April 24 - April 30, 2008

The amazing sunsets at The Bay of Dreams

Crossing & Celebration

Departed on April 24 from Mazatlan crossing the Sea of Cortez to the first landfall at Los Muertos on the Baja Peninsula.

Total mileage: 196 nautical miles

Current Location at Los Muertos:
23 degrees 59 minutes .474 north
109 degrees 49 minutes. 708 west

This map shows the route that we have taken so far. We left San Diego and raced to Cabo San Lucas at the bottom of the Baha. That's when our crew left and Peter and I carried on up to La Paz stopping at anchorages enroute. In late November we crossed from Muertos over to Mazatlan on the mainland (you can just see the capital M on the bottom right hand side). This blog covers our crossing back from Mazatlan over to Los Muertos.

The crossing.....

We departed from Mazatlan at 0900 in very benign conditions. No surge and no wind. I was happy about this being our first leg of the trip, however, the Captain was grumbling and hoping to sail at least part of the way. We enjoyed a very pleasant day in clear conditions…escorted out of the harbour by pelicans. Less than a half an hour out, we were greeted by hundreds of dolphins that entertained us by playing in our bow wake.

After watching the sunset together, I went below as Peter took his first three-hour watch.
Since we were still motoring, it was pretty easy and I took over again at 2300. I kept an eye on the radar and the AIS (automatic identification system – which is our computer that shows us any commercial vessel within range– except for the many Mexican fishing boats who don’t have one onboard, just to keep us on our toes). After the first 15 minutes, I fell into the routine of scanning the horizon, the radar and the AIS. It was very peaceful until, without any warning there was a HUGE cruise ship that just appeared off the stern quarter. I frantically went below to check the AIS to see what bearing it was on and how I could’ve missed it. Still nothing showed up and when I quickly went up above I realized that it was actually the moon setting! It was a gigantic orange ball and was too incredible for words. I had never seen anything like it. (Peter got a laugh out of my story) when I woke him for his 0200 watch.

Needless to say Peter had to put out the sails on his watch, although we were still motor sailing. My 0500 watch brought an incredible sunrise and I discovered why night crossings are so coveted. After daybreak, the wind came up and we were able to have a great 3-hour sail before having to motor again.



Our home anchorage in Los Muertos


Our original land-fall was Los Brailles where we were going to meet with our old friends Lee and Kate (who used to work at the office with us). They now have a home here where they live 6 months of the year. Unfortunately when we arrived at 1400 (29 hours after departure the day before) the wind had picked up significantly and the bay was too deep and choppy for anchoring. We headed out again and continued to Los Muertos arriving at 1830 that evening.





We had been here before last Fall and just love this anchorage, with a well-protected bay, an endless beach and a great restaurant. We decided to stay here until April 30th so that we could celebrate our 30th anniversary here on April 29th. Our extended stay allowed Peter (aka Tim the Toolman) to work out various kinks. Our water maker broke (salt water contamination in the pump) and our new alternator was acting up. These and other boat projects took up most of the day for Peter – unlike what the Bacardi ads would have you believe the cruising life is all about! We did have lots of time for swimming, walking along the beach and just enjoying this beautiful spot. My knee is almost fully recovered and I think the swimming has been great therapy. A great bonus was having Kate, Lee and their daughter Jorga come to visit us for lunch and the afternoon. It was fun catching up and we’ve made plans to rent a car and visit their home once we get to La Paz and we will take them out for a day of sailing as well.



View of QuickStar from our hike to the point



Our 30th anniversary.....

It couldn’t have been a better place to celebrate our anniversary. Surprised and quite pleased that Peter remembered. We don’t do “gifts” – goes against my minimalist soul – but we did give each other “old” anniversary cards that we had exchanged in 1981, 82, 85 and 86. Corny – but that’s us! We took the dinghy ashore, went for a long walk along the beach, then to the restaurant to watch the sunset and have dinner. Back to the boat for some dancing in the galley – nothing quite like sunset and Sinatra to reflect back on the last 30 years. It’s been a wild ride – our kids and grandson our greatest gift – and we look forward to many more shared dreams.

Our anniversary celebration

(yes Kylie, I still have that 20 year old dress!!!!!)

We will up anchor at the crack of dawn tomorrow (no Martha, not like the crack of Don you wake up to every day, ha, ha). and sail where the wind takes us. We will meander up the coast stopping at small, remote anchorages with our next major stop being La Paz.
Until then…..remember to find the joy in every day.