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If you found this blog via a link from a cruising site ~ we did cruise Mexico on our Ocean 49 cat for a season. See the first text box on the right for links to our preparations, trip down Baja, life in Mexico, cruising and trip back up to SoCal. Unfortunately we are back to the grind in the USA...

Wednesday, June 24, 2009

The Sea Lion Kennel Rookery Anchorage at Isla Cedros

We ended up getting quite a bit of wind down the lee side of Isla Cedros, so it felt great to motor into the North End Anchorage, or "The Sea Lion Anchorage".
Named for a good reason.
Not the best anchorage in the world, but better than continuing on for the night.
"Meerkat" arrived first and dropped the anchor in 37' of water, put out 200' of chain and ended up sitting in about 70' of water.
Talk about a narrow shelf and a quick dropoff!
We got lucky, as the anchor set on the first try.
The other three boats got in a little later and all had trouble getting their anchors to set.
Narrow shelf.
Deep water.
20-30 knots of wind.
Giant patches of kelp.
A little dragging.
This is where "Allegria" earned the award for "Perserverence" and "Most Patience".
Next step ~ dinner and sleep.
Sleep?
Oh, I forgot to mention the hundreds and hundreds of sea lions and elephant seals who didn't seem too happy to have these four big white floating things with long sticks poking out of their tops and Pilsbury Dough People crawling around on top of them in their kennel territory.
So, a giant sea lion discussion was held.
Bark. BARK. Bark. What are those things? BARK. Bark. Bark. BARK. Do you think they will hurt us? Bark. BARK. BARK. Gee, I hope they don't want to eat all of our tasteless raw fish. Bark. Bark. BARK. BARK. What are they doing? It's getting dark out and those sticks all have white lights on the top. BARK. BARK. Bark. Ooooohhh, I'm scared. Bark. Bark. Bark. Bark. Bark. I hope they don't want my spot on this sharp and pointy slippery rock. Bark. BARK. I'm cold. Bark. It's dark. Bark. Bark. I'm scared. BARK. Bark. Bark. Hey, look they're all gone! BARK. BARK. BARK. Yep! We scared them away, just like the last group! BARK. BARK. BARK!

4 comments:

Suzie said...

Just a little different than anchoring in the Bahamas in 7 ft of water! I bet you are thanking the Gods for your windlass! Yikes - 200 feet of chain!

judith said...

First Time Jim does it again! He should give lessons.

Besides all the noise, was it stinky with all those sea lions there?

Jim and Heather on Meerkat said...

And tonight, we are anchored in over 40' of water! Way strange after anchoring in 10-12' in The Sea... and being flat. What is this rolly crap anyway? Oh yeah... I am back in the Pacific Ocean.

J - We have a really big anchor... And we have a fish finder that will show us what is on the bottom - sand, rocks, kelp, so those things help.
No smell, just amazingly loud. So loud we all thought we heard people on the radio, people talking and singing. Really strange.
Socks? YAHOO!! Yeah, around a size six or so. What FUN! But will I ruin them if I wear them? Maybe I should just frame them....
;)

judith said...

That would have been so cool to see and hear.

You are so silly, no the socks are meant to be worn. I have a pair that I have worn every Friday (during the cold months) for the last 7 years. They are amazingly durable and comfy. I'll post some color choices in a few days for you to decide which color you want.