Category: 2025-04 (April)

Published 04/26/2025
Up at 6:45, breakfast, sourdough cinnamon rolls! Then watched the service from Gracepoint in Savannah. A short call from my mom, we talk periodically. We have seen two of the boats here in the anchorage leave so far this morning, we are down to three boats.
The plan for today is shrimp cocktail for happy hour and bbq’d steak for dinner. One thing about the bbq is that it is a stainless steel bbq and it sits on the rail. If the wind is blowing at all, it cools the outside a bunch, and makes it effectively not work. I have tried using an umbrella to divert the wind away from it. I have also used the lighting button to bypass the regulator and put more propane into the bbq so it will heat up. I have a thermometer that shows temperature inside the bbq, and while it does not have numbers it has three colors and a line half way through each, blue, yellow and red. I have seen the needle pointed at the middle of the yellow zone (using the bypass button) and then I let the button go and the wind blows and it goes down into the blue zone. This makes it very difficult to actually get a decent cook of the meat. Today should be more calm and the bbq should work.
We have been chatting with Joe and Vanessa Munday (we met them in 2020 in Santa Rosalía and we have seen Joe in Savannah, we have also seen them in Mazatlan etc) and also another guy who has an Island Packet boat (same manufacturer as ours) here in the Sea, he and I have been chatting for a couple of months we connected on Facebook and have been playing tag through this season just missing each other by either a day or two or a days sail away from each other. Both of these boats are going to be in Santa Rosalía by Tuesday or Wednesday. We expect to be there late Tuesday.

We had shrimp for happy hour, and then split a pork chop for dinner (huge!). Janice (husband Colin) from SV Kaya a trimaran came by and chatted for a few minutes. We got showers and turned in early.

Published 04/23/2025
Up at 5 am, underway by 5:45. We both slept well, and we got underway and did our bible reading while sailing (we sailed for a few minutes with the engine off). The start of the day had been much as predicted for wind. That is, almost none. Then we expected some wind, up to 12 – 14 knots from the west, instead we got 12 or so from the north (behind us). We had a small swell also from the north. Some where in here the wind shifted and was coming from the south west at about 12 knots, this was when we were able to sail for a bit. Then the wind dropped to nothing again, actually less than 1 knot. So, motor back on, jib sail put away, and we continued. This was about 1/2 way to Puerto Don Juan. Then the wind started coming up and continued going up (Windy the weather app had predicted no wind for this part of the sea and time of day), finally getting to about 27 knots. Of course it stayed above 20 knots as we got to where we were going to turn into Puerto Don Juan. This made it difficult to get the main sail in, finally we got in and found a spot to anchor. The mainsail was not put away correctly, a real mess, but it was mostly out of the wind.
Even in here we had 12-15 knots as we anchored. This harbor is protected and considered a hurricane hole. In 2023 there was a hurricane in this area and about 22 boats were here with no damage. A couple of hours later, with no wind I put out the main sail and rolled it up again.
We watched a movie after dinner then bed.

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Published 04/23/2025
Up at 6:30 or so, breakfast and bible reading, checked the weather, and did not do much. Finally after lunch we pulled the anchor up and moved to a spot between the two islands with really good protection from the swells and a north wind, less protection for a west wind or south wind. Only really down side to this anchorage spot is how it is shallow, much less water than we normally like (about 15 feet, where we normally like 30 feet), and closer to land. In any case it was very calm.

Published 04/23/2025
Up at 6:30 or so, breakfast, and bible reading. Neither of us slept very well, as the anchorage was very rolly, with swells from the north. We did not do much, so a very quiet day.

Published 04/23/2025
It was very calm overnight, no wind and no swells, so we slept very well. Up at 5 am, and underway by 5:45, we planned to head down to Puerto Don Juan, it is about 40 miles, and should take about 8 hours. Well, we found a fishing boat anchored right on our track from where we had come in the last time we came from the south, not really a big deal, just an interesting fact. We went around them and then out in the passage between the little island and the bigger one. We followed our track that we had come in on before. Only difference is this time it was low tide, not high(er) tide levels. We were just about out the other side of the passage, and wind was coming up, we had about 3-5 knots where we were anchored, and in the passage (usually higher because the wind gets funneled) about 10 knots, still nothing big. We found a rock, not on the chart plotter, but it was on Navionics the map program we use on the iPhone and iPad. It was about 5 feet under the surface while at low tide, right on the track we had used to come in on. Very unhappy! We backed off and double checked the charts and found a way around it. Then we continued our way out. Wind speed was supposed to be 12-14 knots out in the channel. Well, we stuck our nose out and it was closer to 30 knots! We turned around and went back to where we had been anchored.
We spent the rest of the day doing nothing but double checking the weather.