How are you faring?
Since communicating last, us crew have traversed our first crossing from San Diego to Isla de Guadalupe, and now we're off again!
In gleeful departure from San Diego, seals jumped off our beam and we were blessed with first winds of 15 knots to carry us on our journey. Although we were already anxious enough to carry on, reports over VHF of Coast Guard warship testing was greater impetus to high tail it! As we pressed on, it didn't take long to cross into Mexico at the helm with tired arms. It's a tremendous view, the ocean all around. The way the wind crests on waves makes it appear like thousands of fish splashing their way to you (or maybe this is just hopeful delusion of fresh fish fever!?). We decided to cross our fingers that the wind would stay in our favor. And did it! All throughout the evening and carrying into the following day, L'Obsession hauled south at a broad reach of 17.3 knots true wind speed (TWS). A day and a half later, we stood in awe and anticipation of the shrouded rock outcropping before us. Guadalupe was in sight!
Nestling in on its leeward side, our 20 knot winds sharply turned to 30 and we were holding for dear life to our solar panels. As soon as we passed beyond a rock face I've deemed "Snaggle Tooth", all began to calm, and we knew protection was just around the bend. Mooring a couple miles from its northern tip, we found ourselves surrounded by dramatic pock-marked cliffs, clear blue, and the echoes of hundreds of laughing seals. We started feeling like we'd arrived looking for King Kong. There's no doubt about it looking at the formations of Guadalupe that it once sat at the bottom of the ocean.
At dawn, the cloud cover cleared, and the three of us anxiously shoveled oats so we could speed off for our first day of diving/spear fishing -- "Snaggle Tooth" was our destination. A solitary rock pyre set back some 50 meters from shore, it cuts sharply at each of its four sides straight into the ocean. We presumed it a great location for a yellowtail run. It turned out to also be a great location to swim with seals and turtles! Ed managed to spear two yellowtail but they both spooked and quickly dove to cover beneath rocks at the floor. Somehow they'd both gone free and though Ed made several attempts to freedive 50 or 60 feet for his lodged gun shaft, it still remains wedged far below. That's not to say we didn't eat fresh fish for dinner! Quite the contrary! I brought a yellowtail onboard just in time to spark Bill's brilliant ceviche imagination!
Later in the evening, Ed and I decided we were going to swim to land and hike around. Though we hadn't seen a single ship in our crossing, anchored a couple hundred feet off was a solitary vessel we perceived to be fishing. As we were preparing our fins to leave, said vessel was right on our bow. As it turns out, they were a Great White cage tour that had been baiting sharks up until 20 minutes prior to visiting us. Baiting with what you ask? Yellowtail carcass. The same type we had thrown over only minutes before! Needless to say, we didn't swim to shore (you're welcome, mom!).
And so here we are -- floundering about waiting for the next winds to carry us farther along! Seems like this time we'll be crossing our fingers foranything greater than the 7.9 knots of TWS presently helping us to float like a rubber duck. Thinking of you often; we miss you all!
Until next time, and with much love,
The crew of L'Obsession
No comments:
Post a Comment