Log of Black Wind - Part 1
- James Lovett
- May 1, 2023
- 5 min read
By James.
I write this whilst alongside a slip in Don Jose marina in La Paz, about 80 nautical miles north of Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. If you look it up you will find it is the capital of Baja California, and it is a pretty cool place to finish the voyage of Black Wind. And what a voyage so far. However, La Paz was not where we decided to end up; we never originally planned to come here at all. But that first plan was a long time ago, and Los Angeles seems a lifetime away...
We left Los Angeles, California on the 8th December with a plan to sail south to the Panama Canal and back up to the Caribbean. 'We' back then was myself, my first mate Sam, Chris and Kris ('Analogue and Digital'), Blair, Mad Jack, and 2 guest crew: Barry and Dominic. 8 of us in all, and other than myself only 2 with any sailing knowledge and experience.
'Black Wind' was my 54 foot, 26 ton concrete ketch (The name came from a Sisters of Mercy song) and she was the archetypal pirate ship. Black, very worn, and lot's of secret compartments. LA itself is another story I will come back to, but our journey began by sailing Black Wind straight out of the breakwater and into the type of fog few will forget in a hurry. It was grim. We sat in it for three days just outside a shipping lane and listened to ships pass by. We even sat and listened to two guys talking from two different fishing boats; so close, yet we still couldn't see them. Actually the waiting was not so bad - it was the constant swell that rolled in from the Pacific that never gave up that wore us down, and after the second day it had nearly become a natural motion for everybody. It was an anti-climax to the beginning of our voyage, and some must have wondered what they had signed up for, but finally we left the smog of LA behind (frighteningly visible above the city once the fog had cleared).
We drifted south and passed San Diego, where we got inspected by a helicopter from a US aircraft carrier. I silently wondered whether to mention to the crew that the boat was cheap because it had once been impounded for running drugs up the west coast... However they nor the helicopter enquired any further and we left the USA behind.
Our first stop in Mexico was Ensenada. A part of that place will forever stay with me. Tequila, burros, boat parts, fights, girls, interesting clubs, and us. Entering by night Chris looked at the haphazard lights on the shore and called them fairy lights, which described them perfectly. It felt magical to be finally arriving on distant shores. Our silent awe however was quickly swept away by the engine over heating alarm but Dominic was on it. And rightly so, as he had forgotten to put the belt back on the engine when he serviced it earlier! Next we barely missed a completely unlit and very large fishing boat coming out of the dock, but eventually we did find the marina and it was cheap, so we used it. We also quickly learnt that this old girl does not do reverse - common for long keel boats.
Everybody stayed on the boat the first night as it was late anyway and we could not clear customs, so we had a drink or twelve to celebrate our first landfall. I awoke in a haze on the deck of the galley the next morning to the sound of voices outside. Upon investigation we found some friendly American liveaboards who passed on all we needed to know about sailing this coast. You always make friends when you are sailing. On that first morning after clearing the relatively straight forward customs (which allowed everybody to leave the boat), I immersed myself in the local culture, food, music, and electric atmosphere of the place. My young crew however managed to secure Wifi at Starbucks, and food at McDonalds. I gave them a lecture on making the most of the 'real' life here, and they offered to try and find a Taco Bell in future...
I am sure some of the things we purchased and some of the places we visited were not strictly necessary, but we will label them under 'crew morale'. Dominic and I ventured into the ass end of town after dark to find spares for the engine, and Jack vanished for an entire evening after drinking everything on the boat. In the evening as we explored the local joints Barry - our guest from Arizona - summed things up well when he stated that the local girls were 'built for speed and economic pleasure'. Well done to Kris and Chris who eagerly volunteered to investigate this angle at the Paris De Noches Club. Afterwards we managed to buy a shower each in a hotel which we all thought was actually just somebody's house, and got ready for the next passage. We now felt settled into the voyage.
After 4 days we were off again, happily leaving more fog and the colder weather behind, and sailing on South South East the wind came through at last. We started to get going now and for the next two weeks we sailed on towards Cabo San Lucas, stopping only for a few hours at Bahia De Tortugas - a shanty town which was striking in its solitude.
Bahia De Tortugas: Dead dogs on the beach, a jetty with broken steps which poor Jack fell off, two shops from which we bought all the freshwater they had, and a slightly merry and very happy crew to leave with. A good day to stop, rest, and then move on again. Here we said goodbye to Barry, but not before he had taught us all how to fish. I've never been into fishing but catching a metre long shark for dinner was a lot more fun than catching a sprat off Hastings pier...
Christmas day was at sea, and it was fair exciting. Christmas eve was the first time I have ever had to fire off a white flare (anti-collision when used at sea). It was at a cruise ship we could not lose and came dangerously close to us. Poor Kris awoke to me telling Jack to 'not fire at the sails' and thought we had engaged pirates. I calmed him and explained that there was only one pirate ship in these waters... and he was crewing on it. Jack indignantly told me off for telling him how to shoot as he had just come back from Afghanistan, but the flare went up and the ship dipped its lights to show that they had seen us. Thank you everybody by the way for the spent cartridge from the flare gun which was my secret Santa the next day.
On Christmas Day we ate well and even had a glass of wine to drink (rare as I seldom allow drinking at sea). By the afternoon we were back to normal and had the genoa on the foredeck for stitching and repairs.
To be continued...
"Black Wind come carry me far away"
Temple of Love - Sisters of Mercy
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