Week III
The sailing has been great! I met up with an old climbing friend, Oscar Berven, who has been living and sailing in the area for eleven years. We went out in my boat last Thursday and sailed the racecourse for the upcoming 38th annual Tucson Sailing Club Regatta. Solstice proved to be pretty fast on the almost 15 mile course. There was a good steady wind that kept the boat driving along at around six knots. It will be an interesting race as it goes three miles out to sea to a buoy, back around two islands, up near a beach, then to an upwind finish in San Carlos. Oscar thinks Solstice has a good chance to finish near the front of the fleet. We’ll see. I’ll let you know how we do. The regatta takes place the first weekend in November.
I subscribed to Buoy Weather on the internet to get a reliable forecast. Buoy Weather has a network of weather buoys up and down the Sea of Cortez and provides an “accurate” seven day forecast. Based on this info I decided to single hand north up the coast to San Pedro Bay and then to Caleta Serimuerto (dead Seri Indian cove). The round trip as the crow flies is about 38 miles.
I left the marina at around 9:00 on Saturday morning with no wind and had to motor the first five or so miles. The sea surface was calm but there was a two foot swell coming from the north. After coffee and a big breakfast that morning beginnings of mal de mar (seasickness) set in. What has worked for me before is to stay in the cockpit and keep looking at the horizon. Going below to the cabin would be bad news. I felt a little queasy for a couple of hours then was fine for the rest of the trip.
The wind freshened and steadily built as the day went on. It was just about perfect sailing. The swell was never over two feet. The apparent wind maxed out at sixteen knots and Solstice was making a steady six plus knots. Sailing in the sea down here in these conditions was similar lake sailing except that everything is increased by a factor of about ten. Each leg on a tack is about two or three miles. I had to plan my entry into San Pedro Bay much like I would plan entering a cove at Lake Pueblo. It’s just that the distances are much greater.
San Pedro Bay is beautiful. It was Saturday night so I shared the anchorage with an incredible forty plus foot ketch and a thirty foot sloop. We were later joined by a Catalina 25. There was plenty of room for everyone. The first evening was dead calm. While in the cabin reading I herd a commotion just behind the transom. I’ll do my best to describe the scene. It was a moonless night and the stars were as bright as I have ever seen. The Milky Way was casting a long muted reflection on the water. The mirror-like surface was filled with points of light but some of them were moving. I’ve seen bioluminescence before but never like this. It reminded me of fireflies in the Midwest flashing on and off. More incredible was the affect caused by the thousands of fish around my boat. They were in some kind of feeding frenzy and each time one would dart or jump a shower of underwater sparks was set off. I sat with my arms over the lifeline watching the show for almost an hour!
Sunday I did some snorkeling, went for a hike down the beach took pictures, and lazed around reading or just piddling around. It was true recreation. There were no worries with a good solid anchor down and light winds all day. All the other boats left so I had the place to myself until a fishing boat showed up late in the afternoon.
I weighed anchor before dawn on Monday. It was calm so I motored three miles up to Serimuerto, another beautiful spot. I got a welcome from hundreds of cormorants and pelicans and watched the sunrise from the cove. The birds made me laugh. They were all in a big flock on one side of the cove when a single cormorant decided to fly to the other side. That simple act started a chain reaction in the whole flock. Within a minute or so all the birds were on the other side squawking and fighting for territory. Since “home” was about twenty miles down the coast it was time to move on.
The mellow sail back was a beam reach, to a run then finished with a couple of miles wing on wing. The wind was light and the current against me so I was making only about three knots over ground. Even with that I was back in my slip shortly after three in the afternoon.
Time for a cerveza!
Week IV
It’s been kind of a quiet week for me here in San Carlos. Went to Guaymas, 11 miles south of here, to explore town and get more of a feel for the local culture and see what the town has to offer. Having visited Sonora for over twenty years, I’m impressed by the steady improvement in living conditions and the overall infrastructure. Not to say all is well, but things have gotten much better. The other striking difference from our first visit are the prices. Forget about $.50 beers and $3.00 meals. All you get is about a 15% discount from US prices. If that helps contribute to the improvement in the situation for the locals…I’m all for it!
The mayor of Guaymas has big plans for his town. The port is undergoing a major renovation. I saw some design drawings that look like the waterfront in Sidney Australia. With the global economic meltdown I doubt it will happen anytime soon. Spending the afternoon in town was a pleasant experience. School had just let out and the uniformed kids were walking home or getting picked up, happy to be finished for the day. The park by the main church had a lot of activity with young and old enjoying the pleasant weather. While walking to the open market I passed a couple of young girls who were happily chasing each other. They gave an exuberant “HOLA!” as they passed by. I asked for “un photo por favor” and got a priceless picture. The locals are a happy bunch, especially around San Carlos, lots of singing, laughing and joking.
The dinghy is inflated and back in the water so I went exploring yesterday. I did some more snorkeling on the other side of Martini Cove which was excellent, stopped at a beach and scrambled up a rocky ridge to get a nice view of the mooring area, then headed back home. The natural beauty of this place is remarkable.
I sailed for about four hours today in perfect conditions. Single handing requires some planning though. The vicinity of the marina experiences a mini “hurricane” every afternoon. I’ve found that it’s best to return by 1:00 or just stay out until dusk when it all settles down. Getting into a slip alone during mid afternoon would be a real challenge. This weather phenomenon is caused by the 1500 foot Tetas de Cabra. The normal 10 knot afternoon wind is funneled around the peaks and intensified through the marina. The benefit is it’s a nice cooling breeze and keeps the whole area comfortable. We’re still getting temps in the high 80’s.
Tomorrow I’m going to get up early and dinghy all the way down to Pilar beach. If I’m there by 8:00 I should be able to snorkel with dolphins at the mouth of the estuary. They are there every day at that time like clockwork.
Week V,
Tom arrived last Thursday morning. After a quick breakfast at Rosa’s Cantina we took Solstice out and did some snorkeling and sailing. We had Martini Cove to ourselves for the time we were anchored. As we left another sailboat was coming into the cove. When we passed the skipper called over and said “You’re headed straight for a large pod of dolphins”. Sure enough we looked ahead and saw them. They were heading across to starboard about a hundred yards ahead of us. It looked as if the fifty or so dolphins would pass well ahead until I saw one veer off and head straight for us. That was all it took for the whole pod to turn and surround Solstice. They were diving, jumping and checking us out for maybe three or four minutes before they decided to continue on their way. We had a really good sail after that. More nice, somewhat light, wind conditions. The sea surface was incredibly smooth so we easily moved along at around four knots.
The Regatta is this weekend and I’m writing after the first day of racing. Tom, Roger and I are doing a good job of representing Pueblo’s Liberty Point Yacht Club. We finished third overall today! We had a great start and with two other boats, found some wind that carried us ahead of the rest of the fleet. We tried everything to move up and take the lead but just could not get it done. We made up some time with our higher PHRF rating and are sitting three minutes out of second place. Not bad considering it was a fifteen mile course and race of over four hours. The first place finisher is in a full race boat. Second was a stripped down San Juan 28. I’m feeling pretty proud of Solstice right now. There’s all kinds of cruising gear on her and she still kicked ass.
By the way, I met Roger our third crew member this week at Barracuda Bob’s. His wife Terri thought I looked like a local (not really any kind of compliment, I must have needed a shower) and asked some general questions about San Carlos. Turns out the two Canadians from BC are here looking to buy a sailboat. Roger expressed interest in the regatta. So, when I found out he is a Cambridge educated retired Canadian Navy navigator, I asked him if he wanted to crew. He was really excited and we appointed him as our tactician. Today’s forecast is for very light winds. It will make things interesting for sure. We should have an advantage over the bigger boats and the smaller boats will do better against us. You’ll get the final results in the next e-mail.
After the regatta Tom and I are going to cruise up the coast with a few boats from the Tucson Sailing Club. We plan to be out for seven days. Weather permitting we will cross over to Baja late in the week. I’ll send pictures and let you know how it went next time.
Week VI
Well, the second day of racing was good, but not as good as the first. The start was one of our biggest challenges. The wind was very light. I chose the same side of the line as Saturday but had a difficult time keeping Solstice slow enough to cross at the gun. We luffed the sails and steered off but nearly clipped the start buoy at the far side of the line. We crossed ok then immediately sailed into a patch of calm air. It was frustrating to watch about seven or eight boats to our starboard accelerate past us. When we finally got into clean air Solstice took off. As we approached the first mark we were in fifth place.
Conditions were excellent for the rest of the race. Winds stayed constant at around ten knots out of the North West. I made a couple of mistakes here and there but the Cal’s speed made up for them. Interestingly, one of our biggest battles was with another Cal. It was a thirty four footer so it should have soundly beat us on waterline alone. I think with new sails it would have. We rounded Isla Peruana and started the long final leg in third place. That’s when we noticed a really fast 25 foot racer closing on us. It had a nice set of mylar sails and as it passed we could see its open transom and stripped out interior. They slowly stretched their lead but never got too far ahead. So, we crossed the finish line in fourth position but were able to hold on to third place overall for the regatta. The Tucson Sailing Club had a nice dinner that evening and Tom and I graciously accepted our award. Roger, our tactician, could not join us Sunday because his son was arriving that afternoon from London.
The club cruise was scheduled to leave Monday. We attended the organizational meeting in the morning and listened to the itinerary. It sounded like a great trip but the day they planned to cross over to Baja was the same day a norther was forecast to blow in. We decided to go but planned to head back to San Carlos early if the high winds were still predicted.
It was a nice fifteen mile sail to San Pedro Bay, our first anchorage. Not long after we arrived a dinghy motored up. A couple who had been fishing asked us if we wanted a Sierra and held up this beautiful silver, yellow and blue fish. They had more than they could eat and did not want to waste it. We improvised dinner and had the freshest and tastiest filets I’ve had in a long time. This experience got us motivated to troll with the line and flies Mike Nolen was nice enough to give me before I left Pueblo. We did good and bad. Tom caught four fish but they were all Skipjacks and not good for eating. We’ll keep trying though.
The strong northwest swell was running into the anchorage all night. We knew there was wind on the way. On Tuesday we were scheduled to anchor seventeen miles up the coast in Las Cocinas with the club. Wind and swell continued to increase as we sailed north so Tom and I decided to stop at Julio Villa instead. It’s an anchorage about a mile from Las Cocinas but offers much better protection from the northwest. Plus, it’s a good candidate for the most beautiful spot in the whole Sea of Cortez (check out the pictures, also look for the three sailboats spread out along the horizon in #36). Since the forecast had not changed, Tom and I decided to head back to San Carlos the next morning. We let the club know our plan via VHF radio.
Solstice really shined on that long sail back. We had to motor for a while but when the wind filled in we set sail and had an incredible ride. Waves built to the four to six foot range, wind was steady at around sixteen knots, and we were really moving. I’ve never surfed down the backs of waves in a sailboat before so it was a lot of fun steering and watching the speed on the GPS. The highest I saw was a brief burst to 7.8 knots! We covered the thirty plus mile track in just over five hours. Not bad.
Week VII
Tom headed back to Colorado last week but before he did we had one last sail. This time we went toward Guaymas to a little cove called Carricito. We left San Carlos with the wind at our backs broad reaching across San Francisco Bay, then continued out to sea a couple of miles. The wind and swell were building as we headed south. Solstice did some more surfing but on bigger waves this time, the GPS had a high reading of 8.2 kts. Then we jibed and cruised into the cove. It’s a very nice spot with two small beaches, cliffs and steep hillsides all around. We spent an enjoyable night there since it provided great protection from wind and wave. Tom had talked to another sailor in San Carlos who said he was joined by a pod of dolphins on his last trip to Carricito. They found his anchor line interesting and began to rub against it. He grabbed hold from the surface and began giving dolphin back scratches with the line. We kept an eye out hoping for a visit but never saw any dolphins.
The sail back was really special. I phoned ahead and requested that the wind be shifted overnight to provide us with a more enjoyable return trip. Sure enough we woke to southerlies! San Francisco Bay is the large crescent shaped bay between San Carlos and Guaymas. Its shape made it possible for us to start the long twelve mile trip wing on wing then as we followed the curving shoreline we gradually sheeted in the sails. Often we were just a hundred yards or so off the beach. We ran, broad reached, beam reached, and then ended the sail pointing as tight as we could to make it into the small bay by the marina. It was a nice way to finish off Tom’s visit.
Cindy arrived later in the week. It’s so good to be back together after nearly a month apart. I wanted her first day to be special so we did a short sail north over to Catch 22 beach and anchored just off shore. This is the nicest developed beach on this stretch of coast. Clean white sand, mountains for a backdrop, and the Soggy Peso Beach Bar. We had tostadas piled high with fresh crab ($1.25 each), cocktails and listened to a great local band. We decided to spend the night anchored there.
On Monday, after checking the forecast and talking strategy, we decided to cross the Sea of Cortez to Baja. It’s about 75 miles across to Santa Rosalia and here is what we expected our trip to be like. We would leave around 1:00 in the afternoon and have a nice quick sail with the afternoon breeze, enjoy the sunset as the wind dies, fire up the motor, set the autopilot, take turns at the watch, and cruise into the marina at daybreak. It would be perfect! Especially since the Buoy Weather site predicted great conditions.
Didn’t quite work out that way. We left in a fifteen knot wind under reefed main and full headsail. Soon we were overpowered and it was time to furl in some genoa. We had to point fairly tight to stay on track so we took spray over the deck and onto the dodger from time to time. We furled the headsail three more times as the afternoon and evening went on. At about 11:00 PM I said two stupid things. First was “Look Cindy we’re right in the middle of the Sea of Cortez.”, second “I hope it does not get so bad that I need to put the second reef in”. Not more than fifteen minutes later we were in winds close to 25 kts., hove to putting in the second reef. Next time I’ll keep those thoughts to myself.
By just after midnight, the wind settled in to the 16 to 18 range and stayed there. Cindy was able to get some sleep and I was in the cockpit, autopilot on, lounging on cushions with my back resting on the lee combing. It was actually comfortable! A beautiful half moon had risen and was casting shadows. The bow wake sent out a shower of bioluminescence with each wave we hit. I was happy the boat handled so well in the rough conditions. All you need to do is reduce sail as the wind increases, pretty simple. Also, it doesn’t hurt to have a boat designed by Bill Lapworth. The more I sail Solstice the more I appreciate the skill and knowledge great naval architects like Lapworth have.
Boat speed was our only other problem. We were going too fast and would be arriving way too soon. At three in the morning we were only five miles off the coast and right on track to Santa Rosalia. Entering an unfamiliar harbor at night seemed like a bad idea so we decided to heave to. Cyn stood watch and I got a couple of hours of sleep. We drifted at about one knot directly back on our track. We arrived in Santa Rosalia at daybreak in gentle winds, tied up to the dock at the new marina there, and got some needed rest. All in all, the trip across was an excellent experience. It was a milestone in our relatively short sailing careers.
Cindy and I are going to explore town today, then prepare for the return trip. Once again the forecast is good. We’ll see. I’m looking forward to it. This time we are leaving early, before dawn, making the passage in daylight, and arriving in San Carlos in the evening.
The ferry just arrived from Guaymas. Hey, I think Cindy is in line to buy a ticket back!
Week VIII,
The sail back to San Carlos turned out to be excellent. We left before dawn in calm conditions and motored until daybreak. The sun rose and the wind filled in as we approached Isla Tortuga about ten miles off the Baja coast. We killed the motor and set sail in about ten knots which soon increased to about sixteen and stayed there. I chose a route that had us skirt the south shore of the island. This, I hoped, would give us a better angle on the wind and put us on a beam reach. Sure enough, the wind and waves were out of the North West so we got a fast comfortable ride. I set the autopilot, trimmed the sails, and didn’t touch a thing for over four hours. Wind direction and speed remained constant and Solstice just took care of herself. We watched Tortuga fade behind us as the tops of the Tetas came into view ahead. I had to tweak the sail trim a couple of times that afternoon but that was about it. We were mostly along for the ride.
Once again I underestimated the speed of the Cal. We anticipated arriving in the early evening. It was becoming clear we would be arriving from our 74 nautical mile passage at around 1530, the windiest time of day. There was some concern but at this point we were confident we could handle about anything. The last hour of the thirteen hour crossing found us in 24 knot winds and the biggest seas we had yet experienced. No problem though. We sailed out of the wind and swell as we rounded Punta Doble, dropped sail, and motored into the marina. We even made it back in time to go get fish tacos at JJ’s!
We took it easy over the next couple of days. Did some shopping, had dinner with Oscar and Pilar, worked on the boat a little, and oh yeah, checked out a 1964 Columbia 40 Cutter that’s for sale at nearby Marina Real. We both really like her. She’s a classic with lots of style and in great condition for her age. Oscar is contacting the owner for us. So, and I can’t believe I’m writing this, Solstice will be for sale if it all works out.
Our time down here is running out but we wanted to get one last overnight sail in before we left. This time we headed back up the coast about 14 miles to a little anchorage called Caleta Amarga. It’s near San Pedro Bay where I spent some time earlier in the trip. Amarga is tiny with room for two boats at most. We had the cove all to ourselves. The sunset that night was the most spectacular of the entire trip. Cindy got to experience many of the same things I had at San Pedro, like having a bat fly in her face, incredible bioluminescence, cormorants and pelicans everywhere, but also the peacefulness of a quiet anchorage late at night.
I’m leaving Solstice in Marina Seca dry storage for the next four months. It costs only $60 per month to store a boat on a trailer there. Plus, since the storage yard is so close to the main marina the mast can stay up. Cyn & I will be back in April for another two month stay. After spending a few weeks in San Carlos Cindy said “You know, everyone down here is trying to figure out how to stay longer”. It’s hard to leave paradise!
