October 29 – The Baja-HaHa mayhem was upon us. The amount of junk to stow seemed endless and the task insurmountable. The skipper’s meeting was long. The BBQ and costume party in the West Marine parking lot was fun but lots of lines to stand in for tickets, bands, food and the swag bag. Stayed up late trying to finish up last minute things. Not a good recipe for early departure the next day, for the biggest trip of our lives. Discovering leaky oil into the bilge proved to be a showstopper that delayed our start with the rest of the fleet.
October 30 – Tired as all on the big departure day, emotionally sad to see our friends depart for the start line while we remained at the marina to figure out our game plan. Oil for the windlass? or bow thruster (likely culprits of leaky oil)? Ruled out bow thruster. Windlass leaking oil! Not good for anchoring in Turtle Bay for 3 nights or Santa Maria bay for 2 nights on the trip. This was the day we had been planning and waiting for since, since over a year. Finally, we decided to head up to the north bay area to be close to the marine service shops and supplies where Dave and Kevin would try to take apart the windlass, check it’s oil and put it back together. One night at the Police Guest Dock made us super thankful for our lovely Chula Vista marina digs.