The Dreaded Tehuantepeckers!
Over the next few days we planned to move along down the coast to Marina Chahue where most cruisers wait for a good weather window to cross the Gulf of Tehuantepec. That area has special geography. There is a thinner piece of low-lying land flanked by mountains east and west and bordered north and south by the Gulf of Mexico and Pacific Ocean. When there is a high pressure system in the Gulf and a low pressure system in the Pacific, a vacuum is created and a dreaded wind event called a “Tehuantepecker” forms. Winds can reach hurricane strength at these times. Sometimes people wait for weeks to find a safe time-window to cross.
Along the way to Marina Chahue we had potentially four anchorages, so the 3 day trip could be broken into manageable legs. The first anchorage at Punta Galera was touted as only good in settled weather and a flat sea state. Currently, we had neither but maybe over the next 24 hours it would change. The next anchorage possibility was Puerto Angel described as only big enough for a couple of boats. Bahia Jiceral was supposed to be a good anchorage in all-weather but could get wavy at times. The last anchorage, Bahia Maguey, was said to be a good anchorage and a recommended stop before Marina Chahue.
April 11, we left beautiful Isla Roqueta in Acapulco Bay at 4:30pm for our anticipated 22 hour sail to Punta Galera. Just before we lifted anchor, our rigger from Anacortes called and we arranged to have our new furler piece delivered to Marina Chahue. Also our insurance broker called and arranged a new policy for our boat once we leave Mexico. Yay! We were good to go! The breeze picked up and we were sailing within the hour going 5.5 knots in a beautiful steady 15 to 17 knots from behind. Life is good! Twenty-two hours later we jibed into Punta Galera under sail and discovered large breaking waves in the anchorage. We pressed on to Puerto Angel still sailing. At 6pm the wind died and the engine was back on. We steamed along under a nearly full moon that set early, so when we got to Puerto Angel at 3am it was pitch dark and since we try to never enter an unfamiliar harbor in the dark we decided to press on another 6 hours to Bahia Jiceral. At 9:15am April 13, we rounded the rocky headland and were relieved to see a nice, settled anchorage. We put the bow anchor down and then set the stern anchor so that we would face into the swell instead of rolling side to side. We napped, ate, floated in our pool toy, and just generally got some R&R. Tomorrow we would move over to Bahia Maguey only another hour or two further down the coast.
We took our time in the morning. I made sourdough pancakes while Bill cleaned up the deck and got things ready to go. It was another beautiful day; clear blue sky with very light wind. We motored into Bahia Maguey, a much larger bay with a very nice beach. We set anchor bow and stern again and continued with relax mode. We looked around the anchorage and discovered that L’Excursion was here! We shared a beer and some stories in the afternoon, floating in the sea until the water started clouding up with red tide. We had done some research into the red tide and it doesn’t seem to be as big a deal in Mexico as in the US when large fish kills occur. The authorities say it is not harmful to swim in it but we don’t feel comfortable so we always get out of the water. The red tide starts as a small patch of rusty red then very quickly within the hour blooms into a huge cloud of blood red. It looks like something got butchered in the water. We don’t swim in it.
In the morning, the water was clear again, so we filled our water tanks with our water maker in preparation for moving into the marina. To get in you have to enter a small river mouth between a rock headland and a rock jetty, which appears a bit daunting but in actuality wasn’t too difficult. Then we had to spin around and back into a slip between two boats, with a short finger dock, in water barely deeper than our keel. The bow thruster was blowing up clouds of mud! As usual, a bunch of friendly cruisers from neighboring slips ran to help us with lines, which helped the process go very smoothly…..until a less-experienced marina hand pulled the stern into the slip too far despite Bill’s protestations, knocking over the electric pedestal with Pomp (our dinghy). Sheesh! No damage to Pomp, and the rickety pedestal was soon restored to its vertical position. We were all tied up and settled in by 1pm.
Time to find the Port Capitan! I was having anxiety from our last experience in Zihuatanejo. Bill had a more positive outlook. It was a long, hot walk to the main port but the office was easy to find. As we approached the reception window we saw, as we had at several other places along the way, a photocopy of our friend Bill’s driver license and a notice to keep an eye out for him. It was a sobering reminder, though at least now we had been afforded the small comfort of closure as we had been notified by Bill’s friend Kelly his body had been found washed ashore. No foul play or predatory attack evidence, and he was in his wetsuit and dive gear- so we believe he had been trying to clear something from his prop during his crossing of the Sea of Cortez and had an accident or heart attack.
Luckily the guys in this office were the most helpful, friendly, smiling crew we have had the pleasure to check in with. What had I been worried about? What may have contributed just a little to the rank-and-file industriousness and courtesy was the fact that apparently there was a meeting of a bunch of official-looking gentlemen in uniforms with lots of decorations on them at the office that day- they even asked us to take their picture in front of the office! We were checked in and walking out in less than 20 minutes! We explored the farmer’s market in the square, bought me a new red bikini and Bill found me a really pretty swim cover, we even found engine oil at the shopping center on the way back to the marina!
Over the next 5 days, we watched the weather closely, made some new friends in the marina, and continued working on various works in progress. One evening we saw a group of 8 dressed-up cruisers heading out. It is unusual to see even one cruiser wearing something more fancy than a clean t-shirt so, we had to ask. They were going to the “Gastronomia Sustentable” a farm-to-table restaurant. We made a reservation for the following day!
In the morning, we noted that the weather was improving and there appeared to be a 72 hour window with no Tehuantepeckers developing. We looked at wind, waves, high pressures, and low pressures again and again. Yes, we decided, tomorrow we would go if the forecast held. It should take about 48 to 65 hours to cross the Gulf of Tehuantepec depending on your course, so we would leave in the evening before dark in order to arrive at Marina Chiapas in daylight. There were no anchorages between Marina Chahue and Marina Chiapas, the last port in Mexico. Many boaters take the advice to stay close to shore in case conditions change, so at least the waves won’t build up too badly on them since the winds come from the land. The other, shorter option is to head straight across the Gulf. We weren’t sure which track we would take, but we were leaning toward a rhumb-line route. We began preparing the boat for the crossing, setting up the emergency equipment; jacklines to clip our harnesses in if we need to leave the cockpit, life raft in position, Dan Bouy to be thrown overboard should one of us fall off the boat, ditch bag with gear, water, food, passports and money, the list goes on! People along the dock noted our activity and asked if we were planning to leave. Person after person looked concerned with our affirmative answer. “Are you sure?” “Did you check the currents?” “We don’t see a weather window.” Were we missing something? What currents? We began to doubt ourselves. Heck with it! We will think more about it later. For now we needed a mental break. We were going to Gastronomia!
Our chef, Alfonso Rocha Robles, was a joyous promoter and participant in the “Slow Food” movement. According to Google; ”Slow Food is a global, grassroots organization, founded in 1989 to prevent the disappearance of local food cultures and traditions, counteract the rise of fast life and combat people’s dwindling interest in the food they eat, where it comes from, and how our food choices affect the world around us.” The dinner became a five hour experience! We were the only customers that night and it was fabulous! First we walked around his garden and sampled some herbs and greens that would be used in the small plates. There was no menu he simply prepared what he had that day. During the meal our chef and waiter both asked us if we could identify ingredients in the various dishes, especially ones from the garden. He told us where he had gotten each ingredient and he described the people who had grown it. It was all delicious, even the roasted crickets! Attached to the small restaurant was his store selling locally made items from beer to soap and everything in between. Each item was accompanied by a card telling the story of the craftsman or grower. At the end of the meal, our chef sat with us and chatted while we all sipped an aperitif and then he even gave us a ride back to the marina! Alfonso is a really wonderful, interesting, and industrious guy- we highly recommend visiting him if you are in the area.
Morning came quickly and it was decision time. We looked at every weather app we had. It still looked good to us. We got on the internet looking for information about the ocean currents. It turned out that the currents in the area are so inconsistent that they are still being studied. We decided to go. We walked down to the Port Capitan and got our zarpe, no problem. Back on Sacagawea we finished our preparations and tried to ignore all of the concerned cruisers comments. Only one other boat had also decided to go. At 5:45pm we pulled the dock lines and we were off. The weather was beautiful and the sunset was red.
We settled into our passage routine, taking our shifts and napping in between. I had prepared food ahead so we could just heat up meals. The sun rose on our port bow, traveled across the sky, and set on our starboard stern. We were a little tense for the first half of the trip because we had decided to take the straight-line route and didn’t want to be caught out, but once we made it midway across we knew we could make it the rest of the way in time even if weather developed, and dolphins came to visit us too! There was no wind the entire trip. We motored the whole way and we were never so happy to say we couldn’t raise the sails. We entered Marina Chiapas uneventfully. Yay! What a boring crossing! Chiapas is an international port of call so the check in process is different. We were told to stay aboard until our inspection was complete. Minutes later, a group of army officers asked permission to board. They came with a drug sniffing dog and I had to sit on my hands so that I wouldn’t pet him. Paperwork was done in triplicate using carbon copy paper. Bill signed where instructed and we were done! We went to the marina office to check in then hit the marina pool for cocktail hour. We made it! The dreaded Tehuantepeckers were in the review mirror.
I’m so glad to see the latest writing. I must admit my favorite part of this writing was the sequence of pictures at the farmers restaurant. So glad you got there even if there were crickets in the bowl. Food looked wonderful.
I’ve been waiting and waiting for a post!!! ❤️
ALWAYS ENJOY YOUR TRAVELS AND TRIALS…..JUST KEEP HAVING FUNAND STAY SAFE……..OXXOXOXOXO
I can almost taste the food at the fancy restaurant. Love seeing your smiling faces again. Stay safe!