Cruise of the Confidence 07-Feb-2014

 Friday 07-Feb-2014 1230 19*28.339N 105*03.644W

Our next stop was only 8 nm away so we motored. Saw a manta ray jump out of the water. That was pretty exciting.

Entering was a little tricky as the bay is surrounded by rocky islets.

 There were already two boats at anchor that we had seen in Chamela. There was also a power boat and two panga's but they were just there for a short time with a group from Tenacatita. We noticed that the two sailboats had a stern anchor so it was time for us to practice this maneuver as our swing room was pretty narrow.

A stern anchor is put out in addition to the main bow anchor. This helps to position the boat into the swell and helps reduce rolling.The first thing you do is set the main anchor. Then you get in the dinghy and put in the stern anchor manually. Sometimes it is necessary to let out the forward anchor to about twice the length that you would normally. Then you drop the stern anchor and haul in the forward anchor to the required scope. We were lucky as we were able to set the stern anchor with the dinghy. All three boats still had a pretty rocky night due to the winds and the surf. David slept out in the cockpit to keep an eye on the two anchor lines.The other two boats decided that they had had two nights of this and were tired so the next morning they raised their anchors and left.

Things settled down during the day and the following night so David and I decided to stay. And we were glad that we did. The water is beautiful and perfect for swimming. It was a bit cloudy with the surf stirring up the sand but I would not complain. Even David got in the water. I did my daily swim to shore and back to the small deserted beach. The other beach had two small boutique hotels but they seemed to be busy and not boater friendly so we did not go ashore.

 

Monday morning we woke up to a beautiful morning. I decided to make one of my special skillet breakfasts. As we were sitting in the cockpit David noticed that the boat was starting to swing and the stern anchor was no longer doing its job. He pulled on the line only to discover that it was no longer attached to the anchor. We were wondering what we were going to do today - guess we know now!

First task will be to find the anchor. I figured that we were only in 16 feet of water so there should be no problem. I put on my fins and snorkel and got in the water. Visibility was poor and I could not make out the bottom. David got in the water to join me.He used a technique that they practiced in the arctic by following the tide ridgelines in the sand to set up his grid. After three attempts and a total of about 4 hours David finally spotted the anchor. Now what to do? First things first, we put a float and weight at the site to mark the location of the anchor.

So we swam back to the boat to make a plan. We needed to be creative and rig up a long pole and hook to retrieve the anchor. We used the telescoping boat hook and the handle from the deck brush. David tied them together using a series of lashings. This was attached to a 40 foot line. Now back in the water.

I stayed in the dinghy and David did several duck dives to try and hook the pole to the line between the weight and the anchor. The anchor was cemented in the sand and David could not get the boat hook around the line. Back to the boat.

I suggested that we strap the gaff hook to the pole as that hook was sharper and might grab better. So David did that. I went back in the dinghy and David went back in the water.

After 3 attempts he had success. Now I had to pull on the pole from the dinghy in order to get the weight off of the bottom. This raised the line to about 10 feet. Then David went down and attached a more secure line to the weight. We were able to raise the weight and the anchor to the surface. Success!

And who said cruising was boring? We were quite proud of ourselves - did not relish the thought of losing a $250 anchor! Let along figuring out a way to get it delivered to where we were.

The evening stayed relatively calm and no boats joined us in the anchorage so we decided that we would not set up another stern anchor. If we roll we will just enjoy it!

Showers on deck with our solar shower to rid ourselves of all the salt. I was preparing dinner and David decided to get out his fishing rod - after seeing all the fish around the boat. He did not have the line in the water for more than a minute and he had one. Too small to really keep but they do look a bit like a perch. 

He released it and it swam away. Then he caught himself a blowfish. 

I believe they blow up as a defense mechanism and can expel a poison from their spikes. So I suggested that David use his plyers in order to release this one.

Nothing big enough for dinner so I guess we will have leftovers.

We spent over 6 hours in the water today. I do not think we will have any trouble sleeping tonight

 11-Feb-2014 to stay or go? The admiral, that's me, suggested we stay for one more day. We still had enough of food and water and such. After a light breakfast we got into the dinghy and went exploring around the surrounding rocky islands and caves. It was really cool!

 

 

 

I went for four long swims today, two with the fins and snorkel and two without.

We had a wonderful romantic dinner (I guess when you look at it they are all romantic) of steak and prawns under  a mostly full moon. Then we brought the dinghy on board and got the boat all ready for an early departure tomorrow morning.

This was a beautiful anchorage, especially for the couple of days where we had it to ourselves.