Puerto Don Juan

From our anchorage at Las Cruces on the Southwest corner of Isla Tiburon the sea looked calm and inviting. Once out in the channel between Islas Esteban and Tiburon, however, the 25 knot NNW winds and 4-foot swell made for uncomfortable going. We turned around and re-anchored for another night before heading north.




Our destination--Puerto Don Juan and a rendezvous with fellow Portland Rose City Yacht Club members, Delphi and Mike Godsil on sailing vessel Trig.



We had two days of respite from the wind, during which we kayaked around the bay, hiked to Bahia Pescador in the larger Bahia de las Animas and motored a bit further north into the Bahia de los Angeles where we spent a rolly, windy night. The next morning we had the chance to practice "how to untangle 3/8 inch anchor chain from the anchor while the wind is blowing 20 knots and you are drifting" (fortunately, the wind was blowing us offshore, not on!). Mike and Delphi stood by until we had things clear on the foredeck and were underway. Many thanks to them!



Puerto Don Juan is not a port. It is considered a "hurricane hole," a place to find shelter from high winds and heavy seas. But there is no development here, just coyotes calling at night from the hillsides, pelicans and cormorants sunning themselves on jagged reefs, osprey perched on cactus, vultures circling above, and snakes and lizards tucked into rocks and arroyos.