Honeymoon Cove to unnamed cove – Danzante Island, Dec. 23
At precisely 7 o’clock in the morning, we awoke to the loud clatter of a large vessel anchoring out in the open bay ¼ mile south of where we were tucked in. Chris was disappointed because he was certain the boat would be running its annoying generator constantly, interrupting the quiet of our little cove. As he popped his head out of the cabin, he immediately grew very concerned. The winds had stealthy shifted in the middle of the night without his realization, and with the two anchors forward and one to the stern, the boat swung to the west a little bit, but because of the tight quarters, we were not a comfortable distance off the rocks, see below.
Putting all routines aside, Chris got into the dinghy, rowed out and picked up one of the now leeward anchors and transferred it to the stern and to windward, turning the boat around and putting us back into the center of the cove. With that done we could relax. I fixed my coffee and Chris went ashore to take some pictures, since we would soon leaving for a better protected anchorage from the southeasterly winds.
Not long after Chris went ashore, a large inflatable tender from the big boat with 5 people aboard, ferried more that an dozen folding chairs, a couple of large commercial coolers, bins of food and snacks and 3 kayaks. Meanwhile I was doing dishes and watching what they were doing. As they departed, they put out one ball buoy nearby and slowly motored by. As they got abeam, they told me that they would only be in the cove until noon, and that they were putting out the buoys to keep the guests away from our boat. I told them, that we would be leaving, they replied “you don’t have to” with real concern about displacing us. I told them we had to get better anchorage because of the southerly winds, and not to worry about the quests getting closer to our boat. They replied, “That’s okay, we like to keep them corralled.”
The young crew members were exceedingly polite, and attentive. They returned to their ship and shortly thereafter another tender came by and checked with me to find out if crew members had told us about leaving by noon, and if they had been friendly and polite. I expressed high praise and appreciation for their professionalism, friendliness and warmth. He asked if we needed ice, and I said, no, didn’t have any room, but thank you. He obviously recognized and understood the needs of small boaters. He also was very focused on assuring that their boat’s presence minimally impacted the pleasure of the recreational boaters.
We watched as one tender came and dropped off a half dozen snorkelers or more with a guide at the point, then came in to shore and dropped off five folks including two children and a guide for the kayaks.
As they motored by, Chris (now returned from his photo expedition) welcomed them to Honeymoon Cove and hoped they enjoyed their time there. The tender then went and carefully followed the snorkelers, always with eyes on them, as they proceeded to the beach.
Another tender came by, asked if we were carnivores, and then presented us with bacon, sausages and fruit salad from the guest’s breakfast. What a treat! We asked about the vessel. It was a small cruise boat called Safari Endeavor, with the Un-cruise Cruise Line (click to visit website) out of Seattle. Chris asked what channel on the VHF they monitored so he could pass along our compliments to the Captain. But wait there’s more, before we had a chance to dive into the breakfast, another tender shows up and presents us with a bottle of Italian wine. They said they had heard about how friendly and accommodating we were and wanted to meet us.
We upped anchor, hailed the Captain and told him how impressed we were with the friendliness and professionalism of the crew. He told him they were fine ambassadors for the cruise line.
Chris can sometimes be quick to assume the negative based on previous experience, especially when it comes to large power boats. However, he is also very quick to be friendly, accommodating, and complimentary. These are traits I’ve admired and tried to emulate over the years.
We watched as one tender came and dropped off a half dozen snorkelers or more with a guide at the point, then came in to shore and dropped off five folks including two children and a guide for the kayaks.
As they motored by, Chris (now returned from his photo expedition) welcomed them to Honeymoon Cove and hoped they enjoyed their time there. The tender then went and carefully followed the snorkelers, always with eyes on them, as they proceeded to the beach.
Another tender came by, asked if we were carnivores, and then presented us with bacon, sausages and fruit salad from the guest’s breakfast. What a treat! We asked about the vessel. It was a small cruise boat called Safari Endeavor, with the Un-cruise Cruise Line (click to visit website) out of Seattle. Chris asked what channel on the VHF they monitored so he could pass along our compliments to the Captain. But wait there’s more, before we had a chance to dive into the breakfast, another tender shows up and presents us with a bottle of Italian wine. They said they had heard about how friendly and accommodating we were and wanted to meet us.
We upped anchor, hailed the Captain and told him how impressed we were with the friendliness and professionalism of the crew. He told him they were fine ambassadors for the cruise line.
Chris can sometimes be quick to assume the negative based on previous experience, especially when it comes to large power boats. However, he is also very quick to be friendly, accommodating, and complimentary. These are traits I’ve admired and tried to emulate over the years.
We motored south less than a mile to a southerly protected cove with no name. We are naming this cove Mushroom Rock cove because of the amazing rock structure on the beach, as you can see. Chris went beachcombing and I got to swim and do some water aerobics. The water was clear, and crisp at 69 degrees, but I soon got used to it.
We could see still see Safari Endeavor and around one o’clock, they departed the cove and turned north. Very shortly thereafter, we heard 5 short blasts of their horn and the boat made a hard turn to port and came to an abrupt stop. This was not normal. Chris immediately thought there was a man overboard and grabbed the VHF to see if we could hear what was happening on the crew channel. We listened to the bridge talking to the crew and indeed they were involved in man overboard procedures. We listened with great concern, but were really perplexed about how someone could have fallen overboard.
The crew was very calm. They were following textbook procedures and soon located the victim. Very quickly afterwards the recovery boat reported the victim on board and the BP was 80/100. Though we did not know much about immersion blood pressures that sounded odd. The recovery boat returned and delivered the victim to the boat where the medical team was waiting. Meanwhile, the recovery boat was instructed to pick up all the items thrown from the vessel to assist the victim. We heard the bridge ask the medical team to let the bridge know if they needed shore assistance. All these maneuvers were being instructed calmly, and professionally by the first mate. Shortly thereafter, once the first mate determined that all the rescue devices were recovered and the inventory was accounted for, he announced the conclusion of the man overboard DRILL! Boy were we impressed, surprised, and delighted it was just a drill. What a conscientious cruise line.
Chris decided to row around the cove and take a hike up into the hills around the anchorage.
The crew was very calm. They were following textbook procedures and soon located the victim. Very quickly afterwards the recovery boat reported the victim on board and the BP was 80/100. Though we did not know much about immersion blood pressures that sounded odd. The recovery boat returned and delivered the victim to the boat where the medical team was waiting. Meanwhile, the recovery boat was instructed to pick up all the items thrown from the vessel to assist the victim. We heard the bridge ask the medical team to let the bridge know if they needed shore assistance. All these maneuvers were being instructed calmly, and professionally by the first mate. Shortly thereafter, once the first mate determined that all the rescue devices were recovered and the inventory was accounted for, he announced the conclusion of the man overboard DRILL! Boy were we impressed, surprised, and delighted it was just a drill. What a conscientious cruise line.
Chris decided to row around the cove and take a hike up into the hills around the anchorage.
There are small stingrays in the Sea of Cortez called Mobley. At certain times of the day they love to jump out of the sea as high as they can. When one starts, others follow. Click here to watch the dance of the Mobley’s.
Chris rowed back to the boat and with great enthusiasm said I had to go ashore with him and see mushroom rock and the shore. It was just as beautiful as he described.
One of the things I enjoy when beachcombing is taking “artistic” pictures of the flotsam and jetsam on the beach, and pictures of the plants around the beach.
Later that evening, we noticed a pelican using a different fishing technique than the other pelicans we had seen. When in pursuit of fish, rather than gain altitude and crash dive down on his prey, he would flap his wings a few times and then make a shallow and quick dive close to where he had taken off. He would then repeat this procedure very quickly. He seemed to have quite a lot of success using this method; more so than the other pelicans. We also noticed that Chris seemed to be allergic to something on shore and he had a bout of sneezing, runny nose and coughing. After an antihistamine, he felt much better.
We watched the moon rise to the east and the sun set to the west. One of the most pleasant things at sea, is the ability to see across the water.
We watched the moon rise to the east and the sun set to the west. One of the most pleasant things at sea, is the ability to see across the water.