Captain Cruising - More Ramblings

The next day we dinghyed ashore and explored around.  We crossed the island to the other side, then back, where I waited on the beach, enjoying the water while Sharon hiked up on the hill.  She did see a jack rabbit, and she was impressed with its incredibly big ears. With my bad ankle I am not much of a hiker, and the rocks would make it all the worse for me.

Los Islotes...

We left Cardonal before midday on 4/7/2013 with the intention of visiting the fishing village of San Evaristo with a population of about 20 families about 45 miles away.  We of course went by Los Islotes (24 deg – 35.822’N by 110 deg – 24.200’W) to visit the sea lion colony.  We always enjoy the barking and the threats that the big bulls make as we circle their little island home.  If the winds are just right you can smell Los Islotes before you can hear the sea lions, and you can hear them a long time before you can see them.  Los Islotes is also a bird sanctuary and all sorts of birds including Boobies nest there.  The island is totally white in color from one end to the other and is constantly noisy with the chattering of the many types and breeds of birds and the barking and growling of the sea lions, all competing for the same rock. It is quite beautiful with a big tunnel that goes all the way through the island, and after taking several pictures we swung back to the North and started in the direction of Evaristo.

The wind had stared blowing at about 20 knots at a convenient angle with our course and we put out our canvas.  We were able to sail for the full distance from Los Islotes to San Evaristo.  This was a real treat for this part of the world, at this time of the year, and we made the most of it.

We knew of a couple on a small boat in La Paz called “Willful Simplicity” who had taken up the cause of helping to support the school at San Evaristo, as well as assisting in starting a restaurant there.  For several months each year they spend time in Marina Palmira, taking up collections of money and donations of clothing, books, school supplies, kitchen equipment, and especially coats, blankets and mattresses when the weather is cold.  We heard them on the morning net many times talking about their efforts, and they had a lot of support from other cruisers; since I had never been there, I thought this would be a good place to stop and visit and see what San Evaristo was all about.

It was a journey of about 45 miles and we arrived in late afternoon.  (24 deg – 54.616’N by 110 deg – 42.362’W)  The bay was small and compact and had several boats already anchored there.  This is a fishing village and most of the bay was consumed by pangas on moorings, and small trawlers, and even a sport fisher anchored with a couple or three sailboats.  We drove through the bay and searched for any nook or cranny that we might fit into, but I like a lot of chain out when I anchor, especially if I am not sure of the bottom, and we did not find a place where I felt comfortable anchoring.  We did get a good look at the village, and the restaurant, but we did not see Willful Simplicity; they may have been in La Paz.  Since it was still relatively early, we decided to go back about 10 miles to Isla San Francisco, which I was sure would have a good place room for us.

Isla San Franacisco

Isla San Francisco (24 deg – 49.289’N by 110 deg – 34.276’W) is one of the southern Sea of Cortez’s most popular anchorages due to its proximity to La Paz and its beautiful crescent shaped bay.  Fine, white sand beaches accentuate the crystal blue waters and the burnt-red rocky cliffs.  The picture perfect cove is excellent for hiking, snorkeling, fishing, shelling or just lounging on the beach.

We arrived in Isla San Francisco late in the afternoon and found a really good spot in about 18 feet of water to drop our hook.  There was still a party boat there, and Seados, and kayaks were going all over, but before dark they pulled up their hooks left. As dusk approached a very  large,  truly unusual sailboat approached the anchorage.  We could see from very far away that the rig was extremely tall, with 3 levels of spreaders, and as it approached it kept getting bigger and bigger, and finally we had about an 85 foot boat anchored fairly close by.  That boat was elaborate, shiny red, and was all lit up and even had these blue glowing underwater lights across the stern.  I only saw the captain and one other person on board, which is a lot of boat to handle, if they were only people on board.  

We had dinner, and turned in fairly early, having had a good day at sea, sailing more than motoring.  That’s enough to judge a good day on the Sea of Cortez this time of year.