Going with the Wind!
06 January 2018 | Gulfo de Montijo
Helen
We both enjoyed over 10 hours of sleep. It was a peaceful, flat anchorage with stunning scenery. The vegetation was so think that we didn't think we could get off the beach. Plus there were rocks near the beach so would have been a tough dinghy landing. We thought about exploring. Even had a cool breeze thru our screened cabin hatch. After breakfast, worked on some boat maintenance. Mark adjusted the alternator v-belt in the starboard engine. Also, taped and sealed the end of the rope portion of our anchor line and rearranged the anchor locker. Checked our fuel tank and we had used around 8 gallons so far. Filled the tank from our jury jugs. Mark also worked on the Pactor Modem, checking the connections since he could not download weather last night. He was successful and we got the latest weather. Another section of wind screen ripped so Mark and I repaired that too. We would have loved to stay there another day, but the wind changed directions and increased in strength. Had lunch and then hauled anchor and departed. The winds turned lighter as we got around the corner and then strengthen. They were directly where we wanted to sail, so that meant we had to tack back and forth. Making some progress. The highest wind so far was 18 knots. Our speeds have varied from not much to over 7 knots. We got to see a pod of dolphins who were happily swimming and jumping thru our bow wake. The seas are not too big today. Maybe 1-2 foot. We can still see back to our anchorage and we see rain, with lightning and thunder. So, it's good that we left. We also had a fast shower on the back steps while sailing at 7+ knots. Still seeing lots of debris in the water. Not sure where it came from. Several types of birds have crossed our path. Not sure if we will be able to sail thru to Mexico, but we are trying one day at a time.