Tuesday, December 2, 2008

Barra de Navidad


Enjoying Mainland Mexico

Happy Belated Thanksgiving!! We are sure that your turkey dinners were tastier than our fish and shrimp dinners, no pavo at a palapa on the beach in Tenacatita. We did enjoy our meal with the company of friend Bill, (on the boat “Miela”) from Chico whose wife Karen was unable to join us. In as much as we enjoyed our warm weather and beautiful scenery, we missed family and the traditional turkey dinner with the the yummy mashed potatoes, gravy, cranberry sauce, pumpkin pie, etc.

We have sailed one overnight passage from Mazatlan. We experienced a few minor problems. First it was the radar, luckily checked before night fall! This repair required a trip up the mizzen mast to the ray dome. Judging by the bruises Terry wears, this wasn’t a fun activity. The problem was a dislodged drive belt. I must admit, this is not one of the “fun” parts of sailing, seeing Terry fling around in the top climber as we were sailing with the head sail and main sail, It flashed thru my mind how frustrated it could be to turn the boat around to collect any dropped parts. The other problem was the collecting of some type of plastic that lodged on the prop-this required that we turn the motor off and we sailed thru the night-(luckily 15-20 knots of wind) we averaged 7 knots. The repair of diving under the boat and removing the plastic occurred after safely anchoring the following morning.

We have revisited the anchorages from last year to include: Chacala, La Cruz, Chamela, Tenacatita and currently anchored in Barra de Navidad. We have enjoyed meeting up with cruising friends, swimming, snorkeling and kayaking. The weather and water have been perfect. The ocean water appears clearer with better visibility and more pleasant for swimming and snorkeling than last season. Many dolphins have swam at the bow of the boat, however, only one day of sighting whales. Looking forward to many more! Our plans are to sail back to Tenacatita tomorrow and leave for Zihuatanejo about December 11 for the overnight passage from Bahia Santiago.

Monday, November 10, 2008

First posting for the cruising season November 2008

We arrived in Mazatlan on Tuesday November 4. It was a long three days
of driving with a two day stay with friends Tim and Julie in Phoenix. The dreaded border patrol was uneventful. Not one inspection of the truck. If we had only known-we could have loaded up with good red wine (not so easy to find in Mexico). Oh well!!! We had a short stop at the border, obtained the visas and were on our way again. We were happy to arrive at Marina Mazatlan and step onto our boat home. And, happy to report that Tenacity weathered the summer just fine. No bugs or mildew! Only minor issues with glue(things that were stuck are no longer stuck to the walls). One of our PFD (automatic inflate life jackets) decided that it was too hot and damp in the cabin of the boat and exploded! We were lucky enough to purchase a replacement cartridge from a fellow cruiser.

Even though it is very HOT and HUMID here, we are enjoying the company of meeting up with our cruising friends and discussing plans for the season! Comparing notes regarding anchorages, etc. It is always interesting to learn of the plans of the many boats heading to Costa Rica, Ecuador and either thru the Panama Canal or into the South Pacific.

Lots to do with unloading the truck and loading up the boat. It is that excitement
once again of the anticipation of sailing off!! Such different weather conditions this trip. It was a little easier packing the boat from the cold bay area, but such a long trip to get into the warm weather and water!! We have been working on projects such as getting the sails in place and re-installing the packed away canvas. We purchased 6 new batteries today and Terry is in the process of installing them.
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Our plans are to leave Mazatlan Marina on Wednesday or Thursday morning with the destination of Chacala, approximately 140 miles. Depending on the wind conditions, it will take us 28-30 hours.

In as much as we have once again enjoyed the city of Mazatlan, we are anxious to get out of the marina to enjoy sailing, swimming- and, of course, my favorite past time -Watch for whales, dolphins and other sea life.
We look forward to hearing from you.
Hope this this message finds everyone happy and healthy!

Sunday, April 27, 2008

Tenacity in Agua Verde


Isla San Francisco


The Sea of Cortez

Today is Saturday April 26
We are currently at a small marina in the town of Santa Rosalia. Inasmuch as I appreciate some of the conveniences of being "tied" to the dock such as fresh water from a hose and stepping off the boat and onto semi firm surface (the dock), and communicating via internet, I am ready to leave tomorrow morning for another quiet anchorage. Santa Rosalia is a nice, very friendly little town with few gringos. Many small tiendas; fruiterias with a great supply of fresh fruits and vegetables, and a panaderia with good bread and cookies. This town has an interesting history of French influence with a the remnants of an old smelting foundry. We toured a museum where we learned about the history of mining copper. There are many old buildings and quaint streets. and we toured a church that was designed by Gustave Eiffel in 1884 was pre-constructed for the World Exposition in Paris of 1889, it was purchased and shipped, unassembled across the Atlantic for assembly in Santa Rosalia. Who would think that we we find this in Baja California Sur. This weekend has been a celebration of "the squid", complete with carnival and VERY loud music-so close to the marina that I can feel the base from the music as it rattles the inside of the boat-this goes on until 2:15 AM!! So-its not ALL paradise out here! On the other hand, I had no idea that the desert, surrounded with the beautiful aqua colored, crystal clear water could be so beautiful! Unfortunately the water is cool at about 70 degrees and the winds have been rather intense-not so good for snorkeling. And, one day we paddled our kayaks to shore, had a great hike and found that rowing against the waves was not as much fun as a calm sea offers! So, we are ready to "pull" the dock lines and be on our way to the next anchorage. We will be heading South to find the warm water and sail down the sea of cortez to La Paz and then the jump to Mazatlan. We think of family and friends often and wish that you were here! Hope all is well with everyone!! Pictures of Isla San Francisco and Aqua Verde.

Friday, April 11, 2008

Baby whale 15 miles out of Mazatlan


I have decided that pictures speak a million words

Monday, March 31, 2008

Mazatlan to La Paz

Sunday, March 30 - Thank you to family and friends who read and have sent comments regarding the blog. I appreciate the feedback! Hi from the Sea of Cortez! We left Mazatlan on Tuesday at 12 noon and arrived in La Paz at exactly 12 noon-how did that work out so perfectly?? It must be Terry’s great navigating skills. The two overnights were easy! I had the midnight to 4 am shift-and, I was reminded of the nights that I worked on southwing. And, of my friends who say they prefer night shift at rehab. What are they thinking? Anyway, the ocean is full of sparkle as we glide on thru -the radar becomes your best friend as that is your only way of knowing just what is “out there” in the darkness. There are the random fishing boats or cruise ships which are traveling at a fast speed. The unobstructed view of stars without any sign of light for 100 miles on the water is a very special site. Another boat did leave Mazatlan behind us-two guys from Minnesota on a boat called 40 Love (yeh, he is a tennis player) Anyway it was fun to occasionally check in via the VHF radio and know that somebody else was out there with us. They were usually within a few miles. Terry had a little bit of excitement-I was off shift and sound to sleep. One of the short stints when we were sailing . Suddenly the boat came to a stop and he realized that we had caught a long line. One of the methods of fishing used by local fishermen. Luckily the motor was off, therefore the line did not get caught in the prop-he had to grab it with the boat hook and cut it. This probably irritated a fishermen, but we had no choice. If we see these lines during the day, we do everything we can to avoid them. They usually have empty plastic bottles on the line. This one had Styrofoam attached, but no way of seeing it in the dark. Most of the time the wind was about 5 knots with the exception of the last morning-from about 0500 we had about 20 knots of wind-much of it on the nose and not great for sailing. Even with the lack of good wind, we motor with our main sail up-this provides for stability and will take advantage of even the slightest amount of wind. The first part of the trip was so mellow-it was hard to believe that we were actually in the ocean-it felt more like sailing on a lake (on a calm day). With the exception of whale sightings! What lucky sailors we are! About 15 miles out of Mazatlan we were treated to a show put on by a mother and frisky baby whale-the baby breached repeatedly and I was able to capture a photo and numerous videos. We were able to walk around-without hanging on to things, cook and eat food, read , take wonderful , long, hot showers. When we are motoring (using the diesel engine) the engine coolant circulates thru our water heater and provides us with endless amounts of very hot water. In addition to the luxury of hot water, we are able to make fresh water from the sea water while motoring. Our water maker is called a “village marine, little wonder” , and that it is! This trip would not be as much fun without it! I didn’t realize how irritating it would be to have salt water on my skin-so, we always have a solar shower (we have 3 of them) on deck. Even when we are at anchor, and not heating water via the engine we have hot water. We fill them up in the morning-lay them on the deck of the boat and before the sun goes down or when we need to rinse off the salt water, we take a solar shower. Now you know what I mean about different priorities while traveling by sea. We don’t have to worry about looking for the car keys or being late to work or even what to wear to work. We are concerned with the filling of the sun shower and being sure that our refrigerator is always stocked with food and cerveza. And, planning our next destination. Currently that would be the islands in the Sea of Cortez. After being here in La Paz since Thursday afternoon we will be “pulling the anchor “tomorrow and heading for Isla Espiritu Santo and Isla Partida. We have found the city of La Paz to be pleasant and clean . The water is clear and beautiful blue green in color. Today we enjoyed a long walk and lunch with fellow cruisers. This was our last chance to provision for a while as the next ciy we will visit is Loreto in 3-4 weeks. Sending you best wishes and happy days!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!I continue to miss family and friends and look forward to visiting with everyone on our return in June.

Tuesday, March 25, 2008

Leaving Mazatlan

Tues. March 25. Hello and Happy Spring! This is frustrating-I have spent hours on the creation of a post and LOST it! Yes, I am technically challenged and a little irritated right now. Anyway- I will make a very long story short. We have been here at Matatlan Marina for 20 days and anxious to leave. Three of the days were spent on a long bus ride (13 hours)to guymus to pick up the truck and drive back to Mazatlan. If I ever get a chance, I will write about that trip-quite an adventure. We have had fun with the luxury of traveling in our own vehicle and provisioning for our next adventure. We are pulling the dock lines and sailing into the shiny sparkling ocean to La Paz. This will be a two overnight passage-approx. 240 miles-40-48 hours. I am really looking forward to the beautiful blue green clear waters of the sea of cortez. I am so ready to snorkel, swim and kayak!

pics of Chacala-pongas;sunset;shopping from fruit truck



Thursday, March 13, 2008

Cruisers celebrating New Years aboard "Miela"

January thru March 2-Barra to Chacala

Blog 3-2-08

It has been so long since the last posting-Partly because I am a GREAT procrastinator ; and I really wonder what anybody wants to hear about. I remember reading a blog written by cruising friends, and, honestly I got sick of hearing of every detail! It is difficult to know where to start and what to include. By the way, is anyone reading the blog??? If so, is there any thing particular that you would like to have included. Any feed back can be sent to our email.

We are now in a quiet small village, Chacala, about 46 miles north of Puerto Vallarta-we have spent 2 nights here, sharing the anchorage with only a few other boats. We have had very successful dinghy landings thru a large surf. It seems that the gringos are especially interested in this cruising thing. We met 2 nice couples, one from Edmonton Canada and another from Seattle. This beach was busy with local Mexicans enjoying their weekend with fun in the water, LOUD music, vendors selling ice cream and the usual jewelry and misc. stuff. We sat at a palapa, drank cerveza and bought stuff that we probably don't need. After we bought the stuff we had the challenge of the dinghy ride thru the surf back to the boat. Luckily this was a good day of surf riding-unlike another day when we offered friends a ride to shore and we all arrived dripping wet!! One thing I have learned is that you do not leave the boat in a dinghy and expect to stay dry! This is especially irritating when you are going to dinner! All I can say, is that it is a good thing that restaurants are palapas on the beach with plastic chairs. It is interesting how time is consumed so differently and priorities are so different then those on land. The bottom of "our floating home" must be cleaned on a regular basis-algae and barnacles collect quickly in warm water. Terry is now cleaning the bottom of the boat with the use of a “hookah rig” and generator. This isn’t really his favorite part of cruising, but, a necessary part! We plan to leave this anchorage tomorrow early morning and will get to Mazatlan in approx 30 hours later.

The most recent excitement was the incredible viewing of about 4 whales, one was a baby and we watched it breach over and over!!! I was able to capture much of it on video.

To fill you in since the last blog: We spent New Years in a beautiful little anchorage called Carizol near Santiago Bay with 6 other cruising boats-Kayaking was great in this area and Tiffany (from the boat Blue Plains Drifter) and I had a great time kayaking, swimming and snorkeling. After a few days in Santiago Bay, we headed back to Barra de Navidad. I flew home for two weeks to visit family and friends and work ONE day. I certainly can’t complain about that.. My friends and supervisor at work are all so supportive and interested in our adventures. I realize how fortunate we are to have this opportunity to be enjoying the beautiful scenery as we sail thru the waters of Mexico. It felt good to be home. It was nice to NOT have the language barrier and the familiar feeling of HOME. Even though we really don’t have a house! I stayed with Rena in the dorm for a few days and with Bill and Jan and Karen. My brother in law gets the “good guy” award-He had my car detailed - spotlessly cleaned inside and out. This was a treat to drive a car, and a clean car at that! Considering that I had stuff from moving up to the property, stuff that I thought I would take sailing but changed my mind at the last minute. So, Bud being the nice guy, had all of this junk packed neatly into plastic bags! Upon my return to Puerto Vallarta, I stayed one night at a hotel before leaving on a bus for the 4 hour trip back to Barra de Navidad. I was met at the bus station by Terry and Bill from the boat Miela. It was a little tough with the suitcases on the uneven cobblestone streets-but, it felt good to be back to the warmth and comfort of our floating home. Terry was busy while I was gone, he studied and took his ham license (passed with 100%) pretty impressive since he was sick for a 24 hour period before the test. He was so excited he took off in the dinghy and lost his wallet (he believes that it sits on the bottom of the barra lagoon) We purchased a Pactor modem which provides a way to connect via SSB radio to transmit and recieve email! This should be a great way to keep in touch while we are away from internet in the sea of cortez.