MEXICO!

Hola from Mexico!

After exiting the San Diego Harbor in the dark and then setting our course 7 miles offshore, our journey was exciting as it would conclude Paul's journey down the entire Pacific Coast (no easy feat!) which began off Canada in the San Juan islands and ending in Ensenada, Mexico:  total mileage count of 1292 nautical miles!

We motored in the complete darkness, the only light we had were illuminated clouds from San Diego and our navigation instruments.  I was on look-out in all directions, for lights possibly coming from freighters.  We did see several lights on the horizon and as they grew larger, we saw they were mostly commercial fishing boats that were probably going fishing off the Corona Islands and later, the Todos Santos Islands.  I felt safe while looking up at our steaming light and our other nav lights, knowing we were visible to others, but we kept our radar on just the same.

We had a short 7 nm motor from San Diego to the Mexican border and we were prepared:  orange juice and champagne for mimosas!

"Houston, we have crossed into Mexico!"

Paul's impromptu Mexican outfit, complete with a little dance:  our blanket and the Mexican flag on his head.

And....more celebrating.

Who needs the orange juice, just gimme the champagne!

As we toasted Paul's journey, I looked at the Mexican coast and saw the "fence" the Bush Administration built to keep illegal immigrants out.  I could see it lit up and it seemed to roll over the hillsides without end.  Lights were coming on in the towns as dawn arrived, but it was still too dark for me to take photos.

When there was enough light, we hoisted our Mexican flag.

Per international sailing regulations, the flag of your nationality is the top flag, with a smaller flag of the country you're visiting next.  

I added da Hawaiian flag for effect, and you can see our Hawaii Yacht Club burgeee flying proudly!

Jan polishing the bronze badge that originally came with Pink.  It says
"Newporter
Ackerman Boat Works, Hull Number 53, 1957."
Pretty classic stuff.

We put up our two staysails and motored along nicely, averaging between 5.1 and 6.2 knots.  Paul wanted to take a nap and I stayed topside to watch for debris and other boats, but before he went below,  we decided to put out a fishing line to see if we could possibly catch some dinner.

Maybe THIS time we'll get lucky and catch something!

A short video of starboard to port side, Mexico's coastline is barely seen off the horizon.

And then...a WHALE was coming right at us off the starboard side!

It was BIG and coming right at us!

Paul pulled in the fishing line, we didn't want to snag it and go for a wild ride!  I'm not sure what kind of whale it was, but I had previously read that humpbacks, blues and gray whales were frequently seen off Mexico.

We saw the Todos Santos islands to our starboard side which are 12 miles off Ensenada.  There were a few fishing boats there, and it's a famous surfing spot that gets really, really big.  The surf breaks are only accessible by boat.

We were advised by the woman at Seabreeze Nautical Books and Charts to stay right down the middle of Todos Santos and the Mexican coastline.

According to the GPS, we were nearing Ensenada Harbor when all of a sudden there were hundreds of dolphins (or were they porpoises?) coming at us from behind.  Were they hunting?  Or rushing to catch us to play in our bow wake?  Or.....were they being chased?  I had also read that orca had been sighted off Mexico too, and open ocean orca eat dolphins.

On the port side...so beautiful as they flew by!

You can see the coastline in the background.

..and a few stragglers on the starboard side too, still swimming furiously FAST!

Only one stopped to ride our bow wake but he didn't stay around long.  We think they were chasing a large school of fish.

We came in closer to land and knew Ensenada was near because we saw more fishing boats flying the Mexican flag going past us.

And 13 hours later, there it was...Ensenada Harbor with the biggest flag I have EVER seen!

Ok, where's the harbor entrance?  

The GPS didn't show those details, which is why we wanted to arrive during daylight hours, so we  followed the fishing boats in.   Once inside the harbor, it was chaos.  Large freighters unloading containers, lots of fishing tour boats blaring Mexican music with lots of people in orange lifevests laughing and screaming, and the water in the harbor was brown.

We followed everyone's path around the perimeter of the harbor, not knowing if it would be too shallow to go through the center (more on that later) and located the dock for the Baja Naval shipyard, our destination, and we called them on VHF 77.

After a little bit of confusion, we were instructed to where our slip was and we tied Pink up securely, as this harbor had a lot of surge.  Once secured, we went to the Immigration and Customs office to get both ourselves and Pink Cloud cleared to legally be in Mexico.  What a fiasco!

After delivering the required documents to the Baja Naval office, we went out on the street to find something to eat, namely ceviche!

Lethal speedbumps.

We found a nice restaurant that made delicious ceviche (made with fish) and the owners lavished us with samples of their wares.  They knew we were American, and I think that's why they paid special attention to us.  Needless to say, we were stuffed!

Chocolate clams.

HAD to try these, as Miss Coni told us about these while in Dana Point.

Musicians that came to play music at our table.  They were funny, the actually asked Paul for more tip!

Jan is in the casa!

We were exhausted after our 13-hour journey, so we showered and returned to Pink for a good night's sleep, listening to the lines creaking in the surging tide!

Next up...Pink comes out of the water to prepare for her makeover!