Detour

We were presented with such an incredible offer that we couldn't refuse - we will be acting as Crew and heading to the South Pacific islands of the Marquesas on our friend's Perry 43 Catamaran, SV Tango. This is a non-stop voyage of approximately 3 weeks on a Cat.

So we hurried north up the Sea of Cortez, leaving La Paz March 31st. First stop was once again Ballendra and then El Cardonel where we met up with SV Whiteshell II. Strong north winds were blowing so we stayed for 2 nights.

Next stop, we anchored by the "hook" of Isla San Francisco (N24°49.195' W110°34.231'). If you look at a chart or Google Earth, you will see the hook is a comma-shaped piece of land. Left early in the morning for Agua Verde (N25°30.958' W111°3.732'), which means turquoise water. The sea was a very beautiful turquoise and the sand was coral coloured. We went ashore to the tiny village and bought some fresh produce.

Next, we headed to San Juanico. We had a great voyage, seeing rays, dolphins, and several whales close up such as this pilot whale...

We anchored at San Juanico (N26°22.044' W111°25.871') where we were holed up waiting for strong winds to die so we hiked and explored the land. We found Apache Tears, shiny volcanic black glass, on the hill. The next day, we discovered beautiful veins of crystalline deposits running deep down the sides of the hills on the opposite beach...

We also discovered a tree growing on the beach where cruisers have left behind a memento declaring their boat name, their names, and the date of their visit. What a mishmash of items - the good, the bad, and the ugly! Such as painted and/or inscribed pieces of wood, rocks, shells, sneakers, burgees, metal, and even a scrub brush! We saw several from boaters that we know, including China Girl, Dark Star, Keetya I, Intrepid II, Salish Sea, and Whiteshell II. We quickly hung a large shell but are hoping to replace it with something more permanent later in the year when we return.

Finally when the wind let up, we left at 18:45 on April 8th for an overnighter to Guaymas. We sailed into the north wind on a close reach at 5 knots until 02:45 when we had to turn on the engine and continued to motor-sail.

We will next put Sea Turtle up on the hard at San Carlos, as Guaymas is all booked up, and then fly out of Guaymas on April 14th to meet up with SV Tango at La Paz to start our great journey to the South Pacific!