We are doing 6.5 knots motor sailing and should get to Dog Bay before midnight. A warm Westerly is pushing us along with the full Genoa and the un-reefed mainsail up.
This is our third day sailing since we left the boat yard a week ago.
We had motored to our first anchorage over the hill from Guaymas Harbour. Catalina Bay was still home ground, familiar from previous overnighter and beach visits while we were hauled out.
It was great to finally have relief from the suffocating summer heat and to be able to jump into clean water. We spent the next morning on the long list of jobs to get the boat ready for cruising again, from laying sheets to stowing tools.
Our next destination saw us sailing cheerfully to Algodones Bay on the other side of San Carlos. There we had a rendevouz with another kid boat Marea had found on a dedicated Facebook page.
As he usually does, Nico made instant best friends with the two girls on board of SV Dovka. For two days they alternated between the two boats, except for morning school time. Meanwhile we tackled the plumbing, wiring and woodwork still outstanding.
But when Dovka weighed anchor to take the boat for the summer haul out at San Carlos, we continued North to retrace the route they had followed from Bahia Los Angeles.
We also wanted to cross along the Midriff Islands stretching across the Sea of Cortez from coast to coast. It’s a remote region mostly frequented by fishing pangas from either side.
But few Cruisers stray from the more popular BLA and surrounding areas that lie on the route to Puerto Peñasco where we were heading. We hear that like we did last year, a number of boats are escaping the worst of the summer heat there.
The full moon behind is obscuring the stars, but it’s welcome illumination to help with anchoring at midnight.
For dinner we had cooked a curry made with fish we bought in the fishing village where we anchored last night. We are stocked up for 3 weeks but lost most of the trolling line and tackle to something big today. Maybe I’ll try the handlining again tomorrow. We are sure to stay in Dog bay for a few nights, if it is as pleasant as promised.
It’s good to be out on the water again.
