LA CRUZ TO LA PAZ ON WINGS 2024

 March 24-27, 2024

The 2024 cruising season presented my friend, Fred, with a new set of challenges. He had not attempted to cruise Wings since the death of his wife and my friend, Judy, in 2023. They had an established routine but, suddenly, everything needed to be accomplished in different ways. I volunteered to make the crossing to La Paz with Fred, as I knew both the boat and the crossing well. Fred’s race crew came through and helped us to swap out all the racing gear for cruising gear. With three vehicles, we managed it with only one trip to the storage facility. Racing sails were packed away and the cruising sails, dodger, dinghy, and motor hauled out of storage and transferred to Wings.

Wings at the Fuel Dock in La Cruz

We were scheduled to leave on Thursday and Fred was already worried about getting the boat ready between the end of the Banderas Bay Regatta on Saturday and our scheduled departure date. Things became much trickier for him when Wings was damaged in a collision during Friday’s race. The bow pulpit, anchor roller, and bow light were destroyed. The bow pulpit could be lashed and taped together until his return to La Cruz, but the anchor roller (a heavy stainless-steel assembly firmly bolted to the bow) and the bow light were essential. Miraculously, the local stainless-steel fabricator managed to force the bow roller into serviceable shape without removing it from the boat, saving days of work. The local chandlery had a bow light in stock. Somehow, Fred managed to get the boat ready to leave on schedule.

I had my own long list of tasks to accomplish before I could leave for what could be three months. Cat sitters were located, laundry done, bills paid, and gear packed and delivered to both Wings (a light load) and White Wind where I would spend the majority of the season.

March 28, 2024

Brainwaves on Banderas Bay

Fred and I left the dock on schedule on Thursday morning. We proceeded to the fuel dock where we loaded up with diesel and Fred ran up to the port captain to check out. Then we set off across Banderas Bay. I was introduced to the Monitor wind vane and immediately saw the advantage. Autopilots require power and can fail. The wind vane ran itself and, while it couldn’t handle light air very well, was at least as reliable as an autopilot. The wind was blowing from a more southerly direction than usual, so our sail across the bay did not follow the usual pattern. We still made good time across the bay but lost the wind shortly after we cleared Punta Mita. By 14:00, we had surrendered to turning on the engine.  Our friends, Jim and Deb, on Brainwaves left just after us and so our crossing became a bit of a race.

The wind was light but the seas were a bit lumpy. We decided to heat up the lasagne I had made ahead of time for our dinner. Fred removed the leftover containers stored in the oven and lighted it for me. Not wanting to make a mess in the oven, I put the foil packet I had prepared in a casserole dish and put it in the oven. Fred was on watch and I was below. After a few minutes, I noticed a strange smell. I opened the oven to check on it and a wall of flames shot out of the door. I closed it quickly and turned off the gas, but the fire continued. Every time we opened the door, we were greeted by more flames. The fire didn’t seem to be spreading to the hull, so Fred didn’t want to discharge a fire extinguisher. Gradually, the flames died down and finally went out. From the burning plastic smell, we deduced that a Tupperware lid must have been hidden in the oven, melted, and caught fire. It was very exciting, but ended well. The lasagne was not harmed. We still had a nice, warm, and filling dinner.

We motored north up the coast all night.

March 29, 2024

Wind predictions had all showed a southerly. Wind was, indeed, coming out of the south but it was too light to sail. Hoping to catch the wind when it strengthened, we chose a course between the shore and the Marias Islands. We motored all night, passing the Marias just before dawn.

Fred still had a list of boat repairs to accomplish. The first job he tackled was repairing the ground wire to the engine instruments. We knew the engine was running hot but, when I came on watch at 15:00 on Friday and saw the temperature gauge at the high end of red, I suggested rather forcefully that we shut it off and do something. We set sails and sailed slowly while Fred worked on the engine. The water pump seemed to be working well. Fred removed the thermostat and reamed out the heat exchanger. By the time he was done, the engine was actually running cold. He also worked on the watermaker and got the pump working, but it still was not producing any fresh water.

Winds were light, so we turned the engine back on once the engine was repaired. We motored all through my watch from 21:00 to 24:00. There was a beautiful full moon that rose late in my watch. There was no traffic. We were alone.

March 30, 2024

Wind, at Last

I woke up about 2:00 when Fred shut off the motor. Our southerly wind had finally kicked in and we were sailing. I came back on deck at 3:00. We were sailing nicely with the wind vane driving. I was able to hunker down under the petite dodger and stay reasonably warm.

Fred took the sunrise watch from 6:00 to 9:00, but I came up to eat breakfast about 8:00. We were still sailing nicely. The wind built gradually. We continued sailing all day. By 15:00, the wind was up to 15 knots from the south. By 16:00, we dropped the headsail and continued on main alone. We were still making six knots. My fantasy of actually sailing across the Gulf of California was coming true.

Finally Sailing

It got windier and windier and the wind continued to clock. This was the night that Fred decided to cook a complicated dinner. The boat was pitching all over the place and cooking, eating, and washing up were all quite challenging. By 20:00 it was up to 20 knots. We could see the coast of Baja and began to think we would arrive in Muertos before dawn. By 22:30, the wind had completely died and we started the engine. However, the wind continued to shift and by midnight we were sailing close hauled.  

March 31, 2024

It was chilly with the wind out of the north, but we sailed until the wind died at dawn. We pulled into Muertos at 9:30 and anchored next to our friends on Brainwaves.

At Anchor in Muertos

We rested and puttered around the boat. We weren’t as tired as expected and had plenty of energy to inflate the dinghy and install the motor. Jim and Deb invited us over for a fish dinner on Brainwaves. We had forgotten to adjust our clocks and arrived for dinner an hour early. We spent that hour toodling around the Muertos anchorage, visiting the other boats and watching the campers pack up and leave after their Semana Santa beach holiday. Many of the campsites were quite elaborate.

Campers on the Beach at Muertos

Jim and Deb cooked us a lovely dinner and we had a fine time, remarking that it was nice to be able to have just an intimate dinner with friends. In La Cruz, it was difficult to have a dinner party without inviting a dozen people which made it a completely different affair. We called it an early night because the weather for the following day looked promising and we all wanted to get an early start.

April 1, 2024

Sunrise at Muertos

We were up early and ready to go well before 7:00 on Monday morning, but our starter had died and we couldn’t start the engine. We raised the main sailed off the anchor. Then we hoisted the #2 jib and headed for the Ceralvo Channel.

Sailing on the #4 Jib

Wings in the Ceralvo Channel

By 9:20, the wind was up over 18 knots and we changed to the #4 jib. A sail change on Wings usually involves two agile foredeck crew to handle the sails, someone to jump the halyard and someone (formerly me) to tail the halyard and grind up the last few feet. With just the two of us, Fred had to handle the sails and jump the halyard while I tailed and made sure the boat went where it was supposed to go. Autopilots and wind vanes don’t work very well when you are pointed head to wind to change sails. Nobody observing Fred on that foredeck would have ever guessed his age at 78.

Wings with a Reef In

The wind dropped a little in the afternoon as we proceeded up the channel. We switched back to the #2. Then it got windy, again. We didn’t want to change sails, again, so we put a reef in the main. On the other side of the Ceralvo channel, we shook out the reef. Finally, by 16:00, we were in a position to raise the spinnaker. Brainwaves had left Muertos shortly we did. The stayed about six miles behind us all day. We expected them to catch us, but they never did. About the time we put up the kite, they decided to quit and go to Espiritu Santo. Fred was gloating.

Fred Readying the Spinnaker

We sailed fast under spinnaker for about and hour and a half until we failed to make a gybe and had to douse it and put up the #2 about the time we passed Pichilingue. The wind died about the time we entered the La Paz Channel. We still couldn’t start the motor, so we drifted down the La Paz Channel with the tide and dropped the hook in front of Marina Don Jose at sunset. It was a relief to have made it to our destination under sail alone and we felt very accomplished. We had a drink and made a simple dinner of bacon and eggs. It was finally time to rest.

April 2, 2024

Fred Working on the Starter

As is usually the case, our starter was the victim of a cascade of failures. The extra tasks necessitated by the collision during the Banderas Bay Regatta caused us to leave before repairing the engine instruments. The overheating engine caused a crack to open up in the heat exchanger cap which leaked onto the starter and eventually caused it to fail. Our first mission was to locate a working starter. Fred got up and immediately began an internet search. Then he asked for recommendations via the morning net. Someone suggested a shop that specialized in repairing starters and alternators. After calling every parts shop in La Paz and visiting one of them, we took an Uber to Kevin’s Autopartes to talk to him about rebuilding both the failed starter and the broken spare, whose repair had been overlooked during the chaos surrounding Judy’s death. Kevin told us he needed an hour to diagnose the starters, so we walked down the street to a nice restaurant for lunch.

By the time we returned, Kevin assured us that both starters could be repaired, one for 1800 pesos, and the other for 2400. After some negotiation, he agreed to fix both for a total of 3600 pesos. He told us they would be ready by 17:00. We went back to the boat for a nap and then returned to Kevin’s. One starter was ready, but the new solenoid was the mirror image of the original and couldn’t be installed in the boat. After some confusion, the proper solenoid was located and installed on the repaired starter. We waited for an hour or so until the second starter was finished and provided with the correct solenoid. Then we took another Uber back to the boat.

Fred cooked some chicken with BBQ sauce and beans and we relaxed, hopeful that the following day would see Wings’ engine functioning, once again.

April 3-4, 2024

Fred at His Computer

I could barely restrain Fred from testing the starter long enough to make French toast and bacon. After breakfast, we pulled off the heavy engine cover for the umpteenth time and Fred installed the first starter. It cranked on the first try and we cheered. The second starter worked just as well. Then, Fred tackled the watermaker. He had spoken with a watermaker dealer about his problem and they were both fairly certain that the membrane was OK. Fred already had a rebuild kit so, though he never saw anything obviously wrong, he installed all the new parts. He was pessimistic about that solving the problem, but was pleasantly surprised when the watermaker suddenly began to produce fresh water. The day had been very satisfactory.

By mid-afternoon, we were ready to go ashore. We went to the grocery store and then stopped by Club Cruceros for 20 peso beers. We were supposed to get free hot dogs, but the line was so long we never bothered. We came back to the boat and had a lovely dinner of steak, cauliflower, and salad.

Thursday was a slow day.  With out boat repairs completed, we were able to relax.  I spent a good deal of the day writing and Fred worked on his computer.  

April 5, 2024

My flight back to La Cruz left at 10:53.  We got up and shared a last breakfast together before loading my gear into the dinghy and delivering me to the dinghy dock.  I said goodbye to Fred somewhat reluctantly, as I had not yet met his next crewmember who was due to arrive that afternoon.  I took an Uber to the airport and caught my flight back to Puerto Vallarta via Mexico City.

The La Paz Airport Is Not Busy