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Sailing Four Weeks from Ensenada Mexico to Marquesas Island, French Polynesia

Crossing the Equator and Sharing Wine with King Neptune. We are now two Shellbacks!

(Sunday, April 30 to Saturday, May 27, 2023) At the beginning, we were excited about crossing the Pacific and exploring the beautiful islands of the South Pacific. It had been our plan to do it in 2015 and 2020. We didn’t do it in 2015 due to El Nino and in 2020 due to the COVID Lockdown.

Before this trip, I had sailed 20,000 NMS (nautical miles) and John had sailed 25,000 NMS. We had both previously crossed the Atlantic Ocean round trip,

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Setting Sails for French Polynesia: Our 3,000-Nautical-Mile Journey from Ensenada

Long waiting! We are about to set sail to the South Pacific, tentatively on Sunday, April 30, 2023. The distance is about 3,000 nautical miles from Ensenada, Mexico to Nuku Hiva Island in French Polynesia. This will be the longest nonstop sailing distance for us.

What will happen during this trip? I am excited and worried at the same time. The grand sea, sound of the ocean, countless stars, beautiful sunrise/sunset, free from the internet, clean mind, and just being ourselves! We have able-minds and plan to tackle obstacles whenever they occur. The rest will depend on Mother Nature.

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Wildflowers in Bloom: Exploring Baja California’s Beauty

Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico

Winter brought an abundance of rain to Ensenada, transforming the landscape in a matter of months. Gone are the dusty hills and cityscapes of last July – now, vibrant wildflowers dot the countryside and birdsongs fill the air. It’s amazing what a little water, sunshine, and fertile soil can do for the earth. As I walked along the shoreline, I found myself captivated by the colorful wildflowers that seemed to bloom everywhere, a testament to the beauty of spring in Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico. (ChatGPT Edited Version)

It rained pretty well in winter in Ensenada.

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Preparation for Sailing with Cats to French Polynesia

Guard Cat “Happy” from Panama

Guard Cat “Swat” from Puerto Rico

Spring weather is an ideal time to sail from the US/Mexico Pacific Coast to the South Pacific. After a three-year delay due to the COVID pandemic, we are finally preparing to set sail for the South Pacific. Hopefully, it won’t be much longer.

We have two cats on board, Swat and Happy. John decided to keep Swat, who was born in 2013 in Puerto Rico, and Happy, who was born in 2020 in Panama. He loves cats more than anything. As for me, I think sailing around the world with pets is a bit nonsensical,

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Phone-Free Sundays


View of Ensenada Port between Trees, Baja California, Mexico

Somehow, I caught a cold before Christmas last year. That made my new year’s resolution a bit delayed. My list goes like “Laugh 10 times and find a joke each day”. It sounds simple but I have to work hard making jokes if I can.

A friend mentioned to me about “Phone-Free Sundays”. It is also my resolution this year. Living on a sailboat, we don’t usually have this problem. This changed last July when we arrived at Marina Coral Ensenada, Mexico. As we decided to stay here for eight months,

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Happy New Year 2023!

It rained all day. It is a very good thing. Boat got cleaned with fresh rainwater from the top of the mast. Rainwater is my favorite! It says Ensenada gets about 10” to 12” of rainfall annually, a lot more than I expected.

Bad Bunny on New Year’s Day in Marina Coral in Ensenada, Mexico

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Movie from the Sea of Cortez

Puerto Refugio is my most favorite place in the Sea of Cortez, Mexico. The video was taken at sunrise in April, 2022.

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Crossing the Land Border from Tijuana to San Diego

Vehicle Border Crossing from Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico

We have been in Ensenada Mexico for more than two months. We like the weather here. We love everything in Marina Coral. We decided to stay here until the weather allows us to sail directly to the South Pacific, most likely March 2023. I learned bad weather makes us cranky. Thus, when I am ready to live on land, I will consider a place with “good weather and good water” not just location location location.

Being so close to the USA, I visited San Diego twice by land from Tijuana the last two months.

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Baja Bash by Bad Bunny

Fiesta Time!!! Whole Lamb Roasting on Wood-Fire. Weekend Brunch Buffet Food in Hotel Coral and Marina, Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico

At San Lucas, the Land’s End of Baja California, we couldn’t make a decision where we want to go: South or North? Depending on when our friends asked a question, we answered to some friends, South and others North. That explains how equally our choices were measured. The sure thing was that (1) we wanted to get out of the hurricane zone, (2) we don’t like the extreme hot weather (Going South), and (3) we read a lot about the difficulties of “Baja Bash” (Going North).

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San Lucas, Arch Rock Place, the Most Southern Point of Baja

Arch Rock, Land Mark of San Lucas, Baja California Sur, Mexico

(June 13 to 17, 2022) It looks to me Cabo San Lucas is like a small mixed city of Key West, Miami, Las Vegas, and New Orleans. Day starts very early here though. Tons of sport fishing boats (mostly charter yachts) all go out before sunrise, around 6am. Many are lined up at the marina fuel station prior to heading out to the sea. Most of them come back mid afternoon. 

Late afternoon, a different kind of boat with tons of tourists goes out for a sunset cruise.

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