NORD TO SUR

It didn’t take long after leaving Ensenada before we were reminded about just why we love being out there so much. We’d enjoyed a lovely beam reach with all three sails flying (including first use of the new-to-us genoa) through the passage between Islas de Todos Santos and Cabo Punta Banda, when we were joined by a group of dolphins enjoying riding our bow wave. As they departed we turned to run south, and immediately saw whales breaching away to starboard. There were several, taking turns to leap skyward and crash spectacularly back down into the sea. They were obviously enjoying themselves, we appreciated watching their antics almost as much.

We ran under the poled-out genoa until dark, enjoying a spectacular sunset as the wind eased. By 7pm we needed to start the engine and motored through the rest of the night. We were delighted when dolphins arrived to ride our bow in bioluminescence just before 1am and more so as they were with us off and on through the rest of the night. Though the luminescence wasn’t as bright as it was off Islas Los Coronados it was again a magical experience under the stars, and one that helped pass the night quickly.

Some words on our night watch cycle – though it is still early days, we’ve set up a 3-hours on, 3-hours off schedule between 8pm and 8am. We alternate which of us starts at 8pm, as we’ve both found it hardest to sleep during the first off watch, but that also means the reward of the sunrise watch. Whichever of us has the 11pm-2am and 5am-8am off-watch tends to get more sleep, though sometimes a dawn arrival interrupts that last slumber. During daylight hours we share the helm on an ad-hoc basis, depending on who wants it, and who’s freshest, or into fishing, reading, sail trim, etc.

On the last watch, Andy enjoyed another spectacular sunrise as we approached San Quintin. Waking Shan, we rounded Cabo San Quintin and at 8:45am anchored off Punta Azufre outside the surf line. We’d heard this anchorage could be rolly, but we didn’t find it bad at all and after a relaxing day of reading and another great sunset with whales swimming distantly in the harbor, we both had a great night’s sleep. With 4 volcanic cones to the north, San Quintin is picturesque and a popular surf spot; the hills and beaches were inviting, but we wanted to reach Isla Cedros for a night or two before tucking into Bahia Tortugas (Turtle Bay) ahead of the strong north westerly winds forecast for Monday.

At 8:20am on Thursday 2nd February we raised anchor and exited the harbor for what was to be our longest passage to date. We motored for the first couple of hours and were soon entranced by a massive pod of dolphins joining us to bow ride. We watched as they swam to us from all directions, we’ve not seen so many swimming around the boat before. They were everywhere, and swam with us for a good 20 minutes. Dolphins love of bow riding compensates us so much for motoring; they surely must hear the engine and know it’s time for fun. Eventually the wind filled in from the NW and we were able to get the sails up, first with main and genoa, then as it backed behind us with the genoa only.

Just as the sun was setting, Shan caught her first fish! She’d set our handlines up from scratch during the morning, and had rigged both lines with cedar plug lures. We’d not tried fishing like this previously; we’d been waiting for Mexico and, so far, had done limited daylight passages. We were delighted then as she pulled in a nice sized Bonito at her first attempt. She spiked and filleted it as the sun went down and we cleaned up and settled in for the night.

Poling out the genoa has fast become our favorite way to run downwind, especially with the swell behind us. In 11-12 knots of wind, we can typically get 5 knots through water, and it only improves from there in fresher conditions. We were able to run in this manner until 9:15pm when the wind dropped; it wasn’t until morning before we were able to sail again, though we made good progress motoring through the night. With a near full moon, visibility was excellent and it was mesmerizing to watch the reflection of moonlight on the water.

As the sun rose we were close to Isla Cedros and the wind filled behind us for a nice run down the east side of the island, gybing under the main and genoa. It’s a spectacular island to sail by with jagged, bare and textured hills falling steeply to the sea. As we approached the harbor at Cedros Town we radioed the Port Captain who gave us permission to anchor in the town harbor. We entered the harbor at 2pm to find we were the only visiting cruising boat, so we were able to drop the anchor in a perfect location to view the pretty town and hills behind. It was a perfectly calm spot, lovely and warm in the sun and while looking out at the town over sundowners, we agreed that if we got permission from the Port Captain the next morning, we’d stay another night.

The next morning permission was duly granted and we paddleboarded ashore to explore the town. It is charming, but quite poor with a small number of stores and services. It seemed the locals are mainly fishermen or employed at the salt mining facility a few miles south. Many of the locals waved cheerfully to us as we explored. We walked up the main street and visited the Port Captain’s office to introduce ourselves, receiving several suggestions for places to eat from the captain who clearly wanted us to enjoy our stay; he later pulled up next to us in the main street in his official vehicle to make sure we’d found everything okay. Wandering through the graveyard on the ridge above the town center, we were moved by the bare simplicity of the many rock ringed gravesites, in most cases without even a marker.

Walking back into town past the charming church we had a tasty lunch and a couple of cervezas at Restaurante Delicias Yanny, impressed by its cleanliness, the portion sizes and the helpfulness of the staff. Thus fortified, we clambered out over the northern breakwater to get a nice view of Tino Pai set against the town and hills. Returning to our paddleboards we paddled back to our home past the local sealions and pelicans, and celebrated a delightful day with sundowners on the boat followed by delicious fresh sesame ginger Bonito over rice for dinner. It was a lovely day.

A prompt start the next day had the anchor up and Tino Pai motoring out of the harbor at 7:20am, as we wanted to be sure to be anchored in Bahia Tortugas by the time the forecast high winds arrived. The wind filled as we exited the shadow of Isla Cedros, and by the time we were passing to the west of Isla Natividad we had over 20 knots from the NW. Passing the island meant we’d left Baja Nord and were now in Baja Sur! As we turned to run towards Bahia Tortugas at 10am we were again running with just the poled out genoa, making a comfortable 6-7 knots with the swell from astern. At 10:18am we noticed a Gray Whale swimming alongside, about 50 yards to port. She slowly passed us, giving us 15-20 minutes of watching her shallow dives – we could see her pale shape under the water – and glimpses of her back as she surfaced to spout. As often as we’ve seen whales now, it is always spectacular.

We turned in to Bahia Tortugas just before 2pm, and by 2:20 had the anchor down in freshening conditions just south of the pier. For the first time Shan helmed for anchoring as Andy dropped the hook; it went perfectly, and we enjoyed our traditional post passage cocktail, watching dolphins in the anchorage as the sun set over Monte Bartolomé and the full moon rose behind us. Salud!