Five of us headed for Ensenada and then the next day to Guadelupe Island, 100 miles off shore from Mexico's West Coast. When we arrived we were disappointed to see another, large, boat in the harbor. We had hoped for a quiet long weekend to celebrate the New Year. Then, suddenly, two of the men startled us by hooting and shouting -- not usual for the doctor or the engineer. Finally, we got out of them what was so exciting. It was the Calypso, Jacques Cousteau's boat. There! In the harbor with us!
We quickly got Khamsin, a beautiful double ended Lapworth 50, anchored in the
sandy harbor and the guys launched the dingy to go over to the Calypso.
They had recognized the Calypso by her shape though we could not see a name or logo.
Jacques Cousteau, a very wonderful host, invited all of us aboard. Bill, an
avid SCUBA diver, had met Cousteau some years prior at a lecture and was an
enthusiastic follower of The World of Jacques Cousteau.
That evening, New Year's Eve, we went back to the Calypso. The crew were all
enjoying French brandy and Charlie Chaplin movies and we joined them. We met
Simone, Jacques' wife, and their son, Philippe, as well as the crew. Bill, Ted
and Jacques went out on a search for the name or logo on the boat -- but none
was to be found; they had been repainting and had inadvertently covered every
name and logo with fresh paint.
We went back to our boat quite late and had just settled to sleep when a dingy
full of crew members came over to party. Cheerfully, we got up to join them
in singing songs and marvelling at the elephant seals trumpeting. The cliffs
of Guadelupe rise steeply close to the ocean; a generous white sand beach between
the two was home to hundreds of elephant seals. And, this was the mating and
birthing time of year. The bull seals trumpet. There was a full moon and it
was quite balmy. A remarkable evening for a New Year.