March 28, 2008 -- Isla Coyote, East side -- N 26 degrees 43' 17.6"/ W 111 degrees 53' 26.2"
1 nm cruised for the day, 149.4 nm for the trip

As the day of departure from Leavenworth approached, we couldn't wait to be on the road. As we pounded pavement southbound, we couldn't wait to drop in on relatives along the way. As we pulled out of my sister's home in Chandler Az we couldn't wait to cross the border into Mexico. In San Carlos, we couldn't wait to get the boat into the water. As we sat at anchor in Bahia San Pedro, we eagerly anticipated our overnight crossing of the Sea of Cortez. In the marina at Santa Rosalia, we looked forward to beginning our southbound cruise. Now we're bobbing at anchor at Isla Coyote, in Bahia Conception, one of the loveliest spots on the Sea of Cortez. However, we look across the bay and see the lights of the many palapas and RV's encamped along the shore, and the night silence is violated by the sounds of semi's laboring up and down Highway 1. The highway is twisty, and climbs in and out of the numerous bays and coves along this stretch of coast. Mexican truck drivers apparently try to outdo each other for loudest jake brakes, and the sound carries clearly across the bay to our otherwise peaceful anchorage. This evening, we can't wait to be out of earshot of Highway l.

Last night's peace and quiet was interrupted, some time after I'd dropped off into a sound sleep, by the sensation of serious bobbing, and the sound of surf regularly splashing on shore. The entire day had been calm, and we had retired under same conditions. However, I awoke to a different situation. I went on deck and played the flashlight on shore. A sea breeze had kicked up, sending 1 foot swells into our anchorage. The wind was light, putting little pressure onto the boat, but the bobbing was less than comfortable. I debated raising anchor and moving to the leeward side of the island, but ended up opting for a wait and see approach. I laid in bed for an hour or so before the wind and swell died down. In the morning I got up to a light sea breeze, and found our position rather close to the beach. I decided to raise anchor and move around to the lee side of the island before proceeding with breakfast.

We anchored on the lee side, just off a nice beach. This is the area I planned on snorkeling today. I dropped anchor in about 18 feet, and we fixed breakfast. Instead of the usual oatmeal, we fixed up some nice pancakes on the propane stove in the cockpit. Because of the bugs, we left the bug netting up in the companionway, and ate below.

A word about the bugs. These particular critters are small black gnats. They don't bite or sting, they just crawl on you, and can be quite aggravating. Locally, they're called bobos. I learned today that the bobos are likely to be encountered in the vicinity of small islands where sea birds hang out in large numbers. That description fits Isla Coyote to a T. I tried out some insect repellent, and it worked for a while, but to be effective, I had to repeatedly dose myself. I've decided I don't like bobos at all.

I went out in the dinghy with fishing rod in hand, and tried jigging. I managed to land one fair size rock fish, but couldn't get a second, so I let the one go. It was just too small for a dinner by itself.

Water temperature first thing in the morning was 67 degrees, but by 1 pm had risen to 73. I put my spring wetsuit on and got into the water. I gave the boat hull a scrubbing with the boat brush, and then Sandy joined me in the water. We went for our first snorkel in the Sea of Cortez. This little area has lots of empty shells on the bottom, and a fair number of small striped fish, rather like the sergeant majors of Hawaii. Fish variety here isn't anything like Hawaii. On a second swim, Sandy followed my in the dinghy while I snorkeled out around a pair of large rocky islets. I saw a half dozen different varieties of fish, including one I could have tried spearing, but didn't. I floated over one sting ray, who scurried away. Judging from the number of stingray carcasses laying on the beach, he probably had good reason to make his escape.

After returning to the boat, I dove down into the king berth stowage area and hauled out the dodger. I've held out on installing it, because I like the extra forward visibility its absence affords, however, the bobos are getting the best of us both. The dodger needs to be installed before I can set up the cockpit bug netting. I deployed the netting, and that made for a much more enjoyable evening. Sandy put together a pizza, which we baked up in our backpack oven. It came out great, and made for a most enjoyable Friday night dinner. As we prepare to retire for the evening, it's quite and calm outside. The truckers seem to be avoiding the road at night. Even the gulls have settled in. Tomorrow we'll move down to Bahia Santa Barbara, which is more removed from the highway, and at last report, hadn't been impacted by RV's or palapas. Hopefully we'll find that to be true.