Zihuatanejo Anchorage

We've become very familiar with the term "mackerel sky" in the past week. These sunsets have been breath-taking.



Five days in the Zihuatanejo Bay anchorage...lots of time to explore the area and to remember that living on a boat is not always difficult. When you think about it, the ride into shore is just another way to move from our "house" to whatever destination we choose. It is good to remember we are not driving through snow or rain.

Mac Club Zihua

We've done this before. On shore, cruisers settle into computer work. The sailors at this table are clearly sophisticated in their choice of machine!

Pescadores de Zihuatanejo

OK, you're asleep. True, it IS almost 7:00 AM and the sun is peeking over the eastern hillside; the air is clear and the roosters in town have been crowing for at least three hours.





But it's still a little unnerving (the first time) to hear the slap of the net against the hull of the boat, to rouse yourself from that early morning stage between dreams and reality, and, poking your head out the hatch, stare into a warm smile from one of the fishermen netting their "bait fish" for their day's work.



Right there next to the boat.


Commercial and sports fishing are an important part of Zihuatanejo's economy. It turns out that smaller fish (6-8 inches in length) seem to enjoy cruising under the sailboats that sit at anchor. They make great fish for bait and we were glad the share the bounty.

Caleta de Campos

We left Manzanillo at midday, spending another night underway and getting into Caleta de los Campos late the next afternoon. We joined S/V Morgana, out of Canada, anchored in a sweet little bay with a beautiful beach and friendly residents...three youngsters swam out to welcome us in.



Fishing is a major occupation for people in the little pueblo of Caleta and we watched as anglers tried their luck from the breakwater that protected us from the Pacific waves. Next morning we left at 5:30, 0-dark-hundred, and wended our way through the well-lit pangas fishing off the mouth of the bay.

Manzanillo

The weather forecasters keep telling us that the weather is "very unusual" for this time of year along the western Mexican coast. We are more than ready to believe them. After leaving La Paz, Bahia San Gabriel, and Bahia Los Muertos, we set out across the Sea of Cortez. It was our intention to go non-stop to Zihuatanejo, about 650 miles, seven days and six nights at sea.

We didn't make it that far!

After 4 nights out at sea and about 75 miles south of Cabo Corrientes, we noticed that the clouds to the north were getting bigger, blacker, and more flickery with lightening. Storm on the way.

We put two reefs in the mainsail, took in the headsail, and considered trying to put in at Chamela, an anchorage about 3 hours away. We decided to continue on, and would have been hit by the storm before making it to the anchorage in any case.

It lasted from 8:00PM until midnight, at its peak winds reaching 45-50 knots and seas building quickly to 15+ feet. We rode it downwind, about 150 degrees off our aft quarter, getting slapped around a bit by the waves, and pooped once by a relatively small wave.



We were tired and the black clouds moved further south and east, still loaded with lightening, so we didn't know if another squall was coming or not. We decided to stop in Manzanillo to rest a bit.



We were glad for the two days anchored at Bahia Santiago in Manzanillo...another storm hit the next night. We had 40 knot winds at the anchorage...further north in La Cruz, at the entrance to Banderas Bay, they clocked 80-100 knots of wind (that's hurricane force, folks!). And it rained! and rained and rained.



Global warming is alive and well: the ice caps are melting and they are condensing as rain over Mexico! The 15 inches of rain we got in 48 hours reminded us of all the old leaks we had on the boat, and pointed out a few new ones as well. We slept on the settee since the hatch above the aft berth was one of the weak spots in our moisture-defense system.


Manzanillo is a very busy port, so coming in and leaving required vigilance to make sure one avoided the commercial vessels. They travel a bit faster than we do!

Life at Sea

We had hopes of sailing from La Paz across the Sea of Cortez, out into the Pacific and along the western coast of Mexico to Zihuatanejo. It's about 650 miles and would have put us out for a week or so. Our first days were uneventful, a few whales, a few manta rays, dolphins coming to visit and play in our bow wake. The sunsets were spectacular, Scorpio rose in the east each morning, Orion set in the west, and we shared watch-on-watch of 3 hours each.





In the night, about 40 miles out of Isla Isabela, north of Isla Marias, we acquired some hitchhikers. Three gannets perched on our bow rail through the night, flying off only when land came in sight.

We didn't begrudge them the ride, but it is a pain to scrub the deck when they leave! Guests leaving behind dirty sheets!



Will there be a green flash???!!!!

Bahia San Gabriel

We left La Paz and sailed across the bay to Isla Espiritu Santo, anchoring in the long, narrow white-sand beach of San Gabriel. The tide is marked, our dinghy in the foreground was bobbing in nearly three feet of water when we got back from our hike several hours after anchoring.



The hike across the arroyo to Bonanza Beach on the east side of the island is well worth the effort. The sand is exquisite! Your feet sink deep into the white sand formed as the sea has worn down coral and shells.



Erosion of wind and water left this tree balanced on tippy-toe.



The herons and gulls easily leave their marks in the soft sand.