Please don't click on the Bit-ly link sent previously. Apparently my blog was hacked. Trying to secure it now.
Jane
Please don't click on the Bit-ly link sent previously. Apparently my blog was hacked. Trying to secure it now.
Jane
After two nights offshore crossing from the Baja, we anchored in Mazatlan for a night on June 7th, then made our way down the mainland coast, stopping in San Blas and La Penita along the way before landing in Punta Mita (our home anchorage). The big excitement on the passage was using the autopilot the whole way across. We weren’t sure what would happen if we turned it off, so we opted to wait until we were almost there to try turning it off. If it wouldn’t turn off, we would have been pulling out fuses and we weren’t sure if that would lock the steering….. Luckily, we didn’t have to find out, because the button decided to function at the end of our trip, so we were able to turn off ‘Autodude’ and switch to hand steering to get in to the anchorage 😉
Happy to be able to hand steer again after Autodude fixed itself! |
We had some nice winds for sailing during our crossing and along the coast here. Even got out my favorite sail – the mizzen staysail (aka ‘the Buddah’ for its fat little belly) for our last leg in to the La Cruz Marina the other day! We’d been lamenting the lack of good sailing winds on the Baja side, and so from Mazatlan to Banderas Bay we made the most of the daily thermal winds trying to sail on and off our anchor each day. We were briefly happily anchored in Punta Mita – but within a few hours the winds piped up from the wrong direction and we had a really rolly, rough night at anchor. The comfort factor, combined with the forecast of thunderstorms the next night, helped us decide we’d better get in to the marina, so here we are back in the slip at the La Cruz Marina. Full Circle once again!
Flying along using our Jib and Mizzen Staysail |
The warmth of the waters on this side was really surprising after the cool waters of the Baja– it is 84 degrees F in the water here! Surfing in just a bathing suit—Yay! Been doing a little surfing here and there – while in Mantachen Bay there were tiny tiny waves, so I braved it to try to surf on the standup paddleboard, and actually caught a couple of fun rides. Even when that wave is 6 inches high, you can ride it a looooooong way, so it was fun! Today I caught some ankle biters out at my favorite Punta Mita break, El Anclote. And Tim had some fun little waves (somewhat larger than mine) at one of his go to breaks.
Punta Mita Sunset |
Since we’ve been back we have been busy catching up with friends and trying to surf most days. The weather is changing, and we had the first big rain/thunderstorm here the other night, with more predicted later this week. Still hoping for a good southwest swell to hit while I am here so I can catch some real waves at El Anclote. Making our plans for the rest of the summer….. I will stop in Seattle and New York before heading back to St. John – planning those travels sometime in July.
Below I’ll include a couple pics from along the way. From one of our last Baja anchorages …. Close up encounters with the sea lions and what we think were baby seagulls and roosting Great Blue Herons at Caleta Lobo near La Paz.
Island of Jaltemba |
Osprey! |
For some excitement yesterday afternoon we trolled by an offshore rock off the tip of Cerralvo Island (Tim was also scoping it out for free diving). We caught another Bonita and let it go. Meanwhile in the excitement of landing the fish I forgot to slow the engine and overpowered our autopilot and now it won't shut off! We are managing with workarounds and Tim has figured out a fix. Thank goodness for his electrical skills and understanding of the autopilot system!
Late afternoon we had a visit from a pod of dolphins leaping completely out of the water right next to the boat! And what looked like a mom and baby were surfing our bow wake as I watched over the bow rail. So cool! We had never seen that kind of display so close before.
Last night at sundown we were circled by a brown booby (bird) who spent the night on our bow rail. He looked like a juvenile. Tim tried to give him the flying fish which landed on deck overnight but he just looked at it. After he was gone several hours he returned hoping to hitch a ride again but Tim shooed him off figuring he needs to learn to fly😋(and cuz we don't want any more poop on our deck.
Ok my turn to head back on deck for watch. Will update when we reach next destination.
Hola Amigos,
We left La Paz Saturday AM and spent a lovely night in Caleta Lobos, listening to the sea lions on the offshore rocks. Yesterday we spent all day making our way south – sailing, then motoring, then sailing, then motoring again. Instead of anchoring at our intended destination, Los Muertos, we ended up at La Ventana because we wanted protection from a SE swell that was running. It's a lovely long sandy beach that the windsurfers and kite surfers use for launching into the channel here between Cerralvo Island and the Baja Peninsula. Had a peaceful night here until 3 AM when the winds picked up from the NE and we got up and studied our weather forecasts, and determined that if we didn’t start making the crossing today back to mainland Mexico, it could be a while before we would have any favorable winds to get across. With the first tropical depression already making its way WNW off of southern Mexico, we decided it was best to just get going. So we are off! Will be heading for Mazatlan, San Blas, or Isla Isabela, whatever makes most sense given winds…. Should be about a 2 -3 day crossing.
Since my last post, we’ve gotten to do some sailing, snorkeling and surfing – in between trips back to the marina to complete our engine repairs. First we headed north for a week in the Sea of Cortez. Isla San Franciso and Bahia Amortajada were highlights. The water was cold, but we managed with our shorty wetsuits. We finally got some crystal clear water for a day – saw the anchor at 25 feet, and had some really nice snorkeling – seeing bigger fish and more varieties, as well as some healthy corals (although I am also seeing what I think might be some coral disease).
Isla San Francisco
At our first stop, Tim was checking the engine to see if the oil/transmission fluid leak repairs were holding up…. And he sees this big hole in the side of the transmission, and a large bolt down in the bilge. Uh-Oh! So we didn’t want to go further north without having the mechanic’s input. So, back to the marina. On the way back to the marina we had a nice day sail – catching several Bonita (a dark meat tuna which we don’t like so we let them go).
Once back in the marina, Tim got right to work with the
mechanics again, and they were able to get a longer bolt which seems to be
working so far! Fingers crossed.
Since we were in the
marina, we checked the swell report, and saw that there would be waves over on
the Pacific side. So we decided to leave
the boat again, and do another road trip to a different surf spot -- ~6 hours
away. We’d been hearing of Scorpion Bay (San Juanico) for years – it is world
famous for its long rides – if all the points connect, it can be over 1.5 mile
long ride we hear. We were worried about
crowds, and it did get a bit crowded (25 – 35 surfers at one break) – but we
hear it can be much worse when better swells hit in the summer. It was quite the surf scene – surfers camped
all along the coastal cliffs, overlooking the various point breaks. I surfed at 2nd point, while Tim
got waves at 2nd 3rd and 4th points on various
days. We met several folks that had surfer friends in common – it was a small
world experience for sure!
Meantime, we did have fun hosting our new friend Fiona and
her pooch Waka on the boat for a night.
Almost Full Moon at Caleta Partida |
Sea Caves back of Espiritu Santo |
Transmission is out! Off to the shop for new seals! |