Tim Greenler's Blog on the Lucky Sol

After a long hot day of sailing, our boat, the Lucky Sol, pulled into a deserted bay on the South East tip of Baja California, Mexico.  My friend Jason, his wife, Tina, and I set the anchor and tied up the sails.  Once we had prepared the boat for the night we relaxed and half-heartedly fished in the emerald-green waters of The Sea of Cortez.  The brutal Mexican sun had finally relented and the world became peaceful and cool.  The bay was surrounded by rocky desert mountains and a pristine white sand beach.  There were a few black cows on the beach but besides them we were perfectly isolated.  Our surroundings were lonely and desolate but also tranquil and beautiful in their own unique way.

We had run out of beer a few days before so we settled for drinks made of Tang and vodka whose only redeeming qualities were that they were cold and wet, but in that amazing place they were more than we needed.

Slowly the sun faded behind the dry desert peaks but the sky glow tenaciously lingered.  I remembered a conversation with my friend from New Mexico who claimed that desert sun sets where as good as those over the Pacific.  I relished watching a desert sun set from a boat floating in aquamarine water and I thought this may be the perfect combination of the two.

As the pink and orange light in the West finally quietly faded like a dying ember the stars burst onto the darkening sky.  Instead of our normal evening of watching East Bound and Down on a lap top we decided to take our Tang and liquor drinks, which now included tequila, onto the deck of the boat to watch the night sky.  The galactic chandelier hung low over the sailboat as we climbed onto the deck.  We lay on our backs and enjoyed the gentle rocking of the boat as the mast swayed and danced in front of the sparkling sky.  We saw several shooting stars that lasted long enough for us to say “Oh, shit, do you see that?” before they burned out.

A sense of perfect relaxation and contentment was washing over me as I lay on the deck of the boat when Jason said “I think there is bioluminescence in the water.”  We all stood up and looked down into the black water below.  It was unmistakable.  There were blue and white sparks shooting through the water surrounding our boat.  We stared into the water and watched the small waves sparkle and flash.  It was beautiful and it seemed like a perfect ending to a great night so I went down below and got into bed.

A few minutes later Jason shouted “Tim, you have to see this!”  I went back up on deck and found Jason and Tina whipping a rope into the water.  Every time it hit the water flashed blue in the form of the rope.  Sometimes the rope made an S and other times a circle and others an infinity symbol.  A splash and then the shape of the rope that was a moment later swallowed by a cloud of blue light that quickly faded back into dark glimmering water.  We were playing with an enchanted toy.

“Should we get in?” asked Jason.  

I didn’t want to.  The water was cold and the desert air was crisp but as soon as he asked the question I knew the right answer.  I hesitated for a second and then said “Yes.”

Moments later Jason and I were perched on the edge of the boat a few feet above the shimmering water.

“Should be go at the same time?” Jason asked.

“If you go one at a time you will get to see the other person hit the water.” recommended Tina.

“Okay, I’ll go first.”  I replied.

I turned around and hurled myself towards the Sea of Cortez.  As I rotated in the cool dark night I began to critique my ungraceful flip but then I hit the water and all conscious thoughts were obliterated by an explosion of azure light that engulfed me. All that my mind could process was that I had entered a cool, wet world that was ablaze with blue illumination.  I popped to the surface and let out a shout of hysterical joy.  I was surrounded by a glowing, swirling cloud of pale blue light.  As I treaded water plumes of sapphire radiance rolled off my churning arms and legs.

A second later Jason plunged into the water and immediately disappeared into a liquid blue fireball.  It looked like he was covered in a radioactive paint that had immediately washed off into the dark water.  Every movement we made created churning currents of luminescence.  We splashed water on the boat and marveled as it flashed indigo when it hit the hull.  I treaded water with just my legs and slowly moved my arms.  The supernatural water reacted differently to my tranquil movements.  Instead of a pale cloud of light my slow-moving arms were covered in cobalt flashes, miniature lightning strikes from my finger tips to my shoulders.  As I sped up my movement the flashes intensified until I was creating pale blue clouds again.

I felt several clunks as my mind slipped a few gears.  I relaxed and accepted my new impossible reality.  I was immersed in magic.

After several mind shattering minutes I got out and dried myself off.  And then with a layer of salt and mystical microscopic creatures still on my body I crawled into my comfortable bed and closed my eyes.  As the boat gently rocked I lay in the dark and smiled.  It wasn’t long before the lapping of the waves and the rolling of the boat plunged me into a dream world that was no more incredible or surreal than the one I had just left.

Turtle Bay to Abreojos

Turtle Bay to Abreojos

We sailed a whole week without stepping foot or paw on land.  We left Turtle Bay praying to Poseidon for calm seas.  The first day we sailed to Asuncion.  This took 10 wrenching hours.  The wind was so light that we had to motor sail all day.   The motor was so loud and after 10 hours of this I had the worst headache of my life.  My sunglasses fell overboard during one of our crazy night sails so I had sun blaring into my eyes all day too, which added to the headache recipe.  Oh yeah, and the waxing moon blessed me with my first period on the boat.  Oh joy the cramps were fierce! Jason was really worried and wanted to take me into town to see a doctor.  I told him that I just needed quiet and sleep.  I got 8 hours and woke up almost brand new.  Just in time to start up again for Abreojos.  Abreojos means open your eyes.  This is because this area has tons of hazards to look out for including underwater rocks, shallow shoals, and even mating grey whales.  There is an estuary here where the whales come to mate and give birth to young.  This leg was super exciting and fun because we saw tons of whales.  We even had to slow down once and turn course because one was too close in front of us and whales can sink your boat in minutes if they hit you.  Not to mention, that I would hate to hit a whale.  How could I show my face back in San Diego at Project Wildlife after crashing into a whale with my sailboat?  The dogs seem to be enjoying the sail but had no idea why Jason and I were hooting and hollering.  Winston looked totally confused.  When we arrived to the anchorage there were giant swells, which rendered the anchorage useless for us because we would get swept right on to the shore.  Luckily there was another anchorage a couple miles away.  We tried this one in hopes for better results and we got them.  We dropped anchor, ate dinner, and slept like babies. 

The next morning we woke and headed to Bahia Santa Maria, which was the next anchorage.  This took 30 hours.   The day was beautiful with perfect wind and sunshine.  We turned the autopilot on and sat at the front of the boat for most of the day.  We were graced with dolphins, sea lions, and tons of sea birds to watch. This was the nicest day yet.  It was our first taste of what we had envisioned our trip would be like.  We had high hopes for a calm night.  But our hopes were destroyed at 6 pm when the seas turned ugly.  I had just gone down into the cabin to cook dinner and the boat started rocking like a bad carnival ride.  I had to hold a pot of water waiting for it to boil while getting tossed around.  I was making spaghetti and half the sauce spilled everywhere.  I almost got soaked with boiling water with one of the swells.  I finished as quickly as I could and carried the bowls up.  We did not get a minute of sleep that night.  We put the dogs down below for safety.  They both looked really alert and stressed.   What am I doing to my poor dogs I thought?  I wonder what is going through their heads right now?   Finally the sun came up but the seas did not ease.  They tossed us all the way to our anchorage.  When we arrived we watched a movie on the computer while monitoring the anchor to make sure it would hold.  We were both afraid to fall sleep for fear that we were so tired that we would sleep through the anchor alarm and crash into the shore.  Jason drank tequila and watermelon tang to calm his nerves.  I took a sip of his drink and it was totally disgusting.  But it did the job for him and we both slept well that night.  The anchor held and we got 12 hours of sleep.  We planned to sail four hours to a harbor and take the dogs to the beach for much needed exercise.  As we started to sail, we found perfect wind.  This led us to decide to skip the beach and start the last leg to Cabo San Lucas.  The last overnight leg we will have on our way to the promise land.  The last and the longest trip took 36 hours.  A lot can happen in that time.  And a lot did happen. 

Cedros Island

I thought I was going to die as we were tossed around in a storm on our way to Cedros.  We were happily sailing to Cedros Island and chatting about our childhood when the winds picked up.  I asked Jason if we should pull the sail down.  He said we didn't need to because we were just about to pass a point that would protect us from the weather approaching.  No bueno!  Very soon after that we were running around the boat trying to secure the sails.  The shade cover was being ripped off like a kite in the wind.  Everything was crazy.  I was terrified and thinking to myself that this could be the end of my lovely life.  Luckily it was short lived and we made it through alive.  We  finally pulled in to the protected anchorage which was surrounded by yelling elephant seals on the shore.   After we anchored I sat down for a good cry.  Jason comforted me as murderous sounds erupted from the beach.  The elephant seals were wrestling each other for a good spot on the beach.  It was a good show that I enjoyed after my melt down was over.    We were tired after another sleepless night of choppy sailing so we slept in side the cabin and set the anchor alarm on. 

That night at 4 in the morning the anchor dragged and and the alarm went off.  We had to immediately start the motor and pull the anchor up to keep from grounding the boat on shore.  We decided to head to Turtle Bay to sleep because anchoring in the dark for the third time ever would not be a good idea.  Turtle Bay was supposed to be the most protected stop on the entire coast of Baja Pacific.  It took us 8 hours to get there but the sailing was awesome.  The sun started shining and the wind picked up.  We were gliding along the water.  I love steering the boat with the sails up and the motor off.  This is what sailing should be. The land on our left side was a beautiful desert landscape and the air was finally warm enough to remove my ski jacket.   We were excited to arrive in a harbor for the first time since Ensenada.  Which I think was a week or so ago.  Time is getting really wonkie. 

I had envisioned Turtle Bay to be a beautiful harbor with turtles.  Boy was I wrong.  The place only exist because of cruisers.  It is the only place for fuel and water for hundreds of miles of coast.  It looked like the wild west with half built cement houses and dust everywhere.  No turtles. The beach was cluttered with trash and the harbor was dirty.  Most likely from the lack of concern of the diesel distributors.  As one was filling our tank he squirted a bunch of fuel in to the water when his nozzle was malfunctioning.  Bad idea buddy.  But Turtle Bay was calm and a nice sleeping stop.  I fell asleep in the sun on my stomach in my bikini and got sunburned on my buttie like never before.  My butt is the only part of me that got burned because it is the only part not tanned.  It has been super itchy ever since and I have to resist the urge to rip into my pants constantly.  Sexy!

Isla De San Martin-no idea what day it is

Upon arriving to this tiny fishing island that formed from a volcanic eruption we were greeted by one of the few local inhabitants on the worlds smallest kayak sporting a shovel as an oar.  He held up a giant crab leg and yelled, Cerveza, Corona, Pacifico!?"  At first I thought he was trying to sell us beer, which would have been awesome.  I soon realized he wanted to trade and we were plumb out.  We can not seem to keep beer on the boat with Jason around guzzling it all down.  But we did have a bottle of  tequila.  I yelled Tequila and a big smile spread across his face.  I handed the bottle down and he immediately took a huge swig of it.  Then he passed up a giant potato sack filled with enormous crab legs.  With that he shoveled his way back to shore and we giggled with glee!  All four of us feasted on crab legs, some boiled and some grilled.  The dogs were certainly willing to help clean the boat after we cracked about four dozen with hammers.  The mess was a huge clean up with scrubbing and hauling buckets of sea water to rinse the deck.  Then wiping it down with Sham-wows.  Thank you Buddha for Sham-wows.  We have used this dollar store find for dog towels, boat clean up, kitchen rags, dry covers for mechanical systems, and dinghy bailouts.

That night we took 4 hour anchor watches in which one slept in the v-berth and the other up top in the cold covered in soggy blankets due to the humidity.   I had the last watch and woke up to crab fisherman lass than10yrds away pulling up nets into a small boat and stepping loudly on crabs as they were pulled in.  I watched for 15 minutes in disguise with blankets over my body and head.  I could see them staring over at me but I don't think they could discern who was under the blanket blob.  After I emerged from my disguise I yelled, "Buenos Dias".  They both returned the greeting and I quickly scurried down below to wake Jason and alert him at how close we got to the nets.  That day we decided to use the dinghy and go to shore with the dogs.  We loaded the dogs by lifting them by the handle on the top of their life jackets and slowly lowering them down.  We used oars to row into the calm beach.  The beach was like a marine mammal graveyard.  There was a giant sea lion carcass and tons of dolphin skeleton bits scattered everywhere.  There was also a half disintegrated sailboat hull that had crashed on the rocks.  Glad that wasn't us.

We explored the beach for an hour and then rowed back to the sail boat for mac & cheese with huge lumps of leftover crab meat.   Yum!  Then we slept for the rest of the day to make up for a night motoring through the night with the wind at our bow.  That night Jason woke me excitedly to tell me that a the couple we met in Ensenada had just arrived to the tiny island and were anchoring.  Jason could barely wait for them to drop anchor before he radioed them.  "Karma Seas, this is Lucky Sol come in?"  What a call.  They responded and we swapped tales of drifting and motoring with no wind.  We made plans to have coffee in the morning.  With that I went back to my sleepy cove and was unconscious to the world for 10 hours.

The next morning we awoke and realized that we had used up all of our battery power over the last day.  Jason pulled out the generator and the cord we bought at Home Depot to realize that the plug was the wrong size for the boat.  Guess we should have tested that before we left.  Duhhh.  Apparently, RV and Marine plugs appear similar in size but are just a tiny bit different.  This we learned from our new sailing buddy as he pulled out the right cord and tossed it over to Jason.  He said give it back to him in a few weeks when he runs out of power.  OH THE KARMA this guy has coming to him is adding up quickly!!!  But apparently not from us because that morning for coffee our bulldog with an attitude took a giant steaming crap on his boat lines.  We were so embarrassed, but he assured us that it was no big deal.  He pulled out a hose and washed it off.  Just as we sat down again, Winston started chewing on his wood railing.  We caught him fast but there were a few teeth marks.  Mortified we hurried off his boat before another mishap occured.  I suggested we go ashore to run the dogs and allow them to poop where they please.  They decided to join Jason and I and hike up the volcanic hill.  So four people and two giant dogs squeezed onto our dinghy.  On shore, the dogs ran like crazy.  I saw my German Shepard sit down dramatically.  I walked over to find three pear sized cactus bulbs  with giant barbs stuck in his right foot and both legs.  I immediately began triage pulling them out with the dogs canvas travel bowl as a glove.  I pulled the spiny bastards out while getting poked a half a dozen  times and having one fall on to my foot.  Each spike had a barb on the end that hooked in on contact with flesh.  Ouch.  Jason carried Wolfgang to safety and then we realized that Winston had met the same fate except tried to pull the barbs out using his mouth.  This needed tools and antiseptic.  With this we head into the dinghy and to our boat for forceps and hydrogen peroxide.  After pulling all of the barbs out of Winston's mouth Jason and I discussed if bring the dogs was a good idea.  Too late now!

4/15/12

San Diego to Ensenada

We woke and ate a giant breakfast of eggs and toast with coffee at 5am.  I ate more than normal thinking that I would need the energy to sail all day.  Took the dogs for a quick walk then set off motoring away from our beloved home, San Diego.  Everything was looking hopeful and I had no idea what was in store for me on this voyage.  Once we got out to sea we found large swells that were very close together.  I started to feel queasy about thirty minutes into the trip and by nine I had expelled all of my giant breakfast into a small white bucket while barely supporting myself on a metal winch.  The next 8 or 9 hours were spent trying to find the best position on the boat in which the world was not spinning.  It was terrible!  After ten hours I was able to drink some water and eat some crackers.   Jason was feeling nauseous the entire time but managed to keep his sickness at bay.  At eleven hours we could see our destination and our spirits started to lift in hopes for land and a calm nights sleep.  As we pulled in to the bay, a giant pod of dolphins played at our bow.  They were jumping out of the water in pairs and swimming back and forth under the boat.  As we slowly motored up to the marina an American man came out to meet us and assisted our docking.   It was late and the office was closed but we got set up with a slip for the night.  I was asleep in my cozy v-birth bed within the hour.  Thank God that part the journey was complete.  Our first leg.

4/16-4/19

Spent the next day checking into the country which was the easiest international check in I have ever experienced.  The port captain from the marina drove us to the office.  Before we left I asked the port captain if I should bring my documentation for the dogs.  He gave me a funny look and said, “Oh no, don’t worry about that”.  Apparently the $360.00 we spent getting the dogs health certificates was totally unnecessary.    The port captain basically did all of our check in for us, excluding handing over our credit card when summoned.   We stood around and chatted with a curious and decorated couple sailing from N. California to La Paz (same route as us).  The man is an Australian sailor with for braded strands of hair from his chin.   He was very talkative and experienced sailor.  He told us that he has an electric motor and no refrigeration on board.  That's all well and good for them.  I had no electricity or running water for 2 years in the Peace Corps and I am ALL about cold drinks.  But hats off to them.  I will be sure to give them gifts of ice cubes and cold cerveza as we meet again along the journey. The woman had beautiful dreadlocks and a was very quiet.  They were both very friendly and we all decided that we would be seeing each other often in this sailing adventure because most people head back up north for the summer due to heat and potential hurricanes.  We plan to find a location that has a good hurricane hold nearby.  After talking with sailors that have lived in the Sea of Cortez for many years and being assured that this is safe, we decided we can deal with a little heat.  After check in we headed to find a good resturaunt for tacos and beer.  The next few days we spent walking around the city and buying last minute provisions.  That couple ended up having some extra chain that just happened to match the size we needed and Jason bought us and extra 65 feet for anchoring.  Also, the Auzzie took us out and taught us both anchoring techniques for stormy weather.  Their  boat's name is "Karma Seas".  They got some good karma coming their way for all the blessings they provided our Lucky Sol on this journey.  

Easter 2012 (The day we were supposed to leave)

We are still here in San Diego, Southwestern Yacht Club to be exact.  We made a plan that involved leaving today to sail directly to Ensenada, Mexico long enough for me to call my sister and my sister call my mom.  That was approximately six hours.  We were ready to spend Easter Day sailing 9 hours to a foreign country on a sailboat that had broken down two days before.  Not to mention without a list of parts we need to have replacements of.  What the hell were we thinking?  I am reading Deepak Chopra’s Book, The Happiness Prescription.  Deepak says, If an action you are about to take makes you feel calm and peaceful, then you should follow through with that action.  But if an action makes your body uneasy then you should not make that action.    So today, instead of sailing to Mexico we slept until 10am and then lazily spent the day on our sailboat docked in a slip that has a lounge with a fireplace, a restaurant and bar, Internet, nice bathrooms with private showers, and a clothing store.   Whew, am I glad we came to our senses. 

The bathroom on our boat is fowl.  I can’t stand to be in there.   I don’t know what I am going to do!

Tina

First Leg

It's official...Lucky aka- Jason aka- the Captain and I have moved on to our 34 ft. Catalina with our two dogs, Winston and Wolfgang. We have started our journey.  Maybe that is an exaggeration,  knowing that we have only traveled about 30 minutes to a temporary slip in Point Loma.  But I do feel the journey has begun, seeing as how neither of us are working, the boat's engine is already having issues, and the dogs refuse to use the green mat as a toilet.  We left our slip yesterday and ten minutes in to the trip the engine alarm started buzzing.  We had to cut the motor and drift while the Captain opened up the engine compartment to investigate.  I was directed to monitor the engine temp. gauge and the flow of water leaving the boat.  I got in trouble when I was looking at my phone instead of staring at the gauges like I was ordered by the Captain.  We never found out why the alarm went off, but it continued the entire trip to our current location. I can't help but think, "Is this the beginning or the end of our journey?"   I have heard the saying that sailing is just boat maintenance in exotic places.  I just hope that Lucky has the powers to fix the engine so we can sail on to Catalina Island for our shake down cruise.  We are hoping to leave tomorrow.  But from the color of the engine oil today (milky grey), we may be here a few more days.

Both the dogs seem to be getting along well on the boat.  Even thought they won't use our fake grass mat as a bathroom.  Wolfgang whines down to us from the cockpit of the boat but then when I take him to the grass mat he sits down on it and looks up at me.  I am hoping that they will get desperate and use it once we are not a short walk to the grassy bathroom that they are used to.  They both want to come down into the cabin of the boat every night.   We initially said that both dogs with sleep up top, but we have gone soft already.  Little Winston's ears are like ice sickles up there.  I can't let him freeze in our San Diego night air.