The trip to Cabo is a long one, punctuated with two stops with Ha-Ha social events. We set sail late Monday morning and sail four days and three nights to our first stop on Thursday and Bahia de Tortugas (Turtle Bay). We rest and party for two days and then leave on Halloween for Bahia Santa Maria, which is another three days down the coast, arriving Monday. Another two days of rest/fun and then the final leg, two days to Cabo. The current forecast is for variable light to moderate winds, so I expect we'll be alternating between sailing and motoring. I'm looking forward to a warm, pleasant and fun voyage.
I calculated some statistics from Leg 1 of our trip, from San Francisco to San Diego. Here they are:
- Distance Travelled (nautical miles): 448
- Total Trip Duration (days): 17
- Time Underway (hours): 119
- Time Sailing (hours): 63
- Time Motoring (hours): 56
- Fuel Consumed (gallons): 51
I'm a bit surprised that we motored as much as we did. I think it's because we were on a schedule to get to San Diego on a certain day and had to turn the engines on to keep up speed during lighter winds. I'm hoping that we can improve our sailing-to-motoring ratio once we get on our own pace of travel after the Ha-Ha.
So what comes after the Ha-Ha? Here's the rough plan for the coming sailing season (November until July):
- November 2015: Cruising the Sea of Cortez
- December 2015: Sea of Cortez to Puerta Vallarta for the holidays
- January-March 2016: Pacific coast of Mexico
- March-April 2016: Mexico to Costa Rica
- May 2016: Costa Rica
- June 2016: Costa Rica to Panama
When we get to Panama, we'll decide if we will go through the canal to position ourselves for Caribbean sailing stay on the Pacific side to return to Mexico for the next sailing season. Either way, we'll lay the boat up for the summer and return back to the US to visit family, friends and goats.
I definitely feel ready, more than ready, to leave San Diego and head to Mexico. I'm looking forward to the beauty and remoteness of the Sea of Cortez, speaking a different language, and a big change in lifestyle. I will be happy to have finally finished all the major preparations (and shopping...ugh) for this trip. While I enjoyed our sail down the California coast, when we cross into Mexican waters, I'll feel we've started the voyage that I've been dreaming about for so many years.
