Fowl weather

Bahia Coyote, BCS, Mexico

After a much more restful night, we were up at dawn for a 7AM departure from La Ramada. When I first went on deck to set the topping lift on the mainsail, I bumped into a Pelican who had made a roost out of our bimini - we both just about had heart attacks! From the mess he left behind it is obvious he was sitting up there all night, right over Susanne's head as she was sleeping in the cockpit under the bimini. Thus I blame her entirely for the fact that she let him stay there.

We had a long day, motoring all the way in light SW and SE winds, making the 50+ mile passage into Bahia Concepcion and our anchorage for the night at Bahia Coyote, by 4:30PM. We did have the mainsail up for the entire trip and even used the genoa for a while when we thought it would help our speed. Right now, with the bottom of the boat covered in marine growth, we are lucky to maintain 5.5 knots for any length of time.

During the trip, a small group of Boobies (big brown, stupid birds) kept landing on out pulpit. They had a tough time of it trying to keep their balance as we were rocking and rolling to the quartering seas, but they were determined to hold on to their positions. They are impossible to intimidate - the only way you can get them off is to walk up them and push them off the rail, and then they just come back again anyway. Eventually, after about 5 hours of this, they got tired of the whole game and left for better places, leaving another mess on the bowsprit as a going away present for us.

We did see a moderate sized pod of dolphins but they were going the other way and did not seem interested in us.

We are anchored here along Playa Coyote (Coyote beach) where a lot of the local families camp out and swim and have fires on the beach, etc. Last night one of the buildings was hosting a karaoke session - bad singers come in Spanish flavors too.

We plan to hang around here for the day, then maybe check out some of the other anchorages close by, all contained within Bahia Concepcion, the largest sheltered bay on the eastern coast of Baja California. The bay is almost 22 miles long and 2 miles wide at its narrowest point. There are a few other cruisers around, pretty spread out so there is certainly no crowding this time of year.

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