Summer 2014 - busy times indeed!

The is a recap of our summer adventures!  The weather made the sailing trip fantastic - warm water in Desolation Sound = daily swimming.......we were 6 weeks on board Puffin.....visited all of our favourite spots again this year, and met up with a few old  friends and made a few new ones too.

Photos are the best to describe what we have been up to all summer - 

July started with a family reunion/birthday celebration - some milestone birthdays this year. 8 cousins of my generation joined us, pretty good considering there are only 14 of us! Aunt Pat represented the 'older' generation and and our 'kids' got to know each other a little better.

bacci ball - a little competitive game with these boys

 

 gathered around the fire pit with Aunt Pat telling stories of the past

hanging out after dinner - I agree with Marina, it's the best part of the day.

Later in July we headed out on Puffin for a trip to Desolation Sound - the weather forcast for the summer was looking very good! 

 Underway in Desolation sound, the scenery is so beautiful!

At anchor in Laura Cove - note the rocky bluff behind Puffin...

 The view from my nap in the cockpit!

Hiking in the forest!               

Those were the typical days we spent while cruising the area.  Next are a few highlights!

Remember I asked you to note the rocky bluff - well this was our morning coffee view from the boat! Mr. Bear on the rocky bluff, then wandering on the shore and munching on salal berries.

 You will have to look very closely at this photo - the spouts you see in the centre are from the orcas that swam by while we were anchored, 5 killer whales right under and around us!  So exciting the camera was the last thing we were thinking - a very special moment.

A little Otter taking a rest after fishing.

Breakfast time!  Racoons digging for clams.

The Shark Spit Regatta!  Yes, we did it with Puffin!  This regatta is on the full moon in August every year - this was our second attempt.....six years ago we were a 'Did Not Finish' .... our new sails made all the difference I am sure.

Skippers Meeting on the beach.

John setting sails just after the start -  we are only a little behind the fleet!  of about 30 boats.

Fierce competition!

 Rounding the first mark! Very challenging with no wind....everyone made it....finally...

Here is Puffin rounding the second mark!

Last leg - almost at the finish line - you only see 4 in the photo but there were actually 5 boats behind us, yay, no last place for us!

After the race, pot luck dinner on the beach - what a crowd.

Dinner served on an overturned dinghy of course.

John's famous sunset pictures!  These are taken from Lund harbour marina.

More about our days....

On those rare days we are not paddle boarding there is a lot more going on at the beach -

Windy days can be fun too!  The kayaks are also very good umbrella style sailing vessels (down wind only of course).  or the sailing fleet heads out for some serious racing!

 Light breeze sailing kayaks.

 John out sailing in the big wind!

John and Steve - close encounter!

 Valentine's day dinner out at El Patron, near the lighthouse in Mulege

Sunset, full moon night, with the Sea of Cortez in the background.

 one of many special happy hours at the beach.....

 Wildlife viewing - the whale shark is the main attraction most days lately. The top picture is spotty coming toward me, yikes better move out of the way.

The 'Board' story......

I have to tell you all about the 'board' - stand up paddle board, inflatable style.  Way back in December my friend Nan send me a message about the paddle board she planned to get.  Nan and Steve tried paddle boarding in Hawaii and liked it so much they wanted a board to take to our Baja beach.
So of course I checked it all out and jumped on board (so to speak).  I made arrangements to pick one up at West Marine in Portland on our way south....in the mean time our other friend Jerri decided she really needed a board too, did we have room for two boards???  Yup we can fit it in....Well turns out that it was one of the best investments ever, we tres Amigas have had so much fun!

 Here we are just clowning around on a windy day - the umbrellas make great sails - paddle out and sail back to the beach!

The next adventure was a paddle out to Coyote Island - here we are all packed up and ready to go.Paddles UP!

On our way......

Paddle Paddle Paddle!

Almost there...

Paddles Down.....We have arrived!

The return trip with a stop at fish mouth.

Ok, now that we are sort of experts at this - it's YOGA time!

A little downward dog -

then some cow cat stretches -

More downward dog -

sure I can do tree stand -

triangle post? well

oh oh

maybe triangle pose wasn't such a good idea!

 After all that hard work - time for some play time!  Wake boarding behind a walker bay with a two horse motor!  Fun Fun Fun 

The best of all was the visit from the Whale Shark viewed from the paddle board!!!

 yup, that's my reflection in the top of the picture!  My board is 10' 6" long so you get an idea how big this fish really is.

My new friend Spotty and I going for a little cruise around the bay!

(thanks for these  photos Ramie!)

Not only is the SUP great for exercise, it has been so much fun, and brought so many adventures!