Monday, July 22

Last night the wind died down completely. That meant the bugs were out and biting, but no problem because that means we get to leave this island. Then about 3:00am the wind started again and was going pretty well by dawn. Then it started to rain pretty hard. It was enough to make everything wet and to drive us out of bed. We got up, waited out the rain, then made coffee and food while we dried out our beds. Finally in the late morning the wind died down to the level of late yesterday afternoon and we decided to go. We packed up – much lighter now, and got into the water in the late morning. After a half hour of paddling and zero progress we gave up and headed back toward San Lorenzo. It was a rough crossing. When the wind and tide are opposing, the waves peak up throwing spikes of water as high as three feet off the surface. Frequently the water swamped my boat. When we got close to San Lorenzo we got caught in a current which disallowed further progress. We were no more than a mile from the point we needed to land on, but we could go no further. We drifted north a couple miles down the island and were finally able to make shore. The trick is to go in a direction perpendicular to the motion of the waves. We made a little rock beach and rested while we decided what to do next. Mike decided to head for Bahia de Los Angeles and I to San Fransisquito for the truck. I would meet him in San Rafael – a fish camp a third of the way to Los Angeles – with more water. I gave him most of the water and all of the food and we parted. An hour later I regretted not taking more of the water. I rounded the tip of San Lorenzo at the south end and started across the channel. The sea was rough and still a bit windy and I was still tired from the previous crossing. I had eaten nothing all day except one and a half peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. I paddled from 3:40 till almost 9:00pm to make San Fransisquito. I was tired and hungry and thirsty the whole way, but at least I was pretty warm. The last mile seemed to take forever and I was never sure if I was making progress or not since there was no landmark to judge against after the first mile. The lack of water worried me and so I saved the last sip till I was sure I would make camp that night. I was also concerned that they would be closed when I got there. When I finally made shore I pulled my boat half way up the beach, then stopped to breath. When I stood up I almost fell over. My legs were shaky and my head was light. I pulled the boat a little further up the beach and then gave up. I walked or staggered to the kitchen and got one and a half liters of water and asked for dinner. Gernado was there and was helpful and nice. He got me food in less than ten minutes. I ate, drank another one and a half liters of water, showered, and got the truck over to the boat. I pulled it the rest of the way up the beach – it seemed much lighter now, and then fell asleep in about ten seconds. I decided at that moment that this is the last paddling I will do on this trip. I will drive the truck and will do land activities until we get home.