After arriving in Mazatlán on 23Dec2022 6:34pm local time, Lawrence/Gloria packed in a lot of activites:
Christmas in Mazatlán, New Years in Florida, lots of fishing, wedding surrounded by Family Family Family and more Family, flew back to Mazatlán at the end of February for a reunion with Bluewater and Hector the invaluable boat caretaker. Since then they've been enjoying Carnival/parties/parades/fireworks, daysails to local islands, snorkeling, water making, running/biking, repairs/upkeep engine oil changes/Navionics Charts installed, spares organization, dinghying, El Cid marina visiting, destination Old Town, lots of shopping/dinner, beaches/hiking, $6 grilled octopus etc. etc. etc. They LOVED the Mazatlán malecon (boardwalk) and the friendly people. Lawrence described it as a cross between Las Vegas and Disneyland. Lots of families enjoying life in the daytime and lots of nightlife with bars hopping at 3:30am within earshot of the marina. High praise for destination Mazatlán from Bluewater and crew!
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| Carnival |
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| Carnival |
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| Carnival |
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| Carnival |
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| Banda Cerro de la Gloria |
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| Looks like Marlin on the dock |
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| The Black Pearl and a wicked moon |
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| Lighthouse Mazatlan |
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| Gloria and a Glass Bridge |
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| Mr and Mrs |
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| Lawrence 157 meters high |
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| Gloria |
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| Grilled Octopus |
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| Gloria and a pulmonia (golf cart) |
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| View from Isla de Venados; mainland México (Mazatlán) in distance Bluewater is in view, anchored lower left |
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| Feet, relaxing on a daysail |
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| Lawrence and a pulmonia (golf cart) |
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| More grilled octopus |
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| Gloria and her bike |
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| Nesting bird |
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| Fog rolling in |
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| Feet relaxing at the dock in Marina Mazatlán |
Preparation for Leg 18 to Isla Isabel is now complete including study of future Legs and anchoring nuances (via cruiser networking) and provisioning.
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| Produce Vendor |
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| Produce in galley onboard Bluewater |
Bluewater is in tip top shape and ready for sailing!
Sunday March 20, 2022
Mazatlán
Leg 18
Departure Time: 1:25 pm local time Sunday March 20, 2022
Departure from: Marina Mazatlán, México
2 souls aboard
Lawrence Kerver
Gloria Vilchez
Destination: Isla Isabel, México
Distance to Destination: 93nm
Estimated Duration: Approx 19 hours
Isla Isabel is located 34 kilometers (21 miles) off Mexico's west coast. It is a National Park and wildlife refuge with a population of some 42,000 birds and, in 2003, was named a World Heritage Site. On top of that, Isabel Island is a Ramsar site (wetlands of international importance). Because the birds and iguanas on the island have no natural enemies, human visitors can get quite close to them, for which reason the island is sometimes called The Galapagos of Mexico. (credit to MexConnect.com)
Since it has been incredibly calm recently, Lawrence’s 19hr prediction is based on 5knots. However, it looks like they might get some breeze so yay! He is planning departure to coincide with a daylight arrival for anchoring. He set up his screecher (downwind headsail) for a downwind run and will anchor 1 or 2 nights before heading toward Puerto Vallarta.
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| View from the stern departing Mazatlán |
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| Gloria is good crew |
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| Beautiful departure |
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| Downwind sailing south! |
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| Gloria is resting and Lawrence is eating Cueritos de Cerdo (pickled pig) Of course he is! |
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| The sun is setting and nighttime sailing is ahead |
Monday March 21, 2022
...sailed through the night and aiming for Isla Isabel...
UPDATE!!!
Lawrence just called me at 11:17am PDT (which is the same time zone he is in right now. I think we used to be an hour off but SF time sprung forward last week so now we match? something like that).
It was a short conversation, perfectly clear but a short delay between our responses.
He said the water is crystal clear and the bluest blue he has ever seen.
He said there are HUGE turtles EVERYWHERE. Right when he called he shouted to Gloria as they sailed past another one. He said the turtles are swimming and floating and birds are landing on them. After all, it is The Galapagos of Mexico! They are making water (with their water maker). They have Isla Isabel in sight. Actually, he said Islands (plural in sight) so I think he probably can see the much larger Prisoner Islands (Islas Marias) as well. He estimated about 8-10 miles which will only take a couple of hours. But anchoring is tricky so unknown how long anchoring will take.
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| Bluewater 21March2022 17:23 GMT 11:23am local |
LATER...It looks to me like Lawrence/Gloria are anchored at Isla Isabel. I haven't heard from them yet but they might not be able to send a message or call from their location or they might have fallen asleep after their long journey...
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| Bluewater approaching Isla Isabel 21March2022 20:22 (GMT) 1:22pm local |
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| Bluewater anchored at Isla Isabel aka Isla Isabela aka Santa Isabela 21March2022 23:23 (GMT) 4:23pm local |
Bluewater checked in safe & sound @ Isla Isabel!
Arrival: Sometime around 4pm local time Mon 21Mar 2022
Duration of Leg 18: Somewhere around 15 hours
Tuesday March 22, 2022
Isla Isabel
22Mar approx 4pm PDT:
Got an Iridium Go Satellite phone call from Lawrence:
He was gushing about how cool Isla Isabel is. He’s living the life. Said it’s the coolest most incredible unbelievable place, truly the Galapagos of Mexico. He is enamored of the blue footed boobies. They (Lo/Glo) hiked all over the entire island today. Lizards are everywhere. It is nesting season for the blue footed boobies and they do not mind human presence.
They moved Bluewater to a rocky rocky southern anchorage. He has a trip line on anchor (to make it easier to pull anchor). Tide has dropped 4 foot since arrival.
He mentioned talking to fishermen with long netting who recommended he head toward San Blas (possibly to avoid the fishing nets).
Anyway, plans are being made to head toward Puerto Vallarta by way of San Blas direction either tonight or tomorrow or in the best weather window.
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| Bluewater moved to a southern anchorage near a fishing camp and dinghy'd to shore |
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| A blue-footed booby and a frigate bird overhead Photo captured by Gloria Vilchez |
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| A blue-footed booby and egg |
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| Birds galore! |
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| Lawrence and a blue-footed booby |
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| Bluewater is anchored in the distance View from Isla Isabel |
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| Gloria hiking on Isla Isabel Crystal clear water |
