WE DID IT!! Florida to San Diego via The Panama Canal

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Saturday, June 26, 2010 – Kona Kai Marina, San Diego, California

After seven weeks and two days – 4700 nautical miles or 5400 statute miles – and visiting five foreign countries – we’re back in the United States!




On our first morning in San Diego, we were awakened by someone knocking on the hull shortly after 7 am. The security people on the Customs dock told us we needed to be moving along. Since the marina wasn’t open yet, Mark decided to take us for a ride and show us around San Diego harbor. The skies were overcast and the temperature was in the 60’s – we all had our jackets and long pants on. The tour helped us orient ourselves to the area and see some places we might want to come back to and explore further.






Around 9 am, we made contact with the marina and received a slip assignment. We headed into Kona Kai Marina, Slip F1, and with Mark’s expert piloting skills, he had us tucked into our space while the crew secured the lines. We were happy to bring Adventure to her new home. After catching our breath, we walked over to the hotel near the marina and relaxed and enjoyed a wonderful brunch.

Following breakfast, it was time to clean the boat. Mark, Gale and Craig washed the outside while Diane and Maureen cleaned inside. We quit around 4 pm and by then, Craig’s wife, Janny, had arrived from Santa Barbara. She was planning to stay the night and then she and Craig would leave in the morning. Mark and Diane’s daughter, Jennifer, came to the boat about 7 pm after she had finished work. We were all pretty tired and not interested in getting dressed up to go out, so we had pizza delivered. After dinner and a little conversation, Gale and Maureen bid everyone goodnight and turned in.

Friday, June 25, 2010 – At Sea

The seas calmed down significantly overnight. During the morning hours we saw several whales spouting off all around us. A couple of them even surfaced next to the boat and we were able to get some photos of the backs of these gigantic creatures as they came up out of the water. Maureen and Gale saw their first sea lion ever as it swam by the starboard side of Adventure. At first we thought it was a porpoise since we were so used to seeing those guys wherever we went.

At 1 pm, we stopped for fuel in Ensanada, Mexico. We also needed to check out of the country in preparation for our entry back into the United States. It was hard



to believe that we had been away from our home country for over seven weeks! After getting fuel, having a little lunch at the marina/hotel restaurant and checking out with Customs and Immigration, we left the fuel dock at 4 pm. Diane and Maureen finally mixed up and baked that batch of cookies promised yesterday and we all enjoyed fresh, hot oatmeal raisin cookies as we got underway for the last push.

We only had about 70 miles left to reach San Diego and after determining that the fish weren’t biting, we brought in the lines, powered up and set our sights on the US. Just before midnight, we pulled into the customs dock in San Diego and used the phone there to report our arrival. Two Customs & Immigration officials came aboard at 2 am and spent the next forty-five minutes checking us in. It had been a very long day but we were excited to be “home.”

Thursday, June 24, 2010 – At Sea

Very rough seas continued all day and into the night with six to eight foot seas most of the time and some ten foot seas. It was not conducive to doing much of anything except watching movies. Diane and Maureen did work together to put a tuna casserole together. It took both of them to make the meal – one to hold the pots on the stove and one to add the ingredients. The girls had promised to make cookies that day, but it was just too rough.

Wednesday, June 23, 2010 – At Sea

The seas were very rough during the night and all through the day. Around 9 am Mark sighted a whale spouting several yards off our port bow. After that we had a few more whale sightings, or, actually, spoutings.

Tuesday, June 22, 2010 – At Sea

Throughout the second half of our trip, we have been trouble shooting a problem with the sea chest – it has been losing water. In addition, during the late afternoon yesterday, we heard a loud noise from under the hull that sounded like we hit an obstruction of some kind. At 10 am we anchored at Santa Maria Bay, just off Magdalena Bay, so Mark could put on his scuba gear and dive the boat. He cleaned the strainers and the through hull fittings and inspected the hull for damage.

The starboard side thru hulls were clean, the port side thru hulls were full of barnacles, the hull had not sustained any damage but he did retrieve a commercial hook and line wrapped around one of the stabilizer fins. After a quick lunch of tuna wraps, we were on our way again at noon.

We started catching blackfin tuna around 1:30 pm. Gale reeled in the first hit and as soon as it was boated, the second one hit. The day’s total was three blackfin tuna and one small mahi mahi. The mahi mahi was so small we didn’t even know we had it on the line for awhile – by the time it was brought in, it was pretty beat up and in no shape to go back to the sea.

Monday, June 21, 2010 – At Sea

We were clear of the dock at 6:15 am and began the last long leg of the trip. The morning skies were slightly hazy, the seas were flat calm and the temperature was warm as we set out.
We saw several large rays feeding at the surface all around the boat. There were several dolphins and Gale saw something quite large come to the surface that was probably a whale. The sunrise was one of the more beautiful ones we’ve seen. It didn’t take long for Gale and Craig to get the fishing lines out.

As we motored past San Jose Los Cabos and Cabos San Lucas, collectively known as Cabo,

we were treated to seeing large schools of stingrays swimming about six feet under the surface with their wings shimmering in the sunlight. Occasionally, one or two of the rays would jump completely out of the water! The scenery was interesting with the rugged cliffs covered by many large hotels, resorts and residences.

Our calm seas turned extremely rough towards early evening and into the night. We were tossed about rather severely for the hours before midnight. By the time Gale was up for the 2 am watch, we had found calmer seas once again.

Sunday, June 20, 2010 – San Jose Los Cabos, Mexico

Mark and Gale dropped Maureen and Diane off downtown so they could do a little more shopping. The guys then met Craig downtown and the three of them drove 26 miles to Cabo San Lucas in search of fishing tackle. Mark and Gale took Craig back to the marina and then hooked up with Maureen and Diane once again. We had talked about leaving this afternoon but decided that it wasn’t going to make any difference weather wise if we left today or tomorrow. So, the two couples drove back to Cabo San Lucas to fill the rental car with gas and to show the girls a little more of this resort area known as “Cabo.”




We stopped at a beach and felt the cold Pacific water and experienced the pounding surf and sea spray. There was a scenic overlook where we paused to watch several surfers trying to “catch a wave.”

After our drive, we went back to the marina, picked up the dogs and took the dinghy out for a nice ride around the small harbor.

Saturday, June 19, 2010 – San Jose Los Cabos, Mexico

After taking care of a few chores in the morning, Mark and Diane rented a Jeep for the next couple of days and the four of us went shopping. Craig stayed behind to give the boat a good washing and to spend some time on the computer.

The day was hot but we stayed comfortable by finding shade whenever possible. Before spending too much time shopping, we stopped at a restaurant with outdoor seating and ordered a light lunch. Unfortunately, Maureen was experiencing a bout of “Montezuma’s Revenge” and couldn’t get into the shopping experience that day. Gale succumbed to his ice cream craving and bought two cones from a little lady wheeling a small ice cream cart through the streets. Mark and Diane had some good luck with their shopping and made a few souvenir purchases for their kids and picked up some nice items for themselves.


Yesterday before we’d come into port and we were still in heavy seas, Diane had the misfortune of getting her finger caught in the heavy cockpit doors which took a good sized slice out of her middle finger on the right hand. At the time she knew she needed a couple of stitches, but we were far from land and made due with the first aid supplies aboard the boat. When she and Mark were at a jewelry store today, she inquired if there was a place nearby that she could get some medical attention. The store owner told her where the first aid station was and she walked the few blocks down the street where the volunteers cleaned her wound and told her she needed to go to the hospital to have someone look at it further. Mark and Diane dropped us off at the marina and the two of them found their way to the hospital. Too much time had elapsed since the accident for stitches, but they took an x-ray to make sure there were no broken bones, cleaned it again and dressed it for her. Diane reported their experience at the hospital was unlike going to one in the US – there were no lines, they didn’t ask for ID or insurance, just name, address and credit card.

Friday, June 18, 2010 – San Jose Los Cabos, Mexico

After a little more than three days at sea and 700 miles of pounding water, we arrived at the new marina, Puerto Los Cabos, in the town of San Jose Los Cabos around 6 pm. We were directed to our slip and in no time at all had Adventure safely tucked in and we were ready to get off the boat. The marina had a nice outdoor restaurant and served terrific margaritas which we enjoyed as we toasted to safe travels and another beautiful sunset.

Tuesday to Friday, June 15-18, 2010 – At Sea

We spent the morning taking care of business. At 11am, we launched the dinghy and went for a ride around Acapulco harbor. It was not easy to find a place where we could bring the dinghy to shore due to the heavy surf and pounding waves, but we made a go at it right next to a roped off swimming area. As it turned out, we had trespassed on federal navy property and the guard with the machine gun politely showed us which side of the line we needed to stay on. Mark and Gale dropped the girls off with the dogs on the shore and then took the dinghy out a few feet where they dropped an anchor and swam to shore.

The beach was lovely and we found a few tables with umbrellas where we ordered a light lunch. As we sat on the beach, we were bombarded by locals selling their wares or services. One little boy who looked to be about 6 or 7 years old, came by with his tin can to try to sell us a song as he wrapped his knuckles on the can.

After our lunch, we jumped back into the dinghy (not very gracefully, by the way) and continued our ride around the harbor. We rode by the cliffs made famous by Wide World of Sports and the Acapulco cliff divers and then back to Adventure at 3 pm to prepare for our departure.

Before leaving the dock, we experienced a problem with clogged sea strainers that the guys tried to troubleshoot. The slip where we had stayed the night was full of garbage and it seemed that our sea strainers had taken in a lot of trash. In addition, the warm waters we’d been traveling in promoted a lot of barnacle growth in the hoses. The consensus of the crew was that we had enjoyed Acapulco very much, but we were all anxious to move on, so at 4:15 pm, we did just that.


The weather outlook showed three tropical depressions in the area and we came through one of them the first night out. It was our hope to anchor at Zihuatenejo Tuesday night but due to the rough seas, we passed it by and kept on moving. “Z-What” was the place where Andy told Red he could find him when he got out of prison in the movie Shawshank Redemption.

Over the course of our passage we experienced swells of 8 to 10 feet with chop making for a rather uncomfortable ride. At other times, the seas were fairly smooth. One night, Mark observed large patches of bright blue bioluminescense in the sea. There were more thunderstorms on Wednesday night.

Monday, June 14, 2010 – Acapulco, Mexico

The morning and early afternoon were devoted to chores: Gale worked on filling the fuel tanks; Mark changed the engine oil; Maureen, Diane and Gale took a taxi to the supermarket for a few groceries; Mark, Craig and a couple of deck hands moved the boat from the fuel dock to a slip. After the groceries were put away and all of our business was taken care of, it was pool time. The sun was hot and the water felt wonderful.

After another great dinner at the yacht club, Maureen and Gale decided to spend a little more time in the pool. We had the pool to ourselves, the restaurant was closed and there was no one around. At about 10:30 pm, the skies opened up and the rain poured down for about twenty minutes. Since we were already wet, we were actually warmer under the water than out in the rain.

Sunday, June 13, 2010 – Acapulco, Mexico

Just before sunrise we spotted dozens of porpoises around the boat as well as a number of sea turtles. The sea was flat and a light morning haze somewhat obscured the view of the mountains of Mexico to our starboard side. At 4 pm after five days and five hours at sea, and a total of 1121 nautical miles, from Golfito, Costa Rica, we arrived in Acapulco and tied up to the fuel dock for the night at the Acapulco Yacht Club.

As we waited for the Customs, Immigration and Department of Agriculture officials to clear us into the country, we enjoyed a cocktail or two at the yacht club restaurant. Soon we had the three officials plus our “agent” on the boat to complete the necessary paperwork. Afterwards, we shared a nice evening meal at the yacht club restaurant.

Saturday, June 12, 2010 – At Sea

We were up for the 4 am watch. Craig spoke to his wife during the night who informed us of a developing tropical depression. It was estimated that there was a 10% chance it would turn into a hurricane and head for Acapulco. We put out four trolling lines in the late afternoon but didn’t see much action – except for the one that took an entire reel of fishing line with it while everyone was inside the boat! No one saw the pole bend or heard the line peel away!

We found ourselves in the middle of a severe thunderstorm during the early evening hours. Lots of lightning, thunder and rain. The good thing about that was Adventure got a nice fresh water bath which washed all the ocean salt away.

Friday, June 11, 2010 – At Sea

We were up for the 6 am watch. A brown booby traveled with us for several hours and seemed completely unafraid of us – we were able to sit right next to him up on the bow and take some pictures. Even Lucy had a hard time scaring him off!

Several storm cells built behind us during the morning and came on strong. We experienced rain and wind with up to 40 mph gusts before lunchtime. The seas got a little rougher, but it wasn’t too uncomfortable. Two or three times we had large schools of porpoise accompany us. We put in a few fishing lines early in the day and late in the afternoon but were unsuccessful in attracting any bites.

Thursday, June 10, 2010 – At Sea

Another beautiful day – calm seas and already hot at 7 am. We could see rain squalls behind us and blue sky ahead. Very quiet – spotted a couple of turtles, a few brown booby birds, and some porpoises. The fishing lines were put out in the afternoon but there were no strikes. Gale was feeling better but still not at 100%. Mark prepared the evening meal of fresh caught tuna, rice and green beans – his special sauce for the fish was fabulous!

Wednesday, June 9, 2010 – At Sea

Gale got up for his 2 am watch, even though he was extremely tired. Maureen joined him at 5 am and took her turn at the helm. The seas were very calm today but that didn’t seem to help Gale very much – he really just wanted to sleep.

While Craig was on watch just before lunch, he saw a pilot whale off the starboard bow. Maureen saw one in the afternoon that came up twice then disappeared. Many sea turtles, lots of flying fish and schools of porpoises were also sighted during the day. The birds we saw were primarily brown boobies.


We didn’t do any fishing today – mostly because Gale stayed in bed. Mark tried out his new hammock that he picked up at one of the Panama souvenir shops. Late in the afternoon, the washing machine gave us some problems when the water line wouldn’t shut off. Fortunately, the machine is located right next to a large bilge pump; unfortunately, we lost most of our fresh water supply and must wait until morning to do dishes, shower, etc., when the watermakers have a chance to catch up. Thanks to a joint effort, we were able to get a temporary fix on the washer that should get us to San Diego.


Gale did enjoy a little lasagna tonight and we sang happy birthday before we ate the cake. Gale and Maureen took the 8 pm to midnight watch.

Tuesday, June 8, 2010 - At Sea

Happy Birthday, Gale!

We had to wait around this morning to clear Customs. Yesterday there was so much rain that it caused mudslides over some of the primary roads making them impassable and some folks could not get to their jobs. No worries, we used our extra time to post blog updates.





With the paperwork done and our new crew member, Craig, aboard, we cast off the lines at 10:30 am and set out on a l-o-o-o-o-ong passage to Mexico.

When we’d been out about 2 hours, Gale put the fishing lines in to see if anything was biting. Within ten minutes the first fish hit! It was a good-sized bigeye yellow fin tuna! Before he was able to get that one cleaned, there was another hit! Craig reeled that one in – another tuna – not quite as large as the first. Both fish were filleted out and another one hit! Mark came down from the wheelhouse to bring it in while Diane stayed at the helm. It turned out to be a fabulous “tuna day.” We lost track of how many tuna were boated and filleted out, but there were no less than eight and upwards of a dozen. The only other thing biting towards evening were the bonitas which were released back to the sea. The guys were so tired by then, the lines were brought in for the day.


For Gale’s birthday, Maureen made a small white cake and a large pan of lasagna. Gale was unable to eat any of it because he was feeling queasy and food didn’t sound very good to him. In fact, he ended up going to bed just as we sat down for dinner. We weren’t sure if it was the seasickness patch or the tuna that was making him sick but all he wanted to do was lie down.