Mazatlan to San carlos

Whale shark in Puerto Escondido


Doug and J-G on their way to fish for barracuda
Marina Real; Sunday, 9 May 2010
We have been in Marina Real, 2 boats over from Doug and Trish on Ke-Em-Te, for the past 2 days. After arriving from Mazatlan we decided to spend some quality time with Doug and Trish before heading to Guaymas tomorrow. We were hoping that Doug would be well enough to take the boat to San Pedro Bay but with his radiation therapy he is very sensitive to sunlight, a hard thing to stay shielded from on a boat at sea. Their boat alongside is covered with an awning which would have to be removed to work the boat so we decided to stay put until this afternoon when we will move out to the bay and stay at anchor for the night before moving south to Guaymas. Last night when the sun was low J-G took Doug out for a few hours of fishing, one of Doug’s favourite pastimes that he hasn’t been able to do for quite some time. With the lack of wind and swell, conditions were perfect to head out in the dingy. Although all they could hook were barracuda it was quite a thrill and a welcome diversion for Doug.
Our trip up from Mazatlan was uneventful. The wind was very light and from the south for the entire trip. At times we were sailing (OK, motor-sailing because we had the main up) on a mill pond, however, we did manage to get about 5 hours under spinnaker when the wind did perk up. A steady 10-12 knot southerly wind would have made for a perfect passage but we can’t complain except that 400 miles under power used up about 240 litres of diesel, driving the boat at 6 kts. Night passages were very dark, for the most part, with the moon rising after 2AM. The stars and phosphorescence were very bright. Contacts were minimal except when passing by the ports of Topolobampo and Guaymas. A large warship passed us just before twilight as we passed the entrance to Guaymas. We weren’t able to identify it but when it called in to the pilot it sounded like a Slavic accent. We’ll look for it when we enter the harbour tomorrow.
Today is Mother’s Day. One of the main reasons for anchoring out in Algadonas Bay this afternoon (off Catch-22 beach where the movie was filmed) is that we will be closer to a beach restaurant that will be having a Mother’s Day buffet. We’ll be meeting Bill and Linda (Tanque De Tiburon) there for dinner. They just arrived yesterday.
It will be old home week next week with some of the people we have met along the way arriving to put their boats away for the summer season. We have heard Steve and Linda (Warren Peace) and Steve and Pam (Full Quiver) in the past few days on their way.
More from Guaymas.