Interview with Kai

Kai, how do you like the food in Ensenada?
Good, I like the fish tacos and the rice and beans. I don't really like the shrimp tacos.

Did you try the oysters?
Yes, I didn't like them.

What about the papayas?
I don't like papayas, but I like the bananas.

I hear that the guards yell "monociclos" when your family leaves the dock. How's your unicycling going?
Good, I can now go backwards. Lots of people are looking at us and want to try it, but its too hard for them.

How did you like flying through the air at Las Canales where we spent an overnight?
I loved it. We put on a harness and then clipped in and flew through the air. We also climbed through bridges.

Were you scared?
No, I wasn't scared.


How do you like the new Indiana Jones movie -- about the crystal skull -- that you finally got to see when it came out on DVD?
It's really good. I saw it once in English and once in Spanish.

How do say "skull" in Spanish?
"calavera"

What's your newest move on Kamaya?
I move like a monkey on the bar inside the boat. My record is 20.

Who do you think is going to win in the Presidential election?
I think Obama will win. I don't know why I like him.

How about Alaska - for Congress?
Uncle Ethan. He's the best and the smartest.

Back Home to Ensenada

We've been in and out of Southern California getting last minute provisions and waiting for Hurricane Norbert and any future wild winds to calm down before sailing south into warmer waters. So that means that, while turning a blind eye to the demise of our economy, we've driven and walked across the Mexico border

storing our white Betty van at Ted's Ranch in San Diego where Kai got to drive a tractor.

exploring the San Diego desert, teaching Solene and Luc to unicycle, swimming in Francis and Peggy's pool, speaking Chinese in Malibu and surfing (Tim has) at Pt. Dume. Not a bad life.

When we returned to Kamaya Thursday afternoon, Maya and Kai bee-lined to the boat, put the dinghy in the water and took 12-year old Caden out in the harbor to show him the highlights of being a "boat kid." We were all glad to be back aboard our new home.

"Mexico is over there," I pointed across the way to Lori, Caden and Chris who drove down from Arizona to sail with us for the weekend. In our protected harbor at Cruiseport surrounded by mostly Americans, it does feel like we haven't left the US. Fortunately, Mexico is only a five minute down the guarded road.


Over the weekend, we sailed out to Todos Santos, an island 10 miles west of here. We anchored in one of the tightest anchorages I've ever been in. Protected from the strong winds, Tim assured me that we wouldn't end up on the rocks. We tied our stern to a concrete post and our bow tucked closely behind the 300-foot circular fish pen.

That's where the captured bluefin tuna live and fatten up on sardines before ending up as sushi in Japan. It looks like a lucrative operation, especially when the price of tuna can be as high as $45 a pound and the fish can weigh as much as 300 pounds. You do the math.

Time for boat schooling to begin, so I'll sign off. Remember to vote -- Tim and I casted our absentee votes before crossing the border. We followed Ethan's advice and voted for "Obama and Tina Fey."

Fish Tacos in Ensenada

Maybe it's best to put up the spinnaker and sail away from the problems of the US economy. However, we can feel the stress even in Ensenada, Mexico where the marinas and streets are relatively void of tourists, where the gigantic Mexican flag flies high at the Plaza of three heads and where sailors come to join the "ninety day yacht club" so called to avoid California taxes. Well, taxes is one of the reasons we had to leave California early. Even though we're Oregon residents, in order to avoid paying the California sales tax for our boat, we had to take her out of California within 90 days of purchasing our boat. We made it exactly in 87 days. Deadlines help.

But I'm getting ahead of ourselves. Let me start where I left off -- in San Diego. We sailed out of San Diego at 11:00 pm Wednesday night with extra crew, Tom and Jo Matson. They used to live in the Gorge, but flying for UPS forced them to move to sunny San Diego. Just as the sea lions barked good-bye from the red buoys (remember to leave them on port when you exit a channel), I tried to coax Maya and Kai to go to bed. They protested, eager to stay up all night on watch. I told them they would have a productive sleep and wake up in Mexico and finally they acquiesced.

In the early morning, while I slept exhausted from staying up every few hours, Tim and Tom raised the spinnaker and sailed downwind at 6.5 knots with the 10 knot breeze. Kai tried fishing and Maya performed her "fast feet on fast boat dance." That's when she moves her feet as fast as she can in the cockpit. She's hoping to find crew who will join her. Maybe even a competition. Anyone interested?


We arrived in Ensenada in the early afternoon and now call Cruiseport Marina our home. It's the newest marina, the cleanest one and perhaps the safest one, with 24-hour guards and no surge. As I write, the boat is perfectly still. We can even leave our cupboards open without any banging or rattling. Maya and Kai are enjoying unicycling through town where everyone gasps, "Mirar, monociclo!" Over the weekend, they even helped a clown gather a crowd for his performance at the plaza.

Shana Tova -- Happy New Years! An appropriate time as we have finished the first leg of our adventure.

Interview with Kai

Interview with Kai who has been back and forth from Ensenada to San Diego

How do you play Indiana Jones on the boat?

We do acrobatics stuff, like swinging on the bars and climbing the mast. I am always Indiana Jones and Maya is Sythia. We made her up. She's Indiana Jones' partner.

Where is your boat now?

We're in Ensenada at Cruiseport Marina.

What did you like about San Diego?

I liked the swimming pool at the Yacht Club. But they need to have some table games. I liked seeing my cousins, Luc and Solene. Luc and I were trying to make the paper airplanes go on top of the roof. We made a lot of them.

How did you like the sail from San Diego to Ensenada?

I just went to sleep, so I don't really know. When I woke up, they were putting the spinnaker up and we sailed faster.

Who are the three big heads in the main plaza?

Benito Juarez. He was president of Mexico and lived from 1806 to 1872. Miguel Hidalgo. He's the one who helped get Mexican's Independence. He lived from 1753 to 1811. The third big head with a beard is Don Venustiano Carranza. He was President too and lived from 1859 to 1920.

Tell us about the sea lions.

Then live on a shipwreck and they bark a lot.

The mission

One day, after being chased by villain and helper. I jump down a few rocks and see that I'm trapped. Oh no! the villain walks toward me. He says"Go into the cave and figure out how the golden shower works. You can't come out until you have.'' He pushed me in. I wander around and then I remember the matches and candle in my secret-pocket. I light one and put the flame next to the candle. There the shower was, right in front of me. I set the candle away from where the water would flow. Then I studied the the shower. I backed up. Erised, I obviously had read Harry Potter. erised was desire spelled backward. but this time it must mean the truth. I decided that a small chunk of gold and a bracelet of silver with all the stones discovered. I slept the night in the cave wishing for a blanket and for the villain to leave, which of course happened.
The next day I left the cave and headed towards my house.

Based on a true story

In San Diego, After swimming with Bendon and Kai, we walk towards the showers. Since the mommy Isn't here, I'll have to go in alone. Once I walk in, it takes me a long time to figure out how to turn on the shower.............................

Whirlwind to San Diego

Sailing Kamaya with the sun spilling orange into the sky and the wind on our sails, I can’t help but think how lucky we are and what a luxury and a privilege this adventure is for us.

It’s been a whirlwind of a week full of wind, howling wind, little wind, no wind and perfect wind all together bringing us south to San Diego. That’s where I am comfortably writing as Maya and Kai are swimming in the San Diego Yacht Club pool. When I left you last, we were in Ventura. We sailed to Smugglers Cove on Santa Cruz Island in the Channel Islands, spent a night at Marina Del Rey where we met up with brother Ethan, picked up Karen and Martin Reimer and sailed overnight to San Diego.

When we arrived at Santa Cruz Island, a 100 foot military ship was testing missiles so we couldn't go farther than Smuggler's Cove. The waves crashed on shore and we took our dinghy the first visit, but opted to swim the next time. When I was five the under tow, not under toad, yanked me under at Baker's Beach in San Francisco, and since then I've always been scared of waves. So after harvesting walnuts on shore and imagining what life was like for the people who settled there in 1889, we were ready to swim back to the boat. Tim took Kai through the surf and Maya and I stuck together.

Traveling with kids, adults are supposed to act confident and hide all trepidations. As we walked towards the waves, I held Maya's hand. "Not this one," I kept saying as I tried to count the waves and find a small set for us to swim through. Finally, I thought the waves had gotten smaller so we swam hard, only to both be pummeled by waves and pulled under feeling like clothes in a washing machine with sand up our noses and pushed back to shore. Strong swimmer Maya took it well compared to her mother who hyperventilated. We both finally made it through the surf and back to our safe abode on Kamaya. Next time, Maya wants to go with her Dad, but maybe next time, I'll be a little wiser.

We left Santa Cruz Island Friday at 2 in the morning for a 60 mile sail to Marina Del Rey. We wanted to make it for brother Ethan's fundraiser. With Sarah Palin elevated to the high position of Vice-Presidential Candidate, "people from Outside" -- that's what Alaskans call those living in the lower 48 -- are interested in Alaskan politics.

Ethan is running for the sole Congressional seat in Alaska and is remarkably 12 points ahead of his Republican opponent Don Young. Please take a look at his website, www.EthanBerkowitz.com and if you can make a donation. It was great for us to take a break from boat life and watch Ethan field questions about Sarah Palin and solving problems in the Middle East. It was equally great for Ethan to take a break from the campaign trail, and visit our home. He said it felt like "comfort food."

Karen Reimer (my bell sister as when we sailed together at UC Berkeley we were dubbed "Ding and Dong") and her teenage son, Martin, joined us in Los Angeles. They drove our white van down from the Bay Area and were ready for some more motion -- the sail to San Diego. Only moments after Mary Jane Heppe from Hood River who happened to be in LA with her son Keenan, set our dock lines free, Martin felt a little queezy and suffered through our sail (the drugs kicked in) but that didn't stop him from photographing all the lighthouses along the way. Karen got a dose of the night shift where we have to be on the lookout for the tankers crossing our path. It was super to have her join us!

In San Diego we received our new Ullman main, which cousin Delphine who lives here, says is just like getting a "boob job" as you have to look good in Southern California. So we're enjoying the good life, looking hot, and gearing up for our sail to Ensenada.

That's Not Part of the Deal

You shouldn't have to make deals with a mommy. Mommies are supposed to do things for you like make breakfast. You don't fire mommies so they care about what they do. In this case, most of the rules are broken.

One day on Kamaya after a night of keeping watch, two hour shifts, the Mommy was very tired and sleeps in. I sleep in too. Not that there's anything wrong with sleeping in.

Nothing goes wrong until the second I walk into the room where the Mommy is sleeping. Well she wasn't really sleeping, she was just in bed. I ask her, "Can you make me some French Toast?" She replies, "Give me 20 more minutes." I tell her 20 more minutes is too long. The Mommy tells me she'll do it if I call Oma and ask her where she put the banana bread. "Deal?"

"Deal," I say. I do just that. I come back and ask again. The Mommy tells me to make my own breakfast. I refuse. She then tells me to get dressed. "That's not part of the deal," I say.

The Mommy says nothing. I put on a pair of shorts and a t-shirt. I come out. The Mommy says, "Put some pants on."

"That's not part of the deal," I say. I come out with pants on and the same t-shirt.

"How about a sweatshirt?" This time I win.

"That's not part of the deal. That's not part of the deal, Mommy."