We left Los Frailes at 6:30 AM. Two of the three sailboats at anchor last night weighed their anchors before dawn and were already 5 miles offshore by the time we woke up. A power boat and the one sailboat that remained showed no signs of life. The temporary camps along the beach doubled during the night. This weekend is a big holiday in Mexico; tomorrow is Good Friday and this is the first of a 2 week vacation.
Mike says his cough is improving. He arrived in Mexico with a cold and hasn’t felt 100 pecent since joining our crew. TJ is busy getting familiar with the systems on the boat and learning the knots we use most frequently, he says he’s “knot challenged” so we’ll have to give him some slack when we discover a granny knot when we’re expecting to see a bowline, but he’s eager to lend a hand whenever one is needed. Mike has more experience on sailboats and is helping TJ learn the ropes. The crew gets along very well and it’s harmonious onboard.
This morning I took first watch because we were passing a broad point with extensive shoals, and as captain I like to be at the helm when we’re close to shore or entering a harbor. Mike disappeared below a while ago and is whipping up ham and cheese omelets for us, using the last of the lunch meat in the refrigerator.
At 9:40 AM we were offshore of Arrojo Del Manto (12 nm from Puerto Los Cabos) when we began to feel the first swells from the Pacifc Ocean. Two whale were spotted off our starboard beam, “thar she blows”, I yelled. Mike spotted another whale off the point ahead.
We arrived in Puerto Los Cabos just before noon, registered at the marina office and headed out by taxi to shop for groceries.
At Puerto Los Cabos TJ saw two frigate birds fighting for a perch on our mast head. I didn’t see which bird won the contest but our wind indicator was the only casualty: one minute it was there and the next it was gone. That will make nighttime sailing more difficult because at night we can’t see the sails so we rely on the electronic wind indicator to keep us on the correct tack.
Our plan is to leave early tomorrow (Good Friday) and head for Cabo San Lucas where we’ll fuel up and then go directly out again to begin our beat around Land’s End and Cabo Falso to Maggie Bay. We expect this leg of the trip to take 3 days and 2 nights, with steep short period waves for the first day.
