Bahia Santa Maria

Our next short leg of the trip took us about 50 miles further south to a town called Asuncion. This was just a short stop and a chance to get a full nights rest. The atmosphere felt strange as a front of moist air moved in just as we arrived. Dolphins and seals circled the boat most of the evening making deep breathing sounds. We left the following afternoon for a 206 leg south. This involved two days and nights at sea, but it was well worth it if not a little scary. The autopilot (a device that steers the boat) broke down for part of this leg. Erik hand steered for over 3 hours through 8-10 foot seas. We made a temporary fix underway until the next stop at Bahia Santa Maria.

We arrived in Santa Maria around dawn on January 11th. This stop was about 2/3 of the way down the Baja peninsula. It is a huge bay that used to be a favorite of sea captains bashing on their way north.

Wayne and Erik had an exciting time trying out our inflatable with a new 2hp engine. The bay has heavy surf around the shoreline. Taking the inflatable ashore, a breaking waved formed and launched them head first into the surf. Luckily Erik had the kill switch attached to his wrist. When they both surfaced, the inflatable and new engine were both upright on the beach.

Fisherman camps lined part of the estuary that feeds into the bay. One morning we traded a fisherman named Marcus four D-cell batteries for two live lobsters. Wayne figured out how to ask Marcus in Spanish-English how to cook them, and he and Erik cooked them up for brunch.