A quick run for a few items and some ice from the store and we were ready for the catamaran line sail out of Puerto Escondido. A delay getting the charter boats off the dock but by 10:30 we were parading out of the channel with Eddie from West Coast Multihulls capturing it all with his drone.
No much wind to start so a slow motor began the leg. Moon Drifter and Salt decided to go around the north side of Dazante while the rest of the fleet stuck with the organizers plan for the south side. Once around Dazante the sailing began for a few of the boats. We choose to wait a few miles but once we unfurled the jib the engine went off and we used wind power for the remaining 10 miles. With very little wave action it was so comfortable and relaxing. Our first bit of excitement was a large pod of dolphins we came across. A half dozen or so broke off and played in our bow wake for awhile bringing plenty of whoops from the crew. A few hours later we hooked up on one of the lines. Marcia reeled this one in and it turned out to be a small shark. So next, was the decision of what to do… Eddie didn’t want to lose his lure so very carefully and with considerable effort he managed to get it unhook without getting bit.
Getting the anchor down near the beach party location it was very rolly with big rollers coming in right off the bat. Huh, that isn’t great. Excellent holding here so no worries about dragging anchor just the motion to deal with. I put in the paddleboard and headed to shore for a beach walk and to see if I could find any of the hidden treasure (a treasure hunt was setup as entertainment). It was nice to get off the boat but that damn bobos were out in full force. Sticking close to the water the wind was stronger and kept most of them away but they were still annoying.
Getting back to Gato Loco involved getting past the wave break, timing was key and other than some wet swim trunks it went off without any drama. Lowell then headed out to chat with the other boats. While I retreated to my berth to get away from the swarm of bobos that found us. I spend ten minutes taking out the ones in my berth and from then it was nice and comfortable. While reading there was a call on the radio. Due to the big surf the beach party was cancelled. Happy hour on Balum would be the alternative plan.
The time came and while it was probably humorous to watch we all managed to get into the dinghy uninjured and dry. We putted over to the mothership and soon were having a drink and a chat. A few snacks were passed around which kept the hunger at bay.
The hour passed quickly and we were saying our goodbyes and on to Barramundi, a fellow Seawind 1000. They had not gone to the happy hour, actually out of seven boats only two made the trek to Balum. Steve and Jeff welcomed us aboard and gave us a tour of the upgrades they have made to their boat. The most extreme being the increasing their outboards from 9.9hp outboards to 25hp. Wow! And actually, running a single engine at a higher RPM gives them the same speed with 33% less fuel. Much more efficient. Hearing all of the complex modifications made us realized it would take a very committed person to duplicate their effort.
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