Caleta Partida

Coromuel winds were blowing from the south the morning we left Isla San Francisco on April 9th.  This was great news for Pura Vida as they were going to get a nice push on their way north, at least for a few miles.  Seychelles and Interabang were headed south to La Paz, pretty much into the wind.  During the long motor-sail Trisha studied our cruising guides looking for an anchorage on one of the islands with protection from coromuels.  She didn’t have much luck.  All she found was a brief comment about Caleta Partida, an anchorage in the gap between Isla Partida and Isla Espitiru Santo.  The book said that some boats anchor on the south side of Caleta Partida to get protection from southerlies.  We set a course for Caleta Partida and got on the radio to share our plan with Seychelles.

The two mile trip down the narrow passage between the islands offers some spectacular scenery.  When we got to the anchorage, we headed for a spot near the steep hill on the south side.  The sun was high in the sky so we got a good view of the bottom twenty feet below.  Trisha was on the bow and directed me to a large sandy patch where she dropped the anchor.  Seychelles arrived an hour or so later and anchored nearby.

After having dinner on Interabang, we took the dinghy to Seychelles for desert.  The wind was calm when we arrived and we speculated about the likelihood of a coromuel blowing tonight.  We had a great time with John and Nicki and the desert was fabulous.  When we went to leave we noticed that the wind had picked up significantly and was coming from the south.  All speculation was over, the coromuel had arrived.

When we got back to Interabang, the wind was blowing twelve knots.  We stowed the dinghy and got all of the unnecessary items off deck.  Trisha turned on the anchor alarm.  So much for protection on the south side, the winds increased to 25-30 knots and we spent the next few hours keeping a watch.  It was a long night.

The high winds continued into the morning hours.  We had had enough of the coromuels.  La Paz was just a little more than twenty miles upwind.  We had called the marina the day before to confirm that there would be no problem if we showed up a day early.  We picked up at anchor and headed for the Marina Palmira in La Paz.