The Villa del Palmar, the only resort of its kind north of La Paz in the Sea. If the photo looks odd, it's because we ipped it for the layout.
month of December was 20 knots. The pilot charts were accurate, as half the time it blew 40 knots and half the time there was no wind at all." For another way of evaluating the possible weather on a Clipper Route home, we suggest following Passage Weather's graphic of the North Pacific conditions for about a month. It's fascinating and educational. Speaking of the Bash, we received the following report from Wayne Hendryx of the Brisbane-based Hughes 45 Capricorn Cat, who was bringing the FP 56 Dolce Vita to California for owner Mai Dolce of Belvedere: "It's 1 a.m., we're about 30 miles south of Baja's notorious Sacramento Reef, and I got nobody to talk to. So I thought I'd try this newfangled email thing. The last couple of
times I've been through Turtle Bay, Annabel's fuel panga got to me first, and what am I supposed to do, say 'no' and go to Gordo's? Annabel has two buoys, her fuel barge comes alongside carefully, and 'Bob's your uncle,' as they say. Plus, when we came south on Sunbaby 2 late last year, they offered to cook us dinner, too! So as were motoring into Turtle Bay, who cuts right past us at warp speed on their way to Annabel's buoy? Sunbaby 2! Just then Gordo's panga found us and gave us the usual pep talk, which is the same one that Annabel's people give us: "Their fuel is no good", "Their fuel has water in it", "Our fuel is super clean." Gordo's has a floating dock that's easy to tie up to, and in addition to fuel, has water,
garbage service and pangas. Gordo Jr swore that their fuel was 'super filtered' and showed me their filter, a four foot tall, eight-inch diameter vertical pipe, all painted up nice. Seeing that I was skeptical, he pumped a gallon of the clearest, cleanest diesel I have ever seen into a plastic jug. So we bought 146 gallons. The only two problems were that they didn't take credit cards and the exchange rate was a Dirty diesel is no good for your engine(s). lousy 11 to 1, even after haggling. It came to just under $5 gallon. That said, the fuel we got from Gordo was really clean, while the stuff we got at Cabo San Lucas was filthy. We're now down to just two knots in an effort not to pound. The seas aren't big, but these damned short-period swells are murder!" One of the many cool things about world cruising is that you sometimes find yourself in the right place at the right time to experience amazing natural phenomena. That was the case the first week in June when Teahupoo (Cho-Poo), Tahiti's world-famous surf break, was hit by an epic swell. "We knew the swell was coming," report Will and Sarah Curry of the Vancouver, BC-based Beneteau First 405 Hydroquest, "as we could feel it the night of May 31. Huge waves were crashing over the protective reef on Tahiti’s west coast, turning the normally calm anchorage and mooring area into a surging mess of water. Some waves even broke inside the reef." The Currys, along with fellow Pacific Puddle Jumpers Lionel and Irene Bass of the Perth, Australia-based Gunboat 52 Teahupoo probably has the most dangerous wave in the world, but spectators can get close. Teahupoo is Tahitian for 'broken skull.' CAROLINE OF ORKESTERN
LATITUDE/RICHARD
IN LATITUDES