Finally, I was back on Milagros. The beginning of 2024 had been hectic. I flew around the world for work and then returned to Mexico. But now it was Sunday until summer. After the failed attempts to sail out of Guaymas, the moment had come. The crossing to Baja was ahead.
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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