True North May 1 to 31: The Sea of Cortez

May was dedicated to the Sea of Cortez, north of Isla Islotes which had been our furthest point north as of April. It fulfilled expectations! Beautiful anchorages are bountiful and the crystal clear, turquoise water had warmed up sufficiently to leave wetsuits behind. More cruisers were coming out to the Sea for summer. It is easy to look back and see how the month passed so quickly with many fantastic options for swimming, snorkeling and hiking to rocky points and ridgelines, complemented by evenings here and there with other boaters. It became very hot mid-day – too hot for hiking but for swimming or sailing it was perfect. Sailing between islands became a delightful combination of motoring and easy, leisurely sailing.

Blue sky, red rocks, white sand, turquoise water - the Sea of Cortez

May 1-6: La Paz to Loreto Fest

We Left La Paz May 1^st. 

Leaving La Paz, Steve Jobs 220' yacht in the background

We wanted to get to Loreto Fest, May 2-4, and try to meet up with some of the other boats that would be there but it's a long haul from La Paz, ~110 nm . We overnighted at Ensenada Grande on Espiritu Santo, a favorite anchorage for its dazzling water and high red rock cliffs. Two gray whales surfaced in unison off our port side along the way.  The next morning, we crossed over to the channel on the west side of Isla San Francisco. We had been making good time motoring since having had the boat bottom cleaned by Luis at Costabaja. More good news from Luis: we wouldn't need to haul out and paint for another year. A wind picked up, N 20-30 kts directly ahead so we were going a slow 3.5 kts and wouldn't be able to make our intended anchorage before dark. We tucked just inside Punta San Evaristo on the north side of the anchorage for the night.

The anchor was up again early at 0555. It was still dark. The constellation Scorpio was looming large over over San Evaristo. As we made our way into the channel in the dim light of dawn, a pod of dolphins swam past.

Dolphins in Canal de San Jose

The sun rise over Isla San Jose and lit up the rocky landscape on the west side of the channel. So awesome! The landscape had changed in the last day from reddish cliffs with gullies extending to the shoreline to the high brown and grey Sierra de la Gigante range rising from the water's edge. We passed many more pods with a hundred dolphins swimming among scores of jumping fish so we put the fishing line into the water. Eventually, we heard the tell-tale sound of the reel indicating we had hooked a fish – a lively, colorful dorado was jumping at the end of our line! But...we had been using a smaller hook and it got away.

We had gone a long way without seeing any boats, then suddenly saw three and were pleased to pick up on AIS Antipodes, Appa and Sea Otter. We had been hoping to catch up with them at Loreto Fest but they had decided to make their way south a little earlier. Two of the boats would need to get ready for crossing to Hawaii soon. We considered joining them for one last night in Agua Verde but by now it was a few hours behind us and Puerto Escondido before dark was also calling. Loreto Fest is actually held 14 nm south of Loreto in Puerto Escondido where there's a large, protected anchorage. We finally arrived, anchor down at 17:30, inflated the dinghy, and were quickly greeted by Winterhawk dingying by on their way to the Loreto Fest spaghetti dinner. They came aboard for a brief visit and then we went to dinner together. There was a fantastic rock band on the patio. We danced a few and stayed to the very end. It was Winterhawk's last evening before going to San Carlos in the morning to prepare their boat for storage and it was a festive send-off. We had noticed Finisterra in the anchorage but didn't have a chance to contact them before Winterhawk arrived and in the morning they were gone.

Loreto Fest site at Hidden Port Yacht Club

We decided to stay for the day in Puerto Escondido. A 15-minute walk to the tienda gave us a chance to pick up a few provisions. It's a strange place. There is a town infrastructure consisting of good, paved sidewalks, street lights, spaces for a planned subdivision, small marina, large anchorage and modern marina offices but nothing else. Years have passed but the town has yet to be built! The setting is spectacular. The towering Los Gigantes frame the anchorage and in the morning light are reminiscent of the Grand Canyon with colorful horizontal rock layers. 

True North at Puerto Escondido, Los Gigantes in background

We pulled anchor at 08:05 from Puerto Escondido on a beautiful morning. The two hour motoring to Loreto was filled with the same superb scenery. Add to it hundreds of dolphins feeding in the channel. They were jumping every which way along with the big fish they were trying to catch. We were lucky to be in Loreto on a perfectly calm day and night. The anchorage at the town is not protected so a stay of a few hours before the afternoon winds pick up is the norm. With such calm conditions, we stayed overnight. Early in the day we walked to the town center to see the first and oldest mission in Mexico, San Loreto Mission, and a tree-lined avenue with tourist shops and sights. We walked further along a main road out of the tourist center, then back to Cafe Ole. Across the street a tour office caught our attention.

Hotel in Loreto

We signed up for ride and guide the next morning to go to San Javier Mission, about 30 kms away. It is the second oldest mission in Mexico and is tucked away in the scenic mountains.

San Xavier Mission

We met our guide, Oscar, at 08:30 on the malecon in his van and rode to San Javier Mission, 30 kms through winding hills with a few short detours for washed out roads which were being repaired. We walked the arroyo over to a very old fig tree. Roots 15' deep into the rock were exposed when the surrounding rock layer was washed away in last winter's rains. San Javier is a very small community with a wide stone paved main street leading to the old mission church. It's a very picturesque place in the mountains and off the beaten track. We may have been the only visitors. There was one small craft shop, a few empty palapas and tidy houses extending out from the main road. On the way back, Oscar dropped us off at a panateria and then the supermarket.

Old Town Loreto

We stopped for fish tacos at Mita Gourmet and to our surprise noticed that just next door was a craft beer cafe, 1697. So rare! It would have been a tasty treat as Mexican cerveza is about as tasteless as Bud Light. We had heard from Mike and Tammy on Resolution the day before. They had found us via our InReach track and were in the same area so we made plans to meet them that evening at Isla Coronados.

May 7-15: Buddy boating with Resolution

We met up with Resolution at Isla Coronados in the late afternoon at the south anchorage. We went aboard their boat to catch up on the past several weeks' activities and for dinner. Tammy had dorado to clear out of their freezer and Mike grilled it perfectly. We brought pasta with pesto – lotsa' pasta still to be used from our galley. The next morning, we moved our boats to the nearby west anchorage to access the hiking trail to the peak, a dusty 3-hour round trip through a partially groomed trail, rocks and gravel. 

True North and Resolution on top Isla Coranados

As we made our way back to the anchorage the wind had picked up considerably. Our boats were pitching at the edge of the surf line so we each prepared for departure and took off rapidly for the calmer anchorage back on the south side. Mike made a superb mole chicken which we complimented with penne pasta, appetizer and margaritas.

Anne and Tammy reproduce Shawn and Heather's beach photo

Together, we left in the morning for San Juanico and sailed much of the 25 nm north then tucked into the north end. It's a large, popular anchorage. We found a dozen other boats there already. We had just missed the annual Shipwrecked beach party the night before! Note: it is held every year on the first Wednesday of May. The night before the party, another informal party had been held at one of only two grand houses overlooking the beach. The fabulous guitarist from Loreto Fest played for six hours! Tom, the host, had invited all of the cruisers from the anchorage to his home for a pot luck dinner. We missed a real special event!

Cruiser's "shrine", San Juanico

We hiked a road a few miles up to the saddle and snorkeled around the rocks in the anchorage for the day's activities, then later in the evening Resolution joined us aboard True North for a dinner of pasta putanesca and spicy Italian sausage. While out in the dinghy the next day we stopped to meet the boat Que Linda from Bend, OR and visited with Doug and Linda. Coincidentally, they live on the same street as Sea Otter's Mike, Julie and Ben with whom we've spent some good times over the past few months. Gregg bartered for dorado with a sport fish boat that had just come into the anchorage with a couple of Pacificas and Emperado cookies. Muy bien, una dorado para la cena!

Anchorage at San Juanico

I caught a fish, as we moved north 4 nm to the anchorage at Punta Pulpito!  We sailed most of the way with a good wind. Just as we were thinking that we didn't really need fish right now (we still had some dorado leftovers), we heard the reel spinning. After patiently waiting for this fish to tire so that we wouldn't lose it, we brought it in...but, another skipjack. It wiggled desperately in an attempt to return to the sea and after a funny photo op, we gladly let it go.

Anne with her good-looking Skipjack

Punta Pulpito is quite picturesque. It has a large rocky head with a big vertical obsidium streak running through it and two large arches at the waterline. We took the dinghies over to explore but had forgotten to bring the camera. Later, we hiked the ridge to the top of Pulpito on a well-defined trail with awesome views of the anchorage below. In the evening on Resolution, combined leftovers from the galleys of Resolution and True North produced a full plate of dorado fish tacos with an array of colorful toppings.

Toppings, anyone?

We had our first experience with the Sea of Cortez bees in Pulpito where in some areas of the sea, bees swarm to fresh water so that any found on your boat will attract them. On opening the door to the head, I found a dozen of them clinging to the water faucet and in the sink. Others hovered near the galley sink. The good news is that they are easily chased away. We closed the side ports (the upper hatches have screens) and they stayed away. Punta Pulpito was our turnaround place and northernmost point in the Sea. We planned to move south the following day to Loreto to visit with Tammy and Mike's friend if the winds were calm enough for the unprotected anchorage at Loreto but they weren't.

True North at Punta Pulpito, our farthest point north in the Sea

A Norther with 27-30 kts was predicted for the north end of the Sea. On departing Punta Pulpito we noted 15 kts. Sailing south to Isla Carmen with big, non-threatening rollers and up to 28 kts of wind astern was exhilarating with jib only and an easy 6.5 kts SOG aside Resolution doing the same, making a very fun day.

Resolution overtaking True North south of Punta Pulipito

Bahia Ballandra, Isla Carmen – Change of plans! With that Norther, it wasn't going to be calm enough to anchor at Loreto and we still wanted to see some places along the way to Escondido so we stopped instead at Bahia Ballandra on Isla Carmen. There were a dozen boats already there, several in the north end where we first wanted to anchor. We chose a place in the center and Resolution pulled in nearby. 

Bahia Ballandra

The next day, Gregg and I dinghied over to the estuary which wasn't deep enough to go very far. I hung out in the dinghy while Gregg got out to explore a possible trailhead but found myself drifting quickly out of the estuary! I rowed as powerfully as possible and returned to the little sand beach where Gregg waited but was reminded of my inability to start this outboard. The cord is a rough pull and a little long for my arms. I keep trying with frustration to get it started. (We have since had it serviced!)

Dinghy'ing up the estuary at Ballandra

After, we looked for the trail to hike the ridgeline nearby. Gregg got to the top while I scrambled through rocks on the goat trail. Meanwhile, Tammy and Mike took their dinghy over to explore the snorkeling potential at the outer edge of the anchorage while the water was still calm. By mid-morning the breeze had picked up making rowing and snorkeling less desirable. In the evening, we had another fine dinner, delectable Chicken Korma prepared by Mike, a salad and crumbly brownies (no recipe) prepared by me.

The Resolution Restaurant

We moved on and returned to Puerto Escondido, 16 nm SW, and the same place we stayed at during Loreto Fest a couple of weeks earlier. It's a large anchorage and even with two dozen boats already there, we had plenty of room. As we entered we saw big, green Antipodes already there. We tried to set the anchor twice in a clearing, each time dragging and pulling up clumps of weeds mixed with mud. We moved to another area and set the anchor securely. Later, we learned the first area is called Skid Row! No boat stays there long. Shortly after anchoring, Antipodes dinghied up to say hello. After a brief time catching up, we invited them to join Resolution and us for dinner at the small Tripui Resort nearby where we were going to swim for the rest of the afternoon and catch up with WiFi.

The pool at Tripui Resort

The seven of us met later as planned. It's always fun to exchange news! In the morning, Antipodes left to go north, Resolution motored past to exit south. We hung out for the day, spending another night in Puerto Escondido.

May 16-25: On Our Own

Honeymoon Cove, Isla Danzante and Bahia Salinas, Isla Carmen

With just 10 days left in the Sea, we put together a list of some of the anchorages we wanted to see most. Honeymoon Cove was recommended as a “must see” and just 2 nm across to Isla Danzante so we went to check it out. It is one of the places known for bees. They came to the boat in droves searching for fresh water! Though it is a very picturesque cove with three lobes in which to anchor, a small white sand beach in one and with areas to hike, there is no shortage of white sand beaches and hiking trails elsewhere. We left!

We continued on around the north end of Isla Danzante and to the east side of Isla Carmen to Bahia Salinas at the NE end of the island. On the way in we passed a sunken fishing boat in 30' of water which is noted on the chart as a good snorkel and dive site. We dropped the anchor nearby, got out our gear and jumped in to find an abundance of reef fish. Soon, a pilot house sloop anchored nearby to do the same. Continuing on, we dropped our anchor in 15' in front of the semi-abandoned village at Salinas. The old white stucco church makes a picturesque scene set against the mountains. It was a calm night with just two other boats in the anchorage.

Church, Bahia Salinas

We have just eight days left at sea in Mexico. How many times in the past while working have we traveled far to spend a week or two or three somewhere, yet this is just the tail-end of a year aboard and this experience. The time and freedom have been luxurious.

We motored with little wind SW towards Bahia Candeleros. We wanted to check out the resort there but also were interested in staying at the smaller Caleta Candelero Chico around the point. With just one week left, we had to make choices. We did a “sail by” the resort but weren't enticed quite enough, despite missing their turtle-shaped pool! Instead we continued on the extra 2 nm to Caleta Candelero Chico. It is picture-perfect, just as described in our guidebook, and small.

Gregg at Caleta Candelero Chico

If more than one boat comes into the anchorage, both would need a stern tie but no other boats arrived. It's beautiful! Wide open space to the east with Isla Carmen rising as a mirage; blue-gray Los Gigantes montains to the west framed by low, yellow grassy land with cardon cactus; and a small opening to the south with just enough space for a dinghy passage. We anchored, got out the snorkeling gear and went to the south side where the sun still lit the water. Surprisingly, the rocky shoreline's clear water didn't reveal many fish. On the way back to the boat, I swam through a school of Mexican Houndfish (I think) which look a little like needle nose or trumpet fish. Beeeautiful evening! The light is so amazing; also the sounds. A pair of sea gulls called to each other. A sea ray skimmed the water, also a dolphin! Perfect temperature, 85°, low humidity, all was calm.

Sunsets on Isla Carmen, from Caleta Candelero Chico

This anchorage is memorable as one of the most enjoyable to date. It was late when we got around to dinner. We opted for simple: canned pozole rojos with dried carne adobada. If we had known earlier how good it would be we could have brought it to dinner with Resolution and faked it as home cooked...it's that savory. In the morning, we took the dinghy to shore and explored a trail leading from the beach. Gregg climbed up a little higher for a view of the cove.

Caleta Candelero Chico

Two oyster catchers nesting together on the beach stayed awhile, then walked the shoreline poking at the water for something to eat.

We sailed for several hours south to Agua Verde with 20-25 kts close hauled and gusts of 30 kts near Roca Solitaria.

Roca Solitaria

Once inside the anchorage the wind calmed a bit but not completely. As we anchored, we remembered the fishing line was still deployed. Bringing it aboard, we found a long, narrow, silvery and yellow fish with a 4” file at the end and sharp little teeth! Mexican Houndfish? It looked too skinny to be anything but bones so we gave it back to the sea.

Mexican Houndfish???

Once anchored, we took the dinghy to shore to explore. Agua Verde is an authentic fishing village; nothing touristy here. Pangas began returning to shore. We walked through the village on a main, dusty road towards the center, the little blue church. Oh, it was hot! A few children came along looking for candy and gum. We asked directions to the tienda and they directed us to Maria's, a tidy tienda. A few streets away, a couple of musicians were practicing lively oom-pah-pah music, audible throughout the whole village. They were gearing up for a Sunday night social. Throughout the evening, pangas criss-crossed the anchorage returning for the day, while music and singing resounded in the distance.

Downtown Agua Verde

A dinghy ride around the bay brought us alongside a large, aluminum trawler type boat from Edmonton, Alberta. We stopped to say hello and Idelwild invited us aboard for a cold cerveza and a visit. The evening was very calm. The next morning while the water was unbelievably clear we took the dinghy and snorkel gear over to the Pyramid rock. Initially, there wasn't much to see but then we moved over a little to the other side of the small passage and there was an abundance of different reef fish and some new ones: stone fish, cortez angelfish and a first sighting of the chocolate chip starfish I had been hoping to find! It looks like a large, puffy cookie. This snorkeling site ended up being one of the best yet, also with file fish, rainbow wrasse, parrotfish, spotted porcupinefish, tile fish, damselfish, golden groupers, rays and a few distinctly different fish we couldn't identify.

Around noon, we moved south to Bahia San Marte, just a few miles from Agua Verde. However, after lunch the southeasterlies picked up to 29 kts in the anchorage. The only other boat there left! The wind wasn't so bad but the wave action was becoming uncomfortable. With nothing but time, we thought it best to move back north to the more protected Agua Verde East, which materialized into a peaceful resting place for the night. We were the only boat in the anchorage under a brilliant night sky. To the mellow tunes of Mark Knopfler and EmmyLou Harris we passed the evening identifying constellations out on the deck.

A thick fog covered the Agua Verde area in the morning.

Fog at Agua Verde!

Even on the dry side of the sea summer heat brings on morning humidity. It burned off by late morning when we left the anchorage for the next stop 15 nm south, Los Gatos. With a light wind of 8-11 kts, we made our way there slowly but steadily. The scenery all along the way was stunning! Striated cliffs of red, white and grey lined the coast with small patches of white sand beaches. Grand, rounded red sandstone ledges and cliffs came into view as we entered Los Gatos anchorage. We anchored in the center of the bay with no other boats around. A panga speeded over to offer conch for sale. We bought two for 50 pesos, ~ $4 USD from the fisherman, Manuel but had no idea how to prepare them. Our Spanish could only make out “sopa” and “agua caliente” so we planned on soup of some kind.

Anne buying conch from Manuel

Another sailboat, from Vancouver, B.C., arrived and was also approached by Manuel. Soon after we stopped by Tenacity to meet John and Kim. They told us to boil the conch for 20 minutes and then pull them out of the shell with a pliers. First, we made a shore trip to explore the smooth red rocks and climb to the top for the all expansive views. Fabulous!

Red rocks, Los Gatos

Back at the boat, Gregg took over as seafood chef. Later when preparing it, Gregg got ours out easily but we could hear Tenacity pounding their shells with a hammer. As for taste...it was just like rubberbands to me but Gregg liked the flavor.

Extracting conch from the shell

There are many lovely anchorages south of Los Gatos with similar red sandstone cliffs in which to hike and climb. We told Manuel we would be in Timbabiche the next night and he hinted that he would find some langostas (lobsters) for us and bring them there. However, in the morning we couldn't resist staying one more day in this peaceful place. More boats came into the anchorage later including Trinity Rose, a DeFever power boat we had met on the Pacific side a few months earlier. Fortunately for us, Manuel came speeding across the anchorage in the afternoon to return with four langosta. They were easy to prepare and so, so good to eat.

Langostas from Manuel

At sunset, we took a spin around the anchorage by dinghy and met Quetzel from Port Townsend with Amy and John aboard. We visited with them until after dark, just talking and comparing future plans.

The sail from Los Gatos to San Evaristo gave us an opportunity to use just about every point of sail. The wind flip-flopped from every direction along the way but we were in no great hurry to get to the next anchorage, opting instead for sailing in a mixture of brisk to mild winds. We got to San Evaristo in late afternoon, put the dinghy in and went to shore to explore the small fishing village. There are a few houses near the water but most are about a block away along a wide dirt road.  The "Super Mercado" was closed, so we walked over to a little restaurant to buy cervesa and limones.  

"Super Mercado" in San Evaristo was cerrado

The shoreline was busy with fishermen cleaning their catch, hundreds of birds waiting nearby. Consequently, the shoreline wasn't very clean and so opted not to swim. In the morning, we got up to see a large pod with dozens of dolphins swam through the anchorage.

Last stop, Isla San Francisco – We couldn't have been more fortunate than to spend our last two nights in the Sea of Cortez in the beautiful Isla San Francisco south anchorage. It has a large, crescent-shaped beach with fine, white sand and high, reddish rocky cliffs with defined hiking trails.

Bahia San Francisco

The crystal-clear and turquoise water is impossible to resist! We went swimming immediately after setting the anchor. This would prove to be another incredible anchorage for beauty, serenity and things to do. We took the dinghy around to explore the rocky points first and on the way back, passed by a sparkling, airy catamaran to get a closer look. Peter waved us over to Taj and to invite us to join them later for happy hour. With pleasure! We spent a most interesting evening visiting with Peter & Janet from Seattle and found no shortage of boat talk and other common ground. The next morning we hiked the ridge for grand panoramic views of the anchorage and surrounding sea. A few more boats had arrived. Janet and I snorkeled by the rocks at the point to find an interesting pulsating sea urchin covered with small rocks. We picked it up and removed a few rocks to get a closer look! After putting it back in place, the rocks quickly returned to the urchin. Were they protection? The rest of the afternoon and evening went by too quickly.

Crew of Taj on True North

We savored what would be our last night at an anchorage in the Sea of Cortez. In the morning, we motored and sailed the 40 miles back to La Paz to close the boat for summer.

Great year! Looking back, the Ha-Ha provided a fun introduction to cruising in Mexico, eliminating a lot of the paperwork hassles and by providing a loose security net and network for meeting others. Add to that beautiful Mexican cruising grounds and wonderfully friendly locals and cruisers. While we made a reasonable initial attempt to learn Spanish, we didn't get beyond “getting by”, yet Mexicans were visibly pleased with any attempt we made to speak Spanish. True North exceeded our expectations. While honing our sailing skills we found out "what she can do", no one went overboard, there were no groundings or anchor draggings and we didn't hit anything. There were no big storms and no wild wind we couldn't handle by reefing early enough. Even spinnaker handling went well. We experienced the best side of cruising the U.S. coastline and Mexico. We also experienced the striking contrast between the simplicity of living aboard a sailboat in pristine anchorages and the beautiful resort life made available to us in several marinas: Costabaja, Barra de Navidad, Las Hadas and El Cid. It certainly was grand to venture into both worlds.

May 25: Marina Costabaja in La Paz, prepping True North for the summer

Our final week brought us once again to Costabaja Marina to close up True North for the summer. With a daunting list of chores, we rapidly worked each morning while it was cool towards battening the hatches and sails against potential hurricanes, intensive heat and pest prevention. Other cruisers were doing the same, taking an “infinity pool” break around 15:00 to cool off in the mid-day heat with a cold beverage.

True North with her hurricane sail cover

Where are some of the other boats whose paths we crossed during the season? Roundabout did the Puddle Jump, arriving in the Marqueses at the end of April. Sand Dollar made a 22-day Pacific crossing to Hawaii, arriving yesterday, May 30th. Appa and Sea Otter left on May 29^th for Hawaii and are presently making good time with fair winds. Unleashed remains in Marina Mazatlan over the summer while getting a new paint job and her crew RVs around the U.S.  Resolution's crew left her in Costabaja a couple of days ago with their sabbatical over and plans to return to the Sea in November. Antipodes is cruising the Sea of Cortez through June; then will bash to San Francisco. They cut back their 3-year cruising plan through the Canal and East Coast to regroup. Winterhawk left in early May for San Carlos to leave their boat on the hard over the summer with plans to return next February. Angelina bashed back to So Cal. Sunshine left their boat in Marina Palmira, La Paz for the summer. Finistera delayed plans for Panama until next year and are bashing back to So Cal to do some boat work and will return in the Fall. French Curve should be in the Sea of Cortez about now and for the summer, then heading south along the coast. La Ballona II will likely leave their boat in Costabaja where we first met them last November. Ohana, our boat dock neighbors in Anacortes, stayed in Half Moon Bay over the winter and will head south along the coast of Mexico in the Fall, making their way to Panama and Central America. 

True North and crew

And True North?  She will stay at Costabaja over the summer. We plan to return with her to the Sea of Cortez for October and November.  Then, back to sunny winter days with fluffy snow for the ski season, December to February. After that, as we've learned from others:

“Our plans will be written in sand at low tide.”

True North March 18 to April 30: Banderas Bay to Mazatlan to La Paz

March 18: Punta de Mita Layover

Looking back over the past month to mid-March, a good weather window had arrived for the overnight passage from La Cruz to Mazatlan, about 180 nm miles north, and as many as 20 boats left the marina under perfect conditions. However, we had hoped to visit with Seattle friends who would be vacationing in PV at the end of the week so instead went to Punta de Mita to anchor out for a few days. Good weather windows come and go but we would have just one day to be with these friends.

There were two dozen boats anchored at Punta Mita when we arrived. Not far from where we anchored was the yellow final race mark and committee boat for the annual San Diego-Puerto Vallarta sailboat racers. We saw a fast boat rounding the mark: the Seattle-based J/125 Hamachi. The next race boat we saw didn't come round until morning and others followed during the day. Every time a racer passed the committee boat, a triumphant blast of the horn signaled 1,000 nm completed and what surely must have been a thrill, coupled with relief.

Hamachi crossing the San Diego to PV finish line

The first morning in the anchorage, La Ballona Too dinghied over to us, a very pleasant surprise. They were the first veteran cruiser boat that we met at Costabaja Marina in La Paz after the Ha-Ha in November and we had spent several days visiting together, learning “the ropes”, and trading boat tips. We were cruiser newbies then! Shortly after, Roundabout II dinghied up and lunch ashore was proposed for further catching up.

Sunset behind True North at Punta de Mita

March 23: Day Sail in Banderas Bay

After 3 nights out at Punta Mita, we returned to La Cruz in time to meet Seattle colleague and friends John, Gayle, daughter Jacklyn and her friend Kayla. They made the trek over to La Cruz from PV for a day of sailing in Banderas Bay with us. We checked out the wonderful La Cruz Sunday Market with them, then headed over to the boat for a day sail.  The goal was to reach Los Arcos for snorkeling but we were more caught up with visiting. It was so relaxing to just sail for hours while the girls worked on tans. We didn't reach our goal but we really weren't trying too hard. That evening, we walked to La Cava in La Cruz for dinner.

Sailing Banderas Bay - Gayle, Gregg, and John

March 25: La Cruz to Mazatlan

The night before leaving an area is a time for good-byes. Friend boats would be moving south, some north, some doing the Pacific Puddle Jump and we would be leaving in the morning for Mazatlan. What began as a party of four in our cockpit expanded easily to a group of 12, sipping margaritas as quickly as Gregg could make them until the last of the limes was consumed, with discussions of destinations, boat storage, gadgets, weather, and so on into the evening.

Twelve people, a bunch of limes!

We got up early for an 07:00 departure, checked a couple of weather reports for the latest forecasts, then took off about 07:30 with some thick clouds forming a wall across Banderas Bay. Sun poked through the clouds, the sea was calm. The forecast for the next few days was for S-SW 7-9 kts with seas 3' to 5' at 15 seconds. A whale surfaced about 100' off starboard as we made our way out of Banderas Bay.

Humback close to the boat!

We passed over a couple of sunken fishing lines uneventfully. After several hours on the water we were once again “out there” (as in if it's gonna happen, it's gonna happen out there!) with no land in sight. After a morning of little wind, the sails went up around noon with wind increasing to 12-17 kts for seven easy hours under sail. By nightfall all was calm. We motored under a night sky of brilliant constellations and with a third quarter crescent moonrise at 05:00. Not a single other boat had been in sight through the night until 05:00. Around 04:00 on my watch and shortly after leaving Isla Isabela 5 nm to starboard, we were approaching a notation on the chart, “Rocco Blanca”, but showing no land form, leaving us (I woke Gregg up for a consultation) in doubt . Were we going to go thunk in the night or was it a chart misprint? We couldn't see a thing ahead on the water without more moonlight and while nothing showed up on radar, we detoured well around the chart notation and safely made our way into the Mazatlan harbor and El Cid Marina at 13:00 the following day.

Highly unusual clouds in Mazatlan

We took a day to rest and recover, wash the salt water off the boat, and check out the marina amenities. Nice! Three pools, one connected by a swim-through cave. We noticed a couple of friend boats: Winterhawk, Antipodes and Sea Otter, all nearby. On the second day, we took a bus ride to downtown Mazatlan to check out the city, first to the main plaza and cathedral, easily spotted blocks away by its twin yellow spires. From there we noticed a couple of opportunities to really stretch our legs and climb some hills. Climbing Cerro Niveria brought us through a neighborhood of colorful houses perched over the edges of a hill and overlooking the ocean. After a nice dinner on the Malecon, and the weather cooled off cooler, we made the 20 minute trek to the top of Cerro Creston, the hill to El Farro, the 2^nd highest lighthouse in the world at 515' high. Lots of locals were trekking up to the top and in that way it reminded us of Pilot Butte in Bend.

Mazatlan from Cerro Creston

Winterhawk led us to Fat Fish for BBQ ribs and music and an evening to catch up on their travels. The next day, several boats got together for a walk to the Fish Market for dinner. After that, Resolution arrived. They are always up for exploring new places so we took a bus to see Old Mazatlan together.

Cathedral in Old Mazatlan

We walked over to see the famous cliff divers, climbed the stairs to their dive site and found one guy sleeping in the sun at the top. He quickly rounded up his 4 buddies so one could dive for us...not him but his buddy! He pointed out the exact area 45' below where the diver would enter the water, timing it with the waves sweeping over the outer rocky edge to increase the depth to just 5'9”. After much concentration and a serious prayer, one made the daring dive into a small triangular patch of water surrounded by rocks. Amazing precision! We happily tipped them and they called the day's work done.

Cliff diver in the air, nearing the water

Another evening, we joined Tammy and Mike from Resolution for a bus ride to Old Mazatlan to see Plazuela Machado, surrounded by colorful colonial buildings, palm trees, restaurants and old homes, and the striking old theater. We stopped for a rooftop drink, followed by dinner on the plaza and then along came the Sand Dollar family strolling by!

Gregg and Anne on the rooftop in Old Mazatlan

April 3: Mazatlan to La Paz

It was hard to leave beautiful Mazatlan. Besides being full of things to do and places to see there were a dozen friend boats scattered about in slips between El Cid and Mazatlan Marina for a few more days. No one wants to leave first or last! However, we found our weather window and left for the two-night crossing. We began by motoring and as a SW wind of 9-10 kts picked up on our beam we flew the spinnaker for almost 2 hours before the wind moved around to the NW where it stayed for the rest of the passage, right on our nose. It wasn't really bad, no pounding wave action; just annoying to have the engine on for so long.

The spinnaker out on the passage

While in Mazatlan we had purchased a couple of lures and a heavier line and reel so we could try for the big one. Within 3 minutes of casting the new line, we caught one! At first we were so shocked that we assumed we had snagged an underwater net or trash but, no...we caught a 7 pounder! Unfortunately, we ID'd it as a Crevalle Jack which isn't supposed to be good eating so we let it go.

Gregg with Anne's Crevalle Jack

Overall, the crossing was really nice. Along the way we spotted pods of dolphins and a couple of gray whales. I made a loaf of bread while underway to serve with meatballs prepared earlier. At one point we weren't sure what we saw until we were close enough to see that it was a school of jumping rays. They jump every which way as if being chased from below but that apparently isn't the reason they jump. Then we encountered our first fish boat at dusk and began watching the water intently for signs of his (and other) fishing lines. It was a larger boat and, lucky for us, we spotted and went around his black flag. Hey guys, how about using florescent flags?

Red sky at night...

On the second night we approached the north end of Cerralvo Island under a very dark and cloudy sky. The wind picked up to 25-32 knts, still on our nose. It wasn't as rough as one might expect but it sure did get the boat soaked with spray! Since our speed was down to 3.5 to 4 kts, we considered retreating in the opposite direction under sail until daylight but reconsidered. We were tracking to the proven "Shawn and Heather" way points we had used crossing the opposite direction, and were so close, so we continued on. By the time we got to Lorenzo Pass it was daybreak so the rest was easy. We encountered just one freighter moving swiftly as we approached the narrow channel so we slowed down to let it pass. By early morning we were tucked safely into slip J-10 at Costabaja Marina, washed the boat completely, and enjoyed the rest of the day doing absolutely nothing.

Ahh, back at the Beach Club at Costabaja

April 8-16 Seattle Visitors and the Sea of Cortez

We found our friends Julie and David from Seattle wandering the docks looking for True North, bags in hand. It's a little adventure getting here: flight to Cabo San Jose, shuttle to La Paz, bus or taxi to Costabaja Marina, then walk, walk, walk! They passed the test.

We took off the following morning for Isla Espiritu Santo where we had cruised in December. There are many protected anchorages on the west side, places to get off the boat and hike, and the most beautiful, clear water which is getting warmer by the day. The first anchorage was Ensenada del Candelero with its large reef extending from the edge of the beach to Roca Monumento, a snorkeling site full of colorful reef fish. We jumped right in to snorkel, never realizing until a couple of days later that this was David's first-ever snorkeling experience. He handled it with such ease, we never knew! The instructions were to bring snorkel, mask and fins and he did that.

Turquoise water next to Rocca Monumento

The next day we anchored in Ensenada Grande, about 5nm to the north. We found familiar boats there, Antipodes, Sand Dollar, Appa and Sea Otter. It is a beautiful anchorage! We dropped the anchor in 20' of crystal clear water rimmed with a bright turquoise ribbon of water. Our anchor was visible on the bottom in white, rippled sand...very enticing for an immediate swim! Sooo refreshing. Red and sand colored cliffs line the beach. The friend boats have been traveling together for months and share many common meals so with no fuss or bother, they invited the four of us to join the 16 of them for a pot luck dinner on Antipodes, a large and sturdy power boat. The theme was tacos but I had no food to offer that fit the theme! In fact, I only had the planned meals for the week aboard. But I did have provisions for an apple cake so that is what True North Julie and I made and brought. Someone served margaritas, Sand Dollar Shauna prepared a beautiful pork loin and shredded it for the tacos, Sea Otter Julie brought appetizers, Antipodes Nancy prepared the beans and other items, and Appa Jen brought a large casserole. 20 people: 6 couples and 8 kids. The guys talked fishing and boats. The kids, ages 16, 12, 12, 10, 10, and 3 were engrossed in Dungeons and Dragons. We made plans to go together aboard Antipodes the following day a few miles north to Los Islotes to swim with the sea lions. But first, there was a bluff to hike! We waited for the cooler morning and got to the top, overlooking all of our boats in the anchorage below.

The summit party at the high cross

In the afternoon, we boarded Antipodes for the short 4 nm ride to Los Islotes, known for its friendly sea lion rookery. What a thrill to swim with them! Randy anchored about 400' from the rocks while the rest of us jumped in to swim or take the dingy to the sea lions. There were also big fish, like the kind we've been hoping to catch, as well as tons of colorful reef fish. We made our way over to the the sea lions warily at first and then many of them left their rocks and joined us in the water, gliding easily around us and swimming upside down, coming quite close to stare at us! We were advised to keep our arms tucked near us so they wouldn't be alarmed. After awhile, one young sea lion made its way to 12-yr-old Kaley from Sand Dollar and nuzzled up against her! She pet its tummy.

Kaley petting a sea lion

When she swam away, it followed and gave her a hug. Even little 3-yr old Sammy from Appa swam with the sea lions. Meanwhile, David was out there snorkeling away with the sea lions. It was just after this that we learned he had never snorkeled before this trip. Great intro to the underwater world! 

Happy snorkelers on Antipodes

After everyone got back to Antipodes, Randy took us back to Ensenada Grande and we boarded True North for departure. We had to leave in order to empty our holding tank so proceeded to move out a couple of miles and then on to Caleta Partida for the night. We took the dinghy to shore where local fishermen were hanging out in their huts in between outings. From Caleta Partida, we moved south to El Mezteño for our last night out. The following day we sailed leisurely for hours while making our way back to Costabaja Marina. Then we had one day to clean up the boat and spend the rest of the day at the pool. We took the bus into La Paz for dinner and then the next day, Julie and David left for home after a very fun week together.

David and Julie on True North

April 27: More Visitors
New Mexico Friends Linda and Mike came aboard for a few days to check out the cruising lifestyle. We motored on a hot, windless day to Ensenada Candelero and anchored in the south bay. It was a time for some low-key visiting: swim a little, catch up a lot. We didn't even launch the dinghy for a ride to shore.

Mike and Linda at Ensenada Candelero

A couple of curious manta rays and a turtle swam near the boat. Fish circled us, too, finally enticing Mike to cast a line into the water...but no luck. Fortunately, we brought our own fish with us! On our way out the next day, we picked up enough wind to fly the spinnaker for a smooth ride south. We had a couple more good wildlife sightings, too: a few whales lob-tailing in the distance and a pair of playful dolphins at the marina entry channel. Once back, we settled on a road trip for the next day to see Todos Santos, with a short side trip to Il Triunfo along the way for lunch. These are two quaint, artistic communities that we had visited in December and an easy drive from La Paz.

Tomorrow, May 1st, we are leaving for three weeks north in the Sea of Cortez.