There are three boats in the Chahue Marina, Huatulco that come from the Stockton Sailing Club. Along with us are Aztec with Caroline & David Cammick, and crew member Jeff, and Stella Blue with Lorrie Warner and Wally Fort. The other two sailed across the Gulf of California, from La Paz to Mazatlan and caught up with us in Zihuatanejo. We have traveled down the 360 miles of coast together since leaving Zihuatanejo on Feb. 25.
We just finished dinner at the marina café – where we discussed plans to sail out tomorrow afternoon for the 270 mile, two overnight trip through the infamous and treacherous Tehuantepec Gulf. We have been hearing weather reports on the area since reaching Mexico three years ago – regularly there are gale and sometimes storm (worse) warnings. So we have been closely watching the weather through Tehuantepec for the past few weeks. Fortunately, we live in the age of pretty accurate weather forecasts. It is now understood that the winds build up in the Gulf of Mexico and then funnel across the narrow, low strip of land that links Mexico to Central America. Last Saturday, four boats left from this marina after a gale had blown through. The dangerous wind and waves had blown through, and there were three days of calm weather before the winds started howling again. Since Wednesday, the winds have built and now a storm has almost blown through. By tomorrow at noon, the 25 knots of wind will drop to 4-5 and the waves from 15 to 3 feet. Calm conditions are predicted until Wednesday, and this is called the “weather window.” If we average 5 miles an hour (hopefully we’ll be faster), we will arrive in the marina at Chiapas, Mexico by 6pm Monday, March 18th.
There is a lot of calculation that goes into this crossing. If we wait until Sunday, we would miss the stronger wind that should be blowing from the back. We’re hoping to sail fast for the first twelve hours as the current flows south until the middle of Tehuantepec. When it changes to flow against us, we will head further out to sea to catch stronger wind. We always have to keep an eye on the compass, in regard to the wind, current, and direction of sail. Even though we know we’re sailing south from California, the Mesoamerican land mass turns east and so must we. Sometimes we even head north to actually go south. Satellites and internet weather sites certainly make this crossing safer than before them. So, we are expecting a calm adventure.