Crazy sunset at Playa Santa Maria. Just when you thought it was good, it got better.
Log Book
- Departure time: 2:30pm on Thursday, December 27
- Arrival time: 4:00pm on Thursday, December 27
- Total travel time: 1.5 hours
- Nautical miles travelled: 5 nm
- Engine hours start – end – logged: 939.5 – 940 – 0.5
- Gallons of diesel start – end – used: 30 – 29.8 – 0.2
- Weather: Forgot to look at the weather…shame on us.
After three nights in Cabo we
had had about enough of the madness (heck, we had had enough after one full day
of rocking and rolling due to the excessive boat traffic in the bay and the
irresponsible ski-doo drivers) and we set our sights on either San Jose del
Cabo (about 16 miles) or Bahia Frailes (Friar Bay, 50 miles). We were camped
out close to two other sail boats with younger crowds, S/V Splendid Isolation and S/V
Sweet Dreams who planned a much shorter hop to Playa Santa Maria (I think that
was what it was called), which was also on our radar.
As we
were hauling up our port-a-bote with one of our halyards, the winch (which we
use to raise our main sail and jib) popped right off of its housing.
Disassembling and cleaning our winches had been on our list for quite some
time, but we kept postponing it due to the mystery of what was actually inside
the winch. Everything we read online cautioned us to be careful not to lose any
small pieces, but they didn’t provide much detail about what small pieces we
should be sure not to lose.
After a
couple of hours learning about how to service and reassemble our winch, we were
finally ready to get a move on. We swung by the fuel dock where we filled up our
diesel tanks and water tanks and waved at the tourists being escorted to and
from the cruise ship on oversized tenders. By the time all was said and done it
was nearly 2:00pm, much too late to get to Bahia Frailes, and also a bit late
for San Jose del Cabo, but we were still eager to leave.
We took
our time getting the sails up. We had a steady 10-13 knots at our back, a warm
wind. We sailed in shorts and t-shirts and it was glorious. There was no swell
to speak of. It felt like we had been transported to a lake where the water
doesn’t contradict the movement of your boat.
Is this
what sailing on the Sea of Cortez will be like? We wondered.
About
five miles later we were passing the little cove where S/V Splendid Isolation
and S/V Sweet Dreams had dropped their hooks. It was a perfect spot, flanked on
either side by large salmon hued rocks. Catamarans scooted in and out of the
snug anchorage, carrying tourists who, much like us, sought a retreat from the
chaos of Cabo.
SV Splendid Isolation (left) and SV Sweet Dreams (right)
We
situated ourselves so that we formed an equilateral triangle with the two other
sailboats and dropped the hook. One cold Pacifico later, we were both in our
swimsuits with snorkel gear on, checking out the rocks nearby. It was my second
time snorkeling, the first time I snorkeled it was in a cold lake in Oregon
where Jeff and his dad dive for shiny lures that have snagged on roots and
stumps that are strewn across the bottom of the reservoir. A very different
kind of snorkeling.
We
inflated our replacement dinghy, a bright yellow kayak we picked up at Walmart,
and paddled over to say hello to our neighbors. The crews on S/V Splendid Isolation and S/V
Sweet Dreams had been leap frogging down the Pacific Coast of Mexico, taking
their time and visiting numerous anchorages. We still have a bit to learn about
going slow.