Los Muertos 31st May 2017
Hopped the short distance (16 n.mls.) from just off La Ventana village, in SW corner of Bahia La Ventana, soon after Phil left on 'Sail a Vie' at 8 a.m. Very light wind and flooding tide meant I had no choice but to motor the passage E and then S to Los Muertos - but the highlight of a very scenic journey was seeing a big Manta ray leap out of the sea soon after rounding Punta Arena de La Ventana.
It’s a very pleasant anchorage here, with a fairly calm sea just now, and likely to stay that way for the next few days - forecast for this part of the Baja coast is for daytime calms or v. light variable winds, mostly from the N, with possibility of overnight westerlies up to10 kt - this place is well-protected from both W and N directions and even a short spell of NE-SE winds to 10 kt or so would not pose a problem.
Looking ahead to rounding Cabo Falso, off Cabo San Lucas, on my way north, I don’t see a clear window in sight - there’s a vague possibility this weekend but it’s definitely not looking as though anytime before Saturday will work out. Forecast for Friday evening is for a15 kt headwind (which probably translates into more!) at the Cape - not good! Of course, it’s not just a matter of getting around the Cape but also then not getting strong headwinds on the leg up to the first possible stops of Bahia Sta Maria or Magdalena…
It’s a situation where it’s great not to have a deadline looming to force a decision to leave and have a possibly uncomfortable, slow, fuel-consuming bash up the coast into short, sharp chop… I need one day from here to Los Frailes and one more to make Cabo San Lucas from there, including a stop at San Jose del Cabo for fuel, So with a good 3-day weather forecast, I can stay here as long as necessary - far pleasanter than being in a costly marina or being used as a mark by jet-skis at anchor in Bahia San Lucas… and I can usefully get on with more jobs while I wait…