Dinghy Racing on Monday Funday

Our Mondays here in the Sea of Cortez are not quite the same as they were in Northern California.

After our early morning hike on Isla San Francisco, we set out to snorkel. This attempt was foiled as soon as we were about to get in the water as the easterly winds picked up and whitecaps were quickly forming. We hurried back to the dinghy, rowed out to the boat and decided to wait out the easterly wind at Bahia Amortajada on San Jose Island which is known for having mangrove lined channels perfect for dinghy racing.

As soon as we arrived the north Bahia Amortajada anchorage we were visited by a handful of bees. Scout bees looking for fresh water. Our boat is covered with salt, how could they possibly be interested in us?

Click here Dinghy racing! to see our youtube racing video http://youtu.be/HU9cQgQEkLY

The smallest inhabited island we have ever seen! We passed it on the way to SJ Island.

Unlike mainland Mexico, these mangroves have cacti and desert mountains behind them.

Dinghy racing through the mangroves at San Jose Island

Moondance at anchor on the north side of Bahia Amortajada on Isla San Jose. You can anchor on the north or south side of this spit of land depending on the wind direction but it offers little wind protection at night.

Hello Mr. Hermit!

Is it safe yet?

On the run

And away he goes!

The water was amazing. We landed the dinghy just inside the channel. We found clam shells the size of our heads!

After our dinghy adventure we returned to the boat to rinse off with fresh water. As soon as I finished my fresh water rinse on the foredeck I saw a bee land in the water and lift its butt up and down several times- it looked like a happy dance.

Yeah, wait till I tell the guys about all this fresh water I found!

As we have head tales of bees completely covering a boat in search for water in such great numbers that the boat looks black from a distance, I ran back to the cockpit and said, “Conor, we have to leave NOW!!!”

15 minutes later we weighed anchor and made our way back to Isla San Francisco.

San Francisco Island

On Sunday, June 17th we sailed from Playa Bonanza on Isla Espiritu Santo to the eastern anchorage on Isla San Francisco.

Successfully anchored! We first checked out the eastern anchorage but the waves and wind were coming out of the east so we dropped the hook on the western side. The wind changed and started to come out of the west. After several nights of 30knot coromuels in our last anchoarage off Playa Bonanza we decided not to knowingly sign up for a rough night. We weighed anchor and dropped the hook on the east side. A beautiful and peaceful anchorage.

We shared the beach with a fish camp.

Salt

The popular sandy ‘Hook’ anchorage is on the west and the rocky secluded anchorage is on the east. There is one more anchorage on the north side of the island.

We are protecting ourselves from the sun with our new hats gifted by Total Yacht Works in Mazatlan.

We hiked along this entire ridge

Isla San Francisco

Meeting the island wildlife

These guys are everywhere! They live on rocky beaches and scatter away from you like cockroaches in the hundreds.

It’s time for the crabs to shed. We saw huge live crabs on San Francisco Island.

Our first taste of the Sea of Cortez

Playa Bonanza on Isla Espiritu Santo.

We arrived at dawn on Friday, June 15th and left for Isla San Francisco on Sunday, June 17th after two nights of evening coromuels which brought winds of 30 knots. We often refer to a Simpsons episode when Bart Simpson is left at home alone while the rest of his family is gone.

Daytime is AWESOME!!

Nighttime is SCARY!!

During our hike on shore along the beach, through the brush, and up the surrounding hills we were attacked by thorny bushes and a seagull who repeatedly dive bombed us when we unknowingly got too close to his/her babies. The water is incredibly clear, warm, and beautiful!

View of Moondance from la playa

Playa Bonanza

The water is here is beautiful!

Crazy cactus!

Our decent down the hill back to the boat.

Conor rowing to shore.

We had dinner and a show on the deck. We ate and watched manta rays and flying fish both jump out of the water.

Passage Photos from Mazatlan to Playa Bonanza

We left Mazatlan at 8am on 6/13/12 and anchored at Playa Bonanza on Isla Espiritu Santo in the Sea of Cortez at dawn on 6/15/12. Passage notes can be found by clicking HERE.

Sunset at sea

A very tired Conor

Huge salt crystals cover the entire boat

I’ll add a video of the passage to this post when we have faster internet.

Gone Sailing!

Bidding farewell to towel service, 2 pools, and the best ice cream we have had in Mexico, we left Marina El Cid in Mazatlan on Wednesday morning at 8am. We turned off the engine and set the sails by 9am and sailed straight for the next 31 hours! This is not only our longest record of sailing straight without engine assistance, we also had such great winds that we hit 146 nautical miles in our first 24 hours and saw flying fish, dolphins, and sharks!

If I were a cowboy, I would have loved this passage. Crossing the sea was like riding a bucking bronco. The choppy sea had its way with us and inflicted me with a case of mal de mer so bad that I ate little more than a bowl of cereal in the next two days. Surprisingly, I was still  able to do all of my watches. As the first time I was seasick was the crossing from west to east, I figured that I would be seasick from east to west. I was happy that we had winds up to 22 knots which would ensure that it would be over as fast as possible!

We were actually doing such great time that we were on track to anchor at Playa Bonanza on Isla Espiritu Santo 8 hours earlier than expected. When we had passed Isla Cerralvo and had Isla Espiritu Santo in sight the wind died. We finally turned on the engine, took down the main sail, and as I scanned the horizon I saw that there were wind waves past the island. Our plans to anchor that night were quickly foiled as we were hit with a coromuel and had winds of up to 30 knots on the nose. After a night of 2 hour watches, putting all of our foulies on (ski clothes for sailors), and getting drenched by the waves coming over the bow and in to the cockpit we finally dropped the hook at 7am the next morning.

We have spent two more nights in Playa Bonanza, each night with coromuels containing winds of up to 27 knots coming out of the SW. Our anchor has held very well, we hiked the  island, walked the beach, and have experienced the clearest water we have seen so far in Mexico. Last night, we had dinner on the deck and watched what looked like mini longhorns coming down to the beach with babies. We saw schools of manta rays that swam by the boat and waved hello to us. They then spread out across the bay and we could hear flop, flop, flop, for several hours. The flop was the sound of them hitting the water after jumping up and out of the water, waving their fins, and trying to fly in a feeding frenzy.

This has been so much fun and we can’t wait for the next anchorage!

Internet is only marginal here so no photos and we may not be able to post for another 2-3 weeks but we will post when we can!

 

A Day of Waiting and A Day of Adventure

We are still in Mazatlan and waiting for a 1/4″ furling line. After our last passage we decided to replace it as it looks like it could snap under load at any moment! So we  decided to take advantage of our time here and head out for an adventure! After breakfast at Looney Bean Cafe in Old Town we meandered through the hills and over to the Old Harbor where we climbed up to the 2nd highest lighthouse in the world (the highest lighthouse is on Gibraltar). After our hike and a couple drinks on the beach we hopped on the Sabalo Centro Bus which took us all the way back to El Cid Marina for just 9.50 pesos each!

Cathedral in Old Town, Mazatlan

Bird Nest

Garbage bins are underused here.

We walked from the other side of those radio towers.

Getting closer

Instead of barbed wire, they cement broken glass to the top of the wall.

This boat is aptly named, Titanic!

Shrimping boat went aground outside the harbor.

We made it to the top! We are so sweaty from the humidity that it feels like we just got out of the pool!

Entrance to the Old Harbor. Cruising boats can anchor only. Mud bottom- although it is really protected, dragging anchor is common. There are moorings also but there were not any available when we checked.

At the end of the hike to the Faro (lighthouse). Mazatlan.

If you anchor in the Old Harbor (in the background) it smells like poo. This is the sewage plant.

It’s hot!

The yard is fixing the hull section by section.

A freighter comes in to the Old Harbor with a tug on each side.

We took a ferry to Stone Island. 25pesos round trip per person. I must look like I can’t swim because the ferry driver made me wear a life jacket!

You can anchor here. South of the Old Harbor

We found a local bar on the beach with a live band and dancing

Ahhh, refreshing!

Close up of the shrimping boat that went aground.

Old Harbor channel entrance

Click on link below to see video of Music on Stone Island

Stone Island Music

 

So Long Banderas Bay

On the first Sunday morning in June we left Banderas Bay. We motored across the bay to Punta Mita, rounded the corner, made a right in to the Pacific, raised the sails, killed the engine, and headed north. Although exhausting, passages are very special to us. The wind reminds us it is there by filling our sails. The water rushes beneath our hull and sometimes splashes on to the deck. The sun beats down on to us from above. The best seat in the house was on the cabin top in the wind and in the shade of the main sail.

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At around 8:30pm (PV time) we saw the moonrise in the east and then the sunset in the west. By 9:30pm it felt as light out at night as it was in the day, the moon’s light offering us excellent visibility. During our dinner in the cockpit we were surrounded by a pod of dolphins that had come over to play in our bow. We were speeding along at 6 knots. Even though it was night, we could see them easily through the clear blue water. In fact, the moon was so bright that at one point that it was keeping me awake as it was shining on to my face through one of our port holes.

Around midnight we were approaching Isla Isabella. The island was surrounded by small lanterns hanging on fishing pangas. Fishermen were out to set their long lines for the night. Although we preferred not to, we had to turn on the motor but did so only after the boat speed dropped to 1.5 knots and we were drifting down on a panga. We engaged the autopilot. Although the autopilot did not work for us that morning or the following afternoon, it did work for us that night and for the next ten hours.

We safely passed Isla Isabella and by 10 the next morning we were able to sail again. It was a beautiful day with 10 knots of wind. The windvane drove the boat beautifully while we relaxed and read books with a frequent scan of the horizon. By the time we could see the islands off of Mazatlan we had entered a current. The boat was barely heeling over and we were zipping along at 7.8 knots sailing close hauled. As we neared the island the wind waves grew from the west and there was swell from the south. And just as we were about to pull a fish on board the wind piped up from 12 knots to 18 knots. Time to reef! Time to pull in the fish! Eeek, what do we do first! We had already pulled the fish almost all the way in and identified it as a bonita. The dark stripes on the side told us that this fish was inedible (click here for our past experience eating a bonita). Get the pliers! I handed Conor the pliers and he expertly lets the fish free. We reef the jib, and Conor goes on deck to reef the main while I steer. No passage is worth it’s salt without just a little excitement!

We scoot behind Isla de Venados (Deer Island), decide not to anchor, and head back out to the ocean side of Pajaro Island and back in to Marina El Cid. The first hook of the entrance is rolly but spring tides are in effect and the depth in the channel read north of 20 feet (almost double normal depths). I was especially glad that we made it in safely when I heard that another boat went on the rocks when trying to enter the channel recently.

Marina El Cid was happy to have us. It is the low season for tourists here so although the office was closed, the security guards recognized us from our February stay, got us a slip right away and jumped to help us tie up. We were tied up in our slip by 9:45pm, put the boat away, had dinner, and went straight to bed!

Thank you, Carlos!

Carlos and Conor at La Cruz Marina

It started out with Carlos asking Conor if he needed any work done on the boat. Weeks go by. We still don’t have any work that we can’t do ourselves.

Then Conor has an idea- Carlos, can I have Spanish lessons?

By the time we sailed from Nuevo Vallarta to La Cruz (less than an hour away by bus two hours by boat) Conor had already had four lessons. Coincidentally, when we went to La Cruz, Carlos also had a couple of jobs in La Cruz which allowed Conor to keep up with his lessons. This is also when we needed his connections the most.

“Carlos, my autopilot is not working correctly.” Carlos took him to a friend in downtown PV that had parts for our outdated ST400+ autopilot. Now Conor not only knows much more about our piloto automatico, he knows what all the parts are called in Spanish.

“Carlos, my dinghy gas can is cracked from the sun and leaking.” Carlso took Conor to a friend in the marina who had two gas cans to choose from and we bought a used one for a third of the price of a new one at Zaragosas.

“Carlos, the laundry lady in Nuevo Vallarta lost our towels and some of Lanea’s bathing suits and we just found out that the gift card they gave us only had 120 pesos ($9) on it.” Carlos asked what Conor wanted to do about it, fully ready to spring in to action. We decided to let this one go as we were already in La Cruz and trying to leave in a day or two.

At the last minute Conor and I decided to have our bottom cleaned. We sent Carlos an email and he was there the next morning and did an amazingly thorough job- attributing to our speedy trip to Mazatlan!

On our last day in La Cruz we had Carlos over for drinks and we really do enjoy his company and his entertaining stories!

If anyone in Banderas Bay needs Carlos’ email, let us know- he was so helpful, does great boat work, and did a great job with Conor’s ‘off the beaten path’ spanish lessons!