BajaNomad

Amazing adventure sailing to Baja

BajaBlanca - 5-20-2014 at 11:42 PM

I happened to find this author mentioned on the La Paz Gringo site and boy....the reading had Les and I laughing til tears were rolling down my face!

Turns out they are living in La Paz and tomorrow, we are going to try and meet up.


Get ready for some wonderful adventures, I logged onto this portion of the writing because it takes place in our part of Baja, Punta Abreojos. But there is much, much more.



http://www.pennwallace.com/disaster-at-sea-2012.html

willyAirstream - 5-21-2014 at 06:03 AM

Thanks Blanca. Just read about their ship going aground, totally engaging. I will be following their adventures.

motoged - 5-21-2014 at 12:52 PM

An interesting read....but a bit of whining about Mexico before the fishermen put themselves at risk saving their burros and boat.

I hope they are a bit humbled by the "low tech" success of the good folks of Abreojos...:light:

LancairDriver - 5-21-2014 at 01:02 PM

Good on the Mexican rescuers. They really did hang it out there for them.

shari - 5-21-2014 at 01:31 PM

They werent the first to hit that nasty pinnacle rock offshore...nor are they the last! It's not called Abreojos...open your eyes...for nothing...good read.

Feathers - 5-21-2014 at 03:04 PM

Excellent read, Blanca! Thanks for sharing!!!

BajaBlanca - 5-21-2014 at 05:33 PM

We met up with Penn and Dawn today! They are delightful. And guess what? In October they are driving up to San Diego (leaving the boat in La Paz) and they will be stopping by and staying with us in La Bocana as well as taking donations to Abreojos.

They had nothing but kind words to say about Abreojans. My favorite lines are: the Mexican navy is coming to save us! You must be kidding me! And the remark that the charts were all off! How is this possible in this day and age? And the overstuffed tamale is right on.....overweight divers squeezing i to wetauits, you gotta see it to believe it.

I heard yarns about his dad and he going fishing together and at 8 his dad decided he was old enough and savvy enough to be his crew commercial fishing for albacore and the accident they had ... A doozy of an accident. He wrote a book about it and I will buy it soon. White Water and me or something to that effect.

There are lots of more stories on his blog, I hope you found them. Years of stories. Feathers, look for the dog stories! You will love them!

Feathers - 5-21-2014 at 06:13 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by BajaBlanca

There are lots of more stories on his blog, I hope you found them. Years of stories. Feathers, look for the dog stories! You will love them!


Will do!

JZ - 5-21-2014 at 08:07 PM

How far out is this rock? Where abouts is it?

Hard to believe it was really 10 foot waves. I don't think a panga could go in 10 foot waves or they could even get of the boat in those conditions.

Gulliver - 5-21-2014 at 09:28 PM

I have been up and down that coast a few times. The area is quite well charted and all of the cruising books warn you about the hazards. As the writer said, he blew it. We all make mistakes. I have in the past. I will in the future. But not there!!

There are a half a dozen places on that coast where you just need to stay out ten miles and always know where you are. And know by two independent means, be they GPS, radar, plots or a really good D.R.

I spent a long night hove to a bit South of there and it was sooo comforting to be on the offshore tack!

By the way, the tow boat skipper was coming from the correct direction. No matter which way you are going, you enter the bay from the South. People who cut the corner Southbound get smacked or frightened fairly regularly.

Boats

captkw - 5-22-2014 at 07:05 AM

Any Fool can buy a boat !!! and any Fool can hit a reef !! what a hell of a way to learn!!!:rolleyes:

bacquito - 5-22-2014 at 03:46 PM

Really an interesting read. Wow, some money spent on the trip! Hope to read more.

[Edited on 5-22-2014 by bacquito]

mtgoat666 - 5-22-2014 at 03:54 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by captkw
Any Fool can buy a boat !!! and any Fool can hit a reef !! what a hell of a way to learn!!!:rolleyes:


true. but even fools have the right to have fun. and everybody needs to learn somehow. just do it!

couple suggestions for the newbies:
never hug the coast, better to cruise far off shore so minor navigation errors are non-issue :light:
never leave the helm unattended and go below when you are under way and close to hazard! :o:o:lol::lol:

Kgryfon - 5-23-2014 at 03:31 PM

I fell asleep on the couch reading their blog last night...not because it was boring but because it was so engaging that I didn't want to stop reading it until it was waaaay past my bed time! Good read!

BajaBlanca - 5-23-2014 at 04:19 PM

I just kindled the book BLUE WATER AND ME and so far, it is a tale that you don't want to stop reading. Thank goodness we are in La Bocana and I have all the time in the world to read!

willyAirstream - 5-23-2014 at 04:32 PM

Link to the book here, Amazon Kindle

http://tinyurl.com/q3f2ddq

[Edited on 5-23-2014 by willyAirstream]

rts551 - 5-23-2014 at 04:55 PM

I remember these peple and when it happened. Comedy of errors.

Too bad he could not get any of the names right...Except for the gringo Danny, who tried to help. Rigo was the Diver. I don't dare tell him what they said about Him.

chuckie - 5-23-2014 at 04:56 PM

Bought it...one click....Thanks Richard

rts551 - 5-23-2014 at 06:05 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by BajaBlanca
I happened to find this author mentioned on the La Paz Gringo site and boy....the reading had Les and I laughing til tears were rolling down my face!

Turns out they are living in La Paz and tomorrow, we are going to try and meet up.


Get ready for some wonderful adventures, I logged onto this portion of the writing because it takes place in our part of Baja, Punta Abreojos. But there is much, much more.



http://www.pennwallace.com/disaster-at-sea-2012.html



Blanca, I did not think that the attempts at comedy at the expense of Mexicans, especially the fisherman of Abreojos, was really that hilarious. On top of that, Their take on things has many omissions, mostly of how much they were idiots!

BajaBlanca - 5-24-2014 at 09:05 AM

Well, Penn is half Mexican! His mom was Mexican and his dad Scottish. What a combo.

And I think, myself, that his take on the situation was part of the charm.

He thought the Mexican navy based in Punta Abreojos was coming to save them....oh what a good laugh we had.

Bottom line, He makes just as much fun of himself. He really does.

BajaBlanca - 5-24-2014 at 09:10 AM

So far, my thoughts regarding his first book: BLUE WATERS AND ME:

He did tell us when we met up, that his books improved with each one he wrote. I think that is spot on correct. I can see elements of his excellence now in this first book, but his writing is not as good as it is now. Regardless, it is a fun read with lots of nautical terms defined. His dad was a character, no doubt about it. I wish I could remember such detail about experiences growing up.

[Edited on 5-24-2014 by BajaBlanca]