May 17, Punta Chivato

It's 10:35am.  Tallen and I pulled anchor around 8:30 this morning and are headed north toward Punta Chivato leaving the Bay of Conception in view off the stern.  Punta Chivato is a point of land reaching eastward into the Sea of Cortez just north of the town of Mulege.  From a distance, Chivato appears to be an island as the land that you can see near the point is a small hill but it is connected to mainland Baja via a very low lying stretch of land that is indistinguishable from the surface of the ocean from our distance about 10 miles to the south.  

Anchored off of Punta Chivato. Tallen relaxing on the foredeck.

The seas are perfectly flat with a slight breeze of 9 knots coming from the northeast. The engine was turned off about an hour ago and we are sailing along at about 5 knots with the the bright blue and white reacher and a full white mainsail.  The only disturbance on the surface of the ocean are the small ripples that tell of the slight breeze which you can easily see well before the wind is felt as it blows your hair on the way through.  Tallen is lying in the hammock that is stretched across the foredeck tied between the front of the mast and the furled genoa.  He is slowing rocking side to side as the boat heals slightly to the port when the soft puffs of wind fill the sails.  The only sound you can hear is the water as it pushes past the bow and flows aftward and behind the boat. Every now and again you can hear the clicking sound of the autopilot as it makes a slight course correction.  A perfect day. A perfect sail.  If you are aboard on a day like today and are still bothered with the stresses of life...you need therapy. This is my therapy giving me clarity about the beauty around me and the enjoyment of this amazing place.  This is my life and I love it.

This afternoon brought me and Tallen to shell beach, aptly named for it's thousands and thousands of shells.  Just up from the surf line there is a band of shells that is about 10-15' wide by maybe 3' deep by a half mile or more long.  No sand, just shells. After collecting a few we headed back to the boat to read and relax.  Actually I am typing this blog and Tallen  headed out on the paddleboard.  

We are anchored here with just one other boat named Loomba Loomba from Washington.  They plan to head across tomorrow to San Carlos and then pull out for the summer on the 26th of this month.  Tomorrow Tallen and I will go out to the small island about 3 miles offshore to check out the colony of sea lions there.  Several months ago Nathan and I went out there and tried to snorkel with them but they really were not that interested in us and kept their distance but Tallen wanted to see them.

Fishing report - Zip. Nothing to report. Ugh.

Boat repair report - While we were sailing today we had a small little gust and heard a pop from the reacher sheet.  It turns out that it pulled a screw loose on the turning block that is mounted to the deck that turns the sheet from the clutch up to the main wench on the port side.  So this afternoon I pulled it, filled the hole with wood splinters then sealed each hole with 3M 4200 and screwed it back down to the deck.  I kind of have my doubts whether it is going to hold up or not.  If not I will pull it again, fill the holes with Marine Tex, an epoxy compound, then redrill the holes and screw it back down.  We will see how she holds before I go into it that far.

That's it for today.  An absolutely perfect sail all the way here, a great exploration trip to shell beach, an easy boat fix (I hope) and in about an hour we will throw some Arrachera (marinated flank steak) on the barbie for dinner.  Ciao for now.

Bret and Tallen
SV Liahona