Sailing La Cruz to Chamela

It was hard to say goodbye after a reunion with our good friends from California – thousands of miles from where either of us started – but we have miles to make before we can head north for hurricane season!

We did not select a destination before leaving the anchorage. Without a good sense of the wind, Ayala was stocked up and packed up, and we were ready to stop after 2-4 days of sailing. Basically, whenever we passed an anchorage that (a) we wanted to go to; and (b) was a good time to stop.

Pulled up anchor at La Cruz de Huanacaxtle at 10:45 on 03/10, anchored at Chamela at 06:04 on 03/12.

Whenever possible, we sail off the anchor. Even with only 3 knots of breeze, we got the anchor up and started to move. Whales jumped in the distance, and some unidentifiable fins circled nearby. Once we got out of the anchorage, the wind picked up to 10-12 knots and we were moving very nicely.

I made a crusty white bread before we left, and made a fresh vegetable soup to pair with it for lunch. We started fishing, and hooked a fish! We do not have a net (we have been using a bucket), and this fish wriggled its way off as soon as it got out of the water. Frustrating! But plenty of fish, etc., so we got the hook back in and hoped for a deeper bite the next time. The next time, the fish got away again, with enough force the hook popped up and grazed Charles’ face. We reluctantly decided to stop fishing until we could re-evaluate our methods and equipment.

We alternated between drifter, genoa, and motor (all with the main up) as conditions changed. The sunset was beautiful. I took first shift overnight, with very little to report other than the beautiful stars, bioluminescence, and the moonrise over Cabo Corrientes was dramatic.. Then Charles took second shift. The wind shifted often, and he woke me up at 03:00 to get the drifter down. Dolphins played nearby at sunrise.

I took first shift overnight, with very little to report other than the beautiful stars and bioluminescence, then Charles took second shift. The wind shifted often, and he woke me up at 03:00 to get the drifter down. Dolphins played nearby at sunrise.

The whole second day was lovely – light winded, but we got the drifter poled out and kept a really good course. I worked on some sewing projects (adding elastic to a pair of pants too long/loose so I can wear them on deck, plus working with some second-hand sunbrella to make covers for our water tanks). Charles napped below. The sun was pretty intense in the late afternoon.

We were getting pretty close to Chamela, a place strongly recommended to us, but would not arrive until early morning likely. But we decided it was worth a 1-day stop to check out the area.

We sailed in to the anchorage with shifting wind directions, doing shorter shifts. I helmed the final approach to the bay, which involved surprisingly tacking upwind.

The sound of crashing waves on the beach was intense, but we could still hear a rooster crowing on shore as we anchored. We dropped the hook at 06:04, tidied up the cockpit, and immediately both went to sleep.