December 1st – Mazatlan – Jim’s Blog #4

Whew, we finally made it across the Sea of Cortez! This was more of an ordeal than a pleasure trip from a number of perspectives. The wind was stronger than was forecast, the swells were a bit steeper, and both Sheilagh and I had a bit of Montezuma’s revenge to deal with (apparently based on something we ate or drank during our last day in La Paz). The trip across took 50 hours – two days and two nights – with the need for one or the other of us to be on watch during that entire time.

The first two days and one night were great from a sailing perspective, since we had a strong 20 knot wind pushing us from the port (left) side rear of the boat, and were able to sail for nearly 36 hours straight. The problem was the direction of the swells that came across the bow from left to right and caused the boat to be constantly climbing the front of them and then diving down the other side. It makes for a great amusement park ride, but who wants a roller coaster ride for 30 straight hours? Neither Sheilagh nor I felt much like eating, much less preparing something to eat, in the constantly moving galley. The stove pivots, and there is even a way to lash oneself in the galley, but we had to close all the ports to keep the seawater out; so it was extremely airless in the cabin area.

On top of that we were taking turns in the small head getting rid of whatever stomach ailment we had picked up in La Paz. It’s actually a blessing that the head is so small; so one can brace oneself against the movement of the boat while doing one’s business. Sheilagh had replaced the toilet seat from the original boat with a larger diameter one as a birthday present for me last year, and it is the type of gift that keeps on giving - or taking away as the case may be!

We used our fabulous wind vane to steer the boat during that time, allowing us to recline as best we could in the cockpit and be ready to take over if the wind vane had problems. It worked like a charm, and both Sheilagh and I are much more confident of it than ever before. At dinnertime on the second day, we realized we were approaching Mazatlan too quickly – the wind had been pushing us at 7 knots, not the 5 knots that we had planned for; so we had to take a timeout to slow down. We heaved to, which is setting up the boat into the wind with the sails and the rudder at opposite angles. This allows the boat to sit fairly still in the water and simply drift downwind at a very slow speed. There we sat for about 5 hours to make sure we didn’t get into Mazatlan before dawn, since it is extremely difficult to get into a new harbor safely at night.

At midnight, of course, the wind died, the seas quieted, and we had to start up the engine to make up the time we would need to get to Mazatlan by dawn. We still dawdled a bit at low rpm, so we wouldn’t get there too soon. Then four hours later we encountered 15 knot winds coming directly at us along with 2-3 foot swells – a complete reversal of the winds and seas in just a 20-mile stretch. As we plowed into the swells head on, the boat began hobby-horsing up and down, and we lost even more speed. So we increased the engine speed to give us 6 knots, and were lucky to get 4 knots against the seas. So, after wasting about 5 hours hove to, we were now trying our best to get to Mazatlan during the window of time when they would let us into the harbor and avoid the fast-moving tidal currents entering the port. Lesson learned: wait to heave to until you are within 10-20 miles of your destination – don’t expect the current winds and waves to continue. I hate being a rookie at this stuff!

The big disappointment was the electronic autopilot that we have for the purpose of guiding the boat when we are motoring. After spending $500 to “get it fixed” before we started out, we still had an autopilot that wouldn’t steer a straight course. When that happens, either Sheilagh or I have to stay behind the wheel and steer the boat the entire time the engine is running – which turned out to be 10 hours straight. By the end of the motoring, we were both grabbing cat naps for an hour at a time while the other stayed by the wheel. At the end of the trip we were both asking ourselves when the fun would start. Friends of ours had a good autopilot, and were able to relax most of the time that they had to motor. Now we definitely need to get our autopilot fixed or replaced before we go any further.

One morning we ended up with a squid (about 6 inches long – not the giant type that tried to destroy Captain Nemo’s Nautilus) and a couple of flying fish onboard. The waves must have flung them aboard as they were coating the boat with sea salt. I had to keep Sheilagh from biting off the heads and eating the fish right there – she has a hunter/killer instinct – but she threw them back this time. The fact that she hadn’t felt well enough to cook over the previous two days probably had a lot to do with her decision.

We finally got into Mazatlan yesterday morning, and immediately washed the boat down with fresh water, and hustled over to the Marina Mazatlan office to check in and take a shower. Thank goodness the marina staff is used to cruisers who haven’t showered for days, as they were nice enough not to comment on our body odor (which we both noticed on ourselves). After a shower and a lunch with a large Margarita each, we retired to the boat and slept for the rest of the afternoon.

Last night we awoke to a drenching downpour of rain – hastily closing all the hatches and ports to keep out the water. This morning we find that our boat has been freshly cleaned by nature – we only wish we had the energy last night to go out in the rain and raise all the sails to get them washed. I’m afraid we’re not that dedicated. Today we will check out the town and replace the Mexican courtesy flag that was blown off the boat two nights ago. More later!