Rough landing

Puerto Escondido, BCS, Mexico

Two days ago we left our lovely anchorage at Isla Coronados. The last night we spent there was quite a bit more rolly than it had been previously. A SE swell had found us, indicating a change in the prevailing winds. I'm pretty sure every other boat anchored there left as well, some just went around the corner to the NE side of the island and others, like us, headed for other places. We decided to fight the light SE winds and head SE for the very protected harbour of Puerto Escondido.

We left Isla Coronados at around 8:45 AM, had our sails up within a few minutes and sailed for 6 straight hours in winds of between 4 and 8 knots, close hauled on just four tacks all day, making our way southward. As we neared Escondido, the wind started freshening up and we soon found ourselves punching into heavier seas and up to 20 knots of wind, coming of course from exactly the diretion we wanted to go. We had to hurry and close all the ports down below before the spray got too boisterous. With about 5 miles to go, we took in our Genoa and started the engine and motored into the wind and waves until we rounded Punta Coyote and made our approach into the harbour. All in all, we traveled about 26 miles on this 19-mile passage.

The harbour at Puerto Escondido is entered from the SW. First is a moderate-sized anchorage area filled with quite a few private moorings and a bit exposed to southern winds, known as the "waiting room". Next is a very narrow entrance channel with only about 9 feet of water and subject to currents (about 1.5 knots going with us as we entered). There is a small, semi-circular, shallow harbour here which is always full of boats anchored in very close quarters; then you pass a breakwater and enter the main harbour - a huge, completely land-locked bay with a small marina (can handle about a dozen boats) and about 112 permanent mooring balls, plus some room around the edges for boats to anchor. These moorings are basically first-come first-served and a fee is charged at the marina. Because of the upcoming festival (Loreto Fest), I guess they are taking some reservations as well, but we just grabbed a mooring and hoped for the best. Since by the time we were moored, it was 5:00 PM and the office was closed, there was little we could do about it anyway.

The real excitement for the day was our attempt at grabbing a mooring ball. At the best of times, this has always been a challenge for us. Somehow, I have to get the boat close enough to the mooring for Susanne to use our boathook to grab the float and rope connected thereto, and keep it stationary long enough for her to get one of our lines strung through it and tied down to a cleat on deck. As we were attempting it this time, the wind was a pretty steady 17 knots and I was having very little luck putting the boat anywhere close to where I wanted it. In the end I think we were at it for almost an hour before we had some success. I'm sure we gave everyone in the harbour a lot of entertainment. To add insult to injury, as soon as we had the boat tied on securely, the wind completely died. There is no justice in this world!

Yesterday was Sunday but the office was open and we managed to pay for 10 days on the mooring, which will mean we will be here for Loreto Fest. As anticipated, they do have internet; however their big antenna has been knocked down by the wind and we cannot get any signal our where we are moored, even with our big Wi-Fi antenna. This being Mexico it is hard to say if and when this will be rectified. In case you are wondering, the cost for us staying on a mooring here is about $8.00 Cdn per day - as far as I know, the charge for anchoring in the harbour is the same. Currently the moorings are about 1/2 full. I suspect that this will change drastically as the week progresses - Loreto Fest starts on Thursday.

Last night we paid a visit, for cocktails, on a neighbor's boat - a nice big power boat with an ice-maker. We did not leave until well after dark and we had a great time trying to find our boat in the pitch-dark harbour - we neglected to turn on our anchor light as we did not think we would be gone that long. Thank you Barry for the loan of a flashlight.

Today, we shared a taxi with two other people and took a trip into the town of Loreto, where we had a walk around, a great lunch, and did some shopping for some luxury goods such as M&M's to replace our dwindling supplies of same. Tomorrow we may be off on a day-trip for some local sight-seeing. With any luck, my next post will have some pictures, as there is internet service if we lug the computer to the marina office or one of the local restaurants. We shall see...

{GMST}25|49.2|N|111|18.6|W|Puerto Escondido, BCS, Mexico|Puerto Escondido, BCS, Mexico{GEND}

Hiding from the wind

Isla Coronados, BCS, Mexico

We managed to go to shore a couple of days ago and discovered some interesting nature trails on the island, complete with signage explaining what we were seeing along the way. We started out on the walk to the volcano but gave up when we realized we were not very well prepared; we had on only our shorts and sandals and the trail had a lot of sharp, pointy plants lining the way, plus we were not carrying enough water for a serious hike. We thought we might go back another day. This is a very pretty island with a beautiful white sand beach and sand dunes. It is a popular place for boats taking tourists on day-trips from the nearby town of Loreto. Like many of the islands around here, it is a national park as well.

For the last two days, we have been confined to the boat as a strong north wind has made its appearance, making it a little rough for going to shore. Normally this would not stop us but with the outboard motor acting up, we are a little concerned if we end up having to row the dinghy against the wind - inflatable boats are not the best in those conditions. Our anchorage here is really good though, since we are on the south side of the island and have no big seas to contend with. As a result, more and more boats have been showing up, taking shelter along this protected coast. Last night we had around a dozen neighbors.

The weather has been a bit cooler and, for the first time since we left San Carlos, the skies have been cloudy. Don't worry though, it is still shorts and tee-shirt weather for us. Today, the skies have cleared and the sun broke through. The wind was still blowing this morning but has been easing off all day. Right now, around 4 in the afternoon, it is almost calm.

Tomorrow we will most likely head a little further south to the major harbour at Puerto Escondido. There is a big annual boating event called Loreto Fest starting next week at this harbour and the marina there is offering a discount on the moorings for the duration. We missed this party last year as we were too late coming north from La Paz, so this year we thought we would stick around and see what all the fuss is about. As a bonus, we should be able to pick up some internet in the harbour.

{GMST}26|06.1487|N|111|16.807|W|Isla Coronados, BCS, Mexico|Isla Coronados, BCS, Mexico{GEND}

Equipment update

Isla Coronados, BCS, Mexico

I suddenly realized that I have not talked about equipment failures since we left San Carlos. It goes without saying that if you cruise on a boat there will be failures - nothing designed for the marine environment will work for more than its warranty period, and anything that is not designed for the marine environment has probably voided its warranty by just being on a boat. Either way, equipment failures are a way of life for the average boater.

Having said that, we have been very lucky on this trip so far. On the crossing from San Carlos to Bahia Concepcion the only thing that went wrong is that the oil pressure gauge stopped working after running the engine for about two hours. The oil pressure warning buzzer was still ok and I did check to make sure that we had plenty of oil and the engine was not overheating, so overall this did not affect us greatly. After we were anchored in Bahia Concepcion, I traced the wires for the pressure sensor and made sure all the connections were secure. I could not find anything wrong and everything was good and tight - and now for some reason it has been working fine every since.

When anchoring for the first time in Bahia Concepcion, one of our depth sounders (the reliable one) could no longer find the bottom. Fortunately we have two separate depth sounders and the other one did not have any problem. After we were anchored, I determined that I had inadvertently dislodged the in-hull transducer for the depth sounder when I was storing some 2-liter Diet Coke bottles in the bilge. Easy fix - silicone to the rescue.

One good surprise has been how well our little Mercury 5-horse outboard has been working. After I gave it a little TLC back in San Carlos (just an oil change really), it has been a real trooper; starts easily and actually idles smoothly for the first time in its life - I can even get our dinghy, with just me aboard, to plane. Just yesterday I was commenting on this to Susanne, who agreed that it has never worked this well before. Of course, that was the wrong thing to say. We had angered the boating gods and they immediately got even. Minutes later, the motor started dying. Right now, it still starts easy and idles like a dream, but it as soon as you crank up the throttle, it dies. Probably a plugged fuel filter (no, I don't have a spare) or fouled carburetor jet, caused no doubt by me trying to use up the gasoline I purchased last year in San Diego - when will I ever learn! For now, we have just stowed the motor and are using oars - hopefully we will not have to row very far until I can get this solved.

Meanwhile, the mothership is on the move. After 3 wonderful nights at Caleta San Juanico (some nice hikes and more bocce ball on the beach), we have motored about 20 miles further south and are now anchored off the south shore of Isla Coronados. We might have stayed longer at San Juanico except that we could hear on the VHF radio that a lot of boats, especially power boats, were converging on the bay for some kind of party tonight. We prefer when things are nice and quiet. Here in the anchorage at Isla Coronados, there are only 4 sailboats including us; Perfect!

Isla Coronados is a small island, made up primarily of a single volcanic cone, rising to a height of 928 feet. There is a trail to the top if we feel really energetic tomorrow. We shall see...

{GMST}26|06.1487|N|111|16.807|W|Isla Coronados, BCS, Mexico|Isla Coronados, BCS, Mexico{GEND}

MV Sine Timore

Caleta San Juanico, BCS, Mexico

Once again the Sea of Cortez has turned our hardy sailing vessel into a motorboat.

Yesterday we left Bahia Santo Domingo at first light, around 6:45 AM, anticipating a nice, gentle north wind to waft us southeast. Alas, it was not to be. As we rounded the northern tip of Punta Concepcion, we found ourselves heading into a moderate east wind, around 8 to 10 knots right on the nose. We persevered until we were around the point and could turn to the SE to follow the coastline. As we approached the turn, the winds shifted to come from the SE, proving once again that age-old sailing adage that defines wind as "that which comes from the direction you want to go".

Being the diehard sailors that we are, we launched full sails and attempted to do some close-hauled sailing. We were able to sail for almost a full 1/2 hour at roughly 3 knots in a direction we did not want to go, until the winds died and we found ourselves crawling along in less than 5 knots of breeze. As we had a long way to go and could not waste any more time, we furled the headsail and turned on the iron genny. We motored at around 6.3 knots on very smooth seas for the rest of the day, arriving at Caleta San Juanico around 3 PM (Total distance was about 45 miles). We found ourselves a spot amongst the 8 to 10 other boats here and settled down to bake in the sun for a while. Temperatures over the last few days have been on the rise, hitting the low 30s for daytime highs. In this very protected anchorage with virtually no wind, it felt very hot.

Moments after we arrived, one of the neighboring boats dinghied over to invite us to a potato roast on the beach around 6 PM. Susanne put some potatoes in the oven to bake and created some sort of topping from our dwindling supplies of fresh produce. I got the dinghy pumped up and launched and we made it to the beach right on time. Bocce ball and good food was a nice end to a busy day.

This morning, we find that we are having our usual affect on the cruising fleet as a lot of the boats seem to be on the move, heading out for places unknown. Meanwhile we will stay put for today and explore this bay. Our cruising guide lists it as "one of the favorite cruising destinations in the Sea of Cortez for its assortment of beautiful beaches and geological formations, not to mention the superb hiking, snorkeling and fishing." We shall see!

One interesting note: When we were traveling northward last year, we did not stop here as the winds and seas at that time were quite boisterous from the SE, the one direction in which this bay has little protection. Instead, we had anchored around the corner in a little bay called La Ramada. Now we will get to see what we missed.

{GMST}26|22.13|N|111|25.81|W|Caleta San Juanico, BCS, Mexico|Caleta San Juanico, BCS, Mexico{GEND}

Going North to go South

Bahia Santo Domingo, Bahia Concepcion, BCS, Mexico

It is Wednesday, the day we thought we might start heading south. As a matter of fact, we have made a start - by going north of course.

You see, the problem with going south from Bahia Concepcion is the fact that you first have to get out of Bahia Concepcion. This means going north until you have exited from the bay, then curving slowly around to the east and ultimately to the south, going around Point Concepcion. This adds 2 or 3 hours to the overall trip. For that reason, and the fact that the prevailing winds have moved around and are now forecast to come from the SE for today and tomorrow, we have elected to just move 8 or 9 miles north within Bahia Concepcion and are now anchored in Bahia Santo Domingo, spitting distance from the point. This anchorage is pretty open to all directions except the east. Fortunately for us the winds are currently coming directly from the east and they are very light (around 10 knots).

Most of the boats that we were sharing the anchorage in Santispac with have left already. Most are going across the sea to San Carlos and were just waiting for the strong NW winds to abate. Our intention is to hang around here in Santo Domingo for another day, waiting for the NW winds to re-assert themselves (10 to 15 knots would be nice), then use them to push us south. As usual, we seem to be the only ones following this plan and we find ourselves completely alone again. I can't decide if we are just smarter than everyone else or have missed some crucial detail about the weather. A couple of other sailboats that were also heading south left early this morning - they waited until the NW winds were gone and took off to challenge the SE winds - I really don't get the logic! Plus the fact that the next logical anchorage south of here is one that is best visited during a north wind - totally exposed from the south and east.

Meanwhile, this Santo Domingo anchorage is a beautiful spot to spend some time. Dramatic shell-covered beach and striking red rock formations. The water is a lovely turquoise color and we can see clearly to the bottom - we are anchored in only about 17 feet of water. The anchor is well set and we have about 100 feet of chain out - we should sleep very soundly tonight. We will just have to wait and see what tomorrow brings...

{GMST}26|52|N|111|50.8|W|Playa Santo Domingo, BCS, Mexico|Playa Santo Domingo, BCS, Mexico{GEND}

Huddling for warmth

Playa Santispac, Bahia Concepcion, BCS, Mexico

It's almost as if winter has caught up to us.

The last few days have seen a significant drop in temperatures. Our nightly lows are hovering around 15 degrees, while the high yesterday only made it to 22. That may not sound really cold, but with a wind howling at a constant 15 to 20 knots, we are actually suffering from a bit of wind-chill. I have taken to wearing my jeans, and we have most of the ports closed, especially at night.

In spite of the cold weather the skies continue to be cloud-free, so the sun is shining all day. If it wasn't so windy, we would be taking the dinghy to shore and enjoying the great outdoors more. As it is, there was only one half day, last Thursday, when it was calm enough for us to travel any distance from the mothership. We made it all the way over to El Burro cove (about 1/2 hour each way) and we enjoyed a nice lunch at Bertha's restaurant, before high-tailing it back to Santispac, just in time for the afternoon north wind to start up.

On Saturday, we did make the trip to shore here, to partake of the Saturday night dinner and dance at Lupe's restaurant. One of our neighbors (Barry and Laurie on a powerboat anchored a little further out) came over earlier in the day in their huge dinghy. We thought maybe they were going to offer us a ride in to shore since our dinghy is so small and we were bound to get wet in the wind-driven waves. However it turns out that they could not get their engine to run at all and wanted to bum a ride with us instead. So later, the four of us had quite an adventure beating into the waves. Fortunately for me, I had to ride in the back of the dinghy to handle our outboard and was able to avoid the soaking that Barry and Susanne got riding up front. The ride back was quite a bit better, going with the wind in the pitch-dark moonless night. The event itself was a hoot - very well attended (probably around 50 people, all gringos). Barbecued ribs and all the trimmings including ice cream for dessert, for around 10 dollars a head.

Everyone in the anchorages here in Bahia Concepcion are staying put, waiting for a break in the strong winds in order to go somewhere else - most of them appear to be headed across to San Carlos to put their boats up for the season. We are of course waiting too - we want to head south; but not with 25 knots winds and the subsequent seas. We are hoping for a weather window on Wednesday (day after tomorrow). We have been here so long now that we seem to have attracted a flock of small birds who are treating our flaked mainsail as some sort of condominium - they are in for a rude awakening when we hoist that sail. Kind of nice waking up to their merry songs in the morning though.

{GMST}26|45.75|N|111|53.1|W|Playa Sanispac, BCS, Mexico|Playa Sanispac, BCS, Mexico{GEND}

Lazy Daze

Playa Santispac, Bahia Concepcion, BCS, Mexico

One of the great things about not having to be anywhere is the luxury of just sticking around when you find a nice place. Bahia Concepcion is such a place.  After 6 nights at Playa Coyote, we have finally moved on; but only a very little.

Our original plan was, after spending the Easter break here, to start heading south towards La Paz and on to the Mexican mainland coast south of Mazatlan. However, Bahia Concepcion is such a beautiful place and there are so few boats here that we are having a hard time tearing ourselves away. One of the deciding factors is that we keep hearing from the boats further south (via the morning radio nets) talking about how busy the anchorages are and how windy and rolly they have been. Why would we want to trade our idyllic anchorage for that?

We did move north a couple of miles two days ago, mostly because the forecasts are for strong northerly winds and Playa Coyote is quite exposed to winds from the NE. We now find ourselves anchored off of Playa Santispac, which is very well protected from winds from all directions except the SE. Yesterday and today have seen some gusty North and NW winds up to around 22 knots and we are quite happy with our decision.

We were here last July, much later in the season, when there was hardly anyone around and everything was closed. Right now, there are quite a few "gringos" in residence (they have homes along several of the beaches here), plus quite a few campers along the beach. This means that the beachside restaurant that was closed last July is now open. We had a late lunch / early dinner there today and will no doubt be back. The clientele is mostly Americans but there were a few Mexicans as well. Great, inexpensive food. Apparently they have a fancy dinner and dance on Saturday nights; maybe we will try it out.

Just to reinforce our decision to stay put for a while, we heard from a couple of boats that did leave the bay this morning. They all turned back except one that had left around 3 AM - they reported that the steady 20+ knot winds have kicked up some very sloppy seas and they were having a very uncomfortable passage. Right now we have about 9 boats in the anchorage (the most we have seen so far). Lots of room though - this anchorage could easily hold 30 or 40 boats. The forecast for tomorrow is for slightly less wind, returning to stronger winds the day after - all from the north. What we are seeing is the affect of a couple of cold fronts that have hit the west coast of the U.S. Our temperatures have dropped from the highs of 35 a couple of days ago to around 26 now. It is actually cool enough at night (maybe 17 degrees) for us to want a blanket. Such a tough life!

One of the bonuses of these north winds is that the boat faces north most of the time, which keeps a lot of our solar panels exposed for most of the day, and the days are getting longer too. This all means that we have had plenty of power for such luxury items as a nightly movie. We have run the engine a few times for about an hour each time, mostly to allow us to run the water maker for extended periods of time (our tanks were not full when we left San Carlos and I would like to remedy that) and to generate some hot water for the ultimate cruising luxury of hot showers. Suddenly all that trouble and expense of putting in that new water heater back in Mazatlan last year seems like a very smart move.

In summary, we basically do not have a clue of how long we will be here. We have lots of diesel and a huge amount of food. We will just take it day by day for now.

{GMST}26|45.75|N|111|53.1|W|Playa Sanispac, BCS, Mexico|Playa Sanispac, BCS, Mexico{GEND}

The Coyotes are howling

Playa Coyote, Bahia Coyote, Bahia Concepcion, Baja California Sur, Mexico

A great passage across the Sea of Cortez, back to the Baja peninsula.

We left the dock at Marina San Carlos sometime after 8 AM yesterday morning. After a short stop at the fuel dock (we used only 263 liters of diesel since we fueled up in Santa Rosalia last July), we exited from San Carlos Bay at precisely 9 AM.

This is actually a bit early in the morning for leaving on this crossing of only 87 miles (we didn't want to arrive at the approach to Bahia Concepcion at night) but we figured this would allow us to sail more, even if the winds were light, as we had lots of time in hand. As it turned out, our plan worked wonderfully. Even with only 6 to 8 knots of wind, mostly on a close reach, we were able to sail steadily at between 3.5 and 4.5 knots, using our favorite combination of a double-reefed mainsail and a full Genoa. A lot of the time, we were deliberately trying to sail too close to the wind in order to slow the boat down, so as not to arrive too early. When the wind died to the point that we could not maintain our heading, we did motor, but at very minimal RPMs in order to keep our speed below 3.5 knots. In all, we sailed for over 14 hours and motored for about another 12 - what we would call a very successful trip. The seas were really smooth too, probably less than 1 foot of swell - no fear of the crew being sick on this crossing.

On the way, we had our closest ever encounter with a whale. Just as the sun was setting, Susanne spotted a whale crossing our path up ahead. We were sailing quite slowly at the time and were no threat to him. However, he must have got curious about us and he turned to meet us and passed across our bow and along our starboard side about 5 feet from the boat. This was not a really huge whale, maybe about 1/2 the size of the boat, but still quite an experience for us. Other than that, the only wildlife we saw was a couple of sea lions floating along the surface, and I heard a few dolphins around the boat in the middle of the night, although I could not see them in the dark.We arrived at the entrance to the huge bay of Bahia Concepcion around 9 AM and made our way to the largest anchorage in the bay, at one of the smaller inner bays called Bahia Coyote, anchoring along with 3 or 4 other boats, just off Playa Coyote (Coyote beach).

Today is the start of the huge Mexican holiday of Semana Santa, a week-long celebration that closes pretty much everything down from today (Thursday) until Sunday. The beaches here in Bahia Concepcion are packed with tents, trailers, cars and partiers. There is a lot of boat traffic, fishing boats, banana boats, water skiers, jet skis, kayaks, etc. And as the evening comes on, so does the music and laughter from the shore. Should be an exciting few days. This holiday is one of the reasons we wanted to get away from San Carlos when we did. Talking to some of the locals, it sounds like it gets pretty manic there, with the Marina (even most of the washrooms) closed, our favorite coffee shop running on 1/2 days and with a lot of strangers wandering around the marina - security can be an issue.

We are not sure how long we will stay here - at least a couple of days.

{GMST}26|43|N|111|54.1|W|Bahia Coyote, BCS, Mexico|Bahia Coyote, BCS, Mexico{GEND}

Adios San Carlos

San Carlos, Sonora, Mexico

Looks like it is finally time to blow this joint.

The nasty storm (wind?) front has passed us by and we are in for a few days of calm seas and light winds (hopefully not too light). We were testing out our computer interface to our sailing instruments to monitor the wind speed here in the marina over the last couple of days, We saw winds gusting near 30 knots at the dock - it is probably not as bad out at sea because I am sure the surrounding hills funnel the winds into the marina. We probably should have left today to take advantage of these winds but, while we like some wind, we do not like the larger wave action that goes along with it, especially when we have not been sailing for over 5 months - our sailing skills, such as they are, are a little rusty.

Yesterday and today we have been finishing off our provisioning for the upcoming months. We left the produce run until today to get the freshest possible fruit and veggies. The Santa Fe market is surprisingly well stocked for such a small store. We still have time for a couple more last-minute runs to the store, if we think of any last-minute must-haves.

Tomorrow morning we will make an early start, stopping first at the Pemex station for some go-juice. Looks like a pretty easy gas station - even I should be able to dock without tearing down any signage this time.

Sine Timore - Eager for action!

Note: If anyone is trying to get in contact with us, you will have to resort to our "sailmail" address as I doubt we will have any Internet access in the near future.

{GMST}27|56.8825|N|111|03.3573|W|San Carlos, Sonora, Mexico|San Carlos,Sonora, Mexico{GEND}

That's the way out of here - head towards those peaks and turn left...

Best Laid Plans

San Carlos, Sonora, Mexico

We are scheduled to leave the dock here tomorrow morning.

Here comes the bus to San Carlos

For the last few days we have been making trips to the local grocery stores (a brand new Santa-Fe market has opened just a block away from the marina and a new Leys Express within walking distance).  We also took the bus into Guaymas to get a few things at Walmart that are not available in the local stores, and bought a bunch of fish, shrimp and scallops off the back of a pickup truck here in the parking lot. At this point, we are well provisioned for a couple of months.  I have re-patched the dinghy and am ready to put it to the test.

Suddenly the weather has turned against us.  After 10 days of predictable calm mornings and light afternoon winds, a big blow is forecast for tomorrow - 30 knot winds and big seas!  So chances are we are not going to leave in the morning.  I have talked to the marina and they say they can fit us in somewhere for a few more days - the dock we are at right now was reserved for a big boat supposedly coming in tomorrow so we can't stay there.  Of course it is Sunday today and it is difficult to get any firm answers about anything until tomorrow.

Just to break up the monotony, this cool-looking catamaran docked next to us for a single night.  We have never seen such a rig before - a two-masted Cat-rigged catamaran.  And to top it off, it is a 36 foot boat that folds it's 24-foot width onto an 8-foot wide trailer.  I couldn't resist going over and lending a hand with the haul out, just to see how this all works.

{GMST}27|56.8825|N|111|03.3573|W|San Carlos, Sonora, Mexico|San Carlos,Sonora, Mexico{GEND}