29-30 January 2018 Solo Cruising to Bahia Chamela
03 February 2018
In the evening John crumpled a beer can, tossed it over his shoulder, and said, “I’m outta here.” (Yes, Andrew, he copied your move.) With that, he took a plane to La Paz with eventual plans to head for Hawaii. I was sorry to see him go. He has helped me immensely throughout this adventure going back to the original boat shopping and equipping Altere. On this trip, he gave me great advice on how to do a lot of things more efficiently and safely.
With that, I got up the next morning and did the necessary chores to get ready to go. One of these was to check out with the Capitanía de Puerto. To me, this seems like an archaic procedure. I take a list of my crew (in this case me) and boat documentation to the marina office where I got several pieces of paper. I paid 30 pesos for a water taxi to go over to the Port Captain’s office where I watched an officious man stamp my pieces of paper and give me one back. Then I returned to my boat and finished readying to leave. Not every stop has a port captain, but when they do, one needs to do this procedure.
My first passage alone on the ocean was from Puerto Vallarta, where I topped off my fuel tanks, to Bahia Chamela, a distance of about 101 nautical miles. Without crew I could make up any watch schedule I wanted for myself. The only problem was that I had to be aware enough to keep track of marine traffic, my position, and any changes in the wind. I elected to take short periods of sleep, setting the alarm on my phone to wake me at intervals. There were other boats transiting the coast and a few larger commercial vessels that showed up on the AIS, but they were another 10 miles offshore from my track.
Rounding Cabo Corrientes (yes, Cape of Currents) I did find myself fighting an adverse current. There was slightly less than a knot of current heading northward, the wrong direction, all along the coast. I arrived in Bahia Chamela about 2:30 pm after motoring and motorsailing 27 hours straight.
Chamela was a beautiful large bay with a wide sandy beach behind Punta Rivas protecting the anchorage from northerlies. The ocean swells still wrap around the point and it was somewhat rolly. I anchored in about 20 feet of water in the midst of several other cruisers.
I decided to inflate the dinghy and attempt to land and explore. It was a surf landing and I only got a little bit wet, but realized that the return trip might be difficult. After a beer and Camarones a la Diabla at a Palapa on the beach, I walked a bit and then tried to get the inflatable through the surf. I basically got soaked and had to return to the beach to empty the water out because the dinghy was full. The second try, a man who was swimming helped pull the boat out a ways while I pushed. My shins got banged up from the dinghy surging backward into me, but I got off the beach. Thankfully I had a dry sack that was a Christmas gift (Thank you , Doug!) and my wallet and phone stayed dry. Back on the boat I rinsed the salt out of my clothes and licked my wounds. I clearly have a lot to learn about this procedure.
I had a lazy day in Bahia Chamela, electing to stay anchored two nights. I listened to a book, studied español, and did some boat chores. I also caught up on sleep. I have been going constantly, either preparing the boat, sailing, or being a tourist for nearly a month. It was nice to have a quiet day alone to reflect and make plans.
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