We left Partida Cove with the intent of sailing to Ensenada Grande 3-4 nm North. As we pulled up anchor and sailed out of the space in-between the islands, some wind was funneling through the channel, so we decided to unfurl our jib and sail for a change (these islands are not very windy overall), even if only for the little time it'd take us to get out of the channel.
We had our large jib on the furler so even jib alone, we were making good speed and surprisingly, the wind didn't die as we started going up the coast of Partida! We were thrilled to feel the wind on our faces once again and to finally use our sailboat the way it is meant to be used: without the use of the "iron sail" (that's a common way to refer to the engine on a sailboat)!
We decided to sail past Ensenada Grande since we were enjoying our windy ride! Ensenada El Embulo (which apparently means the funnel), another bay even more to the North of the island, and way smaller, had the advantage that it was closer to the Islotes, 2 little rocks at the North of Isla Partida that we wanted to explore with our dinghy, and Ensenada El Embulo could shelter us for the night. So we kept going...
As soon as we passed Ensenada Grande, of course, the wind died! It wasn't a huge deal at first as we found internet for the first time in a week and we're ready to catch-up on emails and get a glimpse at the forecast for our future plan to cross to the mainland. Moreover we could see a wind line (the separation between flat water and water with little ripples from the wind) indicating some wind just a few boat lengths away: if we drifted enough to reach that wind patch, we could keep sailing happily to El Embulo. We could have easily motored to close this small distance but Yalçın, who loves challenges and never gives up (and was done catching up on internet!), patiently steered us into the wind zone, and we had winds in our sails again... To the point that, when, at the entrance of El Embulo, we were beating in 20 knots wind, heeled over by our badass jib - the funnel part was referring to the wind it seemed like!
Luckily, once inside the little bay was calmer and perfect to spend the night! It was small, with a little beach at its end and rocky slopes on its sides, it was narrow and could fit only one boat in its width. That was fine with us: we were the only boat around, we would get this little bay all to ourselves!
Korsan koy, or Pirate Bay in English, is a place in Turkey that is dear to Yalçın's heart: a small little bay that fits only one boat and that is well-hidden (probably a good hiding place for pirates in the days?). He discovered it during a family cruise and El Embulo reminded him of this place. Hence: Korsan Bay 2, which was easier for us to remember than El Embulo.
We anchored around 5PM and used the remaining sunlight to snorkel in our cove next to the Southern cliff. It was nice but not "the best snorkeling in Isla Partida" as stated in one of the Navionics reviews, I guess we had become a little picky! We were ready to call it a day, especially since we had a busy program for the next day, but as the sun was approaching the horizon, we decided to go for the fastest dinghy splash ever in order to watch the sunset from the beach. It would be the only chance (very likely) to go to that beach, and to watch a sunset from there! So, Bouchon went promptly in, follow by Freddie on its transom, the paddles and us! We usually don't use the dinghy much at anchor as we prefer the kayak, our at least paddling the dinghy, but that was a sunset emergency!
We weren't disappointed. The moment turned out to be gorgeous: the sunset itself for sure, but also seeing our boat, our home in this scenic scenery! We had heard other cruisers describe and talk about the accomplishment it provides, but it had always sounded a little cheesy to our ears. But here we were and I guess we could feel it too.
The little beach was cute too: a patch of sand surrounded by rocks with a touch of wildlife: sea gulls and herons as well as a large insect that luckily didn't mind us and a bat circling around. The feeling we amazing, as if we were on a deserted island! (We knew that there are tourists boats a few miles away!).
After the sunset, we enjoyed the calm night. The stars were standing out in the dark sky, highlighting the beauty of our cove. The moment was fabulous, to feel so remote from every form of civilisation with that cove to ourselves, the sky to ourselves, that little beach earlier on to ourselves and our little home in the middle... It was only an impression of course, there were boats a couple of miles down in Ensenada Grande, but at that moment, we felt blessed to enjoy that natural beauty that would have remained unseen otherwise. We even contemplated the possibility of sleeping in the cockpit for the night while we were both sitting in silence appreciating the majesty of the moment. But then, the Coromuels started blowing again around 10-11 and the calm was gone. Sleeping out wasn't an option anymore, but we had taken our time to appreciate this special anchorage that these islands had treated us with!
Sunday night to Monday, April 18th to 19th, Days 5 to 6 on Isla Espiritu Santos/Isla Partida