Bahia de Los Angeles and swimming with sea lions

THIS POSTING HAS BEEN UPDATED (so look at the photos, many of which were taken by Rick and Sharon of the sailing vessel Limerick):

A very quick update to let folks know that we arrived safely in Bahia de Los Angeles (B of LA).

We left Santa Rosalia on September 26, and did our first night sail. Actually, we continued sailing for three days and two nights due to the winds (or lack thereof) and lack of good anchorages. Night sailing was a truly amazing experience - the sunsets, the solitude, the stars, the sounds of nearby sea life. . .

The second night we were surrounded by a pod of whales. We could hear them spouting and slapping their tails. Thankfully, we did not collide with any. We also had some great dolphin encounters, with huge pods of them moving past us on a feeding frenzy.

Prior to arriving here we were joined by Limerick en route to B of LA. We sailed with Limerick for several days before heading to B of LA, stopping at many beautiful anchorages. We'll eventually post photos on our Fotki site of some of the astounding places we visited. But right now, the internet connection is so slow that we're only going to post some photo highlights. Here's a photo of Limerick at the Alacran anchorage.

Dan speared (with a Hawaiian sling) his first fish - a Pacific dog snapper, which was excellent eating. Rick and Sharon from Limerick took these great photos of Dan during the spearing and fish cleaning event.


The highlight of our time with Limerick was our visit to a colony of sea lions on Isla El Racito near Alacran. We were towed out to the little island on Limerick's windsurfer board. The sea lions were lounging on the rocks, but when we got into the water a number of them jumped in with us. It was one of the most amazing experiences of our lives. The sea lions seemed to be as inquisitive of us as we were of them. They were playful, surprisingly graceful, quick and agile, and plentiful. It was so much fun being with them that we stayed in the water until our bodies approached hypothermic levels. When we were leaving several of them popped up their heads as if saying "don't go yet, we're not finished playing!" It was a great day. Here our some fabulous photos taken by Rick and Sharon of Limerick during the swim. You'll see them in one of the photos below.

Later today we head out for a couple of weeks to explore some islands north of B of LA. Again, we will be sailing with Limerick, and also with Isis for a few days (and then they depart for points south). We’ll link up with Isis again later in November or early December when we buddy boat with them down the mainland coast of Mexico. Until then, however, we will be continuing to sail in the Sea, exploring new places and visiting favorite anchorages again (winds permitting).