23 10.9 N 106 25.3 W
We sailed overnight to Mazatlan on the mainland. We had read that the anchorage in the commercial port area was near the sewerage plant but presumed with the wharfs for the ferries and cruise ships nearby the sewerage plant would not be a problem. Hummm about 3 miles out a foul strong odor permeated the boat - I had hoped it was from guano on a nearby rock or rotting seaweed but the odor became stronger as we got closer to the harbor. It was definitely the sewerage plant and I would not advise anyone to anchor there because the smell was disgusting. It was intermittent but always appeared as you were about to eat breakfast or dinner - real gagging raw stench.
During our sail down the Baja coast along with the flotilla of little America (the Baja Ha Ha rally fleet) we became a little competitive. We would get up at a ridiculous hour, before sun rose, and prepare to leave the bay - hopefully quietly so we didn't wake any of the other cruisers and give them a headstart. We would power out, put up all sails and hoon our way to the next bay. Each and every time the others, who no doubt had slept in, had a 3 course breakfast done as only American's can do it, and mosied along the coast would pass us. We learnt the names of many of the boats as we glared at them through our binoculars - wanting to display a rude sign but too polite to do so !!! We are a heavy slow cruising boat but surely not everyone has to pass us !
Sunday, November 29, 2009
Friday, November 27, 2009
Espiritu Santu
24 38.9 N 110 23.9 W
La Paz is a wonderful place to visit. The cruisers are very social with the early morning cruisers net on the VHF radio reporting all new arrivals, departures, weather and daily events information etc. There is a lot to do in La Paz - musical concerts, cruisers organizing a jamming session in a local beer hall, yoga every morning, singing for fun at a private residence and the list goes on. We originally pulled into the marina so we could wash down our boat which was covered in salt with dirt and sand embedded - she looked beige instead of ivory. We also wanted to fill water tanks and have a looong hot shower. The long hot shower didn't happen - this area in Mexico is very short of water in fact the local residents up the hill only get water twice a week in the evening - the marina was on the bottom of the gravity pool so water was available but the hot part of it didn't seem very reliable. The weather was warm enough that it didn't really matter. We had good intentions of heading out to the local anchorage after a few days in the marina but a strong northerly came through making it very uncomfortable so we stayed firmly tied to the dock for the duration. Boats in the La Paz anchorage are known to do the "waltz". This happens most days when wind, tide and current are in conflict requiring boats to be firmly anchored - a few were known to drag through the anchorage.
We left La Paz and headed out to the nearest island - Islas Espiritu Santu and Isla Partida, a small island at the head of Espiritu. The anchorages were picture postcard beautiful with the pale golden sand, ice blue water (31 degrees) turning into green as it deepens, fish jumping, pelicans diving and being a National Park no jet skis or hookahs (motors to run diving equipment). It was a wonderful few days as we explored a new bay each day, swam and climbed around tall cacti. We went snorkeling in Caleta Partida Bay off the rocks - the fish were amazing. Hundreds of fist size yellow and silver stripped fish all around us. They were not concerned at our presence we were totally surrounded by these friendly little fellows. Other larger colourful fish swam by to check us out - it was amazing. The highlight was snorkeling with the sea lions - they inhabit a set of large rocks off the northern tip of Partida. We pulled anchor early morning and moved to the closest bay to the sea lion rocks - we had very little information about the anchorage so crept in very slowly - the water was clear and we could see the bottom easily. We managed to get in close to the tiny beach with enough swinging room for our boat only. We had to take our dinghy alongside the island towards the top then approximately 1/2 a mile out to sea to reach sea lion rocks. That was scary in a little dinghy with a new (secondhand) unproven outboard - could have been a long row back!! We had hoped to find another cruiser making a similar trip just for safety - no worries there - all the local pangas (16ft dinghies with fast outboards) were taking tourists out and a few motor boats were anchored out near the rocks. We had a wonderful time - the sea lions swam up to us and seemed to smile and play around us - the babies kissed our masks and were very playful. We were warned to keep our hands in and not to touch them as they may think we were feeding them and bite! The males could be a problem if they thought their harem were in danger or being challenged so I was very worried when Don dove down deep and a male twice his size raced over to check him out - he seemed to be nudging Don away from his females. It was a wonderful experience.
La Paz is a wonderful place to visit. The cruisers are very social with the early morning cruisers net on the VHF radio reporting all new arrivals, departures, weather and daily events information etc. There is a lot to do in La Paz - musical concerts, cruisers organizing a jamming session in a local beer hall, yoga every morning, singing for fun at a private residence and the list goes on. We originally pulled into the marina so we could wash down our boat which was covered in salt with dirt and sand embedded - she looked beige instead of ivory. We also wanted to fill water tanks and have a looong hot shower. The long hot shower didn't happen - this area in Mexico is very short of water in fact the local residents up the hill only get water twice a week in the evening - the marina was on the bottom of the gravity pool so water was available but the hot part of it didn't seem very reliable. The weather was warm enough that it didn't really matter. We had good intentions of heading out to the local anchorage after a few days in the marina but a strong northerly came through making it very uncomfortable so we stayed firmly tied to the dock for the duration. Boats in the La Paz anchorage are known to do the "waltz". This happens most days when wind, tide and current are in conflict requiring boats to be firmly anchored - a few were known to drag through the anchorage.
We left La Paz and headed out to the nearest island - Islas Espiritu Santu and Isla Partida, a small island at the head of Espiritu. The anchorages were picture postcard beautiful with the pale golden sand, ice blue water (31 degrees) turning into green as it deepens, fish jumping, pelicans diving and being a National Park no jet skis or hookahs (motors to run diving equipment). It was a wonderful few days as we explored a new bay each day, swam and climbed around tall cacti. We went snorkeling in Caleta Partida Bay off the rocks - the fish were amazing. Hundreds of fist size yellow and silver stripped fish all around us. They were not concerned at our presence we were totally surrounded by these friendly little fellows. Other larger colourful fish swam by to check us out - it was amazing. The highlight was snorkeling with the sea lions - they inhabit a set of large rocks off the northern tip of Partida. We pulled anchor early morning and moved to the closest bay to the sea lion rocks - we had very little information about the anchorage so crept in very slowly - the water was clear and we could see the bottom easily. We managed to get in close to the tiny beach with enough swinging room for our boat only. We had to take our dinghy alongside the island towards the top then approximately 1/2 a mile out to sea to reach sea lion rocks. That was scary in a little dinghy with a new (secondhand) unproven outboard - could have been a long row back!! We had hoped to find another cruiser making a similar trip just for safety - no worries there - all the local pangas (16ft dinghies with fast outboards) were taking tourists out and a few motor boats were anchored out near the rocks. We had a wonderful time - the sea lions swam up to us and seemed to smile and play around us - the babies kissed our masks and were very playful. We were warned to keep our hands in and not to touch them as they may think we were feeding them and bite! The males could be a problem if they thought their harem were in danger or being challenged so I was very worried when Don dove down deep and a male twice his size raced over to check him out - he seemed to be nudging Don away from his females. It was a wonderful experience.
-- Don and Lee CAMERON SV White Rose I donandlee.email@gmail.com http://donandleeblog.blogspot.com/
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
La Paz
24 09.3 N 110 19.7 W
We have been in Marina De La Paz for a few days now and will leave tomorrow (Wednesday 18th Nov) to sail out to some of the nearby islands with prospects of some great snorkeling.
The sail round to here from Cabo was generally quite pleasant with some sailing and some motor-sailing in light North Westerly winds. We anchored at Bahia Los Frailes the first night and Bahia de Los Muertos the second night. Both these anchorages were quite crowded with Baja HaHa boats but were were still pleasant with crystal clear waters and lots of fish swimming around the boat.
The third night we anchored just outside of La Paz in Bahia Balandra. We arrived early enough to row across to a nearby reef and and go for a snorkel. We were surprised at the abundant and variety of fish on such a small reef.
The next morning we bashed the short distance into headwinds and then into the narrow channel leading into La Paz harbor. Fortunately we tuned into the VHF cruisers net on the way in and heard that one of the channel marker buoys had dragged loose in the strong current and grounded on a sandbank about half a mile upstream along the channel !
We were lucky to be able to score a marina berth for a few nights which enabled us to wash off the accumulated salt and refill our water tanks. The Baja water is quite hard and a little salty but otherwise seems ok, though we tend to use our water maker water for drinking and cooking.
The VHF radio cruiser' net at 0800 in the mornings here has a wealth of information and help for visiting cruisers. It is run by the Club Cruseros which has a small clubhouse with a very well stocked book swap. Well it was until Lee got in there !
I was able to find a machine shop which was able to machine some aluminium tube to make a sleeve to repair the broken whisker pole - so we will be able to sail downwind again !
We were also able to trade our broken 2.5hp Mercury 2 stroke outboard for a 5hp 4 stroke Tohatsu so that will be nice to enable us to get ashore more easily and safely after all that building up the biceps with all the rowing !!
La Paz is certainly a nice small city - plenty of shops but with a more relaxed atmosphere than both Ensenada and Cabo San Lucas.
It was great to catch up with Rose and Jani on SV Lovely Lady whilst here. We made friends with them during our time in Seattle at the Des Moines marina.
La Paz is certainly a crossroads for cruising sailors and a very pleasant place - I see see why some cruisers get here and stay.
After some time in the nearby islands we will head off across the Gulf of California (Sea of Cortez) to the Mexican mainland making landfall at Mazatlan most likely. Is about 200 miles across the gulf so will take us a couple of days to get across with hopefully some following winds.
We have been in Marina De La Paz for a few days now and will leave tomorrow (Wednesday 18th Nov) to sail out to some of the nearby islands with prospects of some great snorkeling.
The sail round to here from Cabo was generally quite pleasant with some sailing and some motor-sailing in light North Westerly winds. We anchored at Bahia Los Frailes the first night and Bahia de Los Muertos the second night. Both these anchorages were quite crowded with Baja HaHa boats but were were still pleasant with crystal clear waters and lots of fish swimming around the boat.
The third night we anchored just outside of La Paz in Bahia Balandra. We arrived early enough to row across to a nearby reef and and go for a snorkel. We were surprised at the abundant and variety of fish on such a small reef.
The next morning we bashed the short distance into headwinds and then into the narrow channel leading into La Paz harbor. Fortunately we tuned into the VHF cruisers net on the way in and heard that one of the channel marker buoys had dragged loose in the strong current and grounded on a sandbank about half a mile upstream along the channel !
We were lucky to be able to score a marina berth for a few nights which enabled us to wash off the accumulated salt and refill our water tanks. The Baja water is quite hard and a little salty but otherwise seems ok, though we tend to use our water maker water for drinking and cooking.
The VHF radio cruiser' net at 0800 in the mornings here has a wealth of information and help for visiting cruisers. It is run by the Club Cruseros which has a small clubhouse with a very well stocked book swap. Well it was until Lee got in there !
I was able to find a machine shop which was able to machine some aluminium tube to make a sleeve to repair the broken whisker pole - so we will be able to sail downwind again !
We were also able to trade our broken 2.5hp Mercury 2 stroke outboard for a 5hp 4 stroke Tohatsu so that will be nice to enable us to get ashore more easily and safely after all that building up the biceps with all the rowing !!
La Paz is certainly a nice small city - plenty of shops but with a more relaxed atmosphere than both Ensenada and Cabo San Lucas.
It was great to catch up with Rose and Jani on SV Lovely Lady whilst here. We made friends with them during our time in Seattle at the Des Moines marina.
La Paz is certainly a crossroads for cruising sailors and a very pleasant place - I see see why some cruisers get here and stay.
After some time in the nearby islands we will head off across the Gulf of California (Sea of Cortez) to the Mexican mainland making landfall at Mazatlan most likely. Is about 200 miles across the gulf so will take us a couple of days to get across with hopefully some following winds.
Monday, November 9, 2009
Cabo San Lucas
22 53.0 N 109 52.5 W
We were able to do 3 day sails and then 1 overnight passage to cover the 395 nautical miles.
Anchored in Bahia Ascuncion the 1st night arriving just on dusk.
We have been watching the water temperature steadily climb as we head south - it is up to 30°C now so it's nice to be back in the tropics but the climate is still nice and dry here in Baja California with pleasantly cool nights.
We arrived in Cabo San Lucas yesterday afternoon (Sat 7th Nov) after a generally pleasant and rare downwind sail from Turtle Bay.
We were able to do 3 day sails and then 1 overnight passage to cover the 395 nautical miles.
Anchored in Bahia Ascuncion the 1st night arriving just on dusk.
As we were approaching Bahia Ballena the 2nd night we started to encounter more and more fishing pots and marker buoys as the water got shallower. The small markers are hard to see and we heard a number of yachts in the Baja Rally get entangled so we were wary and trying to avoid them. We wew sailing dead downwind with our new whisker pole on the genoa. I saw a line of buoys which appeared to be connected. Unfortunately ther was no time to get the genoa furled and so the ensuing jibe promptly bent and then broke our new whisker pole ! By the time we had sorted out this mess it was getting dark so we had to wend our way through the shoals hoping their positions were accurate on the chart as we found our way in using GPS and radar. Not the recommended approach in these parts. The moon had not come up yet so were were keeping our fingers crossed we didn't foul any lobster pot lines. Mike's night vision goggles would have been handy ! We heard a few knock against the hull and when we woke up in the morning we were surrounded !
We had another nice downwind passage to the next major bay - Bahia Magdalena known amongst cruisers as Mag Bay. We had heard that it was a very sheltered and pleasant anchorage and although it is protected from the pacific swell we were a bit disappointed to find it very windy and being such a big bay surrounded by low lying land the seas became quite rough and the anchorage (Punta Belcher) quite uncomfortable. So instead of having a relaxing day their and going ashore we decided to head onto Cabo the next morning. Also as our outboard motor has died again (after I rebuilt it only a few months earlier in San Francisco) rowing an inflatable ashore in 20kt winds is not much fun so limits our shore going activities quite a bit. Oh well another thing to go back onto the never ending jobs list !
One highlight of the passage was to catch a good sized fish - see the photo. A wahoo we think and the biggest we have ever caught. Guess what we will be eating for the next month !
We have been watching the water temperature steadily climb as we head south - it is up to 30°C now so it's nice to be back in the tropics but the climate is still nice and dry here in Baja California with pleasantly cool nights.Rounding Cabo San Lucas is quite impressive with the rocks and arches just off the point. It is not quite what you expect to see in Mexico with all the houses and condominiums lining the surrounding hills. It feels more like somewhere in the Mediterranean. The marina berths are priced likewise - $150 per night ! So it is anchoring for us. With all the Baja HaHa Rally yachts taking up so much room we were well down the beach from the harbor.
The anchorage is abuzz with the usual resort activities with jet skis banana boats para sails etc. We didn't have much trouble getting a water taxi to take us ashore so it was good to escape from the boat and stretch our legs.
The next post should be from La Paz which is north of here in the Sea of Cortez. Once again we will make it in few short hops anchoring at Los Frailes and Ensenada de Los Muertos (Cove of the Dead !). Promises to be some nice snorkeling in the Sea of Cortez.
The internet connection here at the anchorage is a bit flaky so will add the photos for this and the previous posts when we get to La Paz.
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