Pacific Grace 2003 Leg 1

Start of the 2003 Offshore Leg 1

some sick most good

Heavy squalls last night all ok.Four fine yellow fin tuna this
morning all thrilled. We ancored 1st night in Port san Juan, left Mon at 0630.

Great sailing yesterday 10knts. Trysail, fore, jumbo, & jib

Swim stop yesterday,1000ft deep.Water 19´c,beautiful aqua
blue.Four more tuna yesterday as well as four today.We have them
for afternoon snacks!Looks like landfall Fri. 1600.All are
well.

Main,fore,P.course.Broad reach.Landfall around 2000,plan to
anchor and enter harbour Sat.morn.

In Port: San Francisco

With all the sights of San Francisco behind us we are finally
back out at sea.Its always a good feeling to return to sea as the
pace is more reasonable and community is stronger.We are supposed
to have some NW wind tomorrow,today is calm and relaxed as we
motor south.

Yesterday we enjoyed regular dolphin shows almost hourly.Also
at 1500hrs we were treated to an unbelievable whale ballet.Four
large whales(pos. grays)swam and played along side the Grace for
about 30min. A thrill for everyone.Throughout the day small birds
were landing on board for rest stops!

After a 11kt romp around Pt.Conception at 1800hrs last night
the wind died and we were forced to motor the remaining distance
to LA.We arrived at the harbour entrance just after lunch and were
warmly welcomed to our dock at the public landing.We will be here
until early Oct.

Today we left LA at 1300hrs.We saw all there was to
see,comlete with 18 of us spending 12hrs at Disney Land
yesterday.We tried every ride possible.With a steady breeze today
we enjoyed a glorious sail to Santa Catalina,one of the Channel
islands about 20 miles west of LA.A beautiful island,warmer water
and great diving and hiking.We plan to spend 3 to 4 days here
before heading to San Diego.

Left Catalina today at 0600.ETA for San Diego is 1400hrs
today.

Ah, finally back to sea.We left San Diego at 1100 after
topping up with fuel,everyone is relieved to be traveling again.We
spent a week touring San Diego and experiencing all there is to
do.Also tourist permits and fishing licenses were obtained so that
we would meet all the regulations required.Mexican fisheries
require all onboard to have a valid fishing license if you are
carrying any fishing gear at all.Our next stop will be
Ensenada.Some aboard have requested to spend Thaksgiving at sea so
we might take our time getting there.All are well on board and
both Jonny´s family and mine are complete with wives and remaining
children.

Lazy sail from San Diego,anchored in Ensenada at
1400hrs.Sunday service this morning with Turkey dinner tonight.All
well and glad to be out of the big cities.

Spent the afternoon snorkeling and exploring Isla Todos
Santos.Lots of seals,sealions,cormorants and pelicans.Left today
at 0800 southbound for Isla San Martin,a volcanic island about 100
miles away. Hope to anchor around 2000hrs.

After a full day of climbing volcanic craters,more snorkeling
and visiting with the local sea population we are once again
underway.Left San Martin yesterday at 1700hrs and have been
sailing with a gentle following wind since. Next stop Isla San
Bonitos,should arrive around 2030hrs.

Anchored last night at 2130.Had our first Drama club
presentation last night, modernized version of "Job",set in San
Pedro.Leaving tommorow for Turtle Bay on the Baja peninsula.

Had a delectable lobster feast yesterday thanks to a donation
of lobster to the Grace by the local fisherman.Out trips made to
Isla San Benito to look at elephant seals and visit the small
(10person)fishing village.Weighed anchor at 0700 today and had a
very enjoyable sail to Turtle Bay,60 miles distant.Arrived at 1730
after sailing into the bay and anchoring under sail just off the
main village.Ashore tommorow to explore.

Wonderful day exploring ashore and playing with all the local
children on the beach.All ashore were greeted with smiles and
"Hola",as we walked the streets of the village.Leave tonight for
La Paz area.

Left Turtle Bay last night heading south.This morning we
recieved updated weather indicating that there is some contrary
weather approaching Cabo San Lucas so we have decided to return to
Turtle Bay untill this settle down.Plan to arrive tonight.

Left Turtle Bay today and are slowly heading south.Forcast is
for contrary weather to dissapate.Wonderful lazy sailing
today.

Mostly calm today.Had 45min swim stop in lovely warm clear
water.Forgot to mention that 4 days we had a 45-50lb. Wahoo up to
the side of the boat and almost on deck when it gave one last
fighting jerk and released itself much to our disapointment.We
were redeemed today when Noah pulled in a 25lb. Dorado which all
are planning to enjoy for mugup.All is well and we are making
progress south.I talked to a Cruise ship Captain while on watch
last night an he mentioned that no noticable affects were felt
from the depression further south as he was traveling through the
area we are heading for.

Bowsprit hanging started today,water very warm.Saw sea
turtle,flying fish and many leaping dolphins.Roast beef,Yorkshire
puddings and "JJ"mashed  potatoes,MMMMMMM.

Warm and clear again, water is about as warm as a tepid
bath. Lost a large Dorado today. Also we had a 6-7´ shark take our
tuna lure this morning. Wendy F. casually pulled in the line
thinking it was a small tuna until the prize reached the side of
the Grace at which point it ran. We coaxed it back along side twice
more with all our strenghth so we could get a good look at
him. Then all at once the shark decided that the game was over and
he was gone. On inspection of the lure it was obvious that the
steel leader was bitten clean through. Great excitment for all.

Elske´s 17th birthday today.We have all decided that she is
going to walk the plank today,ssshhh,"MOMS" the word.Entered the
Sea of Cortez last night.Heading for Esprito Santo,Lapaz in a
couple of days.P.S [ JA loves AMcK ]

Anchored between Isla Partida and Espiritu Santo last night at about 1730 hrs.Had a wonderful party last night for Elske,complete with dancing,"Back Street Boys",sparkling punch and fireworks.This morning we shifted to another nearby anchorage and spent the day swimming, snorkling,lunching ashore and just enjoying the spectacular weather and water.Water so clear and you can see the anchor lying on the sand 60 feet below.Beautiful turquoise anchorages all around.Leaving for LaPaz tomorrow.

Arrived at Isla San Francisco yesterday at 1500hrs and
anchored near a reef on the north side of the island.Great
snorkling with moray eels,schools of multicolored fish,puffer fish
and even a turtle.We stayed the night and then moved to a favorite
beach in the morning where the rest of the day was spent
swimming,snorling and climbing the nearest peaks.We set off north
again at 1600hrs today bound for the oldest town on the Baja pen.
Loreto.Should arrive near breakfast tomorrow.

Arrived at Loreto at 0700hrs on Nov.3.We spent and enjoyable
day exploring the oldest settled community on the Baja Pen.During
the evening from 1600 to 2200hrs trainees and crew were treated to
a spectacular dinner made possible by Doug and Catherine Makaroff
from Victoria.Doug is involved in a development project based in
Loreto Bay.We spent the evening at the Camino Real,a beautiful
hotel on the beach just outside Loreto.Two rooms were made
available to us for showering,there was a choice of four pools to
swim in and a lovely beach to relax on.At 6pm dinner was served to
us at tables set up on the beach itself.All kinds of Mexican
dishes were available buffet style.There was
seafood,chicken,steak,pasta,fresh salsa,even a birthday cake for
our over the hill Skipper.During our meal we were serenaded by a
Mexican trio that wandered from table to table and sang romantic
Spanish tunes to all.The evening was rounded out with dancing and
hanging out with each other.Cathy is a former offshore crew member
and her husband Doug has been on the SALTS Board.This whole event
was organized by them from Victoria.Doug and Cathy our night spent
at the Camino Real was sereal.We were all spellbound for most of
the eveving.We all send our thanks for an unforgetable night.
As you all can see we are underway again south bound for Isla
Isabela,60 miles north of Puerto Vallarta.Left Loreto at 0800hrs
and have about a two days of sailing ahead of us.

Sailing under main,maintop,courses and a rafee which has been
designed and built by Dugald.A rafee is a triangular sail which
sets above the yard for down wind sailing.We purchased some
ripstop nylon in San Pedro which was used aboard a large racing
class yacht.Our rafee is white and adds about a knot to our speed
in the ideal breeze.Should arrive at Isabella some time tomorrow
night.

Another unforgetable 24hrs.Ran through the night with
main,courses and rafee making at times over ten knts.Light wind
this morning so we are motoring.Stopped at 1100hrs for a swim
break and had a very rare opportunity to swim with a group of
about ten dolphins,absolutely stunning.Shortly after our swim stop
the fish bell rang and to our delight there was a 60lb Yellow Fin
tuna on the line.After a bit of excitment Peter landed the fish
and we now have dinner.All in all not a bad day and its only
noon.Looks like Isabella by about 1900hrs today.

Arrived at Isabela at 1900hrs last night under an allmost full
moon and calm sea.Today was spent exploring the island.Isabela is
known for its bird population.Thousands of sea birds make this
island home.Some of the more interesting are the Frigate bird with
their large red puffed up chests.As well as the birds we saw
iguanas and agian had excellent snorkeling trips to the outer
reefs.Tonight was spent celabrating John A´s birthday.Bob Barker
from the "Price is Right"show arrived(alias Peter M) complete with
assistants and we had our own show aboard.Great fun.Should be in
P.V. tomorrow around 1100.Its hard to believe this leg is allmost
over.

Arrived in P.V. at about 1200hrs local time and had to wait until 1900 to have enough water to be able to enter the channel leading into the harbour. As it was we entered with only 2´ of water under the keel.

We are now safely tide up at a great facility known as Marina Vallarta. We enjoyed the treasured moment of recieving mail from our shipping agent and look forward to a great week ahead preparing for the next leg.