With winds overnight I had turned on the anchor alarm around midnight and kept an eye on it until morning. My 4:45am alarm got us up and moving and with just a tinge of light, the anchor was pulled and we motored north. The forecast was winds for the first 12nm from wind pouring in from the Pacific. The possibility of 30+ knots kept us cautious with just a jib to start and once we were convinced it was safe we raised the main up to reef 1. The peak wind we saw (for half an hour) was 25 knots which was easily managed by Gato Loco, pulling us along at 7.2 knots.
Once past the middle of the low lying land the winds progressively diminished and we shook out the reef in the main sail and watched as our speed dropped to 5 knots. At that point, with a deadline at hand to pick up the new crew, one motor was reluctantly turned on. The wind got less and less and before long the second motor was needed. Oh well, we had a good two hour sail to close out the trip (for me) and smooth conditions to carry us into Loreto.
We anchored outside the “marina” in Loreto and Lowell headed into shore in an attempt to secure a slip (Gato Loco is the only cruiser I have heard of using dock space in Loreto). After longer than I would have expected, Lowell returned with the good news that at 2:00pm we could dock. Woohoo! The second leg crew arrived around this time and we headed in to meet them and grab some lunch at the restaurant.
Just a bit early Lowell and I headed to bring Gato Loco to the dock. Of course just after we pull up anchor someone took the spot we wanted. So down went the anchor and we waited. Ugh. Half hour later we decide to tie up on the opposite side and headed in. Everything was smooth and soon we are loading the new crew’s gear and offloading Eddie and Marcia’s stuff. Then the real work begins, getting water delivered (we ended up still needing 160 liters), provisioning, and replacing the propane hose (I took this one on). The craziest was the guy who Scott found to get water. He had a train of three beach wagons that he pulled via a strap around his waist. Oh, did I forget to mention he was pulling 160 liters of water (350 pounds). A few blocks from the water purification shop he found a truck with a tow hitch and he jumped in the back. The video was hilarious!
Work done, we headed to town. Wandering around looking for a place to eat we stopped for 2-4-1 margaritas at a place that was a really shitty Italian restaurant and is now an upscale steak place. We decided to stick to just drinks there. A bit of shopping and strolling led us to Mi Loreto. It looked alright and we settled in to fill our bellies. It was fun getting a chance to meet the new crew and hear their stories along with sharing our fun bringing Gato Loco down to Loreto.
Back aboard the tequila came out but I was exhausted from the long day and fell asleep in the saloon while everyone else stayed up until…I have no idea.
No Comments