May 2, 2024-Sailing Upwind on a Windy day with Sarah

wingssail images-fredrick roswold  

 

07:00 AM Thursday and it’s a beautiful day. 

We see dark water outside the anchorage and decide that since there might be wind maybe we should set sail to Espiritu Santo today. That way we can stay there an extra day and still have time to visit Balandra before heading back to La Paz on Monday.

The breeze is out there right now and we think and it might not be there later so let’s get going. We hurriedly get the boat ready, weigh anchor and set sail. At 7:30 AM we’re sailing out of the anchorage under main alone.

As we clear the point the boat heels sharply and, yeah! There’s wind: 18 knots true. The #4 is ready and we hoist it and sheet in onto a reach in what we think is a westerly breeze.

At first we’re lost; which way is Espirtu Santo? It should be ahead but we can’t see it. We hadn’t done any navigation but we see now that the wind is 180 degrees, due south not westerly. I punched in the waypoint for Calita Partida on Espiritu Santo and we get a heading: 150 degrees! Looks like a beat.

We come up to close hauled on starboard. We see that can’t make Espiritu Santo on one tack but and the sailing is beautiful and we’re going 7+ plus knots.

We set the wind vane and settle down for a long day of tacking.

At 10:30 the wind is shifting right. We are lifted up almost to the rumb line, no need to tack, but the wind has increased to 24 true. We reef.

Half an hour later we are playing the shifts in the lee of Espiritu Santo so we tack and get lifted again, this time on port tack. We are easily inside of Isla Islotes.

Now we have just a few tacks to go up the east side of Espiritu Santo in a softening breeze and we shake out the reef. We arrive at Calita Partida at 1:00 PM and get the hook down in our favorite place tucked in by the little fish camp.

wingssail images-fredrick roswold Chart Showing our track

In the log book we write, “This was a wild upwind sail in 20-24 knots, wet, fast, fun”

fredrick roswold with sarah lace, s/v wings, mexico

Thursday, May 02, 2024

April 30, 2024-Moving Southward

wingssail images-fredrick roswold Sailing Upwind

Upwind work with winds in the 13-15 knot range, Wings going fast, and with gorgeous scenery and beautiful blue water and skies all around. Even a bit of salt spray splashing on our faces was fun. This is what Wings was made for and what she does best. It is glorious sailing, we’re having a blast, sailing in waves and tacking up the San Jose Channel.

It was challenging though with varying currents, with us and then against us, and some wind shifts too. Early on we had great tacking angles and then later when the current turned against us, not so great, as the track shows.

wingssail images-fredrick roswold
Our track up the San Jose Channel

I even got to demonstrate some racing tactics to Sarah even though there were no other boats to race against.

“Why are we overstanding the island?” Sarah asked.

“Putting money in the bank.” I answered, and a wind shift later showed why.

There were about 10 other boats out there that day, all going downwind, nobody sailing upwind and only one of them appeared to be sailing at all, the rest were motoring, some with the main up but sheeted amidships, and several with no sails at all. Sad in a way; we thought they didn’t know what they were missing because we were having a glorious time

wingssail images-fredrick roswold
Sarah

We’ve started the leg back south to La Paz where Sarah will disembark after we’ve had some fine cruising together in the southern Sea of Cortez, much of it in the beautiful Loreto/Puerto Escondido area.

wingssail images-fredrick roswold
Fun on Wings

After a couple of great days exploring Los Gatos with Jim and Deb from Brain Wave we had nice evenings with them and previously with Dave and Eileen on Striker. It is fun to run into friends wile cruising.

wingssail images-fredrick roswold
Los Gatos, Sarah with Jim and Deb

wingssail images-fredrick roswold
Sensous Sandstone on Los Gatos

wingssail images-fredrick roswold
Hiking on Los Gatos

wingssail images-fredrick roswold
Los Gatos Desert

wingssail images-fredrick roswold
Cactus Forest on Isla San Jose

Now we are back at Isla San Francisco and we will have a couple more stops before we get back to La Paz.

I’m not sure what’s next, Liz does not arrive until June, but I’ll keep you posted.

Click here for many more photos.

Fred Roswold, SV Wings, Sea of Cortez

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