Bahia de Caraquez to Salinas (Puerto Lucia Yacht Club)

On exiting Bahia de Caraquez at high tide in the evening, the weather did not look very good. It was overcast and blowing about 12-15 knots on our nose. The exit was slow going out against the wind and the waves... we were only making 2 knots!

It was a little scary doing the exit... we had Carlos aboard to pilot us out, but waves breaking on either side and the depth going to 8'. We knew that once we went out, we wouldn't be able to go back in, if we thought the conditions were too bad.

Though the wind was fresh enough that we could have cracked off and sailed (t-t-t-acked!), we were on a schedule and so just put the reefed main up and motorsailed. Fortunately as we got offshore a little ways, the wind eased some, and it wasn't straight on our nose. So it wasn't too bad.

Through the night, as we navigated our way around numerous poorly lit small fishing boats, the conditions gradually got better. The afternoon winds eventually lay down and it became the nighttime calms. By our second watch, after we had rounded Cabo San Lorenzo and headed south, we were making good time, and the off watch person was able to sleep well.

The dawn revealed one of the fishing boats we'd been watching in the night... a shrimper. We'd been dodging them all night.

We also got a spectacular show from a couple of whales that were jumping out of the water. It's mating season and I think this guy was showing off.


By about 3pm, we were at our anchorage for the night, Ayanque (or Ayangue, depending on which chart you look at). 01*59.01’ S / 80*45.25’ W

It wasn't great, but probably better than anchoring along the beach in the open. When the wind was blowing, the waves were coming directly in the opening. Since our bow was to the swell it wasn't bad. But during the night, the wind quit/switched, and we ended up sideways to the entrance. But it was a gentle roll, nothing like the rockin and rollin we experienced at Cocos.

The next morning (June 11), we got going early, to get into Puerto Lucia early enough to get cleared in and get hauled out on the late afternoon high tide.