!
Tay’s got a lot of friends but they’re good ones!
This week (the week of June 14th, I know I’m way behind ) didn’t go nearly as planned, so I’ll try a different format. Timestamps!!!
June 17th.
3:00 pm: Hannah and Joe check into their air bnb. They’re staying in La Paz another few days to celebrate their anniversary (see last post for a wedding pic).
We have dinner in La Paz with them and say goodbye.
June 18th.
2:45 pm. Tay and I get back from provisioning run and cleaning all morning
June 18th 3:00 pm. Tay’s friends from high school arrive at the marina. Eric and his Fiancé Alexa, Andrew, and Austin.
3:55 Big fishing boat pulls up to fuel dock
4:00 We pull up to fuel dock for our 4 o’clock appointment.
Fishing boat gets first priority and is taking 1000 gallons and we’re trying to beat the sun to the island so we skip fuel. We have enough in our spare tanks anyway.
7:00 Beat sunset to the island, swim, eat and be merry.
June 19th.
Pull the hook at 10 and plan on snorkeling at our favorite cove on the island before returning to La Paz that evening. It’s supposed to be crazy windy tomorrow so we want to be back in our marina before the wind hits.
11:00 Scooter’s motor dies and we’re rapidly drifting toward the rocky island. We throw sails up and presume we’re out of diesel. I put 5 gallons from a Jerry can into the tank but obviously it won’t start. It needs to be primed. 12:30:We sail to the most protected cove on the island and drop the hook, under sail (a first for us).
1:30: random panga man stops by and asks for a bolt. I give him one.
I work on the diesel all afternoon to no avail as the bleed valve on our fuel pump is stripped and leaking.
Don’t worry, our friends still got to have fun as Tay took them on a dinghy ride cave and snorkel adventure.
4:00: panga man returns and asks for beer. I give him one but ask to trade for fish. He has none.
5:00: I give up on the motor for the day and get the diesel and sweat off me. The patch for the striped valve seems to be holding but the fuel pump won’t prime.
5:30: Panga man returns with fish and we trade 3 beers for 5 fish.
6:00: The ceviche is made and we head to another boat for happy hour. Lucky for us our friends Muranda and Ben ended up in the same anchorage and offered to host us and all our friends!
June 20th
6:00 am we wake up and plan to sail to La Paz with our buddy boat, Ben and Muranda on SV Fickle. After all, another high school friend Jessie arrived that evening and Andrew and Austin have plans to stay in Todos Santos that night.
6:45 we sail off the anchor (another first) and nearly crash into two very large yachts in the anchorage. The wind is swirling badly in the cove.
7:45 we clear the swirling winds of the cove and enter the open water just to find 25 knots of wind and 6-8 foot seas that had built all night. Also the wind is directly from where we’re headed.
9:45 We make our first tack back toward the island.
10:00 We realize we’re on the exact path back we took on the way out and had made zero ground due to the wave chop and changing wind.
12:00: We anchor back in the exact same spot (under sail, our second time). Everyone was seasick. Scooter dipped her rail underwater with two reefs in the main. Eunice wished she was back in the marina, stationary, in the 100° heat.
12:30 The captain of a nearby charter visits and diagnosed our fuel pump as broken.
2:00 The owner of a nearby yacht offers to take me to cell service in his dinghy (25 foot center console fishing boat) to call for a tow.
2:30 Tow boat is scheduled to leave la Paz at 8 am the next morning, but refused to estimate the cost.
3:45 I get back to Scooter with the news and a weather report outside the cove. Waves have calmed so we try again.
3:50 We pull the hook and sail off the anchor (second time).
5:00 We tack back toward the island having made little progress upwind (although dramatically more comfortable than before). Winds die and I desperately make another attempt to use a siphon to start Scooter.
5:00 Back in La Paz, Jessie arrived alone at a bus stop in Mexico only to be greeted by a total stranger. Thank God for Muranda our sailing friend for adopting her for the night.
5:30 By the grace of God, the motor starts.
We scream, shed tears of joy, crack a beer, and dive in to wash off the diesel.
We estimated a 4hour sail back to La Paz so should’ve been there in time for a late dinner and to meet up with Jessie.
7:30 Wind builds and Scooter slows to 1 knot beating into the wind. For reference, walking pace is 3 knots.
JUNE 21st
12:00am. We pull into our slip. Safe and sound. Jessie ends up spending the night with Ben and Muranda.
After finally meeting up with Jessie in the morning, the rest of the time was smooth sailing. We enjoyed La Paz, filled our fuel tanks, sailed to Balandra, snorkeled, saw a Frieda Kahlo exhibit, and had a wonderful time.
I have to credit Taylor’s friends for being AMAZING sports and having so much fun despite the circumstances. I also have to credit Muranda and Ben for helping out so much. And I have to leave a 1 star review for the Costa Baja fuel dock for a loose definition of ‘full’ (14 in a 20 gallon tank isn’t full).