La Cruz to Tenacatita

We left La Cruz Feb 7 at 4:20 am. We were trying to make it to Cabo Corrientes by morning so we could get around that point before it got too bad. Corrientes means currents and I guess it gets pretty bad there later in the day. It was really nice when we left La Cruz. We had to navigate by radar and GPS because it was so dark. Bahia Banderas is really big (about 25 nautical miles out to Cabo Corrientes) It took hours to get there. We saw two cruise boats all lit up. My goodness, I wonder if anyone on those boats can see any stars. They didn’t seem to be moving, but we stayed a mile away just in case.

We got around Cabo Corrientes ok. We stayed out about 3-4 miles to avoid the turbulence. The seas were pretty rolly but we caught a good wind and finally, finally, finally, we reached some warm weather. We actually got hot! (Well, La Cruz had been warm but I’m talking about warmth on the sea). We got into Ipala to anchor at about 3:10. We jumped in and went swimming. The water was pretty cold but it was refreshing. Later the boat Shamaness came in. We met them in Marina Seca in San Carlos. They invited us over for a drink and so we went over and visited them for a bit. There are two couples on the boat and they were enjoyable to talk to and full of good information for us.

We left Ipala at about 5:35 am. We were in for the best sail so far. Smooth seas and reasonably good wind. That’s what people mean when they say “smooth sailing”. The sun was warm, the wind was cool and the boat just moved along great. I didn’t bother to try to hide from the sun like I normally do so I’m a bit crispy, but it was really nice. We lost wind for awhile so we had to motor. It was so smooth I even cooked chicken pesto for lunch. We saw a couple of mating turtles. It didn’t look like they were having fun. It looked a bit awkward. Sorry, no photos. I was just too lazy to get up and go get the camera. I put the cushions up beside the cabin on the deck so I could just lay there and read. That way the stanchions and the cabin keep you from rolling around. Only thing is you have to be conscious of falling asleep with your book in your hand. I lost a really good book that way on the way from San Carlos to the Baja. I was all bummed because I was really into it. Oh well. I was just relaxing and reading my book, when Burt called me back. I went down into the cabin and it really smelled like diesel! Ugh! Here was one of those whatevers. I took the helm and Burt went down to check things out. I guess one of the fuel lines came loose and dumped fuel into the bilge. He poured some dish soap and sea water in and the bilge pump cleaned it out. We don’t know how much fuel we lost. Anyways, we were glad for that extra 5 gallons from Tim and Warren. Dennis on Shamaness said he has a 10 gallon tank full he can give us. We are glad of that. The next place we can fuel up is Barra Navidad. Hopefully we will get some good wind. We are probably fine, but I think we’ll take it. We haven’t filled up since La Paz. It cost us $70 to fill it there. Pretty cheap transportation! We then were going along just fine and all of a sudden the motor started hiccupping. It had gotten air in the fuel. So we turned off the motor and I manned the helm while Burt bled the lines. Not really a problem. We got into Chamela just before sunset and again we had trouble with the shifter. Of course it only happens when you are around other boats. Pretty place. Burt’s going to put on the dinghy wheels and make a swim ladder while we are here. The Shamaness just came by with their gas can for us to get some fuel. I got some pictures. The tank was pretty heavy so they moved it over to our boat with their halyard. So we now have enough fuel for whatever. We are heading for Paraiso today later and then we’ll just relax for a day. Well at least that’s the plan. The anchor just might be “too heavy” to pull up today. We are pretty tired.

We only stayed in Paraiso for one night. It was a really long night. It’s a beautiful little cove. But the operative word is “little”. That means that when the swells come in they let loose energy that hits the boat. We didn’t put our stern anchor down so we really suffered. Finally, we were rocking so much that we turned sideways in bed so that we would rock head to toe instead of side to side. That helped a bit. The next morning it was Sunday so we tried to study our Watchtower before leaving for Tenacatita. It was pretty surprising when Burt said we were moving too much for him to study. We had to finish it here in Tenacatita.

The sail from Paraiso to Tenacatita was only about 23 nautical miles. We had plenty of time and we had fun chasing the whales. I’m sorry I can’t seem to get good photos. They move so fast and they surprise me every time. They stay under for about five minutes or so and you never know where they will come up. The dolphins like to hang around long enough to get their photos though. It was really great sailing. By the time we got close to Tenacatita, we just had the jib out and were going at a nice pace. We put the anchor down in time to go in and have dinner on the beach. We had our first experience with taking the dinghy over the surf. Great for you surfers (Brent), but not too good for us cruisers. Going in it almost flipped us. Going out we tried to time the waves better, but the last one totally drenched me.

Today, at high tide, we took the dinghy into the mangroves. Wow! It was cool and absolutely beautiful. We got quite a few photos and videos. You end up out in the village of Tenacatita which is actually a whole bunch of restaurant palapas on the beach. We had a nice lunch there in the shade, climbed up on the mirador, and walked on the beach. Then we headed back before low tide (we didn’t feel like dragging the dinghy over the sand bars). We had a bit of a surprise going back. Some of the way through the mangroves is pretty narrow and we knew (because of our experience in Belize) to listen for the pangas going through. We came head on with one and it was a good thing the guy was on the ball. He shifted into reverse really quick and so did Burt. Anyways, no damage. I had the camera going on video but I don’t think I got everything. I was too busy trying to get the dinghy out of the way of the panga. The rest of the way through the narrow part we had to ourselves. Then the exciting part. We had to cross the surf again to get back out to the boat. This time we watched it closely and tried to time it perfectly, but for some ‘whatever’ reason, the dinghy acted up and we lost some power. Of course, we slowed down just in time to hit the biggest wave. Soaked all the way through. Good thing we had put the camera in its pelican case.

We got back to the boat, did some laundry (yes by hand), took a swim, and then started figuring out where we are in our trip. We have traveled about 820 nautical miles – one third of our trip to the Panama Canal. We have been gone for 35 days. Tomorrow we plan to go to Barra Navidad. Hopefully, we can get fuel, provisions, internet, and go to a Spanish meeting. Unless we hear from Steve and Misty, I think we are going to pass by Manzinillo or maybe just stay the night and not even put the dinghy down. We need to start making some time.