May 4th, 2011
Home!
Greetings, Caprice fans!
Caprice and her all male crew succesfully tied up at her home port in Point Richmond today, May 4th at 11:30am! A happy crew and an even happier trio of dancing girls greeted them!
The arrival was joyous and emotional for one and all. Caprice looks beautiful... the repair work is flawless... and the crew looked great also!
After a festive champagne toast, lunch was served at Dan and Carol's and a good time was had by all!
So, dear friends and family, this concludes the Tales of Caprice... an odyssey that began on August 10th, 2010 and ended successfully and happily today!
We thank everyone who followed along with us and hope one day to have more adventures to share with you.
Until then,
Cheers from Caprice and her crew!
Monday, May 9, 2011
Uphill to the Barn
Monday, May 2nd, 2011
Uphill to the barn!
Good news... the Men of Caprice have successfully conquered Point Conception and Point Arguello with light winds and calm seas. They are approximately 12 miles south of Point Sur at 7pm today, May 2nd, 2011 heading into 28 knot winds. With both engines powering them forward, they are making 3.5 knots of forward speed! Next stop, Monterey for fuel and a rest… maybe just fuel and a hamburger!
We at home are anxious for their safe arrival at Point Richmond...
Stay tuned... for more Tales of Caprice and her all male crew!
Uphill to the barn!
Good news... the Men of Caprice have successfully conquered Point Conception and Point Arguello with light winds and calm seas. They are approximately 12 miles south of Point Sur at 7pm today, May 2nd, 2011 heading into 28 knot winds. With both engines powering them forward, they are making 3.5 knots of forward speed! Next stop, Monterey for fuel and a rest… maybe just fuel and a hamburger!
We at home are anxious for their safe arrival at Point Richmond...
Stay tuned... for more Tales of Caprice and her all male crew!
Thursday, April 28, 2011
Men Can Cook
April 26th, 2100
This just in from Captain Dan aboard the SV Caprice!
“They call it slogging north or the Baja Bash. Both terms are appropriate for the trip up the Baja Coast. We experience up to 35-knot winds and rough seas as we point right into the wind and currents. We stop at Turtle Bay for updated weather information and a few supplies and continue bashing up the coast to Ensenada after ducking into a small cove at San Carlos for an overnight respite. We fuel up again at Ensenada, savor our steaks that we can't bring across the border, and finally get into the USA at San Diego where clearing customs is quite a relief. We are allowed to berth at the lovely San Diego Yacht Club, enjoy a delicious seafood dinner at the Club, and finish our to do list.
All is well with the Captain and crew. We discover that Men Can Cook (although we would bow to the expertise of our spouses) whenever we can!
The next few days should be relaxing as we do day trips up the coast towards Santa Barbara.”
‘Til next time…
Cheers from Captain Dan and the all-male crew of Caprice!
This just in from Captain Dan aboard the SV Caprice!
“They call it slogging north or the Baja Bash. Both terms are appropriate for the trip up the Baja Coast. We experience up to 35-knot winds and rough seas as we point right into the wind and currents. We stop at Turtle Bay for updated weather information and a few supplies and continue bashing up the coast to Ensenada after ducking into a small cove at San Carlos for an overnight respite. We fuel up again at Ensenada, savor our steaks that we can't bring across the border, and finally get into the USA at San Diego where clearing customs is quite a relief. We are allowed to berth at the lovely San Diego Yacht Club, enjoy a delicious seafood dinner at the Club, and finish our to do list.
All is well with the Captain and crew. We discover that Men Can Cook (although we would bow to the expertise of our spouses) whenever we can!
The next few days should be relaxing as we do day trips up the coast towards Santa Barbara.”
‘Til next time…
Cheers from Captain Dan and the all-male crew of Caprice!
Coming to America!
April 25th, 2011
Finally, an update from Tom aboard Caprice as she makes her way from La Paz, Mexico to San Diego, California!
Just the facts I asked for and promised I would embellish and elaborate into a continuation of the tales of Caprice! I’ve done my best and hope all you fans of Caprice and her all-male crew will enjoy!
Caprice is underway from the CostaBaja Marina at 12 noon on April 12th, 2011 for the short trip to Calera Partial, an anchorage between Isla Del Espiritu Santos and Isla Partida where we spend the night. In the morning we move Caprice closer to a reef where Dan snorkels and returns to the boat with a broad-faced grin regaling us with tales of the myriad of colorful and unusual fish he saw! After the stop for the snorkel opportunity we motor Caprice around to the north end of Isla Partida and then head south to Cabo San Lucas. We head for an overnight stop at Muertos, but if conditions are good, it’s straight on to Cabo San Lucas. Caprice is anxious to get going on the long trip north and her crew is willing to make her happy!
Hooray… we catch two beautiful yellow fin tuna so you know what we are having for dinner this evening – the freshest fish possible!
We motor all night and arrive at Cabo San Lucas at about 9am Thursday morning and start the process of officially checking out of Mexico. Practical issues include topping off with diesel and filling the food larders with marvelous provisions from Costco! We will overnight at the Cabo San Lucas Marina, where we stayed last November upon completing the Baja Ha Ha!
Next stop: the Mexican Immigration Office! We stroll to the official site armed with our passports and Caprice documentation. We are curious as to how this process works… when we arrived with the Baja Ha Ha group, officials met us on the docks and processed everything easily and quickly. Now, we are on our own!
Upon entering the office we see 35 to 40 other needy people waiting for help… so we sit down and wait… Fortunately, we have Enrique with us. He approaches one of the officials and chats away with him. Soon the official has his supervisor at hand and the thought of guards quickly approaching with AK47’s crosses my mind… but hooray, all is well. The supervisor takes our papers and passports and returns shortly with everything ready to go! He shakes our hands and wishes us a good/safe trip back to San Francisco. It appears that all the other folks in the immigration office are there for something other than leaving Mexico in a sailboat. Back to Caprice with a skip in our step as one major hurtle is successfully completed. Next stop: COSTCO! Enrique and I gather our shopping bags and walk a few blocks to catch a bus to COSTCO to provision the boat for the trip to San Diego (8 pesos for the bus ride while the cab back with the goodies is 200 pesos… a peso is approximately 12 to the dollar.)
Off we go, departing Cabo San Lucas at about 7:30am the next morning and are now slogging our way north in 12 to 15 knots of wind right on our nose.
We are hopeful that the winds will die down in the afternoon but alas at 3:30pm they are blowing 15 to 18. We are running at 2800 rpm on both engines and only driving the boat at about 5 knots putting us a bit behind our projected time lines! But as we know, this is sailing and time lines are for people who are working! Today we catch eleven fish but all are shakers.
Saturday Morning April 16th and we are sailing toward the entrance of Bahia Magdalena or Mag Bay as it is affectionately known to sailors and locals. We will pull into Puerto San Carlos to fill the diesel tanks for the trip to Turtle Bay. As a result of the heavy winds on our nose we are consuming more fuel than we anticipated. We plan to purchase four additional 20-liter fuel containers so that we have sufficient backup to make the trip to Turtle Bay and further North should we experience more of the adverse wind and current conditions.
We arrive at the entrance to Bahia Magdalena and motor 20 miles up the channel to Puerto San Carlos where we anchor off the port in about 20 feet of water. The wind is blowing hard, so we decide that Dan and Enrique will row ashore in the dingy while I stay on Caprice should she drag anchor. Off they go! In time the intrepid crew makes it to the shore only to be greeted by a guard. I watch them through a pair of binoculars and it appears that there is some problem with them landing where they are. But Enrique with his command of the language saves the day and they are allowed to proceed. After disappearing into the buildings, 3 hours pass before I see them again. Needless to say I was thrilled when they reappeared! Long story short, they eventually hook up with the right guy after several disappointments with the local officials and purchase two 60-liter fuel containers. Dan rows back to the boat while Enrique continues to work with the local official to obtain the much-needed fuel. We move Caprice to the pier and side tie to a rusty old fishing boat and a hose is carried over to Caprice! We load fuel into our tanks and containers. And as we say aboard Caprice when things are going well: Hallelujah!!! We thank everyone that is involved and of course everyone gets the appropriate tip!! Caprice is underway and heading down the channel for the open sea as we continue our voyage north! We are on our way to America and looking forward to it greatly!
Stay tuned for more Adventures of Caprice and her all-male crew!
Finally, an update from Tom aboard Caprice as she makes her way from La Paz, Mexico to San Diego, California!
Just the facts I asked for and promised I would embellish and elaborate into a continuation of the tales of Caprice! I’ve done my best and hope all you fans of Caprice and her all-male crew will enjoy!
Caprice is underway from the CostaBaja Marina at 12 noon on April 12th, 2011 for the short trip to Calera Partial, an anchorage between Isla Del Espiritu Santos and Isla Partida where we spend the night. In the morning we move Caprice closer to a reef where Dan snorkels and returns to the boat with a broad-faced grin regaling us with tales of the myriad of colorful and unusual fish he saw! After the stop for the snorkel opportunity we motor Caprice around to the north end of Isla Partida and then head south to Cabo San Lucas. We head for an overnight stop at Muertos, but if conditions are good, it’s straight on to Cabo San Lucas. Caprice is anxious to get going on the long trip north and her crew is willing to make her happy!
Hooray… we catch two beautiful yellow fin tuna so you know what we are having for dinner this evening – the freshest fish possible!
We motor all night and arrive at Cabo San Lucas at about 9am Thursday morning and start the process of officially checking out of Mexico. Practical issues include topping off with diesel and filling the food larders with marvelous provisions from Costco! We will overnight at the Cabo San Lucas Marina, where we stayed last November upon completing the Baja Ha Ha!
Next stop: the Mexican Immigration Office! We stroll to the official site armed with our passports and Caprice documentation. We are curious as to how this process works… when we arrived with the Baja Ha Ha group, officials met us on the docks and processed everything easily and quickly. Now, we are on our own!
Upon entering the office we see 35 to 40 other needy people waiting for help… so we sit down and wait… Fortunately, we have Enrique with us. He approaches one of the officials and chats away with him. Soon the official has his supervisor at hand and the thought of guards quickly approaching with AK47’s crosses my mind… but hooray, all is well. The supervisor takes our papers and passports and returns shortly with everything ready to go! He shakes our hands and wishes us a good/safe trip back to San Francisco. It appears that all the other folks in the immigration office are there for something other than leaving Mexico in a sailboat. Back to Caprice with a skip in our step as one major hurtle is successfully completed. Next stop: COSTCO! Enrique and I gather our shopping bags and walk a few blocks to catch a bus to COSTCO to provision the boat for the trip to San Diego (8 pesos for the bus ride while the cab back with the goodies is 200 pesos… a peso is approximately 12 to the dollar.)
Off we go, departing Cabo San Lucas at about 7:30am the next morning and are now slogging our way north in 12 to 15 knots of wind right on our nose.
We are hopeful that the winds will die down in the afternoon but alas at 3:30pm they are blowing 15 to 18. We are running at 2800 rpm on both engines and only driving the boat at about 5 knots putting us a bit behind our projected time lines! But as we know, this is sailing and time lines are for people who are working! Today we catch eleven fish but all are shakers.
Saturday Morning April 16th and we are sailing toward the entrance of Bahia Magdalena or Mag Bay as it is affectionately known to sailors and locals. We will pull into Puerto San Carlos to fill the diesel tanks for the trip to Turtle Bay. As a result of the heavy winds on our nose we are consuming more fuel than we anticipated. We plan to purchase four additional 20-liter fuel containers so that we have sufficient backup to make the trip to Turtle Bay and further North should we experience more of the adverse wind and current conditions.
We arrive at the entrance to Bahia Magdalena and motor 20 miles up the channel to Puerto San Carlos where we anchor off the port in about 20 feet of water. The wind is blowing hard, so we decide that Dan and Enrique will row ashore in the dingy while I stay on Caprice should she drag anchor. Off they go! In time the intrepid crew makes it to the shore only to be greeted by a guard. I watch them through a pair of binoculars and it appears that there is some problem with them landing where they are. But Enrique with his command of the language saves the day and they are allowed to proceed. After disappearing into the buildings, 3 hours pass before I see them again. Needless to say I was thrilled when they reappeared! Long story short, they eventually hook up with the right guy after several disappointments with the local officials and purchase two 60-liter fuel containers. Dan rows back to the boat while Enrique continues to work with the local official to obtain the much-needed fuel. We move Caprice to the pier and side tie to a rusty old fishing boat and a hose is carried over to Caprice! We load fuel into our tanks and containers. And as we say aboard Caprice when things are going well: Hallelujah!!! We thank everyone that is involved and of course everyone gets the appropriate tip!! Caprice is underway and heading down the channel for the open sea as we continue our voyage north! We are on our way to America and looking forward to it greatly!
Stay tuned for more Adventures of Caprice and her all-male crew!
Hello Cabo!
Wednesday, April 13th, 2011
After a short, but sweet visit to Espiritu Santos for some sightseeing and snorkeling, our intrepid Captain and Crew of the SV Caprice are underway today bound for Cabo San Lucas. Tom was able to phone home while passing La Paz and Dan later emailed that they had caught two tuna today and enjoyed fresh tuna sashimi for dinner! So, remember what we say when things are good on Caprice: “hallelujah!” The plan is to continue on through the night and hope to be in Cabo by tomorrow, Thursday, and out of there on their way up the Baja Peninsula sometime Friday.
While in Cabo, they will provision for the trip up the Baja Coast, and officially check out of Mexico. The check out procedure cannot be done on the weekend, so Friday is the goal for completing that task. Caprice and crew checked into Mexico at the end of the Baja Ha Ha in early November, 2010.
As always, we fans of Caprice wish them a safe and pleasant time until we meet again!
Wednesday, April 13th, 2011
After a short, but sweet visit to Espiritu Santos for some sightseeing and snorkeling, our intrepid Captain and Crew of the SV Caprice are underway today bound for Cabo San Lucas. Tom was able to phone home while passing La Paz and Dan later emailed that they had caught two tuna today and enjoyed fresh tuna sashimi for dinner! So, remember what we say when things are good on Caprice: “hallelujah!” The plan is to continue on through the night and hope to be in Cabo by tomorrow, Thursday, and out of there on their way up the Baja Peninsula sometime Friday.
While in Cabo, they will provision for the trip up the Baja Coast, and officially check out of Mexico. The check out procedure cannot be done on the weekend, so Friday is the goal for completing that task. Caprice and crew checked into Mexico at the end of the Baja Ha Ha in early November, 2010.
As always, we fans of Caprice wish them a safe and pleasant time until we meet again!
Off They Go!
Off they go!
Or: Adios to CostaBaja and La Paz!
Tuesday, April 12th, 2011
Today there really is dancing in the streets… or at least, aboard Caprice! At approximately 11am La Paz time, Dan started the engines and Tom and Enrique cast off the lines, and Caprice began the long journey home… La Paz, Mexico to Point Richmond, California, United States, Northern Hemisphere, Earth!
They will stop at Espirito Santos for a bit of snorkeling and exploring, followed by stops in Cabo San Lucas, Bahia Santa Maria, Turtle Bay and then across the border to San Diego, Morro Bay, Monterey and home! The exact itinerary is, as we sailors all know, subject to change and written in sand at low tide!
We wish them god speed, fair winds and safe harbors until we meet again!
Or: Adios to CostaBaja and La Paz!
Tuesday, April 12th, 2011
Today there really is dancing in the streets… or at least, aboard Caprice! At approximately 11am La Paz time, Dan started the engines and Tom and Enrique cast off the lines, and Caprice began the long journey home… La Paz, Mexico to Point Richmond, California, United States, Northern Hemisphere, Earth!
They will stop at Espirito Santos for a bit of snorkeling and exploring, followed by stops in Cabo San Lucas, Bahia Santa Maria, Turtle Bay and then across the border to San Diego, Morro Bay, Monterey and home! The exact itinerary is, as we sailors all know, subject to change and written in sand at low tide!
We wish them god speed, fair winds and safe harbors until we meet again!
Monday, April 11, 2011
The Little Engine that Did!
April 9th, 2011
The little engine that could, that couldn’t, that finally DID!!!
Or: “How to splash a boat – Mexican style!!!”
Executive Officer Tom writes:
“First let me set the scene. When Caprice was moved onto the hard last January she was pulled out of the water on an ancient rail system using a very old engine to turn the gears which moved the boat up to the dry land. As soon as Caprice was in the correct position, the engine, which had seen its best days years ago, died a tortured death in a burst of sparks and blue smoke!!!
Before we left Caprice in that dusty old Mexican boat yard, junk yard dogs and all, to come home in February, we watched the poor little dead engine be pulled from its home and placed in the back of pickup to be carted off to the place that little dead engines go to.
Now let us spring forward to the present and yes there is a shiny new engine or what appears to be a shiny new engine, or the same old engine with a fresh coat of paint… we think, all of the above are possible! Whichever it is, the little engine is ready to lower us into the water. “I think I can, I think I can, I think I can” she is heard sputtering, but something seems amiss as the engine is started and then shut off only to be started yet again and then turned off again. Again and again, we hear: “I think I can, I think I can, I think I can” followed by “I just can’t!”
Feeling disconcerted and sorry for the little engine that can’t, we see a man with a big wrench approach the scene of the crime so to speak. Alas, beating it doesn’t work, so out comes the blow torch… but still the little engine sputters and stops.
The engine is started again when all of a sudden a cable snaps and Caprice lurches at least a foot towards the water! We snap to attention, forgetting how sorry we are feeling for the little engine and throw our support towards Caprice! It seems that the boat was kept from rolling back into the water by a cable that was attached to a large cement foundation and that very cable has just snapped! Fortunately, a chain is the back up for the cable, so it grabs and Caprice halts her backward motion!
It is becoming clear that perhaps after all the effort that Dan has put into getting Caprice into the water today, our dear Caprice is still going to be “on the hard” when the sun sets! And this is Saturday when Abel and his team only work half a day and the time is now 1:00pm! But hooray, some workers are still around and new cables are threaded into the innards of the rail system and at 3:00pm Caprice starts to inch her down to the water, finely floating free a short time later! And the cheer went out: Hallelujah!”
Or: “How to splash a boat – Mexican style!!!”
Executive Officer Tom writes:
“First let me set the scene. When Caprice was moved onto the hard last January she was pulled out of the water on an ancient rail system using a very old engine to turn the gears which moved the boat up to the dry land. As soon as Caprice was in the correct position, the engine, which had seen its best days years ago, died a tortured death in a burst of sparks and blue smoke!!!
Before we left Caprice in that dusty old Mexican boat yard, junk yard dogs and all, to come home in February, we watched the poor little dead engine be pulled from its home and placed in the back of pickup to be carted off to the place that little dead engines go to.
Now let us spring forward to the present and yes there is a shiny new engine or what appears to be a shiny new engine, or the same old engine with a fresh coat of paint… we think, all of the above are possible! Whichever it is, the little engine is ready to lower us into the water. “I think I can, I think I can, I think I can” she is heard sputtering, but something seems amiss as the engine is started and then shut off only to be started yet again and then turned off again. Again and again, we hear: “I think I can, I think I can, I think I can” followed by “I just can’t!”
Feeling disconcerted and sorry for the little engine that can’t, we see a man with a big wrench approach the scene of the crime so to speak. Alas, beating it doesn’t work, so out comes the blow torch… but still the little engine sputters and stops.
The engine is started again when all of a sudden a cable snaps and Caprice lurches at least a foot towards the water! We snap to attention, forgetting how sorry we are feeling for the little engine and throw our support towards Caprice! It seems that the boat was kept from rolling back into the water by a cable that was attached to a large cement foundation and that very cable has just snapped! Fortunately, a chain is the back up for the cable, so it grabs and Caprice halts her backward motion!
It is becoming clear that perhaps after all the effort that Dan has put into getting Caprice into the water today, our dear Caprice is still going to be “on the hard” when the sun sets! And this is Saturday when Abel and his team only work half a day and the time is now 1:00pm! But hooray, some workers are still around and new cables are threaded into the innards of the rail system and at 3:00pm Caprice starts to inch her down to the water, finely floating free a short time later! And the cheer went out: Hallelujah!”
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