The Miss Molly Adventures - Part 10 (the final chapter)
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And Then There Were Three
Elizabeth was born on 19th August 1997, and a crew of 3 were aboard when Miss Molly was relaunched in Marina San Carlos on 26th Feb 1998. We took slip number F19 and there was quite a blow from the west as the new crew settled in to life aboard. But by the 3rd March, all was ready and we set out for our first short sail with a baby on board. We anchored on the fisherman’s hook at 11:30 on a day that was hot, hot, hot!
Going in!
A similar short sail the next day brought us to Bahia San Pedro, where we holed up and hunkered down out of the wind for a few days, together with “sv Windy”. The owners of "Windy" were Brad and Rose, a couple who worked the summer months in San Diego and sailed the winter season. They were great fun and Rose was an accomplished keyboard player with a keyboard on board. On visits to their boat, she would sit Elizabeth on her knee and let her play the keyboard. Rose was most enthusiastic about Elizabeth’s early keyboard playing abilities, and when we returned to Germany, Rose’s enthusiasm was a main factor in us signing Elizabeth (and later, Hazel and Kerry) up for early music development classes. We’re really pleased we did – all 3 are quite musically talented!
We buddy boated with “Windy” from here on. They were great to sail with as they sailed along blasting Jimmy Buffet songs out over their loudspeakers :-) A motorsail, then sail, brought us to Caleta Venicia., I had replaced the prop shaft coupling and realigned the engine before relaunching and the new smoothness of it all was quite a delight!
We continued hopping up the mainland coast, heading further up into the Sea of Cortez. As you progress further north, the tides get stronger and these were starting to get quite noticeable now.
We buddy boated with “Windy” from here on. They were great to sail with as they sailed along blasting Jimmy Buffet songs out over their loudspeakers :-) A motorsail, then sail, brought us to Caleta Venicia., I had replaced the prop shaft coupling and realigned the engine before relaunching and the new smoothness of it all was quite a delight!
We continued hopping up the mainland coast, heading further up into the Sea of Cortez. As you progress further north, the tides get stronger and these were starting to get quite noticeable now.
EB's first sail. Seems to be enjoying it!
Buddy boating with "Windy"
On March 11th, we departed our anchorage in Ensanada Julio Villa at 7 in the evening for our first overnighter with Elizabeth. The 10 knots of wind that we had during the evening dropped to nothing around midnight and we were making about 3 knots under motor with the tide against us. By 06:00, the wind was building to a lovely 15 to 20 knots giving us a lively sail in the short chop with occasional thick fog blowing out from the coast. We anchored off Isla Pelicanos in Bahia Kino at 09:30 after a good windward passage, averaging over 4 knots for the 60 miles or so of this trip.
We reprovisioned in the town there the next day and then set off at 06:00 the next morning in a southerly caused by a passing cold front, which was bringing uncomfortable swells into the anchorage. We sailed in gusty conditions over to Dog Bay on Isla Tiberon and anchored and went ashore for a delightful walk.
Isla Tiberon has two claims to fame. Until the early 1900s (I believe), it was home to a tribe of natives reputed to have been cannibals. These, thankfully (from our point of view, and quite possibly not to theirs) had been relocated onto the mainland, and have hopefully managed to change their reputation. Isla Tiberon’s other claim to fame is that, when Thor Heyerdahl conducted his “The Ra Expedition” research, in which he successfully sailed a boat made of bundled reeds across the Atlantic from North Africa to the Caribbean to prove that such a journey would have been possible, one of his main pieces of evidence to suggest that people had undertaken such a trip and settled the Americas long before Columbus and his mates was beds of the same sort of reeds that the Phoneticians used for their reed boats that Heyerdahl found growing in the middle of Isla Tiberon. Heyerdahl believed they had been transported there from North Africa and planted by early voyagers, presumably in order to build more vessels…
I don’t know about any of that. I can say that the fishing was good. Within the space of about half an hour, jigging from the aft deck of our anchored boat, Karin managed to catch 3 delightful, good-sized jacks that went quickly on the barbecue and made a very nice dinner!
We reprovisioned in the town there the next day and then set off at 06:00 the next morning in a southerly caused by a passing cold front, which was bringing uncomfortable swells into the anchorage. We sailed in gusty conditions over to Dog Bay on Isla Tiberon and anchored and went ashore for a delightful walk.
Isla Tiberon has two claims to fame. Until the early 1900s (I believe), it was home to a tribe of natives reputed to have been cannibals. These, thankfully (from our point of view, and quite possibly not to theirs) had been relocated onto the mainland, and have hopefully managed to change their reputation. Isla Tiberon’s other claim to fame is that, when Thor Heyerdahl conducted his “The Ra Expedition” research, in which he successfully sailed a boat made of bundled reeds across the Atlantic from North Africa to the Caribbean to prove that such a journey would have been possible, one of his main pieces of evidence to suggest that people had undertaken such a trip and settled the Americas long before Columbus and his mates was beds of the same sort of reeds that the Phoneticians used for their reed boats that Heyerdahl found growing in the middle of Isla Tiberon. Heyerdahl believed they had been transported there from North Africa and planted by early voyagers, presumably in order to build more vessels…
I don’t know about any of that. I can say that the fishing was good. Within the space of about half an hour, jigging from the aft deck of our anchored boat, Karin managed to catch 3 delightful, good-sized jacks that went quickly on the barbecue and made a very nice dinner!
Dog Bay
After spending a couple of days in Dog Bay, enjoying the barren scenery and going for walks ashore, we made a short hop up to an anchorage that I describe in the log book as “by the military hut in Bahia de los Cruces”, and the next day we took a day sail through the tidal race in the Lorenzo Channel, up to an anchorage in the south slot on Isla Salsipuedes. This was a beautiful-looking, protected anchorage that was unfortunately spoiled by the highest concentration of flies that we had ever seen. We spread our fly nets over every opening in the boat and stayed below decks until the sun went down and the flies all retired for the evening!
Unsurprisingly, we left there the next morning. The tide was with us in the morning as we headed further north and we made rapid progress. However, by 13:00, as we entered the Canal de la Ballenas, the wind was building and the tide turned to flow in the opposite direction to the wind and some very nasty seas built up – some 3 metres high and like perfect sine waves – short and very choppy. Going became very slow as we hammered into these seas with more water on the decks than we had ever seen. A sharp and jagged reef was visible off Punta Pescador with ugly seas breaking over it as we beat our way slowly northwards taking long tacks and edging our way through the channel into Bahia Los Angeles. We cleared another reef and then turned on a beam reach into Puerto Don Juan, where we anchored in the south-east corner in 20ft of water at 17:00. A long, hard day. Down below was a mess – books and other bits and bobs were strewn all over the floor where they’d been thrown by the crashing; the deck to hull joint had leaked quite a bit and some of the cushions needed a thorough drying out. The anchorage, however, was perfect – a hurricane hole if ever there was one – almost completely enclosed, there was a delightful sandy beach with cactus strewn rocky land behind it. Clearly, we’d be staying there for a few days!
Unsurprisingly, we left there the next morning. The tide was with us in the morning as we headed further north and we made rapid progress. However, by 13:00, as we entered the Canal de la Ballenas, the wind was building and the tide turned to flow in the opposite direction to the wind and some very nasty seas built up – some 3 metres high and like perfect sine waves – short and very choppy. Going became very slow as we hammered into these seas with more water on the decks than we had ever seen. A sharp and jagged reef was visible off Punta Pescador with ugly seas breaking over it as we beat our way slowly northwards taking long tacks and edging our way through the channel into Bahia Los Angeles. We cleared another reef and then turned on a beam reach into Puerto Don Juan, where we anchored in the south-east corner in 20ft of water at 17:00. A long, hard day. Down below was a mess – books and other bits and bobs were strewn all over the floor where they’d been thrown by the crashing; the deck to hull joint had leaked quite a bit and some of the cushions needed a thorough drying out. The anchorage, however, was perfect – a hurricane hole if ever there was one – almost completely enclosed, there was a delightful sandy beach with cactus strewn rocky land behind it. Clearly, we’d be staying there for a few days!
Puerto Don Juan
We basically spent the next two weeks there. The first day was a bit worrying as there was a plague of the most enormous wasps everywhere. They didn’t seem to be aggressive like some wasps can be, but they certainly looked disconcerting! But, I guess it was their hatch day… because after that one day when the place was crawling with them, we didn’t see any more.
Puerto Don Juan was the perfect place to be. The sandy beach was full of clams that could be easily gathered by running your fingers through the wet sand. There was a rocky outcrop covered in oysters; we caught fish off the boat. A short sail away was the town of Pueblo Los Angeles, where we picked up supplies, diesel and drinking water. We went ashore and wandered through the cacti. We swam – we had water wings for Elizabeth. We also had a small inflatable paddling pool that fitted perfectly in the cockpit well, which we filled with sea water – she loved it! It was heaven. The one downer was that there was a succession of frontal systems coming through, causing gusty conditions with a bit of rain. The anchorage itself was perfectly protected, but we didn’t feel comfortable with the idea of continuing our northward explorations of the Sea of Cortez.
Puerto Don Juan was the perfect place to be. The sandy beach was full of clams that could be easily gathered by running your fingers through the wet sand. There was a rocky outcrop covered in oysters; we caught fish off the boat. A short sail away was the town of Pueblo Los Angeles, where we picked up supplies, diesel and drinking water. We went ashore and wandered through the cacti. We swam – we had water wings for Elizabeth. We also had a small inflatable paddling pool that fitted perfectly in the cockpit well, which we filled with sea water – she loved it! It was heaven. The one downer was that there was a succession of frontal systems coming through, causing gusty conditions with a bit of rain. The anchorage itself was perfectly protected, but we didn’t feel comfortable with the idea of continuing our northward explorations of the Sea of Cortez.
On 2nd April, with thoughts turning to the end of the cruising season, we left Puerto Don Juan and headed south once more. We had a smooth, uneventful passage of the Canal de las Ballenas and headed for a small island called “Isla Estanque” that Charlie’s Charts showed as a collapsed volcano with a perfectly protected anchorage in the cone and a narrow entrance passage. Wind and seas were increasing as we approached the island and there were tidal rips off the south-east point. The entrance to the island anchorage is detailed in the pilot book. You head towards the reef and then turn to run parallel to it about 200ft from the reef. We did this and could see the waves breaking on the reef as we approached the entrance. According to the pilot, the deeper channel was on the port side (entering). We steered that course and, just as we were passing the collapsed section of the volcano, we ran firmly aground in 4ft or so of water on a boulder-strewn bottom. The boat made horrible crunching noises as she rocked there in the swells. We tried motoring in both directions to no avail. I did a super-fast dinghy pump up and rowed out with the anchor, hurled it over into the deeper water ahead of us as far forward as possible. Deeper water was visible off the bow of the boat so we emptied the lazarette and carried it all forward to the foredeck. With me pulling on the anchor chain and Karin gunning the motor, we edged forwards with more horrible crunching noises until we were afloat again and anchored in the tiny bay. A quick look showed that we were not taking in water, but a dive inspection of the hull showed some damage to the front of the keel. A dive of the channel showed the deep entrance channel to be on the starboard side of the entrance. As the pilot says, “these charts are not to be used for navigation purposes”. I’m not quite sure what their purpose is if not….
We stayed there for a couple of days; it really was the most calm, protected of anchorages. We left carefully, with Tony on the bow and Karin on the tiller, but really, my diving survey of the entrance had given us all the information we needed and we stayed in the deep water easily. A morning sail took us to Puertocito del Enmedio. That evening, we had farewell drinks with our friends on “Windy”. They were intending to return to Bahia Los Angeles, I believe with the goal of finding a trucking company that would truck their boat from some point in the northern Sea of Cortez back to San Diego. It was sad to part company with them. Lovely people!
We stayed there for a couple of days; it really was the most calm, protected of anchorages. We left carefully, with Tony on the bow and Karin on the tiller, but really, my diving survey of the entrance had given us all the information we needed and we stayed in the deep water easily. A morning sail took us to Puertocito del Enmedio. That evening, we had farewell drinks with our friends on “Windy”. They were intending to return to Bahia Los Angeles, I believe with the goal of finding a trucking company that would truck their boat from some point in the northern Sea of Cortez back to San Diego. It was sad to part company with them. Lovely people!
Elizabeth was about 6 months old when we returned to Miss Molly for this sailing trip. Karin and I were both relaxed about this and were confident we could make it work, even on our very low-tech boat. Food was easy as Elizabeth was 6 months old and just moving on to solids. Mashed bananas and boiled veg was the order of the day and easy to prepare on board. We also had some jars of that pre-made baby food, but not a vast quantity. Clearly, nappies or diapers were something that had to be dealt with. Karin sourced cloth diapers from a charity organisation in Germany, who loaned us a stack of these washables for the duration of us needing them. We simply put the dirty ones in a net tied off the stern and towed them along when we were underway. Afterwards, they were washed in a bucket of salt water and rinsed out in fresh water to finish. Drying them was no issue in the Mexican sun!
We bought a very cheap set of inflatable bits that consisted of a small paddling pool, that turned out to be a perfect fit in the cockpit well, swim wings and a sit-in swim ring thing. These were wonderful and Elizabeth really enjoyed being in the water. We also had one of those cloth sling things that we'd use to carry Elizabeth in when we went for an explore ashore.
For a bed, we built a canvas cot with big diameter dowel rods along the top of the long sides. These rods located in fittings that I filled on the port side settee and made a very secure bed for the little one. The V-berth served as a secure location for midday sleeps until Elizabeth got more mobile.
It all worked very well and sailing with a baby on board was entirely successful. We had a small life vest that we used whenever we were rowing ashore or whenever else we deemed it necessary, and we had a carry chair thing that we'd sit her in down below or out on deck, even when underway when conditions were suitable.
She was a happy baby and certainly seemed to enjoy the experience. She stood up for the first time, pulling herself up between the two saloon settees as we were underway. To this day, she's entirely comfortable on a sail boat!
We bought a very cheap set of inflatable bits that consisted of a small paddling pool, that turned out to be a perfect fit in the cockpit well, swim wings and a sit-in swim ring thing. These were wonderful and Elizabeth really enjoyed being in the water. We also had one of those cloth sling things that we'd use to carry Elizabeth in when we went for an explore ashore.
For a bed, we built a canvas cot with big diameter dowel rods along the top of the long sides. These rods located in fittings that I filled on the port side settee and made a very secure bed for the little one. The V-berth served as a secure location for midday sleeps until Elizabeth got more mobile.
It all worked very well and sailing with a baby on board was entirely successful. We had a small life vest that we used whenever we were rowing ashore or whenever else we deemed it necessary, and we had a carry chair thing that we'd sit her in down below or out on deck, even when underway when conditions were suitable.
She was a happy baby and certainly seemed to enjoy the experience. She stood up for the first time, pulling herself up between the two saloon settees as we were underway. To this day, she's entirely comfortable on a sail boat!
The paddling pool was a perfect fit in the cockpit well
And the rest of the inflatable set in action
Home-made canvas cot with very happy baby
Playing on the floor between the saloon settees
Look mum, I can stand!
The carry chair provided a secure place on deck from which to chew your feet!
Back to the sailing...
The next morning at 09:00, we raised anchor, waved goodbye to Rose and Brad and headed out in the direction of Bahia San Franciscito. It was a beautiful calm morning. A light breeze picked up at about 12:00 and we sailed at about 4 knots with the tillerpilot doing all the steering work. We saw a pod of whales feeding near Punta San Gabriel at about 16:00 and we watched them as we approached our anchorage. We entered the bay and edged our way into the small basin in the south west corner with Karin swinging the lead line and confirming that the depth never dropped below 3 metres even at the low tide we had then.
We did the same thing to leave a couple of days later; Karin swinging the lead line to check depths as we edged our way out. We had a fast and sometimes lumpy passage to Isla Estaban, and then another, through the tidal rips off Isla Estaban and a slow passage with the tide against us through Cactus Pass the next day. This brought us back to our anchorage in Dog Bay, Isla Tiberon.
After another rest in Dog Bay, we were keen to get on south and return to San Carlos, where we would be hauling out and going into the dry storage again. We planned an overnight passage to a suitable anchorage somewhere near San Carlos. We left at about 21:30 and motored out in the direction of a waypoint off Punta Baja, from where we intended to choose a suitable anchorage. The initial light south easterly wind began building. It built to some 20 to 25 knots, and when the tide turned to be against that, the chop built to an uncomfortable sea state. Close to our waypoint, we tacked to head in towards Punta Moreno and the nearby anchorage, with the going becoming steadily worse. We were forced to tack again to clear the shallows around Punta Baja, and at 08:00 we gave up, turned and ran downwind as the progress was just too bad and uncomfortable. What a difference that makes! We surfed on the waves, making 7 – 8 knots and arrived back in Dog Bay at 14:00, tired and frustrated.
We had a good night’s sleep and a day of relaxation and then, late in the afternoon, set out to try again. It was completely different this time. A good sailing passage with wind on the beam brought us to our waypoint off Punta Baja by 01:00, and we altered course for San Carlos, which brought the wind and waves further aft. As we neared San Carlos, other sail boats became more numerous – we’d almost forgotten what other sail boats looked like. Apart from “Windy” we had seen no other sail boats up north that year. Mid morning, a boat parallel to us turned and ran directly alongside us. The junk rig is so fast downwind, we soon outran them and left them in our wake. We passed the Tetas de Cabras hill and turned into San Carlos bay at 13:15, motoring into the marina and taking a slip.
And that was the end of our cruising for that year, and for quite a while afterwards. We returned to Germany and Miss Molly stayed in the dry storage of Marina San Carlos. I have nothing but praise for the marina there, but the bills kept coming. Our daughter Hazel was born in 1999 and the likelihood of us returning to continue our voyaging diminished. I made the necessary decision. In 2000, Karin and I returned to San Carlos, we stripped the boat of anything we thought might be useful – I planned to build another boat as soon as that might be feasible – I built a packing case from various bits of ply gleaned from Miss Molly, we loaded that on a trailer and it was driven across Mexico to become part of a consolidated container and be shipped to Hamburg, where I collected it and stored it in my shed for whatever purpose. The marina had an idea of sinking Miss Molly to become part of an artificial reef. I hope they did. It makes me sad writing this. She gave us some of the best times of my life! We did all of this on the smallest of budgets and I wouldn't have missed it for the world!
We did the same thing to leave a couple of days later; Karin swinging the lead line to check depths as we edged our way out. We had a fast and sometimes lumpy passage to Isla Estaban, and then another, through the tidal rips off Isla Estaban and a slow passage with the tide against us through Cactus Pass the next day. This brought us back to our anchorage in Dog Bay, Isla Tiberon.
After another rest in Dog Bay, we were keen to get on south and return to San Carlos, where we would be hauling out and going into the dry storage again. We planned an overnight passage to a suitable anchorage somewhere near San Carlos. We left at about 21:30 and motored out in the direction of a waypoint off Punta Baja, from where we intended to choose a suitable anchorage. The initial light south easterly wind began building. It built to some 20 to 25 knots, and when the tide turned to be against that, the chop built to an uncomfortable sea state. Close to our waypoint, we tacked to head in towards Punta Moreno and the nearby anchorage, with the going becoming steadily worse. We were forced to tack again to clear the shallows around Punta Baja, and at 08:00 we gave up, turned and ran downwind as the progress was just too bad and uncomfortable. What a difference that makes! We surfed on the waves, making 7 – 8 knots and arrived back in Dog Bay at 14:00, tired and frustrated.
We had a good night’s sleep and a day of relaxation and then, late in the afternoon, set out to try again. It was completely different this time. A good sailing passage with wind on the beam brought us to our waypoint off Punta Baja by 01:00, and we altered course for San Carlos, which brought the wind and waves further aft. As we neared San Carlos, other sail boats became more numerous – we’d almost forgotten what other sail boats looked like. Apart from “Windy” we had seen no other sail boats up north that year. Mid morning, a boat parallel to us turned and ran directly alongside us. The junk rig is so fast downwind, we soon outran them and left them in our wake. We passed the Tetas de Cabras hill and turned into San Carlos bay at 13:15, motoring into the marina and taking a slip.
And that was the end of our cruising for that year, and for quite a while afterwards. We returned to Germany and Miss Molly stayed in the dry storage of Marina San Carlos. I have nothing but praise for the marina there, but the bills kept coming. Our daughter Hazel was born in 1999 and the likelihood of us returning to continue our voyaging diminished. I made the necessary decision. In 2000, Karin and I returned to San Carlos, we stripped the boat of anything we thought might be useful – I planned to build another boat as soon as that might be feasible – I built a packing case from various bits of ply gleaned from Miss Molly, we loaded that on a trailer and it was driven across Mexico to become part of a consolidated container and be shipped to Hamburg, where I collected it and stored it in my shed for whatever purpose. The marina had an idea of sinking Miss Molly to become part of an artificial reef. I hope they did. It makes me sad writing this. She gave us some of the best times of my life! We did all of this on the smallest of budgets and I wouldn't have missed it for the world!
Ahoy me hearties! Aaaaarrrrgghhhh!