A Visit From the Navy

We left Santa Rosalia Wednesday at 8:30 pm and motored all night so we could meet up with the Tucson Sailing Club in San Francisquito. Fourteen hours later we pulled in and set the anchor but, alas, they were pulling theirs and heading off to the next anchorage on their itinerary. We were pretty beat so we told them we’d meet them there on Thursday and went to bed.

Thursday morning was beautiful and we had the anchor up and were on our way by 9:30 am to make the 18 miles trip to Isla las Animas. This island is the middle one in a string of three and we were headed for an anchorage that none of the cruising guides mention. Turns out it was a lovely place with good holding, pretty green water and good protection from the wind.

We had almost reached Isla San Lorenzo (the southernmost of the three islands) when the Mexican Navy arrived. They had been in the area and had already stopped most, if not all, the Tucson Sailing Club boats to do “inspections” so it didn’t come as a surprise that we were next. They came alongside in a fast boat, told us to stop our engine (which we did immediately) and tied up to our port side. This boat had 9 men on board, most of which were wearing black ski masks and bulletproof vests and carrying machine guns. Most of them looked like teenagers to me but I have also noticed that the older I get the younger all the authority figures appear. What’s with that?? At any rate…as they were maneuvering their boat next to us a couple of the guys were taking photos. We weren’t sure if it was part of the inspection or because Patty & I were in swimsuits so we decided it would be best to “strike a pose”…well…Patty did anyway! Once they were tied to our port side, the man in charge took out a clipboard and began asking questions. He spoke fairly good English but when Chris began replying in Spanish the sigh of relief was audible and he switched to his native language. Mostly he just asked for some basic information, checked our TIP (import permit for the boat) and asked if we had any guns on board. Then he thanked us and said that if we have any problems the Mexican Navy is here to help and all we need to do is call them on channel 16. As they disengaged their lines I asked if I could take their photos and they said yes. All in all, it was a very pleasant experience.

Once the Navy left, we were on our way again. We rounded the tip of the island and started up the east side. We had spoken with the cruise leader that morning and discovered that they were moving on again…back to the Baja side…but two of the boats we were most anxious to visit with were staying to wait for us. We got a latitude/longitude which showed up on the NE side of the island on the, as usual, incorrect Mexico chart. Unfortunately, we ended up going all the way around all three islands to get to the anchorage, which was on the NorthWEST side. We did mention to our Tucson friends that evening that that would have been a helpful bit of information to have. The bonus, however, was that as we were rounding the northernmost island we passed a group of hundreds of dolphins on their way south. They were leaping and diving in rows of four and five…it was like being at Sea World. What fun! I tried to get a video but my cinematography skills are primitive at best. Somehow I just can’t watch what’s happening and film it at the same time. Still, it is always a thrill when the dolphins come out to play!

We finally arrived at 4:30pm…7 hours later to go 18 miles! Stu (“Sea Peace”) invited us over for burgers and a movie and Wally & Sue (“Toucan”) joined the party. We had a fun evening and the anchorage was flat and quiet so we slept like babies. Next morning “Toucan” was off early to go to Isla Rasa so the grandkids (who are traveling with them) could see the birds and then to catch up with the TSC cruisers. Stu went on to re-join the TSC cruise. Since we seem to be perpetually a day late…and…after 7 months of cruising Sandy is ready to take a breather…we gave up on trying to catch them and decided to continue on across the Sea of Cortez to put the boat away for the summer. There are 5 anchorages we plan to stop at on the way so the whole trip will take about a week and the weather looks exceptionally good for this last leg.

Note: For those who don’t know, the Mexican military is on the front line in the drug wars so they are everywhere. Not only is the Navy in evidence all over the Sea and the coastal waters, but pretty much anywhere you go ashore you’ll see large trucks driving around filled with young men in fatigues and carrying machine guns. Sometimes it is a little disconcerting but they are working hard to put an end to the violence that has been going on here.