La Paz to Mazatlan, The Sail...

The trip from La Paz to Mazatlan included a stop on Espiritu at Bonanza Bay, around the corner to Muertos Bay and then the 188 mile/39 hour crossing to Mazatlan! We arrived early and had to cruise the Mazatlan harbor from midnight to dawn and then find the "hidden" entry. The longest with two overnights we have done yet. We were able to sail most of the way, too! We felt pretty accomplished to find our way but had a bright moon to guide us. We saw dolphins, some whale spouts and turtles. But rarely another ship at all...felt all alone out there!!! We arrived to Marina Mazatlan January 31st.

Linda in muertos...

See, 188 miles and predicted 50 hours - we did it with sails in 39 hours!!!

Our "Blue Moon"! That's the top of our mast, 50 feet up there, with the anchor light on in Muertos Bay.

Mezteno

January 17-20: Just a little trip north to Espiritu Santo and had a small bay all to ourselves for three days! It's a long narrow bay, so difficult for more than one boat. Just relaxed. The last two nights had the cormuel swells roll in which made for a rolly night, up and down to check the anchor a lot. Always worry about drifting....not a good thing to run aground! Beautiful bay, had a beach tour for lunch and sun. From the beach, you can see T de T at anchor. It's a big, shallow shoal and why we can't get any closer. Our boat draws 6 feet, meaning the keel hangs down pretty low and would drag.

Came back to the marina for a week as a big wind predicted, which did come through with lotsa wind and a little rain.

How did I ever forget Kirk? And there's Vicky's dog, dishes, awaiting a snack under Kirk's cocktail table....Yum!

San Carlos to La Paz - 2010

A brief log: What a ride we had!!! From San Carlos December 19th, we headed across the sea with good weather reports from three reliable sources. Mother Nature is sometimes cruel, tho! The original plan was to sail/motor overnight, usually a 18-20 hour run, to San Juanico. However, winds kicked to 30+ knots in with 8-10 foot ocean swells that lasted all night and pushed us south, so we altered our course and headed for Isla Coronado instead. Our auto-pilot, "Otto" hated it, too, and he quit - (as in broke!) so Bill had to hand steer in the rough seas for 22 hours. Our helped a little so he could take a break but it was hard steering. We were both a little "green" , didn't eat much and were awake the entire time so were pooped when we arrived. A short stay for rest overnight, then on to Puerto Escondido (pics below), Los Gatos, San Frandcisco and then on into La Paz.

Now in La Paz, we had Otto fixed, some canvas finished on our sail cover, the boat polished by Bill, of course, the bottom cleaned, some computer antenna problems addressed, saw many friends and much good food around town. We should head toward Mazatlan the 27th with a stop in Muertos before we jump the pond.

Around La Paz, tired Bill, the beach in town, a farmacia where I bought some pills and the "bread guy's" place

La Paz Ladies luncheon - a lovely meal we had...80 women! It's been around for 50+ years for the English-speaking ladies of La Paz. ...and some various foods we've enjoyed...

some friends...wait! How did Joan and Tom get here?

Doug and Carla, Shanna and Jessie

....and Ardy and Marv

Los animales..pelicans in a bay with our boat in back, .whales on the channel, pelican on the dock, hotel parakeets and a dolphin who accidentaly entered our marina

These are "the candles" coming out of Puerto Escondido....have to sail thru them and try to miss the reef....

Sailing south, dinner at anchor and a choppy sea!

Captain Bill sailing us south...a quiet read on board while "Otto" keeps us on track, a sunset and Linda on the beach at Isla San Francisco.

Pics of Tanque de Tiburon: in our slip at Marina Palmira, the cockpit, a sunset from the galley window, the salon and Bill up the ladder.

Christmas on board, in Puerto Escondido, one of my mermaid shells and two charts - the Baja as well as Puerto Escondido - you can see why they call it the "hidden Port" - it is!!