We pulled out our warm clothes, headlamps, offshore life jackets, tethers, emergency strobe lights, set up the lee cloth, pulled out the sleeping bag and prepared an easy dinner for our overnight passage to Isla Isabel.
We bypassed Isla Isabel last year and were looking looking forward to our visit. Isla Isabel is a national park island approximately 93 miles south west of Mazatlan and often referred to as the Galapagos of Mexico. We left at 1pm and had very light winds and calm seas, we saw one other sail boat and a fishing boat on our night watch. We arrived at Isla Isabel at 6am the following morning and the anchorage was full with eight sailboats. This is a tricky anchorage due to the rocky bottom, there are limited options and the areas we know that are sand bottom were all taken. We knew this could be a possibility so we decided we’d try again on our way back north and continue on to Matanchen Bay, another 42 miles away or 6-7 hour motor sail south east back towards the mainland of Mexico. We saw a beautiful sunrise, had some breakfast and napped in the cockpit. As we approached Matanchen our cell phones connected to service just outside the bay and we received a text from friends on another boat who were already in the bay and informed us a sailboat nearby had their dinghy stolen off the davits. Feeling tired and ready to stop, we decided to continue on to the next anchorage ahead of us. We sailed on for another 25 miles or so to Chacala, another small anchorage down the coast. We were relieved to find only one other boat in the anchorage when we arrived.
We spent two nights in Chacala and caught up on sleep. We went to shore for lunch with boat friends and had sundowners and snacks with them that evening on board Solitude. We felt well rested when we left for Banderas Bay and had an easy sail down the coast. We cast out our fishing line and hoped for a Mahi. As we rounded Punta Mita we hooked a fish and with two leaps out of the water we confirmed it was a Mahi Mahi. A big one. Finally! We have been hoping to catch a Mahi since last cruising season. Our excitement was short lived when the line snapped and the fish took off taking one of our best jet lures with him. We were bummed to loose it and also felt badly that the fish is now out there with a lure stuck in his mouth.
We reached the anchorage in Punta Mita and were greeted by humpback whale calves and mamas. It’s incredible that such big animals come into water that’s only 25’ deep. We spent three nights here. One early morning we heard a whale spout just outside the forward cabin hatch and a moment later remnants of the spray came in the salon hatch and landed on the table and settee. We went to shore to stretch our legs, walk the town of Corral Del Risco and chatted with a couple from Colorado who also came in from the anchorage. Unfortunately their dinghy was stolen as well this season. They had actually left their dinghy in the water overnight and they knew that was a mistake. We made water during our visit in Punta Mita and headed further into the bay to La Cruz.
La Cruz will be our home base for the next three weeks. This is one of our favorite towns to wander. We enjoy the live music, the Sunday farmers market and walking the beach to Bucerias. La Cruz is also an easy bus ride for day trips to Puerto Vallarta and Sayulita. This year we’ll spend our visit at anchor rather than in the marina. The anchorage is quiet, there’s always a nice breeze and swimming from the boat in the afternoon is divine.
SV Solitude 