The Quid Sea sailing adventure started on September 2nd, 2024. Cindy saw me off and me and my 2 crew mates departed from Portland, Oregon, early morning on Labor Day, September 2nd. We motored down the Columbia River to Astoria where we spent the night. We left Astoria mid-morning on September 3rd and crossed the Columbia River bar about 1330 (1:30PM). A couple of hours later we turned off the engine and started sailing. We didn’t turn the engine back until 8 days later, September 11th. About 15nm from Santa Barbara. This was our actual track (blue) versus plan on Google Earth (yellow). Furthest offshore was about 140nm.
All our tracks so far can be seen here: https://share.garmin.com/quidsea
Santa Barbara
Erik and Mark returned home by plane and train on September 12th. I spent a couple days cleaning up the boat and Cindy joined me on September 14th. We spent a week in Santa Barbara Harbor seeing the sights, getting adjusted to boat life, and visiting some good friends. I visited with Mimi and Patty who are old friends of mine and Cindy was able to meet Patty. We also got together with Jenn and Greg. Jenn is one of Cindy’s cousins and they recently finalized the purchase of a local bookstore called Chaucer’s. We were able to visit and pick up some good reads.
Here is a picture from the end of Stearns Wharf in Santa Barbara one nice evening.
Ventura
We left Santa Barbara on September 20th and sailed down to Ventura where we had some work done on the boat. I needed to move one of the stanchions on the arch that the wind vane on the autopilot was bumping up against under certain points of sail. Cindy was able to meet my friends Kathy and Dave. Kathy and Dave took us up to Ojai one day and to the Serra Cross (sometimes also known as the Cross on the Hill) another day.
Marina Del Rey
We left Ventura on September 27th and sailed down to Marina Del Rey. I purchased Quid Sea in the spring of 2022 in Marina Del Rey. I spent a few weekends in Marina Del Rey getting her ready to sail back up to Portland. I motored sailed her up to Portland with 2 friends, Mark and David, in August of 2022. Being back in Marina Del Rey was like old home week for me and Quid Sea and we enjoyed just hanging out there. Some of the highlights included a walk along Venice Beach and a trip to the Getty Center in LA.
Long Beach
We left Marina Del Rey on October 4th and sailed to Long Beach. We tied up at Pine Avenue Pier in Long Beach. It was the only spot left, and we later learned the marinas were full because it was the weekend of the Long Beach Marathon and Octoberfest. Part of the marathon route was right in front of where we were docked. Lots of good photo ops in Long Beach, including the Queen Mary!
Catalina
We left Long Beach on October 8th and sailed to Catalina where were able to tie up to mooring balls in Avalon. We enjoyed the views, sampled a few of the restaurants and hiked Hermit Gulch trail (approx. 9 miles & 1600 ft. in elevation). Initially, we planned to spend 3 nights in Avalon and depart Friday, October 11th. But you know what they say about best laid plans. Not too long after leaving the harbor, we smelled smoke coming from the engine room. Thankfully, nothing was on fire, and it didn’t appear to be too serious. But out of abundance of caution, we decided to turn around and go back to Avalon and spend another night to figure out the cause. It turned out to be the alternator belt which I tightened until we could locate a replacement.
A day later than planned, we headed to the other side of Catalina and moored in Catalina Harbor (Cat Harbor) on October 12th. We had a rough sail over and some of our personal items were moving around. Cindy’s shower bag hanging in the show swung hard enough that it turned on the hot water shower knob. We didn’t realize it until Cindy went to use the head and came back shouting, the bathroom is flooding before she realized it was the shower. We quickly turned if off and drained the water using the sump pump. Luckily, water did not flood anywhere else in the boat beyond the shower, and we are able to laugh about it. She no longer hangs her shower bag near the faucets.
The other side of the Island is less populated with only one restaurant and small market creating a low-key vibe. We enjoyed the quiet after our busier Avalon experience. Some friends from Portland who are also cruising were already in Cat Harbor. So happy we could meet up with them and share a few meals. They hosted us for Dinner on Sunday and it was fun to see their boat and get ideas for Quid Sea. Last, we did anther hike around the coast and enjoyed the views. It never gets old!
Here are some pictures from Catalina.
Newport Beach
We left Cat Harbor, Catalina, on October 14th heading for Newport Beach. We stayed in Newport Beach for 4 days stocking on up boat supplies. I was able to visit Minney’s Yacht Surplus and browse for a couple of hours. Quite an impressive place for used gear and collectibles. We also had the chance to meet up with Bill and Sharon who were previous owners of Quid Sea. We spent time on the boat getting advice and had a nice lunch. The vessel was named Tsunami when they owned her. They owned Tsunami for 19 years sailing southern California and Mexico. They shared some interesting sea stories, great advice and fun history. It was a real pleasure spending time with them.
San Diego and Chula Vista
We left Newport Beach on October 18th heading for San Diego. Our slip reservation was in the south bay in Chula Vista. We left Newport Beach at 0430 (4:30 AM) and arrived at the San Diego Sea Buoy at 1730 (5:30PM) and transited San Diego Bay and Harbor arriving at our marina in the South Bay at 2030 (8:30PM). It was a 3-hour transit in the evening with a lovely full moon over the city. We were surprised at the number of Navy ships we passed docked along the way.
We enjoyed San Diego, and it was our longest stay in California. We were there a little over 2 weeks and it felt good to settle in for a while. The marina was great but not too much to do so we rented a car for part of our time there. We acted like tourists and visited the Zoo, Balboa Park, and Torrey Pines. We also met up with multiple friends for sailing, dinners and a trip to Del Mar. The weather was good to us!
We also used this time to reprovision the boat and do general maintenance in preparation for the voyage to Cabo/La Paz.
The Baja Ha-Ha
I chose as our first big trip out of the USA to participate in an organized rally so I signed onto the Baja Ha-Ha. This is an annual event with about 130 boats that cruises from San Diego to Cabo San Lucas. This year was the 30th Baja Ha-Ha. This is the link to the Baja Ha-Ha ( https://www.baja-haha.com/). Those interested can go to the website and learn more about the rally.
My son, Lucas, and a friend from Idaho who I met through work, Matt, were my crew for the Baja Ha-Ha. Cindy flew home to Vancouver to take care of other business for this leg of the adventure.
The Baja Ha-Ha started on November 4th. We left our berth in Chula Vista at about 0800 and crossed the Baja Ha-Ha start line about 1100. At that time, we turned the engine off and started sailing. We sailed for 2 days before the winds became calm enough that we needed to start motoring. We started the engine at 0900 on November 6th. After that it was a combination of motoring and sailing to Bahia Tortugas. We anchored in Bahia Tortugas at about 1530 on November 7th. We spent 2 nights at anchor in Bahia Tortugas meeting the other Baja Ha-Ha sailors, exploring the local fishing village, and relaxing before the next leg.
Part of the fleet at anchor in Bahia Tortugas
Having a beer in town.
We departed Bahia Tortugas on November 9th at 0600. We wanted to get off to an early start to make it to the next stop, Bahia Santa Maria, in daylight. The trip to Bahia Santa Maria was a combination of motoring and sailing. Not as much sailing as I would have liked but the benefit of that was calmer seas and easier fishing. We hooked a couple of very large fish that got off the hook before we identified them. Each one was about a 45-minute fight before they got away. We suspect they were large tuna. Then Matt hooked a big fish that hit hard the first time. Then a second hit that was much harder. We finally landed what we had hooked. It was half a Tuna. Apparently that second hit was a bigger fish that took the back half of our tuna.
What Matt was able to pull in still yielded about 15lbs of tuna steaks! As my brother reminded me, “There is always a bigger fish”!
We arrived in Bahia Santa Maria on November 11th at about 1330 and dropped anchor. There was no village here. Just some small structures the local fisherman stay in. We attended the annual Rock ‘n’ Roll Beach Party the next day on the 12th. It was a lot of fun meeting more Baja Ha-Ha sailors, listening to a Rock and Roll band that came up from La Paz, and a tug-o-war on the beach!
Approaching Bahia Santa Maria.
Ha-Ha’s at the beach party with the fleet in the background.
The Fleet in Bahia Santa Maria.
Sailing to La Paz
We weighed anchor and left that evening about 2100 so we could make it to Cabo San Lucas on schedule. While en route to Cabo the Poobah, our rally leader and fleet skipper, made the decision to cancel the events in Cabo and end the rally early. This was due to a forecast of high winds in Cabo that would have made anchoring more dangerous and there were no slips available in Cabo. It was a difficult decision but the best one for the safety of the fleet. The Poobah advised all of us to continue past Cabo to our next destinations. Lucas, Matt, and I discussed our options and made the decision to continue to our next destination which was La Paz. So, we sailed past Cabo and continued to La Paz without stopping.
Continuing to La Paz complicated our overall plans. Matt was flying out of Cabo and Lucas was meeting his girlfriend and her parents in Cabo. Cindy was flying into Cabo. We were planning the crew change in Cabo. Matt and Lucas leaving the boat and Cindy joining me. Cindy and I planned to spend a week with Lucas, Annika, and Annika’s parents. New plan was to continue to La Paz. Lucas and Matt would get shuttles back to Cabo and I would drive to the airport, pick up Cindy, and we would spend a couple days in Cabo with Lucas, Annika, and her parents.
Lucas, Matt, and I arrived in La Paz in the evening on November 15th. After 11 days on the water, we had hot showers and some good restaurant food. Was a nice luxury. The next day we met up with my brother’s wife’s family who live in La Paz. Spent a nice few hours visiting with them at the marina. We then caught a ride to downtown La Paz, had a nice lunch, and walked the Malecon. Lucas left La Paz for Cabo on November 17th to meet up with Annika. Matt left on November 18th to head home. I rented a car after Matt left and headed to the airport to pick up Cindy.
Cabo San Lucas and La Paz
On Monday, November 18th I left the boat in La Paz and rented a car to pick up Cindy in Cabo. We stayed 2 nights to spend time with Lucas, his girlfriend and her parents. We had a great time and enjoyed getting to know them. Our hotel had a nice pool with a swim up bar where we all spent several hours enjoying each other’s company, the weather and of course the mango margaritas! Night life in Cabo is great for people watching. There are too many bars to count, lots of restaurants and people trying to sell you anything and everything. I’m looking forward to La Paz where’s it is expected to be quieter.
Tracy and I said a sad goodbye to Lucas, Annika and her parents. But on the bright side we are now heading to La Paz for the next 4 months. I have never visited, and Tracy only spent a few days here before leaving for Cabo. We struggled finding a marina to dock the boat in downtown La Paz and ended up in Marina Costa Baja, 20 minutes north of town. It’s a beautiful marina with great amenities and they offer a free shuttle service to town. We are booked here through March if we decide to stay that long. The first week we explored the marina and downtown La Paz and resupplied the boat with food. We were pleased to see relatives related to Tracy’s brother and sister-in-law, who invited us to ‘comida’. In Mexico, this means the main meal of the day. The food and conversation were great, and we probably overstayed our welcome.
As I write about our time La Paz so far, we are sitting in a beautiful anchorage about 30 miles north of La Paz on Isla Partida in a cove called Ensenada el Cardonal. Tracy is getting to be very good at anchoring especially when we are experiencing wind gusts of 22 knots. We spent 2 days including Thanksgiving in a nearby anchorage called Caleta de Candelero on Isla Espiritu Santo. We were able to break in both our SUP and kayak for the 2 days in Caleta de Candelero. Here in Ensenada el Cardonal, we used the the dingy to get around due to high winds.
Some pictures from our anchorage.
On a side note, I’m happy to share that I (Cindy), am not experiencing sea sickness. Admittedly, the seas have not been very rough, but I also think I’m acquiring my sea legs!
Now that we are up to date with our travels, you can expect more updates as we experience new adventures. We hope you enjoy hearing from us!
SV Quid Sea - Sailing with Tracy and Cindy 