September 19, 2005
We pulled anchor after four nights in Quemado and set sail (literally) for La Mona, inside Bahia Los Angeles. The sailing in this area is pretty nice. Winds in the morning are generally light, but destinations are usually very close (we sailed 8.7 nm to get from Quemado to La Mona) so we don't mind spending all morning going slowly. The best thing is that once you get in the bay, the water is usually very calm. There's no swell and the chop is low or non-existent. It's like sailing on a lake! Our trip to La Mona was one of the faster ones we've done, taking only two hrs to go 8.7 nm (4.3 kt average) and we did it almost entirely under sail. We only had to start the motor for the last 100 yards or so to get the anchor down.
The big attraction at La Mona is the 'Jacuzzi', a small lagoon behind the beach that fills with water during high tides and then empties, creating a whirling stream of water where beach goers can sit and be massaged by the soothing flow. Or so we were told. We got to La Mona a couple of days after the highest tides and, not knowing exactly when to go or how to sit and be massaged, we arrived near the top of the flood. The incoming tide at this point could hardly be referred to as a 'stream' so we splashed about in the water near the beach and planned to come back during the ebb. Then we thought for sure we would be massaged by the soothing flow. We arrived back on the beach having had lunch and headed directly for the Jacuzzi. Imagine our disappointment when we saw only a small stream of water making its way from the lagoon. Surely, THIS isn't the soothing flow, we thought, but we entered the water anyway and attempted to make the best of our situation. Desperately hoping that we didn't look to the other beach goers like two kids sitting in a street gutter after a rain storm.
After returning to NAKIA we decided we needed professional help (no, not that kind of professional help). We enlisted our friends Stan and MJ from SolMate, who are veteran Jacuzzi goers, to come and show us how and when to be massaged by the soothing flow. They arrived the next day and we prepared to have the best beach day possible. We packed a picnic basket, set up our beach umbrellas, put our beach chairs in the sand, put on sunscreen, and waited while the lagoon filled to its maximum height. Then waited more, with the pause at high tide stalling the eventual ebb, only increasing our anticipation. Finally the ebb started and, the critical moment having arrived, we placed our bodies in the stream for maximum relaxation. The ebb built to a mild stream and we had a good time drifting down and sitting in the water. It was fun, to be truthful, but not the soothing flow we'd been expecting. It turns out that two or three days ago, when the tide was at its maximum, we really would have had something to talk about. But the tides were not so high now and as a result we didn't really get the best of the Jacuzzi. Maybe next year.
John and Linda