Sunset at Punta de Mita January 13, 2010
After a little over a month in Banderas Bay, we have resumed our wanderings. The last week on the anchor in La Cruz saw us getting our outboard problems resolved with a new used outboard. Much to the boys' delight, this engine is a 15hp and we can now plane with all four of us in the dinghy. We were also able to get the shaft repaired on the old 8hp outboard, so we have that one as a spare. Besides the usual provisioning and smaller projects, we celebrated Austin's 9th birthday with a slumber party that included pizza, cupcakes and a movie.
We spent a couple of rolly nights at Punta de Mita waiting for the weird weather pattern to sort itself out. The uncharacteristic rain is only part of the weird weather that this part of Mexico has been experiencing. Banderas Bay's usual like-clock work afternoon winds have been anything but usual. Some of the weekly evening races and weekenders have been canceled because there is just no wind on the horizon. They call it a "Pineapple Express", but I am not sure if it is related to the weather phenomenon of the same name back home. Anyway, we were lucky and the weather sorted itself out earlier than usual.
Our point of concern between Punta de Mita and Chamela - about 80 miles - was Cabo Corrientes where currents, wind and swell can combine to make a passage interesting. Things looked good for Tuesday, so we decided to head out at 4:00am to ensure that we would reach Chamela and be anchored before dark. I am happy to report that the trip was completely uneventful, although the wind was mostly too light for sailing. The highlights included, dolphins checking us out, turtle sightings, manta rays sunning themselves and jumping, and most exciting news is that Totem broke the mahi-mahi curse and caught us all dinner. Jamie would be upset if I didn't mention at this juncture that said dinner fish was 42 inches long!!! It has been over a month since I have had fresh fish and it tasted sooooo good.
Today is a beach day for us all. It has been awhile since we have been somewhere that we could actually get to the beach in the dinghies!
Whales between the boats and shore
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