Chillin' in Chamela

Okay…I think I am finally “over” beating myself up for being a wussie-pants and turning back last night. Chris has told me that it was the “right” decision and he is glad I made it.

We arrived in Chamela Saturday afternoon after a nice, day sail from Barra de Navidad. We had been watching the GRIBS (official weather documents that we get via the internet) and listening to weather reports and it appeared that Monday would be the best day to scoot around the infamous Cabo Corrientes and into La Cruz. In the meantime, we had a little time to enjoy this pretty little palm fringed bay and relax. Our friend, Dan, was already here and waiting for the same weather window. He planned to leave on Sunday so we had him over for dinner Saturday night to catch up.

Sunday Chris & I were having our morning coffee when we heard “Faith! Faith!” and came up into the cockpit as Steve on “Nautilus” circled us on his way in. He and two other boats had come down from La Cruz that night and were ready for a little socializing followed by a good night’s sleep. We all got together on “Cloud IX” for drinks and a wonderful dinner of Chili Rellenos, beans and rice prepared by Marta. As is always the case with cruisers, it didn’t take long for the conversation to turn to weather and their trip south. Mike, the local weather guru in Banderas Bay said if you were going south, Sunday was the only day to go as there is a big norther building up that will be here starting Monday. Then they told us that they’d had 30 knot winds coming around the Cape and were going very, very fast under reefed sails. OK…second thoughts about leaving on Monday!

Monday morning we pulled the GRIBS again and it looked do-able. The official prediction was for NW winds of 10-11 knots and seas of 3-4 feet at 15 second intervals. It would be uncomfortable but nothing we haven’t done before…and…it was supposed to calm down after dark. Cabo Corrientes is well known for nasty weather (as are most capes) so most people go around it sometime between 10pm and 10 am under the theory that that is when it is the calmest. We discussed the options and what we wanted to do (see friends who are in La Cruz…get started on renewing our FM3’s…get to Mazatlan to get Chris’ knee looked at…etc) and decided to go for it. Again…IF the weather had been as predicted it wouldn’t have been any worse than last year’s trip north.

We left Chamela at noon yesterday and had fairly benign conditions with wind about 10 knots (smack dab on the nose, of course…which means you can’t sail into it) and seas about 2 feet. We motored happily north looking for whales and other sea life. About 5:00 I made dinner before taking my 6pm watch. While I was cooking it was clear that things had really started picking up. The seas came up to 4 ft or so and were very confused (from more than one direction) and the wind was gradually building. By the time sunset rolled around at 7:00 we were into winds that were 25 knots and higher (still directly on the nose) and breaking seas that had built to 5-6 feet and were very close together. The boat would climb up to the top of one of these big waves and crash down into the trough, drenching the entire boat in saltwater. Clearly, conditions were worsening by the minute. This was VERY uncomfortable! My mind was churning. I kept reminding myself that “the boats can take it…it is just the people who are uncomfortable” and thinking about being tied up to a slip the next day. As we climbed to the top of another big one and slammed down on the other side our boat speed went down to 2 knots. At that point I decided that the experience was no longer meeting our #1 criteria…it was no longer fun! I knew that at that speed it would take 10 more hours of pounding just to get to the Cape and then we had another 6-8 hours to cross Banderas Bay. I broached the subject of turning back and Chris said he was fine with whatever we did but that it was my decision. Oh…the “joys” of being the “La Capitana”! After a few more minutes of bashing, as the last of the light was leaving the sky, I decided I just, plain didn’t feel like doing this all night long and around we went.

Once we turned south again the whole motion of the boat calmed right down. Poor Abby had been below…terrified…through all that bucking and pounding. We’d been down several times to pet her and talk to her but she was not happy with the situation and we couldn’t really do a lot to ease her stress with all that was going on and our own elevated stress levels. At any rate, once we turned around things changed dramatically. We were now going w-i-t-h the wind and the seas and even though the waves were still big and still breaking, we were surfing down the front instead of trying to go over the top. We averaged 7 knots on the return trip and by 1:30 am we were back in the anchorage with the hook down & set and ready for a good night’s sleep.

This morning Chris checked the GRIBS again and we’ll be listening to the nets regularly to get the very latest but at this point it looks like we will be here for at least a week. Oh well. I am willing to wait for a MUCH calmer passage! We loaded up on food, water and wine before we left Barra. We have movies (and a few more episodes of Boston Legal) to watch, games to play, internet access and tons of great reading material. The wind is up again but we are securely anchored in a beautiful spot. I’m happy. Chris is happy. Abby is happy. And this is a nice opportunity for Chris & I to just enjoy being “alone together” for a while. Life is good!