On to Isla San Francisco

October 7, 1012      

The Sierra de la Gigantia range

As we pull out of the anchorage and head out into the sea the wind diminishes rapidly, no longer being funneled into the cove. I am at the helm as Larry pulls up the anchor; he “encourages" me to drive…and I do. I felt lousy earlier but the morning air is fresh a nd I soon forget how miserable the previous night was. The beautiful shadows on the Sierras to our left on the Baja, the deep blue of the water and a cool breeze make the trip a pleasure, even as I get lessons in reading instruments and understanding gauges. At one point Larry goes below to take a nap…confidence in my abilities or stupidity?

After an hour or so the wind picks up a bit and we decide to put the jib out. The winds are from the south/southwest and add a few knots to our speed. It takes several hours to reach our latest destination, Isla San Francisco but the views along the way are spectacular.
We receive a call on the radio from Seychelles letting us know that they, too, will meet us at San Francisco.

A little after lunch time we pull into another gorgeous anchorage. Here the water is turquoise, looking more Caribbean than Pacific, and so crystal clear you can see a crab walking on the bottom as we anchor in 22 feet of water. This is a stunning cove with white sandy beaches and rock faces that drop nearly straight down to the water. John and Nickie on Seychelles swims over for a visit and I make plans to hike with them the following day.

John with noodles

That evening, after a brief swim and some some snorkeling, we rinse off and I fix dinner. Actually, it is way too warm to use the oven on board so most of the entrees (Larry’s meat and my veggie substitute) are cooked on our new Dickenson grill on deck with the Captain being the main chef. I play the role of sous chef making side dishes and salads below. It’s an odd phenomenon to me: food tastes really good while at sea yet I don’t find myself hungry often. I used to attribute that fact to being sea sick, but there seem to be other factors at work. Larry and I have an agreement, anyway. We only eat when we feel hungry. This makes for disjointed mealtimes but we find we are both happier and more comfortable when we don’t overeat.

We are both really tired from the lack of sleep the previous night so it’s a quick wash up and on to bed.