Velella Cruising Log

We've been meandering northward from Zihuatanejo to catch up with visitors. Leaving February 4th, we had plenty of time to choose where and when to stop along the way but we can't dawdle too long. The days are still hot, but the nights are much cooler as we get later in the season. The days are getting longer and that makes it easier to reach port before dark. When we first arrived in Mexico, the hot days made it feel like summer yet the sun sets so much earlier here than the typical 10pm Seattle summer night. We would assume we could make port before dark, then have to remind ourselves that it gets dark earlier than we think.

After being in a single port for 7 weeks, we were afraid we were permanently attached to the bottom, so we let out a little more chain a few days before our departure to let the sand help clean off some of the growth on the chain. We stopped just north of Zihuatanejo in a great swimming spot where we could thoroughly clean the bottom. It was a good thing we did, because we had lost so much boat speed to the barnacles, the green slime and nerf balls that were attached to the paint. We are not very happy with our fresh bottom paint that we applied in only May; We now worry every time we scrub the bottom, which we ought to do weekly, whether we will have any left when we are done. As I scraped, my hands found all the barnacles I missed, and I scraped them up pretty good. Neosporin is my friend!

We saw some amazing wildlife on our way north. A number of huge turtles were floating on the surface like sitting ducks, and we nearly ran over one before we saw it. Humpback whales breaching high into the air and flumping down into the water only about 30 yards away form our boat! Fortunately it was a large pod and they jumped numerous times so I was able to watch, go get the camera and get several action shots. We even saw a couple of yellow bellied seas snake, which is very poisonous, but not where we would be swimming, at least.

We stopped in one pretty anchorage where we thought we might stay a couple of days, but when we awoke it was a southerly and we decided we had to take it. We made great time with a good wind behind us again. We stopped in another pretty one where we rolled our guts out and could hardly wait for daylight so we could leave. We'd blown a fan belt in the middle of anchoring so didn't have a good chance to change our minds once we realized how bad it was, since by the time we dug out the new fan belt, then changed it, night was upon us.

We sailed past Bahia de Navidad, where we were meeting visitors the following week so we could explore some places north before we ran out of time. We stopped in Tentacatita and had a great time. We snuck into the 5 star resort and spent the day at the pool. I heard other yachties got chased out but we must have looked enough like guests. We spent another with some other yachties on a dinghy tour of the mangrove channel to the other beach. We got soaked and cut up our feet while poorly timing a beach landing when the tide was too low. We went before high tide since we wanted to make a full day of it. Motoring through the mangrove forest was pretty spectacular. Then we went snorkeling and spent the rest of the afternoon under the palapas, enjoying beers and the local specialty: Fish rolls, which are snapper and shrimp in a white a sauce, wrapped in bacon and deep fried crispy brown then smothered in an almond sauce. WOW! On the beach at the mouth of the mangrove river, was a charming French Restaurant that provided a focal point for the yachting community. On the verandah are tables where you can enjoy lunch while watching the dinghy landings in the crashing waves or the river flow around the bend; Or where you could play a game of chess or Chinese checkers, or read one of the novels in the library. The restaurant served a Valentines Day feast and nearly all the yachts in the harbor were there. The restaurant took orders for supplies in town, so you could stock up without venturing far - at cost! We filled up some water jugs from the tap behind the restaurant, but that was one time when we should have paid for the prepackaged jugs; Fine for dishwashing, but it tasted pretty awful!

Another short romp before returning to Melaque to meet up with visitors, we anchored among some islands in the center of a large bay called Chamela. The islands were uninhabited - by people anyway: There was a huge population of yellow-footed booby birds, which were fascinating to watch. We loved hiking around the deserted island, playing in the tide pools and snorkeling around the rocks. We stayed as long as we dared, but wanted to give ourselves enough time to get back to Melaque. Within 2 hours after we arrived, we arranged to meet some friends from Zihuatanejo for dinner.

The next couple of weeks will be busy with visitors Julie, followed by Wendy's dad and then mom.

Cheers,
Wendy Hinman and Garth Wilcox
S/V Velella (Wylie 31)