Across to Mazatlan

December 13, 2024   

It is hard to believe that Falcon is already two years old, but December 13th was the two-year anniversary of Falcon’s birth.  We had banana pancakes and bacon for brunch, and then spent the rest of the day ashore exploring the beach, swimming, and of course, having cake. 

I think that Falcon had a great day.   

That evening was the beginning of our weather window for crossing the Sea of Cortez on a southeast heading for Mazatlan.  We pulled up our anchor and headed out, and after watching the sun set, the almost-full-moon rise, and having dinner, Falcon went to bed for his first night at sea. 

Because we know what the sea state in the Sea of Cortez can be like we had chosen a weather window that was when winds were just beginning.  It had been calm in the sea for two days, so it was quite calm when we headed out.  As the wind picked up, so did the sea state, but as far as timing a weather window for crossing, I think we picked a good one.  The wind forecast was accurate, and the wind held its strength pretty steady within about five knots.  Once we had set our sails with a double-reefed main and full jib, we did not need to touch them at all for the whole sail.  We sailed on a steady point of sail on a steady heading, at a good brisk speed the whole way there.  The longer we were out for, the longer the wind had been blowing for, the larger the sea state got, but it remained decent for the Sea of Cortez, and as we got further south than the Cape of the Baja the spacing between swells increased, which meant that the sea state got better. 

Falcon slept well the first night, and although he got seasick on our full day out, he wasn’t nearly as bad as he had been on our first crossing when the sea state had been quite bad.  He slept quite well on the second night, and did not get sick on the shorter second day. 

Before pulling into the Stone Island anchorage, just outside of the Mazatlan harbour, we caught a beautiful 34” Mahi Mahi; it was our largest one yet. 

We got to have sushi that day to celebrate our arrival to the mainland side of Mexico, as well as the furthest south that we have been in our boat.  Several fish meals also went into our freezer.  Mahi Mahi is so far our favourite fish that we have caught in Mexico.  It is delicious raw, as it is firm and full of flavour, and it freezes beautifully.