Friday Jan 4,
2013 “Its bad luck to depart on a
Friday”
There are many sailing superstitions and one is “Its bad
luck to depart on a Friday.” However, I
was long overdue to move on from La Paz, so after completing my vast
pre-departure list I set sail from La Paz to Ballandra Bay just about 2 hours
before sunset. I justified my Friday
departure by thinking “I’ve delayed departing too long already” and “I’m just
moving to another anchorage” and “actually departing the area the next day,
Saturday.”
La Paz is such a wonderful town and has been my base for the
month of December. Marina de La Paz has
also been good to me as a hub of security, information and cruising friends.
However the days are getting colder and more windy, and my time to explore
before beginning the return home is down to less than one month. So I have decided to head to the warmer
cruising grounds of Banderas Bay and Puerto Vallarta where it’s warmer and
hopefully I will finally be able to do some surfing. The down side is that its another 250 miles
downwind of Cabo San Lucas which is that much longer to return to San Diego.
Mariah and I are motoring into 15 knot headwinds as we
depart La Paz. The weather forecast is for 15-20 knot northerlies for the next
few days which makes for a rough ride due to the steep chop in the Sea of
Cortez. I figure we’ll head to Ballandra
Bay and see how the winds are. When I say “we”, I mean Mariah and I which means
this will be my first solo crossing of this length (over 300 miles from La Paz
to Puerto Vallarta in 3-4 days).
Needless to say, I am honestly quite nervous about this new adventure. I’ve felt so comfortable in La Paz and the
local islands that I am also home sick for these areas, and nostalgic for the
good times had with friends and family.
As I pull into Ballandra Bay in the pitch dark, I find it appropriate
that the bay is empty, just as when I arrived on my first visit on the way to
La Paz. I drop anchor close to “mushroom
rock” for the last time. It was a cold,
windy and bumpy night so I was unable to sleep outside in the cockpit as I had
done with my daughter Maya the week before.
I had a poor night sleep between nerves and the bumpy night but I
appreciated having the bay to myself and giving “thanks” for the many memories
of good times in my favorite scenic bay.
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| La Paz Whale Statue |
Heading South, Saturday Jan 5, 2012
Mariah and I departed Ballandra Bay at 8 am with light winds
but I put 2 reefs in the mainsail in anticipation for higher winds. We passed through the San Lorenzo Channel
named for one of the many ships claimed by the reefs before the channel was
charted and marked. Sailing south in 15
to 20 knots in choppy seas we passed inside of Cerralvo Island which is about 7
miles from La Ventana on Baja’s Southeast cape known for high winds and
windsurfing/kite boarding. In fact, I
was surprised to be passed by about 10 kite boarders split into 2 groups which
appeared to be crossing this windy, choppy, and somewhat desolate channel. They seemed more comfortable in these
conditions than I but at least they were not alone.
I found that my anxiety and loneliness on departure was
giving way to an appreciation of the beauty of this desert landscape. Unfortunately, it was too rough to fish so I
spent the day saying goodbye to Baja as
we left the peninsula behind. I was also
somewhat seasick so was unable to read but watched some DVDs into the
night. I was sure to check for traffic
every 15-20 minutes but was able to nap as we left land later that night. I noticed only one other boat at night once I
was out at sea that night.
"Out in the Big Blue",
Sunday, Jan 6, 2013
Sailed about 120 miles in the last 24 hours which is good
for little Mariah. We are well out of
sight of land so it is just water, wind, and chop as far as the eye can
see. I’m getting into a rhythm of
snacking on bland foods, reading, watching DVDs, checking the conditions and
course, listening to music and taking in the natural beauty. We have only
traveled about 1/3 of the passage but it already seems to be warming up.
We are averaging 5 knots with the swell pushing us up to 7
knots. We are still sailing downwind in
15-20 knots of wind with only the main down to its second reef. It’s
still rolly conditions but I think its improving. The wind is suppose to
moderate tomorrow but it usually takes the chop another 24 hours to settle…so
they say.
This forced quiet time takes some getting used to but I
think I’m starting to get the hang of it. I do miss all those important to me
but “absence make the heart grow fonder.”
I have no way to communicate while at sea but left a “sail plan” with Vinnie
and will contact her as soon as I reach my destination.
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| Ken gets appetite back for tuna fish sandwich |
“Where has all the wind gone?” Monday,
Jan 7, 2013
It seems that there is either too much or too little wind.
We have sailed dead downwind the last 2 days in 20 knots of wind and 3-6 foot
seas with close period (bumpy ride). However about 3 am this morning the wind
began to decrease and our 4-5 knot pace was decreased to 3 knots and less. So,
about sunrise I dropped sail and began motoring at 4.5 knots. I considered the
spinnaker but the wind was too light. I
ended up motoring all day and night. One
advantage of motoring was the endless electricity and hot water for washing
generated by the engine. I was able to
turn up the fridge, charge the computer and watch DVDs without worry of running
down the batteries. The downside of
running the engine was the noise and diesel fumes which didn’t help settle my
stomach.
While trolling for fish, we motored through a school of
dolphins which jumped at the bow long enough for me to capture them on video. I never grow tired of these guests. Soon after the dolphins left, both my fishing
reels started being stripped of line at a fast rate until both lines broke off
at the poles. I should have stopped the
boat right away to decrease the pull on the line but was kinda freaked by all
the action. I felt sick that maybe I hooked
2 of the friendly dolphins. However,
soon after a fish jumped in the distance, so hopefully it was a big marlin and
not a dolphin I hooked. There seemed to
be a lot of activity in that specific area including dolphins, birds, and
jumping fish.
At dusk we approached Islas Las Marias which the guide book
described as “the forbidden prison colony islands.” I passed them in the dark about 15 miles to
the south instead of the required 20 miles due to my route. The first of the 3 islands had a flashing
light on top of the mountain and one at each end. There were also several
lights at each end of the island identifying human activity. With fears of prisoners escaping by raft and
commandeering Mariah I considered turning off my running and steaming lights
but figured the odd of being run over by another passing boat was much greater.
These islands are about 60 miles off the mainland and made me think of Alcatraz
and the island prison colonies described in the book “Papion.” The evening was
pitch dark due to the cloud cover obscuring the stars and I could barely see
the horizon. I was spooked yet curious about the conditions
on these “forbidden prison colony islands.”
“LAND HO!!!” Tuesday, Jan 8, 2013
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| Safely at anchor at Punta Mita - (Thats not Mariah in photo) |
The wind picked up again this morning so we were able to set
sail and enjoy the quiet again. I began
with full sails wing and wing but soon reduced to 2 reefs in both sails as the
wind increased. There was cloud cover in
the am which led way to mixed sun.
We pulled into Banderos Bay about 2pm and stayed close to
the small islands of Las Tres Marietas to avoid a mid channel reef. This path added a few miles but I soon found
myself amongst several breaching whales which was both cool and scary at the
same time. I found that playing music
added to the show and reduced my fears of colliding with a whale.
Mariah and I anchored
at the Punta Mita anchorage at the NW corner of Banderas Bay. Banderas Bay is a large Bay measuring 15 by
20 miles in size with Puerto Vallarta positioned deepest in the bay to the
east. Mariah’s passage to Banderas Bay
from La Paz was about 350 miles which we completed in 3 ½ days, thus averaging
approximately 100 miles a day. This was
by far my longest solo passage which was equivalent to traveling ½ the baja
peninsula. I was well fed and well
rested on arrival. I do admit to
watching many DVDs along the way as a crutch to help pass the time.
While pulling into the anchorage I noticed “Autumn Wind” at
anchor who I know from the Baja Haha
as well as the Delta DooDah. So after anchoring and eating some dinner
I kayaked over to Autumn Wind and visited with Brian and Elizabeth. They have
been in the area for the last few weeks and shared their knowledge and experiences. It was great to arrive in a new location and
immediately visit with old friends. It
turns out that Punta Mita is a great anchorage with excellent anchor holding,
wind protection, and local surf spots.
So I plan to spend the next 2-3 weeks exploring Banderas Bay and
deciding my next move.
So Cheers from SV Mariah and Ken,
And best wishes to allJ
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