Heading north.

It was with great anticipation and relief that we departed La Paz having done our provision for 6 weeks away and headed through the crystal clear and turquoise waters to the Island of Espiritu Santo. We raised the sails as we exited the channel and beat our way up wind towards our destination. The winds were light and the seas were flat but we made a steady 5 knots albeit in a zigzag pattern. We were in no hurry and we enjoyed the sail and the scenery and not running the engine.

We had chosen the anchorage of Ensenada La Galina as our first stop on the island mainly because it should afford us some protection against the local south westerly Coromuel winds which come up at night and emanate from the cooler Pacific Ocean on the other side of the Baja peninsula, to the warmer Sea of Cortez. The winds can reach 30 knots and a reasonable sea can build up giving you an uncomfortable night if exposed. None of the anchorages on the west coast of the island provide 100% protection but some are better than others. 

Clear water to the bottom

We arrived at the anchorage and were pleased to see that we were the only boat in the bay and had the pick of the best protected spots so we tucked up as close as we could to a south shore and inland as possible. The water there was as clear as we could possibly imagine and we could see our anchor all the way to the bottom and as we paid out the anchor rode. We think the visibility was in excess of 70 feet.

The anchorage has some amazing rock formations of sandstone and other rock types and in the evening sun their colours became exaggerated and their embedded shapes and patterns formed what looked like partial letters. A friendly pelican came to the boat and swam around us for a few hours no doubt hoping for some handouts. Jude and Katya went out exploring in the Kayaks and came back with a treasure trove of shells and skeletal parts of various dead fauna. Oh joy! More treasure for the bilge.