Bahia Santa Maria to La Cruz de Huanacaxtle

January 23 – February 14, 2025

After several calm days spent relaxing and recharging in Bahia Santa Maria, we once again headed south. This time the wind was light so we ended up motoring quite a bit. We tried fishing but only ended up catching a small shark which we released. Approximately 24 hours later we rounded the tip of Baja at Cabo San Lucas and soon after were on the dock at Marina Los Cabos in San Jose del Cabo. We topped up our diesel tanks, stretched our legs on land, and met new friends Remmy and her crew on Delta V. We hope to catch up with these guys again soon. Marina Los Cabos is the land of mega yachts and we had fun walking around and gawking.

Anxious to meet up with our friends further south, we only spent one night in San Jose del Cabo before we again pointed the bow south towards mainland Mexico. We had excellent conditions on this leg and even got to fly the spinnaker. We caught a nice sized Mahi to augment our food supplies. Two days later we arrived in the small town of Chacala. SV One World was there waiting for us and Jason and the boys quickly helped us get anchored. It was great to catch up with those guys. We met the crew of SV Alivo and SV Karma and spent a few days hanging out in the small town, swimming, and hiking. Although we’ve been to Chacala several times, it never disappoints.

After several days in Chacala, waves started rolling into the anchorage from storms up north and it was time to leave. We headed towards the Puerto Vallarta area and unfortunately encountered uncomfortable sea conditions due to a combination of steep waves and light wind. We rolled around like crazy as we motored. Finally, as we neared the entrance to Banderas Bay, the wind picked up and were finally able to sail. It was much more comfortable and we were sailing quickly. All was good until a whale surfaced literally inches from the side of our boat. So cool to see but perhaps a bit too close for comfort. As we neared our destination of Marina La Cruz, the wind died down and we were able to easily tie up in our slip.

Marina La Cruz in the small town of La Cruz de Huanacaxtle is close to Puerto Vallarta. It is a hub of activity for cruising sailors. Particularly those heading off across the Pacific to French Polynesia like Andy and Shannon on Tino Pai. It was a homecoming of sorts as we reunited with cruising friends on Tino Pai, Rio Salado, One World, and Stray Cat. It was great to see everyone again.

During our first weekend in La Cruz there was a music festival/racilla festival/circus adjacent to the marina. There was good music, good food, and free racilla (similar to mezcal) tastings all night. Too much fun.

We’re definitely enjoying our time in La Cruz before we head off to our next anchorage in the near future.