Wednesday, March 09, 2011

Puerto Angel

After 1.5 nights at Puerto Escondido, we pulled the anchor for a short 7-hour hop down to Puerto Angel. At first, there were only fluky breezes that we tried various sail plans to capture, but after a couple of hours, we relented to motoring again. However, about 3 hours into our trip, the wind filled in nicely so we raised the spinnaker that sent Sea Turtle into a good jaunt.

We passed by our favourite beach, Zipolite, just before our destination, and at about this time not only was the wind getting too much for the large light-weight spinnaker, but the seas were growing and had become very choppy. The auto pilot at this point couldn't manage these confused waves, so we struggled at the wheel. The Captain gave me the helm and I wrangled it with all my might so he could go to the bow and muscle down the spinnaker.

It was an intense few minutes, but as soon as the dousing sock made its way down the spinnaker, things became much more manageable. Good timing as we were then making a left turn into the small bay of Puerto Angel, just before sundown. The bay was filled with many pangas and another couple of cruising boats, but we found a good spot (N15°39.888' W096°29.620').

The day had been smokin' hot, so we sprayed ourselves with water and sat under the fans to call it a day with a well deserved rum.

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