Hello all. Saturday, March 31st., 0600, we slipped quietly away from La Paz. The time for our last tour of our favourite anchorages (and some new ones) in the Sea of Cortez has arrived. Internet connections for the next month will be weak and sketchy, if at all, so I am starting this Blog post now. I'll use it as a running commentary and post each time we can.
Saturday, March 31st. While there wasn't enough wind to actually sail and maintain sufficient speed to reach our destination before dark, there was enough to hoist the main which blessed us with a wee bit more speed from time to time. The rest of our forward motion was produced by our trusty Diesel engine... noisy but efficient. We ran, under power and sail, from La Paz, north along the two big islands immediately north (Islas Espiritu and Partida) peeking into each anchorage as we passed. Most seemed quite empty (surprising as this is Easter week and the weather is good)and as we listened to the morning nets on the SSB radio we learned that Isla San Francisco had been loaded with boats and very uncomfortable with a SW swell. Hmm, that had been our destination... so back to the planning stage, worked out a few options, and carried on.
The day went smoothly. SSpirit performed well and we really enjoying watching the beautiful, rugged coastline roll by. We remembered how amazed we had been the first time we saw this creation of natural beauty. The wonderment hasn't changed. We did see other boats but, in this part of the Sea they are usually few and far between. This side is very different than the mainland. For one thing the humidity is half (yeah!), the water is clear and beautiful colours, and the land formations are gorgeous creations of striated cliffs and impressive architecture (mesas to mountains).
Along our way we were joined by a Fin whale that surfaced and blew not very far behind us, two humpbacks travelling together that passed us south bound, numerous turtles swimming slowly in all directions, and leaping rays.
We passed by Isla San Francisco. Although there would have been room for us, we weren't all that impressed with the notion of rolly-poley all night, so we kept on. We had heard there were only three boats in San Evaristo so we headed over there and arrived at 1530 hrs. San Evaristo is a small fishing village and we've been here several times before. It's also the home of good friends Charlotte and Steve (SV Wilful Simplicity). They were home and it was great to see them and catch up.
Sunday, April 1st. interesting night. Winds blew 16+ for several hours from about 2300 - 0300. Luckily there was no fetch, as they blew from the west, but it's still somewhat unnerving to have the winds whistling like that as you watch to make sure your anchor holds and all the other boats 'hold' as well. So, a little less sleep than planned... but we 're up and getting ready to leave for another long run. Our goal is to get to the Puerto Escondido area quickly... like tomorrow. We shall see.
You know you're re tired when.... you not only forget it's April 1st but you also fail to trick your favourite sisters.... OK, I was only blessed with two... but they really are my favourites.. and, every year, for as long as I can remember... I spend lots of time figuring out how to trick each of them before 12 noon on April 1st and in a different way every year. I have succeeded in doing so almost every year I can remember. This year.... not so much. With all the excitement about leaving and heading north... I plumb forgot. I didn't even remember in time to trick Kathy.... this was not a good year for April Fools at our house :-(. Sorry my sisters... I shall have to get you twice... next year!
It is Sunday, April 1st... the sun has gone down and we are tidily anchored at Aqua Verde... a beautiful anchorage on the Baja. We chose this location because of it's high cliffs and mountains that will, we hope, protect us from the strongish westerly winds that have been predicted for tonight. We had a taste of them last night in San Evaristo and, with no wishes for a repeat performance, we have carefully selected a spot off the beach in front of the fishing village. We have large mountains to the south and west AND and we have lots of scope (anchor chain) out. We feel pretty comfortable that we'll be able to handle whatever is dished out. Will let you know tomorrow, how we do tonight.
Aaah, good morning. It's Monday, April 2nd. I'm happy to report we didn't feel a bit of wind overnight and had wonderful sleeps. It's so nice, the weather forecasts aren't awful, and we've decided to stay for at least one more day. There are several boats we know (Free Spirit, Dolce Maestra, Ocean Voyager) here and we'll enjoy catching up with everyone. The sun is hot, the seas are smooth, water temp 75, and low humidity. Can it get any better?
Thursday, April 5th. Hope to be sending this post sometime today, and another one as well. Feel free to read them in chronological order... or not :-)
Hope all is well with everyone. CJ
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