 |
| Calm sunset at sea. |
Friday May 3, 2013 – Departing Banderos Bay for Cabo San
Lucas
Mariah is prepped,
groceries are stocked, so I guess its time to start heading home. There is
reportedly a “Southerly” arriving today which will help with the trip Northwest
back to Cabo San Lucas. Mariah and I
departed Paradise Resort Marina about noon after a checking out and taking a
final swim in the lovely refreshing pool before leaving(I had to slide down the
water slide 3 last times). I have so
many nice memories of Paradise Marina and Banderas Bay that it is really hard
to leave. I am feeling a bit lonely and
anxious about the long journey back to San Diego. This is by far the longest trip Mariah and I
have done alone. So I focus on the tasks
at hand and try to keep a positive outlook.
I know that in time I will get back in my “travelin groove” with Mariah
and things will work out.
 |
| Bananas on tree at Paradise Resort |
Our first stop is
the Marina at La Cruz to fill up on Diesel. The wind in picking up so set
sail but its not quite in the direction we want to go. We are passed by some
high tech black hydrofoil trimaran which I think has a NZ on the sail; it flaunts its high tech speed while Mariah
and I plug along at a more traditional pace.
As we leave the bay I say good by to my favorites of Banderas Bay:
Surfing at Punta Mita, strolling the streets of Sayulitas (not really in the
bay), exploring the narrow walkways of Yolapa, swimming at the Paradise Resort
pools and hot tubs, exploring the spooky Marieta Islands, hiking to the many
waterfalls and swim holes, enjoying the
flora and fauna, and sharing all of it with others. Again, its hard to leave such a cool place
but I was luck to have come this far which was further than originally planned.
As we leave the
outer edges of the bay around 5pm, we are greeted by nearby dolphins and
distant whale spouts. My heart is in my
throat but we carry on. The wind dies so
we motor through the night on a direct course to Cabo San Lucas about 300 miles
away.
 |
| Lovely flowers at Paradise Resort |
Saturday and Sunday
blend together with motoring over calm seas in the morning and some sailing
close hauled in the afternoon winds that die down after sunset. At night I nap and poke my head out for a
looksee every 1-2 hours. We only see 1 big cargo ship on the whole passage.
There is some radio chatter so boats must be within 25 miles but I cant see
them. We pass the prison island again at
dusk and again I am spooked but nothing come of it. It is nice to have some familiar land
features even if it is a penile colony.
 |
| Evening Visitor spent the night and left his mark |
I didn’t see much
in the way of wildlife on this passage except for the birds that would fly by
and check us out. One bird decided to
land on Mariah and hand onto the lifeline.
My first instinct was to scare it away but I didn’t mind the company. He ended up staying all night until I finally
shooed him away in the morning so I could clean up all his “gifts” of poop
before they dried in the sun.
I had lots of time
to read, snack, prepare meals, watch DVDs and take in the view. My anxieties decreased as the days went on
and things were going okay.
Mostly the passage
was either calm motoring or smooth sailing except for Sunday night when the
wind picks up to maybe 20 knots on the nose.
I put in 2 reefs in the main and jib and bounce along into the night
while watching movies. At least we are heeled such that Im pressed into bed and
the dinette and not falling out. The wind dies about 4 am so we motor the last
60 miles into Cabo by noon on Monday.
It felt great to
achieve my first goal in such a timely manner with the weather gods on my side.
Traveling 300 miles in 3 days and a pretty calm ride except for the last night,
not bad for Mariah and I. We seem to get
into a groove once the sails are set and tweaked to maximize speed. I planned to stay the night at Cabo Monday
night but while getting fuel another sailor reports the weather window stays
open just 2 more days before the headwinds pick up. So I take care of a few things and depart
Cabo by 3 pm heading NW towards Bahia Santa Maria. On our way out we pass 2 anchored cruise ships,
a multitude of jet skis buzzing around like fies, and throngs of happy tourists
in pangas and glass bottom boats visiting “Lovers Beach” and other local
beaches. It’s a beautiful sunny day but
while its warm in the sun, there is a bit of a chill in the air marking my
cooler path north.
 |
| Cabo San Lucas revisited |
Monday May 6, 2013 – Cabo San Lucas to Magdalena Bay
We motor sailing into a 10 knot breeze and mildly bumpy sea
as we depart Cabo San Lucas and pass by the famous arch. I hug the coast for the first few hours then
head off shore a bit of safety. I found
a dried out flying fish in one of the kayaks on deck. It must have been there a few days because it
was pretty stiff but interesting as its wings were deployed. After taking some photos I launched it back
into the sea like a paper airplane but alas it took a nosedive instead of a
graceful glide.
 |
| Flying Fish crash landed on Mariah |
We arrived in Magdelena Bay after 2 days of motor sailing.
There were 2 other sailboats in Man o war cove where the harbor master arrived
by panga where I filled in his registration book and bought 30 gallons of
diesel from gerry cans. Man o war cove is a small fishing villiage with a
distinct fishy smell from the millions of small dead red crabs that color the
water and beaches. I didn’t even go to
shore and just had a quiet, but stinky, night on board.
 |
| Man o war cove |
Thursday May 9, 2013 – Mag Bay to Bahia Santa Maria
Sailed all day from Man o war cove to Bahia Santa Maria. It
was a great downwind sail out of Mag Bay but long tack against headwinds to
Bahia Santa Mariah. I figured I had all
day to arrive at the anchorage so I tacked all day just to travel the 15 miles
to the bay. It was a long day but I
arrived at the anchorage in the afternoon and dropped the hook among 4 other
cruising sailboats and 2 big Mexican fishing boats.
Friday May 10, 2013 – Hiking and Surfing at Bahia Santa
Maria
Today I went for a hike up the hill with James on “Gold
Dust” (from San Diego), Chris on
“Swabby” (from Portland) and Brian and
Andrew on “INNcredible Sea Lodge”
(Sailing back from France on the new Lagoon 46 Catamaran). It was a great hike with views from above and
interesting shells and geological features in the gully. There were terrific “Kodak moments” but I
regretfully forgot my camera. We even
saw a wild coyote checking us out.
Later that day, Brian, Andrew and I broke out my surf boards
and hit the small waves on the beach. It
was a great day for Andrew’s first day surfing and Brian’s first waves in
decades. The waves were only 2-3 feet
but I still enjoys catching some short rides.
Earlier we moved our 2 boats within paddling distance of the waves but
it was still a tiring paddle. It was
easier paddling back to the boats as the gusting winds pushed us along. That night after happy hour we watched the
DVD “Riding Giants” on Mariah in the surfing spirit.
 |
| Shells cover the beach at Bahia Santa Maria |
Saturday May 11, 2013 – Beach Combing and Surfing at Bahia
Santa Maria
We had another day at Bahia Santa Maria while awaiting
calmer weather. Chris and Brian and I
took their dingy to shore to explore the beach and look for shells and whale
bone. No luck with finding whale bones
but we had fun looking at the many shells and sand formations along the
beach. Chris also flew his cool Para
foil kite which would drag you along the beach during gusts.
Later that day, Andrew and I returned to the surf in a last
chance effort to catch waves. Again the
waves were small but the wind was mild and I had a few very long rides on my
longboard. What fun!!! The water was about 67 degrees so we wore
full wetsuits.
At one point I was approached and hailed by the Mexican Navy who politely asked generic immigration questions and then left without searching Mariah.
 |
| Polite Mexican Navy |
Sunday May 12, 2013 – Depart Bahia Santa Maria for Turtle
Bay
 |
| Departing Bahia Santa Maria |
We departed about 8 am into 2-3 foot choppy seas with 10-15
knot wind. I spent the day motor sailing
a direct course for Turtle Bay. The wind
and seas died down Monday and Tuesday so I mostly motored with the main and sometimes
the jib for the next 2 days. I tried
some trolling with my hand lines but no bites.
I had one visitor aboard during the trip; it was a small black bird the
appeared in the cockpit about 3 am. At
first I thought it was a bat and was spooked until I got a flashlight.
 |
| Hitchhiker in cockpit |
I set it free after first taking a photo of
my little friend. I arrived at Turtle
Bay Tuesday afternoon and dropped the hook after a calm passage. Had a fish dinner and watched a movie again
on “INNcredible” catamaran.
Wednesday May 15, 2013 – Waiting at Turtle Bay
Got diesel and groceries today and changed fuel
filters. Looks like we are waiting until
Sunday to depart due to building winds predicted. Its sunny and warm in Turtle Bay so I cant
complain. There are about 7 sailboats
waiting to depart North. All in good
time I guess.
No comments:
Post a Comment