Sierras Baja adventure 2020

[hardee]

Micah, I am really envious of your "big" radio. What a kick to have that kind of radio coverage. Hummmmm, some folks think I already have an antenna farm. Nothing like yours though. Enjoy the good weather.

(I do like my ICOM M-406.

Harvey
SleepyC

[llcundiff]

We are converting a 1984 Classic into a 28 Custom. I hope we can take it on some great trips like this.

[Micahbigsur@msn.com]

Harvey, we've been back out to the islands again in a different bay for a few days about 1 1/2 hours north of La Paz. This time we had more of the weather I remember, clear skys, calm nights with an afternoon sea breeze and low 80s temps. We checked in to the ham net, the net controller was down in Chapala in southern Mexico and we had a nice chat. Our Icom 706 III G is 100 watts compared to our previous big 802 Icom at 150 but it is physically smaller than our Standard horizon Matrix GPS, AIS VHF, truly an amazing transceiver no longer imported from Japan because of its selenium components being outlawed!!! I put in an over the top ground plane and I think that makes it so strong in output.

We used the Spectra watermaker for the first time, pretty amazing seeing cristal clear drinking water made out of the salty Sea of Cortez. Our flowmeter was showing over 8 gallons an hour. It draws 8 amps and our solar was making over 14 in the midday sun.

This trip we had clear sunny skys so our solar system (390 wattsof panels) was making over 86 amp hours a day and with our 2 group 31 batteries overnight with lights, fridge freezer and anchor light we were at 75 % charge the next morning, so we were back at full charge before noon.

This trip we went to Ensenada el Cardonal, again on Isla Partida. It is a narrow bay about a mile deep open to the west and was well protected from the 15 knot north westerlys. We did a long calm morning drift along the shore taking photos and watching the wildlife. The bay bottom is sand but the rocky shore extends out enough to drift over healthy looking groups of corals. The fish, Sargent majors, King Angel's, needle fish and so many other bright colored tropical fish just under the dinghy. There was one spire of rock over a hundred feet high out from the cliffs that had a huge pile of branches made into a nest with an Osprey aboard watching us drift by. A lot of the more broken parts of the cliffs had huge Cardon cactus growing right to the waters edge.

One of the the other boaters stopped by in his kayak saying he saw fleets of C-dorys on a cruise on his boat to Alaska, I think he was surprised to see one down here. Dana who had been admiring his expedition trawler asked what it was, he told her it was a Flemming 55 with 2 big Mann diesels. It has a fairly low superstructure, not all cabin, and looked very capable, he said he had been back and forth several times between Mexico and Alaska, a really nice down to earth guy. (Just in case Dana wants to put one on her credit card I just looked them up you can get a really nice 15-20 year old one for 3/4 million up)....

Back at the dock for the upcoming big Mardi Gras week, the towers of speakers are going up along the city Malacon, I can here a band starting up early now, they are LOUD! many cruisers flee for the week, but with the colorful parade floats, marching clubs of high school kids, street food vendors, bands day and night it is fun mayhem and definitely a festive celebration we enjoy.

Adios amigos!

[Micahbigsur@msn.com]

Well our time in La Paz and the southern islands is up. We are stocking up for our trip back up to Puerto Escondido and Loreto on Monday.
Our trip may not be as long as we would like, La Paz has it's first known case of Corona virus. Dana is worried as a nurse that with exponential increases traveling may become difficult or at least lead to more exposure. At home we would be 1,200' up along a mile long dirt road on an organic farm, very isolated. We planned to be heading back in early May but that may be the peak time of the virus, what will that be like on a 5 day road trip and across a border? Many of you live in Washington and know what is going on there, any ideas? I have been a damn the torpedoes full speed ahead guy my whole life. But Dana is a nurse and is worried, I am at a loss for what to do, any serious advice from C-brats would be welcome....head home soon?

[Teufelshunde]

I’m a damn the torpedo’s type of person too “but” I would rather be in the U.S. if I or family were to become sick.
So far it seems to be worse for people 65 and older especially with underlying conditions.
I just had to cancel my trip to Hawaii this coming Monday because of all this but I felt it to be the right thing to do as I would not enjoy my trip with restaurants / stores / schools closing and the general panic that I see and hear about.
Just my 2 cents!
Be safe

[Micahbigsur@msn.com]

Thanks for your thoughts. There is something disconcerting about being far from home as this becomes more serious.

[tomherrick]

Yeah, concert in Nashville cancelled for next weekend. Was headed from there to Baltimore, but the more I learn, the more I'm willing to hunker down here in the shop.

The Washington Post ran an interesting article that provides some perspective on mobility and contracting viruses. It helped me finalize my decision to hang at home.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2020/world/corona-simulator/?itid=hp_hp-top-table-main-8-12_virus-simulator520pm%3Ahomepage%2Fstory-ans

[smckean (Tosca)]

I'm also a torpedo guy.

Since you asked......I wouldn't allow the virus to force me back....at least not yet. Your situation on a boat as you are is about as safe a place as you could be. Yes, you might have challenges getting back home if this thing turns into a mega-disaster, but there is always a way to step up to whatever challenge one is actually in the middle of (much like being in a storm at sea).

What would have me change that philosophy is if you, or anyone around you, has an immune system that is not up to par. You can't take the chance with a poor immune system (or a significantly compromised respiratory system for whatever reason).

[Peter & Judy]

I can't speak from a US perspective, but here in Canada our Prime Minister has asked all Canadians abroad to get back home. This includes the hundreds of thousands of snow birds in the southern US and Mexico. International borders are closing fast and there is a fear that the Canada/US boarder might be included. I would suspect that the US/Mexico border would do the same, perhaps even ahead of the northern border. My suggestion would be to get yourself on the US side of the border soon. The greatest risk for Canada is the infection coming on a large scale across the 49th parallel.

We are hunkering down on our remote ranch with the nearest neighbour 1/2 mile away. We are also looking at bringing my 88 year old mother out here from Calgary. Our plan was to head out to Vancouver Island in April, but all of that might be put on hold. The speed that this is effecting Europe is alarming and we are not making any long term plans for the year that require reservations or advance planning. We are hoping to have an active year, but preferably on a boat or camping, hiking and kayaking.

Interesting note. Canada's Prime Minister Trudeau is in self isolation in his home because his wife Sofie picked up the Corona virus on a trip to England. He is running the government from his house electronically.

Stay safe and healthy everyone.

[localboy]

Oh, boy. I was wondering if you were considering all this. For us, getting back INTO the U.S. would the the worry. Stupidity leads to panic. And panic leads to insanity... I'd rather be in the U.S. than a 3rd world country. It's just prudent.

Up here in WA, we are seeing and dealing with both panic and insanity. There are people that have literally lost their minds. I don't know the percentage, but you can see the results. Are they the majority? I don't know. They are acting like The Walking Dead is occurring and the world is literally coming to an end. To hell with facts. To hell with science. PANIC!!!!! I'm not kidding nor exaggerating. The stores are being ravaged. Stupid things like water and TP. Fights are literally breaking out! Why? The water system is not in danger! My FIL just witnessed a fight in a Costco over the last rotisserie chicken on the shelf! Those people are listening to the MSM and "social media" and are doing exactly what both want them to do. Lose your mind and panic.

Look at the facts. Who is most at risk? People over 60 who have compromised immune systems or people with underlying, pre-existing medical conditions like heart disease, lung disease, diabetes etc. Most of our deaths in WA can be attributed to one location: an elderly care/nursing home facility in Kirkland. Children/young adults seem to deal with it fine, yet the "governor" closed all schools for 6 weeks? Huh? Why?

I work with a guy who's dad tested positive. He is 70, a former smoker with diagnosed "glass lungs". He felt like he had a cold and his wife is asymptomatic, as of yesterday. I just asked Shawn yesterday, and he said his dad is improving daily.

Be prudent. Be smart. Think. Don't be a mindless drone and panic. I'm washing my hands, a LOT. I'm disinfecting surfaces at work, as I have done previously. I carry an N95 mask (always have at work) and use it when needed. I use a lot of nitril gloves (again, always have at work). Not because I'm panicking but because first responders deal with the dregs of society and it's just prudent.

I'm more concerned with what this is doing to my 401k and the world wide economy.

[Micahbigsur@msn.com]

Thanks all, we have to be back by early May anyway, me for ranch work I have put off and Dana's nurse job. We've decided to head back, not in panic mode but just less lazing about down here. With winds generally from the north here it will still take awhile to get back up to Puerto Escondido and our truck, one short cruise out of there out to Isla Danzante and then a few days to decommission the boat and get it on the trailer after that it is about 5 days home. Hopefully it won't be a panic zone by then. Outside our little ranch community our closest neighbors are over a mile away so we will assess what comes next when we get back in early to mid April.
We finally got our electronics sorted after several phone calls thanks to Ryan at Sportcraft Marina our Suzuki dealer


Thanks for all the advice, we head north from La Paz tomorrow at 0 dark thirty, we will check back in when we can.

[hardee]

I love to travel. I would hate to be sick on the boat, or in a foreign country. I would really hate to be sick and trying to get back into the USA or the process getting home if I was sick. I spent 30 years as a Respiratory Therapist. I have seen people die from Chicken Pox, Measles, Flue (several variations over the years), Pneumonia (often as a complication secondary to on of the previous mentioned diseases). But, I have seen people die from car accidents, falls, knife and gun wounds, hypothermia and broken hearts.

Some of those things I listed can be avoided. Some easier than others, for sure, but still avoidable. So, Can the results of getting sick be bad? YES, and fatal, but not always. So, individually we have to weigh our willingness to risk exposure and need to. AND, we need to remember that our exposure is not just for US personally, but for our spouse, family, friends, neighbors, or strangers we may come across.

So, if I was out on a boat in Mexico, and had the possibility being self supporting, self decontamination, and could stay that way for the next 2 or 3 months, I'd be tempted to stay, and stay isolated as possible, decontaminating after any contact. I believe this is going to blow over, after a while, but it may be a couple of months. IF, Decontam, and Isolation are not possible I would get home where it is possible to "shelter in place" where you have access to food, water and disinfectant AND isolation. Of course, If there are any underlying health conditions, I would want to be where I could get access to medical care if and when needed.

AS to the state of affairs in Washington, The Covid 19 positive cases is going up everyday, as is the death rate,(40 as of 3/15/20) and the counties with positive cases is increasing, with most in the Seattle/Puget Sound area, with Spokane in the second running.

Is life like normal here? Not really, but is it worth panicking. NO. Walmart is closing early and opening late so they an clean. Can't say I have been into any restaurants, not eating out much, but that's not new for me. Church services are either not happening or are very decreased in attendance, schools are closed, and community services like the Senior Center are closed. I carry disinfectant wipes in the care and use them every time I come back to the car. It was a beautiful blue sky day today, just cold (like 45), but it is all good.

Hope that helps provide some perspective.

Harvey
SleepyC

[Micahbigsur@msn.com]

We had an interesting cruise today, 85 miles between Isla San Francisco and Puerto Escondido we arrived here at 11:30. We have a bad wind forecast the next few days so we didn't stop at the Agua Verde anchorage. We had the bottom cleaned just before we left so our mpg went up to around 2 at 23 mph, 4900 rpm. We have been in Baja on and off for years and this year is unusual, we have had very few calm sunny days, the clouds streaming up from the equator never seem to stop. Twice we had to slow down to 10 mph for half an hour as wind fronts went through and as happens here the chop picks up quickly, windshield wipers on and salt spray blasting over the boat. In one bad stretch I thought I saw a white water wind line coming up, a long white line stretching way out side to side ahead, dark clouds sinking down to just above the sea.....it was moving away from us as we slowly overtook it we realized it was a pod of all pods of dolphins literally thousands as far as you could see leaping out of the water and turning it into a froth of white water. They were the small ones you see sometimes down here, we somehow managed to make are way through them as they were also leaping in front of the boat, no doubt chasing dinner. They definitely made our day!

[localboy]

Micah, put the pedal down...

From the news today:

[Discovery]

We have been in Mexico since Jan. 4th. Caravaning with Americans and Canadians. We cut the caravan short and exited Mexico at the Nogales Mariposa crossing on 3/20. The Canadians were concerned about the border closing. Nogales crossing was a zoo and took 3.5 hours. There was no mention of Corona Virus or even any health questions from CBP. They just took our pork, vegies and eggs and said welcome back.