Chacala

Chacala

March 23 to March 27, 2019

Lovely Chacala! Our friends encouraged us to come here because they loved it so much, more so for surfing but the town is charming! We are not experienced surfers yet and heard this was more of an intermediate sight at best for surfing. Since we are beginners who don’t even own boards yet, ha!, we came just to enjoy the sights. It is also a perfect stopover on the way north to Mazatlan where we are planning to go next. We sailed the entire way here from La Cruz on a close reach. We weren’t fast, it was mainly at 4 to 4.5 knots but it was peaceful 8 -9 hours of sailing. 

When Stephen and I first started sailing I had a hard time on passage as I get ants in my pants and always feel the need to be busy. I now look forward to passage almost as a meditative time. I am still busy at times trying to make meals with the boat rocking back and forth but I find that a challenge. Cleaning dishes too can be interesting trying to make a pile of dishes that don’t slide off the counter before you wipe them dry. I have certain techniques in my little galley to avoid disaster. It is touch and go at times! 

 When we arrived at Chacala we had a few boats in the anchorage and noted some had out stern anchors. Our friend Dave, who had already stayed here, recommended a stern anchor for a better night sleep as well as going to the brewery, which is open only Friday and Saturday nights. We followed both recommendations and were very pleased:). The boats who did not put out a stern anchor took the swell on the beam, uggh, whereas we just gently pitched bow to stern and slept like babies being rocked to sleep. The beer also was REAL craft beer, a 9% was on tap! Holy Moly, it sure has been a long time since I gulped down one of those. I also felt it the next morning even though I only had one. One 9% that is - Ha! I had a saison that was delish at 6.5% and the stout. They had IPA, stout, amber ale, the usual suspects of the States.  Some folks from Alaska who had made multiple van trips to Mexico had forged some community ties in Chacala and are the proud owners. It was delightful to have some good beer. Mexican beer is ok but it is very light, hard to find more than 5% octane and always tastes better with a lime in it. We enjoyed our beer at Onda, the name of the brewery, with another couple Melissa and Curtis and their son Deckland. They are on SV Blue Heron and left from Sausalito this past year as well. They only have a year and plan to bash back up the coast. 

Stephen and I spent our time in Chacala with daily walks/hikes around town. Our first walk was on the main road and we decided to do 1.5 hours out and then we would turn around. At the 1.5 hour mark as we were tired and hot and dreaming of a cold beverage, miraculously a little tienda appeared like a mirage. Truly there was nothing along the road except for a few scattered properties here and there and then like a dream come true, a little tienda with 2 refrigerators holding cold drinks appeared!! We sat and enjoyed a 40 that a 15-year-old sold us from behind the counter and headed back to town refreshed. 

The next day I looked on google earth and saw the possibility of a hike to a little desolate, white sand beach. We had a great hike through a little ranch with some elevation gain and nice overlook of the anchorage. It appeared to be an orchard we were walking through with some unripened fruit larger than an avocado with green spikes on it. We continued on our journey but no matter which little trail we attempted it terminated and it appears google earth actually has some “shading” for the road that doesn’t exist. We also found this the next day attempting another hike and when you zoom in on the supposed road, it is actually a gray color. We still like exploring and it was fun regardless of not making a destination so to speak. It always about enjoying the journey they say and we did. 

Stephen and I also enjoyed paddle boarding daily which could be a challenge with the continuous swell coming into the anchorage. I found standing up took a lot more attention than in flat water. I had a nice run on the beach and Stephen completed his first open water swim after he found himself a forward facing snorkel. He likes a snorkel to swim even in the pool and I am just happy with goggles. The water still is a bit murky. 

Our next destination is Mazatlan. We considered stopping in San Blas or Isla Isabella but we want to see Mazatlan and then give ourselves time for a weather window to cross to the sea. We are very excited to explore the Sea of Cortez on the Baja side as some folks say that is their favorite part about cruising in Mexico! 

One other notable mention is Stephen Won a cribbage game!! He is not a game player and has appeased me with playing cribbage. I like playing games and find it a fun way to pass time when backpacking/staying in a cabin/ on the boat etc… I am hoping his win will foster a desire to continue game playing, at least cribbage for now. 

I also want to mention that I feel my blog writing is quite mechanical, like “we went here…”, “we did this…” and not very introspective nor containing creative writing. My entries are on par with the writings of an elementary schooler.  The folks I know who are introspective are not doing their blogs because they are still re-writing them and editing them. I am trying to just keep a log of our trip. I may add some introspection down the road or as a final blog entry but for now, I feel I blab enough with the details. 

Chacala beach

Soulstice 2nd on the left

Main strip in Chacala - place called Surfer pizza on the left that did have our 1st decent pizza in Mexico. 

Stephen thought I matched the paint and I did. Someone felt that different shades of blue would work together as well. My lack of caring for fashion continues and blossoms on the sailboat. 

Bohemia Heffeweizen - What?? at Surfer pizza! I ran then hiked that afternoon and Stephen swam then hiked - we were ready to put down some pizza and beer! And we hadn't eaten out since we been there except for beers at Onda brewery one night. 

One of my better turtle pics - hard to get these guys because they always dive down when you get close. He just kept swimming along:) They really do seem to flounder out there and I am curious about their daily mileage. I'm sure current helps! 

Birds are always hitching a ride. They help you spot them since you see a bird who looks like it standing on water at a distance. 

Tacos for dinner on Mazatlan passage! You can never go wrong with a LARGE dollop of crema.  This is what you need to get through a 28 hour journey. 

Sunset before night passage on way to Mazatlan 

Just thought I would show you what AIS looks like - all those boats ahead are as we are approaching Mazatlan

Another AIS shot. I can click on the boat and see their name and how fast they are going, where there destination is if commercial, the bearing, heading, speed over ground, course over ground, closet point approximation, time to close point approximation... lots of info. Love AIS. Spoke to a people aquarium early am - aka Cruise boat just to make sure they saw me and agreed to pass port to port. 

List of targets but again can click on them individually for more info. 

Heading North from Zihuatanejo

Heading North

After Zihuatanejo, Stephen and I made a bash back. It is often called the Baja bash back up the west coast of Baja to the States for folks returning their boats back to the US. Right now in Mexico and the Sea of Cortez,  the predominant wind pattern is still northern winds with a few "southers" sneaking in. More southerly winds start in April we hear and that is when people enjoy the downwind sail to get up into the Sea of Cortez for cruising there. 

We did not have a southerly coming anytime soon but wanted to head north so we had to bash into the wind which is never great for sailing. Most boats don't point very well into the wind, it is called reaching. We were able to be on a close haul/close reach on the way down but we had no swell, fetch or wind waves to slow us down. After leaving Z'town that was not the case and Soulstice and us got a bit beat up. We had a reefed main and our staysail deployed on the way back and could only make 60 degrees to weather, meaning we could not stay on our rhumb line and had to tack back and forth AKA go REALLY slow back. Our bow was still dipping down into the water and Soulstice had a hard ride back. We needed to make some time and so we had to motor sail mainly. We chose not to make a straight shot to Barra de Navidad which was 200 nm away like we did coming down. We decided to do shorter passages to make it easier on us and her. 

 Due to this bash, we decided to take our time and make day sails if possible. Our first stop and closest stop from Zihuatanejo was Caleta de Campos and it was 70 nm away. We arrived in the evening and missed the sunset. We went in very slow with radar on, I held the spotlight while on the bow of the boat and we carefully anchored. It is known to have a good holding ground but there definitely was a good pounding surf and large swell rolling through the anchorage.  Part of the reason for our hurry to get north is we have booked flights home in April to see my family out of San Jose del Cabo.  We decided if we didn’t make it with the boat we could get to Cabo another way for the flights but we also expected we would be in the Sea by the middle of April. We have avoided any time constraints for safety and so we could just enjoy our trip as we would like, stay if wanted to stay somewhere and leave if we wanted to leave. This was the first time we felt a little of a push to get going. Caleta de Campos appeared very charming and I would like to check it out at another time. 

We had a nice sleep and got up early choosing the next closest destination of Bahia de Maruata only 36nm away. When going only 3-4 knots with the motor on this is a  LONG day!!  Bahia de Maruata was another anchorage that was rolly with big swell and a surf break. We tucked in the for the night not being overly thrilled with the roll but it was going to be just overnight and another early departure. These spots are all great surf spots for you surfers. We watched some locals take some great rides there at sunset. There was also a Navy base right on the beach! Lucky locale for sure. 

The next day we continued our mission and went to Punta Cabeza Negra 33 nm north. We arrived and said, “nope!”. Bigger swell, bigger surf, less protection at the anchorage as waves were breaking far out into the anchorage area. We knew we would not get a wink of sleep that night so we decided to suck it up and make the additional 70nm north up to Barra de Navidad. We were motor sailing the entire way and decided if we had enough fuel we would go there. Another out was Manzanillo which was 49nm but we really preferred Barra to make a stop ( remember they have the water taxi, French baker, great running hill, pool….). 

So we did make it to Barra de Navidad the next day and we were tired!! It was March 16 but we realized we were going to be around for the well known Saint Patrick’s day celebration in Melaque, Jalisco on March 17!  Melaque is well known for a big party on St. Patty’s day and it did not disappoint! It actually celebrates the entire week with parades, boxing matches, bullfights, the blessing of the fishing fleet, and carnival rides. There is, of course, lots of food, tons of people and a fireworks display to knock your socks off. There are no rules about how close you can stand to the fireworks display and even no rules about someone chasing you with a firework in hand to launch your way. It is utter chaos once the show starts. A free for all of fireworks, sparklers, and more objects on fire being launched.  Miraculously, no one was hurt that we witnessed. Of course since Stephen and I do not work Emergency services in Melaque, we do not know the true fall out from the event. More concerning was burning ash to your eyes or clothes. We did have a guest on our water taxi ride home later that night sharing holes in her clothes from the event. Yikes!!  I remember my sister Colleen getting a corneal burn from a fireworks display in Bel Air MD once so I definitely was shielding my eyes considering there was NO distance from burning floating items and people during this event. 

Unfortunately, I have no video or pics of anything on fire as my phone died but it is certainly worthwhile to search on You Tube or some other google video sight to see the festivities. 

After this fun-filled day and night, we started to look at our options for getting around Cabo Corrientes.  We rounded this point to head south and we must now round it again heading north. With northerly winds, this can be dangerous. We found a brief weather window and even called a weather guru, Mike from Puerto Vallarta sails, who told us the point would be “soft” the next 2 days and if we didn’t take that window it would be at least another week of waiting. We took the window! We did have to motor sail but there was fewer wind waves to break our progress and mostly averaged 5-6 knots. We wanted to round the point early morning as that is the best time for it to be calm and no significant wind or fetch on the water. We rounded the point around 5-6 am and then actually turned off the motor and had a fabulous morning sail across Banderas Bay back to La Cruz de Huanacaxtle.  We loved La Cruz, it is the Barra of the North for me. Great food, easy to navigate and get chores accomplished and other perks like free movie night on Thursday with amazing hamburgers and the Sunday market. We were going to make movie night and our mouths were watering thinking about our hamburgers with pineapple, bacon, and grilled onions! 

When we pulled into the slip we had an agenda to wash the boat, fill up with water and do some provisioning. We had filled up with fuel as well. We had been sailing so much prior to bashing up north it was hard to take the hit to our pocketbooks to get fuel again so soon! Oh well. After inspection of our boat for the cleaning, we noticed a pin missing from a large shackle that we use for our snubber. Uggh!! There is always something. These stainless steel shackles are like 300$ US. We went to the local marine store who did not have a replacement shackle, nor a pin, nor a bolt we could limp by with. He did mention a gentleman who had a machine shop down a dirt road, behind the local town church.  Stephen decided to go over there and in ONE day, this guy manufactured a brand new pin for $400 pesos, aka $20 dollars that were the exact fit to the shackle. He has a lathe that was made in India from the 1920s that was partially broken but worked enough for him to machine parts to fix it! Incredible! That is how he feeds his family now. 

We left La Cruz on March 23 with arrival to Chacala by 3 pm. Chacala is 43 nm north and we had a fabulous sail the entire way on a close reach! We will hang here enjoying the new brewery opened by Alaskans in the last year and look for a weather window to continue north, making our way to Mazatlan, as that is a good destination to cross the Sea. Our friends on SV Arctos are in Mazatlan right now and the next weather window is a week away. Come on Southers!!! 

Leaving La Cruz early am

Hike to a light house in Barra de Navidad and view looking down - there is actually a huge tanker that crashed into the rocks here from the Hurricane Patricia - it is still there to see- just not in this pic

Another view of a beach adjacent to Barra on the Sea side

Melaque fun! 

They ignite this stand and then LOOK OUT! 

This is on its side but will be stood up right and there is head or castillo that is launched off

video of dolphins if it will open?