The Bash Continues

We departed Bahia Santa Maria at 6:20am on May 3^rd for the next leg of our journey, a 34-hour motoring to Bahia Tortugas across a large bay that takes us up to 50 miles off shore.  Thirty-four hours is a long time to depend on weather forecasts that are already a few hours old.  We decided to create a route that would take us past the village of Punta Abreojos for internet coverage and get a weather update.  We also chose Punta Abreojos as an alternate anchorage destination if things should turn ugly; it proved to be a wise plan! 

Punta Abreojos south of Bahia Tortugas

Conditions were fairly descent during the day but nightfall brought its bag of tricks once again.  After dark, northwest winds began to blow between 26 and 35 knots, stirring up waves that swept in from several different directions; these “confused seas” are a boater’s worst nightmare.  To make things worse it was a moonless night and a marine cloud layer hung over the water - we couldn’t see what was in front of us.  We knew that waves were coming at us from multiple directions slamming into the bow, quarter sides, and mid-ships.  Got d’ Fever was making all sorts of gyrations.  We could actually feel the G-forces on our body as she rolled, pitched, and yawed through the confused seas; it was like being subjected to an aeronautics centrifuge test for pilots.  Things moved and slid inside the boat that had never moved before.  A million thoughts ran through my mind, “wow, how do they build boats to withstand such forces?”  “There must be a lot of stress on the hull and working parts of the boat.”  “The engines have never died on us; I sure hope it stays that way.”  We were 14 hours into our original 34-hour cruise when we decided to head for anchorage at Punta Abreojos which was still 3 hours away.  We hadn’t seen another boat all day, when low and behold, we saw an intermittent AIS signal on our screen indicating that a sailboat was about four miles ahead of us.  The AIS signal however was intermittent at best; perhaps their equipment was malfunctioning.  It was also difficult to spot them on Radar since sailing vessels have less surface with very little radar reflectivity.  Nevertheless, we were still able to track their position from the intermittent radar reflection and intermittent AIS indications.  Knowing that sailboats often change course or direction, we tried to contact them on the VHF radio but there was no response.  We were haunted by the thought of running into their boat at any moment as the sensation of speed is magnified at night.  By the time we caught up to them, they were safely off our port side. 

Rocks, Reefs, and Shoals around Punta Abreojos

Now we could concentrate on the approach into Punta Abreojos, just an hour away.  We got out the guidebooks to refresh our knowledge and gather pertinent information about the bay.  Leonard turned to me and read a quote from Charlie’s Charts - Mexico written by Charles and Margo Wood – “A night approach to this area should not be made under any circumstances.”  Yes, it’s a nasty place with offshore rocks and reefs spread around the bay.  Fisherman often set lobster traps on the shallow shelf that extends from shore to seaward that can foul boat props.  A fitting name, “Abre ojos” means “open the eyes,” but that doesn’t help at night!  “Oh great, did you save our tracks in and out of the bay from the last time we were here?” I asked.  “Yes indeed, I always save our tracks,” replied Leonard.  What a life saver, all we had to do was follow our bread crumb trail, confident that the route was safe.