Sailing to the Revillagigedo Islands
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| S/V Second Wind - Photo by Chuck This Tayana 37 is a beautiful and seaworthy vessel ...and my home for 18 days!   I've been on quite an adventure! I still can't believe that just a couple weeks ago I was swimming with sea turtles in the bay of a remote island in the Pacific Ocean. I'm very new to sailing - I just took sailing lessons two months before this cruise - so I really had no clue what to expect. It was challenging but also so incredibly exciting! Overall the sailing part was not too difficult. We had autopilot and favorable winds so mostly we just trimmed the sails now and then. And I didn't touch them unless I was told to! We did one jibe and no tacks during the entire 13 days at sea. I learned so much about sailing! And I know I've barely scratched the surface but this trip sure piqued my interest in sailing. I can't wait to learn even more. While I did feel insecure about my ability to crew, I know I did my best. Can't do more than that!  Second Wind Arriving in Cabo Day 1 - S/V Second Wind and S/V Top Cider have arrived in Cabo where I'm meeting up with them. The plan is to head out to sea in only two days. Can we do it? We must! There's a lot to do to get prepared but the Baja HaHa is coming to fill the marina and we must be gone before all those boats arrive. I'm sailing on Second Wind which is owned by Laurin, a long time friend. Carol and I will be his crew. The other boat, Top Cider is owned by Chuck and Sharon. They are joined by Candace as crew. They are all very experienced sailors which I'm very thankful for - I plan to learn as much as possible from them! Day 2 - We're not even sailing yet and my adventure has begun. I'm the one chosen to buy provisions for Second Wind! Aack! Me? The only novice in the group? But I did my best and I'm thankful to say that no one starved. At this point I'm feeling very much in over my head! Day 3 - We leave Cabo around 11am after enjoying breakfast on Top Cider. Candace is not only a very experienced sailor, she's also a great chef and knows a lot about cooking on a boat. I know I'll learn a lot from her. What a great morning! While looking at Top Cider sailing off in the distance I spot a flying fish - it's having so much fun bouncing across the top of the water. It's my first sea life sighting and pretty amazing. My stomach is a little off late in the day and a nap helps - but I miss sunset during my nap! Thankfully there will be many more to enjoy. We decide on two hour overnight shifts and I'm assigned watches starting at midnight and 6am. As the novice this way I only have one watch in total darkness. The moment I come on duty at midnight, seeing the stars is even better than I ever imagined! This is my first time so far from city lights and the stars are amazing! It's so empowering to be alone with the stars, the water and a boat in the middle of the night! I find it surprising how fast two hours alone in the cockpit go by.  My First Sunrise at Sea Day 4 - It's 6am and I am alone on deck as the sun comes up. Again, it's like I'm the only person on earth - what an amazing feeling! It's going to be another beautiful day. We see whale spouts but none come close to us. They seem to like Top Cider better. And for the first time in my life - I can't see land! I'm going to experience a lot of firsts on this cruise. Winds are very light and we motor assist sail most of the day. Lots of luffing going on with the sails. I am sad that my stomach is still a bit off. My goal is to feel well enough to work my midnight shift and I do it! But it will be good to be at anchor tomorrow... Day 5 - Land is in sight at day break! This morning we anchor at San Benedicto, the most northern of this group of islands. We've sailied 220 nautical miles in 43 hours. San Benedicto is a very rugged volcano. Right now we're at latitude 19 - I've never been this far south before! We have the bay to ourselves - haven't seen any other boats since we left Cabo. There's no place to go ashore so after breakfast Carol and Candace kayak, Chuck snorkels, Laurin works on his dinghy outboard while Sharon and I get to know each other. And I get a shower on Top Cider. Life is good!!  Arriving at Isla San Benedicto  God feels very near by! Day 6 - Eating cantaloupe for breakfast while listening to classical music is heavenly. I could get used to this! Today I snorkel for the first time in many years. Have a bit of panic at first - I'm having trouble getting used to the idea of breathing through my mouth. But I finally catch on! The water is both choppy and murky - we all hope we have better conditions at our next anchorage. I'm exhausted after snorkeling for just a couple hours. We see funny birds that looked like they have okra for beaks - everything is so different here. After snorkeling everyone comes to Second Wind for chips, salsa and margaritas. We partied till sunset! (6pm!!)  Top Cider at Anchor   A Tropical Bird  So beautiful Day 7 - Time to leave San Benedicto and head to Isla Socorro - the largest of the islands. There's a little more wind but it's still light. That does not stop us from having a great day of sailing. Both boats are sailing 'wing and wing'. It's so cool to see the sails stretched out on each side of the boat! And we see dolphins! Chuck is so funny - he gets out on his bowsprit and whistles with them. They seem to love it! We get to Socorro a little after sunset and Second Wind rafts to Top Cider in a little bahia on the north west side of the island. Lots of fenders including Laurin's four big red balls make it work. It is so nice having neighbors just a step away. But I'm so clueless - it's after the trip is over that I realize rafting is necessary because the bay is so small.  Top Cider Sailing Wing & Wing - Photo by Carol    Rafted Boats  Having Fun on Top Cider - Photo by Carol Day 8 - What an incredible day!!! After breakfast we head to shore and make the short walk over to the Blue Lagoon. It's our first time on land in five days. The snorkeling is amazing! Beautiful coral and so many colorful fish. It's like swimming in an aquarium. We have a fish reference guide and are able to find many of the fish we see. My favorites are the box fish and the trumpet fish. (Google them to see what they look like.) There are also little black crabs covering the rocks - seems like thousands of them. The others see sea turtles but I never do - I'm disappointed. But then we hike up a hill and find Socorro's Arch. Wow! It is so beautiful. Chuck even climbs over it and swims through it. This is a very special day. It's like each day is better than the last!  See the boats out past the narrow strip of land?  Socorro's Arch - Photo by Laurin  
Underwater photos by Laurin
I wake up before sunrise and sit in the cockpit just enjoying the view. It's so beautiful! Another day in paradise! Plus I have my best night of sleep so far. It feels great to be better rested. We leave around 10:30 and motor to 'Bahia Second Cider'. These are mostly uncharted waters and we think this is a creative name. Second Wind has some trouble anchoring and in the process the dinghy line gets stuck in the prop. Oops! Carol is quick with grabbing the line and eventually everything gets unstuck. Then Chuck and Carol snorkel for a little bit while I take pictures from the boat. We're not going to be here long and after a couple hours we move on to 'Bahia de Coco' (there are coconut palms on shore) and anchor for the night. Chuck and Carol go on shore and get some coconuts. This is a nice protected anchorage with calm waters.  Bahia 'Second Cider'  A coconut grove is in there!  Day 10 - Another amazing day! How can they keep getting better? And yet they are! Bahia de Coco is full of sea turtles. I see three on my first venture out and swim with one for several minutes. I'm circling on the surface with the turtle circling just a few feet below me. Incredible! Then we come back to the boat and break open the coconut that Chuck brought us yesterday. We have fresh coconut milk and meat for a snack. Another first for me! It's time to snorkel again and this time we go all the way on to shore. It took a bit but we finally find a way into the coconut grove. The plan is to hang a hammock between two palm trees but when we hear the loud crash of a coconut falling - that plan is scrapped. I feel like I'm on a deserted island! Of course, I see another turtle on my way back to the boat. Can't get enough of these majestic creatures. It's now time to leave this bay in paradise and move to the south end of the island. We anchor very near a Mexican Navy base. There's more wind tonight which makes for a rolly anchorage, but that also makes it cooler which is very, very nice.  We got up close! - Photo by Laurin  Yummy Fresh Coconut 
I didn't know I was being followed! Photo by Laurin
Day 11 - The Mexican Navy comes calling! But we are not surprised. They come on board each boat to inspect our documents and all is good. They are very nice and we practice Spanish while they practice English and it's all done with a good bit of laughing. They say they don't see many sailboats. We spend the rest of the day motoring to the north side of the island. We see a dive boat today. We also see a large area of fish feeding near the surface of the water. (If you've ever seen video of piranha feeding that's what it looked like.) Top Cider stops to snorkel at a large rock off shore while Second Wind heads in to anchor in a bay with a nice sandy beach. The others go snorkeling while I get stuff out for dinner and take a nap. Sailing is exhausting! And keeping my balance is a great core workout. Second Wind has Top Cider over for a spaghetti dinner and we all agree that food tastes much better out on the water. We start the meal with a special treat - a shot of Ukrainian Vodka. Yumm!   Day 12 - It's our last full day on Socorro Island and we wake up to a beautiful sunrise - again. I do dishes and help check the fuel level - we still have half a tank. Then we all move to Top Cider and head out to the big rock for more snorkeling. Carol, Laurin and Chuck snorkel all the way around the rock and after that Chuck also goes for a dive. We hold the first annual Cribbage Tournament - Carol wins. But mostly we just enjoy a relaxing day on the boat. At dusk, while I'm helping get the dinghy on board, I watch a sea turtle just floating nearby for a very long time. They are such amazing creatures! That night with the spreader lights on we see hundreds of baby turtles swimming around the boat. It's so incredible! We had seen large holes in the sand above the water line on the beach and now we realize they must be hatched turtle nests. I'm in awe at how God has made everything in His creation work together so perfectly!   Snorkeling in the Pacific Ocean Day 13 - We're up early so we can start sailing to mainland Mexico with the 6am sunrise. Later in the morning, I'm at the helm, we have 12 knot northerly winds, are sailing at 8 knots at a close haul and are heeled at about 25 degrees. It lasts for about three hours and is the best sailing I've ever experienced. I can't get the grin off my face! My midnight to 2am watch is also incredible. For the first time I'm really sailing alone - no motoring involved. But it does feel like I'm cheating because the auto-pilot is on...  Last Sunrise on Socorro   Day 14 - Oh dear - it's the second day at sea and my stomach decides, once again that it's not happy. I'm thankful some ginger pills and a nap help. Carol and Laurin set up the Wind Vane and it works great. We do have auto-pilot but it's fun to see something new guide the boat. Our activity today is sorting garbage and recycling what we can. It's both messy and fun. Again we are motor assist sailing because we have a deadline on shore. It would be wonderful to only use sails because conditions are so good but we need the motor to keep us moving faster. Trying to sleep between watches I discover how hard it is to stay in a berth when the boat is at a 35 degree heel. It takes some effort - but I finally do get a little sleep. I'm not only learning about sailing, I'm learning how to live on a boat.   Day 15 - We're still motor assisted sailing. The wind was supposed to die down but it didn't and we're moving right along. The goal is to reach Puerto Vallarta before dark but we don't quite make it. About 12 miles from shore we get cell service! It feels great to be back 'on the grid'. We anchor at La Cruz just north of Puerto Vallarta and celebrate with popcorn made on the stove top. No microwave popcorn for us! This final sail was 64 hours long and we travelled 330 nautical miles. Day 16 - We have food left! Carol and I make breakfast burritos for our last meal on the boat. Yummy! And we spend some time scrubbing everything down and getting the boat shipshape. Second Wind needs fuel so while we fuel up Chuck takes a look around and decides that the La Cruz Marina is a good place to spend a few nights. I help with docking the boat - fenders are put in place, docking lines need to be just right, the mainsail gets covered and more. When we are docked, I head straight to the showers! It feels wonderful! Then I have drinks with the gals at the Yacht Club before we all go out to dinner.  Arriving in La Cruz, Mexico  Mi Amigas   First Dinner on Land Days 17, 18 & 19 - Surprise, surprise! I get my land legs back right away. The only rocking I do is when I get a massage but it only lasts a couple hours - hallelujah. I buy my plane ticket for Seattle; it will be really hard to leave but I'm also looking forward to getting home. On Thanksgiving Day I get to use a hairdryer for the first time in over two weeks - I never thought that's what I'd be most thankful for! Also on Thanksgiving we take a bus in to Puerto Vallarta. It is only 20 pesos! About $1 for a one hour ride. Prices are so much cheaper here than in Cabo. First stop is a marine hardware store where the others have a great time shopping. The employees are putting up Christmas decorations and listening to Christmas music - in English! From there we go into old town and have a fantastic seafood dinner. I must admit I don't miss not having any turkey. I'll take shrimp in Mexico any day! After dinner we take the bus back to La Cruz and have Nitro ice-cream for dessert. I love watching it be made. Another first!   Thanksgiving Dinner in Puerto Vallarta Now it's time for me to head home and back to my reality. As a new sailor I am so thankful I got to go on this adventure. I can honestly say this trip is one of the most amazing things I've ever experienced!
What I learned:
- Sailing is great exercise! Mostly from the workout I got from keeping my balance.
- There is no way to avoid salt. I was hot, sweaty and covered in salt - everyday.
- I need to lighten up. I tried so hard to do my best that I sometimes took sailing too seriously.
- It's possible to wash a lot of dishes in very little water. I need to do this at home!
- I got scrapes, bruises, torn nails and a great tan!
- People that sail are pretty amazing!
- I have so much to learn about sailing.
- I love, love, love being out on the water!!
 Second Wind Crew Carol  Second Wind Captain Laurin at work keeping us on course  Hot, sweaty and salty....   |
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