Our First Tropical Depression

Two weeks ago, while we were catching up on neglected work and restocking Rua Hatu while anchored in Acapulco Bay, two tropical depressions were forming off the Pacific coast of southern Mexico. We scoured the charts for good bays that allowed for maximum wind and fetch (short, uncomfortable wind waves) protection.

Deciding against leaving a safe port, we choose the small bay next to Acapulco Bay, Bahia Puerto Marques.

The large Acapulco Bay on the left and the small bay of Puerto Marques to the right – earth.google.com

In the bay of Puerto Marques we scooted all the way into the southernmost corner to avoid the wind waves. Puerto Marques is a small town that seems to have been absorbed into the chaos of Acapulco. A few hundred meters away, the popular neighborhood of Diamante starts. The differences in socioeconomic standing can definitely be observed here. The town is huddled around a swamp that is, of course, filled with crocodiles.

Friday, May 27, 2022 – View southeast towards Puerto Marques, precursors of the storm

As we observe the weather forecasts, it becomes clear that the storm would hit land further south. The wind is increasing and we wonder if it would turn from a tropical storm to a hurricane.

Saturday, May 28, 2022 forecast for Monday, May 30, 2022 – windy.com

Another day later and it is now categorized as the first hurricane of 2022. On Monday morning hurricane Agatha hit land as a category 3 hurricane just south of Puerto Escondido, Oaxaca.

On Saturday evening we had enough rain to wash the boat. But when the storm hit land on Monday, it was dry and the wind never exceeded 25 knots where we were anchored in Puerto Marques.

Monday morning looking southeast over Puerto Marques.

The forecast for this storm was very good and by watching it for a week, we were prepared to react quickly if needed. So I think we were fortunate that by sticking around Acapulco to avoid the storm.

On Tuesday we used the wind following the storm to push us down the coast towards Puerto Angel where we plan to spend a few days before continuing on to Chiapas where we check out of Mexico.

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