Big Sea, Little Trip: Part 1 of 6

It's been nearly 4 months since Cilantro's inaugural cruise in the Sea of Cortez, but Sue has been procrastinating about chronicling our adventure. An adventure it was, and not the sort either of us was expecting, although it definitely had its good points. Sue recently read a letter in a cruising magazine that spurred her -- goaded her! -- to write this series of posts. The letter writer was railing against manual bilge pumps, calling them "the most useless piece of equipment you can have on your boat," because (a) your arm will wear out long before the boat stops leaking, and (b) they don't work when you aren't on board.

Launching at Marina San Carlos

We beg to differ, especially with point (a). Our manual bilge pump saved Cilantro when she sprang a serious leak and we were miles from anywhere and anyone. Taking turns manning the pump, the two of us accomplished several things in short order: lowered the water level in our flooded bilge, readied our dry bags for a quick exit into the dinghy (if necessary), tracked down the source of the leak, and worked on emergency repairs, all long before our arms gave out. But this is getting ahead of the story.

June 17, 2013: After two hot muggy days of provisioning, rigging sails and lines, and doing final projects, we launched Cilantro at Marina San Carlos. The 10-minute trailer ride from Marina Seca to the ramp was unremarkable, and once in the water, Cilantro's engine started up without hesitation. Curtis executed a tight 180-degree turn (we love our 4-blade VariProp!) to head out through San Carlos Harbor.

Motoring through San Carlos Harbor

Oops -- the depth gauge isn't reading on our instrument panel. After a short discussion, we decide to proceed anyway, through the well-marked mooring field and harbor entrance and motor north toward a familiar and nearby destination: Caleta Lalo. Having kayaked this bay many times, we knew its rocks and reefs well and were looking forward to setting our anchor in its sandy bottom.

At anchor, Sue fixed a big salad for dinner, and we toasted the sunset with a glass of red wine (Sue) and a beer (Curtis). We stretched out for the night on the six-foot cockpit cushions, hoping for a cooling breeze.

Sunset on Cerro Tetakawi (Tetas de Cabra) from Caleta Lalo