Cleat's Known Universe

In San Carlos and ready... Almost

2012-01-28T07:48:00.000-08:00


Faith, with new life lines before cleaning

This year we are really, really late getting to the boat. Actually, it turned out that Faith is cleaner and drier than in years past!

It is significant, too, that we have our friend Mike with us. He caravan-ed down with us to get a sense of this cruising thing. He is also helping to repair some issues that we need to correct before we do the El Salvador Rally (hopefully next season). He strung my new life lines on at a faster pace than I was able to and yesterday we attacked the leaking main water tank!! This was while the boat yard guys washed and waxed Faith until she shined like new so we just chugged away at the task inside the boat while they polished her up. By about 2:00 p.m. we were ready for a break at JJ's while the cleaner/waxer chaps had about another hour, to an hour and a half to go. We got back to the yard after lunch to find them still working away but the boat looked magnificent!

The tank problem is going to take a good while to fix. We succeeded in getting down to the tank but now need to figure out where the leak is and then get it repaired... likely welded. At this point I don't think we will be able to bring the tank out of the boat because it appears that they built the boat around the tank before they fastened the deck on.

In any case, there is about 5 days until we are scheduled to splash the boat and that date can be changed. It might need to be changed anyway because the marina is very full and we have to take the tide into account to get a valid splash day.

Another Season... Finally!!!

2012-01-17T15:47:00.000-08:00

Okay, we are headed south again and that's as much as I have time for today. At the moment we are in Chandler, AZ waiting a couple of days before going on to Tucson (Tux) and then to Mexico. The boat awaits with projects galore.

In Vancouver I rebuilt the life lines, and readied myself for the re-install of the aft head. There is probably a leak in the main water tank so I am steeling myself for the assault on that issue.

How I Spent My Summer Vacation

2011-09-10T08:56:00.000-07:00

It took a little time to get back to Vancouver from Mexico this year... I mean, what's the hurry? We like to stop at National Parks and get our passport stamped and collect the odds and ends that the gift shops have to offer as well as see some of the park. Some days we cover 150 miles while others we might go 350 miles. When I was younger I thought nothing of pounding out 600 miles or more in a day but now, towing a trailer and being more or less retired, 150 - 350 miles is just fine.

We stop to see shows in Las Vegas, since it's on the way. We do not even move along every day. This year, too, we have Abby the boat/RV dog to think about as we go. She likes it when we are somewhere for a couple of days and walk her a bit more. On the road she stays in the kennel cage all day and even with frequent stops it is clear at the end of the day when she gets back into the travel trailer that she knows where home is. Stopping at Emigrant Lake near Ashland, Oregon was fun since our friends, Ken and Linde, are camp hosts there.

As summer went along we stayed first at the same RV park in Hazel Dell in Vancouver but then decided to spend a month at a park in Fairview on the other side of the Columbia river near Portland. That park has more trees and grass and other than the fact that it is a longer way to a lot of the stuff we do it was great getting to know a new place... a new area. There was one dinner we went out to there where they serve a specialty of chicken and dumplings over looking Oxbow Park along a river. It was great and relaxing (even a little spendy) but well worth the visit. Watching the people floating down the river on inner tubes was reminiscent of the Salt River activity in Arizona... very relaxing just watching.

The scooter came out of storage in Florence and has been a good way to get around. That leaves the truck for Sandy to have a freedom that I know she appreciates. The scooter is a wonderful way to get around as long as I can find a way to avoid the freeways. Obviously, if I have get across the Columbia I have to pop up on the freeway to get onto the bridge. Ovre-all the scooter goes about 60 - 65 mph but the bridges top out at 55 mph so it's not really a problem.

For a bit we left Fairview and went to Mount Rainier national park for four days then on to Cathlamet, Washington for the Sea of Cortez Cruisers rally. That's a yearly ritual that has the Linen Sisters ( a bit of a story for another time) playing cards ("sorting the laundry") for the fours days of the get together.

After that it was back to the Hazel Dell park. Just before we went to Cathlamet we met up with Sandy's realtor friend Nancy and started looking around at houses and duplexes. That led us to spending a lot of hours looking at all sorts of properties with the idea that perhaps there was something there for us. A couple of days ago we made an offer on a house so we will see how that progresses. The banks these days are reputedly pretty non-functional so it may keep us here in Vancouver a little longer than we would normally be.

The World Up to Puerto Escondido

2011-06-01T16:15:00.000-07:00

We have been on the mooring ball in Puerto Escondido for the Loreto Fest for several days now. The L-Fest is now concluded and the wind has come up to trap us on the boat for a few extra days. The sail across from Mazatlán was exceptionally calm and enjoyable with our guest, Julie taking a watch. At two hours per watch we had 4 hours off watch to catch a bit of sleep or just relax. It was just about perfect… until the last three or so hours. A near to full moon helped when it came up around midnight making for a fine night time watch. Before the last three hours we had to slow the boat down so that we would get in at daybreak. That was when the wind piped up and the seas got a little crazy. Overall though we had fine time crossing to the Baja side and skipped La Paz, opting instead for connecting at Isla San Francisco about fifty miles north of La Paz.

It was during this passage that Abby, the boat dog, became much more the boat dog. She now knows all the signs of our getting ready to travel. She notices when we tighten the dingy down, check the lines holding the jerry cans of fuel to the board on the side, putting things away below decks and generally checking everything. She starts to act a bit more subdued and is watching us very, very carefully. Her favorite place when we are underway is the corner of the settee, which just so happens is THE place aboard that has the easiest motion. She discovered this all on her own during the first passage this season. When it is pleasant sailing she is tolerant of our activity but when things get a bit stirred up she starts shaking and is fairly pissed, irritated, annoyed and just plain cranky. When she is in the cockpit she is clipped onto her line and does not venture out on deck. She, unlike so many dogs we know, does not have problem using her baño pad or just taking care of business otherwise in the cockpit. For some this may seem like an inconvenience but for us it is preferable and keeps Abby healthier.

Another issue we have faced with Abby is her nearly boundless puppy energy! We throw all manner of stuff in the boat for her to chase. It is not always practical to take her to shore to run this off. She has what we now call, “crazy dog” times. We open the doors below decks and then encourage her to run from the settee to the aft berth and back as many times as she wants. Being fast and agile she takes to this activity like a wild greyhound. Round and round she goes!! Her leaping ability is complicating some aspects of life aboard too. There is not too much that is inaccessible for her… this includes counter tops. When we come back to Faith after a trip ashore that did not include Abby we open the hatch wondering what she has gotten into. A recent problem was when she ate about half an avocado and some chocolate while we were off the boat. Mostly this resulted in a wired dag keeping us awake much of the night. She knows the counter top is off limits but still goes there sometimes and has to be reminded.

When in port, she is confident of herself to the point that she will do perimeter checks every so often around the deck and this also lets us know when someone is coming down the dock. Even so she does not bark as much as many dogs and has had an occasional “conversation” with passing dogs wherein she growls in an extended way more than barks. Gradually Abby is socializing with dogs and such… she is already quite social with people and wants to be in the middle of every conversation aboard. Taking this pup from Ashland, Oregon’s shelter has turned out to be one of the best forms of entertainment aboard Faith and I will continue to be glad that we rescued her.

Knee Update

2011-04-09T15:04:00.000-07:00

The results are mostly in from the knee surgery here in Mexico. For the most part it is good. I mean, here it is almost two weeks past the cutting and the mending seems well under way. I am walking, all-be-it with the steadying influence of a crutch, but each day is a little better than the day before. Today I may have been encouraged to go a “bridge too far,” but survived the trek to downtown Mazatlán and back (via both bus and taxi). Over the course of the last two weeks the process has been mostly good. There was a miserable first night but after that it has been better by far.

The doctor has been great in explaining what is going on at each stage and when I said it hurt he had solutions immediately ready. Initially I had figured to be out of commission for a lot longer than has been the case. The cost has been manageable in that it was near what was expected. Well, the doctors fee was slightly higher than initially expected but I think really still within reason. Here’s a break down of what has happened so far:

Pesos Dollars (12:1)

Taxis 790.00 65.83

Bus 20.00 1.67

X-ray 400.00 33.33

Blood Test 340.00 28.33

Dr. Olmeda 25500.00 2125.00

Nurse 1500.00 125.00

Anesthesiologist 4500.00 375.00

Clinic 4400.00 366.67

Prescriptions 1503.00 125.25

Crutches 353.00 29.42

Totals 39306.00 3275.50

So, if this is close to the end of the expenses that’s a pretty good indication of the final on all this. I will report back later on the final, final but for now this should be a clear enough picture. This does not include the extra cost of staying still in Mazatlán to get all this done, but I would have been somewhere!!

Sights & Sounds

2011-03-28T08:36:00.000-07:00

     Sometimes there are things that bring back small enjoyments from another time. We are in Mazatlán, Sinaloa, Mexico in a small marina that has the plus of not being very busy. The facilities are good but limited and the distance to get to anything, buses, restaurants, or shopping is a little more than, say, Marina Mazatlán or El Cid, is slightly more than is “easy”.

     Although I just had knee surgery (two days ago) this is not about that. Due to the surgery I am spending the nights in the salon on the bed we made up from the table there. It is not a perfect bed but it is easier to get around than if I was in the aft suite trying to hike myself up to the higher bed there. In any event, this morning I was nudged awake by the dog, Abby, who spends part of each night split between my temporary bed and the usual bed in the aft cabin. On waking there was instantly a smile on my face that I soon realized was from a familiar sound more than from Abby’s gentle persuasion to get up. In the last few years we spend the majority of our “Mexico” time much further south than Mazatlán and there are sights and sounds there that I now think of as Home (grackles make a great sound for instance) but there is something missing. Part of reason is that when are anchored out we are too far from shore to hear anything less loud than distant traffic.

     I can now hear you asking, “So, what is it that you heard?”

     From my years of living in Arizona the most constant morning or quiet time sound you can hear is the cooing of the three types of dove that reside there year round. The Morning Dove, White Winged Dove and the diminutive Inca Dove all make the subtle coo that is the back drop for mornings with coffee on the porch or companions on quiet walks through the desert. It is the sound that has secretly meant “home” to me since I was very young. That is what brought the smile to me this morning and I recognized the missing ingredient as it brought the warmth of home back to me. Do not be confused about this; I love my cruising life but it was a welcome, refreshing find this morning.

Tsunami and After

2011-03-16T07:22:00.000-07:00

You might want to watch this full screen!!

Our experience was very interesting all these miles away but I cannot fully comprehend what this short video is saying... it would have been very scary to be in closer proximity.

To Bash Or Not To...

2011-03-01T14:42:00.000-08:00

An unrelated picture from last summer's Wooden Boat Festival

So, if you checked out Sandy’s blog about the trip north from Barra de Navidad to Chamela then La Cruz de Huanacaxtle you know the story of trying to bash northward in some worsening conditions and the tale of the retry. In the last twenty or so years I have been on boats that turned around due to weather developments underway five times.

The first time was a supposed to be a weekend jaunt from San Diego to Ensenada. We had two Ericson 29’s in tandem as we left San Diego headed south; both with crews in search of a new experience. This was when I was in the very early stages of learning to sail. My off-shore clock had only started to turn in the arc of the first few degrees of travel. We jumped out of the truck and went directly to the dock and tossed our gear bags aboard almost as the dock lines were being uncleated. Well, almost, we had driven from Phoenix and gotten to the dock the night before on a long weekend. It was Saturday morning when we took off and there was a fresh breeze as we slipped out past the submarine base at Point Loma. It felt like there was going to be a great adventure ahead of us.

As the day went along the seas started to build and the wind got a bit beyond fresh. By nightfall things were getting boisterous. Since the goal was only to get to Ensenada and return after a celebratory hoisting of a tankard at Husong’s we were not heavily invested in actually getting there. After all, it was just a long weekend and the hidden goal was to get off shore experience. By the wee hours, as we tacked back and forth trying to get any sort of southing it was clear that there would not be enough time to actually get all the way to Ensenada and make it back to the slip in San Diego in time to drive back to Phoenix in time for work. At daybreak the turn around decision was as easy to predict as it gets. Yup, got the miles under the keel and “mission accomplished” was muttered by eight of us. As an aside, if we had landed in Ensenada we would have had to check in at the police dock for immigration/customs when we returned to San Diego, taking up more time.

Time passes and more time sailing here and there happens. I got invited to come along as crew on a boat going from San Diego to San Francisco. This was a fun delivery… the owner/captain (Hartley) wanted to slug the boat north so that his family could join him for the down hill ride returning to San Diego. As we rounded Point Conception (northwest of Santa Barbara, CA) at near 19:00 all things were calm and enjoyable. We were passing the flares of the oil rigs as I came off watch to go below for some rest. I slept awhile but was awakened by the crashing sounds of the boat hitting heavy swell. I rolled over and looked at the clock to note that I still had an hour or so before my next watch would start. As I was drifting off there was a significant BANG from the bow. I flew out of the bunk and was in the companionway in a flash. My friend Bud was already buckling himself in my harness in preparation of going out on deck. The Skipper was attaching the tethers to the jack lines and telling me to grab the wheel and turn us downwind. As I looked forward there was no forestay attached to the bow but a large bundle of what had been the foresail whipping around. There were two brothers onboard who had lost their father at sea not far from where we were. I have always felt for them since that day, they had to have felt a strong panic. I did manage to get the boat turned around; the guys on the foredeck managed to corral the errant fore stay and part of the sail (much of the sail was now in the water) and attach a halyard to the bow. Once the sail was out of the water, we limped into San Simeon to lick our considerable wounds. The forestay had exploded from a one inch diameter of wound wire to a two foot mass of sharp wire ends (that had punched numerous holes in the foresail). OUR turn around was one of the most dramatic ones I have heard about in the years since then. The brothers got off the boat in Santa Barbara and the rest of us got the boat back to San Diego for repairs and the next attempt to do the same trip later.

The next time I looked at a turn around I was on my own boat (Visigoda). By that time I had a bunch of experience and was feeling pretty confident about my abilities and judgment. I was going north in the Sea of Cortez on a nice southerly breeze when I turned the corner at Bahia Concepción to go to Santispac. As I entered the channel (narrow by some standards) I tried three times to tack into the wind while staying in the channel in my heavy cruising boat. Okay, so finally, I just said never mind and turned around to find an anchorage -- the one I found was not very good but it worked at the time. Today I would still have turned around but I know of a much better anchorage.

A few years later I went to Mexico to crew for friends doing a crossing from Mazatlán to La Paz. It was a wonderfully warm spring day when we left the dock and I was looking forward to sailing one of my very favorite boats. As we left the harbor there was a sweet breeze blowing and we quickly had the boat moving nicely in the swell. You can see the “but…” coming by now. By near nightfall the wind had kicked up substantially and we started bashing into ever increasing waves. .” It was the Skipper (Alan) who said, “I am not having any fun.” “Okay, there are only a few choices.” I said, “We haul off a few degrees and make for a point lower on the Baja side; we can ramp up the motor and continue bashing; or, we can turn around and go back to Mazatlán.” It was quickly agreed to turn around and find Mazatlán in the dark. That seems to sum up the essence of my philosophy on the matter. “If it’s not fun do something else,” would put the finer point to it. I might mention here that we got back to Mazatlán around midnight and a bunch of cruisers met us at the entrance to the harbor in dinghies with flashlights to guide us in. As it turned out we got some sleep and left again the next morning for one of the best passages I can recall in the last twenty years.

So, now comes the time we are coming up from the Chamela anchorage moving toward La Cruz. It was the moment when I saw the look on Sandy’s face and heard the, “I am not having fun,” just after we had almost come to a halt after bashing over a larger than average wave in worsening conditions that defined the next decision. “Let’s turn around and wait for a better weather window.”

I doubt that it will be the last time that this happens as I continue sailing. Fortunately my personal philosophy includes the permission to do so… I have nothing to prove to anyone and will give voice to the thought as soon as I can recognize that it needs to be said!!

Nieto Jordan

2011-02-12T09:42:00.000-08:00

Jordan at the Crocs!!

So, it came to pass that Sandy’s grandson, Jordan, came down for a visit this season. It is a pretty good fit for us because he was able to continue his school work via the internet as he normally would. When Sandy and I first talked about this visit we knew there were a few things that we would need to do to make it happen.

Getting along with the adults...

First of all we needed to get Jordan a passport. You just cannot travel until that requirement is complete, so, last summer while we were in Vancouver we took Jordan to the Post Office and started the process. Since we needed parental signatures it was necessary to make a second trip to fully accomplish that. It was easily done and we heard very soon that he had received his brand new, good for five years, passport. For minors the requirement is that the passport is good for a shorter time than the normal ten years for adults. He also had a preview of cruising because we taught him to play Mexican Train (dominoes) while he was with us for his passport excursion.

We bought a one way ticket for him and that caused a momentary bit of excitement when his father, Chris, noticed it. “Umm, are we going to get him back sometime?” We had figured out that it might be easier to find out how much he would like the trip before deciding how long his visit should be. As you will see we might have been able to extend his time far beyond what we have given him.

We bussed into Puerto Vallarta from La Cruz de Huanacaxtle and waited patiently for Jordan to pop out of the customs door. It took a lot longer than usual, perhaps because there were three planes that came in within a fifteen minute time frame. Soon enough though out popped Jordan and we were on our way back to the boat. The first order of business was to feed the young fellow which, oddly enough became a recurring theme, so we marched off to find an open restaurant. Having come to El Rey de Bombaro and, soon to be dubbed Nieto Jordan, having perused the menu we settled into watching his surprise when his order of fried fish was delivered. He thought he was going to get something like fish sticks but, of course, received a whole (here’s looking at you) fried fish (red snapper).

Favorite sport... eating.

Over the next few weeks we stopped at Tacos on the Street several times to fill up El Nieto. We learned that Philo’s has no extra charge for Coca Cola refills and that Nieto J likes refills on his plate of ribs. Leon, from Philo’s band, tried to get him to play the washboard with him but Nieto J steadfastly refused to be lured in. We also learned that he was very good about doing his school work and, further, that he lived up to deals to drive the dinghy… ½ an hour of rowing the hard dinghy earned him an hour of driving the inflatable with its 8 h.p. motor! Nieto J’s oft heard, “I like it here!!” was the back drop for walks on the beach, stops at the local open market and similar “Mexico” experiences. Our first run over to the Bucerias market streets was fun if only because El Nieto had not even fully stepped onto the street when he had blown his first $200 (pesos) on a trinket. “Almost free,” as the vendor said… there was no bargaining or discussion just buying. His next few purchases were much more involved and I think that he had learned a thing or three from that first experience.

Standard walking tour of a small town

When our friends, Michael and Gabrielle, arrived he was still with us, living in his cave (the V berth) and then joined them for a Zip Lining trip. Our fishing jaunt was more fun than I can say!!

The part of the haul we kept

We went to do a turtle release but arrived just as the turtles were let go so he only saw the tail end of that experience without the informative lecture. We tried to fill him in as best we could recall from our visit there last year and he seemed to enjoy the whole thing fairly well. Our trips into Sayulita and Puerto Vallarta were via bus and we found that this experience was among the least liked. It was the jostle of the over packed busses that made it so far down the list. Nieto J likes taxis quite well however!! We found him to be an adventurous eater too. He did at least try everything that came his way and he said he liked most of it. Low on that list was the jicama in lime juice sprinkled with chili power. High on the list was any sort of fish, tortilla soup or, naturally, hamburgesas!!! He liked the tacos, the enchiladas, the tamales, the chips with salsa and sooo much more as well!!

El Nieto "enjoying" the bus

The “sailing” we did from La Cruz to Tenacatita was a little queasy but he held up pretty well; sleeping in the cockpit on an over night passage is not my idea of a good time but it seemed to keep his sea sickness in check. The whales and dolphins along the way were appreciated as was driving the big boat. A bus ride over to La Manzanilla to see the crocs seems to have been a hit too. We have lived on the boat for several days at anchor now as well (almost two weeks) and he seems quite comfortable now. He is allowed to go out by himself to Barra de Navidad, taking the water taxi in as needed and he seems a good bit more independent than when he got here. His few words of Spanish are not yet enough to sustain long trips to town or any serious shopping but he does communicate what he needs and has learned a lot about how to get around here. As nearly as we can tell El Nieto has enjoyed the cruising lifestyle (I mean, what’s NOT to like?) and the cruisers themselves. He is very comfortable around adult discussion and fits into what we are doing. Over all I have to say that Jordan will want to come down again sometime. The good news is that he will be welcomed and enjoyed. Now we are waiting to see what color his parents have painted his bedroom in anticipation of his return. We understand that it may be pink!!

"I like Mexico!!" He was heard to say.

First Passages

2010-12-15T15:10:00.000-08:00

Marina Mazatlán

First passages for any season of cruising can be a bit “over the top” because you may have lost your sea legs in the four or five months since you left the boat for the summer. This year we added to the issue by having a small party the night before leaving port by way of inviting Steve and Kristin from Nautilus and Michael from Sea Venture over for dinner. It turns out that everyone thought they should bring wine and for the most part we had way too much of it! Leaving port with a bit of a hang over is a tradition for some but not so much for us. Definitely a habit to be avoided. One of the things that I enjoy is a send off where someone pops over to see us off and hands us our dock lines. It saves me hopping aboard Faith from the dock… the boat has a pretty good freeboard so “hopping” aboard can mean quite a leap; that might just be a leap of Faith. Anyway, Ken and Linde from Rosebud handed us lines and we backed out of the slip and into a new adventure!!

Abby enjoying the boat NOT moving

This year, of course, we have the new boat dog, Abby. She gradually gained her sea legs but the real test will be the next time we are going somewhere. Will she vote to get off the boat? Anyway, it took awhile but she did very well on our three day passage from San Carlos to Mazatlán. By the third day she was frisky again and liked being in the cockpit part of the time. There is a better post about all this on Sandy’s blog. When we left San Carlos the boat needed cleaning, again, but there just was not enough time to do this, again. Most of the major jobs had been done but that is almost always the case for us. Get done what is safety related and keep the list for the next port! This is such a great life… follow the sun and keep it easy and fun!! There is always work to be done but do not do too much at a time. That was something of the thinking when we left San Carlos.

One dinghy... AZ registration??

We checked the grib files and knew we had a good weather window for a longer passage. The gribs said calm for most of the first day and no wind over 15 knots for the whole trip. As it turned out we may have had a bit of wind around eighteen knots (that’s when the white caps start looking large) but it was from a direction pushing us nicely along at 7 knots then we surfed the boat up to around 9 and 10 knots!! Wheee!!! That’s when you can feel the surge pass under the boat as the wave passes… just before the wave gets amidships there is a definite power up as the boat accelerates trying to keep pace with the wave. We needed only the jib (forward sail) to run the boat. That is a fairly forgiving point of sail so you do not worry about accidentally jibing the boat and causing damage to your rig. As we went along about the end of day two the fog closed in on us with a smack of colder air and we played dodge boat with the shrimp boats keeping our radar on. It cleared for awhile when we hove to for a nicer dinner and bit of sleep so that we would reach Mazatlán in daylight. This we did thus arriving about daybreak meant seeing the jetty at the entrance was much easier. Another passage completed and a new day to see the world in a fresh light!!

Cycles of Renewal

2010-11-22T08:00:00.000-08:00

Faith in the dusty work yard

There are cycles to many things that we experience in life. For me, at this point, one repetition is the renewal I feel when the boat goes back into the water. Even though I know it will represent a string of work to make it ready for cruising for a season I look forward to much of that work. It is the real price we pay for living freely on passages and at anchor during the best season in Mexico… and, maybe later, further afield.

On the way to the boat ramp

When we put the boat to bed for the summer there is a part of me that does not want to leave. Someday perhaps we will stay for the summer and see what that would be like. The main word is probably HOT; that seems like the obvious part. It also seems to me that we would experience another side of cruising. I suspect that the fishing gets better and better along with the heat. I know that the Dorado start running wildly after the beginning of June so that might be a big plus for staying through the summer. Another thing that I suspect is that there would less of a shock in keeping the boat up on a steady basis than all the getting ready that goes on for the first few weeks we are back to the boat. The downside might be that we would not have those trinkets to bring back from the States and install to make life a little better each season. Yes, I have to admit that the new stuff we bring with us makes life aboard just bit nicer each year. The LED lights are using less energy. The new composting toilet should be a good thing. Re-bedding the stanchions will make rain more comfortable below deck. Retrieving and replacing the halyard that broke at the end of last season is a requirement but one that has a nice new line to handle. Getting the remote VHF radio back in line will be safer. Putting the wheels on the dinghy will make beach landings safer. The new motor that my brother loaned us will make things safer as well because it has an automatic shut off for those same beach landings. The new (yet to be named) dinghy is a vast improvement over the old and melting dinghy (Elvis). The new LED navigation lights are making us more visible at night. The smallest improvement is install a fresh O-ring on the propane feed line much safer than the “bodged” incorrectly sized one I had to use at the end of last season because I could not find one the correct size. Renewing the bottom paint and retouching the top bright work will make things nicer. It appears too that we are in need of a fresh Stereo because the old one does not play any more. This list goes on and on; you are seeing perhaps 10% of the total.

Splash!!

As I mentioned at the start there is always a lot of work at the beginning of the season… as there is in a constant stream while cruising. It is easier to see the total effect when you face it all at once upon returning to the boat. That is what makes the cycle so visible. Coming home to the boat after dirt cruising is always interesting. Just so you know too, I have already started the list for when we come back to the RV after this season of cruising is finished.

2010-11-06T17:29:00.000-07:00

This may be a slightly longer post due to subject matter.

We left Tucson on Friday morning in hopes of reaching San Carlos, Sonora by Happy Hour. Our first stop was for gas just before we got to The Line and I ended up getting a receipt for the transaction. This will play a part in this tale and is significant because I often choose not to get a receipt. There is now a stop on our side of The Line where they might explain to you that is illegal to take $10,000 or more in cash to Mexico… it is apparently desired that all transactions of any size be traceable, hence the restriction. We were ushered through the stop and set aside since we were towing the trailer so we did not have to traverse the Maze with the whole rig and we popped across The Line following a large truck and made our way to the first Red light / Green light station on the toll road (Mariposa exit).

Holding the collective breath we Green lighted and slowly began to pull away when a youngish official waved to stop. He had seen the outboard motor in the back of the truck and wanted to chat. This is a problem he explained in Spanish; we needed to pay taxes on the outboard. In crossing many times with outboards in plain view AND having once paid taxes on one that did not accompany a boat I knew that the rule was that a small boat with a motor was exempt but he seemed insistent (We discussed the issue with the young officer but he did not accede to the notion of the dinghy and motor being part of the Temporary Import Permit for Faith, nor did he understand that the two items constituted a unit and were exempt.) so I agreed to make a point of stopping at the Kilometer 21 customs office to see what was correct to do about this problem. At K-21 we got our FM-3’s stamped and made for the Aduana’s, who, in turn, sent us to the Banjercito (bank) window. Our first shot we did not have all the documents in hand so we came back after a visit to the travel trailer with more documents. When the teller looked everything over she decided we were still missing “something” (in Spanish) and sent us with a note back to the Aduana’s window. She said that we did not have the boat trailer title and when I explained that it was small boat and did not have a trailer she said we needed to go back to Nogales, Arizona and have it all inspected by the Conapesca office (the committee for Fishing). She repeated this several times and had no idea where this office might be in Nogales or what the phone number would be. It was a bit before 2:00 in the afternoon so we pointed our rig north again and joined the line at The Line only wait two hours to cross back into the U.S. of A.!!

When we finally got to the border officer he was visibly sorry to tell us that we did need agricultural inspection and we were concerned that the things we had purchased in Tucson would be confiscated. The first (young) officer to approach was clearly of a mind to thoroughly inspect and confiscate food items on the no-no list. An experienced officer joined in to explain that K-21 was the “turn around” and that we had not exceeded the distance required to make necessary a full inspection. The young officer asked if we had any proof that we had only shortly before crossed the line, say, a receipt or some such. Indeed we did!! So we were allowed to proceed. Whew!!

We hauled the trailer all over Nogales asking questions and looking for the supposed Conapesca office. This led to several interesting traffic situations but after an hour and a half we gave up and went looking for an RV park. Ending up in Amado was mildly disappointing until we discovered that RV park was one of the better ones we have stayed in. We determined that we would not take the trailer for the assault on officialdom the next day (Saturday). Entering Nogales, Arizona again we did a perfunctory search for the imaginary office and decided that no such place existed. I took a picture of the motor and dinghy in the back of the truck and we crossed The Line again going south. At the first customs station we Red lighted but the young woman looked at the documents and as soon as I said we were going to the Aduana’s at K-21 she smiled nicely and waved us on. Now at K-21 I went directly to the bank window and passed the documents (which only consisted of the Certificates of Origin for the dinghy and the motor, the TIP for Faith and, just in case, the fishing licenses we picked up in San Diego along with the camera with picture). I handed over the documents and began my explanation. It was clearly grinding to a halt again until I pressed the camera with the picture to the glass of the window and said it was a small boat, “Es en una bolsa, mire” (it’s in a bag, see). The light bulb went on for the teller and scooted off to chat with a supervisor. The supervisor asked that we move to her window (allowing the others in line to get their business done) and we told the story again. She disappeared and I saw her at the Aduana’s (Customs) window talking very animatedly. We waited and when she got back we were told to go to the Customs window. Presenting ourselves there again we turned over our documents and the young lady looked at everything and asked that we drive the boat and motor around through the Declare line at Red light / Green light.

Okay, off we go… pulling into the area an official came over and we pulled into a shaded area at his direction. I went back to the window after awhile because nothing was happening… nobody at the window… hmmm, back to the truck. Another young official came over and I handed the paperwork to her just as the official from the window popped onto the scene. The paperwork was handed over and the gal from the window sought out an elder official. He came over while listening to the explanation and looked into the back of the truck. “Are you going to use the boat and motor for fishing?” He asked. Okay, so we are on track. “Yes, we are using this for fishing some of the time.” I said. “Then quit asking so many questions; you are good to go!” he responded, “Go!” Of course, I am paraphrasing all the conversations in Spanish.

Unfortunately we did not have the trailer with us at the time!! In any case, we had paid at the RV park to stay until Monday morning so we headed north again. It took only THREE hours to get back in Arizona this time. This system is more broken than I can understand. It is not because there are so many people crossing the border at any particular time. I will save this rant for another time. When Monday came we loaded up and pointed south again. Same drill on the U.S. side and then we Green lighted at the first Customs station. We pulled through the RV lane at K-21 the young fellow assigned to us came over, glanced in the bed of the truck, and asked to gain access to the trailer. He looked at the chaos and made a retreat for the door, wishing us a good trip.

Voom, we are through all of the hassle zone and I have learned not to try so hard to do things in some perfect way… and asking too many questions. What I had wanted was a piece of paper saying that it was okay to bring the motor into the country, what I got was a verbal,

“Okay”! Good enough for cruisers.

The Season Begins (Again)

2010-10-28T16:35:00.000-07:00

Arizona - Sonora Desert Museum has cool stuff

Well, well, well… Here we are, ready to jump across the southern border again. This is the third season and I, for one, am intrigued by what we will find this time! We have included plans for a different experience in several ways this season. First, we will have Sandy’s (and by inference, mine as well) grandson joining us in or around Puerto Vallarta. That is likely to be too much fun in so many ways. This would be the first person younger than 20 years of age to stay on the boat with us! We have also planned a stop in Topolobampo for a detour into Copper Canyon via train. Naturally, there will be a variety of people popping in and out as we move around in Mexico so I am certain that there will be adventures derived from that alone.

Some items of curiosity are: Will we have hassles about anything that we are bringing over the line? Is there a real issue (as we have heard recently) with rock throwers in Hermosillo? Is the highway still in good shape? Have we remembered everything we need for projects once we get there? Will the composting marine head fit and work as we have envisioned? There are just too many things swinging in the wind for us to be sure right now. There is sooo much work to do when we get there. Only time and effort will tell if we have planned well enough. With the new dog aboard there will be challenges there as well, I am just sure of it.

I did find out this afternoon that Abby (the dog) is a Democrat. I had finished up my ballot to send it back to Washington before we leave tomorrow and she must have suspected that I might have put in one or two votes for Republicans (she will likely vote a straight ticket) so she ate the envelope while I was out on a last minute gathering of list items. I know that sounds suspiciously like, “the dog ate my homework,” BUT since I rarely vote a “straight” ticket she may discerned my direction and decided immediate action was required. In any event, the mauled ballot was patched up and will be sent off to be recorded.

We understand, too, that raccoons are invading the docks at Marina Real in San Carlos. They have become quite brazen apparently and have boarded boats in search of food or shelter. That’s a giant, “Yikes!!!” if I think too hard about it. I mean, I can see waking up to the face of a raccoon string at me from the hatch over our bunk and hoping I can close the hatch before Sandy wakes up!!! Too much of a problem!! I have, in the past, seen them (raccoons) in the garbage cans in San Carlos Marina devastating the refuse. They are quite nasty if they feel threatened. Anyway, this is something to ponder as we drive south. The possible images are terrifying!!

Infrastructure

2010-10-24T08:59:00.001-07:00

Sorry, there are just no pictures adequate to add to this post...

As a non-political statement I have found that the roads in California have been allowed to deteriorate substantially. What I mean here is that our twice a year contact with I-5 going to or from Mexico and Washington state has a bouncy component in the middle of California. The infrastructure has been let fly by the governing mob of the state under the cry of, “Budget Crisis” which, I am sure, is in an acute state of fiscal reality in most states these days.

The road bed on much of I-5 has been beaten senseless by the too many vehicles traversing the long north/south corridor. There has been little or no repair in long stretches of the road and neglect is the main component of its current state. There are some perfectly pleasant sections but they are incredibly brief. It seems that there will be some serious prices to pay to fix the problem at some as yet undermined time in the future. While I am not at all clear on how the funding mechanism works in terms of federal versus state amounts but it seems that Some Money is surely available… just not now for that purpose.

If this road is in this condition (barely functional in places) it begs the question, “What other designated infrastructure is in so deep a trouble?” What has become of the funding for schools? Why has the crisis of the moment been extended for so long? Are dams and bridges in as much trouble? There is serious money in the government of California and from observation of the workings of the taxman in that state (one in which I would never choose to live with the possible exception of San Diego) there is a very active taxing authority there as well. If the legislative and executive branches do not solve these problems there is very little need for them. On a state level they exist to cooperatively deal with these infrastructure matters. If they cannot execute that responsibility then why have them around? For all the wrangling I have seen on TV as we travel down the state in this election cycle it is clear only that the politicos exist in some fairly rarified air and have just as clearly lost touch with clarity of thought. “Magical Thinking” is all I can think of to describe this idiocy of blame and stupidity. Pointing fingers at each other has absolutely no place in this debate.

The commercial interests of the state will suffer from the lack of infrastructure. The public at large is suffering from the under maintained roads. The number of trucks plying the roadway tells you that without decent roads the costs of maintaining the trucks will increase and we will all pay for that in the marketplace. The underlying fabric of our national life is displayed in these ways and it should make you concerned for the future. This problem is NOT a matter of politics; it is a matter of loss of focus. It is a matter of a system going toward irrelevancy. It is a matter of an unsustainable system being picked apart by idiots.

Kiva = Microfinance; Next...

2010-10-21T16:01:00.000-07:00

As those watching this space for any time know I decided awhile ago to support Kiva and the micro-finance movement. Well, here is one of the founders of Kiva talking about an extension of that movement that may have the power of the original in a better way. Yes, the economy may suck at the moment but this idea has the power to do for the economy what the, now non-lending, banks fail to do when they are too large for regular people. You see, at this point anyway, I have far more than the average loans in the Kiva system but I see that more is needed here (in the U.S.A.) to promote the businesses that are trying hard to go forward in adverse conditions. It will still take "BIG" ideas to create new businesses but it can be done if the traditional bank is not in the picture.

I do not know what the future holds but I can applaud the good idea when I see it. This is a little over 18 minutes in length so you have to stick with it to get the point.

Ok, A Bit Off on Tangent

2010-10-12T12:55:00.000-07:00

A bit off of the usual path; We found a dog on-line but when we got to the shelter it was clear that this was not the right dog for us... However we did find a pup that was exactly the right one at the same place. We had been secretly looking for quite awhile.

We decided to call her Abby... no special reason, it just seems to fit!! What can I say? When the right dog comes along you are powerless.

No doubt this will change the adventure at times but that's okay by me. I mean, it was resisted for as long as I could hold out!

Southerly Direction

2010-10-09T14:44:00.000-07:00

Haystack Rock at Pacific City

We have started the trek south again and are making a whopping 60 or so miles per day! Well, we have our reasons, I suppose. First stop was Seaside, Oregon because there are friends there. The RV park was a pleasant place and we stayed for three days, checking in with Rod and Debo to have dinner and then shop a bit. Then on to Pacific City, Oregon where we found a great RV park across the street from the beach and the Pelican Brew Pub. Here is where we were surprised by the food served as much as enjoying the excellent beer. That was a two day stop. From there we landed in Florence, Oregon to visit family and ended up staying two days as well. From here we are going to Sutherlin, Oregon to visit more family. Then there will be a stop at Crater Lake followed by Ashland. Then the days will get a little longer as we get to the Redwoods and Sonoma Valley. After all the small distances we need to get much further south and expect to be in San Diego before the 22nd of October. That should put some hustle in the bustle!!

Just trees at Jessie M. Honeyman Memorial State Park, Oregon

The thing that I have discovered about these short days is that I am much less exhausted when setting up or tearing down camp each time. It is a lot easier on me to be going through the motions when I am not tired from driving all day and a leisurely time while stationary makes for a simpler pack up as well. If we stay someplace for a couple of days it usually means we get comfortable but do not get too spread out! When we roost for more than three days we start setting things up more completely and it takes a bunch longer to put it all away again.

Our pattern this summer has been leaps of no more than 350 miles per day which normally is a full day since we do not get up to higher speeds most of the time. It is an art to travel at these slower speeds but it is very rewarding. It used to be that I was all about the destination and 600 mile days were not out of the question. Now, however, we can stop for the least excuse and read plaques or take pictures at will. If we do not quite make it as far as we thought we would there is almost always an RV park wherever we find ourselves. Oh well, it makes for a great day to be less concerned with how far we need to go.

Crater Lake

What we are shooting for now, in the longer run that is, is to get to San Carlos before the end of the month. It will take a good effort to have the boat ready to go before the end of November if we get there by late October. I am hoping for a two week “get ready” this season but that is probably just wishful thinking on my part. After all I have to finish finishing the galley floor (a re-varnish job), install the new composting head, run lines everywhere, reinstall the BBQ (after a thorough cleaning), varnish the board that we attach the extra fuel cans to, install the new bow light, install the dinghy wheels on the new dinghy, fix some of the interior lights, put the dodger and bimini back on and, oh, whatever else I am not thinking of right now. There is always a bunch to do getting ready for the season again. We still have things (like the dinghy wheels and water filters) to purchase in San Diego not to mention the fishing licenses and… what am I forgetting? It will take us some time to have everything put together but who can say how fast it will come together? Last season I incorrectly thought that it would be two or three days to install the new windlass but, did I mention it took the better part of a week to finish that job? So, who knows how long all this will take!?!?

For now I am organizing the list and getting mentally prepared to go back to work!!

Just to add a picture...

2010-09-16T09:53:00.001-07:00

Hurricane Ridge in panorama... it was a good deal cooler at 5000 feet of elevation and we could see across the Straights of Juan de Fuca to Canada and east to Glacier Peak. Spectacular views everywhere.

Boats, Boats, Boats

2010-09-16T09:29:00.000-07:00

Yes, that's a Cal 20 Sailboat as a tender to the Trawler

Now that we are back in Vancouver (and, as I learned... that would be the Original Vancouver) I need to catch up a bit. We attended the Port Townsend Wooden Boat Festival for two days last week and then caught another ferry to Whidbey Island for a day. Of course, because we had a sunny day finally, we went to Hurricane Ridge above Port Angeles as well but missed out on a sailing trip into the San Juan Islands due to wanting to calm our travels a little!! The drive down from there the following day was anti-climactic in a way. We are now back in the RV Park where we spend our otherwise down time. It is now getting close to the time when we will turn further south and go to Mexico... that means there is lots to do to get ready.

There were more wooden boats than you could shake a stick at...

So, whirlwind trip(s) in the Northwest now completed we will organize our "other" trip.

All kinds of sailing craft at every turn!!

Trains, Planes & Ferries

2010-09-12T10:54:00.000-07:00

High Speed Ferry across the water to Victoria and Return

Hanging out in Comox and cruising by sail boat to some nearby islands had been laid back but filled with walks and explorations. It was time to head south again to Victoria then Port Angeles. We had left the truck in P. A. but the Travel Trailer (Errol) was still in Port Townsend. This meant a full day of driving around when we got back to Port Angeles because once we united the truck and the trailer we still had to come back to Sequim to set up for a stay. But I am getting ahead of myself. Our morning in Comox was slower getting started than it had been the previous few days. Angus had a breakfast cooked up in no time but we were just slow getting moving; this is no complaint at all. Once underway we had time for a walk around a local park with flora and fawna, (yes, I know it’s fauna, but this park had baby deer mingled with the adults and we got VERY close), then the air park...

...after a noodles sort of lunch of Vietnamese food. Yum, is all I can say about that. In any event it was finally time to say good bye, it was hard because we likely will not see Angus and Rolande for a long time since their general plan includes crossing the Pacific (the puddle jump) this coming season. Hugs all-round and we were on the train going back to Victoria. Until that moment I did not realize that this was Sandy’s first time on a train!!

We saw a lot of interior on the way!!

One thing about this train ride was that the whistle is liberally used at the many road crossings and another is that the forest does not allow for much view much of the time. I did not tire of the whistle but I would have liked more of the fantastic view. This is a place where scenery is captivating so what we could see was thoroughly noticed. There must be something about trains on this island because everywhere I saw people waving at us. Everywhere we went the people were more than just friendly… they were positively effusive and helpful. I have seldom been someplace where my “accent” was noticed so much… I do not hear it myself!!! As it happened Jean-Guy was waiting for us at the station and drove us a few blocks (it was truly close) to his home and we had a splendid dinner before retiring. It was extremely fun chatting our way into the evening. Hopping on the ferry going back to the U. S. of A. was slightly more complicated because we were going to have to go through customs/immigration… BUT, it is not nearly as nasty as the stupid way WE (Homeland Security) handle border crossings in Nogales, Arizona. Can we say, “Too much hassle”?? Having waited in line for more than an hour in Nogales it was good to just pop into line and spend a couple of minutes to get through the process. I will leave the idiocy of the current fear-mongering on U.S. radio and TV making life miserable for so many to a later day (this is something where the political middle line has disappeared in the mist of bombastic crap) and full book to follow. Whoopsy!! I digress way too much!! Suffice it that we did reunite truck and Errol and in the fading light settle in for a few hours to get up early the next day for a rapid trip (four hours) back to Vancouver, Washington for a medical check up and return as far as we could toward Sequim!! We made it to Olympia.

B. C. Mania

2010-09-12T09:02:00.000-07:00

Shortly after our arrival

There are times when you get to do something that you have long wanted to do. This is one of those sorts of stories. After the Cathlamet Cruiser’s Rally we went to Port Townsend and dropped off the Trailer (perhaps now named Errol) at our friend Sue’s house (that would be Sue of Sophie). Then we headed for Port Angeles and Catherine’s home. Now Catherine is someone that Sandy knew from growing up in P.A. and there are continued family ties there even though Sandy has not seen her for many years. We were fed and put up for the night and then deposited at the ferry dock to make our way to across the channel to Victoria, British Columbia. Catherine could not possibly have been a better hostess!! I have never been on that sized ferry before and as a family run business it was a great experience. After less than an hour crossing we were entering the customs and immigration area on the Canadian side and waving at Angus and Rolande of Periclees waiting to pick us up.

The Great & Colorful

Interesting Signage

We bopped around the downtown area for a few hours and included a shopping fix for us all; though our list of what we were looking for was pretty short it was a pleasant day of wandering. Traffic was interesting as we toured via Rolande’s mini-van after giving up on the shopping. This culminated in a stop for wine, and I have to say here that Canadian wine prices are high, before going to Jean-Guy and Fran’s of Gosling for dinner and a stay for the night. Talk about awesome, this was a fantastic night of fun and chat.The next morning Angus and Rolande took us to Butchart Gardens.

Small arch...

This is a place I had wanted see for a very long time. It lived up to expectations in triplicate!!! If you want a dose of gardening envy or inspiration this IS the place to come to. I know that initially Angus had hopes that we would cruise through this experience in a speedy fashion but he graciously succumbed to our slow pace quickly. Getting the chance to see such a wide variety of flowers arranged in so many ways was incredible. I am given to understand that it does not matter what season you go there (except the dead of winter) there is always a great experience awaiting you. By the time we got to the Hidden Garden, which we saved for last, we were floating on a garden high. There is simply no comparison with any garden I have ever seen before. The temperate climate here is the perfect place to carry out the vision of such a fantastic display.

Tiny portion of organization...

Form here we slowly cruised up the east coast of Vancouver Island visiting several small towns and crossing occasionally back to a relatively untraveled freeway. There were views to be appreciated at every turn and the camera rarely left my hand. What a nice place to live!!! On arriving at the Pericleesian’s home in Comox we had yet another great evening. Maybe later I will get around to incorporating some of this into an entry… suffice it to say that these are some wonderful folks living in an incredible place.

Bearly fun towns...

The next day we got on Evening Breeze with Jim and Donna (another couple we had met while we were in Mexico) and the Periclees crew after a breakfast omelet that included the Chinese from the night before. Evening Breeze is a Morgan 41 like Faith. The deal was for us to spend two or three days aboard cruising the Gulf Islands. Out we went to our first lesson… Jim dropped some prawn traps just outside the anchorage at Hornsby Island (Tribune Bay) and then four of us dinghied into shore for a romp around the path going inland for a bit then back around along the coast to the initial beach. When we got back aboard we retrieved the pots with only about nine prawns (Note: Jim had previously declared that we were not likely to catch much there but it was something to do while we were there). These were designated as breakfast prawn to be dealt with in a couple of days. Off to the better anchorage in Tribune bay and a party that night aboard.

The signs on the side of the Morris car said something about going around the world

In the morning we were treated to breakfast (including some of our left over Chinese food from a day earlier). Great omelet Angus!! Up the anchor came and we ended a bit of sailing with a very tight anchoring job in Codfish Cove at Jedediah Island. When I say, “Tight,” I mean it. We came in next to a rock wall to drop the anchor in about 30 feet of water then slew around to tie a line aft to a tree ashore! There was another boat there as well, in a place with room for not much more than that. Kudos to Jim for knowing how to go about this and still allow for the 15 foot tide!!
This time five of us hopped off the boat for a walk about. Fascinating place and views. It even included a helicopter landing for a picnic while we were there!!

With six people on board we were still comfortable, as we have been many times on Faith too. The meals were really well coordinated and the party atmosphere came from sailors who know how to get along. That is something that I think is one of the best things about the folks we have met while cruising… we tend to be some pretty happy people.
When we left Codfish Cove the wind had come up. Jim negotiated some narrows and we popped out to into the channel with more waves and wind than we had the previous two days. Fortunately Evening Breeze has a full enclosure for the cockpit and we were very comfortable sailing across to what I think was called Blaine Channel to head back to Comox. This was a wonderful time for me as I watched the scenery and had a shot at steering the boat. The hydraulic steering does not give the same feel and feedback as Faith’s cable steering and the full keel was slightly different than I am used to as well. In any case, we had a super time on this sail and enjoyed every minute of the cruise.

A Hobbit Shed in a park

More pictures...

The next thing we had to do was to get back to Victoria so that we could board the ferry for the return to Port Angeles the next day.

Cathlamet's Charms

2010-09-12T08:39:00.000-07:00

Somehow at the Marina

Well, here is the catch up for the last few weeks! We left Vancouver, Washington headed for the Sea of Cortez Cruiser’s Rally in Cathlamet, Washington. Just run your finger along the Columbia River as it flows past Portland and you will eventually come across Cathlamet on the Washington side of the river. This was where we stopped two years ago on the last day of this rally on our way south with Faith. It’s a small-ish marina with an RV park attached. That makes it a perfect interface for the water born and dirt born traveler.

At the rally we caught up with friends from cruising these last two years as well as some from much longer ago than that. When we docked there two years ago our friends Ken and Linde (in the tradition of using boat names as last names) of Rosebud caught our lines and they have crossed our path several times since then. It was the case this time as well in a way because they were already there in their motorhome when we arrived. Break out the party gear and get started on a great weekend… not that we can differentiate beween week days and weekends any more! I knew before we got there that John of Pachanga would be there but the surprise was bumping into Ralph of Annabelle Lee and then Stephanie of Ham radio fame!! Steph is someone I have talked to many times on the radio but never met. We have mutual friends and I have actually been in the same place before but never knew it until later. The cruising world is fairly small but this makes it seem even smaller. It was a welcome surprise when Pat and Mike of Somehow showed up at the dock and we caught their lines to invite them over for dinner on Friday night. As we sat around chatting I saw friends Chrees and Keem (Chris & Kim) formerly of Jasmine Isle and invited them to join us. What laughter to be had in the area was at our travel trailer that night!! I will be sore for several days from that and Chrees later said that the sun light was too loud the next day!!
We made lots of new friends as well. There were several people heading south either this year or next attending and we got a jump on finding out who the class of 2010/2011 will include.

Downhill into the second turn!!

So after all of two days of gathering the clans we had a few free moments and took walks into town. Cathlamet was welcoming the Long Boarders competition for that Sunday so we stayed to take pictures of crazy young people screaming down a blocked off street on large skateboards. This included wipeouts at the corners and a jump at the end of the run. These kids (mostly) are fearlessly competing for a $500 first place prize. Or, at least I think it must be fearlessly because they don’t seem to scrub off the speed until the last second as they approach the corners. They have on leather suits and wear gloves with extra padding that they use to brake as needed. Some just break instead of brake and we watched several become disconnected from their boards and crash into the hay bale barricades only to get up quickly, find their board and continue to the finish line. This is a far cry from the time, in High School, that I nailed some metal skates to a two by four and tried to go down the biggest hill on Swan road in the Tucson foothills!! Much more high tech than we had available then.

Looking to brake a little!!

From Cathlamet we headed north to Port Angeles for a transit into Canada!!!

Space; the Final Frontier

2010-08-18T09:04:00.000-07:00

While cruising around in the ether this morning I came across this bit. Since I live in a travel trailer for the summer and a boat for the winter (261 sq. ft. for the former and maybe 400 sq. ft. for the latter) this 800 sq. ft. home was an attention getter!!

Pondering Our Movements

2010-08-06T10:52:00.000-07:00

This back and forth (NW to Mexico to NW to Mexico, etc.) has been a good way to see parts of the two countries but could be improved upon in the coming year. We have had guests so often that we sometimes are waiting or hurrying to meet some schedule that They have rather than exploring more from our temporary base in a marina or even at anchor. Here I am thinking of when we are in Barra de Navidad specifically. It is a reasonable bus ride from there to, say, Guadalajara and yet we end up with something to DO every day and never quite get on the road. Admittedly this is not a bad thing but we have watched other boats for people that have taken a few days off and bussed to other places from there.

You may now be asking yourself, “Why is he pondering this right now?”

Here is the nutshell version. As we sit in Vancouver, Washington getting things lined up for our return to the boat (in Mexico) we are thinking about the trip south again. What we don’t want to do is to rocket down I-5 missing the great places along the way that we have missed previously because we were on some sort of imagined schedule. Even though we work at NOT having a schedule it still sneaks in from time to time so that we feel pressured to be somewhere by a certain time. We often fall into this trap without fully realizing it until we do not make our perceived goal. That is when we relax again and take things as they come for awhile. Taking a turn off the freeway and wandering for a few days through Napa Valley or stopping for few days at Crater Lake would be on the list this year. Will we make it to both? I do not know at this point. Coming north we HAD to stop in Las Vegas but from here on out we do not have ANY “have to’s” other than adding or subtracting something from our list of places we would like to visit. Our day to day version of our travels is slow anyway. That is, we might put 300 miles on for one day of driving (think 8 to 10 hours) and call it good. On the boat a 100 mile day (24 hours) is fine. Not pushing is part of not planning so having something or some place on the list is not the same as committing to go there. It is more like a, “wouldn’t it be nice to…” and then see if we actually make it there. Typically too we like to stay put in a place that seems like a good place to hang out. If it is not too expensive it is likely we will stop for days to take in the sights.

So, having positioned you for our methods of not planning you can see how hard it really is to commit to having guests or to saying we will be a particular place at a particular time. On the road it is a bit easier only because we do not have to factor in the weather quite so much. On the boat weather is a much contemplated issue. The longer we think about adding a place to the list of where we are going to go the more complicated it seems to get. It might put us on a schedule by virtue of being difficult to get there or because it is inconveniently off the current trajectory. We get that. We know that adding, say, San Diego so we can visit friends AND find boat parts means we do not know how long we need to be there… this, in turn, cascades into the thought that we wanted to get back to the boat by mid/late October, but we need to see if we can work in the side trip to the Redwoods or stopping in Tucson long enough to see friends and family. You may be beginning to see the dynamics at play here.

We have taken to saying to potential guests coming to Mexico that, “You can pick the place OR you can pick the time but you can’t pick both.” It may take a bus ride (or in the case last year, it may take a ferry ride) to catch up to us. On land it is more like, “If we get as far as X by this time we can swing by for a visit.”

This summer I had believed that I could find a small part time temporary job when we got to Vancouver but that turned out to be WAY too much planning. It probably did not help that the unemployment here is something like 10% but the longer we have been here the more it became clear that between Sandy’s planning for side trips to Mount St. Helens and Canada, and of course we HAD to take in the Wooden Boat Festival in Port Townsend, not to mention the Sea of Cortez Cruisers Rally in Cathlamet, the less likely it was that I had time to work. It would have been great to add to the cruising kitty a bit but clearly I can’t plan well enough to add that much time away from my real life. It seems far more likely that I would win the lottery than that I would land a job and have time to go to it!

A Little Out of Focus

2010-08-04T19:30:00.000-07:00

So, some who know me will say, "Yeah, of course this makes sense to blog about."

Others may reflect on the nature of the universe and ignore this... BUT, I like this bit of video and what it implies about potential of small transportation:

Back to the Green

2010-07-29T15:57:00.000-07:00

The plain below the mountain enlarged the lake

Yet another road trip. That’s right we had an open day in our schedule, heaven forbid, and Sandy woke up with the thought that we should get out and about. The item on the short list was to head out to Mount St. Helen. You will recall that thirty years ago it blew up in a spectacular explosion captured for all time on film. This was a place of old growth forest in the Cascade range of mountains that had been developing a curious bulge on the side of the mountain. That bulge eventually grew to a sizable 450 foot bump before all of it first collapsed and then went skyward. As the Ranger said, “Think fifteen… in 15 seconds it collapsed, then in 15 minutes covered 15 miles with its debris, and 15 hours sent a plume 15 miles high eventually going around the globe.”

Good thing it was cool and comfortable

We started north from Vancouver, Washington at about eleven in the morning. Yes, we were slow getting organized. Blundering off of I-5 at exit 21 (Woodland) we meandered along SR-503 gaining altitude slowly at first then more radically further along. It was one of those green drives where the trees grow together overhead. It gets darker and darker and you start to think that you may not see the sun for awhile. That was not the case this day however.

A great deal of change has occurred

We broke into the sunlight at elevation (about 3500’ or so) and the landscape changed radically. The felled trees of a past forest pointedly giving a clear indication of the direction of the blast showed us much of what we find out from the Rangers talk. The enlarged Spirit Lake with its floating debris showed us secrets of pyroclastic flow and the lake’s water that dragged full trees from 800’ above its new level into its new dimensions as it splashed up and then returned to the lake. The sight of the station that was a mere five miles from the source of the bulge brought a shudder to my spine as I thought of the people trying to monitor the mountain in its final seconds before it blew everything away!! The sight of the new plain below the viewpoint where most of the collapsed bulge ended up and created the new blockage for Spirit Lake is a stark reminder of the destruction of the original forest that was there. Now, just 30 years later the floor of that ash-pumice plain is 80% covered with vegetation… but here we are talking just weeds and low brush at most.

The “weeds” are really wildflowers and that too was part of the day. The lupine fix nitrogen so it helped bring life back to the barren remains of the eruption within a year. The snow covered backside of the hills facing away from the blast also held the seeds of future growth for the area. The immense size of the destruction and loss of life was something to contemplate as we wandered around the viewpoint. We did not climb the hill to the north of the viewpoint because we were running out of time if we wanted to get back to Vancouver before dark. We had not had much for lunch, a bag of chips qualifies as lunch in this case, and getting dinner together was on the list. A sub-note to this trip was that if I had a scooter or a sports car of some sort I would love to take parts of this drive again for the curvy roads (lots of those 15 mph turns) and start earlier in the day!!

Small Towns ARE Fun

2010-07-11T08:58:00.000-07:00

This is just a short post about what we did in Roseburg (just south of Sutherlin, Oregon) on a very pleasant summer's eve. These were only about 10% of what drove past as we stood on a corner in downtown Roseburg for a half an hour or so. A few pictures are posted at:

The Roseburg Cruise In

Up & Down Yosemite

2010-07-11T08:02:00.000-07:00

Getting greener too as we go north!!

This is a tale of following your desire to see things that you have not previously had opportunity to see. When we left Las Vegas we wanted to get as far as Mina, Nevada before leaving US-95 and turning west. It was last year when we passed through Mina and spotted the large-ish motor yacht that seemed to be a restaurant. At the time we had just had lunch in Tonopah so simply took a couple of pictures and moved on down the road. Much later we learned some of the story behind the boat on dirt and wanted to make that stop this year. Well, mission accomplished. It turned out to be less than our anticipation but we can now check it off the list of stops we wanted to make. More about this later, perhaps.

Lake & Mountain

We made it to Hawthorne, Nevada where we found a great RV park for the night and readied for our assault on Yosemite. Now it has to be noted that our truck and trailer are a fairly heavy duo. I mean, we are carrying a lot of stuff north with us. The road leaving Hawthorne rises very quickly toward the pass through the mountains that make up Yosemite. Tioga Pass is said to be 9945 feet above sea level. There was road construction that halted our progress temporarily but did not deter us from continuing up and up and up! We even got through the forest services' fee station without payment since we now have a park pass good for life that we picked up when we were in Sedona going through Oak Creek Canyon (the best $10 we have spent thus far in our travels).

The problem with going up is you have to, eventually, go down. There are a lot of those 6% grade signs along that route and our gears did not handle keeping us slow enough to be in complete control and by half way down our brakes were smoking… oh yeah, really smoking!!! We stopped a few times to let things cool off and pulled off where possible to let others go around our slow progress. Eventually we made it to a lower elevation; ending up in Lodi, California at another great RV park.

It was here that I used the next morning to go off and find out how much damage we had inflicted on the brakes. I found a shop and they popped the truck up on the lift, took off the wheels to peer at the brakes. Sure enough where there is smoke there can be fire. The rotor on one front brake was pretty much toast and even the rear brake pads were in bad shape. Okay, replaced the critical stuff and we got on the road again just after 11:00 that morning. It cost us some to see Yosemite but, I have to say, it was worth it. Yosemite is not a place for towing anything and it was hard to find spots to pull over and take a few pictures. To do this trip over again we would find a place at the lower end of the road to leave the travel trailer and explore with just the truck. All in all it was a great but long day!!

Vegas in the Rearview Mirror

2010-07-06T07:35:00.000-07:00

Kevin Burke and friend

Yesterday (at least as I write this) we went to the other two shows in a whirlwind day of excesses.

The first show was “Defending the Caveman” which turned out to be an hour and a bit more of a comedy one man show that I think gives a good fresh-ish look at the Men & Women issues that have been popular in books for the last 40 years or so. I have to say that this live rendition of common sense was very thoughtfully done and I would see it again. Laughing is good for you, you know!

The second was the Tournament of Kings at the Excalibur. This show was both less than expected and more than expected. The horsemanship was good and the plot predictable (if you could call it a plot). Since it’s really a dinner theater in a participatory setting you cannot get away from the fact that it was filled with meaningless participation. Fun for some but not all, from the looks of it. Eating with your hands was a good thing although there was really too much food and it was noisy (explosions and such). Overall it was enjoyable, but then, after being on the Strip for that length of time between shows was telling by the time we got to the show.

One thing I will say about all this is that when you order a beer in Vegas it is no longer what you used to have there. I mean, $8 for some version of Budweiser (the ONLY concession beer available… yuuuuck) is a bit over-the-top as far as I am concerned. The wine at the Caveman show was low grade grape peels and the thought of sitting in a side bar (so to speak) for the time to wait out the start of the next thing to do playing about $10 worth (using the term “worth” loosely, of course) of video poker while we swizzled a crappy beer should not be repeated. By the time we got back to the RV we were ready to get quiet and read for awhile. It was a productive day but we are ready to get out of here. I, for one, can only take a few days in Las Vegas and I suspect that on our trek going north next year we will choose another route. This was a stop of necessity since I had to empty out a storage locker so there won’t be any NEED to come here for, oh let’s say, about ten years. At least it was not as crowded on the Monday after July 4th!

The next stop will likely, hopefully, be somewhere in or around Yosemite National Park. There is not likely to be good internet or television so I may have to revert back to my revered cruising mode of not caring much for that!! Anyway, as Las Vegas fades behind us on US-95 I will be humming a new tune and looking forward to things in the Northwest.

The Las Vegas Experience

2010-07-04T09:50:00.000-07:00

A Borrowed Picture

The Las Vegas I now know is much different than the one I knew prior to now!!

Normally, for me, Las Vegas was a place on my way to somewhere else or a brief stopover while working or simply a place to disappear some cash while I waited for something else to happen. Believe it or not, I never went to any of the shows here. I know, I know, how could that have been? Well, I am not completely sure I know the answer to that question but I suspect it has to do with my partner now correcting that problem.

As happens from time to time, Sandy instigated this and mentioned taking in a show or maybe two while we are here for me to empty out a storage unit I have had for the last year or so. It is hot and the stuff in storage is fairly dusty. By three in the afternoon I was ready to stop and do almost anything else. Sandy had been busy on the computer while I sorted through the contents of the storage unit trying to condense it all still further. Having down sized several times now and living the vagabond life that does not include hauling Stuff around I was really ready for a break. We had to go for a ride, Sandy said, and that was to be down into the heart of the insanity that is the area of the MGM Grand. Gads!! Traffic and tons of people… oh wait, it is the July 4th weekend… what was I thinking? Anyway, I had not gotten cleaned up yet and we were off to pick up tickets for KA. Slow traffic, difficult parking and not enough local knowledge to know how to overcome the obstacles without creating new ones made for an “exciting” trip into the maw!

As it turned out when we got to the ticket counter we had the assistance of a somewhat scattered but very friendly and helpful lady who got the tickets for, not one but three shows that Sandy had scheduled us for!! Yikes!!! I still had boxes to go through. The show started at 7:00 but we had to get there no later than 6:45 so we would participate in the “Pre-Show”. We also still had to get back to the RV Park to clean up and grab a snack or maybe dinner too. “Not likely,” I thought as we got lost on our way back to the RV. We needed gas, we needed an ATM, we definitely needed showers (or, I did at least) and we needed a map to get back to the MGM on a better route. The showers were handled, the meal and/or snack went by the way side but we did manage to get some gas, find an ATM and locate a serviceable map. Then off we raced to get back to the theater (“theatre” on property). This was a race we were losing but we gamely stuck to it and arrived breathless at 6:30. After some confusion about the location of our seats we settled in; not daring fate by going up to the concession for refreshment.

The occasional flaming ball would erupt from the stage and the sound system was noticed to be first rate as we waited. Everywhere there were signs and portents of the act to follow that said it would be in a class of its own. The surrounds of the seating had indications of action to take place and the stage was in absence except for a thin walkway curving around in front of where you would expect the stage to be.

The Pre-Show was illuminating for those who forget to leave their cell phones at home or those that believe everything in universe can and should be photographed. Let’s just say that the message was quite clear… but still missed by the guy sitting in front of us as he snapped pictures (thankfully mostly without flash) for first part of the show.

So, here is where I will NOT include a blow by blow account of the action that ensued. What you really need to know is that I doubt many have seen the perfection to which stagecraft has ascended without having seen a Cirque du Soleil performance. The actor/gymnasts are incredible as well but their back drop is the multi-layered hydraulically moved sections of stage and the ropes and cables that has truly special effects happening rapid fire from all directions all the time! As I said a few hours later, “I am still processing what I saw,” and even now trying to recall all the bits and pieces I have snatches of things that will continue to have impact for the months to come!! This was really an experience beyond what I had expected (I mean, real fireworks on stage!!!).

Take a look:

http://www.cirquedusoleil.com/en/shows/ka/default.aspx

San Juanico

2010-06-17T06:38:00.000-07:00

Entertaining myself by stacking rocks!

So, on our way north through the Sea of Cortez (el Gulfo de California) we stopped at San Juanico. We had tried to get in here last year on a day when the wind was from the south and that was not going to happen. We ended up going around the corner to La Ramada and hiked over the hill to visit the Cruiser’s Shrine and leave our own memento to commemorate the occasion. The Shrine is just a tree at the waters edge so it gets regenerated every time a hurricane passes this direction. There was a hurricane last summer (Jimena) and it affected the shrine. Older items left have been rocks with boat names carved into the stone but the newer ones seem to mostly be last minute items hastily prepared and deposited; thus the older markers are still in place but the new stuff goes away. Our plaque last year was a piece of metal (about 2” x 3”) with our names on it as well as the boat name. I am very doubtful that I will find it here anywhere. (It turned out to be where we had left it!! See Sandy's blog for more info) One of the best things about this place is the shallow anchorage with its very turquoise blue hue. When you climb a hill and look down on it you are likely to gasp at the sight. We slowly putted through the boats already here and found a great spot closer to the beach in about 12 feet of water.

Very yellow rock wall

There is a small island in the midst of the anchorage and we slid in downwind from that like finding the perfect avocado… time to make guacamole! The wind the first night piped up but we got a fairly good nights sleep anyway because the boat was relatively stable and the anchor was clearly stuck to the bottom. I have always liked the idea of good ground tackle; it makes for a pleasant evening playing Mexican Train dominoes. In the morning Patty helped put the dinghy down and attach the motor so that anyone who wanted to could go to the beach and walk around some. We had only been aboard Faith for a couple of days but it is a good idea to get out and stretch when the opportunities come along. It is like renewing a friendship with your legs to get on dry land and not be compensating for the rocking, gentle or otherwise, of the boat. At this point (seven months into the season) I do not necessarily notice the small compensations and concessions that my body makes to the constant motion but I do notice when I am not having to adjust to the sway of the boat. In passing I should mention that I sleep MUCH better than a lot of folks when the boat is floating on a slight swell. It is akin to slumber in the best of hammocks! Here we are at 26˚ 22.070’ N, 111˚ 25.963’ W if you want to look at Google Earth to see “exactly” where we spent the last (few) nights. It is about as remote as anywhere you might want to be on the Baja side of the SoC (Sea of Cortez) albeit not the END point that some might prefer. In any event, on the first morning here I popped my head out of the companionway and there was a boat flying the Tucson Sailing Club burgee with the name Paradocs and I knew who had pulled in while we slumbered. No one was immediately in evidence but on the way into the beach we did a “drive by” spoke with the crew (guests) on the transom of the catamaran to confirm that I did, indeed, know the owners.

Cardon cactus atop a hill

They had just crossed over from San Carlos to San Juanico that night and had to heave to outside the anchorage from three in the morning until daylight. “Good plan,” I thought. The owners (Carl & Clare) were asleep, making up for the lack of snoozing the prior night. Here’s the thing; the night before had been boisterous outside the anchorage but we had been comfortable and happy with our ground tackle doing its job. Shifting onto other parts of this life at anchorage, when we went to the beach on the first day here there was the usual scattering to find shells and such. That is not something I do much of for some reason. Occasionally I will pick something up but if, when I show it to Sandy, there is little interest, I just drop it and continue down the beach. That is to say, I am no longer a collector… just a looker. One thing I have done for a long time is to stack rocks. I like to get at least four rocks atop each other to consider it a successful stack. If I can decorate with a few items from the beach to add a layer or two then it is truly a successful stack.

A red wall on the south side of San Juanico

It is not that anyone has to like my work, like the guys on the rocks at, say, Puerto Vallarta or San Diego, it is more about appreciating the balancing than anything else. A reflection of this is another of my past entertainments, which was balancing a salt shaker on the table. Okay, so that is a “TMI,” as is said! Hiking outside the normal confines of the anchorage is a fun thing and did manage to do that on our second day here. Last years anchorage (La Ramada) is just over the hill north from San Juanico and we followed a great trail to that beach. This is where the observant walker will find what I know as Apache Tears. These are essentially volcanic glass; when the top pops off the volcano there is heat and pressure enough to produce this jet black glass. One thing that HAD to happen here was that I needed to clean the propeller and the rudder (maybe the whole bottom after seeing it, yechh). At this point I should say that this year the water temperatures have been somewhat less than normal. My idea of a comfortable temperature is on the higher side of eighty. Okay, call me a wimp; I do not care in the least. I slowly, ever so slowly, got into the water and did the cleaning. It was probably only a minute or so before the comfort of the water was fully appreciated, but at least I finally got used to it and cleaning occurred as it should! The reward should be a slight increase in boat speed as we motor (yes, that’s right, given the wind direction we will likely have to motor-sail north from here) toward Santa Domingo just inside Bahia Concepciόn. Enough for now I guess.

Puerto Escondido

2010-06-17T06:20:00.000-07:00

Los Gigantes!!

Last year at about this same time we had wandered through Puerto Escondido on our way north. In fact, we dropped off crew at the airport and had rented a car for the trip into town because the taxi rides here are a staggering equivalent to US$40 each way. That is about what it costs per day to rent a car and they will bring the car to you so you are already saving money if you need to go to town to provision! Of course, Loreto is a great town but it is not a place we need to go everyday. This year we are waiting for Patty and Hank to join us so we are just hanging out doing “boaty” sorts of things and passing the time visiting with the many friends we have met along the way as they come through the bay on their way north.

As it happens, last year I had not really made up my mind about this place. Was it a good place? I have been here many times now but I just could not make up mind about it. The first time I was here I had actually anchored across the channel at Isla Danzante in Honeymoon cove and dinghied over to make the walk up to the little tienda at Tripui RV Park. There were a few choices of things to buy; limited veggies, beer, canned goods, chips and the like but truly not much there at the time. That was eleven or so years ago. It looked, at the time, like there would someday be development but it was a failed port with boats anchored in the fantastic bay. A French company had attempted to build a Med tie mooring basin and there were signs that they had tried to build a hotel or some such but it was just a place where some derelict boats hung out on the anchor along with some nicer boats. There was not much here on that visit.
A few years later I was here and anchored in the “Cement Pond” of the old Med tie basin. I dragged anchor that night and made the walk up to Tripui for supplies only to find that there was not much there. There was an active Port Control (API) office at that point but the rest of the place was pretty much as it had been a few years prior… not much going on. A couple of years along and another visit showed that the port was becoming more active. A bunch of boat stands sat idle in a yard but the Fonatur / Singlar office was open and they were about to begin construction of a marina building or two. Way back then (2005 or 6) I had not seen the Singlar marinas and did not yet know that they are all exactly the same. The buildings are nicely done with the same lay out no matter where you are. The showers are good (although the water is almost never hot) and the people running the marina have a great attitude. Often they have some sort of internet arrangement and a way to contact the outside world via phone or some such along with a Laundromat and small pool. The one at Puerto Escondido also has a small store and a restaurant that gives an option for some goods and services. There is even a boat yard with regular haul out services available. The boats here are allowed to anchor out if preferred but most of us now use the excellent mooring ball system that has been upgraded and maintained extremely well. It is just about as good as being at a dock. In fact, in some ways I like it better for the privacy it also affords us.

Looking toward the "Window" at sunset.

As I started all this chat off with the, “I had not really made up my mind,” about this place last year I believe I have now decided that this is an incredible place to hang out. It is quiet, the weather has been wonderful, the mooring is as near perfect as you can get; what is not to like? Of course last year the one issue for being here was that the windlass had started to pack it in and we had put the anchor down instead of grabbing a mooring ball. I cannot say why we did that, but we did. Hauling chain by hand is never a “good thing”! It might have been that since we were not going to be here a long time we opted for the lower rate to anchor since the daily rate for the mooring is a bit higher for the first week rather than the rate if purchased by the week or month… I just do not recall precisely. Anyway, Escondido is a solid place to be for awhile and I have actually had time to relax for this period. Naturally, when we got here there was a boat project and it got completed swiftly. Our friend Dan, on Rosinante, was here and had a car available so we were able to pop into Loreto a few times with him to take care of getting a new alternator, do the laundry, buy a few items for the larder and generally enjoy the town. He later moved the car up to Santa Rosalia and departed this morning for El Burro cove in Bahia Concepciόn, yet another great place to tell you about some other time. The new alternator was part of the cascade failure that occurred when we were in Isla San Francisco but did not realize it until we on our way north again from La Paz (after replacing the refrigerator, the main power switch and the controller for the inverter/charger, not to mention fixing the aft head). So life is GOOD again. When that happens I get to read some and just sit and watch the day go by on the mountains to the west of the anchorage. It can be very satisfying for the soul.

This is a rare moment this year in other ways as well. The weather has been a perverse mix of too much too often this season so to be in a place where the breeze comes up for welcome cooling off during the afternoons and the night-time temperatures are as near perfect as you can get is almost too much to be believed! I will have to add more later but I think that you might be getting the idea that this will be a place we will return to. Maybe next season we can make it in time for Loreto-fest (which actually takes place here in Escondido)!

A Delicate Matter

2010-04-23T16:54:00.001-07:00

Replaced the melted switch!!

Often enough we think we have a different life style by living on a boat although sometimes these days it seems all too much like living anywhere on land. Just about the time you get complacent about all this something happens to jerk you back into reality.

We left Mazatlán with a couple of guests on board and did the usual motor-sail across to the Secret Anchorage (Playa Bonanza) on Espiritu Santo. The two mile long white beach was worthy of a bit of a walk and leg stretch once we had rested a bit from the two day crossing. There were not a lot of shells or anything of great notice but the beach was very pristine and we were greeted by a boat we knew already at anchor there. There was a “Cormuel” (southerly to westerly winds) blowing part of the time during our stay and we were nicely protected from that. The big decision then was to go northward instead of popping immediately into La Paz. Off we went to Isla San Francisco about 30 miles north of Playa Bonanza following the eastern side of Espiritu Santo. Now, I have to say, Isla San Francisco is one of our favorite places and, we have been told, one of the most photographed places along the Baja’s eastern side. It was here that we were joined by two surprise visitors!

As we were lounging about both Toucan and Sea Peace sauntered into the anchorage and I gave a loud, “Whoop!!” as I realized who had come in. These are friends from the Tucson Sailing Club. Naturally nothing would do but to have a party. An invitation was extended from Faith and both crews from the newly arrived boats came over that evening for cocktails. It was the next morning while trying to make coffee that I felt the first tug from the La Paz Vortex. This is the phenomenon that occurs when your boat is about to demand marina time to fix things. In this case the DC side of the electrical circuitry had a melt down and completely stopped working. Eventually this also caused a problem with the controller for the inverter so we had zero electrical power. Hmmm… I wired around the main switch and we decided that we really should not stop at Caleta Partida as we had originally thought we would on our way back to La Paz. Off we went after spending two days at Isla San Francisco and having two parties with the Toucans and Sea Peace’s.

Having a spare switch we had no problem having an electrician fix the initial problem only to find that the overload had also damaged the controller to the inverter. Hmmm… a new controller was located and, “Viola!” we had power again. Problem solved, or so we thought.

Shiny new refrigerator!!

“Why is the refrigerator clicking on and off?” I thought as I listened to the boat for things that were not correct (a past time I have developed over a few years of Boating). Hmmm… well, it turns out that the refrigerator has an issue too. To make a long story short (sort of) we found that we could no longer get the controller for the old Alder Barbour refrigerator so there was nothing but to replace the bloody thing and carry on. It takes about ten minutes to uninstall the old one and roughly an hour to install a new one. Cleverly the manufacturers have improved them over the years and we now have a much better, more efficient unit than previously.

At this point we may need to stay in La Paz for another ten days while we wait for still more guests. Deep down I am thinking that we need to achieve escape velocity before another “issue” occurs but then if things happen in threes, as is often said, we can stay for a while longer without incident.

"I know I put it down here somewhere"

I need to be getting back to the point of all this meandering. A house takes a certain amount of care to live a “normal” life but a boat takes that and additional thought and action. Which side of the island do I anchor on to stay out of the waves and such? In a house if the utility company has an issue you might lose power for awhile but that’s fixable. In a house if the circuit breaker pops to off you can easily reset it. In a house curing a broken refrigerator does not usually cascade into a city wide search for the cure. In a house making the bed is not something that takes all your effort to get tucked in or to stay put. In a house getting things out of the bottom of the refrigerator does not normally mean you have to stand on your head while you drop through a hole to find the lost mayonnaise. In a house flushing the toilet does not require multiple steps. Having a full holding tank is a small but persistent problem but can be urgent at times. It just is not a thing you have to think about in a house. In a house you have no need to walk a few docks over to get to the restroom. Cooking aboard requiring a refill of the propane bottle mid-meal is another thing that comes to mind. This could be a very long list by the time you find all the differences and nuances by living on a boat for a few years. Once you start thinking it’s just like living anywhere on land you have begun the process of mind warp that will have you completely out of sync with the rest of the world!

Head Gear

2010-03-24T15:39:00.000-07:00

A bit worse for the wear!!!

One thing that comes up while going from place to place in the land of maximal sunlight is what to put over your head and eyes. In general head gear is some really important stuff. If you have ever had a sunburn where you part your hair you can immediately identify the issue. It’s like having a lightening strike along some portion of your head; Yuk!

One of our guests this season, yes, Anna you have been identified, stopped every few feet in port to try on hats. She may or may not have needed multiple hats during her stay but I could see that she had an underlying logic if a bit misplaced… since she was going back to Portland in a little while. The contribution to the Barra de Navidad economy was quite nice and I will leave it at that. Anyway, I buy hats from time to time too. The problem for me is that they often become stand-ins, more for a head band than for the sun protection. A few years back I bought a bunch of kerchiefs to use as sweat bands but I go from job to job to town exploring to nights out for fun and, at times, the hat or whatever I have got on will stay with me for the entire time. In the sun, out of the sun, it’s all the same, the hat stays put. Can you say, “Hat hair”? While I might not admit it right, away my hair is thinning quite a bit, so a hat IS important to me. The problem with the constant use is that each hat gets disgustingly abused over a fairly short period of time. Yes, you can wash the hat but that seems to be a terminal experience for many pate covers. Therefore I stick with the disgusting look until it becomes absolutely necessary to clean up my act!

One hat I purchased (about five years ago) was at the beach in Santispac when I had to borrow US$10 from Len (I think I paid it back in beer) is still with me. It has taken on a warped, edgy look that suits this, “Dang, it’s hot and I need a lot of shade!” life I lead. It has seen better days and I can’t really wash it. Every so often it flies off of my head into the drink and when it dries it takes on some new look. I suspect it may not last too much longer. For now though it is my “best” hat.

Another hat that caught my fancy was from San Carlos just last November. We had gone out to Catch 22 Beach to show some guests the great beach and visit the Soggy Peso Bar. They had hats and since it was the beginning of the season I went ahead and got one. Looking at it today I think it must have gotten hot somewhere along the line these last few months! When I bought this fedora a guest, JJ, got one too… now, I don’t know for sure, but I suspect that the twin hat is not looking nearly as abused as mine.

Otherwise, I have been contemplating a Whole-Boat-Shade-System of some sort to lessen the need for the all-over look we take on sometimes.

The other item that gets a lot of use here is eye protection. Sandy is much better about this than I am since she tends to wear her shades out of habit. Last year I had an eye exam in La Paz and got some new prescription shades made. These are great because they have a dual purpose. They are sun glasses but since the temple/ear piece is thicker they block the wind as well. If you have ever suffered the effect of full wind across your eyeballs combined with maxi-sun blaring all day you know that it is potentially painful. Taking a clue from my last pair of sun glasses I had them created in the multi-focus mode as well. That is, I can read and see distance without taking them off to trade for whatever sort of lens is not on my face at the time. My corrected vision is WAY better than Sandy’s Lasik-corrected sight. I see things far sooner than I can get her to see the same thing. She has a collection of great sunshades with reading correction and I learned from this that I needed to get both in my own glasses. Much of the time I still stick with the non-sunglasses because once I go below to deal with electronics or an engine issue I find I can’t see for quite awhile. Just sticking to the regular glasses is not as good when we have had a long passage and I am trying to sight the potential anchorage. Anyway, it is a trade off that I have decided I should be favoring the shades more than I am. Keeping the regular glasses on the nav station or some such to use below when needed might be the solution!!

Maybe in a few years I will have all the solutions to these problems and more… or not!

Our Little La Cruz

2010-03-21T07:03:00.000-07:00

At this point I am fairly certain that Sandy will be adding some pictures of what we discovered when got back to La Cruz after living on the hook these last two months south of here. The boat was a bit cruddy and I will hit this subject for next post probably but it was remarkable what changes had occurred in La Cruz during our absence,
Before we left there had been a big meeting at the marina that included the Governor, the Mayor, a variety of Police and Fire representatives and various other dignitaries regarding the upcoming boat show and sailing races centered in La Cruz. The marina manager (Rafa) had plead his case for improvements to be made in town to make things sparkle... sort of a plea to the Chamber of Commerce moment. Well, I am not clear on who paid for what but the entire main street had been repainted and town, in general, had been spruced up considerably.
Don't get me wrong, I liked this sleepy little village the way it was but the way it is now is wonderful too! Buildings that had not seen paint for quite a few years now are sporting a newer, shinier look. The town square is very bright and the trash clean up seems to have taken root. The President of Mexico visited twice during all the excitement and there are still lots of the security folks here, which is not a bad thing. The main road in had new palm trees donated by the governor of Nayarit and painting is evident as far away as Bucerias, This could be contagious if everyone likes the results but it will take considerable effort. All things in good time, I suppose.

Culture & Memory

2010-03-21T06:55:00.000-07:00

We won the poster signed by the cast!!

We went out to dinner last night with our friends Angus and Rolonde from the boat Periclees and then joined them for a cultural event… a high school play put on by the students of the Colegio Americana here in Puerto Vallarta. This brave little troupe had decided to enact West Side Story!! When I say “brave,” I mean really, truly brave. The talent pool for this small school has to be fairly small to begin with and for them to put on West Side Story, a musical, is astounding when you think about the full cast needing to sing a complex set of songs. In my senior year of high school I got involved with a minor part in the school play and realized how much went into a stage production. This was my frame of mind when we got to the theater and I was not disappointed in any way!

As the story began to unfold I noted the differences in production. The set was very well done and, although fairly simple, the lighting was well done. Each of the cast had on some sort of remote microphone many of which worked. The costuming was easy since the depiction was semi-modern day. The language was the spicily accented version of English with Spanish overtones that I enjoy in Latin America… and the kids were from all over the place (US, Mexico and some beyond). The energy of the presentation was superb in all ways. You just cannot beat the teenage exuberance exhibited last night.

Going back to the “brave” part of this; as mentioned the talent pool is small for such an ambition undertaking as this musical is. One would think that it would be an important characteristic, for the lead players at least, to have silken voices and sing on key. Well, as one who has a fairly good ear I can attest to the fact that the pool was small enough to set the voice requirement aside for many of the actors. There was singing talent there to be sure. The girl acting the part of Maria was very impressive in voice but her counterpart was sans an ear altogether. You might think that this made for a painful rendition of the play but you would be only partially correct. By the time we were about a quarter of the way through the production he had endeared himself to me as fantastically brave individual. Thankfully, I noted from the program, that this lad is going to enter the world of computer science after graduation (unlike many of his fellow actors taking the direction of the arts in one way or another) and the world will be spared his singing except perhaps in the adjoining pews in church. He cannot have been ignorant of his lack of singing ability but persisted through to a very satisfying end of the musical with his part. I can give him all the applaud (myself surely being the singular set of hands clapping for his resolve) that is surely his due for having even made the attempt at such a difficult task. And, kudos to the director for his selection as well, (knowing that his singing would not hold the riveting center of the effort that the rest of the cast gave their all for) it was a very wonderful evening!!

Awake... again!!

2010-02-26T08:08:00.000-08:00

Sea surface temps are up, but...

Waking up in paradise this morning was a touch cooler than it was last year at this time. In stretching and glancing at the clock I realized it was later than my usual “rise and shine” time but only by a little bit. What great things does the day have in store for me?

That’s the thing really. This floating home takes me all over the Gold Coast and at night gently (usually) rocks me to sleep, sometimes despite the raucous music coming from some shore-side tourist venue. In Mexico the ethos is often believed to be that the louder the music the more fun you must be having. Quite honestly, if it gets to be too much we can just haul up the anchor and find a new anchorage. The bright sunshine and crashing surf is a fantastic combination to rejuvenate your soul and that is frankly what I enjoy every day. In the lagoon at Barra de Navidad I can hear the surf from the very steep beach about a mile away across the golf course that rarely has anyone on it. It is spectacular to see the waves at that beach! Because it is steep the waves reflect back out to sea at great velocity and often meet the incoming waves at just the right second to raise the wave face to almost double its otherwise height!! The sound is so much louder from these on-the-beach crushers that it makes you yelp with excitement when they hit. It is just too much of a sight. For myself, I could take a picnic basket and just watch these waves for hours. It’s not a place that you can swim easily because the reflected waves might take you out to sea in a flash but for passive entertainment just watching is as good as any exciting sports event would promise you… and the players aren’t over paid.

I have imagined having a house here (although I never would) and hearing this sound all the time. Sandy has said that it would probably be like traffic noise and you would, eventually, tune it out. Somehow, I just can’t imagine that.

As I write this we are in the anchorage at Las Hadas. Last year about this time we were here as well and, once again, it will turn out to be the apogee in our orbit. We enjoy it here partially because we can pay 300 pesos and have the use of the dinghy dock for the week which, in turn, gets us the use of the pool at the resort for the week. Gee willickers, that’s just too, too perfect. Originally we had planned to go as far as Zihuatenejo this season but between guests and weather that turned out to be not so practical… which is quite alright with us. Gosh, having to wait here while more guests come in a week, well, you can imagine the difficulty of that, I am sure. “Waiter, dos mas cervesas por favor.”

The practical side of life takes a turn in our thoughts too as we decided a few days ago that it is time for us to get haircuts. I know, I know, this seems far too mundane to insert here but this is also an adventure to when carried out here. Put yourself in Sandy’s flip flops for a moment and see that getting the precise instructions to the stylist without having enough Spanish to really be comfortable that everything was properly understood. There is always a lot of nodding, hand gesturing and smiling in this process but sometimes that turns out to be subterfuge and misdirection!! If I can, I try to let Sandy take the lead while I wait in the weeds to help translate if needed… my theory is that the Spanish will improve out of necessity. Even this, however, is fraught with endless variations on the theme of, “Gee, this haircut didn’t turn out the way I wanted,” because some concepts are just difficult to convey. I refuse to take the blame for results in any case. My instructions to the barber are really simple, “I have the hair and you have the scissors, make the hair shorter.” (Tango el pelo, tiene los tijeros, requerdo poco acorte). This hasn’t caused me very much in the way of a problem so I will probably continue to use this strategy for myself.

Shopping for provisions is much simpler these days too. We know where most of the stuff we want is located because we were here last year. What that translates into is that we don’t have to do the first few exploratory trips into town just to discover the “where” of it, (like figure out where to pick up the local bus) etcetera, so we can get things done semi-efficiently on each trip into town. This is not without hazards however. The price of getting to know paradise is something that hit us last night, in fact. We went to a restaurant that had been fabulous last year but has apparently suffered a reversal. Probably this was one of the worst meals we have had in a long time. Last year, by way of contrast, we would have asked around more before heading into test drive this sort of restaurant (think, “spendy”). Anyway, it is a good thing to know where the big items are.

At this point we have been on the hook for over a month and expect it to be about two months by the time we get back to a marina. While we are already looking forward to La Cruz and the marina life it has been great being free of the grid and mobile for all this time. It gives us so much pleasure to have the ability to stay out for such extended periods of time. To swim off the boat or explore the shore in the more remote places is just plain fun.

One thing we still have not done much of is the surf landing thing, so we try to find the corner of the beach that has the least problematic approach and slide in at the “right” time. Next season there will be wheels on the dinghy to facilitate the beach landings. Even here in Las Hadas with a dinghy dock, living on the hook, Faith is getting a bit long in the tooth without regular washing of the decks and so forth. We have taken to equalizing the batteries from the generator every once in a while and have been really good at having the power usage work out so that we can make coffee in the morning without the generator running all the time. There is a lot of detail missing from that last statement and perhaps one day I will have time to explain why less generator time at an early hour is a Good Thing. Being this autonomous is wonderful in so many ways which makes having the occasional marina time a pure luxury and equally enjoyable!! But, again I ramble, so perhaps it is time to close this entry.

Weather (WX) & Mexico

2010-02-22T07:14:00.000-08:00

This has been a longer absence from the blog than I had intended. The truth is that this has been a time with guests and there has been a bit of boat work to complete. We have been bouncing between the Barra de Navidad lagoon and the Tenacatita anchorage during all this time. I can’t say that it is taxing in any way but it has had its moments of excitement.

We have had more rain than I thought possible for this time of year in this part of the globe. Starting with the water spout we witnessed while in the marina in La Cruz (near Puerto Vallarta) and the storm, complete with hours of lightening and high winds, in Tenacatita we have had more weather excitement than all of last season! When you see gusts up to 70 knots while at anchor you tend to be thankful for a really good dig in on your anchor. When the storm was first upon us we were playing Mexican Train (dominoes) and I found it difficult to sit while the storm gathered force. At each break I was up and down the companionway to see if we had moved and finally had to abandon the game to watch our position and to see the spectacular lightening show. Our guests got a real taste of cruising that night as we bounced around until almost 0500 in the morning!!

With all this change in the weather we have had so many days of zero sunshine that keeping ahead of the power needs with the help of the solar panels has been a challenge too. We find ourselves running the generator so much more when there is a cloudy day and we have had some seriously cloudy days (many including rain)!! This is supposedly an El Niño year and that, somehow, explains this. What I can see is that we have extended periods of little wind when the rain and clouds come through and then some exciting days with a bunch of wind. The pattern seems to be meant to produce lots of mosquitoes. We went out to dinner for a six month wedding anniversary recently only to be eaten alive by hordes of descending mosquitoes at the second story restaurant. The waiter was concerned enough that he brought repellent to our table and followed that with hand wipes to keep us in good humor. We have had, naturally enough, experience with mosquitoes in many places here but nothing previously encountered comes close to this year.

Managing the boat has been easier in some ways because we are more organized this time. Even with guests we now have a better way to shower at the end of the really hot days. We have a pattern for running the generator that takes into account that the neighbors probably don’t want to hear it run ALL the time. We have started swimming and “Noodling” earlier this year than last and cooking continues to be about adapting to locally available items. Sandy has baked cookies, cakes and muffins too… yum!! Our water usage is well under control this year and we have a new filter system that allows us an easier way to take on water than pouring five gallon jugs into our tanks. Lots of little innovations make for better cruising overall.

We are still discussing the Autopilot issue. Our research has yet to give us a clear winner in the replacement category so we are still asking lots of questions and looking for the best way to fix the problem. In the meantime we hand steer more and watch Dion (the autopilot) like a hawk when we turn him on. We have a new GPS that I can now program from the computer and this has helped reduce the time for trip planning somewhat. It also gives us a better backup than we had before. One plague we had for awhile was a Deflatable Dinghy. We would patch the hole then not have the patience to wait for the glue to set before we pumped it back up and tried to use it. In part this was because we had guests and needed the use of the thing. After they left we did a patch job waiting two days for the glue to set and all is now good. This was just one more adjustment for us. In any case, between checking batteries more often and taking care of smell in the holding tanks better we are finding our way this season to more comfort than last year.

Sayulita

2010-01-04T09:02:00.000-08:00

Sayulita is not huge!!

So, yesterday we went by local bus to Sayulita. It is a great and harrowing ride there because the road is a bit twisty and the drivers are fast. The better part of the experience is that the forest is very green now, due in part to the recent rains. Unlike last year there has actually been some rain!

Sayulita is like a younger La Cruz, that is, there are a lot of younger surfer folks there instead of us older La Cruz sailing cruiser types or the Puerto Vallarta cruise ship types. It made the day fun because it seemed a tad more chaotic and the vendors were more brazen. The colorful little town is really alive with activity. We got off the bus at the end of the line, which is a few blocks after the bus enters the town and before it can cross the bridge into the more congested streets of the main part of town. Immediately we could hear the sounds of some sort of sports thing going on… you know, cheering and music mixed vendors and such. I peeked into the gate, no fee required, and there was a Beisbol game in the warm up stages. The crowd was festive and the players were just getting ready for a game. Some fun!!

Beisbol happens!!

Over the bridge and we were into the full senses assault of the lively place!! There was an alleyway blocked to vehicles and it was a fantastic street flea market sort of thing with all sorts of great vendors.

Street market fun!!!

Keep in mind this was on a Sunday so I don’t know what the daily fare would be but it was very fun bopping down toward the beach stopping at every other stall. It is that mix of art and practical that is so much fun. One stall having videos (DVD’s) for sale (most of them pirated) next to the guy selling shoes, next to the woman selling jewelry, next to the guy selling various kinds of brightly colored cloth. It is just wonderful. By the time we got the beach (la playa) it was clear that there were a ton of people in town and sure enough the beach was chock full. The surfing schools had lots of rental boards out and in use past the rocky part of the beach with a smallish but fairly consistent swell coming in. Initially there were not many birds visible but as the day progressed the pelicans and terns found their way there and we just watched for over an hour while we had lunch at a restaurant on the beach.

Mmmm, octopus burger with fries!! Quite the feast, really!! Our waiter, Omar, was lots of fun too.

Beach access>>>

A little more shopping ensued and we eventually found our way back to the end of the line for the bus ride back to La Cruz. It is a two bus deal so we had to gauge where to get off the first bus without going too far into Bucerias to get back to La Cruz. That was a thing that needed careful watching and since we also had Mary with us and needed to let her know in enough time to get off with us. It was a long day and Sandy was half snoozing so it was a scramble to get off at the right place. Another good day followed by chicken on the BBQ and another round of Mexican Train (domino game). Whew, too much of another great day!!

Food, Eating & Bebidas

2009-12-31T09:14:00.000-08:00

I was going to add a movie of the preparation of the soup to the blog but it crashes each time I try to upload the thing!!

Since it is near the New Year we decided to jump on the bus and get into Puerto Vallarta. On the way to and from we did some Geocacheing of the virtual sort and for lunch ended up at a favorite place, La Distileria. This was where, last year several times; the group of the moment slurped some of the best Margaritas and had items off of the wonderful menu.

La Distileria has a fantastic view of the old section of beach and the bay (Banderas) as well as a large segment of the malecon!! It is a second floor affair and the seating maximizes the view. You can sit and watch the whales and dolphins while the boats of various descriptions pass by. That would include the parachute pulling boats… something for the bucket list for some, I am sure. Anyway, I decided on the soup on the menu shown to be a Classic, Oyster Soup prepared at the table. After observing the preparation the taste was more than I could believe!!!!! This was incredible; truly. The follow up for me was the ceviche (on the menu as, “Cebiche”) and it was TDF. Sandy’s chicken cordon bleu was melt in your mouth tasty and Mary stuck to her beef tostadas which were very good as well. This is the sort of place that you do NOT want to leave as the day melts away toward sunset, but we had to leave despite our reluctance. It really would be possible to have lunch there and sit waiting around for the even meal too.

You would think that it would have been enough to have had a spectacular meal but, Noooo!! When we got back to the boat in La Cruz de Huanacaxtle it was suggested that we head for Tacos on the Street… another sought after establishment. We had missed them several times last year because they only open a few days per week. They are open more often this year but the proper days had eluded us until that moment. After quick showers and a radio call to arrange for cocktails on New Year’s Eve (the next day) we were off to discover why Tacos on the Street was so popular. Whoa! It is because they are beyond expectation. There are only three things on the menu. You can have a rib eye soft taco, a rib eye quesadilla, or a rib eye hard shell taco; just specify how many of each. This can be followed by a home made flan that is very tasty indeed. In the time it took to get seated, about a half an hour we were sated and ready to get back to the boat for a round of Mexican Train dominoes that Mary has found to be her game of choice.

Something else that is in better supply this year is the Bohemia Obscura (dark beer) that I remember from years ago. It had all but disappeared for the last 15 years, in fact. All I can say is, “yum,” for that! There are lots of Mexican beers that I like but the few that really get the job done are the seasonally available Bock, the ever present Pacifico, the Negro Modelo, Dos Equis Amber and several others as we come across them from time to time.

All-in-all, it was a satisfying day of eating the local stuff. Have I mentioned I am starting to lose weight again? Everything here is so fresh and prepared without so much of the garbage fillers used in the States. It is much easier to find things that have zero bad things in the ingredients.

Dion Goes South

2009-12-24T11:06:00.000-08:00

Quadrant and such...

If you followed our progress during our journeys last year you are familiar with our autopilot, Dion the Wanderer, and his predilection of going to starboard from time to time. Well, we thought that we had solved the issue this year when I cleaned his contacts and moved some metal that had accumulated near his “heart” (the fluxgate compass). Our passage from San Carlos to La Paz was amazing because Dion did not hiccup even once… hmmm, that’s not entirely correct, as we entered the channel to La Paz Dion turned himself off but since we were there we didn’t think too much about it. I guess believing that you can fix something is a powerful way of putting off fixing it.

The Pump suspected of being undersized

Control heads

So, we were ready to head for Puerto Vallarta (La Cruz de Huanacaxtle) and popped out on our way via Los Muertos. Dion seemed to be partially functioning during that first day but by the second day of the three day passage it was very clear that he had died. Normally as soon as you set him on a course he would take control of the wheel and not allow you to make any adjustments until you put him in Standby mode. That is what he was designed to do and some of the time he actually did it. During this last gasp you could set him to On but then he would allow you to tweak his course… hmmm, not good. Then he went crazy and veered off course by more than 90 degrees and would not come back on.

The "Brain" - hmmm, insufficient?

What this meant was that we had to hand steer for two days. Fortunately it was a fairly easy passage with relatively flat seas and wind on the right quarter most of the time. The steering was nicely balanced so there was less effort involved than there might have been.

That brings us to the current state of things. We are now researching the best way to replace Dion with a really stout autopilot. We have asked lots of people to make suggestions and the answers are rolling in. What we have is a Navico autopilot of probably early 1990’s vintage. The hydraulic pump seems to be in good order as does the fluxgate compass. It is probably the “brain” that has given up on the unit and should be buried at sea.

We have been headed south at a fair clip this year once we got Faith ready in San Carlos. It was almost like being on a delivery schedule at first. Now that we are back in the warm zone the rest of our southerly meanderings will be at a more relaxed pace. This is especially the case without a working autopilot!!

La Paz... Again!!

2009-12-16T12:08:00.000-08:00

Minney's is THE place for more stuff

After what seems like months of running around getting things done to make the boat ready we are, whew, finally on our way into a new season. It was really only about two months since we got back from the South Pacific but it has been so filled with activity and “get-readies” that there has barely been time to breath. On the way down the coast we stopped by places like Minney’s to get parts and such. What a great place, along with Downwind Marine in San Diego these are fantastic boat-folk stores! By way of catch-up, while we were away there was a hurricane (Jimena) that swept north into the Sea of Cortez and Faith ended up in the path of its rain in the aftermath of the down graded tropical storm. This dropped 26 inches of rain and we had a small amount end up in the galley area of the boat. The marina crew pumped it out in our absence but there is damage to the sole of the galley. We installed the new windlass when we got to the boat and started restringing all the lines in the work yard and the slip when we finally got there. Elvis got inflated and the motor worked on the third pull!! We were comfortable in our new (to us) travel trailer while all this was going on but the work was slow. Luckily my brother Lee and his wife Julie were there too so we had diversions before we were to leave San Carlos. It seems to me that the blur of boat projects and guests arriving while we tried to play and work had us ready to leave but not ready as well. Our first attempt ended about an hour out of San Carlos when it was noticed that alternator was not working.

Some have called it Boat Jewelry!!

We had just installed the new inverter so we returned to the anchorage and further tested the whole shebang with long distance coaching from Alan, Dr. Electron, and re-reading the manuals. When Alfredo had the alternator done (rebuilt) and installed we tested a bit more then declared ourselves ready to go again. The visiting crew (JJ & Cher) agreed that it was decision time for them too (see Sandy’s blog to update all that bit of flexibility). We either had to get to La Paz or they needed to fly, ride, and walk back to La Paz in time to catch their flight. As one of the cruisers said when we were chatting about guests coming and going, “You can pick the place or you can pick the time… but you can’t have both!” As it turned out we had a great motor-sail down to Isla San Francisco, one of my very favorite places, and at least JJ & Cher got to see one of the places that we were going to take them too had we been able to stick to our plan of picking them up in La Paz. The whales, dolphin, turtles, birds and fish cooperated, for the most part, and our guests got to see lots of “stuff” on our delivery-like journey down the Sea. We managed to get into La Paz in time to get them to the hotel (La Perla) and up to La Fonda for a spectacular meal… again, whew, made it.

Elvis on station again!!

Now we are going to provision a bit and get ourselves more back to the main plan and sail to La Cruz (Banderas Bay – think, Puerto Vallarta). There were those small issues in getting this far after we left San Carlos too. When Alfredo installed the alternator he placed the three small washers that keep the thing at just the right angle on the wrong side of the bracket. As we motored it was clear that we were burning through the belt. Ugh, in the first anchorage, Isla San Francisco, I corrected that and everything worked marvelously after that. The generator can now charge the batteries as well and we are able to make coffee from the inverter too!!! This last may seem like a strange use of power to some but the thing is that when you have more than just the two of us on the boat the amount of coffee that can be made by other methods (French press or stove top percolator) is insufficient. We needed a way to keep up the guest demand and stay sane ourselves… this has answered that nicely. By the way, if you come across a stainless steel stove top percolator that makes more than eight smallish cups let me know!! It was something I thought would be easy to find but all attempts to secure one have ended in failure. It’s just one of those odd things that living on a boat brings to your attention from time to time. So, here we are in La Paz with a few moments to rub together and time to contemplate again. It is such a luxury after months of going and doing and seeing that this morning feels like a new day of a different sort indeed!

Timing; it's all about Timing.

2009-11-19T14:37:00.000-08:00

Ok, ok, this may qualifiy as TMI (too much information) but sitting here in the Totonaka RV park in San Carlos after a long day of getting the boat ready for the season and my Sweetie sends me one of many irreverant connections to the REAL world!!!

Try JibJab Sendables® eCards today!

Yeah, got it!!! We do have fun most of the time just messing around!!! I know I have been absent here but that is fully explainable. It is warm and at the end of the day I just head for the shower and hope we have something planned for dinner... that includes beer or wine. Life is really simple but a sense of humor is more important than a sense of accomplishment.

Gathering Momentum...

2009-10-29T16:56:00.000-07:00

New Zealand Navy, Greek freighter with stranded island trader in the back!! Apia, Samoa

Funny how priorities get tweaked as you move along. Today we were going to get going but after a few seconds of discussion it was clear that neither of us REALLY wanted to leave this awesome internet connection after just one day!!!

We are in this great place in Sutherlin, Oregon that used to be an Drive-in Movie Theater!!! They still play movies every few nights for the residents... free popcorn included!! You dial the stereo into a station and get the sound on your FM radio. It is clear to me that we will stop here for longer next year on our way to Portland / Vancouver. Too much fun.

Today it's drizzling as if we might need more water. That aside, we also needed to do a few things on the trailer (like try to get the left tail light to work). Anyway, it is a different life here and we are still anxious to get back to the boat.

Moving Again

2009-10-28T22:09:00.000-07:00

Off Niuetoputapu

Just a short missive about our being on the move again. We are only a few miles south of Portland at this point because we wanted to stop and visit Sandy's daughters family. Mission accomplished. We did find this great RV park with awesome interenet and we are happily catching up on several things.

We have been so busy finding all that Stuff we need for this coming seasons happenings. We have a new windlass that has been described as boat jewelry. It certainly does shimmer and glitter in the sunlight!!! So, there are boat projects in my future. We have also been trying to line up the schedule for all the folks that have said they wanted to come for a visit while we are in Mexico!!! Whew, no shortage of visitors!!

It is just a lazy trip down the middle of I-5 while we soak up a little coolness to hold us on those warm days to come in Mexico.

Fishing,.. sort of.

2009-09-26T14:57:00.000-07:00

Well, we have done a little fishing on the way to Vava'u and after sorting out the broken lines and such I got a few really strong parts together and rebuilt the tackle being used on the boat. This has worked incredibly well but there were only a few days of sailing between the main stops on the journey.

Here's a little hint about knots. They are as important to fishing as they are to sailing. There are lots of kinds.

Here we are again catching fish instead of just "fishing" (often defined as not catching or, perhaps, trolling).

A Bit More Catch Up

2009-09-12T17:39:00.000-07:00

When we were bouncing between the islands of French Polynesia the size of the population surprised me a bit. There aren’t a lot of people now. Still, when I have heard and read about the high population of pre-colonial times I can’t believe that they all fit here. The landscape does not lend itself to building up the mountains because they are steep to volcanic structures that essentially have cliffs once you get a mile or two inland. You are either on the beach (think hurricane here) or at such an angle that building on the incline would be difficult at best and exposed to high winds from time to time. It is just amazing that such a complex society was based here.

The closeness of the people to the sea surpasses anything I have seen before too. I bought a small symbol of this in a shop here. It is a representation of a hook, a fishing hook, with designs built into it that are common to the tapas we have seen. I wore it during a party where Tongans were present and the first Tongan person to approach me asked if I was a fisherman. Since I definitely identify with fishing I said, “Yes,” and we were off and running in conversation. It turns out too that all of the necklaces here have a specific meaning as well. The stylized hook is just one way the people see the fact that they are surrounded by water as a status symbol. It is amazing that every child we see is so comfortable around the water. Of course I can say this about the cruising kids as well. They can handle their dinghies as if they are extensions of themselves.

Given the amount of rain we have seen since we arrived in Tonga (Vava’u) there is no reason that the surrounding islands are not green! They are very much so. Even when it is bright and sunny you are never very far away from a squall. All across the Pacific we have been drenched from time to time. It is a warm rain but just as wet as any other rain! In Bora Bora we were soaked on our first dinghy ride into check out of the country and on several adventures as well. Across the voyages we dodged a few squalls but mostly just had them roll over us cleaning the boat. Several days in Vava’u had the gray appearance of rain be the main feature of the day. It does not deter us though as we go about our shore visits and general business in a warm, damp way.

We have spent time just sitting from time to time. For instance, today (as I write) we had lunch at the Aquarium Café. Not a complicated thing to do but I found myself drifting along on a thought wave pondering the anchorage and sailors in port. The temperature was idyllic and the conversation sparse as we waited for our waitress to return with the order. No matter, I speculated about the boat we are on here, the abundance of the Tongan’s lives we have seen, the lushness of the vegetation, the other boats in the anchorage… especially the unlikely ones, the dinghies and their variety and “What are you thinking about?”, asked Sandy in the midst of the revelry. “Oh, nothing, really,” I said. It is easy to get lost in thought, or what passes for it. At the back of my mind for all the time since we left San Carlos has been the list of things to acquire to make the boat better and the last several days have held the issues of the hurricane Jimena in the foreground as well. When my mind wanders like it does so often all of that is the sub-theme. We have time here without anything we can actually do about what is going on “back home” there is a huge amount of time to be dealt with. There are no choices that make a difference yet except to write down as we think of them the things that we need to do or get.

This is Sunday here (Saturday in the U.S.) and NOTHING happens here on Sunday. It is truly a day of rest. We are waiting for tomorrow, I guess. One funny thing that will happen when we leave is that we will lose a day in going back across the Date Line. As a result we will arrive roughly a half an hour before we leave Nieafu.

More Catch Up

2009-09-12T17:36:00.000-07:00

Way back in Tahiti we had seen some really large, on the order of 100 feet and longer, sailing yachts that are in the mega category. You know the type, when they Med moor to the dock they open the “garage” to walk nicely to the dock. A glimpse inside reveals all sorts of toys. Typically, several skidoos, a few kayaks, surf boards, bicycles, dive tanks and so forth. This excess of fun has been following us around during our travels and we have determined that they have lots of scope for their anchors because they have to anchor way out due to their sizable keels (15 feet or more is not usual, I think). In these islands if you cannot get the boat close enough to shore to set down in 25 to 40 feet of water the shelf drops off quickly to 90 or more feet. This isn’t an isolated issue either. Every island so far has had this prominent feature.

In any case, these big boats are here in the same anchorages and share in the same fun we are at a lot more expense.

Let’s chat about sharks for a second. There are lots of them here when there are any. Most are pretty much irrelevant to most of our days because the most abundant ones so far are skittish and/or shy enough that they will get out of your way. Those would be the black tips and similar types. Every so often just to check that you paying attention a large Grey’s shark will saunter by. We haven’t seen Tigers or the more aggressive ones so far and I would like to keep it at that. Typically too most of the sharks stay outside the reef… except when we were in Suwarrow. Those guys gladly traded the open ocean for the interior of the lagoon. We saw the kids on the island swim with all of this going on and the sharks left them alone as they cannon balled off the Ranger’s work boat! Anyway, this is just one of those things I didn’t expect to pay much attention to.

Playing Catch Up

2009-09-12T17:34:00.001-07:00

It is about time to catch up on entries that I have had rolling around in my head but have been unable to get down on the blog due, mostly, to having so many things going on at the same time as the availability of the computer. This goes back to the first one when we were still back in Portland/Vancouver before tossing ourselves on the airplane bound for Tahiti.

When we were debating whether or not to bring a computer Sandy had gone out and purchased this mini-computer to be able to say that we should bring at least one along. That left me to ponder the size and weight of my slightly larger machine. While we were in discussion on this issue Mary O. popped in for a glass of wine and chimed in that we shouldn’t take more than one machine because we certainly know how to share… a year together on a boat sorted that out long ago. Well, as it turns out, we do know how to share but generally we have limited time to do e-mails and blog entries and sharing meant someone needed to take a back seat to get anything done. The quality of the connections we have found is such that typically fast tasks take forever and it leaves one of us to handle the jobs needed and by the time we surrender the computer the connection is gone. So be it… I just let the stuff stack up so that Sandy could keep the pace up to close to normal levels of correspondence.

Having said all that along comes an opportunity to get some things down because we are in Vava’u on a very rainy day and not much else to do! I had finished the book, “Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance” which had been on my list of reading that I have wanted to do for a long time. I was about to pick up, “The Sex Lives of Cannibals” when the computer was suddenly freed from its usual bondage.

Pictures??

2009-09-06T14:45:00.000-07:00

Once again I find myself with lots to say but not enough internet to make it happen. There are something like 700 new photos of the goings on here in the Tongan archipelago of the Vava'u group on Dietmar's site and we have had a continuing round of activities in the Vava'u rally. When I get to my own computer I will add lots of detail and pictures. This place is amazing!!!

Coming here we caught different types of tuna and had feasts both along the way and for the first party when we got in. Fish kabobs with yellow tail are among my favorite food groups. The islands here are numerous and the protected waters a welcome relief after the rough crossing from Apia. We were forced to stop in Niuetoputapu (New Potato) to make repairs when the steering/auto-pilot broke in big seas. The rest of the voyage was more pleasant than the repair bodge part in the 3 meter swells and the 20- 25 knots or so of wind!! It's good to know that you CAN heave to in a catamaran. So, at this point the spare parts bin is a little lighter and the to be repaired or replaced bin is a little bit heavier.

Overall the rally/regatta we are participating in this week has been more fun than anything we have done so far. The collection of boats includes so many that we have met along the way as well as ones we met way back in Mexico. Hopefully I can add pictures at some point too.

Lastly, thank you's go out to all those who have been keeping us up-to-date on hurricane /tropical storm Jimena. Hopefully when the mud settles we will get a picture saying that Faith is okay and the roads are open again!!

Left Hand Drive???

2009-08-26T13:44:00.000-07:00

Other more important things take precedence over doing the blog PLUS we only brought one computer along so Sandy has first dibs on it (she bought this minicomputer just before leaving PDX-land). Anyway, we haven't had much internet access for the last month. Who knew that Western Samoa would have this wicked fast internet... our theory is that they plugged into some fiber optic cable from American Samoa. Anyway, it's great to be back in the land of internet, if only for a few days. We still want to get to Tonga in about a week or so. All of the longer passage making is behind us for this visit. Tonga is only about three days away and then we will have the jump to Fiji when Dietmar gets back from a trip to the States. Right now we are just happy as clams at the one and only dock in Apia (or Western Samoa for that matter)!!

There is a developing storm here by way of something that will drive these people crazy. It seems that their elected officials have decided to change which side of the street they will be driving on!! The big change will come September 7th and we would love to be here for this event. Well, sort of. When you look at the cars on the streets they are split pretty evenly between Left Hand Drive (LHD) and Right Hand Drive (RHD) versions. There is a connection with New Zealand/Australia and Japan here so there is an argument to be made for RHD. The big BUT in this is that ALL of the busses are LHD and the passenger doors open to the sidewalk side which will be the traffic side when the change comes. Of course the government mandated that all the buses put doors on the opposite side for safety but the bus owners aren't going along with any of it!! This will surely result in lots of accidents and an article in the local paper mentioned that insurance costs for LHD vehicles is going to go up... and the costs for RHD's will go down. This is will all be something to watch. We hope that nobody is seriously injured in the process but it is not looking good. Just ask anyone on the street. As an ex-insurance guy this is a sideshow that I am interested in.

[Update: We have more information on the switch due to a conversation with a Kiwi woman that Sandy & Suzanne met. Apparently there was a practice road set up for trying out the switch. Things don't look good for this however, in the one month it has been set up there have been seven accidents and one fatality!!! This does not bode well at all. The Prime Minister had been rumored to have said that God told him to do this and that statement shakes up this overly missionaried country. There is real fear here about the change. Additionally, the courts are going to make a ruling on Friday (it is Wednesday as I write) and this may settle the issue but I am not counting on it.]

Separately, we are getting provisioned for the next hop to "New Potato", as the cruisers call it. It is actually Niuatoputapu and it will be the stop that lets us check into the kingdom of Tonga. The great thing here is the island hopping we are doing... it adds some great stamps to our passports!! We have collected some coins and small bills too for the grandchildren. The money here is very fun and colorful so they should like this stuff even more than the Pesos we brought back for them last time we visited. There is not opportunity to collect shells here as it is forbidden but if we could we haven't found much in any case.

This is such a wonderful place in so many ways. We have a place across the street from the marina that we like for breakfast (Wildfire) and the people there are fantastically friendly. We have been chatting and kidding around with one lady there and a good friendship is developing. She said today, "I don't want to ask the wrong question here but are you Dietmar's father?" This produced a bit of a laugh, while am technically old enough to be his father, his Austrian accent alone should be a clue on that. We then asked all sorts of questions about her family and got a view of life here. It was a fun conversation like so many we have had. Another aspect is that we are still collecting CD's of local music wherever we go and Western Samoa has some of the best we have heard!!

Talofa!!!

2009-08-23T18:45:00.000-07:00

What an experience!! We have about a thousand miles under the keels (this being a catamaran and all) since our arrival in Papeete, Tahiti. This is a very comfortable boat to begin with and the location is spectacular. We only spent a little time in Tahiti before getting off for Morea where spent a few days then off to Ta'aha for some days then Hauhine (my favorite) then Bora Bora (might also be the most Boring Boring) covering about 225 miles in the process. Truly though none of French Polynesia is awful or anything... there were highlights at each place and lots to discover. We did some provisioning along the way but it turned out not quite enough in some instances.

The jump from FP to the Cook Island group covered about 600 miles and we made the incredible stop at Suwarrow. My hat is off to this unbelievable atoll with Anchorage Island; it's a National Park for the Cooks. The caretakers there, John and Veronica Samuela, are amazing and their four sons live on the island for six months out of the year. The island has a history of hurricanes and its highest point might be ten feet above the water so it is not safe to stay there during big storms. There are tons of sharks there, mostly black tips but with a number of grays in evidence. Our first day there was fairly warm so with boat chores done I jumped in the water for a quick cool down; we are talking a very quick in and out here. By the time I came up the swim ladder three black tip sharks were swimming by the transom!! We walked to the other side of the island at sunset that night when we went in for a party the caretaker's hut and they fed the sharks on the side where the pass through the reef is (away from all the boats). The sharks came to the shore and everyone was clicking away on the cameras like crazy. The sharks were there within seconds of the first "chum" hitting the water.

This is where you should jump over to Sandy's blog if you haven't already and catch up on the wedding, first ever on Suwarrow, and all that. When we came in through the pass this island looked like the ideal of what you think a desert island should be. We were looking for a place to hold a wedding and this so perfectly fit the bill that we announced our intentions at the party that first night after checking with John to be sure it was possible. What a commotion this caused immediately. At that point we we also thought that the wedding would be in about two day’s time. The weather changed that plan the next several days however... we only managed a bachelor/bachelorette party the next night then the wind kicked up with 45 knots gusts and all the boats lost any semblance of sleep for a couple of days as we had anchor watches and a sort of Chinese Fire Drill going on as boats tried to be made more secure. It was a lot of work for some because they had gotten wrapped on coral heads and such. All this also gave people more time to plan things when they weren't half crazed from lack of sleep. The whole community jumped in as more boats arrived. John commented that by the time the wedding did take place it was the most boats ever at the anchorage at one time to be recorded (25). This combined with the fact that the first ever wedding was to take place made both he and Veronica exceedingly happy.

Finally the wedding happened and all but the crew from one boat participated.

The next day we had to hustle to get going to make a weather window work for us. We still managed to get thank you cards distributed and such before leaving but it was a challenge.
At the moment we another 350 miles down our track in the port of Apia in Western Samoa. We have done a bit of exploring so far and expect to do more in the next few days. There are lots of blog entries to follow while we have internet but some of mine may have to wait until we get back to Portland around the first of October (we booked a flight this morning). This is a little earlier than we had planned originally but it helps calm us in thinking about all that HAS to be done on Faith when we get back to Mexico!!

Whoa!!! Shortest of Posts!!!

2009-08-03T21:13:00.000-07:00

Okay... so this will be really, really quick!!!! We have a few minutes of internet and not a French keyboard!!! As we are at the mooring ball outside the Bloody Mary Yacht Club and headed to dinner soon I will just say that I don't expect much connectivity for a very long time and forget about pictures for a bit!!! Every few seconds this will all go astray anyway and shut down while I try to post SOMETHING!!! Anyway, lots of pictures are being taken and lots of stories collected about this cruise!!! See you all soon I think!!! It's really beautiful here and the people are great.

Be good until we get back to the internet zone. Lots of scooters here BTW.

The Hoh in the Rain

2009-07-16T08:33:00.000-07:00

Wandering around the Hoh Rain Forest was like nothing I have ever seen before. As I mentioned earlier the place is green covering green everywhere you look. We took two trails on the same day; one was Park Ranger led and the other was just us walking through the forest after reading everything at the information center. Both were fun in their own ways but I preferred the self tour to the Ranger’s musings because we actually looked harder for things on our own. The whole thing was great from so many perspectives though. The few pictures we got before the camera batteries were depleted were the frosting for this cake.

We had some rain (very little really) while we were there too. The Hoh river was interesting in that the color of the water is that pale teal color that glacier fed water has. It was cold to the max and there was a fantastic pull-in for the motorhome at the water’s edge. This meant that we had the water sound all night… there is nothing like that while-noised pebble rolling water for a transcendental moment or two.

We stopped just outside of Port Angeles where a small RV park is near a dam. That was good for a short hike and a few pictures as well but really could not compete with the deep in the forest feeling from the previous two days! Port Angeles is where Sandy grew up so there was a motorhome foray into some smaller neighborhoods to spice the visit up. Let’s see, can we squeeze this puppy though that little opening? Yikes!!! The next stop was Port Townsend where I had been for the first time only three weeks before. If at all possible we will come back for more of Port Townsend next year… it is like the sixties got stuck in some sort of retro vortex and walking around the small downtown area is something to be repeated.

Now we are back in Portland and getting ready for the next big bit of traveling. We need to pack very carefully and have no more than is really necessary for the Polynesian excursion!! My snorkel fins are the first thing to cause some rethinking but we did pick up some inexpensive larger bags to tote our stuff in so this might be easier than it seems at this early stage. Dietmar and Suzanne have made reasonable requests for things we need to bring as well so we will be off to track down some coffee and such as soon as the office at this RV park opens and we can check in (they were closed when we got here last night).

Shores, Forests & Music

2009-07-14T08:08:00.000-07:00

Putumayo has some Great music.

While we have been charging around the Olympic Peninsula here in the greener than green Northwest I have been taking care of a music organization task that started when we were in Mazatlan, Mexico. We had taken the hike into the artsy district of old Mazatlan and there was a book and music street fair going on. We browsed the selections and I found a vendor with Putumayo items covering the table!! Oh, gosh, I think I need a few of those. Well, when I loaded them onto the computer to put into the iPod it seems they were missing the titles and details needed to keep them organized and recognizable. Hmmm, after some trial and error I finally came up with a way to get that accomplished without having to reload everything. Now that it's done I can happily listen and know what it is I am listening to. I had already known of this lable from the "Music from the Coffee Lands" CD I had heard some few years ago but had not realized the connection until I saw it at this fair. (The link is above).

Otherwise, we have spent time in the Hoh Rain Forest, a temperate area of western Washington state. This is as close to "magical" as it gets for me. The deep greens in so many shades and textures are amazing. Simply as shocking to the senses as the barreness of coastal Baja California must have been for Sandy. We have taken time, too, to explore the area where Sandy grew up and as a tour guide she has been finding ways to bring her childhood memories to the front. This would have been very different from the ways and places of my youth. It's about as different from Tucson, Arizona as you can get!!

Overall we have had a lot of fun checking all this out. No internet much of the time and spending time with family and friends along the way. Another thing we have done as we go is to read (together) a book about aging... that is, Sandy reads to me as I drive to the next stopping place. The book is, "You Staying Younger, The Owners Manual For Extending Your Warranty" by Dr.'s Michael F. Roizen & Mehmet C. Oz. It is well written and updates a lot of facts and myths about the aging process. This is between my current regular read, "The Wauchula Woods Accord" by Charles Siebert, which as the subtitle says, is "Toward A New Understanding of Animals". Today or tomorrow I am hoping to stop at the same bookstore in Port Townsend where I got Siebert's book to pick up a slightly related book that I should have gotten when I was there. We had helped a friend (Sue... maybe that's Surfer Sue) move her boat there. Anyway, the long and the now of it all is that we are having a bunch of fun while avoiding traffic accidents (like the guy in a motorhome, yesterday, who came around a corner waaay too fast in our lane). So there has been a bit of adrenalin from time to time but nothing worse than the old commute to work a few years back!! The rest of the day passes without nearly the stress that I was under at that time. The back drop of total "green out" makes this a reality I have never known before. The thing that makes all this so incredible is the amount of water there is here. Remembering that I am a desert person at heart, there is more water here for me to see than I have seen in my lifetime to date (that is by rough calculation a fact)!!

NOW... We Tell Those Stories

2009-06-30T18:53:00.000-07:00

So, again, we stopped in Las Vegas on the way to Portland and saw Ster, Julie & Vivian. It was just a quick overnighter thing that was a lot of fun too. The BBQ got exercised and we shared the slide show of Mexico and related stuff.

We were a long way from Portland still and passed some great sights. One was the Shoe Tree... unfortunately we did not stop to grab a picture of that, perhaps next time!

Then there is the stop in Reno, Nevada at the Nugget. Hmmm, just a few miles from the California border and it was time to call it a day. The Nugget has this Golden Rooster in the lobby and there is a history of this objet 'd art in the room as well as in front of the case. The short history I found to be monsterously hilarious for the simplistic reason that it exemplifies foolishness in so many ways. It seems that in May of 1958 the management of the Nugget were casting about for something (a focal point) to use as a claim to fame. They got permission from the U.S. Treasury to commission this Rooster because it was to weigh more than the amount legal for an individual to own of 50 ounces of gold. In fact when all was said and done it weighed in at 206.3 troy ounces of 18-karat gold!!! That's when the fun started. About early 1959 the Treasury Department started its quest to seize the Bird through law suits and such harrassments as they thought appropriate... the Nugget pleaded its case and things went silent for awhile. Then again in 1960 the Treasury grabbed the Bird and made off with it for a further two years of continuous litigation. In the end the chosen jury said this was all nonsense and awarded the Bird back to its owners and it has resided happily in various places in the casino ever since. One of the things that struck me as funny in reading the story was the claim by the Treasury that this was not art... as if they know?!?! Anyway, the long and the short of it is that here is a little peice of Americana that I would never have guessed when I saw this Polished Brass looking creature!! So, in a way, the Treasury still got the Bird!!

Stories Untold... Yet

2009-06-19T16:04:00.000-07:00

While poking along the path north we DID stop in Las Vegas to see Sterling and family; Julie & Vivian are doing quite well too!! The visit was all too brief but at least we got there in between work shifts and spent a bit with everyone. The BBQ was fired up and the ribs were a hit!! The time was short but most enjoyable. (Pictures to follow here)

There is ALSO the story of the Golden Rooster from the Nugget in Reno on our way through. An example of Zealots in Government!!! Also to follow is the picture with story... stay tuned for the full, enhanced version!!!

A World of Knowledge

2009-06-17T10:35:00.000-07:00

Sandy's grandson, Justin, in Sutherlin, Oregon.

So, I find myself in Portland, Oregon again after 12 months of sailing and boat chores. What a ride! Overall the time has blown by in whirl of activity. From the time we left Portland and made our way down the coast so much has happened… so much has changed. From the cold off shore experience to the very much warmer experience going south of Cabo San Lucas and then north into the Sea of Cortez lessons abound about what cruising can be about. We, Sandy and I, have shifted and learned some of what our relationship is about while we have divided tasks aboard Faith. Our floating home is now put away for the summer but our adventure continues.

As has been mentioned our friends on Carinthia (a Lagoon 440 catamaran) have invited us to join them in Tahiti and sail westward as far, possibly, as Fiji or Tonga. That would add another 2500 to 3000 miles to the water under our keel on top of nearly 4000 miles since last August. In addition we will visit the places we have wanted to see for a lot of years… without having to have first taken the leap off the Mexican coast to get to the Marquesas! If it meets expectations then perhaps it is something we could undertake some day when Faith is properly outfitted for such a journey. In the meantime we get to experience for ourselves the Coconut Path.

There are things that have to be done for the next season aboard Faith but that will have to wait until we return in October or November. We have a list about as long as my arm that includes such essentials as a new windlass, wheels for the dinghy (to improve our surf landings), more shade and sundry other items to improve life aboard. There are repairs that will happen while we are away, like the fix that the mains’l needs (new batten system) and collecting tools that are in Portland. There is a wish list too that, if pursued, will make life more comfortable. Right now we have the use of Sandy’s parents little used motorhome to have a place to stay during the time leading up to flying south. Since leaving my son Sterling’s place in Las Vegas we have encountered lots of rain and cloudy conditions. It feels like our sun tans are fading quickly… likely we will have to work on our base again, risking sunburn, when we get to Papeete. In the plan for the moment is a coastal land-based cruise to see the sights and get together with family and, if all goes well in the timing department, we will also get up into the Olympic peninsula to sight see some. This will complete the world of contrasts that has symbolized the trip north from San Carlos, Mexico thus far. It was near (+/-2˚) 100˚F when we left Mexico and has been reduced to about 70˚F during the days here in Portland. If this were a dive opportunity I would be concerned about the decompression schedule!!

Getting further along the path

2009-06-17T10:08:00.000-07:00

So, yes, we are going to the south Pacific!! In an e-mail from Dietmar (on Carinthia, see 52 Hertz link on the side bar) he mentions the itinerary:

French Polynesia
Northern Cooks
American Samoa
Western Samoa
Northern Fiji
Vanuatu
Santa Cruz
Solomon Islands

We likely will not get past Vanuatu due to the short (3 months) time frame for this adventure!! In the meantime we are starting on a land tour that started in San Carlos, Sonora, Mexico and has progressed as far as Portland, Oregon (Orygun, as one one bumper sticker had it the other day). In a week or so we will go to Florence, OR and continue up the coast into Washington to see the five eco systems that present themselves along the way. This nomadic thing is addictive!!! The "Dirt Yacht," as Sandy has been calling it, has the benefit of being a lot like the water version. It is very mobile and the people we have met are very friendly.

Oh, and no picture of this, but while I was driving north along I-5 yesterday I passed a place where I could see the southbound train... there were two unlikely fellows on a grassy area next to the tracks... they were mooning the passengers on the train quite enthusiastically!!! "Oh, look Martha, local color!"

Whoa... season ends!!!

2009-06-01T17:21:00.001-07:00

Today Faith came out of the water and bounced nicely down the quarter mile to the dry storage area!!!! Easy to watch the process and get lulled into thinking that the work part might be over... not so much!! Tomorrow, at some likely early time, we will pop over to the work yard and continue the process of putting her to bed for the summer. It almost never ends... this boat work. The motel room is stacked with stuff and we are considering how to organize that... then the drive to Tucson (Tux) and then PDX (Portland/Vancouver, WA) -- "it's all good," as they say!!!

Work, Work, Work...

2009-05-31T07:09:00.000-07:00

San Juanico before the fog hit!!!

Who could know that putting a boat to bed for the summer would be so much work???

We have been working each day until it just gets too hot to handle then laying low until the sun goes down. Yesterday a friend from the Tucson Sailing Club came by and we got ahead by a day with his help (Thanks Bob). Then it was out to dinner at La Palapa for Greek fare; what could be better? Overall there are likely about two more days of steady work ahead then on Monday the haul out in the after noon. With a little luck we should be ready to point the truck toward Tucson on Wednesday. This is like the end of any long adventure with the bonus that a new one is taking shape. Well, off to breakfast then more work!!!

San Carlos Again

2009-05-21T11:48:00.000-07:00

Hurray!!! We are in San Carlos and making plans to haul the boat out onto the hard!!! Just a quick note after our snotty ride from Bahia Concepcion. Just a great day to slow down again and start planning for the next part of the adventure!! South Pacific... here we come!!!

Animal Life... on Land

2009-04-28T09:01:00.000-07:00

Just a few words about what we have seen along the way. Mostly we have seen the marine critters everywhere and have mentioned the whales, dolphins, rays, turtles and various fish. There is another branch of animal that we encounter each time we disembark. Of these we have mentioned the iguanas in Colimia, the crocidile in Tencatita, the snake in the pool at Barra de Navidad, the tons of birds everywhere and, I think, made mention of some of the dogs and cats along the way. We went to the islands of Espiritu Santo, Partida and San Francisco recently and I started noticing the lizards a bit more. These guys range in size from the very small (about the size of your pinky finger) to nearly a small cat. On other Sea of Cortez trips I have seen larger ones (on Isla Esteban for example) but this time variety has caught my attention. The colors are more subtle than I have managed to capture yet but this should give you some idea of their differing markings. I am not completely sure but somewhere must be a field guide book to help me start to understand these residents of the Islas!!

One animal I do not have a picture of is the goat that surprised Patty and Hank on Espiritu Santo when they went ashore... that was a definite "spot"!! I had heard that there were goats there but had never had anyone personally verify their existence.

I will have to try to get more pictures of these guys as we move north this next three weeks.

My, How Time Flies!!!

2009-04-24T07:31:00.000-07:00

Gads... where does the time go sometimes!! We have landed again in La Paz after a great adventure from Mazatlán to Muertos to La Paz to the islands north of here and back to La Paz!! We had a plan to get straight to La Paz initially but some engine problems made us divert to the anchorage at Los Muertos. After we had fixed the problem we were so enchanted by the anchorage that we just stayed for a couple of extra days. As it happened Patty had gone off to play with friends while Sandy and I brought Faith across from Mazatlán so we had time to kick back in yet another great place. When we did get to La Paz another friend, Hank (who had been with us on the Ha-Ha), came for another turn in the sunshine. We went north for a week to show him Isla Espiritu Santo, Isla Partida, Isla San Francisco and the anchorage at Everisto. This was all a hoot-and-a-half, as they say. We had made a number of appointments for our return in La Paz so had to get back to keep them and get Hank off to the airport so we didn’t have as much time as we could have but the experience has made Sandy a veteran of the area now. When the next set of guests get here in a week or so we will be ready to leave La Paz with a fresh bunch of supplies, a surveyed boat, new glasses, dental work and a variety of other required improvements.

A small aside here too. I was walking down the street a couple of days ago when the incredible bakery smell crossed my path. I pulled an immediate turn to starboard and found myself in a small shop with baked goods, fruit juices and coffee. I selected a bread with a locally grown (available on in La Paz) prune and a freshly squeezed juice. When I had finished (after chatting with some fellow cruisers and such) the lady behind the counter asked if I liked La Paz. “Very much,” I replied. Then she told me that there was a legend about the prunes in the bread I had eaten. Interested at that point I then learned that anyone who eats the plum or prune that comes from the Magote (where these are grown) is destined to not leave La Paz. Well then, it’s a good thing I like La Paz!!! So, for the moment we are doing a bunch of boat work and getting things ready for the final section of the adventure before San Carlos. We are actually in a marina so things are pretty cushy for the moment while we work our way through boat projects and cleaning the now very dirty Faith. More on the adventures later but now off to work on “things”.

So Much In So Few (Days)

2009-03-28T16:26:00.000-07:00

on
It seems that we have crammed quite a bit into just a few days in Mazatlán this time. One thing that stands out right now is that the food, in general, has been superb! We have managed to hit several restaurants in the area and with one exception have been very pleased (indeed)! There is a place at the head of the dock called “Gus Gus” and it is the place where we found the melt-in-your-mouth fillet Mignon (Filete Miñon). Their breakfasts are very good too. We popped up to the “Citrus Ocean” (third floor at the lighthouse) and experienced excellent service and cuisine. Last night we went to “Isaa”, which oddly enough is located across the street from Wal-Mart, had free margaritas along with a spectacular array of fish dishes. My Mahi Mahi in cream sauce was “to die for” and the rice and vegetables combination was the perfect topper. The one that didn’t work out quite so well was a franchise USA sort of wings/bbq place that seemed like part of Texas had plopped itself down to give us truly awful food. It even served Bud Light to any dumb enough to order that in Mexico… I stuck to Negro Modelo and came out slightly ahead even though I could not finish the ½ chicken I ordered. We have been into downtown twice in the short time we have been here too and that has allowed us to hit the open market there. It is still one of my favorite things to go to such places because of the non-Wal-Mart-ness of them. There is an element of chaotic charm that beguiles me every time. It was here that we buy the T-shirts and flip flops that are our mainstay for clothing. The produce is as fresh as any you will find in the box stores and a whole lot less expensive too. Within a few blocks are, typically, plenty of other stores that cater to all sorts of needs and we can be fairly leisurely at everything except crossing the streets. If you like people watching there is lots of that available as well. I especially like to watch first encounters of tourists with the meat section of the open market!!

So, now we have put in the waypoints for the trek across the Sea of Cortez and will take off tomorrow for La Paz. This leg is just Sandy and I for crew because Patty is doing a side trip to Loreto (via Los Angeles). We will all meet up again in La Paz and then wait a few days for Hank to come for a visit. We also have to have the boat hauled out for a survey and perhaps a new coat of bottom paint. It is my hope that there will be enough time for me to have an eye exam and obtain some new prescription sun glasses and maybe some regular glasses. It has been awhile since I have had my eyes checked so I am looking forward to this even though I think not much has changed.

Slipping into a Memory

2009-03-24T07:33:00.000-07:00

It is still there!!

From the top of the Freeman

Panorama of old beach

Playa at Olas Altas

Yesterday the crew of Faith joined the crew of Periclees and jumped onto a local bus headed for the old section of Mazatlán. We wandered past lots of history there and then ended up walking to the beach… the old section of the beach. Suddenly a bit of history was there in front of me; my history.

Many years ago, when I was a lad, my Uncle Munro, in particular, was traveling in Latin America often. Occasionally when he went south he added family members to the trip. On one of those occasions I was along as he came north from Guatemala and we ended up at the Freeman Hotel on the Olas Altas in Mazatlán. It was a great place to spend about week and, being summer, the water was warm but inviting to our small band of determined travelers. All in all it seems to me now that this was a prelude to many more visits. On one of the trips south “Tio Barfy”, a name he was tagged with on this trip having nothing to do with what it sounds like it does, loaded up seven or eight kids along with the appropriate notarized parental permissions and related documents and pointed the old (1956 or 7) two toned (blue and white) Ford station wagon toward Mazatlán. When he got the non-power steering vehicle to the beach he rented an apartment and the month that followed was spent at the beach in the morning, lunch at the apartment and charades during siesta time. There was time for reading and such but it was the mornings at La Playa and the Copa de Leche restaurant and bar that hit me again as a place I had encountered many times in the past. The funny thing was that I was recalling this particular trip even though I wasn’t along on it. Oh, there had been many others of like kind but I was remembering the excitement of my siblings when they told me about what a great time they had on this outing. It was so like what other times had been for me with Tio Barfy!! We didn’t have to do much to invent our own fun then.

The pictures are from the top of the sea wall and the top of the still existing Freeman Hotel (now a Best Western). A small note on the Freeman: as we went to the top floor we got off the elevator and walked the last two stories, passing the elevator motors, where we saw the plaque stating that the elevators had been installed in 1944.

Lifestyle or just life?

2009-03-21T20:34:00.000-07:00

Trimaran on the hook, Isla Isabela

Frigate bird, one of thousands

Anchor chain in 25 feet of water

One of the things that has been going through my head as we have progressed northward is that this IS a lifestyle, albeit a very strange one at times. Yesterday we pulled into an anchorage at Isla Isabela and dropped the hook into the clearest aqua blue water I have seen in a long, long time. I mean, it was stunningly beautiful and we were the only boat there. A bit later a trimaran popped around the corner and eventually settled on a spot too but it was not crowding us in the least. Here we were in the best of all possible places I thought as we watched whales leaping and cavorting just off the island. Here we found a kind of solitude and surroundings that you dream of finding.

It was not until the next day that the full force of what we were experiencing hit me. We jumped off the boat into 25 feet of water and started snorkeling around the anchorage. I could see the anchor from the surface and the fish, in great numbers, swarmed over the bottom. In a way it reminded me of what I had seen years ago in Lake Tahoe, a sense of greater depth ran over me. We had talked about taking the dinghy into the island when we were approaching but once we were snorkeling there was not going to be enough time to do both. Part of our problem was that we needed to carry on to Mazatlán so that our guest, Sue, could get to the airport in time for her flight. Our sail up from La Cruz had already been punctuated by seeing a couple of sharks and several pods of whales so we were not starved for wildlife encounters. It was made slightly more complex too because the shortwave net that morning had mentioned a weather front coming in and the anchorage and the rest of sail north would have gotten a little dicey. The other thing that happened and had me chuckling was that about the time we started getting the boat ready to go several more boats topped the horizon making for the island and the anchorage was going to get more crowded. We have now seen what holds the promise of a trip back next season and we will time our approach with the possibility of staying several days.

Jumping into the momentarily brisk water was a chance to explore a whole day of a new place and gave us a fresh look at why it is we enjoy doing this so much!

On the Move Again!!

2009-03-16T07:11:00.000-07:00

A Sign in Nuevo Vallarta showing what NOT to do and why!!

We are leaving La Cruz after picking up a guest (Sue came down to Mexico for a conference and had some extra time) to take back to Mazatlan to catch her flight back to Portland. The marina experience has been good and the boat is clean again; after the two months on the hook she needed some attention. Now that all is good it is time to continue the move northward. Once in Mazatlan we likely won't stay long because we want to get to La Paz in time for Patty to meet some friends (after a bus ride) in Loreto.

The thought here is to sail to Isla Isabela because it is a bird sanctuary and Sue is a birder by profession. It is always fun to have someone aboard with something to add to the general knowledge and experience aboard. As an aside, it doesn't hurt to have someone aboard to stand a watch now and again either!!

With luck we will be able to stay at Isabela long enough to get some pictures of the island covered in birds.

Delfines!!

2009-03-11T09:11:00.000-07:00

A Smooch

Some Smiles

Some Touches

...And more fun than you can imagine!!!

Some fun, now!! Somehow we got wind of the availability of dolphins to swim with in Nuevo Vallarta. Since nothing would do but to see what this was about we signed for a bit of time in the water with dolphins.

We took the bus to where we could easily get a cab into Nuevo Vallarta and found the center to be a fairly modern facility. We got down to the boat for the very short ferry ride over to the area with the tanks. We stayed in a waiting area while we watched a group ahead of us doing a “train the trainer” session. Here there were lots of people belonging to various groups sorted by what color wrist bands we wore. Then the trainers came in and gave us a few ground rules for getting in the tank with the dolphin. Essentially we were told how to touch the animals and how not to touch them. The trainers were great in their presentation and concern for their charges. Our group of eight was with Sue and our first dolphin (Alii) was a real charmer. At about 200 pounds Alii was a fairly small, just past the juvenile stage, animal with scars on his back from encounters with other dolphin in the pool. It was Alii that gave each of us in turn a ride around the pool in the belly-to-belly mode. This was accomplished by holding the fins close to his body and stretching our arms out to then slide over the top while keeping our feet clear of the tail. The tail, it turns out, is very hard. We learned too that a dolphin is a bit over 80% muscle as we tootled around in our towed position. Once we started smiling we couldn’t stop.

The other part of the fun was in simply touching the animals. They each had a very wet rubber feel to them. The second dolphin, Lluvia (translates as Rain), was slightly larger and a bit stronger than the first. She was less scarred and then Sue (our assigned trainer) mentioned that she was a bit more aggressive in her personality. While we were crowded around stroking her she made a grab for the draw string on my swim suit but was polite enough to stop when the trainer asked her to. We did kisses and hugs for the camera, as well as feeding her. The young man next to me said, “Yuk, they gave me a squid to feed her… just the thing I didn’t want to touch!” My own feeding experience was a large mackerel and it was fun dropping it down the mouth. I noticed that the tongue was different, with little nodules around edge, and I did not ask about it as I should have. Now that means a few minutes of research to understand the reason and meaning of this adaptation to complete the field trip.

As one of the things to cross off the (bucket) list this is near the top. It has been a “wanna do” for a long time. Check. Done. Kewl!!!

The Marquesas for Some

2009-03-07T12:13:00.000-08:00

One of the things that has taken hold in the last few days is that the Puddle Jump group is well into getting ready to head to the Marquesas. There has been a flurry of car rentals and mass shopping and last minute boat repairs over on 3 dock. We have many friends getting into the long distance mode and it has been interesting to watch since this IS something I would like to do sometime. There have already been a couple of boats that slipped the ties and turned west but thus far they are reporting little or no wind and are only a couple of hundred miles out of Banderas Bay. In looking at the weather reports it seems to me that it will be at least a week before conditions are such that, if I were going, I would choose to follow them. In any case, it is interesting to watch the collective progress being made over on 3 dock.

This morning I joined Dietmar and Susanne (Carinthia) going to the swap meet in Nuevo Vallarta along with Alan and Rena (Follow You Follow Me). We had a good time at the brief event and then managed to slip in a shopping trip to fill their last minute needs for the Jump. I think that Dietmar has finally hit stride and has started to relax again. His last few weeks have been all about the preparations but now he seems to have come to that point where he has done all he can and it's time to go as soon as conditions are correct. I recall this turning point from earlier in our trip when, even though the work was not done in Portland we had to stick to the leave-the-dock plan or be there for another year!! It is a wonderful thing to reach that place where you just can't get yourself past a certain state of Ready.

If you have a shortwave radio you can hear them chatter at around 9:00 am (CST) on 8.188 USB as they get organized around their new net. It's not clear to me what they will do about daylight savings time so it would be at the top of the hour, based on what they decide on that, and if you want to follow their progress you might have to hunt for them an hour or two either side of that time.

Where we have been.

2009-03-01T08:18:00.000-08:00

View of the anchorage from the Las Hadas hotel.

View of the Las Hadas from the anchorage.

Ken & Linde join us for Valentine's Day dinner at the Paradise

Seeing where we have been.

2009-03-01T07:56:00.001-08:00

Barra de Navidad from the dinghy dock looking toward the Grand Bay Hotel.

The Aquarium at Tenecatita (our much lonelier anchorage was around the corner)

Sandra with Sandra at Tenecatita.

Quiet anchorage at Tenecatita.

A few pictures courtesy of my new camera that recently fell off the nav station and broke. It has this great panorama feature!! It will be getting repaired soon I believe.