First Pacific Spinnaker Run!
10 February 2018 | Pacific Ocean off Mexico, heading north to Puerto Vallarta
Helen/Mark
After our lumpy day at sea, we did not fare better for the night sail. We took down the main and jib and just ran one engine at slow speed. Wind continued in our face. At one point we ran both engines and still only made around 3 knots. Mark woke me up around 8 and I put out the jib which actually gave us some speed. We had turns set up close to shore to minimize the current. At this point the ocean swells were 6-8 feet and the boat felt like it was being pushed into some huge rocks. I woke Mark up for advice. Everything was fine and we continued on our route and he went back to sleep. It makes a big difference when there is light to see what lies ahead. I always wonder at night. When we see the odd light, is it a building onshore or a boat. There were scattered lights along the coast. I made a hot breakfast and woke up Mark. He was ready to eat with almost a 4-hour sleep window. Then the winds changed direction from close reach to behind. Mark said it would a perfect opportunity to fly the spinnaker. It took some setup and Mark had modified one of the lines. It worked beautifully. We were riding much smaller waves in a comfortable ride and making good speed at over 6 knots. It felt great to be making some miles without motoring or bashing into waves. We were visited by several dolphin, some of which jumped right out of the water. I kept seeing what looked like breaking waves with lots of sea birds on the water surface. It was fish jumping and the birds were ready for a meal. We are seeing more jets in the sky when we have seen none along this coast. There must be a big city close by. Our plans are to anchor in Zihuatanejo which has a protected bay. We will be there in about an hour. This place is famous for their week long festival called Sailfest 2018. Not sure if we will venture to shore, but there should be some good music playing. We will continue tomorrow with a two day sail further north. All is well. We are listening to a Van the Man CD as we enjoy this wonderful sail!