Nov 6, 2012, Tuesday, anchored in Bahia Santa Maria, Baja California

Now that we are close to shore the internet should work.  That is what I was told.  There is a Telcel signal but no internet connection.  The best I can do is send a spot so that they will know we are OK and keep writing.  Actually, the writing is also a problem   I can’t write when we are at sea, it is too bouncy and there is too much going on.  So I am always behind.  It takes about 2 hours to write one day, which is about as long as a full battery charge lasts.  The batteries can not be charged with the 12 v system which we use for the phones and ipads.   I have to plug in a special inverter that uses more battery power.  If and when we get internet, it will not be on my computer, only on Alan’s.   Alan’s computer however, will not charge from the inverter but must be charged when the engine is actually running. We have the world’s biggest tangle of wires and cables and antennas and electronic stuff and still can’t communicate.  What I am going to have to do is write on mine and save to a flash drive and then use that to upload to the blog, if I ever get access. 

Anyway, this is a beautiful and almost deserted bay, just a few fishing shacks.  Once again we get a ponga to the beach rather than open up the new dingy.  This is a really flat beach, warm water.  The party is up on the cliffs. There is no shade except a few small tents that have been set up.  We can’t help but notice that it is the Canadians that are hogging all the shade and complaining about the heat.  I am glad it if finally warm enough to take off the long johns.   Margaritas, beer, music and food, all brought in by the local fishing community from somewhere up river about 30 miles.  There is much less a sense of being the animals in the zoo this time.  There are a few locals watching us but not nearly as many as last time.  Everyone has stories about the last leg of sailing and several crew members are changing boats.   

After lunch we take a walk down the beach.  It is so beautiful and quiet.  We are in a wide flat estuary at the mouth of a small river.  The tide is out and the beach is covered with shore birds looking for food.  I find sand dollars and then clams, not clam shells but actual closed up clams, just barely covered by the water.  Too good to be true.  I fill Alan’s pockets with them, not sure if we should eat them or not.  Back at the party I ask the women who cooked the lunch if they are good to eat and the agree that they are.

Back at the boat,  a little pasta, a splash of wine, steamed clams, coffee and cookies.  What could be better?

After dinner we checked and potted our course for tomorrow.  Even if everything goes perfect and we manage to stay on course with good speed, we won’t get in until dusk on Thurs.  Knowing our track record it will probably be later than that.

The bay is just beautiful.  Every boat has a light on the top of the mast and there are no other lights anywhere for miles.  I feel like I am in a field of stars.  It is hard to tell what is sky and what is water and what is land.

After such a lovely evening the wind blows hard most of the night, 20-25 kts.  Thank heavens for our fancy new anchor and all the anchor practice we did at catalina last year.  We sleep without a worry.