Gato Loco 2010-Leg 5, Damn Gillie-fish & The Bonito Boys

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By Lowell | May 29, 2010 | Category Baja 2010

.We made it to Vee Cove safe and sound…another great day of sailing smooth seas, sails up, nice winds…perfect day out on the water. However, what was not so perfect was the fact that we encountered tons of Portugese Man Of War jellyfish…well, we decided to call them “gillie-fish” in honor of a certain amiga, Gillie, aka, La Diabla…those suckers had a very nasty sting! Everyone but me, got stung…I was busy in the boat blogging and happened to miss this certain event. CJ got the tentacles around his neck, his hands, and across his face…Shirley, Owen and Bill got it as well…fortunately, CJ had cut some aloe in Santa Rosalia which helped ease the pain….

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.Okay, with that said, Vee Cove is one of the most gorgeous anchorages ever…crystal clear, turquoise waters…caves among the cliffsides, and a white sand beach. You feel as if you are in the Carribbean…simply breathtaking!

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.Bill, Owen, Shirley and I hiked up the cliffs for a beautiful view of the cove…we only had one neighbor this evening…we were a bit rowdier than they…they called it a night before 8pm…us? Not so much…

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.Beautiful sight out on a dingey tour…

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.The always adorable Kellys in our sea cave…

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.Look at the colors inside this cave…as Owen says, it looks like someone just painted it…I just can’t get over how crystal clear the water is…

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.Of course, we imagines pirates hiding in these here caves…arg!!!

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.Here is happy boy! CJ has been trying so hard to catch us our dinner…finally he picked up a trigger fish…those buggers are ugly! They have the craziest looking teeth and their skin is like leather…twas quite the job for CJ to filet this guy…

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.On a sidenote, poor Shirley (the tough cookie farm girl) was not very pleased with the method for killing the fish…notice the giant “bat” that CJ is wielding in his hand…Whack! Whack! 😉

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.After a tough day of gillie-fish and catching fish, this crew needed a sunset cocktail hour on the bow…this is how it always begins, isn’t it?

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.We had great meals throughout (prepared by our resident chef, CJ)…but this was our biggest feast of the trip…the Kellys brought some of their wonderful beef…we had Bill’s potatoes, Owen cooked his steaks, grilled calabasitas, tomatoes, cucumbers…it was soooo yummy! Everyone outdid themselves…

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.(I apologize for the hotdog ruining the photo…that was mine…I have been given all sorts of hell for that one!)

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.However, no trip is complete without some tequila! The Tequila Rose was for Shirley (and Frankie!)…the rest of us did the real thing…salud!

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.I, however, don’t need no stinking shot glass!!! I learned from the best, my Cholla peeps! Gillie, this shot is for you…xoxo…

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.All in all, we had quite the fun night…we stayed up toasting and telling tales under starry skies and a full moon…Mexican moonshine was certainly in full effect, both lliterally and figuratively…

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.Next morning, bright and early, we set off for our next stop…even after our previous evening’s festivities, Shirley looked amazing, as always!

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.So, as you can tell from our title for this blog, we not only encountered “gillie-fish”, but we had two bonito boys on board…I think we caught every single bonito in the Sea of Cortez…this little bugger as not happy! Notice his blood red eyes…

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.We stopped at a great site on Isla El Carmen…it is an old abandoned salt factory…this was the best spot of the trip! The beach was a soft, white sand and the waters were crystal clear…we headed onto the beach to check out the ruins of the factory…the caretaker charged us $3/person to walk around…we thought it was a little steep, but our snorkel in this cove was definitely worth more than $3..

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.Very cool church, still in use…notice the buzzard on the crooked cross…hmmm, looks like a scene from an old western…can you just hear the whistling and see the gunslingers riding on up?

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.One of the abandoned buildings…

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.Not sure if I would want to go to this clinic…however, I would love the sign and the doors…

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.Smile!

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.Interesting view from inside one of the ruins…I am pretty proud of this shot…Lowell, does it pass your inspection?

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.The old dock…the train used to drive right up on this…not sure if it could handle that now…but it sure makes for a great picture!

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.Pretty cool how you can see the water through the back window in this one…

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.We decided we would not want to sit on this tractor! Ouch!!!

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.This was our welcoming party when we landed on shore…Carmelo was the sweetest thing ever, even if his teeth were little razors! We tried to take him with us, but it didn’t work…darn it!

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.And HERE was the best part of all…a shipwreck in the same bay! Bill really outdid himself with this one…I can’t even describe the amazing experience of snorkeling this wreck…truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience!

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.Once again, CJ’s underwater camera came in handy! Bill was going after the lobster and sharks…they were huge!!! He had a whale shark by its tail for while, but he decided to let him go….

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.Very, very cool…

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.Another starfsh…prettiest one yet…

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.Is this not the coolest thing ever?!?!

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.PFDs already included…

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.After our snorkel time was complete, our Bonito Boys were at it again…Owen and CJ both hooked bonitos at the same time…Owen got two in row, and they were BIG!

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.Even though they weren’t eatin’ fish, we had to capture the catch!

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.Another one…I think they caught at least 12 bonito during our sail.

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.Bonito, bonito, bonito, bonito, bonito, bonito…BzzzzzbzzzzbzzzbzzzzzZZZZbzzzzBzzzzzzz…

.Wait a minute…this one has a little more weight to it…uh-oh…Captain, we need a bigger rod and reel…wait, what was that sticking up out of the water? Holy cow! That was a SAILFISH!!!!! Are you kidding me? SNAP! BINK! He broke the leader…good thing CJ believes in catch and release!

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.We had one satisfied crew after all that excitement…

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.We headed to our final destination, Bahia Marquer, on Isla Carmen…Captain Bill just chillaxin…

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.The lady and the tramp…

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.(Disclaimer: the tramp is the mesh decking on catamarans that we are laying on…)

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.Another satisfied Gato Loco customer!

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.This boy was tired after his sailfish battle…

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.Hubba hubba…

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.Captain Bill and his Communications Officer…bidding you all adios from Gato Loco…

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Our Leg 5 Gato Loco crew wants to thank Bill for the most amazing adventure! I couldn’t figure out how to load video to show you all, but yesterday afternoon we had an incredible dolphin experience…as we came into our last anchorage there were hundreds all around us…they swam at our bow, they put on acrobatic feats all around us, and played with their buddies…it was the absolute pefect ending to our trip! We could not have asked for anything more…muchas, muchas gracias to Captain Bill and the rest of the Gato Loco owners…

We have just anchored at Loreto to wait for the Leg 6 crew of Dave & Ellen Redden and Larry & Linda…we are hoping to spend our last night with both crews in Loreto before we fly out tomorrow and they head to Isla Coronado…we are headed over to La Damiana Inn for our final night…good beds, hot showers, and a/c sound pretty nice right now, even if we are sad to end our adventure on Gato Loco…

Hope you enjoyed my blogging…I enjoyed trying to let you in our little adventure along the way…signing off for the very last time for Gato Loco 2010, Leg 5…hasta luego, mis amigos…

Captain Bill, Lisa, CJ, Shirley & Owen