Thursday, 17 April 2008

We have been anchored in a very sheltered bay at Bahia Agua Verde since midday yesterday. We are in the company of 6 other boats waiting out a blow, which is due to end tomorrow morning.
Agua Verde is the 3rd stop we have had since leaving Isla San Francisco. Punta Evaristo, 18 miles up the coast from San Francisco, would have been a comfortable and quiet overnight stay on our way to the more popular anchorage of Los Gatos had it not been for a large cruiser called Besame that liked loud music and let their 2 dogs bark.
We arrived in the Los Gatos anchorage in early afternoon the following day. To our surprise Polar Bear was there, a boat we had met at Isla San Francisco last year. It was a treat to reacquaint with an old friend and catch up on the past year. Also to meet us was Manuel, the fisherman who helped us to celebrate our sale of the lot on Admirals Rd last year by obtaining lobster and scallops for us. We ordered lobsters again and had 3 for supper, another wonderful treat. The main feature of the bay last year was a large whalebone that had been planted in the sand (by Polar Bear we later found out). It was missing this year and Manuel explained that it had been taken north by cruisers.
We left the next day with Polar Bear for Bahia Agua Verde, knowing that this would be a more comfortable anchorage that Los Gatos with the predicted Northerlies due the following day. We had expected a crowded bay but when we arrived there were only 4 other boats and there was a space available in the most protected part of the bay. Once again the chart/GPS discrepancy was immediately noticeable. Our anchored position showed us to be 300 yards to the East of our actual position, a good reason not to rely on GPS plotting alone.
As predicted, the wind began to pick up in mid-morning bringing some relief from the high heat we had experienced the previous day. The boats on the outer edges of the anchorages wallowed in 2-4 foot swells and the local fishermen kept their pangas on shore.

Sunday, 20 April 2008
We stayed in Agua Verde an extra day enjoying the peaceful surroundings and doing some walking on the rugged shore and snorkeling in along the shore. J-G had a chance to play with his underwater camera. Hope the pictures come out.
We left Agua Verde mid-morning, Saturday, with Polar Bear. Dave had suggested a night’s anchorage at Yellow Beach, on the northern tip of Isla Monserrate before heading into Puerto Escondido the following day. We had a wonderful sail with a 5-8 kt quartering breeze and we were finally able to hoist the mizzen staysail. To our surprise we discovered that it was one of Gosling’s original suit of sails made by Butler-Verner Sails in Gosport, UK. We were also entertained by several pods of fin whales, but none as close to our encounter last year.
We arrived at Yellow Beach in mid-afternoon. Liberty Call 2 (retired Marine Corps) was already there and we were later joined by Airops (retired Naval Air), both of whom we later met aboard Polar Bear for “sundowners”. Our stroll ashore was not a pleasant one for J-G. While walking in the shallows off the beach he stepped on something that stung him in the foot. He was in excruciating pain for the next 3-4 hours. A search of the area failed to find the cause so it was most likely a cone shell sting, however, no stinger could be found in the wound. Four hours later he was back to normal and we were able to enjoy a nice evening of dinner and Mexican Train Dominoes aboard Polar Bear.
This morning we have decided to head into Puerto Escondido and get fuelled up, watered and get our internet fix and laundry done before we depart for the last leg of this year’s voyage. We plan a few more stops along the way but we are aiming for Guaymas by the 26th or 27th to start the preps for Gosling’s summer layover. We found out this morning after enquiring on the net that Prairie Seashell the boat from Calgary we met last year, passed this way a few days ago and is expected to be in Guaymas any day now.
That’s all for now. More in a few days.