Our journey on the sailboat Good as Gold

It continues to be mainly warm and sunny. The sky is blue with a few puffy clouds and the sea is a gorgeous sapphire blue. It was a grey, cloud covered morning yesterday, but the breeze was still warm and pockets of blue sky peeked out between the clouds. We haven't seen much sea life, although three days ago a few dolphins swam along with us for about an hour before sunset. The first couple of days we saw some birds, but nothing again until this afternoon when a solitary gull circle the boat about five times. The nearest islands are about 580 nautical miles and Baja is about 670 nautical miles away so it has some way to go. A small flying fish landed on the deck a few days ago and a larger one startled Malcolm during his night watch when it flew into the cockpit! It took a few days to adjust to the new sleep patterns, so the first few days were spent relaxing as we sailed merrily along. We split daylight into two shifts. Malcolm is on watch from 6 am until noon during which t

Yesterday, March 21, we left San Jose del Cabo at 22:45 UTC, or 3:45 pm local time. We saw a couple of whales as we motored West towards Cabo San Lucas. Once around Cabo, we set sail during a beautiful sunset. It has been warm and sunny with fairly steady winds between 10-15 knots (for nonsailors, that is ideal). There are a number of freighters in the area, but none too close. In 24 hours we have sailed approximately 145 nautical miles with an average speed of 5.8 knots per hour and a maximum speed of 9.1 kth. Our current position: 22°05N 111°50W. We received a few emails, so our new satellite system is working!

We’ve had lots of fun here in Mexico. We’ve seen lots of sea life. We’ve seen lots of beautiful birds. We’ve been on some nice hikes. We've stayed in some pretty anchorages. We’ve played in the ocean. We’ve sailed in the sunshine. We’ve enjoyed the sunsets. We’ve been here for two winters, but now it’s time to go. Many of our friends are working their way north to Guaymas to store their boats for the summer and leave before hurricane season.  We’ve already said goodbye to them. A few of our friends are getting ready to head to the South Pacific, just like we are. Over the next few days, we’ll work our way down to the southern tip of Baja California and do our final preparations before crossing to the Marquesas’ Islands, the easternmost islands in the South Pacific. The Marquesas’ Islands are over 2000 miles away. Depending on the wind and currents, the crossing could take from 20 to 30 days. Once we’re in the South

One thing that surprised us is how much socializing is happening amongst all the cruisers, whether here in La Paz or out at anchor. We go sightseeing in groups We eat out with friends. Good as Gold often has a full cockpit. We make good cocktails In addition to the new friends we’ve made along the way, we’ve had some friends and family visit from “back home”.  It’s been great to see them before we head further afield (further asea?).  Sometimes we were too busy to take photos of them, but we have a couple here. Tim taking a photo of a topless mermaid statue Victoria hogging the helm Kailey and Zophia with the standard pose Jennifer and Campbell visiting from BC Gary, Karina and Charlotte who’ve come down on Sea Rover II this year