We left La Paz Dec. 30 and anchored at Ballandra (balanced rock) close by, a lovely beach with aquamarine water, but it was very rolly due to the day's north wind.
Dec. 31 -We knew the wind would blow 15-20 today, but didn't expect the Lorenzo Channel to be unmarked. One hour after leaving Ballandra we had 15-26 knot winds in Lorenzo Channel and 6 foot seas. We never saw the channel markers but we were able to follow the path of an approaching ferry. The channel is a few miles wide with reefs on either side, so the navigable part is only 1 mile wide, and shallow (15m). Apparently, Hurricane John destroyed the markers and they haven't been fixed. Since this is Mexico, they may never be fiixed. After getting sprayed with white water on the dodger, we blew down the coast to Muertos on 10-20k winds. This was an excellent test for the rudder repair, but the steering works great with no leakage. It's always an adventure with Steve.
Happy New Year – Hello Puerto Vallarta
We met up with John, Dagmar, and Alex (and their 2 dogs) on Pavon in Muertos and toasted the new year with beers. It was around this time that we discovered the head's holding tank wouldn't empty. We left for Frailles on Jan.1 and snorkeled the Pulmo reef on Jan 2. It wasn't as good as we expected, but the beach and water, and the weather, was lovely. Thanks for the ride back by Michael Ambrose and Linda.
Jan. 3- we set sail for Puerto Vallarta when the weatherman called for 10-20 north winds. It was an excellent crossing (2 days exactly), if you don’t count the bumpy ride due to waves hitting the port stern and rolling us like a roller coaster the second day. We saw only four boats the whole trip and sailed all but the last 10 hours.
Jan. 5 – anchored in Banderas Bay, Puerto Vallarta, actually La Cruz Huanacaxtle which is just to the north in the bay of the formal town of PV. It’s summertime again, and humid. But we are glad to be here. www.puertovallarta.net/map/index.php
