This morning I’m sailing in Mexican waters. And Mexico is right next to California, so I must be almost there, right? Well, it turns out that Mexico is bigger than the rest of Central America combined, with some 2000 miles of coastline. I don’t have to sail all of it, (I won’t go into the Sea of Cortez), but most of it is in front of me.
Yesterday brought lots more sea life, including several visits of dolphins, more manta rays, and literally dozens of turtles. I stopped counting at 20, and it was only mid day. Most of them are Olive Ridley turtles, with the humpback shell, but there were some flat hawksbill turtles, too. I thought about jumping in and getting some underwater pictures of them, but when I looked real close I realized they were about a billion small jellyfish floating along. Which explains all the happy turtles, because they eat jellyfish. They must like the warm water, too, which is currently 85 degrees. And that’s as cool as the air gets at night, too.
The weather continues very mild, and I am making good progress. I expect to be a full 24 hours ahead of the Tehehuantepecker, about 150 miles north of it, and it blows to the south, so no worries there.
The big decision, whether to go offshore or not, seems to have been made for me. There simply is not any wind offshore, same as it has been all week. I would have to motor 500 miles straight out to sea just to start getting wind, and the Pacific High might get in the way a week later anyway. I’ve recalculated courses (again), and as of today the offshore course would be about 1500 miles longer, and while I wouldn’t get any wind on the nose, I might not get any wind at all. So it looks like I am taking the coastal route. I had big plans for the offshore route, but the weather didn’t play it that way. So up the coast I go, along all the familiar cities and harbors I have sailed before. And that brings some comfort. Here’s hoping for good weather…
5/11 8am 14.02N 93.49W 6530nm gone, 2228nm to go