04:15 am, N 28d 55.9’, W 116d 03.2’
Clear skies, stars, a huge moon. We are no longer just going to Baja, we are there. What we’ve planned is playing out. We are closing in on Bahia Tortuga, our first stop down the coast of Baja, where we get to lay up for a few nights to relax, enjoy a party or two with the other rally boats, eat some restaurant food and hopefully play with some other boat kids. Tacos, cold beer, sandy beaches! Tacos, gold beer, sandy beaches! We still have the last 100nm to go today, but we’re chugging away waiting for the winds to come up. This trip is about 330 nm direct, and more like 400 nm if you don’t just run dead down wind. I’ll note that some of the fleet got a good start, went hard with their spinnakers and were able to stay on the end of what seemed like a passing wave of wind this entire passage. We started only 90 minutes behind the pack and I opted to swing out to sea while the seas were calm so that if/when the seas come up, we would be able to run with the waves behind instead of abeam, a much more comfortable point of sail for the entire crew. Think less puking kids.
Yesterday we got about 6 hours of sweet sailing in the late afternoon / evening. Not enough for anyone’s taste, but enough to keep you coming back for another day. It’s like hitting a great drive on the 18th hole. LJ’s still under the weather but she’s tireless, cooking all meals, doing school, entertaining the kids, cleaning the boat and still sitting her night watch. Adam is great crew, taking trustworthy watches so LJ and I can sleep and entertaining the kids like a fun uncle. The boats doing well so far. We’re clean, warm, dry, plenty of water and plenty of electrons. And when the wind goes over 8 knots, she’s an easy sailer. We can make 6 knots overground in 9 knots of wind with just the jib and main, and we could make 7-8 if we unfurl the code0 (today’s plan after researching predicted conditions). For now the crew is settling in and getting comfortable. It’s our kids’ first multi-night passage. The seas are very calm, nothing like the PNW passage, and the weather is warm. Hot during the day and I’m thankful for shade.
Seeing the photos from Orcas over the last week has given me the first real homesickness since I left in August. Orcas on a sunny fall day is beautiful. I miss those crisp mornings, the smell of freshness that comes with fall, the community’s relief as the tourist season fades and the locals return from their summer travels. I miss going to Chris’ gym to workout with my friends. I miss my little office in town. I miss waking up and looking out over the cove. I miss drinking a cup of coffee staring down East Sound to Blakely island. I miss bumping into neighbors on the drive to school. I miss eating lunch at the market. I really miss the Halloween party in town. What a tradition! I miss coaching soccer with Brian and sitting quietly in the Oddfellows hall through the girls’ ballet class taught by his wife. I miss golfing with my friends. I miss fall racing with the J Pod. I miss the satisfaction of finishing a fully stocked woodpile. I miss playing pool at Bruce’s and planning next season’s boating adventures north. I miss soaking in our redneck hot tub with LJ looking at the stars.
Maybe I’m getting older? Maybe I’m getting more honest with myself? Maybe a decade of investment in making a new place home is paying off? I don’t know. We have an incredible life there, and it’s one of a kind place. I’m enjoying this adventure, I’m surrounded by family and friends this whole time. I’m so lucky to know that we have found our home, and to have a place to return to with smiles on our face instead of the dread of reality. We aren’t coming home anytime soon, but I look forward to the day we do. Onward!
Meet the Millers 