Nov 17, 2012, Saturday, Los Muertos to Pichilingue

And so on we trek.  Despite the strong wind, we are only going 1-2 knots and it is almost impossible to hold a course.  Finally Alan decides to turn on the engine to see if we can get back closer to shore where maybe either the wind will be less or the seas calmer, or both.  He is starting to get that look he gets when he has not had enough to eat and needs sleep.  We are definitely going to stop at Los Muertos for the day to rest. Eventually we get close enough to land that things do calm down.  And then they calm to the point that there is now almost no wind and we take down the staysail, too, leaving just the mizzen.  Finally I can heat some soup and get a quick nap.  Alan finally decides that it is safe to leave me in charge while he gets a nap. 

Now we have the problem of time to kill until it is light enough to anchor safely.   And so I zigzag my way up the coast, offshore until I come out from behind the lea of the point and hit rough waves again and then inshore until I am too close and then back off shore again.  Since the engine is running we have the radar on, which is nice since it is fairly shallow close to shore.  The radar uses so much power to run that we usually do not turn it on unless we also have this engine on.  This works out pretty well actually because we usually have the engine on when we are going in and out of a harbor or in some kind of tricky situation.  There are an amazing number of lights along what we thought was a deserted coastline.  Way off in the distance is a glow from Cabo San Lucas.  The moon went down about 9pm and the stars are bright as usual.  Back and forth I go until eventually I decide that this is a silly waste of gas.  It is still four hours till dawn.  If we are not going anywhere anyway, we might as well turn off the engine.  We drift along until we can see the lights of the anchorage then heave to to wait for the dawn.  The minute it is light we turn on the engine, motor in, drop anchor and fall into bed.

The day is spent sleeping, swimming and cleaning up the mess of stuff that crashed.  Actually it is not as bad as it seemed last night.  There is the usual pile of books and charts and pencils and glasses and small screws and washers that never got put away but everything that was in it’s proper place did just fine. It is lovely and calm here, and hot.  We set up the wind scoop over the hatch and the cabin is instantly cooler. 

Once we catch up on our sleep we get out the charts and cruising guides and study the next leg.  This time we will be prepared for anything.  First we realize that we will be going through a narrow channel between and island the the shore.  Charlie’s Charts strongly suggests this be done at slack tide.  Somehow we had missed that note earlier.  Now we need to see if we have  functioning tide app on the iPad.  OK, low tide at 6:30 pm.  We figure a couple of hours to raise anchor, get out of the harbor and around the point so a 3:30 cast off should work.  It is going to be another all night sail, ending with another narrow passage into the harbor at La Paz.  We would like to get there at dawn.  It looks to be about 30 miles.  At this point, we have absolutely no average speed to use for estimating, so we just pick 4 kts, randomly.  That gives us around 10 hours straight sail and more with tacks.  That should get us there in the morning. 

After one more round of naps and swims and a big lunch, we set off.  Everything is tied down tight.  (By the way, the fenders cam through the wild night ride just fine).  Food for the night is ready.  Thermos is full of hot water.  Alan has a plan for exactly what to do with the sails, depending on how much wind we get.  At this point is seems useless to try to get a forecast, since they never seem to have any relation to the actual conditions.  Much like sailing in the Santa Barbara Channel.

There is almost no wind when we come out of the harbor and around the point.  It is a beautiful evening.  As we enter the channel we pick up the tide and soon are going at 7 kts.  Well this is going to wreck havoc with our careful plans.  One thing we did not expect was extra speed but is is early and anything can still happen tonight.  Since it is lovely and calm and everything is under control and the engine is on, Alan opts  for another nap.  The sun sets in a blaze of lovely colors.  Little by little the mountains on shore turn to silhouette.  There is a new moon following the sun down in the west and the stars are getting brighter.  Only thing wrong is the sound of the engine running.  Then I feel a puff of air.  Gradually, as we pass the end of the island the wind picks up and finally I can turn off the engine.  Now it is perfect.  Alan wakes up and cooks dinner and we eat together in the cockpit and sing silly songs.

After one more round of naps and swims and a big lunch, we set off.  Everything is tied down tight.  (By the way, the fenders cam through the wild night ride just fine).  Food for the night is ready.  Thermos is full of hot water.  Alan has a plan for exactly what to do with the sails, depending on how much wind we get.  At this point is seems useless to try to get a forecast, since they never seem to have any relation to the actual conditions.  Much like sailing in the Santa Barbara Channel.

There is almost no wind when we come out of the harbor and around the point.  It is a beautiful evening.  As we enter the channel we pick up the tide and soon are going at 7 kts.  Well this is going to wreck havoc with our careful plans.  One thing we did not expect was extra speed but is is early and anything can still happen tonight.  Since it is lovely and calm and everything is under control and the engine is on, Alan opts  for another nap.  The sun sets in a blaze of lovely colors.  Little by little the mountains on shore turn to silhouette.  There is a new moon following the sun down in the west and the stars are getting brighter.  Only thing wrong is the sound of the engine running.  Then I feel a puff of air.  Gradually, as we pass the end of the island the wind picks up and finally I can turn off the engine.  Now it is perfect.  Alan wakes up and cooks dinner and we eat together in the cockpit and sing silly songs.