28th November, 2014

Underway

November 25, 2014

We are underway. I love those three words. So much so, in fact, I get a wee bit jealous when I hear them over the radio and we are at port. It sounds so distant, so romantic, as they give their coordinates over the air. I listen to see if we might know them, or perhaps, we might meet them some time in the future, along the way. No matter, it is a welcome sound, another sailor’s voice sharing the same life, the same sea.

It is Tuesday, November 25, 2014, and we are underway. We left Bahia Santa Maria at 0715 with 15-20 knots of wind from the northeast and 3-5 foot seas, just as Geary predicted. We sailed for several hours before the winds rose to 25-30 knots.

I was at the helm, and it was quite challenging as we had too much sail up. The guys pulled in the Genoa to keep her from heading into the wind. Nobody called for 25-30 knots, but they wouldn’t have because this was a local weather event caused by the wind funneling out of Mag Bay as we passed the entrance. Once we passed the opening, the wind and seas calmed down.

Off our starboard beam, just 300 yards away, a whale jumped up and landed on its back. It did this over and over for about seven times. A little while later we saw another one. Mag Bay must be their hood as we saw them here last year too.

As I said in my previous blog, Santa Maria is where the clothes come off. I wear shorts with no shoes. Sitting on the bow of the boat, I leave my feet dangling over the side. Every once in awhile a wave slams against the boat, soaking my legs. It is warm and soft. I smile.

Another bird has come to visit and several beautiful yellow butterflies follow us for miles. I call them our angels.

There is excitement in the air. We are closing in on San Jose del Cabo and a marina. We are anxious to set our feet on solid ground. We long for a hot shower and clean clothes. Our freezer is empty. It is time to rest and rejuvinate and reprovision.

This is what it is like out here, underway. And this is what you might hear over the radio if you were out here with us.

This is Sea Dancer, Whiskey, Delta, Echo, 3252. We are underway. Our position is 24 degrees (can’t figure out how to make the degree sign on my computer.) .09′ north and 111 degrees .36′ west. The wind is 10 knots from the east northeast. We are 51 nautical miles south of Bahia Santa Maria. We expect to arrive in San Jose del Cabo tomorrow afternoon. There are four people on board; Don, Bobbi, Jay and Terri. All is well. Sea Dancer out.