To Bash Or Not To...

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

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

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

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.

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.