The Wondertime crew has landed safe and sound in New Zealand! Once the wind reached us it built and built and built until Wondertime was absolutely flying along at 7 knots with a double-reefed main and tiny scrap of genoa. We made the last 75 miles to the Bay of Islands in record time. The conditions were exhilarating and knowing we were rocketing along towards the landfall we’ve been dreaming about for years and years, the feeling was indescribable.
It was dark, late evening, as we sailed into the bay but we had good visibility with the light of the half moon. And of course the charts and navigation aids here are top rate. The wind and seas subsided quickly and we found ourselves drifting slowly along towards the small town of Paihia. Once we were out of the main channel and the depth sounder read 30 feet we dropped the hook into the mud and slept like we’d never slept before.
After nearly five weeks in Banderas Bay we’ve been craving some island time. Badly. So we pointed our bow north to one of our very favorite islands of all time, Isla Isabel, which lies about 18 miles west of the mainland coast, 90 miles or so south of Mazatlan. The weather forecast was perfect for a visit (10 knots or less of wind) since the anchorages are completely exposed and the bottom so rocky that the anchor’s grip on it is tenuous at best. We dropped our Rocna just south of the Los Monas rock sculptures on the east side of the island and it seemed to hold on the edge of a steep shelf that drops back into the sea.
Isla Isabel is home to millions of nesting birds, mainly blue-footed boobies and frigatebirds. Other than visiting yacht crews, the occasional motivated traveller, a handful of fishermen and research students, the island is relatively free from human intervention. As the birds have no predators on the island they are comfortable to nest literally anywhere and everywhere on the 2-mile square ex-volcano.
Leah, being a lover of both birds and wild islands, was enamored with the place. “I call this ‘Bird Island’!” she declared soon after setting off down the trail. She does not exaggerate: you literally have to watch your step at all times as you tiptoe amongst literally thousands and thousands of booby birds nesting right on the ground. It’s hard not to get too close and sometimes they are frightened off, squawking and waddling, leaving their two dusty blue eggs alone in their nests of dirt until they return a few minutes later, the coast clear.
Then you walk down paths through low shrubby trees that are finally clear of whistling boobies. Until you hear the cackling overhead that is the frigatebirds. You peer through the leaves and there they are, right above, in nests precariously balanced in the branches just a few feet over your head. The males have enormous red throat pouches that they inflate to impress a female; if she likes what she sees she caresses it deeply with her beak, and then her whole head. Suddenly you feel like a voyeur and continue walking, being careful now to not step on the large green iguanas that are lying in the grass in the sun.
It is the wild places we tiptoe through like Isla Isabel, places still owned by nature, that we observe with grateful eyes and we’ll always remember and hope our girls do too. I’m pretty sure Bird Island won’t be forgotten.
While there is a ton of live music around La Cruz and Banderas Bay at night (for example, on our boat here at the La Cruz anchorage at 10 pm we can hear at least three “musical” events coming from the beach right now), due to our having young crew we don’t get to stay out late very often to hear it close up. No matter, more often than not we are treated to live music right on our bus rides to and from Puerto Vallarta. Truly the best live entertainment around.
When we headed out from quiet Queen Cove Tuesday afternoon the wind forecast was for 15-20 knots. As has often happened out here what the forecasters promise doesn’t always hold true and we’ve found ourselves motoring through a gale warning more than once. Not this day. Just a few miles south of Esperanza Inlet the NW wind filled in as promised, filled our spinnaker and we were off. We settled the girls down below with a few DVDs and Michael and I sat in the cockpit with huge grins on our faces just relishing the absolutely perfect sail. It was the kind of afternoon that made all the hard work to get here completely worth it.
We sailed with our spinnaker up all the way past Estevan Point, 30 miles or so. After we were past the point, we took the colorful sail down and we turned to port, now on a beam reach with genoa, main and mizzen all the way to Hot Springs Cove, ready for a good long soak.
Sailing to the San Juans under staysail and mizzen in ~20-25 knots. We love the easy motion of our home underway, even when it’s breezy. (As often happens while sailing, both girls fell asleep below. Another nice benefit of cruising under sail!)
We are Sara, Michael, Leah & Holly. We sailed our Benford 38 Wondertime north to Canada, South to Mexico, and west across the Pacific to New Zealand. We’re working, writing, schooling, living aboard and exploring local waters in our 12m steel sloop.
