Recovery Fund Richard Katz and Laura Heron

Hello, we are Richard Katz and Laura Heron, both in our mid-60s, and this is our story of losing our sailboat in a remote area of Baja California Sur, Mexico and becoming homeless overnight. Thankfully, neither one of us was injured, and the individuals who assisted us were nothing less than remarkable. We are extremely grateful.

We had both been sailors most of our lives and had a long-time dream of living aboard a sailboat full-time and sailing to British Columbia. After searching for months all over Florida, in November 2019 we found Milagro, a 1981 43’ Spindrift Pilothouse Cutter that was located in La Paz, Baja California Sur, Mexico. We sold everything we owned other than our pickup truck along with some household items and clothes that would fit in the back of our truck, and we drove from Florida in late February 2020 across the country to La Paz, Mexico to begin our adventures.

We arrived in La Paz on March 15, 2020, just as the pandemic was starting, and we were pretty much stuck at the marina. Milagro needed a lot of TLC, and for the next three years, we upgraded her for safety and comfort. It was a true labor of love for us, and the pandemic was an opportunity to both get the work done and employ the local labor force. You can see from the items below how much time, effort, and money we put into the boat.

Sergio Galindo from La Paz Stainless is a true artist who fabricated and installed heavy-duty double stainless railing for the entire boat, a solar arch, dinghy davits, propane bottle and fender holders, bollards, a bimini structure, chain plates, fuel tanks, water tanks, a compression post, countertops in the galley and head, boarding ladders, antennae and Starlink mounts. Sergio did a fantastic job, and we have a heavy heart that all of his work is now gone.

Danny Gonzalez from Pacific Thread in La Paz also made a major contribution to Milagro. He made all new sails for us: main, jib, and staysail as well as a stack pack. He made covers for all of our winches and hatches, replaced all of our running rigging, and provided a new traveler.

During our two major refits, we replaced all plumbing, sanitation, fuel, and hydraulic steering hoses which included replacement of all hose clamps with non-perforated clamps. Major work was also completed on the engine and transmission with the replacement of salt and fresh water pumps, fuel pumps, sea strainers, expansion tank, electric starter, thermostat, piston rings, engine mounts and supports, the transmission drive damper (clutch), and all engine gaskets. Our freezer and refrigerator compressors and cooling plates were replaced, new salon cushions were made, and we installed all new B&G electronics, new solar panels and controller, and upgraded the shore power to 50 amp service. Finally, we hauled the boat out, pulled the mast and replaced all of our standing rigging including all toggles, rigging pins, and cotter pins. We installed a bow thruster, replaced the cutlass bearing, installed a new tri-ducer, and did a complete bottom job.

During the three years we were in the Sea of Cortez, when we weren’t working on the boat, we were cruising the islands between La Paz and Loreto making sure everything was working. We had persistent engine problems from some faulty work done by a pair of workers in La Paz. We spent months making additional repairs until our mechanic in Loreto, Lauro, finally had the engine purring like a kitten. We had some fantastic sailing days and were now confident that Milagro was ready to take us out of Mexico and up to British Columbia on our next adventure.

We sailed from Loreto on June 27th towards Ensenada. We had to stop in La Paz one last time because our bow thruster was blowing fuses; however, the electrician who installed it was not available. Since we were traveling with another boat, we decided the bow thruster fix could wait until we got to Ensenada. We stopped every night when we could and sometimes stayed for several days in one location waiting for the weather. Fast forward several weeks: we left Turtle Bay at 7 am on Sunday, July 23rd. We were motor sailing and were well past Cedros Island when our transmission went out at 9 pm. We did some troubleshooting with Larry Linder who was on our buddy boat Althea, and he concluded it was the transmission clutch that went out. We had a 2 knot current against us, and with the sails up and no engine, we were making very little headway. We had to make a decision: Stay out in the open ocean making 1-knot headway and risk being caught in upcoming bad weather, or adjust course towards an anchorage on the Baja mainland at Punta San Carlos. We elected to find a safe anchorage and attempt to find someone to look at the transmission. We sailed all night, making great headway - 5.7 knots with a 2-knot current against us.

At first light on Monday, July 24th, it was extremely foggy out, and we weren’t able to see anything, but as the day wore on, the fog eventually lifted. When we were about 10 miles off the coast, we ran into some weather and had another decision to make: bash into the waves and current for 15 miles which would put us at Punta San Carlos at 1 am on Tuesday, or adjust course and sail south 30 miles to another anchorage at Punta Blanca with an ETA of 4 pm on Monday. We elected to change course and sail to Punta Blanca.

We arrived in the area of the Punta Blanca anchorage after having been sailing for 33 hours non-stop. There are very few chart books for this area, and we were trying to locate the correct anchorage based on a sketch. We passed the anchorage and had to turn around and sail back to the area. The tide was going out, and the wind was pushing us on shore. To anchor under sail, we had to roll up the jib and anchor with the main up. We dropped the anchor but quickly realized we were going to be in too shallow water. We pulled up the anchor and attempted to sail away from shore, but with no boat speed, no engine, and the bow thruster not working, we were not able to tack the boat. The wind and waves quickly carried us closer in and we started bumping into the bottom.

We called a Mayday on the VHF radio with no response, and at this point, activated the EPIRP and the SOS on the Garmin InReach. Laura started gathering together important papers. By this time, there were some people on shore watching us, and they got a panga launched into the water and attempted to pull us out into deeper water. They tied a line to the stern of the boat and pulled, but their line broke. Laura jumped into chest-deep water with the important papers and was able to make it through the surf to shore.

Because of the EPIRB and Garmin SOS transmissions, our emergency contacts in the US were notified. Our daughter Jackie White and our friends William and Terri Hanshumaker had copies of our float plan and provided this information to the emergency response teams. We were able to communicate with Jackie via our Garmin InReach, and she relayed information back to us letting us know that help was on the way.

On shore, there were some local Mexican fishermen with a phone, and they were able to contact the Mexican Navy and request assistance. They relayed, by using Google Translate, that the Navy could be there in 20 hours.

Richard stayed on the boat as another panga came out and tied more lines to the bow of the boat. Even with two pangas pulling, their engines were not strong enough to pull Milagro, which has a displacement weight of 38,000 lbs and a full keel. Richard jumped in the water with a few items and swam to shore.

Once Richard was on shore, more people were on the beach with vehicles. One was Mike Ebert, an American who spoke English and Spanish. He asked if we had a tent or blankets or anything that we could use for shelter for the night because no one at this location had blankets or dry clothes for us. He suggested that we get back on board and at least get some dry clothes and blankets, so Laura walked back through the surf to the boat, grabbed a change of clothes for both as well as some blankets, then jumped back in the water and made her way through the surf back to shore.

By this time, it was getting close to sundown, and Mike offered to take us to a house under construction that he was building. There was no running water, a plywood platform with no mattress, and some solar lights; however, we were out of the cold and wind and had a roof over our heads for the night. We were able to change into dry clothes and make up a bed for the evening.

The next morning, Tuesday, July 25th, Mike greeted us and offered coffee. The Mexican fisherman stopped by with his phone and Mike translated a conversation with the Mexican Navy and port captain in Ensenada. We were instructed to go to Ensenada to the port captain’s office to report the incident. We were also notified that because we were safely on shore, the Navy would not come to assist. Their job is to provide for the safety of the boat occupants and not to tow the boat out of the surf.

We did attempt to get back on the boat to try to get more items; however, it was much too dangerous. By this time, the boat was further in the surf, and each time a wave hit one side, the boat would lean almost over on its side, then as the wave went out, it would swing back the other way almost to the water. The mast was almost touching the water each time, and water was washing completely over the deck. You could see water coming out of the cockpit scupper drains, so it was obvious the cockpit was full of water.

Mike told us that there was a team of two biologists and one oceanographer at our location doing a study on geoduck clams. This group of three was planning on heading back to their office located in Ensenada later Tuesday afternoon, and they were willing to take us with them. All three were super nice, and all spoke some English. We said goodbye to Mike and left Punta Blanca at about 4 pm on Tuesday to begin a new adventure. We had no idea how remote of an area we were in, but we were about to learn. It took us a good three hours driving off-road before we reached any type of semi-paved road. Luckily for us, our driver was a former Baja 1000 car racer, and she was a fantastic driver. We drove until 11 pm where we stopped for dinner at San Felipe which was our first real meal in two days, then we stayed overnight at a hotel.

On Wednesday, July 26th, we had breakfast and left San Felipe at 8 am. We arrived in Ensenada around 2 pm and were dropped off at a hotel close to the port captain’s office. All we had with us was the clothes we were wearing, a bag of clothes that we swam to shore in and dried off in the sun, Laura’s phone and computer - both of which were no longer working, a few blankets, a camera, our passports and identification, and whatever Mexican pesos we had.

We had Jackie call our insurance company and relay what had happened and let our friends and family on Facebook know that we were okay but were out of communication for a while. The insurance company instructed us to contact Juan Luis in Ensenada and arrange to have the boat towed out of the surf. We were unsuccessful in contacting Juan Luis at this time.

On Thursday, July 27th, we walked from the hotel to Juan Luis’ location and make contact with him. He also was super nice and spoke English. He completely understood the situation, how remote the location was, and how serious the consequences were for the boat. Because of the weight of the boat and the full keel, it was going to take a very large boat with significant power to pull Milagro out of the surf, and since it had already been in the surf for several days, he concluded that the boat would be a total loss. Juan Luis offered to take us to the Port Captain in the morning, as they did not speak English.

Later in the day, we had a taxi take us to get some essentials like toothpaste, deodorant and shampoo. Laura’s phone and computer both got wet. She was able to get a new phone and transfer the SIM card, and a used computer and transfer the hard drive. Having some limited communication brought us some sense of normalcy.

On Friday, July 28th, Juan Luis took us to the port captain to make a statement. He took our statement and translated it into Spanish. The port captain told us that since we own the boat, we are responsible for any damage caused by diesel coming out of the boat and any other damage that would occur from the boat being on the beach. They are going to let us know what we are required to do when they get a chance to investigate. In the meantime, we were authorized to go back to the USA.

We had our truck in storage in Loreto, so on Saturday, July 29th, we gathered up our belongings and took a 16-hour bus ride from Ensenada to Loreto, where we picked up our truck on Sunday, July 30th. From there, we began driving back toward the US. We stayed in Loreto, Guerro Negro, and San Quintin. The truck is a 2006 Ford F150 with close to 300,000 miles on it. It has been maintained well; however, as we were driving out of Mexico, we were having issues with the truck transmission. We had to put it in 2nd gear whenever we were going at slow speeds because it would slip and make a clunking sound as it tried to shift into gear. Fortunately, we made it out of Mexico without the transmission completely failing, and we finally arrived in El Cajon, California on Monday, August 3rd.

On Tuesday, August 4th, we stayed with Richard’s brother-in-law and his wife, Jeff and Candy Tyler on Coronado Island, California. These two offered us their spare room for a few days, which turned out to be a few days longer than anticipated. Jeff was kind enough to do some research on transmission shops in the area and drove us to a place that will be putting in a used transmission since it was determined that ours needed replacement. These are two lovely people who have gone out of their way to make us feel comfortable, and we are so grateful for their compassion.

We did get the truck back on Wednesday, August 9th, with a used transmission, and have reached San Francisco on our way north towards Oregon where we will stay with our friends William and Terri Hanshumaker.

Our next steps are to get back on our feet and find a small cottage or cabin to rent in Oregon, Washington, or British Columbia. Any money received from the Go Fund Me donations would go towards food, shelter, and clothing.

We did have insurance on the boat; however, because of the age of the boat, they will only cover a fraction of what the boat is worth. Insurance will not cover all the upgrades we made to the boat over the last three years, nor will they cover our living expenses for meals, lodging, and transportation. We had over $300K invested in the boat, and the truck transmission adds another $2,200 to our losses. Because the boat was our home, we will now have the additional expense of renting a place to live. We are waiting for the insurance company to look through everything that has been provided to them and give us a timeline on when we could expect to receive any payout, but so far they have not given us any indication of what to expect. It will most likely take months before they will be able to close the file on getting Milagro off the beach and any cleanup required.

In the meantime, we have been using hotel points when possible, staying with friends, and shopping for clothing at Goodwill. We intend to camp some nights on our way up to our friend's house in Oregon. Neither one of us is eligible to collect Social Security, and the only incoming money we have is a small widower benefit that Richard receives monthly.

We are so grateful to everyone who has helped us so far. We would not be here today if it weren’t for the fisherman that provided assistance on the beach, and the biologists and oceanographer who drove us out of the remote location. The compassion from our family and friends on Facebook has been overwhelming, and we will never forget your generosity.

We sincerely thank you with all our hearts.

Richard Katz and Laura Heron