Isla San Francisco, BCS
We're on our way back to Puerto Escondido, the beginning of the end of our 2021-22 sailing season in the Sea of Cortez.
I took a hiatus from posting to the blog over the past three weeks since arriving in La Paz from Mazatlan. Here is a recap of events on board Intermezzo.
30 Mar - 2 April
I anchored out in the El Mogote anchorage off the La Paz seafront until April 1 when I took a slip in Marina de La Paz. My replacement water heater was waiting for me there, shipped there via Deko Marine in San Diego, a shipping/export agent. It was a relatively easy job removing the leaking water heater and replacing it with an identical new one. It was a bit challenging trying to figure out why the new one wasn't making hot water from the engine coolant heat exchanger, though. After running the engines a few times and adding a bit of coolant in between, I finally got hot water. I concluded that either there was an air lock in the heat exchanger circuit or that I didn't get all the air out of the heater tank before trying to make hot water, or both. Inconclusive diagnosis, but we now have hot water in the galley again.
3-4 April
I rented a car and drove to Los Cabos to pick up Christina, Nate and Maddie, Renee's daughter, son-in-law and granddaughter, respectively. I stopped at one of my favorite restaurants, Hierbabuena, in Pescadero on the west coast of the Baja peninsula. The herbs used for artisanal cocktails and to season the fresh food dishes come from the restaurant's own garden.
I managed to rendezvous with Christina et. al. at the airport, despite there being no cell signal in the arrival area. They were tired from getting up really early in the morning and a long day's travel, but in good spirits. We took it easy the next day, getting settled on the boat, exploring a bit of La Paz and enjoying a couple of nice dinners out.
5-9 April
The four of us headed out from La Paz to Islas Espíritu Santo and Partida for a mini-cruise. We enjoyed swimming, snorkeling, kayaking, beach walking and lazing around in mostly secluded anchorages, though we were driven out of Ensenada Grande by noisy party motor yachts. There seem to be so many more of them than there were four years ago.
The highlight of the trip for me was teaching Maddie, age 6, to snorkel. She took to it quickly and we explored rock and coral reefs, her tucked to my side, enjoying all the colorful fish and other underwater life. It brought back happy memories of me snorkeling with my daughter Hannah when she was about the same age, 20 years ago.
We attempted to swim with some turtles that were swimming around the boat. We never got close to a turtle, but I felt things pelting my body underwater and discovered what the turtles were eating, fish eggs, aka caviar. I captured a few and tasted them. They were quite good, very mild salty jelly-balls, about a quarter-inch diameter. I was surprised when Maddie, who is often fussy about food, asked to taste some. I caught a few more and was even more surprised when she said she liked them, two-thumbs up.
We all got along well on the somewhat cramped quarters of the boat, a test for attitude and relationships. Nate and Christina took good care of the boat and seemed to like the lifestyle and beautiful surroudings. Maddie handled hanging out with only adults for a week very well.
Of course, it can never be perfect on a boat, as I noticed the raw water pump on the starboard engine was leaking during our cruise. Nate helped me replace it. I last replaced this pump in Puerto Escondido back in November 2018. They usually don't last that long, so I couldn't complain.
10 April
I rented a car again and drove my crew back to Los Cabos to catch their flight back to California. I drove back to La Paz along the east coast of the peninsula, stopping in Los Barriles, about halfway, for lunch. I made a disappointing choice of restaurant in this very gringo town. I should have driven a bit further and eaten at a taqueria on the highway.
11-15 April
I anchored out in El Magote again. I don't really like this anchorage. It's usually a wet, bumpy ride to and from the dinghy dock and tour boat pangas rock the boat with their wakes. The current swings the boat around four times a day and there is a lot of noise at night from the waterfront bars and nightclubs. It just never seems peaceful.
It was a good enough place to take care of some boat projects and clean up from visitors, though.
The exhaust elbows on both engines were leaking salt water. When I replaced the port elbow, I noticed coolant in the engine sump and sprayed residue around the engine compartment. That means a leaking coolant pump. I had just replaced this pump in January 2021. Something is amiss, these pumps should last much longer. Replacing these pumps is a pretty big job, requiring draining the engine of coolant, removing the bad pump, switching all the fittings from old to new, installing the new pump, filling the engine back up with coolant and testing. I've replaced these pumps so many times now that I am an expert, but it's still a three-hour job.
My satisfaction with fixing things didn't last long, as the dinghy outboard suddenly acted up, losing power, struggling to propel the dinghy at five knots when it usually can buzz along at nearly 20. I bought new fuel, checked the fuel pickup, fuel line and fuel filter, removed the carburetor, dismantled and cleaned it (even though it was squeaky clean already) and checked the spark plugs. None of this solved the problem. The engine seems to be running very rich, so maybe the choke solenoid is not opening the choke? I don't know. I'm pretty solid with diesel engines, but lack experience troubleshooting gas outboards. Especially since this one has run almost perfectly for almost ten years with no repairs and little maintenance.
I enjoyed visiting Barbara and Johan at their new place further out of town. After five years of living in the center of town, right off the malecón, they grew tired of the ever increase in noiseless of the neighborhood. Their new place is on a hillside with big terrace overlooking an expansive view of Bahia de La Paz. I enjoyed a nice dinner and conversation around their small outdoor fireplace.
16 April
I departed La Paz singlehanded for Puerto Escondido. It was a beautiful day, but no wind, so I had to motor the whole way to Ensenada de La Ballena on Isla Espíritu Santo, where I dropped anchor in the early afternoon. No wind beats bashing into headwinds any day, however.
I had the whole ensenada to myself until a motor yacht dropped anchor right next to me, playing loud music, again. What is it with these people? I surveyed the situation and concluded that they were not going to stay overnight, so I resigned myself to a few hours of unpleasantness. Sure enough, just before sunset the yacht and its music departed and I regained my solitude. I took the kayak for a spin, had a naked swim and shower off the back of the boat and enjoyed the sunset in peace, rum cocktail in hand. The full moon rose shortly afterwards, bathing the steep terrain of the island and the sea in a blueish light.
17 April
We motored in very calm conditions to Isla San Francisco. It was so calm that I turned off the engine and drifted on a flat, windless sea while I ate lunch about three miles south of the island. I was surprised to encounter strong northerly winds as I dropped anchor less than an hour later. It blew a steady 15 knots with higher gusts all through the afternoon and evening. I kayaked to shore and hiked up to the island's ridge, where it was really windy. It was a wet paddle back to the boat, upwind into the chop. About a dozen boats spent the night here, including several motor yachts. Thankfully, none of them played loud music.
I'm spending the day here at Isla San Francisco. Conditions are now very calm, with light winds. The weather oracle/astrologist/shaman koans suggest that there will be decent southerly winds tomorrow, which would allow me to sail instead of motor northwards. I'm fully prepared to be bashing into 20 knot headwinds and steep waves, however, as now the Wind Gods are aware of my intentions.
This morning I heard splashing under the boat, so I went onto the trampoline and bent over the crossbeam between the bows to take a look. A sea lion splashed me in the face as he darted to catch a fish that was hiding under the boat. Funny.
