Sailing Trance

Monday March 23

After breakfast the dinghy was lowered and we went ashore. There is fishermen’s village on the beach, they were busy getting ready to work.

Isla Isabel is volcanic island 40 miles off San Blas, nicknamed the Galapagos of Mexico due to the number of nesting birds and iguanas that are free of natural predators. The island was deemed a World Heritage Site resulting in protection on a local and international level.

The island is home to frigates, blue-footed boobies, brown boobies, red footed boobies (we didn’t see them), brown pelicans, white-tailed tropic birds, Heerman’s gulls, sooty terns and brown noddies as well as green iguanas and the Mexican milk snake(didn’t see them either).

The active fishing camp is on the beach in the southern bay. An abandoned research building also sits an the western edge of the bay.

We climbed to top of that hill, that’s were all the colored footed birds were.

Day 1-We left Isabel around 3pm headed for an overnight sail towards Mazatlán.

For dinner I made traditional American tacos, using millet with the taco seasoning instead of beef.

After sunset, we saw the milky way a sky full of stars and bioluminescence in the water.

Sunday March 22

Anchor up at 6:25am sailed to Isla Isabel to anchor for a day or two. For breakfast Dan made scrambled eggs with potatoes, and pineapple on the side.

Three whales swam close enough to get a few photos.

We arrived at Isla Isabel 4:30pm set anchor then captain’s hour. Tomorrow we plan on going a shore to explore.

Dinner was leftover chicken and pasta with a green salad.

Saturday March 21

Anchor up by 7:30am, on our way to San Blas Mexico, will anchor there for the night. No plans on going ashore, social distancing.

Baby rays were swimming by our boat as we approached the bay.

For dinner we made pasta tossed with raw green bell pepper, onion, and celery with and olive oil dressing in spices, topped with shredded Parmesan cheese. #pacificoceanquarantine

Friday March 20

Left Puerto Vallarta by 8:30am, sailed out the bay, winds started around 6 knots and built to 15-20 by late afternoon. In the bay we was a couple of whales as well as a large school of rays surfing near the surface in the waves. The water was full of red tide or red algae.

We anchored at the Punta Mira peninsula, near the town of Corral del Risco. The peninsula is populated with several resorts and a golf course. About 2000 people live in the town. They dedicate most of their economic activity to fishing and tourism.

For dinner Joy and I made smoked salmon over rice with sautéed black beans, bell pepper, onion, fresh raw tomatoes topped with shredded Parmesan cheese.

Thursday March 19

John and Joy arrived in Puerto Vallarta this afternoon just an hour before the level 4 health advisory was issued. We plan on leaving here in the morning heading north. It’s a 3-4 week sail to San Diego.

We went to dinner in old town, to Joe Jacks Fish Shack, wonderful food!

March 17 -18

Tuesday, Happy St Patricks Day ☘️ Got our steps in today for sure, 4.8 miles worth. Walked to Walmart and Sams Club for provisions. I don’t think Mexico has heard about “social distancing”. Not sure how I feel about that! Hailed a taxi back to the boat as we had too much to carry.

Baked banana bread and banana muffins, two different recipes .

Wednesday was cleaning day, took our dirty clothes to laundry, $400 pesos (about $20 USD) and two hours later all clean and neatly folded. We hired this guy to clean the outside of boat for $1000 pesos ($50) for three days he washed and waxed the boat deck and even polished the stainless steel.

The aft cabin aka The Breezy Cabana, has become sort of a storage room, sorry Danielle. The day was spent cleaning it out, as well as the rest of the inside of the boat. Friends are arriving tomorrow hopefully all goes well with their flights!

Monday March 16

I must say this was the first time I’ve ever operated a sewing machine on the foredeck! The Genoa was a taped patch that was coming off, now it is securely sewed. also the first time I used my hand instead of my foot to drive the pedal.

Dan took apart a winch, to clean and grease it. This is the third one he cleaned.

Other than this it was an uneventful day here in Mexico.

Sunday March 15

When we woke up this morning there was this crackling sound we heard almost like electrical sparking. Immediately we turned off the electricity then began opening up every compartment in the boat in search of this sound. I posted on a few sailing sites if anyone else has heard this sound at this marina. The answer was a shrimp! Yes, shrimp! Snapping shrimp on the sea floor in the marina, who knew.

The afternoon was spent walking around the marina shops as well as to a marine store not far from here.

Well we finally go up the courage to take a look at the code sail. This is way beyond me fixing it.

Since we purchased this new sail, we’ve been having difficulty getting it to furl or roll up properly. Several exchanges with suggestions were made to our sales rep, none of which worked. Not even sure this sail repairable! It truly makes me sick thinking about the cost of this sail and the lack of customer support from #NorthSails regarding it not furling properly.

Saturday March 14

Anchor was up by 7:30am, on our way North, going to Puerto Vallarta, it’s a resort town with great beaches, water sports, restaurants and nightlife. 50% of its workforce is in tourist related industries.

Rounding the point at Cabo Corrientes perched on the hill you will see this prominent navigational landmark.

As we entered Bahía de Banderas, we saw whales and several flocks of birds, perhaps the whales were chasing fish to the surface? The bay is an important breeding and birthing ground for humpback whales, and is home to the city of Puerto Vallarta, our next stop.

Arrived at the harbor around 4:30 pm. Approaching the inlet is an 110-foot high structure, El Faro Lighthouse it’s Marina Vallarta’s primary landmark. No longer used as lighthouse, the top of the structure is a circular cocktail lounge. There is a boardwalk surrounding the marina that has shops, hotels and restaurants as well as cruise ship docks.

MEXORC (Mexican Ocean Racing Circuit) Regatta is going on right now March 13-18, hosted by Marina Vallarta. The marina is very full, but thanks to the Harbormaster Pablo Fernandez, he was able to find us a slip for our boat.

We had dinner at a Mexican Seafood restaurant on the boardwalk then stopped for ice cream on our way back to the boat.

Friday March 13

We left Bara de Navidad shortly after breakfast and day two of getting pastries from the French Baker.

During the day we sailed past a replica of the Christopher Columbus’ Santa Maria, she was heading south.

The day started with light to moderate winds as predicted. As night fell the winds increased to 22 knots (not as predicted). This amount of wind is generally not an issue for us, except this time. We had the main and staysail deployed. A new sail to our inventory is a NorthSails Code 65 3Di sail with a Harken reflex furling system, was not in use but wound tight, as was the Genoa.

The wind unfurled the code sail. It flogged in the wind so much so it tore in several places, our only option was lower the sail to boat deck. Any maneuver in high winds can be dangerous, the darkness elevated the situation. We did successfully managed to drop the sail and tie it to the boat.

We anchored for the rest of the night at Punta Tehuamixtle also known as Tehua, it’s a traditional fishing village. There’s a great beach and the restaurants are know for their seafood dishes.