From: John Barbie [jbarbie11@yahoo.com] Sent: Saturday, December 20, 2003 3:56 PM To: rutharras@yahoo.com Subject: From Ruth and John Greetings from Turtle Bay, Mexico. John and I set sail Monday Dec. 15th and finally made landfall today halfway down Baja California. Our trip was fortunately mostly uneventful (a blessing for novice sailors) with only a couple of exceptions. The first was off the coast of San Diego about 50 miles offshore when we noticed a large navy destroyer heading our way. John wisely decided to turn on our VHF(something we leave on now) to discover we specifically were being hailed by the destroyer to please head due North and return in 2 hours as they were practicing live firing drills. Spot has become more accustomed to the boat and now takes pride in marking his territory on our sail whenever it is down. Last night was the hairiest we've seen and we were trucking along under a reefed main at 2am going 6 knots which sounds slow but not when you are in pitch darkness skidding down large swells. We also adopted a sea bird for a few hours which traumatized Spot to no end. On route to Turtle Bay we anchored off an island habited by enormous elephant seals that Spot wanted to take on. Note to other sailors -- don't anchor in kelp. John's back still aches. We are slowly getting into the routine of 6 hour shifts throughout the night. We play daily games of yahtzee (thanks Kelli) and cribbage to pass the time. We are flying through books (and food). Given the primitiveness of this town and the excellent internet service, John and I are hopeful that we will be able to keep you up to date on our adventures even though excitement for us includes such small things as shooting stars, dolphins, and perhaps one day John actually catching a fish.... If you are a Los Angeles local, our friend Pat has been kind enough to write about us in a sailing publication called The Mariner. Regards, Ruth, John and Punto (or Spot in spanish). __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? New Yahoo! Photos - easier uploading and sharing. http://photos.yahoo.com/