SAILING CAMELOT

Right on time as planned, at 3 in the morning (YAWN!), I’m squinting in the dark trying to find my way out of this bay. Shouldn’t be that hard, it’s a small bay after all… I can very well see the small fishing boats all around us; I bet I can find the exit as well…

Conditions are calm and the wind is still sleeping, we end up motoring for long hours. The wind shows up at some point and we’re able to sail for a few hours.

It’s a long and uneventful trip; for hours, camera tied to my neck, I scan the sea in search of life. Strangely, we don’t see anything: no turtles, no dolphins, no whales, NADA… I wonder why.

Things start getting interesting about three hours before we’re due to arrive at destination. The wind picks up with a vengeance –of course right on our nose-, the sea gets pissy and starts throwing water at us in the form of quartering waves –my personal favorite. Quartering waves make the boat move in a motion resembling the spin cycle of a washing machine, but at a much slower speed: VERY uncomfortable and very tiring.

We only speak to each other to say how much we hate this. Tom tries all sorts of tricks to make the remainder of the trip easier, with no success.

Confused seas confuse me! How we don’t get seasick remains a mystery to me…

There are many little, inviting bays with plenty of opportunities to anchor, but all of them right now are too exposed to wind and waves to be comfortable.

We try our luck in La Crucecita, finding a spot right in front of the massive Cruise ship dock. But what if a cruise ship arrives??? In any case, as it turns out, the winds get even worse. We know about a predicted weather event, one of the infamous Tehuantapec wind storms that is due to blow for three to five days – starting tonight.

Over the next bay there’s a nice, comfortable and protected port, Marina Chahue’. We take a quick dinghy tour to scope out the place and make sure there’s a berth for us. Success!!! We find plenty of room and welcoming people.

Within an hour we’re safely ensconced in our slip, Camelot hog-tied to withstand the impending storm. We’re surrounded by at least a dozen boats in our same predicament: waiting out Mother Nature’s tantrum.

From start to finish, this leg lasted 34 hours and 45 minutes.

It’s time to pop open celebratory drinks and get to know the neighbors.

Marina Bahia Chahue' - Huatulco