2020 Summer of COVID-19

Remember back in March when the COVID-19 pandemic struck? We were on the mainland when this happened, so we dilly-dallied around Barra, Tenacatita, and Chamela, then made our way north by way of Punta de Mita, and Isla Isabel to Mazatlán, then sailed across the Sea straight to the Loreto area of Baja California Sur on the dreamiest crossing ever. We arrived at Bahía de Candeleros on June 10, and since then we’ve been zig-zagging and looping around a 50nm stretch of coastline and nearby islands, affectionately referred to as the Loreto Zone by our friends on S/V Xpression. Because of all the uncertainty surrounding the status of the tiny little towns in the northern Sea, we decided early on that we would endure the summer storm season in the Zone. This way we would have reliable cell connectivity for Rand’s work and communication with our families and friends back home. Oh, and to have a place to duck into (Puerto Escondido) should a storm spool up.

The summer has now passed us by, storm season has officially ended, and we seem to have survived. What, you ask, did we survive? Well…

1. The heat: it’s now the end of November and we’re under a real comforter at night, and I’m wearing pants as I write this;
2. the chubascos: there weren’t really any, but thanks to Jake and Sharon on S/V Jake, we had a nightly forecast;
3. the hurricanes: there was only one tropical storm, Genevieve, that dumped enough rain to scrub da boat;
4. the bitey bugs: there were amazingly few, and honestly, it’s a bit disconcerting;
5. the bees: there were thousands, and only one sting – poor Capt. Rand;
6. the stingy jelly season: there were a gazillion, but luckily it was short-lived; and,
7. so far, the isolation: probably the hardest part of this whole thing. I feel like I’m hanging on by a thread, mentally. Thirty-eight feet is fine when it’s a normal cruising situation, with other friends floating around, hikes ashore, walkabouts and eating out in town, etc. But, let me assure you, it is not situation normal – luckily, we’re in the Zone.

So, despite having to remain distanced while in town and from our friends on the few other boats that also stayed here in the Sea, we did manage to have a little bit of fun. We established a little virus circle with our new buddies on S/V Pandion, instituted the dinghy dangle happy hour, swam many miles and spent many hours in beautiful blue water, and became proficient at sailing on to and off of the hook, minimizing our carbon footprint. All in all, there were just a few days where it was so dang hot that we just laid around moaning. That’s not to say it wasn’t HOT AF many-a-day, but we didn’t totally succumb to the heat. I did, however, lose my composure on a few days, stomping around da boat red-faced and pissed off. Poor Capt. Rand. But those days are behind us now that it’s full on Fall, and we’re just hoping the Covid allows us to head home in the near future.

We have to say the Loreto Zone served us well over the summer. We do love it here. And because we’ve visited many of these places over the past four years, the following posts will consist mostly of video and stills. They may look familiar to you, but this time we get the bird’s-eye view from the drone. Enjoy, and happy Fall!

Candeleros Gallery

Flying the pretty sail on our crossing to Candeleros from Mazatlán

On watch with Pancho

Sunrise over Monserrat during the last hours of our crossing

Beautiful water in Candeleros

Captain Fishguts at it in the anchorage

Found our friends on Tigress II – yay!

Tigress II leaving Candeleros for a bit

FL ghosting out of Candeleros (PC S/V Gen M)

Cloud-capped Isla Danzante

What?? Ain’t no crime.

Free Luff is a mega yacht magnet

Retrieved a birthday balloon from the Sea just in time for my birthday

Birthday hurricane (Genevieve)

Sunset before Genevieve

Morning of Genevieve

By the time Genevieve reached us, it was a tropical storm

Sitting out the storm with S/V Totem

Plenty of rain to scrub FL and obscure nearby Isla Danzante

More cloudy days in Candeleros with S/V Sea Dream

and S/V Nautilus

and pelicans and gulls fighting over a dead fish

Our buddy, Everest, serenading us with some Rush – the kid is a phenom

Din din on Pandion

Moonset over Pandion

Pandion headed over for a dinghy dangle

Dinghy dangle! With S/Vs Ikigai, Tulum V, and Pandion

Everest’s homemade scones. Seriously, the kid is a phenom.

The male contingent on Pandion

Breaky on Pandion

Salty the Pug lurking

Last family photo for a while

Pandion moving on to Mazatlán

Candeleros Chico Gallery

Sailing into Candeleros Chico

FL at rest in a calmer than calm Chico anchorage

First hike in months with S/Vs Kognita and Pandion

Beautiful views and beautiful people

Contemplating life in a pandemic

Chico selfie

Amazing day

Magical mobula rays in the crystal clear water

Sharing Chico with S/V Jean Butler

It’s a race against JB

The Capt. cleaning electrical contacts so his computer will charge

Moonrise at Chico

Giant jicama

Tappan Zee still asleep

Dusk over Chico and Tappan Zee

Socially distanced happy hour at Chico with Tappan Zee

Tom and Annie launching their dinghy

Another Chico selfie