I can't believe we are coming to the end of February already. But what the heck, it's a short month.
The end of February means Carnaval in La Paz. We’re kind of excited. The spirit is building in the city. All of our boater friends are getting anxious. The workers are erecting hundreds of tents for vendors and building the stage along the Malecon. There are three parades and bands every night along with all sorts of entertainment. It’s gonna be a big party.
The end of February also means the clock is ticking. I launched my KickStarter project last week.
KickStarter is kind of like PBS’s pledge drive. We have 30 days to raise enough money to complete my project.
The purpose of the project is to raise funds to publish a printed version of The Inside Passage for those who prefer paper books. It will allow me to hire an editor and cover and interior designers. I think that the Ted Higuera Series deserves to be published in a professional manner. Without your help, the book will only be available as an eBook.
So far, I only have about 10% of the pledges needed. For those of you who would like to help, please act soon. There are only 24 days left.
If the project doesn’t reach its goal, then you will not be billed. If I do reach the goal, then you get rewards based on the level of your pledge and I will have enough money to publish the book.
If you haven’t visited my KickStarter page yet, click here . Please go there today. I need all the help I can get. Also, please tell your friends. I need lots of individual supporters to get this book off the ground.
KickStarter is kind of like PBS’s pledge drive. We have 30 days to raise enough money to complete my project.
The purpose of the project is to raise funds to publish a printed version of The Inside Passage for those who prefer paper books. It will allow me to hire an editor and cover and interior designers. I think that the Ted Higuera Series deserves to be published in a professional manner. Without your help, the book will only be available as an eBook.
So far, I only have about 10% of the pledges needed. For those of you who would like to help, please act soon. There are only 24 days left.
If the project doesn’t reach its goal, then you will not be billed. If I do reach the goal, then you get rewards based on the level of your pledge and I will have enough money to publish the book.
If you haven’t visited my KickStarter page yet, click here . Please go there today. I need all the help I can get. Also, please tell your friends. I need lots of individual supporters to get this book off the ground.
The Victory sailing in La Paz Bay Now we return you to our regularly scheduled programming.
We took the Victory out sailing this week. You heard right. We left the dock.
I have only had the boat out once since I hurt my shoulder last May. And that was when I hurt my knee.
We had a group of “friends of friends” who were in La Paz and wanted to go sailing. Of course, Dawn had to outdo herself in catering to their every need.
There wasn’t much wind, but we motored out of the bay and set sails anyway. We ghosted along down towards the Mogote, the long sand spit that protects La Paz Harbor.
At the Mogote, we dropped the anchor and I loaded our guests into the dinghy. We took off in search of the elusive whale shark.
We took the Victory out sailing this week. You heard right. We left the dock.
I have only had the boat out once since I hurt my shoulder last May. And that was when I hurt my knee.
We had a group of “friends of friends” who were in La Paz and wanted to go sailing. Of course, Dawn had to outdo herself in catering to their every need.
There wasn’t much wind, but we motored out of the bay and set sails anyway. We ghosted along down towards the Mogote, the long sand spit that protects La Paz Harbor.
At the Mogote, we dropped the anchor and I loaded our guests into the dinghy. We took off in search of the elusive whale shark.
A gentle giant The whale shark is a shark, not a whale. It gets its name from its size and its feeding habits.
Adults average about 32 feet and 40,000 pounds, about the same size as a California grey whale. There have been sightings of whale sharks as large as sixty feet and 100,000 pounds reported.
The whale shark cruises along near the surface of the sea, sucking in plankton, small fish and tourist wearing Bermuda shorts, black socks and wingtips. (Just kidding, it spits outs the tourists.) It uses pads in its mouth to filter out the food and exhales the water through its gills. This is very similar to the way baleen whales feed.
As far as I know, La Paz in the only place on the Pacific Coast where you have a good chance of seeing whale sharks. While these large fish inhabit all of the tropical waters of the world and have known feeding and birthing grounds off of Austrailia's Great Barrier Reef, Belize and St. Helena Island, the warm, shallow waters off of El Mogote here in La Paz attracts the great beasts every year.
We often see juvenile whale sharks here, so there is some speculation that this is a birthing ground. Like most fish, whale sharks lay eggs. However, the mother keeps the eggs in her belly until they hatch, then releases the baby sharks live into the ocean. The hatchlings are about two feet long when born.
Adults average about 32 feet and 40,000 pounds, about the same size as a California grey whale. There have been sightings of whale sharks as large as sixty feet and 100,000 pounds reported.
The whale shark cruises along near the surface of the sea, sucking in plankton, small fish and tourist wearing Bermuda shorts, black socks and wingtips. (Just kidding, it spits outs the tourists.) It uses pads in its mouth to filter out the food and exhales the water through its gills. This is very similar to the way baleen whales feed.
As far as I know, La Paz in the only place on the Pacific Coast where you have a good chance of seeing whale sharks. While these large fish inhabit all of the tropical waters of the world and have known feeding and birthing grounds off of Austrailia's Great Barrier Reef, Belize and St. Helena Island, the warm, shallow waters off of El Mogote here in La Paz attracts the great beasts every year.
We often see juvenile whale sharks here, so there is some speculation that this is a birthing ground. Like most fish, whale sharks lay eggs. However, the mother keeps the eggs in her belly until they hatch, then releases the baby sharks live into the ocean. The hatchlings are about two feet long when born.
A hardworking crew member We searched for about an hour in the dinghy before we found one.
He was a big bruiser. He had to be at least thirty feet long. Well over twice the length of our inflatable dinghy. He was brown with white dots on top and covered in barnacles. His huge mouth acted as a giant vacuum cleaner as he swum slowly along just under the surface. Occasionally his dorsal fin and tail broke the water. We pulled alongside of him and just quietly followed him for a couple of miles. It was an amazing sight.
Despite its size and being a member of the shark family, it is a very gentle creature. Swimmers get in the water and swim alongside these amazing animals every day. As a matter of fact, towards the end of our encounter, the tourist pangas spotted our shark. They filled the water with so many swimmers that I finally broke off contact and returned to the Victory because I feared that they would swim into our propeller.
Our guest had nine and sixteen year old daughters. Needless to say, the girls were impressed. Heck, I was impressed. If you are coming to Baja from December to February, be sure to get in touch with us. We’d love to take you shark watching. There is nothing like a close encounter with a whale shark.
He was a big bruiser. He had to be at least thirty feet long. Well over twice the length of our inflatable dinghy. He was brown with white dots on top and covered in barnacles. His huge mouth acted as a giant vacuum cleaner as he swum slowly along just under the surface. Occasionally his dorsal fin and tail broke the water. We pulled alongside of him and just quietly followed him for a couple of miles. It was an amazing sight.
Despite its size and being a member of the shark family, it is a very gentle creature. Swimmers get in the water and swim alongside these amazing animals every day. As a matter of fact, towards the end of our encounter, the tourist pangas spotted our shark. They filled the water with so many swimmers that I finally broke off contact and returned to the Victory because I feared that they would swim into our propeller.
Our guest had nine and sixteen year old daughters. Needless to say, the girls were impressed. Heck, I was impressed. If you are coming to Baja from December to February, be sure to get in touch with us. We’d love to take you shark watching. There is nothing like a close encounter with a whale shark.
Tom and Carl enjoy the cruise Back on board the boat Dawn served us carne asada tacos for lunch, then we pulled the hook and set the sails.
A nice wind kicked up for the sail home. Carl. the grandpa, is a lifelong sailor. I can’t tell you how happy he was to sit at the helm and steer the Victory back to La Paz.
But all good things come at a price. Dawn and I were exhausted after our day of sailing and playing hosts. It took us a couple of days to put the boat back in order after our cruise.
The good news is that I was able to handle the boat with a bum knee. Dawn says that getting me back at sea was the biggest mental boost that I could have.
Today I went back to the physical therapist to work on my knee. It hurts much less than before, but I still don’t have any strength in it and it is very swollen. The doctor says I can’t start therapy until I can get the swelling down.
All in all, we had a pretty good week. Stay tuned for our Carnaval highlights next week. (By the way, Carnaval is spelled correctly. That’s how they do it down here in Mexico.)
A nice wind kicked up for the sail home. Carl. the grandpa, is a lifelong sailor. I can’t tell you how happy he was to sit at the helm and steer the Victory back to La Paz.
But all good things come at a price. Dawn and I were exhausted after our day of sailing and playing hosts. It took us a couple of days to put the boat back in order after our cruise.
The good news is that I was able to handle the boat with a bum knee. Dawn says that getting me back at sea was the biggest mental boost that I could have.
Today I went back to the physical therapist to work on my knee. It hurts much less than before, but I still don’t have any strength in it and it is very swollen. The doctor says I can’t start therapy until I can get the swelling down.
All in all, we had a pretty good week. Stay tuned for our Carnaval highlights next week. (By the way, Carnaval is spelled correctly. That’s how they do it down here in Mexico.)
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