Cruise Log #8, Santa Maria, Los Frailes to Mazatlan
Go backward to Turtle Bay, Bahia Asuncion to Santa Maria Jump ahead to Isla Isabela Return to the Latest Log
Updated January 1st, 2005
We leave the Baja Peninsula for the mainland and the Mexican Riviera. At times our route planning was right on, most times Mama Nature intervened.
SolMate's route from Bahia Santa Maria to Mazatlan via Los Frailes
Our two-day passage from Bahia Santa Maria (Bahia Magdalena) around the southern cape
of the Baja peninsula to Bahia Los Frailes, 236 miles, was one of those where Mama Nature took
control of the planning. She also provided a wonderful send-off from Bahia Santa Maria, whales
tippy-toeing across the waves;
three ballerina ballenas breaching (and a partridge in a pear tree). Not to be outdone by their
Pacific-side brethren, a pair of dancing rays welcomed us to Bahia Los Frailes, jumping in
unison, perfectly choreographed with loud, water-slapping duo-landings, a most excellent kitty
entertainment committee.
Kitty was relieved to reach Los Frailes to enjoy the entertainment. So were we! The Sea of
Cortez greeted SolMate with a "good honking norther" as we rounded the protection of the cape.
The last 25 miles of our two-day passage was a nasty beat against 20 knot winds and big breaking
seas. Ugh. The first 200 miles downhill was a piece of cake, as was the early-morning cape rounding.
Conditions vacillated between flat calm to 20 knots, but with the following wind and seas, it
was good sailing all the way down the outside. Rounding the cape and heading north, the lush
Cabo San Lucas
scenery was a nice change from the stark desert and rocky volcanic hills of the outside, but as
we sailed around the bottom and out of the cape's protection we were too busy hanging on to
notice the scenery.
Anchorages always look inviting, Los Frailes was paradise after nine hours of
water over the bow and bone-jarring slamming up the coast. Although it was still blowing twenty
knots, inside, the water was calm and we enjoyed a few days' respite before heading out for
mainland Mexico at breakneck speed.
Meticulous crew planning put SolMate at the Mazatlan Marina breakwall at daybreak and slack tide on our second day out of Los Frailes, 165 miles due east. Up until this crossing, our conservative planning had been fairly successful. Most times we used a 4-knot average to judge our next landfall, and still have been rushed to anchor before dark. This trip, we left Los Frailes at 8 PM with 20 knots of wind on our beam, racing along at a really good clip most of the first night and the following day. By the second night we were way ahead of schedule and had to step on the brakes (whoa, boat) so that we wouldn't make landfall until daylight, at slack tide.
The entrance into Mazatlan Marina, the outside breakwater, marked
by the green pole
on the left, doglegging past the
inner breakwater
on the right, red pole, with the dreaded dredge (not seen)
lurking just
around the corner to the right.
SolMate squeaked through the marina entrance just at daybreak, successfully dodging the dredge and the macho-dude charter fleet that was speeding out for the day's fishing. The entrance was freaky in the half-light. The chart warned that off the breakwall is a 12-foot shoal that causes waves to break, plus waves were breaking on the beach next to the inner breakwall. At the inner breakwall, the channel turned immediately right and narrowed to less than 50 yards, and there was the dreaded dredge taking up 1/3 of the channel. It was hidden around the corner, but not working. If it had been actually dredging, it would have taken up even more space. Although we arrived only a half hour past high tide, the current was already ripping along against us as we negotiated the channel, creating quite the excitement as we reconnoitered and attempted a U-turn in order to dock in an empty spot.
SolMate's berth at El Cid Marina on the end tie behind the British
boat, Tin Can.
This picture was taken at the widest point of the
skinny channel leading to
Marina El Cid and farther into the
Solano estuary to Marina Mazatlan.
Arrival time was important. The entrance was tricky, it was hard to see, part
of the channel was partially blocked by a dredge, and the current was horrific due to the
huge Solano estuary spreading out inland (visualize a funnel
emptying the whole estuary through one little channel, a miniature version of San Fransico Bay
squishing out beneath the Golden Gate). We tied up at El Cid Marina, on an end tie where the
surge from the 4-knot current kept SolMate dancing and straining against her dock lines night and day.
Although the slip location was a bump and grind, we made the best of it at the resort, treating
ourselves to first-class luxury for a whole week. First luxury, water. SolMate received a
hosing and a scrubbing,
stripping off weeks of salty crud. Second luxury, water. Crew luxuriated in the resort's hot
tub, stripping off weeks of salty crud. Third luxury, water. Six-weeks worth of stinky laundry fluffed and folded in the
resort's laundry. Fourth luxury, water? nope, food and drink. The resort hosted a cruisers'
appreciation night with beer, margaritas and food, on the house (go figure, someone actually
appreciates us)!
Gale's resort luxuries were a bit different, revealing his dark side shortly after
docking. Unsuspecting, Stan and I returned from checking in at the harbor master's office
to a deck slimed
with delicate little Swallow parts, blood and feathers, and our heathen viciously slinging a
severed wing around the house (feline brand of luxury, I suppose).
El Cid Marina is at the north end of the tourist beach's strip of mega hotels, 7 miles from the old town.
Called the Gold Zone, it is indistinguishable from any other tourist strip in the world with a
beach populated with sunburned foreigners and aggressive vendors, and the street lined with shoulder to
shoulder trinket shops. We were more interested in the real Mazatlan. Inland from the Gold Zone
we found supermercados (Gigante, Leys [a Safeway chain], WalMart and Office Depot) for
reprovisioning,
and numerous marine supply stores for boating necessities. Bus service was great, and inexpensive at 40 cents!
Our only marine supply requirements were freon
to top off the fridge, and of course diesel to top off the fuel tank. But nothing involving a
boat is ever easy. Obtaining the canned freon involved a few trips to refacciones (spare
parts stores), including language lessons. Then, obtaining
the metric connector hose to inject the freon involved a few more refacciones visits, and a
few more language lessons.
Besides riding numerous buses to the parts stores, lounging in the pools, reprovisioning at the
supermercados, and
wandering the beaches, we also joined a caroling party on
Christmas Eve. A bunch of us strolled the docks 'til way after dark, serenading other cruisers,
gathering more carolers along the way, and capping it all off in the hotel
lobby to a standing ovation (we didn't sound that good, but what could a captive audience do?).
The El Cid Cruising Carolers from Rasa Manise and Homers' Odyssey.
Back to reality - after a cushy week of resort indulgence, we motored the few miles south to Mazatlan
Harbor. For three dollars a day, we anchored with six other boats in a corner
of the harbor. Next door to the anchorage, a fishing fleet and harbor tours provided the
entertainment. I watched as two oblivious pangeros ran full-tilt right over a big red nun buoy,
flipped clear out
of the water, knocked the buoy sideways, landed upright, and then continued on, full-tilt again,
out of the harbor.
Not certain who's the entertainment for the harbor tours, them or us. The double-decker, lime
green tourboats crash directly through the anchorage, bouncing us around with their big wakes,
sometimes so close we could reach out and
touch someone. As they pass by, there seems to be a funny spiel from the tourguide, laughing
and pointing in our direction. They must be talking about us, but our language skills are still
woefully inadequate so we just smile and wave and hope they're not being too unkind.
Melodrama at the top of Creston Hill (lighthouse) with a
view of the anchorage, the ferry
terminal, and back in the
channel, three cruise ships lined up. The view was worth the
exhausting climb!
SolMate email updates are sent out periodically (weekly?) with additional drivel about our travels. If you'd like to be added to our address list, let us know with a brief email to our sailmail address, or to our earthlink account at "stanburn at earthlink dot net".
