LIVING IN THE MOMENT

A rare pic of Falcon at dawn, taken by Dr. James Smithson from his uncle's boat

Though the fickle winds sometimes mean we motor or stay put, other days it couldn’t be better.  Last Wednesday was one of those days. Sea Rover II and Falcon VII left Bahia Coyote just after breakfast, hoping the predicted southerly blow would push us the 50 miles to Santa Rosalia before dusk.  What a day it was, the best of our sailing season!

Moments after we weighed anchor, a dozen huge dolphins charged towards us, each pivoting 180° just in front of our bow, as if choreographed, so they could play in our bow wave.  For over a half hour more and more dolphins joins in, including one meter long baby sticking close to its parent.

I leaned as far over the pulpit as I could, wishing I could stretch enough to touch those beautiful creatures who seemed so excited to be there.  One in particular, with visible scars all down its back, stayed longer than the rest, twisting to look up at me every few seconds.  I swear there was eye contact! It was a great way to start the day, which got better and better.

Falcon VII and Sea Rover II sailed north together under perfect conditions.  Shorts, tee shirts, sun and sea life. What could be better! Jim spotted a mass of boiling water off our port bow where a school of squid were being chased by something big.  We changed course and heated it up til we were screaming along, beam reaching at 6 knots in flat water.

Pelicans hoping for a quick snack, having spotted fish below the surface.

 Huge fish, possibly dorado, were feeding on the terrified squid.  Their distinctive colouring of vibrant green, yellow and turquoise were easy to spot just below the surface.  We were towing a fishing line and hoped just one smallish dorado would take the bait but...no go. Darn!  We're running out of fishing time!!!

Sea Rover II leaving Bahia Concepcion under sail

We both flew our spinnakers for hours.  This is Sea Rover II gaining on us.

By early afternoon the winds increased slightly as we changed course to the northwest and eased the chute for a glorious warm weather sail.  Massive sting rays jumped a metre out of the water while humpback whales in the distance spy hopped before crashing back below the rippled surface.  We stayed in radio contact with Gary and Karina on Sea Rover II, who were enjoying their afternoon under a multi-coloured asymmetrical spinnaker and mainsail.

Falcon VII under spinnaker heading towards Santa Rosalia

Towards late afternoon the winds lightened up but we still flew our blue on blue spinnaker til we reached Santa Rosalia’s breakwater.  What a day!  We flew the spinnaker for a total of 8 hours under the best conditions imaginable and couldn’t have been happier.

We spent a pleasant week in Santa Rosalia last year, exploring the remains of their copper smelter, hiking the hills and enjoying really great bbq’d chicken. See our February 2014 blogs for more photos of Santa Rosalia.

View towards the marina and points south from one of the many hills

The mining museum sustained considerable damage from
Hurricane Odile last September.  Artifacts had to be relocated inside.

The old marina used to be here before Hurricane Odile, which sunk this boat.

Nature meets industry where remains from the smelter share the garden space.

The outside of the restored power generating station.

On Good Friday we joined other cruising friends to watch the annual re-enactment of the Passion Play in Santa Rosalia’s town square. Hundreds of Mexican’s joined the procession after the play, which wound through town before heading up a steep hill that led to a prominent cross overlooking the harbour. Very interesting. Some of the cruisers followed the entire procession.

We had a sumptuous cruisers’ potluck at the Santa Rosalia Marina Fonatur on Easter Sunday, where close to 20 sailors from all over the world shared dinner and swapped stories of our travels.

Our BC cruising buds at Santa Rosalia's town square
 Top row: Jim, Tricia with Debra and Rob (Avant)
Middle row: Gary (Sea Rover II) and Scott (Kialoa)
Bottom row: Karina (Sea Rover II) and Tanya (Kialoa)

We'll be prepping for cruising to Guaymas on Tuesday, a 78 mile crossing of the Sea of Cortez.  We hope the wind gods are in our favour but, no matter what, we’ll enjoy another day on the warm waters of Mexico while we live in the moment and embrace our adventure.

Happy Easter
Jim and Tricia Bowen
S/V Falcon VII