Although I’ve been calling this a coastal route, I have been sailing about 100 miles offshore, and crossing the Gulf of Tehuantepec, which this morning is behind me- about a day and a half ahead of any big winds and seas even started to develop. But now, I should be within 20 miles of the coast until I jump from near Puerto Vallarta over to Cabo San Lucas, and that is still some 600 miles from now.
Yesterday afternoon a nice SW wind filled in, allowing me to sail through most of the night and finish crossing the Gulf. I should note that on my paper Mexican chart, it says Tehehuantepec, like I used yesterday. But in my U.S. chart book, and on 3 different electronic charts, it says Tehuantepec. So I am going with the preponderance of evidence and using the slightly shorter Tehuantepec. I hope I don’t anger any Aztec or Mayan gods, but since it’s behind me, I probably won’t use it at all anymore.
There were plenty more turtles and dolphins yesterday, but I expect less of that near the shoreline. I will be watching the weather closely, and hoping for continued good luck and mild conditions as I work my way north and west up Mexico. It’s already been one week since I transited the Panama canal- how time does fly…
5/12 8am 15.16N 96.20W 6691nm gone, 2065nm to go
Hi David! It sounds like you are singlehanding it… how does that work day in and day out? Do you take cat naps up in the cockpit? Do you have an alert if your autopilot goes off a selected course? Have a safe passage!
“How do you sleep?” seems to be the number one question from sailors. For me, it depends on conditions and where I am. If offshore, I may sleep down below, where it is much more comfy-typically 45 minutes sleep (one REM cycle), a quick check of everything, then back to sleep and repeat. If coastal, or there are hazards or traffic on my horizon, I sleep in the cockpit. How I recline determines how long I sleep. Horizontal gets me 45 minutes, a partial recline gets me 20 minutes, and almost sitting up gets me 10 minutes. I have never used an alarm to wake me, and haven’t needed it. I find I am pretty much in tune with the boat even when sleeping, and a slight wind change or course change or any sound that isn’t normal wakes me instantly, and I am not the kind of person that is groggy when waking. I wake up alert and ready. I have done enough of this to know my limits (after 40 hours awake my judgement is deteriorating, and after 72 I am useless), and to recognize when I am getting sleep deprived, and to fix it.
Another sailor comment that is common (from daysailors I guess), and makes me smile, is when they think I sit behind the wheel the whole time, steering the boat.