Pierless Adventures - April 27 - Arrival in Mazatlan

It had been two full days of motoring before we arrived at Mazatlan.  By now, we were used to the constant drone of the engine.  The four hour watch schedule worked well for everyone, providing a good 8 hrs off for resting and the helm was easy while motoring in calm conditions.

Yesterday provided a welcome parade of wildlife to observe.  It included our first sighting of dolphins.  We hoped to see a sunfish, but no such luck.  Other days, almost nothing.  The seas and winds were remarkably calm the entire way across.

We expected to arrive around midnight.  We had not seen much traffic on the crossing, but as we drew closer to Mazatlan, traffic picked up a bit.  One large freighter was going to approach us a little too close for comfort, so we altered course to give them plenty of room.  It is really nice having current navigation equipment onboard.  The new chart plotter and AIS (Automatic Identification System) provide important information about other vessels in the area.  You get the name, status, heading and speed as well as closest point of approach.  This takes much of the guesswork and worry about avoiding other traffic.  It even has alarms that will ring if someone is approaching on a collision course or just too close.

We reached the harbor entrance around 1:00 a.m. at low tide.  The entrance is a little rocky so low tide is not ideal, but the minimal wave action made it okay.  On the way in, there were dozens of night herons lining the shore.  We had never seen so many at once.  Now we know why they are called night herons...

 Tired crew...

We could not raise anyone at the marina on email, phone or VHF, so we just cruised in and looked for a good spot to tie up.  Our old slip was empty, so we pulled in there for the night.  We were greeted by the security staff and explained our intention to go to the office in the morning to check in.  They seemed okay with that, so we secured the boat and went to sleep.