A Taste of Cruising Mexico

The passage from Mazatlan to Ensenada de Los Muertos was accomplished in about 31 hours. We left Mazatlan by 6 AM and motored until after dark. For the most part, the seas were flat, so the daylight hours were fairly comfortable. Come nightfall, the winds picked up. We soon had 15-20 knots out of the SW, and the wind angle was such that we were able to sail exactly towards our target waypoint. So we made a good 5-7 knots through the water most of the night, but the seas were very lumpy--like sailing in a washing machine. Not comfortable, but we've been through worse. Jeff was just happy to be able to sail for a good part of the crossing.

We arrived at Ensenada de Los Muertos in the early afternoon and spent most of it relaxing and catching up on our sleep.

This morning we left the anchorage and are motoring north up the Ceralvo channel towards La Paz. The picture is the sunrise as we left the anchorage. In the past two days, Jeff has caught at least ten fish. Unfortunately, they've all been bonito--not a fish known for good eating--so he's thrown them all back. He's running two hand-lines off the stern of the boat and has been catching the fish two at a time lately. I'd trade all of those bonito for a nice dorado or a good-sized tuna though.

We will be staying in La Paz until our son Josh arrives on April 6th, and then will be doing some cruising in the nearby islands. I'm looking forward to having the water temperatures warm up a bit. The low 70's may sound nice when you are used to 58 degree water in Ventura, but after the 85 degree water in Southern Mexico, it's a bit of a disappointment.

Stay tuned for further Sea of Cortez adventures, Dori