PUERTO ESCONDIDO TO LA PAZ 2025

April 25, 2025

Bahia Salinas

Puerto Escondido at Dawn

I got up early Friday morning to take photographs in Puerto Escondido at dawn. The light was exceptional and I managed to capture the majesty of the peaks behind the caldera where we were moored.

We left the mooring field as the wind began to fill in around 10:00 and motored out around the point. Winds were light, but we managed to sail to the northern tip of Danzante by 11:00. Then we motored for 45 minutes around the southern tip of Isla Carmen. We got in another 45 minutes of sailing up the eastern shore of Isla Carmen before Fred decided it was useless to tack away from the island when the wind was dying, anyway. We took down the jib for the second time and motored straight towards Bahia Salinas.

Sailing Around the Northern Tip of Danzante

It always seems to take forever to motor up the east side of Isla Carmen. It was a perfect day for a motorboat ride. The sky was blue, the sun warm, and the water flat. We made good time and I stayed above deck, enjoying the scenery. We pulled into the anchorage at 15:30 and dropped the hook in 20 feet off a white sand beach.

Anchored in Bahia Salinas

April 27, 2025
Agua Verde

We spent Saturday at anchor in Bahia Salinas. It was partly cloudy and kind of windy and didn’t inspire us to fish out the dinghy wheels and go ashore. We spent the day doing little projects around the boat. I gave the exterior of the pots and pans a thorough cleaning and then winched Fred up the mast so that he could replace a spreader boot. We spent a long time trying to find the source of the smell of melting plastic, but never came up with an answer. Fred cleaned the corrosion off the connection to the starter, once again, and also cleaned some battery terminals. We found the sock I had lost weeks earlier inside of the engine compartment.

My Missing Sock

The wind kept blowing out of the north all day, although the waves had been coming from the south the night before, causing the boat to roll quite a bit. I had remembered the bay as calm with beautiful blue green water, but it was not as pretty, this time. There were a lot of birds fishing and five other boats came in to shelter from the north wind. Bahia Salinas is large, so it wasn’t at all crowded.

Sunday was forecast to be quite windy and we planned to sail east of Montserrate to Agua Verde. It wasn’t as windy as the prediction when we got up, but there was a breeze and we pulled up the anchor about 8:30 and quickly set sail. Before long, we hoisted the spinnaker. While wind up to 20 knots was forecast, we never saw more than thirteen. The forecast looked like the wind might die by noon, but it never dropped much below ten.

Before the Gybe

We sailed outside of Montserrate quite happily until we decided to gybe over and head for Agua Verde. We didn’t make the gybe and the spinnaker wrapped around the forestay. The spinnaker sheet had gone under the bow and I couldn’t pull it out. Unfortunately, we had left the jib halyard shackled to the bow pulpit and the jib halyard wrapped inside the spinnaker. We tried to drop the spinnaker, but it wouldn’t come down. We struggled with it for the next two and half hours, sailing far past Montserrate before we could gybe and head for Agua Verde. The spinnaker tore near the foot and that made the tangle ever more severe.

Spinnaker Fail!

Ultimately, we had to tie a line around the ball of sail and secure it to the deck so that we could take the sheets off and unwrap them as much as possible. Then we reattached the sheet and Fred passed the whole mess around the forestay while I unclipped and reclipped the sheet after each pass. We got it mostly untangled, but still couldn’t pull it down because it was tangled in the jib halyard at the top. Eventually, we had to tie a long piece of nylon cord to the jib halyard so that we could pull it down with the sail. It was quite a relief when we finally got the twisted mass onto the deck and stuffed back into the bag. We gybed over, set the number two jib (after we freed the jib halyard and pulled it back through the clutch), and headed for Agua Verde. We anchored among twelve other boats in the north bight of the anchorage by 17:00.

Fred worked on untangling the spinnaker while I cooked salmon, fettuccine with pesto, and broccoli for dinner. We treated ourselves to a glass of red wine and some chocolate with caramel and sea salt for dessert. I wrote while Fred did the dishes.

April 30, 2025
Mangle Solo

Piecing the Spinnaker Back Together

We spent Monday in Agua Verde. We felt we deserved a relaxing day after the previous day’s battle with the spinnaker. Fred also needed time to repair said spinnaker. He got started on that before 8:00. The damage was limited to one area, but that area had multiple tears. Fred didn’t have any white spinnaker repair tape, so he made some out of two inch nylon strips and double sided sticky tape. Once the spinnaker was taped together, he then sewed the tape to the sail. By 9:15, the sail was mended and we could stuff it back in the bag.

The Repair(s)

We went to turn the engine on to charge the batteries and discovered that the starter wouldn’t turn. Fred had a spare and replaced it. It turned out that the solenoid was so corroded (it wasn’t even a year old) that it was making a connection all the time. This had burned out the starter and accounted for the hot electrical smell that we had been unable to locate. To prevent this from happening a third time (It had happened in 2024, too.) Fred fashioned a plastic hat to protect the starter and solenoid from the dripping heat exchanger cap.

The Western Flyer

Boat maintenance out of the way, we dug out the dinghy wheels, installed them, and took the dinghy in to shore. The Western Flyer, the boat immortalized in John Steinbeck’s The Log from the Sea of Cortez, was anchored in Agua Verde. The boat, fresh from a $6 million restoration, was visiting for an exhibition and there were food and artist vendors set up on the shore. We checked out the vendors but nothing tickled our fancies. We walked into town to buy some cookies and produce and then went to the Puerto Bello restaurant for a beer before returning to the boat. Pelicans were noisily fishing in front of the restaurant and we enjoyed watching them and then lingered to take photographs. We had snacked on chips and guacamole and then had ramen with chilorio for dinner.

Pelicans Fishing in Agua Verde

What little wind was predicted for Tuesday was forecast to come in the morning. The engine started right up, but we only used it to get out from behind the reef before raising the sails and tacking out of the bay. Plan A was to stop in Santa Marte, but the anchorage didn’t look inviting, there was a huge power boat taking up the prime spot, and neither of us was too keen on trying to sail through the reef. We evaluated the situation and decided to continue on to Puerto El Gato.

Sunrise inAgua Verde

We soon lost our wind and had to drop the jib and motor to El Gato, arriving about 17:00. There was a large tour group camped in tents on the shore. They had arrived in a number of pangas. We had no sooner got the anchor down when a fellow arrived in a small boat and asked us if we would like some lobsters. We were both keen on the idea and he headed off to the reef to dive for our dinner while I relaxed in a chair on deck and enjoyed the scenery. We had ordered two large lobsters, but ended up with one large one and three small ones. They cost us five hundred pesos and a beer.

Puerto El Gato Lobsters

Rock Formations in Puerto El Gato

I made Spanish rice with mixed vegetables and melted some butter and garlic while Fred cleaned and boiled the lobsters. They were delicious and we felt very decadent.

Morning at Puerto El Gato

I got up at 5:15 on Wednesday, hoping to catch the morning light on the red rocks of Puerto El Gato. I got some nice shots, but the sunrise never lit the rocks. I sat outside for half an hour until my feet got cold. Later, I went back outside to bask in the sun and warm up.

There was no wind on Wednesday, either, but we decided to make the next short trip to Mangle Solo, an anchorage best visited when conditions are benign. We didn’t even bother to put up the sails. No wind was forecast and we never saw more than six knots. We left at 10:45 and arrived in Mangle Solo about 15:30. We saw two goats on the shore while we were anchoring.

Wings at Mangle Solo

Fred Amongst the Cardon

The Chirping Cardinal

I wanted to go ashore to explore, so we launched the dinghy. It was easy landing the dinghy on the beach with almost no surf. We strolled around, examining the cardon cactus and locating the bird we could hear chirping insistently. She was a female cardinal. I am always surprised to see cardinals in exotic locales. Once we located the cardinal, we crossed the sand spit and checked out the lagoon. It looked stagnant and scummy. The beach on the outside was much more inviting.

Back at the boat, Fred fired up the internet and I sat down to write.

May 6, 2025
La Paz

The Beach at Mangle Solo

From Mangle Solo, we motored the fifteen miles to Isla San Francisco. There was no wind. Our friends, Chris and Alexandra from Blue Wind, were already anchored there when we arrived. Alexandra came over in her kayak for a chat. There were thirteen boats in the anchorage and, unfortunately, a few of them had brought jet skis. Isla San Francisco is beautiful, but it has become so popular with charter boats that I am inclined to avoid the place. There are almost always tents set up on the beach for guests from big power yachts and there is a constant parade of charter catamarans in and out of the anchorage. This time, there was a lot of radio chatter between one of the captains and the beach. The reason became apparent when one of the big yachts actually put on a fireworks display.

The swell grew larger as the evening progressed. We spent a very uncomfortable night at anchor.

There was no wind on Saturday and we had no desire to stay and roll around with all the charter boats. We set off early, hoping to sail at least part of the way to our next anchorage. We had discussed going to Bonanza with Alexandra. Coromuel winds were forecast, making the west side of Islas Partida and Espiritu Santo untenable. When morning came, the forecast was for winds from the southwest, which made even Bonanza unattractive. We decided to head for Balandra.

Motoring to Balandra

We had good wind, at first, and sailed a long tack towards the back side of Isla Partida. The wind dropped as the morning wore on. Finally, we were forced to tack over, drop the jib, and motor to Balandra. The seas were pretty flat, but it was a long trip. We arrived about dinner time and anchored behind the rocks near where Fred usually anchors. Unfortunately, there was a catamaran anchored in his favored spot and we rolled more than usual for that location because swells were wrapping around the point. The wind blew eighteen to twenty knots all night and well into Sunday morning.

Anchored in Balandra

We had nowhere to go and couldn’t even talk to the marinas about a slip on Sunday, so decided to spend the day in Balandra. Fred worked on the boat and I practiced the guitar and worked on a beading project. It was a relaxing day and we were relieved that no giant power yachts were anchored there.

The wind blew just as hard on Sunday night. It was still blowing on Monday morning when we left for La Paz. We sailed out of the anchorage and made one long tack out into the bay. The breeze dropped after we tacked back towards land. Pretty soon, we had to drop the jib and motor down the channel. We anchored in our usual spot in front of Marina Don Jose.

Sunset in La Paz

We might not have had a slip, but we could still go ashore for dinner. We arrived at El Chino’s Tacos at 19:00 when they opened. We each enjoyed a bowl of their wonderful beans. I had one carne asada taco and one cabeza taco. Fred decided to try the cabeza, but didn’t like it. “Cabeza” means “head,” but isn’t made from brains. It is actually the meat from the steer’s cheeks. It is very tender, but has a flavor somewhat like tongue (which I also like.)

It was quite dark and a bit chilly by the time we rode the dinghy back to the boat. There was a breeze, but the anchorage was still calm in comparison with Balandra.

Fred went ashore, right away, on Monday to drop off his laundry, take his starter to be rebuilt, and see about a slip. We wanted to wash the boat and fill up with water before Terry arrived. Unfortunately, no slips were available. I cleaned the interior as best I could, but the exterior remained salty.

Terry arrived in the early afternoon and we went back to shore to meet her. We all had a cool drink at the Dock and Fred went to pick up his starter and laundry while Terry and I gossiped about old friends. When Fred returned, we dropped off the laundry and Terry’s luggage at the boat and then headed into downtown La Paz so Terry could buy pajamas. We started at the Sears. Fred headed off to look for stereo speakers.

Terry with Wings

Fred had still not found the electronics store when we came out, so we decided to try an auto stereo shop, instead. We walked in a big circle before we finally found it. They claimed they didn’t have any speakers with cases, but Fred spotted one Bose speaker on a high shelf. It turned out to be half of a pair of lightly (possibly never) used Bose speakers. We negotiated with the owner and finally bought them for all the cash we had, which was less that 2700 pesos. This was quite a good deal.

We then walked back to the bank near the Sears so that Terry could get some pesos and we could replace what Fred and I had spent. Then we took an Uber to Rancho Viejo for dinner. It was only about 19:30 when we got back, but we were all tired. We got Terry situated and then, one by one, we fell asleep.

May 10, 2025
La Cruz de Huanacaxtle

Our mission on the sixth was to go to the grocery store. We had a leisurely morning and then set off to walk to the Chedraui Select. Fred stopped to buy inner tubes for his dinghy wheels at a motorcycle shop along the way. We ducked into a pharmacy to see if they carried the medication Terry had left behind in Los Angeles, but learned that it was not available in Mexico. She had left it behind, before, and figured she’d be all right, this time.

By the time we got to the grocery store, Terry was feeling a bit woozy. She hadn’t really eaten anything and, more importantly, hadn’t been drinking enough liquids. It was fairly warm, although cooler than usual for May. We installed her on a bench to rest and went to do their shopping. The store had almost nothing in the way of produce and not much in the way of the meat that Fred wanted. Ultimately, we decided they would have to go to Walmart the following day and we left without buying anything except an electrolyte drink for Terry. We took an Uber back to the boat.

Pelicans Roosting in La Paz

Fred spent the afternoon trying to get his new speakers to work. We found and corrected the problems affecting the interior speakers, but it eventually surfaced that the jack on the stereo that fed the amp for the exterior speakers had gone bad. Fred would need a new stereo.

We wanted to go out for a nice dinner, so went to La Estrella over by Marina Cortez. I devoured a huge salad and Fred had a stuffed fish dish. Terry still didn’t feel like eating and barely touched the shrimp cocktail she ordered. Still, it was a lovely location on the beach and we had a nice dinner. Perhaps fortunately, the ice cream shop was closed by the time we left, so we went straight back to the boat.

I left early the next morning to take an Uber to the airport. At that point, none of us were sure if Terry would be well enough to sail. I felt kind of responsible and it was hard to leave, but I had a plane to catch.

The plane to Mexico City went smoothly, but then I had to spend nine hours in the Mexico City airport. Unfortunately, the new 737 that they used to fly from Mexico City to Puerto Vallarta had small overhead bins. Even some of the carry-on suitcases didn’t fit. I was once again forced to gate check my travel guitar. This always makes me angry because they give priority to suitcases which could easily be checked, leaving no space for fragile items that, while small and light, are more than 21 inches long. Making the bins smaller just seemed like a ploy to make people pay exorbitant baggage fees. It cost me $82 to check my duffle bag.

It was midnight by the time I got to Puerto Vallarta. The airport taxi service wanted 1285 pesos to take me to La Cruz. Since that’s about three times what it costs to get to the airport, I balked. I tried the next window. She quoted me 1265, but I managed to get her to drop it to 1000. I was tired and didn’t feel like dragging my bag across the street, which would no doubt have saved me a bundle. It was still 1:00 by the time I got home and I was happy to be there.

LA PAZ TO PUERTO ESCONDIDO 2025

April 14, 2025
La Paz

We were very nearly out of groceries, so our first mission in La Paz was to reprovision. First, however, we wanted a nice breakfast. It was Sunday, so my usual haunts were closed. I suggested that we go to Super Burro and we headed up Abasolo, but the restaurant appeared to be gone. Passing a sushi restaurant, I noticed a sign advertising breakfast. We turned in and discovered a pleasant patio restaurant featuring breakfast and coffee in the rear. I had some wonderful huevos rancheros and Fred had an immense American breakfast. The restaurant was a little pricey, but the quality and the service were good.

Fred had a list of non-food items that we needed in addition to groceries. We were able to find most of them between the big hardware store on Abasolo and the Farmacia Guadalajara. We spent quite a while at the Chedraui Select, filling two grocery carts with food, drink, and paper products. By 13:00, we were exhausted and glad to call an Uber to ferry us back to the marina. When our driver arrived with a tiny subcompact car, we had our doubts as to whether or not all our purchases would fit. It held more than we had feared and we only had to sit with two bags. Fitting it all in the dinghy was actually more difficult, since the laundry had been closed and the dinghy already contained two large bags of dirty, salty clothes and linens. I had to perch on the bow for our return trip. Fortunately, the seas were calm.

It was a hot afternoon and it took all of our energy to stow our purchases. We spent the remainder of the afternoon napping, lounging, and devouring the fresh sourdough bread we had bought. On our way back from the store, we had passed Super Burro’s new location. We decided to go there for dinner, since it was only a couple of blocks away. John and Lynne decided to join us, When we got to shore, Fred realized that he had forgotten his shoes. He walked barefoot all the way to the restaurant and later over to the malecon to get ice cream at La Fuente.

We had planned to leave on Monday, but were delayed by the laundry being closed. It wasn’t open on Mondays, either. Fred decided to take advantage of the day to shop for a few items for boat projects and fresh vegetables, which had been surprisingly absent from Chedraui Select. I decided to stay on the boat to work on a beading project, listen to podcasts, write, and practice the guitar.

April 17, 2025
Caleta Partida

Cafe Gourmet Frappuccino

Monday night, we stayed in and had chicken thighs and broccoli for dinner. Fred had developed a pain in his groin. We were a little concerned about leaving readily available medical care without knowing what that was about. Tuesday morning, we took our laundry in and then spent time searching for a doctor who could see Fred that day. Finally, he got an appointment for 16:00 that afternoon.

We took an Uber up to the doctor’s office and he examined Fred thoroughly, He couldn’t find anything wrong and eliminated some of the more worrisome possibilities. Ultimately, he decided it was probably a muscle strain and gave Fred some anti-inflammatories. We were scheduled to meet John and Lynne for dinner at 18:30, so we had a couple of hours to kill. We walked downtown, bought a couple of pairs of sunglasses, and then went to the Cafe Gourmet for two-for-one frappuccinos. One was not enough for Fred and he bought a second round. I scraped the whipped cream and chocolate off the second one, but I was still stuffed when we left there to walk to the restaurant.

We had a pleasant evening with John, Lynne, their crew, and Jim from Quincy at Casa Madre. John ordred a few bottles of wine and some pizzas. We weren’t very hungry. I only ate a little salad and one slice of pizza. We weren’t impressed with the food, but it was a nice going away party.

Lounging in the La Paz Anchorage

Edwina departed for La Cruz on Wednesday morning. I had been up until 3:00 after those two frappuccinos and woke again at 4:30, so Wednesday was sort of a lost day for me. I slept most of the afternoon. We went ashore at 15:00 to pick up our laundry and stock up on mineral water from the Oxxo.

Back at the boat, I made salad and green beans while Fred barbecued a couple of filets. We both thoroughly enjoyed the steaks. We even had chocolate chip cookies for dessert.

Thursday morning, we hauled up the anchor a little after 9:00 and motored down the channel. Little wind was forecast, but we found enough wind to sail by the time we exited the channel. We set off for Caleta Partida after taking down the awning and raising the sails. We managed to sail until 15:00 when the wind died. We were just about to take down the head sail when I saw a wind line ahead. Suddenly, the wind filled in from the west and we sailed for another hour.

Sailing to Isla Partida

The wind finally died about 16:00 and we dropped the jib and motored toward the anchorage. Once again, the wind filled in from a different direction and we had a nearly 20 knot norther as we approached the anchorage. It was challenging to drop the main in that wind while maneuvering through a crowded anchorage. We folded the main and got the hook down.

A spring had broken on our wind vane and we spent a couple of hours fixing that and munching on guacamole and chips. I wasn’t free to make dinner until 20:00 and then we just had smoked pork chops and spinach. Fred worked on the wind vane some more after dinner and proclaimed it ready to go the following day. I did dishes and then settled down to write a bit before bed.

April 18, 2025
Caleta Partida

It was very calm when we woke up. Weather models differed as to whether or not there would be enough wind to sail to San Evaristo, but they all agreed that there would be more wind the next day. Not liking to motor and feeling like he needed more time to work on his boat, Fred decided to spend the day in Caleta Partida.

Sunrise in Caleta Partida

After breakfast, we reinstalled the rudder on the wind vane. Then I practiced the guitar while Fred found and repaired a leak in his dinghy floor. After lunch, he repaired the computer shelf he had broken during our rough crossing and then started on installing a more efficient power supply for the Starlink.

I spent the day working on a beading project, reading, and writing. We never saw any wind, all day. Staying at the island had probably been a good choice, as crowded as it was in the anchorage.

April 21, 2025
Agua Verde

The Caleta Partida Anchorage

We pulled up the anchor to head for San Evaristo about 9:30 on Saturday morning. While there was slightly more breeze than the day before, we still did not have enough wind to sail during the morning. We motored towards Isla San Francisco while a seemingly endless parade of (probably charter) catamarans passed us going the other direction.

Sailing to San Evaristo

The wind came up as we passed Isla San Francisco about 14:30 and we began tacking up the San Jose channel. We charged along with 18 to 20 knots of wind except when we sailed into a hole behind the rocks north of Isla San Francisco. We careened into San Evaristo in 20 knots of breeze, hurriedly dropped the sails, and coasted to our spot in the north lobe of the anchorage before 19:00. It had been an awesome afternoon of sailing.

The wind continued to howl at 20 knots all night, but we were safely tucked behind a wall of stone. It was calm in the anchorage though the wind blew overhead.

Anchored in San Evaristo

The wind had not blown itself out by Sunday morning. We had been having a little trouble starting the engine from the cockpit. By Sunday morning, the corrosion on the starter terminal had reached the point where even the backup starter button in the engine compartment wasn’t working. Fred futzed with it. He could start the motor by jumping it with a screw driver, but we knew that wasn’t going to fly if we needed to start the motor in a hurry. He got it working, although it was obvious that the starter terminal needed more attention. Then, we tried to pump the bilge and realized that the bilge pump was weak. We spent an hour or so cleaning gunk out of the pump and hoses. We also removed the set screws on the prop shaft that had been working loose every day and reinserted them using blue Loctite. Hoping that would keep them in place more permanently. These projects resulted in delaying our departure until 11:30. We had a long way to go to reach Agua Verde, not wanting to try to anchor at Puerto El Gato in strong offshore winds.

Leaving San Evaristo

We had good wind for the first few hours of our trip. We continued tacking up the San Jose Channel, seeming to be lifted on both tacks. Unfortunately, the wind quit about the time we reached the tip of Isla San Jose and we had to drop the jib and begin motoring. We were nervous about motoring long distances because, while we hoped we had corrected the problem with the set screws on the prop shaft, the prop was still behaving oddly and shuddered horribly when we started up. More disturbing, it would occasionally start thumping all of a sudden, although it always stopped.

Fred at the Helm

We motored uneventfully until it got dark. My watch began at 21:00. Just prior to that, Fred started having difficulty with the autopilot cutting out. The situation deteriorated when I took over until, by 21:30, I was having to hand steer while Fred worked to replace the autopilot with the spare. Unfortunately, the spare (which had tested fine at the dock) didn’t work at all. It was pitch dark outside. Wings uses Open CPN for navigation and the computer is below deck. Fred had downloaded a course to his tablet, but it was so bright that it completely blinded me. I couldn’t look at it. I didn’t want my phone back by the tiller where there was no secure place to put it, so it was hard to use Navionics. We located Agua Verde by Fred looking at the computer and telling me which heading to steer.

Finally, we saw the lights of the anchored boats and were able to steer for those, only watching the chart to be sure we missed the reef. Fred’s preferred spot in the north lobe of the bay was packed with twelve boats and we didn’t want to cruise in there in the pitch dark. We anchored in rather deep water off the beach in front of the restaurants. It was nearly midnight by the time we got the hook down. We were rolling badly and something was making a terrible racket in the stern of the boat, but we were thankful to have made it without losing the drive train or running aground.

Despite having been up until 3:00, Fred was up and working on the autopilot by 7:00 on Monday morning. I wanted nothing so much as to roll over and go back to sleep, but he made so much noise that I had no choice but to get up. I hoped that coffee would improve my attitude.

The Broken Autopilot Connector

With the leisure to test the autopilots with the boat anchored, Fred determined that the problem was the connector that supplied power to the motor. Unfortunately, while attempting to clean the corrosion off the connector, it pulled out of the deck of the boat. He attempted to affix it with larger screws, but only shattered the plastic of the connector. Replacing the connector entirely solved the electrical problem.

Wings' Engine

Next, we removed the engine cover. We were happy to discover that the set screws had stayed firmly in place. Fred inspected the transmission linkage and found no problem there. He already knew the cutlass bearing was a bit wobbly, but that would have to wait for the next haul-out. He tightened the packing gland a little and then tested the drive train. Everything seemed to be working. Fred’s conclusion was that the folding propeller blades were worn and didn’t always open evenly when they should and would sometimes close partially when hit by a wave, resulting in temporary thumping until they fell back into place. We relaxed a bit.

The Anchorage at Agua Verde

As the morning wore on, several boats left the anchorage and we were able to tuck into the north lobe with better protection from northerly winds. As there was no wind forecast for the day, we elected to remain in Agua Verde. I posted a blog entry and wrote while Fred resumed working on the new power supply for the Starlink. It was warm and we put up the awning. After our harrowing arrival, it was nice to bask in the sun in Agua Verde, a favorite spot for both of us.

Sunset in Agua Verde

I made chicken in green mole over rice for dinner and we enjoyed a quiet evening.







April 24, 2025
Puerto Escondido

Leaving Agua Verde

Knowing we were going to have to motor to Puerto Escondido, we had no need to wait for the wind to come up. We hauled up the anchor about 9:00 and headed out of the bay, past Roca Solitaria and north towards Puerto Escondido. We didn’t even bother to take down the awning. It would have been a relaxing day if it were not from the strange noises emanating from the drive train. Still we made it as far as the Waiting Room outside of Puerto Escondido and dropped the hook there about 15:30.

Anchored in the Waiting Room

For many years now, anchoring has not been allowed in the Waiting Room. This irritated Fred and, the previous year, he had discussed the matter with the port captain. The port captain told him that the marina could not prevent him from anchoring there and he had anchored there in 2024. We had barely had time to relax after anchoring when the harbormaster from Puerto Escondido pulled up in his runabout to tell us that we couldn’t anchor there. Fred haggled with him and told him (truthfully) that we were having trouble with our transmission and couldn’t go any further (more true than we knew.) The harbormaster then tried to charge us the cost of a mooring ball to anchor there. Fred continued to argue with him. Finally, he required us to check into the marina, but agreed to let us stay one night for free. According to the harbormaster, the marina had received a concession for the Waiting Room and intended to put mooring balls there. This would have been more believable if the existing mooring balls all had working pennants and the current mooring area was more than half covered by mooring balls. Still, they were serious about preventing boats from anchoring for free.

New Slips in the Ellipse

The ellipse, which once was also an anchorage, was finally being filled with large slips, almost entirely tenanted by expensive sport fishing boats. Additional slips were under construction.

We went ashore for dinner at the restaurant. I had a pizza and Fred ordered a hamburger. We indulged in excellent margaritas. We had been entirely too virtuous when we provisioned the boat and had only bought one package of cookies. We were both craving sugar. After dinner, we went to the convenience store and I spent 340 pesos (about $17) for a pint of ice cream and some cookies. The price was outrageous, but we enjoyed them immensely. The ride back to the waiting room wasn’t any further than the dinghy ride to one of the moorings.

Stalled Outside Puerto Escondido

We had promised to leave the Waiting Room on Wednesday morning. We got up and began preparing to depart for Isla Carmen. We pulled up the anchor and quickly determined that we had no propulsion in either forward or reverse. Fortunately, it was quite calm. We had to launch the dinghy and use the outboard (firing on only one cylinder at that point) to slowly push Wings into the mooring field. It seemed to take forever. It was somewhat difficult to steer at such a slow speed, but we made it through the entrance channel and eventually found an unoccupied mooring ball.

Picking up a mooring is never simple because the helmsman cannot see the ball once he or she gets close to it. We envisioned this taking several tries, but Fred managed to grab it from his position in the dinghy on the second pass. I took the pennant and ran forward with just enough length to secure it to the bow of the boat before we drifted away. We were very relieved to be secured.

Disconnected Prop Shaft

Fred was imagining having to haul the boat and call a mechanic to repair the transmission, but he decided to take a look at it first. We pulled off the engine cover and discovered that the propeller shaft had pulled completely out of the transmission. The one set screw that had never moved had not moved because it was too short to reach the shaft. The other screws had worn a groove around the prop shaft, making it hard to attach the flange to the shaft. Fred spent a few hours grinding the set screws (all the same length, now) to points and grinding divots into the shaft to receive the screws. When he finally put it all back together, the shaft turned. We were back in business.

Once the boat was repaired, we went to the marina office to pay, ordered a rental car for the next day, and had a beer with our friends Chris and Alexandra. Then we returned to the boat where Fred reattached the wire in the outboard so that it could once again run on two cyninders. By the time I cooked pork chops, beans, and zucchini for dinner, we felt we had had a productive day.

We had a lot of errands to do on Thursday. We picked up the rental car a little before 10:00 and headed to Loreto, stopping to fill our propane bottle along the way. Our next stop was the liquor store for whiskey and decent red wine. We stopped into a bakery, but missed the sourdough bread. Fortunately, we were able to buy my favorite tortilla chips at the Tortilleria Dulce. Then we went to try to buy a park pass for the islands. A ranger had stopped by the boat in Caleta Partida to check our pass, but had let us slide. We finally found the correct place to get the pass, but they would only accept online payments and the website would not accept any of our American credit cards. I had experienced this, before, when I had tried to buy a pass online. Fred finally gave up and we went to find lunch.

We ate lunch at El Zopilote Brewing Company on the plaza in Loreto. Fred enjoyed a glass of their stout and we were both thrilled with our food. I had a wilted lettuce salad with bacon and pecans and a pork belly taco with ginger sauce and sesame seeds. Fred had a pork belly taco and a New York Steak taco. Everything was excellent.

After lunch, we went in search of a roast chicken for dinner and drove around Loreto for quite a while until we round the one place that was open. Then we went grocery shopping, calling at both El Pescador and Ley before we found what we needed. Produce was in short supply and rather sad. We didn’t find any decent bananas until we got back to Puerto Escondido. We returned the car and ferried all our shopping out to Wings. We stowed the food and then settled down to write while we ran the engine to charge the batteries. Our solar panels worked well, but we ate up a lot of power by running Starlink. Dinner would be roast chicken with sourdough bread that Fred bought at the store in Puerto Escondido when he went to drop off the car keys.

Dawn in Puerto Escondido

Slips Under Construction in the Ellipse

FRAILES TO LA PAZ 2025

April 10, 2025
Bahia Los Muertos

The Anchorage at Frailes

We didn’t want to go anywhere on Tuesday. I made pancakes for breakfast and we spent the day sorting out the boat and relaxing. Fred grilled steaks for dinner, which we ate with beans and some spanish rice that I made. We were feeling quite content.

Leaving Frailes

Flying the Spinnaker

The Yacht AV

Wednesday morning, we got up early and got underway. We knew that we would be motoring all day, so had no reason to wait for the wind to come up. We motored north until about 11:00 and then were able to fly the spinnaker for nearly three hours before the wind died. The weather was warm, the seas were flat, and the kite got dry. It was a nearly perfect afternoon. We pulled into the quiet (except for the catamaran, Mango Wind, which was running a generator or dive compressor on deck) anchorage at Muertos about 17:00.

Pulling Into Muertos

We hadn’t thawed anything for dinner, so I heated up all of the leftovers and we had chicken curry, spanish rice, and one package of ramen with the remaining chilorio. We were both feeling quite content to be in normal cruising mode after our arduous crossing.

We could tell from the weather forecast that the wind would be more favorable on Friday than on Thursday, so we planned another layover day in Muertos. Since we had changed time zones upon leaving Banderas Bay, it had been getting light very early and we were usually up by 6:00. We lounged a bit and then set about doing boat chores. Fred replaced the control lines for the wind vane while I did my best to clean the now stiff as a board carpets. I couldn’t do anything about the salt or staining, but did manage to beat the crumbs, paint chips, and flakes of waterproofing from Fred’s decaying foulies out of them.

Tranquilo Anchored in Muertos

Next, we removed the engine cover so that Fred could tighten the bolts securing the prop shaft to the transmission. He puttered with the engine while I polished the stainless steel trash cans and cleaned some of the nooks and crannies in the galley. We repacked the spinnaker from the day before and then declared it time for lunch. After lunch, I sat down to write and Fred threatened to take a nap, but then decided to work on the power supply for his Starlink, instead.

April 11, 2025
Bahia Balandra

Approaching the Ceralvo Channel

There was little sign of the southerly wind that had been predicted a few days earlier, so we left early and began motoring towards Bahia Balandra over calm seas. It was pretty out, even if we didn’t have enough wind to sail. We never even raised the main. By early afternoon, we strung up a sun awning. The sun was intense, but the air temperature wasn’t unpleasant.

We didn’t want to try to push all the way to La Paz and arrive late and tired. Instead, we elected to stop for the night in Bahia Balandra, a gorgeous anchorage with good protection from the Coromuel winds

The Yacht AV

that plague the area during the night. We arrived well before sunset and had time to enjoy a drink while gazing at the scenery and watching the full moon rise. The anchorage was crowded with amazingly large yachts, one of which, the yacht AV, was 330 feet. It looked like a small cruise ship. As the evening progressed, the day trippers packed up and left, leaving us pretty much alone with the behemoths. One power boat was running his generator and we turned on the motor to top up our

Full Moon Rising Over Balandra

batteries. Although we had motored all day, we had also run the Starlink all day, so the batteries were not fully charged.

Sunset at Balandra

April 14, 2025

La Paz Anchorage

Morning at Balandra

The Coromuel winds blew all night at about twenty knots and continued until ten the next morning. As the sun rose higher, the water turned a gorgeous blue-green color. The large yachts had remained overnight, but the day trippers didn’t start arriving until nearly noon. By that time, a southerly had blown up and we pulled up the anchor and sailed off towards La Paz.

 
We were making better than five knots with just a main sail, so we elected not to bother raising a head sail. After a few gybes, we entered the La Paz channel and were able to sail all the way to the anchorage, where we finally started the motor to drop the main sail. Wings does not have cars on the main sail, so when it comes down, it comes out of the mast and is free to flop all over the deck or fall in the water. Sometimes, it can be tricky to lower it by oneself. I managed to get it down and stuff it behind the shrouds without losing control of it. Fred and I were able to fold and secure it before we reached Fred’s favorite anchoring spot just outside of Marina Don Jose. We dropped the hook and celebrated another successful passage.

We decided to celebrate our arrival with a steak dinner at the Mezquite Grill. We took the dinghy to shore, stopping by Edwina to chat with our friends, John and Lynne, who decided to meet us at the restaurant. We called an Uber on the way to the shore. We were busy securing the dinghy and never found a spot shady enough to look at Fred’s phone to determine what kind of car to expect. An Uber arrived as soon as we walked out of the marina. Fred spoke to the driver, but I couldn’t hear their exchange. There must have been a language barrier because we were nearly at the restaurant when the driver was informed that we were the wrong passengers. Fortunately, the correct passengers were our friends, John and Lynne. I don’t know what happened to our designated driver (sorry about that,) but we had a good laugh and went back to pick up John and Lynne. We spent an enjoyable evening gorging on what, in my opinion, is the best steak anywhere.

LA CRUZ TO FRAILES ON WINGS 2025

March 31, 2025
Punta Mita

I began my cruising season by signing aboard a five-week cruise on the Serendipity 43, Wings.  The skipper, Fred Roswold, and I planned to cross over the Sea of Cortez to Baja and spend a few weeks cruising as far as Isla Carmen.  We filled up at the fuel dock and then made a quick stop at Dock 11 to fill up with water since we had not done so in our own slip. This turned out to be fortunate, as we were able to filter the water through our friend’s three-stage filter. We left the marina just as the wind was coming up. It was light at first, but picked up about the time we reached Destiladeras. We never did put up a jib, but sailed all the way to Punta Mita on the main alone. It certainly wasn’t our quickest trip, but we got there well before time for dinner.

April 1, 2025
Matanchen Bay

The Wind Vane Steered Nicely

We had spent a rolly night in the Punta Mita anchorage and had listened to water sloshing back and forth in the bilge. This concerned us because we didn’t know the source. We quickly determined that the fresh water system was leaking at the filter under the sink, but it took us a couple of hours to find and correct all the leaks. Not only had the hose clamps rusted to the point of failure, but the o-ring in the filter housing wasn’t sealing properly and eventually had to be sealed with silicone sealant. Leak staunched, we set off about 11:00. We had nice wind, but weren’t going to make it to Chacala or Matanchen before dark.

We sailed until 17:00 when the wind died. By that point we had reached Lo de Marcos. We started the motor and decided to press on to Matanchen Bay, since we would be arriving at night wherever we went. I came off watch at 18:00, napped for a bit, and then made smoked pork chops, salad, and instant mashed potatoes for dinner. I was back on watch from 21:00 to midnight. There was only a crescent moon, but it shed enough light to see by and, by the time it set around 23:00, I was in among a fleet of shrimpers that lit up the sky for miles. It was midnight by the time we threaded our way through those and Fred came on deck. We both stayed alert to enter the bay. There were lights ringing the bay.

April 2, 2025
Matanchen Bay

We dropped the hook about 1:00. The wind was so light that we didn’t drop the main sail until after we had anchored. There were three other boats in the anchorage. I made some hot chocolate and we had a snort of rum before climbing into our bunks.

The Anchorage in Matanchen Bay

We both awoke shortly before 8:00 when a big swell or wake rolled the boat. We made coffee and then Fred started on his to-do list for the day. Most important, was inspecting and tightening the set screws that kept the prop shaft attached to the transmission. We were somewhat concerned that, if they were loosening too fast, we might not be able to make it all the way across to Baja. We had motored for eight hours the night before and they were only slightly loose. This gave us confidence that we would be able to make the crossing, even if were were unable to sail the whole way.

Fred worked through his list of chores and I helped, did dishes, and scrubbed some dirty surfaces. We ate lunch early, as we had switched time zones and gained an hour. Then we settled down to relax, nap, and write.

April 3, 2025
Isla Isabela

Morning in Matanchen Bay

I woke up at 5:30 and, due to the change of time zone, it was already light. It was too chilly to get up, so I lounged in my bunk for an hour or so until Fred got up. We drank coffee and looked at the weather.

Being loath to motor, Fred likes to wait until the wind comes up, which precludes early starts. Wanting to make it to Isla Isabela before it got too late, we compromised and left at 9:00. We motored until noon and then had a lovely sail up the coast and past Isla Isabela before tacking and heading back towards the

Isla Isabela at Sunset

anchorage at Isla Isabela. We didn’t make it before dark, but it was light enough to see the Monjas and there were already a couple of boats in the anchorage with their anchor lights on. It took us three tries to anchor far enough from a big power boat that preceded us because the current was keeping us from resting downwind of our anchor. The anchorage was calm and the temperature pleasant. I had a glass of wine and wrote for a bit after we got settled about 21:00.

April 6, 2025
Somewhere Between Mazatlan and Los Frailes

 

The Anchorage and Monjas at Isla Isabela

We left Isla Isabela about 9:00 on Friday morning and motored slowly northward. The wind filled in about 11:30 and we were able to sail along the rhumb line until it died about 22:30. We fired up the engine and continued on the same course until the wind started to fill in from the land about 4:00 on Saturday morning. We put up the number 4 jib and killed the motor. It was pleasant sailing, at first, with ten knots of breeze and reasonably flat seas. Unfortunately, the wind rapidly built and backed

Fred Lounging on the Foredeck

until it was coming out of about 310 degrees and we could no longer hold our course. We were headed slightly south of west and knew we’d have to tack, eventually.

Dawn on Saturday

I had not slept the night before. I came off watch at 6:00, spent an hour or so pumping water out of the bilge, and was just about to drop off at 7:30 when Fred called me on deck to help reef the main. The reefing lines were hopelessly tangled.  The reefing lines had been led incorrectly when the cruising main was installed and Fred had been having trouble getting his reef line to stay secured around the boom. I had showed him how to tie a bowline on a bight, which stopped them from coming undone, but it was a hard knot to tie in 20 knots of wind and heaving seas and one line kept getting trapped under the other. We ended up having to turn downwind and spend ninety minutes re-leading the reefing lines so that we could finally put a reef in the main.

The Waves Rapidly Built to Three Meters

By the time we turned back on course, it was really stinky out and we were bashing along and getting very wet. We were making about 7 knots. My watch started at 9:00, just as we got the reef set. I was exhausted, but had to stay up until noon. It was too wet to use my phone on deck. I huddled in the companionway and tried to stay awake. Fred took over at noon, but it was too rough and wet below to sleep. I took over again at 15:00. It was blowing a steady 22 knots with gusts to 27. Waves were breaking over the deck and filling the cockpit. We were so miserable that by 17:00 we decided to heave to and wait for the wind to drop.

A Wave Broke Over Wings

Heaving to did slow us down and give us a more comfortable ride, but we were far from stationary. We had tacked over and were heading towards Mazatlan at 4 knots under a reefed main and backed jib. We kept that up for the next twelve hours. It was cold and wet. Fred was soaked to the skin. I finally managed to sleep, but ate almost nothing on Saturday. I just didn’t have enough fuel to keep warm. When I got off watch at 18:00, I ate some cold leftover chicken and was then able to get warm enough to sleep.

Lines Clogged the Scuppers

We kept alternating cold, damp watches all night. The wind continued to howl. Somewhere around 3:00 on Sunday a rogue wave broke over us, knocking us nearly onto our side. The anchor jammed sideways between the two bow rollers. The cockpit was so full of water that it sloshed over the step and into the cabin. I had to clear the lines out of the scupper so that it could drain. As cold as it was making us, the water itself felt surprisingly warm.

However, after 4:00, the wind gradually abated. By 5:30, it was down to 15 knots and the sea state had improved substantially. We tacked over and headed back towards Baja. We had gone about 40 miles towards Mazatlan while heaved-to, but it did prevent us from missing the peninsula entirely.

Sunday morning was fairly pleasant, we sailed along at 5.5 knots in 15 knots of breeze. The sun was out and we attempted to dry our clothes and cushions. Water had leaked in through the prism above where our clothes were stored, so even our clean clothes were damp. Fred freed the anchor and repaired the connection to one of the solar panels that had come undone. At noon, I went below to write about our ordeal before I forgot the details.

April 10, 2025
Bahia Los Muertos

It Got Windy Again on Sunday Afternoon

It got windier on Sunday afternoon and by 17:00 we had to heave to, once more. The wind never got quite as strong and the waves weren’t quite as big, but it was still uncomfortable bashing into 22 knots of wind. Once again, we sailed northeast while hove to, but were only making about 2.5 knots. We tacked back over before dawn on Monday and continued bashing towards Muertos. Everything was wet. The four throw rugs were in a sodden pile outside the head. I gave up on shoes and socks because the floor and deck just got them wet. We were not happy campers. Finally, about 14:00, we decided to abandon our plan to make Muertos and fell off to sail to Frailes, arriving just in time to have a well-deserved drink before dinner.

Finally Arriving in Frailes

I made spicy ramen with chilorio for dinner. Fred had been skeptical of this dish, but proclaimed it delicious. We pumped as much water out of the boat as we could and tossed the salty carpets up on deck. It was windy in the Frailes anchorage, but the water was calm. Things dried rapidly and we got a good night’s sleep.