The Voyage of the Lost Soul

3/21/07 thru 4/1/07

The day we departed Tenecatita was the official turn-around point for our breakdown, er, I mean shakedown cruise. The plan was to head out for six months and see what we'd forgotten to do after our 2-3 year refit. On the first part of the journey we found a few things. Mostly they were things that were not touched during the refit.

I guess the biggest thing was the transmission, but that was replaced, and after that the problems seemed to pretty much stop. Oh, there were still little things, like filters that needed changing and the like, but for the four weeks we cruised the Gold Coast everything seemed to be pretty much okay.

After Jody & I spent a day anchored back in Tenecatita, which turned out to be our favorite anchorage so for in the trip, we woke and hoisted that big hunk of iron we carry on the bow, and put the pointy end to the north. Well, more to the North West actually. But in any case we were officially heading back to where we had started this trip back last year, in November.

The first day wasn't too tough. We motored out and soon were motorsailing. By mid-morning we had enough wind to sail (slightly!) and were running along at about 3-4 knots under full sail. The winds were light, but they were there, and we only had about 12 miles to go to our first anchorage, which was planned for Careyes.

We pulled into the Bay at Careyes and were surprised to find the bay was empty. Not one cruising boat.

The water was a little mixed up, with small swells coming in, but not too bad.

We dropped our hook close into the small bay in front of the Hotel Careyes. We planned on going ashore the next day to see if they had internet so I could send in some stories I had in my computer.

That night we found out why Careyes was empty. It got pretty lumpy that night. Jody & I ended up awake most of the night. A small bunch of rocks seemed to get closer as the night wore on. We knew it wasn't possible, but it sure seemed to be happening.

In the morning we opted to pull out a little further into the bay, and give ourselves a little more leeway. We put out our flopper stoppers to settle the boat down, and took care of a few chores on the boat.

Then it was time to launch the dinghy and see what was ashore. Landing was a little daunting due to the large swells coming in, so we stashed everything in our Harken waterproof bag. I was taking in my computer to send a story in to the mag, and didn't want to lose it.

Once ashore the folks at The Careyes Hotel were very accommodating. We opened an account, and were then able to use all the facilities of the hotel. This included the business center and internet, which I needed.

But it also included the beautiful pool and all the other facilities. What had started as a quick stop turned into two days of decadence, as we enjoyed their large infinity pool, a game room with pool table and giant screen TV, as well as one of the best restaurants we'd found.

Yeah, I know. It doesn't sound like bare bones cruising. But you know what? Sometimes ya gotta live a little. And at the Hotel Careyes it didn't cost a lot to feel really decadent!

We were joined by the 55' Catamaran LeGato on the first full day there, and did what cruisers do. We sat around and told sailing stories. Most kewl!

We ended up spending three nights there. On the third night it got pretty lumpy. In fact it got very lumpy. Even Jim on LeGato was feeling the slosh, and he was on a 55 foot Cat!

Jody & I decided it was time to head out. We'd taken care of all our business at the hotel, and knew we wouldn't have internet for awhile, and we were actually looking forward to that.

Of course first we had to kill a few gremlins on the boat. When we went to start the boat it wouldn't kick over. We had a full charge in the batteries, and it took about ten minutes to find the loose nut on the starter solenoid. Once tightened all was well with the world.

The next leg was a real tough one. As the crow flies, it was 2.7 miles to our next anchorage. No, you are not reading it wrong. Two point seven miles!

Of course we had to go a mile off shore for a safe passage, and then come back in a miles, so in all fairness, it was almost a 5 mile voyage!

We had not anchored in the small anchorage of Paraiso in over 18 years. It is a very tucked away little bay that will hold two or three boats at the most. It boasts some beautiful beaches, great caves, and clear water.

The guide books say that you can't go ashore because of the ranch owner, but we found him to be most hospitable, and he welcomed cruisers to check out his great location.

When we pulled in we saw the Maple Leaf 43 Jeanne. We'd last run into them in Cabo San Lucas in December, and hadn't seen them since. In the four months since we'd seen them they had wandered south to Zihuat, and were on their way back north, as we were.

We enjoyed the first day in Paraiso by landing on a great little private beach and swimming. As the day wore on the winds started to pick up, and by mid afternoon they were blowing about 15-18 knots out of the northwest. Now here's a quicky quiz for you. Any idea what direction the wind would have to come from for the anchorage at Paraiso to become untenable?

Oh, come on! Always the same hands. The northwest, of course! By 4 PM we were wondering if we should head out, as there were 3-4 foot swells coming through the bay. Just about the time we decided we'd just put out our flopper stoppers, the winds started to diminish a little, and by 6pm they were down to 6-10 knots, and the seas in the bay leveled to a semi-comfortable 1-2 feet. So we opted to stay the night.

We didn't get a lot of sleep that night, as the swells continued to build, and since we had not put out a stern hook, by mid-evening we were beam to the seas. The flopper stoppers we had put out were trying their best to do the job, but keeping a 42 ton boat stable in a beam swell isn't real easy.

First thing in the morning Jody & I hoisted the flopper stoppers, hoisted the anchor, and headed out. We decided we might try and find a better anchorage. After all, in this part of Mexico, there are plenty of good anchorages.

So we motored 6 miles into the winds, and tucked in behind Isla Passavera. This is a small island in the Chamala area that has always been a good anchorage in the past, and this time it was no different. It protected us from both the wind and the seas.

During the day we took the dinghy around Isla Colorado and Passavera, checking out some of the caves. There were three or four good sized caves to explore.

We did find that we couldn't swim around where we anchored however, It seems that there was a fresh bloom of small jelly fish, and the boat was surrounded by them the whole first day. We took the dinghy over to a neighboring beach and swam there, where there were no jelly fish.

After two days anchored behind Passavera we decided to move north a couple miles into Chamala anchorage itself. This is a well protected little bay that can hold 40-50 cruising boats at a time, and has some great beach front restaurants, and a nice town just two miles inland, near the main highway.

As we were preparing to leave Jody started to freak out. Why you ask? Well, for the past 15 years she has searched the world over to see a sea horse. No matter where we searched, we never saw one of the elusive creatures in the wild. Oh, we'd seen plenty in aquariums, but not in the wild. Yet here, anchored behind Isla Passavera on the Pacific Coast of Mexico we had a lie seas horse with it's little tail wrapped around the line that held our flopper stopper. Jody wouldn't let me pull it up.

After sitting there for about ten minutes the little critter released it's hold, looked at Jody as if to say, "Well, I gotta go, see ya later!" And it headed off to wherever sea horses go, to do whatever it is sea horses do.

Jody was ecstatic for the rest of the morning, as we hoisted the flopper stoppers and the anchor, and motored the two miles to our next anchorage.

As we entered Chamala it became obvious the cruising season was running down. It was late March, and the anchorage was empty. The last time we'd dropped a hook there we had about twenty boats with us.

We dropped the hook in about 20 feet of water, and kicked back to enjoy the calm anchorage. About an hour later a Hallberg-Rassey 46, Allura stopped in. They were on their way from Seattle to Charleston, via the Panama Canal.

In the morning we got an early start, as the winds were notorious in this area for building from the northwest all day, and that was the direction we were headed. A little after dawn we hoisted our hook and headed out into it.

Little did we know the wonders that awaited us out there that day.

Oh, yes, the winds did start blowing about mid-day, and continued until we were bumping into 5-7' seas and 25-30 knot winds, but the seas were alive!

During the day we saw no less than 20 turtles. Most of them were topped with a bird of some kind floating on their backs. We called the Birdles.

Then there were the whales. Not one or two, but we slighted at least a half dozen as we worked our way north.

And then there was the green water. No I have been sailing for 30 years, and I have sailed in a lot of green water, but I have never seen a line as distinct as this one. One minute we were sailing on the blue seas, and then it was like we ran into a wall, and then we were in green water. There was no difference in depth, and no difference in temperature. About eight miles later we sailed out of it just as fast as we'd sailed into it.

Our planned stop for the night was Ipala. I have anchored there for years, and it is a great place to rest up for an early departure around Cabo Corientes. The Cape is known for strong winds and very confused seas. The earlier you can go the better.

But as we entered Ipala there was no place to anchor. The whole bay was full of floating objects. Old gas can, soda bottles and just about anything that could hold air.

It seems that there is a run on oysters, and the local fishermen decided to just farm them. So they hang them from anything that floats, and harvest them as they will.

Of course the problem for cruisers is, there's no place to drop a hook. We finally opted to just pull in behind the panga's that were tied up, and see if we'd fit. We did, but no other boats could pull in. We had to, either that or fight the next 25 miles against those seas and winds.

We hoisted the hook early, actually it was about dawn. We hadn't planned to leave that early, but the pangas all made a lot of noise heading out at dawn to fish, so we decided it would be better to go around Cabo Corientes early.

We did good! We passed the Cabo lighthouse just at noon, and the wind was just coming up. We sailed the 13 miles further to Tres Meriettas Islands, which are in the mouth of Banduras Bay. I have been sailing these waters for 30 years, and have never stopped there before. Man, did I miss something. The anchorage is very kewl for a day stop, and there are caves big enough to take your dinghy into. It is a very kewl place and should not be missed when you are sailing in the area.

The sail from Tres Meriettas to Nuevo Vallarta was the best we'd had the whole trip. It was blowing 25 knots, right over our shoulder, and we had all the sails flying as we covered the 10 miles in just over an hour.

We'd called Gina at Paradise Village Marina and she told us to come in to "A" dock. We did, and it was a real adventure pulling into a dock with 20 knots of wind blowing on your beam. Once again I thanked the sea God's for making me put a bow thruster on. It made it a piece of cake to keep the bow off the dock, as we were blown slowly onto the dock. It was a fairly rough ride on the front, so Dick Markey, the marina manager, found us a safe slip back in the river to leave the boat, and a couple of his guys, and Bill Vaccaro from "A" Dock helped us pull her in. Dick even helped us find a couple guys to help us with some much needed maintenance while we were gone. Adrian Valverde and his friend Leonardo Corroles took on the task of cleaning the bottom, putting on a coat of wax on the topsides, and putting on a coat of varnish on our cabin soles.

Our slip up the river was about as secure as you could ask for. Hidden from the winds behind the huge hotel, and no surge or heavy water. Just a quiet place to tie the boat.

At the end of our new dock sat this great steam powered boat called African Queen. They give a 2 hour jungle cruise up through the river that formed the marina. Back in the groves there are alligators and all kinds of wildlife. I don't know how I feel about doing the boat bottom while in the river docks. I think we will wait a bit for that. The photo here is of a small crocodile, but there were some really large ones lurking in the bushes just waiting for a slow tourist. In all it was a great trip on an old steam driven boat that took me back.

In the meantime we enjoyed the pool and jacuzzi at the Paradise Village, and pretty much enjoyed the hospitality of a truly great hotel & Marina. It was easy to see why so many cruisers ended up settling here during the off season, and even permanently. A safe harbor, inexpensive living, and some really beautiful sailing grounds.

But once again, we are here at the end of the paper. We planned on leaving the boat here for three weeks while we fly back to work and do a couple boat shows. Then we will get to come back to continue the voyage. It's not such a bad thing to have to go back to work, knowing we'll be back in Paradise (marina) before we even know it!

This segment sent in by Bob Bitchin