After a quick overnight stop at Punta Trinidad, a small cape about 40 miles North of Santa Rosalia, we set off for Punta San Francisquito about an hour before sunrise. We've learned that with the daily afternoon breeze that invariably comes up, leaving early gives us the best chances of a wind and wave free passage.
Even though we had a mostly calm passage, we did encounter some waves against current in the well named Salsipuedes* passage (*Get out if you can). San Francisquito bay was a lot less protected than I was hoping for, but we managed to tuck in a corner about as far as I dared in the shallow waters.
Night forecasts were calling for NW winds, and they eventually came in, but initially we were exposed to the Easterlies.
There is a south cove in the bay used by cruisers regularly, but I had conflicting information on it from our cruising guides. One said we could enter with caution, the other recommended against. I chose the cautious route but later on we saw our Australian friends on a sailboat manage to enter. Next time?
The beach was splendid, a long stretch of white sand, and the waters were very transparent, once again giving us the impression of cruising in an aquarium.
We'd been told about encountering coyotes, and soon saw fresh coyote prints on the wet sand, proof they'd been on the beach recently.
Of course Princess took in all the scents, and was clearly keenly aware of our unseen neighbors, but that didn't stop her from asking for a swim. Being early enough in the day for her to dry off on the bow later, I let her enjoy the clear and cool waters. It's so good she's like us and enjoys the water too.
We got back to the boat and rested from the last 2 cruising days. At night the wind died and gently turned NW as predicted. The night sky was stunning, with no light pollution at all, all the way to the horizon. I decided to see if we could see coyotes on the beach, so switched our powerful handheld projector on, scanning the beach.
Sure enough, a double flash of light reflected back at me: coyote's eyes, soon followed by another couple eyes. With our binoculars we could now see 2 good sized coyotes foraging on the beach, not at all disturbed by the light.
We sat there watching them slowly check the tide line until they ended up further up the beach, then we looked up at the sky to star gaze some more. We were greeted by a huge bright shooting star, bringing huge smiles to our faces. Time to call it a night!
Next morning, as we were readying Enfin to leave we heard the very distinct yaps and barks of a couple coyotes, maybe the same one we'd seen last night. Princess clearly heard them, and was attentive, but didn't seem all that interested. They're only distant cousins of hers after all.
As nice as it was, we had minimal protection, and with our trusted European model once again showing Northely winds coming in the next few days, we had to leave to seek better shelter.
On our way we stopped at Salsipuedes Island, in a tiny cove that the guides said provides good protection, but neither Di or I felt safe. Too many nearby uncharted rocks, not enough protection and very little room to swing if needed.
We therefore continued on to Punta El Pescador, happy to have enough time left in our cruising day to be able to make it before sunset. Charts in the region are very approximate, and getting visual confirmation of what the charts show is vital, as is arriving slowly and carefully into shallower bays.
Our first coyotes, a beautiful beach, and real progress in our trek North: A winning combination.
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