Cruising to La Cruz.
Kievit, with Marj and Dave aboard, left Mazatlan at 11:00 a.m. on Sat. Jan 17. It was great sailing at 4 to 6 knots until 3:00 a.m., when the wind died about 15 mi from Isla Isabel. We motored slowly the last three hours so as not to arrive at Isla Isabel in the dark. There was a lot of talk in the cruising community about crossing long-lines set by the fishermen and getting the lines caught in the rudders or worse, wrapped in the prop. We did cross several lines but only lost one fishing lure to the long-lines. All went smoothly and we had the anchor down on a rocky bottom in the south anchorage of Isabel before 7:00am. After a short breakfast we settled in for a good nap, having been awake and sailing the whole night. At noon, we woke and found the anchor was dragging on the rocky bottom. We moved the boat and reset the anchor. Having no energy for getting the dinghy and outboard into the water, we took it easy by just sitting in the cockpit watching the Frigatebirds, Brown and Blue-footed Boobies, Pelicans, Red-billed Tropic birds and assorted other water fowl fight for food.
We left Isabel at 6:30 Sunday morning and motored most of the way to the small town of Chacala which is on the Mexican mainland. We arrived there after eleven hours and found good anchorage in a small cove just in front of the town. We had spent several days in the anchorage last year and felt we knew the town fairly well. Being so, we again opted not to get the dinghy into the water, so we watched the sun set, cooked and ate dinner and got a good night’s sleep.
Monday we motored and sailed the last 50 miles to La Cruz. Fishing was good as we caught two large Crevalle Jacks (20 and 40 lbs) which were released as the meat is dark and strong tuna tasting. The big one was quite a challenge to land as it busted the reel and we had to pull him the last 50 yards to the boat by hand. We did land one smallish (5 lb) Dorado, which was filleted and enjoyed at several meals.
On this first leg of the 2013 season there was a steady, NW wind for good sailing. We felt rewarded with numerous whale sightings all along the way. Always great to share the big guys space!
We arrived at La Cruz anchorage around 4:00 p.m. and got the hook down for the night. We found several boats that we know in the anchorage. JoAnn and Ralph Felton on s/v Ensueno (HomeBodies from Stockton Sailing Club) and Marion and Theo on s/v Marrionetto. Most of the day Tuesday we just visited friends on different boats. We are especially glad to finally catch up with our friends Robin and Ken on s/v Pionero. With them, we enjoyed ceviche tostadas specials in the marina restaurant, for dinner. Dinner on Wed was the last of the dorado with Robin and Ken on Pionero.
We plan to do small jobs on Kievit for the next week or so and just enjoy La Cruz. This evening there is dinner and music at the Black Forest Restaurant (yes a German restaurant in Mexico) in La Cruz. We are meeting other cruising boats who plan to join the El Salvador Rally and I am sure we will be meeting up, or sailing along, with them most to the spring. The weather here has been great with daytime temps in the 80’s and nights in the 60’s.