We left Intermezzo on the hard in Puerto Escondido (near Loreto) in May and have had a busy summer and fall getting back our "land legs" and launching several new projects in business, politics and home remodeling. Now it's time to add sailing back into the mix, not full time like it has been, but still to be a significant part of life.
I'm writing this from the comfortable lounge of the San Diego Yacht Club, where I've joined "Mystique", Gary Schmitz's Beneteau First 37.6, to sail down to Cabo in the Baja Ha-Ha. We depart San Diego on Monday morning and, if all goes as planned, should arrive in Cabo San Lucas on November 9th, after stops in Bahia Tortugas and Bahia Santa Maria along the way. It will be fun to retrace the route we sailed on Intermezzo as participants in the 2015 Ha-Ha. It will also be fun to sail on a monohull again after many years of enjoying the comfort and stability of a catamaran, though often lamenting on upwind sailing performance.
I'm familiar with Gary's boat as I raced on a sistership "Bufflehead" with Stuart Scott back in 2003-4. The First 37.6 is a solid, fast, nice sailing boat. Mystique is well-seasoned and lacks many of Intermezzo's bells and whistles (like an espresso machine!), but will get us down to Cabo safe and sound. We'll be sailing three-up; Gary, Gary's son Eric, and me. I'm hoping that will result in a bit more sleep compared to the double-handed sailing I'm used to with Renee. It will be the first time I've sailed with an all-male crew since...I don't know, I can't remember it's been so long!
Once I get to Cabo, I'll catch a bus for Loreto and begin the laborious process of getting Intermezzo ready to sail again. Renee will join me on November 11 and I hope we can splash the boat a couple days later, finish preparations while at anchor and start sailing south to La Paz by the 14th. We'll sail until Thanksgiving and then leave Intermezzo at Marina Palmira until after Christmas when we'll start part-time "commuter-cruising" until the summer. What we'll do with Intermezzo after that will be determined from our experience and how the rest of life progresses.
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| Mystique, my ride to Cabo San Lucas |
