Hi everyone. We made it. Seas were lumpy (and wet), wind was on the nose. We slipped Isla San Francisco at 0500 and 10 hrs. later we slid into our slip at Marina Palmira... exhausted, salty, and happy. The seas were the kind that let you speed you up to 4 or 5 knots and then knock you back to 2 knots.... It was slow and sloppy going (with more than one wave breaking over our foredeck as SSpirit buried her bow into it) but we were glad we stuck to our route (the shortest possible line which was pretty much down the middle). Others, who hoisted all sails and headed towards the islands to the east got caught up in winds gusting 24 and seas even bigger than we had.
While many chose to take refuge in one of the slightly protected anchorages we continued. We're now safe, tucked into the marina and delighted to be connecting with old friends, some we haven't seen since 2012 when we sailed out of La Paz and headed to Mazatlan. Ooh, I just got called away by the splashing of sea life beside our boat. I'd forgotten how full of life the waters around La Paz are. It's like floating in a huge aquarium. This visit was from a school of fish (about 8-10" long) just jumping and gathering.... marvelous!
Now then, just in case you wonder why we'd hoist anchor and head for civilization (requiring two, very long, days of travel); here is today's weather forecast. The first set of numbers for each day represent the winds expected (in nautical miles per hour). The second set of numbers are the seas and the last number is the seconds between each wave (and remember when it says say 6 for a wave height... That means 12' from trough to top). And PPM is my code for overnight. Also note the winds and waves will be opposing each other quite often. Here goes:
Sat. N 7-10. SSW 2-3. @15
PPM. NNW 9-13. SSW 2-4. @14
Sun. NNW 13-17 SSW 3-6. @14
PPM. NNW 12-16. SSW 3-6. @13
Mon. N 13-17. SSW 3-6. @ 13
Tue. NNW 18-25. NW 6-9 @ 6
Wed. NNW 20-27. NW 7-11. @ 7
Thu. NW 19-26. NW 7-12. @ 7
Fri. NW 15-21. S 6-10. @ 14
Just let your imagination play with the notion of sailing in a giant washing machine, set to 3/4 speed... That'd be about right :-)
Aah. la Paz. So glad to be here..... have a wonderful day.... CJ
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