Sailing "Full & By"

Time to get out of Dodge as Bud tries to blow us home ...hasta luego Mexico

"Full & By" is finally put to bed for hurricaine season
and as it has turned out it is just in time as himicaine "Bud" (male huricane) hit the Mexican coast a few hundred miles south of us.... however as of Friday Bud and his remnants were still moving northward towards PeurtoVallarta and Mazatlan.  Fortunately the storm weakened but not before becoming a catagory 3 himicaine!  We were concerned that our flights from Mazatlan to Puerto Vallarta and from Peurto Vallarta to Vancouver would be affected....and sure enough they were.  At least we did not have to find out what it would be like to fly through a tropical storm.  Friday it blew twenty knots in the marina and was cloudy most of the day ...we even had a very light sprinkle of rain ....so we  were glad the work on "Full & By" was completed and it was still warm enough to enjoy some time in the pool.  After our dip we checked our e-mail only to discover that indeed all our flights home had been cancelled and that the Puerto Vallarta airport was indeed closed for Friday and Saturday.  Fortunately we were still in Mazatlan away from the storm and able to rebook easily at no extra charge ......now we fly Tuesday.  The condo people here were great and let us stay an extra three days, and our wonderful cruisers friends have been feeding us since Friday as we had given away all our food!   Bud, of course is no longer and other than torrential downpoars in PV and points south, he did little if any damage...other that managing to flumux our travel plans...... on the bright side the weather here in Mazatlan is great so time to have a few extra bonus days of fun in the sun relaxing by the pool.  Here is a picture from our condo....we have a great view of the marina, "Full & By", and out to the ocean.

We have had a great cruising season in Mexico this year, in spite of our boat repairs, and will take home to BC our wonderful memories of lazy days in the sun spent on "Full & By" as we transition back to the hustle and bustle of life back home.  

Crossing the sea of Cortez .....Turtle dodging, the green flash, and phosphorescent Dophins

We left La Paz at 06:30 with a strong corumel wind blowing out of the southwest. These are strong localized catabatic winds that occur in the La Paz area similar to the ones that blow in and out of Howe Sound.  The differnece here in Mexico is that these winds are seldom predicted.  Anyway we certainly were blown out of La Paz ...with a reefed jib only, and 27 plus knots of wind from behind we flew at 7.5 knots out of La Paz Bay into the San Lorenzo Channel and into the sea.  As soon as we passed Bahia Bonanza the wind died.  We furled in the jib and put up a reefed main (for stabilization) and headed east, waiting for the afternoon northwesterly wind to arrive.  It was not to be for as soon as we rounded the reef off the north end of Cerralvo Island we had southeasterly winds of 10-12 knots on the nose.  The water was not lumpy so it was smooth going in spite of the noserly wind and as we sailed further east the wind became more southerely.  The wind remained light but continued from the south southeast well into the first night.  I settled into my watch (18:00 till midnight), comfortable with the course, motion and speed of the boat. I had my warm clothes ready, if needed life jacket on and my ipod within close reach to help keep me awake.  I watched the sun set always a beautiful sight at sea in anticipation of a possible green flash event...I thought conditions were perfect but no luck. By nine oclock the sky was dark with millions of stars, some so bright they reflected on the sea surface all the way to the horizon.  With no moon it can be difficult to see as the sea is as black as can be with the far horizon just slightly lighter.  The stern light is bright and sometimes reflects back into the cockpit interfering with my night vision.  I cover the back side of the light with the flag and that as good as I was going to get this night.  I checked our GPS and realized that moon rise would not occur on my watch...too bad...and then settled in for the night turning on my favorite tunes on my Ipod.  Aoub every ten minutes I change from sitting on one side of the cockpit to the other as well as checking the computer on the nav table for course and ships.  We have AIS on board and it is an amazing piece of technology which picks up ships within a hundred miles and gives you a pile of information most importantly, the name of the vessel, course, speed and closest point of approach. There are many freighters and ferries as well as cruise ships that crisscross this body of water so it very nice to know where they are in relation to us.  If the visibility is poor we use the radar but this night the sky is clear and the sea flat and if a vessel was out there I would see it in plenty of time if it became necessary to change course.  I see no ships and occasionaly I see a setting star that looks like a vessel and then it disappears.  I can see the phorphoresence in the water and flying fish darting out of the wake being chased by bright phorphrencent objects which I assume are bigger fish on the hunt.  I watch for sleeping whales and fish nets marked with small bouys both difficult to see at night...but fortunately see and hit none. I sing along with my I pod watching the shooting stars and the sea.....soon it is my turn to go to bed...I've had a good watch.  In the AM I wake and find we are motoring along..no wind, and the ocean is like glass with multiple little helmets everywhere....they are large sea turtles, a few with birds resting on them....some have been floating for so long the top of the turtle shell appears golden bleached out by the sun!  When motoring past turtles close to the boat who otherwise appear dead, they suddenly come to life and attempt to dive and eventually succeede but only after we motor past.....a very slow reaction time as we are only travelling at walking speed (five knots/per hour)!  And then it happens we hit one I think...can't see it but I'm sure I heard the crunch so now I'm watching and adjusting our course frequently in order to avoid a turtle collision.  This goes on for most of the day until early evening when they start to thin out.  The wind picks up a little from the southeast but not enough to sail and we are only a few hours till dark so we decide to keep motoring.  The swell increases a bit coming on the aft quarter making the boat roll side to side on the big ones fortunately the auto helm handles it well and having the main and the stay sail up also helps us to minimize the roll effect so we don't get too uncomfortable.  My night watch again and it always seems easier when you know it's your last and if your previous night watch went well.  It's also good if everything is quiet and your not anticipating any changes in conditions.  I watch the sun set and this time I think I just might see the flash as there is no haze, and no clouds on the horizon,  the sea temperature is 75 and the air temp is 95 a big difference..all the conditions are right.  This time I see it and it is very distinct...when you see you will know you have seen it ...there is no doubt...it is a definite green/blue flash just as the sun dips below the horizon.  I wish I had awoken Dick up to see it however if I had It wouldn't have happened.  Later theat evening the dolphins came to play darting in and out of our wake and playing in the bow wave under the bowsprit.   You could here them surface and see their trail of phosphoresence in the water but you couldn't actually see them...it was too dark even with a sky full of stars.  They stayed and played with us for over an hour ...what a treat especially as it was our last night a sea for awhile.

At first light we were outside the harbor entrance and fortunately for us the swell wasn't too high.   We were at midtide so we had no problems crossing the bar..in a few minutes we were tied up at the El Cid fuel dock which did not open till 08:30 so in the meantime the coffee shop was open and so were the bathrooms.  So after a welcomed shower and coffee we were ready for the day.  Friends on Dodger Two staying at El Cid joined us and invited us to stay and swim ...so we spent the rest of the day swiming and relaxing by the pool...such a tough life however the work would begin soon enough.  Eventually we got "Full & By" over to her slip for the summer and fall at Marina Mazatlan right beside "Mariposa"  Seems strange to be right beside our friends boat and not see them (they had already left by the time we got here).  Hopefuly we will catch up with them this summer in the northwest or this fall and if not we will see them next winter.  As I write this I am sitting on the only spare seat in the boat as there is stuff everywhere as we sort through our belongings, clean the boat and prepare her for long term storage in a tropical latitude.  All sails, cleaned folded, all lines including halyards cleaned and put away, kayak and dingy cleaned and put away, blocks removed, engines and generators serviced, water maker pickled, barbeque cleaned, all books and clothing bagged and put away, all food items removed except a few can goods and seasonings, all boat lockers cleaned, as well as the fridge and oven.  Fuel tanks full, water tanks empty and on top of everything we are also stripping and varnishing the cap and rub rail, fortunately we have Ricardo helping us with this job.  

Ten days from now we will catch the overnight bus to Peurto Vallarta and then board our West jet plane for Vancouver and this Mexico sailing season will be just a wonderful memory.  We look forward to catching up with family and friends and spending the summer in the great northwest.  A couple of weeks sailing in Desolation Sound on " Reverie"  at the end of June folowing which we will head to Petersberg Alaska, where we will join Ivan on "Kittiwake" for three weeks, sailing to Prince Rupert in mid July so please stay tuned as we change locations and have sailing adventures on other peoples boats!  

 

"Full & By's" Sea of Cortez adventure...A Steinbeck experience

From Peurto Escondido we headed across the bay to Honeymoon Cove a picturesque anchorage of several little bays nestled in the lee of high cliffs, the first of which has a beautiful sugary white sand beach. A hike to the top of the cliffs makes for a great panoramic shot with Puerto Escondido off in the far distance.
It was a great place to kayak and swim even though the water was a little cool...with tons of tropical fish around the reefs.... the water was so clear you could easily identify the fish from the kayak. Although windy during the day, the nights were lovely peaceful and calm. After three nights here we moved on to Isla Coronado, an old volcano the edges worn away by the sea and wind on one side leaving a shallow sandy spit and several reefs.
The south side of the island is protected from the northerly winds although completely open to the south. With the little town of Loreto about ten miles off to the west, we were even able to get internet in our remote perfect spot. We anchored in 18 feet of clear turquoise bluewater which was warm enough to swim and float around in floaty chairs all afternoon.

I went in the dingy with Jackie and Lief from "Dodger Too" to look for shells on the sandspit while Dick decided to hike up to the top of the volcano. The water was like being in an enormous aquarium, with tons of colourful fish, swimming about between the sea weed and coral..it was lovely. We got back to the boat a few hours later and turned the binoculars skyward looking for any signs of Dick.....nada. We calculated it was at least a four mile hike up and back so maybe it was a little early to expect him. However two hours later we started to get worried...still no sign of him and it was about an hour away from sunset! Finally he appeared exhausted and parched with a few nicks and scratches around his ankles but at least he was back uninjured, albeit a little dry.....next time one would hope he will take water and a radio with him! He got some great shots but it really was a difficult hike with not much of a trail over very difficult terrain. The next day we played in the water , relaxed and took a short well marked easy hike over to the north west side of the island which presented yet another gorgeous panorama searched for shells and and creatures in the crystal clear water much like Steinbeck and Doc Ricketts must have done years before.
With a south wind behind us, we decided to check out San Juanico, an anchorage 50 nm north as we had heard from several cruisers it was a favorite spot. A little more wind to get us there would have been perfect but in this area wishing for more wind can be unwise. San Juanico certainly was a beautiful setting but alas many other boaters thought so too and the anchorage was crowded. We did find a place to drop the hook and then took a wander by dingy around the little bays, rocky pinnacles and coves, as well as hiked the beaches looking for shells. Osprey nests were perched high atop rocky pinnacles on an islet right in front of the anchorage...one was occupied by two young birds almost ready to fledge. The parents were very vigilant dive bombing anyone who approached the islet making it difficult to get a could pic however it was fun watching the birds through the binoculars....rather risky by kayak.
The water was a little cooler here and not as clear as Isla Coronado so we decided to stay here only one night returning to Coronado Island our favorite spot so far. We had a north wind going back...perfect and were able to sail most of the way enjoying the dolphins surfing beside us.
One more perfect night under the stars at anchor here and it was time to make our way south. With a brief stop in Peurto Escondido to pick up supplies, we anchored at Bahia Los Candeleros, home to a very exculsive brand new resort, Villas de Palmar at the Islands of Loreto, which welcomes us cruisers giving us free use of the facilities....what a treat! We lapped up the luxury, swimming in the pool, laying in the hammocks, sipping drinks while having a Spanish lesson all for free! In spite of being treated like a queen for the day, I prefer the salt water to the pool when the ocean is clear and warm and you can see all the pretty fish. A strong westerly wind of 27 knots picked up as the sun set making the anchorage a little uncomfortable during the night, so the next day we moved a little further south to Aqua Verde where we had stayed on the way north but only for a night due to contrary winds. This time we were lucky...light south winds were predicted for the next week and a sailboat pulled out of our favorite anchor spot just as we arrived.
We stayed here several nights visiting with friends on "Ponderosa", "Dodger Too", "Journey", "Shamu" and "August Moon". We kayaked, swam, and hiked, had a great time..... we even had a sleeping whale in the anchorage our last night. Too soon it was time to go as the days were flying by and we needed to keep moving southward so after five glorious days we left and headed for Los Gatos an anchorage we had wanted to stop at on the way north but the winds were too strong for this beautiful but exposed anchorage. A cloudy sky made it easier to leave Aqua Verde and provided us with a more comfortable cockpit...it was the first clouds we had seen since being on the Baja side. A few of these clouds had some very dark bottoms which was very unusual for this time of year in this part of the desert which seldom if ever sees rain...although lovely to look at, clouds can have ominous implications when you are on the water so we were glad to see them pass before the next day. Los Gatos turned out to be spectacular in spite of the clouds. The anchorage was peaceful...no wind, quiet water with several amazing reefs teeming with all varieties of fish. We explored the reefs by kayak...awesome and were treated to a vividly colorful sunset.
Our time there was topped off by a delivery of 4 fresh spiney lobster by Manuel. On to Isla San Francisco and a rendezvous with our friends Ian & Ellen on "Kasasa" but not without first hosting the Amigo net...my fist time. I have been reluctant to take on this assignment as I often get nervous and tongue tied on the radio, however host volunteers are always in demand and I know as a cruiser we depend on this net to help stay in touch with friends as well as for receiving the latest weather info... so it was my turn to step up in spite of my feelings. It was a good experience and now I feel much better and ready to do more radio volunteering next season. Our trip from Los Gatos to Isla San Francisco was highlighted by two very large, LARGE blue whales surfacing right beside the boat just before entering the San Jose Channel We have never seen whales that large, about 80-90 feet, just awesome...we were mesmerized..and of course the pictures I managed to take do not do the whales justice...they look like tiny specs. Isla San Francisco was the picture perfect anchorage I remembered from last season.
The anchor settled in the white bottom sand in crystal clear turquoise water. I snorkeled from the kayak, floated in the floaty chair and swam. Dick, aka "Hillary", trecked up to the top of the mountain while I kayaked around the reefs...when he got back, we decided to have one last swim in the sea as we were headed for La Paz the next day and may not get another opportunity to take a dip in the sea and of course as fate would have it on our last swim around the boat I caught some kind of stinging no seeum jellie around my wrist. I immediately shook my hand and I manged to toss whatever it was onto my other arm...not a nice experience. Needless to say I was out of the water within minutes pouring vinegar and then witch hazel over the stings...that treatment worked along with a little gin, tonic and antihistamine. The next day was uneventful as we motored sailed our way down to La Paz. The sea of Cortez I believe is much the same as it was 80 years ago when Steinbeck and Doc Ricketts explored the area aboard "Western Flyer"....the land may now be dotted with a few scattered resorts and the few towns may have increased in size however the sea is still full of life....whales, sea lions, dolphins, mantas, shell fish, and a wide variety of tropical fish and corals, and the small fishing villages along the Baja Coast remain small, probably much as they were cut off from civilization by the Gigantia mountains. The geography and geology of the area, keeps it remote and as a result it remains a cruisers paradise with multiple pristine anchorages providing great snorkelling, diving & fishing. We will look forward to our return next season to expand our experience of this spectacular area. We will spend a few last days of luxury at the Costa Baja marina resort, stock up on some essential food items(turtles),fuel, propane etc. and then we will be off for our last trip of the season across the Sea of Cortez to Mazatlan, 240 miles from here, where work will begin in earnest to prepare "Full & By" for the hurricane season and put her to bed. We plan to leave La Paz Thursday or Friday this week ..if we stop at Bonanza Beach or Los Muertos, it will take us three days....otherwise two days and nights. This is always a difficult passage as it marks the end of our cruising season on "Full & By" which will be greatly missed once home in the cool rainy northwest. That being said however, we are very much looking forward to reconnecting with family and friends at home..and after all it will be summer there!

Doing the anchor dance in the Windy Sea

We stayed at Playa Bonanza recovering from our overnight passage from Mazatlan...I'm always tired after our overnighters and it seems to take me a few days to catch up on missed sleep.  However what a beautiful place to do it.   

With a corumel expected that night and south easterly/easterly winds to carry us north after three nights we left headed to San Everisto a small fishing village on the mainland Baja side that provides shelter from the northerly and the strong westerly night winds (corumels) which frequently occur here on the Baja side in the spring.  The wind was strong that night and we ended up awake most of the night on anchor watch.  Although sheltered from the fetch, two boats that were not close when we anchored suddenly appeared much closer as the boats clocked around to face the west wind.  At first light the next day we reanchored, this time a good distance away from our neighbor boats.  And of course as luck would have it, an hour later a prime anchoring site became available, which although shallow gave us much better protection from the south, east and west as well as being far away from the other boats..for sure we will have a better night if we move..so we did over by the only bar/pub that sold warm beer as they had no Jello!
 The westerly wind was even stronger at 30+ knots and although we didn't have other boats to worry about and the lee shore reef looked much closer in the dark.  Fortunately we held secure and although we were up during the night to check a few times we slept much better.  The water was clear and warm in the cove and we enjoyed kayaking and a few short hikes and one wild goose chase in the kayak trying to catch up with a whale shark that had wandered into the anhcorage.  We could see it just below the surface between us and another boat so I quickly leaped in the kayak and paddled to where I thought he swam...no luck...maybe not... it briefly crossed my mind that it might not be a whale shark!...and if so what am I'm doing in the kayak. At this point we had reanchored yet again as the wind was expected to be from the north ...so in the morning all the boats had reset their hooks in the north anchorage.  

After waiting out the northerly winds and with a predicted easterly we decide to poke our nose out into the San Jose Channel in the early morning hours, to get as far north as possible, maybe Aqua Verde a pristine picturesque spot about 20 nautical mile south of Puerto Escondido and 44 nautical miles north of San Everisto.   We wanted to stop at Los Gatos, but this colouful anchorage is better left to less windy days so we hope we will be able to stop on our way back south.  The wind gods smiled and we got through the San Carlos channel before the afternoon winds picked up and with a combination of sail and motor we rounded the reef strewn point and then sailed into the Aqua Verde anchorage.

With southeasterly winds predicted for that night we tucked ourselves into a gorgeous picturesque little bay with a white sand beach and rocky reef on either side.  The water was warm enough for a swim and with reefs on both sides of us, there was a lot to explore by kayak...all great.
 Unfortunately the winds were predicted once again to be coming from the north for the next several days so we decided it would be a could idea to head for Peurto Escondido, a protected inlet with marina and facilities.... so away we went hoping to get back to this gorgeous spot as soon as the the wind had abated.  

We had a great sail to Puerto Escondido with the wind out of the east.....and so we are now tied to a mooring in the inlet,
back in civilization with internet, store, restaurant, and the beautiful quaint Mexican town of Loreto only 14 miles north.
This town is the capital of Baja California and the oldest founded by the Jesuits in 1697 and has wonderful charm.  

We shared a cab with other cruisers for the short ride and spent a full day exploring, shopping, eating and strolling the streets of Loreto    

 

 

In the Beautiful Sea of Cortez for Easter

We left Mazatlan early Thursday morning to cross the Sea of Cortez heading for either Playa La Bonanaza or Los Muertos depending on wind and sea conditions a trip of 190 -220 nautical miles.  Our crossing was peaceful with flat seas and light winds for most of the trip.  Just as we could see the other side about 45 nautical miles away we watched an amazing sun set (although no green flash!)
and full moon rise.  Although the waer was queit with little winds the night winds started at 10:00 pm and so for the last 25 miles through the night we sailed at 6.5 knots and ended up anchored off Playa La Bonanza at first light, a beautiful beach on the west side of Espiritu Santo Island, part of the Mexican National Park service, just north of La Paz.  The crossing was even more enjoyable as we had full moon and clear skies at night and dolphins, whales and jumping mantas during the day and a peaceful sea

Had a great rest up here, kayaked, swam and hiked and enjoyed an Easter get together with all the boats anchored here.   The water still a little chilly compared with the mainland side at only 72 degrees but the clear blue tourquoise water is still very inviting when the air temp is 85. Here is a picture of Beautiful Bonanaza beach where we are anchored and then a picture of Ballandra Beach on the other side of the island and nice hike.

 Today we plan to head a little farther north to Isla San Francisco and then over to San Everesto.  We will work our way north in the sea to Loretto and then return to La Paz by approximately mid May when we plan to head back to Mazatlan to put our boat to bed for the hurricaine season

 

 

Hasta Luego La Cruz!

What a great time we had in La Cruz in spite of the difficult job of removing and repairing our water tank as well as stripping and varnishing the cockpit coaming.  We went on several day trips.... the hot springs, San Sebastion, an old silver mining town,
out to an ecologically friendly boutique resort, Los Arroyos Verdes, in the country side,
and shopping in Bucerious.  There was lots happening ....we attended several music events including two fantastic venues held at the marina.  One was a benefit concert put on by "Amigos de La Cruz", a local charity that raises money to help those in need in the community.  All of the best musicians that play at the local restaurants performed an evening of their best songs.  It was fantastic! That was followed by a closed event concert put on by the tourist bureau.  It took them weeks of preparations to set up the stage and tents etc. and must have cost a fortune however when it came to concert time following the opening by the President of Mexico, no one seemed to mind or stop the cruisers anchored out or in the marina from wandering into the venue...we were even offered h'orderves and drinks for free!.  Sitting on circular settees we enjoyed an amazing night of dancing, costumes, singing and Mariachi music followed by a grand display of fireworks.  

With the water tank repaired and back in the boat
and the varnishing completed for now it was time to go north...we left Wednesday morning not so early as we had to fuel up and that took much longer than expected as there were problems with the docks fuel pump nozzle.  Although the wind was light, we rounded Punta Mita and it started to build and as we tried to head north to Isla Isabel, the afternoon wind strengthened from the direction we wanted to go, so we decided to sail in a northeasterly direction and ended up in Mantenchen Bay arriving at 11:00 pm.  Having been in there several times before and having good safe tracks to follow we had no problems navigating our way in even though night time arrivals are not ideal.  We slept for six hours and at first light pulled the anchor and left heading toward Isla Isabel as the early morning winds are light to non existent and it is a great time to put lots of miles under your belt.  We had great visibility and as we passed fish net alley (an area between Isla Isabel and Mantenchen Bay, well known for lots of fishing pangas setting nets)  we were able to spot and avoid the myriad of nets along our path.  Again as the afternoon winds kicked in, it was evident that we were not going to make any westing and we so changed our heading to Mazatlan instead of Muertos on the Baja side.  We have gotten used to sailing in Mexico... and so when it is on the nose we try go somewhere else!  It was a little bouncy in the late afternoon for a few hours but then the wind settled and I had a beautiful watch with a quarter moon and a zillion stars.  At eleven thirty It was Dick's watch... my time to sleep.  At first light we were only 15 miles south of Mazatlan harbor..great however we could see fog closing in ahead so I went down to turn on the radar and the AIS... of course it didn't work!  Some boats have radar on always at night however for us we only use it when we are crossing shipping lanes or the visibility is poor or conditions rough or we see a ship and need to determine its course.  In hindsight we should have turned it on to make sure it was running properly and then turned it off...lesson learned.   Thursday night it was great visibility so it was off!  When I finally got it up and running, it was just in time to watch a large freighter pass our stern!  We could only see it on the computer ..we could hear it but we never actually laid eyes on it!  

The entrance to marina Mazatlan and El Cid is very narrow and in fog could be difficult to navigate through so although we were two hours away we radioed ahead to friends in the marina to check out the entrance and get back to us.  They came back to us with good new and bad news...No fog at the entrance... great!...but large breaking swell & surf of 8-10 feet..not good.  So we carried on hoping it would die down a bit by the time we got there as it would be closer to slack tide.  

As we rounded the last island and the entrance to the marina was now it sight, we could see a large power boat attempt to enter and then turn around as the swell was breaking right across the entrance! The power boat waited and waited and finally a large catamaran came out so the power boat went for it and only got the back end of a swell.  Now it was our turn..we watched the next wave set break and then headed in..what a ride..sort of like dingy landings in the surf only with your sailboat! Helmsman Captain Dick controlled "Full & By" beautifully as she rode the surf through the entrance into the marina. whew...they closed the marina entrance later that same day due to the swell.  Wish we had a pic!  Good excuse to stay here a while, rest, enjoy the pool, and visit with friends we haven't seen since December.  We hope to leave here for Muertos...another overnight passage when the next weather window opens up which looks like might be Thursday. 

 

Happy Paddy's Day!

We celebrated by going to the hot springs about 20 miles outside of Peurto Vallarta.  Twelve persons and two dogs all piled in the back of a big pick-up truck for the last few miles of the trip as we needed to ford the river, twice by vehicle and twice by foot.
But the reward was great....Including walking past a small patch of very special clover

Now look more closely...I said it was a very special patch of clover!

The leprechauns were appeased as we cautiously and reverently past this prserved patch of riverbank. The rest of the afternoon was spent relaxing in the water hopping back and forth between the river and the hot pools.

I know we are supposed to working and we are.... very hard in the morning before it gets hot...and then its time for cooling activities such as swimming, kayaking or sitting reading a book by the pool. Enjoying La Cruz and reconnecting with lots of friends enjoying the many good reasonable restaurants La Cruz has to offer...most of the cruisers are now headed north either to put their boats to bed or to spend the spring and summer in the Sea of Cortez.  We hope to be finished the boat chores in a couple of weeks and we too will continue north and west over to the Baja and into the sea.

Hasta Luego!

Back in La Cruz... ate too many French Baker treats!

We had a lumpy but uneventful ride back up the coast to Barra.  Several boats left beautiful Carrizal at the same time as winds and seas were reported to be light.  Our friends on "Music" and "Misty Michael" were also on the move and they decided to continue heading north taking avantage of the weather window to get around Cabo Corrientes.  We decided to stay put in the Barra/Tenacatita area and wait for the next window which turned out to be not such a wise move.  

Our time in Barra was spent mostly relaxing by the pool at the Sands, going for walks on the beach, shopping in town and visiting with friends anchored here in the lagoon.  Sunrise over the lagoon is always a good reason to get out of bed.  
We went to the market in Melaque and stayed here in the lagoon until Friday when we moved a little further north to Tenacatita.  Margaret & Julius and boat dog "Digby" on  "Zeeba" finally arrived here in Barra from their previous stop in Tenacatita....we had been following their passage south from Guaymas and were looking forward to seeing them again, as the last time we had seen them was before leaving Vancouver for Mexico.  We had a wonderful two days reconnecting and showing them the Barra area before they continued south and we headed north to Tenacatita Bay.  They gave us a very special treat taking us out to dinner at our favorite sunset restaurant "Marlena's" now repaired and open for business. Thank-you so much Margaret & Julius.

As soon as the anchor was dropped, after a short motor from Barra to Tenacatita, we were in the water cleaning the bottom as we had accumulated a lot of marine growth over the last few months on our anchor chain, snubber, knot meter & prop.  Mornings were spent watching the dophins in the anchorage and kayaking.  In the afternoon we walked the beach, swam or played mexican train at the palapa.  Here is a picture of the sunset as we were being towed back to our boat by "Kasasa".  

While at the palapa we spotted two beautiful birds...I think the blue one is a blue bunting and the other, according to a mexican bird book, is a yellow breasted bunting...they were stunning.  

We stayed so long in Tenacatita we took a cab to La Manzania across the bay for provisions.  But as much as we were enjoying ourselves we had work to do and it was way past time to return to La Cruz.  When we finally had to leave there was no longer a good weather window for going north for several days...we had missed one good window two weeks earlier when we were not quite ready.  So now being half way through March it really was time to get north so we left with six other boats on what looked like the best two days over the following ten.  The early morning was lovely, sunny and warm with light winds and relatively flat seas. We made good progress for the first 30 miles of an 96 mile passage and then the fun started.  When we left we had all said if it got too bad we would just turn around.  Well it got really awful from 20 to 30 knots of wind on the nose with short high seas and windswept white caps on top of the 7 -10 foot swell.  The only way we or anybody for that matter could make any headway in that sea was to motor sail, tacking our way up the coast.  With green water over the decks and ourselves, on went the fleece and wet gear that hadn't been worn in a year and I could just barely get them on...damm too many bakery treats!  Like the frogs in the experiment where they never jump out of the water even though it gets hotter and hotter until boiling, we carried on not wanting to loose the headway we had worked so hard to get.  Every hour or so the news on the VHF would spread down the fleet......the wind is now 25 and the seas building ....the wind is now 30 and the seas ugly.  Of course we kept going just wanting to get it over with.  Our friends, "Kasasa" tucked into Impala a small anchorage part way along for a few hours hoping the winds would die back a bit which often they do....but no such luck!  We carried on as two of the boats ahead had just said it was slightly better at the cape ...at least it wasn't worse and it was just another 14 miles to get there!  

It took 12-14 hours of pounding, and bashing to go the fifty miles to La Cruz Marina and at 5:30 AM exhausted, salt encrusted, uninjured, and relieved we arrived!  The next day was spent resting recuperating and debriefing as well washing the the salt off ourselves and the boat.

We are now in the La Cruz Marina seeing our friends Gail & John on "Music off to the Marquesas, varnishing, and working on our leaking water tank...and oh we have added another job....repairing leaky chain plates!

 

Rain in Mexico? or Mexican Monsoon of 2012

We have been playing in the Santiago Bay area, between Ensenda Carrizal and Santiago bay, for the last two weeks.  The weather has been rather unusual for this area this time of year, with two days of rain and several days of complete cloud cover.....for us northwest sailors it is very reminiscent of home, however very much warmer.... in fact sometimes a little too warm as we had to close all the hatches and turn on the fans.  However, it was a good opportunity to get the boat washed as she was a very salty.  Altogether, we collected about seven gallons of water in the dinghy which we used to clean and fill up our solar showers.  Athough thunder and lightening storms were predicted all week we only witnessed/heard one lightening flash/thunder rumble.  In spite of the clouds it was a good chance to run errands, provision and do laundry.  We have been told this cloudy rainy weather or the mexican monsoon of 2012(my name for it), occurrs very rarely in winter about once every seven years.  Not so bad for us but for the tourists who booked a two week vacation it would have been very disappointing.

We had a nice surprise when Camelia and Bob "Navigo" motored into the bay so we visited with them, baked, watched movies and played Mexican train dominos.  A few days later another blue water boat Russ & Doreen "August Moon" arrived and all of us toured the town of Manzanillo shopping and walking till we dropped. Took my feet two days to recover!

Doing the laundry here in Santiago Bay is an interesting experience as it requires a dry dinghy landing/launch ashore, followed by a mile hike to and from the bus.  Fortunately this laundry dinghy run landing/launch was a success.  However a few days earlier in Carrizal not so!  Dick decided to take the dinghy into the beach to go for a hike and I decided to stay back at the boat....smart move it turned out!  I watched as Dick headed for the shore and as he closed in on the beach, I suddenly realized, as the dinghy disappeared behind a big wave, that disaster was imminent.  Sure enough in the next few seconds I watched in horror as was Dick launched out of the dingy into the water.  Dinghy, engine etc. were completely airborne and upside down!  Fortunately Dick was uninjured and recovered quickly.....although, several days later he told me he had hit his head on the rocky bottom. He managed to right the dinghy, collect the fuel tank, find his shoes etc. but sadly lost his favourite hat, glasses and T shirt...never to be found!  He carried on bravely and went for his hike anyway and returned to "Full & By" rowing.   He spent the rest of the day servicing and flushing the salt water out of the outboard.  With a lot of effort on his part the engine was soon running again and all was well..the motor was put to rest to dry out and for the next several days we just rowed!  We were lucky that Dick wasn't injured and that there wasn't any serious damage to either dinghy or outboard....we have noticed a few new dents & dings and a peice of plastic that broke off just above the prop on the outboard but that is all...it still works and that's what counts.  The following day, we went ashore again, but this time ...no outboard, in bathing suits with glasses, camera and hats tucked away in a dry bag...of course no problemo!  We took this picture of the infamous beach and our favourite anchorage from half way up the hill.  The beach looks pretty benign doesn't it...don't be fooled

 

Yesterday was a beautiful sunny day and so we deicded to take the boat out into the bay to make water and catch up our friends Gail & John "Music", who we had heard early in the AM on the radio were heading our way.  So we went out for a brief morning run to make water..... motoring along almost to the entrance to Carrizal bay not far from shore I noticed the engine didn't sound right...I looked at the exhaust which was just smoke with no water and then at the engine temp gauge which was just starting to climb...ykes!  We quickly turned the engine off and did some initial touble shooting but the problem was not presenting itself easily.  After a few panicky moments ..mostly on my part as there was little to no wind, and we were close to shore, thing were more or less under control with sails up, water maker off and the boat turned around heading back towards Santiago Bay.  Right then there was a huge blow and three humpback whales surfaced less than 20 feet from our starboard aft quarter...I couldn't believe how close they were. They must have gone right under our keel!  We couldn't turn the engine on to let them know we were there so we turned on the stereo.. although they probably already had heard us in our effort to trouble shoot and get under sail... not quiet!  No pictures ...too many other things going on but when they all sounded a few minutes later the whale tails were spectacular and it helped to take the focus away from from our lack of wind and engine troubles.

Fortunately the light wind at 3 knots was enough to give us steerage and head us in the right direction past Frailes rocks.  As we were only 2-3 miles from the anchorage, as long as the breeze held, sailing at 2-3 knots was fine.  A pod of dolphins soon joined us skimming and leaping out of the water a great sight to see anytime while sailing and soon I was able to relax and enjoy the experience.

As we rounded the point finally passing Frailes rocks, we could see that the anchorage was dead flat calm with no wind at all. Our friends Sherry and Bob "Ponderosa" were quick to come to our rescue and towed us the rest of the way to the anchorage with their dinghy.    We dropped the hook in 28 feet of water and decided we would let the afternoon winds set it for us.  As soon as the hook was dropped and things put away, Dick went to work on the engine.  He checked the pump, changed out the impellor for a new fancy one (a job on the list) even though the old one was fine. After checking a few hoses it was clear water wasn't even getting to the raw water pump.  A dive below the boat revealed a small round sea creature just large enough to fit in the raw water through hull and block it...it either swam in thinking it was a good place to call home or got blown or sucked in whatever it was enough to prevent the water from coming into the boat.  A quick probe and the sea creature was gone... off to find another home or be eaten!  Problem solved ...the engine runs perfectly and all is well...just another day in Paradise.  It would be nice if all the boat jobs were this easy!

The one thing about this lifestyle is even when you think your on top of everything and it's going to be another relaxing day some job that you were least expecting to be doing, will suddenly require immediate attention.  You don't have to look for boat jobs they just show up!

It was a great evening visiting with Gail & John on "Music" as we haven't seen them since leaving La Cruz.  Since we both need to be back in PV by the beginning of March, us to fix our water tank and Music to complete last minutes preparations before heading to the South Pacific, we will buddy boat with them slowly making our way north from here over the next ten days.  If we stop in Barre we will post from there before heading to Tennecatita to prepare for our overnighter around Corrientes back to La Cruz.  If not we will post from La Cruz..stay tunned

 

 

 

 

Snorkeling, Swimming and Water Scurfing

What fun in the sun we have had in the last week since leaving the Barra Lagoon.  Although we miss the french baker we are really enjoying playing in the sunshine in the warm clear bluewater.  Just around the corner from Barra Lagoon past the Manzanillo airport you come to a beautiful quiet picturesque little bay called Carrizal.  Last year when we were here there were tons of jelly fish in the water so hence no swimming but this year a totally different experience.
 The water was clear blue with tons of fish swimming about and around the boat.  Either side of the bay has very healthy coral reefs so we snorkelled the reefs checking out the beautifully coloured and interesting fish.  We stayed three days in this gorgeous bay..... daytime playing in the water and eveningtime sharing happy hours and meals with Julie and Jeff on "Beuna Vida", Ellen & Ian on "Kasasa", Ken & Carol on "NautiMoments" and Brian and his dad on "Wades Away".  Julie on "Buena Vida" challenged all of us by demonstrating a new sport which I call scurfing....done with a surf board you climb onto while holding a floating line attached to a dinghy with at least a 15 horsepower motor and then you take off first laying ontop of the surfboard and then slowly getting to a standing position while maintaining your balance.  If your still on the board at this point you crack up the dinghy to full speed...what fun we all had!  After all the men demostrated their prowess Julie was the only female representative willing to take them on!  She did us proud!  Here is Julie demostrating the technique!

We left our idilic anchorage only because we were running low on basis food stuff so on to Santiago Bay and civilization.  I was happy to find my favorite little grocery store across from the bus stop was still there.  They have a lot of Gringo hard to find in Mexico items as well as a good wine  selection (most important!)   We swam, walked the beach and drank beer at the palapas.  After a few days we were all on the move again to Las Hadas.  

We had been here four years previously with Nancy & Tony on "Moondancer X"  The place looks the same, although not as busy, gorgeous pool a little past its prime but still a lovely place to sit and relax, play crib or Mexican train. Unfortunately they now charge the dinghies 200 pesos or 20 dollars a day for landing and using the facilities however the weekly rate is 80 dollars so that is not so bad.  

The Dolphin hotel right next door is much more cruiser friendly letting the cruisers use their small beach and pool in return for a cervesa or two!  The food is tasty and reasonable and they have a nice selection on the menu as well.

Yesterday afternoon we had a raft up on Full & By for all the boats in the anchorage.
 It was a great fun get together and it gave us a good chance to say a proper fairwell to all our friends heading south to Zihuatanejo and Cental America.  We will spend today going back into town for fruits and veg and looking for a new snorkel for me as mine broke.  Tomorrow we will head back to Santiago Bay where we willl begin slowly working our way north to PV .  We plan to be there early March where we can fix the water tank as well as catch up on some much needed bright work (UGH).  It isn't all play time!  

We hope to soon catch up with other cruising friends who haven't made it this far south yet but are now heading this way.