Scheduling Issues

It looks like we were just a bit too late in putting together a charter in the Sea of Cortez for this winter. Coordinating vacation schedules on short notice was getting way too complicated, so I'm going to cancel the March charter for this year.

We may do it next year though. Some people are interested in the same kind of trip if we can do the planning with more advance notice and flexibility in the time frame. Over the next few months we may be able to put together a package that's more accomodating than this one was, so I'll keep this blog updated on whatever comes out of that effort.


In the meantime, Sea Story is spending most of the holiday in Marina Palmira on the north side of La paz. The weather is wonderful, and I'm planning to spend a few days out in the islands between Christmas and New Years. The rest of the time, it will be dock parties and holiday festivities in the easy comraderie of the many American and Canadian cruisers who enjoy this place as much as I do.

Marina Palmira is Sea Story's home for this winter. It connects to La paz by a divided highway and the Malecon, a wide walk-way that serves as a popular exercise route and meeting place for locals and visitors alike. The boats in the distance are anchored in front of Marina La paz.

A Sailing Vacation in the Sea of Cortez

Beautiful sunsets and calm anchorages are a big part of the Sea of Cortez experience. Sailing conditions are also very benevolent during the winter season, making this a great introduction to sailing charter vacations.

Uninhabited Islands with pristine beachs are just part of the allure of the Sea of Cortez. Jacques Cousteau called it "The aquarium to the world," and the Sea still lives up to that remarkable description. Seals, dolphins, whales and rays are all part of the scenery. This view of Yellowstone Beach is from a sandy knoll on the north shore of Isla Montserrat with Sea Story at anchor is the distance. Great swimming and snorkeling. Notice how crowded the anchorage is!

Are You Up For A Sailing Vacation?

After four winter seasons of cruising the Pacific Coast of Mexico, I've found the ideal place to offer as a charter vacation to everyone open to a sailing experience in one of the most intriguing areas of North America. This particular part abounds in sea life and remote anchorages that offer great swimming with the sea lions, diving, kayaking and hiking trails on unpopulated desert islands that harbor an astounding variety of terrestial wild life.

That said, it's important to know that the charter experience requires no sailing experience, and can easily be no more strenuous that sunbathing and enjoying a cold beer or margarita once we've dropped the anchor. You can pretty much dial in the level of activity you are comfortable with on this kind of trip. You will have a captain to handle the technical parts of the sailing, and a cook to take charge of meal preparation, but this is not to say you can't get involved in all aspects of this charter experience. Active participation really is a big part of the enjoyment of a sailing vacation.

So, here are the details:

Time: March 7 - 13

Place: Departing & Returning La paz, Baja California Sur.

Cost: $1300 per person. (excluding transportation)

The trip I have planned for this year is a low-cost, one-week excursion on Seascape, a local 41' ketch that has been nicely setup for this area. It can comfortably handle two couples who would each share a berth, or we could accommodate one couple and two individuals who would berth in individual bunks the saloon area of the boat. A good description of Seascape is available at www.seascapecharters.com/description_sail.html. The website also has some very good information about travel to and from La paz and individual preparation for a sailing vacation.

If you're interested in this trip, email me as soon as you can. I can't take any reservations after the end of December, and it has to be "first come, first served" up till then.

The total cost of the charter will be $1300 per person, travel to and from La paz not included. That charge will include the boat, food and all the incidental costs including taxes and permits. It will also include a "sundowner" at the end of the day, but you will have to buy any additional alcohol yourself.

Because of the short timeline, reservation for this trip will require payment before the end of the year. I can provide more detail about the particulars of the payment and refund policy by email.

As of this date, we also have the capacity to plan a larger trip on one of Moorings catamarans if there is a larger group. It would cost about $700 more per person, but we can handle up to four couples and the catamarans are a big step up in luxury. We would have to get on this very quickly to reserve a boat, so get in touch with me right away if you're interested in this option

Oh, by the way, the temp is 80 degrees and the sun is shinning here in La paz....

Heading South

It's getting to be that time again. The days are shorter, the sun is more elusive, and northern California looks less inviting each day. It's time to get back to La paz and put the sails back on Sea Story.
Tomorrow, I'm turning my trusty old Plymouth mini-van south to San Diego for a couple of days of last-stop shopping before we cross the border and brave a the trip down Baja. Have to admit, it's more appealing to look at covering fifty knots per hour instead of the five knots that Sea Story averages, but I'll miss the long night passages that are such an attitude adjusting part of the sailing trip. No sane person drives at night on Mexican highways, so no night watches for the van trip!
Just got word that Alicia and Alfredo have already splashed On Verra in Guaymas so I'll be looking for them to arrive in La paz before Christmas. Can't wait to get the back-story on their epic hike up the Pacific Crest Trail...
The next post will provide some information in the Sea of Cortez charter trip I'm putting together in March... There are still openings left, so don't miss it if you think you might want to sign on....

Rick Missed

Another lucky break; hurricane Rick turned east and totally missed the Baja pennisula. Hopefully, this will be the last big one for this season, but the hurricane season doesn't end until mid-November, so we're not out of the woods yet...

Hurricane Rick

This storm looked pretty bad just a couple of days ago, but now seems to be losing steam. That's a good thing because it's reported to have been the second strongest hurricane in this part of the Pacific since they have started keeping records!
Initially it was forecast to pass right over La paz, but the track has been adjusted southward and it may even miss Cabo San Lucas as it heads east.
We're still not out of the woods, because hurricanes don't always do what they are supposed to do. But, at this point, things are looking up.
The following link is to an update that came off Yahoo today.

http://www.usatoday.com/weather/storms/hurricanes/2009-10-19-hurricane-rick_N.htm?csp=34

Health Care in Mexico

A lot of friends - knowing I spend most of the winter in Mexico - ask about the cost, the quality and the availability of healthcare down there. The short answer is that it's cheap, it's good, and - depending on where you are - it's also readily available. If you're in a large metropolitan area, like La paz, there's no problem finding treatment right away. If you're in a rural, out-of-the-way village, it could be more difficult.

There are also some real healthcare bargains in Mexico if you're not opposed to socialized medicine, which is so prominant a part of the healthcare debate in the U.S. For a good description of one option, click on the following link: http://www.banderasnews.com/0909/hb-mexhealthcare.htm

Mexico also has an excellent private healthcare system and medical insurance that is available at a fraction of that in the U.S. What makes it so cheap? The availability and competition from the "public option" described in the linked story above.

So, if the costs are less, and the care so good (American health insurance companies now send patients to Mexico for medical care), you have to wonder why we having such a big argument about the public option in this country. Do you suppose it's the $1.2 million per day the health insurance industry is spending to oppose it? Naw, probably not. My guess is that they are just spending money to illuminate the issue. And they are probably sending patients to Mexico for the cheaper treatment made possible by the socialized medicine system in order to keep from overcrowding American hospitals....
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2005/11/13/calcostsifornia_health__send_patients_to_mexico_facilities/for

2600 Miles in 133 Days

(PCT Overview from Forest Service Brochure)

After more than a month without hearing from them, I was starting to get a bit worried about Alfredo and Alicia's big adventure on the Pacific Crest Trail. Fear not however, they just checked in with the following triumphant announcement. Great achievement for both of them, and I'm looking forward to the hearing the unpublished details when we get together in Mexico...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pacific_Crest_Trail

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

Dear family and friends,

WE DID IT!!!!!!We arrived to Canada on Sept. 17, almost 5 months of walking 2600miles. If you remember we started April 23. I think actual walking days it took 133days. Anyway we were out of touch for most of the last 1000 miles sorry for no updates. It was a fantastic experience! At the end we arrived to the border, just a clearing in the woods, with the monument 78 and register, we were almost ready to walk back to Mexico, we were feeling great, the weather was perfect, and the mountains were so inviting. We had spent the last night on top the mountain at 7000ft and ran down the mountain the next morning almost 3000ft and then back up. Instead of continuing on to Manning Park, Canada we did walk back 30 miles to Harts Pass which had a dirt road back to civilization. The last day was a time to reflect on our wonderful experience and also see some of the other hikers we hadnt seen in months. It was sad to leave the trail after it had been our home for so long. We thoughly enjoyed sleeping in our little tent every night and we never got tired of our trail food. All through WA. we ate wild mushrooms and blueberries. I think we were a bit rough looking by the end and a shower did sound good.Now we are in Idaho visiting my family and my new little niece. We will be heading down to Mexico in about 3 weeks, back to our other life on the boat.

Thinking of you all,

Alicia and Alfredo

Back to California

Within a week, I'll be heading back to California after spending the summer here in the midwest. The past few months have been a nice opportunity to reconnect with old friends and relatives and even do a little teaching for the Sail Away Sailing School in Minneapolis. The weather has been wonderful this year, but the trees are starting to show some fall color, so it's time to head west again. I'm already scheduled to teach a couple of classes for Tradewinds when I get back, so it's going to be interesting to now contrast that with the lake sailing I've done back here. Have to admit, I'm looking forward to getting back on San Francisco Bay again!

Haven't heard anything from Alicia or Alfredo for quite awhile now, so I'm starting to get a bit anxious about their progress on the Pacific Coast Trail. Of course, they did mention that they wouldn't have as much Internet access once they got up into Oregon, so it's probably not too surprising we haven't had more email from them...

Will try to do keep more up-to-date on the blog once I get back to northern California next week. After reading the "Summerwind" blog of cousin Holly and her husband Alan, I'm a bit shamed by my inattention to keeping this one more current. If you haven't looked at their blog (on the Links list), I heartily recommend it. They've done a great job, and it reads like a high quality travelogue. Watch out Rick Steves!

Dodging a Bullet

Sea Story securely tied to the dock at Singlar Marina in La paz. Storm clouds from advancing hurricane Jimena show up in the background, as Susan and Dennis Ross prepare the boat for the possible arrival of the catagory 4 blow.

It looked bad for awhile. Hurrican Jimena was gathering strength and heading for southern Baja. Images of past hurricane damage to the La paz area were reminders of how devastating wind and wave could be from a storm this strong - at 155 mph, it was bordering on catagory 5 wind speeds.

Luckily, the storm turned just enough to the west to spare both Cabo San Lucas and La paz any major damage. The western coast of Baja, in the region of San Juanico, got the brunt of the storm when it came ashore, but by then it had weakened considerably, and I'm hoping this remote little community - one of my favorite stops on the way north - didn't get hit too hard.

So, it's so-far-so-good with respect to hurricanes this year. Of course, it's still early.....

On the positive side, Dennis and Susan Ross, of Ross Marine, are taking good care of Sea Story during this storm season. And, that's a big relief...

Approaching Oregon

The image shows, in the foreground, a rocky outcrop in the Klamath mountain range in northern California, USA known as Castle Crags. To the right in the distance you can see en:Mount Shasta.
photo made by Bob Walker in en:Siskiyou County, California in 1991

Wednesday, July 29

Dear family and friends,

We are still going!!! We have made it to Etna which is mile 1606!!!! It has been over 3 months and we are still in Califoria. But we are almost to Oregon, only about 100 miles to go to the border. It has been HOT but yesterday for the first time in about 6 weeks we had a hail storm and were freezing cold and wet. We were pelted by hazelnut size hail mixed with rain and within the hour Alfredo almost got clobbered by a falling tree branch and then by a large rock which was falling down the mountain. And we just happen to be on the top of an exposed section of mountain about 7000 feet. No rain fell in the valley.We just went through another nice section from Castle Craigs, Shasta-Trinity Wilderness, Trinity Alps wilderness, and the Russian Wilderness. We have had fantastic views of Mt Shasta which is the looming 14,100ft volcanic peak. Also everything is so green now and wildflowers abound, the forests are full of life and endlessly tall pines. We saw our first bear, it was a black bear, not too big, we looked at him and he looked at us. I told him we were not going to be his breakfast and kept walking. There have been many deer on the trail, sometimes just resting or looking for food, and once we just walked 15 feet behind a threesome for about 10 minutes. So yes we are still hanging in there and we are feeling good. We seem to be always hungry, I think we need to carry more food. Once we get to Oregon we may not have too many internet opportunities but will email when we can.All the best to all. Time to go eat again.

Love,

Alicia and Alfredo

Mt. Whitney

Mount Whitney is the highest peak in the contiguous United States. It rises from the Owens Valley on the eastern border of the Sequoia National Park, where the majesty one would expect from a mountain of its standing is significantly abated by its position in a crowd of steeper, more formidable high peaks. Still, Whitney is a popular ascent, and its superior height becomes much more apparent from its summit. Interestingly, the highest point in the lower 48 states is only 85 miles from the lowest, Badwater Basin (-279 ft.), located in Death Valley. The distance is somewhat longer by scenic highway, but still requires little more than two hours of travel time. A trail leads to the summit of Mount Whitney, and a toilet has been installed to accommodate its crowds. Registration is required to climb the mountain, and daily restrictions have now been placed on the number of climbers allowed. There is a very popular 8.5 mile trail to the summit via the Pacific Crest Trail. http://www.peakware.com/peaks.html?pk=269

Friday, July 12

Dear friends and family,
Well I wanted to write that "we made it" but we didnt. I am referring to climbing Mt Whitney, which is the tallest mountain in the lower 48, at 14,497ft. The weather has just not been cooperating. It is hard to be prepared for everything. Anyway we leave Kennedy Meadows after a 3 day recovery, we had got caught in the terrible rain storm before that. The weather forecast did not look good. Chance of snow all week with highs in the 30s and lows in the teens. Winter advisory was sent out for the Sierras. But of course we set out. The first two days was fair and with donated long johns and a sleeping bag liner, I was quite warm sleeping at 9,600ft. Then we got a major snow fall, within 2 hours there was a whiteout making the trail almost impossible to find. We continued walking to stay warm. What peacefulness. The silence and serenity. We are now walking amongst beautiful mountain scenery that is so spectacular. Sequoia an Kings National Forest and Park. High snow covered peaks and ancient sculptured trees that look like the postcards. Because of the snowfall, we didnt make it to Crabtree Meadows the next day which was where we needed to leave from for the accent up Whitney. We hiked into this incredible meadow seeing a family of deer, marmot, many little chipmunks, and trout in the creek. We left the packs there and headed up the trail to Whitney, we made it as far as Guitar Lake at 11,000ft or so. The weather was moving in and we felt it was prudent to turn back. As soon as we got back to the meadow it began snowing. We would have liked to have waited another day but we didnt have enough food. The trail is all up and down mountains now. For the next 2 nights we camp at 11,000ft, quite cold. It sure felt like winter up there, as I sit here in a nice warm hotel. But the best is still to come. So the next day we had to climb the highest point of the whole PCT trail, Forester Pass, at 13,200ft. It was the most scenic and most difficult day yet. The mountains were all covered in snow and there was no trail to be seen only a few footprints. We have no techinical equipent, no ice axe, and no crampons. We were only hoping the weather would hold and in fact the day was sunny and mostly clear. It was challenging to say the least but it was such a high to reach the top that all the effort was worth it. We didnt stay long on this tiny pass between towering peaks since we still had to get down the other side which had even more snow. Of course there was no trail to be seen but we knew it was down. After hours of trudging through the snow the feet were rather numb so we really didnt stop to eat or drink because I was too cold. After the snow it turned into running rivers of snow melt. We were very happy to find the trail finally. It was a long day and we made it to the Kearasarge Pass Trail which leads us up and over another high pass into the town of Independence. So with almost no food left we start hiking this morning at 5:45am, reach the pass at sunrise, another amazing feat which brings tears to our eyes, and we see the lowlands far far below. Lots more snow on the decent but we catch a hitch into town and are now recovering.
Thats is all for now.
Alicia and Alfredo

Out of Yosemite

July 1, 2009

Dear friends and family,
We are now in Sonora which is about 60 miles west of the trail. We got off the trail at Sonora Pass yesterday and hitched in to town to visit our friends Barry and Julia. We had the most difficult section the last two weeks to get through and we were physically drained. In fact Alfredo got a fever and a sinus cold for a couple of days and then I also started to feel the flu symptoms when we got to Mammoth. So sorry no update from Mammoth since we were not quite feeling well. Anyway we went over numerous high passes full of snow, crossed raging rivers, dealt with freezing cold conditions, wet feet, almost running our of food, getting lost from one another, losing the trail due to too much snow, then the worst man eating huge mosquitoes in the millions, but it was all worth it. It was a challenge but we made it. Many fellow hikers have gotten off the trail because it became too difficult. We are hanging in there, we are very in tune with our bodies now and feel our fitness level quite high. But we also know we need a couple of days rest. 1018 miles!!! Over a third finished. Just finished going through Yosemite National Park with its fantastic mountains and luckily didnt have any bear encounters! Some days we didnt see anyone, while other days we passed the south bound John Muir Trail hikers, and around Tuolome Meadows we saw hundreds( only one afternoon) . People ask us why we are doing this trail. And I know I often write of the difficult times but most of the time we are most content and at peace to just be out in the wilderness observing our surroundings, sensing, feeling and smelling mother nature, the life of the forest, the life of the high altitude passes, the passage of the water, the power of the rivers. After we are in the high mountains and contemplate the world below us, we go down with the table of the ten commandments of the Mountain.
-I am the MOUNTAIN, your supreme lady, you cant have any other altitude without me.
1) Respect my silence, and feel yourself deep inside
2) Your body must not suffer
3) Care for your feet, they carry you far
4) Dont take the flower, they are beautiful where they are
5) Dont kill any animals, except the mosquitoes
6) Dont make an act impure, just in case, be very discreet
7) Support your heavy pack, inside is your survival
8) Dont desire the food of the other hikers, try to control your hunger
9) Drink my PURE WATER every time I offer it to you
10) When you rest in your little tent, sleep with serenity, because tomorrow the MOUNTAIN is waiting for you again
WALK AMEN

From the Desert to the High Sierra

In these two posts, Alicia and Alfredo really get into the high country and all it's complications at this time of year. Passing quickly from the hot desert to freezing blizzard conditions, they are now finding themselves in spectacular surroundings and coping with sobering challenges.

June 4th, 2009

hi friends and family,

we are now in Kennedy Meadows. we just went from desert to cold mountains over night and got caught off guard. we did a 30 mile day from Walker Pass then only had 20 togo but had hail in the morning then a rain storm. we were completely wet cold and exhausted. and everything in our pack was wet. not good situation. luckily there was trail angel Tom who gave us a trailer and a heater and some other hikers gave me some dry clothes. we aregoing to wait for the next systemto pass because now weare on our way toclimb Mt Whitney up to 14000 ft. Now the real mountains begin, the high Sierras!!!

June 12, 2009

Dear friends and family,
Well I wanted to write that "we made it" but we didnt. I am referring to climbing Mt Whitney, which is the tallest mountain in the lower 48, at 14,497ft. The weather has just not been cooperating. It is hard to be prepared for everything. Anyway we leave Kennedy Meadows after a 3 day recovery, we had got caught in the terrible rain storm before that. The weather forecast did not look good. Chance of snow all week with highs in the 30s and lows in the teens. Winter advisory was sent out for the Sierras. But of course we set out. The first two days was fair and with donated long johns and a sleeping bag liner, I was quite warm sleeping at 9,600ft. Then we got a major snow fall, within 2 hours there was a whiteout making the trail almost impossible to find. We continued walking to stay warm. What peacefulness. The silence and serenity. We are now walking amongst beautiful mountain scenery that is so spectacular. Sequoia an Kings National Forest and Park. High snow covered peaks and ancient sculptured trees that look like the postcards. Because of the snowfall, we didnt make it to Crabtree Meadows the next day which was where we needed to leave from for the accent up Whitney. We hiked into this incredible meadow seeing a family of deer, marmot, many little chipmunks, and trout in the creek. We left the packs there and headed up the trail to Whitney, we made it as far as Guitar Lake at 11,000ft or so. The weather was moving in and we felt it was prudent to turn back. As soon as we got back to the meadow it began snowing. We would have liked to have waited another day but we didnt have enough food. The trail is all up and down mountains now. For the next 2 nights we camp at 11,000ft, quite cold. It sure felt like winter up there, as I sit here in a nice warm hotel. But the best is still to come. So the next day we had to climb the highest point of the whole PCT trail, Forester Pass, at 13,200ft. It was the most scenic and most difficult day yet. The mountains were all covered in snow and there was no trail to be seen only a few footprints. We have no techinical equipent, no ice axe, and no crampons. We were only hoping the weather would hold and in fact the day was sunny and mostly clear. It was challenging to say the least but it was such a high to reach the top that all the effort was worth it. We didnt stay long on this tiny pass between towering peaks since we still had to get down the other side which had even more snow. Of course there was no trail to be seen but we knew it was down. After hours of trudging through the snow the feet were rather numb so we really didnt stop to eat or drink because I was too cold. After the snow it turned into running rivers of snow melt. We were very happy to find the trail finally. It was a long day and we made it to the Kearasarge Pass Trail which leads us up and over another high pass into the town of Independence. So with almost no food left we start hiking this morning at 5:45am, reach the pass at sunrise, another amazing feat which brings tears to our eyes, and we see the lowlands far far below. Lots more snow on the decent but we catch a hitch into town and are now recovering.Thats is all for now.
Alicia and Alfredo

Oil Wrestling and Bear Cannisters

Friday, May 29, 2009

Dear friends and family,
We are now in Tehachapi which is about 20 miles west of Mojave, as in the Mojave Desert. Yesterday we arrived at the road in the middle of the day, HOT, and Alfredo stood on one side of the road and I on the other and we decided we could go either way depending on which car picked us up first. Tehachapi bound won. And good thing to. Actually we were hoping for Mojave because it is easier to walk to everything we really didnt want to stand in that heat any longer than necessary.Anyway we had an interesting time since my last email. We ended up staying 3 days in Green Valley. We met Gerardo and his wonderful family and they had us over for lunch. Gerardo is and experienced mountaineer, runs on the trail every day with his wife, and resupplies the water cache twice a day for the hikers. He is also letting us borrow one of his bear canisters, great, we will be legal now and wont have to worry about losing our food in the middle of the night. Later that evening which was Memorial Day weekend sunday more hikers showed up at the Andersons. We had planned to hit the trail again but somehow we got sucked into staying. It was to be the first Oil Wrestling of the year at the Andersons. Terrie is the infamous oil wrestling mamma. Now she needed participants and somehow Alfredo and myself volenteered. It was a once in a life time experience, GREAT FUN!!!!!! Back on the trail was alot of uphill, dry, hot and waterless. I was pretty tired and Afredo started to get some serious blisters. After 40 miles covered in two days we passed the Tejon Ranch and dropped down to the Hwy 138 where Mr. Richard Scaggs opened his house to all the hikers. He opened up his kitchen to me and Alfredo and we made pasta for about 20 hikers. The next morning Richard made pancakes for any late risers. Now we are really in the miserable hot desert and most people left at 4am. We slept in and enjoyed Richards hospitality but payed for it later in the unrelenting heat along the worst stretch of dirt road with NO WATER AND NO SHADE!!!!! Took a break at the only tiny bridge, shade, at 330pm and began walking at 6pm. We walked til dark and cowboy camped on the trail. It was about 18 more miles to the road up the steep Tehchapi mts. with again little shade and water. We arrived under the enormous windgenerator windmills at 1230 to find that someone had set up a shower right on the trail. So we stripped down and washed the worst desert sand we encountered off. How refreshing!!!So as we were sitting at the Albertsons grocery eating large quantities of food and ice cream and couple comes up to us and asks if we would like to stay at their home for the night and take a hot shower. SURE, you bet! So that was Patti and Mike our new trail angels. And again they took such good care of us my mom couldnt have done better. No offence mom.That is all for now.
Much love Alicia and Alfredo

More From "Sailor" and "Pasta Alfredo"

17 May 2009

dear friends and family,

we are now in Wrightwood after 370 difficult miles in 21 days. it has been hot and mostly a waterless trail. yesterday we did a 33mile day walking from 4am to after midnight. we took a break at the interstat 15 at the mc Doanalds. onward and upward, near the San Andreas fault and toward mt san antonio at 10000ft there was no flat spot to camp so we just put the sleeping bag on the dusty trail and went to sleep. at 530am hikers were walking around me so it was time to get up and start walking up the mountain which was up to 8500ft. we were pretty exhausted so we stopped early and then hitched into town to buy more food. today is alfredos birthday and a lady at the grocery store offered her house to us. again showers laundry and food offered to us. fantastic!!!! next section is to Agua Dulce and on to the Mohave desert. hot and more dry. then onto the Sierras!!!! thats all for now.

love alicia and alfredo

Saturday, May 23

Dear friends and family,

We are now in Green Valley which is actually not far from LA. We just finished the section through the Angeles National Forest with the high mts near Wrightwood slowly working our way down to the low elevation horse country of Agua Dulce. Now this is the area where they have the most trail angels. So in Agua Dulce it was the Saufleys house. This couple has been opening up their house to hikers for 13 years and they are so organized. They have about 50 people every night and have rented tents, cots, and porto potties. Donna does all the hikers laundry and cleans up after us. There is a hiker house with kitchen and hot showers and a great Bbque. Since Alfredo is down to 131 pounds I decided that here was a good place to take the day off an eat, so I made a huge fettucini and steaks and salad and ice cream. Actually with all these hikers we are always eating. Food gets shared and passed around. This was also the place that we had to think about the high Sierras and organize for the section. There are not many places to get food after Kennedy Meadows so you either have to carry 12 days of food or kick many miles off trail and hitchhike into Bishop or Independence. Also we need a bear cannister for the bears. If anyone has one let me know.Only 24 miles away which we did yesterday, it is like we run marathons every day, we arrived to the next trail angel house, the famous Andersons. This feels more like a frat house but they have a great garden and woods in their backyard. Terri makes dinner and breakfast every day for 50 hikers!!!!Last night was taco salad with ALL YOU CAN EAT which for hungry hikers is mounds of food. I am getting a really good appitite.Next section is more desert on to Mojave or Tehachapi.

Alicia and Alfredo

The Horse Rescue

To properly appreciate this particular episode of Alicia and Alfredo's Pacific Crest Trail adventure, it helps to know that before he set off to sail around the world; Alfredo was the Italian Men's' Senior Equestrian Jumping Champion. Remarkably, that was the same year his son was the Italian Men's Junior Champion.

This email is a follow-up to the previous one, in which, Alicia didn't have time to fill us in on the particulars.. Here then, is "the rest of the story"....

hi again

I forgot to tell the horse story. or maybe I did already and I dont remember.So on the trail we met this lady riding the PCT. She had camped near us one night but left at 400am. We were on a very steep section and there was a large tree on the trail blocking her way. As she was trying to get around the tree she and the horse fell down a ravine. When she tried to get out she fell again. She was lucky not to be injured or squawished under the horse. the horse was terrorized and couldnt be moved. she ran off for help. when we came along we found only the horse and a note that she went for help. Alfredo stayed with the horse while I went after the woman to make sure she was ok. Alfredo spent 45 minutes calming the horse down and rubbing her. Then he tried to get her out but couldnt do it by himself. Soon 2 other girl hikers walked by and he recruited them to help but they didnt have force in them. The ravine was very steep with large crumbling rocks. Two more hikers came by so with their help one guy pulling the horse up and Alfredo getting the horse to move up with a whip in hand and loud commanding voice got the horse up. Then they all had to walk up the steep mountain about an hour. The lady had gone to get a helicopter resuce but since it was mothers day they said not until the following day. When she came back to the trail, she was really amazed to see her horse standing there. She was so happy. it was a happy ending.

alicia and alfredo

Hiking the PCT

Here's the second installment of Alicia and Alfredo's email updates on hiking the Pacific Coast Trail:

May 12, 2009

Dear friends and family,
we have arrived in Big Bear which is at mile 265 and day 16 on the trail. It has been an interesting section with many trail angels to support us along the way. But I can say the desert is not easy to walk in. There is still no water for most of the trail and dehydration is a big problem. We have met many other hikers along the way and we are all experiencing the same thing so we give each other support. The biggest problem is about half the people have terrible blisters. We are lucky with only minor ones. Our packs become very heavy after 10 hours of walking so we are always trying to lighten the load. I cut the extra straps off my pack while Alfredo wrapped the tent around his walking poles. The scenery has varied from desert scrub and catcus to beautiful tall pines and 9600ft peaks. We have been through the Anza Borrenga Desert Park, the San Juancito National park, San Gorgino park and now the San Bernadino national park. We went from 3500 ft up to 8000ft down to 1000ft up to 9000ft and down again. The cold wasnt the problem but the heat, it reached 107!!!!! I felt like I was roasting in an oven, miserable. We colapsed under the Interstate 10 bridge with cars roaring overhead at high noon. There was no other shade for miles and miles. As for the trail angels, Mike lives a half a mile off the trail and welcomed all hikers to stay at his place, had ribs and chicken on the bque, beer and gatorade in the cooler, etc. Then there was Tarazan at Hwy 74 with food and gatorade. In Idlywild there was Walker who opened his house to us, fed us, shower and laundry and even gave me the car to run to the grocery!!People are amazing! Daddy Dave who made us hamburgers at 9:30 in the morning in the desert heat and filled us with gatorade sport drinks. Magic trail coolers along the way full of candy bars and cold drinks! Then we walked into town yesterday and some lady at the post office offers to take us home and feed us, showers and laundry, etc. Dana and Mike have a beautiful house and they have been wonderful. Dana made us a fantastic pasta dinner and a huge breakfast this morning. I guess we are already losing a few pounds. This all sounds good but there are many long,hot miles between these goodies. Some people have already got off the trail since it is too difficult. But we feel good( at least every morning) and getting stronger everyday. I might also mention that the trail is dusty so that means we are filthy dirty every night and have to get in the sleeping bag with dirty feet and dirty hands. My contacts are a problem.I have to get going so will have to leave it at that but will cont next time about the horse adventure.
Alicia and Alfredo

Alicia and Alfredo

Friends Alicia and Alfredo on the dock at the Singlar Marina in Puerto Escondido

One of the great joys of cruising is meeting truly interesting people who have some amazing sea stories of their own. Well, at this point, Alicia and Alfredo are right at the top of that list! This is a couple who didn't even speak the same language when they met at the remote Chagos Archipelago in the middle of the Indian Ocean seven years ago. Alicia is an American from New Orleans, and Alfredo is an Italian from Milano.

Their boat, On Verra, was berthed next to me at the Police Dock in San Diego when I stopped on my way south this year. We soon got acquainted, and I found they were also headed for la Paz and some exploring in the Sea of Cortez. In Alicia's case, this was a case of re-visiting, since she had spent some time cruising in this area more than fifteen years earlier. After a couple of evenings over dinner, wine and recollected adventures, I quickly realized this was a truly remarkable couple. Their adventures span the globe, and include famous storms, shipwreck off the coast of South America and an admirable ability to subsist largely from what they are able to take from the sea.

When I met them again in la Paz, and yet again in Escondido, they were finalizing their plan for leaving their boat in Mexico to spend the summer hiking the Pacific Crest Trail from Mexico to Canada! The plan required that they get the boat to Guaymas, on the mainland side of the Sea of Cortez, before the end of April, so they could start the trek the first of May before the southern, desert sections of the trail got too hot for hiking.

Well, the long walk north is now into it's second month, and I've been getting regular emails detailing yet another remarkable Alicia and Alfredo adventure. With their permission, I'm going to copy those emails here, so the next several entrys will detail a little different variation of "sea story."

Here are the first two emails, shortly before and right after they began this hugely ambitious undertaking:

Monday, 4/20/09

Ciao,

As most of you know, we have been planning to walk the PCT, a trail from Mexico to Canada, for some time now. The last worry was trying to get Alfredo back into the US without a visa but all went well. We took the bus from Guaymas to Tucson and simply got a visa waiver at the border. From Tucson we caught a flight to SD and bought the ticket half an hour before boarding. Good price on Southwest.As for On Verra, we left her on the hard in Singlar marina seca in Guaymas totally stripped in case of a hurricane.We are staying with some friends while doing the last minute preparations here in SD. We will start on Thurs. We decided against sending us mail drops of food for the moment, we will just go with the flow of things and scavenger for food when necessary.We will try to keep you posted when we can.Would also love to here from you.Thinking of all of you.

Best wishes,
Alicia and Alfredo

Saturday, 5/2/09

hello to all you couchpotatoes,

we have just walked our first 110 miles and are presently in Warner Springs, Ca. We started on thurs. of last week, thanks to Caryn of Windflower,who gave us a ride out to the trailhead. The first day was a killer, 20 miles of desert hiking with no water, I arrived dehydrated. Alfredo was feeling the beginnings of a cold. On that first day about 60 people were walking. But the surprise came when we arrived at Lake Morena to the kick off party with organized booths and check ins. About 700 people showed up, some who have walked it in previous years and others who just love to help and support us hikers, we call those trail angels. We also happen to meet hikers that we met on the AT 5 years ago. So about 175 people are hiking this year. The PCTA and ADZOPCTKO organizers feed us all weekend. Unfortunately Afredo came down with a bad bug which led to a throat infection and then a fever. With all the trail angels looking after us he recovered quickly. On monday we walked 17 miles. The problem with this section is the lack of water, it is hot and dry. We camped at Long canyon, Pioneer Mail, Scissors Crossings which was a 25 mile day by accident( we missed the water so we had to continue), and then 4th Gate. Highlights: Had a near encounter with a rattlesnake, not smart, got blown out of the tent, and had people who drove up from San Diego looking for us to make sure we were ok. Then we walk into Warner Springs Post Office and a stranger gives us $100 to stay at the fancy ranch with hot springs, I guess he thought we really needed a shower. We were filthy dirty after 6 days on trail, the dirt was caked on us and I know we smelled. So after a wonderful shower and soak and clean clothes we are ready to hit the trail agian this afternoon. This next section is up to 9000 ft mountains and snow. I hope we dont freeze since we dont have any warm clothes. Lastly I want to let people know that this section would almost be impossible to do without the help of trail angels who actually carry gallons of water up mountains to the trail so us hikers dont die of dehydration. We thank them.So far we are having a great time and will send email at next opportunity!!!!!

Alicia and Alfredotrail names sailor and pasta alfredo

For more information on the Pacific Crest Trail, check: http://www.fs.fed.us/pct/

Jumping Manta Rays

One of the highlights of my Sea of Cortez cruising was an experience with a school of manta rays I encountered in San Evaristo, a well-protected bay adjacent to the coastal village of that name. Tucked into a cozy little cove at the north end of the bay, I was getting ready to toast the sunset when the rays caught my attention. It wasn't just that they were jumping several feet into the air and then slapping back down into the water - you see that often in these waters - it was more attention getting because it was going on so frequently and so continuously. In fact, as I watched what appeared to be a large group of these rays, the group seemed to be slowly proceeding around the cove right toward the boat. As they got closer, it was apparent that the main group of 40 or 50 rays were pretty closely grouped into a tight circle right at the surface of the water. Of course, this isn't all that remarkable, because they are surface feeders who feed on krill they find there. What was remarkable, was the behavior of the jumping rays. As they approached, it was easy to see that the jumps were nearly all performed outside of the closely grouped school, and the jumpers were consistently swimming and jumping in a clockwise circle around the main group! It also appeared that the jumps were concluded with a loud, belly flopping, slap when the rays landed back in the water.
Now, considering that manta rays are closely related to the shark family, some of the most primitive fish in the ocean, this sure looked like the kind of organized group behavior we don't usually attribute to this kind of critter. But a little online research also reveals that krill are stunned and tend to bunch up when they sense an impact nearby. Is it possible that these rays were engaging in some kind of co-operative feeding behavior - the outriding jumpers herding the krill into the circle of their feeding buddies ?! Gotta confess, I'm not enough of a biologist to answer that one, but it sure is an interesting question...



For more interesting information about manta rays, check out the website: http://www.freedive.net/mantas/mantas.htm

Catching Up

Sea Story with her sails off, the sun cover on and well secured to the dock in her summer home at the Singlar Marina in la Paz.

It's been awhile since I posted to the blog, so now is a good time to bring everyone up-to-date.

Sea Story is currently berthed at the Singlar Fidepaz Marina in la Paz. She's going to be there for the summer, because this is relatively secure berth during the hurricane season (August through October) season. Susan and Dennis Ross, with Ross Marine Services, are keeping watch on her, and she has a new sun cover to ward off the excess UV rays that are so hard on boats at this latitude.

La Paz turned out to be a fabulous port and the absolutely best part of Mexico I've experienced so far. I just can't say enough about the friendly people, the wonderful marina facilities and the fascinating sailing experiences this area provides.

I'll be spending the summer in Rocklin, California and the Minneapolis, Minnesota area, and heading back down to la Paz sometime in November or December to get Sea Story back on the water and exploring the Sea of Cortez.

More to come on some of the people I met and the places I visited this past winter season.

Down Baja and Whale Tales

Veteran Mexico crew members Doug Larson and Dennis Flick showed up in San Diego right on schedule, and we set off late in the afternoon of January 14th for what proved to be the easiest trip ever down the coast of Baja California. Unfortunately, because of the scarcity of wind, it turned out to be the trip with the least sailing as well.

Dawn was breaking on the 17th, when we entered Turtle Bay and dropped the hook just off the big pier jutting out from beach front of this dusty little town that lies nearly 130 miles from the nearest paved highway and close to the halfway point down the outside of Baja.

After refueling and a great fish taco dinner - courtesy of some of the other cruisers - we spent a calm night at anchor and headed out the next morning. We spent the next three and a half days mostly motoring and sometimes sailing the remaining 400 miles down Baja to the tip of the peninsula at Cabo San Lucas. It was along this stretch that we made a couple of the more interesting wildlife contacts on all the Sea Story trips to Mexico.

Late in the evening of our first day out of Turtle Bay, it was my watch and we were sailing slowly in the dark a few miles SW of Punta Abreojos. when the breathing sounds of several big sea mammals grew louder from behind and alongside the boat. Initially, this confused me because the blowing exhalations were louder and more frequent than you hear when dolphins are near. Yet they were not as loud, although even more frequent than the breathing sounds of grey or humpback whales.

It wasn't until one of the mystery critters passed casually within eight to ten feet of the starboard quarter and the beam of my flashlight that the realization hit me; we were being overtaken by a pod of pilot whales. Yep, they had come up alongside TO GIVE US THE ONCE OVER...! Even though there was no moonlight, we determined by the blowing and phosphorescence in the water that we had been overtaken by possibly as many as a dozen whales.

Within a few minutes the whole pod had passed by without so much a bump or nudge on the hull, and it wasn't until mid-afternoon of the next day that we sighted the whales again. This time we were motoring faster than we had been sailng in the light winds of the night before, and that let us do the overtaking- although they were not about to let us get nearly as close to them as they chosen to come by us. With the benefit of daylight we could also see that there were several individual pods of what appeared to be four to six individual whales each. They were arrayed roughly on an east-to-west line that was moving slowly to the south as were we. We estimated that there were likely as many as 50 - 60 of them in the whole group, and they seemed to spend most of their time cruising slowly on the surface as though foraging.

The rest of our trip south was less eventful and by early evening of the third day, we were rounding Cabo Falso and heading past Cabo San Lucas to a next-day anchorage at Bahia Muertos, just 8 hours short of la Paz on Baja's eastern coast. The weather had turned much warmer and Muertos gave us all a chance to clean up with a salt water swim and fresh water shower in the boat's cockpit. That evening we dinghied in to beer and dinner at an upscale beach-front cantina - a great respite after four days at sea....

The next day, we motored into Marina de la Paz, a temperature in the 70's and the beginning of another season in Mexico...


Dennis and Doug taking a swim off the stern of Sea Story in Ensenada de los Muertos (Bay of the Dead). After four days at sea, we're cleaning up before the final run into la Paz the next day. The place name doesn't mean there are dead people here, but refers to the anchoring system for the old barge docks located nearby.

Santa Barbara to San Diego

Brandy Kepner from Tradewinds shuttled our new crew to Santa Barbara mid-afternoon on Friday, the 2nd. Faced with the possibility of NE winds at Catalina Island the next day, we decided to forego a stopover at Avalon harbor - which is open to the NE - and sail directly to San Diego the next morning.


Our new crew fell right into the Sea Story routine, and after a good nights sleep, our planned departure at 8:00 AM was proceeding like clockwork - right up to the point where the gear shift linkage failed just as we were backing out of our berth! A quick mobilization to fend off from other boats, and the assistance of the Harbor Patrol got us safely back into the berth to trouble-shoot the problem. Turns out, the linkage had broken at a point that was going to require some time and effort to repair. It was also going to require a replacement part that just wasn't available in Santa Barbara. In addition, while checking the navigation light wiring, we found a short that had to be repaired before we could head out for an overnight sail.


Clearly, the situation called for come creative thinking, and that's where we lucked out. Turns out we just happened to have a crew with extraordinary mechanical skills. Bryan Saulsbury had once been a professional auto mechanic, and Derek Stroening had considerable experience repairing and modifying his own boat, a 24' Newport.


By noon, we had the navigation light rewired, and we had worked out a system of shifting gears by relaying the commands down to Bryan who could effect the shift with the control lever right at the transmission. It was a crude, but effective system, and we carefully maneuvered out of the berth and were on our way to San Diego just a couple of hours behind schedule.


The rest of the trip was much less stressful. We got in some pleasant sailing. We saw some dolphins, and we were briefly followed by a whale off Oceanside. Because of our late departure, we got into San Diego after dark, which is always a bit of an adventure. Good teamwork, GPS, radar, and the range lights on Shelter Island helped get us to the weekend anchorage at LaPlaya Cove where we dropped the hook at 8:00 PM. Somehow the celebration of our arrival managed to take another four hours, and the boat finally went quiet enough for the skipper to drift off at midnight.



The next day we used our command relay shifting system to get tied up at the Harbor Police Public Dock, and got started on one of the most difficult repair jobs I've even had to do on Sea Story. Luckily, the critical part was available (but just!), when Connie and Jennifer walked up to Downwind Marine. By noon the next day, we had the linkage fixed and operating better than it had before. Without this great crew's help, the job would have had to gone to a boatyard, so there was another celebration - this time on the skipper's bill...


After all the fixing and celebrating, the crew all the headed back to northern California with my thanks and appreciation as well as promotions from "scuppers" to "mates." * (see the movie Captain Ron
for clarification!)










Hard work, this "Skipper" job......

Derek Stroening and Jennifer Goodrich at the mast. Is it surprising that their own boat's name is Pyrateer?!

Connie LaBounty taking advantage of the sunshine and getting caught up on her reading.

Bryan "shifterman" Saulsbury taking a turn at the wheel after spotting our whale.

Our welcoming committee at the San Diego Police Dock. We think these guys were from the Navy's mamal warefare training center across the channel. We didn't catch it in the photo, but the seal threw us a salute as they passed by...

San Francisco to Santa Barbara

Click on photos to enlarge

The Good Ship Alcatraz. The famous island has an interesting profile as we depart a fog shrouded San Franciso Bay at dawn. Ian Joseph shot this with his Nikon SLR digital .

Ian and Will at the mast as we head toward the Golden Gate on December 29th. For the next two days, we alternately sailed and motor-sailed down the central California coast in moderate seas with a following wind. Other than some 25 knot breezes off Point Sur, it was an easy, though chilly, trip. We arrived at Santa Barbara in the fog on New Year's eve. A nice dinner at the Enterprise Fish Company and libations back on the boat helped us bring in the new year in grand style.






Ho-Hum. Just another beautiful sunset off the Big Sur coast.... (Ian Joseph phot0)
At this point, the pelicans pretty much own this bait barge in the Santa Barbara harbor. They're a picturesque, but really smelly bunch! (Ian Joseph photo)

Fog moving in at sunset gives the harbor an interesting mood. Looks more like Halloween than New Years Day. (Ian Joseph photo)