Catch-up: Guaymas to San Juanico February 7 - 9

This is a more detailed description of our passage from Guaymas westward to Caleta San Juanico a few weeks ago:

As we commented in our earlier 'summary', our departure from Guaymas was challenged by unexpected fog and the temporary closure of the port.  Once we were well underway and through the last of the fog banks, INTREPID II responded well to being back at sea at long last.  Our concern about growth on the propeller and waterline seemed needless, as she made good time.  The engine stayed on to charge the batteries as we were using radar and the auto-pilot through the fog banks and on into the night.  Our main was up and the jib was rolled out whenever we picked up enough wind to throttle back the engine yet make around 6 knots.

Captain catching 20 winks

We made an attempt to take turns resting during the late afternoon and evening, anticipating our usual lack of a good night's sleep on a first overnight passage.  Dinner was a hearty bowl of soup with crackers followed by a hot cup of tea in the cockpit.  The sun set and the full moon rose soon after, amidst clouds, but still illuminating the sea and providing a silvery backdrop to the horizon.  About 23:00 hours Kelly spotted lightening in the distance - 12 to 15 nm to the north.  We continued to see flashes from time to time both to the north towards Santa Rosalia and south towards Loreto.  The radar allows us to pick up storm cells and gives us a sense of how quickly the clouds are passing by.

Nearing San Juanico at sunrise

By 02:00 Wednesday morning, we felt the spatter of tiny raindrops and at 04:40 a heavy downpour had us glad we'd kept up the bimini even though we were still in our foul weather gear, with hats and gloves to ward off the night chill.  By 07:00 we were 2 miles from our way-point outside the entrance to Caleta San Juanico and could make out the shape of Punta Pulpita to the north and the opening to the bay. Sunrise soon followed and our eyes adjusted to locate the familiar shape of the Spires, as a motor vessel headed south out of the anchorage.  We were surprised to find as we dropped the main and slowly motored in that we had the place all to ourselves and could pick our anchoring spot .  A real novelty.

07:50 - anchor down, SPOT message sent out saying 'here we are - all is well'. We checked in with the Sonrisa ham net to say we'd arrived safely.  A quick check to make certain we'd stowed and tidied all on deck and in the cabin, then we settled down to a few hours of well earned sleep.  Later that afternoon, we were joined by SV Mystique, who considerately anchored a distance away, but gave us a friendly call on the VHF to compare notes.

The Spires by day, with light choppy seas

The Spires by full moonlight

That evening we spent time on deck after dark star-gazing at a clear, dark canopy, with brilliant, sharp points of light throughout the night sky.  That's what we'd hoped for during our crossing, but were appreciating it all the more. The golden moon, still full, rose behind the "Spires" at our stern, and dramatically outlined these jagged rocks.  Of course, pictures could not do it justice.  We retired for the night with a renewed sense of why journeying by sailboat to such anchorages was so special.

The next morning was clear, but the northern winds began to blow early and we chose to enjoy our view from the boat.  The forecast NNW  11 - 14 knot winds were actually in the 18 - 23 knot range before they settled down to 11 - 15 knots for the next few hours.  Still it was a sun-shiny day.  Kelly had deployed both flopper-stoppers to stabilize our rolling in the south-east swells finding their way into the anchorage.  The Mystique crew, Terry and Patricia, did take their dinghy out for a spin and stopped by for a chat before heading back.  Shortly after, a familiar red-hulled sailboat glided in and anchored to the south of us, SV Char-Anne.  Our turn to call them on the radio and wish them a good evening.

San Juanico - clear blue water and rocky islets

The weather forecast predicted a change to south-east winds; we made a decision to move on the following day.  Friday morning, we raised anchor and motored slowly past SV Char-Anne to say adios and wish them a quiet stay.  Their turn to have the place to themselves, as Mystique had left earlier.

Next stop is towards Isla Carmen to the east of Loreto;  perhaps Puerto Ballandra anchorage, a new destination for INTREPID II.