Guaymas - Sunday April 3 - Cruising Season is wrapping up

Guaymas harbour - our cruising season is wrapping up

It's Sunday, April 3rd.  INTREPID II slipped into A7 at Singlar Marina shortly after 08:00 at the end of an 18 hour crossing from Caleta San Juanico.  We were sailing for over 7 hours which was more than we'd done all season!  It was a much more boisterous and lumpy crossing than we would have liked.  The south east winds did show up and gusted in the 12 - 15 knot range.  The Captain quickly got the jib out on a starboard tack and we were soon making over 7 knots.  Ironically a bit too fast, if you can imagine, as we needed to ensure we did not arrive at our way-point outside Guaymas harbour before dawn.

Sailing to Guaymas - the engine is off!

INTREPID II was in her glory, taking the building seas in her stride.  The swells grew from 1 - 2 feet to whitecap conditions and then 3 - 4 feet, with very short duration - 4 seconds, from both the east and south east.  That meant they often slammed into each other and sent spray up and onto the deck.  We had just over 7 hours of fast paced sailing, with different sail plans:  jib fully out, rolled in, altering our heading somewhat.  Not a dull moment for hours!

Red Sky at night under way

After admiring a glowing red sunset, as the stars appeared, we wondered when the winds would ease up and the seas calm down.  Not for a few more hours as it turned out.  Then it was time to motor, with the main up, on into the night.  No moon, but later the glow of city lights in the distance aided our sense of direction.  The radar was very useful again as we checked for fishing boat activity.  Our handheld GPS kept us fine-tuning our heading.  We caught a bit of sleep off and on; not the full 3 hour watches we keep aiming for, so we'll do some catching up at the dock over the next week.

Nearing Guaymas before sunrise

Our timing was good.  We were checking into the Sonrisa ham net at 06:30 hours as we approached the headland leading towards Guaymas harbour, just after a radiant sunrise.  Kelly was soon lining up range markers.  We both spotted the familiar twin spires of the church and the Singlar marina.  Dropping the main in the shallow harbour, we motored in to discover our favorite slip was empty. Quickly put out fenders and dock lines to port.  Helping hands were waiting to take the lines.  Thanks Ken, Grover and Tom.

After some quick tidying up, we checked in at the marina office.  It was time for short naps and a cerveza run for the Captain.  It is a hot and thirsty afternoon!  Over the next few days we hope to fill in the details of our last few anchorages and post some pictures, as we start to wind down our second cruising season in Mexico.