15 45.821 N, 96 07.321 W
On Wednesday, Feb. 13, we left Acapulco at 9:00 am. We looked for a fuel dock but did not see one. There is supposed to be one at the Club de Yates Acapulco but the marina manager said it was expensive and to use the one across the way. We went to where we thought it would be and there is a Pemex but there was no dock that Windarra could tie up to. So we decided to continue on.
We motored and sailed depending on the strength of the wind and we had a nice broad reach for a while. We saw lots of turtles, aka Mexican speed bumps. Sometimes they would raise their heads and look at us go by, others were too shy and would immediately dive under the water.
In the evening, with just a sliver of a moon the winds died of course. The stars were out in abundance. Both Rich and I on separate occasions saw a patch of water that looked like it was being lit from below. It would grow larger and then disappear as we passed it. We are not sure if it was a school of fish disturbing the phosphorescence or a whale or what.
The next day, Valentine's Day, the wind was on our nose and we were motoring trying to make up time. We wanted to arrive before dark. The going was slow as the winds and now the current was against us. After we rounded Puerto Angel, the seas had short, square waves. They would come in pairs. The first one we would plow through only to slam into the second one, killing our momentum.
We looked at the gribs and it did not look good for the next day. So we continued on. We had good charts on the iPad and once we could line up the lights on shore with what we saw on the chart, we negotiated the channel into Marina Chahue. We had called ahead and the marina staff were on the docks with flashlights directing us to our slip. They along with some cruisers, helped us tie up. Time for a shower, something to eat and a chance to catch our breath and a good night sleep.
Friday morning we checked in with the marina and they performed our check in with the port captain. The marina fees are very reasonable especially since there are no facilities to speak of, a bathroom but no showers. There is a fuel dock which is not open yet but soon they say. Macrina came by to pick up our laundry, at $20 pesos a kilo, which is more than we have paid elsewhere but since there is no laundry facilities, unless you take a taxi into La Crucecita. The docks are in good shape and everything it clean and well kept. There are two mega yachts here. They must use bow and stern thrusters to negotiate the three turns to get into the marina. There is power on the docks and water but it is not potable but fine for giving Windarra a much needed wash down. We were taking green water over the deck and numerous squid had jumped on board but not off again and they needed to be removed before the sun had them smelling ripe. As we were coming down we noticed that we were getting some salt water in the vberth, both from the hatch with a new gasket that was installed in Ixtapa and behind the closet and running along the floor. Rich took the vberth closet apart and while I was spraying with the hose he saw the water pouring in through the salt water wash down thru-deck fitting. This is not good. So Saturday morning he re-bed the fitting and we hope that will solve one problem.
In the afternoon we walked into La Crucecita. It is a small town with wide paved streets. We passed a large Chedraui supermarket as we walked into town. There is a movie theater, a large zocalo with banyan trees and a gazebo. We stopped at a Farmacia so I could buy some contact lens cleaning solution. I bought some but when I returned to the boat and looked it up it is for soft contacts, not the gas permeable ones that I have. So I will try and look for some at the Chedraui on Monday.
We have been following the gribs daily for weeks now in preparation for our passage across the Gulf of Tehuantepec to Chiapis. Today and tomorrow the winds kick up to 50 knots places. Definitely not the time to cross. We are looking at a weather window starting sometime Monday. We are thinking of leaving in the evening so we have a full day of daylight during most of the crossing as we will keep one foot on the beach as we go across. We are looking at a passage of a little over 250 nautical miles. The plan is to sneak across before another set of winds come across from the Caribbean.
We will let you know how it goes.
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