Feb 4-6, 2013, Monday, crossing from Baja to Mazitlan, Mexico

Monday morning dawned with a clear sky.  We were up bright and early and ready to finally go.  One of the other boats at anchor with us had already left and Gemini was getting ready to go too.  The sea was calm with a light wind, in fact almost too light.  After all that waiting it now looked like we would be motoring across.  But as the day went on the wind gradually picked up and Rhapsody kicked up her heals and began to sail.  For once the wind was actually coming from more or less the “right” direction.   There were swells, what they call a short, choppy sea, but not too bad.  Seas are always easier to deal with in the daylight when you can see them coming.  We actually got the Monitor wind vane to work.  You remember the wind vane.  It is like a plastic fin that is attached to the back of the boat to catch the wind.  A system of ropes and pulleys  attaches it to the tiller to keep the boat on course.  Unfortunately it is very cranky.  If things are not adjusted just right it takes you off in some other direction.  So while it is lovely not to have to grasp the tiller every minute, we still need to keep a sharp eye on it.  Anyway, it was a lovely day.  Hourly log entries showed us heading slightly north or our destination, which was perfect.  We can always sail down along the coast when we get there.

Just before dark, Alan decided that it would be smart to reef the main sail.  Somehow the strong winds always seem to come up in the dark and we did not want to get caught fighting the sails in high winds and rough seas in the dark again.  We have learned that lesson.  I also bundled up in my weather proof overalls, hat and jacket.  Of course then the wind dropped to almost nothing.  So we turned the motor on, had dinner and and enjoyed a beautiful sunset.  The quiet did not last long.  After about an hour, the wind shifted to the south and began to pick up, getting close to 20 knots during the night, with crazy seas.  Of course the wind vane does not work in this weather so we got a workout over night with not a lot a sleep.  I have no trouble falling asleep when I am off and then waking up on time but Alan cannot seem to get to sleep and then can’t wake up or stay awake on his watch.   One more thing we are going to have to sort out before we make the big crossing. In the morning the wind dropped again and switched back to NW.  Looking at our overnight course on the chart, we had sailed almost due south.  Good thing we were going north of our destination during the day.

Actually, we did not have a chart that covered the whole way.  We had one chart for the coast of Baja and another Mazatlan but nothing for the ocean in between.  Before we left this morning I had made a chart by drawing lines of latitude and longitude on the back of one of the other charts.  I used the same scale as the one for the coast of Baja and plotted where Mazatlan should be.  It was not perfectly accurate but close enough.   With the 2 charts side by side we could actually see our course the whole way across.  Alan told me later that this is what you have to do across the Pacific since there is not much point in publishing a chart that is nothing but blue water.

Day 2 was more of the same.  Clear skies, the swells dropped and the seas smoothed out.  We were once again able to sail a good course.  If we keep this up we should be there in tomorrow morning.  I got ambitious and made pigs in a blanket for lunch using bisquick and my stove top oven.  Came out greatI  I am getting quite good at cooking under sail.  I expected the wind to drop and shift direction at sunset but this time it didn’t.  It just kept getting stronger and the swells were back.  Alan is really tired by now and has decided that 4 hour watches are too long.  We shifted to 2 hours on and 2 hours off.  Unfortunately all that did was make him more tired.  About 4 in the morning I realized that the boat did not seem to be moving any more.  He had decided that he was just too tired and hove to for the rest of the night.  “Heaving to” is sort of like parking in the middle of the ocean.  You set the sails and tiller so that they work against each other and you just sit there, gently rocking, while the winds howl around you.  We have been practicing this a lot and now it came in handy.

With the dawn we could see land and we were right on target.  Of course it had only been two days, but still it felt good to end up where we wanted to.  Once we were both up and had our oatmeal and coffee, we set the sails and took off again.  We can see the  tall hotels that mark the “golden zone” of Mazatlan.  This is where all the marinas are and where almost all of the cruisers stay.  There are supposed to be hot showers, laundry, and even a hot tub and spa.   But it is 10 miles north of the city and I want to be able to go ashore for Carnival.  Our cruising guide also shows two places to anchor closer to the city.  We decide to anchor in Stone Harbor for the night to get the lay of the land so we head off south along the coast.  I was surprised at how rocky the coast is here.  Reminds me a lot of the coast along Monterey.  There are steep rocky islands all over the place.   It took several hours to sail down the coast and into Stone Island.  It does not look like much of an anchorage.  It is very shallow and does not have much protection from the wind.  Finally we dropped the anchor in about 15 feet of water.  It was later afternoon and time for an early dinner and bed.