Passage to La Paz

As usual, we enjoyed Mazatlan more than we expected to. Every time we visit this city we find new and interesting places to visit, and meet new and interesting people . This place is working its way up toward my top five favorite places to visit in Mexico. But all things come to an end, and our time in Mazatlan ended at 1100 on Monday, April 20th as Finisterra cleared the breakwater at El Cid, and headed northwest along the mainland coast.

The forecast was for light northwesterly winds so we motored in that direction, keeping about 10 miles off the coast, with the idea that we would be in a good position to make a quick passage across the Sea once the wind veered around to North. We wanted to pass to the north of Isla Cerralvo and avoid the Cerralvo Channel, which has earned a reputation in my mind as a frequently unpleasant stretch of water.

By dusk we were some 50 miles northwest of Mazatlan, still motoring over flat seas in 2-3 knots of wind. Later that night we bent our course further toward the west, expecting the wind to shift north and build to a forecasted 15 knots. That shift didnt happen and we continued across the Sea under power through a beautiful night with a sliver of waning moon hanging low over the western horizon.

We motored along all the next day over the same glassy seas. By late afternoon, Isla Cerralvo was off our port bow. About ten miles before we passed the rocks that lie off the northern tip of the island, a wind came up out of the south. It wasnt what I expected but I was glad to have it and quickly unrolled the jib, thinking that if it lasted more than ten minutes Id hoist the main and wed have a nice close reach across the north edge of the Cerralvo Channel. Instead the wind, a Coromuel, piped up to 25 knots and veered SW and then WSW, bringing a lumpy head sea with it and erasing my thoughts of a pleasant passage through the San Lorenzo channel.

The San Lorenzo Channel lies between Isla Espiritu Santo to the north and the Baja Peninsula to the south.

San Lorenzo is a fairly short and narrow channel with hazards to navigation on both sides, and it didnt take long to get through it in spite of the Coromuel wind and rough seas. I knew that once we passed through the channel the wind would back around to SW and continue all night. So as soon as we were well clear of the channel we turned and headed southeast to Puerto Balandra. The wind was still blowing 25-30 as we approached the bay in pitchy darkness. We could see the lights of a few boats anchored there, but as we approached closer we were able to pick our way between them and came to anchor at 2330 in the southwest corner of the bay, about 100 yards off some low bluffs that offered good protection from the waves, if not the wind.

With the big Rocna anchor and 120 feet of chain down in 20 feet of water, we had a quick dinner and a glass of wine. Then Lisa turned in and I sat for a while in the cockpit watching the stars twinkling in the moonless night. I kept an eye on the GPS as well, just to make sure the anchor was doing its job, then turned in myself around 0100.  I was up again at 0300 and 0600, monitoring the GPS but the anchor, as always, kept us in place.

The next two days were spent in lazy solitude in Puerto Balandra, the Coromuel wind blew both nights, giving way each day to lighter northerly winds and overcast skies. After two peaceful days we got the anchor up and headed into Marina Palmira in La Paz, where well stay a couple of weeks.

Passage to Mazatlan

Dawn off Mazatlan

While we were in La Cruz I was able to dig further into the charger/inverter malfunction and confirmed that the charger part of the unit stopped working. This is a big deal because though we have solar panels on the boat, they are not sufficient to keep the batteries charged over the long term. The charger/inverter, a Newmar 1800, has been in the boat for about nine years so I can’t complain too much about it.

Charger/inverters are not easy to find here in Mexico and it was beginning to look like we’d be stuck in La Cruz for a few more weeks while we went through the hassle of shipping the unit back and forth to Minnesota for repairs. But as luck would have it, John Pounder at JP Marine in La Cruz happened to have a brand new Magnum 2000 in his shop that had recently become an orphan. It was ordered for a boat in Puerto Vallarta that burned up before the unit could be installed.  It took about three hours to replace the unit and another couple of hours to wire in a new remote display at the chart table. Total cost for the new unit was about $2,400. We’ll take the old one home, have it repaired and then sell it.

With that little project completed we were ready to leave La Cruz for the last time this year. Finisterra cleared the breakwater at 0810 on March 31^st, bound for Bahia Matanchen, the correct pronunciation of which is Ma-tan-CHEN. We arrived late in the afternoon and dropped anchor about ¾ mile from the beach. This area has always been known for its vicious noseeums and, more recently, dengue fever carrying mosquitos. The best defense for these pests is anchoring well out in the bay, screens on hatches and ports, and DEET laced insect repellant. We spent a peaceful night at anchor and the next morning took the dinghy ashore and hitched a ride into the town of San Blas. It’s the holiday season in Mexico, with Semana Santa (Easter week) followed by Semana Pascua (Resurrection week), so the town and beaches are full of Mexican vacationers. We wandered around the town for a few hours watching the festivities, then got back aboard Finisterra around noon.

Matanchen Bay. San Blas is surrounded by one of the largest mangrove ecoregions in Mexico, encompassing 770 square miles of what we might call swamp land. No wonder the place is full of no-nos and mosquitos.

We departed Matanchen at 1330 on April 1^st and headed out around the rocks that lie off Punta Camaron before heading northwest toward the beautiful city of Mazatlan. There was only about three knots of wind all afternoon and most of night as we motored over glassy northwest swells. A big waxing gibbous moon was already well above the eastern horizon when the sun set so it was a beautiful night on the sea. We arrived the following day at the anchorage off Isla de La Piedra at 0830 and anchored a couple of hundred yards east of the Escollera de Las Chivas in about 15 feet of water. People call this place Stone Island anchorage.  The last time we anchored here, the place was deserted and the palapa restaurants that line the beach were mostly closed, victims of a combination economic recession and narco-violence. Since then the cruise ships have returned and the restaurants are packed with Mexican vacationers, and a few gringos as well. 

Finisterra at anchor off Stone Island.

We spent a couple of days anchored off Stone Island and hiked to the top of Isla de Las Chivas, which is actually not really an island anymore, but is connected to the mainland by the "escollera" or breakwater that was built years ago to make Mazatlan a suitable deepwater port. There was just enough of a south swell running to make beach landings in the dinghy dampish at best so on Saturday, April 4th we got the anchor up and motored around the small islands that lie just offshore from Mazatlan to the El Cid marina where we will stay for the next couple of weeks.

Arcona 410 Review

Arcona is a name we seldom see in the USA, which is unfortunate because this Swedish company builds a line of nice looking and fast boats that I think could do well in this country. All of their current products were designed by Stefan Qviberg, another name that is pretty much unknown in the USA but I must say his firms work is impressive. The 410 is the latest collaboration between Qviberg and Arcona.

Simplicity and balance are main elements of the Arcona 410 design

As I studied the drawings and photos of the 410, the theme that came to mind was simplicity and balance efficiently combined. In the profile view above, notice the delicately sprung sheer and balanced bow and stern profiles. The cabin trunk is low and blends perfectly with the subtly sprung sheerline. Simple designs are often the most difficult to execute well.

The 410 is fitted with a tall fractional rig with non-overlapping headsails. Notice the oversize spinnaker pole.
This boat will be a serious competitor on the race course.

The Arcona 410 is intended as a racer/cruiser and I would place it on the racier end of that spectrum. With a displacement of 17,200 pounds on a 36.75 waterline, it has a displacement/length ratio of 155 and a sail area/displacement ratio of 22.0. These numbers are indicative of a light and fairly powerful sailing yacht. By comparison, my Beneteau 423 has a D/L of 152 and a SA/D of 16.0. While the two boats have similar D/L ratios, the Arcona has roughly 33% more power in the rig. Its going to be a lot quicker in light air, and have higher speed potential in a breeze. The Arcona will be a the more interesting boat to sail. 

Wide side decks, non overlapping jibs and an Admirals Cup style mainsheet system show the 410s emphasis on performance.

I like the distribution of volume in the plan view below. The overall beam is 11.48 feet and the bow is relatively fine. Notice that the stern is not as wide as you find on some other recently designed cruiser/racers. There has been a faddish trend toward extremely wide sterns on this type of boat in recent years, and while that hullform has obvious advantages when a boat is in planing mode, I think a more balanced hullform offers better handling characteristics in a seaway.

The decks of the 410 are wide and uncluttered, perfect for racing. The cockpit is a good compromise for both racing and cruising, with big seats and plenty of space for working the boat or lounging. The open transom and twin helms are convenient for boarding from the dinghy and enable the helmsman to sit well outboard.

Notice that there is no provision for anchor storage on the bow. This is great for racing but youll want to order your 410 with a bow roller and windlass if you plan to anchor. I like the recess for the dodger that is molded into the cabin top. The way we cruise, there is never a time when we want the dodger put away, but if you race as much as you cruise, a fold-away dodger makes a lot of sense.

Notice the recesses for sheet and halyard tails, and the mainsheet traveler mounted on the sole. Another nice feature is the block and tackle backstay adjuster, which is lighter and faster than a hydraulic unit would be. This boat has teak toe rails that are smaller than I would like for cruising.

Near perfect accommodations plan.

Arcona offers the 410 in two and three cabin layouts, and I could live with either, but the two cabin version would be ideal for a cruising couple. The aft stateroom incorporates a huge berth, a large hanging/stowage locker and plenty of shelf space.  

The small deadlight in the hull will provide a surprising amount of light in the aft stateroom. 

The aft head is just large enough to incorporate a shower. The three cabin version of the 410 offers a single head, located aft, while the two cabin includes an additional small head in the forecabin. In the main salon you find a large galley to port, with lots of counter space. Notice that the lockers above the stove are raised a few inches above the counter. This cuts into locker space a bit but creates more counter space.

Scandinavian styling: simple lines and high quality woodwork.

The arrangement of the galley wouldnt be very convenient to work in when the boat is under sail. This is probably a reasonable compromise if you dont do a lot of cooking at sea. Once in the slip or on the anchor, I think the cook would like this wide open arrangement. the nav station, opposite the galley would be a nice place to work anytime. The chart table is an ample size and there is plenty of storage space.

 The main salon includes a large dropleaf table and plenty of seating space, but the settee to starboard doesnt look quite long enough to be a good sea berth. We have the same basic arrangement aboard Finisterra and I added a lee board in the quarterberth to convert it to a usable sea berth when were underway.

The forward cabin includes the aforementioned head, a large v-berth and smallish hanging locker. The accommodations plan shows that the berth has been pushed aft a bit to allow for storage room aft of the anchor locker but I dont see an access hatch in the photo below. Aside from that, the forward cabin looks bright and airy.

V-berth in the 3 cabin version of the 410

The styling of the interior of the Arcona 410 fits nicely with the overall theme of clean, simple lines. While some might appreciate fancier design elements in the accommodations, I think this approach will wear well over time. The corners and edges are softer than we see in the latest designs from competitors like Beneteau and Hanse, yet it is a thoroughly modern looking interior. I like it a lot.

Overall I give this boat high marks for design and it should be a worthy competitor in the marketplace as well as on the race course. Add a few amenities such as lazy jacks and an anchor windlass and youll have a fine cruising yacht. I encourage you to visit the Arcona web site, which is where I found the information on this boat: www.arconayachts.se.

Three Weeks in La Paz

Finisterra took a berth in Marina Palmira on April 24th where I had planned to do some routine engine maintenance, the most important of which was to service the fuel injectors. Rob from Cross Marine did the injector work and gave the engine a complete inspection while I replaced filters, tightened belts and generally puttered around the engine. In the course of his inspection Rob discovered a slight leak in the raw water pump. Fortunately I had a rebuild kit in my spare parts cache and within a day or two that job was done.

La Paz  with Marina Palmira in the foreground. Its a nice hike up a rocky trail from the marina to the top of the hill where these pictures were taken. 

La Paz is the only city on the gulf coast of Baja California. It boasts a population of around 250,000 including nearby suburbs. Mulege, Loreto, and Santa Rosalia are also located on the Sea of Cortez side of the Baja Peninsula, but I categorize them as towns or villages with populations of  4,000, 15,000 and 12,000 respectively.

Because of its location La Paz is the place where cruisers gather before heading up the Sea. Of course there is a fairly large contingent of cruisers who have become more or less permanent residents of this area, some of whom anchor out in the channel between the city and the El Mogote Peninsula, which lies between La Paz and the Sea. Hurricane Odile ravaged the Baja Peninsula last year, passing just to the west of the city and wreaking havoc ashore and among the boats in the anchorage. As we sailed down the channel on our approach to Marina Palmira, we could see evidence of Odiles fury in damaged buildings and torn up docks in the marina. Odile did almost one and a quarter billion dollars worth of damage in Mexico and took over a dozen lives.

The pilings in the upper left are all thats left of the docks at the entrance to Marina Palmira. Notice the boats in the storage yard.

One day I helped deliver a boat out to the Tramper, a heavy lift ship that was anchored in the bay. The Tramper was on a voyage delivering yachts from one place to another. After its stop in La Paz, it was headed to Ensenada, then British Columbia.

As far as I know, the Tramper picked up three boats in La Paz

This 40 racer/cruiser was picked up before our boat.

The boat comes alongside the ship, a couple of handlers descend the jacobs ladder and the slings are lowered aft of the boat. Then a pair of divers, which you can see holding the slings in this shot, align them under the boat, making sure they arent touching the shaft, prop or rudder. 

Before the boat is hoisted aboard the ship, they do a test lift to make sure it hangs in the slings the way they want it. If all is good, the boss gives the order to load the boat.

Our little boat was up next. It has spent many years cruising in Mexico and is headed home to Canada for a rest and refit. It got shoe-horned between the dark hulled C&C and the white boat with the black stripe.

With the job done, we climbed aboard a panga and headed back to shore.

La Paz is usually a hot place this time of year, with average daytime temperatures of 92 degrees under a usually blazing sun. But over the last couple of weeks weve enjoyed temps in the low eighties with cool Coromuel winds blowing almost every night. Its made hiking and exploring the city quite bearable and weve enjoyed the place more than ever. Of course, friends are what really make a place enjoyable and weve spent a good deal of time socializing with great people.

With Finisterra well provisioned, fueled and ready to go, were heading out tomorrow for the islands to the north of us. The rough plan is to spend a day or two in Puerto Balandra, then a few days in the coves of Islas Espiritu Santo and Partida before heading further north to Isla San Francisco and beyond.

Passage to La Cruz

Finisterra departed Puerto Los Cabos at 1130 on Friday, November 28th after five pleasant days in the marina. Conditions were expected to be mostly light air for the entire passage to La Cruz, which would be a nice change from the more boisterous conditions we experienced on the Pacific side of Baja. Our water tanks were nearly empty so as soon as we cleared the harbor mouth I started the watermaker and over the next 18 hours we added 125 gallons to the tanks.

Throughout that day and night the wind remained constant at 15-18 knots out of the north and we made good progress under sail. With light air in the forecast we were thinking of passing to the north of the Islas Tres Marias and stopping at Isla Isabella before turning south to Bahia de Banderas but the seas were still fairly rough, left over from the strong northerly blow of the previous few days, making it uncomfortable to sail toward that island. I was just as happy to leave the Marias to port and sail the more direct route.

Early the next morning the wind backed around to northwest and lightened to about 6 knots, which gave us a speed of about 3.5 knots toward our destination. I fired up the diesel and we motorsailed the rest of the way to La Cruz. I had been watching another sailing vessel on AIS that left San Jose an hour ahead of us. It was a nearly new 50 footer with a code Zero headsail up, which gave it good speed in light air, and it stayed about three miles ahead of us for the entire passage.

As we approached Bahia de Banderas I noticed that the other boat was headed directly for the Islas Tres Marietas instead of the safe channel between those islands and Punta de Mita. By the time we were within about ten miles of the Islas it was pretty clear that their intention was to thread their way through them. As it was a dark and moonless night, and knowing that the folks aboard that boat had never been in these waters before, I called them on the VHF and offered to give them some waypoints in the channel between the Marietas and Pta. de Mita. The skipper thanked me and altered course about 20 degrees and made the entrance to the bay safe and sound. The Tres Marietas are beautiful but there are lots of rocks and shoals around them, and its not a place to be on a moonless night if youre not armed with very good local knowledge. Even then, its better to visit them during the daytime.

Finisterra entered Bahia de Banderas just after 0300 local time. With no wind at all, we motored slowly toward La Cruz, timing our arrival for first light on Sunday, November 30th,  Nevertheless, was still pitch dark when we got there so we loitered just outside the anchorage until the first streaks of dawn appeared over the mountains to the east, then entered the harbor and took a berth on Gangway 10.

It was great to arrive back at our favorite harbor in all of Mexico.