Jeffrey Donenfeld

Category: Expeditions

  • Sailing the Sea of Cortez, Mexico

    Sailing the Sea of Cortez, Mexico

    At the end of June, I embarked with my longtime crew on a sailing expedition to explore the Sea of Cortez, Mexico. This was another epic adventure in a long series of sailing adventures that we’ve been doing as a group, in one form or another, for nine or ten years now.

    Although we’ve sailed the Sea of Cortez on a previous trip, we decided to return to rediscover the unrelenting beauty, serenity, and dramatic contrasts of sailing surrounding by the hot, crushing desert.

    The expedition ended up being wonderful. We had a great time sailing, fishing, scuba diving, cooking, relaxing, swimming, hiking, and exploring the Sea of Cortez, and surrounding desert. Here are a few photos from our adventure.  Video clips and other related media are coming asap.

    The sailing trip began by assembling everyone in Cabo San Lucas, on the southern tip of the Baja Penninsula. From there, we rented a suburban, and the 6 of us drove north to La Paz. La Paz is a larger city in Baja, and is the center of operations. During the northward drive, naturally we had to stop for some delicious roadside tacos. It’s good to be in Mexico!
    Delicious tacos and drinks, on the way up to La Paz. Sean drove the massive suburban, and did a great job of getting us to the marina. All six of us fit in the car, with all of our gear.
    On our way north, we were stopped by a few small inspection stations. Enough said.
    Arrival at the Dream Yachts marina. This marina was shared by a few different charter companies, and was located just outside of La Paz. Our boat was ready and waiting for us when we arrived in the late afternoon.
    After loading our gear onto the boat, we walked across the street from the marina and took a refreshing dip in the 5 star resort pool, which we had access to since we were living on one of their sailboats.
    Naturally, we had to take traditional beginning of the trip tequila shots before we did anything else. It was good to be back together as a crew!
    On the evening of the first night, we drove into La Paz to watch sunset over the water, and have a tasty mexican dinner on a rooftop.
    First dinner! In downtown La Paz, Mexico.
    After dinner, we went straight to the grocery store, where we bough about $600 of groceries – enough to feed 6 people for ten days. Not so bad when you divide it out. Here we are deliberating on what to get.
    Dyana had a bit of a shopping plan, and doled out responsibilities accordingly. Sean was on hot sauce and fruit juice patrol.
    I was on checkout duty, and managed to keep the checkout girl calm as she scanned $600 of groceries at closing time.
    Loading provisions onto our boat. Every space on a sailboat is used, and there are endless pockets and storage areas behind the cushions, under panels, and beneath the floor. I love this aspect of sailboats – every bit of space is thought out and used.
    Sean reviewing the Baja cruising guide, the night before our departure. Sean is sitting at the nav table, with all of the electrical controls and instrumentation. Under the table is emergency gear, and inside the table are charts and guides.
    Breakfast at the beach club, shortly before our departuer from the marina.
    And one last swim in the luxurious infinity pool.
    We rented deep sea fishing gear, and had a great time catching a few dinners.
    Our first catch – a Bonito that we later ate for dinner.
    Zac filleting the Bonito. Tasty!
    One of the anchorages we stopped at, from the midpoint of our desert hike. Our boat is on the left.
    Dried cactus found in the desert – this makes pretty good kindling for a fire, as we later found out when making a beach fire to cook clams.
    Shower time at the end of each day. On the boat, we take “navy showers” – jump in the water to get wet, soap up on the transom, jump back in the water to wash off the soap, and then rinse with fresh water from the hose. It’s effective, fun, and saves on fresh water. And you get to do it with friends – here’s Dyana giving Zac a scrub.
    Dyana relaxing on deck with a sunset drink. This is what it’s all about.
    Zac adding a little beer to the ground beef, to give our tacos an extra little kick. Cooking on the boat is always fun!
    Dinner in the cockpit – this was taco night, with lots of hot sauce.
    Evan and Kaitie right before Scuba Diviing with the sea lions.
    Me and Sean before diving.
    Swimming through a narrow passage into a swirling school of fish.
    Evan checking out schools of fish.
    Wildlife abounds in the Sea of Cortez – here we saw a whale and her calf.
    Our crew, minus Kaitie, at the end of our second dive.
    Evan walking onto the shore to enjoy some post-dive lunch and refreshments.
    This particular sailboat had a motorized winch, so in order to raise the main sail, we just had to push a button. Here, I’m steering us into the wind while we watch the sail raise. Shorly affter this I steered the boat to “fall off” and catch the wind in the sail.
    Under sail. It’s peaceful and quiet while sailing, with just the wind whistling and the waves splashing around the boat.
    Evan reeling in a Mahi Mahi.
    Zac with our first Mahi Mahi – dinner!
    Two girls from another boat standing up on their twin kayak at sundown.
    Dyana dives off the bow for a late afternoon swim.
    Evan brought along an inflatable donut to lounge in. Perfect!!!
    Dyana and Evan float in the nearly still water, while our boat floats anchored just off shore.
    Sean hikes a ridge on one of the small anchorages we stopped at. Sunset hikes are great.
    We had a small grill on the boat, and used it to cook burgers, fish, and veggies. An essential accessory on any sailing trip.
    More hikes in the desert with the full group.
    Isla Coyote, one of the small fishing villages we encoutered. We bought fish and clams here.
    Chocolate Clams, fresh from the sea and very tasty.
    Towing Evan behind the boat in his donut. Mmmmm
    Approaching another one of our anchorages, at the mouth of a beautiful valley.
    Sean and I went exploring the valley at sundown, and found lots of animal bones – and animals!
    Relaxing while underway.
    At one of our anchorages, we found the remains of an abandoned hotel.
    Cactus flowers in the hot desert.
    Hiking through the desert back to the sea. The contrast is extreme.
    A dried puffer fish found on the hot, dry beach.
    Our peaceful beach fire spot, where we cooked and ate lots and lots of clams.
    Dyana and Evan checking out the first stars of the evening, as our fire burns down to cooking coals.
    Kaitie and Dyana selecting fresh clams, while Sean, Zac and Evan supervise the fire.
    We cooked clams directly on the fire, as well as by boiling them.
    Eating fresh cooked clams by the fire, under an almost full moon.
    Anchored.
    Dolphins frequently swam with our boat.
    The full moon, rising over the desert peaks.
    Naturally, there are always always minor disasters on every trip – completely expected, and we can ususally deal with whatever we need to. This small engine issue was a quick fix.
    Dyana reeling in.. a shark!
    Hot dogs for lunch.
    Sean made himself a swing from the boom.
    I got hoisted up the mast on the emergency halyard. A spectacular view!
    Under way.
    Sean driving the Dinghy through a small mangrove forest. This was on our last day of sailing. After this, we returned the boat to La Paz, and then got in the car to head back down to Cabo.
    On our way back to Cabo, we witnessed a large drug bust.
    Our last night in Mexico was in Cabo San Lucas, and it was the 4th of July! We checked out lots of lively, trashy parties on the beach, and had lots of fun watching fireworlks from afar.
    Entering spring break zone at El Squid Roe.
    End of the trip drinks at El Squid Roe. For our final night in Cabo, we stayed at a generic hotel on the main strip. Comfy and easy.
  • Living and Working at the West Antarctic Ice Sheet Divide Field Camp, Antarctica – Summer 2014-2015

    Living and Working at the West Antarctic Ice Sheet Divide Field Camp, Antarctica – Summer 2014-2015

    My name tag and program patch on my "Big Red" parka. Note I also added my Explorer's Club members pin.
    My name tag and program patch on my “Big Red” parka. Note I also added my Explorer’s Club members pin.

    After a very successful 2014-15 summer season working at WAIS Divide, Antarctica, we’ve wrapped up our operations and redeployed. Here’s a quick summary of the season:

    This year in Antarctica, I worked at the West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS) Divide Ice Core Field Camp for the University of Wisconsin-Madison Space Science and Engineering Center (SSEC) Ice Drill Design and Operations (IDDO) Group as a Field and Drill Specialist. I was on a team of four, with our primary mission being to disassemble, catalog, and package the Deep Ice Sheet Coring (DISC) drill and related equipment. The drill had operated for the past 7 or so years, and had completed its job and been decommissioned, so that we could pack it up and ship it back to Wisconsin for refurbishment and redeployment to a new site at some point in the future. Everybody had responsibility for multiple aspects of the mission. My specific responsibility, in addition to general mechanical and team duties, photographing and cataloging all gear and equipment that was disassembled and packed, as well as generally documenting our entire season – as catalogued in this blog.

    This year’s primary mission: Disassembling the Deep Ice Sheet Coring (DISC) Drill at WAIS Divide, Antarctica

    Blog posts:

    Video clips:

    Photos:

  • I’m Betabrand’s Antarctic Explorer

    I’m Betabrand’s Antarctic Explorer

    betabrandlogoLast austral summer, while living at the South Pole Station, Antarctica I represented SF clothing company Betabrand as their official Antarctic Explorer. I had a great time tromping around in the snow in Betabrand’s Disco Pants, USA Pants, and Smoking Jacket. Thanks for the gear, Betabrand! Here’s a quick video of my adventure:

     

     

     

     

     

  • Living and Working at the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station, Antarctica, Summer 2012-2013

    Living and Working at the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station, Antarctica, Summer 2012-2013

    Antarctica Slides - 120 - usap_logo - FullWMDuring the Austral Summer of 2012-2013, I traveled to Antarctica to work as a Cook, EMT, Tour Guide, and Photojournalist at the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station. While I was living there, I took over 10,000 photos, hours of video footage, and published an article about life in Antarctica on my blog every single day.  Here’s a brief wrapup of my time in Antarctica, with links to all of the content I produced.

    A complete account of my experiences in Antarctica can be found at: https://JeffreyDonenfeld.com/Antarctica

    Articles written while living at the South Pole, 2012-2013
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    Antarctica Video Playlist

    Since I’ve started blogging about Antarctica, I’ve received a number of questions from readers. To address as many of those questions as possible, I’ve made a long FAQ document. Frequently Asked Questions about Antarctica.

    My Job in Antarctica

    During my time in Antarctica, I lived at the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station. The station is American-run, but supports scientists from all over the world. For a bit more on the specifics of the station, check out the Wikipedia Article.

    The Amundsen–Scott South Pole Station is an American scientific research station at the Geographic South Pole, the southernmost place on the Earth. The station is located on the high plateau of Antarctica at an elevation of 2,835 meters (9301 feet) above sea level.

    …

    Since the Amundsen-Scott Station is located at the South Pole, it is at the only place on the land surface of the Earth where the sun is continuously up for six months and then continuously down for six months. (The only other such place is at the North Pole, on the sea ice in the middle of the Arctic Ocean.) Thus, during each year, this station experiences one extremely long “day” and one extremely long “night”. During the six-month “day”, the angle of elevation of the Sun above the horizon varies continuously. The sun rises on the September equinox, reaches its maximum angle above the horizon on the summer solstice in the Southern Hemisphere, around 20 December, and sets on the March equinox.

    During the six-month “night”, it gets extremely cold at the South Pole, with air temperatures sometimes dropping below ?73 °C (?100 °F). This is also the time of the year when blizzards, sometimes with gale-force winds, strike the Amundsen-Scott Station. The continuous period of darkness and dry atmosphere make the station an excellent place from which to make astronomical observations.
    The number of scientific researchers and members of the support staff housed at the Amundsen-Scott Station has always varied seasonally, with a peak population of about 200 in the summer operational season from October to February. In recent years the wintertime population has been around 50 people.

    I was hired to work as a cook at the south pole station. My primary job was as the breakfast cook, and my direct employer was Gan-A-Yoo Services, which is a subcontractor under Lockheed Martin’s Antarctic Support Contract. I got up at 3am 6 mornings per week to single handedly cook breakfast for the entire station staff. For more info on my kitchen job, see my article: Working In The South Pole Kitchen.

    I also worked as an emergency medical responder on the station’s “Team 4”, which was in charge of emergency medical response. I worked alongside the fire crew, our nurse, and the station’s lead physician Dr. Sean Roden. More: Team 4 – Emergency Medical Response.

    Next, I was one of three station tour guides. When tourist groups would arrive at pole via flight or skis, I got to give them a brief tour around the station. More: Tourists At The South Pole and Welcoming Skiers To The South Pole.

    And finally, I spent whatever free time I had acting as the station correspondent for the United States Antarctic Program’s Antarctic Sun Newspaper. Throughout the summer, I wrote a series of single-topic articles, as well as monthly station summaries, which were published on the USAP’s site. Articles published in the Antarctic Sun.

    Traveling to and from Antarctica:

    Although long, the journey to and from the south pole was incredible in itself. I flew via commercial air from Denver Colorado > San Francisco California, San Francisco California > Los Angeles California, Los Angeles California > Sydney Australia, Sydney Australia > Christchurch New Zealand. Then on US Air Force Operation Deep Freeze military flights from Christchurch New Zealand > McMurdo Station Antarctica and McMurdo Station Antarctica > South Pole Station Antarctica. The entire journey took a solid three days of travel, but was a spectacular tour. Articles on traveling to and from Antarctica:
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    Facilities at the South Pole Station

    Living at a frozen polar station is interesting – super interesting. The entire station is suspended above the ice by pylons, and includes everything we need to survive. In addition to the elevated station, there’s also a labrynth of support corridors and arches buried deep under the ice. I documented as much of the station as I could. First, be sure to watch my South Pole Station Tour Video on YouTube. Additionally, below are links to my writeups on each part of the station.


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    Science at the South Pole

    The primary goal for the South Pole Station is to support scientific research and exploration. There are an incredible amount of world-class science experiments going on there, and since I lived on station, I had the opportunity to explore almost all of them. Living and working with scientists every day led to a continous stream of once-in-a-lifetime conversations about their work, science in general, the universe, etc. Additionally, I spent much of my free time actually helping out a couple of the experiments. Notably, I spent a good amount of time in the field building the drilling rig for the Askaryan Radio Array, and helping out with drilling operations. Check out my time working with ARA. Here’s a collection of content about the science going on at South Pole:
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    South Pole Life

    Life at the South Pole is unique, but we still try to keep a bit of a normal life there. This includes celebrating holidays, lots of fun and games, and exploring the unique place we’re in. Notably, I had the opportunity to run the South Pole Marathon while I was there. More about life at the south pole:
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    Other Content

    Stuff that doesn’t fit anywhere else, but is still interesting.
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    McMurdo Station

    Although I didn’t live at McMurdo Station, I did spend a few days there in transit. During my time at McMurdo, I did a bunch of exploring.

    Getting a Job in Antarctica

    On getting a job in Antarctica: Getting my job was hard. Very hard. It took over 4 years of constant research, training, networking, and organizing – and in the end, my job offer came just days before I departed. Definitely a hurculean effort – but after everything, I can truly say that it was absolutely worth the dedication and struggle. Working in Antarctica has been (and hopefully will continue to be) an incredible, life changing experience. If you stay dedicated to it, and make it happen for yourself, it will be an amazing voyage.

    Media:

    During my time on the ice, I took over 10,000 photos, and shot hours of video. I shot on three main cameras: My Canon 5Dmk2 w/ EF 24-70 f/2.9L lens, Sony RX100, and Apple iPhone5.

    Thanks for reading! Let me know if you have any other questions! 

  • Sailing The Leeward Islands – Trip Summary

    Sailing The Leeward Islands – Trip Summary

    This past August, I went sailing in the Leeward Islands with a group of friends – Sean Safdi, Zac Schulman, Dyana Kazan, Evan Kazan and Evelyn Dahab. Evelyn was new to our crew this year, and the rest of us have been sailing together for the past couple of years. Here’s a summary of all of the media generated during our trip, with full daily summaries, photos, videos, and Sean’s well written and extensive trip report. Photos on Flickr (Slideshow)

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    Video


    Daily Reports

    Sean Safdi’s Trip Report (with my photos mixed in)

    Trip Report – SXM Bareboat Charter
    #1329052 – 08/21/11 01:52 AM

    This trip we sailed a Moorings Beneteau 43.3 monohull out of the Moorings base at Oyster Pond, St. Martin in the Leeward Islands. Our boat, “Oyster”, was from the Moorings “exclusive” line and appeared almost new, although it still exhibited some of the wear typical on any charter boat (two of the blocks on the traveler failed our first day out). Overall we enjoyed the layout of the boat, with three cabins and three heads and a relatively spacious saloon (although everyone commented on the lack of storage space for provisions, due largely to the space occupied by the shore-power AC unit). Storage space notwithstanding, there was plenty of room for our crew of 6. The cockpit was fine with dual helms and a brand new electronics package including a top of the line chartplotter. To everyone’s pleasant surprise, the fridge on this boat worked better than pretty much any boat we’ve had in the past. The Yanmar 54hp engine was in brand new condition and performed flawlessly. The sails on this boat had far less wear than other boats we’ve chartered, and the boat sailed superbly to windward.

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    The Moorings base at Captain Oliver’s Marina at Oyster Pond is fine, although the shoreside facilities could use a serious upgrade. During our visit, the showers were out of operation entirely. There are a couple restaurant options within the marina complex (one upscale and one more casual) and some other options within walking distance. There is no major grocery for provisioning within walking distance; you will have to take a taxi. The base’s location is well-situated for accessing the most popular cruising grounds, but it is not close to the international airport. Expect a 45 minute to 1hr taxi ride. The Moorings had a taxi waiting for us on our arrival at the airport, which we were not expecting. The staff at the Moorings base was excellent as usual, and the chart and boat briefing were very thorough. Moorings is always willing to accommodate our requests such as providing us with an extra cooler for our drinks. In terms of provisioning, we chose to provision on our own upon arrival, but we did have the Moorings provision the majority of our beverages (soft drinks, beer, and gallon jugs of water). Much easier than having to lug those heavy items back from the grocery. We also always opt for the “charter starter kit”, which includes condiments, paper towels, trash bags, charcoal, etc.

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    We arrived on Friday, August 5, too late in the afternoon to do the chart and boat briefing that day. The Moorings had the boat ready for us at the dock, with our beverage provisioning already onboard and the shore-power AC cranking. With the benefit of the AC, we had a comfortable first night aboard the boat.

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    The following morning, we did the chart and boat briefing, topped off the water tanks, took care of a few last-minute issues, and departed the base by about 11:30 in 20-25kt winds and 8-9ft seas! We raised the main with a single reef before leaving the protection of the harbor, and the Moorings sent a pilot boat to guide us out into the ocean. It was a pretty wild ride coming out of the channel directly into the big swell and high winds, and everyone was quickly drenched from the waves smashing over the bow. Doesn’t get any better than that! We were fortunate that the conditions were much calmer upon our return to base, but it is worth noting that Oyster Pond (along with Orient Bay) would be pretty hazardous to enter in much heavier conditions, with the wind and swell pushing you towards the reefs.

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    After clearing the channel we motored about a half mile offshore directly into the wind, and then set our course for Gustavia on St. Barthelemy, a sail of perhaps about 15nm. After arriving at Gustavia, we motored around for a bit looking for the best spot to anchor, and finally settled on the area just northwest of Fort Oscar and close enough for any easy dinghy ride into the inner harbor. Anchored with good holding in about 15ft of water. The harbor was pretty crowded for off-season, so I can only imagine how it must be in December or January. We cleared through customs and immigration, and had a great dinner at Eddy’s, a short walk from the waterfront.

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    The following morning we were up early for a longer sail (about 25nm) down to the Dutch island of St. Eustatius (Statia). The winds were still quite brisk, but fortunately had calmed down more to the 18-22kts range rather than 20-25kts. Seas were also down a bit. Had a fantastic beam reach under reefed main and jib, and arrived at Statia far earlier than we had anticipated.

    On the northwestern tip of Statia, there is a large depot where oil tankers drop off oil from South America (mostly Venezuela we were told) and other ships pick up the oil to transport it far and wide. The area is marked by a giant oil tanker buoy about a mile offshore, and you should stay well to seaward of this buoy as you are coming up or down the coast. It was pretty surreal sailing through a giant field of anchored tankers waiting to pick up or drop off their load. Just to the south of this area was our destination, Oranje Baai and the capital, Oranjestad.
    Take note…there are no mooring balls at Oranjestad! Contrary to 2010-2011 edition of the cruising guide, and what we were told during our chart briefing, the mooring balls that were previously in place here were removed due to the excessive cost of their upkeep. We were not the only boat that came in and searched a good amount of time for the elusive mooring balls. Confusing the matter are the myriad of smaller mooring balls put in place by the locals, but don’t pick these up because they are private and likely won’t hold your boat! The good news is that the anchoring is easy and the holding is good anywhere behind the protection of the breakwater.

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    Statia was a real highlight of the trip for us, and we enjoyed the quiet, off the beaten track feel after coming from bustling St. Martin and St. Barths. Don’t come here for the beaches, but the diving, historical sites, and natural beauty are all spectacular. After clearing customs and immigration, we went ashore to walk up the hill to the town. Oranjestad feels like something out of old world Europe rather than the Caribbean — many beautifully restored homes. Fort Oranje is also worth a visit and has a great history, including the famous “first salute” to the United States.

    The following morning, we arranged a two tank dive with Golden Rock Dive Center, and we were not disappointed! Golden Rock is a great operation and the diving located immediately outside the anchorage is not to be missed. We did one wreck and one reef dive, and wished we could have stayed longer to do more diving — the reefs here are really in great shape compared to elsewhere in the Caribbean. In the afternoon we took a taxi tour overland to get some views of the “Quill” volcano.

    The next morning, though we wished we had time to continue south, we cleared out of Statia and headed back north to St. Barths, picking up a marine park mooring ball for the night (free of charge) at Anse de Colombier, on the western tip of the island. Anse de Columbier is a beautiful, well protected anchorage with a great beach and a secluded feel. Do not miss the half hour walk to Anse des Flamandes — the trail is cut into hills and cliffs along the water and is quite beautiful. Be sure to take sturdy shoes.

    The next morning, we did two more dives with St. Barth Plongee. Based out of Gustavia, they happily came to pick us up at Anse de Columbier. After returning to the boat, we motored a short distance over to the small island of Ile Fourchue, where we picked up another park mooring for the night. Ile Fourche is another great stop for those who enjoy seclusion. We shared the anchorage with just a couple other boats, and we ventured ashore to explore and had the entire island to ourselves. Hiking the peaks on Ile Fourche was a real highlight — with amazing views towards both St. Barths and St. Martin and down into the anchorage. There are no real beaches here, but the rugged island is definitely worth exploring. We placed our trip geocache, the “Oyster CrewCache”, at the foot of a rocky outcropping. While ashore, we also noticed a dinghy being pounded against the rocky coastline on the windward side of the island — we reasoned that the dinghy must have escaped its owner in St. Barths and floated the short distance across to Ile Fourche. We tried to rescue the dinghy and managed to get the engine started and the boat backed out into deeper water — only to have the outboard fail. We tossed the anchor over the side and spent about 45 minutes attempting to restart the outboard before we gave up and paddled back in to shore between the rocks. Hopefully the owner finds their dinghy — it looked brand new!

    After a peaceful night on the mooring ball at Ile Fourche, we departed the following morning for a long sail to the British island of Anguilla. By this point in the trip, the wind had died down considerably and was averaging approximately 8-15kts, with some higher gusts. We sailed and motorsailed on a broad reach and a run around the southern end of Sint Maarten, past the beautiful blue water at Point Basse Terre, and north across the narrow channel and around the western tip of Anguilla. We then headed up the north coast of Anguilla and into Road Bay and Sandy Ground Village. Anguilla is a low-lying island with fine white sand beaches — the white sand gives the water beautiful shades of light blue and green. Road Bay is the main port of entry, but also a great stop in its own right, with a long beach and plenty of restaurant and bar options ashore. We anchored with about 4ft of water under the keel (setting the anchor was easy in the sandy bottom) and went ashore to clear in and pay the park fees. In the anchorage, we watched kids from the Anguilla Youth Sailing Club practicing some very impressive roll tacks on 420s. The club rented us a Hobbie Wave for an hour, and we had a fun time zipping through the anchorage and out into the open ocean. That night, we had dinner ashore and visited one of the local bars for live music.

    The next morning, we got a leisurely start, went searching for another geocache, and then departed for Prickly Pear Cays around 11:00am. Prickly Pear Cays are a day-only anchorage within the marine park, with plenty of park mooring balls available. It took about an hour to reach Prickly Pear from Road Bay (heading north past Sandy Island), and we were very glad that we made the trip! Prickly Pear is a beautiful small island with a perfect beach on the north side of the island a little beach bar run by a very entertaining English expat. The sand and water here was some of, if not the finest that we encountered throughout the entire trip, and we regretted that we didn’t have more time to spend on the island. In the late afternoon, we motored back to our overnight anchorage at Crocus Bay. Crocus is a fine anchorage (and supposedly the only other permitted overnight anchorage), but anchoring room was a bit limited with the number of local boats and moorings in the bay. We finally found a spot, and holding (as it was throughout the entire trip) was very good on a sandy bottom.

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    The next morning we motored the very short distance to Little Bay to explore the caves onshore. Definitely take the time to stop here for an hour or two and explore the caves and rock formations. There are also a couple nice looking beaches tucked in between the rocks. After an hour or so exploring, the dive boat came to pick us up for our fifth and final dive of the trip — another wreck dive. We dove with Douglas Carty, a small operation based out of Road Bay. Though a small operation, Douglas was very professional and offered personalized service; we really enjoyed diving with him.

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    After returning from the dive, we quickly got underway and sailed up the north coast of Anguilla and through Scrub Island Pass. After coming through the pass, we headed back south to our next destination — Orient Bay on St. Martin. Orient Bay can be tricky to enter and (like Oyster Pond) not advisable to enter in high seas. We had good conditions with calm seas, and we carefully followed the instructions in the cruising guide to enter the bay through the reefs and anchor between Green Cay and the nude beach with only a few feet under the keel. The water in the anchorage is spectacular blue-green, although we encountered many jellyfish (seemingly the non-stinging variety). Orient Bay is a different experience and not necessarily our preferred type of anchorage — it was extremely crowded and touristy during the day, with jet skis and parasail boats flying through the anchorage. At night it cleared out a bit, but the restaurants on shore were still a bit touristy and overpriced. After some searching, we did find a nice bar with friendly waitstaff where we had a good dinner ashore. Even if you don’t like crowds, it may still be worth a visit to Orient Bay just for the experience.

    The following morning, our last aboard the boat, we got an early start for our short trip down the coast to Oyster Pond. We pulled in to the dock, packed our bags, did the quick debrief with the Moorings, and were on our way back to the airport by noon — another great sailing vacation in the books!

    Overall, we really enjoyed out cruise through the northern leeward islands. Highlights include the diving in Statia, secluded anchorages of Anse de Columbier and Ile Fourche on St. Barths, and the beaches on Anguilla. Moorings as always provided top-notch service and a great boat. We hope to explore these waters again some day.

    Trip Photos [ed: Sean’s trip photos]

    Fair Winds,

    Sean

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    https://flickr.com/photos/jamfan2/6073165902/in/set-72157627440660586
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    Underway from St. Maartin to St. Barts... 25kt winds.
    https://flickr.com/photos/jamfan2/6073154428/in/set-72157627440660586

  • Sailing and Scuba Diving in Baja, Mexico

    Sailing and Scuba Diving in Baja, Mexico

    At long last, here’s the official blog post for our 2007 trip to sail in the Sea of Cortez in Baja, Mexico. Slideshow.

    Notice that all the photos are GEOCODED. I brought my GPS along on the trip and recorded a track log the whole time, which I merged with my photos.. so for each photo, you can see exactly where it was taken!

    Sean’s trip report, posted to TravelTalkOnline.com…

    I have just returned from 10 days sailing the beautiful Sea of Cortez in Mexico’s Baja California Sur, as well as another 4 days spent in Cabo San Lucas.

    Our bareboat charter was aboard a Moorings Jeanneau 494, 4 cabin 4 head layout. Sailed with 8 friends as usual. The Sea of Cortez is amazing! It is remote and desolate and has a certain stark beauty that you find when the endless desert meets the sea. La Paz and the surrounding areas are a world away from the hussle and bustle of Cabo San Lucas to the south. On most days we were the only boat in an anchorage, and on a couple of days we saw no other boats at all!

    Our charter began at the Moorings base located at Marina Palmira in La Paz. Of our 8, three flew directly into La Paz, and the remaining five of us flew into San Jose Del Cabo and drove up from the south. For the drive I rented a VW Jetta from Europcar at the Los Cabos airport. The drive up is just fine and can actually be a lot of fun. It takes about 2-2.5 hours and is all highway from the airport until you reach the outskirts of La Paz. Be warned however, I do not recommend that you do this drive at night. There is no shoulder on the highways, many places don’t have any lane markings, and there are quite a few unannounced detours to dirt roads. You also need to watch out for livestock all over the roads. Still it is a fun drive with some great views as you go through the mountains, and there are a number of small and interesting towns that you will pass through along the way.

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    Driving in the cities can be a little more interesting. There are mostly no lanes and stopsigns are often ignored. Just be aggressive like the locals and you’ll do just fine.

    For our first night we opted to sleep onboard our boat at the docks at Marina Palmira. “El Shaddai” had shore power A/C which was nice in the 100+ degree daytime temperatures, but we wouldn’t get to enjoy that once we left the docks. The Marina facilities are very nice. There is a marine supply and fishing store on site, and the Moorings also runs a small provisioning shop where you can stock up on last minute items as well as water and ice (don’t do your provisioning here though). There are showers on shore accessible with a keycard, and the docks are gated as well. The Moorings operation itself is small and personal. I love these smaller bases compared to the charter madness in the BVI. Our briefer, Kevin, gave us what was by far the best and most in-depth chart briefing I’ve ever had, and he was always spot on with his inside knowledge. We also rented a kayak through the Moorings, and we rented fishing gear from the fishing store on site.

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    As is our normal custom, we self-provisioned once we arrived, but we had pre-ordered most of our drinks through the Moorings to cut down on having to carry the heavy stuff. If you have a car, your best bet is to drive in to town to the large and modern “CCC” supermarket to do your provisioning. DO NOT SKIMP ON PROVISIONS! You need to plan as if you will not have any opportunity to buy additional supplies for the length of your charter. There are essentially no services once you leave La Paz until you arrive in Loreto. Loreto is going to be too far away for most charters, so you are pretty much on your own. In particular bring way more water than you think you’ll need!

    After our chart and boat briefing the following morning, we left the docks to begin our charter. We sailed north to Isla Espiritu Santo and our first night’s anchorage at Puerto Ballena (about 15 miles from the Marina). Puerto Ballena is a beautiful anchorage, but as with all locations on Isla Espiritu Santo and within the Bay of La Paz during the summer months you need to choose your anchorage and your exact location within the anchorage wisely. This is because of a weather phenomenon known as the Coromuel wind. The wind picks up in the evenings and we found that it could last until aprox. 10-11am the next morning. It blows predominately out of the southwest although we experienced dramatic wind shifts almost every night and you need to allow for 360 degree swinging room on your anchor. It was often howling at around 20kts by 3 or 4 in the morning. To counteract the coromuel, it is generally best to anchor tucked into the southern shore of the anchorages within the Bay of La Paz, and to avoid certain anchorages as night stops altogether. The wind actually is not that unwelcome. It provides a great cooling breeze, and can give you some good sailing weather in the early morning hours. Just be sure your anchor is set well for the night. I always put a snorkeler in the water to dive the anchor and help set it manually if necessary. The good news is that the holding is excellent generally in 15-25 feet of water. If you go shallower, just be aware that the tidal range in the Sea of Cortez is greater than many other charter destinations. Moorings should provide you with current tide tables.

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    The following morning we woke up early to do the first couple scuba dives of the trip. All 8 of us are divers, and we dedicated four days on the boat to diving. I will cover those seperately later in this report. We then headed north until we reached Ensenada Grande on Isla Partida, where we found an excellent anchorage along the southern shore in about 15 feet of water. Ensenada Grande is a convenient location because you can find some protection from the coromuel, it is close to the very cool sea lion colony at Los Islotes, and it is a good jumping off point for the crossing up to Isla San Francisco.

    The following morning, after another couple of dives, we headed north yet again to Isla San Francisco (aprox. 20 miles north of the tip of Isla Partida). The hook on San Francisco provides good southerly protection, and this is also just about the northernmost extent of coromuel winds. This is a very beautiful anchorage! There is a long beach, and the best part is the amazing hike you can find on shore. Follow the trail up the steep cliffs overlooking the Bay of La Paz and the surrounding islands. The 360 degree views are absolutely stunning. You can find great hikes like this at most anchorages, but just be sure to go prepared. Take close-toed shoes, bring plenty of water, and consider wearing very light weight long pants. The cacti are everywhere and they are beautiful but they can also hurt! Also keep an eye out for rattlesnakes.

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    After a couple more dives, from San Francisco we headed north and west, back to the Baja peninsula and our next night’s anchorage at Punta Evaristo. Along the way, we made a day stop at Isla Coyote. Coyote has I would estimate about 20 residents, and that still makes it the second or third most inhabited island in the Sea of Cortez! Don’t expect to find any services here, but you can walk around, explore the small village, and buy some jewelry from a woman’s house about halfway up the big hill. This is basically your only gift shopping opportunity outside of La Paz.

    The anchorage at Evaristo is about 50 miles north of La Paz and has a very small fishing village. Holding was good here in 15 feet of water right off of the town. There is a very small and basic general store here…so small it did not even have working lights when we were in town and we shopped with flashlights. You can also walk down the beach and buy fresh fish from the local fishermen. We bought excellent fish here. Whenever you see fishermen you can always ask to buy fish from them, and you might also be able to trade for fish with essentialls such as batteries. It is useful to speak some Spanish because most of these people don’t speak any English.

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    From Evaristo we headed north on our second longest sail. Puerto Gato is aprox. 30 miles north of Evaristo, but with our tacking we sailed aprox. 50 miles. Boy was it worth it! This was by far the most spectacular and most remote area of the trip! Along this part of the peninsula the high, jagged mountains fall close to the seashore, with endless unspoiled desert in between. You will see the largest saguaro cacti that you have ever seen! Gato itself is also spectacular. There are 2 pristine beaches, a giant sand dune that you can climb up and slide down, and crazy blood-red rock formations that you can explore. Further inland, a dirt path leads into the desert and you can explore in here as well. Listen for the coyotes howling at night, and keep an eye out for what I think are either desert cottontail or jackrabbits, which you will see everywhere inland.

    At Gato, my group placed our only geocache of the trip. It is called the “Cromwell Cache” and I think it is probably about 1/4-1/2 mile inland. Take sturdy shoes and sufficient water if you go looking for it. We also explored by kayak and snorkeled here at Gato.

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    However, the very best part of Gato is a local fisherman, I think his name is Miguel. Kevin at the Moorings told us about Miguel but I was skeptical that he would show up. There is literally no sign of civilization for miles around, yet sure enough about half an hour after we anchored a little boat comes around the corner with Miguel onboard. Miguel is a great guy, just offer him a cold beer or soda and you will become best buddies instantly. Miguel can also provide you with some delicious seafood. We bought 100+ chocolate clams off Miguel for next to nothing (best to get a cooler from the Moorings for all the fish you’re likely to be buying/catching on the trip). We also bought 8 lobsters off of Miguel, and the best part of that was that he let some of our group come along in his boat to help catch them! That was quite an experience.

    At night at Gato, we went ashore and built a huge campfire to cook our clams and feasted late into the night. That was really spectacular, cooking out under the brilliant stars in the middle of nowhere, eating an endless supply of fresh clams.

    The next day we spent most of the day still exploring Gato, letting some of the crew work off the tequila from the night before. In the evening we slipped around the corner about a mile to Punta San Telmo, the furthest north we would reach on this trip. We experienced a beautiful, blazing red sunset over the mountains here, as we did just about everywhere in Baja.

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    The following morning myself and one other crew member woke up VERY early to get started for an epic long sail at the crack of dawn. On this day we sailed, motored, and motor-sailed 60+ miles south to Caleta Partida, an anchorage formed by the narrow cut between Isla Partida and Espiritu Santo. Along the way, we watched as a group of pilot whales swam only feet from the boat. We also saw multiple pods of easily 100+ dolphins, as we did just about every single day. Some members of our group even saw manta rays leaping out of the water! I really think that the marine life you can see above water in Baja is almost as spectacular as what you can see below. Keep your eyes on the horizon! You will see huge fish jumping out of the water all the time, you will definitly see sea lions and dolphins up close all over the place, and you may see a variety of different types of whales or even whale sharks.

    Along the way down the coast to Caleta Partida, we made a day stop at La Amortajada on Isla San Jose. This is a great day stop, but don’t think about spending the night here because we have heard that the mosquitoes in the mangroves come out in force. La Amortajada is beautiful though. There is a giant cactus forest here. There is also a huge beach, and the best part is a dinghy channel leading through the mangroves into a lagoon. Lots of opportunities to explore here, but we had a short stop because of the distance we still had to travel.

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    We arrived at Caleta Partida only about 45 minutes before sunset (fortunately sun sets late in the Baja during the summer months…we had sunset at aprox. 8:15pm) and quickly set our anchor. Partida is supposedly one of the most protected anchorages in the area, but we experienced fierce winds all night here. I stayed up most of the night checking and double checking the anchor alarm on my GPS.

    The following day, after two more dives, we took off for our next anchorage at Caleta Enmedio which is essentially right around the corner. However, we had excellent wind and decided to take a few tacks out in the Bay of La Paz before heading in for the night. Enmedio is a great anchorage. We shared Partida with 2 other boats (a big crowd for the Sea of Cortez), but we were all alone here, and I found good coromuel protection tucked closely in along the southern shore.

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    The following day we headed south again for our final night’s anchorage at Caleta Lobos. Lobos is a good option for your last night because it is about 6 miles from the Pemex tanks marking the La Paz channel entrance, yet it still has a wilderness feel to it. This was the only location we had any difficulty setting our anchor (it took three tries). Also exercise caution here because the southern bight (best choice) shoals very rapidly not very far in. You can find 15-20 feet further out, but then it rapidly comes up to a shallow sand bank that is easily visible in good light but not later in the day.

    The following morning we returned to La Paz to wrap up another fantastic charter with the Moorings.

    SOME NOTES:

    * SCUBA DIVING: Diving in the Sea of Cortez is a must in my opinion, particularly if you go during the summer when the water is relatively warm. Still, this is not tropical diving. We experienced surface water that averaged 80-84 degrees, just fine for snorkeling and boat showers, but then a series of thermoclines begining at aprox. 20-30 feet that dropped visibility and water temperatures down into the low to mid 70s. Water temperatures also swing dramatically at different times of year. I wore a 5mm wetsuit on my dives, but for some dives I would have appreciated a 7mm and a hood. Bring more exposure protection than you think you’ll need. Underwater, you’ll find an interesting mix of tropical and temperate species. Don’t expect much coral here, but you will see huge schools of fish, large pelagic fish, and interesting rock formations. You also have the opportunity to dive with sea lions at Los Islotes and elsewhere. The sea lions are great fun and they’ll come and the pups will come and play with you, tug at your fins, etc. Keep clear of the larger males. We also did a dive for hammerheads at the offshore seamount “El Bajo.” Unfortunately the visibility was not very good and we didn’t see any underwater, but I know they’re there because I saw them from the surface. Recommend you give it a shot if you’re in the area. I think the best part of diving around here is that you never know what you might see. Some of the dives are a little dull, but then you also might get the chance to play with sea lions or possibly see a hammerhead or a whale shark.

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    We dove with Club Cantamar, an operation located about 15-20 minutes drive north of the Moorings base at Puerto Pichilinque. Pedro at Club Cantamar is great. He helped us plan out our schedule to maximize our diving, and he even came to our Moorings chart briefing to help coordinate things on that end. Rendevous diving is not common in the Sea of Cortez, but Club Cantamar was more than happy to do it for us. They operate a fleet of large, well-equiped boats, and although they primarily operate in the Bay of La Paz they agreed to meet us further north at Isla San Francisco because of the amount of diving we were doing with them. If you are on a land-based diving vacation in the area you might also consider staying with them. They are a full-service diving resort and seem to have a lot of good packages. Their staff is professional and multilingual.

    *FISHING: Fishing is a must here! Fishing, along with purchasing fish from fishermen if possible, is a good way to extend your provisions. We caught a big dorado (mahi mahi) our first day out, and it was delicious. We caught additional fish including a Bonito and a couple really huge fish that snapped our line. None of us would pretend to be good fishermen, and we never seem to have much luck, but we finally had some sucess here in the Sea of Cortez! This Sea is just brimming with life of every sort…as you’ll see during your travels. You can rent a full set of fishing gear from Marina Palmira. Also, bring some gloves and rent a gaff.

    * WEATHER: Overall we had good weather. During the summer months the wind is sporadic, but we expected that. Your best bet is to get up early to do your sailing and catch the last of the coromuel wind. Unfortunately we were diving many mornings so we had to motor-sail a lot, and we burnt through our entire supply of diesel by the end of the trip (something I’ve never, ever come close to doing on charter before). The weather is also extremely hot during the summer, 100+ particularly inland, though you will find some cooling breezes on the water. Baja may be at a higher latitude than the Caribbean, but believe me the sun feels stronger! I think this is because of the lack of cloud cover (we did not have one single drop of rain the entire trip). Bring adequate sun protection and drink plenty of water!

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    As for weather reports, reliable reports are pretty much non-existant for the charter sailor. Reports MAY be broadcast at 8am on the local cruisers net, VHF 22. If you are concerned, your best bet is probably to try hailing local cruisers to see if they have any info, or give the Moorings a call. Moorings VHF range is limited, and because of the distances on this trip I decided to rent a satellite phone just to be on the safe side. I was glad that I had it.

    * GPS: Well, everyone uses them these days, but you need to take care with your GPS here. Basically, the charts are totally inaccurate! If you follow your GPS you will probably end up aground your first day. GPS is great to find anchorages and guage distances with the waypoints alone, but don’t trust any electronic charts. I recommend picking up a copy of the Sea of Cortez mini-guide chart packet by Gerry Cunningham. These are essentially the same paper charts that the Moorings has on the boats, and they are good for planning purposes. They are a good reference if not extremely detailed. Things seemed to be a little better charted around the immediate La Paz area because of the US Navy’s use of the area during WWII.

    * MOORINGS/MARINA PALMIRA: Once again a fine charter with the moorings. A few very minor issues with the boat but nothing you wouldn’t expect on a charter yacht. Our boat had a working anemometer which is unusual on a charter boat. The Marina also is very nice. In addition to the Moorings shop and the fishing shop there is a restaurant on site that we did not use. There is ample parking if you rent a car or drive down from California. Be sure to let the Moorings and the marina know if you have a car. You need to register it, and they will keep an eye on it while you’re out on your trip. The Marina will also take care of your Port Captain’s Clearance which is required in the Sea of Cortez.

    —-

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    After our charter, our three crewmembers that flew directly into La Paz headed home, and the five remaining crewmembers drove back down to Cabo San Lucas. On the drive back we took an alternate route along the pacific coastline, with expansive views of the crashing surf below. This route will also take you through the town of Todos Santos, which has a bit of a touristy/artist colony feeling to it but it worth exploring for awhile to do some shopping, get lunch, etc.

    On arrival in Cabo San Lucas we checked into the Cabo Inn. The Cabo Inn was a great find…a perfect little budget hotel! It is not on the beach, but it is a 10 minute walk from the main beach, and it is only about 2 blocks to the center of town with all the shopping, dining, marina, nightlife, etc. The Cabo Inn has a lot of character (check out the open air, rooftop palapa suites), a funky little pool and library on the roof, and a really friendly staff. Stanley, the manager, helped us with all of our sightseeing arrangements and got us some great deals on tours.

    In Cabo, we drove dune buggies through the nearby desert, which was very cool and not for the faint of heart. I also did four scuba dives in Cabo. I dove through Amigos del Mar, a first class operation located about a 15 minute walk from the Cabo Inn. I wasn’t expecting much of the Cabo diving but was pleasantly surprised of the 2 dives I did at Lands End and at the Sand Falls. These are worth doing, and it is cool to be diving at what is literally the underwater tip of the peninsula. My other 2 dives were 2 hours away at Cabo Pulmo. Cabo Pulmo is a great site, although the conditions were difficult when I was there because we were diving off very small boats in large ocean swells. This is probably as close to a real coral reef as you will find in Baja. There had been some whale shark sightings in the area as well but we didn’t see any on our dives.

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    Overall Cabo is a fun town, but it is pretty touristy and after 4 days I was missing the solitude of the areas further north. Crazy bars and nightlife aren’t really my thing, but if you like that then you will love Cabo. One other thing worth doing is walking over to the pacific beaches as well as lands end, which was about a 20-25 minute walk from our hotel. Lands End has amazing rock formations that you can climb through and explore and reach some more secluded beaches. I enjoyed watching the huge pounding surf over on the pacific side as well.

    As for dining in Cabo, we mostly stuck to the local establishments in the immediate vicinity of the Cabo Inn. You can put together a big meal at these places for $5-6 with some of the best tacos you’ve ever had (my mouth is watering just thinking about the carne asada tacos). You’ll pay at least double or tripple that at the touristy places.

    This was another incredible trip, and I’m already missing Baja a lot. I love the desert southwest in the United States, and I love sailing too, so this trip really had the best of both worlds for me. We also got to experience the craziness of Cabo and the isolation of the Sea of Cortez. Moreover, the people in Baja are friendly and inviting. This area is nothing like Tijuana with all the crime and corruption further north. I would go back in a heartbeat.

    Fair winds and following seas!

    -Sean Safdi

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  • Sailing and Scuba Diving in Belize

    Sailing and Scuba Diving in Belize

    Over the past December holiday break, I went exploring in Belize with a few friends. There were 9 of us this year, and this was our 4th big trip together for 7 of us, and the first trip for two others. Sean Safdi, whom I planned the trip with wrote an excellent report of the trip, which I’m re-posting below. Additionally, I’m including links to all of our photo and video galleries, as well as related websites.

    Photos from exploring Belize, December 2009

    Keep reading for videos and Sean’s full Belize trip report…

    Videos from Belize

    Video Log
    During the trip, we recorded a daily video log – a daily report of what we were up to and how we were feeling. Here are the full videos, days one through eleven in Belize. We tried to shoot the video during the end of the day, and in different locations each time. The footage was shot on a tripod with the Canon SD-780is Camera. A few of the clips have a little too much wind noise, which was hard to filter out since the camera only has a small built in mic with no windscreen.

    Anyway, enjoy the videos – we definitely had a lot of fun making them. The player below has a playlist of all 11 of our daily video logs!

    Video Log Day: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11

    During the trip I also shot a couple clips of our activities.

    Flights
    To get from Belize City to Placencia and back, we flew on a small Cessna Caravan plane, operated by Maya Island Air – Here are videos from some of our flights. I talked to the pilot beforehand, and got him to allow me to sit in the co-pilots seat. I (unfortunately) didn’t get to actually fly the plane, but the pilot did give me a good rundown of all the flight controls while we were waiting to pick up passengers in Dangriga. Shot with the Canon SD-780is digital camera.

    Scuba Diving
    While we were sailing in Belize, we did a number of dives with Avadon Divers, operating out of Placencia. The Avadon dive boat would come pick us up from our catamaran at the cay we were currently anchored at, and take us out to the dive location. We loosely coordinated our sailing route with Avadon ahead of time, and used our Iridium Satellite phone to update them on our location while we were at sea. The diving was great, and we did three full days of diving – 8 dives overall. The highlight by far was diving the blue hole. We started the dive at the lip of it, and descended down to about 140 feet, where the circular lip opened up into a wide, deep, flooded cavern, with huge stalactites hanging down from the ceiling. Since we were diving so deep, bottom time was only a few minutes, and the decompression was fairly long. Swimming through the stalactites was dramatic, and we saw a bunch of large sharks swimming directly below us. Diving with Avadon was a great experience – their boat was clean and well rigged, and the staff was fun to dive with – and very knowledgeable. Shot on the Canon G10, with Canon underwater housing, rated to 130 feet – although it survived about 10 minutes at 140/145 feet.

    Sean Safdi’s Belize Trip Report, originally posted on Travel Talk Online.

    Just returned from another wonderful sailing and scuba diving vacation with the Moorings, this time out of Placencia, Belize. I’ll provide some of the highlights of our trip as well as a link to my photographs at the bottom.

    We arrived in Belize on December 23. Our crew of nine flew to Belize City from around the United States, and we flew together from Belize City to Placencia on a Cessna Caravan from Maya Island Air. Highly recommend Maya Island Air – flights within Belize are very informal and you may find yourself stopping at one or more tiny airstrips on your way to your final destination, all part of the fun of it. Ask if you can sit up front with the pilot.

    Our plain to Placencia, Belize

    The Moorings base in Placencia has recently relocated from the South Water Resort to a new location several miles out of town. The new base is very nice although less convenient for restaurants and shopping in town. The new location is also located deep inside Placencia Lagoon, necessitating an approx. 30 minute motor through the lagoon to reach open water. Overall it is not a bad location, and the shoreside facilities are more than adequate. I recommend that if you plan to stay on shore before or after your charter you consider staying at the South Water Resort or another location closer to Placencia town. Placencia is a fun and funky town to walk around, stroll down the famous sidewalk, and enjoy some good restaurants. We stayed at South Water Resort the night after our charter.

    Our first night we slept aboard our boat at the Moorings dock. This trip we chartered a Moorings 4000 cat. Normally we go the monohull route, but the thin water in Belize really makes a cat the obvious choice. Many times you will have only several feet of water under the hulls. The water shoals rapidly and at times unpredictably, and the charts (paper and electronic variety) are not accurate. It was a little unnerving, particularly at first, watching the depth sounder bounce from 70 feet to 8 feet and back again all the time. If you CAREFULLY follow the instructions and sketch charts in Rauscher’s excellent cruising guide you will be fine. Navigation skills here are critical, and you also need good light and a bow watch to read the water colors in places.

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    The 4000 cat overall was a great boat. Coming from the monohull world, we really enjoyed the spacious salon and cockpit. The cabins did seem a little small for a cat. Systems worked, fridge stayed reasonably cool, overall a fine boat. We did have one issue with a broken throttle cable later in the charter that was quickly resolved by Moorings mechanics. Of course being a cat two things are definitely true – the boat is highly maneuverable under power and not so great heading upwind under sail. I’m also not a big fan of having all the lines run back to the helm. Gets a little crowded when you have many people wanting to help out with the sailing.

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    This trip we also did something unusual for us and provisioned through the Moorings. Moorings recommended this because provisioning options are not great in Placencia to begin with, combined with our arrival right before Christmas. Overall I was satisfied with Moorings provisioning, but I would always recommend to provision on my own if at all possible. Moorings always seems to provide tons of certain random items (4 or 5 jars of olives?) and not enough of the real staples. We supplemented their provisioning with additional items purchased after we arrived. I would, however, always recommend provisioning beverages through the Moorings – you can’t go wrong, and it beats having to carry cases of beer and soda and gallons of water all over town.

    We conducted the chart briefing the evening of our arrival, and the boat show the following morning before we left the dock. Chart briefing was detailed and overall well done. It helped that we had done or research and extensively planned out our route prior to arrival. Moorings basically confirmed my route and made a few minor course corrections. One thing I was a little disappointed of was their recommendation for a last night anchorage. At the chart briefing Moorings suggested Lark Cay as a possible last night stop. I don’t recommend it! After motoring around Lark Cayes for about half an hour I could not find anything less than about 50ft depth. There are in my opinion much nicer options within a reasonable sail or motor, such as Wippari Cay, South Long Cocoa Cay (our choice), or even the Placencia town anchorage.

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    After finishing up at the Moorings dock, we departed for our first night’s destination – Wippari Cay. Wippari Cay, like many of the more popular anchorages, had two mooring balls. The Mooring balls are free and we found them to be in good condition (but you should always check). We arrived too late to snag a mooring ball but found the holding to be good on a sandy bottom. Moorings recommends, and I second their recommendation, using a secondary anchor off the bow at most locations. We found the wind to be very shifty, ranging all the way from northwest to southeast, and two anchors will limit your swinging room.

    From Wippari Cay we moved north to South Water Cay. South Water Cay is a beautiful location right on the edge of the barrier reef! Navigating to South Water Cay from the south can be a bit tricky. We went through the Blue Ground Range, carefully reading the water colors and meticulously following the instructions and waypoints noted in Rauscher’s guide. The water is extremely shallow in places, but if you trust the guide and your instincts you will be fine. It is well worth the long journey north to South Water Cay. Here we had dinner ashore (one of the few places you can do this in Belize) and visited the small resorts and research station on the island. You can find good snorkeling here along the barrier reef – we found good snorkeling at most of our anchorages on this trip.

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    From South Water Cay we headed north, sailing inside the barrier reef up to Tobacco Cay. Tobacco Cay is fun and funky – many young people camping on the beach and partying late into the night. This is another beautiful location right on the barrier reef – highly recommended. We managed to pick up a mooring ball here.

    From Tobacco Cay we looped back south down the inner channel to Lagoon Cay. Lagoon Cay is a mangrove cay with an interesting lagoon and some pretty good snorkeling around the edge of the island. There are two mooring balls located here. Nice quiet anchorage.

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    From Lagoon Cay we headed south down the wide open Victoria Channel (enjoy sailing in the inner channel and Victoria channel when you can – there is not much deep, open water in Belize), then headed east back into shallow water to the Queen Cays. Queen Cays are magnificent tiny specks of sand with beautiful blue water. They remind me of the Tobago Cays in the Grenadines or maybe Sandy Spit in the BVI. This is a marine park and the rangers will collect a small fee on your arrival (there are a number of other marine reserves where you may have to pay a fee as well). By the time we arrived at Queen Cays, a norther had blown in with wind and small chop on the water. Not ideal, but still this was a great location and we found decent protection tucked up behind the southern cay. There is great diving and snorkeling to be done around here. We placed a geocache on the middle cay.

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    From Queen Cays we headed south again to Ranguana Cay. Ranguana is a beautiful small cay with a small resort. There are mooring balls here, but we arrived too late to snag one. We had difficulty setting our anchor in the hard bottom, but eventually got it done. I always recommend putting someone in the water for a close visual inspection and to help set the anchor by hand if necessary. Easy to do in Belize with the clear, shallow water.

    From Ranguana we headed back east towards Placencia. Our plan was to anchor at our final location for two nights, so that we could have one full day to dive the blue hole and lighthouse reef atoll. After rounding beautiful Colson Cay (looked like a great day stop if you have time) we headed into the aforementioned Lark Cays but could not find a suitable anchorage. After finding nothing in Lark Cays, we headed out to South Long Cocoa Cay. We were not disappointed with this decision! South Long Cocoa Cay is isolated and quiet, with just a single small local fishing camp (we purchased fish from the fishermen here, as well as at south water cay). There is a single mooring ball that was already taken, but we had a relatively easy time anchoring. You do need to come in very close to shore to anchor, as the water shelves up rapidly from 50+ ft to 5-10 feet immediately offshore. We spent two nights here to facilitate our diving, discussed below, before returning the boat to the Moorings on January 1.

    IMG_1925

    DIVING: Out of our 9 crew we had 7 experienced divers on board. In addition to snorkeling pretty much everywhere, we dove three days on this trip with Avadon Divers out of Placencia. I highly recommend Avadon! Get in touch with them before your trip and they will help you plan out your route to coordinate with the best diving opportunities. They’ll meet you at the anchorage, take you out on a 2 or 3 tank dive in the morning and early afternoon, and get you back with enough time to move to a relatively nearby anchorage. Avadon is a bit expensive, but they have a large boat (stable and never full) and provide first class service. They also have delicious and plentiful food! It is almost worth the cost for their lunches alone! Hot lunches every day and fresh fruit snacks between all dives.

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    We met Avadon at South Water Cay for a 3 tank dive, Queen Cays for a 2 tank dive, and finally a full day dive trip to Lighthouse Reef Atoll and the Blue Hole. All of the diving was great, but the day trip to the blue hole was really special. This is truly a full day excursion as lighthouse atoll is quite remote and approx 3.5hrs motor from the Placencia area. The water at lighthouse is spectacular! Beautiful hues of blue and green meet the deep blue of the open ocean seemingly in the middle of nowhere. Our trip to lighthouse atoll included 3 dives. The first dive was the world famous blue hole!! Diving this giant crater is really an experience. The dive is short as it is deep – approx 130-140 feet. The water is clear, almost like diving a fresh water cave, and we saw several reef sharks lurking in the distance. After the blue hole we headed out for a reef dive and then lunch on shore at half moon cay, a beautiful island and also a bird sanctuary (take the nature walk and visit the observation tower). One final dive, and then a long boat ride back to our anchorage, arriving well after dark on new years eve. Ringing in the new year in style!

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    After returning our boat to the Moorings on Jan 1, we checked into our hotel in Placencia (South Water Resort) and then departed on a half day tour down the Monkey River. I highly recommend touring the Monkey River (can be done in half day) or perhaps even going for a full day inland excursion to the mayan ruins if you have the time. Inland Belize is in many ways just as spectacular as the cayes. After traveling by boat down to Monkey River Town, we headed upriver, observing many unique birds, crocodiles, and yes many many howler monkeys! Great fun and a great way to wrap up our trip to Belize.

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    As previously mentioned – Placencia is also a fun town to explore for a day or two. You can walk everywhere, and there are an interesting mix of locals and expats and other folks just looking to get away from it all. Recommend Omar’s and Wendy’s for delicious creole cuisine. Don’t miss the gelateria! We found a geocache here in Placencia and added Maple Longarms, a travel bug that we first picked up on Anegada in the BVI, later placed in Tahiti, picked up once again after he returned to Colorado, and now will continue his adventures in Central America.

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    Overall: Belize is great! It feels remote, but you can still find a good mix of inhabited and uninhabited cays, as well as opportunities to both moor and anchor. There are some shoreside dining opportunities, but you should be prepared to be mostly self-sufficent for the length of your charter. Navigation was stressful at times (I’m paranoid and overly cautious) but it was also fun and challenging. You will definitely improve your navigation skills here. If you go – go with a cat for Belize! Moorings, as always a wonderful experience. Yes you will always have minor issues with any boat in charter, but the Moorings customer service is fantastic and they are always there to help out. We’ve been chartering with the Moorings for years, all over the world, and always enjoy the consistent quality (even with the slightly older club line boats).

    Until the next adventure, wishing everyone fair winds and following seas!
    Sean

    Sean’s full photoset on Flickr

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  • Sailing Egypt’s Nile River on an Ancient Felucca

    Sailing Egypt’s Nile River on an Ancient Felucca

    In December of 2006, accompanied by a local guide and my longtime friend Sean Safdi, I sailed the southern Nile river in an ancient Felucca sailboat. Although an ancient design, the boat sailed easily, and was maneuverable in the variable conditions and rapids of the river. A few photos from the journey.

    Faluka Captain

    Falukas going through the narrows

    Read more about my adventure down the nile. 

  • Back from Tahiti!

    Back from Tahiti!

    Listening to: Weezer – Pinkerton

    Back from Tahiti! Photos and everything are coming online, and i’m posting links over at www.SailEarth.com
    Here’s Seans Synopsis of the trip, pulled from his post at Travel Talk Online.

    Hey,

    Just returned from an amazing charter with the Moorings out of Raiatea in French Polynesia. A little too overwhelmed at the moment to write a full trip report, but here are some observations…

    Tahiti and French Polynesia is spectacular! The islands are very lush and the mountains huge in comparison to the Caribbean (Tahiti Nui has mountains 7,000ft+). The lagoons, particularly on Bora Bora and Huahine, are the most remarkable shades of blue you can imagine. It is really like floating in thin air. I have some pictures that will give you an idea, but they can’t do it justice.

    Arrived in Tahiti from Sydney, Australia a few days before the rest of my crew who flew in from NYC. It is definitly worth spending a couple days on Tahiti and exploring Papeete and the surrounding area a bit before your charter. The roulettes in Papeete are the best place to grab a quick dinner, local style. Try the local specialty, poisson cru (raw fish marinated in lime juice and coconut milk or a number of other ways). Chinese food is also great and cheap throughout the islands (there is a large Chinese population). Also, fresh baguettes are available wherever you go.
    In Tahiti, get on one of the safaris to the interior of the island. Fantastic views from high in the mountains, with waterfalls, rivers and swimming holes, etc. It is also worth taking the ferry over to Moorea if you have an extra day on Tahiti. Ferries run all the time. I think there are a couple of companies to choose from.

    Moorings base in Raiatea is a first class operation. Raiatea is about an hour flight from Papeete, and compared to Tahiti it is very quiet and laid back. The islands of Raiatea and Tahaa share the same lagoon. They are in the middle of the charter cruising area in the Society Islands of French Polynesia. To the east is Huahine, and to the west is Bora Bora.

    You can do some sailing within the lagoons when space allows, but at times narrow channels and shallow depths will force you to motor. In many cases you can pull right up to the barrier reef and anchor almost anywhere for the day. There is spectacular snorkeling along there barrier reef everywhere you go. You do need to watch your depth, the color of the water, and coral heads. Water depth can drop dramatically from 150+ft right down to just a few feet in just seconds. Good news though is that it is almost always easy to see the changes, and the major hazards, as well as the barrier and shore side reefs are well marked. Important to remember that it is red-LEFT-returning in FP.

    On Tahaa, I recommend the dinner and Polynesian dancing show at Le Hibiscus. We picked up a mooring there on our first night and had a great time. It was pricy though. On Raiatea, don’t miss the Anaperls Pearl Farm. You can take tour and snorkel this pearl farm located in the middle of the lagoon, and the prices are very competitive. Also don’t miss a dinghy trip up to Faaroa river…very cool and exotic.

    Within the lagoons on FP, you will have many short sails or motors similar to places like the BVI. However, traveling from Raiatea to either Bora Bora or Huahine will require longer sails (20 to 25 miles). Still, these are easily done in a day, and you can almost always see the islands, because of their height. It is important to familiarize yourself with the pass entrances through the barrier reefs, and use the alignment markers provided to properly line up the pass entrance. The location of the reefs in particular from outside the pass can be deceptive, and the pass entrances almost always have large waves and strong currents.

    Bora Bora is an amazing island with unsurpassed natural beauty, but it is also the bussiest and most tourist of the Society Islands (busy and touristy in relative terms of course – no high rise hotels here). It is worth renting a car or taking a guided tour around Bora Bora. There are great hikes, including some WWII canons left by the US. Can recommend Bora Bora Yacht Club for a mooring ball close to the main town, Vaiatape. They have water and can arrange rental cars, etc. Bloody Marrys is another cool place for dinner and drinks, although we felt a little out of place being totally surrounded by honeymooning couples.

    When you’re at Bora Bora, make sure to head over to the east side of the island and visit some of the motus (small islands along the barrier reef). The water here is the clearest we saw anywhere, and you are almost sure to see plenty of manta rays, sharks, dolphins, etc.

    The island of Huahine is very sleepy compared to Bora Bora, but we really enjoyed that. There are almost no tourists there…just the occasional surfer hitting one of the famous breaks on the barrier reef. Walk through the small village, Fare, and visit the roulletes at night. Port Bayourne is a beautiful area surrounded by mountains on all sides.

    What else…we chartered a Moorings 433. Great boat, although with the 5’7″ draft you do need to be careful in some areas, particularly on Bora Bora. I prefer the sailing characteristics of monohulls, but FP might be a good place for a cat if you’re into that. Moorings, as I mentioned, runs a great base here. It’s small so the service is very personal and attentive. It is a good idea to arrange at least some provisioning with the Moorings, because groceries and supplies can be hard to come by, and you will likely be starting your charter the morning you fly into Raiatea. Moorings also broadcasts an English language weather report each morning on VHF 68 around 8-8:30 (good to know even if you’re chartering with another company). Sailing conditions where very good during our charter. 15-20kt winds most of the time from the NW switching to a more typical E-SE later in the charter. Seas can be very big and choppy on between Raiatea and Bora Bora/Huahine, but inside the lagoons the water is almost always calm.
    Temperature was perfect. It is winter in FP and it was a bit cooler and less humid than you would find in the Caribbean this time of year. Mid 80s during the day, cooling off a lot at night. Definitly bring a windbreaker or fleece for night during the winter. We had one day of rain, and a few brief tropical showers, but other than that a lot of beautiful sunny weather.

    One thing about anchorages…many of the best anchorages are in much deeper water than you may be accustomed to. Think 50-90ft. The holding was very good though, and the water is so clear you may still be able to get a good look at your anchor. You can pick up a mooring ball at many private restaurants, tours, etc., and they are generally free so long as you buy a drink, eat dinner, etc.

    Another recommendation…learn some French! We had one French speaking crew member and that was a real lifesaver in some of the smaller towns and villages. Don’t expect that everyone will speak a little English…many outside of the main tourist areas won’t. Almost everyone speaks some French, and of course the locals also speak Tahitian.

    FP has a reputation for being very expensive, but it doesn’t have to be. As I said, we ate a lot of meals at the roulettes, and these were our favorites anyways. You can get inexpensive and huge meals at the roullettes, as well as at smaller road-side shacks and local hangouts. Avoid the hotel restaurants if you want to save some money. It is worth going once or twice for the shows though. You can find small grocery stores to provision throughout the trip, but you may be unfamiliar with some of the products. You can always find fresh baguettes (good for breakfast, lunch, and dinner), as well as the many local tropical fruits and fresh fish. Flights to FP can be expensive, but Air Tahiti Nui does run specials all the time. Go to their website and sign up on their email list and they will email when they have something. To get to Raiatea, you will need to book connecting flights on the major domestic carrier in FP, Air Tahiti (different from Air Tahiti Nui). You can fly to Papeete, the capital, direct from New York, Los Angeles, Sydney, Tokyo, and a couple other places. It is about a 13hr flight from NYC and an 8hr flight from LAX.

    SCUBA diving….awesome! We did a couple dives on Raiatea, a couple on Bora Bora, and another night dive on Raiatea. You will almost always see sharks and lots of them…lemon, blacktip, whitetip, maybe others. Mantas are common too, and huge schools of all sorts of fish. Diving is fairly easy – generally in the 60-100ft range. Some of the best dives are in the passes, and there can be a lot of current there.

    We also saw plenty of dolphins all over the place, and humpback whales breaching outside of Huahine!

    In conclusion…FP is a absolutely amazing and beautiful place. I could say a lot more about it and I know I left a lot out…if you have questions definitly let me know. Also, check out my pictures from the trip here:
    Papae in the Lagoon

    Pictures and videos from myself and other crew members will be online shortly at our new website: www.sailearth.com, so check that out in the next few days.

    Sean

  • Sailing and Diving in the British Virgin Islands

    Sailing and Diving in the British Virgin Islands

    Media and trip report from Sailing and Scuba Diving in the British Virgin Islands

    THE PHOTOS!. (Out of over 500 pics I took on the trip.)

    VIDEO RMS Rhone…
    -Exploring the RMS Rhone Shipwreck…Great classic wreck dive. We went down in about 70 feet of water and found the Rhone. Its the classic wreck dive in the western hemisphere, and i can see why. Swiming through the hull was incredible, and seeing the intact crows nest on the mast was pretty cool too.

    VIDEO Captains tour of the Jorvik
    -Indeed. Our feareless captain sean gives you a tour around our ship, the Jorvik. Although we all slept on deck every night, Zac and Jesse were in the starboard aft, Sean and I were port aft, and Dyana and Stephanie were in the bow. I shot it on our last day of the trip, as we were cleaning up in port etc….

    VIDEO Sailing along…
    -Making adjustments to the sails to tack our boat in reasonably strong winds.. its intense, especially on a close haul because the ship heels over a ton.

    VIDEO Stephanie exploring The Baths
    -Yes, the baths were beautiful. After exploring the rock formations, we made our way out to the beach and swam in the turquoise water for a while.

    VIDEO Scuba Diving at night
    -Video shot during a dive at about 11pm at night in the British Virgin Islands. The lights on our tanks are those “snap to activate” rave-style chemical light sticks.. great to have since you don’t have to worry about them failing in the middle of a dive, where having a light is absolutely critical.. even for knowing which way is up…. since its like being weightless underwater, without having a point of reference (the ground, surface, bubbles floating up), its easy to get disoriented and not know which way to swim to the surface… scary. But the night diving is super cool.. saw some fun stuff down there at night, including weird worms that explode every few seconds.

    VIDEO Diving on twin shipwrecks
    -Exploring two shipwrecks side by side lying in about 80 -90 feet of water…

    Maple Longarms, the Travelbug Sean and I found in the Geocache we located on Anegada

    Finally, Sean posted a great trip report on TravelTalkOnline.com …. a great travel site. I’m just copying and pasting the text from his report into my blog, but you can check out the actual thread on the site HERE, complete with user comments.

    Seans trip report:

    For this trip we chartered a Moorings 473. Really enjoyed some of the features on this boat in comparison to what we’ve had in the past. In particular, the front-loading fridge, and the shore power A/C was a nice luxury that we haven’t had in the past (although we only used it for our evening start in Road Town and one other night at Virgin Gorda Yacht Harbor).
    Despite the otherwise excellent condition of the boat, we did run into a problem towards the end of our charter when the alternator died on us. Turns out a leaky fitting in the engine compartment had allowed saltwater to enter the alternator, coroding it over time. The leak was observable only when the engine was running, so I didn’t notice it despite my daily checks of the engine compartment. In the future I think I will be certain to open the compartment from all sides a few times with the engine running just to be certain there are no leaks or other obvious problems, something that I have not felt obligated to do on chartered boats in the past.
    The alternator failure caused us to change around our plans for one day, but Moorings customer service was quick to respond to the problem and brought a new alternator out to our boat early the next morning, getting us back on our way.

    Other than the alternator issue, we had an awesome and pretty much flawless trip. We visited The Bight, Savannah Bay, Bitter End, Anegada, Virgin Gorda Yacht Harbor, Cane Garden Bay, Little Harbor on Jost (had planned on going to Great Harbor, but this is where the alternator died and nobody felt like trying to manually operate the anchor windlass), and Key Bay on Peter Island (maybe my favorite anchorage in the BVI except for Anegada). We usually arrived late (5 or 6 pm) after a late start and a full day of sailing and diving, and we never had a problem getting a mooring ball or finding a spot to anchor. I really enjoy sailing this time of year. Nothing is too crowded, but most places also haven’t closed down for the season just yet. Yes it is hot, but by no means unbearable when you’re on the water, and the water itself was incredibly warm (between 86 and 88 degrees everywhere!). Best of all, you can get some great deals this time of year. For us, 6 people in our early and mid 20s, we would have been hard pressed to afford this trip at most other times of the year.

    With the 6 of us all being scuba divers, this is the first year we decided to ditch the rendezvous diving and rent our own tanks instead. This worked perfectly, and we will definitly be doing it again in the future. UBS delivered our tanks and gear to the Moorings, helped us set up the tank racks, and gave us a very handy list of GPS coordinates for dive site mooring balls. With our own tanks on board we were able to dive almost every day, and we saved a ton of money considering the fact that tank fills only cost between $3 and $8 at most places. Diving highlights were the Rhone (never gets old), the Marie L and Pat, and a surprisingly interesting night dive right under the boat in Savannah Bay. We didn’t make it out to the Chikuzen (my favorite dive in the BVI) on this trip because of weather concerns on that day, but we dove the Visibles instead (off one of the Dogs, can’t remember which) and found this to be an interesting dive as well (although there was a LOT of current near the surface). Diving off a monohull is a bit of a challenge to begin with, particularly with so many people all trying to gear up at once in the cockpit, but it wasn’t so bad once we got used to it, and the freedom definitly made it worth it. Check out this video of our swimthrough of the Rhone bow shot by my buddy Jeff.

    A few other notable items. Purchased the Garmin Bluecharts before our trip and enjoyed playing around with these on my handheld GPS, although we found that in places (particularly the Anegada entrance channel) the Bluecharts were entirely inaccurate and would have landed us in some trouble if we’d followed them directly. They are a nice tool, but always cross reference paper charts and your own observations if you are trying to do serious navigation. On the up side, we were able to use my GPS to locate Walker’s geocache along the north shore of Anegada (a short walk from Loblolly). This was my first experience with geocaching and it was actually a lot of fun. Will have to try it again next time down.

    Also, the condition of NPT as well as overnight mooring balls seems to have improved overall since our last trip. I don’t know if we just got lucky this time around or an effort has actually been made to address this problem. Some are still in very sorry shape.

    We did not provision in advance and instead walked in to Road Town on our first night to purchase provisions from Bobby’s. This worked well, and by asking around in the store we were able to get a discount as well as a free ride back to the Moorings base.

    That’s about all I’ve got for now. I’ll try and post again with some more thoughts soon. Already planning our next adventure…we can’t wait to get back!
    Sean

    Listening to: The Sea and Cake – One Bedroom