We left Los Frailes bound for Mazatlan on Wednesday morning. We figured the trip across the Sea of Cortez would take close to 30 hours. We listened to the weather in the morning to be sure the forecast hadn't changed. The updated forecast called for winds from the north, possibly as high as 30 knots. Most of the bigger winds would be on the baja peninsula side of the sea. The strong winds were supposed to continue for the next several days- in fact get stronger- which meant the accompanying swell would only get bigger. It sounded like the best time to go was NOW so we did.

Thanks to Travis we were able to repair the batten receptacle on our main so we immediately hoisted our sails and started clipping along at around 7 knots. The wind was good- and for a welcome change NOT right on our nose!- and the seas were fairly comfortable so we settled in for the trip. I even baked bread!

We threw out some fishing lines, Travis REALLY wanted to catch a fish. I think it had something to do with the foot and a half long blue fish that appeared next to our boat right after we arrived in Los Frailes and stayed there watching (taunting?) him right up until the point that we had the fishing gear ready. Then he was gone, never to be seen again. We didn't catch anything that day but the next day, about 2 hours out of Mazatlan we caught a mahi-mahi. Sweet!

Right around dinner time the wind and swell started to pick up. By the time I was done putting the pizza together I was feeling a bit queasy and decided to lie down until it was time for my watch. The swell continued to roll us side to side throughout most of the night. It was nearly impossible to sleep because you had to constantly brace yourself or you'd roll across the bed! Travis decided to sleep in the cockpit. I don't know how he managed to avoid getting dumped on to the cockpit floor. Needless to say, no one got much sleep.

We arrived at Marina El Cid around noon on Thursday and were immediately greeted by Craig and Deborah from Infinnity. Deborah whisked the girls off to go see and feed the large iguanas that inhabit the property. We quickly got the boat put away and joined them at the resort's luxurious pool for lunch. Ahhhhhh

By the way, we've added more pictures to our "Picasa" albums. Click on the "OUR PICTURES" link which is on the right side of this page under "Favorites". There are new pictures in November's album as well as an album with pictures of John's haircut ordeal.