Half Way Across
26 March 2015 | 22 40.60'N:107 26.914'W, Crossing the Sea of Cortez, Mexico
Mark
152 nautical miles done, 152 more to go! We are now at the halfway point of this leg from the mainland to Baja. For those of you that have made this crossing, you are certainly wondering why it is taking so long? It would have been a shorter passage if we had headed up to Mazatlan first. Then, turned right 90 degrees and crossed. But, from where we were near Puerto Vallarta, that would have been much longer overall. So, our diagonal path makes this a long leg, but cuts our overall time down.
So far, there has been no wind at all. We have had a little wind on the beam to help the motor along, but not nearly enough to sail. Even the Pardy's would be wishing for an engine out here. It is perfectly clear and perfectly calm, with hardly even a swell. If a passage is going to be windless, this is about as good as it gets.
Because it has been so calm, we both got a few good hours of sleep last night. Dee sleeps first from 8pm to midnight, then takes over the watch until 4am while I try to get some shut eye. I'm up again from 4-7am while Dee takes her second sleep shift. I hit the sack again from 7am until 9 or 10 to top things off. Dee tends to fall asleep fast while I, unfortunately, lay awake much of the time. But, since it has been so flat, we both feel quite refreshed this morning.
The picture, I'm sure that you can guess, was taken before we left Chacala. But, since there is really nothing to see right now, and since the dolphins aren't staying with us long enough for their photo shoot, I thought that you would find this picture quite interesting. The sign is along a path from a small bay that the local fisherman use to get back and forth to the main beach and town. It seems that they may be having a smelly problem along that path. I quite admire the artist. Instead of a simple stick drawing, he really has captured the essence of the situation. Obviously an art school graduate that isn't quite working in his chosen field.