Turtle Bay, more like Freezing Bay
Water Temperature: 16 deg !!!!%^$%#%^!!!!! What happened? When did we leave the tropical waters of Mexico and sail directly to the North Pole ? Wow, we knew the Pacific Coast of the Baja was cold, but never thought it would be like this. Every day, save for about 4 hours between 11am and 3pm, we have been wandering around Khulula all bundled up in sweaters, long johns, foul weather gear, shoes, socks and all sorts of variations thereof. Not since a few days in South Africa have we been colder on ol’ Khulula. But underneath all this outer wear, we have been smiling along.

The Baja Bash, or the “sailing trip’ from Cabo San Lucas to San Diego, is notorious for having unfavorable wind and sea conditions all the way north. The wind always blows from the NW (EXACTLY where you are heading), the current forces you back down the coast and there are numerous cape to round all with their own micro-climates (all worse the ambient). However, our lucky stars have been burning brightly for the past four days as we have been moving northwards. We have had fantastic weather, and have even been able to sail (without the engine) for a couple hours each day.

This is unheard-of on the bash as it is generally completed by putting up your main-sail, turning your engine on to 2500 rpm, and then motor bashing your way north. All a matter of how much air-time to BASH ! ones nerves can take. We have a crew of 4 or 5 boats all coming up at the same time, and the radio chatter reminds us that we are all heading north and bashing together. Nice to know… However, Turtle Bay is HALFWAY and we have made the two longest uninterrupted jumps for the trip! We are very excited to be here in this wind-swept, desert, delapitated (spelling ?), aging fishing village. Everyone is taking a nice quiet nap before we break out some celebratory eggs, bacon and Delany’s coffee. We have a couple missions to complete while here: 1) Fill up with fuel. 2) Eat a huge fancy meal on flat ground. 3) Search the beaches for garbage. 4) Explore the mysto reef break we saw on the motor in. 5) Sleep. Signing off, chilly but happy as can be. Bryson