Crossing the Sea of Cortez
From Baja California to Main Land, Mexico
We did our first overnight crossing on February 29, 2024, leap year. We crossed the Sea of Cortez, sailing from Isla San Francisco (a fitting name) down to Isla Espíritu Santo (outside of La Paz) and then 250 nautical miles to mainland Mexico, with our final destination: Mazatlán.
The passage took us ~36 hrs, with an average speed of 6.5kts & max speed of 10.79kts. The passage went well, we were pleased with our speed despite large waves on our beam, which made for a bit of a roller coaster ride.
The morning of our crossing, we woke up to the sound of dolphins as a pod swam around Brizo in the anchorage of Isla San Francisco. As we got underway, Jenny worked during the day - staying connected to Starlink - while Mikael stayed on watch. We enjoyed a beautiful sunset in the middle of the sea and after dinner started our rotating shifts. We rotated every 2.5 hours with .5 hour overlap to allow for communication & sail changes.
Many sailors will tell you there is something special about sailing at night, especially when you are offshore. You gain a real appreciation of the expanse of the water, the stars become brighter and more infinite, and there is something very exhilarating yet calming about the ocean rushing beneath you. We spotted dolphins, again, that mimicked torpedos as they splashed into bioluminescence swimming alongside Brizo. After what felt like a long evening, our first sunrise in the middle of the Sea of Cortez inspired a reflection:
As the sun rises over the sea, the moonlight dancing on the waves drifts behind. The way ahead reflects the golden hues of the rising sun. The imperfections of the waves appear as the sun highlights some while shadowing others. And yet there is something perfect about this moment as the colors change rapidly and the earth warms slowly.
Just after this reflection, we discovered about 50 squid that had splashed themselves aboard Brizo hitching a ride to who knows where? Jenny decided to use our pancake flipper to flip the squids back into the water while Mikael removed the ink spots. We opted not to eat the squid for breakfast.
Later that evening, we saw lights ahead - those of large cargo ships and of the port of Mazatlan. We dropped our hook late in the evening at Stone Island and the next day enjoyed a fun dinner onshore.
In summary, the first crossing was a wild success.
