Good bye San Carlos
So our time calling San Carlos our home in Mexico is coming to an end. After launching New Life a little over two months ago, we spent much of it on anchor in San Carlos Bay getting used to boat life with shore support still close by.
Our boating community grew to maybe 6 to 8 constantly occupied boats on anchor or mooring with various others coming and going. Two kid boats joined us soon, with friends Nico had grown close to already while they were still in the Guyamas boat yard.
First cruising adventures
Nevertheless, we had shorter trips to anchorages in adjacent bays, down the coast to a small port near Guayamas and three long trips to the more remote San Pedro Bay 15 miles north. The last series of videos just gone live recount the adventures we had up there.
Boat trials
These trips proved invaluable to shake out the boat so we could fix and fine tune innumerable issues, from making the furling foresails more easily workable, rebuilding a seized winch, to rewiring the three battery banks on board. There were constant jobs and ongoing issues keeping us busy most days. Look out for more videos still to come.
Countdown time
Most fellow boaters in our anchorage are also on the countdown. The weather is getting suffocating hot, the risk for cyclones straying north increasing, and each of our boats is closer to being ready every day. So, we on New Life have fixed on a departure date, the end of this week, but will soon be followed by others also going North, even if they may follow different itineraries.
Off the map
Going North really means only one more village with shops and fuel in reach within the next month, at least without major itinerary changes. We will pass through the Midriff Islands that form a chain connecting the Baja California peninsula with the mainland, mostly protected as biosphere reserves due to the exceptional bird, reptile and marine life found there.
Depending on winds we will go 84 miles up to reach there, staying on the eastern coast and then follow the islands across. Or instead we may traverse 78 miles from here to the other side first and then head north from there. But on either side we will be following unpopulated and barren coasts with only occasional small fishing settlements.
Hiding in hurricane holes
Further up, beyond the Midriff Islands, we will reach a popular hurricane hole, the scenic Bay of Los Angeles. Further still lies perhaps the most idyllic and remote destination in the Sea of Cortez, Porto Refugio, another hurricane hole that fills with cruisers in summer. The small bay of islands is situated at the northern tip of the uninhabited Isla de la Guarda, which is similar in size to Great Barrier Island.
Bula and Kia Ora
Beyond that? A long crossing of 107 miles to Puerto Penasco at the northern end of the gulf. There we can store New Life out of the water while we escape the heat and attend to family affairs in New Zealand and Tonga. We land in Auckland on the 30th of July after a very brief stopover in Fiji. But two months later we will be heading back to the Sea of Cortez for the next leg of our journey.
Cover photo by Jost Knopp, (YouTube)
| Boat schooling our 4-year old Living on a boat gives many opportunities for hands-on learning, especially when your mother is a teacher. Nico learns about geography, the natural history of birds and marine life, followed by phys ed with mum in the water. YOUTU.BE 6/12/2022, 5:16:58 PM GENERATED BY GMAIL URL LINK PREVIEW BY CLOUDHQ |
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