The sail from the Baja Peninsula (Bahia De Los Muertos) to Mexico mainland (Mazatlan) is 190 miles.  At the half-way point, we would be nearly 100 miles from land, another first for us.  Our pre-departure planning was calculated with a moving average of 5.5 knots so we allowed about 35 hours to get there.  Since we wanted to arrive during daylight hours, we decided on a 3am wakeup and a 4am departure.  This would get us into Mazatlan around 4pm.  The GRIB files (weather data) showed a 10-15 knot northerly for the first 24 hours, which is ideal for the crossing since it would be a broad reach point of sail.

It was pitch black when we left and the wind was already blowing 10 knots inside the bay, so we were cautious and double-reefed the main and pulled out the genoa.  Outside the bay, the northerly picked up to 15-20 knots and the seas became rough (5-8 feet).  I took the first 3-hour watch while Karen got some rest.  Sailing in rough seas in darkness (clear skies but new moon) can be exciting since you don’t SEE the waves.  The larger waves normally come in bunches of 3, and it’s the 1st one that surprises you!  Every so often, a wave would hit the boat causing it to roll, then a second wave would break on board.  When it broke near the bow, the gunnels filled with water and you could hear the scuppers slurping down the sea water.  When it broke near the stern, you were surprised with a shower.  When the wind began picking up above 20 knots, we furled in the genoa part-way to keep the helm light.  So for the first 24 hours, we sailed along at between 6 and 8 knots, ticking off 150 miles.  With the constant rolling motion and hand steering, we got pretty tired and began doing 2 hour shifts (although I’d sometimes trade an extra hour for a hot cup of tea, or when I was in a groove with my iTunes playlist).  It wasn’t until I woke up from my 2 hour “sleep” at 7am on the 2nd day, that the wind had finally dropped to 10 knots.  We shook out the mains’l reefs and pulled out the full genoa.  By then we were only 40 miles from Mazatlan and continued sailing at a slower speed of 5 knots, and finally turned on the engine for the last 2 hours as the wind dropped further.

The remaining hurdle was getting around the breakwater and through the narrow channel to the marina.  Although we timed our arrival for daylight (with the stronger winds, it was around 1pm), we didn’t consider the tides.  We read in our guidebook the channel requires constant dredging to keep it deep enough.  As we rounded the breakwater, the shallow depth alarm (set to 8′) began beeping.  Soon I saw 2′ on the depth sounder, which measures the depth of water below the keel.  There was also a 3-4 knot current coming out and the channel had a dog-leg.  The channel was only about 20 feet wide and I found deeper water steering towards the port breakwater.  We made it through and pulled up to the fuel dock at Marina El Cid.  Just before entering the channel, another sailboat radioed us on VHF saying they would be following us in but they had a broken transmission and were only able to go forward.  While I was at the marina office, that boat radioed the marina to report they were grounded in the channel and were asking for an emergency tow (they eventually got towed off).  While waiting for the tide to turn we washed the salt off the boat then went for a swim in the resort pool which was deliciously warm.  We then moored the boat and took a nap.  In the evening I watched with some other Seattle fans as the Seahawks beat the Cardinals to take over 1st place in the division!!

After a much needed full night’s sleep, we took a bus to Old Mazatlan, the heart of the city away from the tourist hotels, beaches and marinas.  We took in the sights of the landmark Cathedral Basilica with twin yellow spires, the Mercado Municipal 2-story public market, and ate at small street-side loncherias (lunch counters).  We also bought some refreshing fruit-filled licuados, fresh coconut water, and just-made tortillas.

Back at the marina, we enjoyed the swimming pools and restaurants that belong to the El Cid resort.  We also did the routine chores like re-provisioning at Mega, exchanging dollars for pesos, boat maintenance, and laundry.

Confession–today we stopped at a Starbucks and ate at McDonald’s – they had a play area for Jacintha and free wifi for her parents!