Continuing to Prepare for Hurricane Kay

Here is the sunrise on Tuesday, September 6. Look at how bright the moon is despite the early morning sun.

Not long after that photo was taken, the wind picked up. We had 17-knot sustained winds with gusts to 25-knots for pretty much the entire day. Since the wind was coming from the same direction as the hurricane would be coming from, this was actually a blessing. It meant all the boats were pushed into the place that they will be during the storm, allowing each of us to more accurately judge if we are far enough away from other boats/hazards to be safe on Thursday. One boat left, deciding they’d rather ride the storm out in the Bay of LA than Don Juan. A few boats repositioned themselves into different spots here in Don Juan.

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Bahia San Francisquito to Puerto Don Juan

Sunday August 28 — Almost every day, Eric spends time obsessively checking the weather forecasts, poring over the cruising guides, and seeking advice on where to take Kosmos next. One of the most wonderful things about the Sea of Cortez is that it is loaded with anchorages. The problem is that most of the anchorages only protect from wind/swell from one or two directions, and in the summer, the wind shifts directions frequently. So, an anchorage may be great for the winds predicted during day, but will be terrible at night once the wind changes direction. It’s been tricky to find suitable anchorages for the weather predicted. What complicates matters it that the weather forecasts haven’t always been accurate. 

After the very rough time in Bahia San Francisquito, Eric decided to bypass many beautiful, but questionable, anchorages and head directly to an all-weather anchorage called Puerto Don Juan, seven miles east of Bahia Los Angeles. It was an eight-hour ride from San Francisquito. 

We are pleased to report that the ride was smooth. The wind was behind us and the seas were relatively calm. We had a couple of stowaways, who made a huge mess when they sat on the boat deck by the dinghy. Can anyone identify these birds? There were tons of them in Bahia San Francisquito. 

We arrived at about 1800. Here is a shot of the bay taken as we were approaching.

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V-Cove at Isla Carmen to Isla Coronados

Here is a photo of the area we went snorkeling in on Saturday. We were in the small, shallow strait between Isla Carmen and the tiny rock island. The anchorage is just to the right (south) of where this photo ends.

On Sunday morning, it rained again. The rain didn’t last as long as it had yesterday, but it rained harder, so Kosmos got a good wash down. Undeterred by the heavy rain, the Erics went for a hike onshore.

They literally watched the flora and fauna come to life with the rain – flowers blooming and bugs and lizards coming out of hiding. 

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Bahia Candeleros to Puerto Escondido

Q: How far north are you planning to go?

A: We doubt we’ll go farther north than Bahia de Los Angeles, but we have no firm plans.

Q: Have you fished? Is the sea warm?

A: We have not fished as of yet. The sea is about 84 degrees Fahrenheit. 

On Thursday, Eric ran the generator first thing in the morning, as he normally does. But this time, the batteries weren’t charging. Eric spent some time trouble-shooting the problem. We decided that we should head to the nearest marina, where it would be easier to diagnose and fix the problem. The batteries were still charging from the wind generator and the solar panels, and we have a small back up battery charger that was working, so this wasn’t an urgent issue for us. But charging the batteries with the full-size battery charger certainly makes life easier. 

We contacted the marina at Puerto Escondido, only 6 nm away, and made a reservation for Friday. We spent the rest of the day doing chores. In the afternoon, Eric got out the SNUBA gear so Christi could tackle her most arduous chore: cleaning the bottom.

It was particularly rocky in the water that day, so swimming took a lot of effort. She pooped out pretty fast. Eric used the SNUBA to make sure all was fine under the waterline, then he used it to adjust the flopper stopper. Eric and Keith played in the water for a while before we called it a day. 

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Keith’s First Ocean Adventure: Enjoying Catalina, Then Back to San Diego

This is part three of a three part series. Click on the links for part 1 and part 2

Saturday morning we headed to shore right after breakfast. Keith was again furious about the life jacket, but this time his screams weren’t as hysterical as before. We quickly made our way over to Isthmus Cove, where Richard and Pam were waiting for us at the dock in their 1991 Sea Ray Sundancer 420. We hopped onboard. Here is Eric approaching the boat while holding Keith in the carrier.

They were on their way to Continue reading