Mixed bag

Bahia Magdalena, BC, Mexico

Our trip from Turtle Bay to Mag Bay was a mixture of most every combination of sailing conditions that you could imagine.

The exit from Turtle Bay, around 8 AM on Monday was in very calm conditions, easy going except for having to dodge the many lobster traps that were set around the entrance to the bay; this is where our new autopilot remote control comes in handy (see the accompanying picture of a boy and his toy).

Once we were out of the bay and heading southward, we encountered a moderate NW swell, at a very bad angle to our optimum heading, causing the boat to rock and roll until Sue had totally succumbed to sea-sickness again - she has been much better for the last few passages, only sick occasionally, but we made up for it on this trip.  Still, she was able to do all of her watches, which is a great help to me.  By the 2nd day, she was somewhat better and even able to spend some time reading in the cockpit - always a good sign.

After the first few hours of motoring in non-existent winds, a NW breeze came up and we were able to sail downwind on a single tack, broad reached, gaining sea room for about 6 hours before I had to gybe back towards the shore.  After a couple of hours, the winds died again and we motor-sailed on into the night.  This on again, off again wind kept up throughout the rest of the passage, and since I wanted to maintain at least a 5 knot average speed in order to arrive in Mag Bay around noon, we ended up motoring for more than 30 of the overall 52 hour journey - good thing we have lots of fuel.  We passed or were passed by no less than 3 cruise ships during these two days.  Otherwise all we saw of traffic was a couple of far-off fishing boats and one mega-yacht, complete with helicopter, steaming its way to Cabo San Lucas.

For most of the trip, the seas remained choppy and the ride was rough.  At one point on the 2nd night, we had a brisk NE wind (about 15 knots) allowing us a beam reach with our double-reefed mainsail and full Genoa at speeds in excess of 7 knots.  Sue requested that I slow it down for her watch though, which I did by reefing in the Genoa somewhat and depowering till we were cruising along easily at 5.5 knots for several hours.

As we neared Mag Bay, the seas were much calmer although we actually encountered a headwind for a while and, almost predictably, had to plunge into a dense fog bank at the entrance to the bay.  Again, lots of lobster traps planted around the entrance - difficult to see in the fog.  Somehow, we managed to avoid them all and made our way northward in the huge bay about 5 miles, to anchor in Man of War Cove, just off the village of Puerto Magdalena. On the way to the anchorage, we passed a queer looking installation of some sort of aquaculture.  From the number of birds roosting on the structure we can only surmise that there is some sort of free lunch to be had there.

We were anchored around noon on Wednesday in a dead, hot, calm.  About an hour later, the wind came up and blew like stink for the rest of the day, prompting me to put out a lot of chain (175 feet in 30 feet of water) just in case it got worse.  Of course, as soon as I got the chain sorted out, the wind died completely and it has remained calm ever since.  This morning was picture perfect - dead calm, bright sunshine and very warm.  Sue baked some fresh biscuits and we had coffee and biscuits in the cockpit, watching and listening to the morning activities in the nearby village.  It almost feels as if we have finally arrived in the Mexico we have been seeking all this time.  Total distance for the passage was about 255 miles.

Tomorrow, we will be off for another overnight passage to Cabo San Lucas, about 155 miles further south, where I am sure we will find another completely different Mexico.  Note: we are now far enough east that we are officially in the Mountain Standard time zone again, just like back in Edmonton.  From the emails we have received from friends and family there, their weather is not so good, so I guess we have nothing to complain about.  Basically, life is good.

Addendum:  I had some great pictures to add to this entry but after about 3 hours getting only 1 result, I gave up - this connection is just too slow.  On the plus side, while I was waiting for them to upload, some nice folks on another boat at anchor here came by and gave us a ride to shore where we visited the local mini-market and picked up some tortillas, so it will be quesadillas for supper tonight.

{GMST}24|38.33|N|112|7.66|W|Puerto Magdalena, BC, Mexico|Puerto Magdalena, BC. Mexico{GEND}