Having serendipitously discovered Internet access where it was least expected, I can update this here blog with some words on where we've been traveling since last Christmas.
26. Dec. 2009 – Boxing Day aka St. Stevens Day. 0700, raised anchor and crossed the El Mogote sand shoals, departing La Paz. Stopped briefly at the Pemex fuel dock outside the entrance to Marina Costa Baja for diesel, gasoline & potable water. Motored in light air north and then east through San Lorenzo Channel. Breeze filled, so sailed. Eastward approach to Cerralvo Channel in late afternoon led as usual to increasing NW winds to low 20s, bi-directional chop to 3'. Rounded the peninsula and anchored at Bahia de los Muertos (23deg. 59'N/109deg.50'W) without incident as darkness fell. 60 miles traveled.
27. Dec. to 29. Dec. 2009 – Southern crossing of the Sea of Cortez. Initial destination: Isla Isabela, 90 miles S of Mazatlan. Left Bahia de los Muertos in 12kt. NW breeze at 1030, quickly increased to high-20s with NW seas to 6' at 6 seconds. Compass heading was 130 so winds and seas were off aft port quarter – relatively comfortable. Foresail (genoa) was double-reefed; double-reefed main sail was prevented to starboard. We discovered that GB's re-routing of the Sailomat self-steering wind vane's lines – now, in accordance with the manual's instructions – make the Sailomat work like a champ. All hail the wind vane!
At 0718 on 28. Dec., wind quickly dropped to SE 8 kt. or less, then as day progressed varied in direction. Seas were calm. Motorsailed. After sunset wind increased again, now E 6-20kt. with choppy, rolly seas and intermittent rain. Radar adjusted to reflect less rain and more solid objects. Used pants & fleece shirts under foul weather parkas for first time in 2 years. Booby landed on masthead, damaging wind instrument but not destroying it completely.
29. Dec. Moderate winds & seas continued. Deferred Isla Isabela due to conditions, instead made further SE, for Punta de Mita anchorage in NW entrance to Banderas Bay. Full moon rose as night fell but was soon obscured by clouds. Wind lightened, so motorsailed into Banderas Bay using radar, GPS and binoculars as charts are inaccurate by about 1-1/2 miles & therefore completely unreliable for making landfall. Anchored without incident at Punta de Mita (20deg.46'N/105deg.31'W) on 29.Dec. at 2255. 342 miles traveled.
30. Dec. 2009 – Left rolly Punta de Mita anchorage for the somewhat-less-rolly-but-more-boat-wakey anchorage of La Cruz de Huanacaxtle in NE corner of Banderas Bay. 10 miles traveled. Holiday weekend & the small power boat traffic was intense. Topped off diesel tanks the next day at Marina Riviera Nayarit's fuel dock in preparation for next leg. Woke to New Year's fireworks all along Puerto Vallarta waterfront – good show.
1. Jan. 2010 – Left La Cruz on a Friday at 1955, bound for Cabo Corrientes intending to round it at 0200, with a forecast of calm conditions at that time. While raising sail using our deck lights, a small whale came to inspect, and swam directly under The Fox at a safe depth (for him and us) of 27'. Rounded Corrientes at 0140 on 2. Jan., about 3 miles offshore with N-NW wind at 6-12, NW swell 3'-4' at 6 seconds, light drizzle. Wind remained light and variable throughout the next day, coming from all directions at 10kt. or less. Anchored at Bahia de Chamela (19deg.33'N/105deg.06'W) on 2. Jan. 2010 at 1550. 90 miles traveled.
5. Jan. 2010 – Left Chamela's town anchorage to spend a night anchored off one of its bay's islands, Isla Colorado. Winds remained light and variable but S fetch seemed to be increasing as a very distant but very strong storm in southern Mexico's Bay of Tehuantapec continued. Snorkeling, dinghy fishing and beachcombing for seashells in Chamela Bay were all suboptimal though scenery was beautiful. Anchored facing in to swell, bow & stern anchors deployed. 2.25 miles traveled.
6. Jan. 2010 – Left fetchy Isla Colorado at 1020 under overcast skies and in variable breeze less than 3 kt. At 1600 encountered a low pressure cell with sudden increase to S-SW winds 12-22, with a building S chop and heavy rain reducing visibility to about 1/2 mile. Conditions began to ease and visibility thankfully improved as The Fox entered Tenacatita Bay. We made for the innermost (N) anchorage that appeared to have the best shelter. Indeed it did. Anchored without incident among several boats we knew – 19deg.18'N/104deg.50'W. 30.5 miles traveled.
9. Jan. 2010 – Still anchored in Tenacatita's inner anchorage. First day since 26. Dec. that we've seen clear skies.
10.Jan.2010 – Raised anchor to explore some of Tenacatita Bay's other anchorages. Motored to the bay's NW entrance and dropped a lunch-hook off Playa Escolleras to snorkel the reefs of "The Aquarium." The texture of the reef and the size of the schools of fish made the visit worthwhile. Clouds returned in the afternoon with a building surf, so lacking confidence in the Escolleras anchorage for overnight, we crossed Tenacatita Bay from NW to SE for the more protected anchorage of Tamarindo – that is, protected from the somewhat unusual SE breeze and swell resulting, it is said, from the storms that persist in the Tehuantapec hundreds of miles SE of us. In Tamarindo (19deg.16'N/104deg.48'W), The Fox is fairly comfortable with bow & stern anchors deployed. Total miles traveled: 8.75.
m
Leave a Reply