sv CHEZ NOUS: 5/8-15/2017 Puerto Escondido to LaPaz with the Calhouns

5/8 Tuesday: Al settled things at the marina office and made sure our rental car was picked up. 1040 we cast off our mooring lines with Steve and Amanda on board headed for Candalera Chico, a tiny cove that we enjoyed 11 years ago on the CCA cruise and wanted to share with Steve and Amanda. When we got there one boat was already there and Al didn't like the wind in the cove. So we re-hoisted the main and sailed with a reefed main and genie. Engine off and a great sail in 18 to 28kts from the west. Anchored in Agua Verdes at 1500 close to sv Mamala with Tony and Lynn on board whom we had met weeks before in Isa Grande when Janet and Henry were with us. We all went for an early dinner at the beach Restaurant to enjoy their delicious fish tacos and to catch up with Tony and Lynn.

women's co-op

This was our first evening playing "Farkle". Which became a favorite evening past time.

5/9 Wednesday : Stayed all day in Agua Verdes. A treat to have the day to snorkel and explore different sides of the Bay in the dinghy and the kayaks.

Wind and water just a tad chilly.

A treasure find ?

I thought for sure it was cartilage from a Mobula Ray but I was wrong .
It was the skeletal cartilage from a hammerhead shark.

Amanda got a good work out in the afternoon getting back to the boat on our stand up paddle board as the wind increased.

Moon over the Gigantes in Agua Verdes.

5/10 Wenesday : 0820 Anchor up bound for Los Gatos approximately 20 nm. with light to no wind. Dropped the hook at 1120 and spent the day admiring the scenery.

Entrance between black rocks and red sand stone cliffs

5/11 Thursday: 0815 Anchor up bound for Evaristo 29 nm. Anchored in NW corner at 1320. The days sailing was varied NW- 10-15 kts of wind down to 00 then back at 25-30 kts. Had a nice sail with poled genie to port , main reefed motor sailing at 8kts. Too windy in the anchorage to do much. Steve and Amanda snorkeled from the boat and swam to another boat to invite them for cocktails.

Little fishing village with no road access kids are taken to school at Evaristo in Pangas.

Tucked up nicely in smooth water.

5/12 Friday: 0845 departed from San Evaristo across the channel to Isla San Francisco. No wind this morning. Anchored at 1045 with 15ft of water under the keel. We planned on being there in time for the guys to hike the ridge and Amanda and I to hang out on the beach. It was a perfectly beautiful day.

Steve and Al got to the top of the ridge

Isla San Francisco

The guys had a magnificent view from the ridge with the deeper Agate beach on the E side.

East side

In the last three times to San Francisco I hadn't gotten to Agate beach so this time I was determined to hike over the salt flat even though I knew I'd pay with heel pain tomorrow. It was worth it and I'd do it again.

walk across to Agate Beach

Agate Beach ahead

Looks like Chez Nous if far from shore but not in the middle
of the night with big waves .

Here are just a few of Amanda's pictures from snorkeling.

Isla San Francisco looking West toward Baja and La Paz Bay

Night falls on the bay but not before another ruckus "FARKEL" game.

5/13 Saturday: 0200 a Coromuel wind came in from the SW at plus 25 kts and blew all night. The worrisome part was that we were in 15 ft of water fairly close to the beach that rises quickly and the waves were already 3-4 ft. so if we drug are anchor there would be little time to reset. So we were on anchor watch till daylight.

0700 we raised the anchor and went around to the north side of the island . 0725 anchored in 18ft. of water . More importantly the sea were flat and the wind diminished to 15-20kts.

0900we departed for Caleta Partida with a doubled reefed main, with the maximum apparent wind 36kts. 40 degrees apparent off the bow we could not hold our course of 143 degrees Mag. with 4-6ft seas. So we motor sailed at 1600 rpms and set the staysail.

1300 anchor down in south anchorage with 10kts of wind and flat seas. 28nm from the Northside of Isla San Francisco to Caleta Partida. Just in time to have lunch and a dinghy ride through the cut to the E side of the fishing village to snorkel. It is the best snorkel spot around.

Caleta Paritda is the big bay between Isla Partida and Isla Espiritu Santo where there is a sand bar that almost completely connects the two islands except for a small cut that you can get through at high tide that starts in front of the fishing village then goes right up against Espiritu Santo then cuts east along the island. This is the same cut that we have pictures of Henry pulling us through in low tide.

Fishing village at the head of Caleta Partida.

We had a great afternoon of snorkeling then of course the wind came up at night. A beautiful Lagoon 62 came in close to us and anchored in front of us just to the southeast. One young captain and three young women all having a great time. Jumping in the water before the anchor was really set. Later we found out Ray was trying to retrieve something that her friend had dropped in the water and ended up swimming with real Mobula Rays. Amanda swan over to get acquainted and found out that it was the woman's 30th birthday, that the boat was registered in Montego Bay Jamaica, that the Captain (her boyfriend) wrote a book with the title "Bula" and that Ray is from Canada. Later that evening Amanda swam back over to give Ray her birthday present from ChezNous, the cartilage skeleton of what we still thought was a Ray. She was thrilled. We all prepared for a very windy night.

5/14 Sunday: Mother's Day. No one got much sleep last night. Wind shifted about 180 degrees and increased. We all seemed to take turns getting up to look outside at the Catamaran , shallow water and our plotter anchor track.

0700 Drug anchor in 30+kts with the Cat close behind and putting us in shallower water. . Reset anchor and added 30 more feet of chain. Now 160 feet of chain in 15 ft of water. At 1100 it was still uncomfortable and too windy to play with our water toys so we decided to up anchor and head back to LaPaz. Back in our slip at Marina Palmira in plenty of time to clean up and relax. Cab to Marina de LaPaz for lunch and a stroll on the Malecon .