Excerpts from the log with selected photos
.
Leg 2: From Puerto Vallarta to Mazatlan (April 13, 2001 to April 17, 2001)
Excerpts from the log with selected photos
.
Leg 2: From Puerto Vallarta to Mazatlan (April 13, 2001 to April 17, 2001)
April 13, 2001
"We're back at sea again! After a 2-1/2 month "rest" at Paradise Village, we've finally cast off the dock lines and started the trek north to Mazatlan. We really enjoyed PV and will come back here next year.
We're now anchored at the northern point off Banderas Bay called Punta de Mita. It's Easter week, which is a really MAJOR holiday in Mexico. Everyone's off Thursday thru Sunday. So, the beaches here look very crowded...at least from the boat. We're about 400 yards off the beach and anchored with about 20 other boats. Some have been here awhile (its free), others are waiting for the right weather window to cross the Pacific to the Marquesas Islands in French Polynesia. And others, like us, are headed north to Mazatlan and the Sea of Cortez. Its been very windy between here and San Diego. And, since we have to beat into the wind and seas to go north, its best to wait for lighter winds. Its a much more comfortable ride. So, we'll stay here until it looks good."
Sunrise while anchored at Punta Mita on April 14th.
April 14, 2001
"Well, we have moved up the coast 40 miles to a little cove and rural town called Chacala. It has a beautiful beach with several palapa restaurants that go by names like Tres Hermanos, Lupitas and Las Brisas.
Normally, its a quiet little spot. Today it looks like Ciudad de Amityville (from Jaws). There must be 1000 people on the beach enjoying the surf, etc. Yes, Easter is a BIG holiday here and everyone comes to the beach. It looks like half the population from Guadalajara found this one. As I write this, there are about six different kayaks, canoes, etc., circling the boat to get a better look. Interesting enough, we were the only yacht to pull in here. But, about ten minutes later, in came Slipaway...a Hardin 45 ft. ketch with Sanford and Shirley aboard. When we saw them come in, we invited them over for a cerveza. It turns out, they just completed a 9-year circumnavigation around the world.
Our plan is to rest here tonight and then head to Isla Isbabella, an offshore island about 55 nm from here tomorrow."
Thousands of Easter holiday visitors enjoy the normally quiet beach at Chacala.
A very tired hitchhiker who decided it was easier to ride with us from Chacala to Isla Isabella.
April 15, 2001
"Happy Easter to everyone from Isla Isabela, a small (1-1/2 by 1/2 mile) island about 20 miles off the Mexican mainland. The island is uninhabited except for the Warden who oversees the bird sanctuary here. It was featured in a past issue of National Geographic, so you know its picturesque.
There are two little anchorages. We're on the east side protected from the prevailing NW swells. Three other boats are here. The other anchorage is on the south side and had 3-4 boats.
We plan to stay here for 24-26 hours and leave on Monday at 4pm. We'll go all night and arrive in Mazatlan at 7-8:00 am on Tuesday. This will be a memorable Easter for us."
Isla Isabella is a bird sanctuary. This is it's eastern anchorage on Easter Sunday.
April 19 2001
"We arrived at Mazatlan yesterday morning about 0730. We left Isla Isabela at 4:30pm on Monday and sailed all night arriving here the next morning, about 15 hours later. There was no moon until about 2:30 am, so the seas were pretty dark. Humidity was also high and the cool sea and warm air fogged our front dodger window. So, it was a little like flying blind. But, we have a great 36 mile radar and could see land and other boats on it quite easily. We let the GPS (satellite positioning system) drive the autopilot, so all we had to do was make sure we stayed on track and check radar for any possible problems. There were none. The seas were a mere 2-3 ft swells, and there was less than 10 knots of wind, so we just motor sailed the entire time. When we got to Mazatlan, we had to find the marina entrance, a little tricky, as its quite small and tucked behind Isla Fajaros. But, the GPS took us right to the entrance despite the fact the charts are off by over 1.5 miles here. It looked like we were over a mile inland instead of at the entrance. We'd been warned that a dredge was in the narrow entrance and we needed to arrive before it started working at 8:30am. If you missed that opportunity, the next opening wasn't until 2:30pm. We didn't want to wait six hours after a 15 hour passage. So, we sped up a little and made it in fine. We then went to the fuel dock, filled the tanks and then moved to our assigned slip here at
El Cid Hotel and Yacht Club. Its a nice place!We plan to be here about 10 days before crossing the Sea of Cortez and visiting the islands off Baja's eastern coast." \
