I danced with the Oaxaca Star

You'll need to skip ahead for the fun and colorful part of
the story. The entrance to Bahia Topolobampo. 

It was 10:30 at night, mid-watch for my 6:30p to (hoping to make it to) midnight shift on Pura Vida. Black as night can be out on the sea, with low lying clouds, a few fuzzy stars overhead and no moonlight to guide our way. We are happily motor sailing southbound for Topolobampo and I am busily watching gauges and staring into the darkness at regular intervals. Hoping to not see anything but sometimes you do.

(L to R) My diverted route, my planned
route and target vessel

Something white passed by rather close across the waves. I have no idea what and no contact, so I guess it’s all good. Then I see an AIS (automatic identification system) Target on our chart plotter. Foggy enough that I can’t get a visual, which is disconcerting as the Target is the Oaxaca Star, an ocean freighter inbound for the port of Guaymas, Sonora. Our paths were running parallel on the typical N-S course for large vessels, about 10 miles off shore.

It's way better to see freighters than imagine them

Well, I am peeling my eyeballs as they say, to see any light in the distance. I am tracking our CPA – closest point of approach – a rather important detail, especially on a night like this. Although he is a few miles out, he’s traveling way faster than we are toward me and I admit, I am getting a bit more nervous as minutes pass. Still no visual so I finally feel compelled to hail him on the VHF radio. Roughly translated…”Hey buddy do you see my navigation lights as I am little smaller than you are?” And the response was YES, he would take me to starboard. So, that was a relief.

I am not really in the mood for a midnight dance and regardless, I don’t want to dance too close - the Oaxaca Star gets the floor. I veer off course to port, deciding it’s better to arrive later at our destination and be safe. I am at the helm and get to make decisions that are right for me and for our boat. So, my adjusted route causes a bit of luffing on the reefed main sail but there you have it. Decision made and finally I see his nav lights, way off in the distance. Thank you and goodnight, Oaxaca Star.

The remnants of 'Carnaval' were being torn down
as we walked the malecon on arrival. Smaller than
the huge carnaval in Guaymas this past week

Two days and several adventures later, we are ensconced at Marina Palmira in Topolobampo, Sinaloa on the mainland. There are several things I love about Topolobampo, not the least of which - it's the only other city I know with 5 vowels like Oconomowoc, my hometown. Another busy port town, Topo is a welcome change.

See the #11 on this buoy?
Entrance to Topolobampo takes
~ 4 hours of careful navigating.
There are a plenty of buoys.
Some faintly red or green,
some with legible #, some serve
best as sea lion resting spots

We left the dock!

2nd return trip. Chilly!

Amazing sunset as we limped back, first return trip

While for many, that shouldn't be a headline with an exclamation point, but this is us and this has been our journey. It's been a few months since we successfully left the dock, so this is a big deal for us to make it 200 miles south of our home port. As many who have been following our efforts since November already know, we had a number of parts setbacks, let's just say. Oh, the stories...

Then, finally ready and weather allowing, we departed from Guaymas in January and again in early February, heading south. Both journeys ended abruptly after 40 or so miles heading along the same track, caused by different and big repair issues. Both required return trips to the Guaymas dock and led to multiple repairs, all completed by el Capitan. As we live through each issue, I guess that it all works out as it's supposed to?

My next blog will be about our adventures to Topolobampo, Los Mochis and El Fuerte which begin as soon as I post this. While I have more stories and photos, I guess you'll have to wait for the fun part as the first of two bus trips leaves soon. For now, we're packing up for the road trip and buttoning up Pura Vida. 

"loco" fruit vendor hand selecting
my 4 incredible, giant oranges from his
well-stocked pickup.
The guy standing next to me
asks in Spanish, "do you know Spanish?
Well, they call him loco."

Mike & his repaired
Mixing Elbow

If anyone is interested in a myriad of boat repair photos, just let us know. We can regale you with close ups of broken, then fixed parts, new additions and improved systems. 

Auto pilot repairs require dismantling our
sleeping area. Can you spot the sore back in this photo?

Fireworks kicked off Carnaval in Guaymas. While taking this photo,
I think, that's a diesel fuel tank
between me and that exploding firework...

Moon rise over Topolobampo. Pretty sweet.
Captured by el Capitan, the BBQ king at the stern