Cruisin to Loreto Fest

Headin to Isla Coronado May 1st (Tue)

8:30… Wep-ee! 18-20kt winds out of the SW off shore as we head SSE towards San Juanico @ 7.5kts. What a way to start the day. This all started with a good night of sleeping in Bahia San Sebastian with no wind to create problems in the crowded little anchorage. Up at 7:30 hearing the work starting on the beach patio. Some last minute internet action while we see winds build outside the anchorage. Frankie loved the fact that our hand held vontage phone is working and she can call who she wants.

Back to the action… Interesting enough winds held giving us a solid 8kts all the way Punta Pulpito (10:30)where we sailed out of the big wind into a SE 8kt breeze in 300 meters. Looking at charts our theory is that winds were blowing down Bahia Conception and spilling over the low mountains at the bottom creating this local wind. After Pulpito we have to move to motor sailing in the fading breeze.

Plan is to stop at Bahia San Juanico for lunch to allow Steve to scope it out. All of his north bound cruises have bypassed it. >> San Juanico looking SE from the bay<<

Hi Gato Loco readers (especially Cindy and the Albuquerque bunch), its matey Steve here. As the guru has said, I wanted to get a close-up look at Bahia San Juanico. Seeing it from a few miles out while headed north leaves a lot to be desired. The area is probably a couple miles long, defined by a headland at either end. At the north end, there is a beautiful white sand beach in a well protected cove that offers great protection from all directions except the north and northeast winds. The rest of the bahia is incredibly diverse, from long white, sandy beaches to jagged rock formations. Inside the greater bay, there are a lot of smaller coves with beautiful turquoise water (like I have seen in the south cove in Isla San Francisco not too far from La Paz.) From a sailor’s perspective, in anything short of a gale, a boat could find a safe anchorage here from any wind and sea direction. Lowell says the fishing and snorkling are also first rate among the various reefs and shoals. A rock island in the farthest northwest large cove looked oddly familiar to me, so I checked it out on the charts and it is named “Prudential”. Then it came to me, it looks exactly like the ‘rock’ (not pictured here) that you see on the ads for Prudential Insurance! All in all, it is a great place with excellent anchorages that Gato Loco could explore for two or three days in a future trip .

Crusin to Loreto Fest ’07 has been just great so far. Great temps, generally favorable winds, sunny skies and lots of interesting vistas, places and people (not to mention the cerveza fresca). This is a much more relaxed trip for me than in the past, which generally have required significant mileage each day. Just the opposite of the forced march Bill and I did a few years ago after Loreto Fest, taking Gato Loco north back home from Bahia Escondido to Puerto Penasco. That trip was just under 500 miles in 10 days or so.

Glad to allow Steve the luxury to be “On Mexican Time” on this leg…

Our afternoon sail to Isla Coronado has started with a motor sail with a 7kt breeze on our nose. Slowly, as we approach the island, the wind shifts eastward and Captain Steve shuts the engines down for a peaceful cruise into the anchorages turquoise water & white sand beaches.

We’re into the anchorage early 4:30 with time to relax. Friends Ralph & Helen on Moon-drifter are here with 3 other boats from the lake Pleasant Sailing Club all heading to Loreto fest. There seems to be lots of work underway on Moon-drifter. The curiosity is more than I can take so over I go… Ralph is having shear pin problems on his dinghy engine. Last year we helped him out with a water pump and this year we have the precious shear pin he needs. Negotiations begin… We’ll see what this one will cost. Saved you again Ralph… Our pleasure.. 🙂

The Gato Loco Crew.

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