With the sun up, the four other boats in the anchorage weighed anchor and headed for Penasco. I wasn’t in a rush since the overnight winds had kicked up the seas, and an early departure would have made for a rougher passage. So I stayed another day, cleaned the bottom of the boat, and started the decommissioning process.
The next morning, I went out for one final hike on Isla Mejía, choosing a new hill farther west. It felt great to stretch my legs before the hundred plus mile passage to Puerto Penasco. Back aboard, I grabbed some food and got ready for my departure.
Strikhedonia has been a slug this year in the speed department, so I planned the passage assuming a slower 5.5 knots. The goal was a morning departure and a sunrise arrival to enter the harbor. But once I got underway at 10:00 a.m., I found a nice current push and light winds that let me motorsail at over 6 knots, a welcome surprise. The only early hassles were dodging kelp and shrimp boats (which were back at work after two days of waiting out the wind). During the afternoon I even shutdown the engine for a proper sail, still making better than planned time. Sweet.
By around 2:00 p.m., it was clear I was running far ahead of schedule, so I came up with a new plan – anchor outside Penasco and sleep for a few hours before entering the harbor. I’d never anchored there before, so I messaged my friend Lowell, who pointed me to a typical spot. Now it was just a matter of getting there.
Single‑handing at night meant AIS and radar alarms were set and monitored closely. About ten miles out, an alarm went off, huh. Zooming in, I spotted a tiny blip. A panga? I altered course, and as I passed realized it was an unlit buoy. Very glad I didn’t hit that.
Once the anchor was set, I headed to my bunk for three hours of sleep before the short hop into a slip. All in all, a solid, issue‑free passage.
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