Isla Danzante to San Carlos

After a short motor over to Puerto Escondido to top up fuel and water we set sail for Isla Coronados. For the most part, the wind gods have not been kind to us. Not that there has been too much, it’s just that it has not been coming from the direction I would prefer. I wanted North wind while going South and vice versa. This was another day with a comfortable breeze on the nose. Solera sails really well to weather so we hauled in the sheets and had a nice 20 mile trip up the channel. A big Catalina left Escondido a few minutes behind us and since they were motoring I expected to be quickly passed. But no, Solera drove through the short chop and kept well ahead all the way to Coronados cruising at around five and a half knots.

Cyn and I climbed the volcano during this visit. The trail is good, when you find it, and takes you to the 1000 foot summit. It’s about a four mile round trip. The view was spectacular with Isla Carmen and the town of Loreto in the distance.

The trip up to San Juanico provided the best sailing yet. Finally, we had wind aft of the beam at 10 to 15 knots apparent. Solera raised her skirt and took off running. The helm was light and the autopilot worked perfectly. We sat back and enjoyed an afternoon of sailing at six and a half knots.

With the wind out of the South East, our planned anchorage would be very uncomfortable. So, we dropped the hook for the first time on the other side of the bay. It was tricky locating a submerged reef but once spotted, we were able to avoid it and anchor in 12 feet with a good sand bottom. It was windy but a rocky point and the reef blocked the swell. We slept like beach dogs.

The next morning we listened to the weather on SSB radio. The forecast  was for mild South East winds so we decided to make our crossing over to San Carlos.  Our heading would be zero degrees, due North, and our route would cover 102 miles. Expecting to average about five knots, the trip would take about 20 hours.
Once again we had wind on the nose, and this time not enough to sail. The forecast was off by 180 degrees. We motored virtually the whole way but the trip still had it’s moments. Late in the afternoon we were about 30 miles out when I noticed what I thought was a large dolphin approaching on our port side. When it got closer I could tell it was a very small whale, maybe only 12 feet or so. Also, it appeared to be a sperm whale, pretty rare in this area. They are recognizable by their blunt heads. It was swimming along side of us, raising it’s head completely out of the water like it was looking for something or at us. Then it did a quick u-turn. That’s when we saw it’s mother coming from our starboard side to meet up with the baby behind us. The two whales joined and stayed on the surface together for a long time. It was unusual how rapid their breathing was. I could not help but think about the possibility of this encounter playing out much differently. What if the mother had decided to take aggressive action! It’s not common but it does happen. Looking back, I feel bad that we interfered with the mother and baby and put them in that stressful situation.

There was a nice sunset that evening and in the twilight a once in a lifetime event occurred. I had just left the cockpit and gone down below when, in a voice I’ve never heard before, Cyn called out "Ric come up here!". When I got to the companion way I looked over and saw a giant ring of waves, foam, and boiling turbulent water about two boat lengths off the port side. Cindy’s voice was shaking as she told me that she had just seen a humpback breach completely out of the water, it’s huge body laid out horizontally, even the flukes were in the air, then it came crashing back into the sea. The giant was much larger than Solera and less than 100 feet away. She said if it was any closer she would have been drenched! I pulled the throttle back and looked around. The whale came up for another breath about 150 feet behind us then disappeared. How incredible to be so close, too close really, to an animal that size demonstrating it’s phenomenal strength and agility. I’m pretty sure it knew we were there. Maybe I should do some reading about whales and their behavior so I can be more certain.

The rest of the trip across, thankfully, was uneventful. We had a beautiful orange sunrise about 10 miles out from San Carlos. There was a short period of strong wind and rough seas as we approached but all was calm in the bay. We anchored then headed in to Barracuda Bob’s for breakfast and a latte.

 This was a great trip, full of memorable places, people and events. Cyn and I are getting even more comfortable out there as we gain experience sailing a fairly large boat at sea and living aboard. Even Morgan has adapted well to life on board. I’m pretty sure it sounds like we’re doing something that’s out of the ordinary and at some level it’s true. But, I think cruising is attainable to anyone who has a strong enough desire to pursue it. We met all different kinds of sailors, everything from single handers on bare bones 27 footers to giant crewed catamarans that were like floating condos. Like society in general, the cruising community is a diverse group but it's one with a common bond. The love of adventure, sailing, and the sea.

 I’ll put out one more post after we get back to Colorado with a summary of this years trip and a link to more pictures and video clips.        

La Paz to Isla Danzante

After a quick stop at the Marina Palmira fuel dock, we were on our way to Puerto Balandra just 12 miles to the North. Just after leaving the Canal de La Paz I stopped to check a charging problem. As Solera drifted and I sorted some wiring, Cyn said, " Hey, the marina boat is here." That was strange I thought, but she was right, everyone in the gray panga had a shirt on that said "MARINA". Turns out, in Mexico Marina equals Navy. It was a friendly visit. They were out checking boat documentation and ours was in order. The electrical problem was soon fixed and we were off again.

Puerto Balandra is a beautiful bay and home to the famous "El Hongo" or mushroom rock. Nothing against a local landmark tourist attraction but coming from Colorado, El Hongo was a disappointment. It’s a balanced rock about 12 feet tall, and like the Garden of the Gods Balanced Rock, it’s been reinforced. Cyn and I had a close look from the dinghy, shrugged, then headed over to Wave Glider for drinks and a game of dominos called Mexican Train with Barry and Sue.

We never finished the game. A coromuel wind kicked up that evening and soon we found Solera dragging anchor with nobody aboard. I hopped in the dinghy and raced to the boat. It was a struggle in the strong wind but I was able to re-anchor on the opposite side of the bay in the shelter of a large bluff. After a very wet dinghy ride all crew were back aboard. But wait, that’s not all. I tested and set the anchor alarm then tried to get some sleep as the wind howled. The coromuel finally abated a bit toward morning. Cyn woke up first and I asked her where Wave Glider was. She said, "Off our port side". "What!", sure enough, we dragged anchor again. This time about half way across the bay and no, the anchor alarm never sounded. I looked at the GPS and our track that night looked like a seismometer graph. Solera would swing and drag repeatedly through the night. On board we could not feel any of it. BIG lesson learned, get up and check the anchor often on nights like that. By the way, I estimate the winds were over thirty knots. The real problem was the bottom. By the scratches on my anchor it I would say it was a thin layer of sand over flat rock. We were lucky!

We had had enough of the coromuels so we headed North out of their reach to Isla San Francisco. This place is just beautiful. The South bay has a crescent shaped white sand beach over a half mile long. As the gulls fly overhead their white wings turn turquoise as they reflect the water color. It’s a picture perfect anchorage. To the East of the bay is a ridge of rock that looked interesting. The features were angular like basalt or rhyolite. We took the trail up the ridge to have a look and found the best bouldering area I have seen so far. Dozens of big blocks situated at all different angles and the rock is very solid. I’ll have to get Austin here at some point.

Next, we moved on to the fishing village of San Evaristo. It’s another nice, well protected bay. In the morning, the pangeros were out catching bait fish as we sipped our coffee. These guys are masters at throwing nets. I never saw one come up empty. Later, we went to shore to check out the little tienda. It was a bit of a gory scene as beef was being butchered on the front porch. Morgan got a whiff of the blood and immediately tucked her tail. Maybe she thought she was next.

The following day we were off to Puerto Los Gatos. Our last visit here was unpleasant with bee stings, hot temperatures, and a very rolly anchorage but, it’s the only stop on this stretch of coast. This visit was great, no bees, comfortable and calm. Hiking around on the sandstone formations was fun. The terrain was other worldly.

Then the plan was to sail up to Agua Verde. Weather reports were good here but farther up the sea there had been some wild wind. The trailing edge of a cold front brushed the northern sea and brought 54 kt winds to Bahia Los Angeles. We sailed through remnants of the disturbance and struggled a bit. We went through a wild range of wind speeds and directons. It was like a giant Lake Pueblo. We reefed and shook out reefs constantly. Finally, as we reached Punta San Marcial and Agua Verde, it was time to drop sail and motor around the point. Wind was on the nose and there’s not much room between the point and a reef offshore. As is typical in this situation the wind and waves built up as we continued. Then a big set of really steep waves slammed into Solera. We buried her nose and flooded the decks several times before giving up and heading back downwind to a close by anchorage. We hung out there for only a short while as the wind had quickly died out allowing us to continue on to Agua Verde. We needed a reservation when we got there! Seemed everyone came to seek shelter. Thankfully, it’s a huge bay.

Next morning we had a great sail up to Isla Danzante. The wind was light, less than ten, but very steady. The sea had just a ripple. Solera had all her canvas up and was pointing between 30 and 60 degrees apparent. Wonderful cruising at around five knots. I expected to drop sail and motor around Punta Candeleros but as we approached I could tell the wind was going to cooperate. We sailed through the narrow gap between Isla Pardo  and shore and got a "Looking Good! "as we passed a cruiser heading the other way under jib only. We continued North past several reefs then along the West shore of Isla Danzante to one of our favorite anchorages. We dropped anchor at Honeymoon Cove, cracked open a cold Pacifico and munched on smoked tuna and crackers. What a difference a day makes!

La Paz

It’s only 18 miles from Bahia San Gabriel to La Paz. Since we had no marina reservations we decided to motorsail across the San Lorenzo Channel. That way we could arrive early in the afternoon and have time to get settled. The light wind was dead on the nose and sailing in would have been an all day affair. Marina De La Paz was full so we choose Marina Palmira about two miles to the North. It’s a very nice facility with everything you need. Inexpensive too with a full week for the price of a single nights stay in a good motel.

We attended the awards dinner for the Sea of Cortez Sailing Week and really enjoyed ourselves. The food was excellent and the Solera crew picked up a First in Class Award in the "Better Late Than Never" category. If you hadn’t already guessed, every boat that enters gets a First in Class Award.

La Paz has become one of my favorite Mexican towns. Founded in the 1500’s it has an interesting history. Pearl harvesting fed the town’s economy in the early years. Steinbeck’s book, The Pearl, is based on local folklore. Yaqui Indians, who were adorned with pearls and mother of pearl carvings, established themselves as the most talented free divers in the region. The Spanish capitalized on this and shipped home as much of the treasure as they could. Eventually the oyster beds were depleted and La Paz reverted back to the sleepy village it had been before. More recently, the city has become the capitol of the Mexican State of Baja California Sur. Even with a population of around 250,000, there's a friendly and peaceful attitude
in the air. The Malicon waterfront is a focal point for the city. Every evening many of the townspeople spill out onto this long walkway for a stroll in the cool evening air.

Cyn and I met up with Colorado cruisers Barry and Sue for a road trip to the town of Todos Santos on the Pacific coast. It’s a nice arts and tourist oriented place. It may be most famous for the Hotel California that, as legend has it, was the inspiration for the Eagles song.

Morgan's Margarita

We just finished preparing for the 300 plus mile return trip to San Carlos. The provisioning is done and Solera is ready to go. It will be about ten days before we get internet access again. We’re looking forward to the leisurely trip back.  

Puerto Escondido to Isla Espiritu Santo

The North wind came in with a vengeance at Puerto Escondido and even cut short the Loretofest activities on Sunday. We saw a gust over 30 at our mooring on the protected side of the bay. There were reports of 40 knot winds on the South side. Sounds a lot like Pueblo Reservoir! No serious damage occurred in the bay, just a couple of broken mooring pendants, flipped dinghys, and a few boats dragged anchor. The Norther caused us to get a late start to the Sea of Cortez Sailing Week rally down to La Paz. Cyn and I wanted to be sure the winds and seas settled a bit before heading out. The delay put us out of synch with the rest of the fleet for a couple of days. We left port with a double reefed main and wind in the high teens. The breeze quickly faded and left us motorsailing in a very large residual swell. It was a bit of a rough ride down to Agua Verde. We tucked in behind the reef and dropped anchor in 15 feet. The rest of the fleet made it 12 miles further to Isla San Francisco.

Our next leg was 44 miles to a fishing village called San Evaristo. As we motorsailed past Puerto Los Gatos, our previous southern most anchorage, a large pod pacific white sided dolphins crossed our bow. With the light wind you could easily see the large shoals of bait fish they were herding. As Solera approached the San Evaristo Channel the wind sarted to fill in. We began the sail with the wind nearly on the nose and all sails hauled in tight. We finished about three hours later with the spinnaker up and the dying breeze dead astern. Not a good situation for wind vane self steering. The result would have been a complete u-turn if you didn't pay attention!

The anchorage was calm and comfortable until about five in the morning when a swell started rolling into the bay. It’s fun trying to figure out the sea conditions. These waves traveled up from La Paz where a wind phenomenon called the Coromuel blows this time of year. It’s caused by the difference in temprature between the warm Sea of Cortez and the cold Pacific. There’s a stretch of low land that crosses the Baja peninsula there allowing the wind to build sometimes into the 30’s. The odd thing is that the Coromuel wind nearly always occurs at night. The swell we experienced formed 50 miles away after midnight but didn’t arrive at our anchorage until just before dawn.

We made an early exit and contacted the Sea of Cortez Sailing Week fleet on the VHF. The plan was to meet up with them in the afternoon at Bahia San Gabriel on Isla Espritu Santo. Once again we motorsailed until the wind filled in. It was almost the same scenario as the day before. With a similar geographic situation the wind clocked as we approached then traveled along side a large island. The big difference was the sea life. This time a very large pod of dolphins intercepted Solera and surrounded her for close to an hour. It was a real treat watching the dolphins watching us! They roll on their sides underwater then, without a doubt,  make eye contact with you. Sadly, on the beach at San Gabriel, we came across the remains of a dolphin. What struck me was the size of the animal’s skull. The brain cavity is nearly the size of a humans.        

As we approached Isla Partida, Cyn and I heard the unmistakable sound of a whale spouting. Soon, we passed a pod of three or four Grays off our port side only about 30 yards out. Then, just 20 minutes or so later a similar pod of Finbacks passed just off to starboard. These are really enormous animals and frankly I was glad they were several yards away. Grays grow to over 50 feet and weigh up to 70,000 lbs. Finbacks reach 70 feet and weigh up to 150,000 lbs. It’s estimated that these giants can live almost 150 years. At 18,000 lbs. Solera would be no match in a collision.

 We caught up to the Sailing Week flotilla that day at picturesque Bahia San Gabriel. Their schedule had us staying the following day also. What a nice time we had. There were several pot-lucks, bocci games, volleyball, snorkeling, and one or two cocktails shared. Many were lifelong sailors with interesting racing and cruising stories to tell. I really enjoyed listening and learning from this experienced bunch.

We have a week in La Paz planned so until next time…

San Juanico to Puerto Escondido

We left San Juanico after two nights and had a most incredible 18 mile spinnaker run to Isla Coronados. Seas were nearly flat and the wind stayed around 12 knots. We popped the chute as we left the bay and rode it for almost four hours at around five knots. I don’t know if sailing gets any better. The mountainous Baja coast provided great scenery. We shared this with Colorado Springs sailors Barry and Sue on Waveglider, a 34 foot cat that left just minutes before us. We talked on VHF and complimented each others spinnakers. Waveglider soon peeled off and headed to Puerto Ballandra on Isla Carmen. We continued down the coast to one of our favorite anchorages at Isla Coronados. Simply stated it’s got crystal clear turquoise water, white sand beaches, black volcanic rock, and bright green ice plant like vegetation along the shore. On our way back North we hope to climb the volcano to take in the summit view.

From Isla Coronados it’s a 20 mile run down to Puerto Escondido. The forecast was for NE winds so we had our hopes up for another day under spinnaker. Well, we got SE but still had another great sail close hauled on flat seas with the genoa, staysail, and main all drawing nicely. This run took us down the channel between Isla Carmen and the Baja coast. It’s similar in scale to the Sir Francis Drake Channel in the BVI. We joined around 150 other cruising boats for Loretofest in the large protected bay at Puerto Escondido. This well organized event has been a really good time with great food, live music, seminars, and lots of activities.

I just have to say a little about boat names. Between SSB and VHF radios we hear a lot of them. Some good, some bad, and some like one we saw today really crack us up. First though, I have to explain a little about radio protocol. When hailing another boat you repeat it’s name three times then state your boat’s name. Today, while taking Morgan to shore for a walk, we passed a nice Catalina 42 out of Santa Cruz named Neener. This afternoon I think Neener was the most often hailed boat in the bay. Seemed like everyone wanted to get on the radio to say "neener neener neener".

The forecast is for some serious wind out of the North for a couple of days. We’re hearing close to 40 knots out in the middle of the sea. We’ll wait that out safely moored here in Puerto Escondido. We may choose to participate in a race/rally later this week that’s going down to La Paz. So far it looks like a dozen or so boats are participating. We’ll see. Lately we have been in cruise mode. There will be plenty of racing when we get back to Colorado.