900 Miles From Home

Cabo's bars and nightclubs were at full roar when we left this morning at 4:00. We slipped the dock lines and motored out on the inky bay, much calmer than the boisterous city we were leaving behind. Abreast the arch we raised the main: the pale towering rocks faintly luminescent in the starry night.

Chrissy and I went back to our bunks, and I didn't awake until the 'oohs' and 'ahs' of sunrise caught my ear. A herringbone of pink shot across the sky; a golden fire burned behind the craggy mountains. And then it was day - Saturday March 13 2010 - and I was on my final leg home, just 900 miles away.

We left on a Saturday for two reasons. First, the wind to the north has been a bit brisk - making for a potentially unpleasant ride. And secondly, it is bad luck to leave port on a Friday. (I've done THAT before, and I don't know if it's to blame for the ugly outcome of that journey, but I'm not willing to test it.)

It's also bad luck to have bananas onboard - so along with our other massive food prep, I made banana muffins (I cheated: mashing up the pulp into some spice cake batter.) According to Madeleine, Hawaiian lore tells that the Gods will look down and if you have bananas, forbid you fish - because you already have food onboard. Hopefully, with our bananas disguised as muffins and hidden in the oven AND three 'irresistible' new lures I purchased in Cabo, we will have some luck.

Plans are to motor sail as far as Bahia Santa Maria where we'll rendezvous with HORIZON, try to barter for some lobsters from the local fisherman, and revisit the weather forecasts. Right now it's blowing about 20 on the nose, and we are hobby-horsing quite a bit (with a few massive SLAMS now and then) so this is certainly tolerable, but not pretty. I will write more when I can. Sending love.

1540PST
23 52 287N
110 57 079W

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