Talking from the vessel "Bingo" this morning, I had a pretty good contact with Tom and Tracy. They arrived there yesterday afternoon after a 40-45 mile sail. The day before they had a short upwind sail of about 7 miles.
The radio arrived Tuesday evening with Steve Peterson, a fireman from Ventura. Steve has been vacationing in Baja for 4 weeks and had the reddish growth on his face to prove it. He was accompanied by "Rocky" a golden retriever male that enjoyed teasing Coco and eating cat food. By dinner they were both asleep under the dining table. After a long shower and dinner, dessert and coffee, Steve headed to Irvine to spend the night with his brother.
I took the radio to Coronado Wednesday morning and by 5PM had a call from Lou that the parts were in and everything was working OK. He had some further adjustments to make and should finish today.
All information was passed on about Corey and Carla's arrival. Kaukoe is anchored at the very North end of the bay. There is a Palapa with a blue tarp on the top. It is aptly named Shipwreck. Tell them to look for that. The guy's name is Lee. Kaukoe is only a 100 yard swim from Lee so have him call them on VHF 16 or 22 and they'll be there in no time.
A call from Lou ND6W just now confirms the radio is operating fine but he has to call Yaseu for information on tightening the tuning mechanism which he will do today. The radio should be ready tomorrow. Hopefully someone will be heading South as the bus takes about 12 hours. Something Tom would rather avoid.
Kaukoe will spend at least two nights at this Island. It is not on any of my three maps but is North of Loreto and South of Conception Bay. Their next stop will be Conception Bay. Corey and Carla (Tracy's brother & sister-in-law) will meet them May 6th in Loreto. They will get together via VHF radio on either Channel 16 or 22. Many people in the trailer park have VHF radios and Tom and Tracy will be monitoring. Tracy is still planning on taking the bus to spend one night with Pat and Gary in Cabo before returning to La Paz to meet up with Kaukoe and Corey and Carla coming south.
Band conditions on 20M this afternoon were terrible. One minute the signals were strong, the next minutes nothing. We are rescheduling for 0100Z on 14.274 to see if things have stabilized.
Busy week! Kaukoe was anchored at Isla Danzante on Monday and Tuesday, sailed to Isla de Carmen for Wednesday and Thursday and arrived Isla Coronados this afternoon. For many of you these islands will not be visible on your maps. And they aren't on mine until K6DQ came to the rescue with his MOL (map on loan). All these islands are just south of Loreto.
Weather: it's been wonderful , warm and calm. So calm in fact that it is hard to determine direction. Typically 10knots or less, requiring the use of the engine. Just heard an interesting fact today; one third of Mexico's (GNP) comes from the Petroleum industry. I find that amazing!
Back to Kaukoe. Tom speared a Parrot fish for dinner on Tuesday. Tracy and I agree on many things; now add one more. Any fish named after another animal is not a good tasting fish. I finally tried Catfish several months ago; forget it! Tracy has the same opinion of Parrot fish, UGH! Smells bad, tastes bad. They've had some problems again (still) with the radio.
This time it wanted to automatically transmit instead of receive. Tom went in and disconnected a plug which solved the problem. (MOX circuit for those that care). Stability and clarity are excellent or were today. And it's been that way almost all the time. We talked for 38 minutes without a problem of any kind. They were both loud and clear. As of now Tom will not return to SD to repair radio.
PS Tom has worked 43 states aboard Kaukoe, only 7 to go for the WAS award (worked all states).
There has been no radio contact with Kaukoe the last two days. The radio problem is back after many days of flawless transmissions. Linda, who is anchored in Puerto Escondido relayed that they had the problem and were sailing to Carmen on Tuesday. At some point, Tom was patched into work on Tuesday so it was working some of the time. My calls in the afternoon have not been successful. I will try again this afternoon as usual at 2400Z on 14.280 +/-.
Today we had an excellent visit with Tracy and Tom on Kaukoe, thanks to Denis and Kay Campbell who have so graciously hosted us each Sunday at their house to talk on their ham radio. Kaukoe is still in Puerto Escondidio but they plan to sail North in the morning a short distance to Honey Cove. This cove is on an island but I didn't catch the name. The winds have died down from last weeks' 40 knot winds and it should be good sailing.
News of Milagro the dog that Tracy and Tom have befriended: Tracy could not find the owner of Milagro but she did find a woman that will take care of it and take it back to San Diego. Tracy is paying for the shots for the dog and buying the dog food. The dog will be delivered to Tom and Tracy's in San Diego and then Tracy and Tom will find a good home for the German Shepherd-Australian Shepherd Mix, she says.
I suggested that they just keep the dog and I would keep Ptarm. I can't repeat the reaction that I got from Tracy, so I guess that I had better plan to give up my buddy.
Tracy said that they had some spare time while waiting for the winds to die down this last week so they worked on the design of an addition to their house. They don't let much time go by without thinking about the next project.
Tracy and Tom plan to arrive in Conception Bay on about May 1st and stay there until about May 18th. They will sail North to Santa Rosalia and then across the Gulf of California to the mainland at San Carlos. They are scheduled to have Kaukoe pulled on June 10th and put into a yard. Tracy and Tom will take a bus back to San Diego. On July 6th, Kaukoe will be loaded onto a truck and taken back to San Diego.
Pat relayed on to Tracy that Pat's Aunt resides in San Carlos during the winter months. Tracy took her Great Aunt's phone number and address & Tracy and Tom will try to make contact with her while in San Carlos.
Pat and I fly to Cabo San Lucas on May 6th. We plan to spend three days there and then take the bus to Conception Bay. Corey and Carla plan to fly into Loreto, rent a car and drive to the Conception Bay area. Their schedule is not firm as yet but will overlap our stay. It should be a great time to be all down there together.
Denis Campbell has invited me to participate next Saturday with his church youth group that are involved in a ham radio club. They are setting up a 50 foot antennae on an island in the Colorado River called Watson Island, one of two islands in Colorado. They are having a contest to see how many other islands that they can contact. Their call letters are W0YH and they will be on 14.260 and 21.260. Maybe Kaukoe will call.
Have a good week. Your Colorado Connection.....Pat and Gary
Today was mostly technical talk. I invited Lou, ND6W into our conversation; Lou is probably San Diego's best repair technician and I wanted him to personally hear and talk directly to Kaukoe and analyze their signal characteristics.
Lou agreed with the diagnosis of Yaseu, Tom and myself. Next week we will probably order some specific parts from Yaseu for repair to the crystal-controlled main operating circuit. When these parts arrive, Tom may take a bus to San Diego to implement the repair. Life aboard a boat is a tough environment for any electronic equipment, especially a complex transceiver that is all solid state. So many things can go wrong due to vibration, moisture, humidity, and temperature.
Tom and Tracy hitched a ride into Loreto today and played the tourist role. They visited the Mission and the Mission's museum. This Mission was built in 1699, predating the Mission in San Diego by 70 years. It was the first Jesuit Mission established. Afterwards, they bought more tortillas and returned to Kaukoe with neither wind nor incident. Tonight they planned to go to the trailer park restaurant for dinner. Supposed to be very good!
If mild conditions continue, they may sail on Monday. The extended forecast for San Diego was sunny, highs in the 70-72 range, overnight lows in the 55-57 range. Current barometer was 30.10 and falling with NW winds = 10mph. The humidity was 50% at 1PM. This weather and reports from Phoenix via VE3EED/7 (Jack) give a good indication of what to expect in Loreto the next day or so. Tracy is learning alot about weather and trends that develop in and around Yuma that quickly head South to the sea of Cortez.
Kaukoe will talk with Pat and Gary in Grand Junction tomorrow at 2300Z on 14.280 Mhz. I will talk again with them on Monday during the Baja net or in the afternoon at 2400Z on 14.247Mhz.
Another excellent contact with Kaukoe. Signals were 20 over 9 in ham lingo, armchair copy, as we like to say. We ventured up to 17 meters and what a difference it was; barely readable, just above the noise level. End of ham talk! We'll meet tomorrow on 14.274 @ 2400Z for those that can listen.
Our nice weather again translates to northerlies in the sea of Cortez. They recorded 40knot winds outside and variable winds of 42knots in the harbor. They headed ashore to the trailer park and bought food, oil and miscellaneous items. Upon returning to Kaukoe, they noticed they forgot to buy cheese. After they had changed the oil, Tom headed ashore once again to dispose of the oil and buy the cheese. He was literally blown ashore according to Tracy as she watched. When Tom tried to return, he paddled as hard as he could and was going nowhere. Even outboards were not making any headway.
Finally, he went back to shore and dragged the dinghy down the beach to where he was upwind of Kaukoe. Once again he was blown downwind. He took the supplies in one hand, the boat in the other and walked into the water with the dinghy upside down over his head. He waded into the water up too waist high through a Mangrove swamp. Tracy watched in amazement with binoculars only to see a dinghy upside down moving through the water with no apparent pilot or power.
Tom is back on board and they both had a good laugh over the whole thing. Bottom line: the cheese is OK.
Big thanks to Bill Miller, K6DQ, of Coronado as he sent us an excellent map of Baja dated 1981 (priced at $0.85 at the PX!). It is the best I've seen and it's called Kym's Maps #6 "Baja California". Thanks again Bill, we'll take good care of it and return it as soon as they're on land.
Say hello to Milagro (significa miracle en espanol) the newest member of the Kaukoe crew. She's about 50 pounds, a german shepherd/Australian shepherd mix (?), very friendly and very loving. Tom and Tracy have adopted her from a German couple that just sailed from Puerto Escondido. She accompanied them on a 4 mile hike today through some inland countryside and back along the beach where she had to swim in waist deep water. She doesn't really like the water very much, but swimming to keep up beats being left behind. She is not comfortable on a boat or a dinghy so she stays on shore and waits for the sound of their oars as they near shore.
They again pass Hellos to all and ask if anyone wants a cute female shepherd/mix dog????
Tom and Tracy went, in a motor home with other boaters, to Loreto for food and other essentials. They arrived back in Escondido at 3PM. We talked at 6 and the band conditions changed drastically. All signals disappeared, similar to what happens when there is a solar flare. We reconnected at 7 and finished our conversation. We will talk again tomorrow at 2400Z (5PM local time) on 14.280.
They have reservations to have the boat trucked back but not until July 6th. They will return about the 5th of June and then drive back to San Carlos and caravan with the boat and driver back to Tucson for the driver and truck change, followed by the final leg home to San Diego.
Monday, Kaukoe left Aqua Verde and sailed a short distance to this well sheltered harbor. They enjoyed their stay at Aqua Verde very much. The diving was excellent and the bay was warm, quiet, and calm.
My welcome home consisted of a crashed PC and a broken wire (it only takes one) on one of the antennas. Nine hours of prayers and hand wringing restored the PC but the new antenna proved to also have a problem as yet unknown. Tom and I hadn't talked since Friday though many others were relaying info back and forth.
They spent part of Saturday attending mass in town. When the winds came up just before lunch, they left and returned to Kaukoe to check the anchor. All was fine. They spent most of Sunday diving and sailed Monday to Puerto Escondido.
From all they've heard about returning up from Cabo to San Diego, they have decided to cross over to San Carlos and have the boat trucked first to Tucson and then back to San Diego. Very few attempting the northward journey have made it so far this year. Most have turned back or stopped awaiting favorable weather. One that did said he would never try that again calling himself an idiot for trying. Another is anchored at Cedros where he recorded 47 knot winds on Monday!
Hearing this, they have wisely decided to spend some quality time with Pat and Gary and Carla and Corey (Tracy's brother and sister-in-law) and sail until June 5th in the Sea of Cortez before pulling the boat from water.
The contact today was perfect. The radio worked flawlessly for over an hour, including an extended phone patch to Colorado, speaking with Pat. Gary had left for a meeting just before I called. We have been unable to find Aqua Verde and Puerto Escondido on our maps, but they are now very close to Guaymas. I will get a GPS bearing hopefully tomorrow when we talk at 4PM local time.
Tom & Tracy made it to their planned destination Agua Verde, 25.51 deg. N and 111.06 W, 142 deg, 544.6 NM from San Diego. They had a rough sail north yesterday using the motor and Mainsail since the winds were out of the north at 20-25 kts.
They went ashore with some other boaters yesterday and had a good time. They plan on staying in Agua Verde today relaxing and swimming. They send a HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Tracy's Dad!! Puerto Escondido will most likely be their next port.
Ciao, Bob Wagner, N6DUR for Mr. Tom
Tom & Tracy are anchored at Los Gatos, 25.3 deg. N and 110.883 W, 142 deg, 560 NM from San Diego. They are within 14 Nautical Miles (NM) of Agua Verde, so they are planning a short sail north today. They made 26 NM yesterday with the wind on the bow.
No luck fishing after losing the big one yesterday, but they meet some fishermen who sold them some fresh lobster, which they enjoyed. This story made me hungry, since my wife Marie is an East Coastie and we love lobster. Oh well, our time will come.
Bob Wagner, N6DUR for Mr. Tom
Tom & Tracy are about 6 mi farther north of Isla Espiritu Santo, having gotten underway about an hour ago. They have the wind on the bow, so they are motoring ahead, with the mainsail up. They sounded well rested for the start North.
Tom did not come back when I first called on the Baja Net, because he had caught a big fish, but in his rush to make the schedule it got away. Again he was lucky, he still has the lure.
Their current position is 24.98 deg N 110.75 deg W at about 143 deg, 577 miles from San Diego. They are underway this morning for their next planned stop at Agua Verde. They went ashore yesterday after a long 3 days at sea and came to the rescue of some Mexican fisherman ,bringing them some gas. For their help Tracy & Tom were treated to a nice lunch at a restaurant in town.
Bob Wagner, N6DUR for Mr. Tom
Kaukoe is a little farther north today, heading up the Gulf of California, hugging the east coast of Baja. Their current position is 24.92 deg N 110.75 deg W at 143 deg 583 miles from San Diego. They are going to remain anchored today and get underway tomorrow. They'll go ashore today after 3 days at sea and expect to play some volleyball with some friends. Denis AA0YX did show up at 00:30 Z time. He had been delayed in his flight back from Ohio and had told Tracy's folks, so they did not run a phone patch yesterday. I relayed a weather report I heard from Mulege, 175 mi to the north, reporting 18-20 knot winds and 5 ft. seas.
Their current weather is nice. They expect to set out tomorrow for Agua Verde, another 40 mi to the north. Tom says Mulege will be about as far north as they expect to go. I gave them a contact in Mulege ,XE2/WA6DAK, Hank who monitors 7188 kHz and Channel 22 VHF, so they have some communications backup in the area. 07:00 PDST was too early for good communications because of foreign broadcasts, so we are meeting at 08:00 at 7238 KHz and move down to 7160 KHz and below.
Bob Wagner, N6DUR for Mr. Tom
Caught Tom & Tracy calling Colorado at 17:00 PDST, but either propagation was not good to Colorado, or Denis was busy. I passed your message, Tom, concerning Grandma and the work you're doing; they wished her well and said hi to all. They built a bonfire on the beach last night, after finding a nice anchorage near Isla Espirito Santo, which is about 30 miles north of La Paz. We're going to see them again at 07:00 PDST on 7168 MHz. If no contact is made, we'll meet on Baja net. I gave Tom Jr. a sales pitch for FT-840 I have for sale Tom, but didn't get a nibble.
Bob Wagner, N6DUR for Mr. Tom
Kaukoe's signal was reasonable copy this morning, here in San Diego, on the Baja Net. Looks like 7238, 40 meters will be best frequency since they are closer. They are currently about 20 miles north of La Paz, underway as of yesterday and just West of the Isla Espiritu Santo at 25.40 deg.N and 110.42 deg W, 143 deg, 618 Nautical miles from San Diego. Yesterday they found a crystal clear bay that they enjoyed very much. The weather is fine with light southerly winds. They said hi to all. I expect to contact them next on Monday.
Kaukoe's signal was very weak here in San Diego this morning and Tom & Tracy were barely readable. Tom Sr. & Patty have most likely arrived up north; have fun folks, we'll make contact with Kaukoe tomorrow, I'm sure. I left a message on the Baja Net for Kaukoe to meet me at a more clear frequency tomorrow morning, 14280 Mhz at 15:00Z and if no propagation is possible, I will meet them on Baja Net on 40 Meters(possibly better propagation for that distance) at 7238 Mhz after 8:00 a.m. PST.
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Last changed on 16 July 98