In late March I was planning to set sail for a cruise to the Sea of Cortez. 

I had my crew, Rene, lined up and the departure set for March 28.

wingssail images-fredrick roswold Fred & Rena

But it was a bit of a struggle to get out of here by then, we had only 5 days after the last race, the boat was still a race boat, race sails, no dodger, no dingy, no life raft, no solar panels, no wind vane, and no provisions

Plus we had major damage which resulted from the collision in the Banderas Bay Regatta. Wing’s bow was mangled and the pulpit lased together with ropes and duct tape.

But I don’t give up easily and my race crew and Rene all pitched in and somehow we got it done and sailed out of La Cruz on March 28.
wingssail images-rene canhamBrainwaves

From day one, when we hooked up with Jim and Deb on Brainwaves sailing to Pta Mita, this cruise has been a success (even though Brainwaves simply sailed away from us).

Over these three months we had a bit too much motoring but plenty of good sailing as well as tough, very tough, sailing. We’ve had breakdowns, repairs, but plenty of gorgeous days in those three months. 

And crew. It took several weeks to recruit the crew I needed for this cruise. I didn’t want to sail Wings single handedly, the boat is not set-up for it, and I have never done it so I worked hard for find suitable and willing candidates.

Rene, Sarah, Jennie, Liz

But find them I did. First Rene, then Sarah, then Jennie, then finally Liz. Each of these amazing women help me sail Wings and made it their temporary home. At times they even sort of took over and made Wings their own. I loved it and mainly due to them the Cruise to the Sea of Cortez was a total success.

wingssail images-fredrick roswold La Paz

wingssail images-fredrick roswold Anchored in Los Gatos

wingssail images-liz miller

Agua Verde

wingssail images-fredrick roswold Balandra Sand Dune

We sailed over 1560 nautical miles but didn’t that far away. Most of our sailing was done going around the beautiful southern Sea of Cortez, back and forth between La Paz and Loretto, visiting all of my favorite anchorages and ports and just chilling.

wingssail images-fredrick roswold And can we dance!

Now I am back in La Cruz and resuming life in port during the summer heat. I have the air conditioner running. I have the awnings up and rain collecting systems rigged. I am back at the gym and also enjoying the local music scene. And most of all I am engaged in a major boat work project. That work list is long and challenging. My friend Rhonda came and helped me on some of the harder tasks (and also went to gym and the local music bars where we danced, even in the summer heat).

So, all is well in Wings’ world. 

I’ll try to keep you updated 

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Fred Roswold, sv Wings, Mexico

April 7, 2024-Moving on in March

wingssail images-fredrick roswold Anchored in La Paz

La Paz, anchored in front of Abaroa’s Don Jose Marina with a dead motor. No working starter so no motor. The starter burned out on the way here from La Cruz when a crack developed on the engine’s water system and salt water drenched the starter. Got out the spare. Oh No! the spare starter needs repair. I was going to do that last year but when Judy went into the hospital and then passed away, my mind went blank and a lot of things got away, like fixing the starter. So here we (Rene and I) were in Baja with no motor. Still had 67 miles to go to La Paz though, so we had no choice but to set sail without a motor.

Those 67 mile were rough. Lots of wind and waves and tacking, and spray and sail changes, (I got drenched at least three times) but we sailed fast and we got to La Paz and anchored in front of Abaroa’s. Now I had to fix the starter and a lot of other things, like the crack oin the cooling system, like the water maker, and a few others, but I got to work and by now Wings is in good nick. 

But what else has been going on? 

Wings in Boat Yard

In March we hauled out Wings for a bottom job and new propeller shaft. That was some but it went well. The new bottom was fast. 

Wings Crew

We also sailed in the Banderas Bay Regatta and got second place, but not without a lot of drama. The worst was a serious collision we had with another boat, it was their fault! They tacked onto port right in from of us and I had about 5 seconds to avoid them but a seco0nd move on their part, another wrong move, made avoidance impossible. BOOM! Fiberglass flying everywhere and bent metal on the bow. The other boat was badly damaged and they had to retire from the race. I decided Wings was OK to continue and we wound up finishing in second place for the regatta. There was a protest meeting and Wings was completely exonerated. 

 

It was fun at the awards party but the damage on Wings put a pall over it all for me. 

Temporary Repairs

But life goes on, 

  Fred & Rene Sailibg

I still had my plan to sail to the Sea of Cortez for three months, each month with a new crew member on board to help me. The first leg was to La Paz with Rene but we had a lot of work to do to get ready and only four days to do it. Many of my wonderful race crew helped and by March 28 we were ready. 

Rene in Colors

So then there was the sail to La Paz which I mentioned above. On April 5 Rene flew back to La Cruz and the next day Sarah joined. She is great too and I’ll write more about our trip together later.

Meanwhile I am getting on with life. Not always as I wanted it to but we have no choice, do we? 

Sarah

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Frederico, SV Wings, La Paz