Anduril Sailing Blog: Even a Weak Tehuantepecker has a Bite

The forecast called for a two day wind lull in the northerly gale that the Golfo de Tehunatepec is famous for. We decided to take the first part of the predicted weather window and departed at 1600H. As usual for going into or out of Chiapas, the soldiers in their camouflage (and packing AR rifles) first came with their drug sniffing dog. The poor animal clearly hates going inside boats, but with little booties installed on his front paws he did his duty and came aboard to have a sniff about. We are reluctant to take pictures of law enforcement and military doing their jobs but Alice managed to get a couple. (School of hard-knocks: many years ago in Egypt, Greg and his pal Grant both nearly got sent to the gulag for taking an innocent pic of some soldiers behind sandbags).

Not sure why it was important but the Port Captain wanted to record the solar panel model name upon our departure from Puerto Chiapas.

Sniffer dog eager to get back onto his own boat.

Saying goodbye to Marina Chiapas and the wise sailors who have made this their temporary abode.

Sure, sure! This blow will be finished by the time we get there. NOT!!!!!

The dog once again missed our drug stash and the Capitania del Puerto gave us our exit zarpe papers and sent us on our way. It was a bit sad leaving because we have spent a lot of time in Chiapas and it is unlikely we will ever again see the people we have gotten to know there.

The wind was supposed to be calm the whole way, hitting its maximum lull just as we passed by the normally windiest section at Salina Cruz. Not. The ride turned into a salt spray fest, with the boat crashing through waves and the wind gusting into the mid thirties. At least it was warm water that was blasting into our faces and crusting our skin with salt. It was not the most comfortable passage we have ever made. Luckily, like a mosquito bite, the bad memory fades. But if you expect pictures, forget it. No way a camera comes out on deck in weather like that.

First sunset at sea since pre-CoVid.

We were visited by many schools of dolphins.

Damn frigates trying to land on the wind instruments.

At 0600H we anchored in Bahia Tangolunda, one bay before Huatulco, and happily hit our bunks to catch up on lost sleep from two nights spent at sea.

Bahia Tangolunda

Our new friends on Scraatch joined us in the anchorage the following day, arriving with an engine on the blink. Over a couple of days of nut twisting in difficult to reach locations (with G&T breaks and with a little help from a local mechanico to rebuild a starter motor) their engine overheating, battery and starting problems were eventually beaten into submission.

Essential winch maintenance.

We took a taxi to visit one of our favourite marinas. Sadly, the great breakfast cafe and the Italian restaurant are permanently shuttered.

Our next passage was 210 miles to Acapulco, where the problem was less about tear and more about wear. Our route showed minimal wind in the forecast, so we knew it would definitely be a leg short on sailing and on long on motoring. Figuring on 32 hours passage at 6 knots average, we set our alarms for 0400 and both woke up at 0200. “Let’s just go,” we both said. It was a good thing we did. The adverse tide en-route never let up: the best was 0.7 knots against. The worst was 2.4 knots against. Ughh. Translation: 6+ extra hours spent on passage with the sound of engine growling. We would like to say we loved the extra time we got to spend watching dolphins, sea turtles, birds, and even sea snakes. But we hate lying. Hot watches during day and long watches at night wear you down.

It was an entertaining stop at Puerto Angel watching the fishing pangas come and go at high speeds. Not wanting to risk a dingy capsize, we swam ashore for dinner.