Cabo Corrientes...

Not bad for 60 hey!!

Good morning, good morning.  I’m writing you from sunny La Cruz/Puerto Vallarta, Banderas Bay.  We’re currently anchored waiting to hear if Paradise Village might have room for us today or tomorrow.  We are tired and we are elated... about to celebrate Kathy’s 60th and the completion of a round trip through Corrientes, with a wee sip of Champagne.

Thanks to all the great wisdom, advice and forecasts we collected and a bit of good luck, we picked exactly the right window.  We had choices...either stop at Chamela and Ipala, using up two nights and/but being able to travel during daylight hours... or make a long run from Chamala and go up and around Corrientes, in one shot. We know how weather windows can deteriorate quickly so we decided to seize the moment and make a run for it. We had such a good run, I feel compelled to tell you about it... hope you don’t mind.

Having worked out a course, staying one mile off the shore during daylight (because we’d be able to see the fishing boats and their nets), and then moving out to three miles after dark (because then we’d hopefully be outside the areas where they fish),    and then moving back in to 1-2 miles off the Cape (to avoid heavier seas and winds and to take advantage of a northbound current)... we then worked out the time. The total journey, from Chamela to PV, would take approx. 21 hours if we maintained an average speed of 5 knots.  And, upon advice from everyone, we wanted to be rounding the Cape between 2300 and 0100 hrs.  Lots of math, I know, but well worth the time.  We hoisted our anchor and slipped from Chamela at 1100 hrs., Saturday morning, and after quite an amazing journey, we arrived in Banderas Bay and dropped our anchor just outside La Cruz at 0800hrs.  Not bad hey.  Now let me tell you about the journey we shared with the day of Kathy’s 60th birthday.

Our 21 hours were spent with light winds, on the nose, and 2-4’ swells from the west.  The sky was a beautiful blue and the sea gave up wonderful memories to treasure. They included.... so many sea turtles swimming along, we stopped counting after twelve.  They were cute, before scurrying off with a mighty flap of their flippers, they’d poke their heads up and take a look at us. Then there were the whales.... yup, we saw several... but the best was the one that dove and breached, and then dove and breached again.... and then he did it again.  There were dolphins, not as many as we usually see, but they were there, and most enjoyable after dark when their runs at the hull in phosphorescent water, made us think of the poor sailors in WWII watching incoming torpedoes.  The most spectacular, was a coordinated run of five, all in line, away from the boat and leaving phosphorescent trails.  Must have been dinner that swam by, and off they went.  Oh, I forgot to mention the sleeping whale.  There we were, motoring along in a phosphorescent sea (which is very cool) when I heard a whoosh off the port side.  When I looked over I saw a much larger than normal field of phosphorescence... and then, just a little ways away, what looked like a submarine laying underwater and ‘catching his breath’. I do belief we startled a sleeping whale.  Thank goodness we didn’t hit him (or her).  But nothing like a sleeping submarine to catch your attention.

And, finally, there was the night sky... the best part of night passages.  The stars were amazing.  There were so many (the moon didn’t come up until morning) we had trouble picking out our favourites (Cassiopia, the Big Dipper, Orion’s Belt.....) all stars we used to navigate on our run down the coast of North America in 2011.

OK, that’s enough information.  Know we are well, tired but safe, and in PV :-). Will write again once we know our next schedule.

Adios for now. CJ

Posted by: Carolyn (via Kathy's Google mail profile)