Jolly Roger Arrives at the Bahia de Tortuga

Don Log-For those not aware we are competing in a boat race called the Baja Ha Ha.
We arrived last night around 8pm into the Bahia de Tortuga, completing leg one, being pushed by our dingy. Amazing how much push a little 4 storke outboard can generate, getting us up to around 4 knots. Our adventure with the dingy started at around 3 in the afternoon Yesterday when we noticed the engine temprature had risen from 160 to 180 and that we had had oil in the water. We arrived last night around 8pm into the Bahia de Tortuga being pushed by our dingy. Amazing how much push a little 4 strok outboard can generate, getting us up to around 4 knots.

After we got in last night First Mate Ted brought the famous drinking mug to shore and we suprised the locals and fellow Ha Ha er's with its size and hilstory (more later about the mug later). We celebrated being on land after being out at sea for 4 days. Every problem is an opportunity. This is to say that all of these problems have been taken in stride by the crew of the Jolly Roger. We stopped the outboard at one point and feasted on B-Bque chicken prepared for us by Jeff Kitchen. Ted has the ship organized to a high degree and Sean complements the Captain with some real sailing chops. We all toasted and each gave a heartfelt appreciation for what an incredible advnture this trip has turned out to be.

Dolphins guided us into the bay and now we are preparing to push off agian in the morning for the next leg. We will most likely not be using the diesel engine so we are stocking up on gas for the outboard. There are favorable winds projected, so it looks like good sailing down to our next and final stop before reaching the culmination in Cabo.

Dolphins-Human Inteligence

Click here to see the an amazing video of the Jolly Roger enveloped by a pod of 100's of Dolphins 13 miles off Catalina island. It's been said that the dolphins and whales circle the planet, providing us humans an example to WAKE UP, to become CIVILIZED. Bearing witness to the majesty of these creatures off our bow, and all around us for an hour, was a powerful experience.. The video footage is rough, but conveys a bit of this amazing sight. These pictures and video were taken Thursday morning , around 8am, in about 2700 feet of of calm water.

The water was incredibly clear and the dolphins would dive down 20-40 feet and still remain pefectly visible. After about 30 minutes, a large group of young dolphins followed up the rear. We would watch in awe as some would leap out of the water with their noses going straight up, their bodies fully out of the water, tail fill skimming the water, showing off.

Greg's Recap

What an amazing week I had. (click for pics)

The trip began at the Berkeley Yacht Club on Monday, October 13. Our start was a bit anticlimactic. We were scheduled to depart at 4:30 AM with the low tide, but someone figured out that we had it backwards – we should have left at high tide. Oh well. The batteries were dead, anyway. I had my first beer at 5:30 AM, a record low for me. We replaced the batteries and got underway by 10:30.

About an hour out of Berkeley, we unanimously voted to halt the cruise, restock the beer locker, and continue. We made a quick stop in San Francisco, and then we finally motored under the Golden Gate Bridge, out into the open sea, at 12:30 PM.

For eight days I ate, drank, and sailed amid a world unlike anything I had ever experienced. We had adventures: Don and I, both novices, sailing the boat back to Monterey after the engine quit; sailing for 50 hours straight; racing through the night in 30-knot winds, covered in sea-spray; landing the dinghy at Santa Rosa Island. But the best part of the trip was the fellowship of my fellow sailors.

Ted, Roger, and Don, my thoughts will be with you all the way down to the HaHa and beyond. Please keep up the blog.

Cheers,
Greg

Captains Log

Captains log 10/22/08
After a week of sailing down the California coast from Berkeley to Santa Barbara, on the “Jolly Roger”and having had many adventures along the way, we depart for Long Beach with continjency plans of Marina Del Ray, Depending on weather and wind.
We say a fond farewell to Greg Carbine, who was a joy to sail with, but after a long absence from his family he must return home.
There are so many friends who helped out during our departure from Berkeley, I will mention a few now and catch up later, Stephanie for her organizational skills and very special treatment of the Captian1, will Scott for the many shopping trips for the food we have ate with great gusto. My nephew Karl for his internet supporting always willing to jump in and help. Many guys who spent a day or more just working on the boat, Rich Symmons, Mark Peterson, Will Scott, Nick, Timothy B., tom Taylor somehow tucked himself into the battery compartment and changed for heavy marine batteries. Shawn Hanna for the wonderful Lady (Ariel) painted on the stern with the name Jolly Roger, then working to the wee hours to install a new music system, I Pod compatible. Tom Gerstil, for the books on Baja.

A big hug and kiss to our twin sisters Barbara Rudell, and Katherine Czesak for a wonderful Bon Voyage, and those fancy hats , one of them has been sacrificed to the sea gods, as our gift to them, sorry sisters.
Captain Roger

Adventure on the High Sea's

It's Thursday at 6pm and the 4 msn crew of the Jolly Roger is safe and sound and still in Monterey. We set sail yesterday around 3:30 in the afternoon, headed for one of the Channel Islands. We got about 2 hours out to sea, riding some pretty big waves, motoring and using the jib, when the engine died. We couldn't get it running, so turned around and sailed back to port. The wind and tide was carrying us in and we prepared the dingy to help us navigate, the adapter to pump it up had gone missing. We then, very quickly prepared to drop the anchor, but then managed to juryrig a device to pump up the digny and got it into the water, mounted the engine and got it fired up just isn the nick of time to grab a mooring buoy as we moved inexorably to shore. There was alots of adrenaline and sweat in this exercise and after we got the boat secured, we really experienced a heightened sense of what it is to be alive. Both Greg and Don are guys with little sailing experience, so they are going through a crash course in the ways of the sea.

The next morning we used the dingy to power the boat into the marina for a dockside birth to work on the engine. As we motored past a guy on a catamaran asked what the problem was? and Roger told him in passing. After we got birthed, John (pictured below) with Roger showed up in his dingy and fixed the engine. Our boat has a Perkins diesel and John used to be a Perkins mechanic among many other things in a very interesting life.

We took John and his wife Kathy out for breakfast and have become fast friends. Here is Kathy at the restaurant. She is from Alaska and is headed through the Panama Canal and off to Europe on the Catamaran with John.

The dingy motored went out after trying to clear the fuel line out bit outside the marina. As soon as the motor died and it was clear that it was not starting up this kayaker came to the rescue. We both laughed about the fact that I left the oars back on the boat. Dana towed the dingy back to the boat. Dana said it's good that were having all these things happen now and not out down the road, so to speak. Ahmen the that brother. The captain give a shot out to Tom Taylor for his help in installing the new batteries back in berkeley. All for noW.

Half Moon Bay to Monterey

We docked last night in Half Moon Bay, arriving around 6:30. The weather was beautiful, but not much in the way of wind, so we motored at about 7 knots all the way. Tom Taylor's wife Deborah and daughter Yelena met us for dinner and a great time was had by all. Passing under the Golden Gate in a sail boat is pretty awesome.

Don says, "I'm the King of the World and Don't Jump"

Roger and Tom cruising!

Arrival in Half Moon Bay

Yelena wins the heart of the Captain

We had tri-tip and salad, Yum!

We docked last night in Half Moon Bay, arriving around 6:30. The weather was beautiful, but not much in the way of wind, so we motored at about 7 knots all the way. Tom Taylor's wife Deborah and daughter Yelena met us for dinner and a great time was had by all. Passing under the Golden Gate in a sail boat is pretty awesome. We whales today and agina motored the distance. Being out on the open sea is NICE!

Off to Sea!

Jay met up with us at the Marina to take our photos as we went out to sea. Here are the photos he took from 5 locations as we left the Bay, the Marina harbor, the fishing pier just to the east of the Golden Gate Bridge, a lookout spot above Baker Beach, the east side of Land’s End just at the Legion of Honor, and finally the west side of Land’s End just above the Cliff House.:

http://jay.ligda.net/photos/image_index.asp?cpgg=327

Jolly Roger-Under the Golden Gate

We left the dock from Berekely at 10:07 after replacing the entire battery bank (4 batteries).
The batteries were 4 years old and no matter how much we charged they just would n0t turn over the diesel engine.
Motored over to the Marina harbor (Marina Safeway) where we are docked and getting some more gas and other supplies such as grog and water. Will be departing in about 5 mintutes.

The Jolly Roger Sets Sail to Mexico

The plan is for the The Jolly Roger to set sail at low tide on Monday (10/12/08) at around 4:30 in the morning. The makeup of the crew for the first leg is  Captain Roger with  First Mate Ted (friend of 40 plus years), and his nephew Greg along with Tom Taylor, Timothy Buchannan and Don Peck. It's a full boat with 6 crew members. 

Sean (in black cap) paints the picture of Ariel the Mermaid   from Shakespeare's The Tempest on the transom. First Mate Ted  is bending over and Captain Roger looks out from his boat. To look at more pictures of this journey please click here.