Having arrived at Cabo San Lucas after 1:30 am to anchor and get to sleep, I was up late. I checked the problem fuel filter bleed point of yesterday - looking good and dry - Thanks so much to Thomas and David for their help ...! had breakfast, checked emails, downloaded weather grib-files and made sure the boat was ready for sea before freeing the trapped main halyard so I could raise the mains'l and then raised the anchor.

There was very little wind in the anchorage but I expected more out of its protected waters . Sure enough, there was a good Force 4 with plenty of whitecaps and rather rough seas - it was good to be reefed down already, as I turned off the motor, unfurled some genoa - and went below to put on a long-sleeved top - it was cool in the breeze!

Wind eased once a several miles from the Cape - let out canvas to try to keep up speed but wind direction still not good - we're currently headed SW in WNW wind! But al least we're headed W-ish and, if wind dies more, might end up motor-sailing - in a better direction perhaps...

......

Offshore enough at 4pm to be able to tack around - speed v. low so motor-sailing at 4kt and making NW but that will eventually take us into the Baja coast - need WNW course to keep well off the coast further north and can't make that with present wind direction. Routeing looking very difficult with wind forecast to die almost completely for next five days offshore - the Trades are a good distance off the coast and would take quite a bit of motoring from here to reach... Further N, they look to be nearer to land.

At least heading NW feels better than heading SW!

Looks as though I'm being forced into the 'Baja Bash' to get N - at least for now.

Tuesday - Clearly, I should have gone up the mast to check on damage caused by a bird perching up there as we were nearing Zihuatanejo last week. Just before 9:30am today, I noticed that all the wind info that had been consistently appearing well since before leaving Ixtapa had disappeared - nothing at all, not even the zero wind-strength reading that had appeared after the incident. Looking up at the mast top, I can see the transducer dangling.... it must have broken away from its base fitting. So annoying...!

There's clearly only a light wind, as is forecast for the next few days. The mainsail is slack, showing almost no apparent wind, so even bearing away from our preferred route won't help our speed much, if at all.

I'm looking at my course options in view of the light winds from various directions forecast for the next five days.... A strong possibility is to head for Cabo San Lucas for fuel - nearly 5 days and over 500 mls away. There's a big High sitting not far to our NW & very little pressure gradient right over to the Gulf of Mexico. Decision time will be by late tomorrow. The priority is to get away from the hurricane region a.s.a.p. I've adjusted our course slightly to make CSL more directly, should I decide to make for there.

In the meantime, I seem to have picked up a cold :-( but I was cheered up a lot chatting to radio friends on the East coast and elsewhere early this morning... I can never understand cruisers being told not to get a SSB radio - a 2-way (expensive!) chat on a satphone can't compare with the community support and free info (safety, weather, emails, etc) available using a radio.

It turned out yesterday that the main reason for the Immigracion ladies wanting to come to the boat in Ixtapa was to see her and take photos of us all!! All very cheerful and didn't take long, ending with lots of 'Buen Viaje', but delayed my departure. I'm sure the document they gave me could have been handed over at the Capitania, as were those from the Aduana. Would have saved me several hours' delay leaving.

Well, we were forced eventually to bear away to fill the main as the wind increased and the genoa unfurled. For a time, we were doing really well, making a good course at around 6 kt - but that didn't last very long. We've gradually had to bear away more but even so our speed has dropped - we're often struggling to make 4 kt SOG, even though we're motor-sailing. Fortunately, having deliberately headed offshore last night, we were 20ml off when we first had to bear away, so although our course is taking us closer in, we're still over 15 mls off. I'm sure this is the afternoon onshore breeze affecting us so we'll see what happens come nightfall , when that wind usually dies away completely. The waves keep stopping us, killing our speed. Forecast is for winds from NW quadrant for several days - NOT helpful since that's exactly our preferred course!

Sure enough, by nightfall, we'd had to tack around to avoid ending up on the rocks near Pta San Telmo with the wind having veered to NW, so we're now headed back out to sea for a bit, waiting to see what the wind decides to do next. Present course is just a tad S of W... so not too bad We're still motor-sailing with full genoa and mains'l, having to make as good a course as the wind will allow, trying to get NW in quite boisterous WSW seas........

6pm Wed

Overnight, the sea was glassy smooth so I finally furled in the genoa & motored directly for Cabo San Lucas - a refuelling stop on Saturday, hopefully.

Once the wind filled in later this morning, it was nice to be making a good speed (over 6kt) close-hauled with full genoa and mains'l and, later, the stays'l - but without the motor helping a little, our speed would have been nearly halved. I just had to bear away 10 degrees off our rhumb-line course to keep the sails filled as the wind veered. If I weren't so keen to get out of the hurricane area as soon as possible, we could be gently sailing but until we're much further north I can't relax, so I'm keeping our speed up as much as possible, knowing refuelling is an option in Cabo. We've plenty of fuel on board but we also have to go with the wind when it strengthens.

The wind slowly veered later yesterday by quite a bit... I'm waiting to see if it keeps doing so again today - maybe we'll need to tack away from land eventually before the wind dies down overnight again - if the pattern repeats.... I have to keep 'tweaking' the sails and our course.

Hot and sunny again today after a hazy start, with a lovely starry sky overnight, slightly cloudy.

I keep sneezing - this cold has made me need a lot more sleep than usual but it's not so bad that I can't function.... It's a nuisance, though.

Fortunately, there's very little shipping around and what there is shows up on my AIS screen when a good distance away. Last night, the tanker 'Xin Sha Tou', on her way to China, changed course slightly to avoid us and pass starboard-to-starboard. The wind was quite strong and veering, we were very close-hauled and it would have been very difficult to sail more upwind to avoid her, as I explained over the VHF to the Captain, so he took the necessary action to pass well clear. I thanked him and we exchanged the usual good wishes for a good voyage.

Well, the wind veered a bit more but had become lighter by nightfall, so rather than going even more off our course, I furled in the headsails and we're motoring - but on our rhumb-line course.. Our speed had dropped sufficiently later this afternoon for arrival at Cabo San Lucas on Saturday to be doubtful - drat!

Time for food and then into the sleep routine - cold is still doing well....

Thursday - Glassy calm sea early on and for most of the day, with a slight breeze starting up in the afternoon and slowly increasing so that by night-time we were driving into bumpy seas and a bit of a headwind.

A couple of dolphins came close midday, one jumping high out of the water and landing with a big splash from a belly-flop. I hoped they might stay to ride our bow wave or play around for a bit - but they continued on their way. I did find another dried-up squid on deck - that makes three for this journey - presumably from our good, but well-heeled, sail a day or so ago wetting the decks..

After a lot of sleep overnight and well into this morning, I was feeling bit better so got some boat jobs done. In clearing up some papers, I noticed one talked about AIS settings on the plotter. Reading it more carefully, I was able to get the plotters showing AIS info on their screen - something that had annoyingly gone missing a while back but has turned into an easy fix! I'm delighted - it's so easy to get a ship's info from it's AIS icon on the plotter screen, if needs be.

I also transferred some fuel into the main tank and must transfer some more tomorrow to make sure the main tank doesn't run out before reaching Cabo. We've lots more fuel in jerry cans available for that. And I finally dealt with some increasingly smelly potatoes - they grow some lovely potatoes in Mexico but they are very moist and go bad quickly in the heat, especially in plastic bags, even though with mesh on one side - they need to be kept very well aired and not in plastic. At least that also motivated me to cook a meal tonight - a potato and onion omelette - similar to a Spanish 'tortilla'.

ETA Cabo is definitely Sunday - morning, I hope. I also hope this headwind doesn't get much stronger so as to slow us down much more.

Present position tonight is due W of Banderas Bay - about 25 n.ml. W of Cabo Corrientes, headed NW to Cabo San Lucas, 225 n.ml.away.

Friday...

Up early to contact radio friends, in between naps - still needing plenty of sleep and sneezing now and then...

Have been spending a lot of time looking at weather grib files and weather-faxes, trying to decide on how best to tackle the sail north from Mexico. Plan is to use the old 'Clipper' route offshore rather than bash and motor my way up the US west coast or the even longer alternative of sailing out to Hawaii and then N - that would be a really big detour...

Sunny, hot day, once morning cloud layer dissipated. We've been motoring solidly against a gentle breeze but I noticed just after midday that the wind was more N. Tried cutting the engine and sailing - seemed fine to begin with and the peace is always very welcome. But our speed slowly dropped - from well over 4 knots to 1.6kt an hour later - at which point I was forced to act... Oh well..! I just hope I don't have a problem in Cabo refuelling when I get there on Sunday.

No dolphins seen, only the occasional 2 or 3 boobies coming by - and leaving presents... grrr! Starry sky at night is always a delight, as is the dark sea, sparkling with diamonds of light with our wash. The crescent moon set last night glowing a deep orange.

About to transfer some diesel into the main tank - seas aren't too lumpy just now so best to get on with it.

Then I'll consider my options on getting some wind info - there is a possibility.... and it would certainly be helpful to have.

Present position is 170 n.ml. SE of Cabo San Lucas and about 60 mls SW of the Islas Marias - the largest of which has a penal colony for dangerous felons.... The word is not to approach too close - and not to pick up anyone swimming in the water nearby!

0600GMT - 1am LT in Banderas Bay over on the mainland coast down to Acapulco but 11pm Friday in Cabo San Lucas where I'm headed - a two hour time difference on the Baja peninsula once I get there.

I just centred the mainsheet traveller by the light of the moon - I'd hauled it to windward this afternoon when trying to sail close-hauled. We were now motoring into quite rough seas.

Suddenly, I became aware of fluttering in the bow. One booby was already ensconced on the starboard rail of the pulpit steelwork and another was desperately trying to land on the port side - not an easy task in the darkness because the bow was pitching every few seconds into the choppy oncoming waves which were frequently breaking over it.. Round and round the bird came, repeatedly swooping in, trying to grab the rail with the beating of its wings catching the red of the navigation light and the red-lit spray of the waves. Eventually, it joined its partner on the starboard bow - but only landing on the wire, not the rail, and amid a not-too-happy noise from the first bird. The two of them were doused with seawater every minute or so - amazing that they were able to hang on and balance there, such a very wet, uncomfortable ride it must be. But stay they did.

I've had to increase the engine revs to give us a better speed with the chop slowing us down. I might have to add some more fuel to the tank tomorrow - it's nice to have a sight glass showing the fuel level directly - no guesswork needed!

I checked by torchlight - the birds had settled in for the night - look like a pair of red-footed boobies. But two hours later, when I went to unfurl the genoa, in hope of motor-sailing a little more off the wind - they'd gone.... Plan to motor-sail didn't work - we were too close to the wind, even with a small change of course, so in came the genoa after a short time, and back on course. Lovely starry sky - Southern Cross almost disappeared, Cassiopaeia high up in the opposite half of the sky.

Morning - sunrise ~1230 GMT = 5.30am Baja time = PDT Radio chat for short time with W. coast friends after contacts 2 hrs earlier on E. coast. Australia coming in well. Best contacts made before sun gets too high. Had tried unfurling genoa to motor-sail but had to bear away 10 degrees off course to keep wind in sail & even then it tends to get backed in quite a strong wind from W.... Speed is varying a lot. Presently heading towards San Jose del Cabo since Cabo San Lucas is just a tad too upwind at present. Off to get another short nap...

Midday - Well, it's about time I learned the lesson - when sailing, sail the boat properly and don't be misled by trying to use the motor to help to make directly for a given place, to arrive at a given time...! The boat ends up being sailed badly... and you can't fight a good-strength wind, you have to work with it... "Nereida" isn't a motor-boat...!

We're sailing fine now, making 5kt or more SOG but headed only just W of N.... So we'll have to tack at some point to make San Jose del Cabo - which is less upwind than Cabo San Lucas and will hopefully not charge quite as much for refuelling. I've heard it can cost US$100 or US$150 just to tie up to the fuel dock in CSL.- and I'm sure their fuel price will not be cheap! If a night entry becomes necessary, I know San Jose from 2014 and entry is quite straightforward..

6pm Tried tacking - ended up heading SW - so not a good option. Nearly lost the small staysail pole when a genoa sheet got tangled with it. Have tacked back onto NNW course but slow progress with WNW wind having died down a bit. Sun getting low... Might not make San Jose Sunday without using motor, just 70 n.mls away, bearing 305T - but possible if wind lightens more and I've fuel enough.

0210GMT (Sunday!) 7.10 p.m Saturday LT/PDT Just went to check if the lovely red sun had set below the horizon - and a solitary booby landed on the port pulpit - clearly settling down for the night. I wonder if it's one of the two that perched there last night? Transferred last of my fuel reserve - now have about 85 litres in the main tank - enough to motor for over a day @3 l / hr so we should be OK to get to San Jose - still dead upwind and 63 miles away as the crow flies - but we'll probably take twice that getting there, unless the wind dies away completely. Sailing gently at 4.3kt NNW. Time to cook before it's totally dark - I've some potatoes to use up...

Morning: Two boobies perched on the bow pulpit overnight - male and female red-footed... having a good ride while they rest and preen themselves. Joined later in morning by another, perched on anchor. Low line of sea-fog stretching along from coast ahead down southward toward Cabo San Lucas.

Motor-sailing (since sunrise) directly towards San Jose del Cabo - SW wind in genoa & main so making fair speed without needing to push too hard with motor. Hoping for early afternoon landfall, to tie up to fuel dock, ready for topping up tank and reserve jerry cans. By 9a.m. LT/PDT (1600GMT), wind died , seas calm, genoa furled in... Fenders and mooring lines made ready for San Jose fuel dock arrival ... ~ 1p.m.?

11amLT 10ml off San Jose (ETA - and sea fog on the coast to the S is still there - but finishes just to S of San Jose, where we're headed. Still have one brown booby on board - seemsdetermined to make the most of the ride and wasn't disturbed when I furled in the genoa beside it, with the wind having gone too light to fill the sail.

LATER:

Safely tied to fuel dock at San Jose before 2.30pm LT after motoring in flat calm for some time.

More in fuel tank than I expected - fuelled up OK and fixed a few problems - including switch I was using for fuel transfer. Unable to fix wind transducer problem at mast top, unfortunately - no spare on board, to my surprise. Can see it up there at a funny angle - bird must have broken connection to wire down through mast

Met up with 'Pacific Provider' and went for meal later - late back to boat to sleep and be ready to leave at first light in the morning.

Monday 13th ..... Maybe I should not have left??

I went to leave today - and ran straight into (forecast) strong winds and seas. I expected to cope with the conditions but made a right mess of reefing down, with one batten getting caught in a lazyjack and, after sorting that out, the second reef line getting caught around the end of a batten near the first reef point - more time spent, heeled well over in the big seas and then hove-to, sorting that problem out. Realised, too late, that I'd left a seacock open that should have been closed ... etc., ...etc... So finally turned around to sail back and am now safely at anchor off Cabo San Lucas, sorting things out and tidying up down below! Will wait to see what tomorrow brings....

It's been a good reminder of ocean sailing and the need to be totally prepared!! It's been nearly three years since I did some 'proper' ocean sailing - easy to forget how carefully things must be tackled in strong conditions...

All fine now, except I just noticed a pin seems to want to come out of the wind steering mechanism - will have to find a way to try to keep it in place somehow... maybe wire it in some way... I'll be needing my wind-steering on the way north, mostly close-hauled - especially now that I've no wind instrument functioning.

...........

It's lovely to be gently bobbing about at anchor, especially after the banging and crashing around earlier! It's busy here in the daytime with lots of holidaymakers rushing around madly on personal watercraft and lots of local boats taking people out for fishing or 'around-the-bay' trips or paragliding. Of course, lot of sailboats and 'party' catamarans with loud music suddenly appeared near sunset.

This evening, I'm still busy, trying to sort through a variety of things and organise them. At least the boat is better-prepared now.

The wind is clearly blowing still, off to the west beyond the distinctive rocky, scenic Cabo outcrops - every now and then, a gust comes through.

Tuesday Lovely, sunny day, as usual, without too many disturbances from jet-skiers and other small boats full of holidaymakers - or maybe I'm just getting used to them? A productive day - having found a vital pin yesterday that kept trying to come loose in the wind-steering mechanism, a priority was to fix it in place somehow, bearing in mind I'd be wanting to use the wind-steering a lot in the coming passage. Overnight, to make sure the pin wasn't lost, I taped it over with Gorilla tape - with a strong adhesive backing, it did its job well. I decided that a penny washer, together with a couple of other smaller washers, could be wired in place to stop the pin coming out. The hole in the penny washer was just too big but with the smaller washers reducing the hole, the result was fine. Using mousing wire, which is quite flexible, it didn't take too long to sort out - see photo. The rest of the day was spent sorting out the boat with a long passage in mind - I got out my clear Lexan washboard and put it in place and cleared and cleaned the cockpit, as well as down below. I had plenty of time to catch up with some overdue emails as well as downloading the usual batch of weather faxes (Pt Reyes comes through better than Honolulu) and grib files. The weather news this morning was of strong NW winds persisting over the day off the Baja coast - so not a time to get going since I want to head WNW, if possible. Tomorrow, the winds might still be fairly strong and from WNW, which could well cause me a problem, but they should be slowly easing over the next few days. The seas will, as usual, take a time to lie down giving a rough ride for a time. I might try leaving tomorrow and see what it's like once a few miles out of the Bay. It's very protected in here, so very deceptive. The swell has been causing a lot of surf on the nearby beaches - I hear the sound of waves crashing all the time when on deck. I'll try to get a good sleep tonight - might be my last for quite a time if it's as rough out there to begin with as I suspect it will be...

I'm convinced Mexico doesn't want me to leave!!

It's late on Wednesday and I'm headed to Cabo San Lucas from San Jose - not sailing offshore yet, as expected this morning.

As I was about to leave Cabo San Lucas today,with mainsail hoisted and about to raise the anchor, I went to turn off the galley seacock so as not to have the same problem as before, (when trying to leave well heeled over in big winds & suddenly realised seawater was sploshing everywhere down below...) Saw some diesel near the seacock and remembered there seemed to be a film of diesel on top of all that water - "Better check the bilge"... To my horror, the bilge was almost full of diesel - and a lot under the engine also....

What to do? Clearly not sensible to head offshore with the problem not resolved.

Decided to head back to San Jose del Cabo, where I'd met the Capt and crew of 'Pacific Provider' on Sunday. They had been very friendly and offered any help I might need - surely they could help me sort this problem out? As I motored back, I looked carefully at the engine with a bright torch, hoping to see the reason for all that fuel in the bilge - sure enough, fuel was clearly leaking out, quite fast, from the area around one of the two primary fuel filters. I tried switching over to the other filter, but that didn't seem to make any difference. As we motored to San Jose, keeping well out, I was busy trying to get some of the fuel out from the bilge... Neither of the two small 12v pumps I had on board seemed to be able to lift out any of the fuel... but a soup ladle worked fine, if very slow ... Good being chef and mechanic on board.

After throwing away two bucket-loads of diesel, (natural, organic, will do no lasting harm).... I decided to re-cycle the next few lots - it looked perfectly clean and usable - so it was put through the Baja filter and on into the main tank... A few more bucket-loads and the main tank was clearly full. By then we were about to enter San Jose, so I stopped and went up to concentrate on docking at the long fuel dock, close ahead of 'Pacific Provider', well away from the fuel pumps - didn't need those, for sure!

I immediately went to find Capt Thomas and Engineer Dave (it's a big boat!!) to see if they would help - they came straight away to the boat and quite soon had pin-pointed the problem - not, as initially thought, the dried out gasket on the primary filter housing, but the bleed point above one of the filters having a misplaced copper washer - which was not seated properly and so was letting fuel past it - fuel pressure there is very high... Once Thomas had re-seated the washer properly and tightened down the bleed screw, all was well. Even running the engine at high revs did not result in any leakage. I wondered just howl long the problem had been present. Clearly, during the five-day passage, mainly under motor, from Ixtapa, fuel had been getting below. No wonder our fuel consumption had been surprisingly high!

Of course, solving the leakage problem was great ... Clearing up the mess, not so! Took a very long time to remove all the diesel from the bilge and under the engine - David lent me a useful little manual pump to use and I used some big containers they had stored on the aft -deck - I had to go back several times to collect more and finally ended up having filled six five-gallon containers with fuel or an emulsion of fuel and seawater. "Un regalo para los pescadores" - I tried to give the good stuff away! And eventually managed it... By nine o'clock, I was finished and had enjoyed a lovely warm shower on board 'Pacific Provider' - followed by a celebratory drink with David, Paul and Ashley before I left the dock to motor to and anchor off Cabo San Lucas, ready for leaving tomorrow morning .... I hope!!

8pm LT / 0100 GMT On passage again....

Well, the hoped-for sea-breeze didn't appear today - I was hoping it would reinforce the light SSW wind found as I left Acapulco Bay today so that we'd have a pleasant sail W and then WNW.. but not so.

So we've been under the 'iron sail' since leaving early this afternoon, trying to be sure of making Zihuatanejo in daylight tomorrow.

There's a good 2m swell running from the SSW - but being spaced every 6-8 seconds, it's no problem, even though it's on our beam.

Dolphins appeared briefly earlier, jumping out of the water, leaping high into the air. Of course, having dived below to find my camera, they'd disappeared when I got back on deck.

I'm going to pause writing this now, to make a meal while there's still some daylight left - I'm hungry, not having eaten much today!

9:45 pm LT / 0245 GMT An onion omelette with fried diced potatoes went down very well!

There's a group of bright red lights onshore, near to the white lights of a village - seems very much like a big fire. Certainly unexpected and most odd, since this coast is very under-populated. Maybe they're burning off palm fronds to clear the ground? They grow a lot of bananas and coconuts here, so that's possible. Let's hope, if so, that it's under control...

I left later than intended, having spent quite a time on the Internet today but I should still arrive at Zihuatanejo during daylight tomorrow so long as I keep up a reasonable speed. Pity the wind is doggedly dead on the nose...!

A bright planet has been overhead for several days now (just above Sagittarius, I think) - Saturn or Jupiter? Looks too yellow to be Mars... and Venus would be white and lower. (Just been told it's Mars...)

Occasional bright splashes of light below the sea surface keep catching my eye - something moving down there, for sure.... Squid (likely)... fish (maybe)... dolphin (probably not - wrong size)...??

Hasta luego - time to check in to the Pacific Seafarers' Net...!

Hazy all morning, land not visible - sun peeking through - but only just. Wonder if things will wind up later to another heavy rainstorm, as happened overnight in Acapulco?

Spotted a fishing panga zipping by astern,mid-morning.

Closing on Zihuatanejo now - only 15 miles to the Bay entrance now (11.30am LT)

.......

First thing coming into view through the haze was the high dark mound of the Morro de Petatlan, followed later by the several high white rocky islets 1 1/2 mls off its seaward end - Las Rocas Potosi. The S. headland of Zihuatanejo Bay did not appear for quite a time, it was so hazy.... The Bahia de Petatlan is wide open to the prevailing SW swell, as well as any wind from NW to SE, whereas the Bay of Zihuatanejo is well-protected and has plenty of room for cruisers wanting to enjoy this deservedly-popular, friendly town.

I suddenly realised that the last time I was here was over nine years ago and yet the place seems so familiar. I twice stayed here at anchor for quite a time - enjoying their annual Guitar Fest both times and so helping to raise money for the local schools.

The sea-breeze seemed to be picking up - if only I could head twenty degrees more off the wind, we could be sailing - but that course would take us directly into shore... The story of this short passage.

My course should take me well clear of Roca Negra - an isolated large black rocky islet one mile off the S. headland of the Bay entrance - now, in daylight, very clear. According to the chart, marked with a lit beacon at night - amazing! .But that shows how well-used this Bay is. Think I'll handsteer around it - radar is showing it well off the charted position and closer to our planned path...

1840 GMT: There's a BIG bird sitting at the masthead - my apparent wind suddenly went to zero ... a frigate, no doubt... GO away!!

It didn't - curses!! No wind info - and it could well have damaged the transducer/anemometer.

.............

2000 GMT/3pm LT Went for a slow tour around the bay and finally anchored in 7.4 m depth after dropping the mains'l. Not much wind - don't know exactly how much...! Time to relax and celebrate a little... An 'officially' completed circumnavigation - started from here in March 2007, finished June 2016...!! I'll move over to Xtapa at some point for fuel and check the weather before moving on north after clearing out from Mexico with the Port Captain here.

Saturday 4th June

After anchoring in the Bay early Friday afternoon, I relaxed and had a lovely swim before moving over, just before sunset, to Ixtapa marina from where I hoped to clear out of Mexico Saturday morning... No such luck... After a 25 min/10 pesos bus ride into Zihuatanejo town, found the Capitania was closed for International checkouts until Monday... I was almost tempted just to sail away... but will make use of the time to sort out a few things on board. A big bird landed on the masthead as we got close, after which the wind instrument was showing 0.0 knots, even though the cups were turning on the anemometer... Grrr! Means a trip up the mast to see if the problem can be fixed. Had a big rainstorm again early this morning, so will make sure I avoid any such weather if I do decide to climb up...

Took a photo of the dinghy beach by the town jetty... No dinghies (I seem to be the only active cruiser here - out of season) but the local fishing boats (pangas) are seen in the distance... Fishermen near their boats on the beach in the morning hope to sell their varied catch...

Went on to spend a relaxing day in Zihuatanejo ... Took some more photos but the battery was flat :-( . Had a good, late, chilequiles breakfast after wandering around a bit and getting some cash. Spent late afternoon on shady beachfront overlooking Bay with slow, cool cerveza, watching kiddies playing in the waves and then fishermen preparing their pangas for that evening's fishing.

Later, found same guy near busy Plaza making same great hamburguesas (just 40 pesos) as used to in 2005 & 2007! (Remember... Steph, Warren & Goh?) On to Barracuda's to chat as I munched ... and watched ice hockey game in Canadian company... Finally caught last bus back to Ixtapa ... at 8:30 p.m....! Put up mosquito netting - this place used to be a swamp... (and used to have frequent crocodiles lurking in the water....)

Sunday ..... catching up with boat stuff (and Internet while it's available - in cool, air-conditioned marina office with friendly, helpful staff). No trip up mast needed ... Wind instrument seems to have recovered ...wind info is being displayed again. Great! Weather not looking threatening but neither is it looking particularly helpful for heading off tomorrow after bus trip in to Capitania and then refuelling as I leave... C'est la vie... Que sera, sera... Would be really nice to have good sailing weather...

See RNLI magazine item: http://magazine.rnli.org/Article/How-to-start-your-sailing-adventure-105

On Tuesday, the afternoon breeze hardly kicked in at all, so although I poled out the genoa and goose-winged the main, we barely made 3.5 kt. Lovely though it was to be without the engine noise, I was forced to start the motor soon after dark.

I kept well offshore overnight, as we approached Acapulco, passing the beach where Nereida I is totally buried, deep under the wet sand of a surf beach near the village of Tenexpa..

I had kept our speed down to make sure we arrived in daylight.... It turned out that I couldn't have chosen a better day to pull into Acapulco!

I found the Acapulco Y.C. fuel dock, after a bit of searching around, and was told I needed to go to the office with my ship's papers before fuelling.

I knew Senor Marquez, the Y.C. Dockmaster, from my visit in 2008 and, sure enough, he came into the office to check my papers. He had been the kind soul who had said to stay with his family in 2008 when I lost my boat the very next day after leaving to head north to complete a circumnavigation....

It was lovely to catch up with him - but he said the port captain's office was closed because it was a fiesta - Dia de Marinero. - which explained the Navy boat coming out that morning, dressed overall with flags, and the accompanying smaller boats I'd seen as I was entering Boca Grande - the main bay of Acapulco.

Jose suggested I stay overnight at the nearby Maina Acapulco (half the cost of the Y.C.!) and invited me to the Y.C. fiesta at 4pm when I'd meet his family. That went really well, with a live band to dance to in between chatting to the family.and being plied with food and drink. (They all came to visit "Nereida" later)

Discussing my plans, Jose said it would be better to clear out from Mexico in Zihuatanejo rather than from Acapulco whose officials might possibly cause me complications - he could give me a 'despacho' from Acapulco to Zihuatanejo to simplify matters - so off to his office he went, returning half an hour later with my paper - very kind of him.

So plans have changed. Tomorrow, instead of heading to the Port Captain's office first thing, I'll be heading for Zihuatanejo (a day's sail away) that I was intending to go to anyway, to clear out of Mexico from there for Canada.. Why was I planning on heading to there from Acapulco? To complete my 'unfinished' circumnavigation which I'd started in March 2007 and so nearly finished in June 2008....

I'd forgotten the blue-and-white old Volkswagen Beetles which are commonly the taxis here in Acapulco. ...And the steep-sided roads, with hair-pin bends and stone facings - much of the bay is very steep-to.

I'll wander over towards the marina office soon, not just to send this off (my ship's radio connection via Pactor modem normally does that fine) but to get an Internet connection - possibly my last for several weeks - and post some photos on Facebook from today's fiesta event with the Marquez family at the Acapulco Y.C.

Tomorrow, I'll leave for Zihuatanejo - probably motoring into a light breeze - the forecast is not looking helpful for the next few days.... light winds, possibly northerlies... Que sera,sera...!

Tuesday 0600GMT - Passing S of the busy port of Lazaro Cardenas... Having to stand watch overnight for most of the time.

'Bicente' was ahead and clearly changed course slightly to avoid getting too close - passed by our port side a good two miles off - the beauty of AIS - I can 'see' them, they can 'see' me!

Next ship, coming from astern, is 'Kukulcan' - their course is showing them passing rather close - about one mile off. We'll both keep a careful watch to make sure that happens but first they need to avoid 'Bicente'- Looks as though they'll pass each other 'port-to-port', with room to spare.

Frequent short exchanges between ships around have been heard on the VHF but when I called 'Bicente' earlier, to confirm our plan of action to avoid collision, my plotter was affected and I had to reset my instruments - the plotter was telling me I'd completed my track, so the AP had no data to work with...! Annoying but quickly resolved, although I wasn't keen, after that, to contact either ship by VHF.

So long as I hold my course, they can alter course slightly if they need to and all is well. Oncoming vessels usually pass port to port and an overtaking vessel must keep clear - lessons we've all learned! Bottom line is to avoid collision at all costs - so stand by to jump to the wheel!!

0630 GMT - the two ships are just passing each other astern of us, 8 miles off. 'Kukulcan' should overtake us in just over an hour's time... I'll have to wait to make sure all is well... Local time is 1.30 a.m. Sleep will be made up over tomorrow in snatches...

0700 GMT - I tried to contact 'Kukulcan' who are still showing as though they'll pass very close - too close for comfort - but .... a language problem... I THINK they indicated that they'll pass us on their starboard side... but I'm not sure... They weren't clear... All I heard was the word 'starboard'. Maybe they'll pass to starboard of us? The main point is that they know we exist - that's got to be good news since they'll hopefully avoid us! (I'm standing by the wheel, just in case....!)

0730 GMT- They look to be heading as though to pass our starboard side...

1430 GMT / 9.30am LT Wow, but it's busy and has been all last night...! I'm seeing nine ships within 50 mls of us, with a lot more in the port of Lazaro Cardenas. Must be all the shipping heading between Panama and all points N of here coming together along this coast now.

We're presently 20 n.ml. S of Zihuatanejo, with Acapulco 106 n.ml. off - should be docking there this time tomorrow for fuel.

3.45pm / 2045 GMT Hope UK & US friends are enjoying their holiday!

Beautiful gentle sailing with main on preventer and genoa poled out goose-winged with afternoon onshore breeze enhancing what little wind there would be otherwise - so nice to lose the noise of the motor! Took time organising lines for the pole - having not used it for quite some time, uphaul and downhaul were only present on port side so switched them over to starboard. Was easiest to pole out the genoa but I really should get out the asymmetric at some point - been a long time since I used that!

Apparent wind is from W, around 10 kt but we're making around 5 kt ESE so true wind is likely to be about 14kt.

Acapulco is 188ml off still - looks like ETA of Wed around dawn if present speed kept up - daylight arrival always best.

Made a lot of radio contacts on 7163 around 4:30am - spoke to Guam, Kiritimati, Hawaii and Papeete, as well as many on or near US East coast. Later, spoke on 40m to West coast, Arizona and Mexico, with Australian stations also coming in well - one from Norfolk Island. Timing very dependent on time of local sunrise for good propagation and 40m band seems to be very noisy at present, so not always easy to make contact - but fun to try! Many radio friends I've never met face-to-face but have chatted with for a few years now.

I'll wait for wind to die down towards evening before starting the motor again. I'm enjoying the pleasant sail with only slight swell now... it's so relaxing! Time for food...

Lazaro Cardenas 45 n.ml. ENE, Zihuatanejo 80 n.ml. E

10am LT / 1500GMT Sky totally overcast. Passing due W of Tenacatita, about 16 miles off - keeping well offshore to avoid possible long-liners and any other fishing boats.

Still seeing lots of shipping further out - they're usually well out of my way, but AIS alarm just went off- one ship was headed directly for us! BSL 'Limassol' - just left Manzanillo, headed to USA - pleasant guy on VHF 16. Switched channel - He suggested I maintain my course and speed and we'll pass port to port - no problem. Both sent each other good wishes for a safe passage.... Typical mariner radio exchange!! Watching them pass by, I noticed a small turtle in the water, head held up, shell glistening.

Swell has died down a lot - I've some clearing up from rough seas yesterday which threw us about a lot and a galley locker door has come adrift - damaged hinge needs two screws replacing with thicker ones. Having to motor now in light wind after lovely overnight sail in good wind - always nice and peaceful without the engine running.

A small dove has been taking a ride since around dawn - perched in the bow, resting.

Made lots of radio contacts earlier, including a few familiar ones in S. Africa and Australia - always fun to chat to radio friends. Will continue daily contacts as I sail on.

4pm LT / 1900 GMT - teatime! Enough of an onshore breeze kicked in a bit earlier to unfurl genoa and later the staysail helped our speed by another half knot - every little bit helps....! Motor-sailing at 5 - 5.7 kt. in light WSW wind - suspect tide is helping SOG. Disturbed the bird who flew off - hopefully well rested!

Taking frequent short naps to keep up with sleep - helpful being 15-20 miles offshore and having AIS.

8:30pm LT / 0130 GMT 20 miles due S of Manzanillo and the light is fading rapidly. The sun, a big red globe, sank into the grey cloud layer on the horizon a short while ago.

A sure sign of no wind is when the needle spins around, not knowing where to settle. The flapping headsails had been furled in and, shortly afterwards, I noticed that 'our' bird, a collared dove, had returned to its perch on the pulpit., clearly intending to stay the night.

Just before it got too dark, I went forward to the mast to check some lines - and saw we had more company - a group of small dolphins came by and played around the bow - "Goodnight!"

A beautiful day... Almost no wind, so raised mainsail before leaving dock, to make sure no problems. Checked around on deck and noticed shackle needed on pole uphaul - so sorted that out also. Internet was down, so no chance to check on emails but will use Winlink via my HF radio while I'm under way.

F2 headwind from SW so motored to Cabo Corrientes. Hoping, once around, to be able to sail, so fixed vane of Hydrovane in position in readiness, with rudder already in place.

Big patch of deep red water about 10 ml NE of C. Corrientes - 'red tide'?

Almost no cloud - lovely to have awning in place over cockpit, for shade from bright, hot sun!

11.30pm Checked in with Pacific Seafarers' Net on 14300 at 0315 GMT/10:15 p.m. LT - good to make contact with several familiar voices!

We're sailing almost dead downwind at present, goose-winged, having turned off the motor some hours ago - we'd been motor-sailing up to then in light wind but wind is up nicely now.

Very rolly - good test of how well (or not) things are stowed! Leecloth on port bunk is useful for storing anything loose.

Beautiful starry night - no cloud - Southern Cross in clear view high over horizon to starboard... Sea sparkling with phosphorescence - lovely to see!

Keeping well offshore (~12 mls) to avoid, hopefully, illegal long-line fishing boats - I've been told they're normally 3 mls or so off the coast. Further offshore, 15-30 mls away, it's busy with shipping - so my present position seems about the safest.

0440 GMT position: 19 51N, 105 39W SOG: 6kt, COG: 148T wind: NW 15+ kt

Thinking a wallet was missing, delayed my start today... Also an interview with BBC Somerset for Steve Pointon's sail around the UK for Action for Children .. That went well .... Not long to his start on 20th June...  Good luck, Steve!    Got to fuel dock far later in day than intended... Wind got up but suddenly switched off.... Great, I thought, time to go.... Not so great once out of lee of land near marina.... F 4-5 headwinds and swell.... Not good!  Also, main halyard I'd got ready for sailing, was wrapped around backstay top insulator... Grrr!  Decided best to return to marina rather than go anchor off Pta de Mita in hope swell not too bad for a mast climb......  Back in marina... Lovely nap and then to 'La Peska' for last Mexican meal...  Lovely seafood molcajete and (free!) margaritas.  Plan to leave again early tomorrow (Sat) morning, when no wind, for rounding Cabo Corrientes on way S to Acapulco...


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Monday 23 May 2016

After a lengthy two-day journey, involving an overnight stop in Atlanta, Georgia, USA, I got back to Nereida this afternoon.  It's nice to be back after a busy time in Lymington with not much sleep over several days, so much work was needed in preparing to leave.

My Virgin Atlantic first leg from LHR was made very enjoyable when the friendly crew upgraded me  - lovely to stretch out and get a much-needed sleep in between good food and drink!  I was also pleasantly surprised not to be charged excess baggage fees on either of the two legs - the rigging parts I had with me were very heavy, so much so that I took a taxi to and from the airports today after a big struggle with my suitcases yesterday between the airport and my Atlanta hotel.  Had to have Southern fried chicken in Max Lager's Brewery restaurant close by the hotel - Georgia is a Southern state, after all!

As is usual when coming through Customs into Mexico, I had to push a button when passing through Puerto Vallarta airport for a random possible inspection of my luggage - I breathed a sigh of quiet relief when I got a green light, not a red one...

Now I have to prepare the boat to move on - will probably take a few days but I'd like to sail away as soon as possible, now that the hurricane season is almost upon us.