January 22, 2021
S/V Marissa Update From Uncle Bob
Hello again to you all,
Marissa seems to be doing well, and at 2pm this afternoon, had covered about half the distance between Ensenada and the San Benito islands. Sally spoke with Shannon late last night, and again this morning. Shannon reported that all was well aboard “Marissa”, and confirmed that the unnamed boat I had seen at the approach to the large protected bay at San Quintin, was in face “Matanuska”. Shannon didn’t tell Sally why they’ve parted company, but “Matanuska” may have been concerned about the approaching storm system, and decided on a well protected harbor for refuge. Shannon also told Sally that the owners of the boat also own a brewery in Alaska, by the same name. Hmmm. I think I’d want to stay close to a cruising couple who own a brewery. 
The storm front is rather rapidly progressing South down our West Coast. Here in Hemet and other parts of SoCal, we will likely see rain and higher winds tomorrow. I’m guessing that Shannon and Mike will see some weather also about the time they get near Cedros and San Benito Islands. In fact wind conditions are already about double (8 to 9 knots) what they were when leaving Encenada. If conditions don’t look favorable at the time they reach San Benito, they might proceed to Bahia Tortuga (Turtle Bay) just a little further down the Baja coast, and that harbor does offer a very secure and protected anchorage. They may get strong winds in Turtle bay, but would be protected from heavy storm waves and surge.
As an aside, from the “MarineTraffic” tracking site, I see two large private yachts (each around 175 to 185 feet in length) heading North from the Cedros Island area today. One is a Motor yacht named “Just B”, and one appears to be a ketch rigged sailboat. The ketch (named “Fidelis”) is American flagged, and both boats are traveling North at close to 10 knots. Both also show a destination of San Diego, but if bad weather picks up, I wouldn’t be surprised to see them pull into Ensenada for some relief. Even in a boat 180 ft long, beating directly into wind and waves as they are now doing, can get rather exhausting. I’ll see if they show Marissa on their AIS instruments as the three boats get a little closer this evening.
Hope you all have a good afternoon and evening.
Bob
