Poco Loco ala Mexico

Poco Loco in Spanish means a little crazy. And that is how things have
been here with us of late. At times we are sailing smooth and fast, and at
times we are going slow and rough. The sea life has been nothing short of
amazing. Dolphins every day, and we never tire of appreciating their
little visits, day and night. There is a saying, that when the dolphins
come to play, trouble is on the way. And in a way, I can vouch for that. A
few days ago we saw hundreds of dolphins and birds in a feeding frenzy.
And the next two days were seriously rough. 40 kts of wind blowing our
socks of, in a manner of speaking. We have been running both motors
simultaneously for quite a few days to try and make up some time, but
yesterday we had to accept that we won't be in time the boat show. We only
have 1500nm to go, so very near and so very far at the same time. When the
wind was really blowing hard, it would push us back south if we run just
one engine. The waves are fairly big then, and at short intervals. We
would pick up a bit of momentum, and going up a wave, and slow down to
nearly nothing as we bash into the next oncoming wave. We then slow down
the engines a bit, and find a way to keep going at the best possible
speed. We also have some mainsail up during these conditions as it helps
us to keep on a straight lie with the wind. Once the angle of the wind
changes a bit, the main sail also generates a little speed for us. The
worst run we've had was 26nm for 12 hours during the night. We did more in
four hours during the same day. That should give you some idea of being
truly optimistic, and then being truly challenged.

My darling daughter, Maryna, bestowed some beautiful pearls of wisdom to
her daddy, at the very young age of nearly 11. I phoned her and told her
that the going is rough and tough at the moment, and we are going very
slowly. She then said that the most important thing is just to keep on
going. When she was 5 she sailed with me from Cape Town to Belize, so she
knows the score. Those few words, coming from her from the other side of
the world, meant the world to me. Made me strong beyond what I could
muster. And we did just that, we kept on going through the rough weather,
and the rough weather eventually subsided. She scored 92% for maths for
her last term, so who am I to argue :)

Our next stop will be San Lucas, right on the southern tip of Baja
California. We need to fill up our fuel tanks, get some fresh provisions,
fill our water tanks and brace ourselves for what is known as the Baja
Bash. After a few days of rough, I decided to tack west last night to work
an angle back up north to San Lucas. We motorsailed and the sailing was
smooth for a change. We all had a much needed rest from the preceding few
rough days. It was heavenly. This morning at 6 as planned we tacked again
and sailing north at the moment, into the Gulf of California, and the
entrance to the Cortez Sea. Jean Jacques Cousteau, the famous French
explorer, called it the biggest natural aquarium in the world. Over 900
different species of fish here alone, and a famous breeding ground for all
types of whales, including the biggest animal on the planet, the blue
whale. Thibault's sister Melanie studied marine biology, and this is the
one place on the planet that she would love most to visit. We will be
somewhat protected from the relentless northwesterlies and the Pacific
swell, and we are looking forward to some smooth sailing once again. We
are doing about 4kts at the moment, which is not too bad, and the
conditions are also relatively calm. We plan to sail a bit into the Gulf,
and once we get a sailable angle to San Lucas, will tack west again. When
I say sailable, I should say motorsailable, as we are sailing very close
to the wind and motoring. As we won't make it in time for the boat show,
we are now just running one motor at a time.

Thibault also had a great mishap a few days ago. e had a little spell of
rain, and decided it was a great time to catch a shower in the rain. Do
some raindancing. We were having a really great time, and as usual, Thib
thought to capture it on his GoPro, less he forgets these times. We were
finished showering and busy drying ourselves, when he wanted to take one
more little video of himself with the sun breaking through the clouds in
the background. He rested his camera on the coachroof of the boat. And as
you have guessed by now, the boat swayed a bit over a swell, and he
watched in horror as his GoPro, slid off the coachroof, bounced on the
deck, onto the safety rails, and into the ocean. He was paralized from
shock as he watched his camera falling and bouncing and dropping into the
ocean. He was hugely upset, and I will not repeat the words that came out
of his mouth, as it was choice French curses and swear words. We were
motoring at the time with no wind, and he feels if he acted fast enough he
could have jumped into the ocean and had a change of saving his GoPro. He
was inconsolable and could hardly eat two bites of his supper. As with any
accident, things happen in slow motion, and he replayed it over and over
in his head, trying to figure out why he did not jump in after the camera.
We could have easily turned the boat around and fetched him again. He was
livid with himself. Nothing Stuart or myself could say or do, so we just
kept quiet and carried on with the usual runnings of a boat. Thibault went
to sleep, and probably wished that he would wake up the next morning and
realize it was all just a bad dream as we all do at times like this. He
wrote the incident down in his diary, and helped himself get over it. The
next day he shared his great loss, his dismay, his disappointment in
himself with his love Helene in France, and her reply was a great
consolation to him. He translated and said they should rather not talk
about it, and rather focus on their planned trip to the States once we
arrive. Focus on something more positive. She is planning to fly to San
Francisco, and together they will do a tour of San Francisco, L.A., Las
Vegas etc. That cheered him up tremendously. She has already sourced a
good price for a GoPro in San Francisco, being a champion organizer. Also
smiling that she wants to come with just about an empty suitcase, and buy
some nice clothes in San Francisco. And there are some very interesting
clothing shop in the Bay. A Lonely Planet guide for San Francisco she also
sourced for T has some beautiful pictures and lots of info for a tourist.
Really looks like an awesome place to spend some time in.

A day or two after Thib lost his GoPro the water was once again as flat as
a mirror, and there were quite a few turtles around. As we were just
motoring, I decided to slowly approach one . Thibault had my camera in his
hand ready to take a few pics. And yes, it was strapped around his wrist
:) My camera is also a high quality waterproof camera, and when we got
close, I asked Thib if he wanted to go and swim with the turtle and take
some underwater pics. He was elated and did not hesitate to jump in.
Stuart jumped in as well, and the two of them really enjoyed some turtle
time. The turtle was not phased at all, and they are quite curious
creatures. I drifted the boat off a bit, and after about ten minutes and
heaps of fun, went in closer to fetch them again. It was a tremendous
treat for both my crew, and they were feeling on top of the world again,
swimming in the big blue Pacific with a turtle, even stroking his shell
lightly. We could not wait to download the pics, and the pics were great.
I laughed when Thibault wrote and shared his experience with Helene, and
in his next mail told her again about his wonderful experience. She told
him that he has already mentioned it in his previous mail and that he must
focus :) He is a little absent minded at times I guess :)

Stuart is taking every day as it comes, tending to his dreadlocks, now and
then playing his didgereedo. My spelling is probably way wrong, but it is
the blow instrument the Aborigines from Australia play. We found a piece
of pvc pipe in Panama and cut it to size, and he gets some interesting
sounds out of it. He is also studying French a lot, writing words and
phrases in his book. I have the French Rocket course on my tab, Stuart on
his cellphone, and Thib who bluetoothed it for us from his Apple Mac.

And so here we are, looking forward to San Lucas. We are in great shape,
our spirits are high, and we are fully motivated to get Infinity to San
Francisco in great shape too. Our ETA I will guess to be 20 April, give or
take a few days. Until next time, once again, take care.

Over and out