La Cruz, San Blas, and back to Mazatlan

I shall remember our second stay in La Cruz for the music we shared with Tasmanian friends Joe and Adrienne of SV Bluebottle. Chris and Joe jammed on their ukeleles and we all shared good food.

We will post a video of one of the jam sessions shortly.

It was also in La Cuz that we bumped into Chris's brother's friend, Chad, from Vancouver. He was on a surfing holiday in Sayulita, just north of Banderas Bay, and while driving to Punta Mita, he stopped at the marina in La Cruz to use the washrooms. He saw Chris sitting the hall – what a coincidence!

The three of us drove in Chad's rental car to Puerto Vallarta for a walk along the malecon and comida at the vegetarian buffet. A few days later, we invited him for a day sail to the Islas Marietas. The anchorage was quite full with charter boats so we anchored a long way out and swam in to snorkel near the rocky shore.

Chad and Chris go sailing.

We departed from La Cruz on March 26^th in a light SSW breeze and had to resort to motoring for a few hours in the evening to reach Guayabitos Cove for a night's rest. Along the way, Chris caught his big toe between the jib sheet and a block, needing a winch handle to winch him free. Luckily, his toe was not crushed and rebounded to it's normal shape after some hours!

Puzzling giant concrete collander.


Lovely coastal resort.

Another day sail brought us into Matanchen Bay, San Blas. We hitchhiked into San Blas after leaving our kyak on a very crowded beach, hoping the mango salesman would keep an eye on it. A pick-up dropped us off near the town centre and we hiked up a hill to see the ruins of an old fort and Customs House.


Weekend at the beach in Mantenchen Bay.


Mango on a stick - very messy eating!

Later in the plaza, we saw local native women weaving palm fronds into decorative pieces to sell to those going to the cathedral for Palm Sunday mass. Semana Santa, the week before Easter, is huge here, and many Mexicans tourists were in town. When we hitch-hiked back to Matanchen Bay, the beach was thumping with music and hundreds of people were eating at the palapas and swimming in the water.


Palm Sunday service in San Blas.


Weaving palm offerings.


Woven palm offerings

From Matanchen Bay, we encountered such light airs that it took us 54 hours to sail to Mazatlan, a distance of 125 nMiles. We rested for a few hours each night by dropping anchor in 35-40 feet of water off the low-lying coast, using bow and stern anchors to hold the boat into the waves and prevent side to side rolls.


Trawler and birds off San Blas harbour mouth.



Our progress recorded during the 2nd night 'sailing' to Mazatlan. We took down sails and drifted during the night.

We have checked into Marina Singlar for a week to effect repairs and attend to home affairs and shall be leaving this Thursday to cross the Sea of Cortez. It was nice to meet up with old friends on Hotspur (Jim, Meri, Tim, & Carolyne – formerly of Windfall) and Hana Crew (Windfall – now renamed, with the Browns - Ann, Doug, Henry, and Chandler on board). We sold our dinghy to the Browns on Hana Crew and waved them off on their maiden voyage to Isla Isabela. Our plan is to either buy or build a sailing dinghy for the next season. We also hooked up with Ken and Lori our talented musician friends who now live and work here in Mazatlan.


Lori and Ken with friend playing at the Seafarer - a local restaurant. Thanks to fellow cruisers Dave and Mary Ann Plumb for the pic!

We missed the details on our previous post, so I am going to fill in the blanks. Many thanks to Jo and Rob of Blue Moon for pictures from the Melaque San Patricio celebrations.

At El Carrizal, Santiago Bay, we met up with Morgana and Blue Moon. Ernie from Morgana took us snorkeling to three sites around this bay aboard his powerful inflatable dinghy. The first site was at the mouth of the bay near a couple of caves where the surf thundered through a blow hole and there was much foaming and frothing. We swam around the edges of the rocky walls, saw some corals and sea fans but not many fish. Ernie saved the best for last – a cabbage patch of coral heads only 4-5 feet below the surface, great visibility, rainbow wrasses darting in and out of the corals.

On March 15th, we said good-bye to Ernie and sailed to the little town of Melaque, whose patron saint is San Patricio, unique in all Mexico. Like the Irish, the Mexicans love partying and drinking. In Melaque, the celebrations start 10-14 days before the actual day and we were just in time.Mexicans from Guadalajara and other cities converge on the town, kids play on the beach, adults drink and dance to loud music into the early morning hours, fireworks exlpode and light up the sky every night. What fun!

We arrived after sunset and set our anchor near some fish pens, following directions from our friends on Blue Moon. The next morning, we paddled to shore, left the kayak in front of a restaurant under the watchful eye of Jose, who promised to protect it from the toddlers. We walked along the little malecon towards our boat and then took a steep trail up to the bluff for a panoramic view of the bay. There was an abandoned restaurant building on the point and a little shrine set up by the owners to the Virgin de la Guadalupe to protect their clients and business - she must have had more important things on her agenda :(


Melaque from the hills behind the town. Ladybug is anchored near the islands in the middle of the picture.


The outer coast above Melaque harbour. No anchorage here!

Taking a dirt road down the hill, we came out by the main highway into Melque and wandered past pastel coloured Mexican homes, army barracks, roadside stalls selling coconuts and cold drinks. We stopped at a couple of hardware and electrical stores to purchase a tiny 4W bulb for our anchor light. Our original bulb, bought in Canada for $6, had only lasted about 3 months. Here, we bought 3 for 50 cents Canadian!



Tasty local candies available from street stalls during the San Patricio celebrations.

In the market, after buying guavas, bananas and a few veggies, we took a seat in front of one of the half dozen family run eateries for comida. An old woman parked in the corner of the counter, abuelita ( grandma ) no doubt, prattled off the menu and did not cease repeating it until we had placed our orders. These market stalls offer really good meals for 3 to 4 dollars -
I usually order chile rellenos ( poblano peppers stuffed with cheese ) which come with a side of beans and rice as well as a variety of fresh salsas and pickles. Delicious!

We walked back to our kayak along the golden sand beach, watching kids burying their papas and gringos taking advantage of the 2 for 1 margaritas.

After 8pm, we paddled back to shore for the evening festivities. Walking into town we came upon the funfair set up near the plaza. Other than a few kids in the bouncing castle, the merry-go-rounds and bumper cars were all empty. Activties start late in Mexico and parents have no qualms about keeping their kids out after midnight. A street market of food stalls and shooting galleries led to the zocalo ( square ). Strangely enough, the largest stall in the centre of the zocalo was selling books, offering everything from fairy tales to Plato. In front of the church was a 40-50 foot tower built of steel wire and rebar. Tiers of Catherine Wheels and sparklers were lashed from top to bottom. The fireworks were supposed to start around 10pm, mas or menos, so we contented ourselves by grazing around the food stalls. I bought some ice-cream while Chris wandered the streets looking for banos ( lucky for him, the ocean was only a few blocks away :)

Families started gathering, toddlers running around chasing balloons and each other, the brass band in the gazebo getting louder. We found space on a low wall around a raised bed of grass and palm trees. Since Jo was afraid of fireworks we had strategically placed ourselves on the opposite side of the plaza from the fireworks tower, knowing that Mexicans do not seem to be restrained by silly things like safety regulations!


Chris and Rani test drive new fuel efficient transportation at the fun fair in Melaque.


Fireworks tower - each wheel spins as the fireworks ignite, then additional fireworks explode from the wheel and the next higher wheel is ignited.

An hour later, we heard the first popping sounds from the tower, wires leading to it started sparkling and fizzing, embers shot into the air. Then the Catherine Wheels began to spin firing mini rockets into the crowds and people dashed for cover under the stalls, shielding their heads with cardboard. We all stood up on our grassy platform to get a better view.

BANG! There was a deafening explosion about 10 feet away from us! Jo clutched Rob, who clutched the nearest palm! Collective screaming! How could we have missed the 44lb garbage can loaded with a rocket canon just below us? The can was even cordoned off with black and yellow security tape. In the air, the rocket bloomed into a gorgeous crimson flower.

More rockets were fired, the fireworks on the tower reached it's apex and a mini helicopter lifted off , flew a few hundred yards and landed in the street, probably on some poor bugger's car!

Just as we thought it was all over, a screaming wild pack of kids started running around the plaza following what looked like a flaming bull! As they got closer, we saw a man holding a papier mache bull, sparks flying around his head. Every few minutes, the man would shake the bull close to the ground, do a jig and send firecrackers into the crowds at ankle level. We all ran and hid behind each other, screaming at the top of our lungs. That is all but Chris, who decided to jump into the action and run with the bulls....and pigs.....and goats. A scruffy little dog joined the action, chasing the sparks. In the meantime, Jo and Rob took shelter in a record shop nearby. It was an exciting evening! We left just as the band warming up for the night's dancing.



Fireworks with the church in the background.

Here is a link to a video on Blue Moon's blog that captures some of the action.

The adventure continued as we took a wave while paddling off to Ladybug, soaking me entirely. They say “ Be careful what you wish for “. I was thinking I needed a swim to clear the sand out of my clothes and body parts when I fell into the water while trying to board Ladybug! The water was warm and I was fine but my glasses sank to the bottom. We had the presence of mind to drop our rock anchor with a float attached to mark the spot.

The following morning, Chris, Rob and Jo dived into 25 feet around the float to look for the specs. Visibility was only about 2 feet, so it took a lot of effort going down each time. Everyone gave up after about 6 dives each but Chris went down again. This time he used a stick to mark his track from the anchor, as suggested by Rob, and found the glasses on his third dive.Poor guy suffered from a headache for days as a result.

We were meant to leave a sacrifice to Neptune in Melaque as the next morning we woke up to find our gate lifeline missing. It must have worked loose during the heavy swells at night. Not having a clue as to when and where, there was not much point in diving for it. However, Chris went down a few times anyway, acting as a human fender when an old fisherman came to retrieve his net from under Ladybug. His panga bashed into our bow, nicking the gelcoat in several places. We took that as a hint to move and sailed out of Melaque.

We enjoyed a lovely beam reach sail to Chamela. The anchorage was somewhat rolly but we had a nice refreshing swim the next day before setting off to La Cruz. In light SW winds, Ladybug averaged 4-5 knots until it lightened in the evening. As the wind changed to light NW, we had to tack away from the land but averaged 2.5Kts. However, in the early hours, we were back to speeds of 5Kts plus in 10 Knots of NW wind.

Ladybug screamed into Banderas Bay at 6.5-7 Knots. It was the last day of the regatta and we heard some of the excitement on the VHF radio when the last race got underway. More about La Cruz and beyond in our next post.

Hello from La Cruz

We have been back in La Cruz for a few days but leave tomorrow for Mazatlan, so not much time for a good blog post!

We left Manzanillo, stopping in Santiago and then El Carrizal to do some snorkeling with Ernie on Morgana and Jo and Rob on Blue Moon. Our next stop was just north of Barra at Melaque. We had a good sail there with light head winds, arriving near Blue Moon just as darkness fell. The next day we celebrated St Patrick´s day a day early with fireworks, bands, and a fun fair. This was the ninth day of celebrations for this feast day (Santa Patricio) and the partying went on until 6am when the last fireworks were let off. Not sure how the locals and visitors keep this up for 10 days!

The sail north was pleasant on the whole but with a lot of beating to get around Cabo Corrientes into Banderas Bay. By a crazy coincidence we met a friend from Canada (Chad) who happened to be surfing nearby for a week and dropped by the marina to use the washrooms after getting lost. We visited Puerto Vallarta with Chad and then took him sailing for my birthday (yesterday) out to the Marieta islands where we snorkeled and drank and ate to excess - a great birthday!

More on the Melaque celebrations and some pics in another post.

Manzanillo – Sailfish, Tsunamis, and Sushi

Note there is actually no sushi in this post - it just sounded good in the title...

It is hard to believe we have been in Manzanillo for over two weeks, anchored for the most part off Las Hadas resort where the movie, Ten, with Dudley Moore and Bo Derek was filmed. The anchorage here has been quite lively with up to 25 boats closely packed behind the resort's breakwater.

Las Hadas anchorage

Las Hadas resort from the anchorage

We sailed down from Tenacatita to Carrizal anchorage at the entrance to Manzanillo Bay with very light winds, passing Bara de Navidad in the early afternoon and the Manzanillo airport around supper. The wind died completely as the sun set and we motored the last two hours intoCarrizal, anchoring in the dark near the sailing boat, Lovely Rita, the only other occupant of this remote anchorage.

City of Manzanillo from mirador

Rani & Chris in front of sailfish - Manzanillo claims to be the sailfish capitol of the world

The next day, a big southerly swell made the anchorage too rocky to linger, so we sailed to Las Hadas, where our friends Marv and Ardy were anchored along with another 20 or so boats. We spent the next day in downtown Manzanillo, taking the inexpensive (6 peso) bus and visiting the famous sailfish statue, and a surprising veggie cafe for lunch. Much of the town climbs up hills overlooking the port on one side and a massive coal fired power plant on another. We climbed up through the winding stairs to a viewpoint and down the other side to a volcanic sand beach before retracing our steps and returning to the anchorage. That night we walked out to the main street (a strenuous journey over winding cobble stoned streets) to watch the Carnival parade.

Someone appears to live in this tiny makeshift beach shelter.

Chinese float in Carnival parade

Carnival dancer

Another nicely decorated dancer

The parade reminded us of the one we had seen in Guaymas a year earlier. The recipe for success in this one was to find the largest flatbed truck possible, fit it out with a sound system appropriate for a Rolling Stones concert, decorate it with something colourful, and persuade at least a half dozen very scantily clad young women to dance provocatively amongst the decorations. Some floats had themes beyond this, including a Gold's Gym float with well built scantily clad men, a couple of transvestite floats, and a Chinese one.

Gold's gym float.

By coincidence we bumped into the only person I know in Manzanillo at the parade. Dave Wilkinson is a neighbor from Esquimalt who has a winter home in Santiago, just outside Manzanillo. We had planned to hook up via email, but for some odd reason we ended up in the same location on the crowded 3 mile long parade route that night. Over the next couple of weeks we visited Dave and later his family (Katie and daughters Mariah and Rebecca who flew in a few days later) at their beach front home. in addition to entertaining us, they were kind enough to let us use their shower and do laundry – luxuries highly valued by water-starved cruisers.

Chris and Dave returning from a body surfing expedition.

Dave was in the process of building a home on an adjacent lot to use as a vacation rental property and the excavation for the foundations was just getting underway when we arrived. There were no clearances between the building lot, Dave's driveway, and the neighbor's house, so needless to say there were a few tense moments over the next few days as the hole grew deeper and Dave worked out ways to ensure that the neighbor's house and his own driveway did not end up in the pit. So far he has been successful with the house, but much of the driveway will need to be replaced. The foundation pour begins today.

Rebecca and Dave barbecuing vegetables & shrimp - yum.

During Dave's bachelor days, we sailed over one day and anchored off his surfy beach, kayaking in with a boat-cooked lunch. We nearly capsized in one wave, and then forgot a sauce pan and had to paddle back out through the surf, getting soaked in the process. After lunch Dave and I went for a swim and he showed me how to body surf. The waves here can get pretty big and we had a few good runs, although I got pretty badly dumped when a wave curled on top of me, twisting my body like a licorice twizzler and pile driving my head into the sand.

Chris, Rebecca, and Katie in their lovely beach front home in Santiago

Apart from visiting with Dave and Katie, we have been enjoying the facilities at Las Hadas, especially the great pool. This resort, which literally means 'The Fairies', is a beautifully built series of wings and towers overlooking the anchorage. There are private pools in many suites and charming lanes and alleys connect the various wings. Each tower is different and built in a fanciful style. There are sculptures of winged fairies and gargoyles, and mosaic walkways wind between the buildings. The place seemed quite empty however, perhaps reflecting a downturn in tourism, but more likely because the prices are a bit steep here (the nearby more family-oriented Karmina Palace appeared to be quite full). If I had heaps of money this would be a fun place to have a wedding.

The pools at Las Hadas

Enjoying the pool.

Jo and Rob enjoying the pool.

We also had a tsunami scare here shortly after arriving. All boats but one left the anchorage and motored out into deep water after a major earthquake struck Chile. We received two hours warning before the tsunami was expected to reach Manzanillo. It was a bit of an anti climax, with the water rising only a few inches, imperceptible to all but the most careful observer.

Blue Moon arrived a few days after we did and we have spent some pleasant evenings with Jo and Rob and with two new friends on the steel sailboat, Blue Bottle (named for a character in BBC radio's vintage Goon Show). Joe on Blue Bottle is an accomplished Ukelele, Banjo, and Guitar player and we all had great fun trying to play each other's music on our assortment of stringed and wind instruments. Adrienne, Joe's other half, joined in on vocals, and Rob and Rani rounded out the percussion section.

Jamming on Blue Moon with Rob and Jo.

The following video features sailors/musicians Joe Blake, Chris Bennett and Jo Woollacott playing banjo, ukelele and guitar aboard  sv Blue Moon. Vocals, percussion and monkey impressions gamely provided by Adrienne, Ernie, Rob and Rani. The Monkey Song or " When You Grow Old " is one of Rani's favourites and we thank Joe Blake for sharing it with us.

Ukelele maestro, Joe from Blue Bottle. Ernie Kruell from Morgana, whom we first met in Coos Bay on our way down to Mexico is in the background

Chris tunes up his uke with Adrienne from Blue Bottle ready to join in the next song.

Sadly all good things must end. Blue Bottle is off across the Pacific, while Blue Moon heads for El Salvador, and Ladybug returns to the Sea of Cortez for another season. We leave today to begin our trip north.

Chamela to Tenacatita

The scene here is quite domestic. Rani is mending one of our back packs whose strap was parting from a recent grocery overload here in Manzanillo. She reminds me that we are well behind in our blog and that it is my turn, so here are so1me ramblings about our trip to and stay in Tenacatita.

From Chamela we sailed with light following winds toward Tenacatita. As the winds dropped I poled out the jib on the opposite side to the main to keep us ghosting along over smooth seas. Around noon we were joined by a pod of speckled dolphins and a few minutes later we drew level whith what looked like a huge metal collander – perhaps 80 feet across and 50 feet high. A ramp led up to the rim of this structure, which rested directly on the ground. It reminded Rani of an alien spaceship that had already disgorged its occupants but we still have no idea what it is. Other cruisers we asked later were equally puzzled. The wind built as the afternoon wore on and we were soon making a solid 5+ knots as we approached Bahia Tenacatita. The radio crackled to life on channel 22 and we heard boats hailing each other and announcements for a 'swim to shore', bacci ball, and beach volleyball. We both looked at each other, not sure whether we were keen on what sounded like a resort atmosphere after the peace and wildness of Chamela.

We dropped the pole and rounded into the bay with 10-15 knots behind us and then on our beam. At the entrance, surf was breaking on the offlying rocks and a long palapa-lined beach came into view just inside the point. This outer anchorage was empty and looked a bit rolly, so we continued past Punta Chubasco. We sailed into the crowded bay, tacking between boats, with Rani making nervous noises as we passed behind one boat and in front of another. We anchored in about 30 feet over a sand bottom off another beach.


View from the boat over the reef to the river mouth at Tenacatita.

After we dropped the hook, we noticed that our friends on Third Day and Blue Moon were already anchored in this busy anchorage. Blue Moon had left Banderas Bay well before us and had an uneventful passage but Third had passed us while we were in Chamela. There had been a huge rain squall with lightning and high winds while we were anchored in Chamela. The rain had been torrential and Rani said it reminded her of Monsoon rains in India. At sea, two boats nearby had been struck by lightning, one losing most of its electronics. Third Day had been caught with her sails up and the gusty winds tore out several seams in their main. Later we discovered that our friends on Castaway, whom we had last seen in Oregon in 2008, had also passed us going north while we were anchored in Chamela. They had also narrowly missed colliding with Third Day during the storm because the visibility was so poor.


Anchorage viewed from the river.

One of the highlights of our stay in Tenacatita was a trip up the river to the little town that lies along the outer beach (the so-called jungle cruise). The day after we arrived, we paddled up the river against a light outflowing current. The entrance to the river is blocked by a bar, but we were able to negotiate this by passing through a break in the offlying reef, carefully threading our way between lumps of volcanic rock. Near the mouth the river is wide with gentle sand banks and colourful trees blooming with pink and yellow blossoms. Pelicans, egrets, and herons sat in the trees and we saw some large fish in the murky waters. There are supposed to be crocodiles in the river but we saw none.


Ibis near the river mouth

Further up the river, the mangroves close in and form an arch over the water that blocks out much of the sky. The mangroves have been hacked back in these places so that pangas can negotiate the stream from the village at its headwaters. As we paddled along, our friends on Third Day motored past us returning from the other end and we had to pull to the side to make way for two pangas – one with tourists and one with fisherman bound upstream. In the roots of the mangroves, white and red crabs skuttled and occasionally we would hear the cry of some invisible bird deeper into the swamps that lie on each side of the river. We could also hear the surf on the outer beach long before we reached the headwaters because the river parallels this beach for over a miile.


Cruisers returning from the jungle cruise.

At the headwaters, the river widens into a small lake and we pulled our kayak up onto an embankment near a hotel. We walked into the town, stopping at one of the many palapas on the beach for ice cold cervezas and a complimentary plate of highly salted, chili and lime covered cucumber slices with orange slices on the side – delicious, but a definite inducement to more drinking! Slightly tipsy, we ambled along the lovely beach past Mexican children playing in the sand. At the end of the beach, we climbed carefully over the sharp volcanic rocks and scattered coral fragments rounding a headland to another beach. This one has a coral reef nicknamed 'the aquarium' and has good snorkeling. Trailers were parked on the hard packed sand above the beach and we saw several Canadian flags fying from what were clearly long term camp spots. Just past this beach and across the road, the ocean was pounding on an exposed outer beach. The wind was gusting to at least 20 knots and we were grateful for our protected anchorage at the river's mouth.


Mangroves closing in.

We walked back into town, pausing for a brief swim. On the main street, we bought some fresh vegetables and fruit at a well stocked and reasonably priced tienda – ripe delicious tomatoes for 30 cents a kilogram, tiny crisp cucumbers, and juicy, scented guavas. The paddle back down the river was also against a slight tidal current and we were ready for supper and a good sleep when we finally arrived back at Ladybug.


Panga landing at the headwaters.


Mangrove shrouded waters.


Beach at the entrance to Tenacatita Bay

We soon fell into the sociable and relaxed routines of Tenacatita, with its dailiy volleyball games, bacci ball, and beach walks. We met some new cruising families including several with young children. Rani enjoyed playing with the kids and I caught her more than once with a wistful look on her face. One evening we paddled over to 'Isis' with our ukelele and had a jam session with Jo and Rob and their friend, Birke, who sails the 35 foot Isis with his wife Casey and their four year old son Quinn. Birke is an accomplished mandolin player with a great blue grass voice and the combo of his mandolin, Jo's guitar, my uke, various noise makers and all our voices made for one of the best musical evenings I have ever experienced.

Many people stay in Tenacatita for weeks and we could now see why, but we felt restless and wanted to make some progress to Manzanillo where my friend Dave Wilkinson was expecting us, so a few days later we sailed out the anchor and pointed Ladybug's bow out through the fleet toward the open waters of the Pacific.

La Cruz to Chamala

In case anyone reading our blog thinks that all our days are full of sunshine and fun, here is a little account of one of our tougher passages...

I guess we should have paid more attention to the unsettled weather systems in the area before leaving La Cruz for parts south. The predominant wind direction at this time of year is from the north and we expected light winds from that direction when we set off for Cabo Corrientes. Corrientes is yet another 'Cape Horn', this time the Cape Horn of the Mexican Riviera. Hence we were advised by other cruisers and guide books to pass the cape late at night or early in the morning to avoid strong winds. Because the winds were light and we were impatient we left early in the morning, which should have put us off the cape around supper time or in the early evening.



Relaxing in the cockpit.

We ghosted across Banderas bay in a light 3-4 knot south east windcoming off the land. e had up our usual full main and jib. Remnants of a pineapple express (a tropical weather system) were still in the area, cloaking the mountains around the bay in moisture laden clouds. In the distance we soon saw whales spouting and gradually drew closer to what proved to be a pod of 5 humpback whales feeding near the surface. Whale watching boats were crowding the poor giants forcing them to dive deep more often than they would have liked. I was frustrated with the watcher's behaviour but envious of how close they were to these impressive creatures.


Whales and watchers

By lunchtime a nice westerly sea breeze had Ladybug moving briskly at 5 knots and for a while we had a pod of bottle nose dolphins playing alongside. Ten miles north east of the cape the wind dropped to a couple of knots and we slowed to a crawl, wallowing uneasily in the big ocean swells. We waited patiently for the 'cape effect' to give us a nice breeze, but the wind continued light and the current was running against us now. Finally Chris broke down and turned on the engine and we motored for a couple of hours before he reached is limit and tried to set sail again. The wind was too light to move us, so we struck all sail and lay bobbing in the swells off the cape around 9pm.

The captain told me to get some sleep while he stood watch. At 11:30 pm, I heard him moving about on deck and sure enough, he was trying to sail again in 3-4 knots of wind behind us from the east with a jib held out by our aluminum reaching pole – the guy never gives up!

By 1 am we were only 6 nautical miles past the cape. Both of us were on deck, searching the sky and wondering if the approaching dark clouds were friends or foes. Soon several squalls bringing rain but little wind passed over the boat. Chris took down the pole and put up the mainsail as the wind built to 15 knots. Behind us, we could see lightening in the hills above Banderas Bay. The seas began to build, reaching six foot swells with a two foot chop and I ducked below to take a Gravol.

By dawn we were exhausted from the sail changes and we discussed anchoring in Ipala, a cove that lies 13 miles south of Cabo Corrientes, but as we neared the anchorage, we could see it filled by surf and big swells with no sign of anchored boats. So we pressed on toward Chamela, resigning ourselves to another night at sea or a night time entry. At 8:15 we listened to the weather forecast on our shortwave radio, hearing that we were experiencing light winds from the north. The actual conditions were averaging 15 to 20 knots from the south east, right on the nose and all that day we beat into unpleasantly sharp seas, heeled over from between 15 to 25 degrees. We had another 50 miles to go and tacking would add at least 50 percent to that distance. Because of the rough seas and head winds, we could only make at best 4-5 knots. We reefed down the main and furled half of the jib. When the wind rose, the wind vane had trouble steering in the sloppy seas, so we took turns hand steering in order to make better progress.


Our 'inclinometer' - gimbaled stove with curry.

By midday the wind was gusting to 25 knots with the occasional squall. For the rest of daylight hours, the wind rose and fell, requiring us to make frequent changes to the sails, shaking out and putting in reefs in the main and furling and unfurling the jib. We tried to fly the stay sail – the small sail that a cutter has inside the jib, but found that on its own it was too small to give us much progress to windward.

We saw a few boats heading north, enjoying the boisterous following wind. Using our VHF, we made contact with Neil on SV Moondance, en route to La Cruz, who gave us some suggestions for anchoring in Chamela. We also encountered a number of trawlers – large rusty fishing boats that seemed to take a special delight in coming close enough to scare the pants of a gringo sailor! At one point near dusk, we tried to raise a trawler which was on a collision course with us using our VHF but were not able to make contact, so Chris got on deck with a flashlight to show him where we were.

By 2 am the next day we were both exhausted from the continuous pounding and sail changes, so we heaved Ladybug to under double reefed main. We left her jogging along at one or two knots about 60 degrees off the wind and we went below to get some sleep. Up around 4 am, we set all sail and made a little progress toward Chamela, but the wind died out at 5:30 and we gave in and fired up the engine. Three hours later we dropped our anchor in a little sandy cove off Isla Passavera near the village of Chamela and fell into a deep sleep.

Later we washed the sleep from our bodies in the warm clear waters off the island, following large schools of colourful fish as they swum along the rocky shores at the edges of the cove. The island reminded me of a tiny version of Isla Isabela, with nesting frigates, boobies circling above, and pelicans perched on guano covered treetops and cacti. Every inch was covered in bushes and vines of all shapes, sizes and shades of green.

We re-anchored that afternoon off Colorado Island when a southerly wind made our anchorage uncomfortable. The next day we inflated our kayak and paddled around Colorado island, landing on a lovely hidden sand beach on the southwest side. On the north side we paddled by another elephant shaped rock, bringing us fond memories of our visit up north in the Sea of Cortez to Catalina Island.

Our next destination would be Tenacatita, about 25 or 30 miles south.

Kayaking off the elephant rock.


Beach on Colorado.

La Cruz and Puerto Vallarta

My memory of the last 12 days is a bit of a blur save for the excitement of the big blow we were expecting on Thursday. Another trough similar to the one which brought the high winds in the previous week was building and the weather gurus had us all quaking with fear. Almost all the sailboats in the anchorage, including us, checked into the Marina Riviera Nyarit by Wednesday. We spent that afternoon taking everything out of the cockpit, cleaning the decks, tying up all loose covers securely and generally preparing for 60 plus knots of wind.

Malecon in Puerto vallarta

On Thursday, we monitored our electronic barometer closely, took walks along the breakwater watching the clouds gather on the horizon and chatted nervously with other cruisers. And..... NOTHING HAPPENED! In fact we saw blue skies and sunshine in the late afternoon. It was a big sigh of relief for most but an anticlimax nevertheless.

Sculpture on malecon in Puerto Vallarta

We stayed in the marina for 3 days during which Chris fried our starter battery and a house battery. He was attempting to recharge the battery bank and we knew something was wrong when the propane alarm went off. The starter battery was past the point of resuscitation and shorted out, taking one of the house batteries with it, so now we were down to 3 batteries total. With advice from our friend Rob on Blue Moon, Chris removed the 2 dead batteries and re-wired the remaining 3 and they seem to be holding their charge well.

Pillow heads climbing a surreal ladder

The walk to Bucerias, a small town east of La Cruz, to purchase electric wire and other parts to hook up our battery charger was a memorable one. We walked along the beach from our marina to central Bucerias, passing waterfront condos and restaurants, wading in the surf at the base of one hotel. The souvenir stalls around the main square reminded us that we were now in a tourist resort town. The electronic store was closed so we popped into a little “loncheria” to eat comida. When we returned, the tiny door within the main door was open and it was pitch black inside when Chris poked his head in to ask “ es abierto?” ( “ are you open?”). A low voice answered “ Si” and switched on a few lights, revealing the owner, Tony Fernandez, sitting behind a dusty counter surrounded by an Aladdin's cave of all things electronic. Not only did we manage to buy almost everything on our list but Tony gave us a history lesson on the area in between hunting for them. We found out that the Spaniards built their first Manilla Galleon just south of here in Barra de Navidad, Manilla being a trading centre in the Philippines. These galleons brought back spices and porcelain amongst other things to be sent to Spain. To protect them from English and Dutch pirates, the king of Spain ordered canon heavy naval ships to accompany the fleet. Tony's history lesson was later confirmed during our visit to the naval museum in Puerto Vallarta.

Cathedral tower, Puerto Vallarta

Neptune sand sculpture

For Valentine's Day, we took the 16 peso bus to Puerto Vallarta. The malecon was teeming with tourists and souvenir touts but we enjoyed the statuary and views towards La Cruz across Banderas Bay. I found my first vegetarian restaurant in Mexico, Planeta Vegetariano, and we enjoyed their scrumptious buffet lunch and tasted a new drink ( for us anyway ) - sweet oatmeal, a popular Mexican item.

Native dancers - One plays a pipe and then they all leap off and twirl around the pole until the rope unwinds and they reach the ground. Apparently an ancient tradition adapted, I suspect, for tourists

For entertainment, we were fortunate to hear classic and jazz music provided by secondary school bands from California and Salt Lake City. The jazz bands were joined by a celebrity percussionist, Ruben Alvarez, and he soon had us all cha-cha'ing to the latin rhythm. It was an awesome evening.

Excellent Latin jazz and from Salt Lake city

Glendale High School, California band - note the lack of sheet music!

Latin Jazz Band from Salt Lake City

We plan to leave La Cruz, our very rolly anchorage, tomorrow, to head south towards Manzanillo.

Escape from Isla Isabela – out of the frying pan and into the fire.

We had been expecting a south east wind all that day, so were not surprised to be woken at 4 am by a strong wind and lumpy swell rolling into the anchorage. Not wanting to get caught on a lee shore like we did in San Quintin, we immediately raised anchor and sailed for the mainland. Before we left I radioed a less experienced couple on a nearby yacht and suggested they consider leaving, advice which they took (we later heard they made it safely to San Blas). We sailed into head winds and rain squalls for much of the day, finally making landfall at Chacala near supper time. We had hoped to make San Blas but the winds were coming from that quarter, so we resigned ourselves to seeing it on the way back north.

In Chacala, we were hailed by the lovely wooden schooner Tillicum out of Victoria. We chatted with the owner, Russ, on the radio before retiring for the night. He invited us to drop by for coffee the next morning, and invitation it turned out we were not able to take them up on.

At 10 pm, a sudden blast of wind and rain turned Ladybug completely through 180 degrees. The wind had terrific force – we estimate it as at least 50 knots. Occasional blasts of lightning lit up the beach immediately behind us – we were on a lee shore again. The lights of Chacala went out and then came back on, at least providing a landmark for us to judge whether we were dragging. We heard shouts from ahead of us in the bay and saw the schooner Tillicum bearing down on us sideways dragging her anchor. She dragged past and disappeared into the night headed for the breakers on the beach. The swell was now rolling into the bay and breaking waves were lifting our bow at least 6 feet in the air. We thought that Tillicum would be lost if she went ashore in this, but thankfully she reappeared ten minutes later, having managed to work her way off the shore with her engine. Another boat also dragged towards the shore, but surprisingly we remained firmly set, despite having only 100 feet of chain out. With our small engine, it is not likely we could have motored into this wind and swell.

After 20 minutes or half an hour the wind abated and we turned on our engine and used it to ease the tension on the anchor chain so I could remove the nylon snubber line and let out more chain. I kept Ladybug pointed into the swells as best I could while Chris ratcheted in the chain onto our windlass. Once we were better anchored, I made up a bed for us in the V-berth horizontally because the boat was hobby-horsing in the left-over swell so that it was impossible to sleep in the normal position. Even so, it was difficult to get back to sleep after the adreneline rush and with Ladybug doing her best impersonation of an out of control elevator.

We heard later that a similar but much more powerful 'bomb' had hit the anchorage in La Cruz, causing almost every boat in the anchorage (about 30 boats) to drag anchor. Some went ashore or bashed across the reef, but no boats were lost, although there was a lot of damage both from the wind destroying canvas awnings and rolled up sails and from collisions between boats. By the time we arrived in La Cruz, most boats had taken moorage in the marina and were beginning repairs. But we did not know about any of this until later the next day as we approached La Cruz ourselves.

After a somewhat restless night, we sailed our anchor out and headed south for Banderas Bay (the bay of flags). The trough that had been responsible for the crazy blow the night before was still clearly just offshore and we spent the entire day watching evil black squalls bearing down upon us and making literally hundreds of sail and wind vane adjustments to deal with the fluky and constantly changing winds. The winds moved that day through 270 degrees and varied from 0 to 20+ knots. We were sailing along a coast that reminded us of Hawaii with lush forested hillsides and a layer of coconut palms along the water. There were several small towns and resorts in this area, which is close enough to Puerto Vallarta to have fallen under the pall of intense development.

Our engine could not be started due to low battery power, which made the trip much longer than it would have been had we been able to motor through the calms. I was pretty worked up about the black clouds and rain squalls and Chris had to reassure me repeatedly that everything was going to be ok. It turned out that none of the squalls that passed over had much wind in them and we were entering Banderas Bay when the worst of the blackness passed by heading south.

It was nearing sunset as we rounded Punta Mita into Banderas Bay. Because the official charts here are off by miles, I pieced together the various unmarked shoals and rocks that guard this entrance and plotted them on a single page GPS accurate chart that we found in Charly's Charts cruising guide. Even so, it was nerve wracking sailing as we tacked up the gap between the point and the off-lying Tres Marietas islands, watching the sea explode off shoals only a few hundred feet away. To make matters worse, the winds were the strongest we had experienced all day, due to the cape effect. And to top it off, our propane tank ran dry while cooking supper and Chris had to change tanks in the middle of all this tricky navigation and sail adjustments.

We had planned to stop at the anchorage just inside Punta Mita but this looked too rolly, with only three sailboats at anchor bouncing around like corks. None of the boats responded to our requests for information on the VHF radio, so we decided to beat our way into the bay towards La Cruz about 8 miles further. We hailed any boat in La Cruz for information and Mike on Sunshine Lady (whom we had last seen in Peurto Escondido) they told us what had happened the night before, mentioning that the weather forecasters had said a similar 'bomb' could happen again tonight. However we did not want to risk sailing into a marina in the dark without our engine, so decided to take our chances in the anchorage.

We made one slip up in navigation, which would have taken us right across the point that separates La Cruz from the rest of the bay. Fortunately the loom of the point was clearly visible against the lights of the city and we changed course, tacking a half dozen times before reaching La Cruz harbour. It was difficult to locate the anchorage but we were grateful for assistance via the VHF from sailing vessel Scrimshaw, whose blue anchor light guided us into the anchorage.

We dropped the hook around 10 am and were fortunate to enjoy a restful night on the hook. We will be in La Cruz for a couple of weeks to explore the bay, visit Peurto Vallarta, hang out with our friends on Blue Moon, and deal with our low battery issues.