Passages

Mazatlan to Baja

After spending one night in the marina in Mazatlan, we left with Aeolian at first light on Tuesday morning, April 4. We sailed and motor sailed north for nearly 50 miles, hoping to then head southwest and have favorable winds as we headed to Bahia de los Muertos. In the early evening, just before it was time to tack over toward Baja, we caught a fish. Once we tacked, we suddenly had challenging seas, stronger winds and a fish to deal with. I was frustrated because I was having trouble keeping the boat’s momentum up. We should have been able to sail fast in those winds, but the seas just kept slowing us down. As I fiddled with the boat, Kip heroically cleaned the fish and got it into the refrigerator.

Shortly after that, Aeolian called on the radio and suggested we turn our motors on if we didn’t want to see multiple sunsets at sea. So we motor sailed most of the rest of the passage. That night was a long one, with high winds and uncomfortable seas. But nothing broke and Kip had no complaints.

The next day was more of the same, although things always seem less intense during the day. We arrived in Los Muertos in the late afternoon and put the anchor down. After a good night’s sleep, we went with Jane and Jerry in their dinghy to shore and had lunch at the restaurant, mainly to use the Internet. Afterward, we walked along the beach before heading back to our boats. Jane and Jerry joined us for fish dinner that night on the boat.

The next day, we headed to Playa Bonanza, on the east side of Espiritu Santo. It was windy when we got there, but settled down by evening. We had dinner on Aeolian, because they had caught a fish that day. The next morning, I swam to shore and had a nice walk along the beach and over a saddle that revealed a beautiful view of the west side of the island as well as the anchorage we were in. We left around noon to motor sail through the shallow, narrow San Lorenzo Channel to the west side of Espiritu Santo. We anchored in Bahia San Gabriel, without knowing that anchoring was prohibited. We had a quiet day and snorkeled on a small reef there. In the evening, while Jane and Jerry joined us to celebrate Kip’s birthday, a Coromuel wind came up. It was just the beginning of a long night of high winds and huge wind waves. We couldn’t wait to get out of there, so the next morning we hoisted the anchor and sailed north to Caleta Partida, a more protected anchorage. There, we lounged around, swam a bit and then went over to Aeolian for cocktails with Ken and Dotty from Dream Weaver, after getting a tour of Dream Weaver’s onboard motorcycle.

Then next morning, we said a temporary farewell to Aeolian as Aldabra headed south to La Paz. We had light winds so attempts at sailing were futile. But when we entered the La Paz channel, we had lots of wind. So much so that I found it hard to find the entrance to Marina La Paz, and entering seemed risky in those winds. So I anchored right next to Redwood Coast II. Don then took me into the marina in his dinghy, where we discovered another boat in my assigned slip. After talking to the office to ensure that the boat would be moved, we went back out, pulled up anchor and entered the marina and our slip without any issues.

April 14, 2017 by
Passages

La Cruz to Mazatlan

Crew Kip joined Aldabra on Thursday, March 30. We set out on Saturday, April 1, anchoring for the night in nearby Punta de Mita. We pulled up anchor about 7:00 the next morning and rounded the point toward Mazatlan. We buddy boated the whole overnight trip with Mark and Stephanie on Wainui. The winds were pretty light and from the north so we sailed a bit, but mostly motor sailed. It was an uneventful but pleasant passage.

We arrived in the Mazatlan area on Monday morning and then slowed ourselves down so we wouldn’t enter the channel too early. We would ideally enter at high tide but that would have been a long wait. Motoring north along the coast that morning was very quiet and scenic. The water was glassy and we could study the coast and a few visiting seabirds. We ended up entering the channel around noon, which wasn’t a problem except for a tiny bit of surfing as we entered. (The channel to the north marinas is very shallow and very narrow.)

Jane and Jerry on Aeolian had arranged for us to have a slip at the El Cid Marina for the night. It was a bit windy as we first came alongside the fuel dock. After fueling up, we let the wind decide how we would back off the dock, turn around and enter our assigned slip. All went well. So we checked in, had a bit of lunch with Jane and Jerry and then took naps.

We had dinner that night with Jane and Jerry and Don and Bobbi on Sea Dancer in the old central part of Mazatlan.

April 14, 2017 by
People, Places

La Cruz

We arrived in the La Cruz Marina in the afternoon of March 22 and settled into our slip. I was delighted to find our friends on Wainui in the slip almost right across from us. We had caught a fish, a Sierra Mackerel on the trip up, so Derek cooked it up for dinner, and it was delicious. The next day we did a bunch of boat chores and minor fixes before cocktails on the boat with Catatude and dinner at La Cava with Cool Change, Wainui and Liahona. It was the farewell dinner for Derek and Liahona’s guests.

Derek left early Friday morning and I began taking advantage of the water available at the dock. I cleaned the clothes I hadn’t sent to the laundry, cleaned the outside of the boat and then tackled the inside of the boat, cleaning and reorganizing in preparation for the next leg. I was delighted that my friend Amy Bonetti and her husband Skip and their two friends came to the marina on Friday for lunch. Amy lives in Marin County and I hardly get to see her, so it was quite a treat to see her here in Mexico.

Saturday and Sunday were nice lazy days, punctuated by dinner with friends and the Sunday market, which is quite social and offers very good food. On Monday, I took the bus to Nuevo Vallarta and had a lovely day with my friends Manuel and Ann Carlos. Manuel and Ann usually spend several months a year in their condo in Nuevo Vallarta, but this year they needed to stay back in Corralitos, so I caught them during their only week here. We talked politics a bit, Manuel filled me in on some little-known facts about the historical relationship between the U.S. and Mexico, and both Manuel and Ann gave me an overview of their history with turtle conservation in Banderas Bay over the last 15 years.

Yesterday I finished more boat chores, took a trip up the marine supply store, and had dinner on the boat with Mark and Stephanie of Wainui. And today I spent a couple of hours making arrangements for some boat repair for tomorrow, and took the bus to Walmart for some provisioning.

My new crew, Kip arrives tomorrow afternoon. The boat repair (adding a stainless steel guard on the bow to guide the anchor safely into position) should be done by the time she arrives. We’ll then do some final provisioning on Friday, along with checking out of the marina and with the port captain. And then we’ll be off again, sailing north toward La Paz, probably by way of Mazatlan. Depending on the wind and weather, we’ll probably leave on Saturday or Sunday. It’s about a 30 hour trip from here to Mazatlan and another 40+ hour trip from Mazatlan to La Paz, with possible stops along the way once we get to the islands near the tip of Baja.

I can see why people arrive in Banderas Bay and decide not to go much farther. I feel like I never get to spend enough time here, and I’ve spent several weeks here since arriving in early December. But I am looking forward to getting to the Sea of Cortez.

March 30, 2017 by
Events, People, Places

Chamela

Aldabra left Zihuatanejo on February 25, with new crew, Derek, from the Sacramento area. We buddy boated with Rick and Cindy on Cool Change, who had introduced me to Derek via email. The two-night, two-day passage was very calm. We motored most of the way in glassy seas and light air. We saw at least 100 turtles and large pods of dolphins.

We arrived in the Manzanillo area on February 27 and anchored for one night in front of the famous Las Hadas resort. The next day we sailed to Ensenada Carrizal. We were the only two boats in the anchorage and had a wonderful day snorkeling. The next day we motored north to Barra de Navidad, where Aldabra had a three-day spa treatment. She was washed and waxed and polished and her bottom was cleaned. We stayed in Barra just short of a week, enjoying the company of cruiser friends, eating great tacos on the street and taking advantage of the pool at the marina. We also retrieved the outboard motor, which was being repaired while we were in Zihuatanejo.

On March 6, we sailed from Barra de Navidad to Tenacatita. We hung out with friends and made new acquaintances. We also visited the town of La Manzanilla and their crocodile reserved. Five days later, we headed north again, stopping first in the beautiful anchorage of Paraiso, which had nice snorkeling. Again, we were the only two boats in the anchorage.

On March 12 we moved north to Bahia Chamela and Playa Perula. My friends Todd, Laura, Carlos, Debbie, John and Cammy, have a house on the beach there. They flew down from the U.S. for about a week and a half and we were able to hang out with them. Highlights were the St. Patrick’s Day party with all their ex-pat friends, which featured an all-day bean-bag toss tournament, and the parade of little children on the first day of spring.

We were joined in Chamela by Aeolian, Dreamcatcher, Wainui and Liahona, among others. All of these boats, including Cool Change, headed north before we did. We finally set out on March 21, intending to do an overnight passage around Cabo Corrientes and on to La Cruz. The sailing was perfect for the first four hours. After that, we had 15-16 knot winds on the nose a huge seas. We ended up diverting to a cove called Ipala, which is south of Cabo Corrientes. We rested there from midnight to 6:30 a.m. and then followed Dreamcatcher around Cabo Corrientes in calm seas and light winds, arriving in La Cruz in the early afternoon.

Chamela residents on St. Patrick’s Day

The bean-back toss tournament

Chamela residents on St. Patrick’s Day

Winners and Second Place in the Bean-Bag Toss Tournament

Aldabra Crew Derek enjoying St. Patrick’s Day

Parade in Chamela for First Day of Spring

March 29, 2017 by
Events, People, Places

Zihuatanejo

During Sailfest, there was a parade of boats from Zihuatanejo to Ixtapa

Aldabra arrived in Zihuatanejo on February 1, after a two-night, one-day passage from Ensenada Carrizal, near Manzanillo. We were very sad to leave good friends, but looking forward to learning more about Sailfest, which provides an opportunity for cruising sailboats to help raise money to build schools for Zihuatanejo students who might not otherwise have an opportunity to finish high school.

The cruising community in Zihuatanejo is very welcoming. Minutes after we anchored, Tim Melville from Northwest Passage motored over in his dinghy to invite us to participate in the local radio net and get involved with Sailfest. Tim, along with his wife Donna, and Ken and Nancy Hunting on Gitane were tireless organizers of this event, which was supposed to last a week but ended up starting early and extending throughout the month. And they weren’t the only ones who were instrumental in the success of the event, which ended up raising 1.6 million pesos this year. Ken and Margie on Peregrina, and Rick on Eyes of the World had huge roles. And then most of the cruising boats were the key to the whole thing, because they volunteered their time, their boats and their fuel to take paying customers out on sunset cruises, a one-day rally and a parade. Several boats hosted more than 5 cruises each. The guests loved their experiences and everyone was thrilled to be having fun for a worthy cause.

Aldabra stayed at anchor during Sailfest. After 3 months on the boat, my crew, Dax, was ready to spend some time on land. So I crewed on other boats who needed an extra pair of hands. And that was really fun for me. I sailed twice on Wainui with Mark Coleman and Stephanie York. And I sailed twice on Chez Nous with Al Garnier. I also got to sail as a guest on Catatude with Tom Wurfi and his wife Helen. And I joined as a guest on Kya, a 68-ft luxury powerboat with Michael and Katie, Stuart and Georgia.

At the Helm on Kya

Several of us made an extra donation to Sailfest in exchange for having a photo taken at the helm of this beautiful boat with its very gracious crew.

In addition to raising money by taking people out on the boats, Sailfest had a chili-cookoff, a silent auction, a rock and roll concert, and a zillion raffles. We also got to go on a tour of one of the schools, which was just built last summer, I think in eleven weeks. In addition to being part of such a worthy cause, I loved getting to know the other cruisers and getting to know the land-based community, some of whom are here year-round working on organizing this charity and the projects it funds. As a final wrap-up, we were also treated to an afternoon on the beach in a beautiful setting south of Zihuatanejo, which ended with the release of hundreds of little turtles into the sea.

Participants in the school tour, learning about how the school was built and who it serves

During our tour of one of the schools built by the funds from Sailfest, we were treated to a performance of traditional dances and a play

During the school tour the students performed traditional dances

These were some of several pairs of students performing traditional dances

These high school students put on a play about life and the drug wars

Students hanging out during the tour

These were some of the contestants for the chili cook-off

Some of the contestants in the chili cook-off

Local Participants in the Chili Cook-Off

Chili Cook-Off Texas Style

Love these two chili cook-off contestants

Nancy and Ken from Gitane and Donna and Tim from Northwest Passage were key drivers of Sailfest

This was the turtle I coaxed into the sea

Thanks to the volunteers, all the baby turtles made it into the ocean, but some of them really struggled. Hopefully things got easier once they made it through the surf.

So things are quieter now. Many of the boats that were here have taken off to either the south or the north. A few of us remain. I have new crew arriving in a few days so I will then look for a weather window to go north. Others will stay here for Guitarfest, which is in early March.

I shouldn’t close this post about Zihuatanejo, without talking about the town. Like most of the coastal enclaves I’ve visited in Mexico, there are many retired Americans and Canadians, along with some Europeans. So often the only culture one senses is an ex-pat culture, not a true Mexican culture. Zihuatanejo is a tourist economy and sometimes I’m overwhelmed by the sea of gringos. But sometimes, like this morning, it feels like a Mexican town. As I walked through the market, I was there with lots of Mexican families, out for Saturday morning shopping and strolls through town. I had this same sense last night at the basketball court, which is the heart of town on weekend evenings, with Mexican families of all types, with kids of all ages, out enjoying what is essentially the town square. No wonder people are charmed when they come to visit and often end up returning each year, or staying permanently. One other thing to mention about Zihuatanejo is that there is an endless supply of good food and good music. I look forward to returning next year for Sailfest, and I expect Aldabra to be one of the boats taking guests out on cruises.

 

 

February 19, 2017 by
People

Santa Cruz Reunion

Three boats from Santa Cruz California in Barra de Navidad Lagoon

A few days ago, there were four boats from Santa Cruz in the little lagoon in Barra de Navidad. We don’t really know the people on one of the boats. But the other three boats gathered for a reunion on Aldabra. On either side of me are Anne and Don from Redwood Coast II and on the right are Anna and John from Lucia. We had a great time reconnecting.

January 25, 2017 by
Places

Barra de Navidad

Looking out at the town of Barra de Navidad

Looking out over the marina to the lagoon in Barra. Aldabra is in the lagoon

After motoring out of Banderas Bay, we had a nice sail south to Chamela, where we anchored in front of Todd and Laura Russi’s “disco” beachfront home. I’ll write more about Chamela in March when I return to visit while Todd and Laura are actually there. We spent a couple of beautiful days anchored in Chamela Bay. I put my scuba gear on to work on the knot meter wheel that had barnacles all over it. And I changed a couple of zincs on the prop shaft. Other than that, it was a nice place to swim and read and be lazy. Trying to get ahead of some weather, we then went to Tenacatita. Another beautiful anchorage. We joined Mark and Stephanie of Wainui and Jeff and Jules of El Gato on a dinghy ride up the estuary. Saw one crocodile and many birds.

Landing the dinghy on the beach in Tenacatita wasn’t that easy for someone who has not yet had a lot of practice. (Although I did join the club of people who have flipped their dinghy in the surf.) So we moved on after a couple of days to Barra de Navidad. We have easy access to shore either by dinghy or water taxi. The one drawback is that the lagoon is not a swim area. Other than that, this is a great place to be. There are two towns to explore, Barra and Melaque. Lots of good places to eat. They each have rather large outdoor markets once a week. And there are resources to get various chores done.

January 19, 2017 by
Gear and Preparation, Places

Getting Ready to Leave Banderas Bay

When my family came to visit in Banderas Bay, they brought some gear that I needed. So I’ve been able to replace a broken feedpump for my watermaker. With the help of my brother-in-law Brian, I was able to replace the faucet for the galley sink that had quit on me. And I’m almost ready to install new wheels for my new dinghy. We were about to install them before discovering that I need some metal pieces fabricated so that the wheels will fit on the dinghy. So those parts will be ready in two days, and then we’ll head south from Banderas Bay toward Zihuatanejo.

We plan to stop in Chamela, even though my good friends, Todd and Laura Russi, who have a home there won’t be there. (They were able to stop by the boat for the night on their way back to California and I’m hoping to see them in Chamela in March.) We also plan to stop in Tenacatita and Barra de Navidad before arriving in Zihuatanejo in early February.

After a few weeks in Zihuatanejo, I’ll start heading back north, aiming to get to the Sea of Cortez to spend the months of April, May and June there.

January 7, 2017 by
Places

Sayulita

My family on the beach in Sayulita

The throngs of people enjoying the holidays in Sayulita are overwhelming

While my family was visiting, we took a day to visit a few beach communities at the north end of Banderas Bay. We started by taking the bus to Punta de Mita, where we had lunch at the El Coral restaurant. Then we backtracked on the bus to Bucerias to catch another bus to Sayulita. We were a bit overwhelmed by the throngs of people, but we were glad we had a chance to walk around and see the town. Then we took a taxi over to quiet San Pancho for a cocktail on the beach as the sun went down. No one was looking forward to the long bus ride back to Nuevo Vallarta, so we were lucky to talk a taxi driver into taking us back.

January 7, 2017 by