Expect the Unexpected

 

 



Headed Across the Bay of San Sebastian

Siesta Time

Cedros Island

Evening at Cedros Island

Moonlit Night

 

Fuel Panga

Fuel Panga

We departed San Carlos at 7:15am in nearly flat seas; pangas were already out competing with the Pelicans for the day’s catch.  Our plotted course took us south, southeast but it looked like we were heading west toward the curvature of the earth - we were crossing the huge expansive bay of San Sebastian Viscaino along Baja’s angled coastline.  It would be another 10 hours before we reached the Island of Cedros.  While underway, Leonard ran a trial test on our Single Side-Band Radio and tested the Satellite Phone making a couple of calls to family back home.  The seas remained calm with gentle swells that increased to no more than 5 feet.  During the passage, Leonard took a nap which would later prove to be beneficial.  As we approached Isla Cedros, we could see mountains rise sharply from the sea; formations left from the island’s volcanic origin.  We passed an adorable little fishing village at the north end of the island, several bungalows and a cute church.  We took anchorage about a quarter mile south of the tiny village in a lovely cove protected from north, northwest winds.  We set the anchor around 5:40pm just as the sky turned red and a full moon appeared on the horizon.  The barking and screeching of Sea Lions echoed off the canyon walls with eerie sounds that punctuated the darkness.  We settled in, ready to enjoy the evening after finishing our dinner.  I started a batch of cookies and as I finished the last batch around 9pm, I heard human voices over the howls of the Sea Lions.  I went out on the cockpit and was surprised to find three men in a panga up next to our boat; they were asking us for some beer.  It seemed rather strange since they already had beer in their hands and the town of Cedros was only three miles to the south, offering ample groceries and supplies.  Perhaps they were just being friendly but we felt it best not to stay the night.  If we had the company of our buddy boat, we most likely would have stayed.  Unfortunately, our sailboat friends who had planned to make the journey with us from Ensenada were suddenly called away to work.  They work as contingent, free-agent insurance claims adjusters managing claims resulting from hurricanes.  With the advent of Hurricane Sandy on the East Coast, they were called away for work.  Finding ourselves alone at Cedros Island without a buddy boat, we decided to take up anchor and continue our journey to Bahia Tortuga (Turtle Bay) located another 9 hours away – the seas were flat calm and the moon brightly lit, all conducive for an enjoyable night cruise.  Keeping alert throughout the night was the main challenge; Leonard took the first shift having had that nap earlier in the day; I took the second shift.  We arrived in Turtle Bay at the break of dawn, set the anchor, and climbed into bed!  Still a little blurry eyed, I awoke at 9am greeted by beautiful rock formations and the crescent shape of Turtle Bay; six other pleasure boats were anchored in this unique bay.  Leonard had just gotten up and discovered a fuel service panga was patiently waiting for us but keeping a respectable distance from our boat.  Fuel service pangas are the norm in Turtle Bay and much appreciated by pleasure boaters sailing the waters of Mexico.  We motioned the panga to come over and communicated our need for 530 liters (140 gallons) of diesel fuel and asked for the price - 11.80 pesos per liter about $3.40 or $3.50 per gallon.  They were happy to have our business and were very pleasant and businesslike.  We paid them in cash adding a tip and offered them something to drink as is the expected custom.  They asked us for some coke but since we had none on-hand, we gave them some orange juice instead - coke is now an important item on our grocery list!  The fuel at Turtle Bay is reported to be clean but we ran our fuel polishing system just to be on the safe side.  We spent the rest of the day relaxing and getting things back in order from the previous hours of motoring.  Our plan is to spend 3-4 days at Turtle Bay before shoving off on the next leg of our journey.  We look forward to seeing some more of our sailing buddies who arrive in Turtle Bay on Wednesday, October 30^th.


Crescent Shape Turtle Bay

Beautiful Turtle Bay