04/22/2010, Bahia Santa Barbara
We're still in Bahia Santa Barbara trapped by North winds. It blew for most of yesterday from the North to the West making it down right tough to try and make it anywhere North of here unless we motor and we really don't like doing that. So here we sit and here we wait. The latest forecast is for the winds to change in a few days or so, but who knows, it's changed before. That's how we got trapped here. The forecasts had all been for winds from the Southwest for the foreseeable future and it changed in the blink of an eye.
Meanwhile, it's a bit cool here with us actually switching to long pants and socks until it gets a bit warmer in the afternoon. The highs are barely getting into the 70's and for here, that's down right cold. It should be in the mid 80's by now. The cards come out for playing and books get read and videos get watched and we wait. We are under a sort of "boat arrest" if you will all controlled by Mother Nature in her infinite wisdom. It's not like we are on a tight schedule. We had just planned to get to Guaymas and San Carlos to find a good boat yard to hold Zephyr so some work can get done and she can be stored till hurricane season is past. We want to make sure the insurance company stays happy with us. We're covered for just about everything, but hurricanes are not in the policy.
So stay tuned for more updates. Meanwhile, I have a deck to wash as boobies camped out on the top of the mast and decorated our deck last night. These birds are fearless. I walked up to one to shoo him(or her) off and he(or her) just stood there like I didn't exist. IT didn't move until I reached out to pet it. He(or she) them flapped its wings hitting my arm and took off squawking all he way. We get circled regularly and have been found to be a good perch to keep their feet dry.
On thing I forgot to tell you about was our leaving Topolobampo a few days ago. As we beat our way out of the bay and out toward the farthest West buoy, we got nailed by a big wave. Up went Zephyrs bow and down she went into the big ditch between the waves burying her bow in the next wave. We got our decks cleaned by all the water we took over the bow. It filled the scuppers(side decks) with lots of water and covered the decks almost back to the cockpit before draining off. We were smart enough to have closed and battened down all the hatches ad port lights before we left the anchorage so at least all the water stayed out of the boat. The waves hadn't looked anywhere big enough to do what they did. It pays to be prepared before setting out.
We also caught a Sierra as we headed North. We put out our drag line and just sailed along waiting. About 30 minutes later, I looked back and there was something trailing our boat. He was about 28 inches long with beautiful gold marks on his side. We pulled in the line and hoisted him aboard. As Zephyr just kept moving along under "James" (our Hydrovane) control, We sat on the stern and slowly carved him up with a filleting knife. I did better this time and got several nice(yet small) fillets out of him. Not enough for a meal by any chance, but Shadow seemed to like them. So we keep on trying. Apparently, Sierras are one of the most common fishes in the region. We're still waiting for our first Mahi Mahi. All in good time.
More to come as the wind blows--still from the North darn it.
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04/22/2010, Bahia Santa Barbara
It's been a fast last few days and I'm sorry I haven't kept you up to date as to what has been happening. To keep it short, we are on the move again.
We left Marina Palmira in Topolobampo back on the 17th and headed out for a short 5 mile trip to Bahia de Obuira, a BIG bay right beside Topolobampo. A nice place to drop the hook(25 35.368N 109 02.77W) and settle in. With Tracy back from Copper Canyon, it was time to move on. We'd been told of Obuira by Jay and Benita off Moon Angel. They had stayed there a while ago and used it as a base for side trips in their dingy. We took off with Angus and Rolande off Periclees and spent two days around the bay looking at islands and "jungle". The cruise books say that Obuira is surrounded by "jungle". Sorry, it's more like tons of scrub brush, cacti, and small bushes full of thorns. I know because I got to pull cactus thorns out of my arm when I miss stepped during a hike with Angus off Periclees. We'd gone ashore with plans to hike one of the ridges on the hills that surround the bay but it proved to steep and too dense with brush to allow us to make that hike. So we set out instead for a different hillside to hike. Tracy and I took two dingy rides back to town(a mile or so to the North)and had lunch at the wonderful taco stand we found the first day we got to Topolobampo along the Malecon(water front district). The second trip was to drop off trash and try to have dinner there, but they had run out of flour tortillas. We stayed there till the 19th when we both(Periclees and Zephyr) moved to a small spot near(25 32.872N 109 06.388W) what they call "Dolphin Cove". A small cove where dolphins let you come up beside them as they swim along. We tried to get over to the cove, but it proved to shallow to allow Puff to get even close. We kept running aground with Dragon as we putt putted along. We dingied to the beach during the afternoon and were amazed at how much trash there was. This was so different from other beaches we have visited in the Baja. It was really sad to see so much trash was scattered along the sand. I'm sure it is just things that have washed up during the tidal shifts during the day from Topolobampo, but boy, it was a filthy beach that had showed lots of promise when viewed from our deck. Each evening, we had a get together with Angus and Rolande for dinner and games either on Zephyr or on their boat.
On the 20th, Angus and Rolande took off for Guaymas to begin getting ready for their pull out and Summer storage. Actually, they don't intend to return to Periclees till next February when they will take off again. We may get lucky and see them again when we get to Guaymas in a few days. A great couple--lots of fun.
We headed over to spend one last day on a place referred to as "The Hook"(25 34.529N 109 09.729W). Just as you enter Topolobampo Channel, if you turn left, you pass a long spit of beach that hides the "Hook". It's a small cove made really for catamarans that draw less depth than boats like Zephyr. We stayed right outside the cove and had a nice time walking the beach. This beach, while it had some trash, was no where near as bad as the last one. Tons of birds and a herd of burros meandered along the shoreline braying as they went. We're used to the call of birds, but the braying of the burros added a different feel to this beach.
We consulted several weather sites--Buoy Weather, Don Anderson on the Southbound Cruiser net, as well as GRIB weather files(shows how the winds will be in a certain map area) and decided that Wednesday was the perfect day to head out as all the forecasts said the winds would be coming from the Southwest or South for the next four days. So we upped the anchor and headed out bright and early on Wednesday morning headed for Bahia Santa Barbara. The winds were from the Southwest as forecast at 10 to 15 knots, so all sails went up or out and off we went at 5 to 6 knots. We were moving right along. Bahia Santa Barbara is a nice 90+ miles North of Topolobampo so we knew it would be a "short" hop for us. An easy day trip. About 1900, I turned on the Southbound Net on our SSB (short wave radio) to listen to Don Anderson again for an update of his forecast. Suddenly, the forecast that had been perfect the day before was going down the tube fast. Now, a "Norther"(a big blow with winds from the North) was forecast for early Thursday morning and at least through Friday. I called in for clarification and got the same forecast again. You can radio in for a specific area forecast if you need one. It's one of the nice things about nets on the SSB radio. The winds had been so great that we had changed plans early in the afternoon to head farther North toward Punta Lobos about another 64 miles farther up the coast from Bahia Santa Barbara. With the winds being so good, we didn't want to waste them by stopping so soon if we could make it farther in one tack. Plans got changed with this new forecast and we decided to shift back for Bahia Santa Barbara. It was closer(now 35 miles) and more protected from a North blow. With winds forecast to be in the mid 20 knot range, we wanted some protection from the wind as well as the waves and the swells that would follow the wind. At 1930, as the Sun was setting, we changed course and took off again for Bahia Santa Barbara.
By 0330, we were about 8 miles out from our destination when Tracy saw two red lights on the water a short distance ahead of us with bright lights on the horizon. We've had several friends run over fishing nets that are set adrift in the water from panga fishermen along the coast. She rightly figured out that the red lights showed the ends of the nets. Instead of blindly wandering in and possibly getting caught in the nets(wrapping them around the prop--bad), we changed course and reversed ourselves. It was now 0400. We dropped the sails as the winds had started getting fickle and started the engine. Instead of heading North, we slowly headed South at about 1.5 to 2.5 knots to await the sunrise. The moon had long since set and it was now quite dark out there. As always, better safe than sorry. At 0600, I reversed our course and headed back North. We were now about 12 miles South of Bahia Santa Barbara with the Sun getting ready to rise in the East. I crashed for about an hour. Well, not really as the swells had started to turn and smash into us on the port side over and over. The winds had shifted during the early morning and were now coming from the Northwest as forecast. We plowed through the waves getting knocked around quite a bit. Down below got a bit messy as things that had been stowed came loose in the turmoil. Snowshoe and Blue stayed in the cockpit with us while Shadow stayed in the galley lying on the floor. He stays there during most of our trips now. About 0900, we pulled into Bahia Santa Barbara, just North of Punta Rosa in 25 knots of wind and dropped the hook in 25 feet of water. We're now safe and sound at 26 41.005N 109 39.498W. We stowed all the gear on deck and settled in for the blow having a nice breakfast in the cockpit. We'd put up one of the sides of the cockpit cover earlier so we were somewhat sheltered from the wind as we sat there. After breakfast, we both headed for the stern berth to catch up on some of the sleep we missed the night before. As I climbed into bed, a panga full of fishermen passed our stern. I went on deck and waved as they passed. I'll be checking the forecast later today to see how long we may be here. I expect we will be staying till at least Saturday and maybe Sunday as once the Sea of Cortez gets stirred up, it takes a few days for the waves to settle back down. I'll keep you up dated as to what our schedule will be.
More to come.
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04/17/2010, Marina Palmira, Topolobampo
We expect to head out today with Rolande and Angus from Periclees to find an anchorage around the corner farther in the big bay beside Topolobampo. We got a waypoint from Benita and Jay off Moon Angel where they spent a week a short while ago. Jay and Benita are friends we met way back in Brownsville, WA in February of 2008. We've stayed in touch ever since.
Tracy got back from Copper Canyon about 0030 on Friday morning. I'd stayed up and met the three of them at the gate after the taxi dropped them off. All three had had a wonderful time. She spent yesterday resting up and playing the tourist again as we took one last trip to Los Mochis to see what else the town had in it's city markets. I don't think they have any big box stores. at least we didn't see any. We tagged along with Rolande and Angus and had a great time.
So we set off today for a few days at anchor before we head farther North progressing toward SanCarlos/Guaymas for our haulout for the Summer. I'll let you know how the rest of the trip goes. I'm getting eaten by bugs as I sit here typing this post and these suckers have sharp teeth. Oh, Topolobampo's mascot should be the rooster. I've never heard so many in the morning--or noon --or night for that matter. Sunrise is a state of mind for these guys.
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04/15/2010, Still in Topolobampo
The jobs continued yesterday.
I started with having another go at "equalizing" the batteries. This is process where you shove lots of extra volts into your batteries with your charger until they literally boil. This is supposed to cause the lead sulfites to fall off the lead plates in the battery cells and fall to the bottom of the battery thereby exposing a nice fresh surface of lead in each cell so they will work better or some such mumbo jumbo according to the professionals. I tried it while we were in Mazatlan with mixed results. The charger is supposed to get up to 16 volts(like I said--lots of extra volts for a 12 volt battery). Ours only got to 14.6. I posted questions about that on the internet and was told to check a bunch of stuff(which I did) and do it again. OK, I did started it up letting it go the full 8 hours(it still only got to 14.7 volts). I don't know if it did any good, but now at least I can say I've "equalized" my batteries like a good cruiser. Most cruisers I have talked to say they have never done it and their batteries are just fine. Some just give me a blank stare like they have no clue as to what I'm talking about. I guess time will tell by how long these babies last in the long run. You're supposed to do it every 30 days!! I'd only waited two years.
While that was going on, mixed the special glue I had bought in La Paz for the new handle for Puffs bow. The old handle had gotten tangled in one of the lines that is used for the spinnaker and it had ripped off one side of it. It's hard to turn Puff over with a handle that might break anytime you use it. Once the glue was mixed--a 10 to 1 ratio of glop--I brushed it on Puff and on the handle(made out of stiff rubber) and let it stand for 10 minutes. I try to follow direction when I can. Once the time had elapsed, I applied the handle over the area where I had put the now dry glue and push the two together and held them for a while so they could "set". A few minutes later, it was done. So far, it looks nice and stuck but we'll see the next time we try and invert Puff for travel. She is always stowed upside down during passages on deck(strapped down). It keeps the water out of her should we take water over the bow. I checked the handle through the afternoon applying pressure every time to make sure she was well attached.
In the afternoon, I was going to put on my snorkel gear on dive on Zephyr to check her for growth on her hull. After I got in the water, I saw that the smartest thing to do was put on my scuba diving gear and do it properly. To do it with a snorkel would have taken forever and would have tired me out quickly. So back to Zephyr and out came the diving gear. With no Tracy to help, I had to set it up so I could take off the tank and have it hook to something while I got out of the water. I used the block and tackle that we normally use to lift Dragon(our outboard motor). I dangled it in the water and let it sit till I would need it. I didn't bother with the wet suit as the water was the warmest we have been in so far. On with the booties, flippers, weight belt(I float real well)and then the tank and mask and with a stiff brush in hand, I dropped myself into the water.
While I was suiting up, I had an audience checking out what I was doing and how I was doing it. While I was down, the folks next door--Lady J--asked me to check their prop. No problem(it looked great). He has the same type of Max Prop we have just smaller.
I swam over to Zephyr and headed for the prop. Now we had put about 5 coats of an anti-foulant on her before we left Port Townsend, but it was like we had not done anything. There was lots of barnacle growth all over the prop. I scrubbed and scrubbed and got most of the growth off it but the barnacles will need a stiff scraping once we get Zephyr out of the water in June. That's the only way we will get them off. I checked the rest of the hull and scrubbed off what little growth I could find. All in all, the hull is in good condition. I'd last "cleaned" the hull when we were out in the islands North of La Paz about a month ago so that's not to bad.
I'd used the same tank that I used for the last dive and it only had about 1,000 pounds of pressure left but that was enough to do the job. Now we have one of our two tanks to get refilled when we find a dive shop. I came up to the surface and took off the tank and hitched it to the block and tackle I had set up earlier and then set the flippers. mask, weight belt and scrubbing brush on the dock before I climbed the ladder on Zephyrs stern. Strangely, there are no ladders in just about every marina we have been in on our cruise. If you fall in, good luck getting back out with out having to swim to shore. All the equipment got a good wash down with fresh water and then hung out to dry before it goes back into storage till the next time I need it. By now, it was just about 1700, so I took off for the showers at the Hotel Marina in town. I had a lot of salt and God knows what else to get off my body. Harbors aren't the best place to dive as the waters can get quite polluted.
Once clean, I went in search of a local cafe for dinner. All the restaurants along the Malecon(shopping district by the dock) were closed. I finally found one close to the marina and had Carne Asada Tacos. It wasn't the best as the meat was quite tough to chew but the salsa and accessories for the meal(lettuce and avacado) were great. I think they saw a gringo coming as the meal was 50 pesos. Last time we ate out, we got 4 tacos and two Cokes for less money. Don't think I will be heading back there.
The folks on "Lady J"(Beneteau 39) next door were going to head out yesterday afternoon but found they couldn't start their engine. After much work with lots of tools and numerous trips to the starter button, they thought the starter was bad. It might spin, but it wouldn't engage the fly wheel on the engine. Their batteries were just fine. They next headed for Alberto(Marina Palmira Manager) to get some help. He sent down a mechanic(spoke no English) and he took it out with lots of sign language between the two of them. They even tried the age old practice of speaking louder so that they would be understood(didn't work so well). It is installed in a location that required a special LONG ratchet wand to get to the bolts and the folks on Lady J didn't have it. Once out, they found it burned to a crisp. No even good enough for a rebuild. The mechanic is now having one sent from Mazatlan as a replacement. It could take as long as ten days to get here!! At least the marina is one of the cheapest on the coastline. I'd rent a car and drive down and get it if I was them. I guess we will see how long it takes to get here.
Any how, that's yesterday with more tasks on the list for today so I better get on with them. Tracy emailed that she expects to be back late tonight--yeah!!
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04/13/2010, Topolobampo
It's now Tuesday and the past few days have flown by. As I said in my last post, Saturday we got settled in and early Sunday, Periclees with Angus and Rolande showed up. Let the party begin!!
We invited everyone on the dock to a pot luck dinner on Sunday evening with drinks starting at 1700 with dinner to follow. With the Sun now setting after 1900, it makes the evenings much better for entertaining. We were joined by Brad and Lisa as well as their two kids(Zack and Kat) off the catamaran farther down the dock. Sharon and Dick off Last Resort(next to us) begged off as Dick has a cold. It was a great get together with everyone having a wonderful time swapping stories into the evening. Brad and Lisa had had problems getting on the internet. They had been given the wrong password to log on. Once I clued them in(hey, it free from the marina) their daughter(14) took off for below, grabbed their big antenna and got logged on. She wanted to do some surfing and email friends. A great couple with nice kids. All the kids we run into out here are some of the nicest kids we have ever met. Well rounded and very intelligent for their ages. The party went well into the evening.
Yesterday, Angus, Rolande, Tracy and myself joined Jesus(Alberto's assistant) for a tour of Topolobampo in his car. We went all over town seeing the new power plant(runs on Oil and makes a lot of the power for Sinaloa). Jesus took us to the "bat cave" to see the bats. They must have been all asleep as we didn't see a one. Around the town to visit the Malicon(water front shopping and tourist district) and out to Malviri Beach for lunch at one of his friends restaurant. We returned to the marina with some leftovers, said goodbye to Jesus and took off for the bus stop around the corner. We were off for Los Mochis, the next "big" town inland.
We wanted to see the town, visit the bank(none in Topolobampo) and get train tickets for "Copper Canyon". It was time to explore Mexico's mainland. Tracy and I had made the decision that one of us would go and the other would stay aboard Zephyr and take care of the kids. With Shadow still needing repeated feedings about every 5 to 6 hours, we felt there was no way we could both leave at the same time. So we decided that Tracy would go first and I would go when we return to Topolobampo later in the year. She would be chaperoned by Angus and Rolande off Periclees. So off we went for the 30 minute trip with the other locals(darn few tourists here) for Los Mochis. At a cost of 18 pesos each--about $1.50, we rode the 21 kilometer trip inland. We haven't seen another "gringo"(other than the few folks around the marina)anywhere in town. This place is off the beaten path and isn't visited often. Few cruisers know about Marina Palmira and their great deals, but word will get out over time.
Once into Los Mochis, we took a short taxi ride to the train station for tickets. There are two different "classes" of trains down here. First Class leaves every day at 0600 for the all day trip up the mountain and runs about 980 pesos. You get slightly wider seats and a food car for things to eat. The "Second Class" train leaves on Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday at 0700 and takes a bit longer to get up there as they stop along the route to take on and let off locals. It also costs about HALF as much as the "First Class" train. Now you don't have a meal car, but there is a food cart that serves sandwiches and snacks along the way. Brad and Lisa and the kids had gone on the "Second Class" train for their trip and saw no reason to shell out for the "better" train. That's a good $40.00 that can be put to better use. Apparently, it's quite the tourist place up there with several hotels and "bed and breakfasts" to stay in. Angus took his computer so I expect to get an email from Tracy sometime during their trip. I'm not sure when they will return. I expect that Tracy will be coming back first as Angus and Rolande expect to spend a good four days up there. The return train arrives in Los Mochis about 2330 so heaven only knows when I'll see Tracy. Getting back to Los Mochis that late, it might not be the easiest thing to get a taxi back to Topolobampo. TIme will tell.
Meanwhile, as I sit typing this, I have a big slab(1 kilo-2.2 pounds) of beef cooking away in the pressure cooker. We bought it while in Los Mochis at one of their meat stalls that we found during our tour. I added red wine, onion, garlic and of course some jalapenos and peppers to add some zip. It just got done with it's 45 minute "cook". I turned off the heat and the pressure is now getting released so we'll see in a while how it turned out. With this bunch of meat, I cam make my own tacos and burritos while Tracy is gone. Hopefully the jalapenos and peppers I added won't be to hot as they came in a can as "Chiles Jalapenos en Escabeche" or Jalaopenos in a brine. I added a small can of Rajas Rojas de Chiles Jalapenos en Escabeche, or assorted peppers in a brine(I think). Once I get to crack the lid, I guess I will find out if the meat is edible.
Last night, we had a blind wine tasting on Zephyr. We had discussed it the previous evening during the pot luck. In our previous life, Tracy and I had bought some very expensive wines(wine snobs that we were) and had brought them along with us on our cruise. There was no reason to leave them back in Colorado. We had been discussing "Two Buck Chuck" wine(really cheap wine) available all over the West coast at Trader Joe's. Brad and Lisa had never heard of it. That's when the idea came about to put a bottle of "Two Buck Chuck" up against one of our "better wines". Sadly, Brad, Lisa and the kids had decided to take off for the Baja on Monday morning so they missed the "tasting". I did give them a bottle of "Two Buck Chuck"--Charles Shaw Wine to take with them for later enjoyment.
Tracy set it up with separate glasses for each wine. So Angus and Rolande joined us in the our cockpit for the tasting. Out came the Charles Shaw, a Merlot and a glass of Chateau Cantenac Brown Margaux from 2000 that we had lovingly store away. Tracy and I had taken several classes(like I said-wine snobs) on proper wine tasting so we gave quick lessons and we tasted each wine. I had no difficulty tasting the difference as the Merlot was a lot harder wine than the Margaux. Angus got it right as to what was the Margaux. Rolande picked the Charles Shaw as the expensive wine.
As cruisers, we have come to appreciate what ever bottle of wine we have in front of us. It no longer matters what it costs(well it does now). It matters that we have something to enjoy with friends and loved ones as we travel. I could have bought a LOT of Charles Shaw for what I paid for the Cantenac Brown, but that was in a previous life. We have come to appreciate many types and inexpensive wines during the past two years aboard and expect that we will continue to do so. The sad part is that the cheapest wines we have found were back in the good old USA. We wish we had brought more.
The meat just got done. I tried a small piece. While a bit chewy, it is full of nice flavor and will be just fine on tortillas over the next few days.
Well, that's about it for now. More to come as the day progresses.
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04/11/2010, Topolobampo
We made it into Topolobampo yesterday in the late morning about 1030 after a 236 mile trip that took us almost 50 hours to complete.
We cast off our lines and headed out of Mazatlan in the early morning to catch the early morning breeze as we set off Northwest toward Topolobampo. It was slated to be just over 200 miles so we expected at least a 48 hour trip or two nights on the water.
The winds piped up and we took off with all three sails(Genoa, forestsail and main) all up in the breeze. The wind was cooperating coming from the Southwest so we had the perfect wind to keep us moving. While the winds were in the 10 to 12 knot range, we were moving along at 4 to 5 knots. Not to fast nor to slow. We slid up along the coast about 10 to 12 miles off shore. During the morning as the wind slowly shifted coming more and more from the West. This was creating a bit of a problem as we were slowly being pushed toward the shore. There is only so far a sailboat will point into the wind and maintain a course and we were slowly reaching that area. Sailboats typically can only sail up to 45 degrees into the wind. Some will make it to 40 degrees. Since we were slowly getting pushed toward shore, we decided to tack(turn) and head farther from shore. We rolled in the Genoa sail and turned through the eye of the wind and unrolled the sail on the opposite side and off we went. When we sailed across the Sea of Cortez, we had done it all on one tack. Now we were going to have to work at maintaining a course toward out goal. "Serious"sailing! After our turn, we headed about 10 more miles off shore before we turned again toward the North. Again, the wind kept pushing us closer and closer to shore. After a short trip if about 8 miles, we tacked again and headed back off shore. We'd gone 18 miles to cover about 6 miles toward our goal. At 4 to 5 knots, that takes a time to accomplish. Out we went again. This time, when we tacked, the wind was a bit better and we could head more in a sort of Northerly direction. It was taking us back to shore, but would be a bit farther up the shoreline. We'd covered about 40 miles toward Topolobampo and sun was about to set and we were closer to shore than we wanted to be. With the setting Sun, the wind was beginning to die and that would really slow us down. So, in came the Genoa and down came the forestaysail and on came the motor(1900hrs) and back Northwest we went. I'd laid in a course on our Garmin chartploter so we would know about what heading we would need to go to get to Topolobampo in the shortest time. We changed course and took off. We left the mainsail up to better control Zephyrs rocking in the swells. Through the night, we kept on the move.
We'd heard from our friends(Rollande and Angus on Periclees) that they had had some problems making way North behind us. They had waited for the afternoon to head out from Mazatlan. Their progress was so slow through the water that they turned back to Mazatlan to get their bottom cleaned. It had been quite q while since they had had it done and they figured it was so loaded with growth that it was slowing them way down. They could only get 4 knots of speed out of her. Once cleaned, they would continue their journey on Friday afternoon. NO ONE starts a voyage on Friday!! It's just not done(don't have a clues as to why) since they had "officially started" on Thursday, they were safe from that curse. They arrived here a few hours ago in a lot less time than it took us, but we did it the hard way. We sailed even if we could only do 3 knots. When they hit that speed, they turn on their engine.
During Tracy's watch(2300 to 0300) she spotted fishing boats off toward the shoreline. Several of them. She kept watching them to make sure there would be no problems with the course we were taking. Suddenly, they started flashing lights toward Zephyr. Oh Oh, we were in a spot they didn't want us in. Fishermen down here typically use LONG LONG nets to catch their fish. These nets can string for miles across the water. We were obviously entering a "Net Zone". These things can get caught up in your prop and reek havoc with your transmission as well as any further progress through the water. Tracy quickly turned Zephyr away from shore and took us farther out into the Sea of Cortez. Apparently, that was the right thing to do as the lights stopped flashing at us. About 8 miles later, she turned us back North and on we went.
During the next day, some fishermen in a panga stopped by to check us out and see where we were going. They had come out from Altata, a small town along the shoreline we had passes on our way up the coast. We chatted--me in my pigeon spanish and they in their pigeon english. They told us where they were from but really wanted to know where we were headed. I called them over and tossed out some cold Cokes for them. It pays to be neighborly. We watched as they took out some glasses and ice and downed them. On we pushed.
During the afternoon, we saw a whale and one of her calfs playing in the water off Zephyrs starboard side. Mom was pounding her tail in the water over and over. A few minutes later, they were gone. That was about all the aquatic life we saw. Now birds were a different matter.
During the night, Tracy was repeatedly chasing Boobies off poor Zephyrs deck and rigging. Some, in trying to get off Zephyr, stuck their beaks and necks through the netting that runs along our lifeline. Tracy had to grab the birds and pull them out of the net and then try and throw them overboard. all the while avoiding their long sharp beaks. These guys wanted a free trip. Unlike past trips, we had no visits from squid on our decks. My watch(0300 to 0700) was eventless(boring).
On our second day, another panga with fishermen stopped by. Again, with eachs lack of language skills, we found out that they were on their way out to lay out their nets and wanted to make sure we would not be anywhere near them. Off they went, farther off shore. Several of the boats here in the marina had run across fishing nets on their trip along the coast. We were making such good time, we figured out that we would arrive at the outer buoy of the harbor at 0530, well before sunup. We slowed our speed down so we would arrive after the Sun came up.
The winds obliged about midday the second day and we could raise the sail again and sit back and let Zephyr be in her element. We took off, silently this time toward Topolobampo. On we pressed into the night. During the early hours of the evening, a boobie landed in the top of the mast and settled in for the night. Nothing I did phased him in the slightest. He was there till HE decided to leave.
When I came up on watch at 0300, the wind had died again or what there was, was not from the right direction. At the speed we were doing, it would be another full day instead of 6 hours when we would get into Topolobampo. In and down came the sails and on came the motor and off we went again.
Tracy came up about 0700 and we had a nice breakfast sitting in the cockpit as the Sun came up. We were now slated to arrive at the outer buoy about 0830. We'd been lucky and had gotten an email from Periclees that they had gotten from the folks at Marina Palmira in Topolobampo. They had included Google Earth shots of where the marina was and how to get in the harbor. In we went between the buoys with breakers pounding the surf line about a quarter mile to our right. Some of the biggest surf we have seen along our voyage. As we went in, I electronically marked on our Garmin chartplotter where all the interior buoys were so I could email their coordinates to Periclees. They had never been in here either. The channel wines it way along with shallow areas off on both sides. We passed our first Mexican Navy vessel as it zoomed past us heading out of the harbor. You watch your depth sounder all the way in. We were down to 6 feet below the keel at one point.
I kept radioing the marina(as well as the Port Catain) to let them know we were coming in. We got no answer to our repeated calls so we just headed in following the pictures the marina had sent Periclees. They were a BIG help finding the Marina.
Marina Palmira Topolobampo has only been open for 6 months and is still very much under construction. They have 10 to 12 slips available with power and water and another 12 to 14 with no power. We, of course, took Zephyr right into a slip that had no power nor water. So we backed out and went into a slip that did. I sat down later and email Periclees with the waypoints so they could get in safely.
We headed up to check in with the Marina. As it turns out, Alberto, one of the men that helped us in, is the manager of the marina! How's that for hands on. We sat down and worked it out. It ended up at $107.00 for a weeks stay. That works out to about $15.00 per day. One of the cheapest places we have been and as it turns out here is why it is so cheap. There is not much here at the marina. No laundry and only cold showers(no hot water). They do have wifi, but it doesn't reach the dock. If I want to go on line, I have to walk up to the offices. Not a big deal really. They couldn't be nicer here showing us what is around the harbor and making arrangements for anything we need. They have a man on the dock all day and guards on sight all night with a gate that requires an electronic key to get on the dock as well as off. Security to the max! Staying here does have it's perks. If you want a hot shower, the marina bought the local hotel(the only hotel in town)and you can walk over (a ten minute walk) and they will give you a room to use for taking a shower. OK, so it's not right here at the marina but that's not to bad.
We had a nice quiet night sleep though I will be taking off the rudder for the Hydrovane so it stops clunking back and forth as the swell here in the harbor hit it. So we're now at 25 35.971N 109 03.512 W for all you Google Earth fans out there. We've made arrangements to stay for a week so that we can visit Copper Canyon farther inland. Tracy is going to go with Angus and Rollande while I stay on Zephyr and take care of Shadow. He is constantly asking for more food to wolf down every few hours. We don't want to leave him alone. I'll go up on our trip South later in the year when we return here.
We walked into town this afternoon to see the sights. We'd been told by Alberto (manager of the marina) that there was only one restaurant in town and that was at the hotel. Well, we found lots of small eateries along our walk and stopped in at one for a delightful meal of two cokes and four Carne Asada(steak) tacos for about $3.80!! Food here is much cheaper than out on the Baja. they were great tacos. You could have 5 on corn tortillas for 25 pesos or 4 on flour tortillas for 30 pesos. They came with condiments of salsa(lots of cut up tomatoes and onion with jalapenos), sliced onion in a brine, a tomato based hot(spicy) sauce, as well as a guacamole sauce. We have yet to be disappointed with any meals we have gotten from the street vendors or small cafes along our trip. Normally, they have better and certainly more tasty food than the larger restaurants and at a much better price for us cost conscientious cruisers where every dollar counts.
We passed a political rally as we passed through town and wandered along their new Malecon(shopping area along the waterfront). Let me tell you, the Mexicans know how to party when it comes to going to a political rally. Free food, free tee shirts and sandals as well as a band and cartoon books(with the candidate inside) for the kids. People were streaming into the party. There were hundreds of people there all having a great time with music and games(a trampoline for the kids had been set up) to keep every one happy. What a show!!!
We have a marina dock party pot luck set up for this afternoon about 1700 so that will be fun getting all of us together for fun and food as well as lots of story telling about each others boats and where we have all been during our travels.
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Phil Mickelson won the Masters this weekend
Tiger was fourth Enjoy the travels Rick
