Squall!!!!

Chamela Anchorage, Jalisco, Mexico

January 15, 2010

Rainbow as the squall approaches the anchorage

Rain is big news for us here in Mexico. We are no longer in Banderas Bay where numerous people told us repeatedly that it doesn’t rain in December (yet we saw 5 days of rain). South of Cabo Corrientes where we are now, still has pretty nice weather but it is much more influenced by the Pacific Ocean.

This morning, Brad had his coffee in the cockpit noting puffy cumulous clouds to the west. They seemed to be coming ashore to the north of us a couple of hours later. However, the land around Chamela (like in Puget Sound) has mountains that seem to also affect the weather patterns.

We spent the morning watching the clouds build against the mountains and then pour down a small valley north of Chamela and right into our anchorage. No exciting pyrotechnics (thank goodness – being on a boat with a mast that sticks up 65 feet in the air) but the leading edge of the squall was characteristically a downpour.

About 20 minutes before the rain hit us, we got a nice rainbow over Chamela and after the hard rain, the boat has a couple of weeks worth of sand and salt washed off of it!