We have had an unusual weather season here in Mexico this year. The trip down as previously noted was unusual and it has been unusually hot and humid. We have now just finished a solid week of heavy overcast and daily rain. Rain is very unusual here this time of year. They get most of their rain in the summer months, the monsoon season, and while it can rain this time of year I’m told it is usually a short weather event. The last trip down, 2010-11 we didn’t have any rain for six months and very few cloudy days. With this rain system we had no cold weather, no wind or heavy seas. It just rained, a lot, and we were tired of it.

On Thursday, January 2, 2014 after the rains quit we ended our extended stay in the Barra’s Grand Bay Marina; Marisa and I unplugged, untied and got away from that dock! As said before, they do have a way of growing tentacles. We were not even sure of our destination, but it had to be close. Marisa only has a few days left and is scheduled to fly out of the Manzanillo Airport on Sunday.

We motored out and decided to go north to Bahia Tenacatita, about 14 nm north of Barra. We had decent wind and opted to sail the entire distance once out of the Barra channel so it took a little longer than just motoring. We had to throw in quite a few tacks to work up wind around the point, but we needed the exercise.

Tenacatita is a great anchorage, well sheltered and calm. There is a very long and beautiful crescent shaped sandy beach. There is a pretty regular cruising group that attends this place in season and we anchored among 18 other boats. There is not much on the beach here, just a small palapa restaurant and palapa seating area with an associated camp ground. With all the recent rains most of the campers had departed so it was pretty much just the boaters here. As a foot note to the restaurant facility and this beach area we are told that this site along with one of the islands in the Barra Lagoon were used in the filming of the movie “McHale’s’ Navy”, which I have never seen and understand was pretty bad, but it would be interesting to see it just to see how these locations were utilized in the film.

Friday afternoon there was a round of bocce ball on the beach with about ten of us participating. The “officially, unofficial mayor of Tenacatita, Robert of “Harmony” ran the tournament and later that afternoon held a pot luck “raft up” with I think all boats attending. I’ve done beach party pot lucks before, but never a dinghy pot luck. It sounds just like it is, you bring a dish to share, your own utensils and everyone motors or rows over to the spot and ties around one dinghy that’s anchored in a big circle. The “mayor” presided over the event and a good time was had by all.

This picture is Pacifico’s dinghy, Clara on the beach at Tenacatita behind the inner point with her beach landing wheels, that’s how we get to shore in ‘the water car’, it’s too heavy to drag up onto the sand. We’ll stick around here for a couple of days then head back to Barra so we can get Marisa to the airport this Sunday.