Yelapa and the Storm!

After leaving San Blas we traveled further south to Banderas Bay.  This bay is over a mile deep and the humpback whales come every year for mating and birthing of their calves.  It is a suppose to be fantastic sailing 10- 15 knots of breeze everyday, a sailors paradise!!  Well, not the case for us!!  Blame El Nino!!

We first anchored off Punta Mita which is another surf mecca, then decided to do a little snorkeling off some island in the bay, the Marietas.  The wind was very light when we start out, then it builds to 30 knots, fine, but wrong direction for anchoring.  Instead we go across the bay to Yelapa which turns out to be a fun spot with dirt roads and burros to ride to the waterfalls (actually get Kevin on one of the beasts - they give him the smallest one they have and Kevin's legs nearly drag on the ground!!  He is a good sport about it but would have liked to walk with our guide instead!!! The things you do for love!)  The boys become regular cowboys by the end of the day and are now talking about real horses and a ranch in Montana.  Imagine that!   I guess they do have a little horse trader blood in them!  We like Yelapa and decide to stay another day.  As luck would have it a weird storm hits.  We have lots of rain, lightning and high winds!  A cold northern front hits a warm southern front and the world turns!  We have 40 knot winds and the boat heels and slides around most of the night, but the mooring ball holds us tight.  Across the bay in La Cruz the winds build to 70-80 knots for 20 minutes or so and lots of boats there have big troubles.  Loose sails, gear, anchors and one goes on the reef rocks and comes inches from being sunk as we find out the next morning!
As it happens, we end up being the only boat in the bay in the exact right spot!  A spot that the guide books recommend for a day sail or a calm overnighter!