Norwegian Steam: Beach Club at the Bay of Dreams

Tuesday, January 11, 2011

Beach Club at the Bay of Dreams

Since we left La Paz to sail to Puerto Vallarta, NS has been crewed by Sally, Alan, Amy and Andy Morse (a friend of Jennifer and Andrew). Last night we all dined at the 1535 Restaurant, located in the Beach Club at the Bay of Dreams. Quite a good restaurant and not expensive.

Los Muertos or The Bay of Dreams

The Beach Club is at the east end of a long sand beach in Ensenada de los Muertos (23 degrees 59.2 minutes north, 109 degrees 49.6 minutes west). At the other end of the beach is a real estate development. A name that translates to "Cove of the Dead" was not was deemed satisfactory for the location of a sparkling new gringo retirement community and golf course, and thus was born the "Bay of Dreams." I have read, by the way, that in this case "muertos" does not refer to dead people, but instead to large abandoned anchors from a time when the bay was a cargo port. Years ago, dead anchors and chains were probably a hazard to small craft anchoring in the cove, but they have long since silted over and Muertos is a favorite stop for yachts traveling this stretch of coast.

Los Muertos or The Bay of Dreams

Tonight we are anchored in Bahia Los Frailes (23 degrees 22.9 minutes north, 109 degrees 25.2 minutes west), a favorite anchorage for yachts awaiting favorable weather for either a passage across to the Sea of Cortez to mainland Mexico or for a trip north against the prevailing winds. It was a fast run down from Los Muertos with 25 knot winds and six to eight foot seas. Amy and Andy proved the value of young reflexes for steering a boat in these conditions. When we made the final turn into the bay, what had been a following wind was suddenly on the beam and we were a bit over-powered, but it was only a quarter of a mile from there into the bay which provides protection from the waves if not from the wind. We are now well anchored.
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1 comment:

peterwJanuary 11, 2011 at 8:32 PM
Looks like a good day from Ensenada de los Muertos to Bahia Los Frailes! 43 nautical miles as the crow flies.

Are you waiting there for favorable weather for a passage to the mainland?
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Norwegian Steam, the vessel

Norwegian Steam is the name of our 35' sailboat. She was designed by Ted Brewer. About 40 hulls were constructed by Miller Marine on Bainbridge Island, Washington between 1976 and the early 1980s. It is rumored that additional hulls were constructed in eastern Canada. Because many of these boats were completed by owners, there is a very great diversity in the fleet. To learn more about the basic design, you can find information about Ted's Jason design on his web site.

NS was completed by Alan with the help of friends, some of them professionals, over many years. She has been sailing since 2001. She differs from most (perhaps all) other instances of the Jason design in that her mast is 6 feet taller and she is rigged as a racing cutter, with large overlapping staysail. This rig design was inspired by the work of John Illingworth, the great English yacht designer and sailboat racer.

Norwegian Steam, the name

The phrase, Norwegian steam, may originally have been somewhat pejorative. When a vessel was powered by sails or by oars instead of by a steam or diesel engine, it was said to be powered by "Norwegian steam", the implication being that the Norwegians were so poor they could not afford engines for their boats. As time passed, the Norwegians themselves adopted the phrase to indicate a "can-do" attitude or doing whatever it takes to get the job done, even with limited resources or under adverse circumstances.

During the great era of America's Cup racing in J-Class yachts, the term took on a slightly different meaning. Many of the American defender boats had Norwegian crews and thus were said to be powered by Norwegian steam. A website has been dedicated to this bit of history.