CHANGES If 2020 is any indication of what the rest of this decade will be like, it will give 'the roaring '20s' a whole new meaning. For cruisers, the pandemic is once again front and center, with some folks flying home, some bashing home, and a few toughing it out where they are. With reports this month from Talion's 13th Baja Bash — crewed by three grandmothers; Green Flash's unscheduled exile in Panama; Mykonos's shorthanded bash home; Dreamtime's interrupted PPJ; and a few shots of Cruise Notes to wash it all down.
'Talion' departs La Paz. The 'bash' part of the trip from Cabo to San Diego took eight days.
Talion has bashed north in as few as five days and has taken as many as 10 days. This trip, we prepared for what could be a total of 30 days from La Paz to San Diego. In addition to the 90 gallons of diesel in the tank, we carried 150 gallons in jugs on deck to ensure we could make it all the way without having to stop and interact with people to get fuel. We filled the freezer, refrigerator, and cupboards with enough food for what could be a long trip. Talion has a 5kW generator and an almost 40-gallonper-hour watermaker, so no worries about power or water. We departed La Paz on May 10 and spent nights in Bahia Falsa, Coyote Point, Isla Cerralvo, Bahia de Los Muertos, and Los Frailes before arriving in Cabo San Lucas on May 22. Time went by quickly as we obsessed over our favorite card game of Baja Rummy and Mexican Train Dominoes. Days were spent swimming, sailing, reading, and watching the dolphins, sea turtles, and sea lions. The hot weather was cooled in every anchorage with afternoon and evening southerlies, calming down for a great night’s sleep. Upon arrival in Cabo, we cruised near Land’s End and the Arch. We were amazed at the lack of fishing and tour boats. The beaches were deserted. Cabo was like a ghost town. The lack of loud music blaring from The Office or Mango Deck was a welcome surprise and made for a quiet anchorage. While we were in Cabo, our list of things to do was extensive to make sure we had everything ready and secured. We cooked food ahead, filled the water tank, tied in the 12 large fuel jugs, and put the jacklines and Lifesling on. Talion typically sails without the dodger, so we put that back on. We double-tied the anchor, tightened all the hatches and put their covers on, emptied everything from the dinghy and TALION
TALION
Talion — Gulfstar 50 Patsy Verhoeven The Great Grandma Bash Portland/La Paz When it came time to find crew for Talion’s annual bash back from Mexico, the pandemic got in the way. Nobody wanted to get onto an airplane and fly to M e x i c o where, back in May, coronavirus cases were growing faster every day. I almost had my dream of finally singlehanding the trip fulPatsy — 'La Reina del Mar' — filled . . . unhas been Assistant Poobah of til I talked to the Baja Ha-Ha for the past five Maggie. years. Kismit's Maggie Busby has been around. Owning her boat and cruising the world as crew and captain at the age of 86, she has a lot of my respect. We decided it would be best with a third, so Maggie talked to Hawkeye's Linda Keigher. Linda, 78, has owned and been around boats for years, with many of those years cruising Mexico and the Pacific. Being of the age group for whom COVID-19 is especially lethal, we decided to spend 14 days before our bash under self-quarantine, visiting anchorages between La Paz and Cabo. We wanted to be sure none of us would get sick offshore.
Above: Maggie (left) and Linda. Top: Muertos sunset. Right: 'Talion' surfin' south during the windy 2009 Baja Ha-Ha.
tied extra securing lines, downloaded the GRIB files for the weather, changed the engine oil and fuel filters, stowed the bimini, and set up the radar in the cockpit. We watched for a break in the weather and headed north early Monday morning, May 25. Cabo Falso was a bit windy and that wind held into the evening. The next morning and for the rest of this leg, the wind was never more than 10-15 knots — on the nose of course — with the seas very manageable and little or no swell. We did endure a frustrating countercurrent of as much as three knots at times. While at sea, our watches were three hours on for each of us at night with no set schedule during the day. We never missed our 5 p.m. cocktail hour, which consisted of an appetizer and short glass of wine. It was a good time for the three of us to sit together in the cockpit. We told tales of our watches, current books we were reading, and our life travels. After three days we arrived at Isla Cedros.
