Pacific Crossing Mexico to Marquesas, Part 1- Sailing SV Delos Ep. 1
SV Delos sailing from La Cruz, Mexico to Hiva Oa, Marquesas with a stop at Isla San Benedito in the Revillagigedo Islands. Pacific Puddle Jump (Part 1)
Nope Nothing To See Here
On Tuesday, April 20, at 1300 UTC, we dropped anchor in Taaoa Bay on the island of Hiva Oa. Our total time on the boat since we left La Cruz, Mexico, on Saturday, March 27, at 2300 UTC, is…
After twenty-something days and almost 3,000 miles we have about twenty four hours before we make landfall in Hiva Oa.
Our friend, Joe, e-mailed us to ask what it was like to be at sea for so long. I thought it would be fun if we wrote separate answers to that question. Here they are, below.
You hear all the time that any goal worth pursuing is fraught with challenges and setbacks. It’s your character that determines whether or not you’ll achieve what you set out to do, not the circumstances you find yourself in.
It looks like our fishing technique is improving, slowly but surely. I’ve recently bought the new Penn Battle ii reel and I think that might be helping! Yesterday afternoon we reeled in 3 Mahi-Mahi. One was a keeper at 20″. Not huge but enough for a meal for us all. To be honest, I have been reading a lot of articles containing fishing tips on websites like CatchandFillet.com so I am not surprised that my technique has got better. Improving your fishing technique is all about learning new skills and putting them into practice after all.
1600 UTC
Course 6.5 Knots @ 230° True
Wind 15 Knots @ 060° True
1012 mb (atmospheric pressure)
08° 09′ N
125° 43′ W
It’s a funny thing sailing our home across the Pacific Ocean. Inside the boat everything looks and feels more or less the same: meals get cooked, dishes get washed, laundry is cleaned and then dirtied and cleaned again.
It’s dark and quiet out here. No moon tonight and no stars. A high cloud layer is dampening all light like a heavy blanket. The sky and ocean are indistinguishable melting into an undetectable horizon.
We spent six fantastic nights anchored off of San Benedicto Island in the Revillagigado group, about 340 miles off the coast of La Cruz. Like Brian said in his previous post, it was like we’d sailed to the moon:
We arrived at Isla San Benedicto in the Socorro Island Group early this afternoon. We made great time covering the entire 330 mile passage in just under 48 hours, without motoring at all. We couldn’t have hoped for better weather.
We untied from the dock in La Cruz at 4:56 p.m. yesterday, March 27. We had a great send-off from the gang. Brad and PJ and the crew of Totem even showed up to blow the airhorn and wave goodbye from the breakwater. It was a great way to say goodbye to Mexico.
Erin and Brady showing our route from Mexico to the Marquises islands with a short stop in the Socorro Islands.
Delos is a 53’ Amel Super Maramu 2000. She is a ketch rigged (2 mast) sailboat built in La Rochelle, France. Delos is a medium displacement boat for her size weighing in at about 20 tons (40,000 lbs) and is built as a solid cruiser capable of crossing oceans.
Ok, so here we are hours away from departing Mexico for the Marquises Islands in French Polynesia. We have our Zarpe, that nice little certificate that says we’ve checked out of Mexico.
For the moment Delos is tied to the dock at the La Cruz marina, about 25KM from Puerto Vallarta. We decided to treat ourselves to a stay in the marina with unlimited power,internet, and easy access to the bus routes that are so crucial to us right now.
We dropped the hook in La Cruz at 5:00AM after 20 hours underway. Waiting for the right weather window really paid off. Instead of beating into 30 knots right on the nose we sailed the first few hours with our spinnaker up and then motored around Cabo Corrientes under light conditions.
After spending four days waiting for a weather window to round Cabo Corrientes we are finally northbound! We departed Tenacatita at 8:00AM and after an overnight passage should arrive tomorrow in the wee hours of the morning.