Hi everyone, (Kathy here)
Just wanted to share this thought with you... many years ago (1999) Carolyn & I joined Blue Water Cruising and thus began our dream about the possibilities of sailing in Mexico. The thoughts of bobbing at anchor off a long white sandy beach, palm trees dotting the shoreline, palapa restaurants ashore offering cold cervezas and diving off the boat into lovely warm salty water prompted us to begin our preparations for what has become a multi-year sailing adventure.
Well, yesterday we arrived at one of the ultimate cruiser's Mexican winter playgrounds and were greeted by several dear cruising friends who came over by dinghy to welcome us with hugs and congratulations. Not every cruiser chooses to take on this section of coastline to make the journey south to Bahia Tenacatita. In 2011, when we sailed Shannon down the Pacific coast of North America, we were challenged by several natural landmarks. Safely rounding the major Capes of Washington, Oregon and California (Flattery, Conception, Blanco & Mendocino) requires careful route planning and close attention to the weather. Rounding Mexico's Cabo Corrientes is no less daunting.
During our last week before leaving the dock in La Cruz, we paid close attention to the wind and sea state forecasts provided by a variety of online marine weather sites. After a final consult with our best local weather resource (Mike from PV Sailing), we untied our docklines at noon on the 20th and spent the afternoon sailing across Banderas Bay. The time of our leaving and our cruising speed had been carefully calculated to see us rounding (the dreaded) Cabo Corrientes at sunset, when the afternoon Banderas Bay winds have typically died down and the seas are generally at their calmest.
Once we got there, we still had a nice 10-15 knot steady breeze and the seas were rolly and confused (as expected), but manageable. As we made our turn to head south, the wind and swells were behind us, so we reefed our main, partially furled our jib and hung on. This was a challenging leg, as our autohelm could not handle these conditions, so we took turns hand steering for the next 10 hours.
Throughout the night, we could see several other sailboats on our radar and AIS display. Presumably, they were as busy as we were, so there was little time for chitchat on the radio, but knowing that they were there was reassuring. Our route was planned for 5 miles off the coast as this was reported to keep us outside the local shrimpers and fishing pangas with their dangerous long lines. We could see their lights against the shoreline in the distance as we went by and kept careful watch on the radar for any that might have ventured out further. On AIS, we could see the cargo ships 20 miles out, on their way from Manzanillo to/from Ensenada, or La Paz, or Guaymas. So, as with our voyage down the U.S. coast, we had found our "middle route". It was a long night, but we were secure in the knowledge that we had done our research and made the best plan for us.
As the dawn began to slowly brighten the eastern sky, we were tired, but happy to know that we were at the halfway point. At 10 am, we adjusted our course to bring us gradually closer in to the coast. Shortly after noon, we were closing in to our waypoint which marked the approach to Bahia Tennacatita. As we rounded the rocks at the entrance to the bay, and made our preparations for anchoring, we heard a familiar voice calling Shannon Spirit on the VHF radio. Jane & Jeff (SV Adagio) are at anchor in nearby Barra de Navidad, enjoying the town and waiting for the annual cruiser's Christmas celebration. Jane had heard from our friends Marty & Murray (SV Ponga) that we were arriving soon and Jane was calling to see where we were.
82 people are signed up for the pot luck dinner and many games are planned. We've decided to pass on the party and are very happy to just settle in here and explore Tenacatita and wait for the group to return.
We are anchored in sand in 20 feet with great protection from the prevailing north winds. The water is so clear that we can see the bottom. 17 boats were here when we dropped anchor and several friends came along by dinghy to welcome us. On the VHF we heard Robert on SV Harmony of Alameda (the "Mayor of Tenacatita") announce the weekly "Dinghy Raftup" was to commence at 5:00 pm. Brett & Marna (SV Liahona) stopped by to offer that we join them in their dinghy (so we wouldn't have to drop ours and mount the outboard). While we were both exhausted, we knew this was an event that we didn't want to miss. We cleaned up the disarray left over from our 26 hour passage, had our traditional "landing rums", prepared our happy hour contribution and got into our bathing suits to have a much needed swim. We were hot and sweaty and the water was wonderfully refreshing. It was warm and clean and so salty that we floated easily. Afterwards, we put on clean clothes, were picked up by Brett & Marna and off we went to the Mayor's Raft Up. Robert and Virginia had arrived first and set an anchor from their dinghy. The other dinghies joined them in a circle by tying a line to theirs. There were about 10 dinghies in all and each contributed plates of delicious food which we passed around the circle. We reconnected with old friends and met new ones. Robert welcomed us all and congratulated everyone on accomplishing their goal of rounding Corrientes to make their way down to this piece of paradise. He asked us all to introduce ourselves and share a story of a Christmas memory. It was interesting to hear a bit of these people's lives. Many different adventures, lots of laughter and a few toasts to those who are no longer with us.
Quite a few boats left this morning for Barra de Navidad, but six of us are still here. We are looking forward to getting the kayak and dinghy into the water and spending several quiet days swimming, snorkeling, reading and walking the beach. It's time for some peaceful days at anchor in that beautiful tropical bay that we dreamed of all those years ago.
Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas, wherever you are planning to spend it, and all the best in the year ahead. May your seas be calm and the wind in your sails be only as much as your desire.
Kathy & CJ
Shannon's Spirit
Posted by: Carolyn (via Kathy's Google mail profile)
