La Paz to La Cruz - We were not arrested and detained.30 January 2011 – Sunday – 0900: Our new La Paz friends from Wisp and Merlot cast off our dock lines, and we were underway for Puerto Vallarta/La Cruz in Banderas Bay on the “Mexican Rivera”. Three days, three nights underway.
All’s good. Sunny, 10 knots of breeze from the North and we motor out the channel and on through the San Lorenzo channel. Turning SW to pass through the Cerrablo Channel, I raised the mainsail and we set a course of 223 degrees on a calm 1st night of our passage. The “Red Sky at night – Sailors Delight” proved to be true. But what does it mean when the sky in red in the morning, too??? "Sailors take warn" -- of what? Fortunately, no worries!
A group of dolphin came by for a brief visit on their way north.I charted a course that would take us just 4-5 miles south of the 3 Islas Marias (islands). It would be another 30 hours before we got there, so I thought I’d read about it them our new “Pacific Coast” Cruisers Guidebook by Shawn Breeding and Heather Bansmer.
“Hey Tom, if the guidebook recommends that we “sail well clear of the area”, how many miles would you stay offshore?”
“Depends on why we need to do it.”
“Well, it says the big island is a prison colony and there is a large restricted area around the group that’s patrolled by Mexican authorities. The wide berth is to avoid interception and detention.”
You will be pleased to know that the 10 mile wide berth was enough so that we were not approached, intercepted nor detained!
02 February 2011 – 1000 – We arrived at the La Cruz Marina. It turned out that had we left one day later, we would have gotten smacked with 30 knots of wind. Phew. Called that one right!
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