Citla Crew from La Paz to Cabo

All good things must come to an end and so, too, our time in the Sea of Cortez. The decision has been made to sail Citla back to San Diego for hurricane season and perform some modifications to make it a more comfortable cruising boat. Given the horror stories of the 750 nm bash to weather up the coast of Baja without real services or support until Ensenada, this decision was made with some trepidation.

The nature of sailing a small boat against the prevailing winds, waves and currents adds to unknown scheduling considerations for us, since we are also neophyte Baja bashers. Adding to the unknowns for us is the fact that it is getting on into the summer season and the beginning of the formation of tropical depressions and cyclones. Given all of these considerations, we'll be watching the weather up the coast and, hopefully, be able to time a favorable weather window for the first part of our bash north.

To help make the trip more manageable, we were hoping to enlist the services of one or two crew to help with the trip home. With the scheduling uncertainties, finding enthusiastic volunteers to join us for the bash won't be easy. Fortunately for us, we do know several people who have some flexibility in their schedules and would be great additions as crew members. Two people who volunteered to join us in our adventure were Bruce Bennett and Peter Vierra.

Bruce is an old friend, who I first met as the general contractor to an addition to a house in Mission Hills 28 years ago. While he doesn't have any sailing experience, his enthusiasm and mechanical expertise lends itself well to this type of trip. Unfortunately, due to business and family priorities he would only be able to join us for the leg from La Paz to Cabo San Lucas.

Peter Vierra is our nephew who has been around boats since he could walk, but has limited sailing experience. He spent a great deal of time on his grandfathers (my father) powerboat growing up, learning boat handling skills. Besides being physically fit and strong, he has an engaging personality with a great sense of humor. A perfect set of qualifications for any crew members to have! We are fortunate to be able to have him join us for the entire bash home.

June 12th, Bruce, Peter, Kathie and myself departed Marina de La Paz to begin our trip to Cabo San Lucas. The first leg took us to Playa Bonanza, on the east side of Isla Espiritu Santo. We set anchor towards the north end of the 2-mile long beach and Pete and Bruce swam ashore and spent the remainder of the afternoon beachcombing and snoozing under a stunted tree along the shoreline.

The following morning we weighed anchor and headed south across the San Lorenzo Channel intending to make our way to Ensenada Los Muertos. Thirty minutes out in the channel, it was observed that the alternator was not charging. Rather than continuing on southward, the decision was made to sail back to Marina de La Paz for repairs.

We were fortunate to be able to have the alternator repaired the same day of our return to La Paz and were on our way south again the following morning. We left the Marina early and were out of the harbor channel by 9 a.m. and on our way to Ensenada Los Muertos. By 6:20 p.m. we were anchoring at Los Muertos. After securing the boat, Pete and Bruce rowed into the cantina to check out the scene and ended up having dinner and closing the place before returning to Citla.

The sun rose on a glorious morning in the anchorage at Los Muertos and by 9:50 a.m., the anchor was raised and we were on our way to the next stop at Los Frailes. Los Frailes is a south facing anchorage just around the point from Cabo Pulmo, the largest coral reef along the west coast. It has provided us great protection in the past from the Sea of Cortez infamous 'Northers', but now we were exposed to winds from the southeast. The anchorage has a deep sea canyon almost to its shore, requiring anchoring in suitable depth water close to the beach. In the prevailing notherlies of winter this is not a problem or a concern, however, with the southeasterlies the beach becomes a lee shore with breaking waves.

We anchored within a couple of hundred yards of the beach and let out enough scope to feel comfortable given the conditions. The anchorage is over good holding sand and after a couple of hours evaluating our position, we felt confident about our anchor. That still did not prevent me from checking several times during the night for any change in position. The first 24 hours on at any anchorage finds me constantly checking our relative position to insure we are not dragging. After the first 24 hours, I generally feel more confident and only bother to check once or twice during subsequent nights.

We got an early start the following morning, with Bruce taking his first try at raising the anchor. After struggling mightly, Bruce managed to get the anchor on board with only one skinned knuckle and almost managing to lose the pin securing the chain lock overboard. The good news is that it did not dampen his enthusiasm or his confidence. The remainder of the day was spent motorsailing to Cabo.

We didn't use the autopilot much on the legs between La Paz and Cabo, but chose to hand steer for most of the time. Steering the boat takes some experience and practice to keep on a straight course. The most common error is to oversteer and have to make constant corrections to compensate in the opposite direction. The result is that the boat travels further than necessary to cover a course between point 'A' and 'B' (which in a slow moving sailboat can add significant time) and can be detected by observing the snaking course of the wake left behind. It was decided that Bruce was the hands down winner of the 'snake-wake' award.

Making long distance passages, one of the critical crew considerations is to be well rested between shifts. We found that this was an area where Bruce excelled! When not occupied with crew duties, Bruce could drop off at a minutes notice, day or night, and be soundly resting and saving his energy for his next crew stint. One additional side benefit we found, was that the presence of pesky flies and bees was greatly reduced when Bruce was off-shift. We believe this was due to the posture he took while at rest. He demonstrated the uncanny ability to draw insects in during his inhale without disturbing his rest or allowing for their escape during his cacophonous exhale. This was an amazing ability that wouldn't have been believed had not the rest of the crew observed and documented it.

Rounding the east cape, the wind and waves built, compared to the lake-like conditions we had enjoyed in the Sea of Cortez. We arrived at our slip in Marina Cabo San Lucas at 3:25 p.m. on June 16th. Bruce rented a car and allowed for easy provisioning of Citla at the local Costco. For the next several days Bruce and P-dos or P2 (our nephew) explored Cabo San Lucas while Kathie and I took care of immigration and Port Captain paperwork to clear Citla and its' crew into and out of Cabo. Time was passing and Bruce had to make his way back to San Diego and the real world of priorities and responsibilities. His departure left a noticable hole in the crew morale that didn't fully compensate for the added room we had aboard.

Indecision and Preparations

The first week back we rented a car to help facilitate ordering and gathering what we’d need to take care of the boat and also to take some side trips here in Baja California Sur. We did take a one-day road trip, which included a visit to the cactus preserve just north of El Triunfo, and then south to Los Barriles. The cactus preserve was deserted when we arrived and we took the self guided tour through the dense tropical growth. After about an hour of walking through the paths at the preserve, we returned to the car and resumed our journey south.

The day was overcast, due to the pineapple express, so when we did finally arrive back out to the Gulf at Los Barriles, instead of the welcoming turquoise blue, the water reflected the steel gray of the overcast sky. The town of Los Barriles was a bit of a disappointment. The central portion of town was new and lacked soul. Along the beaches, houses occupied space all the way to the beach. Narrow streets separated blocks of houses that ran up to the beach, leaving little or no room for parking. Sports fishing boats were moored off the open road stead and easy access to the beaches were limited to the rows of houses fronting the sand.

We left Los Barriles northward and followed a paved road that paralleled the beach north of town. The paved road north continued until it became a dirt road at El Cardonal. Rather trying to continue on the dirt track and continue on to Bahia de los Muertos, Juan de los Planes and then onto San Antonio, we turned around and headed back to Los Barriles, Mexico 1 and then back to La Paz.

For the past two-months, Kathie and I have gone through numerous scenarios on how we might best spend the summer months. Now that it is May, with hurricane season approaching, we're still equivocating on what our best course of action should be. On the one hand, with the kids and Kathie's Dad in California, making the bash back would allow for easier logistics for traveling and visiting. On the other, we have only scratched the surface of places to see in the Sea of Cortez and it would be great to spend at least one more season exploring. The biggest deterrent for our return is the dreaded bash back. Should we keep the boat in the water or on the hard? Should we rent a casita and stick out the hotter summer months in La Paz? Should we head up further into the Gulf and tolerate the heat to wait out hurricane season? Should we store the boat on the hard and return to California and do a 4-5 month road trip? So many options and so much indecision!

The past few weeks in La Paz have been spent trying to stay cool, while attempting to do the maintenance and safety upgrades should we make the bash back to San Diego. By 10:30 in the morning, it’s getting warm enough that working outside becomes very uncomfortable. By noon physical work of any kind, especially outside, is out of the question for us.

Fixing the boarding ladder and stern swim step was the first safety item completed after Joel had removed and repaired the raw water pump (see previous blog entry). We also ordered a second removable boarding ladder from San Diego Marine, via the marine supply on Abasolo (Agencia Arjona de La Paz). A week later, we picked up the ladder and fitted it to the boat. That involved taking apart the back splash above the cabinets in the galley to gain access to the under deck for the ladder mounting hardware. Over the course of two days, Kathie and I managed to do the dismantle, install the required hardware and put the woodwork back together in the galley. We now have two self-rescue methods for getting back aboard, in addition to the rescue collar and bosun’s chair.

We also purchased four more 5-gallon yellow diesel cans. Since most of the trip north up the outside of Baja will be into contrary seas and wind, extra fuel capacity is essential. Our satellite fuel capacity is now at 40-gallons, in addition to the 40-gallons in the fuel tank for 80 gallons, total. Diesel can be purchased in San Carlos in Bahia Magdalena, but it is a long trip to and from the Pacific to get there and back. The usual fuel stop for boats heading north or south is Bahia Tortugus, just south of the southern boundary of Scammon's Lagoon, famous for Malaremo beach that reaches west out into the Pacific at this point. From there, fuel can also be obtained northwest, across the channel, at Cedros Island. From there, the next reliable fuel stop is in Ensenada.

The inflatable has been in the water since the slow leak was repaired by Rock Hard Dingy Repair (Jo and Billy on Yellow Star). Today we hauled it out of the water and continue to be amazed at the luxurious growth that decorates the bottom only after two and half weeks in the water. There are countless cone barnacles and other attached hydroids covering the entire whetted surface of the bottom. With a Teflon spatula, the boat brush and pressure water rinse, the bottom is cleaned after about an hours effort. The dingy was then hauled onto the cabin top to dry and be stored in an animal free environment.

When Joel replaced the impeller in our raw water pump, he also checked the outlet hose to the heat exchanger and the heat exchanger, itself, for stray pieces of rubber impeller parts. A check of the raw water discharge into the exhaust mixing 'J' was done for good measure. To do a thorough and complete job, I planned to take the rubber exhaust hose off between the mixing 'J' and the water lift muffler.

The mixing 'J' is where the raw water from the heat exchanger is mixed with the hot exhaust gases from the engine. The discharged seawater acts to cool the exhaust gases before they enter the rubber hoses that make up the exhaust system and eliminate potential fire hazards. The velocity of the exhaust gases serve to propel the seawater through the exhaust system and out of the exhaust pipe in the stern of the boat. Two things can interfere with the function of the mixing 'J' by blocking the water galleries that provide the cooling of the 'J' before being mixed with the exhaust gases: Pieces of debris (e.g., old impeller parts) and salt build-up. If the water flow is disrupted in the mixing chamber, this can cause a reduced water flow, greater exhaust back pressure and potential hot spots, which are a fire safety concern.

Removing ~2-inch I.D., steel reinforced, rubber exhaust hose from the exhaust system is generally a pain to do and can result in destroying the hose. The section of hose to be removed is 20" long and has a gentle curve in it. With the aid of a long, slim screw-driver, some liquid dish detergent and a great deal of determination, I was able to remove the old wet-exhaust hose and check the condition of the mixing 'J'. It didn't appear too badly obstructed, save for one piece of impeller that fell out, so I replaced the hose with a new section and double hose-clamped both ends before trying it out for leaks by running the engine. All looks good, so far.

There have also been little repairs and improvements to tend to, as well. The spring holding the cabin roof hatch open had begun to lose its rigidity and sometimes slammed close without warning. I found a spring replacement at Agencia Seamar, across the street from Marina de La Paz, and replaced the old spring opening with the new. We're now confident that we've seen the last of unexpected closures of this hatch, at least for several years.

Listening to the La Paz cruisers net this morning, we were reminded of another potential for problems. One of the boats in the fleet was looking for a replacement fuel pump for a three cylinder Yanmar diesel. Lopez Marine, on Cinco de Febrero, indicated that he had an 12-volt electric pump that could be used in its place. The caller didn't want the electric pump, but rather, the a replacement to the original mechanical lift pump. However, the exchange prompted our memory of leaving Mazatlan, several months ago, and not knowing if our lift pump was functioning. One of the solutions Rafael, at Total Yacht Works, offered was hooking a back-up electric pump in-line and by passing the mechanical pump, if indeed, it was not functioning. We decided that having an electric back up pump wouldn't be such a bad idea for our bash back north. Neither Kathie nor myself could envision doing a long slog to weather under motor, while someone was below hand pumping the outboard fuel pump bulb to provide fuel flow to the engine should the mechanical pump fail. We went by Lopez Marine and pick up a 12-volt fuel pump to serve as a back-up!

While we were engaged in small improvement projects, we installed a couple of spring loaded brass cabinet door latches to some of the cabinets that didn't stay latched while sailing. This was a very minor issue, but adds enormously to the calm and neatness in the cabin not having doors swinging open and having their contents scatter across the cabin, while the boat is heeled and pitching.

Enrique cleaned the bottom at one-dollar a foot (~$400MN) and determined that the zinc was still good. He seemed a bit more enthusiastic when using the metal scraper when cleaning the bottom and indicated we needed bottom paint. I tried to explain to him that the bottom paint was of the ablative variety and was meant to come off, I'm not sure he understood what the difference was. I guess we'll be hauling the boat in San Diego for another bottom paint job when we return.

In the short period we've been at the dock it is amazing how quickly the bottom begins to be fouled with barnacles. The growth seems to be heaviest along the water line with the shady side of the boat having more slime growing, in addition to the barnacles. If we were to keep our boat in these warm waters, we'd seriously have to consider another variety of bottom paint to keep the growth at bay. Berkovich Boat yard, near Costa Baja Marina, apparently has some additives that he blends into the bottom paint before applying it that reported works much better than any of the bottom paints on their own. I'm sure it would not be EPA approved, since it work so well.

An attempt has been made to change the oil after 2 months (. This time of year in La Paz, with the day time temperatures rising so early, that means getting an early start. After the Bill and Pepe show and the La Paz morning cruisers net, it's already close to 9 a.m. We've finished our first cup of coffee and then it's breakfast. By the time I get started, it's nearly 10 a.m. and the mercury is well on the rise. Fortunately, with the built in 12-volt electric pump, draining the oil takes a matter of minutes, without much mess or fuss. Removing the oil filter from the cabin (removing the companion way stairs) facilitates this task and it can usually be done with a minimum of mess. Since I got a late start, I decided to put off changing the fuel filters and the oil in the transmission until tomorrow morning.

Changing the 350 mls. of oil in the transmission involves using a tube to literally pipette out the oil about 10 mls. at a time. One of these days I'll have to invest in a mini-pump to draw this from the transmission more efficiently. Well, one of these days rolled around and I went to Agencia Seamar and purchased a small plastic pump designed to fill the lower unit of an outboard engine with lubricant. Removing the check valve and inserting the pump end into the transmission allowed for the transfer of the oil in about 5 minutes. Much better than pipetting it out 10 milliliters at a time!

Changing the fuel filters is more straight forward. There are two fuel filters; the first is a 2 micron Racor prefilter and the second is the Yanmar screw on fuel. Changing the Racor involves unscrewing the cap to the canister using the T-bar handle, while keeping the cap itself from spinning. If the cap is allowed to spin while tightening or loosening, there is the chance of tearing the lid gasket which will cause an air leak in the fuel system (see our experience leaving Mazatlan for La Paz). The screw on fuel filter is also easy to change. The trick is to transfer the desiel from the old filter to the new before screwing it back in place. This minimized entrapped air and ensures the engine will start without having to prime the filter and injectors.

One on-going, often overlooked, critical tasks is re-provisioning and restocking the boat. This becomes more challenging as the crew number increases, as it will on the trip back north. We decided to rent a car for the week to help with the shopping, moving sails back to the boat and picking up crew at the airport. The morning we picked the car up we did a preliminary provisioning at CCC. The purchases were mostly of non-perishable items and a few purchases to bring to the Seisun's to do some advance meal preparation and freezing. A majority of the produce and fruit will be purchased closer to our departure date (tentatively on 6/12).

We unloaded all of the food from the rental into a dock cart and then into the boat. Kathie sorted the refrigerated items to store and collected the cooking spices and grocery items to be brought over to the Seisun's for cooking and freezing. We then drove over to Casa Margaritas and unloaded our cooking supplies. While Kathie swept and dusted the floors inside, prior to cooking, I swept and watered outside. It's only been a week since we were last over to Casa Margaritas and it's surprising how much leaf litter and dust accumulates in such a short period of time. One of their neighbors, Tomas, jokes that we're taking a vacation from our vacation when we visit Casa Margaritas. There is a great deal of truth to that! It's always cathartic to do a little gardening, watering and house work to make us feel more connected to life on land and our friends back home. We rationalize by thinking that we're helping out by doing some light chores around Casa Margaritas, but in reality we enjoy the opportunity to do something different.

Kathie spent the next hour and a half preparing a cooking several menu items, putting them into Tupperware containers and into the freezer. The house was much cooler than the boat, particularly when cooking in such warm temperatures. With the ceiling fans operating, the temperatures remained relatively comfortable during cooking. The outside air temperature was hitting the century mark. We later foud the chocolate chips left in the boat for the day had turned into a solid lump of chocolate; so much for making chocolate chip cookies with them! We hope the Seisun's didn't mind that we used their stove and freezer. We'll have to make amends to them upon our return to San Diego.

One of the most difficult preparations for the return trip to San Diego doesn't involve work on the boat, but rather trying to work out the logistics of getting people to La Paz that are interested in helping take the boat back. There are at least two enthusiastic, capable guys that can take the time to make the bash north with us. One is my nephew, Peter Vierra, and the other is an old San Diego friend and former contractor (Mission Hills remodel), Bruce Bennett. Given the compressed time frame, due to our indecision of what we were going to do for summer, and with hurricane season approaching we've managed to add to the problem of making arrangements. Bruce has some business commitments he has to tie up before he can leave for La Paz and Peter has to expedite his passport application. We've requested and received an extension to our stay here at the marina, but would like to be leaving La Paz between June 10 and 12 to make our way towards Cabo San Lucas, weather permitting.

We are hoping both Peter and Bruce will be able to make their way to La Paz a few days before our departure so we can share a couple of days exploring the city with them before we have to leave. The unfortunate part is, due to putting off a firm decision about our summer plans, when the departure date arrives we will be departing with the crew that can make it here at that time. We're sorry we didn't think about inviting more people to join us during the cruise, but at the time our schedule was so fluid it would have been difficult to plan for a rendezvous. We enjoyed our time with the Seisuns and would have like to have other friends along for the cruise that would have enjoyed the adventure and Mexico. Maybe next season!

Good news and bad news. The good news is both Peter and Bruce were able to make it to La Paz for the sail back to San Diego. Unfortunately, due to business and personal commitments, Bruce will only be able to be with us until Cabo San Lucas. It would have been fun having them both for the trip north, but understand how difficult it is to carve out an indeterminate piece of time for this type of venture. So we're planning on leaving Friday, June 12th for Cabo with the four of us. Currently, we're watching the weather on the outside of Baja to San Diego, in addition to keeping an eye on a tropical disturbance 1000 miles southwest of Cabo San Lucas. As of Thursday night before departure, there is a greater than 50% chance this disturbance could become a tropical cyclone, so we're keeping a close weather eye on its development. We're in no hurry, so we have the luxury of waiting for good weather to make our break going north. More on the journey in our next blog.

Loreto to La Paz: Adventures and Mishaps

Having taken the rental car to Loreto and just missing our friends, Dennis and Verena, on their way to the bus station, Kathie and I spent time strolling around town. We browsed the tourists shops that were open, had a late lunch and then went to a super mercado to stock up before taking the rental back to Puerto Escondido.

We got back to Puerto Escondido in the early afternoon and ferried our provisions in our inflatable to our mooring about a half a mile from the dingy dock. As had been the case for the two days we had been on the mooring, the afternoon winds were blowing creating a small wind chop all the way to Citla. As we gain experience going from our inflatable to the boat, we are gaining more proficiency, though, perhaps no more grace making our ingress and egress to and from the two boats. The groceries were unloaded efficiently and Kathie proceeded to stow them in their various nooks and cubbyholes. We rode back to the dock and turned in the rental car.

Due to the wind, we spent the next few days in Puerto Escondido on the mooring ball. During that time, we managed to do a load of laundry, make use of the shower facilities, check our e-mail and have one modest meal at the upstairs cafe of Puerto Bello. We managed a couple of trips to the store out at Tripui and treated ourselves to lunch one afternoon, at the restaurant at the hotel in Tripui. After several days, the afternoon and night time winds began to moderate, so on the 20th, we cast off from our mooring, topped off our fuel (67-liters) and fresh water tanks and left Puerto Escondido for Isla Carmen.

Three and a half hours of glorious weather and nice breezes brought us into the anchorage on Isla Carmen of Bahia Balandra. We anchored in about 25-feet of water over sand. The bay forms a large 'C' shape, tucked behind two points of land which form the entrance. The lights from the town of Loreto can be seen at night, through the entrance to the bay. They shine from across the 9.5 mile channel that separates Isla Carmen from the mainland of Baja. There are also spectacular sunsets over the Sierra Gigante that provide the western backdrop to Loreto.

For the next five days we enjoyed the anchorage, sharing it with a half dozen other cruisers spread throughout this large bay. We rowed over to the island for a short walk in the heat before giving up the idea of hiking to the other side of the island. Swimming from the boat was refreshing, but became a safety concern when I stepped off the ladder and pulled both the ladder and the aft two planks off the swim step. Fortunately, I managed to grab the entire assembly before it sunk out of my diving range. I managed to pass the recovered piece to Kathie, on the boat, but then had the problem of how to get back on the boat myself. The inflatable was tethered behind the boat and it became evident, while the larger 18" tubes on the Achilles help with buoyancy and dryness, the added diameter doesn't make getting into the dink any easier. With fins on, I managed to gain enough lift to pull myself over the gunnel of the inflatable and from the inflatable back into Citla, using the remaining two planks on the stern swim step.

Without a functioning swim ladder, staying on the boat became more critical. Our swimming excursions, from that point forward, required use of the dingy to the beach and then swimming from the beach. This enabled ease of entry into the inflatable and subsequently entry into our mother ship.

This experience taught us the importance of having some simple redundancy to our boarding system besides the safety sling or our bousun's chair. Our resolve was to install a secondary boarding ladder that could be removed when not in use and one that could also improve entry from the boat into the inflatable, without having to negotiate between the back stay and the rear entry gate. The need for better entry into the inflatable from the water was also put onto our list of safety issues to be addressed.

Beach snorkeling along the south entrance to Bahia Balandra at Isla Carmen, was as much as we could have hoped for. In addition to the ubiquitous Sargent-Majors and slow moving spotted puffer fish, we saw Rainbow Wrasses, King Angel fish, a large Morray eel swimming between rocky lairs and numerous schooling fish that we didn't know the identity. The water was clear and in the mid to upper 70's. It didn't take long for the sun to begin to be felt on our backs. We didn't push our exposure and made our way back to Citla before we turned pink.

During one of our beach excursions we managed to put a hole in our inflatable floor and lost all the air before being able to row back to Citla. We got out the repair kit that came with the dingy only to find the tube of glue that came with the kit had been completely used and put back into the kit prior to our purchase. The generosity and helpfulness of the cruising community came through for us. The Island Packet Otter, with Randy and Gayle aboard, had anchored in the bay that day. We had met them earlier in La Paz and had shared some drinks at Ciao's and then had wine aboard Citla and listened to the live music at The Dock Cafe in Marina de La Paz. Randy came by in his dingy to say hello and upon learning of our dilemma, offered to bring his two part glue along with methyl ethyl ketone (MEK). Within the day I had removed the deflated floor from the dingy, cleaned the area with sandpaper and MEK and then attached a double patch to the hole. The floor was reinstalled, inflated and it held air! That night, we had a wonderful barbecued dorado dinner on Otter and had the opportunity to sample some of Randy's home brew. A boat repair, dinner and home brew, what a treat!

After five days at Bahia Balandra we hoisted anchor with Otter and began the short trip back to Puerto Escondido. It was a glassy motor all the way back with the surface of the water being disturbed by an occasional bait ball and, the ever present, leaping rays. We also saw several smaller (4-8' across) manta rays swimming at the surface. Our fishing skill in the gulf remained untarnished, we trailed a lure, but without any luck.

We picked up a mooring ball in Puerto Escondido just past 1:30 in the afternoon. After taking care of the boat we motored to the dingy dock and took the opportunity to do a light provisioning at the store in Tripui. We also picked up another 20-liters of drinking water at the store at the Singular marina before motoring back to Citla. The following morning we left the mooring, topped off our fuel and water tanks and made the short trip across the channel to Isla Danzante and anchored in the center bight of Honeymoon Cove.

We spent the next two days at Honeymoon Cove. We rowed over to the northern cove and did some beach combing and swimming and Kathie also took a short hike along the rocky cliffs to view Citla anchored in the neighboring cove. We rowed back to Citla and spent the remainder of the afternoon talking with some folks who had rowed their inflatable and two kayaks over from their sailboat about a mile down the coast. We shared some cold beers for their trip back to their boat, before we discovered we were dragging. We pulled the anchor up and reset in about 45 feet of water. We held for the night and the following morning we began our return towards La Paz.

Rather than leaving towards the south and negotiating the shallows between Los Candeleros, we instead opted to round the northern end of Isla Danzante and pass between it and Isla Carmen to the east. The wind was non-existent and we motored. We arrived and anchored in the south cove of Agua Verde just past 1 p.m. We were happy to our anchoring neighbor to our south was the catamaran, Just A Minute, with Patrick, Laura, Jack and crazy Rudy, the golden lab, on board. We had been dock neighbors in Marina El Cid while we were in Mazatlan.

Having again been skunked fishing, we bought three lobsters from a local pangero and had lobster for dinner. It was the first 'elegant' dinner on board since the Seisun's had departed Citla at Loreto. We toasted Dennis and Verena as we began our feast. That evening we spent in the cockpit watching 11 year old Jack, on Just A Minute, swing around the mast, over the trampoline and to the other side of their boat on a homemade trapeze bar hung from a halyard. We watched the sun set behind the Sierra Giganta, before retiring to the cabin to do a bit of reading before a glass of wine and bed.

The following morning, all our anchor mates had departed (likely headed towards Puerto Escondido and Loreto Fest), the local fisherman had finished collecting their morning bait and we had the cove to ourselves. We took the opportunity to motor around the perimeter of the cove, chasing the schooling bait and watching the seagulls and pelicans sunning themselves on a tidal shelf before rounding Pyramid Rock to check out the village at Agua Verde. It took us about 20 minutes, after landing on the beach, to do a fairly complete circuit of the town. We stopped by the local tienda and picked up a couple of cold drinks and a few odds and ends. On our way to Citla, we were hailed by a couple on the ketch Apolima from Vancover, Canada. We spent about an hour chatting with them while having lemon aid before continuing on to our boat. We had a neighbor in the cove upon our return. We spent the remainder of the afternoon reading and enjoying the fresh air in the cockpit before evening wine, spirits and dinner.

Following a tip given to us by Patrick on Just A Minute, we sailed from Agua Verde south to the anchorage at Punta Prieta (Punta San Telmo, just north of Bahia Los Gatos). Save for a pangero and his two young sons who visited us in the early afternoon, we had the anchorage to ourselves. We launched the dingy and rowed ashore with our snorkeling gear. After doing some preliminary beach combing and admiring the geologic formations along the cliffs we went in for a swim. Again, once into the rocks, it was like swimming in an aquarium. Unlike the rocks at Bahia Balandra on Isla Carmen, there was an abundance of seaweed along the near shore rocks. As we swam into deeper water, we began seeing more sea urchins and as their numbers increased, the vegetation became less and less abundant until there were areas where the urchins had grazed the rocks bare. We headed back towards the beach and then out to the boat. I went over the side to clear the 90 lb test line from one of our drag lines from around the propeller shaft. We had forgotten to take the meat line in when we arrived at Punta San Telmo and had backed over the gear when we backed down on the anchor. With a sharp knife it took only minutes to clear the line from the shaft, but then another 20 minutes to struggle into the inflatable and then into the boat. We were about to the point of having Kathie row to shore with me following so I could get into the boat on the beach and then go back out to board Citla! Live and learn.

The following morning we reluctantly pulled up the anchor and continued heading south under main and motor. The wind was light and we were considering trying to make Bahia San Francisco on Isla San Francisco for our next anchorage. We sailed close to Bahia Los Gatos and also made a turn into shore to see Casa Grande at Timbabiche. As we approached Punta Nopolo, the wind picked up in the San Jose Channel and we began to sail. During a lull, I started the engine to discover we weren't getting raw water (seawater) through the cooling system and immediately shut the engine down. I checked the seawater strainer, allowed the boat to slow to allow any potential plastic bag covering the inlet grate to drop off and tried the engine once more; still no water flow. I killed the engine with in seconds of the second try. It now was obvious we needed to check and replace the raw water pump impeller. I felt confident, since I had brought three replacement kits with me that we'd be up and running within an hour. My mistake.

The raw water pump is located low on the port side of the engine, just forward of the starting motor and solenoid. The only access is through an 8"x12" cutout on starbord side of the quarter berth. Given the pumps location, low on the engine, below the alternator and heat exchanger the only way to reach the bolts holding the face plate of the impeller in place was with my left hand, reaching backwards and not having any room to see what I was doing (in the photo, my left finger, which is obscured by the raw water inlet and outlet hoses, is pointing to the raw water pump). All but one of the face plate bolts came out after about an hours struggle under sail. The last bolt was recalcitrant from the point of loosening all the way out. Once the face plate was off, I figured the rest would be easy. Again, live and learn!

With the pump head so close to the starter motor, there was no way to access the old impeller with any kind of pliers to remove it from the housing. It took a full 2-days to finally remove the old impeller. The tool of choice turned out to be a large fishing hook that was used to catch the rubber surrounding the bronze hub of the impeller and pulling on it. Even that took nearly six hours of work before the old impeller was coaxed off the impeller shaft and out of the pump housing. Now we were home free! Guess again!

Inserting the new impeller was pretty straight forward. Holding the new 'O'-ring in place was a bit more of a trick. After about three hours it looked as if we were finally there (of course for the last 36 hours we had been sailing and drifting down the San Jose channel, around Isla San Francisco, almost out to Isla Partida, nearly to the channel into La Paz harbor and then for the next 24 hours sailing a triangular pattern to keep us in the vicinity of La Paz while we continued to work on the pump). Down to the last bolt holding the face plate in place and we discovered why it had been so difficult to remove. The threads were bunged up and the bolt would not start. Not having a tap, I tried using a stainless steel bolt of the same size to chase the threads. I could not get it to start in the threaded hole either.

Close to exhaustion and frustrated to the limit, we decided to sail into Bahia Falsa, just west of Pinchilingue and anchor for the night to get some relatively uninterrupted rest. By sunset, we had set the anchor and settled in. Back winding the main apparently did not do an adequate job of setting the anchor. About an hour later we had drifted back far enough to touch the sandy bottom in the shallows. We immediately raised the main sail and I began pulling up the anchor while Kathie tacked the boat further out into the bay, where we reset the anchor in about 35 feet of water over sand. This time the anchor held and we spent a reasonable quiet night (save for the traffic from the ferry at Pinchilingue) on anchor.

The following morning, once the breeze filled in, with Kathie at the helm and me pulling the anchor, we sailed off our anchor and made our way into the bay and towards the channel entrance to La Paz. Sailing was good all the way to the first quarter of the channel. When we were off the new water park, the wind died and all we could rely on was the incoming tide. For the next 45 minutes we concentrated on keeping the boat headed into the channel and off of the shoal to our starboard and away from the beach and the rocks to our port. During that time we probably traveled about a half a mile due to the incoming tide before the wind picked up again and we were able to sail. We had made previous arrangements with the marina to meet us at the narrow entrance and provide a tow into our slip. By the time we got to the entrance to the marina, the tidal flow was at full flood and moving about 3-4 knots. Expecting the marina to use two tow boats, we were surprised to see only one to meet us.

We did a hard round up to weather around an anchored sailboat, did a quick tack followed by rolling in the genoa, dropping the main and passing a tow line to the work boat powered by a 60 hp outboard. Given the tidal rate and our momentum, now in reverse, it took the tow boat a good 100 feet before it could stop our backwards movement and begin making progress towards the marina entrance. Given the strength of the tidal flow and the fact that only one tow boat was used, the maneuvering was hairy, but between the tow boat and four other dock workers at the slip they managed to back Citla into the proper slip without colliding with any of the other boats.

We took the rest of the afternoon to cover the sails, run the halyards forward to keep them from slapping in the wind and unwind. The following morning, after an uninterrupted nights sleep, I took one more stab at fixing the pump. I had borrowed a fellow cruisers tap and die set to see if it could be used to chase the threads on the bad hole. I discover that it was a blind hole, that was shallow enough that the tapered tap wouldn't catch and realized the solution lay in removing the pump in its entirety. I was out of patience and was uncertain that I could manage to remove the pump, given the location and lack of working space. We opted to have Joel, one of the marina mechanics take a look at it to see if he could fix it.

Four hours later, after removing the alternator, jacking up the engine and removing the forward port engine mount, Joel was just barely able to remove the raw water pump. He took it up to the shop and a short time later, fully assembled, he reinstalled it, along with the motor mount and alternator. After cleaning old impeller debris from the outlet hoses and heat exchanger, we fired off the engine and after a bit of worry determined the new raw water pump was, indeed, moving salt water through the heat exchanger.

The remainder of the week was spent ordering a gunnel mounted boarding ladder to be used as a back up to the one on the swim step; through bolting the two swim step planks that came loose on the stern swim step when the self tapping screws were pulled out when I strained it with my weight (note the washer backed screw head bolts under the swim step on the aft two swim step planks); and having Rock Hard Dingy Repair finally repair the slow leak on the starboard tube and check a few of the other factory seems that were parting on our Achilles inflatable.

When it seemed we were making progress and things were looking up, we got word that Kathie's father, Vern, had suffered an episode of bracycardia and was admitted to the hospital in Santa Rosa. With a dearth of reliable information coming from Santa Rosa, we waited to hear from Chantal before making further plans. After hearing from Chantal, Kathie made the earliest connections she could to Santa Rosa. She spent nearly a week visiting with her father and talking to some of the people involved in his health care and well being. Having confidence in the owners and staff at the residential care facility he returned to after his hospitalization, Kathie returned to La Paz, via San Diego and Tijuana. While her father's health is unlikely to improve, he is being treated as an adult with compassion, patience and dignity at the care facility in Kenwood.

Between connecting flights from Santa Rosa to San Diego and then on to Tijuana, Nicole picked up a few items at Downwind Marine and handed them off to Kathie to bring with her to La Paz. We now have a supply of two part Hypalon adhesive for inflatable repair, along with a folding aluminum ladder for boarding the inflatable. We are very fortunate to have kids that are caring, giving and responsible to help us when needed. We're proud that each of them has turned out to be such responsible, self-sufficient and empathetic adults.

While the weather in La Paz has been heating up, we continue to prepare the boat for the return trip to San Diego. We picked up the gunnel mount boarding ladder and still need to install it. We also purchased four more diesel cans, bringing our total extra fuel capacity to 40 gallons. Once we identify a good weather window and hopefully have an extra crew or two to help with the bash back, we'll be off from La Paz on our way back to San Diego. That will be the subject of the next installment.

Exploring the Sea with Friends

We've been back in La Paz for a month. In addition to doing routine boat maintenance (e.g., cleaning, bottom cleaning, new zinc, oil and filter change), we took a ten day trip to California to visit family, do taxes and take care of other odds and ends. While we were there, the Seisun's offered us shelter in their 'new' old house. They've been remodeling and refurbishing their 100 plus year old house and it's coming along beautifully.

Dennis and Verena will be joining Citla's crew in a couple of days to
have a sampling of cruising in the Sea of Cortez. Between their house and business, they've been working hard and are looking forward to this cruise for a bit of rest and relaxation. We are looking forward to having them aboard and finally begin to reciprocate the hospitality they've extended to us, both in La Paz and San Diego. While we're all old Baja buffs, some of whom have been coming to Baja California since 1954, exploring the Sea of Cortez by boat will be a new experience for us all.

We departed our slip at Marina de La Paz, Dennis, Verena, Kathie and myself, just before noon on April 9th and made our way out the channel to La Paz harbor. It was a bright sunny day with very light wind and no waves as we headed out towards San Lorenzo channel and Isla Espiritu Santos. Since the weather forecast had called for strong evening corumuels (west winds off the Pacific) and the Seisun’s had visited the coves and bays along the west side of the island, we chose to anchor in the eastern side of the island at Playa Bonanza. This would provide a lee anchorage protecting us from the predicted late night westerly’s.

Playa Bonanza is a two-mile stretch of sandy beach just around the south end of Espiritu Santo. We shared the anchorage with a couple of sail boats and power boats, all of which were anchored further north along the beach gaining some shelter closer to Punta La Bonanza, which helped shield them from the prevailing northerly winds during the day. It was late afternoon, just after 3, when we dropped anchor. It didn’t take Dennis long to change into his trunks and plunge into the water. The corumuels did arrive at night and we were happy to have the island provide shelter from the waves that were surely making a stay along any of the western coves an uncomfortable rolling experience with a constant worry of dragging into the shallows to the east of each of the anchorages.

The next morning, just after 10, Dennis pulled the anchor and we began sailing up the eastern shore of both Isla Espiritu Santo and Isla Partida, heading towards Isla San Francisco about 30 nm to the north. The day time wind was moderate and the day was overcast as reached up along the islands. Aside from sailing and wondering what the noise that was being generated, only to find out when I went to choke the engine off, apparently I didn't hold the kill knob out long enough and the engine continued to run at idle. We managed to anchor on the east side of San Francisco by 1 p.m.. The east side was chosen due to the predicted night time corumuel.

Keeping with our compressed cruising schedule, we weighed anchor from Isla San Francisco and continued sailing up the east side. We rounded the north end of the island and passed the small village on Isla Coyote and then north east, between Isla Coyote and Roca Foca and towards Bahia Amortajada along the southwest shore of Isla San Jose.

Bahia Amortajada is bordered by a 2 1/2 mile sandy beach which ends in the north at Punta Salinas, a long sandy point that terminates with a orange and white striped light house. It is the site of a now abandoned salt mining operation. Since our destination for the day was the fishing village of San Evaristo, we continued on across the San Jose channel from Isla San Jose to the anchorage on the Baja side.

Once anchored in the bay off of San Evaristo, Dennis rowed Verena and Kathie into shore to explore the village. Since we continued to have no luck fishing, Dennis came through getting a cabrilla from one of the local fisherman on the beach. Upon their return, we indulged in barbecued cabrilla, rice, green salad and wine. We watched the sun go down behind the towering Sierra de Giganta that back San Evaristo, and then spent an uneventful evening at anchor.

The weather was bright and breezy the following morning. After breakfast, Dennis pulled up the anchor by 11:00 and we stuck our nose out beyond the northern rocky entrance to the bay to find the wind funneling down the San Jose channel between 17 and 18 knots with cresting, short period chop between 3 and 4 feet. Rather than bash north, we decided to reach back down to Isla San Francisco to enjoy the more scenic southwestern anchorage.

By 1:30 in the afternoon, our trusty windlass (Dennis) was used to drop the anchor in the picturesque crescent beach anchorage at Bahia San Francisco, in 20 feet over sand. While breezy, the day was sunny and warm and the water was a clear, light emerald. The anchor, as well as the numerous fish, were easily visible in the clear water. We shared the anchorage with two power yachts and about six other sailing vessels. The anchorage is large enough to accommodate all of these boats with plenty of room left over. The wind moderated towards evening and we spent a quiet night on the hook, where team Mirrasoul edged out team Seisun in a spirited Scrabble competition (both Dennis and I thought Ma was an acceptable word, while team Seisun roundly rejected the idea that the use of 'amp' for amperage could be leveraged for points).

Dennis was pressed into rowing service by Verena and Kathie for an exploration
of the beach and isthmus between our current anchorage at Bahia San Francisco and the one we took two days prior, on the southeastern side of the island. The wind was calm, the day was clear and beginning to warm. The three explorers combed the Bahia San Francisco side for shells, the southeastern pebble beach for agates and spent time climbing the ridge line that forms the southern boundary of the island. Sharing their found treasures upon their return to Citla, the crew then enjoyed breakfast before hauling the anchor (thanks again, Dennis!) at 11:45 to continue our journey north towards Loreto.

Most of the afternoon was spent motor sailing against a stiff headwind (as much as 22 knots, apparent), up the San Jose channel towards the three adjoining coves at Punta Nopolo that marks the northwestern boundary of the San Jose channel. On our way up the channel, we were treated to a miles long procession of porpoise that seemed to almost reach from one side to the other of the channel. They all seemed to be committed to a serious migration north. Following the porpoise parade and finally reaching the three potential anchorages at Nopolo, we found the wind to be coming out of the northeast, making these coves less protected. Contacting another cruiser on VHF led us to reach back across the channel, toward the northern end of Isla San Jose to a protected anchorage referred to as 'news carrier' cove in Spanish.

Dennis, our one man dingy rower and human windlass, was again impressed into duty during our anchoring routine. This particular anchorage, we only had to move once, after our initial anchoring attempt. After a brief swim, Dennis and Verena rowed into shore to see if they could again reverse our poor fishing luck. Walking passed an encampment of kayakers about a half a mile up the beach, they continued on another half mile to a fish shack. There they spoke with Augustino, the fisherman. He indicated that he'd be going out fishing later that evening and would return to bring fish to buy. The Seisun's returned to Citla, recounted their adventures and relayed, with some skepticism, the promise of fish. To our delight, just before sunset we were approached by a panga, and in it were Augustino and his young son, Cesar along with a variety of freshly caught fish for our selection! We enjoyed another barbecued fish dinner, thanks to Dennis and his 'fishing' skills.

The following morning found us raising the anchor early for us (7:40 a.m.) and sailing north in a cool northerly breeze towards our next destination, Agua Verde. Leaving the northern reaches of the San Jose channel, we were again treated to an early morning riot of porpoise. The wind moderated as we left the venturi of the San Jose channel. By late afternoon, the pineapple express had brought cloud cover as we approached Agua Verde.

Our initial anchoring spot was just off the beach to the village of Agua Verde. Dennis and Verena took a panga into the beach and did a preliminary recon of the village. They returned about an hour later with vegetables and beer. Due to the relatively poor holding off the beach front, our human windlass did his duty and pulled the anchor while we moved further north along the beach. Following two more unsatisfactory attempts to gain a solid hold, we moved to the southern bight of the bay to take an anchorage inside several boats in about 18 feet of water over sand.

During the night, the wind gusted out of the northwest to over 40 knots, and while we let out another 60 feet of rode, our anchor held. By 5 a.m. the following morning, the tide was well out, we were swinging south, into the shore of the bight and the clear water showed a shallow shelf well within our swing radius. Shortly before 5:30 a.m. I felt the keel bump the sandy bottom and knew we'd have to take our leave in order to preserve the integrity of our spade rudder. I awakened our trusty windlass, and between Dennis's heaving on the anchor rode and me powering the boat forward, we worked our way off the sandy shelf, moved Citla out of the south bight and reset the anchor once more off the beach in front of the village.

Once settled on the hook in front of the village, the crew had breakfast and Dennis rowed Verena into the village. Between their two trips to the settlement of Agua Verde, they managed to meet nearly the entire population and explore the entire village. They returned to Citla about 40 minutes after their departure. By 10:35 a.m., our trusty human windlass pulled the anchor and we were off to Puerto Escondido.

We motor sailed up the coast and traveled between the first and second pinnacles of the three Candeleros. Once inside the channel between Isla Danzante, the wind moderated and the temperature increased. By 2:30 in the afternoon, we arrived at the Singlar dock in Puerto Escondido. Dennis and I moved Citla to mooring #105 and were set by 3:30.

Kathie and Verena arranged for a rental car delivery to the Marina and we all piled in for the 20 km trip north to Loreto. The first stop was the B&B at La Damiana, followed by a trip to the bus station to purchase tickets for the Seisun's return trip to La Paz. We then drove to the Malecon and had dinner, al fresco, at a water front cafe. After dinner we parted company, the Seisun's walking the two blocks back to their charming B&B and the Mirrasoul's taking a scenic route back to the marina, followed by a pitch black dingy ride out to our mooring. We returned to Loreto the next day to offer the Seisun's a ride to the bus terminal. When we reached La Damiana, we were able to wave to them as their taxi was pulling away from the curb.

We enjoyed sharing the short time we had with Dennis and Verena and only wished for a longer time span to be able to explore more of the islands and bays of the central gulf. It was fitting that we were able to share our first cruising experience of these waters with our long time Baja co-travelers. I'll especially miss having Dennis as our human windlass and dingy rower! It's so much easier changing anchorage spots with Dennis doing the heavy work. His skill as a 'land' fisherman will also be missed. If it weren't for his skills in this area, we wouldn't have had the opportunity to enjoy fresh fish. I think we were all impressed with Verena's fortitude in dealing with reading and working below, regardless of how calm or how rough the ride was. We'll truly miss her culinary skills in putting together wonderful meals. They are always welcome as crew on Citla and we'd love to have them share more adventures.

Back to the Sea - Puerto Vallarta to La Paz

While we have had a wonderfully relaxed cruise south, our pace resulted in not making it as far south as we had originally planned. We left the marina at La Cruz de Huanacaxtle the morning of February 23, rounded Punta de Mita and motor sailed north until the wind filled in the afternoon. We then enjoyed a sunny, warm close reach from south of Guayabitos to Bahia Chacala. We sailed into the verdant cove at Chacala and anchored for the night. Since our plan was to continue on to San Blas, we dispensed with setting a stern anchor and put up with a little rolling for the night.

We pulled the anchor early the next morning for the short hop up to San Blas. Since the wind was light, we hoisted the main and began our motor sail north. It was a humid, hazy morning with a small swell and wind ripples on the surface of the ocean. The whale activity continued to provide us with entertainment. We saw several pods of humpbacks making their way back up north. Seeing one of these huge creatures breech is impressive to us, regardless of the number of times we witness this behavior.

Being early, I put the drag line out and within the hour we were treated to a respectable size dorado. Rather than attempting to fillet it in the galley, I chose to try doing it on the side deck. Fortunately, with the calm seas, it was awkward but it did work. However, the result left the starboard quarter of the boat looking as if a horrendous murder had taken place. Seawater and our deck brush worked for removing most of the mayhem. It wasn’t until we arrived in San Blas did we see what was remaining, decorating the side of the hull. We were able to get two large fillets, each of which was again divided into two, providing us with four delicious meals with fish left over from each sitting. We’re very conservative fishermen, only catching what we can store and eat. This translates into once we catch a fish, our fishing is over until what we have caught is consumed. That was going to be tested in the days ahead, but more on that later.

We arrived at the mouth of the San Blas estuary at 10 a.m., a few hours after mean high tide. Much has been written in the cruising guides about the shifting shoals at the entrance to this channel. We opted to contact Captain Norm Goldie (he and his wife Jan have lived in San Blas for the past 42 years and he has become the unofficial American ambassador to the town) for his help to enter this marked, but notoriously shoaled channel. He graciously offered his help and provided us with instructions over the VHF for proper alignment for entry and then signal mirror targets to steer towards as we progressed into the lagoon. He also contacted the newly opened marina (Singlar) advising them of our arrival.

After settling into our slip at the marina, we made the three-quarter mile stroll into town, passing the old Spanish fort where gold and silver bound for Spain was stored for shipment overland to the Caribbean, where it was then loaded onto Galleons for transport to Spain. Along the way we chatted with Clive, a fellow cruiser from England who cruises the Mexican coast for several months a year on his Norsea 27. For the remainder of each year, he lives and works in Spain.

Upon reaching the town square, we parted company with Clive and Kathie and I did a cursory exploration of the central part of the town. Passing one of the local watering holes, we spied Clive and decided to join him for a cold cerveza. The world being a smaller place than we’d imagined we happened to run into an older brother of one of our old high school mates. He apparently had been living in San Blas for some time and had ended up there after leading a somewhat nefarious life during the 60’s. Unfortunately, he seems to have succumbed to too much drink and wasn’t looking particularly healthy. It was sad to see, as I remember both he and his younger brother as being accomplished junior sailors, growing up in Palo Alto.

Later that evening we had the opportunity to meet Norm and his wife Jan in the town square during the last day of Carnival. They invited us to join them for dinner, but we had to beg off since we had fresh dorado waiting for us at the boat. We agreed to meet them at their house the next morning for coffee and pan dulces. We had a delightful visit with Norm and Jan and two other couples who were vacationing in San Blas for an extended period. Norm proved to be quite a character, living proof that you can take the man out of New York, but you’ll never entirely take New York from the man. Both he and Jan are a wealth of information for both San Blas, as well as the surrounding areas. They’re gracious hosts and have a lovely home with a spectacular garden.

We departed San Blas the morning of February 27, heading back north to Mazatlan. We had found that from Puerto Vallarta up to San Blas, the electronic chart we had for the area was off-set approximately 1.0-1.5nm to the west; our GPS readings placed us closer to the coast than we actually were. The day was sunny and glorious, averaging 10 knots of apparent wind speed and swells that were less than 1 foot. We had a wonderful day of sailing on a close reach, north along the coast. We passed to the east of Isla Isabela and made our way well north of the San Blas shrimping grounds during day light.

The wind was moderating as the afternoon wore on. By 3 p.m. we were doing between 4 and 4.5 knots. At 3:40 p.m. I was at the helm when I happened to look aft and then directly over our stern. Much to my surprise and amazement, we were being followed by a school of yellowfin tuna. There were 20-30 individuals in the 20-25 pound range that were taking turns bumping into and nipping at the rudder. I called Kathie and asked if she was interested in catching one of them. She reminded me we still had dorado in the refrigerator, so we satisfied ourselves with watching the tuna and taking a few photos.

The wind and sea continued to moderate as the evening wore on. By sundown, we were motor sailing once more. The quarter moon and Venus set early in the evening, leaving the star filled heavens, above. By 1 a.m., the sea surface had become so glassy, with the stars in the sky and their reflections on the waters surface, it made it impossible to discern the horizon. It felt as if we were sailing through the stars. We each took turns sleeping in the cockpit while the other kept watch. Except for a lone panga, who only showed a flash light when our course appeared to be bearing down on it, that was the only company we saw in the early morning hours.

By 6:30 a.m. that morning, the sun was rising over the haze covered islands off the coast of Mazatlan. The rays were taking turns jumping out of the water as the sun started to warm the day. At 7:30 a.m. we had changed course to pass astern of the La Paz ferry. We continued to slow our speed during the morning to allow the tide to rise before making our entry into the channel to the marina at the El Cid resort. By 9:00 a.m. we were entering the channel and were in our slip by 9:40. It was good to spend a few days tied to the slip and resting ourselves before our crossing to the Baja peninsula. We took the opportunity to buy a new dip-stick for our marine gear. I had stripped the threads on the nylon cap to the original dip stick when I had checked the transmission oil level just before we had left Chacala. We were fortunate to be able to find a replacement at Total Yacht Works (the Yanmar representative in Mazatlan), even though it had to be cut to length and marked for the proper oil level. The remainder of our short stay we renewed prescriptions, topped off the fuel and water, checked the oil and Racor fuel filter.

Weather reports for the southern crossing had indicated benign conditions for most of the week. We decided to leave with a group of boats leaving the morning of March 3 around the time of high tide. The morning of our departure, we started the engine to allow it to warm, said our good byes to our Canadian neighbors on Dolphin Tales and Optical Illusion, cast off at 9:06 and began heading out of the channel. The dredge was beginning to set up at the channel entrance, between the rock groin along the north and the rocky headland that defines the southern boundary. The entrance is not very wide to begin with, so squeezing between the dredge and the rocky headland we made our way out into the ocean swell.

The engine coughed once just passing the dredge and upon gaining several hundred feet to seaward, the engine died. There was only a breath of breeze out of the north west at 1-knot. We immediately hoisted our main and unfurled the head sail and slowly made sea room with the beach. Once we had gained about a quarter mile from the beach, we began trouble shooting the problem. Upon opening the Racor filter, it was noticed the lid gasket was torn, likely done when I inspected the filter at the dock. Checking the twist-on primary filter, it was noted that it was empty of fuel indicating air in the fuel system. I replaced both the Racor and the primary fuel filter with new along with the Racor lid gasket, refilled all the filter containers with fresh fuel and put the system together again. I opened the air bleed on top of the primary fuel filter and tried manually pumping fuel using the thumb lever on the lift pump. While some air bubbled out of the bleed hole on top of the filter, there was no indications of fuel being pumped. Attempts to start the engine at this point failed. Opening the twist-on primary filter demonstrated a filter still full of fuel. Again opening the bleed screw on the filter and manually activating the fuel pump, there was no evidence of fuel being pumped out of the system.

At this point, I had thoughts that perhaps the fuel pump was not functioning. We tried contacting Total Yacht Works on VHF without success. Subsequently, using the Telcel phone, we were able to speak to Rafael at Total Yacht Works. Among the suggestions offered was that we sail back to Isla Pajaro and anchor for the night and Total Yacht Works would come out the next morning with a new pump or repair the old one. The thought of anchoring securely just off shore without being able to back down on the anchor with our engine did not appeal to us. Instead we chose to follow another of his suggestions and try substituting our outboard bulb pump to replace the questionable fuel pump on the engine.

I undid the fuel line from our outboard motor fuel tank and used it to connect between the fuel pump outlet and the primary fuel filter inlet. Once connected, I primed the system by squeezing the fuel bulb until the line was full of diesel and more was forced through the engines fuel system. If the engines fuel pump was no longer functioning, we'd have to pump the bulb to keep the engine running. We tried starting the engine and it started. We immediately shut it down without further testing. We decided as long as we could run the engine, even if it meant pumping the fuel bulb, we could safely make the crossing and be able to anchor once we made it to Bahia de Los Muertos.

It was after noon and we had been sailing north along the coast of the mainland should we have to return to Mazatlan. Now that we were confident that we had a functioning engine, we tacked away from the coast and began making our way across to Baja.

Fortunately, the wind picked up into the afternoon and soon we were seeing 10 to 12 knots, apparent. The sea state was delightful for a good sail with waves less than a foot. We were able to sail along between 5 and 6 knots during the day. The wind dropped as evening approached and our boat speed was reduced to between 4 and 5 knots. Around 7:30 p.m. we noted a ship approaching from our port quarter. By 8 p.m. we tacked away to avoid a close encounter with the large freighter. Surprisingly, we found ourselves going from depths of over 500 feet to depths of 39 to 40 feet! Once the freighter was clear, we tacked back towards Baja and tested the engine by starting it. To our delight, the engine not only responded by starting, but continued to run without having to hand pump fuel via the squeeze bulb. We furled the jib and began motor sailing, setting our course towards our destination of Bahia Los Muertos.

The sea was flat calm and the stars were visible to the horizon. At 4:30 in the morning another ship was spotted following our course just off our starboard stern. Turning on the radar, the ship was beyond our sixteen mile range. It continued paralleling our course for the next hour and a half until around 6 a.m. it changed course and began following a more northwesterly course, apparently bound for La Paz.

The day turned into a glassy calm motor sail with hardly a trace of wind seen anywhere on the seas surface. We were treated to huge bait balls breaking the surface, that from a distance almost looked like large waves forming out of the dead calm sea. We spied something large floating motionless on the surface. Changing course and circling the object, we found that we had awakened a large bull sea lion from his morning snooze. We only saw one humpback whale on our crossing. Standing on the bow you could see all the small jellyfish just beneath the surface. The most striking observation we made were the number of times we would see dorados swimming at the surface. As we approached, they would swim directly towards the boat, leaving a 'V' shaped wake as their forehead pushed surface water aside as they made their way towards us.

Twenty miles off shore of Los Muertos, the breeze finally began to pick up, but since it was getting late and we wanted to anchor before the moon set we continued to motor sail towards our destination. By 8:10 p.m. we had managed to anchor by moonlight in 34 feet of water off the beach at Los Muertos. We had a glass of wine, a quick dinner and finally went to bed.

Once awake at the quiet anchorage at Los Muertos, at the suggestions of one of the other boats who had made the crossing from Mazatlan, we decided to spend the day relaxing instead of pushing on to La Paz. This would give us time to replace the outboard fuel line that had been jury-rigged to our engine with the original fuel lines, now that we were certain the primary fuel pump was functional. Kathie cleaned the interior of the boat and then I attacked the engine. Once we finished our chores, we settle in to do a little relaxing and reading. We were invited to visit El Cardon, the restaurant that is on the north end of Los Muertos bay by Jim and Bonnie from the sailing vessel Murray Gray.

Jim and Bonnie picked us up in their RIB dingy and we rode into the dingy dock at El Cardon. This was formerly the Giggling Marlin which had been recently been purchased by two former NFL football players and reopened as El Cardon. Kathie and I had been to Los Muertos on several previous occasions but had never gone ashore to see the restaurant. It was well laid out with several outdoor seating areas; one out front in the sun; another on the east side under a Ramada; and, the main seating area under the palapa that covered the large restaurant patio and bar. WiFi was offered, as well as free phone service to both the U.S. and Canada. The view overlooking the bay was as picturesque and spectacular as you could hope for. The four of us sat in our equipilas enjoying cold drinks, the view and casual conversation. After checking weather predictions for the Cerralvo Channel for the following days, we headed back to the dingy dock and off to our respective boats.

We followed through with our plans to leave early the following morning in an effort to make it to Marina de La Paz before the office closed for the day. We weighed anchor at 6:30 a.m., raised the mainsail and began motor sailing out towards the Cerralvo Channel. The wind was very light and for the first part of our trip we had the current in our favor, making 6.8 to 7.2 knots towards San Lorenzo Channel. The waves were small, at one to two feet, and we made good progress up along Cerralvo Island, keeping towards the Baja coast. We made our way between the shoals at San Lorenzo Channel a little after noon and entered the long La Paz harbor channel, making our way to our new slip at Marina de La Paz by around 3 p.m. It felt like we were home again!

Puerto Vallarta and Banderas Bay

Banderas Bay is deceptively large, the largest on the west coast of Mexico. Entering the bay, we gave Punta de Mita wide berth and followed the suggestion of the cruising guide, passing close to Marieta East to avoid the shallows near the point and the three large pinnacles which come within feet of the surface.

While relatively shallow on its north end, Banderas Bay is also one of the deepest bays in the world. The southern end of the bay is encircled by high mountains (Cerros Moronades at 9,000'). These deep escarpments continue to plunge to depths beyond the waters boundary (with depths up to 2 miles).

The marina at the municipal harbor is entered through the ship channel, heading north after entering, past the cruise ship moorings and the Navy base and into the narrow entrance of the municipal marina, itself. Marina Vallarta is surrounded by condominiums which are fronted by shops and restaurants. The ambiance and charm provided by the promenade along the shop fronts and the water is in stark contrast to the disrepair of the marina.

We are now developing a routine when visiting a new port. We first reconnoiter the immediate area on foot to find all the essential services we may need before expanding our presence by becoming familiar with the local bus system. We have been impressed, not only with the efficiency and low cost of the bus system, but also the quality of the Mexican highway system. If you know your destination, traveling by local city buses becomes a matter of speed reading. Each of the older city buses has on their windshields a fairly complete list of destinations that particular bus services. By reading the hand painted route as the bus approaches, you know whether or not to flag that particular bus over to get to where you're going. Even if you're not sure, most of the drivers are very helpful in letting you know if they will be going to your destination.

The old city of Puerto Vallarta, bounded by high-rise resorts on either side, is still charming and beautiful. The narrow cobbled streets, hidden suspension bridges, stunning gardens and picturesque hillside enclaves all serve to enhance its seaside setting. By sticking to the back streets and avoiding the malecon and the main tourist shops we were able to avoid one of the distractions of the Mexican seaside cities, the time share hawkers.

The advantage to Marina Vallarta is its relative proximity to town. While the environment surrounding the marina was seductive, the shoddy condition of both the docks and showers induced us to begin looking elsewhere for slip space. We took the bus north to Nueva Vallarta to check out the marina there. It’s about 20km further north of the city and located in the state of Nayarit. The development was laid out as a planned resort. The streets were well manicured with landscaping, but the marina itself was made up of a series of unpadded, concrete floating side-ties. There were no support facilities close to the marina and no obvious shower or bathroom facilities. The clincher for Kathie was the billboard warning of the presence of crocodiles and suggesting no swimming, fishing, water play or allowing pets to run loose. Kathie couldn’t imagine walking along the dock at night and running into a crock lounging on the dock.

We knew of an anchorage even further north out of town at La Cruz de Huanacaxtle. Reading in a more recent yachting guide, indicated there was now a marina at that location. Kathie contacted them by cell phone and found they had space for us. The morning of February 16, we cast off from Marina Vallarta, stopped by the fuel dock to top off the tank and sailed up to the marina at La Cruz de Huanacaxtle. What we found was one of the nicest marinas we’ve seen in Mexico or the U.S. It was had been opened since November of ’08. It has an artfully designed breakwater, yacht club house, second story palapa restaurant with an open air Sky Bar above that. The cruiser lounge, bathrooms and showers were architectural jewels. They even provide a concierge service. The facility is well staffed with professional, friendly staff. To top it all off, the slip rates were lower than the municipal marina at Marina Vallarta. The sunsets over Banderas Bay from the Sky Bar are hard to beat.

Besides a world class marina, the village that surrounds La Cruz has a more traditional Mexican character. While there are a few low-rise gringo developments nearby, the town is dominated by its local citizenry. The streets are narrow and cobbled and not all are paved. There is a once a week mercado on Wednesdays that takes up one narrow block in town. There are many fine restaurants and a great deal of live music opportunities to take advantage of in town. Between the highway (Punta de Mita to Puerto Vallarta) and the marina the town is about 5 blocks deep. From one end of town to the other may be another 5 to 7 blocks. It's all very compact and self-contained.

The morning of February 23, we said good-bye to friends we met while in La Cruz, backed out of our slip at the La Cruz Yacht Club and began making our way north, towards the Sea of Cortez.

Mazatlan to Puerto Vallarta

We seem to get too easily settled and comfortable when we have dockside power, water and trash service, not to mention beautiful beaches, an historic old town and more enchanting sunsets over the offshore islands. Meeting people is the other draw that makes leaving difficult. After our trip to Guadalajara, we had more time to get to know the people at the marina in Mazatlan.

Hal and Kathy Moan on Airborne, a catamaran from Vancouver, B.C. had been in the marina for the past three years. They shared their knowledge of anchorages where they had stayed and their trick for extracting Citla from its tight slip. Also on A dock were Patrick, Laura and Jack Harrigan and their loveable golden lab, Rudy. They too were on a catamaran, a Lagoon 38. They had sold their house and cars in Port Gardner, Washington and purchased Just a Minute, their first sailboat, and headed south, learning along the way. They were having problems with their sail drives and the only marine railway wide enough to accommodate their boat was at the old harbor in Mazatlan. Their plan is to be out for at least five years or, as Laura points out, until the money runs out. Whatever unfolds for them, we’re sure it will be an adventure for all of them, especially their 11 year old son, Jack. We hope to catch up with them again in the spring in the Sea of Cortez.

The Friday before our planned departure, there was an informal sundowner get together on dock B. Everybody brought appetizers and their own libations. We met more of the local Mazatlan cruisers there, including Captain George (Krakie) who put together Captain George’s “OFFICIAL” Mazatlan Cruiser’s Guide 2009. For its diminutive size and equally low donation request of 30 pesos, we’re sorry we didn’t have it sooner during our stay in Mazatlan. It covers everything from places to visit, to services provided in the city, a complete city bus guide, and several pages of an English to Spanish translation market guide. The best part of the deal is that all the monies collected for the guide are donated to the two orphanages in Mazatlan.

Sunday morning, not too bright or early, Hal and Kathy shared their trick for extracting a boat from slip A8 against the current and we were off, out the channel on the outgoing tide. We motored west, rounded the north end of Isla Pajaro and headed south. The wind was light and variable, so we continued to motor sail with the main sail to maintain our boat speed at 6. The seas were running 2-3 feet out of the northwest.

In the afternoon we spotted the first of many humpback whales heading south. It was a pod of 4-6 individuals swimming in parallel to us, about 300 yards off our starboard side. They seem to swim faster than the Gray whales we’re accustomed to seeing. Also, they’re very fluid and graceful when they sound. We were to encounter many more of their species later as we approached the anchorage at Chacala. We were awed to see them breech, launching almost entirely out of the water before crashing down in an enormous splash visible from over a mile away. We also got to observe their fin splashing behavior. They would lay at the surface on their sides with one of their huge pectoral fins raised above the surface. They would then slap the surface of the water making huge splashes and, we suspect if you were close enough, loud sounds.

The other southbound excitement was provided by the shrimp trawling fleet out of San Blas. Having the misfortune of being over the flat coastal shelf that extends for miles off shore along the coast of Nayarit at depths of 120 to 140 feet, it is prime trawling grounds. Our course to Chacala happened to cross part of that territory just north of San Blas. At three o’clock on Monday morning found the crew of Citla dodging our way through a fleet of at least 60 aggressive shrimpers, rather than heading further out to sea and away from our destination. With Kathie spotting, using the binoculars, we attempted to determine each boats course and anticipate what their next change would be. For the next hour and a half, we spent a nerve wracking game of dodge ball with the fleet. In terms of actual distance travelled zigzagging our way through, it may have been more efficient to take an unfavorable tack out to sea into deeper water before heading back towards our destination.

All was better later that morning, after the sunrise greeted us in its warming embrace and we began to close with the jungle covered coastline. We arrived at the anchorage at Chacala by 11:30 in the morning and dropped anchor well outside of the surf line in 40 feet of water over sand. We shared the snug anchorage with two other sailboats. Later in the afternoon, we were visited by Sharon and Collin on Mamma Bird, an IP 38 out of Sausalito. They came by in their dingy to greet fellow Baja-ha-ha members. They had visiting family aboard who had to return to Puerto Vallarta to fly home. In addition, Sharon and some of their family were suffering from colds. They shared that the swell and change in wind and current at night caused rolling conditions. They were going to set a stern anchor and we followed their lead. While the stern anchor didn’t entirely keep us from doing some rolling, it kept us bow-on a majority of the time.

The anchorage at Chacala is situated between two rocky headlands with a half a mile of sandy beach connecting them. The panga landing for the fishing fleet in located in the lee of the north headland. The port captain’s office is located just east of the landing. There are several houses built on the north point, which peek out from behind the trees. The north end of the beach is filled with palapa covered restaurants. The coco palm lined beach extends itself southward ending at a high end hotel/spa and eco-resort. There are a few more palatial homes perched on the hillside of the south headland surrounded by jungle, just below a hilltop mango grove.

The town of Chacala is a modest village made up of a half-dozen cobble stoned streets, several small mercados and a couple of open air tourist tiendas selling the requisite shells, beads, tee-shirts and beach wraps. There was even one real estate office in town. The town is six miles off the coast highway and seems a popular destination for daily second class bus service bringing Mexican beach goers along with a smattering of gringo and Canadian tourists. There also is a small expat population living in this town of 350 people.

We spent three days at anchor there, the only boat at the anchorage for two of them. Save for the occasional rolling, it was a peaceful respite from sailing. The morning of the fourth day, we let out the bow anchor while hauling in the stern anchor. Once securing the stern anchor, all that remained was pulling up 250’ of bow anchor rode, 30’ of chain and our trusty 35 pound plow anchor. It was a peaceful birthday motor sail for my lovely wife, Kathie, sailing within view of the jungle hillsides and coves all the way to Punta Mita and into Banderas Bay. We saw more Humpback whales, caught two skipjack tuna (releasing one that was too small) and made our way to the municipal harbor in Puerto Vallarta, arriving at 6:30 in the evening. It was nice to be in a non-rolling slip without the worry of anchor watch. A couple of margaritas with Kathie’s birthday dinner and it was a sound night of sleep for the crew of Citla.