A Delicate Matter

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

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

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

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!!

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.