All Days Cruising Are NOT Fun

We knew the slog from Punta Mita north to Mazatlan would be "one of those days."  We just hoped it would not end up in Capital Letters as one of THOSE days.  The winds and seas at this time of year come from the northwest; sometimes a bit of west.  And since that was our heading -- it is a slog.

We watched for a good window -- we wanted to make the 160 nautical mile jump to Mazatlan in a nonstop trip (coming down we took six days to cover the distance.)  And finally, we had a "not too bad" forecast:  nothing too strong--so off we went.

We left Punta Mita early on Monday about sunrise and rounded the point -- got a view of the new, exclusive homes on the west side -- and set our course north.  We had a nice thermal breeze off the land for a bit; then no wind; then afternoon winds.  Always the swell and with the wind, well, a bit more wave.

Now catamarans are good for many things, mostly level sailing, and a very comfortable platform for living on the hook.  But catamarans are not so good for slogging into sloppy, choppy swells.  BOOM as a wave hits the underdeck;  RATTLE and SHAKE as the boat vibrates.  BOOM BOOM.  Over and over.  Every boom drops your speed, then you pick it up again for a few minutes.  On and on.  Yeah, I'm complaining.  But the motion on a cat is quick and fast and you don't get used to it as the waves are irregular.  Neither of us was having any fun.  We just watched the miles go by.

All day we saw nothing -- no other sailboats, no pangas; no commercial traffic.  We passed Isla Isabella about sunset and then suddenly we had lots of friends on the radar.  All doing strange maneuvers and light patterns that I guarantee are not on approved lists!  Which way are they going?  How fast?  Who is crossing who?  How close?  And why don't they answer when we call on the radio?  Well, probably because they are a Mexican fishing boat and don't have time for gringo sailboats.

The moon eventually came up; the winds and seas moderated; and we were back on course for Mazatlan.  The morning sunrise was beautiful and finally we were treated to a ongoing show of marine sealife!  We had seen NOTHING in Banderas Bay so it had been weeks since whales, turtles, dolphins by the hundreds, stingrays were on display all around us.  It made the night seem like a bad dream and renewed our energy to keep cruising.

Well, until the fog.  Mazatlan?  Fog?  Back on with the lights and radar -- we had been in the harbor before so felt comfortable closing with the coast.  The fog did lighten about an hour before we arrived -- and that was when I asked the Captain:  "how come there is no water pressure?"  I was making guacamole for lunch and had a stack of dirty dishes.....oh well.  It is a cruising boat.

But all is well.  The fog lifted; the anchor dropped.  Handyman Al found a disconnected wire and soon showers were in order.  The boat got cleaned up; we had some lunch.  Shade awnings cover us to keep us cool.  Life is good.