Flight of Cygnus: Ensanada Mexico and Olympia, WA

After the Thansgiving weekend I sailed a bit further south to Dana Point. This is one of the few places where you are allowed to anchor out for free behind the breakwater. Not having to pay for protection from the ocean swell is one of my favorite things so I stayed 4 nights here. This is also the closest harbor to Doretta's home, so we were able to get together twice more. She drove me to San Juan Capistrano where we toured the Spanish era mission. We also had a great lunch at a small mexican restaurant. The next day Doretta joined me for a day sail on the ocean. We motored north into a light breeze for a while, then raised sail for a liesurely run back to the harbor. The wind freshened in the afternoon so we turned toward Hawaii and went more than a tenth of a percent of the way there before thinking better of it and turning back to Dana Point.

My attention then turned toward Mexico and a nefarious plot to visit family and friends back in the Puget Sound region. I made runs to Oceanside and Mission Bay, then set out for Ensanada. Mission Bay to Ensanada is further than I like to go in a day (about 70 nautical miles) so I spent the night on the ocean. The wind freshed in the evening and the sailing was great. The wind freshened some more and the sailing got so great that I could have overshot Ensanada by 20 miles before sunrise. It became necessary to reduce sail to slow the boat. (There are those who say Westsails perform so poorly one should avoid what they call a "Wet snail". On this night my Westsail performed so well it had to be intentionally slowed!.) The next morning, after a little sleep on the choppy water, I tied the boat at Baja Naval in Ensanada. The marina manager, Jose, helped me with my paperwork and directed me to the government offices for aduana, migracion, and the port captain. A couple hours later Cygnus and I were cleared into Mexico. If you visit Mexico do not miss the street tacos. Alas, I spent just 2 days there before it was time to leave for a while.

I left Cygnus in the care of Baja Naval and boarded a bus for Tijuana. After a "short" wait at the San Ysidro border crossing I was back in the USA. I flew to Seattle where Pete met me at Seatac airport. On Thursday I surprised the staff at the Geology Division (where I worked until June) by crashing their Christmas pot luck lunch. We had a great lunch and white elephant gift exchange. Beth Norman was a great sport about getting stuck with the silly Elmer Fudd style red hat emblazed with "CANADA" that I brought for the exchange. We all caught up with stories about their, and my, adventures. Beers after work with some of the gang (Daniel, Ashley, Corina, Tim, and too many others to name), completed a wonderful day.

Next up is some time with Pat, Betty, James, and my brothers. Then Pete and I plan to have Christmas in Quesnel with his family.