Mazatlan and passage to Sea of Cortez

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Mazatlan

An uneventful overnight sail to Mazatlan saw us arriving at dawn. We hove to off shore and went in once we had good light. We were all very happy to arrive.

Our anchorage of choice was the one below the lighthouse on the hill. It is ideally situated just as you enter the breakwater.

There is always plenty of room and good holding. There is a dinghy dock we can use at Club Nautico, be it quite rustic.

To look at this dinghy dock we had doubts, but it works, the dinghy is safe and there are some unusual characters that hang out here that are entertaining to chat with.

The fellow who attends the gates and the dinghy dock watches your dinghy. He also feeds all the “wild” cats in the area. We always buy him a big bag of cat food.

We were in this anchorage awaiting a good weather window for crossing to La Paz, Sea of Cortez.

Our first mission was to get stocked up with fresh fruits and vegetables. Off we headed into the city to the main market.

We walked in enjoying the sights. Mazatlan is a city with a lot of character.

We enjoyed the Christmas decorations in the main square and headed to have a look in the cathedral. The architecture is lovey.

The interior’s detailed architecture quite amazing.

There were the normal street artists and performers to watch for a while…..

and then we had lunch at a small cafe.(Turned out to be the worst lunch ever…..)

We enjoyed a stroll around after lunch. The area was a hive of activity with lots to watch.

Off to the market after lunch. This is a well stocked market with plenty to select from the fruits and veg.

The other stalls were well stocked too. There were sweet stalls with every type of sweet imaginable!

Day 2

Our second day we walked into the city along the malecon.

This is a wonderful malecon, statues adorning the way and great vantage points to enjoy the views.

There was the Devil’s cave to revisit, the surfers on the beaches to watch and just so much to see.

We enjoyed an excellent lunch at one of the restaurants over looking the way. The food really was excellent!

After lunch we continued our walk before returning to Aeeshah.

Final day

On our final day we again walked into Mazatlan. Again enjoying the scenery.

This day we had lunch at “Tacos Jimmy” a restaurant that had a reputation for excellent tacos. And they were amazing tacos.

I had fish and John the shrimp. Next we were off to get some groceries ready for our passage.

The passage….

The passage was supposed to be a 2 night relatively easy one. The first day and night was incredibly calm everything was just wonderful.

The main sail was up but we were motor sailing and making reasonable progress.

The last part of the second day the weather started to deteriorate. We had little choice but to persevere. The only good part was as the weather deteriorated the wind increase and so we were sailing close hauled, but fast. By the evening, it was getting pretty rough. Dinner was a non event. Just standing was a challenge. Despite my sea meds I felt lousy and had to lie down. Poor John was on his own from about 7:30pm, I was useless, he was tired.

Through the night John had to reef right in, we were flying along in winds of up to 25kts. I was down below just literally lying crossways hanging on. It was an overnight from hell.

However due to our speed we were across by 3:00am and hove to off shore where it wasn’t too bad at all.

We limped in to a very, large beautiful bay, ……..

John crashed out. I began the job of getting Aeeshah back in order. And what a mess it was! Even oily bilge water had flowed into the galley from all the heeling. Gear was spilled everywhere, luckily nothing was ruined or broken. And we all were fine!

Chico was mighty happy!! Flying fish on deck to eat!!

By the next day after a very good nights rest we were able to enjoy the beauty of Ensenada de los Muertos Sea of Cortez…..amazing landscape, totally different from anywhere else we have been. A new frontier for us.