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.
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