Leaving Paradise

Harley's favorite spot is on top of the companionway 

On Sunday, April 3^rd, we finally cast off our dock lines from Paradise Village Marina in Nuevo Vallarta. I was feeling a little nervous to leave for fear that I might not fully recuperate from the way I’d been feeling and may relapse to feeling poorly again, but on the other hand I was ready to get going North and to see some new places. Rick had been going stir crazy and so he was more than ready to move on.

We had heard several different weather reports and weren’t sure of which one to go with so we went with the more conservative report stating that the weather would be reasonable for sailing North up until Tuesday afternoon.  In order to make it to Mazatlan by Tuesday morning, before the supposed strong winds and big seas hit, we needed to leave in the afternoon. So we did just that.

We headed out and into Banderas Bay with a reefed main and a Yankee. The winds were blowing nearly 20 kts but we didn’t seem to be moving very fast. We figured that there must have been a strong current moving against us. So we ended up taking down the jib, centering the main and just motoring. The wind ended up on our nose soon anyway so there was no point in really trying to sail. So basically the entire 3 days of our trip we motor sailed because the winds were on our nose and 15 kts at that. With the engine running hard we could only get up to 3.7kts at the most. We were planning to go at least 5kts most of the way. But that never happened.

Some Almond Butter I was dipping my celery into while on watch. I read the container before putting it away….Hhhm. It was good, but not THAT good!

Sunset

Before going to Mazatlan, we stopped at Isla Isabella. This is where the Blue Footed Boobies congregate which I really have wanted to see.  We arrived there Monday morning and motored around the island looking for a place to anchor. It did not look like an easy landing on shore once we anchored and we only had a few hours to kill. And it’s such an ordeal to get the dinghy off of the boat and into the water, attaching the motor and so on.  We decided that we would come back next season when we have a couple of days to kill. That was fine by me. I was more worried about beating any storm that was coming than to see the Boobies.

We continued motoring the rest of the day and into the night still fighting wind, current and swell.

That night when I was on watch, I started hearing slapping in the water next to the cockpit where Harley and I were sitting. I thought it was just waves slapping on the side of the boat, but took a look anyway. When I got a closer look, I realized the noise was coming from dolphins swimming and jumping out of the water. What I had been hearing was them diving back into the water. What was even cooler about having the dolphins swim with me was seeing them underwater as their bodies lit up with the bioluminescence moving fast as freight trains.  Harley and I were mesmerized for quite sometime. I wanted to wake Rick but he had at least one more hour of sleep left before his watch and I figured he might see some of his own later.

One thing that I found interesting about night sailing alone is that I have no fear whatsoever. Of all of the things I felt I would have been afraid of before we left on our journey, 5 months ago, was sailing at night in the dark alone. But I’m finding it’s not so dark if there are stars out and especially if the moon is full.  I’m not really alone either; because Harley is sleeping right next to me and Rick is just down below if I need him. I also find the darkness and the movement of the boat quite soothing and peaceful. The only hard part is fighting off heavy eyelids and feeling tired. But with our two-hour shifts it’s not so bad.

Rick attempting to take a little nap before nightfall

Anyway, just after Rick’s watch and just as I was coming on mine, he informed me that the Tiller Pilot was not working. He tried to jury-rig a line to the tiller to hold it on course, but to no avail. I ended up hand steering for the next two hours. I didn’t realize how fortunate I was to have an autopilot until it wasn’t working anymore.  We have another double overnighter coming up when we sail to La Paz, so I’m hoping we can get that issue fixed before then.

As we quietly approached the Mazatlan Harbor entrance in the stillness of the morning, I came out from down below to a sea as smooth as silk and a sunrise lighting up the sky in hues of pink, yellow and grey. Good morning Mazatlan!

We entered the channel and turned left past the breakwater and anchored in the Old Harbor Anchorage. Not too soon after we anchored, our friends Cyndi and Marcus on SV Rebecca called and welcomed us to Mazatlan. They are at a marina about 6 miles away from where we are. We have plans to meet up with them tomorrow in downtown Mazatlan for dinner.  Unfortunately for them but fortunate for us, they are still here in Mazatlan. They arrived last week and have been stuck here due to engine problems. They are waiting for parts from the U.S. to be delivered.  If their parts come and their engine is running perfectly by the time we plan to leave, we will most likely buddy boat with them to La Paz.

Anchored at Old Harbor. El Faro in the background

After tidying up the boat after two nights of sailing, we put the dinghy in the water and took Harley to shore. She could hardly wait to go but was being very patient. Anyway, once to shore and finding a patch of grass for Harley, we continued walking. We walked into Old Town by way of the Malecon. It was really a beautiful walk along the water with waves crashing on the rocks that backed up to the wall that we were walking on.  We stopped for a bite to eat at the only place that looked open. The food was not that great and sort of a let down.  I’m afraid Rick is suffering from the lunch at this moment (7 hours later). He said while he was eating his lunch that the meat in his tortilla tasted like fish, not like they made a mistake in the order, but that maybe the meat was not good. It would be nice if we both could be feeling well at the same time. I am thankfully feeling pretty much back to normal as of yesterday. Thank you GOD! But now Rick is feeling crummy. I’m praying it’s only temporary!

Tomorrow we have lots of walking and exploring in store.