Music's sail from La Paz to La Cruz

We left La Paz at about 6:30AM on December 17, anchoring at Los Muertos at about 3:30PM. The next day we sailed down to Los Frailes in about 15 knots of wind, dropping the hook again at about 3:30 PM. Just after anchoring, 5 mantas made a couple of jumps in tandem as if to say "Welcome Back". The following morning, Sunday, we left Los Frailes at about 7:30 to head across to the mainland where we dropped the hook almost exactly 48 hours later off the beach of the small community of Jaltemba. After a breakfast of scrambled eggs, toast, and orange slices we raised anchor again, and headed the remaining 40 miles or so to here, La Cruz de Huanacaxtle (which everyone just refers to as La Cruz), just north of Puerto Vallarta. We'll be here at least through the holidays and into the new year.

Highlights of the crossing include sailing through a sea of jellies for miles on end (including both a great variety of jelly fish and siphonophores). Then, as we were passing the 3 Marias, Gail saw the complete lunar eclipse while on her watch from midnight to 3AM. Finally, on the short leg from Jaltemba to here we were privileged to see what we believe were 2 humpback whales breaching simultaneously, like bookends they arose from the placid water baring most of their massive bodies before falling on opposite sides not more then 50 yards from the boat. To give you an idea of just how close they were the report we heard when they hit the water was a thunderous "crack" rather than a splash - all together a most awesome experience!

Google Earth showing Music's current and recent anchorages

Sunset, Ensenada Grande, Isla Partida

December 4th, treated Gail and me to one of the most stunning sunsets we've seen together. To share the full experience with you, this photo has never been touched with a photo editor.

South Anchorage at Isla San Francisco

Our anchorage at Isla San Francisco came complete with a beautiful white sand beach in a stunning setting. We shared the anchorage with 4 other boats during the 2 days we were there.

A Note from John and Gail

We're heading back into La Paz in a couple of days to prepare for our trip south to Puerto Vallarta (PV). We should be heading south on about Dec 15-17. We'll work our way back to Los Frailes, then cross to the mainland, most likely to a place called San Blas, about 90 to 100 miles east of PV. It should be about a 36 hour trip from Los Frailes to an island called Isabella, where if conditions are right we will overnight, then finish the trip the next day.

So far, however, we are having a fabulous time up here in the lower Sea of Cortez on the "Baja" side. We just spent the last 2 days up at Isla San Francisco and area. Yesterday we did some fabulous snorkeling. What made it fabulous was that near the end of our dive we headed across a path of sand, about 20ft deep, and came across some "garden eels". Basically they look like grass growing, but if you wait and watch, or dive down and get close, they retreat into their holes when threatened. We'd seen some before while diving in Hawaii, but they are always a treat.

Gail doesn't free dive but I'd always done it, long before I knew there was a name for it. My max depth has always been about 30ft but I can stay down for about a minute. Don't worry, I always surface early because I know of lots of accidents where free divers stay too long and blackout - Don't need to go there. A few extra seconds are not worth dying for. Yesterday, one time when I was at depth, I thought "Gee I've been here for a while" but then I looked up at the surface and thought that's a long way up, so it's time to go!

Anyway, back to the end of our snorkel - at one point we counted 5 young Manta Rays swimming in our field of view. Sometimes they were zooming around scooping in all the food they could (like whale sharks - they survive on the ingestion of plankton and krill)while at other times they would move slowly and gracefully. It was really fun watching them change pace at a moments notice. As opposed to the slow and always graceful movements of mature Mantas these "kids" would dart off willy nilly as fast as they could in whatever direction inspired them at a moments notice! - Kids, they are all the same regardless of species!

This morning I was privileged to see another baby manta jumping out of the water. It made a series of three skips across the surface before disappearing. I hope I never grow tired of watching nature at its finest!!

"Working for Rewards"

"Working for the Rewards"

Before we left San Diego, my dive buddy, Jeff, asked, “Where will you be for Thanksgiving?”

“We think La Paz”

Then, “Where will you be for Christmas?”

“We think P.V.” (Puerto Vallarta)

Following that he asked “What are you going to do with all that time in between?”

Well, today is December 5th and we are anchored about 40 miles north of La Paz on the south side of Isla San Francisco. – If only San Francisco, CA were this nice. But I’m getting ahead of myself.

Backing up - It's a fact that cruising means doing boat maintenance in exotic ports. Our friends who have been cruising already know this while some of our friends who have never been cruising may not comprehend the reality of the statement. After the Pac Cup in 2008 while in Hawaii I'd already become acquainted with this truism and so for this trip I tried to get as very much prep done as possible before we left. Upon starting a journey like this it doesn't take much time, sailing, or wear to initiate the cycle of maintenance.

So, here we were pulling into La Paz, nothing major has happened - knock on wood. But the solar panels still aren't putting any power to the grid. The dingy wheels still need to be installed, and one of the D-ring patches that we installed in San Jose del Cabo already needs to be reattached – perhaps we should have done a better job the first time. This was my list of projects.

My sweetheart, however, had her own list of projects and upon asking what I intended to work on she asked if before I launch into those projects I could get the forward head straightened away. Not much work involved just installing 2 teak racks for toiletries and a teak plate to create a “finished” look on the watermaker overboard pump hose. I also needed to secure the overboard pump hose better than it was.

By the time we left, the forward head looked great. And, along the way, I made, varnished, and installed a teak cover for an unsightly hole in the aft head left over from changing our plumbing there. I also managed to get the D-ring pasty cleaned up so it can be reattached to the dingy, and removed the old wheel brackets from the dingy so I can install the new ones. Add to that, helping other cruisers solve some of their problems, and the myriad other things that go on in a day's activity and, well, things just take longer to get done when in Mexico.

Ahh! But a few days ago we saw, and went swimming with, our first whalesharks in the Bay of La Paz. They were not huge by whaleshark standards, but still 18-25ft. Yesterday we were anchored on Isla Partida at Ensenada Grande enjoying an absolutely stunning sunset, and now here we are in a beautiful Isla San Francisco anchorage, the wind is dying, the sky is clear, the weather warm, and we are out for a week in the islands enjoying the rewards of why we put all this effort into getting here - life just doesn’t get any better

Los Islotes - Curious Sea Lion Pup

Moon Rise over El Cardonal, Sea of Cortez

El Cardonal Sunset 11/19/2010

Moos Rise El Cardonal 14 Years Later

Music Anchorages Los Frailes to La Paz

San Jose del Cabo to La Paz - a Sojourn

We took our time coming up to La Paz from San Jose del Cabo with our first stop in Bahia Los Frailes (Bay of the Friers, or monks) where we anchored for 3 days. We were having coffee in the V-berth our first morning there when we heard a strange kind of noise like the flapping of a jib as you tack the boat. It wasn't windy so it shouldn't be that, and even if it was, it was way to close! Popping up thru the hatch I was treated to the most unusual sight of sting rays jumping out of the water then belly flopping back in. It wasn't just one ray jumping and it wasn't just once or twice, but rather, a whole school of them, and they jumped repetedly as they worked their way across the entire anchorage!

That evening we learned that Los Frailes is kind of a nursery for manta rays and it's the young ones that jump. While the most impressive display occurred that first morning at Los Frailes we occasionally saw rays jumping throughout the rest of our stay at Los Frailes. Unfortunately we can't share any photos with you because our cameras were at the nav station. Lesson learned? Keep the cameras handy!

On our third morning there the winds were quiet so Gail and I went for an extended dingy ride around the point toward Cabo Pulmo and did a sort of drift snorkle back towards Music, swimming lazily while towing the dingy behind us. The water was so clear we could clearly see the bottom which was at times 60 to 70 feet down. Just a couple of the bigger fish we saw down deep were sea bass and grouper. In the mid water column were schools of mackerel and other fish, while in the really shallow water swam schools of tangs, convict fish, and an occasional brightly colored angel fish.

The next morning, Nov 18th, we were up at 5:30 to get an early start to get around the double capes of Los Frailes and Pulmo before the winds and chop got too severe. Together these two capes form what is locally called the "East Cape". About 45 miles later we dropped the hook in 25 feet of water over a sandy bottom at Ensenada de Los Muertos, or "Cove of the Dead". The cruising guides claim the bay and smaller cove supposedly got this name after the deadman mooring system employed there during mining operations in the early 20th century. But I have my doubts. After all, a developer who has moved in and built a really posh resort refers to it as Bahia de los Suenos (pronounced Suenyous), or Bay of Dreams which sounds much more inviting.

After getting settled we dinghied over to the resort and had drinks and appetizers with cruising friends Daryl and Sarah of El Tiburon, a Tanaya 47, to celebrate my birthday. There certainly could be worse ways of spending a birthday! - John

The following day we got up even earlier to get through the Cerralvo and San Lorenzo channels before the wind picked up in the afternoon. Heading North, we had about a knot of current against us but the water was flat so we made good time. After clearing San Lorenzo channel we turned right and headed to one of our favorite anchorages - Ensenada el Cardonal on Isla Partida.

We had such wonderful memories from anchoring here in 1996 during a charter out of La Paz that we just had to visit El Cardonal again. During that charter we had the anchorage all to ourselves and were treated to a full moon rise between the saddle of 2 hills just as the sun was setting. Would we be lucky enough to have it again 14 yrs later? Well, luck was with us and we had the rising full moon during a stunning sunset.

Is it possible this visit could be any more special? - the short answer is Yes!

Some folks we met in the anchorage told us about snorkeling at Los Islotes where they swam with the sea lions. Minutes later we found ourselves in the dingy motoring the 5 miles to the islands (more like rocks) and jumped in the water. WOW!!! Right below the dingy were hundreds of colorful reef fish just hanging out in the current.

A short swim took us to a swim through in one of the rocks. The walls of the "hole" were covered with beautiful soft corals, and to top that off while in the swim-through sea lion pups came right up to us and swam around us. Right behind came Momma sea lion to check us out. What a fantastic snorkel - in fact we call it one of the best dives we've had anywhere, including the scuba diving we've done in Hawaii and Fiji.

One of the things we pay a lot of attention to is the weather. Unfortunately the weather was going to change over the next few days so we decided to head into La Paz and get a slip at a marina. It was going to be nice to wash all the salt off the boat and get a few lingering projects done, not to mention replenish the food stores.

We're currently in Marina Palmira for several days while we wait for the weather to settle down again. While here we've seen several other cruisers from Gate 11 Marina Village, our previous home port on Alameda, and yesterday we had Thanksgiving dinner at the marina restaurant. There was a big cruisers pot luck Thanksgiving dinner put on by a local cruisers club but it was overbooked so we missed out on that. We had a great time anyway, and finished the day off watching our favorite cruising movie, Capt'n Ron. - Gail

Lower Sea of Cortez

A note on sailing the west coast.

Upon leaving San Francisco, we encountered 27 knots of wind while heading out the gate.

Then, upon crossing the finish line of the Baja Haha, a couple miles short of Cabo Falso,

or "false cape"; itself approximately 5 miles from Cabo San Lucas, we ran into strong head

winds. Winds of about the same velocities as those we encountered while leaving S.F. Somehow it

seems fitting that we had to fight our way out of San Francisco Bay, and then

fight our way across the threshold, into the Sea of Cortez.

On a lighter note, upon rounding Cabo San Lucas, Music has now sailed the entire west coast of the 48

contiguous states and then some. With having done the race around Vancouver Island, Music

and I have have sailed approximately 2000 nautical miles of coastline from Port Hardy, above Cape Scott at the

northern tip of Vancouver Island to Cabo San Lucas. En route, the strongest winds we've encountered on any

stretch of this trek were about 35 knots. And, these were found on both the west side of Vancouver

Island on the leg from Winter Harbour to Ucluelet (sp?), and on the leg from Cape Mendecino to Point

Reyes during my delivery of Music to San Francisco from the Pacific Northwest.

While other stretches of coast can be notoriously rough, Music was lucky to find only light winds.

Just one example typical "rough" conditions, can be found on the stretch of coast from Point Sur, just south of Carmel,

to Point Conception, just a little north of Santa Barbara. Here, strong winds and rough seas are the rule rather than the exception.

Nov 14:

By my reckoning we are now officially in the Sea of Cortez! The last 5 miles or so of our

route were at a compass heading of about 335M (magnetic) which means we are officially

inside the Sea of Cortez. From this afternoon on, if we head due west we will hit land.

No more open sea to the west, at least for a while.

We left San Jose del Cabo at about 9:40 this morning and dropped our hook in Bahia

Los Frailes (Bay of the Friers - that's right, Bay of the Monks) in about 35 ft of water

at 15:15. It is the first time on this trip we can actually see the bottom and see our

anchor - Yeah!! We think we'll be here for about 3 days as Pulmo Reef, the only coral reef

in the Sea of Cortez (according to the cruising guides), is just around the corner. We plan

to do some snorkeling and hopefully get in a dive or two before continuing up the

sea toward La Paz. - Please keep your fingers crossed for us. While we wanted to do some diving

in the Channel Islands and perhaps Catalina on our way to San Diego, time and circumstances said No!

As for the weather, it turned out that staying those few extra days in San Jose del Cabo was

the right call! Upon anchoring here, some folks from a nearby boat dropped by in their dingy and

reported that they wind conditions of 20 knots 2 days ago, and 30 knots of wind through the

anchorage yesterday. I hate to say it, but I've got to turn off the computer now. It's time to

drop the dink (dinghy) in the water, and... Ahhh, but then come appetizers, brie and French Bread!

Cheers, John

Music & the Baja Haha

Positions depicted for s/v Music are for visual reference only and do not replicate the actual track of the vessel. Our route from San Diego to Cabo San Lucas covered about 850NM (nautical miles).

San Jose del Cabo

Here we are in sunny San Jose del Cabo and have a moment to breath before we take off for La Paz. We finished the Baja HaHa cruisers rally which had about 150 boats participating. The first leg of the rally was from San Diego to Bahia des Tortugas or Turtle Bay. The next leg was from Turtle Bay to Bahia Santa Maria and the 3rd leg was to Cabo San Lucas. At Turtle Bay and Santa Maria the locals would host a beach part for all the cruisers (over 300 of us). The parties were basically a fund raiser for the towns and the locals would prepare food and have beer and margaritas - all for a reasonable price. While in Santa Maria John helped another boat, Phambili, undo their spinnaker wrap. The rally was 10 days and we arrived in Cabo San Lucas on Nov. 5.

We left Cabo San Lucas after the HaHa events were over and are now in San Jose del Cabo. Cabo San Lucas was crowded, noisy, and expensive. San Jose is laid back and a much more relaxing place to be. We went into the town and to the Mega store to do some reprovisioning. We'll be taking off tomorrow to head to La Paz and enjoy some anchorages along the way.

Adios amigos! Gail and John

We are currently in San Jose del Cabo and should be heading toward la Paz in a couple of days. But right now are waiting for some changes in the weather, and that allows me to address some things that either came up on our trip south, or I just plain haven't gotten around too yet. At any rate our Mexican Spanish is improving and we devote at least a small potion of every day to learing more. - John - We will soon share more about our trip south. Maybe manana (man-yana phonetic spelling).

Love Gail and me.

Posted by karen

Hi
Got a note from John and Gail the rally is over and they are now headed for La Paz and then to Bahia Las Frailes and do some diving.
More later.Karen

All set up waiting for posts from John and Gail.

Karen

The night before the day after

Sooooo. Here we are a little over 12 hours before this shin dig starts and well, we're tired. been a long day but Music IS ready. Crew on board include Hal & Laurie, and George & Kim. On a personal Music note. Once we pass into Mexican waters Music will have sailed the entire west coast of the 48 contiguous states. Actually Music has sailed more than that, having been to Port Hardy on the Van Isle 360.

Cheers to all,
John

2 years and 1 day (Sept 21, 2010) after finally arriving home from my Pacific Cup sojourn Music sailed out the Golden Gate and turned left. Where are we headed? Sunny San Diego for the start of the cruising rally "Baha Haha". For those of you not familiar with it, This rally launches from San Diego and finishes at Cabo San Lucas at the southern tip of the Baja peninsula. We have 2 stops along the way, the first being Turtle Bay. Total distance is about 850 miles, as measured on Google maps, so this measurement is not in nautical miles.

We only have 2 days before the start and lots to do but, I'll post again when I can.

Cheers, John