Sailing Adventures of s/v Talos IV: Spring in the Sea of Cortez

It seems that much time has passed since our last post. In fact, it's been about 4 months or so. Not to worry the world is in fact round and not flat as some intrepid explorers speculated and we did not fall off the face of the earth. Much has happened in that time gap however, all good, but probably too much to go into in any detail at this juncture. Rather, I think the best way to approach this and to bring us up to date is mostly with a few highlight photos and some brief commentary.

First, let me recap our general sail plan as it unfolded after we left Puerto Escondido way back in mid April. After pulling out of the harbor, we headed over to Honeymoon Cove, just a few miles due east on the small island of Danzante. We then worked our way north to Isla Coronados, one of our favorites. After a short stay, which included a climb to the top of the volcano, we headed further north to San Juanico, where we enjoyed several warm nights and a full moon with large bonfires on the beach with fellow cruisers. This was our turn around point and the beginning of a slow run south back to La Paz. We mostly stopped at a few anchorages that we missed on our way north, but also enjoyed a few of the highlights discovered on our way north, including Aqua Verde, Isla San Francisco and San Evaristo.

Once back in La Paz, Paul flew back to Seattle to pick up our car and so much stuff for the boat that there really isn't enough room to lay it all out here. The most significant items were two additional solar panels and a water maker plus all the hardware, wires, etc to get it all hooked up when we return in the fall. The rest of the stuff was simply things we needed that you couldn't find in Mexico. He then drove back to La Paz, making the dash in about three days.

After Paul's return back to La Paz we had about two weeks of hard work ahead of us to get the boat ready to leave for the summer. We pulled all of the sails, halyards and anything else on deck in preparation for leaving Talos IV for the five month summer huricane season. Once prepped, we motor over to the Palmar Yard and were hauled out. It took us another day or so to get her ready and then we headed for Seattle with the furry crew not so sure what to make of all this activity and the new mode of transportation.

The drive north was a bit more relaxed, stopping in San Diego to visit cruising friends Don and Valerie from sv Distraction, who were kind enough to put us up for the night and Barbara and David from sv Zoe. We also stopped at both parents homes and stayed in a few hotels along the way. A rather pleasant drive and the cats seemed to make the transition without too much fuss.

Once back in Seattle we settled into the Seattle scene making daily urban hikes and discovering the many changes that took place around town in our absence. We've also made a few treks into the Cascade Mountains and discovered some wonderful hiking trails. All and all, the summer has been quite relaxing and enjoyable.

The plan now is to return to La Paz via Alaska Airlines on October 31. We will spend some time installing all the goodies Paul brought down and the yard will do a bottom job on Talos IV so that we can start the cruising season with a fresh paint job. We will re-splash on or around November 16 and then spend another couple of weeks at Marina Palmira getting sails and halyards reinstalled, as well as laying down several coats of varnish on the bright work and I'm sure numerous other pre-departure projects.