Tuesday, 3 April 2012

As the heavy winds did not materialize and the highest gust on Monday was about 24 knots, we decided to leave and head further north to Puerto Viejo on Isla San Marcos. We left at 8:50 am and headed north back up Conception Bay. Just as we left the bay, we were greeted with large pods of Dolphins that appeared to be fishing in groups. With calm seas and little wind we continued north past the Santa Inez islands where we began to pick up a nice breeze of 12 knots. As we turned to the northwest after the Santa Inez Islands we were treated to some of the best sailing we have had since leaving Cabo. We romped along at just over 7 knots for almost two hours until we were blanketed by the lee of Isla San Marcos.
We turned north just before the Roca Lobos on the southern side of San Marcos and arrived in the Puerto Viejo anchorage at about 2:30 pm putting the anchor down in 12 feet of water just off the cliffs. We had good protection from the waves and wind and therefore had a quiet night.
Isla San Marcos is mined heavily for Gypsum and there is a processing plant on the Island. The guidebook warns you of potential dust in strong northern winds however we had none of these problems. There were a few guys camped out on a small beach and in the evening they went out in a Panga to fish.