Eupsychia-Ekotopia-Talion-Jolly Roger and Ice Cream

Enjoying a "moment" at the local ice cream shop in La Paz
From left to right:
Don from the Jolly Roger
David and Heather from Meercat
Jennifer and Eric from Ekotopia
Patsy (back turned) From Talion

Katie (with red pants) helping out on Talion with her friend Cyra taking the picture

Captains Log

Well here I am left with only one crew member(Don Peck), I guess I must be a pretty hard ass Captain. I thought everyone was having a pretty good time, but one by one they jumped ship, after eating my grub, and drinking my grog,why you would think I shang-hied the lot of them!
The first two that left were hardly sailors at all, Tom and Timothy, something about work and family responsibilities, bla bla bla,. the next on to leave was ( I thought an up and coming sailor) very affable young man, said he had to get off in Santa Barbara, with the excuse that he had four kids needing him to come home and take care of them.
I decided these family guys just do not know how to stick it out on the high sea, no more family guys! So I pick up two single sailors Shawn and Jeff in San Diego, they looked pretty good sailing all the way down the coast of Baja, in a race called the Baja Ha Ha, a very serious endeavor. As soon as the race ends shawn jumps ship in cabo San Lucas, I guess I cannot blame him, a young guy and all those beautifull women ashore, waiting.
But then the biggest shock of all, my first mate Ted, says I got to get off this ship, and were not even in a port Just sailing past a place called "Los Brailles," he announces let me off on a Tonga, he grabs his stuff and heads for shore , saying he's got to meet his Twin sister Katherine.
Well now I am down to two crew and wondern who's next, when my old buddy Jeff Say's I got to go bet on my Horse "Capital Cat" running at Golden Gate Fields, unbelievable!
so now I have just one crew who said h will be with me till Guaymus.It's a tuff life being the captain of the Jolly Roger

La Paz Whirlwind

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Information if you want to support their effort (click to enlarge)

Don's Log: Tomorrow we set sail up North from La Paz for Guaymas on the mainland to put the boat, "On the Hard"(storage). We will be going along the coastline of Baja, many folks tell us that this section of Baja is some of the most beautiful cruising in the world. There has been so much experience in so little time since arriving in La Paz on November 15th. After docking at the incredibly friendly and wonderful in so many ways,  Marina de La Paz, we rented a car and drove from La Paz  to El Cardonal. There was only three of us on the boat now as we had dropped Ted off near El Cardonal two days earlier. Ted got off before La Paz  so that he could spend some time with his sister who was staying in a community of like minded Americans who had established an Intentional Community along a pristine section of coastline. They had "discovered" this place after looking for almost ten years. After finding land that met their criteria for a community of like minded people,  they  built various homes and integrated themselves into the local community. While there, I got to meet Lynn Dress, John Hensley and Juanita Riddell. These three have been in  community up in Ukiah California in a place called Greenfield.  They all welcomed us with open arms and generously  shared their time and love for this beautiful place. Lynn and Juanita have taken their passion for making a difference  by helping to establish a Non-Profit called Tu-Hogar(Your Home) in El Cardonal. The first thing they did was to ask this small community of perhaps 150 people what they wanted and the answer they got was a health clinic. They broke ground some months ago and already have the septic and the foundations for the walls  ready to be poured. If you click on the two pictures above you can get more information about the project.

 

Lynn showing  the plans for the community.

Lynn walking the site for the  clinic.

View from the "Big House" out into the Sea of Cortez

Just another day in Paradise!

Bombay Explorer-Our Boat is a Very Fine Boat

Dons Log:
Lots more pictures at http://picasaweb.google.com/thejollyroger2
Life is a Dream. Hanging out at Marinas, with people that have boats, you can easily tell this by the names of each boat, they all represent a dream of the owner. The Jolly Roger is a very fine boat (sung to CSN&Y tune of-"Our House"). The Jolly Roger is classified as a Sloop, a very simple design, with a shoal (shallow) draft. More info about this fine boat click on the following two links:
The Bombay Explorer 44
Specs of the Bombay Explorer

"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sailaway from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover." - Mark Twain

Catamarans-All Sizes: It's the dream that counts

Dons Log: Two Catamarans and Two Dreams....

One is classified as a Micro-Cruiser (Miss Cindy) and was built from scrtach by Tony Bigras. It weights 450 pounds, cost about $10,000 in materials and took 500 man hours to complete. Tony has already sailed it 500 miles. He built it in Canada and then loaded it on top of a stationwagon and drove it down from Canada. He's quite the boat builder and you can check out his journal by clicking on his travel log or you can check out his other boats by clicking here. Tony plans to sail it down to Nicaragua and then transport it overland and put it in at Lake Nicuragua and sail over to the Carribean.

The boat behind Miss Cindy is called Carinthia and it's owners Dietmar and Susan have just purchased the boat to sail around the world. In the last 2-3 years they have been preparing themselves as sailors. Dietmar consults for the company he just sold and Susan still actively works for a college flying all over the world delivering leadership training. Dreamers all round in this world of water.

Finding a Difference in Baja

Jeff's Log: Don asked Jeff what he wanted to say and he said "I got nothing to say, other than, to ackowledge Captain Roger Behnken for giving me the opportunity of an incredible adventure. One of the most striking revelations of the Mexican culture is the incredible wealth in their humanity. Always helpful, patient, invariably making eye contact and saying hello. This is not my expereince in the U.S. The neat part is fthe infectious nature of it all, as Gringo's find themselves making eye contact and acknowledging each other, maybe it is just the sailing community, but I don't think so. The constant experience of being offered various things for sale and having a simple "No", be sufficient. Simply put it would be the word "Respectful". Your not harrased in any fashion whatsoever. In fact one time in Cabo we were approached by a man who was touting a local strip club, we declined. but asked the location of a a particlular Italian restaurant, after trying to explain where the place was, he realized that the quickest way was to actually guide us on foot to the restaurant. For that we were happy to give him a tip in full gratitude and his attitude was not one of expecting a tip, but one of gratitude and gracious acceptance with an undertone of genuine friendliness.

Departing For La Paz

To look at pictures (many photos galleries of the entire voyage) of The Adventures of the Jolly Roger, please CLICK HERE or go to: http://picasaweb.google.com/thejollyroger2

Don's Log: We set sail for La Paz in the morning. It has been an incredible adventure, complete with all manner of excitement out on the open sea. Today the captain and I swam over by the Arch Rock where the sea of Cortez meets the Pacific Ocean. Lots of new pictures in various galleries have been uploaded so take a look.

Cabo Days

Don's Log: Well, the Baja Ha Ha culminated in the awards ceremony last night. There were over a hundred boats in this years race and we came in third place. I should also probably mention that every boat got AT LEAST third place. Second and first place awards were given for those boats that made a leg or two or even all three legs distance without using their motor.

Captain Roger Behnken and First Mate Ted Csezak showing off our third place medal.

Lots of kids did the Ha Ha this year, the the youngest being 2 1/2 years old.

One of the kids one the prize for doing an imitation of her grandfather snoring, in the loudest snoring contest.

These three young men had very little open water sailing experience and made the entire trip without using their motor.

Roger and Jeff repairing the running lights that got destroyed by the jenneker on the bow sprit.

A fortune in boats, the Jolly Roger stands out eh!

Captain Hamisch of the Team New Zeland America's Cup boat and Don Peck pose for this pic.

Looking into the harbor.

Don was here in the early 80's and most of what you see in terms of building and such simply did not exist.

Cabo has become a very busy place with lots of traffic.

One of the Ha Ha events was for couples to recreate the scene in "From Here To Eternity".

David and Diana of Gai do an admirable job.

Heather and David at Squid Row.

What need be said?

We Made It!

We Made It to Cabo!

Ted's Log: To my beautiful wife, Sugar Plum, I Love You! The boat has been ziplocked and many places have been mugged.

Jeff's Log: You know the expression, "Shit Happens", on a boat, you can count on it, more later.

Don's Log: We have arrived in Cabo and have been staying at a very upscale Marina Cabo San Lucas Marina. It's going on a month that we have been out to sea and it has been a grand adventure. Tonight is the awards cermeony, and for sure everyone who made it will get at least a third place prize. The Baja Ha Ha is not so much a race as an excuse for 180 boats to form a community and travel from San Diego down the Baja togehter. it reminds me of Burningman somewhat, an intentional community that comes together once a year, comprised of a bunch of folks who like adventure and might be called "Freaks" by some. Definitely count me in as a freak in this regard. The world of sailing is so elemental. Reality is the vast ocean with it's currents, waves that determine ones course. The Sun, moon and stars are present in ways that you just don't get as a land person. Everything matters on a sailing boat, all the systems from navigation to sails are important becaue if one goes down or is impaired it impacts you, sometimes in ways that are quite unpleasant. Take for instance the septic system. What happens when a toilet gets clogged and and a plunger or snake won't do the trick? Somebody, namely yours truly, gets to take on the task of being a plumber and boy what a stinking job that was! Anyways I will write more later on that particular episode.

I have Visited Cabo since the 80's and it has now become like Miami Beach-Vegas. Totally built up, expensive, a place to party for those with dough. The captain will put up his entry before we depart for La Paz in the next few days, but here are a few pics that he picked out from San Diego and after departure.

The Captain preparing a meal fof the crew and Jeff at the healm (we don't need no stinking auto pilot)

Your's truly raising the flag as we exit San Diego and Sean with his U. Marine Corp brother who came and visited us while we were at the S.D Yacht Club

Sean in the Bosuns chair fixing the uneven spreaders

Guacomole anyone?