When last we left the intrepid Gallant Fox she was anchored in the Tamarindo anchorage near Tenacatita, at 19deg.16'N/104deg.48'W. And it was January 11.
Hey, how are y'all?? It's been a while.
To catch up now to the present day, here are some sailing logs of the anchorages and passages we now
have under our keel.
12.Jan.2010
Calm seas, variable breezes <5 knots from Tamarindo to Bahia de Navidad. Destination: the lagoon at Barra de Navidad. Time of arrival on a spring tide was not conducive to entering the narrow and shallow Barra Lagoon, so we anchored The Fox, bow & stern, in 22' off the nearby town of Melaque. Meanwhile,
double-checked the waypoints for entering and negotiating Barra Lagoon. Total miles = 13.5.
13.Jan.2010
Entered Barra de Navidad just after the morning's high tide. Waypoints in to Lagoon are accurate but none must be missed or a boat will run aground amongst the fishing pangas & wading fishermen on either side of the narrow entrance channel. Thanks for publicizing those waypoints, s/v Raptor Dance! Anchored in Lagoon without incident in 11' (19deg.11'N/104deg.40'W), amongst 20 other boats - roughly 1/2 of what the Lagoon can hold. Recognized many boats, including s/v Curare and s/v Jake, nearby. Total miles = 3.5. Exploration by dinghy ensued.
14.Jan. - 18.Jan.2010
Layover in Barra Lagoon. Nice & easy place to provision: fuel dock; fresh water that can be delivered via panga to boats at anchor. Nearby Melaque is even better for grocery provisioning via bus, than Barra. A fair number of shore birds make exploration onshore and by dinghy worthwhile. Many local fishermen working the Lagoon sunrise to
sunset with pangas and nets searching for fish; or they wade and dive for oysters in 6'-7' depths. Makes one have second thoughts about ordering the fresh seafood cocktail in the local restaurants; yet the local restaurants are good - especially Fortino's in Colimilla on the Lagoon's south shore/ Fortino's also offers free WiFi with purchase of meal, and arranges filling of propane tanks for their customers. Muchos pesos gladly spent at Fortino's. Outboard repair shop noted along shoreline. Pangas used as water taxis to boats at anchor and in Grand Bay Marina. The French Baker's panga delivers fresh pastries each morning to the fleet - more pesos gladly spent.
18.Jan.2010
Departed Barra Lagoon in variable breezes 7 knots and less. Arrived at Ensenada Carrizal (19deg.06'N/104deg.26'W) at entrance to Manzanillo Bay, anchored bow & stern. Fetch too strong for comfort, stern anchor did not set well, and weather forecast suggeseted higher winds and swell soon coming, so moved further in to Santiago Bay (19deg.06'N/104deg.24'W). Anchored (bow anchor only) without incident in 29' in west end of Santiago Bay near cliffs on point. Total miles = 27.25.
19.Jan. - 24.Jan 2010
Layover in Santiago Bay due to forecasts of strong storms offshore creating potential winds and high swells onshore. Cliffside anchorage is well protected with only intermittent, relatively mild rolliness. Snorkeled sunken wreck toward middle of bay & area along the western cliff faces - saw the usual 16 species of fish but the wreck & coral heads made the snorkeling special. Morning air is fresh and sweet - possibly mangrove leaves? But Manzanillo smokestacks puff away all day and when the breeze shifts the air in anchorage gets hazy. Dinghied into inner lagoon on rising tide for 1-2 hrs. exploring. Did some provisioning and a few boat projects. Laid over one extra day due to MS getting a 24-hr. stomach bug. In summary, Santiago Bay is a good place to stay, whatever your reasons.
24.Jan-25.Jan.2010
Passage from Santiago Bay to Zihuatanejo. Breezes of 10-20 knots from SW, then ENE, then SE all alternated with periods of calms. So, The Fox alternately sailed and motor-sailed. Entered bay of Zihuatanejo in late afternoon with SE winds 12-19 knots, strong currents and a 3'-4' chop. Anchored without incident on SE side of Zihuatanejo Bay at Playa Ropa, in 25' of very low-visibility water - 17deg.38'N/101deg.33'W. S/v Mandan nearby, whom we haven't seen since Playa Santispac in the Sea of Cortez. Total miles = 200.
26.Jan.-31.Jan.2010
Layover in Zihuatanejo. Spent good times with old friends & met new ones. Town
is good for all provisioning & souvenir needs. Cruise ships come & go from bay. About 8 boats stay at anchor off busy Playa Ropa where parasailling and jet skis rule; roughly 20 more boats are anchored in municipal anchorage near town's sewage discharge. Municipal anchorage reeks heavily in hot sun, reducing the advantage of being anchored close to town. Water is opaque in both anchorages and swimming/cleaning hulls is suboptimal - though people do it. Anchorage remains rolly depending on strength of offshore weather patterns; most boats use bow & stern anchors. The local "cruising" community is almost exclusively land-based, so the morning cruisers' net on VHF is awkward (e.g., only land-based weather information is given, & half the time there is no tide report as the volunteers seem unaware of any tide info other than what they retrieve in person from port captain). In sum, Zihuatanejo is a bit anticlimactic for us.
Hey, how are y'all?? It's been a while.
To catch up now to the present day, here are some sailing logs of the anchorages and passages we now
have under our keel.
12.Jan.2010
Calm seas, variable breezes <5 knots from Tamarindo to Bahia de Navidad. Destination: the lagoon at Barra de Navidad. Time of arrival on a spring tide was not conducive to entering the narrow and shallow Barra Lagoon, so we anchored The Fox, bow & stern, in 22' off the nearby town of Melaque. Meanwhile,
double-checked the waypoints for entering and negotiating Barra Lagoon. Total miles = 13.5.
13.Jan.2010
Entered Barra de Navidad just after the morning's high tide. Waypoints in to Lagoon are accurate but none must be missed or a boat will run aground amongst the fishing pangas & wading fishermen on either side of the narrow entrance channel. Thanks for publicizing those waypoints, s/v Raptor Dance! Anchored in Lagoon without incident in 11' (19deg.11'N/104deg.40'W), amongst 20 other boats - roughly 1/2 of what the Lagoon can hold. Recognized many boats, including s/v Curare and s/v Jake, nearby. Total miles = 3.5. Exploration by dinghy ensued.
14.Jan. - 18.Jan.2010
Layover in Barra Lagoon. Nice & easy place to provision: fuel dock; fresh water that can be delivered via panga to boats at anchor. Nearby Melaque is even better for grocery provisioning via bus, than Barra. A fair number of shore birds make exploration onshore and by dinghy worthwhile. Many local fishermen working the Lagoon sunrise to
18.Jan.2010
Departed Barra Lagoon in variable breezes 7 knots and less. Arrived at Ensenada Carrizal (19deg.06'N/104deg.26'W) at entrance to Manzanillo Bay, anchored bow & stern. Fetch too strong for comfort, stern anchor did not set well, and weather forecast suggeseted higher winds and swell soon coming, so moved further in to Santiago Bay (19deg.06'N/104deg.24'W). Anchored (bow anchor only) without incident in 29' in west end of Santiago Bay near cliffs on point. Total miles = 27.25.
19.Jan. - 24.Jan 2010
Layover in Santiago Bay due to forecasts of strong storms offshore creating potential winds and high swells onshore. Cliffside anchorage is well protected with only intermittent, relatively mild rolliness. Snorkeled sunken wreck toward middle of bay & area along the western cliff faces - saw the usual 16 species of fish but the wreck & coral heads made the snorkeling special. Morning air is fresh and sweet - possibly mangrove leaves? But Manzanillo smokestacks puff away all day and when the breeze shifts the air in anchorage gets hazy. Dinghied into inner lagoon on rising tide for 1-2 hrs. exploring. Did some provisioning and a few boat projects. Laid over one extra day due to MS getting a 24-hr. stomach bug. In summary, Santiago Bay is a good place to stay, whatever your reasons.
24.Jan-25.Jan.2010
Passage from Santiago Bay to Zihuatanejo. Breezes of 10-20 knots from SW, then ENE, then SE all alternated with periods of calms. So, The Fox alternately sailed and motor-sailed. Entered bay of Zihuatanejo in late afternoon with SE winds 12-19 knots, strong currents and a 3'-4' chop. Anchored without incident on SE side of Zihuatanejo Bay at Playa Ropa, in 25' of very low-visibility water - 17deg.38'N/101deg.33'W. S/v Mandan nearby, whom we haven't seen since Playa Santispac in the Sea of Cortez. Total miles = 200.
26.Jan.-31.Jan.2010
Layover in Zihuatanejo. Spent good times with old friends & met new ones. Town
Favorite anchorages in this section of Mexico mainland: Barra Lagoon and Santiago Bay. But if conditions are calm, there are many more anchorages to explore than we had the chance to visit. See them all if you can!
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