The sun rose this morning at Puerto Los Gatos; we listened to the weather forecast on the Amigo net; had some breakfast and put the boat together for a day's passage to Isla San Francisco. The forecast was for very light winds so we expected a motor boat ride. The winds eventually came up enough to sail for an hour or two, but mostly we listened to the starboard engine.
We also spent the day listening to the Honda generator -- which supplies the juice for the watermaker. And today was watermaker school for Alan. Now on Silhouette, we never managed a drop of potable water from that watermaker in two years. But Alan had been to the 3 day Spectra watermaker "rover" class last year so the odds were much better from the get go.
Ron and Alan fiddled and read the manual and fiddled some more. They took various tools down to the watermaker installation (forward port head) and came back with positive reports. The installation has been sitting unused for 2 years so one must expect a few "issues:" a few leaks, a seal on one pump, and new filters AND viola!!! WATER!! The salt water was now potable. The fiddling took 3 hours and when it was all good to go the first 5 gallons took 30 minutes. Then into the tanks -- plenty for showers and washing and cooking. After the tanks were filling, Alan hung up his Spectra flag and can now officially call himself a factory trained rover.
The day passed and we finally had enough wind to sail. We were sitting on the side deck and suddenly Alan spotted a whale spouting in the distance! And then a few more spouts. WHALES!! We decided it was probably 1 or 2 adults and several smaller calves. We never saw their tails but we knew we were not alone.
We set the anchor about 6pm. This anchorage is a large hook with long sandy beach and high reddish hills. While we watched the sun set over the Baja peninsula, there was a fish boil nearby. And about 15 minutes later: DOLPHINS! Jumping, rolling, swimming -- everywhere in the anchorage. With food to eat nearby, they were content to stay for awhile.
So what a day filled with treats: WATER, WHALES, and DOLPHINS. I baked brownies ala Arlene (with cranberries) so tonight we will have dessert with our movie night.
We plan to spend tomorrow here before continuing south to LaPaz.
Happy Valentine's Day to all.
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