The Voyage of Padma

Even though I’ve been away from Canada for coming up to three years this fall, actually longer if you count my two years in India as well, I still turn to news in my home country first. I’ve been away, but Toronto is my home. I was mortified to see the G20 protests unfold and the police state that resulted. I read about massive random arrests and also a few middle of the night arrests while people were sleeping (turned out to be mistaken identity in that one, even though the police busted down the door and pulled the husband out of his bed). I couldn’t believe that this was happening in my sleepy, home town, which usually boasts a murder rate of between 60 and 100 people a year, this rate, in a city of close to 5 million (give or take).

I had always been a resident of downtown Toronto, and loved the fact that Central Toronto was very much a small town in a big city. If you lived downtown, you stayed downtown. We used to joke to one another that you would never go north of Bloor, as it was as good as going to the boonies; no one ever needed to go ‘up there’ (an attitude that makes me flinch now when I think about it). But as I sat behind my computer screen reading the news and watching the footage of the summit as it played out, I could barely recognize my city and just couldn’t imagine what it must have felt like during the security build-up and the ensuing rioting that took place. I’m sure you all are aware of what went down in Toronto better than I.

Perhaps I too might have been arrested walking back home from work?

Even more distressing, I turned to Google news a few days ago and discovered that Kelly Pflug-Back, the 21-year-old daughter of a good friend of mine had been arrested and charged with serious crimes related to the G20 summit protests. She was singled out on the G20 most wanted list as a facilitator of the damage that took place in the downtown core.

I have known Kelly for the better part of her twenty-one years, and I know for a fact that she is an intensely passionate and intelligent young woman who does not just sit around expecting the world to come to her. Kelly’s a voracious reader and I remember one poignant visit from her and her mother at my place in Kensington Market. The topic always turned to books and when I asked her what she was reading, she replied, “Oh, I’ve been going through the existentialists lately.” Kelly had just turned 13.

Her early reading habits have certainly paid off because at the age of 14 she won third place in the “This Magazine Great Literary Hunt”, a very well respected contest that attracts poets from across the country (usually adults). That she won this contest at such a young age says something about the sort of depth and feeling of which she is capable. After winning this contest, she has since published her work in many more literary magazines and anthologies – publishing venues that some poets work for years to get published in. In 2007 at the ripe age of 18, she won second place in another prestigious contest, this time with the Canadian League of Poets in their Poetic Licence Contest for Canadian Youth. And this month she’s won first place in yet another: the Will Albrecht Literary Prize for young writers (in California). In short, this young woman is a gifted writer and as it turns out, an equally talented visual artist as well. She is currently enrolled in the Fine Arts Program at Guelph University.

Not only does she spend a great deal of time working on her poetry and her fine arts degree, but she also manages to find the time to work with street youth and the homeless, by providing counseling, nutrition advice, and also organizing and serving hot meals to the homeless every Sunday in the town square in Guelph. On top of all this, she’s been heavily involved in the Hanlon Creek development as an environmental activist. If anything Kelly has impressive time management skills.

The public having learned where to project their outrage are shocked, and the comments on both of the CBC articles and on every other report since then reflect a kind of public lynching that one would have expected in another era. She hasn’t even been tried in the court of law, yet in most people’s minds, she’s already guilty, and is labeled as such through comments in the media.

The Internet has truly evolved into the small global village that McLuhan predicted years ago. It’s gone beyond that and has become the global creepy small town, where vigilantism, usually anonymous is both acceptable and a viable form of entertainment. Recently, an 11 year old girl was attacked by a group of such vigilantes to the point where all of her parent’s confidential information was displayed, resulting in the girl having to be put in a safe house, under police protection. The moral majority, so called ‘white hat hackers’ on 4ch@n thought her parents should have been monitoring her Internet activities more closely. A New York Times article, “China’s Cyberposse” goes into some depth on how Internet vigilantism has reached a near frenzy in some parts of China. Called ‘Human Flesh Search Engines’, ‘netizens’ out adulterers and anybody else they deem undesirable, by publicly humiliating them, forcing people out of their jobs and sometimes worse.

I find myself cringing when I read the comments in the Canadian news. They are never that interesting, and tend to be very reactionary. I hate to admit this, but I find myself turning to other news outlets like the New York Times or even Huffington Post, more and more, where there is an actual discussion going on in the comments. Compare those discussions with comments made about Kelly’s arrest. Well, no, don’t, or you might become as disillusioned as I am.

Here is a link to some of Kelly’s poetry published online in Ditch Magazine | Poetry That Matters.

Yeah, Vancouver! Hope the right decision is arrived at.  Whales don’t belong in captivity. There must be better ways to get to know them (besides our crazy sailing trip that is)! So cool this issue is even being debated. Lead the way Canada.

Should the Vancouver Aquarium keep Whales and Dolphins?

Time for beer or wine or both

Hundreds of friends (coming from all sides) came to visit us along the way. I will never tire of this. They seem excited to see you, rushing over to get a look at you, as curious and excited to see us as we are of them.  We also saw at least a dozen whales (Sei whales? and Fins), some curious, swimming close to the boat, much to my chagrin, and checking us out.

I’m going to sound new age, but I have no other way to explain it: when a whale decides to pursue you, despite your change of direction, there is this feeling of presence, a sentience that I have not felt with any other other animal before, including monkeys, whom I’m also very fond of. It’s not just their size, which is formidable, but rather an energy that overtakes you (ok, that’s pretty new age) and this reminder of  how we know so little about these ancient creatures who roam the sea.   Even though whales coming so close was unnerving at first, I have to say that after a while I sensed that they just wanted to see us, see what we were, all around, a very profound experience.

Two nights ago the weather moderated enough for us to make another hop up the coast.  For this leg our main concern was getting past the island of Cedros.  There’s some controversy amoungst the sailing community on how to traverse this island. Some sailors take the inside route, enjoying the lee of the island from the northwest winds for 40 miles or so, and then round the point, while others, take the western side or the outside route, giving you six miles distance from the funnelling accelerated winds that blow off the cape and also gives you a better sailing upwind sailing angle.  Given our luck with capes, we decided to take the outside route and I’m glad we did. We didn’t feel any of those cape effects, whereas others who opted to take the inside route at the same time as us, endured 30 knots of wind and steep, churned up seas.

Once you round the island, it’s about 70 miles of open ocean, across the Baja’s largest bight (Bahia de Vizcaino) back to the peninsula. For us, the crossing was mercifully light with winds less than 20 knots, but we never get off that easy, the waves and the accompanying wind chop were pretty substantial, which made for a bouncy crossing. I’ve forgotten how pleasant and peaceful it is to sail downwind.

We made it in one piece, but there is a gale expected tomorrow (sustained 35 knots out of the NW), and so we are anchored in San Quitin at the moment, about 110 miles from Ensenada. Although we didn’t make it all the way to Ensenada, we are relieved that we’ve passed all of the major Baja milestones and that from here it should be a relatively easy beat.

I mentioned this guide book in passing, but I want to cite it properly. This book has been invaluable! Not only is it informative, but it’s also pretty funny. * Jim brings a little ray of sunshine to an otherwise god awful passage.

Capt. Jim Elfers, Baja Bash II

You can order it here: Baja Bash II

*I’d quote some classics from the book, but you really have to experience this to get it, I think.

We are still in Bahia de Tortuga. It hasn’t gotten too monotonous yet, but I certainly wouldn’t want to be holed up here for much longer. At the moment there are about 12 sailboats waiting as we are. A few brave souls left two days earlier: one lost their anchor and the other reported 12 foot waves with a 7 second interval. I’m glad we decided to wait.

In the meantime, we’ve been checking out the town. There is no bank, and very few services. The town is about 2 ½ hours away from the main highway, ensuring its remoteness. We don’t know how people function. Without a bank, and with the cannery being closed, it must be quite difficult for people. A couple of the families in town have businesses that cater to the cruisers by providing diesel, but other than that, there simply isn’t much here.

To curb the cabin fever, a bunch of us from sailboats decided to head into town for a fish taco. Mercedes and Carlos run a nice little place overlooking the bay, that serves delicious tacos, and when we were there, in honour of ‘Dia del Padre’, they were also serving up a wonderful ‘Pozole’. Pozole is an authentic pre-Colombian dish typically made for special occasions. The main ingredients are corn, chilis and meat, usually pork, and chicken, but there are many variants of this all across Mexico. For example, Mercedes’ pozole had included fish.  The soup is served with a number of sides: cabbage, avocado, lime, onions, cilantro and a smoky salsa, all of which you can add to suit your taste. The Pozole was a treat and even more so, since Mercedes dragged me into her kitchen to show me how she makes hers. They are a super cute older couple. They love the visiting cruisers and keep track of everyone with an extensive guest book that everyone signs.

Poking around on the history of Pozole on the web, I ran across this somewhat controversial tidbit:

“After the prisoners were killed by having their hearts torn out in a ritual sacrifice, the rest of the body was chopped and cooked with corn. The meal was shared among the whole community as an act of religious communion. After the conquest, when cannibalism was banned, pork became the staple meat, as it “tasted very similar”, according to a Spanish priest.” (http://www.cronica.com.mx/nota.php?id_nota=317065)

Hmmm….cruisers imprisoned on their boats. The ritual sacrifice of the Baja Bash. Good thing we have that guestbook at ‘La Palapa’.

In spite Pozole’s colourful history, the dish is a culinary delight!

Eroding former cannery.

A man intent on fish tacos....or pozole

Note to self: should you ever do this trip again, which at this point the chances are pretty much nil, the wind and waves really pick up between 11:00 am to 11:00 pm. Also, double those grib numbers around the capes. And Fin Whales are rather large. When in the path of one, make sure you know what direction it is going, but then again maybe it just wanted to be petted?

Turtle Bay, more than half way to Ensenada. A near gale is expected to blow for the next couple of days. We will be anchored here for several days. We hear there is a disco somewhere.

Second largest whale, after the blue whale, and capable of speeds up to 35 mph. Quite a sight to see. Just wish we weren’t getting our butts kicked at Punta Abeojos at the time.

Chris and I are taking our time on the outside of the Baja. We spent a week anchored in front of the tiny village of Bahia Magdalena, where we took some time getting to know the locals. Not a whole lot goes on there. These people live a very marginal life with houses made of clapboard and subsisting on whatever fish they catch during the day. It sounds utopian, but it’s not, the environment is a harsh one with a cold North Pacific wind sweeping across a bleak, desert landscape. Since leaving Cabo San Lucas, both of us have been fitted out head to toe in our ‘foulies’ and we’ve had to put socks and shoes on (Gosh, what we put up with!). While we’re complaining about having to wear socks, the people who live here have to face huge seas, and a cold, often gale force wind, in an open 25-foot panga with an 80-horse power outboard motor. I find that amazing.

From our anchorage in front of the village, we could see the striking profile of a building partially built out of sun-bleached whalebones. A quick look through the binoculars showed a cantina sign. Excited, we hopped into our dinghy to check it out, only to find out that they didn’t have any supplies. More than likely they couldn’t afford the inventory. We found out later that the cantina is only open during the busy whale-watching season.

Magdalena Bay is famous for its grey whale population. Hundreds of California Grey whales arrive every winter to breed and rear their calves before migrating back up to Alaska. Because it’s June, the whales had already fled up north. While I love seeing the whales, when you’re in a small boat and you see creatures gliding past that are significantly larger than you, it gives you pause, wondering if they dive at the right moment should we happen to cross paths in the dark of the night. The ‘Lonely Planet’ guide says that this is one of the places where you can pet the whales, and that they are ‘receptive to it’. I can’t comment on whether that is true or not. But I do wonder how one knows if a whale likes to be petted?

It’s pretty amazing that we’re anchored in a remote village like that, yet we can still surf the Internet. We bought a portable modem or ‘Banda Ancha’ a few months back that allows you to surf over the cell-phone network and it’s been great. Sometimes I can get the net when we’re coasting along about 5 miles off the shore.

Besides spying on the locals, our week in Mag. Bay was also spent trying to find fuel and checking the weather to determine a good time to make the move 240 miles to Turtle Bay. When we finally managed to scrounge up some fuel from one of the fishermen, and we saw the weather moderating slightly, we moved the boat 30 miles up the coast and anchored in Santa Maria where we met two other boats also waiting for a weather window. Finally the wind looked calm enough, for at least two days in a row, with 10 to 15 knots most of the time and then 20 knots in the late afternoons, all three boats decided to make a run for it. We rounded Cabo Lazaro during the morning and as expected, there were some large waves, churned up seas and about 30 knots of wind. We kept going thinking that these conditions would eventually moderate once we were clear of the cape. Wrong again. The waves were pretty large at eight to ten feet, and with the Padma bashing into them, we were only making about 2 knots, sometimes less.

From where we were, the village of San Juanico was due north in the centre of the bight and the best part was that we could actually sail to it. Closed hauled with a double reefed main and a single reefed Genoa, we managed a respectable 5.5 knots all the way into the anchorage. In the end, this was a much better plan, as we saved fuel sailing here and while a longer route, it still cut 80 miles off of our journey to Turtle Bay, leaving us 163 miles for the remainder of this leg.

There are several other anchorages along the way to Turtle Bay, and instead of trying to do it all in one go, we’ve decided to take the less taxing route and to point hop, breaking the journey into day or single overnight passages. It’s tough going upwind, there’s no doubt about it. Whoever said that ‘one doesn’t get to Ensenada, one earns it is definitely correct.

Our next challenge is to round Punta Abreojos, another one of those nasty capes, but for the moment, we are hanging out in town of San Juanico. We were expecting another bleak, impoverished fishing village, but to our surprise, it’s pretty nice here. Because it’s a somewhat popular surf spot, there are restaurants, cantinas and groceries. A vast contrast to where we’d just come from.

P.S. I’ve added a position report. You can see where we are under the ‘Donde Esta Padma’ link.

We made it into Mag Bay yesterday evening. We’re trying to locate fuel at the moment.  The Port Captain will apparently sell us fuel, but unfortunately he’s off this weekend.  We may be delayed for a week, depending on the upcoming weather and the fuel situation.

We’re anchored right in front of the village, Bahia Magdalena, and if it wasn’t for the Mexican music blaring last night, we could be moored at a strange interplanetary outpost.

Just rounded Cabo Falso. Quite churned up and wavy. Glad we waited an extra couple of days.

We are just now past the cape. Seas are moderately choppy with a 10 knot breeze out of the Northwest. SOG is about 3.5 to 4.0 knots. Not too bad. All’s well on board.

We’re still in Cabo San Lucas or as some people call it: Cabo San Pucas. I would concur with that latter statement. It’s expensive and off the charts touristy. Non-stop cruise ships full of the masses inundate the place, most of whom rent jet-skis for the first time in their lives, and dangerously zip around our boat like hornets. I’m waiting for one of them to get caught up in our anchor line.  The jet-skis are so loco that we don’t risk taking our dinghy into port for fear of being run down by one. Instead we hail a water taxi, and for the same price the marina charges just to leave your dinghy, it will get you to shore in one piece.  I’d much rather give the panga guy my $20.00 then the marina anyway.

I have to admit that the tequila is pretty good.

We stocked up on a few more groceries, which were pretty reasonably priced. I didn’t find food anymore expensive than in La Paz. We’d heard stories contrary to this. The restaurants on the other hand are very pricey and beer is a shocking 40 pesos a bottle – double what we’d seen in most places in Mexico.

Enough wingeing, and on to our strategy. When we were in La Paz a few days ago preparing, we were lucky enough to run into a seasoned Delivery Captain and former fire chief from California, who for the price of a few gin and tonics, came over to our boat and spent all night giving us a seminar on the Bash. Captain Mike has done the bash over fifty times in many different kinds of boats, including a few cats.

He stressed to us that the worst will be Cabo Falso, where we are right now. After that the other headlands\convergence zones to watch for include: Punta Tosca, Abreojos, Ascencion and Punta Norte on Isla Cedros. The winds on the Baja tend to blow strongest from 11 am to 11 pm, so he suggested that we time our arrivals at these capes for dawn or earlier or to be out far enough to lessen the effect.  And on the final leg, crossing Bahia Vinzcaino, up to Ensenada, we will give Sacramento reef a wide berth. Have to be on our toes for this little trip, for sure.

Yesterday, two of the boats anchored with us made a run for it around the cape. The wind was blowing all night again though, and for me, I thought the waves might be too big for my comfort level. One of the boats, Adirondack, was kind enough to hail us on the VHF and tell us what the conditions were like as they were rounding. They agreed that it was pretty sloppy, with the odd 10 footer thrown in for good measure and they thought it was the right decision to stay put if we didn’t want to get too beat up.

So, we wait. Hopefully the wind won’t be howling again tonight.

I have to say that the pacific cruising community has been incredibly welcoming, and very generous with their local knowledge. I wish we were cruising around here for another year, as we’ve met so many awesome folks.

Today, coming back from Cabo, we were talking to our panga guy, Miguel. He’s native, born and bred to this area. Says it’s very expensive for him and his family to live (no kidding), but that he loves it, and it’s his home. Kind of changed my whole perspective on Cabo, anyway, he gave us a great tip about rounding the cape.* Tomorrow morning, he told us will be good. One of the things he looks for is if the winds blow strong before 2 or 3 in the afternoon to wait, but today he said it was calm, and it was. So, hopefully he’s right and Chris and I will give it a try tomorrow morning.

*Really helps to speak a bit of spanish. You wouldn’t believe how nice people are to us just because we speak a little, and not that well, I might add. I love the people of Mexico. They are unbelievably hospitable and chilled out. We gringos should observe and take some pointers.