Category Archives: North America

Ensenada el Gallo to Playa la Bonanza, Both on Espiritu Santo… And The Forbidden Anchorage

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Half moon was high in the sky as the sun rose on Saturday, January 14, 2023

One of the reasons for wanting to come to this anchorage was so that we could visit Bahia San Gabriel, AKA The Forbidden Anchorage. It’s been nicknamed that because it is forbidden for boats to anchor there. We’ve also gotten the impression that the tourist panga day-trips and camping groups aren’t allowed to go to this beach, either. We have no details as to why this area had been closed off in recent years; all we found was that this bay used to be rich with oysters and once upon a time there was a pearl fishery.

But there was a hiking trail that goes to Bahia San Gabriel from Bonanza, and dinghies were allowed to go there, so visiting the beach is to allowed. Our dinghy was too slow to make the 3.2 nm trek, so Moin picked us up in their fast dinghy at 1000. Erin Skye went, too.

When we rounded the corner of the finger into Bahia San Gabriel, we were surprised to see that there was a boat anchored there. We figured it was only a matter of time before the park ranger ran them off. We had to anchor the dinghy pretty far away from shore because the water was so shallow. Erin Skye managed to get their dinghy in closer than we did.

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Ensenada del Candelero to Ensenada el Gallo, Both on Espiritu Santo

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On Friday (January 13), we awoke up to no wind and super clear water. We knew the calm wasn’t going to last for long. The forecast was that the winds were shifting direction and would pick up from the southwest, so we needed to move to a more protected location. We decided to go to an anchorage called Ensenada la Gallina, which was only 3.5 nautical miles south. The west side of Espiritu Santo has many fingers, and this anchorage had a particularly long finger on the south side that offered a little more protection than the rest of the fingers. Moin and Erin Sky decided to come with us.

We pulled up anchor at about 0820, and the other two boats were right behind us. We arrived at around 0900, with the other two boats filing in shortly after we did. We chose a spot in the southwest end of the cove because everything closer inland was too shallow to anchor in. As you can see, it would be a long dinghy ride to shore.

We tried to anchor three times. The first time the anchor didn’t hold. The bottom was kind of rocky, so we guessed the anchor must have hit a rock. The second time the anchor held, but we settled too close to the rocks along the shore. We moved farther away from the rocks and dropped the anchor again. The anchor didn’t hold. 

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Third Trip to Ensenada del Candelero, Day 2

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Sunrise on Thursday January 12

The wind was screaming. While Kosmos was rocking, the amount of motion wasn’t all that bad compared to the wind speed. At lunchtime, we headed to shore to enjoy dry land. Thanks to all the wind waves, it was a wet ride.

We were surprised to see that the estuary was mostly dry. Really dry; as in hadn’t been wet for at least a few days. Currently, the moon was half-full. The estuary must only fill up on the full and new moons. 

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Marina Costa Baja to Ensenada del Candelero on Espiritu Santo

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Sunrise on Tuesday January 10

In the morning, Eric was sore from the inverter project. We added bleach to our water tanks before we topped them off, which is something that needs to be done every few months when consistently making your own water. We also turned our big freezer back on, which had been off since well before we’d left for San Diego.

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Keith’s Perspective on Our Third Trips to La Paz and Ensenada del Candelero/Le point de vue de Keith sur nos troisièmes voyages à La Paz et Ensenada del CandeleroKeith’s Perspective on our Third Trips to La Paz and Ensenada del Candelero/

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I had a good time in our last trip to La Paz. Not much to report, just talking to boat people, going shopping, and eating out. I had a huge burger with double everything, and then a cookies ’n  cream milkshake after that. We went to a whale museum. I almost lost my breakfast when the guide showed me dolphin organs. I also played with Oceananigans, Double Deuce, and Sirena. I also met a new boat kid named Jackson.

J’ai passé du bon temps lors de notre dernière visite à La Paz. Pas beaucoup de choses à dire, j’ai juste parlé avec d’autres matelots, fait les boutiques et mangé dehors. J’ai mangé un énorme burger avec le double de chaque ingrédient, et un milkshake au cookies and cream après ca. Nous sommes allés à un musée sur les baleines. J’ai presque rendu mon petit-déjeuner quand le guide m’a montré des organes de dauphins. J’ai aussi joué avec Oceananigans, Double Deuce, et Sirena. J’ai rencontré un nouvel enfant de matelot qui s’appelle Jackson. 

Jaws of a Megadaladon shark

I had a lot of fun in Ensenada Candelero, too. There were a bunch of kids. We played Hide and Seek in hills where the hike is. I fell. We played D&D, and that was fun. 

The estuary in Ensenada del Candelero was mostly dry!

Je me suis aussi beaucoup amusé à Ensenada Candelero. Il y avait beaucoup d’enfants. Nous avons joué à cache-cache dans les collines où il y a  le chemin de randonnée. Je suis tombé. Nous avons joué à D&D et c’était amusant.