The first part of the trip actually went according to plan.
We had a sweet, light, downwind, drift sail to Cabo. The days were easy, even languid. We exercised our gennaker to good effect.
It’s a new sail type to me. I’ve flown countless spinnakers and on a previous boat had a screecher that I was in love with. This code 1 gennaker is quite sensitive to set up. Tack tension, fairlead position and sheet tension all seem to make a huge difference in performance. When happy with it’s setup the sail will reward us with a 50% and even a 100% increase in performance. When not so well set it’s no better that our standard jib and main sails.
We enjoyed a couple of delicious night sails accepted by the moon, meters and miles of liquid thoughts…
On the afternoon of the third day we rounded Cabo in light winds and headed northeast to go the last 40 miles to Los Frailes. Ten miles from Cabo and just mile off shore the winds completely died and the strong current started carrying us onto the rocky coast. We tried the engine but no joy. Not even a click, despite having 12.5v in the battery bank. Bummer but there was no time to commiserate. Quick as bunnies, we hauled up the dinghy from below, inflated and launched it. Next we hosted the outboard motor from it’s storage bracket on Malo’s transom, fixed it to the dink, added the fuel tank and then lashed the dink along side of the mothership. At that point we were just a half a mile from the rocks. Once harnessed up the dink pulled Malo out to sea at 3.5 nmp of boat speed. We took her 5 miles out before we found some wind. At that point our plan changed dramatically and we chose not continue on to remote Los Frailes but instead head 166nm across the Sea of Cortez to our next major port of call, Mazatlan. So we retrieve the outboard motor and the dink back aboard Malo, hoisted sail and headed east. The wind continued to pick up and soon we were blasting along at an easy 6-7nmp on calm seas. The next day the wind held and we were rewarded with more fast & easy sailing with puffy clouds to glaze the day.
Bev did well with and was able to enjoy the fine sailing in spite of our apparent set back. She’s getting better at that; rolling with the setbacks and trusting in the wind, our own resourcefulness and in the opportunity of a new day.
Somehow the next morning I managed to get the motor started again. We certainly didn’t need it then with all the great wind we were getting but it’s was nice to know that it could be revived.
The puffy clouds continued throughout the day and the next day we made it to Mazatlan at 10am and, and, and the motor stared again…thank god for small wonders!
Marinas down here can be as expensive as the ones in California; $40 to $100 a day but we’ve fond a real bargain in Mazatlan. For just150 pesos ($7.50US) per day, we’re getting showers, internet, a secure dingy dock and a “club house” all while we swing on our own hook. Welcome to Club Nautico! And best of all it’s right next to the historic Old Mazatlan that was established but the Spanish in 1531. I think that Club Nautico may have been established right around that same time because is it’s pretty crumbly but it’s got a lot of character as does the other crews that choose to inhabit this decidedly “quaint” sort of place, my kind of place.
No comments:
Post a Comment