05/09/2012, Isla Coronados
We arose on Tuesday to another typical sunny and calm day, so we started out the day with paddleboard excursions, first to the old shipwreck protruding out of the water about 1/4 of a mile away from Murar's Dream and then near the shore with a return to the boat, close to a mile of paddling for our daily exercise. We then prepared the boat for the next leg of our journey while we awaited the daily, thermal (land-sea) effect winds to build since the weather report showed no pressure gradient whatsoever in the Sea, which meant no other mechanism to create wind. Around 11AM, it looked like the winds were building, so we, along with Double Diamond, our buddy boat accompanying us since leaving Puerto Escondito, set out hoping to sail to our next anchorage, Isla Coronados, about 30 nm away. Unfortunately, the winds decided to hover in the 3-5 knot range, but we were determined to sail, so we set sail, killed the engine, and bobbed along at 2-3 knots as we headed north along the east side of Isla Carmen before turning west to Isla Coronados. It was about 2PM, when the thermals finally began to set in out of the ESE, so we set the gennaker for the first time in months and sailed at 4-5 knots for the last 12 miles of the journey. Due to the direction of the wind and where we wanted to go, it involved a bit of zigzagging which required one jibe of the gennaker. This enabled us to try my latest method of letting out the tack (the bottom-forward connection) as a part of the jibing of the sail, and it seemed to work well, so we will add this procedure to future jibes. As we reached the Isla, we doused the gennaker just in time for some gusting winds caused by the geography of the island and finished our sail, finally setting anchor in the well-protected cove on the west side of the island. After dining aboard, we joined Double Diamond on their boat for a final and farewell game of Mexican Train since they will be heading across the Sea to San Carlos on the mainland side to meet up with some friends driving down from Arizona. They will then likely be putting their boat "on the hard" for the summer and returning to Seattle, and we will be heading back to Los Angeles aboard Murar's Dream via a Baja Bash after completing our exploration of the western side of the Sea in June. We completed an entire game of double 12s which took over 3 hours, and Debra came out the victor. We hopped in the dinghy and returned to Murar's Dream, enjoying the bright green flourescence created by our wake and ending a long but enjoyable day.
Wednesday was our day to climb the extinct volcanic cone on Isla Coronados. After breakfast, we took the dinghy ashore and started the climb in beautiful weather-sunny and not too hot. After finding the trail, we hiked to the base of the final climb, about half of which was across a huge field of volcanic rocks which had obviously spewed out of the volcano during its last eruption. Based upon the jagged edges to most of the rocks, that eruption had to be fairly recent in geological history. We abandoned our attempt at the final ascent because it was starting to get hot, our water supply was dwindling, and we had been advised by Double Diamond that it consisted of much smaller volcanic rocks that you would sink into ankle deep, as we only had our athletic shoes which were not suitable for this type of hiking. Nevertheless, with all the distance that we did cover, it was more than 3 hours of physical activity which started with Andy taking a wrong turn at the beginning which made us backtrack for about 45 minutes to find the actual trail. Upon returning to Murar's Dream, we agreed that this most beautiful anchorage with its crystal clear, turquoise water was worth another day's stay, so it is a day of leisure, a swim in the cool water and dinner aboard before moving on to our next destination-Caleta Juanico, about 20 nm north of here, before we return to Loreto to pick up Rick Ruskin for his week-long visit.
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05/09/2012, Bahia Salinas
After a quiet night in the cove at Honeymoon Cove, the four of us hopped in Double Diamond's dinghy for a hike along the trails on Isla Danzante. At first, it was a relatively easy climb, but the trail began a very steep angle up the side of one of the peaks overlooking the cove. Unfortunately, the loose gravel was such that it became somewhat hazardous to continue since a slip might mean having to grab one of the very spiny cacti along the trail to break the slide, and it would be no fun having a handful of cactus thorns to deal with, so we turned around and returned to the dinghy and the boats.
We then decided to head to our next stop-Bahia Salinas on the island just to the north. Our hopes for being able to sail the 12 or so miles were dashed when the winds did not exceed 4 knots so we motored along the lake like conditions of the Sea. Upon arriving, we anchored offshore, and Double Diamond launched their dinghy for a trip ashore to explore the abandoned salt production facility. There were a few buildings still occupied and a very nice church which seemed to be well kept as it was left open so that we could go inside. There were numerous signs posted in both English and Spanish warning against trespassing on the property, but Andy managed to communicate with one of the inhabitants who seemed not to be concerned with our presence. We could see the old salt flats where they would evaporate the sea water in the distance, so we proceeded to walk out there. Our first view was of all the abandoned machinery which had rusted away. Once we reached the actual salt flats, it was pretty amazing. Portions were totally dried out with white salt crystals coating the bottom, and others still had thin layers of water but were still stark white from the layer of salt below. Overall, it was quite a dramatic scene and well worth the walk there. We returned to the beach which was one of the pure white sand beaches we have experienced in this part of the Sea. Many of them are either covered in small rocks (like Honeymoon Cove) or consist of crushed shells which have yet to reach the consistency of sand. After returning to our respective boats, it was an afternoon of enjoying the nice breeze which had set in while we rested in our cockpit. We then decided to test out the water with a swim over to Double Diamond, a few hundred feet away. We sat on the trampolines on their bow (it is a catamaran) sipping limonadas while enjoying the late afternoon and early evening as the sun was getting lower in the sky. We decided to swim back to Murar's Dream before sunset and then dined onboard before calling it a day.
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05/09/2012, Puerto Escondito
Wednesday was the day for the final leg of our journey to Puerto Escondito and Loretofest, a short trip of about 3 nm across the channel from Honeymoon Cove. Because Loretofest is the biggest event for cruisers in the Sea of Cortez, we quickly set out to our final destination to make sure that we arrived before things got too hectic with the last-minute arrivals, the festival starting on Thursday. We arrived inside the lagoon shortly after 8AM and explored the area and the large number of mooring buoys, one of which was reserved for us. We quickly determined that anther sailboat had already moored at our assigned buoy, so we had to wait for the marina office to open at 9AM to find out where we should moor Murar's Dream. We found the fuel dock and were able to tie up and fuel the boat, something that we had not done since leaving Mazatlan, taking on 45 gallons in our 53 gallon fuel tank-a safe margin considering that we also had 3 five gallon jerry cans as additional backup. Puerto Escondito is one of the few places to obtain fuel on the eastern shore of the Baja Peninsula, and we should now have more than adequate fuel for our travels throughout the Sea before our next fueling stop in La Paz, which we should reach sometime in later June. If not, there should be fuel in Santa Rosalita to the north, or we will be leaving the boat in Puerto Escondito while we return to the U.S., so we can also top off here, as well. After sorting out the mooring situation at the marina office, we found our mooring buoy and tied up for our four day stay, awaiting the start of Loretofest tomorrow. We ran into some of our friends on August Moon, and we agreed to take a taxi to the town of Loreto about 25 kilometers to the north for a bit of landlocked exploration. Upon arriving in town, we first had lunch at an open air restaurant before going our separate ways for a bit of shopping/provisioning. After walking quite a ways and asking twice for directions, we found a market recommended by some other cruisers and stocked up primarily on fresh vegetables which we had exhausted since leaving Mazatlan. We then rendezvoused at a bar at one of the local hotels in the historic part of town where we finalized the reservation for our first leg back to Colorado-Loreto to LAX on Alaska Airlines on May 18th, the only commercial airline that flies into Loreto only 4 days a week. After returning to Puerto Escondito, we discovered that our friends from Double Diamond had made their way back from having explored the Sea further north, so we joined them for drinks and a light dinner at the restaurant overlooking the lagoon. Both the marina and the restaurant had wifi, so we were able to complete our reservation for flights to and from Denver which worked with the timing of our Alaska Airlines flights. We returned to Murar's Dream by dinghy under full darkness of night-something that is both eerie and potentially dangerous as there are numerous mooring balls which are still unoccupied and therefore difficult to see in the darkness of night. Fortunately, the ride was uneventful, and we safely returned for another good night's sleep aboard.
Loretofest began on Thursday and ran through Sunday. It was an interesting experience that was worth experiencing once, but it is something that does not need to be repeated. There were about 100 boats in port for the event which consisted of several seminars on boating issues, competition games (horseshoes, bacci ball, canasta, and dinghy races), a food court with full bar, and music each night. They had set up numerous tents in the concrete pad adjacent to the water with seating and tables under them to get out of the daily sun and heat which was around 90 degrees each afternoon. The crowd was quite varied with some cruisers who had been living in the marina for years to newbies like us. This event was put on by the local yacht club as a fund raiser for itself and local charities, so there were also a silent auction and raffle. We were pretty low key in our participation, only trying our hand at bacci ball and enjoying the company of some of our friends as well as others whom we met for the first time. Andy did his good deed for the event by helping to clean one section of the surrounding shorline, doing the task on the paddleboard (see lead photo). We unfortunately missed most of the seminars, but we heard that they were very informative on subjects ranging from fishing to communications to radar to bashing back to the U.S. We did enjoy some of the live music performed one night by a mariachi style group from the local university and the final night by a local blues group. However, our highlights were really unrelated to the event, itself. We played Mexican Train with friends on two of the evenings, and we enjoyed dinner first aboard Murar's Dream on Thursday night with our friends from Double Diamond to finish the lobster which we had purchased in Los Gatos. We then had dinner on Saturday night aboard Double Diamond along with our friends from August Moon and the crew of Freya, friends of Double Diamond, where they served fresh Chocolate Clams, a local delicacy, grilled in the shell with garlic butter. Everyone brought some additional food items including some tasty, local bay scallops and assorted salads. We concluded our stay in Puerto Escondito with a final taxi ride into Loreto to check out the Sunday street market where we were able to purchase some nice veggies and fruits from local vendors. We also purchased a bag of nice sea scallops. After completing our experience at the street market, we went for lunch at a local restaurant where Doreen of August Moon had won a free lunch at the raffle. We returned to the lagoon after topping off our dinghy gas tank at the local Pemex station. Tonight was the first night that we decided to use the air conditioner to cool off the rear cabin at bedtime as the temperature in the cabin had peaked at 82 degrees. After about ½ hour, we were again comfortable at about 72 degrees and were able to shut off the A/C for the night when the cooler temperatures finally rolled in.
We had booked our stay in the marina through Sunday so, upon returning to the boat, we began final preparations to depart and continue our travels in the Sea. I was able to finally reach Rick Ruskin by Skype and confirm that he will be joining us for a week's visit starting on the 12th. We will spend this week visiting coves near Loreto and then pick him up at the Loreto Marina, a place without moorings but a dinghy dock where we can bring the dinghy to take him back to the boat for a week of further exploration. After our final preparations, we released the line to the mooring to which we had been attached since arriving here, cleared the lagoon and headed across the channel to anchor once again at Honeymoon Cove for the evening. It was really nice to be away from the madding crowd, but we were joined by Double Diamond with whom we will be exploring the area for at least a few days before they go on to Guaymas and San Carlos on the mainland side to meet up with some friends who will be driving down from Arizona. They joined us onboard for a dinner of sweet and sour scallops and some more Chocolate Clams, completed with a piece of mint dark chocolate which they brought for dessert. We were all pretty tired from all the activities at Loretofest, so they returned to their boat via dinghy at dusk, and we were quick to wash the dishes and retire. We once again used the air conditioner to cool down our cabin as the temperature inside was at 82 degrees-a little uncomfortable for sleeping, and it eventually cooled down for the night as the outside temperature made its way slowly into the 70s.
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05/03/2012, Bahia Candeleros
Sunday began with another day of perfect weather. We only had to wait for late morning for the winds to fill in before setting sail for the short trip to Candeleros, so we took advantage of the cool morning by taking a hike along one of the assorted goat trails at this anchorage. We discovered the local cemetery and had some nice views overlooking the harbor before returning to Murar's Dream in preparation for our departure further north. True to our commitment to sail as much as possible, we had a delightful day moving further up the coast towards Puerto Escondito under full sail with a trailing wind on our starboard quarter. Upon arriving just outside the channel separating the Baja from Isla Danzante, we had to carefully line up through a channel which contained several pinnacle rocks below the waterline which could cause a problem if we attempted to cross over them. Our guide book provided excellent waypoints to line up our path, and we were soon headed towards our next anchorage but under motor this time, just in case we needed to drastically correct course to avoid one of these hazards. Andy stood on the bow watching the water ahead while Debra was at the helm. After reaching the anchorage area and learning the lay of the sea bottom from fellow cruisers already anchored there, we set anchor and quickly launched the dinghy to go to shore and experience the resort about which had been told. It did not take long to realize how shallow it was near shore, and we had to kill the engine and walk the dinghy into shore in knee deep water for about the last 100 yards. However, it was well worth it, as this was one outstanding resort with three pools, a very large jacuzzi, two restaurants, and a bar. We found our fellow cruisers already enjoying the large, outdoor jacuzzi just as it was time for happy hour. After a round of margs, we walked around and discovered a spa and gym. We decided to consider treating ourselves the following day to massages before returning to the pool for a swim and then dining at one of the open air restaurants. We returned to the boat before sunset and called it a day after some reading time.
The following morning, we both took turns paddleboarding on calm seas with little wind. We then returned to the resort and booked massages for each of us for that afternoon. They also included complimentary time in their gym for a workout before massages and the full use of the spa areas for showers, etc. We also began working on making flight arrangements to return to Colorado at the end of May for one of Andy's cases since the resort also provided free internet access, something which we had been without for over a week. After enjoying lunch at the other outdoor restaurant at the resort, it was time to take full advantage of the spa and gym. After nice workouts on the exercise and weight machines and the use of the spa facilities, it was time for our massages. After our massages, we joined some of the other cruisers for afternoon drinks before returning to Murar's Dream for an evening of dinner in the cockpit as the sun set over the Sierra Giganta Mountains to our west.
Monday brought yet another day of sunshine and calm seas, so it was time again to enjoy some paddleboarding. We were also given the gift of watching a whale enter the anchorage area as it surfaced amongst the various boats, at one point coming only a few hundred yards from Murar's Dream before heading back out to the open ocean. We waited for the winds to build later that morning before setting sail north so that we could continue our commitment to sail whenever possible. Our primary destination was Honeymoon Cove at the north end of Isla Danzante only 6 nautical miles away, but we were not sure that we could find a place to anchor as this is a very small cove with three lobes which can only hold a total of a handful of boats. We could not see the actual cove until we were almost ready to enter it, but when we could, we were pleased to see that only one of the lobes was occupied by a single catamaran, and the southern lobe which was our preferential anchorage was totally vacant except for a couple camping on the shore. We set anchor in the middle of the lobe and spent the day on Manana time. Later in the day, we decided to try to swim to the shore but between the cool water temperature and enough tiny jellyfish to cause us mild discomfort, we abandoned this plan after swimming only about half way. We ended the day with another pleasant evening dining in the cockpit to yet another beautiful sunset.
We followed up dinner with a movie onboard: In the Cut with Meg Ryan and Mark Ruffalo. It was one of those sexy, murder mysteries with that typical climactic ending, but it was good entertainment for the evening.
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05/03/2012, Agua Verde
We awoke Saturday morning to clear skies, no wind and calm seas, so our choice of activities was a snorkeling trip on the reef just off our stern. It was unusually poor visibility for this part of the Sea of Cortez, but with the shallow water, we were able to see large schools of Sargent Majors but not much of anything else. After returning to the boat, we awaited the prospect of some wind before heading north, and sure to the weather report, the winds began blowing out of the southeast. We took advantage of the wind direction by heading due north rather than the NNW towards our final destination-Agua Verde, but it meant sailing for 2.5 hours and only motoring the last hour rather than 3 hours of non-stop motoring. It also put us far enough offshore to do a discharge of our black water tank. The winds started at about 9 knots, and we began sailing at about 4+ knots, but by the time we had to turn to reach Agua Verde, the winds had built to a nice 12 knots with boat speed approaching 6 knots. However, as Andy had predicted, the winds died as we approach the Baja coast so we turned on the engine and motored in at a comfortable 7+ knots. There are 3 separate anchorages in the bay known as Agua Verde, so we chose to anchor in the one which gave us the best access to the small village and the tienda (minisuper) and a restaurant. We launched the dinghy and took a trip around the entire bay before landing on the beach at which point we ran into a couple of cruisers who had been here for the last four days. They told us about a new tienda with fresh veggies and assorted goodies and described the restaurant which convinced us that it was not for us, so, after picking up a few essentials at the tienda (garlic, limes and tomatoes), along with some locally produced goat cheese from the goat dairy, it was back to Murar's Dream for dinner aboard. We finished the evening with a round of all 5s, and I fortunately continued my winning streak. We talked about spending two nights at this anchorage until we spoke with some cruisers at a bay not too far north of here. They told us about the hotel there and the amenities, including wi-fi. Since we have been without internet now for 8 days, getting access sooner than later is the order of business. We will wait to see if the winds fill in before leaving, but it looks like our stay in Agua Verde will be short lived.
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05/03/2012, Los Gatos
We awoke early Friday morning to mild winds, so we decided to take our chances and head north before the predicted strong winds arrived. We did experience 15 knot winds at the start of the trip as we passed inside the San Jose Channel between the Baja and Isla San Jose, but things calmed down shortly thereafter. At one point, we tried setting sail in about 10 knots of wind, but it was short-lived, so it was motoring almost the entire 30 nautical miles to our next destination, Los Gatos. The trip took only about 3.5 hours, so we set anchor just before 11AM . Los Gatos is one of the more beautiful anchorages surrounded by rocks of red sandstone with the Sierra de Giganta mountainsin the background. We launched the kayak and went ashore to do a bit of exploring. It was interesting to land on a beach of red sand, and we combed the beach from one end to the other, at one point walking out to the end of the point along a rocky ledge overlooking the Sea of Cortez. It was then back to the boat for a restful afternoon ending with a game of all 5s dominoes. This is one game that I can consistently beat Debra, which is a small payback for her handing me my lunch on the tennis court. We have been unable to play tennis since leaving PV, and our next tennis stop will not be until we return to La Paz sometime later in May. We are waiting to hear about Andy's possible need to return to Colorado for one of the last cases in which he remains lead counsel. The afternoon was topped off by a visit by Manuel, the lobster fisherman who comes daily to this anchorage to sell langostas. They are absolutely fresh as he takes your order by weight and then goes out with his son to catch them. He spent some time visiting with us while his son was free-diving, and Andy's Spanish held up since Manuel spoke not a word of English. He then returned to his son, and they moved to a location outside the bay, apparently looking for more langostas. Just after sunset, they re-appeared in their panga with a fishing net containing 8 langostas weighing a total of 4.5 kilos (10 lbs.) for a whopping 400 pesos (about $30)! Thus, it was a surf and turf dinner (with enough lobster tails left over for further dinners), starting with an appetizer of Korean beef, followed by two of the larger lobsters grilled with garlic butter and asparagus, accompanied by a nice glass of an Argentinian shiraz-cab blend. By the time all was done, we spent a short time reading before calling it a night.
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