A Season in Mexico Part I Security and Health Care

 Now that the Honcho is back in the USA weve had time to sit back and review our experience in Mexico and pass along some information that you might find valuable for your own voyage south. In part one, Ill discuss security and health services as we found them on our travels. In later posts Ill review our route in Mexico, marinas and anchorages we visited, food and dining, and Mexican officialdom. Lastly Ill review the Honcho, how it was set up and rigged, what worked and didnt, and what we would do differently with regard to the boat. Bear in mind that this is our personal experience and yours will certainly be different in any number of ways.

Security

There is certainly no shortage of security in Mexico. We spent a lot of time in a number of harbors and marinas, some of which were in urban settings and some in resort settings. We also anchored in remote places where there were few if any people within miles. We also traveled fairly extensively ashore using various modes of transportation:  On foot, private car, rental car, taxi, bus, train and commercial airplane. Our shoreside travel took us to resort areas, big cities, towns, villages, and some places that we considered to be Mexicos outback. We traveled in the states of Baja California Norte and Sur, Jalisco, Nayarit, Guerrero, Sinaloa and Chihuahua. We visited exclusive resort destinations as well as grittier destinations where tourists are rare.

In general, security in every marina we visited was pretty good. Electronic gates and watchmen with radios were present at every marina we visited. We never lost anything to theft and usually felt comfortable leaving the boat unlocked during daylight hours. When anchored out we frequently hoisted the dinghy out of the water  as a precaution in some areas, but never heard of anyones dinghy getting stolen while we were in Mexico.

One thing I think unfortunate was that a few Americans brought their biases and prejudices with them to Mexico, and were in my opinion overly suspicious of Mexicans. I believe those people missed out on one of the greatest pleasures of cruising in Mexico, which is getting to know and understand the Mexican people, whom we came to regard as the friendliest people weve ever met.

Practically everywhere we went in Mexico there were plenty of heavily armed police and military personnel. It was not unusual to see a truckload of armed and masked police on the roads or parked next to a bank. On the water we had numerous encounters with Mexican Navy personnel. They were always heavily armed, and were also always polite, courteous and professional. For our own part, we were always friendly toward them, and were never treated with anything but respect by them. With that said, I can understand how it can be unnerving to see a boat with a squad of masked men carrying assault rifles bearing down on you at high speed. I should also point out that in the ports of L. A. and Long Beach, its not unusual to have a patrol boat with a .30 cal machine gun mounted on the foredeck bearing down on you if you happen to stray too close to a cruise ship in the harbor.

We did have one negative experience that involved Mexican traffic police in Puerto Vallarta. Four of us were driving a rental car on the highway and were pulled over and shaken down for 500 Pesos by a local cop. Its a fairly common occurrence in that area. Mexicans told me later that the government is working to get rid of corruption in local police forces, but it still happens. 500 Pesos is the equivalent of about $45 USD.

Throughout most of our travels on mainland Mexico we felt quite safe, except when we were in the state of Sinaloa, which is home to one of Mexicos most notorious drug cartels. Mazatlan is Sinaloas largest commercial port and is reputed to be a major shipping point for drugs and as a result there has been some violence there. Enough to cause the cruise lines to stop visiting there until security improves. This is unfortunate because Mazatlan turned out to be a beautiful and charming city, and once we became familiar with it, we were able to relax and enjoy it.

We traveled by bus through Culiacan and spent a couple of nights in Los Mochis, which are supposedly the nexus of the Sinaloa cartels empire. There we noticed many police checkpoints along the way. The checkpoints were sandbagged and the police were usually helmeted and masked. However, we never felt personally in any danger as we rode through them on a pretty luxurious express bus.

We used the same common sense in Mexico as in the USA: Be aware of your surroundings and keep an eye on your possessions. Leave the diamonds and Rolex at home. Dont flash wads of cash around. Be careful at ATMs, and use only those that are at banks and other reputable institutions. Stay off the streets late at night. Dont do things you wouldnt do in the States. Know where youre going and avoid high crime areas.

Here are some statistics that I took from a cursory internet search:
Homicide rate for Mexico (2009): 15 (per 100,000 population)
Homicide rate for the USA (2009): 5 (per 100.000 population)

Below is a chart of crime statistics for Mexico and the USA in 2004.  In some ways Mexico is safer than the USA, and some ways more dangerous.

Crime Rates in Mexico per 100,000 inhabitants
	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	USA in 2004
Total Crimes	1433.81	1439.41	1391.54	1521.93	1503.71	4118.76
Murder	14.93	15.13	14.11	13.94	13.04	5.62
Murder with firearm	3.45	4.54	3.66	3.53	2.58	1.25
Assault	254.35	257.39	260.39	260.41	251.91	NA
Aggravated assault	171.06	172.02	185.01	187.33	186.68	310.14
Rape	11.89	11.9	13.33	13.05	14.26	32.99
Theft	148.27	108.11	100.22	116.74	112.47	2445.80
Automobile theft	161.15	161.52	162.10	150.66	139.86	432.12
Robbery	316.54	274.63	219.59	158.16	146.57	145.87
Burglary	145.72	153.58	142.58	NA	NA	746.22
Fraud	54.63	50.48	50.96	54.64	61.47	NA
Drug offenses	20.62	23.97	24.65	23.38	23.40	NA
Source: 7th[1] and 8th[2] Survey,

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crime_in_Mexico

Health Care

First some statistics which I took from the CIA World Factbook:
*Infant mortality rate: Mexico 18.42 (112th), USA 6.26 (46th) of . Global average is 42.09 for the 224 countries in the list.
*Life expectancy: USA 78.4 years (50th). Mexico 76.06 (71st). Global average 66.57

Based on these statistics, it appears that Americans can expect to live a healthier, and slightly longer life than Mexicans. But the statistics do indicate that both countries could do much better. Sweden, Australia, Canada, Spain and even Britain do better than the USA with regard to infant mortality and life expectancy.

Fortunately we never got sick or suffered any injury that required medical attention. Our experience with routine medical services was that it varied from very good to rather poor. Prescription drugs cost roughly half what they would cost in the USA. We did hear of several other cruisers who did use Mexican medical services for conditions ranging from injuries due to falls to heart attack and were generally pleased with the outcomes, and usually thrilled with the low cost of care in that that country. My impression is that those near the bottom of the socio-economic scale dont dont get much health care in the USA or Mexico, those in the middle classes get fairly good care, and those in higher classes get very good care in both countries.

Continue

Catalina

We spent three days in San Diego, a perfect place to get re-acclimated to life in the States. We shopped for American goods and foods that were not available in Mexico, changed our boat insurance to domestic instead of Mexican, switched from Mexican Banda Ancha (broad band) to Verizon, and generally adapted to the faster pace of life here in the USA. When we were done, we decided that it would be more fun to set a leisurely pace for our return to our home port of Long Beach.

Rising early on June 24th, we departed from our dock at Southwestern Yacht Club at 0600, bound for Dana Point harbor, about sixty miles north.  Motoring out from San Diego harbor, we set a course that took us well to the south and west to avoid the extensive kelp beds off Point Loma before turning northwest toward Dana Point. With flat seas and zero wind, we motored through the chilly and overcast morning. In the afternoon the sun broke through the clouds and a light wind sprang up, but by then we were nearly at the harbor mouth. From there we motored up the channel and took a berth at Dana Point Yacht Club, where we had a nice dinner.

The next morning we slipped out of the harbor at dawn, bound for Avalon, near the east end of Catalina Island. The sky was completely overcast as we motored over a flat sea and no wind. The morning haze remained dense, keeping the island out of view until we were within five miles of it. Then the sun burst through the clouds revealing the deep green of the hills around the harbor at Avalon. We took a mooring among hundreds of other boats. Accustomed to anchoring in Mexicos tranquil waters, we experienced a bit of culture shock with paddlers, kayakers, jet skiers, and motorboaters all passing within feet, and sometimes inches of our boat. In the afternoon we went ashore and checked out some of our old haunts here, but chose to return to the boat for a quiet dinner instead of going into an overcrowded restaurant. The weekend will be over today and the hordes will head back to the mainland, and well move up the island to Two Harbors, where we expect to spend one more week before returning to the mainland, and our lives ashore.

Continue

La Paz to Bahia de Concepcion

Ensenada Grande with mainland Baja in the background.

On Saturday, April 13^th we went grocery shopping at the local Mega, took a long swim in the pool and had dinner at Steinbecks. The next morning we checked out of Costa Baja and headed north to Isla Partida. In the Sea of Cortez the wind generally blows up the sea or down the sea. Today it was blowing down the sea so we motor-sailed directly into a 15 knot headwind and lumpy, choppy seas as we passed up the west side of Isla Espiritu Santo toward our destination of Ensenada Grande on the west side of Isla Partida, arriving in the late afternoon. There were a few other boats in the anchorage, but it’s a big enough bay that we were able to anchor in a fairly secluded spot close to some bluffs on the south side of the bay. The water was clear enough that I could see the anchor send up a cloud of sand as it hit the bottom 22 feet below the surface. This made the snorkeling great, and we saw lots of tropical fish and healthy looking coral. Later we took the dinghy around the southern end of the bay, past Punta Tijeretas and into the tiny cove of Las Cuevitas where there is a blue footed booby rookery. It’s not the nesting season now, but there were still a lot of boobies around. That night I set my alarm to wake up at 0200 so we could watch a total eclipse of the moon. There is something awesome about seeing a lunar eclipse from the deck of a sailboat where there is no light pollution from any nearby civilization.

Sunset is a perfect time for a paddle in Ensenada Grande.

I have no idea how these unusual rocks were formed but they are fascinating to explore.

While there, we hiked up the hills behind the bay and explored the strange rock formations that line the north side of the bay. When we got restless we sailed north again toward the fishing village of San Evaristo on the mainland of Baja.

With a nice breeze out of the southeast, we had a pleasant sail for about twenty miles then about six miles from the anchorage, the wind died and we began to motor. We had been trolling all day without a bite, but about four miles out, the reel lit up and we caught a 20 pound dorado.  This was our first fish of this kind and as soon as we got the anchor down in Evaristo I had the BBQ out and we had a fine meal of grilled dorado, wild rice and a fine bottle of pinot grigio, supplied by my friends at C1. Thanks guys!  We spent a couple of days in Evaristo then departed for Puerto Los Gatos, about thirty miles up the Baja coast.

We caught him just in time for dinner.

A dorados beautiful colors quickly fade when they die. After giving him a couple of shots of rum this fellow relaxed and died peacefully.

It was a beautiful starboard tack reach, with about 12 knots of wind out of the east under a hazy, somewhat overcast sky. I like the overcast because it provides some relief from the sun, which can be brutal here in the Sea. We approached Los Gatos from the southeast and saw a boat anchored in the far northern part of the bay, which is about half a mile wide. We anchored in the southern part of the bay, about as far from the other boat as we could get and were looking forward to a beautiful, quiet evening.  But within an hour three other boats came into the bay and anchored close enough that we could hear them talking as they enjoyed their sundowners.  A couple of them left early the next morning so we were able to explore this beautiful bay pretty much in peace and solitude. Different voyages have different flavors. The last time we were here, three years ago, we were delighted to have lots of friends from other boats around. This time, we have been inclined to seek the solitude of empty bays and quiet nights. 

Our dinghy is a speck on the beach at Los Gatos.

On Saturday, April 19^th we got the anchor up early and headed for Bahia Agua Verde, about 13 miles north. With three knots of wind out of the southeast, there was no point in trying to sail, so we fired up the diesel and a couple hours later we anchored about a hundred yards off the beach in Agua Verde. Since it was the day before Easter Sunday, the beaches in the fairly large bay were crowded with Mexican vacationers here to celebrate the holiday. The next morning we hiked into the country behind the little settlement. Aside from fishing, the locals raise goats, pigs and a few cattle. There is a school and church, along with a couple of small tiendas and a restaurant or two, so Agua Verde, though it has no cell phone or internet service is fairly cosmopolitan compared to most other places in this part of Baja California.

Later in the day we raised the anchor and continued north 22 miles to Puerto Escondido.  We arrived around 1700 and passed through the narrow channel into the lagoon that makes this place an excellent all weather port of refuge. The lagoon is over a mile long and half a mile wide and until recently had over a hundred moorings. Now there are only a few moorings left, and they don’t look well maintained. Ashore, things have declined from the last time we were here. There is still a boatyard with a Travelift and a floating dock and a few boats hauled out here, but the place is pretty desolate. The restaurant has closed down and so has the little tienda. Puerto Escondido should be a thriving community, but apparently there has been a lot of disagreement within the local business community and with the government which has had a bad effect on the village. We had hoped to stock up on fresh food and use the Internet here, but instead we spent one night in the lagoon tied to an iffy looking mooring and left the next morning for the town of Loreto, about 14 miles up the coast.

Puerto Escondido sunrise. Regardless of the business situation in the village, the scenery remains awe inspiring. 

There is a tiny harbor at Loreto but it is for the exclusive use of the local fishermen, so we anchored outside and took the dinghy into town where we had a nice meal at the Hotel La Mision, checked email and wandered around the town a bit before heading back out to the boat. While ashore we visited a unique museum of sorts, with the skeletons of whales and dolphins on display.  Back aboard Finisterra, we spent a peaceful night anchored outside the harbor, then left early the next morning for Caleta San Juanico.   

 The distance from Loreto to San Juanico is about 27 miles and with scant wind, we motorsailed the entire distance, arriving in the early afternoon. There were four or five boats anchored in the north end of the bay and a couple more at the south end, so we chose a nice spot just off the beach in the middle part of the bay, anchoring in about 15 feet of water. With a light breeze coming out of the southeast and crystal clear water, the swimming was delightful. Later we grilled the last of the dorado I caught a week ago for dinner. The next morning we were underway early for the 50 mile passage to Bahia de Concepcion.

Caleta San Juanico is dotted with rocky islets.

 The wind blew out of the northwest, exactly the direction we wanted to go, so we motored toward Punta Concepcion until we were a few miles out. Then the wind shifted to northeast and piped up to about 20 knots and we had a fast sail around the point and about six miles down the bay. Then we furled the sails and picked our way through the pass between Punta Piedrita and tiny Isla Pitihaya, toward Playa Santispac. There were several boats already at anchor there, so we bore away toward the little cove at Posada de Conception where we anchored in about 20 feet of water in the lee of some tall bluffs which offered good protection from the strong northerlies that sometimes blow down the Sea of Cortez. Finisterra was to remain at anchor here for the next nine days. 

Continue

Bahia Chamela

The Honcho finally cleared the breakwater in La Cruz, bound for Bahia Chamela around 1600 on Thursday, Jan. 27th. Our course took us southwestward across Banderas Bay and around Cabo Corrientes. We had light air for the first 25 miles, then caught a strong breeze outside the cape and got a good push south. Passing Punta Ipala, we kept on going and arrived at Bahia Chamela, roughly 95 miles down the coast at 0930. We got the hook down in the lee of Punta Perula just off the village of the same name. The anchorage here affords good protection from northerly winds and swells but is exposed to southerly weather, which is more likely to occur in summer months than this time of year. Well hang out here and explore for a couple of days before continuing on to Tenacatita. 

Continue

Boat vs Whale

A couple of days ago a sailboat named "Luffin It" entered the harbor under tow. It was a Pearson 367, a 36 foot cruising cutter that is slightly larger than the Honcho. I have downloaded a couple of photos of a sistership, which I got from Yachtworld.com to give you a sense of the size and shape of this boat. Or you can visit this web site for a lot more information on it: http://www.yachtworld.com/core/listing/boatMergedDetails.jsp?boat_id=2013084&ybw=&units=Feet&currency=USD&access=Public&listing_id=1644&url=

Pearson 367
Sistership to Luffin It

Luffin It was leaving Bahia Tenacatita a few days ago when it came into contact with a whale. The result was a severely damaged boat and what I can only speculate was an unhappy whale. Fortunately, aside from a few bumps and minor bruises, there were no injuries to the couple onboard, and no visible injuries to the whale.

The whales tale was apparently caught between the keel and rudder. The bronze strut is about 1/2" thick and was bent nearly 90 degrees

I spoke to the owners about their experience and looked at the boat after it was hauled out at the La Cruz Shipyard. They were under sail around 1530, moving at a slow 3-4 knots on a course taking them out of the anchorage at Tenacatita, headed toward Chamela when the whale apparently attempted to surface, unaware that there was a boat above it. They felt the boat heave upward and thought at first that they had run aground, but then immediately saw the whale close alongside with its tail apparently still under the boat and caught between the keel and rudder. In its effort to free itself it flapped its tail several times before swimming away. It left the boat with a bent propeller shaft and strut, a chunk missing from the rudder, and structural cracks in the hull. This is what was visible from the outside. The owner told me that the internal damage was extensive. Many of the internal bulkheads and floor timbers were displaced as the hull flexed, knocking the head loose, jamming doors and drawers, and other damage. They immediately broadcast a mayday on their VHF radio and within minutes other cruisers in Tenacatita came to their aid. They got the leaks under control and eventually made it to La Cruz, partly under their own power and partly under tow.  You can read their firsthand account of the incident on their blog: http://www.sailblogs.com/member/luffinit/?xjMsgID=164231

We dont usually wear lifejackets when were sailing in light air and flat seas, and the crew of Luffin It werent either. Fortunately neither of them went overboard, but its a reminder that you never know when a life threatening emergency will occur, and its good policy to wear your PFD all the time. I dont plan to do that but well keep them at the ready in the cockpit in the future.

Whale sightings are very common in these parts this time of year. I cant count how many times weve been sailing along on a perfectly peaceful sea when suddenly a whale comes rocketing out of the water like a submarine launched cruise missile within a couple hundred yards of the boat. There is no warning, just an explosion of white water and a whales head 20 or 30 feet out of the water. Such displays inspire lots of respect from us. I did some searching on the Internet regarding how much power resides in a whales flukes and could not find an answer but it is clearly an enormously powerful animal, as the encounter between Luffin It and the whale shows.

How can sailboats safely travel upon seas that are also home to these magnificent animals? Aboard the Honcho we take a few precautions, but I dont think there is any reasonable way to prevent all accidental contacts with whales. During the nighttime hours we frequently run the diesel engine whether or not we have sails up. The hours of darkness are a good time to charge batteries, run the watermaker, etc. and I think the engine noise might help to let the whales know were in the neighborhood. Some people play music instead of running the engine. At any rate, Im fairly confident that sailboat/whale collisions are very rare, and most likely accidental. Still, its something to think about as we share the ocean with them.

Continue

Bahia Santa Maria

The Honcho remained in San Jose del Cabo for several days to refuel and provision. This would be our last stop before heading north around Cabo San Lucas and Cabo Falso on the long windward jaunt back to California. The next city we will visit is Ensenada, about 800 miles north. This leg of our voyage will be the most challenging as it is all upwind, with only a very few places to stop and rest along the way. Our course will be generally northwest, directly into the prevailing northwesterly winds, so instead of shorts and t-shirts, we’ll be in fleece and foul weather gear most of the time while under way.

We departed San Jose on June 2^nd, at 2100, choosing this hour because it would place us at Cabo Falso around midnight. That is typically when the wind begins to lighten and we hoped to get a few miles up the coast before the wind builds back up to its typical 20-25 knots during the afternoon.  Cabo Falso collected its toll from us by delivering 25-30 knot headwinds as we rounded the cape, but after a couple of hours of that, the wind settled down and we experienced light 12 to 18 knot headwinds for the next 155 miles or so to Punta Entrada, which marks the entrance to Bahia Magdalena, or Mag Bay, as the yatistas call it. After rounding the cape, the seawater temperature began to plummet, going from the high 70’s to high 50’s in a day or so, bringing the air temperature down as well.  We entered Mag Bay at 0830 and motored toward Man-O-War cove, about eight miles up inside the bay, dropping anchor there at 1030 in twenty feet of murky, smelly water. 

Mag Bay was in the midst of a red tide of sorts, with millions of crawdad-like creatures that the locals call ‘Langostinos’ dying off. Their rotting carcasses filled the water all around us and created a powerful stench in the air.  To top off the situation, we were immediately swarmed by thousands of flies. We quickly fitted bug screens on the hatches, but still had to hunt down at least thirty of the pesky rascals with fly swatters.  I had hoped to run our watermaker at Mag Bay to top off our water tanks, but the water was so polluted with dead Langostinos, we not only didn’t make any water, we didn’t even launch the dinghy and go ashore during the two days we spent there. It was blowing 25 outside the bay so we were content to hang out on the boat until that wind calmed down, which it did in a couple of days.

We left Man-O-War cove early in the morning on June 6^th, glad to get away from the reeking air, foul water and flies of Mag Bay. We cleared Roca Vela and set a course for Bahia Santa Maria, about 14 miles distant in about 10 knots of northwesterly wind.  As we approached Cabo Corso at the southern end of Bahia Santa Maria, the wind and seas began to build, and within a few minutes we had a 20 knot headwind and 6 foot seas.  I altered course to sail further into the bay, thinking we would get a little protection from the high hills at the northwest end of the bay, but the winds and seas continued to increase until we finally made it to the anchorage in the northwest corner of the bay, where we got the hook down in 20 feet of roiling water and 30 knot winds.

We’ve remained at anchor here, staying mostly inside the boat while the wind howled outside for three days in the 25-35 knot range, with occasional gusts to 40. With little to do besides checking for wear on our ground tackle and making sure things were secure on deck, we spent those days reading , watching movies and monitoring weather forecasts on the internet and the HF radio. The weather began to ease yesterday and it looks like we’ll have a nice window to make our next passage north beginning on Saturday night, June 11^th.  Our plan is to clear Cabo San Lazaro around 0100, then work our way north toward our next planned destination, Turtle Bay (Bahia San Bartolome), about 225 miles distant.  Rather than banging straight up the rhumbline, we’ll sail a course well to the east where we can expect lighter conditions.  This course gives us the option of ducking into San Juanico, Abreojos or Asuncion, which are small anchorages along the way, in case the weather turns against us.

There are several other boats here in Bahia Santa Maria with us, all waiting for the expected weather window. Among them are the following:

Manta 42 Catamaran

Norseman 447 cutter

Catalina 400 sloop

Seawind 1000 Catamaran

Catalina-Morgan 45

CT-54 ketch

Continue

Return to La Cruz

Leaving Ixtapa and Zihuatanejo behind, our northbound course took us once again past the busy port of Lazaro Cardenas. Our approach this time was about 10 miles offshore, giving us plenty of time to spot and avoid the ship traffic around the harbor entrance. The wind was very light and we motored throughout the night, arriving at a rough little anchorage called Caleta de Campos around 0800. There is a small bay here called Bahia Bufadero.  It is wide open to the southwesterly swell and we anchored a hundred yards or so outside the surf line and slept for a few hours with the boat rocking in the large swells and the surf booming nearby. Around 1400 the Honcho sailed from Caleta de Campos with a good westerly breeze, bound for Bahia Manzanillo, 114 miles distant.

By nightfall the wind, as it usually does, fell light so the Honcho motored the rest of the way to Bahia Manzanillo. We anchored once again off Las Hadas and spent a couple of days relaxing around the pool and touring the city. Bahia Manzanillo is separated from Bahia de Santiago by the Peninsula de Santiago. Both bays are ringed with broad, beautiful sand beaches and luxury hotels, but we were more intrigued by the old city of Manzanillo and spent our time wandering around the old waterfront town, enjoying the sights around this picturesque area.

Rested and well provisioned, we left Las Hadas, bound for Bahia de Tenacatita, about 40 miles up the coast. We arrived there in the late afternoon and had time to drop the anchor and enjoy a fiery sunset from the cockpit of the Honcho. We did not go ashore here, just relaxed and enjoyed the scenery of the place. This bay is home to a pod of dolphins that seem to enjoy rubbing against the chains of the anchored boats. While the water wasnt clear enough to see them, we could feel the vibrations and see it moving around as they played with our chain. Strange sensation.

The following day we made the short hop from Tenacatita to Bahia de Chamela, anchoring in the northwest corner of the bay just off the little town of Perula. Chamela is about 70 miles down the coast from Cabo Corrientes, the southern border to Banderas Bay.  Cabo Corrientes is known for its frequently rough conditions and cruisers usually wait for predictions of light winds in the area before making the dash around that corner and into the relative safety of Banderas Bay. The winds had been strong the last few days, but with a forecast of light winds in the offing we departed from Bahia Chamela around 1800 so we could pass the cape early the following morning, when conditions were predicted to be fairly calm.

Clearing Punta Rivas, the outermost point of land that protects Bahia Chamela, we ran into a 15 knot headwind and 6 foot seas. These stayed with us all night, making for a bumpy ride up the coast. Tacking in close to shore, the Honcho made the best of it as we slowly worked our way along the rugged coastline, arriving at the cape around 0700 the following morning. Here the sea was still rougher than we had hoped, but as we rounded the cape and entered the southern reaches of Banderas Bay, conditions steadily improved. By 1000 it was calm and we were motoring across the bay with the Islas Tres Marietas and Punta de Mita on our port beam. We felt like we were returning to our friendly home waters with our arrival at La Cruz. But the bay also serves up a breeze now and then, and by the time we reached the anchorage outside the harbor the wind was over 20 knots. With our oversize ground tackle, anchoring in a stiff breeze is a cinch and within a few minutes we were snugly anchored and had time to ponder the large number of boats anchored and bobbing around in the wind before the sun set. When we left here about a month ago there werent many boats anchored here. Now I count nearly 50.

In the evening the wind died down, but the swell rolled us uncomfortably all night long and all the next day. We had planned to spend a few days in the marina anyway, so the following day we upped the anchored and took a berth in the marina, where well stay until mid-March, when weather conditions should be better for heading north into the Sea of Cortez.

Continue

Bahia Santa Maria to Ensenada

The Honcho stayed in Bahia Santa Maria five days, waiting out the strong northwesterly wind. I was glad that I put extra large ground tackle aboard the boat, as it never gave us any reason for worry in spite of the rough conditions in the bay. When the wind finally blew itself out, the sea was still pretty lumpy, but we got the anchor up early on June 11th and headed out around Punta Hughes and northward once again. Our destination was Bahia San Bartolome, also known as Turtle Bay, about 225 miles in a northwesterly direction. Our course would take us past Cabo San Lazaro, then we would bend slightly northeast, about 25 miles east of the rhumbline, or direct line, to Turtle Bay. This course would keep us in relatively milder conditions than we would expect if we headed straight for TB. As it turned out, we had an average of about 15 knots of wind on the nose throughout the passage. During this time we were listening on the VHF radio to other boats that chose the direct route. They were facing 25 knot headwinds and rougher seas. The Honcho sailed more miles, but arrived at roughly the same time as those boats and had a much nicer ride. Sometimes it pays to go around rough conditions instead of banging headlong into them.

As we cleared Cabo San Lazaro, we observed a 60 foot ketch which had wandered too close to the Cape and foundered on the rocks that lie off the tip of the land there. We were about 2 miles off, and knew it had already been reported to the Mexican Navy, so we continued northward while monitoring the radio in case we could be of help. When we first saw the vessel it was standing upright with the mainsail hoisted, but as we watched, it began to heel over until the masts were nearly touching the water. Surrounded by large breaking surf, it would take little time for the vessel to break up. We later found that the name of the vessel was the Nordic Light, with three people aboard. The Mexican Navy rescued them but the boat was a total loss.  Cabo San Lazaro has claimed many vessels over the years. Its not a place to trifle with.

With that rather grim sendoff from the Cape, the Honcho continued north and arrived in Turtle Bay at 0730 on June 13th. We anchored in the bay and quickly got Enrique "El Gordo" on the radio and ordered some diesel which he delivered in his panga at about 1000. By 1100 we had the anchor up and were once again headed north, with our next destination of San Carlos about 130 miles distant. Our course would take us northwest through the Dewey Channel and past Punta Eugenio. From there we skirted along the east side of  Isla Cedros for a few miles. As we approached the northern end of Cedros, the wind piped up to about 28 knots and we opted to bear off a few degrees and make for Bahia Blanca, which is well inside the mighty Bahia Sebastian Vizcaino, where we expected easier sailing conditions. After a long, cold night of sailing we arrived at fog shrouded Bahia Blanca and waited for dawn before groping our way into the bay. There we anchored and spent the following day in comfort while the wind offshore continued to howl.

The following morning we were up early, headed for San Carlos. For most of the 55 mile passage we motorsailed directly into a light wind, but about 20 miles short of San Carlos, the wind picked up and before long we were punching into a 30 knot headwind. About three miles from the anchorage the engine died and we sailed into the anchorage under a double reefed main.

Once we were anchored I refilled the fuel tank from Jerry jugs we carry on deck. The 24 gallon tank took only 19 gallons so I knew we hadnt run out of fuel. Ive gotten dirty fuel in Turtle Bay before so I checked the primary and secondary fuel filters, but they were all clean. Then I began to suspect that with all the bouncing around we did in those last few miles, maybe the pickup in the fuel tank sucked up some air.  I bought a service manual for the Yanmar engine before we left California, so I got it out and reviewed the procedure for bleeding the fuel system. I carefully followed the procedure as outlined, but couldnt get the engine to start. By this time it was nearly midnight so I decided to sleep on it, maybe a solution would come to me in the morning.

The next morning I woke up early and tried bleeding the system again but had no luck. So we decided that since we had a prediction of good sailing conditions for the next couple of days, wed pack up the tools, hoist the mainsail and sail off the anchor, bound for Ensenada where I could take a more thorough look at the engine.

From San Carlos, Ensenada is about 165 miles distant. It turned out to be a delightful sail, with winds in the 15 knot range and relatively calm seas. We sailed west past the notorious Sacramento Reef, which has also claimed a large number of ships and boats, and out about 60 miles from the coast. Tacking north from there we fetched the land just north of Cabo Colnett. Tacking offshore again, we went about 25 miles out before tacking north again. From there we could just lay the channel between Isla Todos Santos and Punta Banda, arriving at the Cruiseport Marina at 1500 on June 18th.

We had not set foot off the boat since leaving Los Cabos on June 2nd, so the first order of business was a hot shower and a steak dinner ashore, one of the finest meals weve eaten in a long time. Arriving back at the boat in the early evening, I took a more serious look at the engine, did some reading online about the fuel system and discovered a secondary bleed screw on the high pressure fuel injection pump. Within ten minutes I had the system bled and the engine running. I was very glad to get it running again without having to pay a mechanic, but I was more that a little chapped that the service manual makes no mention of this vital step in fuel bleeding procedure.

Continue

Life in La Cruz

The Honcho has been berthed at the Marina Riviera Nayarit for the last week, where we have done some routine maintenance and given the boat a thorough washing. Weve also taken time out to socialize with fellow yatistas and enjoy the local culture here in La Cruz. In this town, the local culture is a very pleasant mix of Mexican food, art, music and society on one hand, and the whole expat sailing community on the other.  The sailing community consists of people who are following the dream of traveling by boat to foreign destinations. Most are Yanks or Canadians, a few Europeans, and the occasional Aussie or Kiwi. Im fortunate to be fairly fluent in Spanish and have enjoyed becoming acquainted with some of the locals who live and work here in town. Both groups seem to be happy with their lives and are very friendly. One of the most pleasant surprises for me is meeting young Mexicans who are university students. I love hearing their ideas and opinions regarding their lives. Overall, they seem to be quite optimistic about their futures as well as the future of Mexico. I think their optimism bodes well for this country, in spite of the widespread poverty and the ongoing drug wars in some areas.

The Honcho has sailed almost exactly 2,000 miles since leaving Long Beach and I am happy to report that the boat has performed very well throughout the voyage and has done everything weve asked of her without complaint. Once a fuel filter became clogged and the engine wouldnt start.  Another time, we took a wave over the bow with the window over the galley open. Sea water ran into the stove burners and clogged them up. Aside from that, the boat just keeps on keeping on. I brought a Baja Filter from Long Beach, but didnt use it at first because it appeared that all the fuel we bought was clean. I was wrong about that, so now I use the filter whenever we fuel up. It slows down the process of fueling, but I think its well worth the extra hassle to be assured of clean fuel. If youre getting ready to head south, pick up a Baja Filter at your local West Marine store. Its cheap insurance.  Overall Im very happy with the boat and all of its systems. Of course were only about halfway through this voyage, and only the little half at that. As we travel north into the Sea of Cortez, well be visiting more deserted anchorages, and more primitive places, so reliable equipment and self sufficiency will be necessary.

Part of the reason were hanging out in La Cruz is the upcoming XIX Regata Internacional, otherwise known as the Banderas Bay Regatta March 10-12. Ill be sailing aboard a Beneteau 42s7 called Tivoli in that event. It should be a lot of fun and Ill post a report on all the festivities after the regatta.

Continue

Bahia Chamela to Tenacatita

We spent four days in peaceful Bahia Chamela. It was a windy passage from La Cruz so the first day in the bay was devoted to catching up on sleep and enjoying a magnificent sunset aboard the boat. The next day we wandered around the village of Perula, entertained fellow cruisers aboard the boat and were treated to a magnificent night of stargazing. There was another boat anchored very close to us so I was up every two hours to make sure we didnt tangle as the wind and current shifted throughout the very dark and moonless night. Around 0400 I was checking our anchor and noticed the Southern Cross low in the sky to the south, then looked the other way and saw Polaris, the north star, not far above the northern horizon, with the Big Dipper circling it. In between was the Milky Way, with its billions of stars and the mighty Orion was directly overhead. I sat for some minutes in the cockpit in awe of this wonderful show.

The following day we motored out to Isla Cocinas, one of several small islands in the southern reaches of Bahia Chamela. We anchored on the northeast side of the island near a tiny sand beach that was crowded with pelicans. We landed the dinghy through the small surf and discovered pelicans nesting in the cactus. It was a wonder how a pair of pelicans could build a nest and hatch their young in the top of a 20 foot tall cactus. Later we circumnavigated the island in the dinghy, returning to the Honcho around 1600.

We left Bahia Chamela around 1000 this morning, motoring slowly out of the bay in almost no wind. Around 1100 the wind filled in, light at first, and we hoisted sails and shut down the engine. Our course took us out past the tiny cove at Paraiso and Punta Etiopia. We sailed well out to sea and as the day wore on the wind built to about 20 knots. With a following sea and wind, the Honcho surfed along at speeds of up to 10 knots, a new record for the boat. We were at the mouth of Bahia Tenacatita by 1600 and were snugly anchored in the upper bay by 1700.

Tenacatita is a lovely bay, surrounded by beatiful beaches and lush tropical vegetation. Were only 19 degrees north of the equator here and it feels like it. Well spend a few days exploring the area, perhaps indulge in a coco loco, and  do some serious snorkeling out near Punta Hermanos.

Continue

Bahia de Concepcion to La Paz

Bahia de Concepcion is dotted with rocks like this. 

On our way north, we were headed directly into the wind for nearly all of the distance between San Juanico and Concepcion, so I had hoped that wed have a fair wind for the southbound passage back to San Juanico. But it was not to be. We rounded Punta Concepcion and headed southeast toward our destination only to find the wind dead on the nose again. I needed to run the watermaker anyway so we motorsailed and over the next few hours refilled our water tanks. By noon the wind had backed around so we could sail and we arrived at Caleta San Juanico around 1700, anchoring just off the beach in the far southeast part of the bay. Earlier in the day we had picked up something on the prop and it vibrated a little when I put the engine in gear. The anchor had barely hit the bottom before Lisa jumped in the water and pulled a clump of seaweed off the prop.

The next day we were up early and cleared the rocks that lie off the southern end of San Juanico at 0900. Naturally the wind was out of the southeast, exactly the direction we were headed. So we motorsailed most of the way to Puerto Escondido, slowing down a bit as we passed the town of Loreto to grab some Internet time. This would be our last chance to download weather until we get to La Paz several days hence.

We arrived in Puerto Escondido in mid-afternoon and anchored in the lagoon. Loreto Fest was in full swing when we arrived so we went ashore to give it a look. It is hosted by the Hidden Port Yacht Club and some local businesses. Its a cruisers event with a few seminars,  bocce ball tournament and a few other games. There was a silent auction and swap meet, a band and plenty of beer and margaritas. It looked like the event was geared toward the permanent or semi-permanent denizens of the Sea of Cortez. Anyway, it didnt appeal to us and we were out of Puerto Escondido at 0700 the next morning, bound for Puerto Los Gatos.

Its always fun to explore the rocks of Los Gatos

With a 2-3 knot headwind, we motored all the way and were anchored in the north side of the bay around 1300. Los Gatos is a beautiful bay, about a mile long in the northeast-southwest direction and a bit less than half a mile deep. The high bluffs to the north offer good protection from winds from that direction but the bay is wide open to southerly and east winds. There is nothing here except pristine beaches, fantastic rock formations and crystal clear water. There was only one other boat anchored way over in the other side of the bay so we were all set to have a quiet evening aboard. But just about dusk I noticed that the other boat was under way. At first I thought he was heading out of the bay but then he turned toward us. Okay, I thought, he just wants to swing by and say "Hi" before heading out to sea. But no, he came right past us and anchored about halfway between us and the beach, his bow not fifty yards from our stern. Im not sure why.

Earlier in the afternoon a two fishermen came by in a panga and offered us a couple of live lobsters so we had an excellent grilled lobster dinner. The next morning they brought us three more bugs. Were living like kings out here in the boonies! During the day we hiked the shores of the bay.

The rock formations here are incredible. As far as I can tell, no one has ever lived here, and the land seems to be untouched by humans.

And yet, Nature toys with our imaginations. As the sun moved westward the shadows shifted to reveal a man and woman that have been sunbathing here for ages.

Finisterra in peaceful Los Gatos. The Sierra de la Giganta Mountains are in the background.

We departed Los Gatos early in the morning on May 5th, bound for Isla San Francisco. Our course was southeast so naturally the wind, what little there was of it, was coming straight out of the southeast so we puttered along all day and anchored in the beautiful cove called The Hook, on the southwest side of the island at 1600. The water was crystal clear and 80 degrees. Perfect for a swim. It was also about time to scrub Finisterras bottom so we got masks, fins, snorkels and cleaning utensils and gave her a good scrubbing. There were quite a few small barnacles that popped off with a plastic putty knife.

Another view of the majestic Sierra de la Giganta Mountains

Isla San Francisco is a popular place and there were half a dozen boats already anchored there when we arrived. Then around sunset the Safari Voyager came into the bay. Its a small cruise ship with a capacity of 64 eco-tourists. We were thinking it was going to be mighty crowded on the beach tomorrow morning but the ship left at dawn and we thought wed seen the last of them. So we got up early and went hiking, thinking we had the island pretty much to ourselves. But as we set off across the low isthmus that bisects the north and south parts of the island we spotted a line of tourists trekking across our path. The Voyager had simply gone around to the other side of the island, where there was less of a swell for the tourists as they came ashore in a pair of large inflatable boats.

Safari Voyager

Eco-tourists on the march. This is the view we were greeted with when we topped the first rise on the west side of the isthmus.

We spent a couple of days at Isla San Francisco then with a northwest breeze in the forecast we headed south to La Paz where we plan to stay for a couple of weeks. Once outside the bay, I was all set to hoist the mainsail when the wind suddenly turned around and blew out of the south against the prevailing northerly swell which made for a bumpy ride to La Paz. On the way we spotted "Venus", the mega yacht that was built for Steve Jobs anchored just outside the harbor.

Venus is 256 long and the interior styling was done by Philippe Starck, who also did the interior on our last boat, Honcho. Venus is reputed to have cost $100 million Euros.

As we approached the harbor entrance I radioed the harbor master at Marina Palmira that we were a few minutes out. She gave me our slip number and some other info and signed off. So were coming down the narrow channel at the marina entrance with a fifteen knot tailwind and a dinghy in tow when we noticed a man on the jetty waving to us. Lisa is the sociable one among us so she waved back. Then he started waving harder and she said "I think hes trying to tell us something", but we couldnt make it out, so she went up to the bow to try and get a better understanding of what he was yelling and then suddenly noticed a 15" dredge pipe laying all the way across the channel. So she started waving and yelling at me to "Stop! Back er down! Your gonna hit a pipe!". So I slammed the engine into reverse and managed to keep from hitting the pipe, but with fifteen knots up the bum and a dinghy in tow, we were in danger of getting sideways in the channel, which would have been a bad thing since we had rocks on one side and big motor yachts on the other. But I managed to keep the boat lined up in the channel and they moved the dredger enough that we could squeeze by it with three or four feet of clearance on either side.

After we got the boat in the slip, we went up to the office to check in. While we were waiting another boat radioed that they were coming in. I could hear their entire conversation and the nice lady told the skipper what his slip number would be, gave directions on how to get there and signed off without ever mentioning the dredger blocking his way. I told her it would be a good idea to advise the unsuspecting sailor that the channel was blocked. She agreed and made a halfhearted attempted to hail him on the radio, but by then he was most likely in the midst of trying to keep his boat from slamming into the dredge pipe and he didnt answer. You never know when sailing in Mexico is going to become an adventure!

Anyway, were enjoying la Paz and expect to be here for a couple of weeks. We plan to take in the sights, maybe catch a glimpse of the Mexico 1000 off-road race and tour the East Cape. 

Continue

Homeward Bound Bahia Santa Maria to Ensenada

Finisterra remained in Bahia Santa Maria all day waiting for more favorable winds, and by 2200 the strong northwesterly had died down to about ten knots. We got the anchor up and slipped out of the bay at 2330 under a beautiful gibbous moon and rounded the south-facing Punta Hughes around midnight. From there we headed northwest toward Turtle Bay, about 225 miles up the coast. We headed offshore a couple of extra miles as we passed Cabo San Lazaro, giving it plenty of room. The last time we passed this way, in 2011, we watched a large sailing yacht that had strayed too close break up after it was stranded on the rocks there.

Once past San Lazaro, its a straight line to Turtle Bay and we motored comfortably into the northwesterly wind and swell, which remained mild until the next morning. By 1000 we were punching into a fifteen knot headwind and a short, steep swell. Fifteen knots of wind on the nose translates to 20 knots of apparent wind, which is enough to send spray flying across the deck. These conditions stayed with us well into the night, then eased around midnight. The next morning we were greeted with the same lumpy conditions, which finally eased about ten miles out of Turtle Bay.

Finisterras route to Turtle Bay. Notorious Cabo San Lazaro is the point just north of Bahia Santa Maria

We made the entrance to the bay at midday and were tied up to the fuel dock at 1245. We took on about sixty gallons of fuel and checked the weather forecast. It looked good for us to continue north, so we headed out again at 1330. From Turtle Bay, we could go inside Cedros Island, which is roughly the size of Catalina Island,or head further out to sea and pass to the west of it.  We chose the westerly route and headed well out to sea, passing to the west of Cedros and its neighboring islands of Natividad and San Benito. This turned out to be a good decision because that night we passed well to the west of a very large fishing operation instead of threading our way through it. We could see the bright lights of a dozen or so large fishing boats and many smaller lights around them. Throughout the night we could hear the radio chatter of other sailboats that were dodging their way through the fishing fleet. I was glad have a few miles between us and the fishermen, which were most likely after squid. Commercial squid fishing operations use "light boats" and purse seiners. The light boats are fitted with very bright lights that are shined into the water to attract large schools of squid. The purse seiners deploy a net around the school and reel it in close. With the net drawn up close to the boat, a pump is lowered into it and the squid are pumped aboard. I love calamari!

Turtle Bay to Ensenada

The passage from Turtle Bay to Ensenada is about 280 miles. It was all upwind and into seas that varied from easy swells to vicious lumps that we slammed into, making life aboard something less than comfortable. We had those lumpy conditions until we were about 40 miles from Ensenada, where conditions eased and we had a smooth ride between Isla Todos Santos and Punta Banda, and on into Ensenada harbor where we secured a berth at the Cruiseport Marina at 1230 on June 12th. Total distance traveled from San Jose to Ensenada was 824 nautical miles in six days and three hours.

Continue

A Season in Mexico Part 2 Marinas

The Honcho took berths in ten Marinas in Mexico and found them comparable to American marinas in many ways. Each of those marinas is listed below, along with a summary of our experiences there.

Cruiseport (Ensenada)  http://ects.enseit.com/ecpvmarina/
Located just past the Naval Base in the port of Ensenada. The entrance channel is well marked and easy to navigate.This is a modern marina with good facilities and excellent staff. Cruiseport Marina is the ideal place to officially check into Mexico. They will assist you with all the necessary paperwork and drive you to the Port Captains office at no charge. If youre not fluent in Spanish, Jonathan will translate and assist you with all the necessary forms and documents. There are many marine stores, restaurants and tiendas within walking distance, but youll want a cab to get to the local Costco or Walmart. I think this is the best marina in Ensenada because of its central location and low cost. One downside is that there is no fuel dock there, but Jonathan offered to drive me and four jerry jugs to a gas station downtown that sells diesel at no charge. Very friendly and helpful.

Marina Cabo San Lucas (Cabo San Lucas)  http://www.igy-cabosanlucas.com/
This is a very well equipped marina in the heart of the tourist area in Cabo. It is expensive (we paid $125 USD/night in November, 2010 but I think they have lowered their prices somewhat recently). The staff was friendly and the marina offers clean showers and laundry facilities and even a small swimming pool for guests. The central location was nice because nearly everything is within walking distance, but there are at least a dozen nightclubs within shouting distance, so we were serenaded every night until around 0400 by a dozen bands. The music and high prices drove us out of Cabo after only two nights.

Puerto Los Cabos (San Jose del Cabo)  http://www.puertoloscabos.com/about_the_marina.php
This is a new marina and is part of the Puerto Los Cabos Resort. As of June, 2011 the slips were completed but not all had electrical outlets. Prices were much better than at Cabo. We got a slip for $40 USD/night in a slip without electricity, which was fine with us. The same size slip with electricity was quoted to us at $80/night. Restrooms and showers were in trailers but there are plans for more permanent facilities. The harbor at San Jose del Cabo did not show on our Maxsea electronic charts nor on our GPS, but the Navionics app on our I-Pad showed it. Its a moderately long walk to downtown San Jose so youll want a taxi to get to the local (new) Walmart. There is a restaurant and gift shop at the marina. Prices are high, but the burgers were good. This marina is about 16 miles from Cabo San Lucas and is, in my opinion, a better place than Cabo to stay while waiting for a weather window for boats that are headed north along the Pacific coast of Baja.

Marina Palmira (La Paz)  http://www.marinapalmira.com/
Located just outside of downtown La Paz, Marina Palmira is our favorite place to stay in La Paz. While not a new marina, it is well maintained, with electronic gate locks on the gangways and plenty of security. It is affiliated with the Hotel Marina so we had free access to the large hotel pool, a necessity from May through October. There are a couple of good restaurants at the marina, and its a pleasant 3 mile walk to downtown La Paz from there along the beautiful malecon. We provisioned twice in La Paz, visiting the Soriano and Walmart. They are both too far to walk, but taxis are inexpensive in La Paz. Like most of the other marinas we visited, Marina Palmira offers free wifi, and like the others, it was spotty  at best. We always relied on our Telcel 3G cards in Mexico and were seldom disappointed by them.

Marina de La Paz (La Paz)  http://www.marinadelapaz.com/
This is the main marina in downtown La Paz. Older that the others, it has a character of its own that makes it hospitable to many long-time live-aboards. For us, the key attraction of this marina is its location in the heart of downtown La Paz. There are several marine stores as well as hardware stores, shopping mall, immigration office, restaurants and other services all within walking distance of this marina. Being downtown, its noisier and more crowded than Marina Palmira. This marina is also home to Club Cruceros de La Paz. This organization offers all sorts of services and information for cruisers in the Sea of Cortez http://www.clubcruceros.org/. We stayed in this marina in the month of May, and it was quite hot, with little wind during the day and the surrounding buildings and geography blocking much of the cooling Coromuel winds at night. The local year-round liveaboards assured me that you get used to the heat. Im not sure I want to do that myself, but its clear that many American and Canadian expats have found a home here.

Marina Mazatlan (Mazatlan)  http://www.marina-mazatlan.com/
Located about 10 miles north of downtown Mazatlan, most charts dont show this marina very well so I recommend using the Pacific Mexico Cruising Guide by Shawn Breeding and Heather Bansmer for accurate navigational information. The channel entrance is narrow and sea conditions can sometimes make entering or leaving tricky. The channel entrance requires constant dredging to keep it navigable and it is occasionally closed due to ongoing dredging operations. If in doubt, hail the marina on the VHF to check on conditions.
 Mazatlan is an important commercial port and you can find almost anything you need here. There are good restaurants, a shipyard and other conveniences within walking distance of the marina, but its too far to walk downtown, which is where you need to go for provisions. You can take a bus, taxi or pulmonia for a few pesos. The pulmonia is unique to Mazatlan.  It is a small open vehicle with a canvas top. Its cheaper than a regular taxi and in Maazatlans warm climate you dont need doors and windows, so whenever possible we took a pulmonia, which was more fun than a bus or taxi.

There has been some drug related violence in Mazatlan and at the time we were there cruise ships were not calling at the port of Mazatlan, so the town was a bit quieter than normal. We enjoyed the beautiful old city of Mazatlan and could have stayed there longer if wed had time.

Marina Riviera Nayarit (La Cruz de Huanacaxtle)  http://www.marinarivieranayarit.com/
This was our favorite marina in Mexico. Nearly new and very well maintained, Marina Riviera is probably as good as it gets. It is located in La Cruz de Huanacaxtle, on the north shore of Banderas Bay. La Cruz is a picturesque town with just the right combination of old Mexico charm, yatistas and an interesting mix of expats from around the world. The marina sports a yacht club with an excellent restaurant and bar, fuel dock, shipyard with 150 ton travelift, convenience store and laundry. There are plenty of good restaurants within walking distance, ranging from high end Italian to funky outdoor places with live music. We especially enjoyed Philos, Ana Bananas and Frascati. If I could visit only one marina in Mexico this would be it.

Paradise Village Marina (Nuevo Vallarta)  http://www.paradisevillagemarina.com/
Located in Nuevo Vallarta, about 10 miles from downtown Puerto Vallarta, Paradise Village marina is built on an estuary, so bring your bug screens. This marina is a bit older than the one in La Cruz, but it is well maintained, with good facilities and friendly help. It is part of the Paradise Village resort, so visitors have access to the hotel pool and beach. This place reminded me of Marina Del Rey in California. So if you like Del Rey, youll like Paradise Village Marina.

Marina Vallarta (Puerto Vallarta)  marvta@prodigy.net.mx
Located in the port of Puerto Vallarta, this marina was once a fine place to stay while you visited the city of PV, but when we visited, it was fairly rundown. Security was so-so, and the noise level was only a few decibels this side of Cabo San Lucas. It does have the benefit of close proximity to downtown PV, which is a wonderful city.

Marina Ixtapa Nautica (Ixtapa)  www.marinaixtapa.com
Like Paridise Village Marina, Marina Ixtapa Nautica is also part of a larger resort. As such it offers good facilities, access to fine restaurants and shops, and a nice beach.  It is located a short bus or taxi ride from the beautiful city of Zihuatanejo, where there an excellent anchorage for when you tire of marina life. Isla Ixtapa is less than five miles away by boat and is a perfect place to anchor for the day and snorkel or lounge on the beach. While anchored there I cleaned the bottom of our boat, which is prohibited in the marina due to the large crocodiles that occasionally swim through.

Continue

Ixtapa

Zihuatanejo

The days flew past while we were in Ixtapa. We had not planned to go there but Im really glad we did. While there we toured both Ixtapa and Zihuatanejo, visited Isla Grande, Playa Linda and the Cocodrilario, and perhaps most fun of all, celebrated our friend, Judys 50th birthday. We stayed at the Marina Ixtapa Nautica, a fairly luxurious marina in Ixtapa. We had been at anchor in more remote places for three weeks prior, so it was nice to get into a marina where we could give the Honcho a good freshwater scrub, sleep all night without an anchor watch, and take easy advantage of the great restaurants and stores nearby. I also wanted to get the hull bottom scrubbed, but laughed when I was told that no one is allowed to swim or perform underwater services in the marina because of the crocodile threat. We kept a sharp lookout but saw no crocs.

Hobie Cat

Judys birthday was much more than a simple party, it was an Event, with guests flying in from various points in the States, and as far away as Denmark for five days of festivities. We arrived on Feb. 12th and participated in a day long outing to Isla Grande, then a day of Hobie Cat racing and the grand finale party on the 15th. We met a lot of great people and had a wonderful time at the party, the highlight of which was Torben, Judys husband, shedding his conservative Danish demeanor to grab the mike and belt out an excellent rendition of Blue Suede Shoes. He truly rocked the place. After three days of partying, we spent the next day taking care of boat chores and relaxing. The following day we took some friends out to Isla Grande where we swam and relaxed and I had an opportunity to scrub the bottom of the boat myself. Im glad to report that it was surprisingly clean, with only some serious growth on the speed and depth sensor thru-hulls. I checked the rudder, prop shaft, strut and prop as well as the zincs, all in good shape.

Pina Colada Isla Grande Style

On our last day in Ixtapa we decided to visit the Cocodrilario (Crocodile preserve) in Playa Linda, since we had yet to see any crocs in the wild, except for one poor little duffer in a flood control canal in Puerto Vallarta. Taking the bus, which is our usual mode of land transportation in Mexico, is always interesting. Local  buses charge between 5 and 12 Pesos and if they dont have a music system, a local musician often climbs aboard and serenades the riders with a guitar and song. The cocodrilario is located at the bus stop in Playa Linda so we got to see the crocs, iguanas, turtles and other wildlife up close. I like that theres nothing but a chain link fence between the spectators and the animals, you can get within a few feet of them, so we got lots of up close and personal photos. Playa Linda is a beautiful beach with dozens of vendor stalls selling everything from toy crocs to clothing, along with delicious food and Mexican beer. Isla Grande lies less than a mile off the coast and tourists arrive by the busload to take pangas out to the island for a day of snorkeling, sipping and sun. We wandered around the place for a while, but quickly tired of the tourist crowds and grabbed a bus back to the marina, where we began preparations to leave Ixtapa. Lisa went up to the office to check us out while I loaded the boat with diesel...a few minutes later she came running back, telling me that finally there was a crocodile swimming through the marina, which she got photos of. Frankly, Im a bit crocd out and didnt need to see it myself.

Croc

We cleared the breakwater around 1630, and set a course that would take us out around Punta Ixtapa and northwest, back toward Manzanillo.  I must say I felt a twinge of regret as we rounded the point. Ixtapa marks the furthest south we will go on this voyage, and every mile we travel from now on will be homeward bound. Id rather be headed for the other horizon.

Continue

Homeward Bound Los Cabos to Bahia Santa Maria

We stayed about a week in San Jose del Cabo at the luxurious and expensive Marina Puerto Los Cabos. Actually it’s not really luxurious. It doesn’t have a pool or much in the way of amenities for cruising sailors. Instead it caters to sportfishermen and mega yachters, a totally different type of clientele. It is very well maintained and has a nice little open air restaurant where you can get a hamburger for only about $13.00. That’s dollars, not pesos. The marina is beautifully landscaped and the docks are perfectly maintained, while the staff is mostly quite friendly and helpful. On the other hand, it has a sterile, soulless ambience along with plenty of security. I credit this to the mostly absentee ownership of the boats that call this place home. Of the hundred or so boats in the marina there were only five or six sailboats, most of which had people living aboard who were, like us, simply waiting for a weather window to head north to the US.

While we waited for the window to open, we spent a little time preparing the boat for the arduous 900 mile trip up the outside coast of Baja, but there really wasn’t much to do, as Finisterra was pretty much ready when we left La Paz. I had the bottom cleaned, changed the fuel filters and gave the engine a thorough inspection because we expect to be motoring or motorsailing for the nest 900 miles. There are very few places on the outside of Baja that have fuel or any kind of marine services so we want the engine systems in tip top shape. We also want the sails and rig to be in top form. There was nothing to do in that respect except give it all a thorough once-over. The only thing on the to-do list was to make a set of sail ties for the reef points. With all that done, we spent the rest of our free time checking out the beaches and hanging out in the very upscale environs of San Jose. It really wasn’t a very fun place to be and I confess that I checked the weather forecasts several times a day, looking for the first opportunity to get out of San Jose.

One of the new “attractions” at the marina is a Dolphin Discovery exhibit. It consists of three or four large pens next to the marina where they keep a half dozen or so dolphins in captivity. Tourists pay for the experience of getting into the pens with the dolphins for a personal encounter. We walked past the place several times in the early mornings, before the customers arrived and watched the captive dolphins swimming around in the pens while the “trainers” got ready for the day’s show. The poor dolphins looked pathetic compared to the exuberant ones we always see in the wild, and the whole concept of keeping these animals in captivity for profit disgusts me. I hope you never pay to pet a dolphin.

My primary sources for weather information are Predictwind and GRIB files. GRIB’s provide a good overview of winds in the region while the information from Predictwind is more detailed and specific. By Monday, June 2nd, the forecast started looking good for a Saturday departure, but as the week wore on, the forecast for the area around Cabo began to worsen. So we could either leave on Friday morning or wait for the forecasted adverse winds to pass by, which could be another week or more. We decided to take advantage of the current conditions and quickly checked out of the marina and got underway at 0930 on Friday, June 6^th, bound for Bahia Santa Maria.

The wind was light when we left San Jose but quickly built to 20-25 knots on the nose as we approached the Cape. In the twenty miles between San Jose and Cabo San Lucas the sea temperature plummeted from 83 to a surprising 68 degrees and we prepared for a chilly passage. But after rounding Cabo Falso, the last point of land before we could turn northward, the wind began to ease and the sea temperature rose to a much more comfortable 77 degrees. For the rest of the day and throughout most of the night we motored in balmy seas and a light wind. It was still on the nose though.

Finisterras route from San Jose del Cabo to Bahia Santa Maria

That night there was a waxing gibbous moon amid scattered clouds until around 0200. After the moon set the overcast sky cleared and we were kept company by the vast Milky Way, with Polaris, the north star off our starboard bow. The next day we continued in lovely light conditions until around noon when the wind and seas built. By 1500, when we arrived at Bahia Santa Maria it was again blowing 20 with a bumpy sea throwing spray over the dodger.

We are anchored in the northwest corner of the bay now. The wind is still blowing hard outside the bay, but I expect it to lie down a bit this evening. If it does, we’ll get underway around midnight, and head toward Turtle Bay, 220 miles away.

Continue

Living in La Paz

After our sojourn in the Central Sea, Finisterra spent a couple of weeks at Marina Palmira in La Paz where she underwent a thorough cleaning, had her motor serviced and was reprovisioned. When that was done we had some time to explore more of the city of La Paz and the East Cape region of Baja. But first some news:

About a month ago we decided it would be better to sail Finisterra back to California for the summer instead of leaving her here in Mexico. The reason for this change of plans is that after having lived aboard for six months and cruised over 4,000 miles, we have a pretty long list things we want to do to the boat, and it will be much easier and less expensive to do the work in sunny California instead of broiling Mexico over the summer. Some of the items on the list include replacing the teak in the cockpit and transom step, expanding the bimini and dodger, rebuilding or replacing the watermaker, etc. Of course we could do all this here in Mexico but wed have to spend the summer here.  We took a vote on that and agreed that its too bloody hot here in the summertime. So within a few weeks well head south to Cabo San Lucas, or more precisely Puerto Los Cabos, where well make final preparations for the long passage up the Pacific side of Baja to California.

In the meantime weve been getting to know La Paz. A couple of months ago I bought an air conditioner for the boat which has greatly improved our quality of life aboard. Outside temperatures recently have been in the 100-107 degree range with the sea temperature hovering around eighty degrees, so it can easily be a hundred inside the boat. The AC unit is just a little thing but it keeps the boat fairly comfortable during the day.

A few days ago we rented a car and took a drive around the East Cape from La Paz through Los Barriles and Cabo Pulmo, and on to San Jose del Cabo where we had a nice dinner. From there we headed west through Cabo San Lucas and then turned northward back toward La Paz.

There is a new marina under construction near Los Barriles that I wanted to check out. It took a while to find it but it was worth a look. The jetties and channels are all built, and there are a couple of floating docks with a few fishing boats, but aside from that its still desert. The master plan includes luxury homes and all the amenities that wealthy fishermen and vacationers expect, but by the looks of the place they are still a few years in the future.

Marina Ribera near Los Barriles has a few boats in it. Notice that there are no sailboats here.

The luxury hotels and condos are still a twinkle in the developers eye at Marina Ribera.

Unbeknownst to us, the paved road ended at the marina and for the next 51 miles it was dirt. Our little Nissan rental car handled it well for the most part, we only high centered it twice and returned it to the agency with the oil pan and suspension intact. We got back onto a paved road about five miles outside of San Jose del Cabo and cruised into town around 5:30. After a meal at a restaurant we used to frequent the last time we stayed in San Jose, we got back on the road and headed back to La Paz.

Usually the wild burros weve encountered in Mexico have been pretty skittish, but a few miles outside of San Jose we came across a half dozen of them on the road. There wasnt any skittish in these fellows except for the little guy pictured above.

Lisa wanted to take this one home but it wouldnt fit in the backseat.

After a few days in the marina we headed out to a place called Caleta Partida. Its a cove formed by the islands of Espiritu Santo and Isla Partida. The two islands are separated only by a narrow channel that is deep enough for a dinghy to pass through.

Caleta Partida is the cove to the west of the channel that separates two islands. We anchored a quarter mile west of the channel near the southern shore of the cove.

We arrived at 1400 and spent the afternoon swimming and exploring the channel between the islands. Later in the day a couple of sailboats entered the cove and anchored nearby. We are always careful about how we anchor, and whenever possible Ill swim out to the anchor and visually check that its well set. Knowing that a Coromuel wind was likely to arrive sometime around midnight, I made doubly sure about that. I hate having to get up in the middle of the night in 30 knots of wind to find that were towing our anchor across the bay.

Sure enough the wind showed up a little after midnight, blowing a steady 25-30 knots out of the southwest, with gusts up to about 38 knots. The boat that had anchored nearest us stayed put throughout the night but at dawn it began to drag. It was headed toward us and crossed our bow about fifty feet away moving stern-first toward shoal water which was another hundred yards or so to leeward. I was on the foredeck yelling at the boat and just as they passed by the owner came on deck and got the engine started. If they had dragged any further their anchor might have snagged our chain and taken us with them. By then we had our engine started and were ready to take evasive action. Fortunately they got their boat under control before there was any harm to themselves or us. They tried to re-anchor but couldnt get their plow type anchor to hold in that much wind. They eventually gave up and headed out to sea with the wind still blowing 30 knots...not a fun morning for them. We had seen the boat in Ensenada back in January. The owner told me he and his wife had been working on it for eight years and were finally ready to sail south and fulfill their cruising dreams. Like many boats we see cruising, they had added a whole lot of stuff on deck including four large solar panels on a big stainless steel arch, and lots of other toys on deck. All of this stuff adds weight and windage so though they probably had an anchor of a size that was recommended for that boat, it may not have been adequate for the way the boat was set up. We were fortunate that they didnt hit us and they were fortunate not to have run aground that morning. With all the money they had invested in their boat, they should have spent a bit more and gotten a ROCNA anchor.

Later that day we moved further north on Isla Partida to Ensenada grande where we spent a couple of relaxing days swimming and exploring. Now were back in La Paz and beginning preparations to head back to California.

Continue