SVSoulsticeAdventures: 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