I've finally arrived in La Paz

I arrived at La Paz on December 30th.  Yay!

I started my previous stay at Ensenada de los Muertos on Dec 21st and finally left on Dec 29th after having spent 8 nights there.  In those 8 days, I got to shore twice.  It was pretty windy for most of my stay, making a trip to shore dicey in my little dinghy.  There is a wind pattern in this area called a Norther, where strong north winds blow down the Sea of Cortez from the...north.  I had heard about these winds before arriving but in my mind I wasn't giving them the respect they deserve.  I thought - how hard can it be sailing into 20 knot winds?  I've done that on Puget Sound when day sailing.  However its quite a lot different here.  There is 600 miles of fetch - so that the waves have a good opportunity to build to the size they will given the wind speed.  This is something that doesn't happen very often in Puget Sound around Seattle.  Also the sail between destinations here tends to be 45 miles or so when coming up from Cabo - so sailing into steep waves and strong winds all day and possibly night is pretty tiresome.  In this situation, 'pretty tiresome' is the best outcome when sailing into a Norther.  There were times when sailing into the wind when I was making no progress at all - making it time to turn around or start the engine and motor into the wind if that was possible (and for some combinations of wind/waves motoring into it wouldn't work either.)  Also a Norther has winds which grow stronger than I had expected.  The winds were up to 35 while I was at Muertos and I read reports of 40 knot winds further north.  This isn't the calm Sea of Cortez I was expecting!  Lastly, when leaving Cabo and heading north to La Paz, you're sailing into the wind.  Going into the wind is much different than with the wind.  Anyway, I've grown to appreciate downwind sailing much more.  Sailing downwind rocks.

While at Muertos I was accompanied by two boats which made my stay much more enjoyable and I appreciated their company.  As I mentioned in my previous post, Sockdolager was at anchor when I pulled in and they stayed to ride out the Norther as well.  Clover also pulled into the anchorage.  Shane is single handing Clover around the Sea of Cortez, we met briefly in Cabo San Lucas.  We all spoke on the VHF many times to pass the time and arrange our one shore leave as a weather window appeared.

Sockdolager from Luckness on Dec 23.  NW 20-25 with gusts to 35.

Luckness from Sockdolager.

The day I left Muertos I was pretty fed up with waiting around as there were things I wanted to see further north and I felt like I was wasting time.  I had been downloading weather reports and saw the winds were lessening and probably left one day too early (as the following days report was for lighter wind and flatter seas.)  The day I left the winds were forecast NW 15 in the morning/afternoon falling to NW 10 in the evening.  The waves were forecast as being NW 2-3 feet falling to NW 1-2.  I left the anchorage and found around 10 knots of wind which grew to 15 and then fell to 5.  I waited around for the wind to pick up but had a definite schedule of getting to anchor that night at Playa Bonanza approx 45 miles north so when the wind didn't arrive I furled my headsail and started to motor.  Just around the time I did this the wind started to pick up but I decided to make some progress and then sail again later when I knew for sure that I could make my destination in time.  So I started motoring through Cerralvo Channel on the inside of Isla Cerralvo, just north of Muertos.  The waves were pretty interesting as the swell was coming from both sides around the island and meeting where I was, so there was an interference pattern causing biggish (for this area, probably 4-6 feet) steep confused seas until I was well into the channel.  That got pretty wet and bumpy but Luckness is comfortable enough in that sort of sea and it wasn't really an issue.  To cut the story short, I ended up motoring all the way to the anchorage, the wind were widely variable lessening and growing all day but by the time I was anchoring they winds had fallen as the forecast had called for and it was very nice.  From Playa Bonanza its a short sail to La Paz, less than 20 miles.

Late in the evening on the 29th at Playa Bonanza I suddenly realized that there was virtually no wind and also no boat motion.  I climbed out of the cabin and saw glassy seas, a big cloud free starlit sky.  I felt a huge sense of relief, it was so nice to have such a peaceful night after being battered around by the wind and seas for a while.  I had a real sense that "I had arrived!"

The next morning was also entirely peaceful.  I pulled out of the anchorage and headed over to La Paz.

Looking back at Playa Bonanza as I was leaving

Looking south across the San Lorenzo Channel. La Paz is a few miles around the corner to the right

As I was entering the La Paz area I saw the fuel dock for Marina Costa Baja, the first marina you come to in this area and on a whim decided to pull up and talk to the marina office to see if I could get a slip.  Luckness was filthy - there were salt crystals everywhere and dirt from the sand blowing out from Muertos.  I wanted to clean her up!  The marina did have a slip available for a reasonable price ($190/week) and I arranged to stay for a week.

The day after arriving at the Marina I went over to the office to ask about getting an internet connection and I met Marcus who was in the office checking in - I first met Marcus and his wife Masha in San Diego while having drinks with Chuck and Karen of Katie G.  Marcus and Masha are on s/v Gallivanter.  Before starting this cruising thing I had heard how you keep bumping into the same folks over and over.  Its true.

As I write this, there are two days left in my week at the marina and I hope to pull out of here to start exploring the local islands on Friday.  My current idea is that I will spend a few weeks out exploring and then return to La Paz for a week, and then repeat that pattern or adjust it as necessary.  By the time I'm writing this the boat is clean, I've almost finished my short list of boat projects and I have one last provisioning run I need to make to fill up the boat with some more food.

I won't say much about La Paz in this post as I'm still forming impressions.  I will say that so far I like it!  Being at this marina has created a little barrier between me and the town however, when I return I'll stay closer.

I have a few images from earlier in this trip.

The spinnaker up on Dec 8th, one day south of Ensenada

Sunset on Dec 9th

Sunset on Dec 13th

I've had a little time to reflect on where I am and what my sailing plans are for the remainder of what I'm thinking of as my initial Cruising Training Year.  When I left Neah Bay back in September I had only sailed offshore for a single night on a trial sail I had done out of Neah bay a few months before leaving.  While I realize that I continue to be relatively inexperienced, I am feeling good about how this trip is going.  It seems surprising to me at times that only four months have gone by since I left Seattle.  I can recall entire years when it seemed like I had fewer experiences than I've packed into the last four months.  The most common advice I heard before leaving Seattle was "Just go!" and I have to agree with it.

With my arrival in La Paz, my Training Year is roughly 1/3 over.  My current plan is to leave this area in mid March for Hawaii, and then leave Hawaii in July for Seattle.  Once back in the Pacific Northwest, I'll get busy with some boat adjustments.  Its my current intention to leave Seattle the following summer (2013) to return south to where I am now...and then keep on going.  The South Pacific continues to appeal to me greatly.  Perhaps I'm getting ahead of myself.  Focusing on the short term, I have a lot of anchorages that are demanding exploration where I am right now, and I'm going to try to satisfy that curiosity!

At anchor in Ensenada de los Muertos

I arrived at Muertos yesterday morning at 5:45am. I left Los Frailes Wednesday morning at 7:30 wanting to sail to Muertos. The forecast looked favorable for sailing, given enough patience. I got away and sailed until 11:30 when the wind died to 2-5 knots and with the waves that were out there, that wasn't enough to make any progress. I waited for wind to arrive until 11:30pm when my patience ran out. I calculated that if I started motoring I could make up the 30 miles remaining out of the initial 46 by dawn which would be a good time to arrive and anchor. So I started motoring...and the wind started to arrive. My course was NW and so was the wind. By this time I was getting tired - I can't sleep as well when close to shore as I can when further away. I continued motoring toward my destination looking forward to a few hours of solid sleep...and the wind built and built. The forecast for his time was NW 10-15 and by 3am I started seeing NW 20-25. By the time I arrived at anchor the wind had fallen to NW 10 or so.

When I pulled into the anchorage I spotted Sockdolager (Jim and Karen) who I keep crossing paths with. Cool. I saw them in Cabo San Lucas as well.

I spent my first day here doing some head maintenance, and I won't go into details as its a little messy. The end result was that by around 5pm the head was working much better again.

There is a Norther (strong north winds) expected to arrive here over the next four days, so it looks like this is where I'll be spending Christmas. There is a restaurant on shore which is open Christmas day and there is some exploring here to do.

Its 8:30am, 72 degrees, the water is 70 degrees, there is a patchy blue sky and I have a new area to explore. Its too bad you all can't be here to enjoy it with me! Not all at once of course.

Take care y'all.

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At anchor in Bahia Los Frailes

Date: Dec 18, 2011, Time: 5:20pm
<Link: http://maps.google.com/maps?q=23+22.725+-109+25.432>
Barometer: 1020, Temp: 74, Water Temp: 69
Log: 2727.5, Engine Hours: 1291.0, Batteries: %96 (-17 Ah)

I left San Lucas yesterday morning and quickly found that the forecast NW 9-12 knots of wind wasn't going to be. I initially sailed slowly in 6-8 knots of wind, and then circled and bobbed around in 0-4 knots. By 4pm it picked up to 10 knots of east wind and I was underway. The wind picked up to 12 and then gradually weakened to around NE 4-6 at 11pm. From 11 to 3am the wind stayed low. In addition I was working against a current as my tacking angles were 180 degrees while I was sailing 40-45 degrees off the wind. This was frustrating as I was basically making zero progress toward my destination for 6 hours while I sailed back and forth. I guess if you want guaranteed progress getting to where you wanted to go you should buy a motor yacht. The wind started to build again in the morning, first NE 12 then N 14 and up to 18. The seas overnight were very calm, making my sleep cycles work well. As the wind was building in the morning so were the seas. By 3pm when the winds were 16-19 the seas were 5-7 and short. Spending the next night on the water wasn't going to be as pleasant as the first night.

When I left San Lucas I was intending to head to Ensenada De Los Muertos, with a backup here in Bahia Los Frailes. Muertos was 90 miles away, Los Frailes was 45. It isn't out of the ordinary to expect to sail 90 miles in 29 hours (11am to 4pm the next day.) In the end, I sailed 45 miles in that time. But I sailed! I'm still very happy with how Luckness feels in the water, bashing into waves or riding them downwind. The boat and her systems are awesome.

The wind forecast tomorrow is NNW 14-19 seas 5-8 @ 15 seconds, then in the evening NNW 13-17 seas 5-8 @ 14. If that forecast remains as it is tomorrow, I'll probably spend a day here to get a good sleep before bashing north again. Once I make Muertos, La Paz is only 'around the corner.'

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Next move: north

Date: Dec 15, 2011, Time: 10:30am
22° 53.309' N 109° 54.033' W <Link: http://maps.google.com/maps?q=22+53.309+-109+54.033>
Wind speed: 6 / wind dir: N, Heading: to anchor, Speed: running motor
Barometer: 1020, Temp: 74, Water Temp: 73.4
Log: 2634.7 (*), Engine Hours: 1289.8, Batteries: (-44 Ah)

I'm at anchor in Cabo San Lucas! I actually passed by here last night at around 10:30pm. It was dark by then and I pursued my goal of trying to reach an anchorage closer to La Paz. My ideal destination was going to be Ensenada de los Muertos. Its a little anchorage which has a local restaurant with wifi, clear water, walking, not much else. It is 90 miles north of Cabo and there is an anchorage between Cabo and that one which I had as a backup.

When I rounded the Cape, the nice wind I had died and I drifted around while 2 miles off the coast looking over at the anchorage. It was tempting to just go in at that point, but I pushed ahead, rolling in the swell waiting for wind. I finally motored for 1/2 an hour south to remove myself from what I thought was a wind shadow from the mountains around the Cape and found wind. I plotted a point 20 miles up the coast to where it bends from being generally NE to more northerly. My chartplotter was showing me my progress along this line I had plotted. There were N winds blowing here, and their strength was nothing dramatic if you were sailing downwind with them around you. Upwind is a different story, and sailing upwind in 18 to 24 knots of wind with steep 6-8 foot mixed waves with a period of around 4 seconds was a little dramatic. I initially had a lot of sail up and the boat was just surging forward crashing into waves - although not making very much progress toward my destination. The boat would appear to find holes in the wave patterns and just fall onto the wave on the other side and slow dramatically in a fury of water flying out on both sides of us. I was in the time of day where I should have been entering my sleep cycles, 20 minutes of sleep followed by getting up and accessing the situation. The boat crashing made sleep impossible and I started going into sleep deficit which I try to avoid as a safety concern. After I reduced sail to a more comfortable level to boat had slowed to around 4 knots making roughly 1 - 2 knots toward my destination. At 4:30am I calculated that I wouldn't arrive at my first anchorage until after dark that night, and my sleep problem would start to become a concern.

I turned around, started sailing downwind toward my destination and was immediately rewarded with a calm boat. Going with the flow.

It was a really nice passage. I left Ensenada Dec 7th at 11:30am and arrived here at anchor on Dec 15 at 10:30am, 8 days of sailing. If I had stopped in at my first pass of Cabo rather than going past and coming back it would have been 7 1/2 days and I was feeling really good at that point, awake and alert. It was comfortable sailing, I didn't push the boat too hard and there were some glorious sailing days in there. As the wind and waves weren't severe, I could cook proper meals and ate well. I flew the spinnaker for the first time. I used the pole a number of times and really liked the effect. The engine was only run for just over 3 hours including the time leaving the Marina and approaching my anchorage.

I'll stay here for a few days, and then when the weather looks like it won't be blowing strong north winds then I'll move along north.

(*) The Tack Tick log is wrong again.  I had to turn the system off to allow the wind sensor to get a charge so that it would be available to me when I needed it.  When the system is turned off, the log is wrong.  It was off most of the way from Mag Bay to Cabo San Lucas.  So I've missed another 150nm from my log.  I'm starting to wonder if the decision to buy Tack Tick was a mistake...  I love the instruments while they're working, but the reliance on solar power seems to be limiting on longer passages...

[updated slightly to account for sleep deprived errors.]