SV Gallant Fox

Life in La Paz harbor

There are worse places to anchor than off of the city of La Paz, Baja California Sur. It is one of the places in which a cruising boat can anchor comfortably, dinghy ashore, tie up at a friendly marina's dock, and get all kinds of work and provisioning done without once having to pay for a slip in a marina. The savings, they are many.

Plus, the La Paz cruisers' community is well established with a few long-term wingnut residents colorful characters; very congenial and willing to help newcomers and transients alike with all their cruising-related needs. Come for the lively all-day chatter on VHF 22, stay for the marine hardware that you won't find again until you get to Panama. Hang around the dinghy dock at Marina de La Paz long enough, and you'll tap in to the days Imelda arrives to sell her homemade tamales and rellenos, when the nice German lady sells her down-home bratwursts and sauerkraut (hint: Saturdays, back gate), and where Les The Bread Guy has his European-style bakery. It's all just like mama used to make, and worth every peso.

Thanksgiving of '08, we anchored in La Paz harbor near their municipal dock, and in 2 days had filled our propane tank, jerry-jugged some water, did laundry, shopped for fishing tackle and marine hardware, jerry-jugged some diesel and gasoline from a nearby gas station, used the Internet in a local coffee shop, and loaded up on provisions, all by dinghy. In 48 hours we were done with our chores and outta there, back to pristine anchorages in nearby islands. It can be done that quickly in La Paz.

This winter things were a bit more complicated. We had a lot of time-consuming projects on our list, such as some minor repairs to the main sail that needed a professional's touch. We had to tweak our visas and vessel registration documents. GB had a pesky gum infection that had developed after an otherwise uneventful root canal in Mazatlan and now he needed a dentist, stat. And as long as we were waiting around for all these and other things to come to fruition, MS decided what the hey, why not take the test to get a Ham radio license? Thus it came to pass that we laid at anchor in La Paz harbor, across the sandy shoals in the spacious El Mogote anchorage, for over 2 weeks this December. Which for the likes of us is a very long time to stay in one place. But if your boat must stay put while things get done, La Paz at Christmastime is a pretty good deal. La Paz is a cruising hub and you're guaranteed to meet old friends here and make some new ones.

The Baja winter weather was how we like it - cool, generally sunny, with only the occasional brief blows of wind and chop from the north. We got to hang out with new cruising friends - including Hello World, who we'd just recently met in the flesh, and the generous folks on Two Can Play; and we got to get reacquainted with other friends, including Anna and Gary on Trumpeter, who we'd last seen all too briefly in early July up in the northern Sea. Trumpeter invited us to spend Christmas Day with them, and I'm here to tell you they are excellent hosts who know how to celebrate a holiday. They had an open-boat sort of thing going on, everyone in the anchorage welcome to join in (and there are a lot of boats in El Mogote). The festivities moved along splendidly with good conversation among folks and fine beverages all around. We eased into a classic afternoon nosh in which roast turkey figured prominently - as did boat-grown basil and Agua Verde goat cheese so mild it doubled easily for the finest mozzarella. What a nice way to spend a Christmas: thinking fondly about the loved ones who were not there, and enjoying good times with those who were.

Yes, we got a lot done and had a lot of fun while anchored at La Paz. It's a busy place in winter; and its city lights twinkle in the clear, cool night air across to El Mogote. Sea lions, dolphin and large schools of fish rush through El Mogote's strong currents and shallow depths, trying their best to dodge the diving pelicans, boobies, terns and osprey. It's understandable why cruisers linger here longer than they expect -- but we have promises we've made to ourselves, and now's the time to keep them. It's Boxing Day as I write this, and time for The Fox to move on....

m

You Meet the Nicest People

I suppose that cruising is the kind of activity in which people make friends quickly because it's so obvious from the first encounter that boaters share common interests, and have gone through similar experiences to all get to the same place. Perhaps the longer you cruise, the more your values become in common with those of other boaters. People on other boats you've never met will just dinghy right up to you and strike up a conversation, and you soon realize that you've made an Insta-Friend. Just add water.

In some cases you haven't actually met the cruisers in person, but you've followed their blogs for some time or exchanged emails, and you get to know something about them that way. As nice as it is to meet some of the interesting people who are floating around out here, it is really fun to meet someone in the flesh who you've known before but only in cyberspace. It's happened to us a few times now, and so it was when we met Jason and Christy on Hello World for the first time.

Did I take any pictures of the four of us at any time? No. But it happened, I swear. They tell a better story and they have at least one pic to prove it really happened. Suffice it for me to say, that not 10 minutes after we dropped anchor in Ensenada Grande's north anchorage just 20 miles north of La Paz, in comes this boat and as it got close I realized who it was. The good ship Hello World had brought Jason and Christy safely from Seattle, all the way around and down the West Coast, and up into the Sea of Cortez, to just this spot, after months (years?) of the four of us exchanging emails about outfitting and sailing. So there I was, all excited, waving my arms and generally acting like the happy idiot I am. Much enjoyment of one another's company ensued, enhanced by beverages and mutually-exchanged yummy dinners. If you're ever in the same anchorage as Hello World, be prepared for intelligent conversation, lots of humor, and good cooking. Bring wine and a dessert and the good times, they will roll.

It'll be fun to see Hello World again, down the road somewhere. It's sure to happen; life sort of folds in on itself that way, out here.

m

DUCK a la MOGOTE - the no-fuss duck

In Mexico duck is called pato.  You only find it at European style restaurants.  It is also very expensive.  In La Paz or La Cruz we pay about 240 peso, about $18-20 usd, for an imported duck.  I have not seen any Mexican ducks in any of the markets.  Probably because I only shop for food on the coasts and not inland.  There are probably lots of ducks running around Mexico City.

I love to cook duck - it is difficult to do correctly, with the skin a nice crisp brown, a very small layer of fat beneath, and the meat moist and still a bit rare.  I have made quite a mess of cooking duck over the years.  When I buy a duck my lovely wife will almost always yell at me “no duck on board! - too greasy!  She is right about that.  But like everything, its all in the cooking technique.  When we had a house, many a time duck fat was splattered everywhere, and the house was filled with smoke from too high of heat.

On the boat - I  try to keep duck cooking a bit more simple - yet still end up with the right product.  Here is the recipe for a duck I just cooked while at anchor here in the El Mogote in front of La Paz.  Marianne liked it a lot and did not really yell too much when I was making it - the no fuss duck….

Ingredients

One duck - boned

The Stock
Duck back, wings, neck, and boned breast, roasted
½ cup  chopped  celery, carrots, onions
Garlic
Bay leaves, thyme
Whole black pepper
Wine
2 tbs Tomato paste

The Sauce
Reduced duck stock
½ cup sliced dried apricots
Wine
Onions
Garlic
2 tbs Controy - orange liquor

The key to this dish is the duck stock.  I like to bone out the duck - its too complicated to go into this completely here.  But I like to remove the breast with the leg and thigh still attached.  The I separate the leg and thigh, removing the thigh bone.  Then cleaning up the fat around the edges.  You should be left with two pieces of meat.  Removing the duck thigh, but leaving the leg bone attached, makes for a nice presentation.  I remove the wings and cook those also - but they could just as easily go into the stock - not much meat there.

The stock

Take the duck carcass, including the neck, and sauté in the pressure cooker at low heat for about 30 minutes, until the duck turns to brown.  This is a slow rendering of the fat from the duck.  When completed, the duck should be pretty evenly brown.   Pour off the fat.  Add the celery, carrots and onions and stir around for about 5 minutes, add the garlic, then degalaze with about ½ cup wine.  Add about one quart of water, the paste and herbs.  Cook on high heat - 15 psi - in the pressure cooker for about 25 minutes.

When cooled a bit, strain the stock into another pan and slowly reduce to 1 cup - this might take up to 30 minutes - don‘t let it run away and burn.

The duck

Score the duck skin in several paces for each piece and fry, skin side down, on med/low heat, covered, for about 20 minutes, turning once.  This will render the duck fat off.  Watch the duck to make sure it does not get too brown.  You are essentially pan roasting the duck.  I used to flash fry the duck to brown the skin, then finish in the oven.  This is way too much hassle, plus you loose all the toasty goodness that is left at the bottom of the pan.

The sauce

Remove the duck pieces, set aside covered with foil.  Pour out and reserve the duck fat - this is precious stuff - I use it to fry potatoes later.  Add some chopped onions and garlic - you are using this as a substitute for shallots  - which tend to be tough to find in MX.  Stir around for a bit, and deglaze with more wine.  Add the duck stock, and the rest of the ingredients.  Reduce to as silky consistency - this should take no more than five minutes.

Presentation

I like to slice the duck breast, then serve the cooked leg along side, covered with the sauce.  This is a pretty good size serving - but one duck really only feeds about 2-3 people.  I like to serve this with a simple brown and wild rice blend, and a few veggies on the side.

Enjoy

THE GIN TANK

its been along time since  I wrote anything on the blog.  A lot of things have happened in 2009, including:

Marianne’s Mom dieing - which caused me to spend the month of April alone in Guaymas.

I delivered a Bayliner 40 with George from Mazatlan to Oxnard.  This delivery was so fraught with calamities, breakdowns, and delays it’s a complete novel in itself - I will try to write about it soon.  During this time, Marianne got to spend a month by herself in Guaymas.
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Our engine decided to quit running at 2000 hours, requiring a complete rebuild.  It turns out that it was installed incorrectly, with a six inch clearance between the muffler and the exhaust elbow..  Our insurance called it a latent defect - that did not mean they would cover it though - we now have new insurance.    Yanmar specifications require a 12 inch clearance.  Marianne went into this in detail in earlier posts.  Needless to say - it shook a bit of  the confidence we have in our fine Malo sailboat.  We are still waiting to hear from Malo.

We were delayed two weeks getting out of Mazatlan in order to get a new spray shield built, and security bars installed.  We had great workmanship in Maz - but we were sitting around waiting for the workers to show up for two weeks, paying those high season rates.  Also - I got to have a crown  and a root canal done in my teeth - I found out about this the day we day we found out about the engine - seemed somewhat fitting - my teeth and engine both break down on the same day.

We crossed the sea on a great windward sail.  We had over 40 ours under sail to windward between a 45 and 60 degree angle. However, we could not get our new Sailomat 760 to work.  We added the self steering last year, and have been trying to get it to work since.  Granted - we have not worked too hard.  I seem to prefer to head for an anchorage in the afternoon when the wind finally blows , since I get so thirsty.

On the lighter side - I installed a 3 gal tank to hold gin - yes - a gin tank. This is a great success.  I push a button, and gin pumps out of the tank.  The problem is you can’t really tell how much gin your are drinking.  We emptied the tank in about five weeks, but I think other people helped out - at least it seemed so when I awoke from my coma.  See above to see why we emptied the gin tank in five weeks. The  next project to install a back up gin tank - or at least a monitoring gauge.


We pulled into La Paz, and have spent one week getting our FM-3 visa exchanged for a regular tourist visa - this took 3 trips to immigration., which is pretty good  This was a great bit of luck - thanks to a lovely evening with our good friends Linda and Geoff, we all figured out that we could save a few hundred bucks by getting a tourist visa  for $26, rather than an FM-3 for $108.  We are exiting the county in early March. To head for Ecuador.

The death of the Mom and the engine were the big blows of the year.  By the time we were out of Maz, we had spent about $15,000 - oh yes - we also did a complete bottom job, grinding off 8 years of paint, new epoxy barrier coat, shaft seal, stern tube, etc.  We spent six weeks on the hard in Maz.

We are sitting in the El Mogote now waiting out a norther.  The El Mogote is the anchorage off La Paz.  It has a lot of current.  So you can have 20+ knots of wind on you, but the current will be pushing your boat in the opposite direction.  Its very strange.  Lots of permacruisers live in the El Mogote and never go anywhere - I thing the current, the wind, and the heat, make them a little mad - I mean not angry, just crazy.

We are slowly getting our shit together though.  In La Paz we had our sail repaired, corrected an infection which developed in my new tooth ( see reasons for gin tank above), got our Coast Guard certification faxed to us (this took five tries), and cooked a duck.  We will meet the manufacturer of the Sailomat in La Cruz in Banderas Bay in early January and finally figure out why this $4,500 device does not work.  Hopefully, we will hook up with some friends further south, and make it to Huatulco in mid February, then travel inland to Oaxhaca and then on Chiapas for a two week inland tour.

Actually, when I think about it all, it does not sound too bad.  Just life on the boat - not a whole lot different than land - just a different set of problem solving.   Engines blow up, you get stalled waiting for things to happen.  That’s why I have a gin tank - it makes the days pass more quickly - its fun to push the button and make the gin come out of the bulkhead, and my friends are endlessly amused and scandalized.  Now - if I could only afford to fill it with Bombay Sapphire instead of Oso Negro - to do that I would have to get a job, or at least a few more boat deliveries.
 

How to Fillet a Freshly-Caught Fish

If you go fishing in the Sea of Cortez - whether by dinghy, snorkeling with a speargun,or via the mother ship, chances are you will catch some kind of critter and it'll most likely be yummy. Here's how GB typically processes his catch, using the broad flat space of our forward bow.

We have for today's demonstration a Pacific porgy (top) and a finescale triggerfish (bottom), caught in July 2009 at Puerto Refugio, north end of Isla Angel de la Guarda. Here, GB starts with the triggerfish and fillets the first side. His first cut is behind the dorsal fin, running downward at an angle behind the gill cover toward the the midline and a bit below the level of the pectoral fin, taking care to not cut or puncture the nasty innards in the belly. The angle of this first cut is most visible in the third photo in that row above.

The second cut is along the dorsal spine back toward the tail. The third cut goes downward from in front of the tail toward the belly but stops a bit past the fish's midline - again, this is most visible in the third pic. The last cut runs along the lower midline, roughly parallel to the belly, between aft of the gill cover and forward of the tail. The goal with all these cuts is to harvest as large a fillet as possible while leaving the innards intact so as not to contaminate the edible flesh.

Next, GB flips the fish over to remove the second fillet the same way. Finally, he tosses overboard what's left of the fish - usually, the skin; and the head, spine, innards and tail all in one piece - and I give our thanks to Neptune. Typically the remains are quickly scavenged by seagulls and bullseye pufferfish. Makes you think twice about falling overboard...

Triggerfish have a fairly firm, white-ish flesh that works very well in tacos. If you catch a hogfish with its very white, delicate flesh, you may want to prepare it as you would a fillet of sole. (That's a male hogfish with the teeth and the big forehead bump, in the top of that pic over on the left.) A skipjack's dark-red, almost purple flesh is too heavily oily to be to everyone's liking but it stands up well to assertive flavors like a lime, garlic, onion and soy marinade*, or BBQ smoking; basically approach it as you would beef. A yellowtail jack's, yellowfin tuna's, or dorado's (mahi-mahi's) flesh makes excellent sashimi, sushi, cooked fillets - you name it. That there in the photo on the right is a recently deceased yellowtail jack in the bottom and up along one side of a 5-gallon bucket.

* The Propane Chef recommends that when "cooking" an oily fish like skipjack in lime juice - say, as you would for ceviche - you first cover the fillet with lime juice, let it chemically-cook the fish, then pour off the lime juice and the fish oil the lime juice has drawn out. Next, cover the fish with fresh lime juice, olive oil (to replace the pungent fish-oil flavor with a fruitier, more fragrant oil flavor), your other marinade ingredients, and continue with your recipe.

Fishing is murder. Tasty, tasty murder.

m