Category Archives: North America

Santa Rosalia to Bahia San Francisquito

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On Wednesday (August 24), the alarm went off at 0500 am. We got up Kosmos ready to go. We untied at 0600, before the first light of dawn. When we were already sweating at 0515 am, we knew it was going to be an especially hot day. Here is Santa Rosalia in the early light of dawn and the sunrise. We couldn’t believe how bright the crescent moon was!

It was an uncomfortable 13.5 hour run to Bahia San Francisquito. The seas were somewhat confused and the waves surprisingly large. We rate the run “very rough” seas by Sea of Cortez standards, but “not bad” by Pacific standards. Quite honestly, the seas conditions were what we typically went out in in San Diego, but we’ve become spoiled by the smooth seas we’ve had lately here in the Sea of Cortez. 

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Santa Rosalia days 6 – 8

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Here is the sunrise on Sunday (August 21).

Sunday was oppressively hot again. Eric got a very early start on the dive compressor. He reassembled the third stage. Sadly, the compressor still didn’t work. He took off the final pressure safety valve and cleaned it. It looks like this may be the part that is broken, but he doesn’t have a spare. He gave up on the project and put the compressor back into its mount, along with all the gear stored in around it. He was frustrated that he again put so much effort into the repair for nothing. There was another boat with the same compressor that left a couple day ago, and he is hoping to perhaps find them and try swapping in the part to verify it is the problem.

We wound up spending the day holed up on the boat, enjoying the A/C. Brett came over and the boys played. Christi and Eric did a few chores. In the evening, Eric went to the pool for social hour while the kids and Christi stayed at Kosmos.

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Santa Rosalia Day 5

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Saturday (August 20) was another cool day. Feeling motivated, Eric removed all the gear that we keep stored in front of the air compressor, then detached the compressor from its mount under the lazarette. He moved the compressor to be under the hatch so that he could stand over it and comfortably work on it from all angles.

He tried to refurbish the third pressure stage. He opened it up and took it apart, only to realize he needed yet another special tool, and this time he didn’t think he could fabricate one. He decided to simply clean it and change an O-ring.

Since the rain had not cooperated, Christi and Keith spent the morning washing the boat and doing other boat chores. It is amazing how much energy and motivation we have when the weather is cool!

In the afternoon, Christi, Keith and Brett went to lunch at a café called Ma’s. Eric was waiting for the water guy and said he’d join us once our water was delivered. Unfortunately, the dock water in Santa Rosalia isn’t up to many cruisers’ standards, so there is bottled water delivery service to the marina on Wednesdays and Saturdays.

After lunch, Christi and the boys went to what we’d thought was the museum. It was closed. Upon closer inspection, it looked like the museum may still be under construction and not yet open to the public. Or maybe the building was refurbished and is not currently being utilized. 

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Santa Rosalia — Day 4

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Friday morning (August 19), the sky was ominously gray. The weather forecast said a storm was approaching. We could see that it was raining in the distance. But it was (relatively) cool! We decided to risk to the rain and walk to the grocery store, about a mile away. We went with another cruiser named Teal, who served as a tour guide.

We walked to the store along one route and back along another. On the way to the store, we walked along the waterfront into downtown, then took a staircase up the hill to a road. 

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Santa Rosalia, Days 2 – 3

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On Wednesday (August 17), all three of us were still feeling off-kilter from the night passage on Monday night/Tuesday morning. Brett from Avalon came over and the boys played games all day. Eric played with them some in between doing chores. Christi did some cooking and some chores. 

In the evening, we all went to the pool for social hour. Christi and the boys didn’t stay long; instead, they went for a walk to get aqua frescas in town. Agua frescas are a broad category of light, refreshing drinks that include include diluted, lightly sweetened fruits juices and teas made of local flowers. We haven’t mentioned them before, but limonada (basically a light lemonade, but made with lime) jamaica (tea made from hibiscus flowers), and pina (diluted pineapple juice) have become staples for us when we go out to eat. This time Christi tried one called Fruita that was mixed fruit with a touch of cream. It was phenomenal.

Here are some photos from the walk

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