Ensanada de Los Muertos to Puerto Balandra

Ensanada de Los Muertos to Puerto Balandra
Sunday
Feb. 14th, 2010

We left at 6:00 a.m. It was still dark, and it was pitch dark. We had to look around to know what might have anchored boats near-by of us unawares in the night so we would not hit them. Not all boats show up on radar and AIS systems have not all Which help you see them. Scott pulls up the anchor with the windlass and I steer and drive the boat into the darkness and out to see. Usually we have coffee before we go and have gone through our launch-off checklist. This day was no different.
We are still using our makeshift water pump and it is working great (unless the boat heels / Orleans that is / to the port / left side. So we could use our sail on that side as that was where the wind was, so it was go slow today, as the wind (and strong it was 10-20 knots) was right on our nost mostly and the current was too strong. The wind soon knocked up some good waves and we took some hard hits to the side a few times and things went flying, though nothing broke. Our pump hung in there thank the grandma's and we weathered 13 hours of buckin 'bronco waves and stiff wind. We were sailing along and heard this crash, thump thump and discovered our AIS antennae attached to our MAST top had broken and was hanging limply by it's power cord (that runs down the inside of the mast). It did not take too much more brutal banging on the mast in the strong wind / waves to Pulverize it and send it crashing down into the sea, gone gone and gone. Oh well, we'll have to replace it in La Paz. I want the big boats to see us on the ocean and us to see them (on radar) so it will be replaced I assure you. Scott takes things so much better than I, and said "Oh well" and he "moves on". I get upset at the loss and waste and expense of it and of course that does nothing to help or change it. I need to be more like him and not care so much I guess. I am a worrier by nature and am trying to let go more. It's a work in progress, ya know. We anchored after having a time getting the jib in (again) and hello to Gary and said goodnight as we were all bushes. I anchored just prior to us and we headed to bed, exhausted, but happy to be somewhere safe. It was such a crazy long channel and we nearly missed the green and red buoys that mark the shoals to avoid but I spotted the green one last minute so Scott could steer us off it. Thank goodness it was still light out and right as it got dark we anchored. Again, blessed by the angels we were. Give Thanks.

Puerto Balandra to Puerto Pichilingue
Monday
2/15/2010

Moved just up the coast as our anchorage at Puerto Balandra was very rocky, snorkeling yielded little fish and there were tiny pesky flies attacking us.

So we pulled anchor and motor down here to Puerto Balandra, it is nice, it flies so far, still killing off the Stowaways, must have been a swampy area over a sandy hill by shore at Balandra Where they must breed, UGH! !

We went to the small town, where there is a small marina, couple of restaurants and an off-limits military base. Saw soldiers riding in open backs of big trucks with their rifles, this is common. Weird to see so brandishes guns though.
We ate lunch at a restaurant and it was good, but the bathrooms were not ones I could use, so I waited ....

We went snorkeling and we saw great coral (like giant brains) and lots of fish and the stingrays and some are slugs and starfish. Raisen I made oatmeal cookies and that was dinner with coffee. Yum.

There was a tiny sliver of a moon and the sunset was a nice orange, the stars should be great again tonight. This seems like much more peaceful waters, not rocking from side to side all night. We actually slept last night sideways to make it easier. Crazy huh.

We saw a beached boat and investigated it, oddly it was from ST. George, UT of all places and it was a smaller boat than ours but a Columbia brand. It had been stripped and gutted. I assume it must have happened in a bad storm or hurricane? Sad to see it on its side like a dead fish. To think it was made in the same plant as ours and to see ours afloat and it not, it was a weird thought. Someone else dreams dashed to pieces. It had no rudder, no mast, nothing, just a hull, keel and that was it. Sad.

Give Thanks again, we are safe and our lil 'sailboat Bliss is afloat, ready for more adventures.

Tomorrow we sail for La Paz