As luck (more or less) would have it, we all arrived at the agreed meeting point around the same time. On our AIS (Automatic Identification System), we could see well in advance how we were all sailing towards our destination. In the flotilla approaching from the south were SV Cavu, SV Alegría, and SV Small World. We knew the first two boats well from our Cabrales boatyard days. Small World Craig had helped us launch Milagros back then. This time, his wife Krystle and their little dog Louise were also with him.

Reunion Joy

As soon as had we set our anchor we saw Alegría Mike paddling over on his paddleboard. The joy of reunion was great, and in no time, we updated each other with brief versions of the latest news. Much and yet not much had happened since we last saw each other almost two years ago. Later, we all met for sunset drinks on Alegría. And although a lot of time had passed, it felt like we had just seen each other recently.

Reason to Celebrate

Aside from the fact that we were all in the same area and wanted to meet on this occasion, there were also two reasons to celebrate. Dr. Cavu Dave and Island Fox Travis both had birthdays on the same day. And after the super fun boat crawl two years ago on Cavu Dave’s 40th birthday, nothing stood in the way of a repeat. But more on that later.

The Rehearsal

As more boats (SV Island Fox, SV Ayala, and SV Remedy, whom we all didn’t know (yet)) made their way to the party venue, we grabbed our shopping cart and marched together to the nearby mini market to stock up for the party.

In the evening, we invited the entire flotilla for sunset drinks on Milagros. This was the rehearsal for the upcoming party. And we found that 14 people fit in our cockpit. Good to know.

A New Game

The days leading up to the party were spent snorkelling, fishing, preparing, and chilling. The large, flat beach also invited us to linger. In the afternoons, tents were sometimes set up, blankets spread out, and coolers brought along. And we were introduced to a game unknown to us: Beersbee (beer frisbee). Two teams try to hit a sand-filled beer can placed on sticks in front of the opponents with a frisbee, all while holding a drink. If the can and frisbee fall to the ground on a hit, the opponent gets points. If the can and/or frisbee are caught – one-handed, of course – before they hit the ground, it reduces the points. At least that’s how we understood it. It’s a social and entertaining game, even if it wasn’t always clear how the points were counted. In any case, one team eventually reached 15 points and won.

Party Time

And then the party day – you literally cannot call it anything else – had arrived. Seven boats, seven signature drinks, seven snacks, 15 participants (or 1000kg / 2200lbs of people), and one hour per boat, starting at noon. Following the moustache theme, all willing male participants got “dressed up.” Moustache or not, it’s a matter of taste, but the unusual faces caused a lot of laughter. See for yourself:

Island Fox

We started the boat crawl on SV Island Fox with birthday boy number one, Travis, Elana, and little dog Tails. We were greeted with a rum-berry smoothie and homemade muffins. The nearly one tonne of extra weight on the 38-footer (11.5m) was noticeable as the stern sat low in the water. During the boat tour, my gaze lingered on the tool corner. Hanging on several magnetic strips along a wall about 2 meters long were all kinds of tools: pliers, wrenches, screwdrivers, saws, hammers – sorted by size and type. A dream! Suddenly, the alarm went off on Small World Craig’s wrist: He had set a one-hour timer on his watch – it was time to move on. Chop chop.

Small World

Next, we visited Crystal, Crack, and Chihuahua mix Louise on Small World, a 42-foot (12.5m) ketch, where hibiscus mezcalitas were served. It is always exciting to check out other boats, so I naturally took part in the small, guided tour. I was most fascinated by the spacious engine room with meticulous labelling. Every single cable had a label with a number, and devices had their operating instructions right next to them. I was very impressed!

Remedy

Afterward, we were guests on SV Remedy with Baron and Heather. The 42-foot Hans Christian ketch impressed below deck with its spaciousness and immaculate varnish. It also had a refrigerator with a regular door that opened forward. David and I were a bit envious, as our refrigerator opens from the top. So, if you want something at the bottom, you either must rummage or take everything out above it. Energy-wise, it’s good because not all the cold air “falls out” when you open it, but it’s not so convenient. We were served sausage-cheese crackers and Bloody Marias with an ingredient I never expected in a drink: fried bacon bits. Although I’m not a fan of the salty tomato juice drink, this bacon twist was something special. If I ever order a Bloody Maria again, it’ll be with bacon, bacon, and bacon.

Milagros

Next was Milagros’ turn. On the 44-foot sloop with a center cockpit, I particularly noticed the beautifully shiny freeboard and deck. It looked freshly painted. It was also festively decorated – with silver Christmas tinsel. I was especially impressed by the bright interior and the spacious engine room, though not as well labelled ;). The hosts, Patricia and David, without a dog but with Pokémon Wobuffet, served coffee and cake, and a Swiss cherry liquor. Opinions about the schnapps were divided. Those who wanted could alternatively have a Tequila Sunrise or try a mouthwash shot. The shot was an impulse buy at the mini market, which we initially laughed at: a light blue liquid in a PET bottle. Water with colouring, blueberry flavour, and 5% vodka. It wasn’t as bad as it looked and sounded.

Ayala

With the ringing of the Craig alarm, we moved to the next boat, the all-electric sloop Ayala with Charles, Nora, and crew Mehul aboard. We snacked on Nora’s homemade bean pirogues and drank Micheladas – beer with Clamato (according to Wikipedia, Clamato is a commercial drink made from reconstituted tomato juice concentrate and sugar, flavoured with spices, dried clam broth, and monosodium glutamate). You can think of it as beer with red-coloured broth. It’s a popular refreshment here. Not so much for David and me. We were deep in conversations about how we finance the sailing life when it was time to move again. The schedule was tight, and Craig ensured it was adhered to. Perhaps he has German or Swiss roots?

Alegría

The sun was setting as we gathered at Mike, Katie, and dog Rosco on Alegría, a 50-foot Gulfstar and thus the largest boat in the flotilla. The snack potatoes with homemade Mexican salsas were devoured as if we hadn’t eaten for days and not had snacks on every previous boat. There were also coconut-strawberry margaritas, not quite my taste but still tasty. Dave and I received a small tour of the latest upgrades Alegría had received since we last saw her.

Cavu

Last but not least, we moved to Cavu, the boat (a 37 Tartan) of birthday boy number two, Dave, and Marla with dog Gomez. They served pizza rolls with tomato sauce for dipping and birthday cake, with (finally) regular beer. The highlight came from the Alegría crew: black light lamps and neon markers. Once someone started, the patterns and drawings on arms, hands, legs, feet, and faces became increasingly wild. Much painting and drawing was going on. Even days later, we still found traces of these surprisingly persistent markers. Especially on finger- and toenails, the stuff seemed to be water-, salt-, and sandproof. We celebrated the two birthdays until well after midnight in the best company. With countless unforgettable impressions from the celebration, we headed home.

Check out the party vibes yourself:

A Kind Gesture

The days after the party were spent snorkelling, fishing, and chilling on the beach, once even with a campfire. We regretted it a bit afterward, as everything, really everything, smelled like acrid smoke for days. We also met a small family camping on the beach with their RV and interested in boat life. For them, our little flotilla was a stroke of luck because they could visit and see the advantages and disadvantages of each boat from 37 to 50 feet, aft cockpit and center cockpit to sloop and ketch. As a thank you, the family brought us a huge load of vegetables from the nearest town, which we shared among us all.

Star Wars

Gradually, Island Fox, Ayala, and Remedy left the flotilla, and the days turned quieter. David and I had originally planned to watch all six Star Wars movies from May 1 to 6 (the international Star Wars Day is on May 4 as one should know). We ended up only watching one movie (Episode V, for those interested), which we watched with Cavu and lasagna in our cockpit. At least we did that.

An Unusual Find

On a final shopping trip before we all planned to move on, we discovered something very unusual on the beach. An animal, quite a large one at that, lay half in the water. Upon closer inspection, we found it was a mountain lion. With its head under water, we were pretty sure it was dead. But not for long, as it hadn’t been there the day before. It had no visible injuries, and we could see its tracks in the sand. It must have walked along the beach, then turned to the water and died. We suspected it was poisoned. Very sad for such a beautiful animal.

Time to Go

Eventually, it was time for us to move on. Not that we had to leave – it was wonderful in our little spot, and the weather was perfect. However, we were eager to discover new anchorages, and the others felt the same way. So, we set off for the next destination and the next adventure. But more on that next time.

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PS: Picture credits for most of the pictures in this post go to Island Fox, Small World, Cavu, Ayala and Alegría.

Der Beitrag Sailors United: A Flotilla Adventure erschien zuerst auf Milagros.

We need to get out of here!

We just wanted to head out at this point, we had been stuck in Guaymas for far too long. And we knew we had to get out into the open quickly because cabin fever was taking hold, as you could probably tell from past blog posts. We needed new horizons, new neighborhoods, anchorages, anchor beers, and dolphins at the bow. Baja California was calling.

The crossing to San Juanico

But first, there was still a crossing to do. We wanted to set sail to San Juanico. Many consider this area one of the highlights in the nearly 1000-kilometer-long Gulf of California. We didn’t need any lead time because we had already made the nearly 16-hour passage a few times. As always, we chose a weather window that promised sailing with good but not too much wind, and we set off late in the afternoon. Goodbye, Guaymas, see you not so soon, thankfully.

Motor, darkness, and cold

The crossing to Baja California started promisingly. A brisk wind from the north blew Milagros sportily forward. We sailed into the night, where the wind subsided, and we had to start the engine. And it got cold. Very cold. And dark. Very dark, because it was a new moon. It’s crazy how much of a difference moonlight makes on the open sea. With a full moon, you sail almost in daylight, with a new moon, it’s pitch dark.

Light Torpedoes

And then something happened that we had heard a lot about, but unfortunately had not yet experienced. It was Pati’s night watch when she suddenly woke me up because she noticed unusual light trails in the water. When the familiar blowing sounds also appeared, it was clear: luminous dolphins were cruising along with us in the nighttime bioluminescence.

Unfortunately, we can only show you what it looks like with stolen pictures. It’s incredibly difficult to catch the beauty of bioluminescence. But we can tell you one thing: that was a lifetime experience. You can also watch moving images here.

Arrival in the early morning

At dawn, the wind returned, and we were able to sail the rest of the way back under sail. We arrived safely in San Juanico in the early morning. “You’ve been there before,” the discerning reader will say? Yes, that’s true, that was back in 2022 together with Paul and Hazel on SV Susimi (who have made it all the way to New Zealand by now). Our previous San Juanico experience was a very wobbly south wind experience. Now it was winter and north wind season – perfect for a stay in San Juanico, an anchorage that is well protected against north winds.

Life in the wilderness has us back

Finally, we were back where it was beautiful – with Milagros at anchor far from civilization. Just us, Milly, the desert, other boats, the wind, and nature. We spent over a week enjoying ourselves. Canoe trips, hanging out with other sailors, and exploring our surroundings. We found some really beautiful spots. Unfortunately, during her first swim of the year, the jellyfish also found Pati. Ouch!

Exploring San Juanico

San Juanico offers numerous great desert paths for walking and exploration. One of them leads to a small ranch with animals and a vegetable garden. Horseback rides and boat trips are also offered. Or were offered, to be more precise. Because the worker at the ranch, who immediately invited us for a cup of coffee when we arrived, said that the new owners had abolished the excursions for tourists. This directly harmed his wallet because he could earn a good supplement to his $1000 salary per month with the tips from tourists. We chatted with him about this and that; he was a really nice guy. Unfortunately, I can’t remember his name. Sorry about that.

A fireworks display for Pati’s birthday

We also celebrated Pati’s birthday and promptly invited a few cool kids from our neighborhood onto Milagros. They were a mix of boat people sitting at anchor and RV people who had set up camp on the beach. Happy Birthday, Pati! Elon Musk also congratulated warmly – he lit up fireworks. In the form of a SpaceX rocket that one evening rose high into the sky. We were only witnesses to the spectacle by chance when Pati suddenly stared wide-eyed at the horizon and could only say, “What the hell is that?” The rocket rose like a beacon high into the sky and left a glowing, ionized atmosphere. Very impressive!

New friends from the big Canton

Our neighboring boat, a large catamaran, flew a large flag in the famous black-red-gold colors. Of course we had to take a look! We rarely meet people from the biggest state in Switzerland (which is what we call Germany back home). The catamaran was called “Thosyma” – from which we skillfully deduced that at least two people on board had to be named Thomas and Sylvia. And behold: we were right. Thomas and Sylvia from Saxony in Eastern Germany were amazed when we greeted them directly by their first names, although we had never seen them before. We got along well right away and spent the rest of the afternoon on their great, large catamaran balcony. They wanted to go in the same direction (south) as us, so we would surely meet again. Of course we did not take any pictures. But before another meetup with Thosymas we wanted to make a hop north to collect another anchorage check.

Continuing to Punta Pulpito

After we had canceled the trip to Panama again, our new goal for the sailing season was to tick off as many new to us anchorages as we could. And just north of San Juanico was such an anchorage. Punta Pulpito was its name, a few hours further up the coast. When we weighed anchor early in the morning, we were already prepared for Burrito noise, when suddenly a very fine south wind set in and gently pushed us in the right direction. Sails up! What followed was some of the best sailing we had so far. We sailed slowly and comfortably towards Punta Pulpito.

We climb the peaks

When we arrived there, a spectacular backdrop appeared. Punta Pulpito is a huge rock that protrudes into the sea and steeply drops there. The large, rocky point is what covers the anchorage at its bottom. We had to take a closer look at that, and the next day we made our way up the steep path to the summit. We were definitely not the first people to tackle this hiking trail. You could clearly see a small path that we just had to follow. When we arrived at the top, the impressive surroundings of the Sea of Cortez revealed themselves in all their glory.

Sea of Cortez Obsidian

Another thing that makes Punta Pulpito a destination is the vein of obsidian that winds its way down the rocky outcrop. Scattered all over the ground, you can find the volcanic glass practically everywhere. It forms when lava cools rapidly under certain conditions. Of course, we had to take a closer look and found large chunks of obsidian right on the beach. A few smaller pieces are now travelling along with us aboard Milagros.

We take our time but are always on the move

Despite taking plenty of time to relax in each spot, we were always on the move. We seized the next northerly wind to head further south, towards Isla Coronados, a volcanic island we had visited several times before. It was about half a day’s sail south, and our sail-to-motor ratio at the start of the new season was excellent. We spent another fantastic day sailing, eager for more adventures.

Back at Isla Coronados

Arriving at Isla Coronados, we sought shelter at its southern end, avoiding a predicted harsh north wind. Additionally, a solar eclipse was forecasted, and where better to witness it than at Isla Coronados? Such events don’t happen every day.

Nortes are loud and cold

When the north wind arrived, it brought discomfort—cold, noise, and a reminder of winter in the Sea of Cortez. We spent the days working on the computer and doing laundry. After some time on the move, the dirty clothes had piled up. Since we staunchly refused to return to civilization just yet, we took matters into our own hands and washed them ourselves. A bucket, water from the freshwater tank, clotheslines for drying, and it was done.

David vs. Pelican

The most entertaining thing that happened during our stay at Isla Coronados. It involves me and a cheeky pelican, that decided to take a rest on our solar panels. We have absolutely no problem with animals hanging out aboard Milagros (apart from cockroaches, rats and such), but what we don’t like is cleaning huge Pelican poops off our solar panels. So the guy had to move. Easier said than done. What followed was a short argument in which I tried to shoo the pelican off, while he acted like he was going to bite me. In the end, I opted for a paddle of our kayak, which drew him off, just come back again right away. Pushing him off with the paddle tow times helped, and he gave up.

Continuing to the north end of Isla Carmen

When the Norte (that’s what the north winds are called in Mexican) subsided again, and south winds were forecasted, we wanted to tick off another point for a new anchorage and cruised (even with a visit from dolphins) leisurely under motor to a corner called “Puerto de la Lancha.” Well protected against the south, it lies at the north end of Isla Carmen. And it was well protected against waves from the south. But not so much against the wind because the forecasted southerly was rather channeled into the anchorage. It was quite the blow, and Milagros was rocked back and forth on the anchor chain.

Puerto de la Lancha

Nevertheless, we stayed and waited out the south wind. We took walks over the hills in the area and along the beach, where we found all sorts of exciting remains of marine creatures. Among other things, a complete dolphin skull. Of course, there was also plenty of plastic waste, so we also cleaned up the shore a bit. Even after 3 years, it is simply impressive every time anew how we are destroying the world’s oceans. And the Sea of Cortez is known to be a rather pristine area.

An unexpected reunion

But as it is, at some point, the fridge was empty, and we had to move on to Loreto to provision. So we chugged a few hours to the west and anchored off the town. We placed the dinghy on the beach and headed for the supermarket. Remember when we helped Ray deliver his boat to La Paz a long time ago (and ran into a fishing net at night)? Ray now lives in Loreto, and since we were in the area anyway, we wanted to get in touch with him. Guess who we practically ran into in the supermarket? Ray. It’s crazy how the world plays sometimes. He was there with his truck and kindly helped us bring all the food stuff back to the dinghy. Did we take pictures? Of course not.

A Sad Sight

Unfortunately, on the beach of Loreto, lie the sad remains of a sailboat well known to us. A friend of ours from the boatyard in Guaymas got into serious trouble during a sailing trip towards the town, which ultimately led to his pretty sailboat “Colymbus” being stranded on the beach of Loreto. The locals, of course, wasted no time and promptly helped themselves to anything that was and wasn’t nailed down in the nights that followed. Among other things, our old batteries, which we offered him when we installed our new lithium batteries. SV Colymbus is now a reminder of everything that can go wrong when offshore sailing. Nature shows no mercy.

Disappointment in Balandra

After all the groceries were stowed away in Milagros’ belly, we wanted to move on to the next place. Puerto Balandra was its name, a great horseshoe-shaped anchorage and well protected against all kinds of weather from almost all directions. On the way, we saw on the chart plotter that the Thosymas were also heading there. And when we arrived, disillusionment set in. Unfortunately, there was no room left for us. When Thomas and Sylvia set off back towards Isla Coronados, we decided to follow suit after a short stop.

We make the best of it as always

We spent a few more days at the southern end of the island and met with Thomas and Sylvia from SV Thosyma for sundowners on the beach. Walks to the picturesque northern bay were also due of course. The paradise beach frequented during the day by excursion boats from Loreto, which take up its entirety during the day. Good thing we were residents on the island, so we could use the evening hours and had the whole island to ourselves. Just beautiful!

When it suddenly gets dark

We also had an appointment: a solar eclipse took place at noon on April 8th. In the morning, we worked, then we made “solar eclipse margaritas” and sat in the cockpit. It was quite something when it suddenly when the moon darkened our surroundings at noon, and the intensity of the sun noticeably decreased. We could not really see anything of the actual eclipse, as we didn’t have special glasses or anything. All in all, the experience in our latitudes was quite unspectacular. Further south, especially in Mazatlán, it must have been much more impressive.

The freshest sushi ever

So without wind and waves, I had to go fishing again and was lucky – a beautiful Spanish mackerel (Sierra mackerel) took my bait. A great fish for sushi and sashimi. Of course, we didn’t miss out on that – homemade sushi from self-caught fish. What more could you possibly want in life? With this great fish in tow and sushi in our stomachs, we could set off again.

Continuing to the insider tip

And one Thursday, we packed up our things again and set off further south. Because a visit to a special place was due. A kind of insider tip that was recommended to us by Marla and Dave on SV Cavu. Whether we’ll tell you where it is? We still have to think about that.

Things are back on track for us

You see, things are back on track for us. As soon as we’re out of Guaymas, on the water, and on the move, it became increasingly clear to us that this is where we belong with Milagros. Living on an offshore going sailboat and then just sitting around in the same place is wrong. We had to get out, away from the noise, crowds, and civilization. Just the horizon and a thousand possibilities and adventures ahead of us. Because that’s the way it should be.

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Der Beitrag Continuing from where we left off erschien zuerst auf Milagros.

On the day of David’s departure, we dropped Milagros’ anchor back into the Guaymas (or Guymanese?) cesspool. From the beautiful, clear, pleasant, turquoise, swimmable water into the murky, stinky mess. From the tranquillity and the gently splashing water on our hull to the circus and the traffic noise. What a delight. But as I have explained in a previous blog post, it was a necessary evil. There was no better option within a reachable radius. However, there were tacos à la carte, access to project materials, and nice people. This time, however, I didn’t want to spend the time at the marina dock out of sheer convenience, but rather at anchor – preferably not in Guaymas.

Goodbye, David

The first mission in Guaymas was to take David to the bus. We chugged along with our fully packed dinghy to the marina. From a distance, we saw César, our trusted taxi driver, and punctual as always, already waiting. His little blue Chevrolet is unmistakable. After saying goodbye to David at the bus terminal, I went straight to the second mission: restocking supplies. Fully loaded, I returned to the marina. A few friendly workers helped me there to load everything into the dinghy.

There was something else

Back on Milagros, I wanted to put my feet up after storing all the purchases. But then I remembered that I had to lift the dinghy out of the water for the night. Although nothing had been stolen from the boat so far, and our 3.3 HP engine is not exactly the most attractive target, there is a significant social disparity here, and poverty means that even a small outboard motor can somehow be turned into money. Therefore, we adhere to two principles: “better safe than sorry” and “don’t be the easiest target”. It would be very annoying if something disappeared and the issue could have been prevented with 2 minutes of effort.

A simple crane design

With two people, stowing the dinghy is much easier, so I had to come up with a system to do it as simply as possible on my own without a possibe back injury. Using a halyard, the whisker pole, and a block and tackle, I built a kind of crane that allowed me to lift the dinghy with relatively little effort and then lift the outboard motor on board at a comfortable height. Voilà.

That’s too close

The next morning, before the first coffee, I received the next mission. After I had put the water on for the coffee and was waiting for it to boil, I looked out of the windows on both sides of the boat, as always, to see what was going on outside. And what I saw, I didn’t like at all. A 70-footer was getting pretty close to us (or we to it). When we had anchored the day before, the wind was coming from a different direction, and the distance was fine. Overnight, the wind had shifted, and now the situation looked different.

Wait and see

But I couldn’t immediately haul up the anchor because the other boat had positioned itself right over it. After every anchoring manoeuvre, we mark the estimated position of the anchor on the chart to check if our anchor is holding and everything else is okay. So, I let out more chain first so that I felt more comfortable. By then, the coffee was ready. I sat down with it in the cockpit and watched the situation. I was ready to start the engine if necessary. But I knew that fortunately, the wind would turn a little later and the situation would look different again. And I knew that I would immediately re-anchor. I asked Lucas if he could help me with its after his morning coffee. Together, we then parked Milagros a bit further away.

Something’s happening

In the following days, I felt like I didn’t have a quiet minute. Civilization had me again! In addition to working online in the morning, managing the boat, and running the household alone (and also doing the dishes – the worst!), I tinkered with various projects. Soon, Milagros was enriched with two new cockpit cushions, two triangular leaning cushions, and a new mattress cover. On Facebook, I stumbled across a small ad for custom-made cutting boards in a local group. Despite our bad luck with custom orders, I held a nice new board in my hands two days later.

The sailing demographic

And of course, there was a bit of socializing. Demographically, Guaymas is rather one-sided: mainly retired, white, male single-handed sailors from America and Canada are to be found here. Nevertheless, there are occasionally women or sailors my age. So, I spent pleasant hours with Annette on her ‘Ananda’ at the dock or met up with Skeet and Amanda, two fellow sailors my age. In the evenings (after sunset, haha), I sank into bed and slept soundly, unless the wind was howling through the bay at 30 knots (about 60 km/h).

On a Mission

When the weather forecast showed a calm window without wind, I prepared for another mission: I wanted to take Milagros out alone for a little excursion. I had chosen the Carricito anchorage, 3 hours away, as my destination. Since David and I always take turns with all manoeuvres, I knew exactly what I had to do. And since there was no wind, I had all the time in the world. The conditions were perfect: a boat and its manoeuvres that I mastered, an area I already knew, a bay we had already been to, with local language skills and acquaintances. Moreover, Gavin on ‘SV Petra’ was also going to come along later. What could go wrong, right?

Someone was generous

It took me about 1 hour to lift the anchor because the anchor chain was so dirty, and I had to spray it off inch by inch to avoid having this dirt in the anchor locker. Moreover, Lucas had been very generous with letting out the chain when anchoring. At a water depth of 4 meters, I would normally let out about 20 meters (5:1 the water depth is said). He was a bit more conservative and let out 50 meters, all of which I had to spray off.

Alone on the Move

It was a great feeling to start the engine, lift the anchor, and head out. Out of the noise, along the canal, past tankers being loaded with cement, past fishermen pulling in their nets, feeling the wind in my face, and hearing the sound of the water being displaced by the bow. The only thing that disturbed the idyll was the dirt that Guaymas had caused on our deck: slimy, black mud from the bottom and bird droppings. A night heron had decided that it liked our bow pulpit and wanted to spend the night there. Then it cheekily did its business on our deck. You won’t be surprised that this strained our hospitality quite a bit.

You can watch a little video of my trip here:

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Ein Beitrag geteilt von Patricia Büeler (@patriciabueeler)

Successful Mission

The outing flew by, and soon it was time to prepare the anchor. I had chosen an anchorage in the small bay, and the anchoring manoeuvre went smoothly: steer slowly to the desired point, turn into the wind, go forward, and when the boat has no forward motion, lower the anchor. Then slowly let out the required amount of chain, go back to the helm, engage reverse gear, and slowly give throttle until the anchor sits well and no change in position is visible on the deck bearing. Later in the afternoon, Gavin appeared on his boat, and we toasted to our successes.

A Short Break

We spent a few days there in the bay, Gavin on his side and I on mine. Now and then, we met for a coffee or a beer – very peaceful. I explored the area alone, swam a few laps around the boat, and enjoyed the tranquillity in the cockpit. Soon it was time to go back to Guaymas, as David’s return was imminent. Gavin and I lifted the anchor at the same time. Unfortunately, there was no wind, because a little race under sail would have been fun. I won anyway, because even under engine, Milagros is a machine. I anchored Milagros again in the cesspool of Guaymas, this time I had to take two attempts because the anchor did not hold the first time. And to avoid having to re-anchor, I placed us nicely far out. How far out I only realized when I rowed ashore later. Nevertheless, the mission was 100% successful, and I will surely have the chance to sail Milagros alone at some point.

Flea Market

The following day, I participated in a flea market for sailors in San Carlos. Rendt and Marea, two New Zealanders with their son Nico on a Swiss steel boat, kindly took me in their car. The flea market started at 8 a.m. I had a few good things to sell, but they were not in demand that day, and by 10 a.m., the flea market was already over. Afterward, we treated ourselves to a delicious Mexican breakfast and visited a historic coffee house in Guaymas.

A Fun Sailing Day

Unexpectedly, I was also invited to a sailing day. Lucas had installed a new autopilot on Matt’s boat, which now needed to be calibrated. When I boarded the boat at the marina, it was ready to cast off. There was just one small problem: Matt had found diesel in the oil but thought that it was now fixed. So I mentally prepared myself to jump overboard. In the worst case, diesel in the oil can cause the engine to run away, meaning the RPM gets out of control and the engine virtually destroys itself. Normally, this can be stopped by cutting off the air supply; otherwise, the engine explodes. Spoiler: Nothing happened. We spent a fun sailing afternoon on the small ketch. Back at the dock, we were even invited to Annette’s for lasagna. Since David was going to arrive in Guaymas early the next morning at 3 a.m., I left our dinghy at the marina for him, and Gavin drove me home.

David is back

In the middle of the night, the soft clattering of our bathing ladder woke me up. David had forgone the outboard motor and sneaked up with oars because he wanted to surprise me. Unfortunately, it didn’t quite work out. He was laden with goodies from Switzerland (chocolate and raclette cheese) and fine Asian sauces, and I was happy that he was back.

Preparations are underway

The next day, we started preparing for a crossing to the other side of the Sea of Cortez. Water, propane, and diesel needed to be refilled, as well as our supplies. And we had found a buyer for half of our lead that was still unnecessarily lying around in our bilge. Doug, a sailor we had met in Puerto Peñasco in 2021, needed some ballast for his boat. In exchange for the lead, he invited us to lunch and told us about his adventurous sailing trip from Peñasco to Guaymas. Along the way, he lost, among other things, a propeller blade and the ability to use his mainsail, so he had to be towed to San Carlos, unable to manoeuvre.

One last mission

But before we could leave Guaymas, there was one last mission to complete: sewing sail bags for Lucas. I was kindly allowed to use Corky’s Canvas’s sewing machine at the marina. Over two afternoons, the machine rattled, and voilà, two sail bags were born. Two Pati Bag originals that will be worth a lot someday

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Der Beitrag Pati Home Alone 2.0 erschien zuerst auf Milagros.

So there we were, anchoring for the first time in six months, and it felt splendid. Our anchoring manoeuvre was a success, even though we initially fell into an old pattern. Approaching an anchorage, finding it overcrowded, turning around, reconsidering as it didn’t seem so bad after all, and then anchoring. This time, a mooring buoy in the midst of the bay had confused us.

Getting Our Sea Legs Back

We had to regain our sea legs and recall all the procedures. What exactly does one do after anchoring, and in what order? Ah yes, the anchor light needs to be switched on. The snubber for the anchor chain is somewhere in the cockpit locker. And we mustn’t forget the anchor tracker – after all, we want to know if our anchor holds.

A Feast for the Senses

It was magnificent when we shut off the engine and could finally relish the silence. Over a beer, we toasted to our successful relaunch and everything else. A shrimp snack followed immediately. While exiting the Guaymas channel, a panga with two young fishermen approached us, offering shrimp for sale. We agreed instantly, exchanged shrimp for pesos and two beers. The shrimp, whole and freshly caught (unlike our fiasco in Peñasco), were delicious sautéed in garlic butter.

Our New Dinghy

Next, we got to launch our new dinghy and test the outboard motor for the first time. It went smoothly. We took a short excursion to the beach, meeting other sailors returning from a hike to the lighthouse. Their directions were simple: keep the power lines in view, and you’re on the right track.

First, a Coffee

After completing our online work the next morning, we turned off Starlink, packed our backpack with water and snacks, and set off for the beach. En route, we stopped by Shannon and Rob’s ‘Ocean Villa’ for a coffee. They were preparing to cross the Sea of Cortez with their grand steel yacht.

An Impressive Vessel

Their boat is truly impressive. Originally built for a family, it boasts four bunks for children at the bow and a large aft cabin for parents. Between them lies a spacious galley with a dining table and a deck salon with sofas. Above, there’s a pilot house and a ‘terrace’ for lounging. Shannon and Rob use this ocean villa for charter trips around La Paz. If you’re ever in the area, check it out.

Heading to the Lighthouse

When it was time, we said our farewells and headed for the beach. The path wasn’t clear initially, but we spotted footprints and goat hoofprints, with the power lines guiding us. The trail led through a sandy, rocky landscape, dotted with small trees and prickly bushes, ascending the hillside.

Faro Cabo Haro

Atop, we enjoyed a stunning view of the rocky coastline and the vast sea. Following the path along the ridge, we could see the ‘Faro Cabo Haro’ lighthouse in the distance. As we approached, two dogs ran towards us. The brown one greeted us enthusiastically, while the black-and-white one kept its distance. They accompanied us for the rest of the way, healthy and well-fed, though their reason for being there was unclear.

The Lighthouse Keeper

At the lighthouse, we met Omar, the keeper. He invited us to join him to sit on the steps, sharing that the lighthouse operates around the clock, vital for cargo ships and the navy. He works a week at a time, in solitude except for the dogs. He occasionally receives visitors but rarely converses due to the language barrier. Every Saturday morning, it’s shift change for a week.

Beach Cleanup

A path from the lighthouse led down to a small beach, the transfer point for the keepers. We were appalled to find the beach littered with trash. We spent the next half-hour cleaning up, filling crates with plastic bottles, shoes, toys, lines, and other debris. We moved them as far from the water as possible, knowing the next storm might sweep them back to sea.

Goodbye, Ocean Villa

On our way back, we passed the lighthouse again. Omar pointed out a large white yacht with blue underwater paint leaving the bay – it was ‘Ocean Villa’. We watched it sway in the swell, hoping their crossing wouldn’t be too rough.

Anchor Problems

Reaching our dinghy, we saw Pete and Nicole on ‘Swansong’ entering the bay, struggling to anchor. We went over, and Pete explained their anchor windlass had issues. I boarded to assist, and we decided he should anchor without the windlass to address the problem later.

Boat Projects Galore

We celebrated Pete’s successful launch with an ‘anchor beer’ and pondered the windlass’ malfunction. Our theories ranged from a blockage to a power issue. We found the winch’s main fuse switch turned off – fortunately, nothing was broken. We also fixed his toilets, which weren’t drawing water, by adding some to the pumps.

New Year’s Preparations

For New Year’s, with little wind forecast, we wanted to try a new anchorage, less sheltered. Both ‘Milagros’ and ‘Swansong’, without foresails or tuned rigging, motored around the corner to this beautiful bay with clear turquoise water, inaccessible by land except by off-road vehicle.

A Convoy

Exploring ashore, we saw a convoy of SUVs heading for the beach, equipped for the terrain. It was a men’s outing – one man per vehicle. They deflated their tyres and continued over the beach and gravel road, occasionally getting stuck but freeing themselves.

Till Midnight

We spent a cosy New Year’s Eve in Milagros’ cockpit with Pete and Nicole, enjoying tacos and drinks. Surprisingly, we stayed awake till midnight, unlike last year when we barely made it to ‘sailor’s midnight’ at 9 pm. Waking up the next morning, ‘Swansong’ had already left to dock in San Carlos, taking advantage of the calm weather.

Dealing with a List

We used the quiet bay to work on ‘Milagros’. We tuned the rigging and mounted our foresail, admiring the new grey UV protection I had added at the boatyard. We also addressed a slight list. Since removing the old, heavy batteries from the port engine room, ‘Milagros’ had been leaning to starboard. The previous owner had installed lead bars as counterweights. We moved these bars to the bilge, balancing the boat but pondering what to do with so much lead.

Returning to Guaymas

Soon after it was time to sail back to Guaymas. Reluctantly, we left the tranquil anchorage, knowing the noise, dirt, and crowds awaiting us. But it was necessary, as David soon had to fly to Bangkok for work. I would spend nearly 20 days alone on the boat, so we chose to anchor near Fonatur Marina in Guaymas, next to the Malecón – not picturesque, but practical.

A Bad Omen?

Pete and Nicole joined us for breakfast on David’s departure day. We opted for the hotel buffet in front of the bus station, witnessing a pigeon fatally colliding with a TV under the awning. We hoped it wasn’t a bad omen for the weeks ahead.

Goodbye, David

Then it was time for David to embark on his half-world journey to Bangkok: Hermosillo – Mexico City – Tokyo – Bangkok, a 52-hour trip! And there I was, alone on the boat at anchor for the first time…

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Der Beitrag Returning to Familiar Shores erschien zuerst auf Milagros.

The Boatyard Existence

Our tenure in the Boatyard extended beyond our initial plans, and we often found ourselves grappling with the challenges posed by the persistent dust, sand, noise, and an array of other discomforts. Faced with two options—either to succumb to frustration or to make the most of our situation—we oscillated between the two, sometimes sulking, sometimes embracing the circumstances. In a lighter vein, we volunteered to assist other sailors with their ventures, an ironic twist considering our list of pending tasks on Milagros. One such instance was joining Justine’s painting team.

Boat Painting Ventures

Our task was to paint her boat’s freeboard, a project that saw us applying sky blue paint, aesthetically pleasing but technically challenging. This wasn’t merely cosmetic paint, but a type designed for oil rigs, necessitating a thick, protective single coating that dried swiftly and hardened like rock. Achieving a smooth finish without visible streaks and lines proved challenging.

Consecutive Challenges

After multiple attempts, experimenting with various mix ratios, brush types, and contending with the elements like wind and sun, we triumphantly accomplished this task. Our team, self-dubbed the “Rig Pigs”, comprised David as the painter, Justine handling the final touches, and myself in a support role, proved to be a successful combination.

Material Acquisition

One morning, Keith arrived at our boat with the long-awaited engine mounts. Eager to start installing them, Keith had a different plan: “I brought these blocks, now come sailing with me.”

Return to El Mero

Dismissing half a day’s delay, we hastily prepared and joined Keith, along with Pete and Justine, heading to the former Kingdom of El Mero‘s remnants. We had spent time there last winter before a storm nearly destroyed it in July. And Keith had crafted two dock spots for his sailboats from left over materials.

Sailing Interlude

Launching Keith’s 54-foot boat, Aurora, proved tricky. We accidentally grazed a couple of crooked pillars while avoiding damage to ourselves over the boat. A solar panel was the only casualty. And when hoisting the sail, we had to improvise as the mainsail’s foot wasn’t secured properly, quickly fixing it with a rope.

Island Circumnavigation

With sails raised, our journey took us around a small island near Guaymas. Upon reaching the island’s leeward side, Justine took a spontaneous swim, relishing the cool waters. As we returned, we noticed all boats at El Mero tilted due to low tide. Opting to anchor offshore overnight, we encountered issues with a non-functioning anchor windlass and had to rely on guesswork for the anchor chain scope.

The Return to Shore

Keith, his daughter, and Tom stayed aboard while other cruisers helped us ashore. The next morning, we returned to El Mero to assist with docking. Hauling up the anchor by hand proved a good workout. A problem with Aurora’s gear lever required Keith to manually engage it from below deck, causing brief confusion with the boat moving backwards first. Despite the challenges, docking was successful.

Engine Room Endeavours

Back at the Boatyard, we dedicated ourselves to the installation of the engine mounts on our boat. Replacing three went smoothly, but the final one proved obstinate, its head snapping off in a hard-to-reach spot. After failing to drill it out over two days, we left it, resorted to epoxy, and drilled a new hole.

Motor Alignment Challenges

Next was engine alignment, where we hit another snag. I just couldn’t align it to the required precision of 1/1000″ (0.03 mm). Dismantling everything, I found the issue: dents on the surface of the shaft coupling, likely from a fall or a hit. After filing it carefully down, we managed to aligne the engine in an instant.

Fitting the Shaft Brake

Installing the shaft brake was next and another hurdle. This brake is crucial for preventing shaft rotation while sailing, a necessity due to our hydraulic gearbox. The process was arduous, but after much trial and error and a night’s rest, we successfully installed the brake, readying Milagros for launching.

Pre-Launch Preparations

With Christmas approaching, we hoped to spend it on water, but it was dashed by the yard’s schedule, delaying our launch until December 26. This gave us more time for preparations: testing the engine, applying antifouling, stocking up on diesel, gasoline, water, and provisions, and tidying up. We also enjoyed more time with Nicole and Pete. You might remember: Nicole from Switzerland visited us one year ago, now she’s visiting Pete.

Embracing Christmas

Christmas in Mexico is a vibrant affair, starting December 1st with traditional treats and drinks abound. We exchanged traditional delicacies with the boatyard workers, savouring Buñuelos from crane operator Mario and Champurrado from Roberto, while offering homemade Spitzbuben in return.

Our Christmas celebration was low-key, mainly video calls with family and friends and toasting with Nicole and Pete. We planned a barbecue and a movie night for Christmas Eve and a potluck with yard residents on Christmas Day.

The Anticipated Launch

With the launch imminent, we were apprehensive about the strong winds forecasted. The day of the launch arrived with challenging weather conditions, prompting us to reconsider. We didn’t feel confident to back out of the slip and turn the boat around with up to 20 kts in such tight quarterts. After much deliberation and a lack of conviction from various parties, we decided against launching in the gusty winds.

Rethinking Our Strategy

Determined to proceed, we requested the yard workers to lift Milagros and position her for a forward exit from the lift. This required removing first the forestay and then the backstay. This plan, too, had its share of drama: a hydraulic oil leak from the lift, but the staff assured us it was minor.

Launch Day Arrives

Finally, the next morning, Milagros was successfully launched. Walking under the lift, I felt a drop of hydraulic oil on my neck. But Milagros was in the water, all through-hulls dry, all systems functioning, and the engine started immediately. “Lines off!” We were finally moving.

Goodbye, Boatyard!

Leaving the Boatyard behind, we said goody bye, hopefully forever. Hasta not la vista! Memories of the dirt and toil began to fade within minutes, and soon it felt like we were never there. Peacefully, we sailed past Guaymas’ Malécon to a serene anchorage, closing the chapter of our Boatyard saga.

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Der Beitrag Hasta Not La Vista erschien zuerst auf Milagros.

With mixed feelings, we were back in the kingdom of El Mero. We were excited to be back in Guaymas – it felt a bit like coming home. But the fact that we were there reminded us once again that we had actually set sail from there ‘forever’ in February but now we were back. There was still a lingering feeling of somehow having failed, even though we had consciously decided to turn back and were okay with it. What do success and failure even mean – especially in the sailing world – and who defines them?

Isn’t success about reaching somewhere safe and having a good time, no matter where you are? Or are we just trying to make ourselves feel better about the fact that we’re now in Mexico and not in Costa Rica or Panama? However you may look at it: we were back, and we were getting Milagros ready for haul-out, knowing that we would be missing out on the best time to be in the Sea of Cortez. But we had plans, and our motto was: No better time than the present.

Picking up an order

One of the first things we did in Guaymas was to pick up an order we had placed with the universe some time ago: a new dinghy. More specifically, a lightweight Walker Bay plastic rowing boat that could also be sailed or powered by an outboard motor. Two sailors in nearby San Carlos wanted to get rid of this sought-after model at an attractive price, and fortunately, we were the first interested buyers. Our huge, heavy inflatable dinghy had been getting on our nerves for quite some time. We were even considering buying boat building plans online and building our own fiberglass dinghy at the boatyard. But that was no longer necessary.

First sailing steps

Dan helped with the transport our new 8-foot-long acquisition to El Mero with his truck. We immediately assembled the dinghy, and I had the honor of going on yet another maiden voyage and sailing it back to Milagros. I had never sailed such a small sailboat before, but the physics of sailing are always the same, and we had learned docking maneuvers under sail on Lake Thun. So, I was able to dock at Milagros and handed over the tiller to David. He also took a few rounds in the anchorage. That was even more fun than expected!

Some sailing fun

Anja and Thomas, two Swiss sailors currently renovating their boat at Marina Guaymas, also stopped by to sail the little boat. Alternating, we zipped around in El Mero with winds reaching up to 4-5 Beauforts. Unfortunately, a previously patched weak spot on the rudder broke again. But then, we rolled up our sleeves and fixed the issue on the spot. In the process, we learned something new: when mixed together, super glue and baking soda create a super-strong adhesive that can even stick to plastic.

It gets complicated

While we anchored in El Mero, we had another mission. The biggest project we wanted to tackle was renewing Milagros’ deck. We had already received a quote from a local painter, but a few days before hauling out at Marina Guaymas, we found out that we had been missing some crucial information. It turned out that this painter was considered an external worker by Marina Guaymas, which would have resulted in a daily fee of between 35 and 50 USD. Since the sanding and painting work would take up to 6 weeks, this would have meant an additional 1,500 USD in unnecessary costs. So, we had to find another man for the job. Luckily, we found one quickly: David (yes, he has the same name), the house painter of Marina Guaymas, had availability and could start immediately. The best part was: his reputation is excellent. Gentlemen, start your sanding machines!

Not doing it ourselves?

If you’re wondering why we are not doing do this work ourselves, it’s not that we couldn’t—we’ve been through the whole process before with the hull. But because of that, we knew exactly what to expect. That’s why we’re willing to spend the money and focus on other projects in the meantime.

One last adventure

The last trip of the season with Milagros turned out to be quite adventurous. It took about 45 minutes from El Mero to reach the haul-out area. Tim from SV Coconut accompanied us to help with the lines. In the Marina Guaymas office, we had to provide our draft of 6’6”, and based on that, they had given us our haul-out appointment. So, we assumed that the entire route would be navigable for us at that time. We knew that the water wouldn’t be very deep in the last third of the route, so we followed a safe passage marked in the navigation software, which other sailors we know had already followed. Our depth sounder is set to water depth, so when we see 15 ft, we still have 8 ft under the keel.

Enough water?

As we followed this safe route, we watched the depth sounder very closely. When it showed 10 ft, we started to get quite nervous. Then the reading kept dropping: 9 ft, 8 ft, 7.5 ft. Mentally, we were already preparing to get stuck. Luckily, the tide was rising, so in the worst case, we would have had to wait. But we believed that the water was deep enough. Why else would they give us this haul-out appointment?

Milagros takes flight again

As we entered the narrow haul-out slip, the depth sounder showed 6’6” (2 meters) – so there was no “hand’s width of water left under the keel” (which in German sailing language is used as an expression comparing to “Fair Winds”). In theory, we had run aground with Milagros. The crane was already ready, and we had to “simply” remove the forestay, which turned out to be a bit more challenging than expected. This front mast support had to be removed because the crane has a U-shape, and we are at the upper limit of the crane’s length with our boat. That is definitely a disadvantage compared to Cabrales Boatyard in Puerto Peñasco. Their crane is significantly larger, so you don’t have to remove any stays.

Mud tracks

When Milagros was standing on stands at her new location, it was clearly visible that we had run aground, not just theoretically. We officially ran aground with Milagros for the first time! We hadn’t noticed anything; the keel had simply ploughed into the mud. When David brought our boat documents to the office afterward, he mentioned what had happened. After looking at the tide table, it quickly became clear what had happened. They had given us the wrong haul-out time! We had trusted that they knew what they were doing because hauling out is their daily business. They had also asked us several times for our exact draft. Once again, we learned that you have to use your brain yourself.

Here we go

Shortly after our arrival at the dry dock, the sanding work on the deck began. We took this opportunity to remove all the portholes. What we uncovered underneath confirmed that we were doing the right thing. The deck consists of a fiberglass-plywood-fiberglass sandwich. It is crucial to prevent moisture from penetrating the plywood because that would cause the wood to rot and compromise the stability of the structure. So, the wood must not be exposed anywhere. However, the wood had not been sealed where the porthole openings were cut. It was also evident that the sealant had failed at one window, allowing moisture to seep in. It was high time to seal everything. Again, no better time than the present. It also seemed like we were the first ones to remove these windows in Milagros’ 45 years of existence.

A new propeller shaft

Being on the boatyard for us meant: On your marks, get set, start the projects! We wanted to get as much done as possible now so that we could quickly leave the boatyard in the fall. Besides the deck, we had two main tasks: installing a new propeller shaft and adding a new UV cover to the headsail. First, we wanted to remove the presumably bent shaft so that we could get quotes for a new one. However, the propeller wouldn’t budge an inch. It wasn’t until the fourth attempt, after WD40, PB Blaster, heat, blows, and with the third propeller puller and a bit of luck – David happened to find a perfectly fitting part on the ground next to the boat – that we finally managed to remove it. We are curious to hear what the mechanics will say about the condition of our shaft…

The sewing workshop is open

For the new UV cover on the headsail, we were able to borrow Tom’s Sailrite industrial sewing machine in exchange for some beer. Keith, a sailor from El Mero, delivered the machine from Arizona, where it had been waiting for its next use somewhere in a dark corner for a few years. The Marina Guaymas kindly provided me with a room that I could transform into my sewing workshop for the following weeks. To prepare for the big project, I started with smaller tasks. The sail kit of our dinghy got a new storage bag, a lost hatch cover was replaced, and a new cockpit cushion was sewn. And just for the fun of it, I sewed some beautiful bags out of a former light wind sail.

If you would like to have such a bag, feel free to contact me.

We are slowly but surely getting into the boatyard flow, and one project after another can be checked off. That’s how we like it!

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Beer time

Der Beitrag No Better Time Than The Present erschien zuerst auf Milagros.

A maze of memories

The 41 hours from La Paz to Mazatlán were beautiful, extremely arduous, fascinating, scary, extremely easy, extremely difficult. It was up and down and up and down and up and down. I have noticed that this is what I struggle most with since living on Milagros. The constant changes in mindset, morale and level of happiness and comfort. Nothing is ever constant on a sailboat. Everything can change within short periods of time. A lot of people say that that’s where the beauty of cruising life lies for them. Not for me.

A storm of thoughts

What we have both noticed on our crossing to Mazatlàn is nothing new, really. We still don’t like being underway at night. Once the sun sets and the night covers the boat, we feel like we just have to give up a little too much control. We both feel that way. Sometimes, even in daylight, I have the feeling that I’m constantly pushing the limits of my comfort zone, and this is even more noticeable at night. Even the smallest occurrences or unusual things stress me out and my reaction to them is not always the best. I quickly degenerate into a grumbling bundle of nerves that just thinks everything is shit. Boating sucks, the sea state is horrible, waves are the worst, fuck sailing in particular, all is crap.

Change in mindset

Just as quickly my mindset can change in the other direction. It only has to be a shooting star crossing the sky at night or a fish jumping out of the water during the day and I’m completely zen. And it’s been like this for more than two years now. Up. Down. Up. Down. Up. Down. The constant swings can be exhausting. I feel that I’m exhausted a lot. Not physically, but mentally.

Next stop – Isla Isabela

All of us were exhausted after our trip from La Paz, not only me. The fact that I also slit my hand the next morning only helped to a limited extent. But what the heck – show must go on, after all we wanted to arrive in Panama at some point, so we started the passage planning. The next stop was going to be a very special one, one that was highly praised by every single visitor. Isla Isabela.

Yet another nightly passage

Located almost 85 nautical miles southeast of Mazatlán, it is a breeding ground for hundreds of thousands of seabirds. There were hymns of praise for the place from all sailors who have visited. But what was the name of the visit? A passage overnight. Argh. It takes almost 17 hours to reach the island from Mazatlàn. The skippers and crew almost went crazy with anticipation. Not. But we had no choice.

Next stop – not Isla Isabela

While on the phone with my parents I was just about to announce our departure while Pati was checking the oil on Burrito in the engine room. She came back with a sober expression on her face. “We’re not going anywhere” she said. We had oil dilution. What that means is that an unfamiliar substance has found its way into our oil. In most cases, this is diesel or cooling water. Departure cancelled. There are many causes for oil dilution, one of them being a leaking cylinder head gasket, which would involve a lot of time and work. We really hoped it wasn’t the gasket because we wanted moooooove. But the cause was quickly found: we had diesel in our oil, because our BRANDNEW lift pump broke. Now we also knew why the engine didn’t want to start during the crossing. After our ordeal back in Peñasco, at least we knew what we had to do.

Pulling our hair

It was just horrid. After months of our engine purring wonderfully, our confidence in it was back to zero within a few days. Up. Down. Up. Down. Up. Down. The pump was quickly bypassed with a piece of diesel hose with a suitable connection that we still had aboard. And with the addition of a small electric diesel pump, we were able to temporarily fix the problem. After an oil change and a 3-hour test run of the engine to see if it worked, we were able to start our journey towards Isla Isabela with a day of delay.

On the way in the dark

The crossing went smoothly. We set out in daylight and a good wind, set the sails and had fantastic weather. The waves were moderate, the wind was steady at around 15 knots. Just like Milagros and we like it. Unfortunately, all the fun was over in the evening and Burrito had to go to work. This time he started up smoothly and moved us through the night to the southeast. The most exciting thing that happened? We moved passed a sailboat that was sitting completely still with its sails set and flapping, and we passed the buoy of a fishing net way too close for comfort. Those kinds of threats are simply invisible in the dark. So much for night time passages and giving up control.

There she is – Isla Isabela

At the crack of dawn and with the first light of day, Isla Isabela National Park appeared. And wow, we weren’t promised too much beforehand. The place is often called «the Galapagos of Mexico». The sky was full of frigatebirds, blue boobies, pelicans and many other bird species. They circled overhead over and around the island in the warm morning light, and their “talks” could be heard loudly from the shore. Unfortunately, we had already seen from afar the many anchor lights that lined the island.

Easy Come Easy Go

It quickly became clear that a stay would not work out. We wanted to make ourselves comfortable on the east end of the island. The closer we got to the island, the more anchor lights from other boats appeared along the shores of the rocky island. At the east end, three boats were already gently rocking over the sandbank that would have been our target anchorage. We still tried to find a spot, tough. However, we didn’t feel 100% comfortable dropping our anchor ultra-close (by our standards at least) next to another vessel in 12 meters of water with no idea of what to expect of the seabed. So, we called off “Operation Visit Isla Isabela”. But not without a little sightseeing tour around the island.

Safety first

In the main bay at the southern end of the island, which is known for its rocky bottom with only small sandbanks, there were a mere 8 boats at anchor. Maybe all the anchors had found sandy bottom, maybe they had found boulders. Who knows? But we didn’t want to anchor there anyway, we’ve heard too many stories of snagged, broken, fouled and lost anchor gear. So, we embarked on a leisurely cruise around the island and are now even more interested in visiting it. Then we turned back to the southeast and thus to the bay of Chacala.

And then I stabbed myself again

And guess what happened on the way there: I stabbed my wrist with a knife. Great, right? I did that when I wanted to kill a fish that we had caught on the way. The big unlucky animal that bit the rubber squid was a beautiful Pacific Crevalle Jack. The other big unlucky animal who now had two holes on the same arm was me. It wasn’t deep or big, but I must have pricked a tendon. Now I couldn’t use my right hand anymore at all and Pati had to make use of the fish. I was so fed up, you cannot even imagine.

Hello Chacala!

Luckily, we arrived in Chacala soon after. A sandy beach, palm trees, beach bars and the good side of sailing life awaited. However, we also had to be prepared for possible uncomfortable nights. In our navigation program sailors wrote of swell, which could roll undisturbed into the bay. So, it was time for yet another first time: We had to make use of our stern anchor. A stern anchor prevents the boat from turning unfavorably in wind and current, possibly putting your boat sideways to incoming waves or getting too close to possible obstacles. With the use of a stern anchor, you can thus move the bow and stern of the boat in the desired direction and prevent the ship from moving around too much. This keeps the ship aligned at the right angle to the waves or keeps it away from dangers in small, sketchy or crowded anchorages.

No problemo!

Said and done. We wrestled our big stern anchor and anchor rode into our dinghy and took the equipment towards the beach. Flo gradually let out line from the stern of Milagros and when we found a suitable position, we dropped the anchor. Everything worked like a charm and soon we were able to enjoy the view comfortably rocking in the cockpit.

Discovering the beauty of Chacala

Chacala is a small village on a beautiful, long, picture-postcard sandy beach lined with many small restaurants. Behind the village, lush greenery borders the hilly landscape. It was very nice to look at and of course we had to see it up close right away. After a quick zoom ashore in our trusted deflatable dinghy we stood barefoot on the beach and sipped on three ice cold margaritas. The next few days we spent with everything that makes life on a sailboat beautiful. Balm for our battered souls.

Finally, greenery!

We were especially looking forward to the vegetation after two years in the desert. So of course, we didn’t miss the opportunity to go for a walk in the forests that surround the cute little town of Chacala. We were accompanied by a friendly doggo, which we quickly christened “Schoggi” (which is swiss German for chocolate), because of its brown coat. She accompanied us all the way up into the forest. We were only stopped by the guard at a pompous entrance to a private property. Back on the boat, we met up with friends from all the boats we knew that were also anchored in Chacala, enjoyed tacos made with the fish we had caught, or walked through the village, where, among other things, I was finally able to have the threads of my knife cut removed at the local health center.

Florian gets the full range

Our good friend and crewmate Flo got the full range of highs and lows on a sailboat. The dark clouds had lifted again and we were sitting on a palm-lined beach, sipping alcoholic beverages of all kinds. Where Flo had recently been seasick burying his head in the toilet, he now buried his feet in the sand. Our idea that we could continue from Chacala to La Cruz only met with limited approval from him. He would rather stay in Chacala a little longer. Enough of the sailing adventures for now. Enough of the constant Up. Down. Up. Down. Up. Down.

Flo’s conclusion

This is also Flo’s conclusion of his sailing adventure with us on Milagros. Highlights for him were visiting Chacala, meeting other sailors, experiencing bioluminescence, spotting whales and dolphins and being adventurous with friends. On the opposite end of the spectrum are the technical issues we encountered, the moral lows, seasickness and David’s hand accidents – I would say it was a 360° experience for him with all that entails the cruising life. It’s not just summer, sun, sunshine and champagne sailing.

We continue to La Cruz

The time we had together was short and soon we were getting Flo to the early morning bus that was supposed to take him to the Puerto Vallarta airport. We also packed our belongings, raised both our stern and bow anchor and motored comfortably in the direction of La Cruz. At anchor there we had to prepare the ship again for the next visit of two friends from Switzerland.

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After spending a night in Pichilingue Bay, we sailed the last 10 nautical miles into La Paz. The anchorage in the channel was crowded with boats, and it wasn’t easy to find a suitable spot. Additionally, it was a new moon and low tide, meaning very low water levels. We didn’t want to cross the sandbar to our “regular” anchoring spot as we didn’t want to take any unnecessary risks. Although the depth was probably enough, we didn’t want to take even the slightest chance to get stuck.

Finally, we found a place to drop the anchor, but soon after we realized that we had anchored right in the middle of the channel. Although we were in good company – other sailboats had anchored in the middle of the channel, too -, we didn’t want to stay there. As it was already evening, we decided to wait and re-anchor the next morning during high tide.

Noisy affair

On the first night, we could hear loud music from shore. It was time for the yearly Carnival in La Paz. We didn’t want to miss out on the festivities and joined the crowd the next day. In the late afternoon, the parade started, which in many ways resembled “Fasnacht” we know from back home in Switzerland but was still quite different. Regional organizations and clubs had decorated trailers with great attention to detail, on which either many costumed people danced, or one or two young women were presented in magnificent dresses and crowns.

The trailers were mostly pulled by pickups with huge speakers installed, blasting Mexican music at ear-splitting volumes. Between the trailers, various dance performances took place. We stood directly opposite a stage where a host commented on all the passing participants. The edge of the parade was lined with amusement stalls and food stands. The atmosphere was especially unique as the sun set over the sailboats which were anchored in the La Paz channel. And this whole vibe made us a little homesick.

Hello civilization

After several weeks of being far from civilization and several months in not-so-nice Guaymas, we enjoyed being in La Paz. The city has a lot to offer in terms of cuisine and culture, and we enjoyed that everything was within walking distance. We also had some preparations to do before sailing south with Flo to unknown waters (to us at least).

Money, money, money

For example, we had our watermaker’s high-pressure pump serviced – luckily by a professional. A stainless-steel spacer between two gaskets that had to come out simply wouldn’t budge. The service technician took the affected unit with him to his workshop but still couldn’t remove it there. The technician then promptly installed the unit of another model on our boat. He also found that the water suction pump was broken. We had suspected this due to its strange noises but had hoped for a miracle or a simple solution. Unfortunately, we had to dig deep into our pockets. The small part cost a whopping $400!!! But without this pump, there would be no homemade water. So, we bit the bullet and paid the price.

Burrito is happy

We also brought Lauro, the diesel mechanic from Puerto Escondido, on board. On one hand, to replace the leaking gasket on the fuel lift pump, and on the other hand, to do a general engine check before the crossing. We went through everything together and also checked the alignment of the engine. His conclusion was: all is good with Burrito! That’s exactly what we wanted to hear. We also used our stay in La Paz to stock up on all kinds of goodies for Milagros (and us) in the many boat accessory stores – oil for the engine, sacrificial anodes, a new and completely overpriced toilet seat, etc.

There’s confusion

On the day of Flo’s arrival, David took a taxi to the airport to pick him up, while I stayed on the boat. Suddenly, I heard Flo’s voice on the VHF, calling Milagros, saying that he was at the dinghy dock. So, I drove to shore to pick him up. On the way, David called me to say that Flo hadn’t shown up yet. It turned out that the two had missed each other at the airport. Oops. We celebrated the reunion with tacos and margaritas, as it should be.

The world is a village

The Swiss sailors Thomas and Anja on SV Robusta were also in town. So, we arranged to meet a few days after our arrival for a few beers – unfortunately without Thomas, who would be absent due to a dental appointment. But we saw Thomas a little earlier than planned, because his dinghy motor broke down on the way to his dentist appointment, and we jumped in as a taxi service. As a thank you, Anja brought us a homemade Swiss bread. Yummyyyyy. We then went ashore for dinner and later, we were joined by Alex, another Swiss sailor who has been sailing solo around the world with his SV No Stress for 6 years. The world is a small place sometimes.

Swiss meeting

As a good weather window for the sail to mainland Mexico approached, we prepared for this crossing at full speed: inspecting the rigging, mounting the inner forestay (which had been sitting in our bilge for almost 2 years), provisioning, cleaning the underwater hull, planning the passage of the 350 nautical miles, and so on. But we didn’t forget to have some fun. We enjoyed not only the vibe of La Paz, but also the sailor life. Alex invited us for a sundowner on his boat No Stress, a 54-foot Amel Super Maramu. This is the same boat that the famous Youtubers from SV Delos have been sailing around the world with for 10 years. It was exciting to see this model with our own eyes. We spent a fun evening speaking Swiss German. 6 Swiss sailors on one boat, that’s rare for us. Unfortunately, no pictures were taken.

Let’s go on the crossing

Then it was time: we started our nearly 3-day crossing to La Cruz, because a nice north wind window with 20-25 knots opened up, which was ideal for the planned downwind course. After a few hours of motoring north and into the wind to get out of La Paz, we were able to hoist the sails and turn east. We sailed on a fairly sporty beam reach with the waves on the side. When it was finally time to turn towards the southeast and thus towards La Cruz, we realized that Milagros didn’t want to go that way.

The mood is decying

The sea was really confused and we just couldn’t stabilize the boat. That meant hand-steering. And as soon as it got dark, Flo got seasick and was out. So, David and I steered by hand, which was really exhausting, but we got into the flow, eventually. When we suddenly got a radio call in the middle of the night with the words, “Milagros, Milagros, what are your intentions? Are you going in front of me or behind me?” we lost our flow. We scanned the horizon and couldn’t see anything, no lights, no boat, no nothing. And we couldn’t see any boat on our AIS screen (Automatic Identification System) either. We asked him what kind of boat he was, and he replied, “I’m a cargo ship.”

Then we found out that the AIS information disappears when we zoom out too far on our screen. Not good. Not good at all. We agreed with the tanker that we would accelerate, and he would pass behind us. After that, we lost our desire for the long crossing. The high waves, strong winds, and uncomfortable course strained our nerves and we became lethargic. For example, when a portion of noodles with tomato sauce spilled, we just left it on the floor. No one wanted to clean it up.

It gets worse

After reconsideration, we changed our destination on a whim and headed for Mazatlán. This shortened the crossing by about a day. Eventually, we got back into the flow somehow. Milagros sailed herself with the wind steering system on a downwind course. We had 6 – 10 ft high waves from behind and surfed them at up to 11 knots (which is about the speed of light). So, sailing became fun again – until about 4 hours before arrival. Suddenly, out of the blue, Milagros changed course in the middle of the night for unknown reasons and gybed, in this case, a Chinese gybe, because we didn’t want to gybe (sail with the stern through the wind). Fortunately, we had mounted a preventer line, which prevented the boom from swinging freely from one side to the other. Immediately, we lost all of our sailing spirit again. What had happened? We still don’t know.

It’s over

But that wasn’t all. When we wanted to start the engine it just wouldn’t start. After the second attempt, I went below deck and tried everything related to diesel supply. I started the electric diesel pump, switched tanks, switched to another filter, and operated the fuel lift pump lever. In combination with David giving a bit of throttle on the third try, the engine finally started. This episode was another blow on the already not very enjoyable crossing. Finally, we had to anchor in the port of Mazatlán at night; our first night anchoring manoeuvre. We radioed the harbour master just before entering at 2 a.m in the middle of the night. He only said, “be careful.” But the harbor was well lit and we quickly dropped anchor. We left everything as is and were just glad to have finally arrived after 41 hours.

Misfortunes seldom come alone

The next morning, we wanted to treat ourselves to an extensive breakfast with pancakes and fruit. Which was when the misfortune happened: David slipped with a knife while cutting a mango and sliced his hand open. It was immediately clear that the wound needed to be stitched. So, Flo and I prepared the dinghy, which was still deflated. David and I then set off to shore. The guard at the dock recommended the Cruz Roja – the Red Cross hospital – and an Uber brought us there within 10 minutes. We were prepared for a long wait and packed pancakes and entertainment material. But David was seen immediately, and his cut was stitched with 5 stitches. It cost 180 pesos – about $9. One hour later we were already back on Milagros.

We need to relax

After these exertions, we longed for a hot shower, so we just booked the cheapest room we could find in Mazatlán. We walked through the old town to the hotel, checked in, showered, left again, and treated ourselves to a fine dinner. In the coming days, we stretched our legs with walks through Mazatlán: up to a viewpoint, through the old town and its alleys, and along impressive cruise ships. In between, we enjoyed the rich culinary offerings, from ice cream to street tacos to local beer. We really liked it there. The only thing that disturbed the idyll were party boats, ferries, and cargo ships that constantly passed by the boat.

If we had known

After five days, it was time to sail on, as Flo had to catch a flight home to Switzerland from Puerto Vallarta, which was 200 nautical miles (approximately 360 km) away, and our next guests, Hürzi and Chrigi from Switzerland, also wanted to board there soon. We planned our journey south so that we could stop at Isla Isabel, a bird breeding ground 20 nautical miles off the coast. Only in mild conditions, the anchorage there was somewhat acceptable. But on the day of departure, Milagros had other plans for us. Yet again. We discovered something that prevented our further journey and potentially delayed it for a longer time…

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Der Beitrag From Madness to Memories erschien zuerst auf Milagros.

After several days of strong, gusty north wind, we were really exhausted. The constant noise, the swaying back and forth at anchor and the night’s unrest left its mark on us. We were tired and just happy when the end of the almost week-long troublemaker was in sight. As quickly as the «Northers» show up and hassle everybody in their way, they disappear again. All of a sudden, calmness returned. And as almost always, we had to devote ourselves to one very important object on the project list. Our mast. What was an impossibility in 30 knots of sustained winds, now we could finally tackle.

A Quick Review

As we found out at Cabrales Boatyard, our mast is a banana. The rear mast support (the so-called backstay) on Milagros had been much too short for years or even decades. This pulled the mast backwards too much. Our mast is made of thin, lightweight aluminum, which has resulted in some backwards warping. We carefully examined the whole situation at the boatyard and came to the conclusion that we can correct the deflection with the new rigging, which we did as best we could. Still, we weren’t satisfied as photos of Milagros taken by SV Swan Song’s Pete and Shinyi still showed the bend. After a bit of brainstorming via Whatsapp with Marga (we love you so much for all your help) we decided that the mast had to be corrected again in its position, which required a lot of work.

Important work on the mast

First, we had to loosen all the mast supports, which was the main reason why the wind had to drop first. With two lines we extended a sling that we wrapped around the mast. This allowed us to use the winches to crank the mast back and reposition the rubber wedges that hold the mast in place through the deck. After that we had to readjust the rigging. What sounds short and painless took a whole day. The fact that, contrary to expectations, the wind picked up again in the middle of the project only helped to a limited extent. But in the end, we were very happy with the result. We have lost all reservations about working on even the most crucial parts of Milagros, which is so, so incredibly important.

One hop further

We weighed anchor early the next morning. It was time to move further south. Our friend Florian was counting the days and hours at home in Switzerland, because it wasn’t long before he came over for a two-week visit. He reported regularly how much he looked forward to his time with us. Us too dude, us too! We were on a tight schedule because we had to be in La Paz at the end of February for his arrival. The sun barely showed an orange shimmer on the horizon before we were on our way again and set out to sea. The almost 6 hours passed in no time, a nice little Bonito for Tacos included, and when suddenly a westerly wind blew across the sea from the mountains of the Baja, which made for an hour of two of great sailing. We were happy and enjoying ourselves.

Finally north wind again! Not.

We continued with our plan to visit anchorages we had never been to on our (probably) final trip in the Sea of Cortez. Our destination San Marcial was such an anchorage. The cove offered protection to the north. Wonder why? Well, guess why. A few days of north wind were coming! Haha! Great! Finally, a Norther again! We couldn’t wait. F****** hell. At least, the forecasts only showed moderate winds compared to the monster that had just passed.

Bahía San Marcial

As we rounded the corner into the bay, our little sailor hearts beat a little faster. Not a single other boat far and wide! That’s how we like it! Anchorages are always at their best when we have them to ourselves. Just us, Milagros and the nature around us. And wow, Marcial was a great stop. The hills around the anchor bay shone in all the colors the Sea of Cortez has to offer. Earthy brown tones fading into reddish copper, plus the rain from the hurricane had caused grass to sprout, which has now dried out in a light yellow over the entire impressing scenery.

Quickly ashore!

Our time in San Marcial was spent going ashore, flying the drone for pictures, fishing and just plainly enjoying. For example, we followed an old river bed that led inland through the flora and fauna of the desert. During these excursions we notice again and again that the desert may appear dead and lifeless, but it is a complex habitat for countless animal and plant species. Birds sounded the alarm in the bushes and announced our appearance, various lizards sat on stones and warmed themselves, brown heaps or small balls on the ground indicated the existence of wild mules and goats.

Another small weather window to move on

Of course, our old, unwanted acquaintance joined the whole pleasure and holiday feeling – the cold northerly wind. This time, however, it didn’t blow so mercilessly and couldn’t spoil the beautiful San Marcial anchorage for us, because it only kept us company for two days. So, we were soon able to prepare Milagros again for the onward journey. Back towards Isla San Francisco we went. But this time we would only pass the island close by and hunker down at the very southern end of Isla San José. A large bank with a small mangrove forest awaited us. Well protected against the NORTH! Because of the NORTH WIND, which would annoy the entire Sea of Cortez again shortly after our arrival at the new spot.

Sheltered by the mangroves

Very early in the morning we set off on a long, 10-hour trip from San Marcial for a stretch which unfortunately we could only cover motoring. The wind was too weak or non-existent. We chugged along, enjoying the view and looking out for dolphins or whales. Not much to report on that front. Burrito purred along in his engine room and we sat on deck, taking in the scenery. Who knows if we’ll get lost in the Sea of Cortez again. Who knows, maybe we will. Nothing is for certain. What is certain is that this place will forever hold a very special place in our hearts.

Bahia Amortajada

When we arrived at our new anchorage “Bahia Amortajada” we first had an anchor beer. We anchored 5 meters deep, but the water was so clear it was almost a little scary to look down the side of the boat. Only the big “5” on the screen in the cockpit confirmed that everything was fine. SV Grace was also anchored in the same bay. Of course, we recognized their backside immediately. The boat’s backside that is. Yet another sister boat of Milagros! “Grace” is actually a Formosa 46, basically the same boat as Milagros, just different. Makes sense? Yeah, we know. So, we met Joseph and Louisa to inspect each other’s boats. Always a very interesting pasttime!

Lush greenery on shore

The fact that the shore was made of greenery as far as the eye could see was a novelty for us. Of course, we had to go and explore. As the tide was low, we were unfortunately unable to take the dinghy into the mangroves. So, our dinghy tour turned into a short walk. Mangroves form an extremely important ecosystem wherever they grow. Mangrove forests and mangrove swamps are mainly found in tropical coastal areas. Comprising a total of almost 70 species of trees and shrubs, they have adapted to brackish salt water in which they stand with their root systems. They are an important habitat for specialized animal and plant species and a nursery for numerous organisms and animals. Unfortunately, like many other habitats, mangrove forests are threatened by rising sea levels, pollution, drainage, fishing and other human encroachment. Brave new world.

Florian, here we come!

At each new anchorage on our way towards La Paz, we informed Florian, who was counting the days in Switzerland, about our progress. After two nights in the mangroves of Amortajada, we hoisted the sails in a stiff leftover northerly breeze and set off towards Isla Espiritu Santo. We have already visited many anchorages on this paradise island, so we had to add another stop in a new anchorage as planned. But first we had to get there, and the road to get there was rocky.

Until it hurts

The way to Isla Espiritu Santo turned out to be a tough one. We were able to sail along nicely, but at the same time the notorious Sea of Cortez swell built up – small, steep waves at an unusually short distance. This made the movements of Milagros quite uncomfortable, after almost 6 hours of rodeo my already damaged back started complaining. My back is much, much better now, but the being pushed around for hours was still a little too much for my herniated disc. We were happy when we finally arrived in the new bay called «Ensenada Grande». It consists of three smaller bays, each of which extends in a different direction. There was still space for us in the middle lobe.

Isla Espiritu Santo – one for your bucket list

Entire books could and should be written about Isla Espiritu Santo and Isla Partida. A stone’s throw by boat from La Paz, its entire east side can only be described as: anchorage after anchorage after anchorage after anchorage. One could spend days and weeks just on this one island. One corner is more beautiful than the other. The proximity to La Paz also means that hundreds of excursion boats visit the island every day and tourists populate the beaches. But that doesn’t detract from the beauty, because in general a lot of consideration is given to the island. The largest bay at the very southwest end of the island has now even been completely closed to visitors and anchored boats.

Edgar – Lord of the Kayaks

We found out that a few hiking trails were marked in Ensenada Grande, which we wanted to explore after a little rest. We inflated and our kayak, paddled into one bay after the other and found an old creek bed in the southernmost corner through which one could climb up to the hilltops of the island. On the beach we also made the acquaintance of Edgar, who was in the process of setting up a small camp. A storage tent, a small off-site toilet and about 10 kayaks were lined up on the beach. Edgar is a cook for a kayak tour operator and has already prepared everything for the guests’ arrival the next day. We arranged to meet him for a cold beer after our walk, because we didn’t have any more on Milagros. An emergency situation!

Hiking up the barren island hills

Our little excursion was not a walk in the park. The way up the river bed was rocky. The further we penetrated into the interior of Isla Espiritu Santo, the steeper the creek bed became, until finally we were just climbing. Over millions of years, large boulders had accumulated left and right from the top of the valley, which we had to climb up. Stone by stone, step by step. Until we got to the top. And the climbing was worth it. The view was crazy impressive.

Isla Espiritu Santo from the other side

The east side of the island is completely different from the west side. Instead of bays for anchoring, there are steep cliffs that plunge vertically down into the sea. Not great for anchoring but great on the eye. It doesn’t get much more dramatic than that. So, we just sat and enjoyed the view before heading back down. After half an hour on the way back, a classic “David” happened to me. I was able to tackle back up the steep terrain again because my sunglasses got lost on the way. Cursing, I climbed up the stones again, because I knew exactly where I had lost them. When I found the sunglasses, I climbed down the path cursing a little less.

Conversations the Mexican way

Arrived at the beach we enjoyed a few cold Pacificos with Edgar and talked about God and the world. We really enjoy such conversations with the Mexicans, we never learn more about the country and its customs. And our Spanish stays in tip-top shape. We’re still far from fluent, but nothing stands in the way of conversations with the locals. And every time we put a smile on the Mexicans’ faces and we regularly get compliments. See, can’t be that bad.

Trouble anchoring – for the first time

The next morning, we continued our journey back to La Paz. After a short trip along the island, we wanted to anchor in the Ensenada La Gallina. Wanted. Our anchor just did not want to hold. For the first time. We tried three times and then we gave up. It felt like we were trying to bury the anchor in concrete. It just scraped along the bottom, I even had to reluctantly jump in the cold water because we wanted to know what the problem was. However, the visibility in the water was so bad that in the end we simply decided to head straight to La Paz.

A sporty ride to La Paz

We had already come to terms with the fact that we had to motor the entire way, when a strong easterly wind came funneling through the Canal de San Lorenzo. With the wind 90 degrees off the side, Milagros activated monster mode and we blasted through at 7 knots to Bahia Pichilingue, our destination. Another new tick on the “bays we’ve never been to”-list. We anchored in a busy bay, as is often the case near the big(ger) cities. Lots of boats both big and small, lots of people on the beach, loud music on the beach and a few restaurants. We went to the latter immediately upon arrival and enjoyed the sunset with a beer and absolutely mediocre food. We had done it again. We were back in La Paz. Time to prepare for our passage to the mainland of Mexico. If only we had known what was lurking on the horizon…

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Der Beitrag Our Farewell Tour erschien zuerst auf Milagros.