Turtle Bay Passage to Bahai Santa Maria

Leaving Turtle Bay and heading to Bahia Santa Maria. - 11-20-17

Turtle Bay was a very cool place and Malo enjoyed her anchorage there.  It was finally nice to be tied to an anchor (instead of a dock).  It is nice to feel the rock of the boat, the sounds of the waves on the hull, wake up to many sea birds, dolphins, seals, and fisherman harvesting fish right near the boat.  It was fun to paddle the stand up paddle board from the boat to shore and to visit other cruisers on their boats as well.  I really enjoyed the ability to just jump off the boat into the wonderful salt water.  Dan was so happy just hoping in the dinghy to run an errand, visit another boater, or help someone out.  He was really in his element with driving that dinghy around.  Me, I preferred taking the SUP board and getting some exercise.

It appears that fishing is the biggest industry in this area.  The fisherman work their nets and boats very diligently.  Malo was anchored very near one of their favorite fishing spots and most mornings we woke up to pongas  and other types of boats near us.  It  also made for great wildlife - birds galore, dolphins, seals and more.  

The people were wonderful.  It was the first time, I really tried to speak some Spanish.  Only a few spoke English and while it was fun to practice, it was also very frustrating.  I found myself putting Swedish words in when I really wanted to speak Spanish.  This really did not help.  I am clearly not on a roll yet and need to keep practicing.  I tried talking to the kids who where helping people haul their dinghy’s onto the for pesos of course.  On the weekends, the kids would take a kayak around and pick up garbage from cruisers boats - for about 2 dollars per bag.  

We left Turtle Bay with calm waters.

The sail took us three nights and two and half days.  We had one day with nice 10 knot wind and moved along nicely.  The last two days were pretty light wind and at times we only moved 1.5 knots per hour.  We saw great sunrises and sunsets.  The days and nights really become a blur, and with doing night watches we become sort of mixed up with our sleeping routines.  

Because the water was so calm, we found we could see lots of sea turtles.  At first they were small black dots in the still blue water.  Usually they would peak their heads up as we sailed closer and then dive under.  But occasionally we got lucky and while the turtle might of seen us, he did not bother to dive under.  

Do you notice the tiny dark spot in the picture below?  It is a turtle.

As we sailed closer, this big turtle with barnacles all over it's back decided to check us out and did not dive under.  Thus I was able to get this photo.

Without much wind, it was feeling rather hot on deck.  Dan asked if I wanted to jump in the water while I hung onto a line that had a life jacket attached.  Of course, I would want to do that.  

Finally  I was on watch and I got to see this incredible sunrise as we began our approach to Bahai Santa Maria.

We approached the mountains that protected Bahia Santa Maria from the Pacific Ocean and swells.  Cabo San Lazaro (1,275’ ft high)  and Punta Hughes.

We anchored Malo in this beautiful bay. 

This was the view from our boat.

Soon we were greeted with our new cruising buddies on Cinderella - Ava and Pajo and Colmena - Kevin & Hannah.  They mentioned a few of them were getting together that evening for a pot luck because it was Thanksgiving Day and we were welcome too.  

We got settled, which means securing the anchor, inflating the dinghy, drying out our damp clothes, cleaning up the boat from a 3 day 2 night passage from Turtle Bay and catching our breath.  

Once the boat was organized,  I needed to decide what to make for a potluck Thanksgiving Dinner!  The solution was a unique squash pumpkin shaped pasta and sauce I had bought at Trader Joe’s while in Monterey Bay.  As it turned out, we offered to host the 8 people to our boat for the dinner and it was a lot of fun.  It was followed by everyone taking their dinghy’s to shore for a bon fire and more socializing.  The wind was howling as our guests arrived and needless to say, they got a little wet during the dinghy ride.  

We enjoyed a wonderful evening with four cruising boats - Cinderella, Colmena, Sea Castle and Malo.  Great stories were shared and a delicious dinner served.  It was a very special Thanksgiving for us and we have much to be thankful for.  Here are a couple of photos.

A yummy spread of great food!

a great group of cruisers! Cinderella, Colmena,, Sea Castle and Malo

a2448 Thanksgiving Colmena, Sea Casa, Cinderella, - 1.jpg

The following day, Dan noticed a new boat in the bay and he wanted to take the paddle board over to  see if this 23 ft sailboat called “Cheeky” was indeed who he thought. 

Dan had a nice visit with Cheeky.

We invited Betsy and Eric over for dinner the following evening and enjoyed sharing stories with them.  

That is the end of this blog and a wonderful passage, visit with other cruisers in Bahai Santa Maria and a terrific Thanksgiving.  The internet is difficult around here, but I hope to post another one soon.
Bev