Sailaway Sarantium

…foggy Quintin in the bay of Santa Maria. Most anchorages along the Pacific side of Baja are fairly remote. Bays are quiet, full of seals and sealions and very few boats. This makes it easy for coming in to anchor late at night. Sun is now setting around 18.00, so evening sails are in the dark, and we rely heavily on radar, AIS (automatic identification system), chart plotter, and depthsounder. The radar picks everything up, including seals that pop up and disappear on the screen when motoring in. Also, studying the paper chart, ahead of time, in a good idea. Seals are welcoming us every evening when setting anchor. They come right up to the boat and are quite talkative and swirl around stirring up the phosphoresence.

Yesterday’s sail, was slow as wind was less than predicted. We kept a steady pace between 3.5-6 nmiles per hour. And once we turned into a bay wind typically ease and motor comes on. Last night we lucked out, wind picked up in the bay, so we could sail in close to our anchorage.

Today is predicted wind between 18-24 nautical miles per hour. This is perfect as we need to get to Magdalena Bay or Turtle Bay. This is typically a 2 day sail to cross Magdalena Bay, so we will prep for a night-sail. Cedros Island is on our way, which makes for a good stop on our way. We are hoping to be there for ”Day of the Dead”! But first coffee!

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What a day… sailing south, on a beam, gentle following sea and with fishing rod ready! Stay tuned!

Not quite sure where we’re headed but south is a good direction for now! It all depends on the wind.

Wind delivered! Sarantium sailed for 12 hours at 4-5 nmiles per hour. The self steering did the work and I read, cooked, watched whales slap their tales and tried to catch fish, but no luck! We pulled in at Bahia Colnett in the heavy fog and dark. Seals welcomed us with coming right up to the boat making beautiful art with the phosforesence (Sp?)

We left Ensenada a day late, as I discovered three bolts had wandered out of the gooseneck of the boom vang again. So with help of a friend who had the tapping bits needed, we drilled slightly bigger holes and inserted larger bolts. We stayed another night, showered, withdrew some more Pesos and enjoyed another morning in a quaint coffee shop five minutes from the marina. We untied the dock lines, backed out of the slip and motored out of the channel, in dense fog. Luckily the harbour was quiet. Within an hour we raised sails and sailed towards the islands outside of Ensenada, Isla Todos Santos. We had read about fish farming on these islands, so we were prepared to see some structures. Unfortunately, Isla Todos Santos was surrounded by fish farming equipment and it would be too difficult to find an anchorage. Se we decided to head south and find the next bay, Bahia Solidad. It looked open to swell, but since we were expecting Zero Wind for the next 48 hours, we decided to check it out. We motor-sailed in and found a absolute gorgeous bay and an empty anchorage. This remote bay and its beauty makes me look even more forward to this journey I have set out to do. The red and grey rock… it’s like I’m on the moon. All I hear is the waves crashing on the beach. I’m excited to go ashore to see where the small road leads, look for plants, sit on the beach, swim and breath and take it all in!

So exploring land proved to be tricky. The beach is a surf land, which was fun and wet. Getting off the beach was another story. It took some careful planning. Good thing we were prepped for a swim.

Water is warm….

Feels so amazing to get off the dock!

The boat is cleared for Mexican waters, tourist visa and fishing lisence are in our possession!!

Today Sarantium was washed inside and out, and is ready to sail down the coast towards Cabo San Luca. I’m excited to explore the coast and looking forward to anchor again after being in marinas!

Exciting!

Strolling the streets of Ensenada this morning! Coffee in hand. Sun has just risen. Warming the air. The music is playing. Vendors are setting up shop. Sunday seems quieter than yesterday! Chatting to other sailors in the boatyard. Some Canadians. Mostly Americans! It’s too early for the 🇨🇦snowbirds!

These, stand alone, overnight night sails are brutal! Tired!

We filled up the water tanks and motored out of San Diegos harbour. Within half an hour, we raised the sails and sailed south. Exactly as the “windy app” predicted, wind built through the night and we arrived in Ensenada within 12 hours. We arrived in the dark so we waited for sunrise and then motored in to our booked marina. I made it to Mexico!