Collision at Sea

Tex and I both flew back to the Bay Area for the holidays.  I returned with with my two sisters and families on the 27th.  My wife made arrangements for us to stay it’s a beautiful resort called Secrets.  About a mile from the marina.We did a couple sails and

they were very nice and mellow.  We celebrated the New Year with a fine meal and some French Champagne.  Also played a round of golf at the hotel course which was a real treat.  On the 2nd of January, my family flew home and Tex arrived.  We have a passage to Mazatlan plnned the next day.  It’s about a 240 mile passage.  The morning came and we took off about 10:30.  The wind was up and blowing hard.  We got out of the marina and raised both sails.  The wind kept building and soon we pulled the jib in and went with just the main.  A big powerful sail.  Once clear off the cape, the winds and seas built event more.  20- 23 knots was the norm and the waves were big.  Should we turn back?  It was very evident that we could not continue towards Mazatlan as I we would be fighting into 8-10 foot seas.  We fell off and looked down the line.  Dead ahead is Puerto Vallarta.  We decided to abort and head to PV.  It would be a 300 mile passage.  We shortened our watches and it worked like a charm.  During my last 1-4am watch, , a bright light appeared ahead.  It looked like a light on a mast of a sailboat.  This light indicates that the vessel is under motor.  I look again and it is headed for us.  I was about to wake Tex up when I thought what if that is not a motor light.  I whipped out my Star Walk app and sure enough it was Venus coming over the horizon.  Collision avoided!  We reached the outer tip of Puerto Vallarta after a 50 hour sail.  We anchored at the lovely Puna Mita and settled in.  On Sunday, we motored over close to the beach and went ashore for the first time in 3 days.  We had a beer and Tex met up with a friend from Tinder.  Nice gal.  We headed back for a nap and dinner.  Next morning we were off to Yelapa.  We had some decent winds too get us there.  As we pulled in a panga approached and told us he had a mooring ball for us.  We hooked in and those winds had kicked up some waves and it was a very folly anchorage.  We headed into the beach and made a glorious landing that put us both in the water briefly.  Oh well.  We headed over to a beachside restaurant and a bocce game broke out.  We even had the waiter play a game with us in the sand.  I prevailed and won another best of 3.  Hit the hay early and we took off the next day before 9:30 as the boat was rocking.  Hit some nice bays down the coast as well as Los Arcos but it was very busy with lots of other boats.  Motored
to La Cruz in a few hours and set our anchor among 25 other boats.  We will be here for a couple weeks as we explore the bay and wait for our friends and family to show.  All is well aboard Aquarius!