Since we left San Diego and started cruising in Mexico a year ago, Eitan and I decided our favorite places had been along the eastern shore of the Baja peninsula, from Bahia Conception to La Paz. We decided we wanted to spend November and December enjoying more time in these areas before the new year arrived when our focus would shift towards preparing for the Pacific Crossing in early spring. Eitan had been following the weather forecasts and planned the next passage from San Carlos to Bahia Concepcion, which should take about 12 hours, from 5:00 am to 5:00 pm. So, we woke up early the next morning, pulled the anchor, and got underway.
This was our fourth time crossing the Sea of Cortez and it was just as comfortable as the others before. It was supposed to be a light wind and calm day of sailing, hopefully knocking down the swell and maybe a little wind in the afternoon to finish off the passage. I knew the forecast was wrong when, at 6:00 am, we already had 15 knots of wind on the beam and swell building. It seems wind in the Sea of Cortez is almost impossible for the various weather models to predict.
The swell was classic Sea of Cortez, with short, steep waves that rolled us 30 degrees back and forth. Occasionally one wave would slam against the side of the boat and soak us in the cockpit. This happened three times before Eitan finally broke out the isinglass cover for the starboard side to offer us a little more protection. I did my best to stow everything inside that could potentially go flying, then spent most of the trip holding on in the cockpit, waiting for the sound of something else to fall. Luckily, I had made some lentil soup the day before, which was still quite delicious when eaten cold. Eitan and I passed it back and forth until I accidentally spilled it all over myself and the cockpit.
The steep choppy swell on the beam and the rolling of the boat was bad enough, but to make matters worse, our autopilot seemed to be malfunctioning every 5-10 minutes. The chart plotter would alarm saying the compass reading was lost and the autopilot gave up steering. We had never had this issue before and it seemed to come up suddenly. It wasn’t until we got to our destination that we realized the issue was indirectly the result of the new lithium battery Eitan had just installed a couple of days prior. The new battery replaced an older AGM battery that we were unable to sell while in San Carlos. The person offering to buy it was a no-show, so we stowed the old AGM battery on the floor in the v-birth, coincidentally, right next to the compartment where the autopilot compass is installed. Since batteries generate their own magnetic field, our compass was having a hard time telling which direction was north, so we moved the old AGM battery to the back of the boat and the problem was solved. Too bad we didn’t realize this while underway!
Needless to say, it was a long crossing and we were happy to be closing in on our destination. We started getting relief from the swell as we got closer to land, making the ride much more comfortable. With about an hour left to go and the sun nearing the horizon, we saw two sailboats approaching us, going in the opposite direction. Having just gotten our butts kicked all day, Eitan tried to call the boats on the radio to warn them of the uncomfortable crossing conditions, especially for an overnight passage and recommended they leave in the morning. They didn’t seem too phased by his report and pushed on despite our warnings. As they passed by, we saw one of them towing their dinghy on a very short line and figured they must just be inexperienced cruisers in for a wet night and flipped tender.
We dropped the hook just after sunset at Punta Chivato near the opening to Bahia Concepcion, where a handful of other boats were anchored, and enjoyed a beautifully calm night there. We awoke to glassy conditions around us and spotted a couple more boats in the anchorage than we had seen the night before. Of course, they were the boats Eitan had tried to warn the evening before and he had to do everything in his power to resist calling them on the radio to say “I told you so!”.