February 2016 was almost gone. The weather in the Sea of Cortez was turbulent. Mazatlan grew hot and humid. The Port of Mazatlan was closed due to the weather but forecasts indicated that a nice 4-day weather window would soon open up. It would be an excellent chance for us to cross the Sea and anchor somewhere protected before the next Norther was expected. Unfortunately Rick Cummings and the crew working on our boat canvas still had to make some final adjustments to the new stern arch's systems. This is the point at which waiting for the opportunity to skedaddle becomes very frustrating.
At long last things fell enough into place on February 27 that we were able to leave at 0930 in good weather with just a few minor stern-arch tweaks left un-tweaked. Mazatlan's jetty entrance into the marina district was flat-calm. Which was nice.
The northwesterly crossing from Mazatlan to Isla San Francisco took us 46 hours in very calm weather with a fair current assist most of the way. There was very little vessel traffic but happily we spotted several green sea turtles, sea lions, and assorted sea birds along the way. We anchored in The Hook at Isla San Francisco just after sunrise on February 29. A departing 100-foot US-flagged power yacht gave us the best spot in the anchorage, tucked up under the north bay's cliffs. During the next 2 days the number of boats in The Hook rose and fell between as few as 8 and as many as 18. We recognized a few boats from years past, and were pleased to see some new ones like s/v "Witte Raaf" ["White Raven"] from the Netherlands. Everyone anchored well and used their anchor lights at night. Which is always very nice to experience.
Meanwhile: shells were collected and beaches were combed.
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