Passage Weaver Checking In

C

CaptMac

Well-known member
Joined
Nov 24, 2008
Messages
303
Fluid Motion Model
C-28
Hull Identification Number
FMLT2715K213
Vessel Name
Passage Weaver
MMSI Number
367558060
After spending the last two months getting our new boat ready, we finally left Washington last Saturday and have been heading South - trailering Passage Weaver - on our way to the Sea of Cortez. We've been covering about 300 miles per day - pulling into RV parks (pull throughs with full hookup of course) each afternoon. We've been pleasantly surprised how nice it is to stay on board while at the park - actually nicer than our camper.

We have a gray water hose system - and connect that to the sewer hookup with a sealed fitting, and connect shorepower via an adapter cord to 30 amps. We found a great folding ladder(Home Depot) that even our dogs can use which makes getting on and off easy while the boat is on the trailer.

The solar panel has been supplying power while trailering - and it almost keeps up. We're running the fridge and a NovaKool freezer full time. We have used the crock pot three times already -setting it up as we get underway in the morning, with lunch ready to eat when we stop. Works like a champ!

On Monday, we plan to cross the border at Nogales, and hope to launch that same afternoon at San Carlos marina. Then - at our first good weather window, we plan to cross the Sea of Cortez (80 miles) over to Santa Rosalia and work our way south down Baja. Can't wait to get on the water!

Many, many thanks to all those how have provided help & guidance - Russ & Toni, Herb & Willy, and Stuart (Spirit of Gratitude) to help us plan our trip. So far so good!

We'll lose internet / email / phone on Tuesday - perhaps for the next three weeks. I can't imagine how I will ever catch back up on TugNuts

Mac & Linda
Obe & Porsche too,
Passage Weaver
 
Bon Voyage Cap'n. I wish you fair winds and following sea's.
 
Glad to hear the crock pot is working satisfactorily... Mine (just like yours) sits in our boat's sink waiting for its first use. 😀

Have fun and take lots of cool photos for us to drool over when you return. I have to admire they way you two take along 3 (is it 3 ?) dogs... my two are a handful so just cannot imagine 3 together.

Both of you take care and hopefully see you end of May at Fisherman's Terminal meeting when you will undoubtedly be pestered with questions about your overland-trip/cruise/adventures etc. 😉

I assume the weather down by Baja must be warm and/or humid... did you equip Passage Weaver with A/C by chance ?
 
No AC. It has been 80 and dry - just perfect. Fans and overhead open hatches are perfect. Besides, I would never be able to decide - AC shoreside would need 110v - AC underway could be water cooled. Which way to go?
Mac
 
Mac, we just got back to Loreto yesterday, and picked up a sailor friend from Victoria at the airport today. He has his sailboat at puerto Escondido. Probably your next chance for gas south of Santa Rosalia. We are a little south of Loreto at Nopolo. Calm seas and temp from 60 to 85. Don't forget to troll for those yellow tail!

Would love to catch up, so give us call or send an email when you get closer. Puerto Escondido has two small grocery stores and a nice restaurant. Pedro runs the restaurant and speaks good English. Barry Ruff and his girlfriend Connie have a sailboat on a buoy in the waiting room. He has extensive cruising experience and can help you out with local area knowledge. Hope we see you soon! Jim and Buzzy

PS sometimes getting diesel is a problem down at the Marina, but we can always run you to the gas station. Don't hesitate to get in touch.
 
Mac & Linda,

Sounds like you are off to a good start. If you do find an internet connection somewhere please post an update and pictures if possible. We are looking forward to hearing about your experience.
 
Thanks Jim for the local info. I hope we can cross paths during the trip. I've sent a pm to you so we can set something up.

I also wanted to send thanks to Steve and Tina - I can't believe I forgot! Some of you may remember that they have already done this trip in the Christina Bee (R25) and have been a great help to us.

So far, all I have are a ton of pictures of Passage Weaver and our truck sitting in RV parks. We have had plenty of visitors - and we just keep telling them we are ready if the tide comes in.

One thing I'd put on my list to increase our options while trailering. In our Truck Camper , the truck wiring connects to the camper and recharges the camper batteries while we are traveling. Could we do the same thing with Passage Weaver? That would make boon docking a piece of cake.

Mac & Linda
Obe and Porsche too
Passage Weaver
 
Hi Mac. We made a cable that goes from the second trailer electrical connection on our truck (in the bed, for our 5th wheel) to the house batteries on Wild Blue. It keeps the house batteries topped up while we're driving and running the fridge in the boat. We do the RV parks while on the road with the boat - better than motels! All the amenities of your "home on the water" while on land. 😉

Have a great time on the Sea of Cortez! We'll be looking forward to photos and stories.

Best wishes,
Jim & Joan
 
Hi Mac and Linda,

It is great to read about your trip so far, and hopefully more of your adventures the next weeks. Thanks for letting us know how it is going 😉

I am curious what customizing you did to Passage Weaver during the two month period you referenced. I know all of us going to the Memorial Weekend Gathering at Fisherman's in Seattle will be eager to see you two and Passage Weaver and hear all about your current adventure.

A number of C-Brats travel with a power transfer from their truck to their boat batteries. George Hone of Kerri On is one who does. I'm confident you will hear from Tugnuts who will give feedback 🙂

Happy travels!
 
Oh boy! Mexico tomorrow!

We're planning an early start tomorrow morning to cross the border and hope to launch at San Carlos mid afternoon. Weather forecast says 90 degrees, so now I start wishing for AC. Oh well.

Winds have picked up, so we may cruise on the mainland side for a few days before crossing to Baja.

Since we already have a trailering wire harness that illuminates the boat lights, it seems like it should be easy to recharge batteries too? Andrew?

Mac
 
Not wanting to cause any stress, but I'm curious how you figure the crossing out...

The crossing, if you take shortest course, will be around 80 to 90 miles. That will be a long day. If you go at 15 mph that's 6 hours and if you go slower at 10 mph it's going to be more at around 9 to 10 hrs. What if weather turns bad ? How do you figure the point of no return ? 😉

There are but three islands I can see between San Carlos and Baja coastline -- Isle San Pedro early on and then Isle Tortuga and Isle Marcos on the far side near Baja.

Have fun, stay cool and keep us informed as best you can.

Wowee, 90ºF down there... it was 71ºF here in Seattle today and A/C not needed. :lol:
 
Great questions.

80 nautical miles is correct +/-
We plan to cruise at 15-16 kts. Top end, before we stuffed a months worth of stuff, was over 20 kts with the Volvo 200. I figure 15 kts , 6 hours.

We monitor the weather forecast carefully. Turns out there is a cruiser forum on VHF each morning, plus I'm carrying a single side band receiver so I can listen to the weather when out of VHF range.

We'll only cross if the seas are less than 2 foot? I'm not a glutton for punishment like you guys crossing the Strait of Georgia!

Mac
 
Oh -- thanks Mac. That Volvo 200hp engine sounds really nice for the 15-16kts cruising speed. That's about 2-3 kts faster than what I can do in our R-25 Yanmar 150hp fully laden.

Have a good trip across to Baja.
 
We in!

Arrived yesterday after an uneventful drive down. Much of the ~250 mile drive was on roads better than California. The only people that stopped us were the US customs so they could talk about our boat.

We launched shortly after arrival and got a slip at the San Carlos Marina. Delightful except for the 30? Knot winds that greeted our arrival. It was challenging to get from the ramp to our slip - with everyone watching our "cute" boat.

Winds stopped last night. At 8 this morning we ran over to the fuel dock and took 55 gallons. By the time we finished - the wind started again.

There is a cruiser net at 8 am channel 72. Many cruisers check in - offering and getting local assistance including weather forecasts. It looks like we'll be waiting till Thursday to cross

Mac

Ps did I mention this place is delightful? You can even get by with English.
 
Sounds like a great trip so far. Let us know how you like that Torqeedo motor down there as I am still deciding what dinghy motor to buy.

Have fun and enjoy a margarita!

Don
 
Back in Internet range!

Baja is really an incredible cruising destination. We got underway early, and crossed 74 miles to Santa Rosalia on the Baja side. All told, over 5 hours, but it was wonderful to run at 15 knots all the way across. Whales, dolphins, porpoises, all sorts of birds, BIG fish kept us entertained.
However, we encountered our first surprise - no diesel fuel available. I guess the marina couldn't pay it's Pemex bill. So, I linked up with a couple of cruising sailboats - borrowed a couple of jerry cans from one, a cart from another and a siphon hose from a third and took a couple of trips over to the gas station in town (very close - just across the street from the Marina.) After hand feeding 40 gallons, we decided to stay for the night.
We then cruised south at 1 gph / 5.5 knots - to Bahia Concepcion and spent many days cruising the different anchorages available. These are really different than places in the PNW - really open roadsteads, so when the wind shifts it gets quite uncomfortable.

It was a little too cold for much swimming, and a little windy for the kayaks, but sailing the Portland Pudgy was great. And because fuel was such a hassle, we decided to keep cruising at slow speed - which limited our destinations.

We did encounter a few issues with Passage Weaver, but I can only say it is an incredible boat. I am still discovering improvements that Ranger Tug made since Island Ranger. We are really pleased with this boat!

Our single sideband receiver did not work very well - plus the "weather guy" went on vacation, so we had limited weather forecasts. When we did decide to cross back to the mainland, the forecast we got via VHF calls to other boats was great. But the seas were not - 5 hours of 3+ seas on the beam at 15 knots - were just a bit challenging. The three margaritas, at 11:30am, were Sooo good when we finally made it.

There are so many stories to tell - especially one about the slurpy pirates (Linda woke me up in the middle of the night 'cause she heard slurpy sounds and thought they were pirates in kayaks) - but they were fish (squid?) attracted to the plankton drawn by our anchor light. It will take a long time to forget that one!

Mexico was wonderful - a great place to visit. We're now heading back north to Whidbey. Trailering Passage Weaver is far easier than I imagined. Oh, and the Torqueedo is an excellent dinghy motor!

Mac & Linda
Obe and Porsche
m/v Passage Weaver
 
Capt. Mac,

Thanks for checking in, I was wondering how you were doing. Sounds like the adventure will give us much to discuss when we next meet.

See you soon,
 
Mac:

"...5 hours of 3+ seas on the beam at 15 knots - were just a bit challenging." I bet and did you use Auto Pilot or manually steer the boat in that kind of sea ? I really dislike 'seas on the beam'. I guess a zig-zag course would have meant taking too long to cross the 80 odd miles.

Glad you made it back to shore safely.

Yep -- that Torqueedo motor is a real winner IMO.

Glad to read that your new R-27 performed well for you. It's difficult to see that anyone could find fault with the R-27 as it really did evolve from the R-25 and R-25SC which Ranger has made hundreds of. The R-27 must encompass all that was learned by Ranger on those boats.

Is that Volvo engine really quieter ?

Looking forward to seeing your boat in late May.

Oh -- did you happen to get a photo of the slurpy pirate by chance ? 😉
 
Really good to hear from you again and happy you had a great time. Did you ever get boarded by any authorities?

Looking forward to hearing about the whole trip first hand and seeing some photos. Have a safe trip home.
 
Ditto Captain Mac. When we do our on the water orientation with you in May as part of the delivery of our new R27, we will look forward not only to the benefit of the added R27 expertise you have acquired on this trip, but also tales of your travels (especially the slurpy squids)!

Gini & Colleen
 
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