Los Gatos to Agua Verde

Agua Verde

We had heard that there was another big bad "Norther" coming tomorrow so it was time to move once again. We had a blustery sail up the coast which had everything from no wind to good 20 knot gusts. Unfotuantely nothing lasted for more than about 15 minutes at a time so it made for really annoying sailing. Just as you would get the sails dialed in everything would change. It was all made up for by more spectacular coastline. Eventually it just plain died out and we motored around Punta San Marcial.

This section acually worried me a bit at first because the charts are vague as to whether there is a good passage between the point nd the outer reef. I followed a line from

N 25. 31. 190
W 111. 00. 007

through to

N 25. 31 .400
W 111. 01. 405

and never saw less than 60 ft of depth.

We arrived in Agua Verde to another empty anchorage. (it would have few more boats later but it was nice while it lasted...) Initially we were anchored up in the NE corner but quickly decided that it was a bad idea. There is a submerged rock in the NE portion of the anchorage. It's 8 to 10 feet below the surface but caused me some concern after I noticed a sunken sailboat wreck just off to the east side of it We ended up anchored in the middle of the small bay in 25 ft of water. A bit more exposure to wind but far away from that nasty rock. I prepped the boat for the nasty weather coming our way and then settled into coctails and food.

Isla San Francisco to Los Gatos

San Evaristo

We were off again the next day for San Evaristo. This leg was a short one and so we were all settled in by early afternoon. The anchorage is a snug little nook between two ridges and initially we had it all to ourselves. We had almost no wind and a nice blue sky, a great little treat. A couple of cervesas rounded out the package for a perfect start to the afternoon. We even had a nice couple row their dingy over and give us a freshly spearfished snapper they had caught. They were Reno and Catherine from the Sailing Vessel "Star". The day just kept getting better and better.

Once we were all warmed up we set off for a quick snorkle session. Unfortuately, even in the Sea of Cortez, the water is pretty cold this time of year and so wetsuits are still a necessity.. In another few months everthing will warm up but till then we just have to suffer ;-)

After the snorkle it was back to the boat and a few more cervesas. In search of another adventure we decided to go and check out the "town". A town in this part of Mexico really just means a few houses in the same general area. There is no gas station. There is no pavement. There are no signs. And of course no city planners to keep things organized.

So you walk around a bit on the path or the first dirt road you find off the beach. Soon you get to an intersection. At the intersection there is a dirt road going off in four different directions with no real clear indications as to which one is the main road. You might like to take the road less travelled, but it isn't clear that any have been travelled at all... So you just pick one.

At this point you either come across a dog or a child. Either way, if you can't speak spanish you won't get very far. Thankfully the people that are here are all really friendly and you don't have to speak much spanish to get your point across. In our case all we were looking for was the small local store rumored to be around here and so we just kept walking.

Eventually we found it. A small cinder block and concrete house with a shaky roof on top. Out front the owner was working under the engine of his pickup truck while his two young daughters were playing on the porch. The girls were pretty smart and came over and led us into the small house / store. There was a decent little selection here and we managed to restock on a few essentials such as chips and salsa. as well as some other boring stuff like vegetables.. After that it was back to the boat to devour our new loot.

Los Gatos

The next morning we were off for Los Gatos. We cruised by the fisherman in their panga. We cruised by more pretty coastline. We did some fishing. It was just another rough cruising day. Pretty soon we were approaching our destination.

This isn't a super well protected anchorage but it's really pretty and we had settled weather. There are red sandstone cliffs at the north end of the anchorage giving the whole area a nice tint.

This is where you want to go if you are looking to get away from it all. There is nothing else around here, no houses, no roads, nothing. Adding to the sense of isolation we had the anchorage all to ourselves. It was really a spectacular setting in which to spend the day. To top it all off we had another beautiful sunset followed by a full moon.

Cruising is hard....

La Paz to Isla San Francisco

Right before New Years my friend Anne came down to help crew the leg from La Paz to Loreto. It's a good thing too, cause my cold and I were not enjoying the prospects of another long journey alone. We spent a quiet New Years Eve in La Paz and then cast off on the morning of the 1st. Thankfully the fuel dock at marina Costa Baja was open. We needed fuel and couldn't leave without it.

Espiritu Santos Again

By the time we got fuel, ice and beer it was past midday. Thankfully the anchorage at Caleta Pardita was only a few hours away. As we started to motor out I noticed that the boat was really sluggish. We were still making progress but couldn't do more than about 3kts. I was a little confused as to why that might be but concluded that I must have something on the prop that was aftecting the flow of water. I would jump in the water once we got to Caleta Pardita and check it out. Once we got there I jumped in to have a look. I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw the prop and a large percentage of my bottom(ahem.. the boat bottom!!) covered in barnacles!! This was impressive becuase not one month ago I looked at the bottom and there was nothing at all growing there. All of this growth happened in a month while anchored in La Paz. I took an hjour and scrubbed off as much as I could

Isla San Francisco

In the morning we headed off for Isla San Fransico. The boat performed much better without the barnacles fouling the prop and bottom. It was a short run to the anchorage at Isla San Francisco. I did some fishing, Anne had a nap and overall we enjoyed the spectacualr coastline that you see in this part of Baja.

This anchorage is the classic deserted island with the cresent shaped beach. We didn't have the nicest weather but it was still really pretty. We took the dingy to shore and managed a nice hike up the small ridge surrounding the beach..