Ruminations of a Sailor: The Mexican Navy and a loose screw

Anchored at La Ramada Cove

Greetings from Nogales, Arizona. We crossed the border yesterday, thankfully without incident, on our way north to work this summer. We’re stopping along the way to explore, visit our friend in Las Vegas and spend Mike’s 65^th birthday in Reno!

Gotta include photos of happy dolphins!

Can you say Nachos?

After our unintended, lengthy stay in La Paz, we escaped marina life in late April to explore anchorages on our way north. We arranged to meet various friends in peaceful anchorages which brought us great joy. We enjoyed the colorful rock formations of the Baja peninsula, the hues of blues and greens of the shallow waters, the sea life and so much more. In light of all the adventures, we are thankful for every day.

We chose to cross the Sea to the mainland from La Ramada Cove, just north of San Juanico. Zooming along at 5 knots per hour, the 100-mile, 20 hour crossing brought us to Guaymas in the early morning. Our crossing featured lighter winds out of the east, then southeast to help push us north. With our main sail and jib - and the help of our engine - we chugged along the choppy seas, as often happens on the narrow Sea of Cortez.

Sunset over the Baja

Sunrise on the mainland

With my choice of first and last shifts, I experienced the sunset and the sunrise, so pretty cool.

With the ‘washing machine’ motion of the sea, we faithfully adhere to the ‘one hand on the boat’ rule, a good practice since every single thing that could shifted in transit. In a momentary lapse in the early morning hours, I mistakenly opened a cabinet and a glass bottle of vinegar crashed to the floor. Truly, a stinking mess. Another lesson learned.

Scoping out our anchoring spot at Isla Coronados

MEXICAN NAVY ENCOUNTER

I was midway on my 7 to midnight shift at the helm. As a reward for achieving the 9:30 milestone, I was ready for my long-anticipated treats of Diet Coke, carrot sticks and chips. Hey, you have to look forward to something when your eyes are staring into the darkness for an extended period, looking for anything weird.

I went below to gather my goodies and came up to the helm to see a green navigation light, indicating a vessel would shortly be crossing my port bow. I checked the chartplotter and sure enough, the CPA (closest point of approach) of that vessel was very close indeed. I had the Right of Way, but in the darkness, you can’t assume, well, anything. So I awkwardly called on the VHF, ‘boat to my port side heading east, what is your intent?’ to know if I needed to ‘fall off’ or if they would.

The response came from the Mexican Navy, announcing their search for a vessel that had made an SOS call. They flashed their searchlight, asked our boat name, how many souls on board and whether we had seen any vessels. I responded that we hadn’t seen another vessel since starting at 2PM. As you can imagine, it was quite unnerving, staring into the blackness and wondering how close I might be to another vessel that perhaps had no lights. They turned off their spotlight and after a few more minutes, sped away. The next half hour for me was rather unsettling.

We were traveling on a waning moon, so the moonrise didn’t happen until Mike’s shift, about 12:30 or 1. At least he would have moonlight for a short time to help illuminate the night. To be clear, the bountiful stars provide some pretty amazing ambient light, but you can’t see very much.

Colorful rock formations abound

Full moon eclipse

A SCREW LOOSE

Part of our spring and fall deal when we reach Guaymas is visiting Family Dental, with brothers Gustavo and Octavio following in their father’s footsteps as dentists. Dental cleaning and inspections are $35 and the experiences are always pleasant. Upon completion of my cleaning, suddenly there was a small screw on my tongue. Dr. Gustavo and I were both perplexed! How was that possible, where did it come from? Of course, I laughed, stating that I always knew I had a screw loose (couldn’t pass that up and not sure with his English that he got my joke).

Since the screw was about the size from sunglasses, I checked my Maui Jims, adding quickly that I don’t put my sunglasses in my mouth, but hey, we were on a mission. He checked all of his equipment and we parted ways still wondering. About an hour later, his WhatsApp message advised he’d found the source of the missing screw. Another life mystery, solved.

And now, we’ve put the boat to rest for the hot summer and hurricane season. Safely, we believe, on the concrete at the Fonatur Marina. Thankful to escape the summer heat already settling in.