La Paz to Mazatlan

We left La Paz early Wednesday morning. We had to share the channel with about 20 dolphins. I think I might have actually got some photos of them. Or maybe just more photos of water, we’ll see. I’ll make it a goal to get those photos up on the web. We did a lot of motor sailing again because the wind just wasn’t very strong. We anchored Wednesday night in the south end of Canal Cerralvo.

Thursday morning we left in mellow winds that died out after a couple of hours. I was wishing for wind. By afternoon I got my wind!!! About Force 4 on the Beaufort scale. We put up the main and the jib and the mizzen and really scooted. Later when the winds increased to Force 5, we had to take down the mizzen because it kept pushing us over without giving us any more speed. We just settled in with the main set and the jib heading straight for Mazatlan. The wind was on our port side and we did what is called beam reach all the way across. We cruised between 6 & 8 knots, occasionally reaching 9 knots. The waves were huge! They looked like they would come over the back of us but they never did in the stern. Only on the sides. The moon was really bright – not quite a full moon yet, but very useful for a night light. We weren’t worried about running into anything. The only times we put the radar on was when we saw the ferries that go back and forth between La Paz and Mazatlan. I’m sure we’d be the loser if we tangled with one of them. Every once in a while we would see a light on the horizon that would appear and then disappear. We put the radar on and couldn’t see anything. Finally we realized that it was a star that was hidden by the waves and then revealed again. Like I said the waves were really high – they even reached the stars! It was really a great sail – I’m still always amazed at the fact that the wind can moved this old boat so well. The sky was beautiful. The ride was soooooo bumpy. I got so tired of being thrown around. When I was trying to dress – I changed often to keep dry and to get comfortable in the cabin - I would literally fall into the futon at times with my feet above my head. We even tied ourselves into the cockpit for a safety precaution. We had to relieve each other pretty often because it was so cold. I thought that when we crossed the tropic of cancer parallel that it should be warmer. But no, it stayed cold. Just before sundown the second day we took the mainsail down. The seas seemed to be building and the wind was a Force 6 by now. We didn’t want to try to take it down in the dark. That in itself was pretty hard because you have to turn into the wind, which meant turning into the gimungous waves. Once the main was down the boat was a lot harder to manage. I was relieving Burt and he was just lying out in the cockpit taking a snooze. Like I said it was really hard to manage the boat and a rogue wave came and knocked us down. Burt’s left elbow was in the water. Kinda scared me, but the boat immediately righted itself – how I do love that heavy keel. Its like those weebles. ‘Weebles wobble but they don’t fall down’. Anyways, because the wind was so strong we got to Mazatlan about 6 hours before we expected, so we anchored on the lee side of one of the islands. What a relief! The marina entrance is a bit tricky in big seas and in the dark. It was calmer in the morning so we moved over to the marina. Needless to say, I’m content just to stay still for a while. I can actually just relax here without worrying about dropping anything or falling off the futon. They have good internet here and so I’m going to get some work done and try to get the photos up on the site. We went to dinner with Craig and Katrina Lyons last night. We plan to work with them in service and catch at least 2 or 3 meetings while we are here. We plan to stay about 5 days depending on the weather. Today is Sunday January 20. It’s morning and we are leisurely having a cup of coffee. The meeting is at 7:00 tonight so we have plenty of time to get prepared.

Well, we stayed in Mazatlan until Friday Jan 25 and left in the morning. We had a good time there in Mazatlan. Craig and Katrina’s congregation has a warm spirit and the meeting was fun, thanks to Joe Young and Tim Lang. We went out in service with Craig and Katrina and we found some interest. At the dock Burt was able to get into a nice conversation with a man who is a scientist from England. He taught physics at the university of Las Angeles. He believes in evolution, but he just can’t understand why people have become so cruel and inhumane. He said he felt that God is a lot kinder than what people make him out to be. Burt asked him “why do you think that is?” He said he had no idea. Burt told him that from our experience in the ministry people just don’t take the time to get to know him. He agreed with him 100%. What got him curious about things was that Burt told him he is Native American (that always comes up with the name of our boat) and that he is one of Jehovah’s Witnesses. He wanted to know why Burt would change from a native religion to become a Witness. Burt explained to him that he was looking for truth – not religion. Tim Lang came looking for us and talked with him. He really liked Tim. Anyways, we invited him and his wife over for a glass of wine. We spent a few hours together just talking. Very nice couple. Burt gave him the Creator book and he was very happy to get it. Hopefully, Tim will be able to go visit him and see if he wants more. Never know.