June marks the end of our cruising season

We watched hundreds of Rays slapping the water on our last morning sail. I was told by a fisherman that the females jump straight up and slap the water, while the males do flips. It is quite a mating dance. Better than any Vegas light show!

Made the passage from the Bay of LA to San Carlos with our friends on SV Terrapin. Having been a boat kid himself, Bret loves meeting new kid boats.

Sailing through the largest pod of dolphin we have ever seen. It was a river of dolphin stretching for miles. Even standing on the bow I could almost not believe how many dolphin there were. 

Another first for SV Liahona and crew. An albino dolphin swimming off the bow.  

A friend on another boat told us that dolphin like high pitched noises and lots of movement. I looked like an entire kindergarten class on the bow clapping and jumping and squeaking. 

Fisherman down from the US were limiting out on yellow tail and gave SV Terrapin and the Liahona each some fish. We had sushi 2 nights in a row and sashimi on passage. Doesn't get any better.

The cruising community is always willing to help out a fellow cruiser. Haul out day was no exception. 25 knots of wind made it a bit more hair raising than I prefer but with 2 dinghies in the water and extra hands on deck it went off beautifully. Thank you to SV Discovery, SV Desert Find, SV Windcharmer, MV Capo Doste and the guys at Marina Seca for another safe haul out.

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Bitter sweet.

For those who have never seen a ship yard. 

Heating up the lead keel to try to bend back the damage from the reef.

Feeling a bit like the Karate Kid...wax on wax off. Being budget cruisers we chose to clean and wax the hull ourselves. Doesn't sound like much....but 45 feet of all overhead shoulder work is not for the light at heart. 

Nothing  on boat is easy to get to. Bret is wedged down inside the lazarette ( a locker accessed from the cockpit) changing the oil in the generator. Amazing how he contorts his 6ft frame. I should add that the outside temp is 99. The locker is a deep fryer. So grateful for everything Bret does to keep us running.

The back deck becomes an auto garage when the dinghy motor needs servicing. 

 Last couple of nights we had dinner with friends. SV Cake, SV Milagro, and SV Harmony. Making new friends is a big part of the cruising life. People from all walks of life. What a blessing!

Dinner with friends on SV Fan. We met under emergency circumstances. Diede got her hand caught in the windless. Long story short... we were there and heard the call. Bret speaking fluent Spanish was a great help in taking Diede to the hospital. As you can see by the smiles all is well and new friendships were formed. We look forward to sailing with them next season.

Tomorrow morning we start the 1500 mile treck back to Southern Oregon. What is normally broken up into 3 days will be spread over only 2. I have barn syndrome and am ready to see family and my home town tribe. Hasta luego Mexico. See you in October.

Ciao for now,

Marne and Bret

SV Liahona