26. Perfect Sailing

After an amazing week relaxing and socializing in Paradise Village Marina, we once again had places to be and flights to catch. The owner of the new boat that we’re moving onto had booked our flights to leave from Loreto in about 4 weeks, meaning we needed to cover about 1,000 nautical miles and cross the Sea of Cortez again. We left the marina and headed to Punta de Mita, stopping in La Cruz on the way. Unfortunately, it was blowing strong enough to kick up a swell that had us bashing upwind for two hours. Things finally calmed down once we got to our anchorage and I prayed this wasn’t an indicator of how the rest of the trip up and across the Sea of Cortez would go.

The next morning, we woke up to a very wet rug in the bathroom. The valve that connects the seawater intake for the toilet was starting to fail and water was slowly trickling into the toilet and filling up the bowl every few hours. Since I drink a ridiculous amount of water, this normally isn’t an issue as I get up throughout the night. This particular night, I managed to sleep the entire time and, combined with the swell coming into the anchorage, the bowl managed to overflow. I cleaned up the bathroom as Eitan checked the oil levels in the engine before we pulled anchor and departed.

Although the trip north was already off to a rough start, it was followed by three of the most perfect days of sailing that anyone could ask for. Our first stop after Punta de Mita was San Blas, about 60 nautical miles away. Although there wasn’t much wind, there was enough for a gentle beam reach for about half of the trip. Since there wasn’t enough wind to develop any kind of a swell, the sailing was incredibly comfortable and relaxing. We arrived in San Blas by the early afternoon and headed into town to track down our favorite churro guy. Luckily, he was in the same spot as before and we purchased 6 bags of churros, deciding to ration them for the next couple of days. Once back at the boat, we got creative and tried them with Nutella, which turned out to be a heavenly combination. Unfortunately, like French fries, fried food is best enjoyed within a few hours and the churros got quite soggy in the following days.

The next day we set out for Isla Isabela, about 50 miles away. Yet again, we were met with another lovely day of calm winds and seas, allowing us to gently skim along the surface of the water at 4 to 5 knots. Although the wind never got above 10 knots for the entire day, my anxiety was always in the back of my mind telling me that 20 knots was just a matter of time and we will soon be overpowered. This is the worst part of anxiety, that it doesn’t allow you to enjoy the present moment because you always expect the worst to happen in the coming moments. Throughout the day, I try to break this thought pattern by just taking a few deep breaths and being thankful for the peaceful day.

With a good weather forecast, I knew that 20 knows was unlikely and, in the greater scheme of sailing, isn’t much wind at all. I started reading Maiden Voyage by Tania Abei, a book about an 18-year old girl sailing around the world in the late ’80s. Apart from having no electronic navigation equipment and a primarily broken engine, she regularly saw winds in the 30- to 40-knot range and was even knocked down a couple of times. Reading her stories and knowing that Tania didn’t have much more sailing experience than I have when she started on her circumnavigation reminded me that I am capable of handling much worse weather conditions.

We arrived in Isla Isabela in the early afternoon and were happy to be back in a place with good water visibility. Eitan and I decided to swim to shore and were surprised to find the fluffy blue-footed booby chicks that had hatched since we were there in December. The chicks take several weeks to get their first round of feathers and the babies were still covered in their down fluff, despite being the size of their parents.

The last, and longest, stretch of our sail up the mainland was to Mazatlán, a 90-mile run. Considering we travel at about 5 miles per hour, that equates to 18 hours of sailing. Since Mazatlán would be a new city for us, Eitan wanted to leave early enough to get into the city before nightfall. We woke up at 3:30 am for a 4 o’clock departure and Eitan took the first watch at the helm. I slept for another hour before getting up to use the restroom and checked on the conditions out in the cockpit. It was a clear night with a galaxy full of stars above and a light breeze, slowly scooting us along. Eitan pointed out some glowing orbs in the water that were flashing on and off, which we think might be squid. Overall, it was a magical morning and a great start to the day.

The rest of the trip to Mazatlán had nearly perfect sailing conditions: light wind and no swell. The wind sustained at 10 to 12 knots making for a very comfortable downwind sail. We enjoyed a relaxing day of reading, swimming, and the occasional dolphin at the bow. Although I struggle to manage my anxiety while on the water, this was one of the days that make you remember why you started on the adventure in the first place!

1 thought on “26. Perfect Sailing”

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *