Everyone has a story. Each day of our lives is a short story composed of many smaller stories. When living aboard S/V Flapdoodle it is our hope to make our daily stories the best we can, making the most of every opportunity to smile, laugh, be positive, observe, wonder and dream on.

“Life is like a book. Some chapters are sad, some happy and some very exciting. But if you never turn the page, you will never know what the next chapter holds.”- Unknown

Thank you for taking the time to lend a listening ear to this part of our story. SPOILER ALERT – It is long winded, and rambling; but I hope it helps paint a picture of our BAJA MINI ADVENTURE. The good news is that at any time you can abort the mission and stop reading, or just scan and enjoy the images that have been gathered.

The following seven daily reports were written at the conclusion of each day of the adventure and sent as an email to inform family and a few friends about our where-abouts and status. They are now posted here with visual documentation of the adventure.

DAY ONE Thursday, July 13^th, 2023. FLAPDOODLING ALONG

G’Day from Puerto Santo Tomas anchorage!

“Flapdoodle” left the dock around 10am. We effectively motored the whole way. We tried raising the sail for a short time, but it was not helping and it was stressing the rigging as the boom slapped backward and forward, so it was taken down.

Fishing equipment was in use, but the only catch was some healthy seaweed. For a short time it had us excited when the reel screamed from the weight of the catch.

We had experienced very light winds all the way down the coast until we turned toward land. Then the winds were 20 to 25 knots, which was 10 knots less than the last time we did this. We negotiated the kelp bed well to get close to the shore. We had to anchor twice in order to be positioned well. The anchor dance had a few stressful moments. The anchor chain jumped off the gypsy when bringing it in from the first attempt. In the process of Leticia standing on the escaping chain and Harry putting it back in place we got our second catch of seaweed for the day. Leticia tethered herself to the jackline and bent in half over the bowsprit, tail in the air, in order to remove the large clump of seaweed. It would have been a good video moment.

The wind is blowing, but there is little rocking and rolling in this anchorage.

There are about 30 pangas anchored between us and the shore. Occasionally one of them heads out. There are seagulls and pelicans going about their daily business and one small sea lion playing as the seaweed beds flip and flop in the wind. As the sun descends there are few clouds to be seen in the blue sky.

The wind generator ran all night, which supported all the boat instruments and put charge into the batteries. This was for the first time in its life it has produced this much power. It has been a part of the Flapdoodle equipment for 5 years

DAY TWO Friday, July 14^th, 2023. MORE FLAPDOODLING ALONG

We had a slower than planned departure… a little “déjà vu” moment. This time de-salinating water and topping up the diesel were completed, when Harry ran the engine before departure and he heard a squeal that he did not like the sound of. Harry went into mechanic mode.

Meanwhile Leticia made sure there was food ready for the day and had a moment to view the Pangas going out for their day’s work. While Harry worked on the engine, Leticia had a – “Hurry up and wait feeling.” She picked up a novel to read and sure enough in no time Harry had cleaned the fan belt and he was happy that the engine was ready to go. Suddenly there was a “Hurry up and let’s get out of here,” request. We had thoughts of staying a day longer amongst the little fishing community, but the ocean called us to move on.

We departed Santo Tomas at 10am. The winds were calmer than the previous day, so we motored all the way to Cabo Colonet. On the way, at the moment Harry was applying sunscreen, the fishing line made that whirring sound and we landed a 3.5 kg bonito which we grilled for dinner. Moral – If you want to catch fish – apply sunscreen.

We dropped anchor at 5pm without drama this time. There is less wind here than at last night’s anchorage. We have some sideways rocking and rolling from the swell, but it is very tame. The wind generator will not get to make as much power tonight. Unlike last night when the wind blew all night between 20 and 25 knots continuously.

Another record was made today – We have now officially doubled our miles towards our circumnavigation of the world. [ Maybe we will be tempted to continue on… but there are flights planned and we left our ladder waiting for our return in Ensenada.]

SOME TRIVIA Who was at the helm for these boat tracks [in green]? One was the captain’s and one the first mate’s. The red line is the course to steer.

DAY THREE Saturday July 15^th, 2023. FLAPDOODLED ALL THE WAY

It was indeed a windless night compared to the previous one. No power was made, as predicted. When we awoke the sea was glassy with a small swell of approximately one foot. A working panga zoomed past to break the calm.

At 9:05am the anchor was up. Harry videoed the process to start analyzing why the gypsy is jumping when bringing in the anchor. We headed off for Bahia San Quintin into a very heavy marine layer, thankfully the radar was up and running.

During the day we de-salinated 45 liters of water, which took about an hour and a half. When we were 8 kilometers off shore we offloaded our food scraps into the deep blue sea. That was two chores marked off the daily checklist.

We used the tiller pilot for about an hour. It worked but it was over steering and making a different noise, adjustments will need to be made. The rest of the time there was someone at the helm hand steering. This was an easy task, with mild winds and seas.

As we motored many clangs that we need to locate and try to eradicate could be heard below deck. This is proving to test our hearing abilities to the max. The new crew on board, all with 6 legs and 2 wings, were of no assistance in these matters. These little black kelp flies can often be too close for comfort. Our most welcome freeloaders were an active pod of common porpoise who chose to ride Flapdoodle’s bow waves today. What a joy to watch them jump, dive, splash, and swim in the currents. When they first appear, out of what seems nowhere, you wait in the hope that they will appear again. Now capturing them on video is a big challenge. You have to anticipate and guess where and when they will appear again. These images are far from perfect, but I hope they reflect the magical experience, somewhat.

When we ate lunch we were 12 kilometers off shore. The marine layer was still very thick. About 1pm we called “Land Ahoy!” as the outline of Isla San Martin was appearing at 8 kilometers away. As we proceeded and passed the island we were sighting lots of seagulls, pelicans, and cormorants going about their flying, soaring, diving and floating schedule. We had to keep a watchful eye for the numerous yellow buoys with black flags anchored in 40 meters of water. Somehow, we avoided them. We noted that this would not be a place to navigate at night. Around about this time the sun decided to show its warm face and the skies and waters brightened into vivid blues, with white clouds pulled across the skyline.

As we entered the bay we passed an anchored fishing trawler, we continued onto Playa Santa Maria to find our anchorage.  At 5pm we anchored in 10 metres of water and well away from the breaking beach waves. Soon after dropping the hook, a panga with a family of nine stopped by to greet us.

Another day came to a close. The sun dramatically slid behind a bank of dark clouds. At this stage we plan to stay here Sunday for a day of rest.

DAY FOUR – REST DAY #1 Sunday July 16^th, 2023. FLAPDOODLING IN COMFORT

It was a peaceful night’s sleep with no rock and roll and very light winds. The boat was so still you could imagine “Flapdoodle” was docked in a marina, but the background noise of the waves rolling on the beach could be heard from our berth, bringing home the reality that we were in fact anchored safely in  Bahia San Quintin, beyond the wave trains.

We awoke to a heavy marine layer which over the course of two hours grew thicker. By 9am we no longer could see the beach, but the wave sounds revealed its presence.

The decision had to made about what a “rest day” was going to look like. Mostly it meant that the anchor was not being lifted today and we were not relocating.

Harry combed his hair for the first time in 3 days. Then a debate ensued over what “liitle” projects could be tackled. Leticia the eternal “anchor” in the relationship put a stop to Harry’s proposal to work on re-plumbing the water maker so it flushed better, and looking at the plumbing in the main head that was still working, but not in an ideal fashion. In the end it was agreed we would leave these projects for our return to a marina. [Leticia crossed her fingers hoping she did not jinx the above projects to elevating to urgent on the to do list.]

Then …What to do?

Harry

-relocated a cricket. He had commented yesterday that there was a squeak he could hear that sounded like a cricket and he couldn’t work out the origin of the noise. Today he opened the lazarette, and there it was, it was really a cricket chirping.

-glued together a wooden coathanger

– was on storm and lightning watch. Luckily the lightning was not right where we were. We got a little rain. Not enough to clean the decks.

-had a long phone conversation with daughter number two

-“played “ on the ham radio

-reviewed some knot tying skills and retied the snubber on the anchor chain

-researched why for one second the boat lost power

-hung the day shape that symbolizes being at anchor [a black sphere]

Leticia

-also talked with daughter number 2

-noticed water in the lockers behind the salon seats and established it was not sea water but condensation [by asking Harry to research the situation]

-realized that a rest day meant no motoring and therefore no hot water.

-located the black day shape after looking in many locations including where she didn’t expect to find it, then finally locating it in the place she first looked after having a “proper” look.

-sorted the trash can contents in order to separate the food scraps, smelly paper and plastic, and bottles and cans. This should have been done from the beginning, but not being practiced at cruising she didn’t think about it until day 4.

-and of course, she took photos, sorted photos, shared photos and recorded the day’s adventure… nothing new

Today’s feature was watching the ever-changing sky and scanning the beach seeing activity including fisherman, walkers, quads, four-wheel drives and birds…lots and lots of birds. The large flocks looked like enormous swarms of bees from our distance from the shore. We wished we could dinghy ashore to walk the long, glistening, white beach that tempted us. The decision was made to not try surfing the waves in the dinghy. Today we had to imagine that walk.

Today’s Revelation:

[Made over and over, but especially appreciated today as we are aboard a solitary sail boat, anchored peacefully in a beautiful bay.]

Virtual travel is wonderful, you can watch all the documentaries and the vlogs, and you can peruse the Facebook posts and shared photos; BUT there is never anything like experiencing the wonderful world in person.

And what a BIG world there is out there.

“What is the good of your stars and trees, your sunrise and the wind. If they do not enter into your daily lives?” – E. M. Forster

“Always be on the lookout for the presence of wonder.” – E.B. White

This evening the golden sun is splashing down onto the ocean wavelets.

Apology -my daily report has morphed into a lyrical blurb. My mind is on a creative kick. I guess you will either read it, or not. Maybe it is all a sign that I am travel sickness tablet free and my body is allowing me to write and read while in motion on the ocean.

DAY FIVE – Rest Day #2 Monday, July 17^th, 2023. TOO MUCH FLAPDOODLING IS NEVER ENOUGH

The anchorage has been so peaceful we decided to take another rest day. This rest day proved to be more of a rest day than the first one.

The marine layer lifted earlier today. The white beaches were once again visited by a few fishermen and vehicles and the birds worked around them.

We did not welcome our latest crew members, some little buzzing mosquitoes. We didn’t think they would find us 400 meters off the shore, but they did. Our mosquito nets got put in place and we wonder how many of our friends we have trapped inside with us. I am sure we will find out when our heads hit the pillow this evening.

Before lunch we updated the maintenance boat log. As Leticia typed the updates, she was taken back in time to high school days when she hand recorded physics and chemistry lab experiment results. There was a set format. Each experiment had a title, a hypothesis, the procedure and results, and a summary of the conclusions drawn from the results. These were accompanied by neat illustrations and appropriate graphs. My reports were always very neat and “pretty.” My artistic side coming to the fore. This seems to be my daily life living on a boat with a physicist and engineer. Assumptions can never be made, wives’ tales never taken as truths, and there is always an idea to be tested. Everything becomes an experiment and we need to understand how everything works.

Quote for the Day – “The question is not what you look at but what you see.” – Henry David Thoreau

Harry is a different observer to Leticia. He analyzes and hypothesizes. Leticia sees the best angle to take a photograph or a memory she wants to record to share with loved ones.

The days highlight was our cockpit lunch event. We played Jimmy Buffet to our hearts content and grilled burgers. Yes, like true “Parrot-heads” the menu was “Cheeseburgers in Paradise.”

While waiting for the food to cook, Harry fished using hotdog for bait. He caught two little fish, a white croaker, and a pacific staghorn sculpin and one piece of pink sea grass; all returned from whence they came.

A few little chores were completed. Harry washed out the cockpit and did that physicist thing with the engine /taco/ and Battery Management System. Leticia food prepped, as tomorrow we are heading north, and in our dreams we are going to sail all the way back to Ensenada. Bring on the Baja Bash. We are planning to stay out overnight on Tuesday, and off shore more than on our trip south; so we will only have our HF radio as communication and will endeavor to send an update tomorrow evening.

DAY SIX -TUESDAY SOME DATE IN JULY [Actually July 18^th, 2023.] – FLAPDOODLE WADDLES ON

Nobody will ever guess the change of author for this evenings Flapdoodle Travel Log Update.

Anyway, we left San Quintin not bright or early. Fog was on hand and plenty of it. After heading out to sea and turning north we have so far managed to avoid all obstacles. Including but not limited to Ben’s Rock, Isla San Martin, a large floating wooden box and a myriad of floats likely attached to some sort of fishing device many meters below the surface.

Because Harry likes to sail, we did a hard left at some point and turned off the diesel burner. Well, that was fun for the first 30 kilometers or so. We tacked and at this time are headed back to land not all that far north of where we put the sails up. Oh well… it was fun for a bit.

So as the sun sets in the usual direction, we are about 40 kilometers off shore and headed back to Ensenada. Should not take more than about 24hours at this rate.

Talk to you all then.

DAY SIX FROM THE OTHER’S PERSPECTIVE

As today was the 2nd year anniversary of Harry’s dad leaving us on this earth, we dedicated the day to his memory. We remember when he took a turn at the helm on “Flapdoodle,” at Chula Vista. We like to think of him as our guardian angel, sailing along with us.

Morning tea was Honey Oatmeal Slice, Alen’s sweet tooth and love of desserts was brought to mind.

Today was another “no-comb” hair day for Harry. He donned a beanie in order to endeavor to tame his wild, wooly hair. The captain and first mate trialed some cross dressing. Harry was wearing Leticia’s life vest and Leticia pulled on Harry’s foulie pants. Both quickly realized the error of their ways and traded out for more comfortable fits.

As the boat motored further out to sea, Leticia typed some messages while cell tower service was still available. The bumping and rolling motion of the boat paired with her wearing sailing gloves produced some interesting messages. Proof reading them was difficult, but uncorrected they read something like a secret code –

“Fa cy Ha. ving t Ime To write E. code S. Actually just have To tr Y typing on phone E w Ith sailing gloves E s On while Undr Rw. AY.”

The question for the day was not – “Are we there yet?” It was replaced with – “Can we sail yet?”

As we motored north the fuel consumption rate increased as Flapdoodle was going against the strong ocean currents, a known feature of the Baja Bash.

Mid-morning there was still a heavy marine layer – the boat canvas was heavily covered with dripping moisture. We kept a watchful eye for troublesome flotsam like logs, large kelp paddies, buoys, and debris that are not usually seen on the radar.

As the captain went below deck to attend to some duties including de-salinating water and emptying black water tanks Leticia’s mind was filled with Preschool songs she once taught her students. Neptune was serenaded with – “Skinamirinkidink”, “Here is the sea,” and “A sailor went to sea, sea, sea.”

At 5 miles from land cell service was lost. Some dolphins headed towards the boat, but quickly dispersed as it seemed they lost interest in our ‘stink-potter,’ as Flapdoodle continued to motor along.

By mid-day the winds started to pick up and consequently the marine layer lifted. Without a phone for Leticia to message on, conversations concentrated on wondering and pondering about the many strings of seabirds that were flying past us heading further out to sea to “somewhere.”

NOTE: The photo and video footage of this part of our journey was not as good as it could have been, but it was the best obtained, so I will leave the rest up to your imaginations.

A string with two seagulls followed by five pelicans flew by. “Where is somewhere?” What happened to the saying – “Birds of a feather stick together?”

Next came three seagulls with thirty pelicans strung out in a long line. Stories were created to explain the observations. “Maybe the birds heard a rumor that there’s overflowing food supplies at ‘somewhere’.”

It is a Faggy Fagg’s [Flapdoodle ] pastime to create stories to explain “Why?” or just for the sake of sillyness/ flapdoodling itself. We create our own “Alice in Wonderland “ World- “The Faggy Fagg’s Domain.” Guideline number one is to remember to never, no never, let the truth get in the way of a good story. It is never too late to make something up and let the imagination run wild. A successful yarn always leaves the listener wondering whether it is actual fact or fabricated fiction. Enough feasible credible information is included to enable the story to be probable. “Times when families laugh together are among the most precious times family can have.” – Fred Rogers. Alen loved to laugh.

At other times discussions were had remembering tales of days gone by, of Harry growing up and hanging out with his dad. One such story evolved around a long-ago fishing trip. Alen liked to “catch fish” but he was never a real fisherman. He often fished with Uncle Gordon who would fish anywhere and was always trying a new method. Consequently, one long weekend Alen, Uncle Gordon, Cousin Harold, and Harry found themselves on a fishing trip to Longreach. The trip was a success as many yellow belly were caught. On the return trip from Longreach the windscreen was shattered by a flying rock. This was followed by the back window popping out. The trip was a rugged one, facing the elements, with wind and insects flying forcefully into everyone’s faces. But driving on was necessary for Harry and Alen to return to work.

More seabirds flew by. We wondered about the bird’s migration patterns. Research shows that the brown pelicans migrate south in summer to Baja California and north to British Columbia for summer. We feel immersed in a live feed of a nature documentary. More birds incoming. The birds keep changing their position in line as they fly.

Harry hypothesizes – “Seagulls must have white ‘bums’ in order to make an obvious target for the pelicans to follow them, that is why the seagulls lead the lines. The brown ‘bum’ of these pelicans would fade into the distance more easily so they would be harder to follow.”

OR

“Maybe it is a race – the seagulls are the ‘pacers’. The lines of birds noticed flying in the opposite direction, back towards the shore have turned around and are on the home stretch already.”

The captain and first mate continue with their natural tendencies. Harry reports the observation of the different types of birds flying together in lines. Leticia strives to capture a perfect photo of the flying strings of birds silhouetted against the sky. [Not to be attained on this adventure. An on-going goal for the future.]

More Storytime – “Pelicans don’t know how to navigate at sea – they are scared and need the seagulls to direct them. They ‘Lord Over’ the seagulls OR maybe the seagulls are simply being kind.”

WOW! There goes another undulating line. Sixty birds in all, with three seagulls at the front, fourth from the back is another seagull. The rest are pelicans.

One can empathize with, yet only imagine, the ramblings and hallucinations of the mind that would occur to occupy oneself, if one were to experience being helplessly adrift at sea.

Eleven miles offshore. “Do you think the birds ever crash into each other?”

In the middle of nowhere, or is it somewhere, three sea lions pop up to wave to us.

13:20hrs Time to raise the sails. Bliss! The engine sound disappears along with the offensive smell it has been diffusing into the air.

While Flapdoodle made two tacks 17.1 nm out and 19.6 nm back to gain a distance of 14.3 miles north towards Ensenada, and the engine was started again to continue the journey; Leticia was overcome by sleepiness and queasiness. Trying to rest below in the beautifully prepared sea berth failed.

With the combination of water splashing along the outside of the hull, the phone pinging along with a symphony of other mystery scrapes, rattles and bangs and the fact that Leticia could not get comfortable trying to balance on her side at a 10 to 15 degree angle, Leticia was feeling worse for the attempt at rest. She resituated to the cockpit where she lay and dozed on and off until the early hours of the morning when she was able to take over at the helm while Harry got a short rest.

The night was pitch black. No moon. No shore lights. Nada. The radar indicated one fishing vessel on the port side and one large motor vessel on our starboard. If there were obstacles that did not show on the radar, it was luck that got us past them, as there was absolutely no way they could have been seen.

DAY SEVEN Wednesday, July 19th, 2023. FLAPDOODLE RETURNS

As the darkness was lifting Leticia closely monitored the day tank diesel situation. She was instructed to wake the captain before the tank reached zero, in order to prevent getting air caught in the system. The engine was turned off and the day tank refueled as the sun rose to an overcast day with no lingering marine layer.

We motored on, re-fueling again at 11:30.

It wasn’t until 16:00hrs that the sun peaked out from behind the clouds. Flapdoodle was near Roca Solidad. A fishing trawler and Mexican Navy boat passed by.

Following an eating frenzy of salty and sweet treats and more siesta time in the cockpit, Leticia emerged from the other side of her travel sickness without the aid of medication.

Another pod of dolphins approached and rejected Flapdoodle and more water was desalinated.

18:00hrs We were aware that we were closing in on Ensenada as a cruise ship was sited heading north.

As we passed Punta Banda, with its obligatory Morgan’s cloud, and entered Bahia Todos Santos the sun was gloriously shining, and sea life was abundant. Pelicans, seabirds and dolphin’s were enjoying an afternoon of adventurous play.

The engine was stopped one last time to refuel.

20:00hrs VTS was hailed on the VHF radio to request permission to enter the harbor.

We docked successfully guided in by a neighbor’s flashlight. The captain went to turn off the motor to discover there was no power at the control panel due to a fuse blowing. The engine was turned off manually and another item added to the to do list. Yet another problem to be fixed.

We decided to not let this bad moment trick us into to thinking that we had had a bad time.

It was a very successful mini baja adventure with lessons learned, experience gained and a feeling of achievement. [And more projects to stop us from getting bored and to help deplete our bank balance further.] We had returned safely from where we began.

CONCLUSION

Congratulations if you made it to here and thank you for “sailing” with Leticia’s internal conversations, allowing her to share her thoughts from her head space with you. Sometimes the Captain considers that place to be a scary place.

Our dear friend Kari shared this poetry from “Four Quartets” by T.S. Elliot, which provides an apt wrap up of this experience and one’s never-ending life long journey of exploration.

Hence this is not the end, it is the stepping stone of another beginning.

“We shall not cease from exploration

And the end of all our exploring

Will be to arrive where we started

And know the place for the first time

Through the unknown familiar gate,

When the last of earth left to discover

Is that which was the beginning

At the source of the longest river

The voice of the hidden waterfall

And the children in the apple tree,

Not known, because not looked for

But heard, half heard,

In the stillness

Between two waves of sea.”