East Cape

Rounding the East Cape is reputedly difficult--sailing upwind into strong breezes and waves--and it lived up to its reputation. We got underway by 5:00 each morning so we could get half of the day's journey complete by the time the winds picked up around 10:30. After that, the next several hours would be quite a romp, pounding through building waves and increasing wind. It was some of the toughest sailing we've done--not dangerous, just tiring--and we were grateful to be able to drop anchor and sleep at the end of each day. There were ample rewards, too: the first day we got to see whales near the boat a couple of times, and we enjoyed the addition of organ pipe cactus to the scenery.

Bahia Los Frailes was especially pretty. After managing to land the dinghy in big surf (probably with more luck than skill), we walked to a lagoon behind the sand dunes. Calm fresh water with snowy egrets, nestled below cactus-covered hillsides with a mountainous backdrop: especially after hundreds of miles of barren desert, it was a breathtaking sight. Then we were treated to a manta ray show! All around the boat, rays were leaping at least 3' into the air then flopping loudly back onto the water. It was quite a spectacle (too bad I didn't catch it on camera)...

Surf at Bahia Los Frailes

Freshwater lagoon

Peaceful evening at Bahia Los Frailes

Soaring seabirds

We only spent one night at the second anchorage, Ensenada de los Muertos, which was ringed with cactus and a sand beach. The show du jour at that location was watching a large number of sea birds soar overhead; they weren't fishing, just playing with the wind, graceful as a ballet.

The next day we reached the La Paz area. It was December 1 and we were now completely in the Sea of Cortez:
another milestone.