Earlier in the week we hunkered down in the San Blas estuary waiting for the second weather trough to arrive, by all the marine weather forecasts we were due to be on the receiving end of another 1,500 mile trough/low with winds forecast up into the 80 knot range. After getting caught by surprise by the first trough we were very prepared this time: second anchor shackled on the foredeck ready for use, dinghy up on deck and lashed down etc. Fortunately for the entire coastal region, the strong weather didn't materialize and we barely got an hour of showers.

The next day we decided to take advantage of the favorable high tide in the morning to head out of the estuary and San Blas bar entrance. Our original goal was to head around to Mantanchen Bay, a mere 5 miles out of the estuary. After a leisurely morning we exited the bar around 10:30am; the day was so lovely that we decided to continue another 20 miles south to the next bay, a reportedly fair weather anchorage. The wind freshened as we made our way south and it became evident that the anchorage was not going to be a safe or comfortable anchorage in the current conditions. So after a quick assessment we decided to head straight for Punta Mita, another 30 miles south.

This was not a small decision, as this put our total passage up around 55 miles, which is a far cry from our original goal of a 5 mile jaunt around the corner. We would also have to make a night entrance into both Banderas Bay and the Punta Mita anchorage. Entering any harbor at night is something that we have carefully avoided until now, and this decision meant that we had to navigate through a reportedly rocky area, pass between the headland of Punta Mita and the Tres Marietas (a small island group) and then navigate into the Punta Mita anchorage.

We made great time, flying along with our jib easily making 6 knots and for some time were up over 7 knots. Jacob checked the GPS and noted that during this passage we made a new top speed for this season of 9 knots. We approached the Tres Marietas around 8pm and carefully entered Banderas Bay using our radar, GPS and depth sounder. We stayed .5 miles off of the Tres Marietas in order to avoid the reported rocks, and stayed well clear of Punta Mita. Using a GPS waypoint we navigated into the Punta Mita anchorage, and dropped our anchor around 10:30pm.

The following day we headed another 10 miles into Banderas Bay to the anchorage in La Cruz. It was a beautiful sail with whales all over the bay and dolphins playing around Pisces after our anchor was down. We had dinner with John and Naomi on Renova, who we are thrilled to have seen again before they leave for the Galapagos. Banderas Bay is beautiful, we're looking forward to spend a few weeks here, exploring the bay and doing some boat projects.

Lat 20 45' N, Long 105 22' W