Viking II: San Carlos, Sonora, Mexico (Sea of Cortez)

I had wanted to go to Mulege which I last visited in the Mooney ten years ago. The landing strip is poor ... gravel, with a bump in the middle and a river at the end when you run out of runway. Anchoring is worse; there is no shelter from the north winds; the book recommends an anchor watch be left on the boat; Lowrance does well at watching the anchor but is poor at starting the engine and pushing off shore; I skipped Mulege. It was sixty miles to Santa Rosalia and eighty three to San Carlos across the Sea of Cortez ... off to San Carlos ... a long day. I set the anchor in the bay at 1400. By 1500 I had the dingy out and was rowing ashore. Doug, on a sloop I passed, recommended Captain Mikes for fish and low price; Garth and his wife gave me a tow most of the way into the marina. I found my way there; the beer was cold; the garlic grilled fish was great; it was open mic night and the musicians were enthusiastic if not on key. The row back to the boat was long; tomorrow I get out the outboard.

So with the food, rowing and of course the beer, it was an early evening; when the sun goes down, so do I. Awake at three am it seemed best to skip the work list on the boat and sleep in. Woke up at 8:15am missing half the morning net. Each yatista location has a "net" where they talk on VHF about arrivals, departures, parties, mail, etc. So it is time to clean up the boat from four weeks of high waves and lasagna. Suddenly there are wistles blowing and men Yelling ... "Viking II prepare to be boarded." It's the Desert Wind (Stan, Rich and William) circling .... backwards! After I left them in La Paz, they decided it would be faster to sail to San Carlos than drive their trailer down Baja to pull the boat. They sailed and motored backwards for four days to try an beat me to San
Carlos. And I was begining to think that I was crazy ....

Erik, Viking II