So now we have to "really" sail out of Tenacatita bay as our engine is out of action. The winds are favourable so we gulp our morning coffee and begin our departure. First, up goes the main, then up comes the anchor. We are leaving at 08.00 which is a few hours earlier than we intended but the weather waits for no man!!! Fortunately the wind is taking us directly out of the anchorage so although it is always fun to manoeuvre under sail, dodging boats in a crowded anchorage is another matter.
Light winds take us out into the bay and carry us out to sea. As we turn the corner it's up with the spinnaker and we begin a lovely sail towards Melaque Bay. Mid afternoon, the wind builds and we decide to exchange the spinnaker for the genny. We had been sailing with another boat in the distance, also under spinnaker. They decided to hold their spinnaker up for a while longer. They chose...unwisely. In fact they were forced to keep their spinnaker up well into the evening...well after they had anchored, as they had a bit of a wrap in their halyard which prevented them from taking it down. They also managed to wrap a sheet around their prop, so they were in a right tizz when they called for assistance. We went over to them, but as we were also under sail and engine-less, we really couldn't offer much more than moral support and eventually had to leave them so that we could get ourselves safely anchored in the bay.
There were one or two boats in the anchorage, so we kept well clear and anchored in about 35 feet of water.
Then it was a matter of finding a welder to help us...but that was tomorrow's problem.
Melaque is a pretty bay but is subject to swells which refract around the headland. These same swells make for some interesting dinghy landings. Not quite as "interesting" as Tenacatita, but there were days when we were confined to Jabula as the only way to the beach was by swimming.
I was told about a welder via the morning net and the same day had our recalcitrant part repaired.
Enjoying the fleshpots with friends.
By this time, Toketie and Tarun had arrived and we took advantage of the fleshpots of Melaque to catch up on grocery shopping and e-mail.
We took a trip into Bahia de Navidad (AKA Barra) in the most dilapidated bus we have ever seen.
Shiver me timbers!
This bus meandered on a most circuitous route to Barra which lasted at least 45 minutes and cost 5 pesos.
Pure luxury!
On another day, we managed to find the "express" bus - far more comfortable and well maintained - and this bus took only 30 minutes for the trip...and cost only 4 pesos! Go figure!
It is here that St. Patrick's Day is celebrated with week-long festivities culminating in the ubiquitous fireworks display. We were finding that the various celebrations in Mexico's coastal villages have a certain similarity to them and we decided that we could miss this one.
And on March 14th, we took our leave and headed to Las Hadas, Manzanillo.
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After weighing Anchor at Chamela we were heading for Bahia Careyes which has the illustrious distinction of being nicknamed the "Mexican Riviera". There are beautiful hotels, condominiums and huge mansions surrounding lovely beaches. However we could find no way into this bay. There was a huge swell crashing on the beaches and the chart books had drawings that bore no likeness to what we were seeing. So we decided to continue to Tenacatita. Hence we arrived at 21h00 that evening. Luckily it was a pleasant night and we anchored on the outside of several boats. The next day we re-anchored in a less busy spot which made doing mundane chores such as showering and cooking a great deal easier!!! We made contact with some friends of ours from Canada - Toketie and Tarun - and many pleasant evenings were spent over delicious meals and copious quantities of wine and beer.
Dave and Linda from Tokatie - "Up the lonely river"
One of the highlights of Tenacatita is the jungle tour river trip. This involves taking one's own dinghy through boisterous, foaming surf - you have to time this one just right to avoid getting pooped, flipped or simply dumped in the water! - then carrying the dinghy to the river mouth which is on the left of the beach. Only once did we manage, at high tide, to surf in on a wave, right through the surf and into the river mouth! This is the start of a wonderful 40 minute journey through leafy tunnels of large overhanging mangrove roots which open up into large pools of water where fish jump constantly and pelicans sit like judges in the trees.
Sailing through the tunnel of love!
To witness these large birds roosting in what appear to be fragile branches, is something to behold. The river also contains crocodiles whose reputation precede them. We had heard stories of 20 foot crocs! We however only saw a 12 inch "baby" but my thought was that if baby exists, mum and dad could well be nearby!!! At the end of this trip one can land the dinghy and go ashore through a quaint little town consisting of dirt streets, scrawny chickens, and many palapas.
Downtown Tenacatita
But let's go back to the beach landings...why? 'Cause it can be a most interesting (if somewhat moist) endeavour...especially when the surf is running! One of our more amusing episodes was after talking with friends about the best way to negotiate the breaking surf. Of course we are perceived as being the more experienced, due to the sea miles under Jabula's keel. However, experience only plays a small part in remaining dry. Timing, concentration and plain luck can also impact. So we were expounding on our "experience" to our friends and feeling quite comfortable considering our slick entry into the river the previous day. We had also witnessed a number of somewhat damp beach exits and entries performed by other cruisers. So later in the day we decided we would make our way to the beach. It was pretty calm and I thought: "Hey...this will be a piece of cake!" Wrong! Just as we approached the beach a rogue wave whooshed down on us just as Bruce was adjusting the motor. All I remember is one minute I am preparing to leap off the dinghy and grab the painter when I hear a loud splash and the dinghy swings sideways to this big wave. I turn round and there is no Bruce - WHERE THE HELL IS BRUCE? Panic stricken I jump into the water to prevent the dinghy from flipping and Bruce emerges from the sea water dripping from his hat, clothes and sun glasses. "What a time to go swimming says I!!" Apparently he was lifting the motor and trying to switch it off when the wave hit and threw him off balance. For the rest of the day he was trying to rid himself of sand which had got in everywhere and swimming in the river was a dicey option! Now over to the skipperrrrrrr:
Tenacatita was also where we got that awful "sinking feeling". We were making water and to do so we usually run the motor in order to keep the battery voltage up near 14 volts. This was also the day when we had invited our friends, Dave and Linda from Toketie aboard for dinner. We had been running the watermaker for about 5 hours and had just switched it off in preparation for the arrival of our friends when Jeannie commented on the "funny swishing noise" in the water tanks. I came down below not thinking much of the comment as our water tanks normally make a gurgling sound anyway. But then I also heard the "funny swishing sound" and recognised it immediately as water in the bilge...and lots of it! I pulled up the floor boards and YIKES!, the water was almost up above the water tanks. Whenever we have water in the bilge, I taste it. It's not a pleasant experience, but it has to be done. My initial thought was that one of the tanks had sprung a leak...after all, we had been making water, right? Well, yuk...it was salt water! Yuk, and oh shit! So I start pumping the bilge pump and want to know RIGHT NOW why the damn automatic bilge pump wasn't working! While I'm pumping, Jeannie gets the battery box lid off and we find that the bilge pump breaker has flipped off. So I flip it on and the bilge pump comes on (whew!)...but only for about 20 seconds...and then it flips off again. So I flip it on...it flips off...I flip it on...it flips off (Damn it!)...all this while I'm pumping like mad. Jeannie meanwhile is trying to bail water out using the bucket and we see that we are gaining on the leak. Well actually we are gaining period. I then rush around to all the sea cocks and close them - the last ones being those in the engine room. As soon as I open the engine hatch, it all comes clear - the exhaust pipe has sheared off from the engine and the water from the salt water cooling system has been pumped into the boat for the past few hours.
The culprit!
Fortunately, the moment the engine was switched off, the flood abated. So the panic was over, but we were both hot, sweaty and relatively tense...and we had guests arriving in 10 minutes! Fortunately Jeannie had prepared everything well beforehand and it was just a matter of cleaning up and calming down. There was no danger to worry about and I would deal with the problems tomorrow.
So tomorrow came (it does actually!) and the problems couldn't be solved in Tanacatita, so we had to sail (sans engine type sailing) to Melaque Bay and find a welder there. This would mean sailing off the anchor in Tenacatita and back on again in Melaque. We were very lucky that it is a short hop and the following day the winds were just right to allow us a run directly out of the anchorage without having to tack through the fleet of boats anchored there.
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We made an early start from La Cruz - weighing anchor at 5am. It was still quite dark and misty and within the first hour we had two sport fishers come bearing down on us with little regard for international colregs. We had to take evasive action both times to maintain what I considered to be a safe distance between our boats. Oh well...
No wind at all (a perfect "sailing" day for RB'ers), but fresh water was being squeezed out of the briny, so all was not lost. And then at about 11:15, WHIZZZZZZZZZ...FISH ON!!!
It was a good fight and what we thought was a decent sized yellowfin was lying on deck after a 15 minute battle.
Action shot!
Our delight diminished considerably when I began to fillet the beast of the deep and discovered a blood-red flesh. Alas it was no yellowfin, but rather a Torro. I had been deceived by the yellow of the fins and tail and hadn't looked at the snout which has a more bull-nose appearance. So gone were our dreams of cerviche and fried fillets...not to mention all the other delights a fish of that size provides. Sigh...
Fish tales
We dropped the hook in little Bahia Punta Ipala - 20 14.127'N:105 34.355'W, at 3pm on February 20th with full tanks of water and the aroma of Jeannie's delicious fish cakes wafting from down below. It's a very small bay with not much room for more than three or four boats, but by the next morning there were no less than seven boats anchored in the lee of Punta Ipala...some more comfortable than others.
It had been a comfortable enough night for us, and one with a wonderful and unexpected event: The total eclipse of the moon.
We were sitting down below as it was quite cool outside and I caught sight of the moon through the port. I knew it was a full moon, but it had a weird shape and, wondering if it was the cliffs creating the shape, I popped my head outside to discover the beginning of the eclipse! It was magnificent and we spent the rest of the evening warmly dressed in the cockpit, watching through binoculars as the moon was slowly eaten by the shadow from the earth.
We were keen to move on to Chamela and so early the following morning we took our leave of Ipala.
Another day-sail, but this time we actually managed to find some wind and as the tanks were already filled it was up with the spinnaker and off with the engine. We were doing over 6 knots in a 15 knot wind. Had some small help from the current, but all in all a wonderful sail at last.
We were fortunate on the sea-life side of things as well as we saw a number of turtles and whales galore! In fact one of the behemoths broached quite close to us - a magnificent and awe-inspiring sight. The wind picked up a bit and we exchanged the genoa for the spinnaker, still making 6 knots.
Dropped the hook in lovely Bahia de Chamela.
The Anchorage
This was our first experience here in Mexico of substantial surf on the landing beach. We certainly had some interesting landings although none that flipped us over.
The village of Chamela is an interesting mix of little hotels, palapas and grocery stores. It has perhaps the distinction of having the quaintest grocery stores we've ever seen. It was just a hole in the wall...literally a hole in a wall! You would come up to it and peer inside, and through the darkness you could see a small counter and some shelves stacked with groceries. You then ask for what you want and they fetch it off the shelves for you. Unfortunately our Spanish was still so patchy that it would have taken us a week or two of sign language to do our shopping. Amazingly enough we were able to find some of the most varied cheeses and even some delicious salami in one of the grocery stores - goods we were unable to find even in San Blas! Internet was available at one of the hotels, but very cold beer at a very reasonable price. only a dial-up system of great expense, so that was a non starter. The beach was lovely, and a very long walk around (10 or 15 miles!) would bring you to a road that took you inland a ways and we were told that there was a Mexican village there that would take one back a hundred years or so, it was so isolated. My appreciation for long walks prevented us discovering this item of great historical value...so we got to know the beach better.
There were times it was so rough that we were confined to Jabula for the day...until we discovered a small, more protected bay with a tiny pebble beach. Here we were able to lift the dinghy above the high-water mark and take a short walk into the village. The "beachlet" was filled with beautiful coloured pebbles and we picked some of the best ones for our collection of "stuff". The "short" walk was up a hill, past a coconut grove, along a very dusty trail, past a couple of donkeys in a field, down a hill, over a bridge, through a hole in a barbed wire fence, accross a shallow little lagoon and onto the beach...whew! Fortunately the first palapa you come to after the walk supplies ice cold beer and coco locos!
Mine...all mine!
Chamela held us captive for seven days, but then it was time to go.
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