Blog Post 33 – San Evaristo to La Paz

24:54.64N – 110:42.28W

2/08/16-2/09/16

The cruise from San Juanico to San Evaristo started out uneventful but ended rather dramatically with us white knuckling it for the last hour of the trip. Here comes our 4^th big mistake on our shakedown cruise.  Before we had left San Juanico we did a sloppy job of preparing the deck. The rope that secures the self-furling jib sail was not tied down correctly. As we cruised in the 15-20kt winds and 4-6 foot seas the rope started to come loose and the sail started to unfurl. What started out as a small flapping noise turned into a roar that rocked and vibrated the boat violently and it happened very quickly. The sail unfurled about 1/3 of the way and was slapping and banging all over the deck. The rope that had secured it was viciously whipping  around all over.  Jirig wanted to go up on the deck to repair it. I overruled that decision. There was no way I was letting him go up there with the current wind and wave conditions. One wrong move and he could be knocked overboard or viciously slapped with the loose rope. It was only a sail. If it got destroyed, it was only money to replace it. If Jirig went overboard or was injured, it would be so much more than that. We finally limped into San Evaristo and quickly did a damage assessment. The sail was torn and needed to be repaired but nothing else was damaged. It could have been so much worse. Note to self: Take the time to prepare the deck and tie everything down before getting underway. I have since made a departure checklist both for the interior of the boat as well as the deck. I should have done it long ago. Jirig has had his own extensive checklist for preparing the boat to sail, engine room checks, equipment checks etc. for a long time now it was time we coordinated together.

San Evaristo is the quintessential Baja fishing village. It consists of about 20 full time families, mostly fishermen. All work is done by panga. Pangas are small, uncovered fishing boats that are used for about 80% of the commercial fishing done in Baja. They have a shallow draft, good for the shallow waters, are fitted with large outboard motors that make them very quick and can easily be beached without damaging them. The pangas come and go throughout the day to the beach bringing in their catch and resupplying with ice only to return again to the sea. It is a beautiful little community that has a small church, a school and 2 small tiendas where you can buy basic supplies. We lowered the dinghy and went to shore looking to resupply on beer and other essentials. We had not had access to a store in over 8 days.

San Evaristo is a very popular anchorage for cruisers, not only is it a beautiful bay, it is surrounded by breathtaking mountains, with more hiking trails than you could every fully utilize. The town has a small goat dairy that's makes some amazing goat cheese which you can buy fresh daily on the beach under a palm tree where a stand is set up. The herd of 50 or so goats that supply the milk roam freely around the town. I am not an expert on goats by any means but these Baja goats seemed much smaller and cuter than goats in the states. Some cruisers have fallen in love with the village and adopted it. They hold many fundraisers in La Paz and in the states and helped to build the school in the town. They regularly bring clothes, electronics and other essentials to the village. I had put together a bag of clothes we no longer needed to donate to the town. The cruisers had also set up a generator to provide the town with electricity. It is a very simple little town. We restocked basics in the tiendas and I was even able to find Snicker bars and Fruit loops there. Nico’s favorite!

The weather report said that the wind was supposed to die down overnight, so we got lazy and did not clear the deck before going to bed. Jirig woke up to a howling 30kt wind in the anchorage that was blowing so hard it was rocking the boat violently and the wind was howling through the rigging something fierce. Jirig was worried about the anchor holding so he spent the night in the cockpit.   Here comes mistake number 6. We left all the cushions for the stern sitting area stacked up on the table. Needless to say there was one missing in the morning.  Note to self: No matter what the weather report says, assume the worst and secure everything on deck before going to bed. It sounds like a pain in the ass but it is really no different than what you would do in your home before going to bed.

We prepared to leave the next morning.   For the last week or so we have been towing the dinghy behind the boat. It is a pain in the butt to haul it up on the davits every night. In addition to towing the dinghy we have been adding extra weight to it in the form of a stern anchor and an extra outboard engine we picked up in Puerto Escondido. Here comes major mistake #7.  As we were leaving the anchorage in San Evaristo, just as we hit the open ocean, Jirig just happened to be looking behind the boat. This was unusual as he normally is focused on what is happening in front of the boat especially as we hit the open sea. It was rather fortuitous that he turned around to say something to Nico and I who were both sitting in the cockpit with him. Suddenly he exclaimed, “Oh SHIT!!! The dinghy just broke loose!” Your dinghy is an extremely important piece of equipment on your boat. It is your car, it is how you get to and from shore, it is how you set the stern anchor, it is how you go fishing, it is a tool that is of the utmost importance. Replacing your dinghy, if you could even find one in Baja, would be a very expensive prospect and you would never get one as good as ours. Towing the dinghy behind the boat, especially in rough seas puts a lot of extra strain on the rope that secures it as well as the hook eye that the rope is attached to. Well that hook eye had had enough and just snapped. Our boat is big and is difficult to maneuver, especially with the wind and the waves coming at the side of the boat. We had to try to retrieve the dinghy. Jirig maneuvered the boat to get it as close to the dinghy as he could. He could not jump in the dinghy as he was managing the boat which is no simple task when the boat is sitting still in rough water. Nico came to the rescue. The dinghy is his ship, he is the captain of it and he wanted to save it. Jirig gave him very clear and precise instructions. He would get the boat as close to the dinghy as possible. Nico would jump off the boat into the dinghy and row it back to the boat. He would then have to hook it up to the davits in the back so we could haul it up and secure it; then of course, get himself  aboard safely.  He was awesome! He did not hesitate. He knew what needed to be done and he did it. When the dinghy was close enough he jumped in it. Our deck is high so it was a good 7ft jump. He had to be careful when jumping as he did not want to land on the anchor or the motor. He timed it perfectly and landed exactly where he needed to. He got the oars hooked up and started rowing towards the boat. You had to see the determination on his face! When he got the dinghy to the back of the boat it was difficult to hook it up to the davits. The boat was pitching and rolling and it is scary to be down there and it is difficult to secure the davits. He did a fantastic job. When he was through he scrambled back into the boat as fast as a crab across the sand. We were so proud of him and so relieved that we saved the dinghy. If Jirig had not looked back at that precise moment, if he could not have maneuvered the boat expertly as he did and if Nico had not had the balls to jump into it and row it back we would have lost it. We were very, very, lucky. After this incident Nico’s role on the boat changed. He went from being a swabby to a 2^nd mate. He grew up and matured that day.  He matured and would never be the same kid again. We all worked as a team and got the job done and it felt good. Note to self: We no longer tow the dinghy behind the boat in the open ocean. We will make the extra effort to haul it up on the davits every time we are underway.

The rest of the trip to La Paz went smoothly. As we were entering La Paz bay we saw a lone humpback whale. People say that there are tons of whales in the Sea of Cortez Nov-March but we did not see any while we were there. We had to come all the way back to La Paz to see one. It was slamming its tail down on the water over and over again. I read they do that to scare the schools of fish and then they are able to swallow them as they try to avoid the tail coming down.

It was good to be back in La Paz. If felt like coming home. All our friends greeted us warmly. It was Mardi Gras time and the Main Street by the ocean called the Malecon was filled with rides, street vendors selling food and merchandise. People came from hundreds of miles to celebrate. Every night there was a parade with amazing floats that cruised down the Malecon. We had never been to a Mardi Gras celebration before, it was really fun. It was pretty racy too. Who would have thought they would have a transvestite float in Mexico? This is a pretty conservative country. But they did. I could not even tell they were men. Someone had to point out their Adam’s apples to me. I have no gaydar to speak of.

We would be in La Paz for the next 10 days to provision and get ready to cross the Sea of Cortez.

Note to readers: I have lost all the photo’s of this time period. Sorry!