Ave Maria, a 50′ Cheoy Lee Offshore Ketch. Built in 1980, we bought her in San Diego with the idea of going to Mexico and possibly beyond. It was a BIG boat for only two people! Somehow, we made it work, but kept realizing it was just too much boat.
In the summer of 2004, we began a search for a boat that could take us south. In San Diego, we found a 50′ Offshore Cheoy Lee ketch, a fiberglass boat loaded with teak trim, an abundance of out-dated gear and far too big for only two people – but you only go around once. After some months of figuring out how to take time off making a living, and making upgrades to an old boat, we were ready to head south. Celebrating the night before, Nancy clicked her heels together in a mid-air jump, and broke her foot upon landing.
Another month passed: and THEN we left. 1000 miles south, then 1000 miles north up into the Sea of Cortez, we didn’t get hurt again, saw much, gained great experience sailing a ‘too-big’ boat, and ended it in San Carlos where we hauled Ave Maria for storage. It ended by selling the boat online to a gent from Australia, and the boat is now in South America being used for charter.
At the dock in Chula Vista, she really hadn’t been sailed in years, and equipment was on the tired side of life.Main cabin salon, Cheoy Lee boats have always looked great.Hauling in Chula Vista for an inspection. It wasn’t good, but we went anyway.Cockpit, canvas dodger looking forward. 45′ from wheel to bow.Interior photo of the cabin way forwardAt the Coast Guard dock in San Diego prior to heading south. Unsure of the tankage, we had just overfilled the diesel tanks and trailed a sheen of fuel behind us, right into the CG station dock! No one saw, thankfully.Galley, very nice layout and good equipment.Galley Gal prepping dinner. Yes, that’s a wheel in the galley?!We found some crazy old books aboard. Nothing I’d trust as far as I could throw them.Yes, the cat actually went for this, ONCE.A finch nest in the main. I wrote and painted an article for 48 North magazine about this.Starboard waves coming close.Then missed her.Getting rough behind the dodger.Anchorage in Ensenada.Lots of these sunsets as we headed south. It’s about 1000 miles down the outside before turning at Cabo. We anchored almost every night since there weren’t enough crew to pull night shifts. Finding tiny little anchorages, we saw a Baja most never see, with deserted fishing anchorages, loads of wildlife and amazing sunsets.Broken bone in her foot, we had to postpone departure for a month, but, like this out-of syc photo, Nancy never falters.Hanging closet was amazing teak.Quiet sunset anchorage, Sea of Cortez.#1 jib, flying downwind.Fisherman in Ensenada Harbor.Paul Allen’s famous Tattosh anchored right behind us in Cabo.A cockpit big enough for 10, it was just the two of us.Quiet anchorage just south of Ensenada. Just us.Gas dock crew at Turtle Bay, a place so remote they didn’t have a single paved street and no electricity. Truck backed down the dock, fuel down a garden hose, then money handed up in a cup on a string. Cash only.Laundry guy in Turtle Bay. He carried all our stinky clothes around and gave us directions.Isla Cedros. Such a crowded anchorage. We were the only ones in the world.Street veggiesShoreboat. We bought some fish here in this little cove in a little palapa right down the beach.We only flew this red sail once. Didn’t work all that well.Old copper smelter in Santa Rosalita up the east side of Baja.Baby seal on the Isla Cetros beach. I almost stepped on it.In Cabo, windblown and burnt.65′ up the mast for a checkout.Shaft log leaking, my job for a day.Crossing to Isla Cedros, a long day.Magdalena Bay, 100’s of years of shells emptied on the beach. Giant bay the size of SF Bay, great anchorage. We were the only people there!Small anchorage somewhere. We could almost always buy some fresh fish if Nancy went first.Cockpit in cabo. About as different from the rest of our trip as possibleSanta Rosalila panga fleet.San Carlos anchorage.Big haulout in San Carlos. It was just a tractor pulling a hydroylic lift trailer that drove through town to a storage yard.End of our trip, San Carlos on mainland Mexico. The boat went into dry storage and we had every intension of returning. Life gets in the way of life sometimes. It was a great experience, no matter if it was only one season.
