Return to Catalina

When we had boats in California, we used to spend a week every year at Catalina Island.  The last time was in 2003 with my cousin Larry and his wife Sandy.  We took them there on Iron Rose to compete in Catalina Triathlon. It was their introduction to sailing, and they decided to crew with us to Mexico. This year my son Jon got a great deal with a partial partnership with Mike, the owner and developer of a couple of electrically powered sailboats.  We took the Colombia 9.2 in the second photo to Catalina. First to Two Harbors and then to Avalon. It was Jon's wifes first time on Catalina and we all loved it.  The winds were favorable and for the first time I got to sail most of the way from the mainland to the Island (we always sailed back).  We free dove the underwater park, and I got to take the ferry for the first time as well.  A great weekend!

Cocktails in Martini Cove, Bird Entertainment, Soggy Peso

 We took the dingy to Martini Cove, so called because it is a popular place for cruisers to go for cocktails, the large rocks create shade in the late afternoon, and it is an easy dingy ride from the Marina.  We were entertained by the Great Blue Heron. When we returned to the marina there was a Great Blue Heron and an Olive Night Heron on the adjacent boats. We took Jon and Hamilton to the Soggy Peso for dinner. 

Good Crossing, Full Moon Party

 We had good sailing winds for the crossing from Santa Rosalia to San Carlos, and arrived at Bahia Algadones at around 4 pm.  We had anchored our first boat there in 1978, and spent part of August of 1990 at the Club Med which is no longer there.  We anchored off the Soggy Peso, one of the former Club Med restaurant locations, in time for the full moon party. The last photo shows the moon with part of San Carlos in the background and Linda's profile in the foreground.

And Still More dive photos

Yes, the dive with Hamilton and Jon was a highlight of the 2012 cruising season for me.  Here are some more photos.

More dive photos

Here is our novice diver, Hamilton, leading Jon and I into an underwater cave.   A rare photo of me underwater (I am usually the photographer). You can see what a relaxed dive Jon is.  In the last photo, Hamilton has a close encounter with the bull seal.

Hamilton's First Dive

My son Jon and I learned to SCUBA dive together, 25 years ago.  We both love it, and now, Jon's daughter, Hamilton, has been certified.  It was a big thrill for both Jon and I to make 4 open water dives with her off San Pedro Martir Island, off San Carlos.  She was relaxed on the first dive, even with sea lions all around us, like the big bull in the photo.  She is a fearless diver like her dad, and nothing seemed to rattle her.  We made another dive the next day out of our dingy in Marini Cove, just outside the Marina San Carlos entrance.  Not great conditions, but always fun to get wet with my grand kids.

Coronados

 This is out of sequence, as they were taken with my dive camera (and on a different picasa album).  They show the beautiful white sand beaches of the Coronado Islands off Loretto, and the clear waters.  Dolphins swam thru the anchorage twice a day, and the diving was pretty. I "grabbed a little daylight" in the one shot. Really tough to grab those rays just as the photo snaps! Our favorite anchorage. No matter where the wind blew or how strong, we had a comfortable ride.  The eclipse of the sun occurred while we were there and we watched it thru welding glass courtesy of Bill and Diane, on the True Love.  On our favorite night, we heard a whale slapping the water in the anchorage with his tale, and when we came on deck, there were thousands of fish making a light show in the water due to the phytoplanketon bloom.  Amazing, Linda got up and watched it for hours several nights in a row. Sorry, photos did not turn out.

Iron Church, Old Loading Structure, Santa Rosalia "Bay"

 The church in the first two photos was designed by Gustave Eifel (yes that tower) and brought from France to Santa Rosalia when the French were running a large mining operation.  The Loading Structure is over 100 years old, and was used to load ships inside the artificial breakwater that forms Santa Rosalia Bay.  The last shot is taken from across the bay from the Marina. There was a carnival there the night we arrived from Punta Chivato, so a very noisy time. 

Conception Bay, Santa Rosalia

I finally got Linda to free dive with me in her wetsuit, 2 years old, worn once.  We had a nice shallow water dive around some of the islands in Conception Bay, a 20 mile long "sea within a sea" where I gathered the cockles in the second photo and steamed them for dinner with Steve and Susan.  While in the Bay, we went to the famous pig roast on Saturday night at the Serenidad Hotel in Muleje, where we had a great evening of food and drink with friends.  The last 2 photos are of Santa Rosalia Marina, located where there once was a large copper mine and smelter operation run by the French. It is the cheapest marina we have moored in.  As you can see from the office photo, everything is on the honor system.

Nixon nose point, San Juanico, Steve and Susan, Power Boat friends

 Doesn't this look like Nixon's profile? this year, the winds were out of the South, so we bypassed the beautiful San Juanico coves we normally anchor at, for La Ramada, on the north side with good protection from the strong southwest winds.  We met Steve and Susan while hiking to the main cove, and shared dinner and cocktails on board several times.  One of the other cruisers in La Ramada had harvested several chocolate clams and hosted everyone for a great clam bake.  We orignally planned to hold it on the beach but the winds were too strong, so we gathered on another Cal 246 like ours, for cocktails and clams. We hung out with Steve and Susan and enjoyed cocktails and dinner on each other's boats all the way to San Carlos. Power Boats have more room for their length, but don't do well in a wind or anything more than moderate seas.  Steve and Susan delayed crossing to the mainland until early morning when the wind and seas were calmer.