Bahia Zihuatanejo to Cabo San Lucas

Every time we went ashore at Zihuatanejo, we had to land the dinghy on the beach, haul it up the sand and park it near a row of pangas. Alphonso kept an eye on it for 20 pesos a day. We had heard there was a man with a panga who would fill diesel cans and bring them out to SD. Our paths did not cross so Jeremy and I decided to do it ourselves. We hailed a taxi in the town and bought 136 litres of diesel. Meanwhile, our laundry was ready, so we collected it and had a very full dinghy to launch from the beach.

Calm anchorage outside Marina Las Hades Resort

Having checked the weather, we weighed anchor on 18^th May and motorsailed out of the bay. The wind was directly on the nose, so we tacked. Way out at sea in deep water, when Jeremy was on watch, I saw a 2 litre water bottle floating nearby. Unfortunately, it was attached to a long fisherman’s line which caught around the rudder. Jeremy dived over to free it. Almost immediately, a panga appeared from nowhere to check the line. A short while later we nearly became tangled again on another line but this time the panga was ahead of us and cut the line to let us through.

The handy fuel dock at Marina Las Hades, Manzanilla

A bright orange helicopter arrived out of the sun later in the day and circled SD, hovering close enough for me to see two persons, one of whom waved before they flew away to the south. The wind increased from 10 knots to 21knots and the sea became uncomfortable with stopper waves slowing us down. Jeremy put a reef in the mainsail and we tacked, flying a small genoa as well, motorsailing all the time.

M/V Easy aground at Punta Graham

Day two was a repeat performance with light winds to start, increasing to double figures by late afternoon and most of the night. Bahia de Manzanilla with Marina Las Hadas with its fuel berth was close by. Jeremy altered our course and we entered the bay in the dark using radar, chart plotter, GPS, AIS and depth sounder. In this way, we avoided ships, rocks, buoys and other hazards arriving safely at the anchorage. I went forward to anchor and pulled only one foot of chain up. The rest was jammed solid. Not even Jeremy could dislodge it. So at 3.00am in the dark, drifting,  with the sound of surf breaking alarmingly close by, Jeremy started emptying the front cabin to access the anchor chain locker and untangle 50 metres of twisted chain. It took a while before the anchor could be dropped and we could sleep at last.

One large seabird sitting on the pulpit....

It was a brief stop in Manzanilla but it enabled us to fill up with diesel, give copies of our papers to the marina office, check the engine, change the oil and filters, check the batteries, replace the ATF in the gear box and use the laptop to check the weather. Jeremy called the Port Captain for permission to leave and heard nothing. We left heading for Puerto Vallarta.

...and then there were two

The evening was very pleasant for a change until we hit an unidentified and unseen underwater object, which clipped the propeller. The bilges were checked for any ingress of water but, thankfully,  they were dry. Later, just as it was getting dark, I saw ship Easy, aground on the rocks at Punta Graham. It was still transmitting its AIS signal, but showing no lights. A shiver went down my spine.

Our neighbours left before we could invite them for sundowners!

The weather was settled so we decided to continue to Cabo San Lucas, accompanied only by visiting dolphins, passing turtles and a few seabirds. A couple of birds perched on the pulpit, taking a rest. That was fine until sunset approached, the birds told their mates and a flock of about 20 tried to take up residence on SD. They had no fear of humans so I had to chase them off by running forward blasting the foghorn.

More hotels at Cabo San Lucas

We saw beautiful sunrises and sunsets. The crescent Moon rose through the dark clouds with Venus visible nearby. Stars sparkled in the sky above the misty shroud at sea level.  The night air felt cold and duvets and sleeping bags were brought into service once again. Trousers and coats were needed at night.

Isla Cello la Bufadora and Isla Cello Blanco, Cabo San Lucas

Perhaps we became a little complacent, but with only 8 knots of SW wind when we were 64 miles from Cabo San Lucas, we thought we should round the Cape and make landfall at Bahia Magdalena on the west of Baja California. Jeremy put in a waypoint for Cabo Falso and we altered course. When we were 40 miles off the wind started to blow W at 15 knots and the sea became bumpier; by 18 miles off it was blowing 19-28 with waves breaking over us. Jeremy tried for a little longer recording 30 knots of wind and then abandoned the attempt and made for Cabo San Lucas. It was then that he remembered he’d left a porthole open in the stern cabin. All his bedding was soaked.

Playa el Medano, Cabo San Lucas

Once more we approached an anchorage in the dark, our efforts to see ahead hampered by a large, brightly lit, private motor yacht. We dropped anchor at 0100 on 24^th May. This morning we have checked in with the Port Captain by VHF and by visiting his office ashore. We have permission from API to stay at anchor until Monday. On the way to the Port Captain’s Office, Jeremy took the rubbish out of his rucksack to dispose of it and noticed that oil from the filters had leaked through two plastic bags and through his rucksack. Fortunately, the boat’s papers were undamaged. Unfortunately, Jeremy has spent all afternoon trying to remove oil from his rucksack.

Lazy seal waits for fish scraps at the dinghy dock

Hasta luego, amigos.