Crusing in the Sea of Cortez Page 2
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They even have a desalination plant if you need any water. There is a little store (that was closed while we were there because the owner went to La Paz to stock up) and a woman who sells fresh tortillas and cold beers. What else could you ask for? Well, it got pretty hot during the days and Steve was saying: "oh boy, those Coromuels would sure be nice."
The woman's name is Elizabeth and she also sold us some red clams and fruits. From the fishermen we bought a dog snapper. What a fine dinner we had!
After 2 enjoyable nights we headed for Los Gatos, 26 nm to the
northwest, also on Baja's eastern coast. This was my longest leg and
it took me 7 hours, including 4 hours with the spinnaker in light
southerly winds and about an hour of motoring. The red colored cliffs
make a beautiful setting and the underwater scenery is as colorful as
the surrounding terrain. Welcome to marine wonderland! The water is so
clear, you can see the 
fish
pooping in the water and trailing a cloud behind them. Watch out for
the long submerged reef off the southern entrance. Once you are
anchored you might order some fish or lobster from Manuel, the local
entrepreneur with his panga. Kick back, relax and enjoy some seafood
and cocktails.
On our second day "Trick" with Patricia and John (who also stayed at Marina CostaBaja) sailed in and we all met for drinks in "Aloha's" well shaded cockpit. Our nice gathering was interrupted with glasses starting to slide on the table. Some wind chop out of the east rolled in and the boats were turned into the light south wind. Blanca and Steve had the rolliest night, I set my stern anchor and slept as well as Patricia and John aboard their trimaran.
"Pegasus" (a Norseman 447) with Al and Sandy was another boat at
anchor. Steve has met them before and introduced me to Al. He helped
me to identify some fish through his great book selection and even
gave me a copy of "The Baja Catch" by Neil Kelly 
and
Gene Kira. They say: "The Sea of Cortez itself is a body of water
about 700 miles long, 100 to 150 miles wide and over 4000 feet deep.
Although it is subject to seasonal storms and sudden severe winds, it
usually has no big surf or swell and no really cold water. At
different seasons it teems with big, medium and small game fish. In
places, pods of marlin, sailfish, dorado and wahoo are within one to
five miles of shore." Al caught a delicious dorado south of Isla San
Francisco and I only caught 2 small black skipjacks off Punta San
Marcial. "When starving on a deserted island it may taste good."
"Aloha"
left for Bahia Agua Verde just after sunrise to put an end to their
uncomfortable rolling. "Trick" and "Ky-Mani" left at 11:00 with a 10
knot east wind and the anchorage was empty. After an hour of smooth
sailing the wind got lighter and variable and finally blew mildly out
of the south. Around Punta San Marcial the wind came from the east
again and the last 3 miles were an easy downwind run. We all took the
inside passage between Rocas San Marcial (with a light tower on it)
and the point but stayed outside the other reef southeast of Punta San
Marcial. Use caution.
The
distance between Los Gatos and Agua Verde is about 16nm and you are
about 90 miles away from La Paz. You can choose between three
anchorages, all surrounded by astonishing landscapes. The most
greenish water we found in the south bight. "Trick" didn't trust the
bottom and moved over in front of the town's beach. (In town you will
find a well stocked store and a basic palapa restaurant). John dove
down and his anchor wouldn't dig in far enough. There was a layer of
about 1inch of sand and below it was really hard. "Aloha" and me
stayed there for two peaceful nights before Don forecasted winds from
the north, up to 25 knots. In that case you would find better shelter
in the northern cove.
The night before we moved to the north we had a pot luck dinner on the
south beach. Darlin and Roy "Scrimshaw" announced it over the VHF.
Besides "Aloha", "Trick" and "Ky-Mani" there was Tom "Cosmic Wind",
Dave and Mike "Ni Modo Oho" and Shelly and 
Jody
"Eros". One common question is, if I don't get lonely sailing
single-handed. No, because I like my own company and you can always
meet people if you want to. And I am pleasantly surprised how nice and
friendly all those cruisers are. There really is this floating
community out there with great people and positive attitudes; good
times. I also find a lot of encouragement, cruisers telling me: "it's
good that you do this while you are still young" or "man, sometimes we
wish we would have a smaller boat like yours". That's right and I can
always go back to work if I have to....
Be
aware of the submerged rock in the northwest cove. A 30 ft. sailboat
sank right next to it during hurricane “Marty”, its mast resting on
that pinnacle rock. The boat lays on the side in depth of about 20
feet, so you can easily snorkel around it. Lots of fish made the wreck
their home. Even if you stay on your boat you can enjoy this turquoise
water, the surrounding mountains and the tranquility of this
picturesque place.
Our last evening in Agua Verde we had another get together on "Aloha". Larry "Viking Son" and Alice, Steven and Jens "Veleda". Our group was very international and we represented the countries of the USA, Mexico, Canada, Denmark and Germany. We ate sashimi, tostados with guacamole, beef tacos and flan for dessert. Next morning we had to say good bye and they sailed north to Puerto Escondido and I got on my way south, back to La Paz.
Another enjoyable day we spent on “Aloha” watching the DVD “Lonesome Dove”, capturing the American pioneer spirit. It´s a 6 hour movie but well worth watching. There is great acting by Robert Duvall, Tommy Lee Jones, Danny Glover and other stars. They are on a 2500 mile cattle drive to Montana. You can call that movie a masterpiece, a magnificent drama and romance of the American west. Steve said: “it´s the best western ever made.” Right on!
I made one night stops at Los Gatos, Nopolo Cove (strong headwinds and the tide turning against me didn't let me make it to Evaristo; nice anchorage there with a small lagoon and high mountains close), Isla San Francisco, Ensenada Grande and Caleta Lobos. It was nice to have the Coromuel winds behind me, going north. Sailing back meant beating into short, steep little wind waves with a reefed main until the usual afternoon north west breeze came up. Well, therefore I returned with 7 gallons of gas and spent most of the days doing what I like!
Now I am back at Marina CostaBaja with lots of great memories and
pictures from those 3 weeks. Let me finish with another quote from
John Steinbeck's log: "Trying to remember the Gulf is like trying to
re-create a dream. This is by no means a sentimental thing, it has
little to do with beauty or even conscious liking. But the Gulf does
draw one, and we have talked to rich men who own boats, who can go
where they will. Regularly they find themselves sucked into the Gulf.
And since we have returned, there is always in the backs of our minds
the positive drive to go back again."
Stefan Paul Ries
s/v Ky-Mani
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Thanks Stefan!