This morning brought calm winds, cloudy skies, and a temperature of 67 degrees.
Geary, who provides the weather reports on the Sonrisa SSB net, was healthy today and resumed giving reports after a four-day absence. He was missed, and it is good to have him back. He is predicting fairly calm conditions for today and Friday in the Sea of Cortez. Another Norther will start on Saturday and it will continue through Sunday. It is forecast to blow at up to 34 knots from the North. That is a fair amount of wind, but the real issue here in the Sea of Cortez is that the resulting waves build very quickly and they are extremely close together. Wave height is measured in feet from crest to trough. Wave period, the distance between one wave crest and the next, is measured in seconds. In the open ocean you get large waves but they are often relatively far apart. That is, they have a long wave period. An ocean wave might by 8 feet from crest to trough, but have a period of 15 to 18 seconds. Here is the Sea of Cortez, the wave heights are less but the wave periods are very short. Moderate waves my only be 1 to 3 feet in height but they have a period of 2 to 3 seconds. Large waves can be 4 to 8 feet or more in height but they may have a short wave periods of 3 to 6 seconds. Sailors talk about square waves. If the wave height in feet is equal to the wave period in seconds, then we say the “seas are square”. We prefer short waves with long periods, such as 3 feet at 10 or 12 seconds. Next best is taller waves with long periods, such as, 8 feet at 15 seconds. We try to avoid “square waves”, such as 5 feet at 5 or 6 seconds. Worst of all is even higher waves and even shorter periods. The Sea of Cortez is notorious for producing steep seas with short periods in the winter months. When a strong wind blows from north to south (i.e. a “Norther”), the waves in the Sea of Cortez quickly build into “square waves” that make conditions very uncomfortable. When a Norther is predicted, we try to find a place to anchor with good protection from wind and waves that are coming from the north.
Today, Matt, Rachel, and I caught a ride to the town of Mulege which is about 12 miles north of here. Mulege is special because it has a river flowing through the middle of the town. It is an oasis in the desert. There are thousands of date palms along the river. Many of the homes have gardens with orange, lemon, and lime trees bearing fruit. The abundance of water makes the town extremely inviting.
We first stopped at a panaderia (Spanish for bakery) that had internet access. I bought a tall glass of freshly squeezed grapefruit and orange juice. I also had a small but very good berry pie. Matt and Rachael had pastries and coffee.
We next visited the museum which sat high upon a hill near the center of town. The museum was originally a state prison that was built in 1905. It housed the prisoners from Baja California del Sur. It also served as the local jail for Mulege. It was closed in 1976 and it is now the home of the Mulege museum. The lady who manages the museum gave us a wonderful guided tour of the museum and explained the history of the place. They had exhibits containing petroglyphs and stone artifacts from the Indians that originally inhabited the area. They had exhibits of objects from the ranchos in the area including saddles, bridles, spurs, and the like. They had old mining equipment from the surrounding copper mines. They had locally made dugout canoes. The old prison cells were also open for viewing. The museum was fairly small but interesting to see.
We then visited the mission. The original mission was built in 1705 by the river. It was destroyed in a flood. A new mission was built on a hill next to the river beginning in 1754. It was finished in 1766. That mission that still stands today. Unfortunately the interior was closed for remodeling but we were able to explore the exterior of the mission and the mission grounds. It commands a stunning view of the river and the river valley.
It is now fairly cool here in this part of the Sea of Cortez. The Northers are blowing fairly frequently. Apparently, the Northers are more prevalent this year than is typical. As a result, I will probably start working my way back south toward La Paz.
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