October - November, 2005
Baja Ha Ha Reports

Here are some Baja Ha Ha excerpts and pictures from Ken Wilson aboard Laurelai and Chris Mellor/Kelley Montana aboard Sensei (that's the Norsemann 447 that grew from their I-36 Spindrift). Crew on Sensei included Smokey Stover (Evanescence) and Tim Shea (Lean Times). Joe and Sandy Vanni, the owners of Zephyrus, I-36 berthed in Ventura, crewed on a Catalina to Cabo then on to the mainland. In addition Barry Stompe and Sylvia Stompe (Tom Cat) were aboard the catamaran Profligate and took the pictures below. Thus at least six Association boats were represented this year.

From Laurelai

Subject: La Paz
Date: Fri, 2 Dec 2005

Hello. All!

I made it to La Paz on November 15, The trip from Cabo here went well, although we lost our engine coolant right outside of Cabo and had trouble with heating the rest of the way. Had some bad weather on the second day and ended up entering the La Paz channel after dark. We made it in fine, but a little later the sailboat SeeYa ran aground in the channel and was lost.

La Paz is great. Lots of US and Canadian boats, The weather has been generally pleasant, and there are lots of things to do and see.

Haven't seen or heard of the elusive Rocinante. She may be here in another marina somewhere; I haven't had a chance yet to see the marinas north of Marina La Paz. I never got any pictures of the two Islanders when we were in the bay at Cabo. Sorry.

I hope to stay in touch with you, and please tell the members to email me any questions they may have. Also, if any members want to come down and stay or sail on Laurelai they would be most welcome. Round trip air from LA is about $235 on Aero california, so I hear.

Ken Wilson
laurelai36@yahoo.com
Aboard Laurelai
Marina Abaroa
La Paz, Mexico

From Sensei

We are swinging at anchor 2 miles North of Isthmus Cove at Emerald Bay on Catalina.

We had a second beautiful day snorkeling over craggy reefs outlying Emerald Bay. This place is lousy with the state fish of California: the Garibaldi, a neon orange prowler with a large grumpy brow. The kelp forests wave in the gentle surge as we flutter through mazes and passageways through it all. I was swimming serenely underwater at the end of the dive today when I came upon a shark, only about 2 feet, maybe leopard I'm not sure. It turned tail and ran as fast as I did! The weather has been very calm, reducing waves and increasing underwater visibility. Claire is screaming with delight quite a lot, a funny sound through her snorkel.

We blew up our two man (actually one kid and one adult) kayak and explored the coastline during dawn hours.

I scrubbed Sensei's bottom yesterday using my new hookah. I have changed 3 zincs, too. It is a new twist using my familiar hand tools to put in a screw or turn a nut while floating underwater, my head banging the hull, looking through a mask and hearing my inhale, exhale and bubbles like thunder. I felt a little like David Bowman in "2001 A Space Odyssey", "Open the pod bay doors, HAL."

I hope life with the Islanders is proving as rewarding as it was for us during our time there.

Chris, Kelley, Claire & Nelly

[Click to enlarge] [Click to enlarge] [Click to enlarge] [Click to enlarge]
Lorelei Sensei ahead Sensei Sensei in company
[Click to enlarge] [Click to enlarge]
Big raft-up Sensei Southbound



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