Ggggggggggggggggggggggrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr…… The constant “hum” of our engine, which is slowly plowing us north towards Mazatlan. The associated noise, mild chemical smell and increased mechanical heat make living down in the cabin rather like playing home inside an electrical generator. Outside the sun, unfiltered by clouds and excess atmosphere, beats down with typical Baja blinding brightness, making sunglasses, hats and cool protective clothing absolutely mandatory. Our bimini leaves a small patch of shade in the cockpit, under which Claire Patterson and Mike Robertson are currently reading the day away while down-below, Hugh is slowly moving further and further towards the bow and away from the engine. He is currently in the head, not much more he can do (only the anchor locker)!
The actual weather conditions in a “weather window” are remarkably different all over the world. In Tonga, a weather window consists of 6-7 days of 15 – 20 knot ESE winds; In South Africa, 36-48 hours of less than 40 knot winds would be sufficient; while here, making our way north along the Mexican coast, a weather window consists of a day or two of NO wind. With the predominant winds blowing directly down the coast, one either tacks out to Tahiti, the smart decision, or sails directly at shore, like a surfer looking for his next ride to the beach. As a result, many cruisers sit at anchor, drinking margaritas, and waiting for the wind to die completely before turning on the engine and motoring north to the next protected spot and tiki bar. After numerous nights of tacking in and out, today we have a good “weather window”. We left the incredible island of Isla Isabella about 4 hours before dawn and started motoring north toward the next gas station in Mazatlan. So in the words of incredible single hander, Liz Clark, we are “burning dinosaurs” on our way north, but hope for good winds on our trip across the Sea of Cortez starting tomorrow.
Boobies? Where? Where?
Frequently on this “trip”, it is the unexpected locations and cultures which are the most memorable. For example, Vanuatu; we had no idea what to expect in this islands, yet absolutely everything there blew our minds. Volcanoes, blue holes, huge waterfalls, incredible fishing, culture without par, land-diving. it still stands as a top 3 highlight. As it was with our quick stop at Isla Isabella yesterday – unexpected and phenomenal. We chose to stop there purely due to its median location between Puerto Vallarta and Mazatlan, but as soon as we dropped anchor in the stunning blue waters, we knew this was a special spot. Thousands and thousands of birds wheeled in the thermals above the island, fish swam all around the new curiosity in the anchorage and we had to share it with only two other people.
Blue footed boobies are one of the major draws for visitors to the Galapagos Islands, and to our amazement, this beautiful uninhabited little island is one of only two other places in the world where they can be seen. These funny looking birds appear very similar to many other sea birds, until their knees that is! Waddling around on giant, oversized, blue or yellow webbed feet, they are truly hilarious to watch walk about and stunning to see in their natural environment. On our walk around the island, we saw thousands of frigate birds, terns, yellow/blue footed boobies and seagulls. We would have to dodge nests and mock attacks from distressed parents as we wandered to cliff edges to look into the azure seas, searching for our soon to be spear-fished dinner. As the sun set over the islands and the billions of stars started their rise to the heavens, I was once again struck by how lucky we are to complete this trip and are dumbfounded to think we are just some 200nm from La Paz, and the end of our circumnavigation. What next. oh yeah, just the next 4500nm back to Vancouver, via Hawaii!