Day 2 - Caleta Lobos to Bahia San Gabriel

Mangrove around salt water lagoon

After a very quiet night the wind picked up after dawn to over 12 knots and we thought that we'd be spending a second night at Caleta Lobos, given that I did not want to motor against a strong headwind. I did more work with the boat's communication system, tuning in to Don Anderson's weather report and getting a GRIB file and some weather fax schedules from Sailmail. I then unpacked the Zodiac, inflated it, then lashed it on the foredeck. At about 10.30 AM the wind abated and we weighed anchor at 11.15 AM to motor the 8 mile passage to Bahia San Gabriel at the SW end of Isla Espiritu Santo, almost due North and against a wind of about 3 knots. San Gabriel is described as "a large, beautiful bay lined by a pristine white sand beach."

Local cactus

The Volvo system gave the same old boring alarm shortly after we fired up the engine. We stopped the buzzer and the fault symbol on the display disappeared shortly after we motored out. We cruised at 2000 rpm, making 5 knots. The BEP meter reported that the alternator was delivering 77 amps to the batteries, and that later dropped to 67 amps. We were doing a bit of hobby horsing against the oncoming waves and I could feel the occasional thump coming through the stainless steel cockpit frame. Soon I identified the source: the Rutland wind charger has a bit of play in its mounting and moves back and forth a bit. I will have to investigate this, although the unit is performing OK.

Caught by ebb tide

We found four boats at anchor as we approached the bay. We worked our way more or less down the middle of the bay and dropped anchor in 4.2 meters of water. Within 30 minutes 3 of the 4 boats were gone and we were sharing this large anchorage with a Canadian flagged sloop. I celebrated our safe arrival with the usual cold beer and after lunch and a nap we decided to visit the island on the Zodiac. That meant lowering the outboard motor from its bracket on the stern rail to Zodiac on the water, then starting it up. I expected problems with starting the Mercury outboard after more than six months of dormancy and I got it. After a lot of pulling on the cord it fired up with a roar then went back to sleep. I changed the plug for a new one - long overdue since it was the same plug that had been in the engine when it spent several hours in the salt water in San Evaristo - and after another few sessions of cranking the Mercury started and ran very, very well. But by then it was 4.30 PM, which meant no more than an hour on the island, and the wind was kicking up. We decided to wait until the morning to go ashore. We hope to explore the beaches and mangroves around the bay and cross the island to "the enormous white beach and turquoise waters of Playa Bonanza on the island's eastern shore."
This will probably mean a second night at this anchorage.

The attached photos were all taken at Bahia San Gabriel.
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