Two Fools And A Cat

By Kim Brown

Two brave women prove that to live a real life adventure, they only need to take the first step. Giving into an urge to see the world, they take their cat and move onto a sailboat in California. After a year's preparation they set sail into the Pacific Ocean. Three months later they arrive in Florida after sailing 1500 miles down the Baja coast, across the Sea of Cortez, and driving an old pickup truck 2000 miles across Mexico and the southern United States.

When Kim, Jazzymyne and their cat leave Los Angeles, California on New Year's Day they have no idea where the wind will take them. Their second day at sea they are caught in a violent storm. They struggle back to land and upon attempting to anchor near an island off the coast of Mexico, Kim breaks her hand. Conflict looms when Jazzymyne tires of the hardships and wants to go home.

After twenty five days at sea they reach Mazatlan, Mexico and make plans to relocate in Florida. After loading all their possessions in a twenty-five year old truck, they head for Florida encountering dangerous mountain roads, military checkpoints and border patrol with their cat in the cab and a surfboard tied on top. Mixed emotions concerning this undertaking become solidified by the reality of life at sea, travel abroad and the wonders of nature. This is a true adventure without technical jargon and will delight readers of all ages.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Kim Brown
• Release date: Mar 31, 2012
• ISBN: 9781476100746

Kim Brown

Kim Lee Brown, born in the deep south of the United States has traveled extensively across America, China and Mexico. She has sailed thousands of miles across two oceans and the Sea of Cortez. Having studied Archaeology/Anthropology at Millsaps College and University of Jiaotong/Xi'an in China she continues fossil hunting when she can. She also builds and collects antique automobiles.

Book preview

Prologue

This is the second edition, of one story, that helped shape my life. If you wish to know more about me, and my adventures, look for Creating Me at Amazon. It will be out in January, 2024. I originally put this experience into a book form, because many of my friends wanted to know what it was like, to sail the Baja singlehanded. I don’t apologize for the first edition, because most of it was copied directly from my log, or a personal journal. I have been amazed, that the book continues to sell every month, and has for over ten years. In the second edition, I have tried to make it easier to read, but still retain the feel of reading a diary. It’s been more than ten years since sailing to Mexico, along the west coast. After this book ends, I bought and sold several different sailboats, while living in Florida. I now own a 36’ Cheoy Lee sailboat. Smokey eventually died, and I had him cremated. He is still with me. Jazzy, eventually married a man in Florida, and is happy, not being on the water. And, I have been taken off my surfboard, and told not to singlehand my boat, due to my health. I have severe osteoporosis.

Two Fools and a Cat

by

Kim Lee Brown

Introduction

Adventures begin with dreams. My dream was to see the world. I started slow, and late in life, but once my feet were on that path, the adventures began. This story is about one such adventure. It took me thousands of miles along the Pacific Ocean and across two countries. I consider myself blessed. The main part of this book is taken directly from the yacht log of the Ballerina. The Ballerina is a forty foot yawl rigged sailboat. Included with the story are excerpts from a personal diary Jazzy, who accompanied me on this adventure, kept while sailing the coast of Mexico with me. I originally wrote this account for friends who were asking me what the trip was like. Over the years I have realized many other people are curious about the experience so I have decided to take a second look and see if I can improve the content.

My name is Kim Lee Brown. My partner who made the voyage with me is Jazzymyne Jannye Brown. The cat’s name is Smokey. I was fifty-five years old and Jazzy was forty-one when we left California. The cat began it’s time with me as a stray and refuses to disclose its age. The boat is documented under the name Ballerina. She is a Cheoy Lee, Offshore 40’. She was designed by Philip Rhodes and constructed in 1976. I bought her in Long Beach, California in early 2010. Her construction was in traditional style, with a lot of teak inside and out. She is yawl rigged (having two masts with one aft of the rudder), and was built with a full keel (the bottom of the boat extends from the front of the boat, to the rudder in the back, in one line). I actually wanted a boat with a single mast, but they are hard to find in the forty foot range. I wasn’t too concerned about the vessel having two masts because many people never use the mizzen. The boat sails fine without it, and I know of people who have removed the aft mast altogether. When I do use the mizzen, she is a beauty to see. These boats were built for long voyages, and are comfortable to live in. After I finalized my purchase, I had her moved to a slip in San Pedro, California. This is where I learned to sail, and made ready for an extended voyage. I had harbored the notion of owning a sailboat, and traveling to far away destinations, ever since I was a child. Sometimes I think it would have been better if I had allowed it to remain a dream, and other times I wish I could do it all over again. As I age, I lean toward the latter.

On 1/1/11, we left California and headed south.

DAY ONE

Today is January first, New Years Day. I never make resolutions for the coming year. I just thank fate, for allowing me another chance to live. It’s easy to be thankful when your life is full, and you can make plans for the future, and my life is full. I have plans, and they’re on my mind when I arise, and stand on the foredeck of the Ballerina, to greet the morning. I watch the sun breach the horizon, and push back the cool mists of night. I stand alone, feeling like the only mortal left to face the world. I watch the sunlight dance across the water, as she beckons me to join her in a frolic across the waves. If it were possible, I would shed my selfish desire to sail, and join her in a waltz. I close my eyes and feel the kiss of temptation, and tremble as her fingers play in my hair. On mornings like this, I understand the origin of myths, luring men to the sea. Not now my love, I breathed into the retreating mist, I have a quest.

Ignoring her, as best I can, I stand alone on the deck grasping a steaming cup of coffee, and holding it close for comfort. Shivering in the cool of the morning, I reflect on the fact that California is not as warm as I was lead to believe. Summer isn’t bad, and even in the winter months I still wear shorts and sandals most of the time. But this morning, I am also wearing my sweatshirt from surf school. I moved to southern California with the mistaken impression that it was always warm here. I understand that farther inland the weather is warmer, but on the water my bones always ache. The morning sun has now left the sea, and begun her accustomed pilgrimage to other shores. Before I leave for the last time, I take a long stroll through the marina that I have called my home for the past year. Everything is pristine as usual. This has to be the most beautiful place I have ever lived. Even in winter everything is manicured and in full bloom. I wonder as I pass by, if the starfish will miss my daily trek down the dock to check on them. I hate to leave but I am afraid of gathering too much moss.

It's no wonder many filmmakers choose this location to film scenes. The marina I stayed in while in California, was close enough to Hollywood to be perfect for shooting scenes that depicted waterfront episodes. Several times during the year I lived there, upon entering or leaving, I would see signs making it appear that I was in Miami or some other seaside locale. Sometimes the parking area by my slip would be blocked off, allowing moviemakers to set up their trailers and equipment. One day as I entered the marina on my scooter, I was caught in a chase scene. As I was entering the parking area, trucks with lights and cameras turned into the parking area at full speed, filming two cars bent on having an accident before my eyes. I have no idea what the scene was for or even if it will make the cut, but it was exciting. The only reason I can find to leave California, is the nagging in my heart to see new places. I am sure there are many more beautiful spots out there. I just need to find them.

When I reached my boat, excitement overwhelmed my thoughts, making it difficult to stay focused on one thing. Today, I will embark on an adventure I have dreamed about my entire life. I wish Jazzy could share my enthusiasm. I haven’t seen her since Joe passed away and but she is uneasy about the trip. We had known each other for almost ten years. During that time we had been in an on and off relationship. I had originally planned to sail to Hawaii but a few days before leaving she showed up and said she wanted to stay. She knows I am gifted at fixing things, and I have a knack for making things work with whatever materials are at hand. I also told her that I have a good number of tools and spare parts on the boat. I have stocked it with enough fresh food to last several days, and enough canned and dry goods to feed us both for months. I know if we run out somewhere at sea, or in a place with no people, it will be difficult to take on more provisions. When we talked, she agreed to sail the Baja with me but refused to cross the Pacific. I had worked late last night, double checking the engine, navigation equipment and supplies, now the only thing left undone is filling the fuel tanks. I plan to do that on the way out. With the morning past, we are both ready to get started, but the fuel dock isn’t open yet. Today is a holiday and there will be a lot of boaters out to enjoy a day off work, and the marina is always ready to supply them fuel. With Jazzy up, I cook an early breakfast of oatmeal for both of us. Afterwards, we sit topside and have coffee while we wait. When I finish my coffee, we remove the sail covers and make sure everything is stowed in its designated place. On a boat everything has a place, and in order to prevent accidents and crowding, it is necessary to stow things properly.

About the time I finish preparations to leave, I notice people moving around near the office. I left Jazzy with the last of the coffee, and looked for someone to take my keys and check us out. One of the groundskeepers knew me and took my key to the marina. I returned to the boat, backed it out of my slip for the last time, and eased it over to the fuel dock. This would be our last stop in California. When I tied off at the pier, I had my mind on other things, and opened the wrong deck cap. Before I realized what I was doing, I put fuel into the fresh water tank. Luckily I had topped off those tanks the night before so not much fuel went in. It just came back out the vent in front of me. I felt like a fool, but luckily no damage was done. I managed to flush it with fresh water without contaminating the system, and proceeded to fill the correct tanks. I suppose an accident, before we even leave, should have been a sign for what we were about to get into, but we were committed. By 10:00 am we were clear of the marina and passing Angels Gate Lighthouse into the Pacific Ocean.

I recall the first time I passed the lighthouse while at the helm of the Ballerina; it was a few days after my first sailing lesson. I called Q, and asked if he was able to take me for another lesson. Quetzal Q Silver, was the person responsible for my owning this boat, and the person who taught me to sail. He worked as a yacht broker in San Pedro. When I met Q for the first time I almost laughed. He was exactly what I expected. He was wearing a loose button down shirt, baggy shorts, and sandals. His sandy blonde hair was long and curly, and he had blonde stubble on his face. With his deep tan, he could have been a poster child for California surfers. On this particular day, he was busy at work and couldn't come, so I decided to try it alone. I had to start sometime and I already knew the basics.

I untied the Ballerina from her cleats, and eased her through the marina with great caution. I was both terrified and exhilarated. My slip was at the back