Monthly Archives: January 2015

Back to Puerto Vallarta

January 31, 2015Adventures, Docked/Anchored, MaintenanceCaptain Jim

We departed Ixtapa for the 240 mile trip back to Banderas Bay, making stops at some of our favorite places as well as some new ones.

Manzanillo

After a very long 36 hour motor-sail up the coast to Manzanillo, we anchored in the bay next to the Las Hadas resort, where we relaxed around the pool for 2 more days. This was our favorite stop on our southbound run between Banderas Bay and Zihuatanejo so we were looking forward to spending a few more days there. The beach and resort were set locations for the movie “10” with Bo Derek and Dudley Moore.

Melaque and Barra de Navidad

Since we bypassed this bay on the way down to Zihuataneo, we decided to stop for a few days. The two small towns are at opposite ends of a large bay surrounded by sandy beaches and palapas. An added bonus was that SV Family Circus and SV Pelagic were both going to be there. After dropping the hook, we immediately took the dinghy ashore and met them at a beach-side palapa for drinks. Some highlights of our 3-day stay included a potluck aboard Family Circus, a visit to the French Bakery in Barra, a sleepover for Jacintha aboard Family Circus, roasting and drinking coffee aboard Pelagic, and exploring the small, quaint towns that seem to be like what small US towns were like in the 1970’s. Jacintha was sad to say goodbye to Amaia and Alina but we hope to meet up with them again in the South Pacific.

The next morning SV Ohana pulled into Melaque bay and we met them for a late lunch and a walk through town. Jacintha had a fabulous playdate with Hannah making music videos on the ipad whilst we had drinks and nibblys with Jake and Danielle.

La Manzanilla

Manzanilla (not to be confused with Manzanillo, which is further south), is in the same bay as Tenacatita. It’s at the south-eastern part of the bay and therefore doesn’t offer good protection from the typical winter north-westerlies. Since the wind was coming from the south, plus SV Seahorse V and SV Velvet Sky—both kid boats—were there, so that’s where we ended up! We had a fantastic potluck aboard Seahorse V and Jacintha got to play with Billy, Gracie, and Bucket. Captain Steve had just caught a Dorado that was great tasting along with a bacon-potato dish, fresh guacamole, red wine, and a chocolate cake.

As we are getting closer to our departure date for the South Pacific, we are having to say goodbye to boat friends we have made who are headed in a different direction. This is the case for Seahorse V, Velvet Sky, Ohana, and Pelagic, who are all headed south to Central America and beyond, or for some, spending another season in Mexico. It’s been especially hard for Jacintha to say goodbye to the friends she has made.

Chamela

We had a nice 30 mile sail from Manzanilla to Chamela. A southern 15 knot wind kept us moving at 7 knots the entire way. We brought in a small Skipjack Tuna just outside Manzanilla and a nice Yellowfin Tuna at dusk just before arriving into Chamela so it was an interesting night time anchoring session. Good thing the bay was very wide.

Chamela is a small village with a few tiendas and palapas. The main street is paved but the side-streets are all dirt. The bay is big and offers protection from north-westerlies. When we arrived just near dusk, there was only 1 other boat anchored there. By the following evening there were 10. Chamela is 100 miles south of Puerto Vallarta and is a popular stop because it’s the first good anchorage for boats heading south or the last one for boats headed north. During our 2 days there we rowed the dinghy ashore, played on the beach, and bought some fresh produce at a tienda. Karen and Jacintha swam back to the boat as I rowed the dinghy.

Yelapa

An overnight passage of 90 miles brought us to Yelapa, a funky little village in Banderas Bay about 15 miles southwest of Puerto Vallarta. We decided to stop there for a day before heading to the La Cruz anchorage. It’s surrounded by rugged mountains and has no road access, so people arrive either by boat or horseback. Electricity was brought to Yelapa just 14 years ago. We tied up to a mooring buoy and took a panga to shore where we ate at one of the beach restaurants and bought slices of coconut and lemon meringue pie from the pie lady who walked the beach balancing a basket full of pies on her head.

The highlight of the stop was horseback riding up into the mountains to a waterfall. We thought it was going to be a typical guided tour type ride, and were surprised when they let us go off on our own with two horses—Jacintha and I on a larger one and Karen on her own. The trail crossed a shallow river and meandered up the mountainside past homes and restaurants. The trail was mostly cobblestone and barely wide enough for the occasional 4-wheeler to get by us. It was also very steep and I kept thinking the horse would slip on the wet cobblestones. We were told to go until we reached a church, then turn left. Luckily for us, the horses have been on the trail many times so they knew where to turn! When the horses stopped, we knew we were at the place where the man told us to tie the horses to a pole. Then a short walk and we were at the high cascading waterfall with a pool at the base. The water was a bit cold but we all jumped in and enjoyed the refreshing pool. On the way back, the horse Jacintha and I were on must have been hungry as he galloped most of the way, ignoring any commands of WHOA and pulling back on the bridle. Karen’s horse, on the other hand, stopped to relieve itself and then stopped again at the river for a drink, so they arrived 10 minutes later.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA — Village of Yelapa

Some boat related things:

Changed the engine oil & filter in Manzanillo since we’ve been motoring a lot and it was easy to dispense of the used oil at the fuel dock. I normally change the oil every 100 engine hours, but when using the engine so much while cruising (especially in Mexico where winds are light), most cruisers go a couple hundred hours between changes. The last time I changed the oil was in La Paz, 300 engine hours ago—that’s a lot of motoring in 2 months!
Spent 2 hours using the hookah system to dive under the boat to clean the barnacles off the bottom. The bow thruster cavity and stainless steel thruster props were heavily coated with barnacles since I hadn’t cleaned there before. Other challenging areas were the main propeller and the very bottom of the keel. I also made sure to clean the knot paddle and thru hulls well. The hookah has proven to be invaluable for bottom cleaning as well as replacing zincs and dealing with fouled props. We hope to use if for shallow recreation dives in the south pacific.
Dug out the shade cover for the boat and found it makes a huge difference in keeping the boat cooler during the day. The cover came with the boat but we improved it by buying custom-made, collapsible fiberglass poles (just like tent poles) and sewed pockets into the cover. We moved the solar panels onto the bowsprit so they still get the full sun.
Karen worked on making some canvas cockpit pockets. The cockpit always seems to be littered with small things such as iPhones, iPads, Kindles, hose nozzle, deck plate wrench, sail ties, snacks, and so forth. The dodger has 2 small built-in pockets that are always full. The new pocket will be large enough to fit an iPad, which we use for navigation, and will attach to the weather cloth.

Fish On!

January 31, 2015SailingCaptain Jim

We’ve been having better luck catching fish lately, but nearly all of them have been Skipjack Tuna, which are fun to catch because they put up a good fight for their size. Their meat is dark red and tastes good when prepared correctly—not something you want for sushi though.

Sailing along at 7 knots near Chamela (Karen was at the helm and I was down below having a siesta), we heard the line flying out of the fishing reel. By the time I got on deck, it had ran with more than half the line and was still running. Karen worked on slowing the boat down while I tried reeling but it takes a while for a 16 ton boat to slow and the fish was still running line off the reel so I knew it wasn’t another small skipjack. About 20 minutes later a very tired 20 lb Yellowfin Tuna (commonly called Ahi) was finally alongside the boat and we used a gaff to bring it aboard. Jacintha was very excited to see such a big fish (by our standards anyhow). I cut the gills and bled it in the water by tying a line around the tail and dragging it for 5 minutes (this supposedly improves the taste). Karen did all the prep work after we anchored and we had grilled yellowfin that evening. The collars were especially good and we also ate some sashimi-style with wasabi and soy sauce. The following day Karen chopped up some tuna, deep fried it in tempura batter, and served it with aoli and picante sauce on fresh tortillas for some amazing tasting Fish Tacos.

Log Stats–3450nm

January 31, 2015SailingCaptain Jim

At a latitude of 17 deg 35 min N, Zihuatanejo is more south than the big island of Hawaii, and is the furthest south we will go until we depart for the South Pacific in March. The air temperature was a predictable 90 deg F and the water was around 82 deg. Seattle is 47 deg N, so we were 30 deg of latitude away, and since each degree of latitude is 60 miles, it works out to 1800 miles south of Seattle. Since we also traveled a significant distance east (about half the distance from San Francisco to Philadelphia), and made a lot of side-trips, our total mileage from Seattle to Zihuatanejo is 3,450. We’ve been tracing our journey showing all of our main stops on a map:

Ixtapa

January 21, 2015Docked/AnchoredCaptain Jim

We left Zihuatanejo and motored 10 miles north to Ixtapa. Ixtapa was developed in the 1970’s as a mega resort town, similar to Cancun, with big hotels, cruise ships, and Senior Frog’s on every corner. Our short stop had 3 purposes: top off the diesel tanks, wash the boat, and find a place to watch the Seahawk-Packer football game.

We took on 31 gallons of diesel at the fuel dock, filled the water tanks, then pulled into a slip at Marina Ixtapa. Diesel is more expensive in Mexico compared to the US. We paid $3.80/gal in SF back in September and I’m pretty sure it has gone down since then, and we paid $4.60/gal in Ixtapa (if not for a favorable exchange rate, it would have be even more).

Next we found a marina restaurant with big screen TVs to watch the NFC Championship game. It was a disappointing 3-1/2 quarters but then turned into the most exciting come-from-behind Seahawk victory I’ve ever seen. Of course we flew our 12th Man flag and wore our Seahawk jerseys. The game was broadcast in Spanish and we were the only ones watching it. I think everyone thought I was crazy during the final 3 minutes of play with all the cheering and jumping up and down I was doing! We celebrated the super bowl bound victory with blended lime margaritas.

Back at the boat we prepared for an early morning departure. A 12 foot crocodile came out after dark and swam around the empty slip next to our boat. I was on the dock giving the dinghy a fresh water rinse so was extra cautious not to fall in. We had to get out of the marina before 7am due to the channel dredging they had scheduled, so we got up at 5:45am and left the dock at 6am for the 190 mile trip back to Manzanillo.

Zihuatanejo

January 16, 2015Adventures, Docked/AnchoredCaptain Jim

We had a long motor-sail from Manzanillo to Zihuatanejo, a distance of about 200 miles. Winds were light but we picked up an extra knot by having the sails out close-hauled. Right after daybreak we pulled in 2 small tuna within 15 minutes of each other, one with a rod & reel and the other on a hand line. The hand line is much harder on the fish since it doesn’t allow them to run and drags them at the speed of the boat from the moment they’re hooked. We would have released the smaller one caught on the hand line but there was too much damage (missing an eye). It’s much more fun having them run and bringing them in with the rod & reel. Anyhow, Karen marinated the tuna in some tequila and lime juice and we were eating fish tacos for lunch about 4 hours later.

Our arrival was timed perfectly with the Seahawk-Panther NFC divisional playoff game. A quick solar shower, a short dinghy ride into town, and a 10 minute walk to a restaurant/bar where we met John & AnnaMaria from Seattle (Hawk fans) and Gus & Ellen from Charlotte (Panther fans). They all arrived that same day and are staying at the Club Intrawest resort not far from where we anchored in the bay.

We spent 8 days in Zihuatanejo hanging out with our friends at the resort. Most days we would lock our dinghy to a coconut tree along the beach next to the resort and enjoy the pool and luxurious 3-bedroom flat. This has been the first time we’ve spent any significant time off the boat. We stayed overnight 4 nights and were spoiled by the king-size bed, TV, and air conditioning (thanks John and AnnaMaria!). Since we were anchored the entire time, we periodically went back to the boat and ran the generator to supplement the solar charging of the batteries. One day we motored an hour north to Isla Ixtapa where we dropped the anchor and enjoyed the afternoon swimming around the boat, relaxing, and grilling. We also had lunch with Bob who makes Zihuatanejo his home 6 months a year and lives on his boat at the same marina we’re at back in Seattle the other 6 months. In town we walked around the marcado, ate at local restaurants, and shopped. Karen and AnnaMaria went on a half-day marcado tour where they bought fresh produce and spices, brought them back to the resort, and learned some new recipes for making salsa, guacamole, ceviche, and camaron risotto.

One evening at the resort we had dinner cooked for us along the beach. Before dinner was served, there was a baby sea turtle hatchery release. A group collects green sea turtle eggs from nests along the beach and keeps them in a protected area buried in sand. About 50 days later, they hatch and are released along the beach near the surf. They roped off an area for people to gather around which also keeps predators such as birds away so the babies can at least make it to the sea. As they were released near the surf, they instinctively crawled toward the water because of the brighter horizon, and were helped by the waves washing up on the beach. Hatchery programs like this improves the statistics for turtles reaching the sea.

Zihuatanejo is definitely a charming town with a lot of character and friendly people, 80 degree water, and white sand beaches. Everyone from Alfonzo who would watch over our dinghy whenever we took it in to town, to David who helped our dinghy in and out of the surf at Playa la Ropa near Club Intrawest, to the restaurant and vendor workers who were always smiling, to the woman who sold us a conch shell and repeatedly blew different ones until we found the one we liked best, and on and on and on…..made Z-town one of our favorite stops in Mexico.

DSCN1098 — Jim, Karen, Ellen, Gus, Jacintha, John, AnnaMaria

DSCN1076 — Karen and AnnaMaria at Cooking Class

DSCN1077 — Making Camaron (prawns) Risotto

Heading Further South

January 8, 2015Adventures, Docked/Anchored, SailingCaptain Jim

So far, we have executed our overall cruising plan just as we planned it back in Seattle–that is, sail from Seattle to San Francisco with the Coho Ho Ho rally, reach San Diego by early November, sail to Cabo San Lucas with the Baja Ha Ha rally, sail up into the Sea of Cortez to La Paz, cross the sea to Mazatlan, and head south to Banderas Bay. Between those major stops, we had numerous anchorages on islands and remote villages and saw some pretty amazing things. We are now almost 1/3 of the way through our 14 month adventure. It would have been easy to spend 3 more months in Puerto Vallarta getting ready for the Pacific Puddle Jump to the Marquesas, but we want to see as much of Mexico as possible, so we planned a 670 mile round trip journey down the coast to Zihuatanejo during the month of January. We will then spend February and half of March in Puerto Vallarta preparing for the crossing. So once again we parted ways with other boats we have become friends with, and began heading further south. Our sail plan was to break the trip to Zihuatanejo up into 4 legs and visit places like Tenacatita, Manzanillo, Santiago, Ixtapa, and others.

Tenacatita

We caught a nice wind out of Banderas Bay (La Cruz), sailing downwind at 7-8 knots for 8 hours under full main and genoa. Steady winds of 20 knots moved us along nicely and since we were ahead of schedule, we decided to go all the way to Tenacatita, 122 miles from La Cruz. Unfortunately, the wind died suddenly and we found ourselves motoring the second half, but still reached Tenacatita by 10am the following day, where we anchored in a nice bay alongside a dozen other boats. We went ashore and met 2 guys gathering coconuts. The method was to find trees that had reachable branches with coconut clusters BELOW them, and shake the branch until some coconuts fell. Not easy work but well worth the effort. Jacintha helped with reaching some branches that were too tall for us to reach! We spent another full day at Tenacatita and played Bocci Ball on the beach with fellow cruisers, then joined them at the restaurant/bar along the beach afterwards. Jacintha played on the beach with a girl her age who was vacationing with her family from Guadalajara. Towards evening we took our dinghy about a mile up an estuary that weaved its way through thick mangroves. It was like a real jungle cruise (as opposed to the one we did a few months ago at Disneyland) with lots of Pelicans, Herons, Egrets, crabs, and insects. We didn’t spot any, but crocodiles are known to make this their home. We rushed out of there at the first hint of mosquitoes. Back at the boat, Karen finished covering some port inserts with fine mesh for mosquito protection and we lit a mossy coil (our first night there we were unprepared and left the ports open until we realized we were inviting many blood-thirsty mosquitoes inside).

We started getting into the habit of raising our dinghy up to the lifelines every night using a halyard. We were advised that although most places are safe, every year there are cruisers who wake up in the morning to find their dinghy gone. We also remove the engine from the dinghy and hoist it up to the stern bracket overnight. Keeping the dinghy out of the water overnight has the added benefit of slowing down barnacle growth on the bottom.

Manzanillo

A morning departure from Tenacatita put us in Manzanillo at 2pm. Winds were light so we motor-sailed the 36 miles. We anchored in front of the Las Hadas Resort, known for its unique white-stucco architecture with domes, spirals, and arches. For 200 pesos ($18), we could dock our dinghy there and use the amenities–a huge pool, showers, wifi, and restaurants. There was also a well stocked marine store and a fabulous gelato store within the resort.

We spent 3 days anchored in Manzanillo using the amenities of the Las Hadas Resort. The view at the anchorage was great, the price was right (free!), and we enjoyed the 5-star resort for less than $20 per day. It was hard to leave, but Zihuatanejo was calling….

La Cruz

January 8, 2015Docked/AnchoredCaptain Jim

We spent 3 days at La Cruz, mostly hanging out at the marina where we were docked next to kid boats Family Circus and Pelagic. Some fun things we did there were counting down the seconds to the New Year alongside a bonfire on the beach, watching an outdoor movie, and celebrating Jacintha`s birthday (again) on the beach with her friends. Her b-day piñata proved difficult to break but finally spilled out its candy and toys onto the sand kamagra reviews. We walked into the small town paved with cobblestones to eat lunch and re-provision at a small tienda. We really liked La Cruz and our plan is to return after our trip down the coast to Zihuatanejo.

Thoughts on the cruising life.

January 2, 2015Docked/AnchoredCo Captain Kaz

Jim has been busy keeping the blog up to date since San Diego and I have to admit being a bit apathetic to this task.

Firstly, I have been adjusting to living on a boat, detoxifying from city life and the rat race and trying to get used to the change in my role. It has been an adjustment for me to go from a professional where others are relying on me for advice and care of their loved ones to mom, wife and sailor where those relying on me are a n=2. My responsibilities have shrunk and grown at the same time.

I’m the full time cook on board, something I’ve dreaded since I’m not very proficient in the kitchen, I just cope. Cooking is not a passion of mine, just a chore. I’ve envied friends of mine who have a pantry full of exotic ingredients and manage to whip up something fabulous in 30 mins and love to do it. Both my mum and sister have that passion for cooking but I prefer to eat what’s put before me! Food shopping is another chore that I dislike and I hate having to plan meals as I’ve no idea what I want to cook from one day to the next, let alone the next week like we have to do when cruising. Met Market is not just around the corner from us. Going to the mercado is an interesting experience as I’ve no idea what to buy and what to cook and now it’s in a foreign language as well. It makes it 10x as onerous as it does in English. So for now the menu is whatever recipe I can find in the book with the ingredients I’ve gotten. I’m limited to broccoli, carrots, green beans and cucumbers as vegetables that I can deal with. I’m not a salad person so don’t tend to make it.
I do like baking though, so have made some bread, some peach crumble, I’ve perfected my pizza dough recipe and even made a birthday cake for Jacintha, although I did decorate it with shocking pink icing from a box. But we can’t just live on cake alone.

I’m also the teacher on board and haven’t been doing too well on that score as I’m so slack about it. Jacintha whines and complains about having to do her math and journal writing. She started out great and completed half her math coursework by the time we left San Diego but both Jim and I were so busy with preparation/sailing that we’ve been pretty slack at checking her work and keeping a schedule. So now she’s not as interested in it as she was and getting a bit frustrated with fractions. Plus there’s always something more interesting to see and do like going to the markets, swimming at the beach, walking around an island. I’m really glad I didn’t purchase a strict program to work with as I don’t think I could spend that much time enforcing school work and administering tests. And during passages we both get a little green around the gills so no schoolwork on sailing days is a rule!

Having my social circle cut down to 2 people has been somewhat frustrating for me. I have been used to interacting with lots of different people in the hospital and having friends that I could do things with that Jim wasn’t interested in. Now my world has shrunk to Jim, Jacintha and the boat. We go most places together as we only have the one “car” – our dinghy. So I’m limited with what’s within walking distance or a bus ride away, and what either Jim or Jacintha want to do. We do meet people on other boats but it’s not the same as calling Agnes for a coffee, going for a pedicure with Jennifer or catching a chick flick with a bunch of the girls. And socializing is easier when we’re at a dock at a marina as opposed to anchoring out far away from everyone else, then one feels even more isolated. Jacintha feels the lack of friends as well, so I do try and and make an effort to find other boats with kids that she can play with. So far we’ve met Amaia and Alina on Family Circus, Gracie and Billie on Seahorse V, Bucket on Velvet Sky, Hannah on Ohana whom we just met at Mazatlan. She’s had a couple of boat sleepovers so far! We even met a couple of nice land based kids at the El Cid Marina Resort that she enjoyed playing with. Samantha from the Canadian Okanagans was real special as she gave Jacintha a birthday present!!

I was surprised at how noisy sailing actually is. In my mind, I always thought it would be a quiet commune with nature! How wrong I was. At the dock I was surprised to hear pitter patter of what sounds like raindrops. Turns out they’re shrimp eating at night that make that noise – they were loudest in San Diego bay. The first time I heard it I wanted to close all our hatches!

When we turn off the motor it means there’s wind enough to sail. There is always the sound of water rushing past the hull as we travel along, sloshing, splashing and gurgling. Then there’s the boat that sways to the waves, whether it’s from the big lazy long Pacific Rollers that rock the boat from side to side like a cradle or from the shorter, sharper chop of wind blown waves that lifts up the boat and surfs underneath. All these movement makes the boat creak and groan with each wave. Pots bang against each other and the spice jars rattle. Things in the cupboards rattle all adding to to noise on the boat. The sails may flop and pull on the sheets causing some banging. Lastly, there is the wind. You don’t hear it below 10 knots. From 10-20 she is a low hum. From 20-30 she starts to sing. Above 30 she starts to moan. I do not want to hear her past 30 knots as I am unable to sleep for the din in the cabin.

What do I like about cruising?
I love waking up and finding myself in a different place and not having to think about work. I couldn’t get enough of watching the pelicans dive bomb into the water to catch a fish in Bahia Tortuga. I was amazed by the amount of different butterflies we’ve seen along the Baja Peninsula. I love dropping the anchor and being able to see it on the sandy bottom with the chain lying in a straight line behind it.
The amount of fish at the anchorage and marinas has been spectacular. At Bahia de Los Muertos we shone a light into the water and it attracted so many fish. We managed to put a net into the water and catch a fish. My favorite watch is when there’s a moon out casting a silver light on the sea and the boat.
When we meet other cruisers I love hearing their stories. How they made it there, how long they’re staying, where they’re headed to, how long they intend to sail. The cruisers net in the big towns like La Paz and Mazatlan make one feel like a part of a community. This is a daily 8am VHF radio check-in every cruiser listens to in the town. They ask if there’s any emergencies out there. Then give a tide and weather report. Then ask if anyone is new in town or leaving. Then if anyone needs boating help and is anyone willing to help them with it. Plus organizing activities for the community.

I am amazed at the growth in my daughter both physically and mentally the last 3 months. She’s more confident in talking to people and very sure of herself. She’s not afraid to speak up for herself and is independent when we have to do an overnighter. She’s brave when we have choppy seas and doesn’t complain about it. She comes on deck with her life jacket on and hangs onto the mizzen mast in the cockpit till things settle down. A real trooper in trying times. She loves adventure and was excited to walk around Isla Isabella to see the nesting frigate birds and blue footed boobies.

All in all cruising has so far been a wonderful experience and there is still more to come.

Visit from Marvalyn

January 1, 2015AdventuresCaptain Jim

A friend of ours, Marvalyn, flew in to Mazatlan to join us on the boat for 4 days. She arrived at 1am without her luggage which didn’t follow her when she got bumped off a flight. We decided to have the airline send her bag to La Cruz and hoped it would be there when we arrived 2 days later.

As mentioned in an earlier post, the sail from Mazatlan to Isla Isabel was very rough with the combination of wind and waves causing the boat to corkscrew along. Marvalyn has sailed with us a few times on Lake Union in Seattle, but has never experienced ocean coastal passages. After some initial seasickness, she found her sea legs and did quite well entertaining Jacintha while Karen and I did the watches. Her fluency in Spanish helped us with buying fish, getting directions, and ordering food.

In La Cruz, Marvalyn rang in the New Year with us at a beach party and got a taste of cruiser’s life inside a marina–pot lucks, entertaining with other kid boats, and meeting some of our boating friends. She departed on New Years Day (intact with her luggage!) from the Puerto Vallarta airport.

Isla Isabel

January 1, 2015Adventures, SailingCaptain Jim

A mid-afternoon departure from Mazatlan was timed for a mid-day arrival at Isla Isabel, about 95 miles south. We left at high tide and crossing the bar was very rough with large waves escorting us out of the bay. Winds were blowing 20 knots from the north, and wind waves were steep, so the ride was uncomfortable but fast. We sailed throughout the night with a double-reefed main and partially furled genoa. The winds calmed a few hours from Isla Isabel and we motored the final leg. As we approached the small anchorage on the southern end of the island, we found it full with 6 boats. Our guidebook showed an alternative anchorage on the east side but warned about the rocky bottom and it’s reputation for swallowing anchors. The water was crystal clear so we could see the rocks on the bottom interspersed among the patches of sand. We found a sand patch to drop the anchor on in 20 feet of water and let out 60 feet of chain. We also tied a line onto the anchor crown and floated a buoy on it in case the anchor fouled around a rock. This anchorage is less protected but since the winds had calmed, Apropos did not roll much.

Isla Isabel is an isolated volcanic island 18 miles off the mainland coast and is nicknamed the “Galapagos of Mexico” because of its large number of nesting birds and resident iguanas. Like the Galapagos Islands off Ecuador, Isabel is isolated in the Pacific Ocean and relatively free of natural predators.

By the time we anchored and got the dinghy in the water, the sun was setting and there wasn’t enough time to explore the island, so I dove in the water to inspect the hull. I noticed the prop zinc was gone and small barnacles were covering most of the hull, so I spent about 2 hours scraping with a plastic putty knife. In the morning, we took the dinghy to the southern anchorage and went ashore near the small fishing camp. Along the hike to the light tower at the top of a hill, we walked under the canopy of trees full of nesting frigate birds. The male frigate proudly displays his colors to attract a mate by inflating his bright red throat pouch (gular pouch) and making a whistling sound. Since they can neither swim nor walk well on land, they like to perch in the treetops or on the ground with their wings spread wide open. Along the steep mile-long trail, we spotted iguanas and lizards. The top of the hill was covered with nesting blue footed boobies. They allowed us to approach them to within about 10 feet before flying away, except for the females who were sitting on their eggs. With no predators on the island, these birds seemed curious but unafraid of us. We spent an hour at the peak, then returned to the beach and cooled down in the tide pools along a sandy beach. Before returning to the boat, we bought 3 red snappers from the fishermen for 30 pesos (about $2). We grilled 2 of them and made ceviche with the 3rd. Served with rice, Sriracha sauce, and lime, they made a very tasty meal. We then took the dinghy to the base of a small island rock in front of us and snorkeled among the reef fish. Back at the boat we rinsed off with warm solar showers, got the dinghy back on deck, and departed at 5pm for an overnight sail to La Cruz.