Just
listened to the WX with Don Anderson...About a dozen boats left Los Frailes at
dawn this morning...they must be in a bit of a hurry to get north as it's still
blowing 15-20 out of the North...we're hanging here until manana when the gribs
and Don suggest the winds are supposed to mitigate...our plan at this point is
to tack out to the NE and then tack back in making a landfall at Espiritu Santo
or Partida...but plans change with the wx...
Danny
and I went snorkeling yesterday and Jose took a hike down the beach...Danny and
I are going for a soft sand run and will meet Jose down the beach at what
appears to be an abandoned hotel...
There
is a good deal of life on the beach between the fish camp and the Norte
Americanos in campers...yesterday, when the winds dropped below 20 knots in the
anchorage, the pangeros started taking out scuba divers. The good diving is around the corner on a
reef on the Bahia Pulmo Reef...we'd like to try it ourself, but not in 20 knot
winds...
Part
2
About
a dozen boats left at or near first light this morning...with predicted winds
in the Sea predicted to be again in excess of 20 knots (gusting higher) we
decided to remain another day in this very pleasant anchorage...
We
went for a run on the beach today...it's a steep beach, about 25 degrees but
tends to be fairly firm near the wet part...since there's little surf action,
running by the water is not too challenging.
We only ran about 1.5 - 2 miles but I could really feel it...Danny had
no issues and sprinted ahead...We ran from the cape side down to the old
hotel...it consists of about six haciendas with great arches...some are in
radical disrepair and some look to be occupied by absentee owners. We met the caretaker (Juan) and asked his
permission to scope things out...no problema...we spoke with him for some
time...apparently the place was built by an American who at some point
abandoned everything...There are a number of very nice places along the beach
(la playa)...places that would be right at home in the Cays...all were empty
with one exception and that was owned by an American who was renting it out as
a corporate vacation place...
Despite
the fact that the Norther remains in robust form, about a dozen boats elected
to motorsail up the coast...we watched them hobby horsing their way into the
bay...burying their bows and shipping water over the decks...I guess they want
to be somewhere at a certain time because, although the winds were down from
yesterday, there was lots of chop and wind out there! As soon as they anchored they would rush
below, not to be seen for some time...some didn't even bother to stow their
mains...
However,
one kid was unbelievable...he sailed his highly modified Erickson 27 up the
coast, into the bay an onto his hook under sail...he later kayaked over to us
and spent an hour on board recounting his latest adventures...which were
extensive! He's on his way to meet his dad (whose about my age) and they're
going to spend some time exploring the Sea...he reminded me of the kid in
"Into the Wild"...same fearless attitude. When I mentioned that he'd sailed right over
the reef were the local pangeros take their dive customers, he simply smiled
and said he could see the bottom at that point and if he'd seen an obstruction,
he'd simply change course quickly...maybe there is a god...
The
herd instinct is alive and well in Los Frailes.
When we came into the Los Frailes anchorage, most boats were congregated
in one area near the cape itself under the large headland...as mentioned in an
earlier post, the anchorage consists of a shelf ranging from 40 to 20 feet of
sand that drops off to a big underwater canyon that drops to nearly 1,000 feet
in some areas...we anchored quite a distance away from everyone in about 25
feet so that we wouldn't offend anyone when we peed of the side of the boat
(only females are allowed to pee in our head!) and showered in the
cockpit...all was good until the latest group arrived...apparently because we
were already here, everyone must think that we had discovered the most
desirable part of the anchorage...and now we're completely surrounded by
boats...the nearest being about 40 feet away...I sure hope we don't offend
anyone, but it may be too late...
I
was showering off with fresh water about the time a new boat was trying to
anchor about 30 feet from us...I saw Jose and Danny smirking when I pulled off
my board shorts to hose off my more vital areas...then they burst out laughing
and I quickly looked around and saw this poor guy and his wife/girlfriend right
next to me...I mean within 30 feet...oh well, although it was an unintentional
affront, it had the desired effect and these unfortunate folks chose to anchor
about 3/4 mile away...I must look worse than I thought!
Looks
like the Norther will wrap up tomorrow and we'll try to head up North
tomorrow...if we can sail, we plan to tack out and then tack in to Espiritu
Santo...
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