CRUISING ~ THE CAT’S MEOW STYLE ~ June 2003

Cruising ~ The Cat’s Meow Style ~ through June, 2003

Hola to all family and friends who are checking in on The Cat’s Meow’s webpage!

Martin and Robin, plus Squeak and Toes, have been living the “real” cruising life this summer. This is what we thought cruising would be like, all along. The Cat’s Meow has been island-hopping and enjoying anchorages along the Baja coast and at the many islands near Loreto. What a life!

But first, I don’t think that I mentioned in the earlier update that Martin was bitten on his hand by a moray eel….yep, he stuck his hand in a hole and almost came out with a moray attached! Not a good thing…but the eel was not able to get both jaws wrapped around Martin’s wrist, probably because Martin was holding a lobster up against the wall of the hole, but he did manage to put a nasty bite into the flesh above the thumb. When his hand did not fall off, and he didn’t have chest pains, Martin returned to the big boat to get first aid. Robin was quite unhappy about the eel bite, but she was really upset that Martin had dropped the lobster!!

Anyway, back to the cruising life: We are using Puerto Escondido as our home base, provisioning while here, going to the internet and the bank in Loreto, getting rid of the trash, seeing friends on land, etc., then we head out of the harbor and to the islands again. When we are in the harbor, we enjoy the Hidden Port YC Sunday Brunches, which are a potluck affair with Bloody Mary’s and beer available from the yacht club.

Sunday Brunch Hidden Port YC Style

We have been enjoying anchorages that we have missed during the past two years here in the area, and returning to some we know and like. There are five major islands just outside of Loreto, and we have been visiting the Isla Coronados, Balandra, La Lancha, V cove, Punto Perico, San Juanico, and Candeleros anchorages to name a few. While there, we might snorkel, SCUBA dive, kayak, swim, fish, explore, hike a beach or two, gather clams, and/or hunt for other yummy critters.

Exploring by dinghy

Normal cleaning and boat maintenance has to be done along the way, and of course there is always something needing repair or a tweak. We often have fresh seafood, such as clams – either steamers or chocolates (pronounced cho-co-law-tays) – scallops, lobster, fish, or crab. We sometimes go to other boats, or we have other boaters over for potlucks or for something special like a lobster omellete breakfast. We celebrated the summer solstice on The Cat’s Meow with about 10 other boaters, and one night TCM hosted a dessert potluck for all the boaters in the anchorage – yummy! For much of June, TCM buddy-boated with TK and Shawn of Revenge, John of Why Not, and Lance and Jo of Milagro. What a group!

Clambake aboard Why Not

Phyllis Webb, a long-time friend of Robin’s from Arizona, spent 10 days in the sun having fun with us here on TCM. While motoring to Isla Coronados for the first night, we saw two dolphins swimming and playing in the bow wake in all the phosphorescence of the water – that was spectacular! The dolphins really put on some acrobatic shows while Phyllis was here, too, jumping and flipping and skipping and playing all around the boat while we were underway a couple times. They love TCM!

Dolphins off the bow

Mother Nature even provided Phyllis with a sighting of a mother whale and her baby just before she left our fair area to head home.

While Phyllis was here, there was supposed to be a photo opportunity just outside of Pto. Escondido, but alas, it did not occur. Presidente Fox was to be present during the planned sinking of an old Mexican Navy boat…. it used to be a US Navy boat…but at literally the very last minute, the whole thing was postponed because someone didn’t have all of the required paperwork…. Aahh well….this is Mexico. Maybe next time we can include pictures of a large ship sinking on purpose. It will make a good reef for the fish and a good dive spot.

How hot is it, you might ask, in the Sea of Cortez during the summer? Well, we have had a rather mild spring and early summer so far. Just in the last few weeks the daytime temps have been getting up into the high 80s, maybe 90 degrees, and the nights are warmer but still cooling off a bit, which is remarkable. Martin and Robin are still able to sleep in the bedroom with a fan, but may be trying out the new hammocks up on the top deck very shortly! Any day now we should be seeing the thunderheads forming to the northeast of us, which could mean the onset of the chubascos (high winds, usually in the wee hours, for 45-90 minutes). The water is getting clearer again as the water temperature rises. Unfortunately, while the water is warming up there are sometimes little stinging things like the string-of-pearls and the aguamalas in the water, so one needs to wear a lycra suit and have ammonia nearby for any of the little stings. The sea life is abundant and active; we often see manta and other rays jumping straight into the air and flipping, dolphins all around, turtles, and we sometimes see sailfish or marlin jumping into the air. We hooked a marlin one day last week, but thankfully he freed himself before we had to do it.

I wish I could write and say good things about our friend Dawn, who is still incarcerated in the prison outside of Ensenada. Two weeks ago, after she had survived a court hearing, she was told that the “supposed evidence” had disappeared! Since then, she has been waiting, hour by hour, for paperwork to be completed and to be set free. There have been two snaffus since then. Hopefully Dawn will be able to get through and past this horrible atrocity with minimal scars. Maybe next time I can write the words I want to say: “Dawn is free!”

We plan to spend some time with friends Debra and Dave Oudin, on SundancE, during the Ensenada Wine Festival, and maybe get up to San Diego for a shop-till-we-drop day. Until then, TCM will probably be doing more of the same….having fun in the sun in the Baja! Y’all come on down, the water is FINE!

Check in again for more Cruising ~The Cat’s Meow style!