Downwind ride

Acapulco, Guerrero, Mexico

An unexpected roller-coaster ride.

I checked the weather forecasts with the usual Internet sites before we made our 2nd attempt at leaving Zihuatanejo.  Tuesday, the day of departure, was to have the strongest winds, from 10 to 13 knots, diminishing to less than 7 knots overnight.  As we pulled up the anchor at 8:30AM, we were prepared for a long day of listening to the engine drone.

As expected, the wind was dead calm and the seas were flat - we motored for the first 5 hours.  Around mid-day, the winds piped up a bit and by 1:30PM there was enough to allow us to launch the Genoa and kill the engine.  For the next few hours we had a lovely beam reach (almost directly downwind).  At first we were making about 4 knots, then as the wind freshened to the predicted 10 to 13 knots, we were making closer to 5 knots - pretty much ideal.  We saw a little wildlife, a couple of turtles and a few dolphins.

But the winds didn't stop there. By late afternoon, the winds had increased to a steady 20 to 25 knots from the NW.  The combination of the NW wind-driven waves and the SW swell combined to give us some very lumpy seas, at times with some truly impressive waves (probably in the 10 to 12 foot range) hitting us on our starboard quarter and giving us a lot of corkscrewing action.  Susanne was not impressed however and by 6PM she was down for the count - she went below and did not emerge until sunrise.

Meanwhile I had an exhilarating sail.  With only the Genoa, we were making a good 6 to 6-1/2 knots, occasionally topping out at over 7 knots.  The ride was not comfortable but at least we were dry (no water over the bow or sides of the boat).  This wind persisted through most of the night (with an almost full moon and clear sky, the visibility was good) - more moderate after midnight, closer to 15 knots, which still gave us a boat speed of between 5 and 6 knots.  The only problem with this speed was that we were going to arrive much too early at our planned destination at Acapulco.  At around 3AM, I reefed in about 1/2 of the Genoa to slow us down.  Then promptly at 4AM, the wind shifted to come from the NE and almost died.  I just let us slowly drift at under 2 knots for the last few hours so we would not be coming into Acapulco in the dark.

The boat report card for the passage:  Overall a good performance.  The alternator worked as promised - not as much power as the one it replaced, but adequate.  The autopilot got a real good workout, constantly tweaking the wheel as we plunged through the waves - no issues there.  Of course, everything can't be working OK at the same time - after the first few gallons, the watermaker just stopped making water - I have no idea what the deal is with that!

Originally we were not going to stop in Acapulco at all, a big city (over 1 million people) with reportedly not much in the way of amenities for visiting boats.  However, it is really the only stop you can make between Zihuatanejo and Huatulco, which would be a 3 night passage otherwise.  At first, we were going to just anchor overnight in a nearby bay at Bahia de Puerto Marques, but talking to another cruiser we met in Z-town, they told us that La Marina Acapulco, which had a reputation for docks that were in various stages of disrepair, had just installed some new docks last year.  I was able to get a reservation via the Internet for our boat without any problem and it was not even all that expensive (about $56 a night).  It looks real nice, and is almost filled with big power yachts, but it still does not have any working showers (very disappointing) and the water is not drinkable.  The up side is that it is located within walking distance of downtown, where all the action is - if you know us, you know how we love to dance the night away at swinging discos.

Do we look a bit outclassed here?

Today, after we checked in at around 10AM, we had to make the long trek to the Port Captain's office.  It is over by the cruise ship dock, which is almost right next door.  However, the road, a major traffic artery, takes a long winding route around the bay, and it is almost completely impassible for pedestrians due to the ongoing construction.  Acapulco will be real nice if they ever get it finished!  Instead of taking a taxi, we did walk and eventually found the office, stopping for lunch at a nice Italian restaurant in a busy square along the way.  We elected to take a taxi back the marina when we were all checked in, as we were both wiped out.  Note that most of the taxis here are VW beetles - brings back a lot of memories for me.



Someday, I hope to have my own cruise ship too.

Our initial impression of Acapulco?   It is a big, hot, humid city, teeming with life. I think it would be a real pity to have missed out on seeing it when we were going to be so close.  We plan to stay for 3 nights, then make the 2-night passage to Huatulco, where we will await our weather window to tackle the biggest challenge on this coast, the dreaded Tehuantepec (more about that later).  For now, I just want to get some sleep!

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