It is with heavy hearts, and a little trepidation, that we plan to leave from Isla San Francisco and sail back to Mazatlan tomorrow. We were planning on spending another few days in the islands, and then visiting LaPaz for week, but the weather has strongly suggested a change to our plans. The later we get into the Spring season, the less frequently the North winds blow and we need these winds to get us comfortably back to Mazatlan. Right now, we are in the middle of a prolonged northerly blow that should last long enough to get us across the Sea. We decided that we just can't pass this up.

The Baja has been fantastic in so many ways. The rock formations are nothing like we have seen before. The anchorages are close, plentiful, and well protected. The people, the few that there are, have been a welcoming and hardy bunch. And, of course, the slow pace of life up here has meshed very well with a cruiser's way of life. We stayed a second season in Mexico just so that could spend this Spring in Baja. It was definitely worth it!

Our last stop, where we are now, is Isla San Francisco, about 40 miles north of La Paz. We sailed here yesterday from Los Gatos, a trip of about 35 miles in strong winds of 20-25 knots. It was almost dead down wind, and very comfortable as we moved swiftly along. As we approached the anchorage, we were hoping that the wind direction meant that Isla San Francisco would give us enough protection from the seas and wind to sleep peacefully. It's a small anchorage, so we were also hoping that there weren't too many other boats taking up the small sheltered space. Thankfully, it was almost empty as we rounded the corner into the lee of the island and dropped our sails.

Arriving like this is always such a great feeling. One minute we were barrelling along in 4-5' seas and 25 knots of wind. Then, over just a few seconds, as we crossed into the lee of the island, the seas dropped to nothing and wind became just gusts, and then almost calm.

Today, we hiked up the ridge in the centre of the island. It's a short but very exciting hike along the spine, often just a few feet wide, with cliffs dropping steeply away on each side. Add in the wind, and it definitely caused us to choose our steps carefully. Truth to be told, we stopped before the end of the trail. Going further meant scampering over large boulders that sat on the crest of the ridge and didn't look all that solid. As we get older, we definitely are feeling our mortality more.

Tomorrow, Monday afternoon we plan to sail directly from here to Mazatlan. It's a trip of about 250 miles which means just under 2 days as a conservative estimate. The winds are supposed to be still from the North, which is good, but also be more moderate than the last few days. We expect to sail most of all of the way, but will plan our schedule so that even if we have to motor slowly we can arrive by Wednesday mid-day. If we get better winds than expected, we will likely have to heave-to offshore Mazatlan and wait for daylight. That's ok, though, as it is much easier to wait for morning than to race to beat dusk. Either way, I don't want to enter an unfamiliar channel and marina at night.

We have sailed so little this season that this short voyage feels like a bigger deal than it really should be, and that is very strange. It's a simple two night, day and a half, down wind trip with little chance of headwinds, or even for very strong winds. We have found that this feeling will pass. Everything on the boat is in top condition and all systems are working well. All of the weather reports that I have been able to gather are generally in agreement that we will have moderate NW to NE winds.

It won't be long now until we park the boat for a while and live on land in Mazatlan. It sure is going to be a big changeÉ Water taps will run indefinitely, hot water is constant, garbage simply goes in a bin out back, and the weather doesn't dictate our day like it does now. It sounds boring!