SV Solitude

Entering the Southern Sea of Cortez

We left Muertos for La Paz and made a few quick stops along the way. We had a slow, bumpy cruise thru the Cerralvo Channel, a stretch that is known for strong currents and funneling winds. We stopped at Playa Bonanza on Isla Espíritu Santo to rest for the night. After anchoring and when the engine was still idling in neutral, a loud shrieking sound came from the engine compartment. After further inspection we found a loose belt. Jim tightened up the belt and after testing the noise was gone. There is always maintenance to be done and we were relieved this was an easy fix.

Baja Bound

We waited a few extra days in Mazatlan while another norther came roaring down the Sea of Cortez. We took advantage of one last long walk from the marina to the malecon and into centro. We stopped at a palapa restaurant on the beach and had the Zarandeado; a whole fish split head to tail and grilled over hot coals. Zarandeado is a specialty in Mazatlán and surprisingly we had not had it yet, although we’ve made a similar dish at home. It was cooked simply with charred rings of roma tomatoes, onion and poblano peppers. Very good. The day before we left we saw a flock of six flamingos fly over the boat in the marina and had dinner with a group of cruisers that night.

Points North

For the first time since early February we are moving on, it’s time to head north and start our adventures in the Sea of Cortez. This is really our focus for the season and we have enjoyed waiting out the cool temps and heavy “El Norte” (the north/northerly) winds that develop in the sea when a system passes over California and the four corners region. We’ve all heard about the record weather California has had this season and as such the El Norte events in the sea have been frequent and close together. We’ve read Baja fishing reports that say this has been the coldest, windiest winter ever for the area. We expect more northers this time of year as the season comes to an end and this weather will have more of an influence on our anchorages in the sea, when we move and if we do.

Yelapa

As we wait for the northerly winds to settle down in the Sea of Cortez, we sailed across Banderas Bay to spend a few nights in the remote fishing village of Yelapa. There are no roads into Yelapa, no streets and therefore no cars. Locals travel by foot, donkey, horse or four-wheeler. The land in Yelapa is collectively owned by the community and electricity was only recently introduced beginning in 2001. Most all visitors to Yelapa enter by boat for a day excursion and there are a few rental options for those looking to stay over. The anchorage is fairly small and very deep, moorings are available for cruisers as the depth quickly drops to 130’ about a hundred yards off the beach.

Friends, Food, and Sailing on Banderas Bay

We spent the month of February in Banderas Bay anchoring between La Cruz and Punta Mita. Like most, we typically keep a schedule in one way or another that structures our days, but this past month the days flowed organically and with no schedule to prod us along. We leaned into doing what feels good in the moment. Even our natural 5am wake up has been closer to the 7am start of sunrise this time of year in Banderas Bay.

Mazatlan to Banderas Bay – Third Anchorage is the Charm

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.

El Quelite, Los Osuna and La Noria

While we were delayed an additional week in Mazatlan, we connected with our friend Jerry, a local Eco Taxi driver we met last spring, for an inland tour. Jerry was born and raised in Mazatlan and is a certified tour guide. Jerry picked us up at the marina at 8:30am for a full day excursion into the foothills North East of Mazatlan between the ocean and the Sierra Madre mountain range. We visited the towns of El Quelite and La Noria, both entry points into the Sierra Madres, as well as a small tequila distillery, Los Osuna.

Cruising Season has Begun! Mayhem in Mazatlán

We are back in Mazatlán and ready for another cruising season! Solitude is in great shape from the summer with only a few items to address before we set sail.

Mazatlan, the Pearl of the Pacific

A short day sail from Punta Mita, we set anchor in Jaltemba to break up our trip to Matanchen. There was one other sailboat in the anchorage off Isla La Pena and the island beach was crowded with locals during Semana Santa (Holy Week). We sat on the cabin top and watched water taxis taking people back to shore until the island was empty and quiet by 6pm. We fell asleep with birds circling overhead before heading out early the next morning for Matanchen.

Let’s get back out there

Solitude has been in La Cruz for the month of March while we enjoyed a little more time in one of our favorites stops, flew home to see family for a week and spent time in Bucerias with friends who flew down from Colorado. It was wonderful to have the conveniences of home and celebrate time with family and friends. At the end of March we provisioned for our trip north and had a perfect, 10 day weather window of favorable conditions for leaving Banderas Bay. In going through our regular checks, Jim found a hole in the strainer basket for the raw water intake. After checking the few possible stores in La Cruz, a cruiser’s swap meet, the larger marine suppliers in Puerto Vallarta and asking a handful of cruisers in the marina, we did not find the part we needed. It was possible to order the part to a store in Puerto Vallarta but the wait time was 8-14 days and no guarantee even within that period. Knowing the cruisers next to us have been waiting on a part for over a month, we opted to ship the part home via two day mail and fly home so we could get back on schedule with more confidence. We are back, provisioned again and ready to head north to the Sea of Cortez. It has been nice to have La Cruz as a home base, not only for the special town but also to be part of the close community of sailors here. We are ready for the final leg of this cruising season. Ahoy!