Sitting on Calista, we noticed the yacht that had been in Candeleros Chico heading north. Jumping on the chance, we quickly pulled anchor and headed there (only a couple miles). It was empty and just waiting for us! Soon we were anchored and in the water for a snorkel. The water felt great! Sunrise the next morning, Oct8, was great, coming in through a break in the rocks to the east.
After a great morning we headed south for two reasons. One, a new storm (Pamela) was forming and it had the potential to turn into a hurricane and come right at us. We could make it to La Paz in time if we left now. Two, a tooth was bothering me and I might want to see a dentist in La Paz.
By mid afternoon we were in Los Gatos again. Had a great swim and hung out in the water for a couple hours just because it was so cool and pleasant. The next morning we pulled anchor and left for San Evaristo, 29 nm south. A good downwind sail using the asym for a good part of the day.
In San Evaristo we went into the north lobe and anchored near Boundless, a 1984 Passport 42 in terrific shape.
Julian and Colin are from Canada and came down from the San Francisco Bay and joined the 2019 Baja Haha. We all went in for dinner at “Lupe Sierra’s and Maggie Mae’s”, a small restaurant on the beach. Fish tacos and beers and lots of great conversation. Its always great when you meet another set of cruisers that you really hit it off with!
The next morning we all left, noting that Pamela was now nearly certain to turn into a hurricane and was headed our direction. The forecast said it would probably turn east and hit the mainland instead of coming at us, but you can never be sure…
So we all headed for Ensenada El Cardonal (30nm) on Isla Partida. Wind was 14 to 22 coming from about 130 degrees over the port quarter. We started with 1 reef in the mainsail and were happy with that all day. A very comfortable sail at 6 to 7 knots. As soon as we dropped anchor the wind really picked up, gusting in the mid-20s for about an hour before dying. Julian & Colin came for dinner, another great evening.
The next morning we headed for Bahia Falsa, very close to La Paz, about a 20nm sail. The winds were light early but we hung in there and sailed straight west for a while and were rewarded with GREAT winds for the last couple hours when we we were flying at around 9 knots with following seas for a great finish. We anchored near Boundless again.
The next morning we headed for a slip in Costa Baja. We had done a lot of calling the day before and there were no other slips available. Costa Baja is very nice, but it is expensive and about 4 miles north of La Paz with limited taxi service.
Peggy piloted us in and we got hit by a downpour right after we docked. Perfect timing. I used the opportunity to wash down the decks that were full of salt from days of sailing. But we made it to the marina and all is good!
