I was a little reluctant to join the Haha, but I'm glad we did. It's a good group of like minded people who appreciate the safety and community of the group. They give back to the communities they visit and help coordinate clearance formalities with Mexican officials. Overall it has been a very positive experience.
Since our last blog post we travelled another day and a half to Bahia Santa Maria where we are now, settling in for a second night. The last half of that leg saw sustained winds in the low twenties for most of the night with gusts in the low thirties. It was a wild ride with a lot of sail damage reported. By then we had already lost our spinnaker, so we sailed through the night in reasonable comfort with a reefed genoa. From the sound of it, the boats that fared the best were the ones that sailed most conservatively, not trying to make too much of a good thing.
A few hours before daylight, we apparently sailed through the lines of a small fishing boat that wasn't visible to our man on watch. We quickly broke free and continued through the night, but an hour later he caught up with us motored along side for a while, shouting at us in Spanish. This continued for an hour or so before he contacted our fleet demanding compensation for for his lost equipment. We met with him in the anchorage the following morning and after some negotiation paid him $100. It was a little stressful and we were glad to have the incident behind us. It could have been a lot worse. Those guys are difficult to see and it would be so easy to hit one.
With that we were free to relax. We've had beach BBQ parties at both anchorages and the party at this location included a live band. They drove over from La Paz and the locals set up booths to serve food. We hired a panga to drive us to shore so we wouldn't have to deal with the surf in the dinghy, then took a short hike on the bluffs along the shoreline, before joining the party. Cheap, cold beer, good food, live (sort of) music and ample chitchat were enjoyed by all.
Tomorrow we have a short four hour motor to Man-o-war cove in Magdalena Bay.
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You guys are getting your fair share of adventures! I guess cultural exchanges are part of the fun and challenges as well. Love reading about this trip - I can enjoy what you are experiencing vicariously. Although a cold Mexican beer and local food on a beach is something to be experienced in real life!
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