HAPPY HOLIDAYS FROM THEGOOD SHIP "CANDINE"

As I write, we slide along quietly under sail, passing south of Isla Cedros, a large island located at the hook in the Baja about half way up. You can check the position reporter at www.winlink.org to see exactly where we are. We will be in Bahia San Bartolome (also known as Bahia Tortuga) by daybreak, where Elizabeth and I will rest over Christmas together. Austen and Chris jumped ship at our last stop, Bahia San Quentin, where they caught a bus to Cabo San Lucas (21 hours) and a plane to Victoria
for Christmas. Their journey began with a 5 mile dinghy ride up into the Bay, where they befriended an American couple, Guy and Maggie, who helped to get them into town to the bus station. Our heartfelt thanks go out to this pair, for their kindness and generosity.

San Quentin touched us in another special way, as we also made friends with "Humpy" a large grey whale (about 35 feet, though we suspect still a juvenile). Humpy seemed to be alone in the bay, waiting for her friends, who never did show up. Either bored or lonely, she befriended Candine and paid us a number of visits during the three days we were there. We were first alerted to the sound of scraping on the hull and went on deck to discover this enormous leviathan rolling around against the boat,
pushing us about, and poking her head out of the water for a look-see (they call it spy-hopping). She seemed to be lining up the next blast of fish breath from her blow hole, straight up into our faces peering down over the rail in amazement. (She got each of us at least once.) This went on for an hour or so at a time, then she would leave us be and return after dinner for another interlude, or maybe just for another belly-scrubbing by Austen with the deck brush. (She did seem to enjoy this). Despite
her enormous strength and power, she was gentle and soft in her touch and was not the least bit aggressive. In fact, she seemed to bring a touch of magic, as the ongoing engine repairs, which had been plaguing us for 2 days, were suddenly effective right after her first visit. As much as I (Tim) would like to credit my own mechanical ingenuity, it was more likely that little spark of whale magic that did it.

Our adventures have improved considerably from the monotony of American fishing towns we had become accustomed to as we slogged down the coast. After a brief introduction to Mexico at Ensenada, we sailed south to Isla San Martin, an inactive and uninhabited volcano island, poking out of the water about 10 miles off the coast of Baja. Austen and Chris made a dinghy landing in the lagoon and explored the rugged landscape, until Austen was attacked by a cactus. The superficial flesh wound did not stop
him from taking the dare to be the first to plunge from Candine's spreaders (abut 20 feet) into the Mexican sea. We have experienced lots of marine life, including a pelican that landed on the foredeck on Chris' hatch for a short pit stop. There are porpoises everywhere, whose pods number in the hundreds (or even thousands?) around here, playfully darting about the boat, surfing the bow wave, squeaking to each other (and us?), and jumping and diving beside the boat (presumably to get a better look
at the strange mammals watching from above). As magical and wonderful as you can imagine, there is nothing so amazing as the sight of these creatures at night, in phosphorescent water, their sleek outlines glowing, leaving streaks and trails in their wake, as the swim about the boat under a moonlit sky.

Although it has taken us months to get here, Mexico has already shared many of her charms and wonders, though we know we have only just tasted it. We hope this blog entry finds of all our friends and family enjoying their own holidays, wherever that may be and we wish you all the best in the coming year.

Tim, Liz, Austen and Chris