This article was previously written by Rachel Messerschmidt for and published by Vancouver Family Magazine in February 2022.
Our group of buddy boats in Bahia Santa Maria took a few days to relax after the hustle and bustle that was Cruiser’s Thanksgiving: Anchorage Style. We all collectively pulled up our anchors and traveled together into Magdalena Bay to anchor again in Man-Of-War Cove at a primitive fishing village.
We only spent one night at Man-Of-War, as it didn’t hold a candle to the beauty of Bahia Santa Maria. However, we did journey further into “Mag Bay” to the authentic Mexican town of Puerto San Carlos. Happy to find good internet there, the first since Ensenada, we stayed 3 days so that I could work. We were the only recreational boat, and the only sailboat, anywhere in the area.
Leaving Mag Bay behind us, we sailed overnight to anchor off the beach at Cabo San Lucas. Cabo was quite the experience: international vacationers and party central. We stayed for about a week, enjoying the clear turquoise water, amazing beaches, and stunning rock formations. The party scene eventually drove us away though and we left to cross the mouth of the Sea of Cortez.
For two nights, we sailed across the sea to the mainland side of Mexico. At mid-morning on the third day, we arrived at beautiful Isla Isabel. This was our next Most Beautiful Place.
As a Mexican National Park, there are no human occupants of the island. In fact, it is a tiny island of less than a square mile. But it is inhabited by thousands, possibly millions, of sea birds- predominantly frigate birds and the famous blue-footed boobies. Wild iguanas also roam the island in droves.
The water at Isla Isabel was absolutely crystal clear. We could see the bottom in 25 feet and carefully picked a nice sandy patch to drop our anchor into. After setting up our shade, priority numero uno was a refreshing swim!
It was like diving into a tropical aquarium. The water was a pleasant 83 degrees with exceptional visibility and the variety of fishes the best we’ve seen this entire journey. There were dozens of different types of brightly colored fish. It was easy to spend hours snorkeling around the boat.
We spent two nights off-grid at Isla Isabel and would have liked to have stayed a week or more. But responsibilities beckoned and we had to soon continue onward in search of internet for my job.
It was a day sail to get to Matanchen Bay, where we met up with old friends from our days living aboard in Portland. Friends who had left in 2019 to cruise Mexico and who are still here doing just that. It was great to share an anchorage with them after having finally reached such a huge milestone in our journey and listen in as they shared stories and advice for extended cruising in this amazing country.
After Matanchen Bay, we hopped down to another little fishing village known as Chacala, just a little bit north of Puerto Vallarta on the Mexican Pacific Coast. It was Chacala that held us for a week, including being our scene for our first Christmas abroad. We were there with a half dozen other boats that we knew, including two other boats with kids aboard. It was a sweet Christmas and, while we missed family and friends back home, we were happy to share pictures of our adventures and the beautiful life that we’re living.
I find that I’m spending a lot of time lately just deep in thought about all that we have to be thankful for. This lifestyle requires a lot of hard work- it’s definitely no vacation… but the rewards are pretty epic.
Rachel Messerschmidt and her family are Clark County natives living and cruising full time aboard their 40-foot sailboat, Mosaic. In the summer and fall of 2021, they traveled down the US West Coast and into Mexico. Rachel shares her family’s adventures on Facebook and Instagram (at)mosaicvoyage and in a monthly column in Vancouver Family Magazine.