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We listen each morning at 0830,
whether in port or not, to 7.294 MHz on the lower side band for
the Sea of Cortez weather report from a wonderful man named Tom
out of Yuma, Arizona. He is apparently a retired NOAA meteorologist
who provides very professional weather reports for cruisers in
Mexico. We thrive or suffer by these weather reports. On the
morning of Friday, December 15th our logbook shows the Chubasco
weather report calling for "Winds 10 - 20 knots out of the
north, with Santa Ana winds through next Tuesday, winds building
today and tomorrow". We weighed anchor and set out anyway,
but a few hours later the log reads: "1030: 6 foot seas,
burying the bowsprit, 25 kts headwind, . . .ducking into Pulpito
Bay". |
Guy from Dune, Bob and Penny from Pretty
Penny with Nancy aboard Active Light. Nancy made a
wonderful beef stew for dinner. |
Pulpito Bay is a curving
niche behind Punta Pulpito with a gradually shelving beach, fine
deep sand to hold the CQR anchor, and very little swell as long
as the wind is out of the north or west. That's good, because
we were stuck there with 30 knot winds for the next five (5)
days! We were able to get ashore in the dinghy only once, the
wind was so strong. On the third day, the winds had built even
more and we set our second bow anchor, the 44 pound Bruce, at
a 45 degree angle to the CQR. We felt pretty safe with the both
of them deployed. We were joined later by the catamaran, Dune
and the Passport 42 sailboat Pretty Penny. We were so
glad for the good company and had three successful dinners
aboard each other's boats. Neil once saw 36 knots on the wind
gauge (at anchor), Nancy saw 37. Our new Den Hann kerosene anchor
light never blew out! We worried a lot about getting to San Carlos
in time for Christmas. |
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About this time, Nancy began
cooking some truly wonderful baked goods in our new Broadwater
oven. Neil's favorite is a cinnamon roll she makes with walnuts
and fruit tucked inside with a glaze on top. It is better than
anything you can find in a bakery, and to have it with fresh
coffee when you are anchored out in some remote cove is a wonderful
and amazing thing. But we digress!
On the morning of the sixth
day, Tom, on the Chubasco net declared there would be "diminishing
winds in the Sea of Cortez today, 10 - 20 knots, though still
very lumpy seas, the wind will have a westerly component".
That "westerly component" was the only phrase we wanted
to hear. "Let's go!", we said. So we had a most interesting
sail for the next 24 hours. We put up the main with a single
reef and the staysail and motorsailed due north until 1900 that
evening. We averaged about 5.5 knots over the bottom just smashing
into headseas with decks awash and spray flying everywhere. Neil
lost his favorite "floater" sun hat overboard in the
wind. We discovered we have a lot of deck leaks on Active
Light. We were heeled over pretty far on a port tack with
the wind at 20 knots, steady all day and night from the northwest.
At precisely 7:00 PM the engine died. Neil restarted it and it
died again. We could just hear our friend, Jim Haskins sarcastically
chiding us,"Gee, your diesel fuel pickup is on the port
side of your tank. You're on a port tack with all your fuel down
to starboard, and your engine just sucked dry. What a surprise!".
When we motor or motorsail, we must handsteer because we do not
have electronic autopilot steering. When the engine died, we
set the Monitor selfsteering windvane and settled down for a
worried night of sailing into choppy headseas. There was no moon,
it was very dark, but the seas had begun to settle a bit by now,
although it was still blowing 20 knots over the deck. We accepted
a little slower pace and tried to get some rest. We went back
to our old routine of alternating watches. Neil could not sleep
as usual, Nancy was asleep within minutes of touching the bunk!
Interestingly, for the entire crossing of the Sea of Cortez on
a northerly 87 nm diagonal, we did not see a single other boat,
whether panga, trawler, or sailing cruiser! They probably had
more sense than to be out there in that lumpy stuff! As the steep
seas subsided, our speed through the water steadily picked up
until we were making 6 and 6.5 knots to windward. Pretty glorious
(and wet) sailing!
By 0230 we were within 8 nm
of San Carlos and the wind went from 18 knots to nothing in about
5 minutes. Neil climbed into the engine compartment, bled the
air out of the diesel line. When the engine started, there were
cheers and dancing aboard Active Light in the dark of
night that the birds and fish probably did not understand. We
arrived at the entrance to San Carlos about 0430 and just drifted
until 0700 when there was enough light to enter the harbor. We
motored in and took a slip in the marina, with water, electricity,
shoreside hot showers and all the camaraderie and lack of privacy
that slipbound sailors put up with for the first time since Oceanside,
CA, . . . back in mid-October!
Neil had previously visited
San Carlos twice in 1983 and 1984, so he was pretty astounded
at the pace of real estate development in the area. The marina
has gone from a sleepy little office on a dusty road to a modern
investment complex with all the good and bad that brings. There
used to be an avocado tree beside the office and everyone could
shower near this tree in their swimsuits from a water tap set
into an open stonework wall. The tree is gone, the wall is gone.
There is a parking lot filled with big diesel one-ton trucks
that haul fishing boats down from the states in its place. So
many more homes have been built since that time. They crowd every
possible niche of the south shore to San Carlos harbor. And we
were soon to find that the advent of the modern American-style
supermarket, like Ley's, has all but killed the old fragrant,
open "mercado central" tradition in downtown Guaymas.
A loss for the worse, Neil thinks. So what did he expect, everything
to remain the same? Think how much our own home area has developed
and grown in the last twenty years. Imagine what will happen
if this continues for a couple more centuries! Perhaps people
will begin to view the terms "growth and development"
in a different light. Perhaps Neil is just getting old and grouchy! |
Neil, Virginia, her husband Dave Myers, and Mary
Sirman overlooking the bay where the (not very prosperous) Club
Med is located near San Carlos. The movie "Catch 22"was
filmed here.
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We spent two full days rinsing
and drying bedding, clothing, charts, and various gear that had
gotten saltwater soaked during the vigorous crossing. There are
numerous deckleaks on Active Light. She is a truly great
sailing boat, but she is a quarter century old and her deck seams
need to be regrooved and recaulked!
My sister, Virginia, and her husband
Dave arrived three days later with a surprise package consisting
of our sister, Mary Sirman, who decided to come along at the
last minute. It was great to see them all! We went out fishing
almost every day, went twice into Guaymas in Dave's big truck,
shopped, ate really well for six days and told endless remembrances
of our parents and growing-up days, as most families do. We found
a good place for them to stay at El Mirador RV park, about three
miles away, where they had a swimming pool, hot tub, great showers,
good security and a great restaurant to take care of them. |
Dave catches a trigger fish off San Carlos |
We actually caught some fish,
rather Dave and Virginia caught fish, . . . mostly trigger fish
which are very good done up in tin foil on the barbecue. Mary
undertook a campaign to personally support several families in
San Carlos by buying blankets, pottery, and carved-wood sculpture
from every single vendor we passed. Her presence will be sorely
missed by several local merchants. Mary treated us all to a wonderful
farewell dinner on Friday night. Saturday morning we off-loaded
about two hundred pounds of "less-than-essential" gear
from Active Light which Dave was kind enough to tote back
home for us. As we loaded the Honda generator, about five people
walked up an asked how much we wanted for it. We had unwittingly
stumbled into a marine swap meet, and yes, we did sell it for
US$500. Took care of that! |
Entering the outer harbor at San Carlos. The
marina is to the right. |
It was really nice, being in a
marina again, but on New Year's Eve, we spent the morning getting
ready for sea and left San Carlos around noon for an overnight
run back to Punta Pulpito on the Baja side of the Sea of Cortez.
That means we would pass into the New Year somewhere about in
the middle of the Sea. We have decided for pretty certain to
stay in the Baja Gulf an extra year. There are a lot of reasons;
the boat is not ready for an ocean crossing, we have deck leaks
to repair, an awning and storm drogue to make, and we really
need our ham licenses. Interestingly, Neil has alluded to La
Paz as "home" three times in the last weeks. |
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Even for so brief a stay as ten
days in San Carlos, it was hard to leave the friends we made
among the other cruisers there. We met some really, really nice
people who sort of "home port" out of San Carlos. |
Expensive homes lining the south bank of the
entrance to San Carlos. About 80% of the owners are North Americans
and the cost is about one half of a comparable Washington state
home. The rules about buying a home down here as a foreigner
are: (1) Learn to spell "Title Insurance", (2) Don't
invest what you cannot afford to lose. |
We hope we we will again run
into a wonderful Canadian couple, Allen and Helen and their lovely
daughter, Dr. Jane, aboard the Emerald Sea, John and Donna
aboard the Dreadnought 35 Dulcinea, and Bud and Francie
aboard the Westsail 32 Le 'Zarder.
The passage back across the
Sea of Cortez was as easy and uneventful as the passage to San
Carlos was difficult and "instructive". We left around
noon and motored for about an hour until we picked up some wind,
then we broadreached the whole way across the Sea in about 12
knots of wind, making a constant 5 knots at 184 degrees magnetic.
We passed into the new year without seeing another boat nor light
the whole trip. By the wee hours of morning we were slowing down,
then just drifting and waiting for the light to re-enter the
Punta Pulpito anchorage. As usual, Nancy went right to sleep
during her off-watch. |
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The rest of the return trip was
pretty easy as well after we reached the Baja side. We spent
a day sleeping at Pulpito Bay, then went ashore and climbed around
the "Pulpit". We spent an extra day at San Juanico
mostly beachcoaming. |
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Nancy on the rocks at Punta Pulpito. |
Nancy in front of a large cactus on a off-beach
path at San Juanico. We met a couple of guys from a kayak expedition
out of Loreto, BCS to the south. We had every anchorage to ourselves
and did not even see another cruiser until we saw one lone boat
with tan bark sails coming out of Puerto Escondido about three
days later. We are putting up lots of photos this letter to give
you an idea of the desolate beauty of this country. One expects
to see Clint Eastwood riding out of the brush on a horse with
his serape flying and an unlit cigar stump clenched between his
teeth (Nancy's observation). The rock here is often very crumbly,
shale-like, with lots of ancient seashells embedded in it. There
are also a lot of volcanic formations. Neil thinks he is very
lucky to be out cruising with such a attractive lady, who also
cooks very well. Wouldn't you agree?!
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We forgot we were trailing a
fishing troll line as we anchored in Bahia Ballandra on Isla
Carmen. The result was we wrapped about 30 yards of heavy monofilament
line around our prop shaft amazingly quickly. Neil made two dives
to try to clear the mess, but much of it is still embedded in
the small crevice between the prop strut and the prop body. We
picked up a most unsettling "squeak-squeak" noise at
lower rpms. We would not worry about it too much except the monofilament
nylon line was terminated by about a yard of steel leader and
a large lead fishing lure. We haven't seen the lure.
We stopped overnight at Aqua
Verde, where the water does indeed have a turquoise hue to it,
and it is, oh, so clear. We anchored in 8 meters of water and
could see small fish playing around our anchor quite clearly.
Next day on the way south to Nopolo, we had about 20 whale sightings! |
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It is difficult to get a good whale picture,
because they are moving and our digital camera is slow, and because
of the distance. The photos always look so tiny. But to us, these
were exciting moments. We came close to one pod of about seven
whales. We think these are finback whales, which grow to about
80 feet. The photo above is the last possible moment of many
"show the flukes" dives we saw.
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At Nopolo, one of our favorite
overnight stops in a section of the coast that is pretty devoid
of usable harbors, we saw our young friends Jose and Alejo again.
Javier was out fishing with his father. These are really sweet
kids. We gave them some candy from our nearly depleted supply,
nice T-shirts, a clock, and some coloring supplies for the little
kids, as well as some fishing hooks. Since we will be back this
way in late May, we asked them what they would like for gifts
from Mazatlan. Candy, was okay, clothes were okay, but they got
really excited about fishing gear! So we have orders to supply
three sets each of (1) a roll of monofilament line, (2) a box
of medium-sized single hooks, (3) fishing spoons or "platinas",
and (4) one each special lure called a "rapala" . .
. for which we have a drawing from Jose. |
The fishing village of Nopolo is much nicer than
most fishcamps. About eight families seem to live here. There
are allegedly eleven children, some of whom are taken by boat
each day to school at Los Dolores which is about seven miles
up the coast. There are no roads into Nopolo, nor electricity.
We do not know how they get water.
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Alejo of Nopolo in his new hat. |
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The cove at Nopolo is so indented
that few refracted waves get into the small bay. The bottom shelves
quite sharply, so you must get quite close to shore before anchoring
in 11 meters of water. The night we spent there was the most
beautiful we have seen. There was a full moon and no wind. We
ate a late supper of potato salad and canned beans in the cockpit
after the boys had gone. Then sat and had rum and cokes and ate
almost a full bag of pistachio nuts. The sunrise next morning
was just gorgeous!
Just before entering Caleta
Partida on the north end of Isla Espiritu Sanctu, where we spent
our last night out on this month-long sojourn to San Carlos and
back, Nancy caught the "perfect fish". This would be
a fish that meets the qualifications of (1) being small enough
to get aboard, yet big enough to provide for at least one meal,
and (2) gets caught shortly before supper time so we do not need
to ice it down. At this point we had enough ice, seven days out
of San Carlos, for two more rum and cokes each. Unfortunately,
this "pefect fish" turned out to be a skipjack tuna.
The best recipe for skipjack, we have learned, is as follows;
. . . lay the fish out on a clean plank, sprinkle liberally with
chopped onion, cilantro, garlic, salt and pepper. Cover it all
with fresh-squeezed lime juice. Allow to marinate for 30 minutes,
bake in a 375 degree oven until done, then throw the fish overboard
and eat the plank! |
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Exuberant victor in the struggle between woman
and fish. |
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We motored to La Paz next
morning and anchored again at Marina Santa Cruz to find our good
friends Don and Teresa Rumph on Tortuga still here! We
read our email for the first time in a month and learned that
our Canadian friends we met in Morro Bay, CA . . . Stephanie
and Charlie and their two beautiful kids, Emily and Christopher
on Daedalus may be here. We will get this "letter"
on our webpage today. Since our web access is infrequent, we
ask you all to be patient with us in that we have not been good
about replying to your many email letters. Simply said, it is
harder to write you from Mexico. We are using "ftp"
(file transfer protocol) to send these pages to our website.
We are using Hotmail for our email. We pay 30 pesos an hour ($3.00)
for use of a pretty slow computer, complicated with all the junk
mail that comes from using the Hotmail address. Our old ISP (internet
service provider), Bandwagon of Kitsap County, still hosts our
webpages, but forwards the email from the old nsirman@worldfront.com
to worldvoyge@hotmail.com. Soon we will have a better email capability
when we get our ham radio-based SailMail up and running. In the
meanwhile, please know we really appreciate hearing from you
and we miss you all.
Neil and Nancy Sirman
S/V Active Light
La Paz Harbor, BCS, Mexico |
