Leg #6, Isla Coronado to V-Cove , Isla de Carmen

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By Lowell | June 2, 2010 | Category Baja 2010

Leg 6, Day 2 – (Monday)… After a very nice night at our first stop on Isla Coronado, dawn broke with no winds, no clouds, no waves, but good spirits looking forward to day 2. Our course will be north along Isla Coronado then around the north end east to V-Cove on the north end of Isla De Carmen. Here we round the north end of Isla Coronado, with rock outcroppings that are reminiscent of figures on Easter Island. We’re on motors only, still no wind, still no sails. The weather and calm water however, are spectacular. Very clear morning provides a panoramic view of the mountains on the Baja and the Islands around us. Just beautiful!

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After we round the north end of Isla Coronado and set course east, we motor for a while, then begin to catch some easterly winds on our nose, enough to up the main and add some forward push to the motors. Eventually winds kick up to near 10 knots, allowing for sails only (main + jib), and make about 7 knots for over an hour on our course to V-Cove. Nice to see sails up, and nice to drop the hum of the motors. Fishing lines are out trolling, will there be a fish dinner? Who will be the first to land one?

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Questions get answered, as Ellen takes command of the pole that takes a hit. How many men does it take to land a fish? NONE… note the participation on Dave & Bill’s part here. GO ELLEN… she has the “reeling in” down, and gets the catch to the boat in pretty short order. Also note her good “form”… knees bent, leaning back. She’s a PRO!

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Once again, Ellen has it all under control!

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Ok, Dave steps in to help bring the mystery fish on board. Again, will there be fish tacos for dinner???

Nope… it’s a Bonito. Like some earlier legs, hopes of fresh fish are dashed. This one somehow got hooked in the head! We send it back with a headache and hole in it’s head. Score… Ladies 1, Guys 0.

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Sailing forward with light winds we get enough to go sails only allowing for some quiet time to enjoy the true nature of sailing… only the sounds of water flowing under the boat, an occasional splash from a bird diving or fishing jumping, even a Manta Ray jumping with it’s acrobatics. Rooftop, Bill keeps an eye on…. well, everything from the water to the sails to maybe even his eyelids. Mostly the water ahead though.

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During the quiet time, Dave & Ellen take a few moments on the bow for formal photos… not.

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Linda and your blogger here doing research for the blog. Hmmm… my hat seems to look a little low, covering the eyes…..

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Approaching V-Cove, calm waters (completly opposite of Leg 5, not sure if that’s a good or bad thing to the true sailing community), pure sunshine, light winds… we’re back to motoring with winds diminishing due to land and making our way in under Bill’s handling the wheel.

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Entrance to V-Cove, looking forward to snorkeling and checking out the caves. We’ll do the latter by dinghy first to educate ourselves on spots to be extra cautious about.

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5 people on the dinghy (precariously!), we slowly make entry to one of the larger caves in V-Cove. Pretty scary first time in and on a very small close to overloaded “boat”! Still, awesome sight.

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Near the back of the cave, as we do a 180, took this shot looking out. The water is a few feet deep, looks pretty interesting for a snorkel run.

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Ellen & Linda at the back of the cave. Was hoping some of the detail in the back of the cave would come out and be visible in the shot, but didn’t quite happen. Ok, short trip around the cove and into the cave by boat is done… time for snorkeling! Well, that ends up short lived too…

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Only minutes into the water and approaching the beach, where the water got incredibly warmer due to sun and warm sand on the beach, we end up in a batch of almost invisible Jellyfish… or as we soon re-named them “Gillyfish (Jill-ee)!” Linda makes catch number 2 of the day, though not exactly what we wanted! Note the string of bumps on her arm from the Gillyfish sting. Thus, the end of snorkeling in V-Cove for the day. Bummer… There was quite a collection of them, and VERY hard to see, as we would see their shadow on the bottom of the water before seeing the actual Gillyfish. Score, Ladies 2, Guys 0.

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This is as close to the water as we would get for the rest of the day, at least for swimming / snorkeling. Decision was made to do a short hike instead.

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Linda finds a live baby Starfish on the beach right at the water.

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Ellen & Dave prep for the hike uphill.

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Up the hill in V-Cove, GREAT shot of Gato Loco on anchor, with another larger vessel named “Iron Maiden” out of Portland Oregon. Nice to have met you Bill & Lauren, who have been out on the water for 2 years now!! I thought a week or two was alot!!

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Top of the hill, Ellen & Dave plus Bill – the “Owners” part of our leg with Gato Loco off in the background. V-Cove is certainly unique.

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According Bill, this may be first… crew dinner on the veranda. So, here we are, and Bill too, just before sunset.

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As our day winds down, the un-named mascot has (for this leg) taken on a name. Seems that Linda has referred to Dave as “Steve” a few times today. So, after some dinner and snacks, we have nick-named the mascot “Steve”. He even likes to party!! Dave even tried to fashion his hair to match Steve… (next photo).

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Not bad!! He even got a pair of “devil horns” in the back!

While our day went a bit further after dinner with a good start to a “Hearts” tournament, the cameras didn’t. The bees became a bit pesky until sunset, then a nice breeze and low humidity made for a great evening of “Hearts”. All continues to go well, short of good winds for sailing. We’re hoping the southerlies will pick up on the Baha side tomorrow (Tuesday). Till next update, all is well on Gato Loco under “Steve’s” watchful eye and growling grin… his eyes are really cool at night when they light up too! Rookie Larry and crew out.

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