Isla Isabella and La Cruz

On our way to Puerta Vallerta we took a detour to a small uninhabited island called Isla Isabella about half way between Mazatlan and Puerta Vallerta. Accompanied by three other sailboats there were flocks of predatory waterfowl circling this bird sanctuary. Exploring the island, we discovered iguana and myriads of large birds protecting ripening eggs and newly hatched offspring. Upon reaching the bluff of the island, we recognized blue footed boobies. As the only explorers on this small island for the day, we noted parallels to Charles Darwin’s expedition in the Galapagos.



We sailed to and anchored in La Cruz (about 20 miles north of Puerta Vallerta) to avoid the traffic of the big city. In transit, we encountered a challenge: A weld on a pipe taking saltwater through to cool the engine cracked and continues to dump an increasing amount of saltwater into the bottom of the boat. Gorilla tape and a rubber hose with clamps provided a quick fix but we hope to find some welding equipment here in La Cruz.
The first night in La Cruz, we befriended a father (Dave) and daughter (Annette) living here who graciously guided us through the area. La Cruz is a very small community designed to accommodate yachtsman and cruisers alike with lots of promise. A Californian investment group recently built a beautiful and overpriced marina last year with ambitions for new hotel. The town inhabits an older crowd of boatman and fisherman, several of which lost boats in hurricanes and have never left.
Makai is growing quickly and is still looking for her place in the hierarchy of the world. She challenged every dog who thought they had territorial rights and avoided four attacks with her increasing speed and coordination. Bret and I look forward to stepping behind our blue eyed princess the Mexicans call “El Lobo” instead of in-between the aggressive strays.
We traveled in a bus yesterday about 25 miles north up through the rainforests to a surfing town called Sayulita. We met up with friends from our Baja Haha race for a day at the beach. Sayulita is a cool little town with trendy bars and surf shops lining a small beach. There was a small break about 100 yards off the beach where dozens of tourists taking a shot at surfing for the day. There are a couple of fishing boats run by an avid hunter and fisherman from Portland, OR named Paul. We swapped some fishing stories and learned how to catch some local fish. Two for two pongas returned successfully that day each boasting a couple of Rooster fish and Dorado. We spent the majority of the day body surfing and swimming. Makai enjoyed a long run on the beach and the popularity that an exotic Alaskan dog deserves in 100 degree heat.
Bret and I are gathering provisions, working on the boat, and attending a charity for young sailors today before embarking on our 8-10 day voyage down to El Salvador.

Mazatlan

Landing on shore of the Mazatlan anchorage at night, we were met by an unwelcome host: the guard dog for the dinghy dock. We took a few steps forward while scanning for potential weapons in the event the dog attacked. Shirtless and shoeless, it would have been a decent fight, but I’m sure we would have come up on top. We slid through the fence of what seemed like a military compound, escaping the dog and entering into our new port. I felt like a Mexican coming into the US, as we had no money or passports on our bodies while we searched for our Mom and her boyfriend Jimmy.

The next day, after three weeks in Mexico, we took the liberty to officially declare ourselves as guests in the country. In true van Roden fashion, we had about half of the required paperwork necessary to clear the Broken Compass and passengers. Ten people (three health officials, four immigration officers, two harbor clearance officers, and our trusty local agent) met with us to clear us into the country. The health inspector laughed when he boarded the boat and saw our lack of provisions, which we thought were more than adequate. The immigration officer was unconvinced when we threw the ignorance card at the paperwork needed to clear port (after he saw our passports were full of stamps). Our agent was happy we hid Makai before clearing the boat, as he had already spent half the day creating documents and pulling strings. A few smiles later, we were legal tourists.

After almost a week here, I would give Mazatlan 2 stars out of 5. The old town and new town are spread out over approximately 10 miles, necessitating taxi or bus service to any destination of choice. Taking an afternoon sail to an offshore island, our diving expedition yielded 4 foot visibility in the murky waters filled with sediment. Much different than the clear blue waters one would expect in a vacation spot. Points were scored for the bar Gus Gus, supped up golf cart taxis, friendly people, and a downtown market with fresh fruit and meat cut straight from a hanging cow.

Today we are provisioning and repairing the boat before continuing to Puerto Vallerta this evening. Thanks for all the comments and posts to the guestbook. We’ll be online in a few days upon arrival at our next port.

The night of the Dorado

We have experienced smooth sailing, blue skies, and great company in the ports of Turtle Bay, Bahia Santa Maria, and Cabo San Lucas. The Baja Haha sailing community is a great group of people and we have made many friends thus far. Heidi, a crew member on the boat Hoya, decided to hop on the Broken Compass as a guest for the last two legs ending here in Cabo San Lucas.
After hearing of the multitudes of fish caught by other sailors down to Turtle Bay, our fishing egos were humbled. Chad and I made the decision that the Baja Haha was no longer a sailing race. I thought to myself, “We might not be the best sailors in the fleet, but we should at least be able to catch more fish than these hand liners.” In Bahia Santa Maria, we began to execute our strategy. As everyone else left at dawn to begin the third leg, we hung back in the bay and slipped on our spearfishing gear.



We had a ponga set up (through drinking games on the Broken Compass with Mexicans the night before) to pick us up and take us to some local spots. No fish, but an assortment of abalone, lobster, conch, and sea urchin provided for a good departure meal. We stopped sailing a few times to chase schools of fish and drift for grouper, but ended the first day with only one nice sized Sierra for shashimi. Night fell and the water lit up under a full moon and clear skies as our trolling rigs were set (two rods with feathers, and a plug on a hand line) when the first fish sent the reel screaming. We ended up catching 7 dorado on Thursday night, with hits almost like clockwork every hour. Satisfied that we can actually catch food for ourselves out at sea, we sailed the rest of the way to Cabo.



We spent two days and one night in Cabo which fulfilled all of our expectations of the town. Baja Haha had a beach party in the day which extended into the night. We parted with a group of survivors to hit the town. Attending Squid Row and Cabo Wabo one party member consumed enough Mexican tequila and needed to relieve himself on the streets of the city. In the back of a paddy wagon for his intoxicated act, some stellar negotiating from two local Cabo girls and a $50 bribe aided in his evasion of prison. In an effort to pursue the path less traveled, we are off again to cross the sea of Cortez and looking forward to meeting up with family in Mazatlan.

... I had to add a pic of Makai enjoying the fish: