First Night on the Hook- Puerto Santo Thomas

We left Ensenada this morning after clearing in and completing all
formalities yesterday. We decided to start our trip South with a short
hop to Puerto San Thomas, about 35 miles South. We were looking
forward to some good sailing, but alas we had to motor the whole way.
The way things have been going, we'd have been better off with a
powerboat! Oh well, maybe tomorrow.

We're anchored in a little bay that's not very protected. There's a
swell running outside, which curves around the point and comes in, but
the motion is gentle and not uncomfortable. Thank God for a catamaran.
We'd be rolling +/- 25 degrees in a monohull...

This was our first time anchoring, so it took a bit of extra time. The
new anchor roller and windlass setup seems to work well enough, and we
rigged the new bridle. I'm a little concerned about the way the lines
lead, so we'll keep an eye on that. The anchor didn't set on the first
two tries and we pulled up a big ball of kelp. Third try was a charm
and she held fast with both engines backing at 2000 rpm.

We did some fishing with the kids off the stern. No luck, but the kids
had fun. We'll have to catch something sooner or later to prove to
them that fish can actually be caught... Their doubts are
unfortunately mounting. Worst case I'll go spearfishing, but the
water's 56.1 degrees here, so I think I'll wait till we're further
South.

Tomorrow we've got a long shot (95 miles) to Cabo San Quintin, so
we've got to be underway at 0500 and maintain 8kts minimum. Hopefully
we'll have a good breeze to push us along.

The kids have been great and really getting the hang of things. They
wore their harnesses all day and roamed around in the cockpit. We
spotted some whales spouting and Massimo gave direction as we
maneuvered to avoid a cruise ship.

Ocealys Actual
via SATCOM
31º 33.1708'N
116º 40.688'W

And we're off!

We've made it... we left the Bay area 2 weeks ago with all our belongings to meet Ocealys, our boat, in Santa Barbara and sail her to San Diego.

It was pretty funny to see the minivan we rented. It was so packed that the kids couldn't even move in their seats. Our first trip with Ocealys went pretty well, although there was no wind whatsoever so it was a diesel trip! The kids saw their first dolphins and it blew their minds. Here's Annabelle's quote: 'Can we ride them, please?".

Arriving at San Diego Yacht Club, the preparation of the boat and the crew went on: various mecanical, electrical,....etc tasks related to the boat itself as well as organizing ALL the stuff that we have on board and of course buying and putting away our food provisions.


Everybody had their list, even the kids. Massimo's mostly included fishing lures to catch BIG fish; Annabelle's needed more stuffed animals just in case!
Oh, and we also started home schooling, which everybody is still getting used to.

We are leaving the US tomorrow morning for Baja California. We just celebrated and had our last american dinner at the Yacht Club: no tacos for us but big hamburgers and ice cream! We are all very excited to start the real trip.

The plan is to go down the coast of Baja and then up to Loreto. Then, in two months we will go down again to start the most important part: making the crossing to the Marquesas.

We will be checking email via satellite, so write soon.

Sophie and the rest of the Ocealys crew.


Pour les francais:

Enfin des news! desolee mais tellement de choses se sont passees ces deux derniers mois que nous n'avons pas eu l'opportunite de donner beaucoup de nouvelles.
nous sommes partis il y a maintenant deux semaines de la Baie de San Francisco. Le mini-van que nous avions loue pour embarquer toutes nos affaires etait plein a craquer.... meme il debordait! Nous avons rejoins Ocealys a Santa Barbara, bourre le bateau et largue les amarres direction San Diego. apres 2 jours de naviguation, nous sommes arrives a destination sans probleme. Il n'y avait pas un pet de vent et ce fut donc grace a la risee "volvo" que nous nous avons atteint notre but. Le clou de la traversee fut l'apparition de dauphins. Les enfants etaient ebahis et je dois dire que d'etre sur un cata a rendu cette rencontre encore plus sympa. Arrives a San Diego, les preparations du bateau et de l'equipage ont reprises: divers travaux a effectuer sur le bateau / organisation de l'interieur et bien sur les courses! bref, on a reussi a tout faire rentrer.

Et papa est toujours tranquillement installe dans son equipe avec pour compagnie un vieux paquet de goldo que j'ai trouve sur le bateau....!

Nous quittons les US demain matin, direction le Mexique. Finalement, notre vrai trip va commencer et nous sommes tous tres excites! Nous avons fete cela en s'empiffrant de hamburgers et de ice cream au Yacht Club de San Diego. Tout le monde a porte un toast et nous nous couchons avec le ventre bien rempli et le bonheur plein la tete!

La suite tres bientot pour vous faire partager notre nouvelle vie.

N'hesitez pas nous contacter.
Grosses bises a tous!