The Last Leg of La Paz to Ensenada

We reached Ensenada Sunday 17 June in the afternoon after four days of nice cruising from Turtle Bay.

Here are the numbers for the total trip -

Date	Day	Miles	Avg Speed	Time	Location	Anchorage Waypoint
05/31/12	Thu	0			La Paz – Marina de La Paz	24°09.318'N  110°19.580'W
05/31/12	Thu	55.2	6	9 hr 11min	los Muertos	23°59.337'N  109°49.720'W
06/01/12	Fri	0			underway
06/02/12	Sat	0			underway
06/03/12	Sun	272	5.4	2 day 14 hr	Bahia Santa Maria	24°46.532'N  112°15.402'W
06/04/12	Mon	0			Bahia Santa Maria
06/05/12	Tue	0			Bahia Santa Maria
06/06/12	Wed	0			Bahia Santa Maria
06/07/12	Thu	0			Bahia Santa Maria
06/08/12	Fri	0			underway
06/09/12	Sat	145	5.2	1 day 4 hr	Abreojos	26°43.969'N  113°32.259'W
06/10/12	Sun	58	5	12 hr	Asuncion	27°08.126'N  114°17.448'W
06/11/12	Mon	54	5.5	10 hr	Turtle Bay	27°41.170'N  114°53.242'W
06/12/12	Tue	0			Turtle Bay
06/13/12	Wed	0			Turtle Bay
06/14/12	Thu	40	5.7	7 hr	Isla Cedros – east side mid anchorage	28°10.107'N  115°09.356'W
06/15/12	Fri	0			underway
06/16/12	Sat	183	5.6	1 day 8 hr	Punta Colnett	30°57.712'N  116°17.401'W
06/17/12	Sun	69	6	11 hr 30min	Ensenada – Cruise Port	31°51.313'N  116°37.267'W

Totals for La Paz to Ensenada

Total Miles  - 821 NM

Total Main Engine Run Time - 158 hours

Total Gen Run Time - 46 hours

GPH - 1.93 (for Main Engine, fuel used reduced for Gen run time @ .75 gph)

MPG - 2.88

Total days on board - 18

Total travel days - 12

Overnight Passages - 3

Passage Notes

Los Muertos to Bahia Santa Maria 

This leg took us around Cabo Falso which was 6 hours of pounding into 30 kt winds and 10' seas. The weather forecast was for winds of less than 10 kts and long period swells. This was the Buoyweather forecast for that area - 

----------------------------------------------------

                  WIND                  SEAS

DATE   HR  dir/deg  range(kt)   dir/per   range(ft)

----  ---  ------------------   -------------------

6/1   05    NW 318   9 - 12     WNW  8sec   4 -  7

6/1   11     W 263   2 -  2       S 15sec   4 -  7

6/1   17   WSW 255   4 -  6     SSW 14sec   4 -  6

6/1   23   WNW 303   5 -  7     SSW 14sec   4 -  7

6/2   05     W 274   1 -  2     SSW 13sec   4 -  6

6/2   11   SSW 209   4 -  5     SSW 13sec   4 -  7

6/2   17   WSW 246   5 -  6     SSW 17sec   4 -  7

6/2   23     W 274   3 -  5     SSW 16sec   4 -  7

We were off Cabo Falso at 00:00 (midnight) on June 2 and the winds were consistently over 20 kts. After 03:00 AM the winds started to diminish and from there to Bahia Santa Maria outside of Mag Bay the seas continually improved. It was a long passage of nearly 50 hours and we should have stopped in los Frailes and rested and waited a day. Boats that went the next morning had a much better trip.

 Bahia Santa Maria To Abreojos

Anchorage in Santa Maria was windy as we waited for a front to move through the area. This was a tough passage of 28 hours pounding into rough seas for most of the time. Abreojos was windy (25 kts) but well protected. The weather pattern for this area up to Turtle Bay is for high winds in the afternoon and evening dying out around midnight and staying mild until the afternoon so we would get up at 3:00 AM and try to get to the next anchorage by early afternoon.  

Abreojos to Asuncion

Up at 3:00 AM and off we went fighting a 1.5 kt counter current for most of the day. We arrived in Asuncion in  25+ kt winds which made anchoring easy, just stop the boat, drop the anchor and play out the chain as fast as you can. When you have enough chain out engage the chain stopper and the wind sets the anchor for you. Put on the snubber, set the anchor alarm and go to bed. In this area you are anchoring in 20' of sand in wide open bays so there is little chance of dragging.

Asuncion to Turtle Bay

Up at 3 AM again in calm winds and seas and race to the next anchorage. No counter current in this area so we made better time. Turtle Bay is the only really protected bay on the coast so it's always a relief to get here and rest for a couple of days. 

Turtle Bay to Isla Cedros 

Very pleasant trip. Beautiful anchorage in 25' depth on a small shelf extending from shore.

Isla Cedros to Punta Colnett

Pulled anchor at 4:30 AM. Nice passage in lite winds and calm seas. Colnett anchorage was a little rolly but nice.

Punta Colnett to Ensenada

The final leg was very enjoyable, calm seas with overcast. Arrived in marina at 3 PM. It was great to be done with the bash and tied to a dock.

We traveled with an informal group of boats making the same trip. The most notable companion was another 46 Nordhavn, Beverly S, with Larry and Sue on board. They are a terrific couple and we hope we can spend more time with them in the future. 

This was our fourth time on the outside and the roughest trip, but it was not too bad for this area and time of year. The boat made it with no problems other than a couple of minor issues that did not slow us down. Discovery again proved herself a very capable boat that can take difficult seas and just shake it off, if only her crew were so durable.