La Paz at Last

Ponderosa and Odessa had originally planned to leave los Muertos around 9:00 a.m. yesterday to make it to Playa la Bonanza anchorage before dark.  However, due to the follow-up required after the accident it was after 11:00 a.m. before our boats were able to depart - pushing our time frame to the max.  We heard a small screeching noise when we started the engine and a small vibration that we had not had before the accident.  Ponderosa followed us for a while to make sure there wasn't some other problem.  The noise soon dissipated and Odessa motored along fine.  We were happy to find some wind around the point and sailed most of the way to Playa la Bonanza.

Playa la Bonanza is a large open anchorage with no known rocks, but points and reefs to each side of it to avoid.  It had been a long evening the night before and none of us had a good nights sleep.  We dropped anchor just as the sun set and collapsed to a well-deserved calm night at anchor.

This morning, the two mile stretch of white beach at Playa la Bonanza beckoned us to go ashore.  Reluctantly, we hauled anchor leaving Playa la Bonanza for another day and departed for La Paz, 21 nautical miles (3 1/2-4 hours) through the San Lorenzo Channel, just around the corner.  We needed to get to La Paz and catch up on three weeks worth of laundry and make arrangements to have the boat hauled for further inspection.

After successfully navigating the San Lorenzo Channel and then the long narrow channel into La Paz, we anchored nearby Ponderosa, south of the municipal pier a short distance from downtown La Paz, around 3:00 p.m. this afternoon - getting in a little late to get the dinghy down for ride into town and in order to get back before dark.  La Paz will have to wait for tomorrow.