Goodbye Ensenada, hello Bahia Tortugas. It was a long trip motoring down the Pacific coast of the Baja, windless and placid. Apart from the lack of wind and the fuel consumption that goes with it, we had a good time. Dolphins are always entertaining when they decide to swim with us, and we made a lot of dolphin friends. Turtle Bay is a welcome respite after a couple rolly anchorages and a couple nights at sea. Our first impression of Turtle Bay was that it’s scenic, barren and rugged. The village is dusty and run down, the people seem friendly, and it has the basic amenities such as cold beer, fuel and groceries. Upon waking up this morning, it felt like we were in a scene from the Discovery Channel. Fishermen in pangas hauling nets loaded with fish while the birds, dolphins and sea lions got in on the action. At times it felt like a feeding frenzy. Kirstyn is convinced she’s never seen so many birds in one place. This Bay is a truly amazing place. When we arrived yesterday, we headed for the dingy dock the guide book mentioned, which it turns out doesn’t exist. As we contemplated our next move, some kids on the beach pointed out the landing spot that also happened to be right next to their family’s restaurant. The Bay gets some swell, so timing the landing is key. The restaurant had three things on the menu, ice cold Tecate beer, beef tacos, and fish tacos. The fish tacos contained fried tuna and were delicious. When we arrived we were the only cruising boat in the bay, until the arrival of a couple on a sailboat that we had briefly met in Ensenada later in the day. The Baja ha-ha, which is a cruisers rally with 150 sailboats is set to arrive sometime next week, and will turn this quiet fishing village into a gong show, so we’re thinking it might be a good idea to stay ahead of them. With over 400 miles left to the cape, we’re looking for a little bit of wind to get us there. Currently the forecast is calling for more peace and serenity, which would be welcome if we weren’t hoping to make it to the cape without burning a bunch of fuel. It looks like there’s one more good anchorage that supposedly has fuel between here and Cabo, and we haven’t decided if we’re stopped there, but it might be up to the weather gods, because we probably don’t have enough fuel tank to get us to Cabo.
Adventures of Sunshine Three 