Three boats from Olympia cruising Mexico got an up close but not too personal view of the power of a Tsunami March 11 after the tragic earthquake in Japan.
The sailors included Bob and Linda Hargreaves of Bright Angel, Tami and Eugene Reynolds and their children Christian and Abigayle of Andiamo III, and Michael Wilson and his dog Jordy of Touch Rain. Michael’s wife Jan was back in Olympia as part of her long distance commute.
All three boats happened to be in the La Cruz Marina, which is just north of Puerto Vallarta on Banderas Bay.
While damage in the area ended up minimal, the day was quite exciting nonetheless. Every sailor at the marinas had to decide quickly whether to move their boats out to deeper water or stay in their slips. Reports of the earthquake and tsunami predictions started coming in as most people woke. Some made their decisions quickly, others just before the big wave was predicted to hit shore.
Given that the only downside of moving was inconvenience, all three Olympia boats chose to head out into the bay. Outside the marinas, it was just another lovely sailing day on Banderas Bay. A flotilla of boats sailed back and forth, in and out of the bay. The event also caused cancellation of the second day’s races in the Banderas Bay Regatta, a very big thing down here. Still, there may have been more boats on the water than on a typical regatta day.
During that time, the tsunami touched off a series of surge and drain cycles in the marinas. The water went up and down to 6-10 feet in the La Cruz marina. It rose and fell each time in about 10 minutes. One person described it as like being on an elevator, steady up and down without shocks or tugs. That said, the entrances to the various marinas turned into white water and whirlpools. And, the end dock fingers just three slips away from Bright Angel were destroyed.
Out on the deeper water, there was not a hint of the powerful wave. The movement just slid underneath and invisible to us. Amazing. These things only show their force when the move into shallow waters and arrive near landfall.
In the end, the on-shore powers that be closed all traffic in or out of marinas for the night. That meant our area, La Cruz, became a very busy anchorage. It is the only anchorage in this very large bay. Eugene Reynolds had been away at his job and arrived back at about the same time as the tsunami. Tami showed her competence as a skipper for their 43' Hans Christian. She made the tough decision to leave the marina single-handed during the tsunami and enjoyed a full day of sailing in the bay with just the kids and the dog Toby. Tami safely anchored Andiamo and hitched a ride to shore where the family linked up once again.
On Touch Rain, Jordy and I put the hook down an hour before sunset, then heard on the radio that the port captain had agreed to let the marina reopen. But by the time we got the anchor up and got in line to enter, they had closed it again, this time for the night,- citing another major surge that made the entrance dangerous. So, we anchored again, ate dinner, watched a movie, and went to bed.
There was no boat damage here , although a few fenders were flattened. This was much different than the scenes we saw up north in Crescent City and Santa Cruz, where there was a lot of damage. Many folks spent the day after the event glued to CNN, watching the response to the tragedy unfold in Japan.
In Mexico, it remains fair sailing as boats ponder the change of seasons. Bright Angel plans to head north into the Sea of Cortez in April, after a visit from Linda’s son, daughter-in-law and two little grand girls in Paradise Village, Nuevo Vallarta, at the end of March/early April. Bright Angel’s crew is still considering various options for the summer, to include leaving the boat in Mexico or taking her back to San Diego.
Andiamo III and crew plan to take things one day at a time. Gene’s new job is going great and he has already worked himself into a promotion. His two week on, two week off schedule is allowing the Reynolds family to live the best of both worlds. For the time being, they are planning to remain in the Banderas Bay area for the duration of hurricane season and then make new plans for the fall. Although some scuttlebutt about them heading further south to places like El Salvador or Panama within the next couple of months has been heard amongst fellow cruisers here in the marina. Nonetheless, they are happy right where they are--together.
Touch Rain is preparing to leave at the end of March for Hawaii, a three-week sail. Our brother in law is meeting us with his boat on a sail from the Galapagos. After five-to-six weeks in the islands, we plan to sail to Sitka and then gunkhole down the inside passage to Olympia.
Hopefully there will be no more tsunamis on this trip.
Fair sailing.
Michael Wilson
Photo by Linda Hargreaves