The Captain Goes For A Swim

The Southern Crossing has been crossed. La Paz, however, is our end destination where we will restock perishables and pick up boat guests who will join us on our initial exploration of the Sea of Cortez. Our next stop on the way to La Paz is Playa La Bonanza on the east side of Isla Espiritu Santo. A tricky channel lies ahead of us where winds, waves, tides and currents can all work havoc. The First Mate has become quite used to these scenarios by now. We leave in the early morning hours as we have over 50 miles ahead of us. At 7:55am (Captain’s log), The Captain goes forward to raise the anchor.

As we motor out of the anchorage and round the headland of Los Muertos, we marvel at the size of a house under construction on the point. Thus far it is the biggest house we have seen from Cabo San Lucas all the way down to Manzanillo. We wonder what it must take to import materials and labor to build such a complex house out in the middle of nowhere. However, one cannot question the view!

We raise sails in the lee of the headland. Winds are often very light at this hour, but not this morning. They are already up to 18 knots. The Captain puts in the first reef. The fishing line is put out next. We sail around the point, and at the entrance to the channel, we encounter winds running between 15 – 22 knots with choppy seas at 3 – 5 feet. As usual, the wind is from the opposite direction we need to go. We are in for a ride. The First Mate suggests that maybe this would not be a good time to have a fish on the line, and just as The Captain steps up to reel in the line … Zing! A fish has bit the lure. The usual practice when under sail and a fish is on the line is to turn close to the wind, luffing the sails to slow down the boat. This puts less drag on line and fish which makes it somewhat easier for the one reeling in the line. Once closer to the wind, the jib is furled to keep it from flapping madly, and the motor is turned on to help the one at the helm hold the boat into the wind. This time with the high winds and high bouncing seas, The First Mate finds that she cannot maintain an angle as close to the wind as they would like because the heavy seas are causing the boom to swing wildly back and forth. That’s not a good thing to do if it can at all be helped. There is no way she can do anything about furling the jib because her hands are full with managing the helm. There is just too much wind and too much wave action to enable her to slow the boat down to 1 knot or less of forward speed The Captain would like when he's reeling in a fish. With mainsail let out, she does manage to slow the speed considerably, but there is still a lot of drag and a lot of work for The Captain out on the line. The fish is strong, and it’s a fighter. The Captain has his hands full reeling in the fish. When it's close to the boat, he climbs down to the narrow rear platform and gaffs it in the bouncy seas and hauls it aboard. It appears to be a Mexican bonito, the same type of fish that we caught when leaving Isla Isabella, but about twice as big. It takes 50 minutes to reel that fish in, rough clean it and wash down the aft end of the boat, and all the while, we were making no headway bouncing around at the entrance of the channel where the worst winds and seas are. The First Mate is beginning to rethink her enthusiasm for this fishing activity, especially when The Captain hands her fresh-cut fillets of very red meat. Our prior experience with fish meat this red has not been good.

With the wind on our nose, we continue to tack up this channel. At noon, we are only half way up the channel. Winds have begun to die a little down to 15 – 18 knots. By 3:00, we still have 18 nm to go to get to our anchorage. Winds have really declined, and our boat speed is now only 3-4 knots. The Captain decides to put on the engine, or we will never get to anchor in daylight. As we motor sail along, he also puts out the fishing line. The First Mate thinks that somehow she has managed to create a monster! The Captain is determined to fish. Dorado and Tuna are on his dream list.

1645 (Captain’s log) Zing! Another bite. The Captain dives to the line. The First Mate scrambles to the helm. This time all she has to do is put the engine in neutral and then maintain just enough forward motion so the fishing line doesn’t get sideways to the boat. The seas, however, are still running high from the morning’s wind. So even though the forward motion is slow, the up and down and sideways wave activity is chaotic. Gradually and keeping an eye on the direction of the fish on the line, The First Mate turns the boat into the waves so that at least all we’re doing is going up and down and not rocking sideways too. This fish is a big one and when it jumps out of the water, The Captain lets out a cheer of delight. It is a beautiful bull Dorado with brilliant blue, green and yellow colors flashing. After he finally gets it up to the boat, he calculates that it is too heavy for The First Mate to hold the pole and line while he gaffs the fish. Besides, he needs The First Mate to keep the boat pointed into the waves. He is going to step out on the wet sugar scoop (the narrow step on the aft end of the boat) and do it all. Hold the line, pull in the fish, gaff it and heave it onto the boat. The First Mate is concentrating on handling the boat when suddenly there is a splash and commotion behind her that sounds like more than fish. Looking behind, there is no Captain. Looking down, The Captain is in the water. One hand has the line and the other is grasping wildly for the edge of the boat. The narrow step he had been standing on sunk out from under him as a wave caught the boat. With the fishing line in one hand and the gaff in the other, he had no way of hanging onto the boat. For a brief surprised second, he was suspended in air before gravity had its way, and he plummeted into the ocean. With no forward speed, The First Mate quickly realizes that he is not about to be left in our wake and that she does not have to start any kind of drastic man-over-board activities. She reaches down to grab his hand, but he yells up to lower the ladder instead. Ladder down, the dripping Captain climbs aboard, and to his amazed delight, finds that the fish is still on the line! He continues to ease the fish toward the boat, but with one last jump and lurch, the lure breaks free. What a disappointment! What a beauty got away!

Out goes the line again, zing, another Dorado. This one also manages to spit the lure as we get it close to the boat. Oh, what defeat! 1730 (Captain’s log), a third Dorado bites. The Captain brings this fish in more slowly, trying to really tire it out prior to gaffing it and lifting it onto the boat. When The Captain reaches out with the gaff, The First Mate grabs the back of his shirt. The Captain commands her to let go so he can move easier. This she will not do. One man-over-board for the day is enough!

The Captain brings the fish aboard and, finally, he has a Dorado for the day. Not as big as that first one, but still a good one for two dinners. We continue on. Playa Bonanza is within sight.

By 7:00 we are anchored in a gorgeous bay with a 2-mile sweep of white beach. We are the only ones at anchor. It is all ours to savor. The peace and beauty help us forget how hard fought the day was against wind, waves and fish. Our tiredness eases as we sit outside on deck enjoying the evening and our very fresh Dorado dinner. The biggest bonus, which The First Mate neglected to mention, is that we are a day ahead of schedule. Tomorrow will be a true Savor Day here in this lovely bay. Ah, the cruiser’s life for me!