Nature Walk.

23.5N 109.5W. Ensenada de Los Muertos, BCS, Mexico.

We decide to spend some time here at Los Muertos. The anchorage is peaceful, the water is clean (though a bit cool) and there are reefs to dive and trails to walk. Early morning hikes are the best….and since the dinghy landing is easy (read that as no surf), we can bring along the camera to share some of the sites. Enjoy!

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Mar 2008 Ensenada De Los Muertos

Southern Sea of Cortes.

20.8N 105.5W to 22.9N 109.9W. Southern Sea of Cortes, Mexico.

Our journey northward started off rather rocky. We weighed anchor on a day predicting light winds which we had at first but we encountered brisker winds as we approached Bahia Palmilla loading up on some pretty stiff wind waves generated from farther north in the sea. We had never anchored at Palmilla and were unhappy to see that the entire anchorage was occupied with moorings. We set down as best we could in a slot between some moorings with enough distance from the reef. The winds died back, but the wind waves rocked the boat very uncomfortably. Steve set a stern anchor to set us to more comfortably which was nice until the offshore winds picked up later that night. Needless to say, the night was long and we started the next day tired and grumpy…only to find that the stern anchor had gotten caught on a mooring cable some time during the night. Steve had to dive the anchor – down twenty four feet – in order to release it. The whole process added an hour to our start and we left the anchorage with concerns over how this new day would play out wind-wise given our experiences of the day before.

It was nice to be under way. The day started with about ten knots of offshore winds that made for a nice motor sail. The winds soon died and we ended up motoring along on our way. We started to relax – the sun was warm, the air was clear and there were whales all around us. We glassed the shoreline checking out many of Steve’s old surfing haunts. After about two hours, we observed a significant wind line up ahead. Within minutes, our smooth sailing was over. In spite of the fact that we were facing only about ten to fifteen knots….it was right on the nose. The wind waves generated from heavier winds much farther north in the sea were the real problem though…the wind enhanced these to at times four feet high and about four feet apart. The steeper wind waves pushed Gitano’s bow off track by almost 90-degrees, working the autopilot pretty hard. Gitano’s decks were getting washed with sea water pouring off the tow rail from bow to stern. The worst part was our speed -- we slowed from just over five knots to at times less than two knots. This was turning in to a very long day! The whales made light of our discomfort as they continued to swim by our side, out in front or to our stern…they really were something. We finally reached the anchorage at Los Frailes by mid-afternoon. It ended up taking over five hours to motor those last fifteen miles.

Los Barriles is just to the north of Los Frailes and is known for its winds making it a Mecca of sorts for windsurfers. We want to wait for a nice windless day to continue our journey north and end up staying put for the rest of the Easter Week holiday. We set out early on Monday morning at 0300 under the light of a nearly full moon. This passage was very smooth with just a bit of wind picking up mid-morning to push us along our way. We arrive at Ensenada de los Muertos by noon looking forward to our stay at this peaceful anchorage.

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Mar 2008 Sea of Cortes

Spring Break.

20.8N 105.5W to 22.9N 109.9W. Cabo San Lucas, BCS, Mexico.

We find ourselves coming to an end of another season on Gitano. We found ourselves deep into Spring Break for our final two days at Cabo San Lucas – what a zoo!

Passage Notes.

20.8N 105.5W to 22.9N 109.9W. Southern Crossing, Sea of Cortes, Mexico.

Our passage was "about as perfect as it gets" with one exception – the winds were very light and variable and we had to motorsail most of the way. The days were clear and warm and the nights perfectly dark for star gazing. Late the second day and into the night, our decks were soaked as we bashed through choppy seas. We slowed down to try to smooth out the ride…but it was bumpy, wet and wearing. After two full days and nights, we arrived at Cabo San Lucas….very tired but glad to be across before the next big Northerlies.

As in November, we are both impressed and shocked by the place. We will be here for about a week – take the routine tour of the many government offices needed to check in, get provisions for the next few weeks, and make plans to head back to La Paz.

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Mar2008 Underway

Sail On.

20.8N 105.5W. Punta de Mita, Nayarit, Mexico.

The surf this season ended up being “bearable” as those great winter storms in the north were followed quickly with an early start to south swell season. The good surf along with reports from down south of unseasonably cold water led us to decide to stay here for several months. Nevertheless, the time has come for us to make our departure.

We will set sail heading northward to Mazatlan and then across the Sea of Cortes. Near term predictions are for the winds to be light northerlies and the swells to be diminishing though sizable and confused. When I first wrote down this note, we were going to head out on Saturday…but after the latest weather forecast may end up leaving on Tuesday….quien sabe…

Ciao!

World Class Yacht Racing.

20.8N 105.5W. Punta de Mita, Nayarit, Mexico.


Sailboats under full sail – especially those under the command of a master sailor -- are beautiful watch. A day after re-anchoring at the surf point of Punta de Mita, we found that we were at the finishing line to the San Diego to Puerto Vallarta Yacht Race. The race is a “premier international racing event since 1953” and included World Cup class yachts and captains. For several days we had the best seat in town...with the official finish boat just a radio call away for whatever bit of news we wished to know about the boats or race. These racing yachts are nothing short of stunning and it was absolutely fascinating to watch these masters speed through and maneuver in at times almost zero wind. Talk about a pair of “armchair sailors”…while we sipped our early morning coffee in the cockpit we would watch and wonder why a certain boat would change course a certain way, etc. For me, the most scene occurred in the blackness of a moonless night, where we watched two yachts within minutes of each other approach the finish line through a maze of pangas and fishing nets….we could only see the navigation lights of the two yachts thread their way through the small lights of the pangas…making incredibly tight turns in almost no wind…it was simply mesmerizing.

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Feb 2008 PV Yacht Racing

Incident Report.

20.8N 105.5W. Punta de Mita, Nayarit, Mexico.


Sometimes a little sailboat gets no respect. I am not talking about the probable lack of respect some larger-newer-sleeker boats may have towards our “classic racer style” (lively) well-sailed (a little beat up looking) little (a bit over 35 feet and six tons “dripping wet”) 1969-era (old) Cal Cruising 36 sailboat. No, I am talking about others...who apparently because of their superior size and stealth feel that they can simply do whatever they want to us like we were just a plaything.

Believe or not, we were bumped by a Humpback Whale! To be clear, Gitano del Mar didn’t bump it…it bumped or slapped her! We were under-sail from Punta de Mita to La Cruz de Huanacaxtle. There was just enough wind to let us sail at just over three knots and we decided to sail the whole way to the anchorage no matter how long it took…just sit back and enjoy the sail. The bay was pretty busy that afternoon with over a dozen other boats underway around us…fishing boats, whale watching boats, cruising boats…all under motor but us. Needless to say, we were keeping watch on the traffic and our route as we meandered to our destination. At one point, however, while we were both in the galley munching on a leftover piece of our favourite BBQ chicken…the boat lurched port-side. It lurched more than the usual-for-that-day swell that was pushing our boat…it actually felt like a bump with the boat quickly righting herself. We both looked at each other and said “what was that?” I popped out to the cockpit in time to see a slick (of stilled water) pass by our port-side….from past experience it was a slick the size of that left by a whale. We were both looking at the slick and thinking “no way”…there was no way that we hit a whale….there are too many boats…making too much noise… We kept looking around our boat trying to figure out the source of the “bump” and sure enough in less than a minute we sighted four Humpback whale spouts just to our stern along with a flipper wave. A Humpback whale can reach fifty-two feet and weigh over fifty tons...more than three times the size of Gitano. The only thing we can think is that the group of four included at least one lively yearling…very playful...and our boat looked like a cute little bath toy…"let’s just slap it around and see what it does." It was an exciting moment and one of the closest whale sightings of the season.

werd (as SK would say)….

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Feb 2008 Simple Things

Out and About in Bahia de Banderas.

20.5N 105.3W. Quimixto, Jalisco, Mexico.

In between anchorings at the point at Punta de Mita, we wanted to check out a bit more of Bahia de Banderas, so once the northerly winds backed we crossed over to the south side of the bay from La Cruz de Huanacaxtle to see what there was to see. Because of its remoteness and, in some cases, lack of road access, the south bay is still wrapped in untouched rain forest. It reminded us so much of parts of Central America…we started to think that...maybe...we should head south again. What roadway there is on this side of the bay, ends just the other side of Quimixto so it is accessed only by boat. Very charming…but the surf was too rough for a dinghy landing and the dock is made for hard pangas and large boats only … so we decided to BBQ a filet and mushroom dinner in the cockpit and just sit back and enjoy the surf and scene. No complaints.

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Feb 2008 Bahia de Banderas