Banderas Bay!

Arrived in Banderas Bay where Puerto Vallarta is located. This has been a major destination from the beginning for me. I will stop here to do some small jobs on the boat and ponder the upcoming spring crossing of the Pacific. Many other sailboats who are considering this trip into the South Pacific congregate here before stepping off in March or April.
I have been travelling with another boat, Girl on the Moon, since Cabo. And since my last update from Mazatlan we stopped in San Blas for a week, and a quick overnight at Chacala before arriving here.

SAN BLAS

San Blas was a Spanish port for re-provisioning their galleons from early on. The ruins of the fort and the church are still on the hilltop. It was also where Fr. Junipero Serra departed from to sail north where he established the California missions. Otherwise a very typical Mexican fishing town of about 25,000. The town is on a river estuary where you will find many birds, iguanas, AND.......

SAN BLAS

Crocodiles! We took a boat ride one day and it was well worth the trip. Chacala is a very small fishing village where we anchored only one night. There were a lot of boats there already and the swell made it a rolly night. And, yes, we wanted to be sure to be in a place where we could watch the Forty-Niners game on the TV on Sunday. There I admitted it.

I am now at  La Cuz de Huanacaxtle (wan-a-CASH-le), on the northern shore of Banderas Bay.

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Mazatlan

Arrived in Mazatlan a few days ago along with one other boat. 33 hours of motoring across a mirror flat Sea of Cortez (yes the engine ran great!). Still chilly here with morning temps in the mid 50's. The coconut trees don't look too happy. The old colonial section of downtown Mazatlan is really great. It is slowly being refurbished. Many of the buildings date from the mid 1800's. I'll post photos when I can.
Today is Wed and we will be leaving for San Blas today. I posted some Cabo photos at www.desolina.com under the Photo Gallery tab. More later.
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It's COLD in Cabo

Barely 60 this morning in Cabo, brrrrr. Still can't get rid of the fleece and long pants!
Departed Mag Bay and motored a few hours (ran great). Just before dark the wind kicked up to....go ahead, guess...20+ knots from the NE. Forecasts were for 10-15 from the NW. Spent the night under very reduced sail (3rd reef and 90% jib. Best thing I did before leaving was run that 3rd reef line)but at least making good time without the motor. Back into the fleece wear and foul weather gear. Seas very rolly. Passed the cape about mid day and found mild sunny balmy Cabo weather, YAY! My destination was 15 miles east at San Jose del Cabo and the marina there. Now 15 miles in a car is a short jog but in a boat going 5-6 knots it's 2-3 hours, so I fire up the engine and prepare for a relaxing afternoon....right? I don't think so.
The wind switches around, right on the nose and kicks up to....go ahead, guess.....20+ knots! Oh and the temp drops so it's back into the fleece and foul weather gear. So I bash away under power along the coastline, bumpy and wet, for 10 slow miles but I finally make the Marina Puerto los Cabos right before dark. Lo and behold there are my friends John and Tarsha with the sailboat Lorelei that I had been anchored next to at Mag Bay and Turtle Bay. They took my dock lines, I tied up right in front of them, then they made me a huge rum drink. Mango I think. With real ice! Then we went to a nice dinner (yes and a, as in ONE, margarita) ashore. There was a guy playing Santana cover tunes on his guitar, pretty good. Sleep came no problemo.
I guess all the weather in the south-west US is driving cold winds of 30+ knots down the sea of Cortez and that's what we're seeing here. Supposed to last a couple days so no-one is going anywhere. Will use the time to wash the boat, wash clothes and go shopping. And probably drink a few more margaritas.

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Departing for Cabo

A day or so ago several boats came (motored) around to Puerto Magdalena, inside Mag Bay. Took on fuel.

Today is Sat 12/3 9:45 AM. Will be departing shortly for Cabo. Will be headed for San Jose del Cabo which is about 15 miles east of crazy expensive Cabo San Lucas. Destination is Marina Puerto los Cabos., a nice, modern marina with all the goodies. Should have wifi also. Arrival should be late Sunday/early Monday.

We heard about all the SoCal crazy weather! 100 mph winds at LAX!? We had chilly unsettled day yesterday with 20+ and some afternoon rain. Next couple days looks good for the voyage south so here I go.....

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Anchor Down Bahia Santa Maria

Exactly 48 hrs. Anchored in a very calm, sunny warm Bahia Santa Maria. Only one other boat here until the rest of the "wagon train" shows up later today. Water warm enough to swim. Soon as I finish this I'm in! Then a nap.

First day blustery and changing wind. LOTS of work. Second day very light. LOTS of motoring. Engine ran great for hours. I will also inspect the Racor filter ASAP. The Racor is an in-line water and dirt separating fuel filter between the tank and the engine. It has paper disposable filter cartridges. Yes, I have a lot of them.

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Depart Turtle Bay

Departed Turtle Bay 8:30AM bound for Bahia Santa Maria (near Bahia Magdalena). 20 knots of wind for about an hour, then zero. Typical of this trip so far. Engine has run great for a couple hours this afternoon, currently sailing again. Total trip time should be about 48 hours. There are 2 other boats in convoy, though we'll eventually spread out a bit. Still have VHF radio contact with them.

Last 2 days at Turtle Bay were very windy Santa Ana wind type weather, glad to get out of there. 2 days of hunkering down inside the boat.

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Happy Turkey Day

Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving! Still at Turtle Bay. I had lobster tacos ashore with a group of other sailors.

There are 10 boats in the anchorage right now. One heading north all the others going south. Wind is up again today. A few of us thought we might press on this morning, but now we'll probably wait until Monday possibly. The weather had been unpredictable this year, the veterans of this passage say. Even the professional weather forecasters are contradicting each other and often what we see here in person is very different from all the forecasts anyway. Very uncharacteristic. Lots of wind from a less desirable direction, or no wind at all.

Diesel problem is solved at this point. It turned out to be dirt (from inside the tank not from the fuel), I thought it was air in the system originally (2 things a diesel doesn't like are air and dirt). I drained the remaining dirty fuel from the tank, and totally cleaned the Racor filter (one of two in line), added a gallon or 2 or clean fuel, ran the motor for an hour and repeated the draining/cleaning process. Added clean fuel again then ran the engine for another hour. There is probably more dirt lingering so I'll have to watch it.

Next destination possibly Bahia Asuncion, or my preference, Bahia Santa Maria. Anxious to get south.

Steve