Tenacitita to Manzanillo sun out, large swell
Sowell Family's Travels on Gijima
Skipper: Tim Sowell Admiral Tracy Crew Sean & Alex
Sun 14 Mar 2010 03:19
We left Tanacitita at 7.30 am, circling Eyoni (Ethan, Nancy and Zada's boat)
which still lay at anchor as they were looking for a midmorning departure to
time their arrival for tomorrow morning with an over night run. We reported
to the local Net our departure along with many other boats as this was the
first weather window in a week, we were the only boat in this lot moving
south, but 10 miles on we past another 30+ sailboat heading in the same
direction. The seas are pretty lumpy with some cross swell, they are up in
the 6 foot range and period still shorter than comfortable at about 10
seconds at least we running with them, but sun is out and wind from the west
at about 10 knots. We are using the opportunity of this 5 + hour run to
Manzanillo to make water and charge the batteries as there is no Marina we
will be staying in. Our plan is the anchor off Las Hadas hotel and
marina/break water and then go ashore using their facilities. Some of you
will recall this hotel in the movie "10" with Dudley Moore and Bo Dereck it
was filmed on location here.
The story of Eyoni (I realized we have been talking about Ethan and Nancy
for a week of so with no history). Eyoni is their boat it is a 36 Aluminum
hull boat French design, as the ability to have a very shallow draft. We met
them at Catalina when Sean was one in the park at the back of two harbors in
the summer, they were out of San Pedro (LA) and Ethan was in the real estate
commercial buildings business, Zada is about 6 months older than Sean but we
all hit it off and we spent the following 2 summers and Christmas and thanks
givings with them meeting them at the island. When the recession hit and
bank lending dried up so did Ethan's business so he shut it down (put on
hold) and brought forward his cruising plans by a year or two. He worked
heavily on the boat for 3 months prior to xmas 2008 getting it ready, they
joined us at Catalina Harbor for xmas and then back in Newport for a month
and left in Feb 2009. They took 6 weeks going down the Baja exploring
places, and then went up into the Sea of Cortez, exploring it for what was
left of the season. They pulled the boat from the water in San Carlos
(northern Sea of Cortez) for the hurricane season, and went back to US for 3
months. A Hurrican did hit the boat, it was on the hard, and a large amount
of rain caused issues and delayed them being able to leave. They got back
crusing in October and have been heading down the mainland coast for the
season, moving very slowly, having made the decision not to cross the
pacific this year and return to the Sea of Cortez again for the summer. They
have spent 6 weeks at Tenancitita, and are now heading north, they will
explore the sea some more, and are talking about doing central America or
crossing next year April 2011 (they will be monitoring us). It is a pity
they are not coming south this year as we get on well, but we will catch up
again, we have discussed a lot of dreams and ideas about Africa a land
cruise which Tracy and I want to do in a couple of years and they would like
to join us (Dreams that make us go).
I have the fishing lines out but generally El Nino is effecting fishing this
year a lot of the local fishmen are saying it, and so are the other yachts
most of them have not caught much since Cabo, but we will keep trying, I
have some new techniques I trawling, and we still have 3/4 freezer.
We have now anchored in 20 feet off Las Hadas Marina hotel which is an
amazing hotel of white building like a honeycomb hugging the hills around
this small beach and Marina, which is one of 5 bays within the bigger
Manzanillo bay. We went ashore to have swims in the pools and found out that
there is fireworks show tonight off the beach over this anchorage which is
nice for a show, but we will be out with hose and fire extinguisher to make
sure we don't fall out. But it is like been at anchorage in Italy with the
lights, and way the anchorage is set up, with the café's and restaurants
running along the waters edge and up the cobble roads.
The trip down go very sloppy and cross seas due the currents out of these
bays colliding with the current up the coast, this makes for interesting
navigation, and wave effects. Many of the boats from Tenacitta are here
having come down over the last couple of days in heavy seas so we were
pleased that we did not leave sooner.