Los Gatos captivated us so we stayed another day even though I feel the pressure to head north before trouble starts. Hurricane "Blanca" should hit Cabo today (as I write this Monday, June 8th,) and bring winds of 50 to 60 according to the weather report I subscribe to over the radio. I get a word to text translation from Gary, who lives in a cove just a few feet above high tide in Bahia Conception. His reports are of major interest to boaters on the Mexican west coast and Sea of Cortez.  Often, I am unable to make contact with the net so the transcription is a good backup for us.

While at Los Gatos we drop the dingy and row to shore just a few hundred feet from our anchored boat. The shapes of the red sandstone are a fairyland. Joy and I walk the shoreline and climb the smooth undulating shapes to discover the lacy creations left by rain and wind.  Joy sits under a dreamscape, I shoot a photo to capture the moment.  Lost in the quiet and the unusual we walk east to the end of the point.  Joy leads the ascent up dark boulders and we find a low cliff 20 feet above a rock ledge that falls away into the Sea of Cortez with its aqua blue green water so clear you can follow the boulders under the surface into the very deep clear water. Baja is blessed with clear water like the Red Sea because it is arid. Large red crabs cling to the rocks and head for cover as birds look for easy prey.  We both loved Los Gatos. Tomorrow we will move on up the coast.

Manuel does show up true to his word with four large lobster he proudly displays.  Joy just has to get a shot of this.  Standing in his neat, clean panga powered by an ancient two stroke outboard held together by a rope and a prayer. His dark tan bare feet holding up his sturdy body, his smile shows his relief at fulfilling his promise to us.  A promise we did not ask for or expect.  I saw him early that day diving off a point south of us. Then he zoomed off in his panga headed north beyond our view.  He spent a great deal of time hunting those lobster. I asked him what he used, he pointed to a Hawaiian Sling, which is a pole with a few 6 inch spikes arranged in such a way as to spread when contact is made with a fish so it can't shake free. These are powered with surgical tubing. Simple. I then ask him how old he is.... 69 he replies in Spanish.  A hard life.

On Friday, the 22 of May we head to Agua Verde only about 20 miles north and an easy hop. Before we leave Manuel stops by to express his thanks to us and states his "esposa mucho contento" as he describes items Joy packed in the bags of provisions we gave him the day before.   Manuel asked us if we would be returning? We answer "yes, in the fall. Then he asks us if we would please come to his casa in the fall and join his family for dinner. We are honored. 

 There are dangerous reefs it seems at most of our destinations and the locations of most are known but the charts are unreliable and can be over a mile and a half off. No exaggeration.  We use many sources to confirm our location. Radar when overlaid over the chart helps determine the charts' accuracy.  Additionally, we can drop a satellite image over the chart and radar. Also, some of our cruising guides give actual GPS coordinates that I plot and label. Using all our resources we work to avoid trouble. The trip to Agua Verde is no exception. A low island a couple of miles off shore is in the path of our journey. Rocks close to shore are a given and not marked or seldom are with an "x".   Our newest chart guide plots GPS coordinates which I enter on our chart plotter. We follow this information and safely save some time as we take an inside passage which is clearly marked on older charts as "no passage."

At 10:00 am we finish a leisurely breakfast, anchor up and out by 10:30 wishing we had more time here before we head for our next anchorage. By 1:45 pm we are anchored in Agua Verde.  

As the day ends a Panga with three women, a little boy and a fisherman motor alongside "Spirit".  One of the women holds up a few shell sculptures made in the form of a pelican, a doll etc.   Joy smiles and appreciates the creations. She knows we have no room on the boat for nicknacks, so she inspects the shell necklaces and makes a selection. Joy likes to help out the local economy whenever possible. Joy asks in Spanish, "¿como se llama usted?" (what is your name?)  Grins and good will end the negotiations. Then feeling brave, the little boy asks "candy"? We respond favorably much to his delight. He jumps up and down in the panga and generally goes berserk.  Laughing I look over to the father, he shakes his head and smiles muttering "loco".  Once on deck Joy hands the little guy a handful of chocolate covered coconut pieces. Seeing that one of the women must be his big sister she was also given a handful. Then the rest including the dad each got a share. Departing with waves and smiles our visit ended.

That evening I plan our next few stops and check weather so we will arrive in San Carlos by June 1.  Next day by 1:30 we decide to depart as a swell is creating an unpleasant anchorage in Agua Verde.

We motor north and start the water maker. We pass outside Isla Danzante which looks like a sleeping dragon (for grandson Drake).  Off to starboard (right) is Isla Carmen. We round the top of Danzante a safe distance off shore and do a U-turn south to find cover and an anchorage in Honeymoon Cove.  A very small and difficult anchorage as the water is deep and the shoreline rises fast and is very close to your anchored boat. A wind shift, (happens all the time and should be counted on) could have you beached if it blows much from the West. While in Honeymoon Cove we met two kayakers, a father and son team, from Canada who paddle up to say hi. Hamilton about 28 years old biked from Canada to Tijuana on a 4 person bike, for a cancer fundraiser. We are just 2.47 miles from Puerto Escondido our next stop and last chance for fuel for the final push to San Carlos. Here too we spend just one night as the next afternoon we are on a lee shore and I just don't like the feeling, even after re-anchoring. 

We enter the hidden port "Puerto Escondido" pass the waiting room (anchorage) then the ellipse also an anchorage with a cement wall. Why anyone would anchor there is beyond me, pass on that and into the large bay of Puerto Escondido. By 5:45 we drop anchor in 30 feet and back down to set the hook. 

Joy and I have been here before but were not terribly impressed. For fuel it will be our last chance so we stay and discover a new restaurant , "Ibo" we were the only customers, served by a sharp waiter in a crisp white shirt. The decor of the restaurant could be anywhere, Manhattan, Paris, anywhere but a total surprise in Puerto Escondido. The presentation and quality of the food was the biggest surprise of all.  Seared Tuna Steak with Shrimp melange, a handsome plate.  Joy had Scallops over caramelized onions, chard and sweet potato puree drizzled with a flourish of sauce, presented in the most appetizing tic tac toe design.  We were very pleased with the evening and our feelings for PE were beginning to change, to memorable.

For lunch one afternoon we take a hike out of the marina down a long white cement road, clean and straight with light posts neatly framing the road.  These are repeated by parallel roads built with the same care and all of it without any structures, like so much of the Mexico we see. Construction is started then abandoned. Perhaps the right people were not paid enough? Land dispute? Who knows. We reach the end of the road and turn right onto an equally well made asphalt road and walk about a half mile to a little hotel "Tripui" which has it's own restaurant by the pool and is very nicely landscaped which is saying something in this part of Baja. The food was very good... more points for PE.

 A day or two later, Joy and I once again walk the white cement road, then down the straight clean blacktop out to Highway 1. We cross to a dirt road then follow it up to Steinbeck's Canyon to hidden pools in the rugged Giganta mountains that loom vertically behind Puerto Escondido. We discover a dry river bed with house size boulders washed down the cliffs when hurricane force winds and rain supply way too much of the much needed water. When Steinbeck was here he described this location in his "Log from the Sea of Cortez." In the distance we see the blue water of Puerto Escondido from our new elevation. The walls of the canyon rise like sky scrapers keeping the hiker in shade in the afternoon or morning. 

After filling the starboard diesel tank we are ready to move north.

I try to select new locations to anchor when we can and to make the trip north more interesting. I select Puerto Ballandra on Isla Carmen as our next stop.

 On Thursday May 28 we depart PE and 12.5 miles later we drop the hook at 1:45 pm, 2 other boats share our anchorage.  We select a spot on the outside in about 30 feet of very clear water where we see little flecks in the water under the boat. These neon blue things which do not seem to be fish are a mystery to me. I have seen them before but still do not know what they are other than beautiful. This anchorage is calm, well protected from todays wind and we decide to do a row around the area just for fun. We drop the dingy from the davits and explore. We discover what looks like a flowing river which is not on any of the charts, we follow it as far as possible. It turns out to just be a tidal flow from what appears to be a wash when the big rains come. The water stays very shallow into the cove off the "river" as the seasonal transfer of rock and sand accumulate in the cove.

 We are visited by thirsty bees who search for water when it is dry and it is very dry as the rainy season is still a few weeks away. We have screens we drop into place in the companionway to keep the intruders out.  If you leave water out you will attract a swarm, we were warned by other cruisers. 

We stay only one night and head out at 10:30am. We have options as to where our next stop will be and let the day unfold. By 12:30 we stop the engine and sail quietly at 3.3 knots in 5.6 wind. We often sail at about half of wind speed in our boat of 50,000 pounds is not half bad. Sailing past Isla Coronados, I have the water-maker running off battery power and by 1:35 we have 3/4 of a tank made. By 2:00 the wind is gone and we start the engine again I notice we have covered 3000 nm from San Pedro CA where we started this slow journey back in 2012. That time includes a 13  month stay in Ensenada where we outfitted the boat.

Passing San Juanico where we made our jump off for San Carlos last year this time. We head to Punta Pulpito which is about 90 miles to San Carlos and should give us a good chance to sail.  At 5:00 PM anchor set, but the wind is blowing into the anchorage. Not a great idea to stay but I am determined to give it a watchful try. This season on our way South we stopped here in a group of 3 buddy boats. Wind from the North at that time made it a perfect refuge. Now, deciding to stay I set the anchor watch for 70 feet on the chart plotter.  The alarm would alert us to check the boat as it moves in the wind and drags the 150 feet of chain over the bottom.

We check our wind forecast and determine that our best weather window will be tomorrow, we will arrive a day early.  At 11 am we head out around 2 pinnacle rocks I had entered on our chart plotter. One is a reported location with no conformation. Even with all the current technology Mexican charts are lacking.

Joy carefully steers the boat while I deal with the ground tackle and check the charts. We have done things this way and we are both comfortable with our tasks.   

Flat seas and a lack of wind we motorsail slowly toward Isla San Ildefonso.  This tiny island is a barren rock with deep water all around and boulders off the north shore make this a location not visited by us or other cruisers. Passing sea turtles, and watching the coastline of Baja fall off to port we move along at 005º.  By 2:55 I stop the engine and we sail. Slowly at first, 2.1 knots with 6 knots of wind then by 6:15 we have 8.5 wind and 4.5 boat speed.  Later we have a steady 7 knots of boat speed in 15 knots of wind and it stays that way almost all night.  Once again the seas are flat and the sailing is close to perfect.  

Nothing is better than sailing to your next destination. The only sound is the quiet hiss of water as the bow parts the sea. The staysail and headsail working together to power up the mainsail. Quiet power and moving much faster than I could run I spend my time in the cockpit watching the day unfold. I work only to set the direction and the sails. That only takes a couple of minutes. The boat is taking us to San Carlos. It seems all we have to do is keep a watch. Not very demanding. 

Going below to check instruments I am aware how flat the seas are even with 18 to 20 knots of wind. The motion is so slight that I could have a glass of water filled to the brim on the counter and I doubt a drop would spill.

I try to enter our conditions and location every hour like the old dead reckoning days. The way I used to sail before GPS, AIS, Chartplotters, etc. You would simply lay your course, keep track of your speed and plot your reckoning on the chart every hour. That way come fog or night you knew what your heading and approximate ETA should be.  Things are easier now.

As the sun slowly sets Joy and I face the west and bet on whether we will see a green flash. Time moves slowly as the sun drops below the horizon. The flash eludes us once again. I have only seen one, many years ago on the backside of Catalina. Joy has never seen one. Darkness tonight does not fully come to the Sea of Cortez as we are escorted by a full moon which lights the horizon and the planet Jupiter shows a pathway of light on the water to the horizon. Then it slowly sinks to the West as the night progresses, followed by the moon.

The crew of "Spirit of Hanalei" ride in a stiff boat, flat seas, good wind, on course for San Carlos WITH a full moon. I love this life we live. Below Joy rests comfortably as I turn on our navigation lights to mark our vessel. 

To pass the time and feel like a prudent mariner I turn on the radar to see beyond my vision up to 48 miles out. I track a few boats off about 6 miles to our starboard. My guess is a couple of sailboats as their speed is close to ours, must be headed to San Carlos as well.
 
We see Tetakawi in the morning, a landmark for our marina where "Spirit of Hanalei" will spend the summer. By 12 noon we are in our assigned slip in 90º heat. Oh, we remember this heat.  All year once we left this area we have had mild temperatures, hatches open and even the companionway left open as we sleep. It has been perfect sleeping temperature everywhere. No need for the A/C until now. We are grateful for it.

Now the work begins. Over the first week we accomplish much on our huge list to get the boat ready to haul out. This includes cleaning and removing 4 sails, folding and storing below. The bulk and weight of 3 of these sails are almost too much to get below but we manage. Remove the dodger and the list goes on. I will spare you.

This will be the last email for the season. We had a great time and visited many beautiful locations, some will just have to be visited again.


Randy & Joy 

S/V "Spirit of Hanalei"