CHANGES With reports this month from Migration, eschewing a planned Pacific cross-
ing for another year in the Sea of Cortez; Joe and Lynn's 'accidental' Ha-Ha on Cayenne; Rightmeow's review of three years cruising the Med; Walk On's frigid-but-fun winter cruising Alaska; and a tasty medley of Cruise Notes.
We spent more time with sea lions and fish than with people," says Alene.
of the biggest changes to our lives on account of the pandemic — and a huge surprise — was having a guest aboard for more than four months. Our friend Ruby arrived in Puerto Vallarta for a 10-day visit on her way to a paid boat delivery in Samoa. She'd just sold her house and was planning to buy a cruising boat. In the course of that 10 days, everything changed. No delivery. No travel. Lockdowns. We invited her to stay aboard Migration until things settled down; surely things would get easier in a month or so. We bopped around, exploring every indent of the south coast of Banderas Bay, made three trips out to the alwaysfascinating Isla Isabel, and checked out the unexplored Tres Marias. Spent a lot of time in the water, Ruby honing her newly acquired free-diving skills. Ate fresh fish. Stayed away from towns. Besides the occasional provisioning run and a trip to immigration to renew our tourist visas — for a brief period Mexico kindly allowed renewals without leaving the country — we kept almost entirely to ourselves. Bruce and I have sailed together for 15 years and have never had visitors for more than two weeks, so we were both surprised that having three people aboard was a lot of fun. But then Ruby was the perfect guest: considerate, enthusiastic, and eager to learn everything about sailing Migration. Games were more fun with three players; another cook aboard added variety to our cuisine, and Ruby bakes a mean chocolate cake … life was good! As it became clear the pandemic would continue, we abandoned hopes of a late crossing to French Polynesia and headed north to the Sea of Cortez. Our late arrival there in June turned out to be advantageous, as we missed a lot of the drama that the spring deluge of cruising boats brought into the Sea, along with the attendant panicky social media posts and rumors. Though it was wonderful having Ruby aboard, in July it was time to reclaim our home. Ruby left from La Paz for other adventures — she's currently sailing in the Tuamotus, and still looking for her cruising boat. We provisioned and MIGRATION
MIGRATION
Migration — Cross 46 Tri Alene D. Rice and Bruce Balan No Plans — Only Intentions Long Beach If we'd known our decision to turn back to Mexico instead of sailing on to the Marquesas in May 2019 would result in not getting back to French Polynesia for two — probably three — years, we might Bruce and Alene are on their sech a v e ond 'big' cruise. Their first was a chosen 12-year, 50,000-mile Pacific Rim differ circumnavigation from 2005-2017. ently. Two and a half years ago, we were so enchanted by the giant mantas, dolphins, sharks, and whales at the Islas Revillagigedos (often called the Socorros), we decided to spend another season in Mexico so we could revisit North America's largest marine preserve. We returned to the Revillas in February 2020. That second magical month of diving whooshed by faster than we'd expected and March found us in Banderas Bay provisioning for the Pacific crossing. Returning to French Polynesia has been our goal since our 2014 Thailand refit. This time, we told ourselves, we wouldn't turn back. But the world had different plans. Besides that we're still in Mexico, one
headed to the (relative) hurricane safety of the northern Sea of Cortez. We apologize for making this another "the Sea is awesome" story, but the truth is, the Sea is awesome! Ask any circumnavigator who's visited the Gulf of California and they will tell you it is one of the most unique and beautiful places in the world. As we headed north and the pandemic wore on, we sometimes felt guilty for enjoying ourselves so much. When we sent emails to family and friends about our life, we worried that the attached photos of gorgeous vistas, beautiful sunsets, and wildlife above and below the water would just make the lockdowns harder. But they asked for more, telling us our messages were an appreciated reminder
