ADVENTURES OF SEA WHISPER 4
Santa Rosalia in the Sea of Cortez to La Cruz on the Mexican Riviera

It is November 18, 2011 and we have departed Santa Rosalia, the old French copper mining town. We have made a decision to turn around and begin to head south (back down the sea) as the ‘Northers’, the strong wintertime blows , are becoming more prevalent. Air temperatures and water temperatures are beginning to cool down. Our 0800 log report: ‘Enroute Playa Santispac, Bahia Concepcion, SOG 6.0, COG 134, WIND 0-5, BAR 1010. Clear sunny morning, lots of Pangas out fishing, no slop. Beautiful scenery, a lot cooler 24C.

By mid afternoon the NE wind kicked up to 20 knots and we had a great sail to Santispac in Bahia Concepcion. Temperatures climbed to 32C, so after dropping the hook a refreshing swim to shore was very much enjoyed.

While at Santispac we visited Mulege. It is 14 miles down the road…but you have to hitchhike on Mexico Highway 1. So off we went and were fortunate to get a ride immediately from a nice Canadian couple who were camping at the beach. Mulege is famous for its date palms which make the whole landscape look very green and tropical; a stark contrast to the desert colours of the Sea of Cortez. We walked up the hill to the Mission and enjoyed the lush green vistas along the Rio Santa Rosalia. After a café visit to sample date cinnamon buns it was time to head back to our boat which meant another go round of hitchhiking on Mexican Highway 1. I tried to calm myself by being assured by our guidebook that this is what the cruisers do to get from Santispac to Mulege. But no one picked us up. We took our hats off, then our sunglasses, changed positions, smiled a lot and tried to stage ourselves for a pickup. Forty five minutes later we were still standing on the hot highway. And then in the distance we could see a big bus. The bus, heading for Cabo San Lucas, stopped after our frantic waves. After five minutes the bus full of Mexicans stopped for their supper break at a roadside café. We finally arrived back at Sea Whisper three hours later! No more hitchhiking I hope.

Hike at Playa El Burro: We would not have imagined that there would be so many hiking trails in the Sea of Cortez. After all we are sailing in a huge body of water anchoring at this Punta, Pasada, Playa, Puerto, Bahia or Caleta. However, at nearly every stop, there are rock, goat or just easy meandering trails up the hills to stretch your sea legs. We were in the mood for a hike so we picked the trail behind a white sandy beach in El Burro. Our guide book told us that it was behind Bertha’s restaurant and we would see Amerindian petroglyphs. As we approached the bay in our dinghy we could see the switchbacks between the red and brown rocks up the steep hill. We looked for the rock cairns that marked the trailhead. Scrambling up the rocks and tramping through low brush, shrub and cardon cacti we finally spotted a cairn and then another and another. We’re on our way. Up up we hiked on the dusty steep goat trial. It was very hot. The odd lizard scurried in front of us. As we climbed we made more cairns on the trail and occasionally turned around to capture the view. The big red rocks along the trail had a high iron content. When we struck them with a smaller rock they resonated like a bell. In almost two hours we reached the top of the last pinnacle of rocks. We rested, drank copias amounts of water, ate date cinnamon buns from Mulege and soaked up the scenery and the beautiful vistas of Bahia Concepcion. Carefully we made our descent picking our way from rock cairn to rock cairn. We stopped to admire and photograph the enormous cactus ‘trees’. Near the bottom of the trail we looked for the petroglyphs. No luck. At Bertha’s restaurant we treated ourselves to Cabrilla (fish) and chips and cold beer. High 5 – it was a great day.

Sea Whisper sailed south down the coast to anchorages at San Juanico and then to Isla Coronados. Back in Caleta San Juanico we enjoyed its beauty, numerous white sand beaches and rock pinnacles once again. On the north side of the beach at San Juanico there is tree decorated as a ‘Cruiser’s Shrine’. Names of boats, sailors, crew, dogs and families are carved, painted and crafted on bits of wood, shells, rocks and flotsam dating back to the 1980’s. Creativity has ruled at this festive tree and Sea Whisper added to the adornment with a painted wooden hull with her name emblazoned on it using Lionel’s router. Of course Lionel had to climb the tree to place Sea Whisper front and center on the Cruiser’s Shrine.

At Isla Coronados we were welcomed with turquoise waters, beautiful beaches and a 930 ft. volcano cone. Sea Whisper was the only boat anchored on the south side and the water was like a millpond. Needless to say we swam and floated all day in the crystal shallow waters along the sandspit. Dolphins
in large pods performed for us in the bay and all around our boat. “Awe, oh, wow,”….. these fascinating creatures mesmerized us with their leaping, darting, spouting, tail slapping and cavorting all around Sea Whisper.

The Hike from Hell: The following day we decided to hike the volcano at Isla Coronados. We started early in the morning equipped with water, chocolate and sunscreen. This was yet another time we had difficulty finding the trailhead so we struck out across the ‘Lava Fields’, as Lionel called them. Small, medium and gigantic boulders scattered in every direction forming mountains of red rock piles. These were no fields, they were ‘Lava Canyons’! Every step was a challenge as some loose boulders tippled just when you thought you had a strong foothold. Lionel forged ahead. In his youth he worked for an Exploration company clamouring over the B.C. and Yukon mountain ranges. I am no wimpy hiker but this was beginning to be a nerve-wracking experience. “Wait for me,” I yelled from below. And then his voice came back, “You’ve got the utility knife in the pack haven’t you?” He was carrying my pack. Sheepishly I responded, “No I haven’t.” There was a pregnant pause and then he blurted out, “Well, if someone breaks a leg or an arm it will be a lot easier to make a splint if we have a knife.” All I could think of was let me out of this rock pile! After nearly another hour of climbing and sweating in the canyons we finally caught sight of a rock cairn guiding us to the trail. Whew! And then the final ascent…loose gravel all the way up to the volcanic peak. The spectacular views, our bottles of water and the chocolate bars were grand rewards for all our efforts! Sea Whisper looked so tiny anchored way down below us in the bay. At the top we met some hikers from Canada and the U.S. and they gave us instructions of an easier trail to go back. “How did you find the trailhead?” we asked. “Google Earth!,” they said. Anyway the down part was much more enjoyable and we cast our eyes on every rock cairn not to lose our way and drift back into the ‘Lava Canyons’!

And now to the small fishing village of Aqua Verde. We truly enjoy the anchorages where there is a small village or just an abundance of nature and nothing else. We sailed our little sabot ‘Coda’ in the beautiful green waters. The surf was strong on the beach but we needed to reprovision at the Tienda in the village. Braving the 2 foot + surf we landed our inflatable dinghy safely on shore thanks to Lionel’s ingenuous anchor and retrieval system which resembled an ocean clothes line. The two of us had to be bang on with our timing so that we didn’t end up getting soaked or the dinghy capsized. It all went fairly well but a little more practice will make it better!

At the village we connected with the Mexican families again. They were so delighted to see us especially Brian our little guide. This time his father said, “Albahaca para usted?” as he pointed to the large pot of basil in their garden. “Si, si, mucho gracias.”
And then, if luck would have it, the fresh tortilla lady was open for business. We ordered 2 dozen tortillas. She said they would be ready in 20 minutes. We sat under the shade of a tree and drank cold cerveza while we waited for the very fresh tortillas from Lolita’s kitchen. We came back to her petit house with the dirt yard, sat under the palapa with assorted family members and I watched Lolita make the tortillas. Lionel said, “Did you pick up any tips?” She had little balls of dough, a tiny rolling pin, a small piece of sheet metal to cook them on and a basket with a hand crocheted cloth to keep them warm. Thirty five pesos! Can’t say enough “Mucho Gracias’s” to these loving and humble Mexicans! With our fresh basil and fresh tortillas we had the best Crostini and fish tortillas ever!

The next morning, Serifino, a local guy from the village picked us up in his panga to take us on a cave expedition. We slowly motored past a mangrove oasis and anchored on a beautiful secluded white sand beach. We walked across sand dunes past a dry lake and hiked up a steep cliff face to a large cave inhabited by natives 400 years ago. We studied the hieroglyphs on the cave walls and walked in the deep dark space while Serifino talked to us in Mexican/English about this historic site. Back in the panga, we ate the delicious bean and fish tortillas that Serifino’s wife, Gabriella had made for us. Back on Sea Whisper another panga visited us. Jose was offering colourful placemats with tortugas, hand embroidered by his 80 year old mother. We now have 4 tortugas aboard, Flipper’s emblem. Another wonderful day in the Sea of Cortez.

About Sea Whisper: some people have asked about the boat and so we hope the following boat notes are interesting. Sea Whisper is a Frazer 50 ft. ketch. In 1979 Lionel bought the hull and deck which was built in Vancouver by the Dutch De Kleer bros. For the next 33 months, a Spanish father and son shipwright team handcrafted the beautiful interior. “We’ll let you do anything that doesn’t show,” they said to Lionel. So, with Lionel’s mechanical skills, he was responsible for everything below the floor boards. Big job! Sea Whisper is 26 tons, has a 9 ft. draft and a beam of 14 ft. She is outfitted for world class cruising with electronics, AIS, auto pilot, self steering, safety gear, life raft, water maker and 6 anchors! She carries 270 gallons of water and 270 gallons of fuel . Sea Whisper carries a 11 ft. inflatable dinghy. She has nearly 105,000 nautical miles under her keel (enjoying her 3rd offshore sailing adventure.) In her lockers you will find more than 40 foreign flags, and spares for the spares since marine parts are hard to come by in mid ocean! My favourite area below decks is the main cabin where there is a lovely teak sole and teak cabinetry, a built in chesterfield, easy chairs and a dropdown dining table. Gracing the walls are art forms of 2 roosters(a Mola), a turtle(mask), seaweed(glass art) and a Vietnemese Buddha( mask). It is a nice and peaceful place to read, write, practice yoga or just visit with my Matey. And in turbulent seas, on our watches, it provides space for the Cargo/safety net we can clutch onto when we traverse the main cabin to retrieve our Safety harnesses hanging from the net. The step down galley is a treat with a decent size fridge and freezer and a 4 burner propane stove. I enjoy cooking and have had fun creating everything from champagne rissoto to homemade/boatmade granola and yoghurt and fresh fish; baked, fried, broiled and sashimied! ….and gallons of salsa and guacamole. I live to eat and my dear husband eats to live so the galley activity is full on much of the time. My least favourite parts are the decks above when Sea Whisper gets crusted with sea salt from our passages. Decks, life lines, hatches, windows, stainless steel railings and sail covers need to be swabbed and scrubbed. It’s part of the journey.

Salt Mines: I can’t imagine that I would be exploring Salt Mines on my journey to the Sea of Cortez. We have seen salt flats at Isla San Fransisco, San Evaristo, Bahia Salinas and Isla San Jose. One doesn’t think too much about the little white grains that make French fries taste so good. The salt mining operation at Bahia Salinas on Isla Carmen was a worldwide operation before it closed down in the 80’s. Rusted remains of equipment and crumbled down cement buildings are seen from the shoreline. There was an entire community that supported the families who lived there: a school, church, doctor’s office, business offices, housing, drug store and a market. We walked through the acres of abandoned crusty salty earth surrounded by the cactus hills and the sea. As the sun began to set, its fading rays made the crystals of salt look like fields of diamonds. I now have an appreciation for organic sea salt.

La Paz……La Paused! On December 4th we sailed back in to the La Paz harbor and for four days we experienced the La Paz Waltz, where boats danced forwards and backwards on their anchors (two steps forward, two steps back, slow slow , quick quick, turn around). This is when the wind and current move in different directions at the same time. A bit disconcerting when you look for your anchor road and find it’s straining underneath the hull of your boat. Even though a strong Northerly was blowing for 4 days we had a wonderful time in charming La Paz strolling along the Malecon, mixing with the friendly Mexicans and meeting up with some of our boat buddies from Victoria.

At Sea December 10, 2011 Enroute La Paz to La Cruz 1000 Departed La Paz
1600 Log entry Latitude 22.35N, Longitude 108.10W, SOG 5.4 COG 132 Winds NNE 10 knots. Wind is dropping. Clear skies. Steady 2 ft. seas.
We were excited about our 370 mile passage across the sea as there was a full moon and the forecast of moderate north winds. As we sailed through a narrow channel we decided to put our fishing line out and low and behold the line took off and we caught a fine fish. Not a Dorado or Skipjack…maybe a Sierra mackerel (as we checked our fish guide book). Lionel took care of the proceedings on the aft deck and pronto Ms. Sierra was filleted and packed into the freezer. We actually caught another bigger fish and then the line snapped. When we brought it in our fancy lure was gone. Now we have steel leaders to try and catch the big guys! The winds picked up and Sea whisper forged ahead towards the Mexican Riviera. The night watches went very smoothly with the glowing full moon, no traffic and 10-15 knot tail winds. On my third night watch I sat in the cockpit savouring the tranquility, watching the moon dancing on the dark seas and listening to the waves gently washing on the hull and the wind brushing against my face. It is almost as if the wind and the waves are whispering in the still of the night. The stars are brilliant and endless. Each moment is magical as I breathe the freshest, purest organic sea air. I wished time could stand still. The word that fills my soul is gratitude. How blessed I am to be here on this journey with my Matey. Landfall, the next morning, was almost ‘anti-climatic’ after such a euphoric ocean passage.

We are now in Banderas Bay at La Cruz. Sea Whisper no longer looks like a crusty potato chip. She has had a good bath and shrub and her stainless steel has all been polished. She’s ready for the festive season. Tomorrow son John and family arrive to celebrate Mexican Christmas with us.

Hope our newsletter finds everyone in good health and looking forward to the Festive Season. To all of you, your families and friends we wish you a blessed and happy holiday. Our love and best wishes from this part of the world as we celebrate together.

Feliz Navidad, Y el Nuevo Ano Feliz
Barbara and Lionel