Flights of the Gosling

Zihuatanejo and the Sailfest

2012-02-15T05:53:00.000-08:00

Friday, 10 Feb 2012 At anchor: Zihuatanejo
RAIN! Yes it is actually raining, a very rare event during our travels in Mexico over the past 12 years. When we arrived here last weekend we could see heavy cumulus building over the mountains inland and gradually it became overcast. We had a few sprinkles last night and now it is a continuous light rain, and really, quite pleasant. It has cooled things down, cleaned the air and Gosling’s decks. Thankfully it held up until today’s Parade of Sail was over.
We had an uneventful powerboat ride from Manzanillo in company with Mangareva and Nauti Moments. The sea was calm and we had light winds all the way. As we passed through the bay off Lazaro Cardenas we saw hundreds of turtles on the surface, many with birds perched on their backs. We arrived at Isla Grande and anchored for 2 days and managed a few chores and a bit of overdue clean up. On Saturday we all left the anchorage and made our way to Zihuatanejo and joined the 23 other boats getting ready for the Sailfest. We heard on the morning net from Full and Bye that there had been a whale birth in Santiago Bay the previous day and a crocodile sighting in Zihuatanejo Bay. Fran was not impressed by the latter.

Booby on a Turtle

Phil (Manasea) left on Sunday morning heading back north to Barra after sailing down to Acapulco. He gave us some very good advice on where and where not to go while there. Kirk (Freedom Kirkland) is here with his friend Perry, who we had met last year. Both have been having too good a time so far, helping out with the Sailfest organization, taking advantage of the local nightclub scene and getting some great donations for the raffle.

friends at the Concert for the kids

After arriving we wasted no time joining the support team for the event and helping out where we could. Fran volunteered to sit at the event sign-up desk for an afternoon while J-G walked Rosie along the beach. It was a genuine treat to meet up again with our friend, Julia Sumner, who we had met 3 years ago. Julia is one of the principle photographers for the event so we will be in a lot of her shots.

Us and Julia

We also re-acquainted with Art, J-G's "almost a twin" who we had also met 3 years ago. Believe it or not he lives just a few miles away from us in Brentwood Bay, just outside of Victoria.

The almost twins, J-G and Art.

On Monday our friends, from Kelowna, Von and Jacquie arrived. They will be coming to Acapulco with us after we leave Zihuatanejo in a few days. They brought with them a bunch of parts we had ordered, including hinges for the toilet seat in the aft head, a few tools and a new impeller for the aft shower pump. They also brought a supply of dark chocolate for Fran. She is now in heaven. Her toilet seat takes a slight back seat to the chocolate but it is easy to make her happy.....
On Tuesday night we attended a concert of local musicians at a restaurant venue. The talent this year was outstanding. These same artists and more contribute to make a CD which will be sold at next year’s event. On Wednesday Gosling was the committee boat for the pursuit race. This is a nice variation on races with boat ratings where the time allowance is taken at the start of the race providing a staggered start and a closer and more exciting finish. Today we had the Parade of Sail where all the boats take on guests who pay for the privilege of boarding the boats and sailing with them around the harbour and over to Ixtapa and back, a 3-4 hour outing. There wasn’t much sailing done due to light winds and a few showers threatened to put a damper on the event but everyone enjoyed themselves. We had Von and Jacquie and a very nice couple, Joe and Nancy, from New York City It must be noted that all proceeds for the event go to building and maintaining schools for local native children.

Jacquie and Von

Joe and Nancy from NYC

One of our main aims here was to use the golf certificate that we had obtained at the Loretofest last year. We had suspected that it would be difficult from the start and we were correct. It took many phone calls to the manager of the course, several calls from him to his superiors in Mexico City and a personal visit to the club to get the certificates redeemed. It seems that the certificates were issued by the manager on the Loreto, Fonatur Golf facility on 3 other golf clubs in their chain but without his informing Mexico City or the other facilities that he had done this, and to top it off, he no ;longer works for the company. Well, it took 3 days of negotiations but we were finally given the OK to play on Thursday. Thankfully it was a cloudy day otherwise the heat would have been oppressive. Fran, J-G and Kirk played 18 holes in 3 ½ hrs (good carts). The crocodiles in the water obstacles here pose an additional incentive to keep playing without looking for that lost ball...

Different kind of water hazard

One of the lesser acknowledged features of the Sailfest is the assistance of a couple of local men with dinghy landings and launches. They come right out in the water to steady up the dinghies and drag them to shore before you disembark and similarly on the way out. It sure makes things easy for the cruisers. We pay 10 pesos (approx 80 cents) each time so these guys are making their annual wage in the week that the event. It is a wonderful service so the cruisers have no problem with paying their fee.
We have heard that Fonatur has taken a special interest in this location. They have an office just beside the Port Captain’s office and have taken on the role of managing the port. This is not sitting well with the locals who see this as a threat to the status quo. There are rumours that the fishing fleet will be barred from their traditional landing places on the beach and that there are plans for a major re-organisation of the harbour, mush to the detriment to the existing occupants who fear rising prices for basic services. It will be interesting to see what happens here in the next few years. It is also odd to see that Fonatur has expanded its mandate to include port operations and golf.
Saturday, 11 Jan 2012, Anchored at Zihuatanejo
It is still raining on and off. This weather has a few advantages; it is definitely a bit cooler and it cleans the salt off our uppers. Also it has given us the confirmation that we have found and plugged the leaks that we had in the aft cabin.
We have just returned from shopping at the municipal market, a large covered market where you can but all sorts of fresh veggies, fruit, meat and fish. The strawberries and blackberries are in season. It is strange to see the latter here but they must come from the higher elevations. We have discovered a new fruit. Mamae tastes close to papaya but looks more like a melon. We also visited the local museum and saw how rich in history this area is. Had we had more time here we would have made the trip to Petatlan a temple site that was discovered recently. They have uncovered a playing field where warriors played a sort of soccer come basketball. The object was to get a stone ball though a vertically mounted stone hoop without using hands. The winner got the privilege to be sacrificed ..... There is also a lot of history about the Spanish conquest here too. Expeditions departed here for the Far East and Cortez is said to have built a few ships in the bay.
Last night we ate at a very nice restaurant close to Julia’s place. Their menu included tuna, something we haven’t seen too much of in Mexico. Later in the evening there were strange sounds coming from the creek beside the restaurant. The owner explained it was crocodiles mating..... No, crocodile was not on the menu.
1200, Monday, 13 Feb 2012. Alongside Marina Ixtapa
We arrived at the marina about noon yesterday after saying farewell to all those we met at the Sailfest. Our departure was well timed. There were several thefts on boats last night, including a break-in on one boat. Various electronics and cash seem to have been the targets.
We are here with Kirk, Impulse, Nauti Moments, Amnesia , Hoorah and waiting for us here was Chanty V who we had left at Las Hadas. We had a wonderful dinner at a marina restaurant last night and were entertained by a great group featuring a female lead singer from Vancouver.
Jacquie and von have arrived and are settled in to the V-berth. The plan is to leave early tomorrow morning and get into Papanoa by mid-day, then leave at dusk for Acapulco and reach there by mid-morning so that we can have 2 full days there.
0600, Tuesday, 14 Feb 2012 At Sea, heading for Papanoa
We have just departed the Ixtapa marina in company with Nauti-Moments. Departing in the dark was a different experience to what we are used. All went well and kirk gave us a hand with lines on our departure. We were sad to bid him farewell and hope to see him again in the near future. He has his mom aboard for the next week.
Just before dusk last night on of the local inhabitants made an appearance. An 8 ft+ crocodile swam by the stern of the boat. Not a place to swim or clean boat bottoms....
Got to publish this blog so updates will be after Acapulco.

Farewell to the Mexican Riviera

2012-01-31T16:57:00.000-08:00

Jack Crevalle, one hell of a fighter but inedible, and, of course, very plentiful...

0800, Tuesday, 31 January, 2012 At anchor off The Las Hadas Resort, Manzanillo
Nothing much exciting had happened over the past week or so, hence the delayed update. We have been anchored off this lovely resort and enjoying the facilities as much as we can. It is a great location to get to town and shopping with all of the major Mexican chains, including Walmart, just a short bus trip down the road.
We are with a number of boats, quite a few Canadian; Chanty 5, Nauti Moments, and Kasasa, which are getting ready to depart for Zihuatanejo in the next day or so. We will be leaving behind others that we have been close to for the past few months; Rose of Erin, Full & Bye and Seychelles. With the Seafest beginning on the 7th there should be quite a number heading south. The winds are predicted to be from the SW so our hopes of sailing most of the way might be dashed, we’ll see.
The weather here has been odd for the past few days. We have had 3 days of overcast conditions and actually had a few brief periods of rain, a rare event during the winter in this area. The solar panels aren’t doing their job under these conditions so we may have to flash up the generator today to make up some battery reserve.
This is our 5th time at this location and, other than the enforcement of landing fees, things haven’t changed much. This year they are enforcing landing fees for all dinghies using the facility. They are asking 200 pesos per day or 800 per week. We chose the latter. That includes full access to most of the resort’s facilities and activities so Fran has been taking advantage of water aerobics, Spanish lessons and Yoga. The issues they had last year with the marina occupants seem to have been overcome. Rates have stabilized marginally higher than last year’s but the permanent occupants appear to be content. Many and his Sea Scouts have moved their boat to the mooring outside the Marina and are still using it as a Saturday club-house. They are doing some major work on it this year, replacing the big Perkins 6 cyl engine with a used one they have found locally. The funding has come from a grant from a Canadian philanthropist. With the assistance from John (Lykke) a permanent resident of the anchorage here, and Jonco, the mechanic in Barra they hope to get the job done in the next few months. They then hope to sell “Adventure” and then concentrate on smaller, less maintenance-intensive vessels for their scout fleet.
Shopping here is a lot of fun. The Saturday market in neighbouring Santiago has a wide variety of products including the pine needle basketry that we saw in the Copper canyon last year. There are also several stands of pirated movies where decent quality late-run movies are available. We have seen War Horse and the Hollywood version of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, both recommended by the Gosling academy..... Fruit and veg shopping is a crap-shoot but we have found that the Commercial chain has the freshest produce. There is something to say about the smell of fresh guavas in the cabin. They are an awkward fruit to eat with the small seeds but very tasty. Our “mini-hammock” fruit hanger is full of various fruits for the next leg.
Well, lots to do today to get ready for an early departure tomorrow. The next edition will be from Zihuatanejo. Getting the rig ready to sail, filling up with water (by jerry cans from the dock) and securing everything that can move will take us a good part of the day. Full & Bye is arranging for a farewell get-together raft-up this evening for most of the boats in the anchorage. Should be fun.

1830: The raft-up was great. Good food and great company. We look forward to seeing many of the boats in Z-town and said our farewells to those not continuing south. It will be sad to see this bay for the last time but we must move on to different pastures, much to Fran’s chagrin. She is in her comfort zone here.

Note the lashed extensions on this ladder. It must have been 40-50 ft. I always managed tom miss a photo op with the painters on this ladder. They are painting the water tower at Las Hadas with rollers on the end of 15 ft poles and with a bucket of paint tied to the ladder. They do not have any safety lines but the ladder is guyed.

Lazing around in Barra de Navidad

2012-01-20T08:48:00.000-08:00

Fran's kayaking birds - spoonbill and egret

Hurricane Jimena damage

0800, Wednesday, 18 Jan. Anchored in Barra de Navidad.
This is our last day in Barra de Navidad before we head south to the Manzanillo area. We have had a very nice few days with great company. Next to us are Third Day, Full and Bye, Windward Bound, Houligan, Rose of Erin and several other boats we have known for years. It was really nice to catch up with Rich, Lori and family on Third Day. We had been waiting for them for several weeks while they transited from La Paz. They passed through Tenecatita the night before we left but decided to carry on to Barra where they would have a better e-mail service, a must for Rich to keep up with his business interests.
It has been a nice lazy stay here in the lagoon. We got a few projects done, went in to the Sands Hotel every afternoon for a dip in the pool (nobody swims in the lagoon. It is filthy!), had dinner out a few nights and Rosie got her daily walk on the golf course. We have to pick either early or late walks because of the heat. We bring lots of water for her but she still lags behind
I am listening to the morning radio and hearing the location of other boats we know and to get the latest weather predictions. There has been some interesting traffic over the past few days. Warren peace and Optical illusion are in Acapulco already and will be leaving for Huatulco in the next few days. Optical Illusion had an interesting event on their way to Acapulco. They anchored in the small protected bay of Papanoa overnight on their way down. The following morning Amber, their cat, was acting strange and kept going back and forth to the bow as if trying to draw them there, Lassie style. When they looked where the cat was drawing them to they found a 4 ft boa. It was summarily thrown over the side. Shortly thereafter, Louis, on Cirque, came up and announced that he had just gone through a patch of ocean with numerous sea snakes on the surface. Fran was all up to cancel the remainder of the trip on hearing those reports. We will definitely devise some kind of guard on the anchor cable to prevent any such incursion.
Yesterday J-G renewed his acquaintance with Christophe and Marianne, 2 Swiss cruisers aboard Shamu who we had met in Manzanillo 2 years ago; in fact it was the morning of the Chilean tsunami. They are stranded in the Barra marina with engine problems. Their Swiss-built boat has a Spanish-made Mercedes engine and their injector pump is leaking badly. They are contemplating having to fly back to Europe to have it repaired.
1500, Thursday, 19 Jan, At Sea, entering Manzanillo Bay
We bid our farewells to everyone in Barra this morning and left for what is probably the last time. On our way out we stopped at the fuel dock and topped up gas tanks and water. The dock was busy this morning so that delayed our departure until about 11. So far it has been a nice motorboat ride down the coast. We have about 8 kt winds from the SE, right on the nose, as usual. We have already thrown back 3 Jack Crevalles and 3 Mexican Bonitos, both species inedible because of their dark flesh but they sure put up a hell of a fight. One of the hits was a double and caused some excitement. Needless to say Rosie went nuts as usual.
We will be arriving in Santiago Bay in a few hours and should be there until the weekend or longer. We’ll then move the anchorage off Las Hadas where we will have to pay for using the landing but that will also give us full access to the resort. We intend getting our money’s worth using the pool and other facilities.

Lazing around on the Mexican Riviera

2012-01-10T08:16:00.003-08:00

You meet the strangest people in a bar on the beach....La Manzanilla, Tenecatita

0700, Thursday, 5 January 2012 At Anchor, Barra de Navidad
J-G is up early today to get ready for his first stint this year as net controller for the “Amigo” Single Side Band (SSB) radio morning net. (Fran is still in bed) We have been active participants for the past 4 years as listeners or with J-G acting as net controller for either the Amigo morning net or the Southbound evening net. These are sources of information for cruisers, providing weather data, the whereabouts of other cruisers and, occasionally indications of significant occurrences such as missing boats, emergency contacts with boaters, tsunami warnings or unusual weather events. The net lasts about 45-60 minutes and requires the controller to be focussed on the task. Fran claims to be the SSB widow during these operations but she sometimes helps with recording boats that check in. Not today. She and Rosie are tucked in for another hour or so.
It has been a nice quiet few days here at anchor. The lagoon is about a mile from the main town of Barra and it takes about 15-20 minutes by dinghy to get to the landing at the Sands Hotel, the cruiser point-of-entry for the town and where many hang out by the pool and bar. Both Optical Illusion and Warren Peace have left for Manzanillo and we will probably not see them again until we arrive in Huatulco in mid-late February. We have adjusted our schedule again. Our next obligation is to meet friends in Zihuatanejo on the Feb 13th and take them to Acapulco so we will remain in this area for another week before we head to Manzanillo for another few weeks and then on to Zihuatanejo. We will be there in time to participate in this year’s Sail Fest, as we did 3 years ago.
The other day, at the Sands, we met a pair of young men, about our son Michael’s age when he was in his wandering stage who were surfing their way down the coast of Mexico. They were sailing from surfing location to location on Hobie cats; essentially, 2 hulls with a trampoline between. These are normally seen on lakes or sheltered bays. Amazingly they had started in Puerto Vallarta with their ultimate destination of Zihuatanejo with all of their surf boards and other possessions strapped between their hulls. One of them had already rolled over twice. Losing a surfboard and radio in the process but their spirits were high as they continued their quest for the ideal wave. Brought J-G back to his teens when his favourite band was the Beach Boys and he dreamed of surfing the big waves and even buying Surfer Magazine. Living in Quebec and Ontario it wasn’t going to happen, but he did finally get a surfboard when we lived in Victoria, many years later and used it every summer when we went camping to Long Beach. It was a long shot from the usual surfing paradises but the cold waters and finicky waves quickly cured him of that obsession.
Apart from the usual boat projects the time spent here is very relaxed. The normal routine is to work at boat things in the morning, relax after lunch and then head to town in the dinghy. The Sands hotel is where we land and, often we don’t get much farther than the bar and pool area. There are always other cruisers there
0800, 10 Jan 2012, At anchor, Tenecatita
The entry above seems so long ago. We left Barra for Cuastecomate last Thursday and spent a beautiful afternoon on the beach with Craig and Kiki (Oya), Jim and Susan (Windward Bound) and the couples from Peppininos and Interlude. We also met a couple of the local Canadian residents. There appears to be a lot of Canadian semi-permanent residents in this particular bay. Our favourite ceviche restaurant wasn’t open but we had a very good alternative at another location on the beach. The locals told us that there is a new owner for the resort there. A Spanish entrepreneur has taken over the resort and is pouring some significant money into it to bring it back to its former glory.
We are now at anchor in Tenecatita, another of our favourite places. We arrived here last Friday in time for the Friday night raft-up where the dinghies from all the boats meet up in a sheltered part of the cove and tie up together. Each brings a snack tray to share, their drinks and books and movies to exchange. The event is organised by “The Mayor of Tenecatita” the boat that has been here the longest. Robert and his partner Virginia (Harmony) played their role to the nines, welcoming everyone, and getting everyone to introduce themselves and explain how they decided on the cruising lifestyle. It was quite interesting to hear the experiences of others.

Afternoon Bocce Ball on the beach. "Mayor" Robert (Hamony) centre.

Tenecatita Bay is an idyllic location with lots of room for boats to anchor, a wonderful beach, a river entrance to a mangrove lake and a beach palapa restaurant. Just up the beach there is the Blue Bay resort with its family oriented buildings and its exclusive adult only, clothing optional location, Punta Serena. Janet and Bill were here a few weeks ago and told us of a special deal at the Blue Bay; a full 5 course dinner with wine and special coffees for 350 pesos a person (about $28). We took advantage of that last night and really enjoyed ourselves. We had good company with Harry and Linda from MV Good Karma. The only worry we had was the beach landing and the departure in the dinghy after dark but the full moon allowed us to see the wave sets and we got back to the boat fairly dry. We had to carry our “dining clothes” in a waterproof bag and change once we arrived at the hotel. Harry and Linda got flipped on the way in but managed to keep their sense of humour intact. Their waterproof bag saved the day and after changing they looked as dry as all the other guest diners. Their little electric motor wasn’t quite strong enough to power through the surf on the way back so J-G gave them a hand to transit the surf zone. This morning Harry was on the net asking where he could get a small outboard motor...
Yesterday we finally had a chance to meet up with our Victoria friends who live in La Manzanilla. Val and David have their own place here and have been seasonal residents for the past 5 years. Last year they decided to stay over the summer. They took advantage of the BC medical regulations where residents are allowed to stay out of the province for 24 months every 5 years.
We’ll be headed back to Barra in a day or so to top up on water, gas and to get the laundry done before we head to Manzanillo.
I will post photos to this blog once we get there. The Telcel signal here is weak and will not permit us to send large files. Barra has much better service.

Happy New Year from Barra de Navidad

2012-01-01T08:17:00.000-08:00

0900, 01 January 2012, at anchor, Barra de Navidad
Just a short entry to wish everyone a wonderful New Year and a happy and prosperous 2012.
We had a wonderful evening aboard Optical Illusion and welcomed in the New Year with them and Steve and Linda from Warren Peace. At midnight we broke open a bottle of Italian sparkling red wine and watched the fireworks from the big hotel and from Barra. There were a number of boats that fired off outdated flares, probably the most effective and cost saving method of getting rid of them The other side-benefit is to actually experience firing one off in a non-emergency situation.
We woke up this morning to very loud “techno music” from the island in the bay, an island where the only noise we have ever heard was dogs barking.
Another few days and we’ll be leaving this idyllic spot for Manzanillo Bay.
All the best from the crew of GOSLING!!

Topolobampo to Barra de Navaidad

2011-12-31T07:22:00.000-08:00

Fran's garden. Chives not too plentiful!

0900, Tuesday, 27 Dec 2011, At Sea
We are on day 2 of our passage south. We are powering in 12 kts of NW wind and we are heading SW. We spent most of yesterday and last night under sail with main and mizzen in winds ranging from 12 to 25 kts. At some points we were touching 7 kts hull speed, about our max so far in Gosling. Seas are about 4-6 ft so we did roll somewhat and it was difficult to get any sleep. We’ll be napping on and off today.
We had a very quiet Christmas at the marina dock, just the 3 of us. It was cold and windy night again with gusts in the 30-35 kt range. It lightened a bit on Christmas morning and the sun was able to overcome the wind-chill and warm us up a bit. Santa brought J-G a fancy Swiss watch and a Kindle, lots of candy and a feather rose for Fran. It was fun to open the gifts from friends and family that we had brought with us. Rosie got a multi-coloured, super-bright mini-dog light that makes her look like a Christmas tree at night from her doggie God-parents (Rick and Jane). We’ll never lose sight of her again.... For something different we went to a restaurant in town for a late breakfast. There are very few choices in Topo and the hotel/restaurant is owned by the same person who owns this marina.

Tourtiere for Christmas eve dinner, Yum Yum!

We departed early on Boxing Day in a calm sea. It took 2 ½ hours to get to the end of the channel where we found 12 kt winds and 4 ft seas but, thankfully, all in the direction we were heading. By the afternoon the wind had increased to 15 kts and we were able to fly the spinnaker for most of the afternoon. Just before sunset a large pod of dolphins came in for a look and Rosie went nuts running up and down the deck and barking her head off. At least she gets her exercise that way. J-G tied a line to her floater coat just in case she slipped through the guard rails at the bow. We have netting from there to the midships embarkation points.
0700, Wednesday, 28 Dec 2011, At sea
Yesterday was almost a carbon copy of the previous day except that the wind is lightening and the sea is calming down. We flew the spinnaker all afternoon but the lightening winds made that a challenge. By sunset the wind had dropped to 10 kts, still on the stern, making for very slow progress south. We decided that wasting any more time getting to our destination wasn’t a desirable option so we flashed up the engine and powered all night. This morning the wind is even lighter so it looks like we’ll be a powerboat for the next few days unless conditions change.
It is getting significantly warmer. Two nights ago we put on all the warm clothes we have to stand our watches but last night we didn’t need all those layers. This morning, with the wind abating it is actually a pleasant 70F in the cabin.
We passed by Mazatlan, about 30 miles off, in mid-afternoon. Steve and Linda (Warren Peace) departed from there yesterday and they are some 30 mile ahead of us. I doubt we’ll catch up unless they insist on sailing but with only 3 days left to get to Barra I think they will be powering as well.
We have decided to miss La Cruz and continue on to Barra. Our reason to stop into La Cruz was for Fran to get an appointment at the Chiropractor in Bucerias but after contacting him by e-mail we have learned that he is away until after the New Year. If all goes well we should arrive on the 30th. We were going to stop in Tenecatita to visit an old family friend, who we discovered, much to our surprise, has been living in La Manzanillo, for the past few years. Had we known last year we would have made contact when we went grocery shopping there after the Tsunami. After an e-mail exchange we will see them while in Barra. They are only 20 minutes away by road.
0800, Friday, 30 Dec 2011, The Aquarium anchorage, Tenecatita Bay.
We arrived in this beautiful anchorage as the sun was setting yesterday; another beautiful Mexican sunset. We weren’t going to reach Barra before dark so this was a good option for a quiet night. Our friends Hal and Cathy on their catamaran, Airborne are the only other boat here. What a difference in temperature! We are now officially complaining about the heat. It was 80 in the cabin but it is cooling off as evening sets in. The sea temp is 82. We had to take a dip to cool off before turning in
The shoreline here has changed significantly since we were here last. A few years ago all of the squatters, vendors and a few well-established residents were dismayed to learn that they were being evicted. Within a few days the beach was cleared with bulldozers and all access roads and gates were blocked. The area had seen a lot of controversy about the ownership of the cove for many years and finally the more influential party, with backing from the local police and others validated their claim through the courts and, finally by force. Today there are just a few newer buildings that have been built since then.
Yesterday we powered down the coast with our sails up to catch any wind. The land and sea breezes that came up assisted us for short periods but to arrive here by sunset we needed the extra propulsion of the engine. We had a great nature day with turtles, dolphins and 2 pods of whales, one of which surfaced about 50 ft from the boat. But the only fish we caught was the bad tasting Bonito, so they went back to the sea.
0800, New Year’s Eve, 31 Dec 2011, Barra de Navidad.
We are enjoying a beautiful morning in one of our favourite anchorages. There are 21 other boats here including Warren Peace and Optical Illusion, the two boats we were hoping to catch up to for New Years. There are several other boats that we have met here over the years; Manasea, Windward Bound and Jake. We expect to be here for a week or so before we continue south to Manzanillo.
We arrived here mid-day yesterday and immediately went to the fuel dock to replenish what we had used since Topolobampo. We took on 230 litres of fuel, which translated to a usage rate of .82 imp gals per hour. We also filled up the water tanks, a chore that we will have to be diligent on this trip. We would have liked to be independent on that front with a bigger watermaker but the new batteries took precedence this year.
We have had a few maintenance issues over the past few days. The shower drain pump for the fwd shower has decided to pack it in so we are now looking for a new impellor for that pump. Last night, when removing the cover off the BBQ, I heard a splash and discovered the small control knob on the regulator had popped off. It is still useable but with difficulty. I also broke the tip off my casting fishing rod when launching the dinghy. They say crap comes in threes so I should be OK for the next few days.
All the best everyone on a great 2012.
(Pictures will be posted soon)

Christmas in Topolobampo

2011-12-24T09:53:00.000-08:00

1730, Marina Palmira, Topolobampo, Mexico
We are alongside this outback marina in an isolated little fishing village come commercial port since yesterday afternoon. The wind is howling through the rigging and dust is flying everywhere. We are sharing the docks with another couple in a cruiser. We really hadn’t planned to spend Christmas here but until this gale blows itself out we don’t have much choice. Hopefully we’ll be able to leave by Sunday afternoon. We will proceed directly to La Cruz (Puerto Vallarta) and make up the time we have lost.
We launched as predicted and spent 2 days at the fuelling dock finishing off a few projects, fuelling and getting the engine looked at by Omar (the best mechanic in Mexico). He arrived late Tuesday night determined to get us away as soon as he could. After a 3-hour session, adjusting our valves, changing the raw water impellor (and chasing all the bits that had broken off the old one), we were good to go. Lesson: change the impellor every year. It costs less than having a mechanic locate and remove all the broken bits.....
That night we experienced our first significant rainfall in Guaymas. Although it only rained for a short time, it was long enough for us to finally locate the leak in the aft cabin, the one right over J-G’s pillow. We’ll know if we were successful in plugging that leak with the next rain, whenever that will be.
After saying our farewells to everyone we left Guaymas for Mazatlan. We were a full day behind Warren Peace which was also headed there for Christmas. That afternoon we realized that we were missing our Mexican courtesy flag. It was beginning to look pretty ratty at the end of last season so we had packed it up to bring home for repairs. It is still there, ratty as ever. Fran came up with a solution. We have a sewing machine aboard and lots of white material. Red and green was more of a challenge until Fran looked into her tea-towel drawer and lo and behold a red and a green set of Christmas tea towels. She produced the flag in no time, complete with artwork.

Fran's creation

Where's the dolphins??

The following day we heard that a gale was headed our way with winds 35-50 kts. Although the wind would be in our favour we would arrive at the harbour mouth to the Mazatlan marinas well after the gale hit us and there was no doubt that the entrance would be closed. It was an easy decision to divert to Topolobampo, just a few miles ahead of us and the only safe haven between Guaymas and Mazatlan. The entrance is a bit complicated but it is well buoyed for the big ships. The problem is that the big ships don’t use the secondary channel to the marinas and this is one of the few commercial ports that do not have an updated and detailed harbour chart. Luckily we got within internet range shortly after arriving at the outer buoy and were able to download the waypoints for the channel from the Southbound Group’s file page. One of the fishermen also gave us directions by waving us away from the shallows and his nets.
This marina is a nice change from Singlar. It is well maintained and the marina crew seem to be a happy bunch. Everyone has been very courteous and helpful. The owner of this marina also owns the Palmira Marina in La Paz where we have stayed several times. Here he also owns many of the power boats tied up at the other docks. Hope he is making money in La Paz this weekend because he isn’t making much here with just 2 paying boats. He does have a good plan for this marina. Topolobampo is expected to grow into one of the more important big ship seaports on the coast and he is counting on significant economic and population growth in the next decade and he wants to cash in on the pleasure boating traffic. Already it is the doorway to the Copper Canyon. Boaters stop here, leave their boats and take the bus to Los Mochis to the railhead to do the Copper Canyon tour.
Our best wishes to all for a very Merry Christmas.

Marina Palmira

Eduardo fishing for Lisas, the easy way...

Saturday, Christmas Eve,24 Dec 2011
It was one windy night last night but it died suddenly at about 1AM then set back in by dawn. We had supper with Ralph and Barbara aboard Pacific High (the cruiser mentioned above). Throughout the evening we were buffeted by 30-40 kt winds. When we left we discovered that tgheir stairs and Ralph's sandals had been blown off the dock. With conditions like that in the marina we can well imagine what they would be offshore.

All the best for a very Merry Christmas from Gosling in Topolobampo.

Last week of refit

2011-12-18T20:59:00.000-08:00

Fran and Santa Mike

Fran's new boots

Spiffy prop

Our new transom logo

Sunday, 18 December, Still on the hard in Guaymas
This should be our last night on the hard. We are due to launch in the morning after a long 3 week refit and we are eager to get back on the water. The lift was repaired last week and we have finished all of our critical projects. The van has been moved to San Carlos and parked in a friends’ yard waiting to be driven back to Sierra Vista where it will wait for us until our return in May. The bottom has been painted yet again and we have an interesting looking “green” propeller with zinc-chromate primer and a Prop-Speed coating. We have managed to find a home for much of the stuff we brought down. Anything surplus to our needs was put back into the van to be brought home or sold during the last few weeks. The old LTH golf cart batteries that we replaced were sold off in pairs, the last pair leaving today. What a relief it was to get rid of those, but I must admit that there still was a lot of life left in them, maybe not enough for our next few years but most of the people who bought them were looking for a temporary relief for dead or dying battery. Yesterday we had to buy another 12 volt starter bank battery after finding that one had died completely. Our last task today was to rig a line from the end of the keel to the rudder to prevent any fishing lines or nets from fouling the prop. The catamaran “Airborne” had a similar system and it looked like a grand idea. The theory is that any lines or nets will slide from the keel, along the line and under the rudder and not pop up between the keel and rudder. We have added another 110 ft of anchor cable giving us about 300 ft and still lots of room in the anchor cable locker.
We also took advantage of the time on the hard to do some interior refinishing. Fran sewed up a sunshade for the front windshield and a new 4-way wind-scoop after finding the last one had become brittle over the summer. J-G installed the repaired propane controller that had died the “night of the scorpions” last season and also installed the AIS receiver and all of the refurbished woodwork that we had brought down.
Fran now has a new set of cowboy boots. She has wanted a pair to line dance and ride in for a while now and found a place in town where she could get them made to measure. She initially ordered a goat and cowhide pair after being told that ostrich was 4 times more expensive but when she went to pick them up she was told that they had run out of cow hide and had to use ostrich – no extra cost. She actually hugged the salesman! With the boots she also got a free belt but it was too large but it did fit J-G, so now we both have our Christmas presents.
Tonight we had a wee cocktail party aboard with Patty and Tony (Forbes and Cameron, who are folk singers of repute), Susie and Ron (Gold Eagle), and Arlette and Dick (Quatro de Mayo). Susie is a Mexican so we had to translate all of our stories to Spanish so she could understand. Too bad we are leaving. She has been a very good sounding board for our poor Spanish for the past few weeks and we have learned a lot from her.
Steve and Linda (Warren Peace) should be leaving any day now for Mazatlan. They splashed a few days ago and have been fixing some last minute problems. They are due to be in Mazatlan in a few days and will save us a spot. We hope to be there for Christmas and leave for Banderas Bay on the 26th or 27th and hope fully make it to Barra de Navidad for New Years.
Hope the weather cooperates. It will be a very dark couple of nights on our way down to Mazatlan but we have done that before.

Getting ready: Refit week 2

2011-12-07T18:46:00.000-08:00

Compa Juan's, our favourite taco bar

Wednesday, 7 December, 2011. On the hard at the Guaymas Singlar Yard

We are half way through week 2 of our refit. Although the boat looks like a gypsy caravan with all of the bits and pieces strew about the deck, cockpit and cabin spaces, projects are progressing well and there is a glimpse of light somewhere in the tunnel ahead of us. Today was a good day. Fran finished making her sunshade for the windshield and J-G finished putting the fwd head back together with a new thru-hull, a new pump and all new hoses. Another project, the lightning ground on the hull was replaced with a 12” by 12” sheet of 1/8 “ copper sheet, a recommendation from Nigel Calder the boating electrical and mechanical guru who conducted a seminar in Victoria last summer. We have also scrubbed and disinfected the water tanks, a big job and messy job. There is much left to do but the major items that are required for us to go back in the water are done. There are always the unexpected tasks and one has been the rebuilding of the port lazarette cover that was badly delaminated. Luckily there are lots of people working on boats and lots of expertise to tap into. One of our neighbours in a refrigeration expert and he has given us reassurance that our system is sound and has offered some advice on how to reduce our power consumption. We are also getting ready for our insurance survey that is due every 5 years.
However, there is a major problem: The travel-lift is out of commission and has been for the past 4 days. We weren’t planning to splash before next week anyway. Hopefully it will be fixed by then. The Singlar facilities across Mexico are run by a government agency, and they are now a millstone they have been trying to sell for the past few years. In August they raised the prices 61% across the board. Needless to say that was not a popular event with the cruisers using the facilities. There will be very few, if any, returning here next season and those in the yard now are hurrying to complete their projects as quickly as they can. The powers to be in Mexico City have been funnelling money from one facility to another to cover expenses and, although, this is one of the few that show a profit, there is no money left in the coffers for maintenance. That is why the travel-lift problem hasn’t been reported to Mexico City yet. They are hoping to get the repairs done under the table so those of us ready to splash before the end of the year can do so. We are forever hopeful...
In the next week we’ll be re-rigging and getting Gosling ready for sea. All the lines and sails are littering the deck at the moment but Fran has the Christmas tree ready.... The new batteries are also ready to install and, hopefully we’ll get that done before the weekend. With a swap-meet on Saturday that will be a good place to get rid of the old ones. Saturday is also Fran’s birthday. J-G will have to think of something special before then. We also have a new boat name and home-port decal for the stern that has to be installed along with a number of new improvements such as a new and more powerful solar controller, the repaired propane controller that crapped out late last season, a noise cancelling speaker system for the SSB and an AIS system that locates and identifies shipping.
It has been very cold here for the past few days. Nightly temps have been close to 50F and daily temps in the low 70’s. We have had some strong winds that have shaken the boat on its stands (we actually live on the boat while in the yard). This morning the anemometer was registering 23-26 kts. We haven’t had to resort to a heater yet but that second down duvet has been handy, not like the spinnaker J-G had to sleep under the first night he was on the boat in San Diego in early 2008. The Americans and Mexicans are amazed at seeing us in shorts and t-shirts while they are in long pants and ski jackets. We just tell them we are tougher skinned but, in reality, we don’t have any winter clothing with us except for what we were wearing on the way down. The weather should be improving by the weekend but the El Nina conditions that have redeveloped over the past few months will be giving us some very different weather patterns this year. Hopefully its effects won’t follow us down the coast.

The start of the 2011-2012 cruising season

2011-11-30T18:55:00.000-08:00

Life on the Hard

Chrissy, Linda and Rosie

Bill, Turkey and the ever watchful Rosie

Bill's Volcano

Guaymas, 28 November, 2011-11-30
The start of another cruising season, the 5th overall, the 4th in Gosling. We are presently on the hard in Guaymas as we have been at this stage for the past 4 seasons. Over the next few weeks we will be going through a long list of tasks to get her ship-shape for an extended cruise. This year we plan to finally cut our ties to Mexico and sail to El Salvador. This will mean that Gosling will remain in the water over the summer period next year; something new for us. We’ll be travelling in good company with Warren-Peace and Optical Illusion among a growing list of vessels participating in this year’s El Salvador rally.
Just before we left Fran’s mother passed away after a long illness. She had been fading fast for the previous week so we decided to wait until she was gone to leave.
Our 2-day delay was just long enough for the storm track to reach into the Pacific Northwest and nag us for the first 2 days on the road. Our trip down was the worst we have ever had. It was mostly driving rain most of the way through Washington and Oregon and a patch of heavy snow as we drove through the last of the mountain passes into northern California. It wasn’t until Palm Springs before we could change into shorts and t-shirts. We stayed there a couple of days with some dear friends and drove on to Sierra Vista Arizona where we stayed another few days with our cruising friends Bill and Linda from Tanque de Tiburon. Linda was recovering from a knee replacement so we were able to help preparing for US Thanksgiving and enjoy it with their family and friends. Bill’s mesquite smoked turkey was a big hit.
We were delayed again by a day with severe weather along our planned route to Guaymas with heavy rain caused by a combination of hurricane Kenneth and a rare onshore wind from the Pacific. We crossed into Mexico at the Naco crossing at 10 am and had a 2-hour delay caused in part by a “Shall we search them or not” dance at customs (they finally let us through after seeing all of the stuff we had in the van and realizing that it would overtax their meagre manpower to do an adequate search). We breathed a sigh of relief after a warning and wave through but the immigration office had another delay in store for us. The routine is to be issued with the visa and go to the at the bank wicket to pay the fee, however, when the serial numbers were entered in the computer at the bank they were rejected. Apparently they and the serial numbers of the entire supply of visas in the main office had been used in early 2010 at the Mexicali border crossing. For the next hour and a half we chatted with the agent while his supervisor tried to find a solution. Finally it was declared that it was a bank problem and that we could pay the fee to the agent, get a receipt and they would deliver the forms to the bank themselves the following working day. Works for us! We were out of there in a flash.
We finally arrived at the boatyard at 7PM, found a ladder and made ourselves comfy onboard. I think it was lights out at 8PM we were so tired. Driving at night on Mexican highways can be trying. There is a lot of heavy truck traffic rolling at 75-85 mph and very few roads have shoulders. All along the route there were many crosses and mementos to people who had died in accidents, clearly not a confidence boosting practice.
The next morning we got to see several acquaintances also getting ready to launch. The van almost voiced its relief at being unloaded. She visibly straightened up after unloading close to a ton of “stuff”. The next task was to find deck space to put it all while we did a major clean out (which included a double insect bomb to eliminate the weevils that had invaded once again) and review of what was already onboard. We had to be brutal at removing little used or unused items from previous seasons, redundant items and anything that we could do without in favour of what we just brought down. That task will be going on for the next week or so while we attack some of the more critical items such as thru-hull (seacock) maintenance and the replacement of a few, re-installing many items we had taken home for repair or refinishing and re-installing all of the running rigging, sails and the like that was removed prior to our departure for home last May. From now on we will not have the luxury of the van to carry equipment back and forth so we have to consider an airline luggage capacity, including Rosie’s dog cage.
We've just had our first feed of Guaymas shrimp, one of the many rewards of being in this part of the world. These aren't the M&M cocktail variety, these are huge and at about $7/kilo we'll be having lots more before the season closes in a few weeks.
Day 3: One seacock replaced, 2 others serviced, the forward head is completely dismantled and ready for a complete overhaul, the water tanks are clean and we have room to breathe below decks, some bilge spaces painted and we have only scratched the surface.

Trip to the Copper canyon and back to reality

2011-07-03T17:06:00.000-07:00

Our train awaits in Los Mochis

Scenery near Temoris as we switchbacked up the mountains

Bird's eye view of the bootom of the canyon

Tahuamara native women selling their baskets at a train stop

21 June, Esquimalt

This will be the last entry for this season and will chronicle our trip to the Copper Canyon. At present we are back home and tending to the more mundane things of land-lubber life. Our trip north was mostly uneventful. We had a nice visit with Bill and Linda in Sierra Vista, AZ where we picked up Rosie and where Fran recuperated from a nasty bout of the flu, for 5 days. We passed through Palm Springs and had another few days with our friends Nina and Reno. We had to bypass South Lake Tahoe this year as Pam and Steve were late getting their boat back on the hard and were not back home in time for our passing. Our return trip took us along the Oregon coast, a beautiful drive. We spent our 40th wedding anniversary on the road and celebrated with an expensive motel and a nice meal in Astoria. We arrived back home on the 1st and have been working on a bathroom reno and chair repairs since then.

11 May 2011.

Gosling was hauled out yesterday morning and it took us the remainder of the day to attend to a few related chores and to get us ready for our 4 day trip. We had dinner onboard and a few hours rest before heading to the bus station for the 22:30 red-eye, a six-hour bus ride to Los Mochis where we caught this train. Our timing was more luck than good planning. We arrived with 15 mins. to spare. All our sources failed to tell us 2 vital pieces of information: that there was a time-change between Guaymas and Los Mochis and that the `cheap train` that we had intended on boarding at 0700, runs every 2 days, i.e., tomorrow. So, all in all, we were fortunate to arrive as early as we did. Planning will be the key for the trip back

The El Chepe premier train runs between Los Mochis and Chihuahua on the way to Posada Barrancas, one of the stops close to the Copper Canyon. About half way we began to see the scenic part of the ride with tunnels, bridges and wonderful escarpments. The guidebook indicates that there will be 37 bridges and 86 tunnels along this route. This train is a far cry from the smooth ride on the European trains. We are swaying and shaking and it is noisy but the scenery makes it all worthwhile.

Luckily here are not very many passengers onboard today so we can move around the cars at will and see the scenery on both sides. Earlier some security guards walked through the car carrying M-16s. One of the other passengers who runs a hotel in the canyon said that 10 years ago the train was occasionally robbed on this run....

At the moment we are 3 hours from our destination and we are passing through some spectacular scenery. The train is hugging the side of a deep canyon. On the right it is a sheer drop some hundreds of feet to a shallow green watercourse. Occasionally we see the daunting sight of the remains of train wagons that didn't make it. There are no snow capped peaks here but we are climbing steadily and it is getting cooler.

Report from after the trip:

We arrived at Posada Barrancas by 1600 and were met by Armando Diaz, the patriarch of the Diaz family and owner of the Cabanas Diaz. It was a short ride to his spartan but comfortable cottages. We checked in, the only guests, and spent the remainder of the afternoon dozing and reading. Simple but wholesome meals were taken in the main house. Lentil soup and chillies rellenos was the evening offering. We met the local governor the following morning. He is one of Armando’s relatives.

Fran had not been feeling well for the last part of the train ride; luckily it turned out to be only a 24-hr event. She was still feeling off the following morning when we took a short tour that took us to several lookout points on the canyon rim and ended at the Devisadero lookout and where we boarded the train for the trip to the Bahuachiva station. At the first lookout there was a gondola ride that takes you over a deep valley to another lookout at the edge of the canyon. For the more adventurous there is a zip-line outfit. We didn’t partake in either. We were dropped off at the Devisadero station where the train stops for 15 minutes to allow the passengers to see the superb panorama of the canyon. Because of this the Tarahuamara have established a market where you can buy their baskets and other wares. Others locals have jumped on the band-wagon and have setup stands for food and all sorts of Copper Canyon souvenirs. It is good to see that the natives have these outlets for their wares but we only see the women and young children. The women wear their traditional multi-coloured skirts and blouses and pass the time between trains weaving their intricate baskets out of palm leaves and pine needles. There is obviously much poverty among these people. The children do not look healthy and the only food we saw that day came from the other vendors and consisted mainly of chips or cheezies and soft drinks. During our entire trip we did not see and of the native men.

By the time we departed Devisadero for Bahuachiva it was early afternoon. We were met in Bahuachiva by Alberto Lopez Cenicero, the owner of the Jade hotel in Cerocahui. The hotel was highly recommended to us by Chris and Rauni of SV Ladybug. This turned out to be a wonderful little, family run establishment. Alberto had been manager of the larger Mission Hotel before striking out on his own. He and his wife Francia made our stay most enjoyable.

It should be mentioned here that there are no banks or ATM machines between El Fuerte and Creel. Because of the unexpected increased train fare we were getting short on funds with no way of obtaining any. As a result we were looking at cutting our trip short by a day and cancelling some of the tours we had planned. Alberto came through to save the day with a local shop owner friend who could accept credit card payments. We were thus able to take a tour to Urique at the bottom of the canyon and a horseback ride on some local trails around the village.

Cerocahui is a beautiful little village 15 km from Bahuachiva. Many of the houses are constructed of adobe bricks made from mud and pine needles or from bricks made locally of fired clay. At this time of year it is very dry and dusty and the locals are praying daily for rain with processions through the streets each morning. Alberto is confident that the rains will arrive in 2 weeks.

The following day we took the trip to Urique, 2000 meters down the canyon with Alberto who, incidentally, still conducts the tours for the guests the Mission hotel. The trip, in his 4X4 GM SUV, was a hair-raising experience to say the least. For over an hour we drove down a dusty dirt road, for the most part hugging the side of the cliff with a precipice of dizzying height on the opposite side. We were glad to have done the trip during the dry season. Alberto described the road in the rainy season as a quagmire in places and falling rocks and debris are a common hazard.

Along the way we passed Tarahumara dwellings where the brightly clad women and young children could be seen. How these people survive in this landscape is difficult to imagine. There are many springs but access to food can only be done by the road or grown on their meagre garden plots. On our way down we picked up an elderly lady who was bringing a sack of nopale cactus leaves to sell in the village and 3 young boys who were carrying sacks of corn to their home. One of them, Jesus a 12-yr old native boy, stayed with us for the day. The normal means of transport for the natives is by foot or hitch-hiking passing vehicles. Some dwellings are so remote that it takes hours for the inhabitants to reach the road. Then they have to wait in the blistering heat. There are no school buses for the children so they too have to rely on passing vehicles to travel to the top of the canyon to their small school.

We breathed a long sigh of relief when we got to the bottom. Alberto took us on a tour of the village, to an area along the river where the locals swim and then to a restaurant for lunch. We treated Jesus to lunch and, to this day, we have no idea where he put all the food that was presented to him.

The drive back up the mountain was as exciting as the way down. Several times we stopped and threw water at the radiator to cool it down, an unorthodox but effective technique. At some of the hairier spots Jesus could be seen in the back crossing himself. That wasn’t very good for our confidence. Good thing Alberto kept both of his hands on the wheel! On the way up we dropped off Jesus on the road above his home with some gifts we had purchased for him and his family.

We got back to the hotel without incident and spent a few hours wandering around the village. At 8 AM the following morning, Juan, and elderly man, was waiting for us with 2 horses, saddled up and ready for our trail ride. Juan walked and we rode for a few hours along the outskirts of the village. Juan chatted continuously in Spanish giving us the names of flora and fauna and stopping at every photo op along the trail. He was a very pleasant and careful guide and we highly recommend his services. Alberto can arrange this.

When we got back it was time to leave for the train station. We arrived with lots of time to spare and waited as the northbound passenger train and a freight train passed by. We had a first-hand look at the competition that exists among the hotel/motel owners. Scooping guests from another hotel is not uncommon and the unsuspecting guests often end up at an establishment other than the one they had bargained for.

The trip back was a long 6 hour ride. As it was a Sunday the train had many more passengers. We arrived at Los Mochis by 9PM and taxied to the bus station. From there it was another 6 hours to Guaymas. We arrived about 3 AM.

Suggestions or anyone planning to do this trip:

- Determine what you want to see in the time you have. We could have gone up to El Chepe and gone down into the northern end of the Canyon but with only 4 days we had just enough time for what we did.
- Consider how much cash to bring. If you do what we did there are no places to replenish between El Fuerte and Chepe. We were very lucky to find the solution we did but there was a 6% price to the service, which we were only too glad to pay to enhance our Copper Canyon experience.
- We were very lucky on the timing for the trip up. Keep the bus and train schedules in mind and remember that the “cheap” train does not run every day while the premier train does.
- Travel light. You’ll want to bring back souvenirs like the baskets. They are very cheap and make great presents but are bulky to carry. Best to buy them as you head back.
- It is best, but not necessary, to make reservations for lodgings. We didn’t but Fran’s research indicated that the hotel operators would be waiting at the train for clients. That’s how it turned out for us but during a busier time it would be a lot more difficult and the host’s vehicles would probably fill up with people with reservations first. Remember that Cerocahui is 15 miles away from the train station.
- We aren’t sure but we believe that if you buy a ticket all the way to Chepe you’ll be able to get off anywhere along the way and re-board the following trip as long as you are still going to the ticket destination. Short trips between stations are not cheap. We met a couple who just wanted to go a few miles down the track to the next station. They were told that the fare would be 400 pesos each. That seems to be their minimum fare. We bought our return trip ticket to El Fuerte but got off at Bahuachiva and re-boarded 2 days later and continued on the same ticket.
- There are 2 ways of going down to the canyon. With our short time frame we opted for the southern trip through Cerocahui. With more time we feel that the trip to the canyon from the north through Creel would be a better tour.

Hope this is of use. Enjoy your trip.

Back to Guaymas and home for the Summer.

2011-05-17T16:52:00.000-07:00

2300, At sea on our way to Guaymas
We departed Punta Chivato just before sunset and we are on our way to Guaymas on our last night at sea for this season. It is with a tinge of sadness that I write these notes as it is another of those magical nights on the water.
The first crescent moon is just slipping under the horizon to the west and the stars are brighter than ever. The sea is absolutely flat and there is not even a breath of air to disturb it. Perfection would have been a 10-12 knot breeze so that we could sail across without the engine noise but this is second best and very enjoyable. For the past hour or so I have been watching forms eerily materializing in the water near the boat. Many streak directly to the side only to veer off at the last instant while other larger shapes parallel our course momentarily before angling off. I am seeing the phosphorescence excited by the passing of creatures, curious of the engine noise and the passing of Gosling as we make our way to the east. Normally the larger of the shapes turn out to be dolphins but they are not following the normal routine of going to the bow to ride the pressure wave. The really large ones are undoubtedly large manta rays feeding on the plankton and other food critters that rise to the surface layer once the sun is gone.
Over the past few days the mirror-like sea conditions have enabled us more sea-life than we have seen all trip. There have been rays flipping out of the water, sea-lions lying on their backs with all their fins sticking out of the water, numerous whales, including a brownish grey loner yesterday near Punta Pulpito. There have been dolphins and sea turtles and fishing has been good with a Cabrillo yesterday and a yellowtail jack today. After the high winds of last week this is an unexpected bonus.
We arrived at Isla Coronado in early afternoon to join 2 other boats. By late afternoon there were 20 boats and millions of bees. Someone had organised a Seawind catamaran rendezvous for that evening but they were a quiet bunch. We were 5 boats in our group with Tanque de Tiburon, Moshulu, Journey and Loomba Loomba. All but Tanque repaired ashore for sundowners. Bill was still trying to get his outboard going after his mishap in Pto Escondido. This was the last time this season we’d see many of our friends so it was a bittersweet event. We all bid our fond farewells and escaped the bees to return to our boats for a quiet night at anchor. On our way back we dropped in to say hi to Carl and Claire, on Paradox. They had drifted in while we were ashore and not being a Seawind they were excluded from the cat get together. We’ll see them in Guaymas before we go back. We also passed by TdT to bid Bill and Linda farewell as they were headed for San Carlos the following day.
We weighed anchor about 7 and headed north in a flat calm ocean. We didn’t really have a destination in mind until mid-day when we decided that Punta Pulpito would make an interesting stop. We’d never been there before and the imposing Obsidian headland has been beckoning us every time we have passed by over the past seasons. We spent the remainder of the day swimming and exploring the shoreline by dinghy and in fishing off the promontory. We were rewarded by a small Cabrillo (sea bass).
We set out early again this morning, again on flat calm waters and arrived at Punta Chivato by mid-afternoon. We had time to take Rosie for a walk along the beach and a tour of the shoreline and then we readied for our last crossing to Guaymas. We decided to leave before sunset to navigate through the shallow passage south of Pta Chivato in daylight so here we are, 10 hours to go before it is all over for another season.
2200, 11 May 2011, On the hard, Singlar marina, Guaymas
What a difference a few days make. We are now in the storage yard after 3 days alongside at the Singlar marina getting Gosling ready. Fran and I are just wasting time waiting for another hour before we make our way to the bus station. We are taking a break and heading to the Copper Canyon. Yes, it is really happening this time. Fran has been quite excited about it and has been studying every aspect of the trip, asking friends and reading notes from others about their experiences and reading everything she could get her hands on to find more info. All this time J-G has been taking down sails, reorganising lockers, removing and washing all the running rigging, organising what is going back to Canada and what is staying with the boat, tending to the batteries and all of the many preps necessary to put Gosling in long term storage, well till Oct/Nov anyway. OK, Fran did help out too on many of those tasks but her mind was on the trip.
We had a visit from Omar (mechanic extraordinaire) today and he will be coming back in November to make some adjustments to the engine and gearbox before our next odyssey. He thinks our injectors and valves may need adjustment to get rid of the soot problem on Gosling’s rump.
When we arrived we were met by Phil (Manasea) who is leaving early tomorrow morning for Sacramento. We were surprised to see Warren Peace (Steve and Linda) at the dock when we arrived. They were late departing and they remained in the northern part of the Sea for most of the season. They will be hauling out early next week at San Carlos. It was nice to be able to socialize with them for a few days. Later that day Chris and Ronnie aboard Ladybug pulled in. They are getting ready to haul out at Gabriel’s yard across the bay.
The haulout was non-eventful. We are in a good spot amongst a myriad of other boats. It will be a full yard this year. Singlar’s reputation is increasing among the cruising public and there are as many on the waiting list as there are reservations. We are in good Canadian company with Blue, Forbes and Cameron and Relax close by. Many other Canadian boats will be arriving in the next few weeks. Francisco the painter has 3 boats on the go, at present, so he is keeping busy. Rumours are that his girlfriend is expecting a baby any day.
Bill and Linda (Tanque de Tiburon) have taken Rosie home with them so we are free to go to the Copper Canyon without worrying about her welfare. Linda has sent a few e-mails to re-assure us.
We are off to the Copper Canyon later tonight, taking the late bus to Los Mochis to catch the morning train to the canyon. Many of our friends have asked for lots of detail so they can use the info in planning their trips. There will be lots of pictures and we will add a few to this episode when we get a chance.

Fun at the Loretofest

2011-05-03T11:05:00.000-07:00

Fran's Scorpion.

Bill (Tanker) and Linda (Nurse Shark) at Mision hotel

Finally, a real shower....

Interesting sign on Isla Coronado....

Did I mention Beer?

1700, 30 April 2011, buoy 39, Puerto Escondido
We are at the Loreto Fest. What a hoot!! It began yesterday and will last thru Sunday with a variety of events tailored to cruisers. That includes everything from seminars on fishing topics to HF radio usage, lots of beer, silly events like dinghy racing, where the driver is blindfolded, craft making, lots of beer, chilli contest, board games, cards, raffles and the ever popular swap meet and did I mention beer? We are into day 2 already and it has been a blast so far.
We arrived on Wednesday afternoon after a nice motor-sail from Bahia Colorado with a short stop off of Loreto to replenish the larder. We were getting quite low on supplies so we took advantage of the proximity of the good stores in Loreto on the way by. We anchored off the town and took the dinghy in to the municipal docks just as a cruise ship was making its approach into the bay. We arrived back with our load of supplies as the Oosterdam was disgorging its passengers.
The buoy field at Puerto Escondido was filling up fast when we arrived but Bill and Linda (Tanque de Tiburon) were there to help us tie up to our buoy. By the end of the afternoon many of our friends from locations far removed from here had arrived. Steve and Pam (Full Quiver), Chris and Sandy (Faith), Gail and Jerry (Moshulu), Barb and Terry (Sunnyside) and many others. We were sorry to have missed Steve and Linda (Warren Peace) who are remaining in the Northern part of the sea for another week or so before heading to their haul-out rendezvous at San Carlos.
On Thursday we were treated with an unexpected bonus, a night out in an exclusive Mission hotel in Loreto. Bill and Linda had the winning bid on a 2-night stay at last year’s Loreto Fest and they offered us one of the nights. On top of that it was Bill’s birthday so we got to celebrate with them. The hotel is only 3 years old and very nice. It was such a treat to sleep in a comfortable King size bed and have a long shower with as much hot water as we wanted. Ohhh the little things in life....
We got back to Escondido too late for the swap meet but quickly got involved with some of the preparations and a few of the early events.
In a previous blog we wrote about our problems with bugs but nothing can compare to the one we found onboard last night. Having gotten back early from shore we decided to watch a movie in the salon. About halfway through Fran screamed that something had just bitten her. After an exhaustive search that turned up nothing and after treating the very painful bite site we resumed watching the movie but a short time later she screamed again that something was crawling up her arm. This time we saw something moving so J-G gathered up the seat cover trapping a critter. A careful peek revealed a small scorpion which we immediately bottled up in a jar. Knowing what had stung her we made a b-line to Bill and Linda’s boat hoping that Nurse Shark, Linda (retired Army nurse), would know how to treat it. A good cleaning, ice, anti-histamines and a couple of Tylenols later we were back aboard relieved that this was not a life/death event. By morning Fran was better but her finger was still numb. (Note: 72 hours later, all is well..) A fellow cruiser, Jim on Pochteca, a biologist ID'd the critter as a Centuroides Sculptuatasor bark scorpion, one of the more venemous species. Surprisingly quite a few of our friends recounted similar scorpion experiences. We make a good pair: J-G and his cone shell bite 3 years ago and now Fran with a scorpion sting... Oh, yes, we could also mention Rosie with a large tick that Steve found on her while they were dog sitting when we were at the hotel the other night. That’s 3!!
In a totally unrelated event our propane control module fried itself unexpectedly last night too. J-G was able to make it work partially so that we are able to get the propane flowing but that will have to be replaced for next season.
1500, 2 May 2011, still at buoy 39
It is blowing like hell and has been for the past 2 days. Yesterday they had to cancel some the Loreto Fest afternoon events because of the high winds. We had gone in early to participate in the breakfast and the wind was already beginning to pick up. The weather forecast was for gale force winds and by the early afternoon there were several of the anchored boats that had dragged and most of those at buoys headed back to their boats, worried that the moorings might fail. For several boats that precaution was borne out. Among those that broke free were Loomba Loomba and Tanque de Tiburon, both at about 6 AM this morning. The wind blew all night hitting velocities in the low 40’s. On the way back to the boat yesterday J-G managed to make it back by himself without mishap but Bill (TdT) flipped his and had to be rescued. The winds also played havoc on dinghies ties up astern of their boats. A few actually got airborne on their tethers and flipped over causing a great deal of work getting the outboards cleaned and running again.
With the wind howling and the boat wind-vaning wildly it was a near sleepless night but, even though we stayed aboard all day it was a busy one. Fran spent the time quilting while J-G made some repairs. The main task was to get the propane flowing again. It appears that the solenoid had become defective and was drawing too much current. We had a spare on board but it took most of the day to replace it. Getting to the components was the hard part. We will now have to use the propane very carefully as there is no longer an alarm or auto shut-off feature.
The last Loreto Fest event we attended was the silent auction results. We were successful in about half of our bids and managed to scoop 3 golf prizes at 3 magnificent golf courses along the mainland for next season. They include Punta Mita, near Puerto Vallarta, a course in Ixtapa and another in Huatulco.
The weather is supposed to improve by tomorrow but most of us have decided not to leave until Wednesday and most of our group of friends are heading north. Our late departure means less time exploring. We will have only a few more days to enjoy this side of the Sea this season as we are aiming to be back in Guaymas by the 7th. Bill and Linda have graciously agreed to take Rosie home with them to Sierra Vista while we put Gosling to bed. This will also give us the opportunity to visit the Copper Canyon, a trip we have been looking forward to since we first arrived in Mexico.
1000, 3 May, Still at the bouy.
It is still blowing about 15-18 kts but the gusts are not as frequent. We will be going into the marina to get some internet time this morning and hopefully publish this blog. We plan on leaving tomorrow morning after fuelling and make it to Coronado for tomorrow night. We plan on making the crossing by the weekend and will probably accompany Tanque across.

Great cruising to Loreto

2011-04-25T11:47:00.000-07:00

Doug and the Bell Rock

Petroglyphs

Apache tears in matrix - most were loose finds

Diver Fran

Fran's first photo underwater: Floating sponge

Locals harvesting Gayo clams

Gayo clams in the wild.

2030, 18 April, 2011. Anchored in Burro Cove, Bahia Conception
We are anchored in a nice quiet (at the moment) cove in the beautiful setting of Conception Bay. There is no wind and the water is a full 10 degrees warmer than anywhere we have been so far this year. Ka-Em-Te is just beside us having arrived earlier yesterday after their crossing from San Carlos. Doug and Trish are looking good and their spirits are high in preparation for their long trip back to Oregon in June.
It has been a busy 3 days since the last entry. We remained in Puerto Ballandra for another very windy day with winds up to the mid-30 knot range but shortly after midnight everything went quiet and when we got up the next morning the bay was like a mirror. We weighed anchor about 7AM and headed out towards San Juanico, arriving there by early afternoon. What we thought would be a lazy day’s motorboat ride turned into a lumpy one as the wind filled in from the north for one more blow reaching 15-17 knots at times but we only had to endure that for an hour or so before we reached San Juanico. Allegro arrived shortly after we did and we had a very pleasant evening with Scott and Marlo.
We spent part of the afternoon exploring the beaches and letting Rosie run. A few other cruisers arrived later and Rosie had a friend to chase along the beach. We visited the cruiser’s shrine at the head of the bay where boats leave a memento of their visits. There are many mementos displayed, everything from shells to shorts, all bearing the names of the boats, dates of visit and many with the names of the crew. Imagination is the key here so the more outlandish the creation the better. We saw many familiar names including Doug and Trish’s contribution of 3 years ago, a shell with their names painted on it in durable marine enamel. We’ll be passing here again so, until then, we will have to create something to mark our 3 visits. We took the time to explore 2 of the many beaches lining this beautiful bay. On one we found veins of basalt threading down to the beach from the limestone cliffs. More rocks for the collection jar....
We early left the following morning, again into calm seas. We caught 2 small Yellowfin jacks, just large enough to have a meal from each, before the wind picked up from the south. We took the opportunity to hoist the spinnaker for about an hour before the wind died again. By early afternoon we had reached Punta Conception and entered the bay. We had been calling KMT periodically but had received no answer but as we approached the anchorage areas we heard a vessel tell another that KMT was beside them in Burro Cove so we made a bee line for that anchorage. Needless to say Doug and Trish were very surprised to see us rounding their stern a short time later. The fact that they were taking baths in the cockpit may have had something to do with the surprise factor.
It was obvious from the number of tents and motor-homes filling the gaps between the permanent Mexican and Gringo palapa homes that this was the start of the Easter 2-week holiday but credit must be given to a few of the campers who put out a string of buoys to mark the swimming area and for organising a 10PM noise abatement. Too bad this doesn’t occur everywhere else in Mexico.
That evening we were invited to a pot-luck at one of the gringo residences where one of the cruisers, JC on Whiskey Charlie, was bar-b-cuing a roast of beef and one of pork. What a treat!! Luckily Fran had just baked a chocolate cake so we didn’t feel sheepish about joining the group.
We are anchored just off the residence of Geary the Sonrisa net weather man. We dropped in and paid our respects on our way to the 2 must-see sites that this place is noted for, the bell rocks and petro- glyphs. Both are a short walk away. The bell rocks are boulders with some kind of mineral content that makes them ring when hit with another stone. Once we had found and “rung” the one identified as “The bell rock” we were able to recognise several others that had similar qualities. The petroglyphs are strewn all over the hillside on boulders that must have fallen down the hillside centuries ago. Most have subjects that are unrecognisable while others depict mostly sea creatures.
1500, 20 April, Anchored in Bahia Santa Barbara
The number of personal watercraft buzzing around Burro Cove was too much so yesterday we decided to move a few miles south to Bahia Santa Barbara with an almost deserted beach. We left Bob, Pat and the Rocketman (MV Dark Side) who had just arrived the previous afternoon. Bob has been keeping us all advised on the sightings of the International Space Station sightings. The full moon and these sightings have been spectacular over the past 2 days. Whiskey Charlie and KMT also moved here and anchored close to a Canadian boat, We Rave On.
Today was one of the most enjoyable on this trip. We joined Trish and Doug on a snorkelling outing to an old wreck and then to the shallow waters near the beach. The water was much warmer than we have experienced to date, anywhere in our travels. Some locals were gathering Gayo clams and showed us how to prepare them. They have a muscle similar to a scallop’s that is primarily used in ceviche. We later had steak dinner onboard with a few gayos on the side.
After 2 days of Santa Barbara we decided to start making tracks south towards Puerto Escondido. We still have 5 days to get there but there are lots of really nice anchorages along the way. We decided to anchor in Bahia Santo Domingo near the entrance to Bahia Conception for the evening and then head out during the night to San Juanico. Santo Domingo has a very nice shell beach and we spent a few hours there and wondering what it would be like to snorkel offshore in the shallows. That will have to wait till another time. When we brought the anchor in we found a pink murex shell caught in the flukes. Now we have to convince the critter to leave his home....
We departed with KMT early this morning into a calm sea and moonlit night. We had 45 miles to go and arrived just before 1100. Rosie stood guard duty the entire way protecting us from any bad dolphins or pangas. After a few false alarms she actually saw a few dolphins but all we saw was their phosphorescent trail streaking by the boat. She is quite the different dog from last year when she hunkered down behind J-G’s pillow as soon as the engine was started. That is still her position when it is rough out or when the sails are up.
1000, Monday, 25 April 2011 At anchor in the north anchorage at Isla Coronado with KMT
It is a quiet morning in a beautiful bay, bordered with white sandy beaches and clear azure water. We woke this morning to the tell-tale “whoosh” of a whale nearby. It was a large fin whale about 100 yards from the boat feeding in the shallows. What a sight, another fin whale sighting for our log.
We spent 2 days in San Juanico with Doug and Trish exploring the beaches and shoreline around the bay. We deposited our contribution to the cruiser’s shrine. Ours is a large scallop shell with the boat name, our names and the years of our visits. Fran did a great job on it. Just hope it survives a few seasons. There are some there that date back to the mid-80s. The guide book also tells about a deposit of obsidian pebbles, better known as Apache Tears. We were able to find quite a few on a walk down the main road.
After moving to the southern anchorage we explored that coastline, found a few agates but not the clam beds we were hoping for. We’ll have to come back to this side in the future to explore the underwater ledges for lobster. We spent a very rocky night rolling in the swells that were produced by the afternoon wind.
We left San Juanico yesterday, mid-day, for the north anchorage of Isla Coronado. This has been a good choice. It was a very quiet night, no wind or swell. We are within range of the Loreto phone services so we have a good connection to the internet. Hopefully I will be able to get this blog sent with the photos that we took over the past few days.
Tomorrow we head for Puerto Escondido. We will also part company with Doug and Trish who will continue to La Paz where Doug can get some medical attention and where they can get ready for their trip back to Oregon in June.

Into the Sea of Cortez

2011-04-15T06:47:00.001-07:00

Tidal hot springs north of Agua Verde

Anchorage at Agua Verde

Bees searching for water on Isla Carmen

10:00, 8 April 2011, under sail from Ensenada Grande, Espiritos Santos
Wow, has the last week ever gone fast, obviously a consequence of growing older. I remember when those last few weeks of school would drag on forever before the summer holidays.
We are in transit between 2 anchorages after leaving La Paz yesterday. It was a busy week. We met some great people including Jerry and Gail (Moshulu) and the people aboard Anna and Avalon, Mike on La Otra and a really weird coincidence at the restaurant on the dock where we met very good (non-sailor) friends of Lexie and Gil Ballatore who were staying at the marina motel for the night.
We went on a tour to Todos Santos with Jerry and Gail using Eduoardo’s Guide service. It was well worth paying the fee to have an in depth tour of this wonderful area. We visited the town and the surfing beach. In town we visited the Hotel California, made famous by the Eagles with their song of the same name. The town is known in Mexico as a “magic” town, one of 27 or so in the country; magic, meaning that it is a centre for black/white magic, spiritual awareness and such. The Eagles were just a bunch of your surfers and musicians at the time they stayed at the Hotel California in Todos Santos and are said to have sold their souls to the devil to have a hit song. Kinda explains the lyrics. They rose very quickly to fame after that but had a very on again off again career with many breakups. Their last and most famous reunion was in the 90’s. Don Henley, the lead singer had announced that they wouldn’t get back together again until “Hell Freezes Over”. Guess what he named the tour?? Great story, wonder if it’s true...
We finally got the stainless rails redone. It cost us more than the original job just to have the defects put right and the entire assembly polished but it was worth it. The rails now complement the paint work that was done in Guaymas. We are looking into the possibility of getting an arch made to place a lot of the ancillary equipment including solar panels and boat davits for the dinghy. That would free up a lot of deck space, something Gosling doesn’t have much of. In these waters we tow the dinghy and thus we actually have some beach space on the bow.
Along with restocking the larder and getting a few fishing bits we had a great opportunity to do a thorough cleaning of the boat. This was, in part, due to the mess the welder’s helper left after the polishing was completed but the close attention we had to the task revealed a few areas on the deck where, the paint is flaking off. We’ll have to discuss these with Francisco, our painter when we get back to Guaymas next month.
We are in a hurry to get north to Conception Bay, an area we have missed the last 3 times we have been along this coast. We bypassed it with Royal Exchange in 2007, didn’t have time in 2008 when we first arrived with Gosling and the last 2 years we have had to alter our plans because of family problems. The plan now is to get up there in the next week, spend some quality time there and then head back to Puerto Escondido for the Loreto Fest, another event we have missed. We have just learnt that KMT (Doug and Trish) will be heading there too on the first leg of their trip back home. It’ll be nice to see them again but sad to see them on their way back up the coast to Oregon.
We left La Paz just as their Bay Fest was beginning, hoping to get as far north as we can before some strong northerly winds develop on Sunday. We plan to hole up in Bahia San Francisco or San Evaristo until they pass.
As we pulled into Ensenada Grande yesterday afternoon we were surprised to see Lunautica anchored there. We hadn’t seen them since Las Hadas. Mike and Judy are on their way south and plan to bash up the outside, back to Ensenada in early May. We had a wonderful evening catching up over a great Sicilian pasta supper. They reported that Full Quiver (Pam and Steve) should be arriving in the area any day now.
2300, Saturday, 9 April 2011, Anchored at San Evaristo.
We are holed up in the northern bay at San Evaristo with Moshulu (Jerry and Gail) and 7 other boats waiting for the north winds that were predicted to arrive this afternoon to pass; problem is they haven’t arrived yet. We have good protection here much better than the conditions we faced last night.
We left Ensenada Grande after a very bumpy night with winds blowing right into the anchorage from the west. As we exited the bay the wind backed to the southwest and enabled us to sail for most of the morning. As we passed by Isla San Francisco a quick look confirmed that the conditions there were not good, in fact, Moshulu had just spent a very bad night there with westerly winds up to 25 knots and seas to 4 feet washing into the bay. A bit further north and protected from south winds is Amontejado Bay where the guide indicates a mangrove swamp accessible by dinghy. We anchored and set out in the dinghy, checked out the mangrove estuary (not very exciting), walked the beach and watched Moshulu anchor close to us. The south winds should have been a omen because all night long we had a westerly wind blow directly into the anchorage causing 3-4 ft waves and had us hobby-horsing all night. Twice J-G had to repair the snubber after it snapped. Today it has been re-designed to withstand more abuse. This morning we had confirmation that the northerly blow is still predicted to arrive today or tomorrow so we sailed across the channel to San Evaristo and are comfortably anchored in the best sheltered area of the bay.
1140, Anchored in Puerto Ballandra, Isla Carmen
This section of the blog will be a long one due to the lack of internet service along the Baja coast. We are anchored in a snug and well protected cove directly across the water from Loreto waiting out yet another strong Northerly blow. It has been predicted for the past week and just began about an hour ago. Looks like another 2-day stay and a few boat projects can be scratched off the list.
This situation is much like our stay in San Evaristo. Although the seas were quite choppy we did go ashore for daily walks along the northern beach with the occupants of a few other boats. This area is renowned for agates and shells. We found lots of agates but our goal was the elusive paper nautilus which remains “elusive”. Rosie had a blast chasing seagull shadows on the beach and got her exercise in spades. It won’t be the same here as the island is part of a national trust and pets are prohibited ashore. She needs a rest anyway as she injured a paw on the beach at San Evaristo.
Besides Moshulu there were 7 other boats there and we met the people on Santosha, Sun Baby, Westerly, Sequoia and Sunnyside. Terry, on Sunnyside proved to be a very good encounter. He is a radio expert and has written an idiot’s guides including a handbook for the ICOM 802 SSB. He guided me through the setting up of a DSC complan on both SSB and VHF. I will be looking for his books on Amazon.com when I get back home. Details of his books and a lot of advice can be found at: http://sunnyside-adventure.webs.com.
We departed before sunrise on Tuesday and into a very flat, calm sea, in company with Jerry and Gail (Moshulu). It remained that way all the way to Agua Verde. With the blow predicted for Thursday –Friday we wanted to get as far north as we could before taking refuge again. With that plan in mind we departed the next morning with us heading for Puerto Ballandra and Moshulu for a few days in Puerto Escondido, however, conditions were too good to miss the hot springs at Cosme . We both anchored close to the location given in the Guide and took the dinghy ashore. The spring is located on a short spit between a large rock and the shore. As you land you immediately see the volcanic rock formations weathered by time but still very obvious. In the middle of the spit is a ring of rocks around a small pool where streams of bubbles can be seen oozing out of the sandy bottom and there is a faint smell of sulphur in the air. Luckily we are at low water and a zero tide otherwise the pool would be underwater. The brackish water is just warm and only about 10 inches deep but digging down into the sand gets you to a much hotter layer. After an hour of basking in the pool with Moshulu and Tioga, who arrived just after we did, we weighed anchor and continued on our way. Another, tick in the box! We had always wanted to stop at this hot spring.
As we were getting the dinghy off the rocks J-G slipped and did a number on his right shin. Fran had to play nurse again to clean the wound. It doesn’t appear to require professional help but it will look like crap for the remainder of this trip and be another cruising battle wound.
It was another motorboat ride up to Ballandra and we arrived mid-afternoon. We are sharing the bay with 3 other boats so far. We are also in a good position for internet but the Telcel signal from Loreto, just across the water from us, is a weak one.
0730, 15 Apr 2011, Anchored Puerto Ballandra
It has been a very windy night. When the wind did arrive yesterday morning it built up quickly to 20-25 kts. By late afternoon we were seeing 30-35 and that lasted most of the night. About 0300 it calmed considerably and, at the moment is is only about 8 but starting to increase again. Should be another “stay on the boat and do stuff” day. Reports last night on the net indicated that this is a fickle system. In Agua Verde, just 30 miles south, the wind remained below 10 kts all day.
Hopefully we will be able to send this out today. If there are no photos attached it will be a signal strength issue. Should that be the case, photos will be added later on. Keep posted.

La Cruz to La Paz and RIP Robyn

2011-04-01T10:31:00.001-07:00

Cuastecomate Seafood: Botana Mixto - J-G's favourite

Fran's favourite - Ceviche

Turk's Head for the newly covered wheel

Swap Meet in La Cruz: You always buy more than you sell...

Mangoes at the Barra golf course

2300, Friday, 24 March 2011
We have been alongside at La Cruz for the past 6 days attending to a number of chores and getting ready to make our crossing across to the Baja. We have changed the engine oil, painted out the V-berth, equalized the batteries, watered up, replaced the fuse housings for the solar panels, re-marked the anchor chain and made a few other improvements but the WINLINK single side band/ham radio e-mail system still refuses to work, even after changing a broken cable. We have sent an e-mail to the experts in the hopes they can give us some advice.
We have seen several friends here including Ka’sala who will be departing here for BC via Hawaii, Matarua, also headed home via the clipper route offshore, the last leg of their round the world 11-year odyssey. This is the time of year that many of the boats headed for the Marquesas are departing. Several have left Bandaeras bay in the past few days and some of our friends have taken to challenge. Periclees, Distant Shores and Dream Away have been reporting in to the morning and evening nets. We have even heard from 2 BC boats that are transiting west from South America; Silas Crosby a single- hander from Vancouver and our friends Geoff and Linda on Curare, on their way to Easter Island. We have also learned that Naida has decided to call it quits and are preparing to ship the boat home by Dockwise in mid-May.
We have a few more items to complete before we leave La Cruz but we hope to be headed north tomorrow to meet up with Third day in San Blas before heading across to La Paz. All indications point to a respite from the strong northerlies early next week. We were hoping for southerlies and a nice sail across but, with the weather you have to take what you can get and if we have to power all the way, so be it. Looks like, we will have lots of company with many boats heading the same way.
Today we received some sad news. Robyn,our (ex) daughter-in-law succumbed to cancer this morning, less than a 18 months after she first detected it. She put up a brave fight but in the end, it was too aggressive. She leaves behind her daughter Jessica, 17 and Kyle 10.

0900, Sunday, 27 March. Anchored in the estuary, San Blas
We decided to do an overnight passage to San Blas and arrived an hour ago. We are hoping to see Rich and his family on Third Day. They have been the target of a smear campaign by Norm Goldie, the self-imposed head gringo of San Blas. Over the past few years he has succeeded in alienating many cruisers from this lovely town with his radio antics. We won’t have to deal with Norm this time. On our way in we heard Norm calling his home base saying he was on his way to Isla Isabella on a fishing trip.
We should be here only overnight and away tomorrow morning early to take advantage of the weather window for crossing the Sea towards La Paz. Don is predicting 10-15 kts. northerlies for the week, down from the normal 20-30 kts, typical of this time of year. It will not be a comfortable crossing but hopefully we will get there before the winds fill in again.
All attempts to send this off in San Blas failed so we will cover the trip across the Southern Crossing in this one as well.

Wed, 30 March 2011, At Sea.
We are 2 days out of San Blas and if all goes well we should be arriving in La Paz tomorrow. It has been an uneventful 2 days, mostly under power due to lack of wind and , when it does come up, it is right on the nose. Our main and mizzen are up so we are ready if it does shift to our advantage.
We left the estuary at San Blas early Monday morning and bid farewell to Third Day who was intending on leaving the next day and following us across. The radio traffic indicates quite a few boats underway, most headed for Mazatlan before making the crossing and another lot making the crossing from Mazatlan.
Our first day was a choppy ride into a 12-15 kt breeze. We tried to sail but after a few hours we had to give it up because of the wind angle driving us well off our intended track. It was quite a wet ride with the occasional wave breaking over the bow but not an uncomfortable one. This window will only last a few days so the more we make towards our destination the less we will have to endure the northerly winds expected along the Baja shore in a few days. There they can be quite nasty at this time of year.
In the afternoon Fran listened to Norm broadcasting his normal tirade against Rich and his family. Fran had enough and responded to him in kind. With Third day leaving we wonder who will be his next target.
Yesterday was a completely different day. There was a nice smooth south-westerly swell and little or no wind until late afternoon when a few ripples could be seen. We came across a pod of large dolphins, much larger than those we see in the Sea of Cortez. They stayed with us for a few hours. With the stable deck and calm conditions Rosie actually came up on deck and almost barked herself hoarse as she ran up and down the deck defending us against those man-eating dolphins.... Good exercise for her. Rosie seems to be more comfortable on the boat this year, Although she hides behind J-G’s pillow most of the time she has been more active on deck this season. She is eating better and drinking and therefore does her business when it is relatively calm. She was trained to do her business on the bow and she is adamant that is where it has to be done. It is funny to see her crouching down and almost airborne when we go over a wave. She is still nervous of those big flappy white things (sails) but we are hopeful that she’ll overcome that phobia.
Later on that morning we broke the dorado spell when we landed a 23 lb dorado. It was quite a fight but seeing its beautiful colours and its mate circling we decided to release it. What would we do with all that fish anyway?? Maybe a smaller one will bite today. We found a nice plump flying fish on the deck this morning. That should make an irresistible bait. Note: We did hook a large Dorado the following day but it broke the line taking J-G’s “guaranteed to catch Dorado “ lure with it. It was a biggie to break the same line we caughtthe 23 lb on.
We continue to hear lots of boats reporting in on the VHF radio. This seems to be an ideal spot for VHF propagation. We have spoken to several friends in Mazatlan and others south of San Blas and many others north of us on their way to the Baja. Rose of Erin and Naida have arrived in Mazatlan and Full Quiver and Faith are close to departing. We also heard from Optical Illusion. Bill and Janet are getting the boat ready to store bit for the summer and head back home.

2300, 30 March, At Sea
We actually sailed today!! At 0730 this morning the wind backed and came up to 15 kts. We put up the genoa and sailed as close as we could to the wind and were making 6 kts at times, and in the general direction where we wanted to go. What a bonus!! We sighted land as the sun came up and we are now approaching the Ceralvo Channel that leads to the pass we must transit to make the approaches to La Paz. It is going to be a long night...
We have been eating the mangoes we collected at the golf course at Barra. The course was built on what used to be a coconut, tamarind and mango plantation. While walking Rosie J-G brought his backpack and filled it. They have been ripening rapidly onboard and Fran has had to be creative in making mango dishes. I (J-G) think they are the best fruit going next to peaches.

0900, 31 March 2011, Alongside Marina Palmira, La Paz
We have arrived and it is already sweltering. The breakwater around the marina is a good windbreak and we could use some of the breeze we had yesterday. As predicted, it was a long night but a pleasant one. The wind died just after sunset and it remained light the rest of the way. We are hearing about quite a few vessels that have had fuel issues on this crossing. Powering all the way means fuel consumption that many boaters do not expect. As it is we arrived with 7 gallons remaining in the tank of the 66 we left La Cruz with.
We’ll be here for the next week. Fran would like to see Todos Santos and there is a daily bus excursion that goes there, We’ll also try to get the stainless work finished here, or at least schedule it for next December when we expect to pass through again.

Tsunamis and Space stations; we have them all.

2011-03-14T14:21:00.000-07:00

Note strut, shaft and missing prop

Note rudder damage and bent strut, missing prop

J-G and a brace of Tecate (Beer company)Girls at the carnival last week

Time: 1705

Time: 1725

Finally, the first fish of the season.

1130, Thursday, 10 march 2011, Anchored in Tenecatita Bay
We are just back from a shopping excursion by dinghy to La Manzanilla, about 5 miles down the coast from the anchorage. We left at 0830 to take advantage of the calm conditions that prevail in the morning, hoping to return before the onshore wind developed. On our way we were treated with a spectacular show of a large whale and its calf frolicking a few hundred yards away. It appeared that mom was teaching junior how to flipper slap the water. We suspect it might be the same pair we observed in Manzanillo bay last month. We made it back by 1030, just as the wind started to blow. It was a wet ride back but we now have fresh groceries and the supplies that we were short of. Now we should be able to stay here another few days but we will have to watch our water consumption carefully.
We are in company with about 15 other boats. The bay has seen a lot of traffic over the past few days with boats entering and leaving on a regular basis. A few of us have taken advantage to the fabulous beach and palapa restaurants almost every day. Rosie has benefitted with long walks and lots of exercise while we have participated in beach games. Narjana has a set of bocce balls and we have a couple of pitching wedges and golf balls. We just invent a game and go from there. After an hour or so we repair to the palapas for beer and guacamole. Fran and other cruisers have brought table games (cards, dominoes, etc) to keep the more sedate amongst us busy.
We have met some wonderful cruisers; Doug and Lanita (Ka’Sala, Comox), Tom and Louise (Narjana), Damien and Erin (Rose of Erin), Ann and Hugh (Serendipity, Port Ludlow), Groovy, and others. We were surprised to see Sweetie (Tony Morelli) arrive yesterday afternoon. Tony owned Moresails and made our sail covers last spring. Tanque De Tiburon also arrived yesterday. It was nice to see them after such a long break and we are looking forward to some quality time with them. They brought with them a number of items we had ordered, a special transformer for the TV, fins for the outboard, a dinghy seat, fuse holders for the solar panel system, a water pump repair kit and a cord for our pactor modem which should fix the problem we have been having with it since we left Guaymas.
The divers were not able to recover Full Quiver’s anchor so Steve and Pam decided to bypass Tenecatita and head directly for La Cruz. Luffin It, the vessel that was struck by a whale has also made it into La Cruz but had to be towed in for the last 30 miles after losing their prop. As soon as they arrived they hauled out for repairs. The photo was taken by Bill and Linda (T de T). Besides the damage visible in the photos above there was a 2 inch shift in one of the aft bulkheads. Sounds like major surgery...The weather and sea conditions continue to be odd. Days are warm but nights are still cool and very humid. We wake up to puddles of dew on deck. The winds have again played havoc on the boats in Barra. There were reports of 30 knot winds and more vessels needing to be rescued. One boat dragged into Windward Bound causing some paint damage. It also fouled their anchor cable and was quite a mess to untangle. Here we have not seen those winds but they have been up to 15 in the afternoons. The swells have been more of a concern here. Although we are tucked in behind a headland and are protected from the direct onslaught of the swell it does get rolly at times. Beach landings and departures are a challenge. Several boats have been swamped and those sitting at the palapas have seen some spectacular dumpings. Although our landings have been text-book we have had a few very wet departures. Rosie has had that wet dog look on a few occasions now. There is also the presence of red tide every few days which ruins any yearning for swimming off the boat.
2300, Saturday, 12 mar 2011, Tenacatita Bay
What a difference a few days make!! Yesterday on the morning net we learned about the earthquake in Japan and another in Chile. We had ears glued to the radio for the next few hours to gather as much info on possible tsunami conditions for our location. We soon found out that the initial wave-front would arrive here by 1325. As we did last year for the Chilean earthquake we headed out of the bay for deep water. Winds were light and from the south so it was not a hardship to sail away from the coast for a few hours listening to the reports of conditions further north. The ham nets were very active and we learned about the wave in Tofino, Crescent City and other locations along the California coast.
After the time for the wave-front came and passed we headed back to the anchorage fully conscious of the 7-10 hour advisory period where subsequent waves could arrive. It was reported that the second wave caused more concern and damage on the California coast.
We arrived back by 1530 and anchored in our spot in about 14 ft of water. By 1700 we noticed a significant surge in the water along the shore. Our depth sounder began to indicate a rapid decrease of depth below our keel ending up at 1.2 ft. Needless to say we immediately weighed anchor and moved to a deeper anchorage location. Between 1730 and 1930 we observed surges of 10 feet that uncovered normally submerged rocks along the shore only to wash back in and completely submerge parts of the beach well above the high water line. (see the photos above. Note the times). The boats also heaved that their anchor cables but, thankfully, the anchors held fast. This morning there was much debris that had been washed down the river from the mangrove swamp floating around us. We didn’t see any critters but in Ixtapa , our friend Kirk (Freedom Kirkland) reported that there was lots of reptiles in the tide line outside that river.
Other nearby locations reported more hazardous occurrences. In Banderas Bay the water rushing in and out of the marinas was so great that the port captain closed the port and threatened to fine any violators $5000. This was the second day of Banderas Bay Race Week. Racing was cancelled for the day but many of the boats that left port as we did were participating in the races and had removed their anchor gear to reduce weight. They were caught with their pants down when the port was closed and had to beg other boats for spare anchors and rodes for the night. The marina at La Cruz was also closed after a dock broke loose.
In Barra de Navidad the channel entrance marker buoys were pulled under by the strong currents. Here too the port was closed. The main water line which spans the channel and is normally anchored to the bottom was dislodged and floated to the surface cutting all access to the lagoon, thus forcing another 20-30 boats to find alternative anchorages and those that chose to remain in the lagoon to be locked in until it the pipe was re-anchored. One boat that had remained in the lagoon broke her anchor cable and was washed ashore. It was refloated, undamaged today. The pipe is expected to be re-anchored by tomorrow. At dusk we saw some strange animals along the shore. Some think they were monkeys while others think they were a lemur type of animal with long brown bushy tails.
Over the past year Mexico has erected some high tech tsunami warning towers in each of the coastal towns and we expected to hear the warning sirens. We have since learned that the system is not yet activated. What a great opportunity to prove the system had they been ready! Nevertheless it was reported by some land based cruisers that the public information system went was quite efficient and many inhabitants of low-lying areas evacuated to higher ground.
Today was quite the quiet aftermath. We spent the morning on boat projects. We spent part of the afternoon under the beach palapas with Bill and Linda (T de T) and a few other boaters watching the 3-4 ft tidal surges from shore. Later on we had the weekly dinghy raft-up, postponed from yesterday. It was very well attended with 12 boats participating. Food choices are always a surprise at these events but no-one goes away hungry. Fran made sushi from some fish we bought from a fisherman passing by this morning.
Tonight we were treated with a spectacular sighting of the space station flying by directly overhead. Tomorrow we expect to head over to Cuastecomate. We have changed our schedule yet again. Cruising plans are normally written on the sand at low water. We are now going back to Barra for fuel (the fuel dock repairs are almost completed) for a few days and over the 17th to see the St Patrick’s Day festivities. We have been told that it is an event that is not to be missed and this may be our last chance to see it. Weather conditions permitting we should then be on our way north to La Cruz by next weekend.

Manzanillo to Tenecatita

2011-03-05T06:43:00.000-08:00

Most floats gave candy. This one handed out glasses of beer!! Only in Mexico!

The "not so real" Queens

The Real Queen

22:00, 24 Feb 2011. Anchored in the lagoon, Barra de Navidad
The festivities have begun, the queen will be crowned Saturday and the weekend should be a blast. Mardi Gras in Mexico is celebrated in style. We won’t see as good a parade as we saw in Manzanillo last year but I am sure that the small town spirit of Barra will not be outdone. For some reason Barra celebrates the event a week early.
We have been in Barra since Monday. Our friends Marg and Bruce arrived the previous Thursday by bus from Rincon de Guayabidos. We had an eventful program planned for them. We toured Manzanillo, sailed to Santiago for a day, another day to Cuasecomate and finally back to the lagoon in Barra de Navidad for a day of seeing old haunts. They had a 2-week stay here a few years ago. They left from here Tuesday morning and, from the feedback, appear to have enjoyed the diversion from their condo/apt in Rincon.
We arrived to a very crowded lagoon. We counted 61 boats yesterday morning but there is still a lot of room for more. Many of our friends are here and others are headed this way in the next few days. We had cocktails with Cheyenne yesterday and Koala Kai this evening. Full Quiver arrived today and tomorrow we will have lunch with 5 other Blue Water cruising boats. Unfortunately Sea Turtle 4 left yesterday, on their way south to Central America and beyond. The lagoon is much warmer now than it was a few weeks ago. When the breeze dies it gets stifling. Our first night back with Marg and Bruce we saw what makes it so worthwhile to do what we are doing. The full moon was rising and the water was like a mirror. The sailboats up-moon from us, were outlined in the moons reflection on the water and the sound of the crashing surf on the other side of the peninsula was the only sound. My only regret was not being able to record it in any way.
On the domestic side, there are lots to do. The ever present need to replenish water tanks can be a pain. We will have to look into a decent sized watermaker for next season to relieve us of the need to replenish from ashore using jerry cans. We also have to refuel here but the fuel dock is still out of commission. This entails more trips by dinghy ashore to fill jerry cans with diesel from the local gas station. The bright side of this is that the fuel will be cleaner and 13% cheaper than at the dock at Las Hadas. We have just heard from friends that didn’t filter their fuel from there and lost both engine and generator from clogged fuel filters enroute to La Cruz. The bright-work also needed sprucing up so J-G spent the better part of 2 days polishing all of the stainless using a product called Flitz. It is quite expensive but a small amount goes a long way and it does an excellent job. Just to be on the safe side he finished the job with a sealer wax. Hopefully this will last the season.
J-G is still doing the SSB net on Monday evenings. For the past 2 weeks he has also done Wednesdays for another operator who is away. He also volunteers for the local nets when no-one comes up. Fran is beginning to feel like the subject of a song by Eilean Quinn, “SSB Widow”. Eilean sings about cruising subjects and some can really hit home.
21:30, Sunday, 27 February, 2011
Happy birthday to our son Chris!!!
It has been quite a day! It started with a boat going aground on its way into the lagoon. Why anyone attempts to enter without the waypoints is beyond logic! It took a number of dinghies and a panga to get him off the bar. Later we got a NW wind blowing 20-22 kts until past sunset; the forecast was for the light offshore winds we have experienced over the past few weeks. Boats were dragging all over the anchorage and several of us, who had decided to stay on our boats, played the Barra Rodeo circuit rescuing boats and dinghies for a good part of the afternoon. It is an excellent way of meeting people....
The wind conditions caused us to miss the Mardi Gras events ashore and the special Oscar reception held at the Grand Bay Hotel/Resort. So far the events in town have been fun. We have made a point to attend the shows in the town square where comedians (Spanish, so lost on us gringos), singers and dancers have performed. Mexicans like their music and announcers LOUD, so after the first show we have been bringing ear plugs with us. Hopefully we won’t miss tomorrow’s crowning of the “Gay” princess tonight and the parade on Tuesday.
We have had our wheel recovered with leather. Weston is a craftsman who has been doing this for years. He did a few last year for other boaters so we were glad that he was still here this season. He finished it today and it is beautiful.
2230, Monday, 28 Feb
Best laid plans... We had another very windy day. This time the wind blew steadily in the mid 20s and we saw one gust at 26.4 kts. Boats behaved this time and no rescues were required. We stayed aboard again and had another “movie night” with microwave popcorn done in a pot on the stove. Whatever the conditions are tomorrow we will not miss the parade.
1800, Thursday, 3 Mar
Another quiet morning in the lagoon at Barra. Boats are arriving and others are leaving to go north and south. The wind conditions are always best for moving offshore between Manzanillo and Cabo Corrientes in the morning hours before the daily diurnal wind sets in. Normally that means 10-15 knot northerly winds, either on the nose for those sailing north, or directly on the stern for those proceeding south. We are hoping to get a southerly flow by the weekend and will take advantage of that to get up to Tenecatita with Full Quiver.
The Carnival is over. The parade was a lot of fun with floats depicting a variety of subjects having nothing to do with Lent. The general theme seems to be a Rio type of event on a much smaller budget and scale. The most outlandish floats belonged to the transvestite community which has a strong following in this area. Later on they were front and centre at a stage show in the town square. They are very good entertainers, lip synching to a number of Mexican divas.
We did our last shop in Barra, checked out with the Port Captain and had a last swim at the pool at the Sands Hotel, the cruisers’ hangout. It has been another hot day with light winds and the pool was a refreshing stop after walking down to the market. We met the folks from Kenta Anae, another Canadian boat that we had met a few years ago in La Cruz. They are a young couple with 2 boys, 6 and 8.
20:00, 4 March. At anchor in Tenecatita Bay
We arrived in this, another of our favourite anchorages, just in time to participate in the Friday evening raft-up where the cruisers get together at a designated spot in the anchorage and tie up together, pass appies, drink whatever and share stories. All of this is under the direction of the “mayor” the boater that has been here the longest. We were in that position last year for a similar event.
We left Barra mid-morning just after the local radio net that J-G was running. Full Quiver as supposed to accompany us but as they pulled up their anchor a swivel snapped. Last we heard they were staying another night in the hope of getting divers to locate the anchor tomorrow morning.
We had a very nice motorsail all the way in very light southerly winds stopping at Cuastacomate for lunch and trying in vain to catch a fish at the reef at the entrance to the bay. We are still fishless this year. How long will the blight last?? Just as we were entering the bay our bilge pump went off. We were quick to identify a fresh water leak and shut off the pump. We later found a disconnected hose under the sink. This is the third time we have had this problem so we are able to respond quickly and not lose much of our precious fresh water supply.
At the raft-up we heard of a sailboat called Luffin It that was struck by a whale just off Tenecatita yesterday. Apparently it damaged their rudder, sail-drive strut and the stuffing in the stuffing box to shift and water to leak in. They also had trouble with some jammed doors afterwards. A number of boats responded to their call and assisted them back into the anchorage, stopped the leak and she was able to proceed to La Cruz in the company of another vessel today. Fortunately conditions are ideal for a transit up the coast and around Cabo Corrientes over the next few days. This same boat ran aground coming into Barra a few days ago....
We plan on staying here for a week or more before heading to La Cruz. This is a good location to clean the bottom and do a few other chores. We are also thinking about going over to the Blue Bay resort to check out the restaurant. We have been told by friends that you can arrange to get a full course meal with drinks for $25 US. If Pam and Steve (Full Quiver) make it tomorrow we’ll take advantage of the deal to celebrate Pam’s birthday there.

Last days in Manzanillo for 2011

2011-02-13T11:28:00.000-08:00

1700, Monday, 7 Feb 2011, At anchor in Santiago Bay
It’s Monday and we are back in Santiago bay so that JG can conduct the Southbound cruiser’s net this evening. We have been here for the past few days enjoying this peaceful anchorage, however, this weekend is a long weekend in Mexico and the beaches are crowded and the waters teem with Sea-doos, tour boats and pangas towing banana boats or water skiers. Rosie goes nuts running up and down the length of the boat barking when they get too close. Some seem to do it on purpose to get her going while others come close to take pictures of her.
We are here with 7 other boats. Optical Illusion is still with us but will be heading north in a few days. Yesterday, Bill and Bob (Katie Hill) and J-G went off on a scuba dive along the point at the entrance of the bay. It was nice to get back to tank diving after such a long absence but conditions were poor. The water here has not begun to warm up. It is still in the low 70’s F when it should be 10 degrees warmer. Besides the cool temps the visibility was not good. There has been a lot of swell over the past few days and that has caused a lot of disturbance in the waters close to shore. The whales seem to be enjoying the cooler temps. We could hear their calls while underwater, how cool is that!! We have also seen several whales in the area over the past week. One seems to be teaching its calf how to breach and skyhop. The baby is mimicking everything the adult is doing.
Last week J-G and Murray and Colette (Tarazed) helped Alan and Rosie (Serendipity, UK) to get loaded on a Yachpath vessel. It was quite an experience to see the process. The crew appeared to be very professional and they took great care with each of the 6 vessels that were being loaded onto the ship. The largest, a 240 ton steel cruising vessel, took the longest and delayed everyone else by several hours. As a result, Serenditity’s loading time slipped from 17:00 to 22:00. Alan and Rosie stayed with us for the following 2 days until their flight departed last Friday. It was odd to have two Rosies on board at the same time but neither seemed to mind and we never got them mixed up.
We have just learned that Full Quiver, naiad and Lunautica have just arrived at Las Hadas. We will be heading back there within the next few days to join them when Optical Illusion departs. Now that the Sailfest in Zihuatanejo is over there will be many boats vying for anchorage spots in all locations in the area. With any luck we’ll be able to get the buoy again at Las Hadas.
Alan (Serendipity) gave us an old 60 lb CQR anchor before they left. We now have that as our primary anchor. I still think the problems we had with the Danforth were due to the wind changes. This is the first time we have had problems with the Danforth. We’ll see how this one fares as we travel up the coast.
Sunday, 13 Feb 2011, At the Sea Scout Mooring ball in Las Hadas
We returned to Las Hadas last Wednesday and met up with Lunautica and Full Quiver. Merry-Lee, which was tied up beside us at El Cid is also here. We are back at the buoy and the bay is full of boats. There were 25 at last count with many anchored well out into the bay. Kirk (Freedom Kirkland), and his friend Perry, arrived yesterday and we had a fish dinner onboard, some of the fish he had caught on his way up. He seems to be the only one catching fish this year.
On arrival at the mooring there was a boat, a newer Beneteau, anchored very close to the mooring ball. They seemed upset when we tied up and came over to advise us that they drift over the ball at night. Fran promptly told them that they would have to move but they were adamant and remained there all night and appeared to keep an anchor watch all night. We thought that the rusty old 60 lb CQR anchor our bow would be threatening enough and J-G emphasised it by putting a few fenders on either side of it. By sunrise the next morning the other boat was about 3 ft away and he was getting ready to fend off. At this point they decided that moving was the better part of valour. The tell-tale pink Ha-Ha pennant they wear indicates that they are this year’s crop of cruisers from the US. I am hoping it is inexperience on their part to even consider anchoring so close to a mooring ball, occupied or not.
Bill and Janet (Optical Illusion) are headed north. We bid farewell to them when we departed Santiago bay. We have heard from our friends Lexi and Gil on Sunday. They are about to leave Costa Rica on their way to Panama. We also got word this week that Doug and Trish are calling it quits for a while. They plan to sail the boat back up to Oregon this spring. They are not making ends meet in Mexico and have decided to go back home and make a go up there. They are looking for crew to bring the boat north from Mexico. Doug will be on the boat while Trish will drive the van back up loaded with as much as they can off-load.
We are in our last week here in Manzanillo. We have had to cancel our meeting with our friends arriving by cruise ship in early March in order to begin our trip north. Bruce and Marge, friends from Victoria, arrive on Wednesday and we plan to take them back to Barra with us with a few stops enroute. They were with us a few days last year. Quite a few boats are beginning the trek north but we will be staying in Barra and Tenecatita for a spell on the way up. We are counting on a warming trend to the cold weather and cool water as we head north. It has been a very cool winter in the Sea of Cortez and we hope that things are back to the balmy conditions we are used to by the time we arrive there next month.
Kirk has delivered the photos that Tanque de Tiburon took of us as we left San Blas last month. Attached are some of them.

Barra and Las Hadas

2011-02-01T18:52:00.000-08:00

14:00, 1 February 2011, anchored off Santiago Beach, Manzanillo Bay
I have just realized that my last posting didn’t go through and i seem to have lost it altogether so here is a catch-up entry for the past 2 weeks.
We got into Barra de Navidad on the 19th without further incident and negotiated the narrow channel where many boats go aground. Since we have the waypoints permanently installed on the chart plotter it is a safe and easy transit for us.
We anchored in near our normal anchorage spot and joined a group of 26 boats. Several of these are here only for a short time getting ready to travel down to Zihuatanejo for the Sail Fest. We did that 3 years ago and that was enough. Maybe we’ll stop in next year on our way south.
Our plans to fuel and water were thrown in disarray when, as we approached the dock we were waved off. We later found out that a power cruiser had seriously damaged the diesel dock and repairs were extensive, without an estimated time of repair. The only option is to jerry can diesel from the gas station up the hill, a long and arduous task....
In the anchorage we finally met Lunautica with Mike and Judy aboard. Mike is Steve’s (Full Quiver) brother and we sailed with them aboard Full Quiver in last years’ Bay of Banderas race week. Their boat, a Moody 46 is a beauty! We also saw several old friends there including Manasea, Pacific Jade, Serendipity (UK) and Windward Bound. Many of the other boats were sporting the pink pennant of this year’s Ha-Ha event, an organised sail of southbound boats from San Diego to Cabo San Lucas. This year there were 170 boats.
We didn’t stay very long in Barra this time as we were impatient to get to Las Hadas to meet up with Optical Illusion. A few days of re-provisioning fresh goods, a pedicure (for both of us), laundry and we were off once again down the coast to Manzanillo Bay.
We arrived at Las Hadas on the 22nd and joined 11 other boats at anchor off the beach in front of Las Hadas. It was nice to meet up with Optical Illusion again and with Serendipity (UK) which arrived a few days later. Three days after we arrived several boats left for Zihuatanejo giving us lots of elbow room. Just as well for us. The normal daily wind-shifts this year bring us around our anchor in a 360 degree circle. Danforth anchors don’t really like that so they tend to flip out and drag a bit before biting back in. This can be very disconcerting in a tight anchorage like this one. We had to re-anchor several times.
Serendipity (UK) is waiting for a Yachtpath ship that will take her from Manzanillo to Europe. She is scheduled to be loaded aboard on the 2nd or 3rd of Feb. Alan has asked me to help him get her to the pickup point and we have offered them accommodation until their flight leaves on the 4th. They are a very pleasant couple who live very close to where we had lived in the early 90’s. It is great to reminisce with them. They are also very experienced European sailors and are a fountain of information on cruising the Med and Greece where we would like to end up eventually.

After a few days at Las Hadas we headed to Santiago Bay for a few days with Optical Illusion (Jan.22nd). This wonderful bay is rimmed by a beautiful sandy beach and the shallow waters are host to many forms of aquatic life including whales. Early this morning at 6:30 Fran heard the tell-tale “whoosh” of a breaching whale and, lo and behold, there was a huge female fin whale and her young calf, no more than 100 ft from the boat. It happened at the exact time that the sliver of the last crescent of the moon was rising and in the same direction. Magic!!! Although it was difficult to make them out in the dark they were there for quite some time after we went back to bed. This may be the pair that were observed a few weeks ago when the calf was born.
One of the reasons we are in Santiago Bay is to have J-G do his evening SSB net control duties in a location where he will be better heard by the listeners up and down the coast. The net serves as a focal point for cruisers to get information on other boats and to get updated weather information from the weather experts. Nets are conducted morning and evenings near the times of dusk when propagation is best.
We are observing that Las Hadas has seen better days. The marina is in sad shape and the management is sorely lacking the experience necessary to run such a complex organisation. Adrian, the manager at present, has been hired on a 60 day renewable contract but he is getting little or no support. He has no marina management skills and has been told by upper management to charge exorbitant fees. As a result he is getting no cooperation from his potential marina clients, the tour operators, fishing charter people, cruisers, etc. or the upper echelons of Las Hadas. There are lots of people willing to give him advice but unless upper management is willing to listen there will continue to be a stand-off. Although we are supposed to be charged a 200 peso landing fee we have yet to see anyone enforce this policy so we continue to use the facilities free of charge.

Cruising the Gold Coast, Costa Legre

2011-01-22T10:46:00.000-08:00

0515, 18 Jan 2011
Morning watch, on route to Barra de Navidad
It’s another lovely night with a full moon and calm seas. We have just passed Cabo Corrientes, noted for creating its own weather systems. Tonight it is being kind, in fact, all week conditions are expected to be ideal for passing by this infamous point of land that forms the southern extreme of Banderas Bay.
We departed San Blas yesterday morning with Tanque de Tiburon (TDT) and Aeolus, an Australian boat. Don Anderson, the SSB the weather man in Oxnard California, had predicted the entire area to be calm and dominated only by land and sea breezes for the next week. We bid our farewells to our new friends and motored out of the estuary into a flat and windless sea. By late morning the wind picked up a bit so we decided to take advantage of the situation and get some new photos of Gosling under a number of sail configurations. The quartering wind was ideal for deployment of the mizzen staysail and the spinnaker. TDT took a lot of photos but it will be some time before we get to see them as they are headed for La Cruz where they will leave the boat while they travel back home for a few weeks.
We managed to power-sail for a few hours during the night but the land breeze has let up. Hopefully the morning will bring enough wind to let us sail some more. If we continued under power, at this speed we would arrive off Barra in darkness but entering the lagoon must be done in daylight, so we have another night at sea and time in hand.
While we were sailing yesterday we came upon 2 pods of whales. One group of fin whales came quite close to us while the other, humpbacks, could be seen cavorting closer to shore. It was a wonderful sight after seeing very few last year. At sunset we were treated to another spectacular Green Flash, the best we have seen to date.
0545, 19 Jan 2011
Approaches to Barra de Navidad
Another cold night but, thankfully, the humidity is much less than we have experienced to date. The wind is light and the sea is calm. It is absolutely clear with a bright full moon setting in the west, a very bright Mars rising in the east and the Southern Cross visible on the southern horizon. I can’t understand why Fran doesn’t like the morning watch but it suits me fine. In a few hours dawn will break, the sun will rise over the Sierra Madres and a new day will be upon us.
We are getting close to our destination. We sailed most of yesterday in 10-12 kts of wind. By evening it died but we kept the sails up and ghosted down the coast passing Chemela just before midnight. At present we are motor-sailing in 8 kts of wind. Ahead of us is a mess of lights. The navigation aids are difficult to discern from the background lights of Barra, another reason to wait till daylight. We are ready for another few days of warmth. These night passages have been quite cool. Soon we will be complaining of the heat.
We’ll listen in to the morning net to find out who is here. We expect a few of our old acquaintances. On arrival in the bay we will go to the fuel dock and replenish before going to the anchorage. It will be nice to wash the decks and get rid of the dust that accumulated in San Blas. The dirt is so much more obvious on our white decks. Note to self: Grey decks would have been more forgiving....
Fran has been chomping at the bit to arrive here. This is where her favourite hairdresser/pedicurist is. It is also a location for inexpensive laundry and fresh produce.
Still no fish! Have we been cursed?? Last year by this time we were sick of fish.
22 Jan 2011, on route to Manzanillo
We are powering into a light easterly breeze still dragging a lure and still no hits. We have just passed through waters that, in the past, have always produced a hit from a sailfish or marlin but they weren’t interested this time. It has been a quick visit to Barra this time and our shortest but we will return on our way back north.
We weren’t able to realise our plans to fuel and wash the boat. Approached the dock we were waved off and we noticed a float blocking access. It seems a powerboat lost control and smashed into the diesel dock a few days before. There is no estimate of repair time at the moment. Thank goodness we still have lots of fuel left to get us to Manzanillo.
Arriving in Barra is like coming home. We have been here so many times that we enter a nice comfort zone as we anchor in this silty, muddy lagoon. There are 26 other boats here, many we have seen before and lots of new boats sporting the 2010 Ha Ha flags, signifying that they traveled with an organised group from San Diego to Cabo San Lucas. Apparently this year there were 170 participants.
One of those boats is Lunautica, with Mike and Judy aboard. Mike is Steve’s brother of Full Quiver and both were part of Full Quiver’s racing crew for the regatta last year. It was nice to spend some quality time with them and Rosie was particularly happy to meet Gunner, their 6 yr old Jack Russell. Their boat is a beautiful Moody 46.
We also had a good time enjoying Barra’s hospitality. We did our laundry, pedicures (yes, even J-G had one), market day (Thursday in Barra), a wonderful taco stand and breakfast at the Golf Course with Mike and Judy and another couple, from SV Barramundi, Steve and Pam.
We have heard from Bill and Janet (Optical Illusion) that the marina at Las Haddas is charging an exorbitant fee for landing a dinghy there. This might curtain our activities there and cause us to move to Santiago bay earlier than we had hoped. More on that in the next blog.

Lazing about in San Blas

2011-01-16T06:34:00.000-08:00

At anchor in San Blas

2200, 13 January 2011, at anchor, San Blas estuary
If it wasn’t for the midges (really tiny black flies that sting like hell) that come out at dusk this place would be an ideal place to hang around for some time. The village is rather small and quiet but has most of the services that a cruiser needs to be comfortable. It has no big grocery stores or movie theatres, but you can find most things if you know where to look. There are lots of cheap restaurants and the Singlar facilities adjacent to the anchorage have the laundry, showers and other services that we have come to get used to.
We have been here 5 days now and have enjoyed the slower pace. We are in company with Tanque de Tiburon who arrived 2 days after we did. Third Day is here as well and has been the brunt of more attacks by Norm Goldie, the local self appointed head Gringo. I have mentioned him in previous posts. It has been disturbing to hear the not so veiled verbal attacks he has made on them. Today he even called the Port captain on the VHF and accused them of hassling him. Later they were visited by a team of immigration people who came down from Tepic to verify if they were conducting a business onboard. What a waste of time for the officials who admitted it was in response to a complaint by Norm. Who needs a movie theatre when we have Norm for entertainment?
Today I split the solar panel banks using the spare 20 amp controller. This one actually has a readout that will tell me how many amps I am drawing through the bank. For the past 2 days I have been watching the fuse holder on the solar system melt away. Today it fell apart. It was made up of 12 gauge wire connected to 10 gauge leads so there was a lot of heat generated at the fuse base. I managed to make up 2 new fuse holders with 10 gauge wire. Hopefully that will fix the problem. The splitting of the banks will also help.
1500, 15 Jan, 2011.
Looks like the solar panel modification worked. I am now getting a good flow of power to the batteries and I am able to make up what we are using during the period where the panels are not producing. One of the fuse holders is still hot but the one I made up is OK. Kudos to me...
We woke up to thick fog yesterday. It took a while to burn off but it sure was a pretty sight. Today the fog was higher producing an overcast sky until about mid-morning. It is also breezy and cooler.
Another project is done! Yesterday I managed to install the springs on the doors of the aft cabin. It was a difficult task and blood was shed but now the doors will no longer be able to crash down to the deck. The doors to the main salon were done 2 years ago. We had so much trouble doing them that we put off this job until we were more motivated. Fran’s dropping the door and ripping off the latch provided that motivation.
Norm’s tirades have led to a new round of concern among the locals. There is a movement afoot to make representation to higher government officials about his visceral attacks on cruisers and the resulting loss of business from the fewer visiting boats. He claims to have been here helping boats for the past 41 years. Boaters who were here 10-15 years ago still find him as irritating as they did then. Can’t understand why he hasn’t been run out of town before now.
Looks like, we will be heading south on Monday morning. The weather gurus are predicting calm conditions all the way to the gulf of Tehuantepec. We’ve decided to take advantage of that and get all the way to Barra de Navidad in one hop. Many of our friends are still in La Cruz and Nuevo Vallarta enjoying the big city environment. Many will be heading down soon. Optical Illusion is already in Manzanillo at our favourite anchorage off Las Hadas.

Last days in Mazatlan

2011-01-07T19:34:00.000-08:00

Mazatlan, 21:56 Thursday, 6 Jan 2011
Just back from watching a movie (Green Zone) on lawn chairs in front of a big sheet strung between 2 palm trees on the lawn. It is a twice weekly event and one we have been enjoying, even though we have to bundle up in our warmest clothes due to the chilly evening breeze. They even provide popcorn...
On the 29th we had a visit from our dear friends Reno and Nina from Palm Springs and their daughter Natasha and son-in-law Jean- Francois. They came into Mazatlan on a cruise ship and were here only for the day. It was a memorable but compressed visit where we tried to fit as much as we could in the time available. After a few hours onboard we met them in old town and had a wonderful late lunch before they had to get back to the ship.
We had planned to go out New Years Eve but as it got closer we decided on a quieter small scale celebration. We weren’t alone. Tanque de Tiburon and Full Quiver were on the same wavelength and we chose to go out for pizza and see the New Year in watching the fireworks on the point near the marina entrance. At least we stayed up till midnight this year.
Since then it has been a quiet and lazy stay here at the resort. We have also accomplished a few projects that had been on the to-do list; caulking the underside of the toe rail, refurbishing some of the door catches, devising a new way of securing the life raft canister, replacing the galley foot pump, putting away all of the Christmas decorations, and generally keeping Gosling clean and presentable. The cabinet has been built but remains unfinished. When J-G saw the plans for the finished item he chose to stop it there and pay the carpenter off. All of the hard stuff is done. The basic box is installed with all of the compound curves and angles factored in. Looks like another summer project to build the fronts and doors.
Rosie has especially liked her stay, getting 3 walks a day and lots of attention from the resort guests. Pretty dogs are always chick magnets and J-G likes to walk her a lot....
The weather has been cool and quite windy lately and we are looking at a reprieve over the weekend so we can leave here and head south towards San Blas. We would have left earlier this week but high winds and fog have been prevalent. Kirk is waiting for us in San Blas now. We have his bottom paint and he is probably getting antsy to get it applied so he can leave too.
Optical Illusion has arrived in Barra and has reported that the weather is much warmer down there. The others that left early are all in the Puerto Vallarta area. It’s time for us to leave the resort at El Cid but only after the swap meet on Saturday.
20:30, 7 Jan 2011
We received some great news today. Doug and Trish called on Skype and informed us that Doug’s tumour is gone and his prognosis is excellent. What a relief for them and all those involved in his recovery.
Looks like we will be the only ones leaving tomorrow. Full Quiver has decided to stay on for another week and Tanque is planning on leaving on Sunday or Monday.
Fran and I went off for a much needed massage today. You can’t beat $20 for a full hour. Now if only our soon to be daughter-in-law was here we wouldn’t have to leave the boat. Dove where are you when we need you?
On to warmer waters south folks......

Mazatlan for Christmas

2010-12-28T12:08:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas from Gosling

Christmas tree

Christmas Eve Dinner

Tanque de Tiburon entering under tow

Rosie and her pal Amber

Ernie and his pals at the pool.

Pork anyone?

14:00 Christmas Day 2010
It is hard to believe we have been here for 4 days already. Time flies when you are alongside, especially in a resort atmosphere like this one. We are an hour away from our Christmas dock party. Fran has a Pollo Navidad (Christmas chicken, marinated in fruit juices) in the oven. Somewhere in the marina there is another pollo and a turkey, which has been cut in two so that it will fit in 2 boat ovens. This will be a pot luck event so you never know what will be contributed. They are so much fun. I will be preparing a vat of Moosemilk, a Canadian Navy tradition that is also very popular in the other two services of Canada. Hopefully no-one will fall off the dock after imbibing....
The saga of Tanque de Tiburon continued this week. After leaving Topolobampo their engine quit after 12 hours so they had to sail the rest of the way. They had good wind conditions, for the most part, and sailed down using their genoa only, arriving off Mazatlan yesterday afternoon. Conditions were too choppy and windy to attempt a tow into the narrow harbour opening so they anchored out in the lee of Deer Island for the night. We tried in vain to get them going under their own power but the engine refused all attempts at resuscitation. This morning we went out at 7 a.m. to tow them in with our dinghies tying them up alongside to give them steerage way. Conditions were almost ideal with light winds but with a 2-3 foot residual sea from yesterday’s blow. By 08:00 they were tied up alongside at Marina Mazatlan and ready for a hot shower and a good nap before coming to the dinner.
It is really nice to see the boats all decked out in their finest Christmas decorations. Some are more permanent dwellers here so they are decked out to the 9’s with lights everywhere. We cruisers have to find places to store these things and, with most boats, storage space is at a premium and we are one the minimalists among the group. We have several strings of solar powered lights and a few strings of 110v that we can use when connected to shore power. Our Christmas tree (a palm tree shaped fir tree) folds up into a small box and Fran has made some sea shell decorations.
Last night we had Christmas Eve dinner onboard with Pam and Steve. (Full Quiver) Fran made her usual Christmas Eve fare, tourtiere, a dish she learned from my mom but has improved on. In past years the ingredients have depended on where we are. When we visited Australia she made it with kangaroo meat. Here it was the more traditional pork.
Some of our friends will be leaving this week and heading south towards the warmer waters of Banderas Bay and the Gold Coast (Tenecatita-Manzanillo) area. That’s where we will be heading once we leave here with a stop in San Blas to deliver some things for Kirk (Freedom Kirkland). Tanque also has a few items for him and Kirk will be bringing down some hinges for me to finally re-assemble the table.
0800, Tuesday, 28 Dec 2010
The Christmas party was a blast. The moosemilk and Fran’s Naniamo Bars were very well received and will most likely become a tradition with Gosling from now on. As expected the variety of food was amazing and the Mexican Pollos were the juiciest we have ever had. Everyone had a great time and no-one went for a swim off the dock, however, many of us retired to the resort hot-tub afterwards and all made it back to their boats.
The ranks are beginning to thin out. Four of our companion boats have left and more will depart before the week is out. The others will stay until after the New Year, like us. We will be having a cabinet made for the master cabin while we are here. This is a project J-G has wanted to do for the past 2 years but with all of his good tools at home in the workshop and the need for precise measurements and compound curve drawings it has always been one of those “round to it” items. There is a good carpenter working a few of the boats in the marina and we hope to get it done before we leave.
Next issue, in a week or so. Everyone have a great New Years and a great start to 2011.

Refit completed - departing Guaymas

2010-12-21T20:34:00.001-08:00

Mexican Junkfood

Skating in Mexico

Departure morning; high fog bank but clear below.

19:15, 17 Dec 2010, At sea, enroute to Mazatlan`
We are finally at sea, on our way south. It is a clear night with light winds and a calm sea. The moon is directly overhead, waxing to a full moon in another few days. Orion, my favourite constellation, has just risen in the east and somewhere between Bellatrix and Alderbaran the star “Jean-Guy” is burning a hole in the sky. (Fran named the star for me as a Christmas present a few years ago). There are no visual or radar contacts. We have been under power all day because of the calm conditions and the engine is purring like a kitten (OK, a big kitten). We had a large pod of dolphin’s visit us outside the harbour approaches this morning and a wonderful green flash at sunset, good omens. Fran is in her bunk and I am standing the first watch of the evening. Manasea, Plan B and Tanque de Tiburon are in company but spread over a 30 mile path astern. Life is grand!
It was a great feeling to cast off the lines this morning and head out of the harbour. We have seen so many of our friends leave over the past few weeks and have received e-mails that many are already in Mazatlan enjoying the pre-Christmas events. For the past few days there has been a lot of fog in the area and all the way down the coast. Nights have been very damp with heavy dew and we were worried that we’d be delayed but this morning, although overcast was clear. Once we got away from the coast it cleared up and we has a sunny but calm day. It is nice to relax once again, something that hasn’t been on our menu for the past month.
It has been a very busy week since launching on Monday. Storing and organising the living areas was the biggest task. Omar returned and checked the engine alignment and it was near perfect, testimony to his last alignment 2 years ago. I must admit that the vibration we used to experience is all but gone. The machining of the shaft seems to have corrected that. Doug and Trish finished wiring of the grounds, solar panels and a new shore power connection port. The original was in the cockpit and was always in the way. All of the jerry cans and fuel tanks were filled and lashed to the guardrails. They look much better with the covers Fran made to match the new sail covers. This year we have quite a variety: 100-1 and 50-1 mixture for the outboards, high test gas for the generator, diesel for the main engine and 2 cans of potable drinking water. Last year the containers were covered by old t-shirts to protect them from the sun. The last task was to stock up on cervesa and put the car in the storage yard for the winter. Fran did that yesterday.
0610, 19 Dec, at Sea
It is twilight, day 3 of our trip south to Mazatlan; the eastern sky is aglow in pink and gold promise of another beautiful sunrise. It has been a cool night but not as damp as yesterday. The company has changed somewhat. Tanque de Tiburon is experiencing alternator problems and will have to stop in Topolobambo to replace it with his spare. Plan B is also stopping there to sort out a leaking cooling system. Manasea is forging ahead; his trimaran much lighter and swifter than us. We have heard Rich on Third Day calling in on the radio and he appears to be paralleling our track towards Mazatlan from the Cabo side.
Yesterday was a quiet day with decent winds on the stern which gave J-G the opportunity to try out a few sails that we brought down with us that came with Antares, our last boat. The heavy (3 ½ oz) spinnaker will probably stay but the Tall Boy will be going. What an odd sail, a cross between a drifter and a jib, some former owner’s race breaker. We’ll probably end up giving that one away just to get rid of it. We’ve also discovered that the new stack pack sail cover scheme has lowered the mizzen boom by a few inches. Now the boom interferes with the outboard engine storage mounts. That will be a harder one to sort out. Note: the easy solution was to re-insert the outer lug on the foot of the sail to the boom track. It now clears the mounts .
One never has the time to get bored on these long passages. There is always something to fix or adjust, normal routines to be followed like taking and logging fixes, listening and participating in the morning and evening radio nets, checking the engine state, fuel levels, and such. Keeping a good lookout is very important out here. Fishing activity is everywhere and already Phil (Manasea) has had to go swimming twice to free his boat from floating fishing lines. All that considered, there are Spanish courses on CD to listen to and many books that have to be read. The more we read the lighter the boat gets, at least in theory. They normally get exchanged for other books to read.
Then there is Rosie, our live mascot. Since we left she has not ventured very far from the aft cabin bunk. Yesterday we managed to get her to do her business on the bow after shutting down the engine and finding course that minimized roll and pitch. She managed to eat a bit of food and Fran makes sure she has a drink on a regular basis. She will bounce back to the party dog we all know as soon as the first line is on the dock.
2100, 19 December, 60 miles to go.
It is an absolutely beautiful night. The moon is full and bright enough to give us a horizon as we motor down the coast on a sea of glass. There are lots of fishing vessels bobbing in the distance and the temperature is much more pleasant than last night. Earlier we had another fantastic sunset and our third “Green Flash” in a row. On the down side we have not caught any fish since leaving Guaymas. We’ll have to check what colour of lures are working before our next leg south to San Blas in a few weeks.
It has been a pleasant day. We sailed most of the morning until the wind died. With the engine on and foresail down Rosie has braved the decks and, on a few occasions came up by herself to do her business. Is this a sign that she is getting used to this way of life???
We have been called by Bill (Optical Illusion) and Pam (Full Quiver) from their berths at El Cid. It will be nice to catch up to everyone. On the other hand, we heard from Bill and Linda (Tanque de Tiburon) that they were pulling into Topolobambo this morning to effect repairs to their electrical system, engine and gooseneck. Linda believes in the “3” principle of bad luck and is confident that with 3 problems they will be safe for a while. Plan B is following about 60 miles astern with his engine problems unresolved. Phil is 10 miles ahead, still dodging the fishermen close to shore but, thankfully, not dealing with their equipment today.
2100, 21 December, El Cid marina Dock B-35
We made it without incident and tied up alongside at 0900 on the 20th. Bill (Optical Illusion) told us that there was only one berth left and that we should take it before anyone else did. Good thing we followed his advice because there were several other boats that were refused later on. One of them had chosen to go for fuel before taking a berth. Too bad for them and hooray for us. Good thing we had a reservation. It was a nice reception with many of our old cruising acquaintances already there. We were also warmly greeted by Cliff and Lynne (Taya) from Vancouver, on their first season in Mexico. Cliff admitted to having read our blog and having been inspired. Somebody actually reads this thing!!! If there are others out there please leave a short note in the comments section.
The boat is now in festive colours with our Palm tree Christmas tree on the bow and several strings of solar Christmas lights. We are minimalists compared to others boats in the marina which are adorned with miles of light strings. One even has a reindeer and tree, all in lights. We will be celebrating with a dock Christmas dinner on Christmas day. So far there are 26 people participating, including Linda and Bill, (Tanque de Tiburon) who are now fixed and departing from Topolobambo tomorrow morning. It should be a fun week.
Hope all of you have a safe and wonderful Christmas and New Year.

Afloat again - Refit week 3

2010-12-13T21:20:00.000-08:00

We're off to the "splash zone". Fran is taking the ride.

Reworked shaft. Notice the machined taper.

Concentrate now! Thou shall not sew fingers...

Bottom paint - again...

Doug and Trish hard at it.

Happy 60th, Fran!!

20:30, Monday, 13 Dec 2010

Gosling is afloat!!! We launched late this morning. The engine started up on the first push after a six month rest and we moved over to the marina side to complete the preps for sailing. There is a weather advisory for later this week so we are now expecting to sail on Friday for Mazatlan where many of our cruising buddies are heading.
Needless to say we have had a very busy week. With the help of Trish and Doug (Ka-Em-Te) I doubt that we would have completed in time. Trish did some stellar work on the boat’s ground and bonding system. She also ran a ground from the inverter to the engine, a detail that was omitted by the original installer regardless of the highlighted notes in the installation instructions. Today she was connecting the new solar panels. Doug spent a few days cleaning and greasing the through-hull fittings while Fran sewed up a storm with her new (used) sewing machine making covers for winches and the jerry cans. Francisco and his son Alejandro filled the mounting holes for the old wind vane and repainted the transom. While all of this was happening, Omar, the mechanic, was replacing the cutlass bearing. He was able to remove the prop with a crude but very effective home-made puller when 2 other commercially made ones failed. With the shaft off the boat and at a machine shop to be cleaned and trued J-G set to the dirtiest job of the refit.
He had done some of the bilge under the engine a few years ago when we replaced the engine mounts but last season we noticed that the drain from the engine bilge to the sump was partially blocked. With a pressure washer borrowed from Francisco (painter) and our small wet/dry shop vac he thoroughly cleaned both bilges and cleared the plugged passage. Somehow the wet/dry vac survived the ordeal with the help of lots of degreaser and the pressure washer.
J-G had been concerned about the lack of enough sacrificial zincs on the hull. After looking at home at all the local and internet suppliers he had given up and hoped to get something adequate locally here. He mentioned it to the owner of the machine shop and within 2 days they were cast, machined and installed for a fraction of the price up north, another testament of Mexican ingenuity.
The last item before launching was to apply the bottom paint. This time we used a Sherwin Williams product, Proline, 55% copper, to which we added a kg of copper dust to the 5 gal pail. J-G applied 2 coats using up 3 gals. The remainder is going to San Blas with us in early Jan for Kirk’s boat (Freedom Kirkland).
The headliner panels were finally installed. What a difference! The pure white reflects the light from the new LED lights we have installed (Source LED). Although the lights still give RF interference on the VHF their brightness is amazing, much better than the old halogen lights and at a fraction of the electrical consumption.
The launching is always a production number. This time the travel lift couldn’t fit between the 2 boats beside us so Horacio, the yard manager, had to move one to make room. When the straps were applied we had lots of cardboard sheets available to protect the new paint job. Once lowered in the water and all of the thru-hull valves checked for leaks the engine was stared and we were free once again.
We have removed all of the gear we won’t need for this season off the boat and into the van for storage. It is almost as full as it was when we drove down with sail bags, covers and various things we will need when we get back next May.
Since we arrived at the dock we have had Trish onboard connecting up the new solar panels. J-G has set up the mainsail and tomorrow when the wind is light we’ll put up the genoa. There are still lots of small jobs to get done, stuff we have been piling up in various locations has to be stowed, fishing equipment set up, flags hoisted, engine oil, oil and fuel filters changed, water tanks filled, fuel topped up for the boat, generator and dingy, last minute provisioning, some minor caulking and teak oil applied to the toe-rail, plan the passage to Mazatlan, and, finally, getting everything secured and stowed for sea. When we start rocking and rolling it is often too late to lash things down.
Two days ago we bid farewell to Relax, heading for the Baja and this morning to Rio Nimpkish on their way to Mazatlan. We also learned a few days ago that Steve on Full Quiver came down with a serious case of the flu during their stopover in Topolobambo. John and Barb (Naida) decided to wait until he recovered and they left yesterday morning for Mazatlan after a 3-day delay.
On Thursday we celebrated Fran’s 60th birthday with friends at a restaurant in San Carlos. Bill and Linda (Tanque de Tiburon) had just arrived the previous day so this was our first contact with them. They had a lot of items for us and other boats we will see in the coming weeks. The most important item for J-G was a new cordless drill/driver. He won’t have to borrow anymore. They also brought down Fran’s new waterproof camera that J-G had purchased online. Looks like Tanque will be sailing south with us. Hope things go better this time; last year we had to tow them into Mazatlan.
We are hoping to catch up with Reno and Nina in Mazatlan when their cruise ship comes in for the day on the 28th. We really want them to see what cruising on a budget is. After the opulence of the cruise ship it should be interesting to see their reaction.
Many thanks to Doug and Trish for their tireless efforts to get us ready and to Bill and Linda for volunteering to be the shipping agents for many of the Canadian boats.
The rink on the town square is up and running. It is covered during the day and doesn't open till 2100. Skate rentals, helmets and ice time all for the equivalent of about $4.50. No hockey sticks or pucks. It will be here for a month. Kids and adults line up for hours to get a chance to try something rare to this country. How they make it work with the daytime heat is a wonder. It opened up the night of the Christmas parade and the night of Fran's birthday.

Pre-launch refit - week 2

2010-12-07T20:04:00.000-08:00

The town's outside rink - won't be long now.

Gosling's New Look

Thanks to Dave (Canada Goose)

Pinata killer Fran

Guaymas, Monday, 6 Dec 2010
It has been one of those very frustrating weeks of one step forward and 2 back. We are progressing, but finding some of the chores difficult if not impossible to do while others are taking much longer than anticipated. Forgetting parts at home doesn’t help either. The hinges for the salon table are somewhere in the workshop where the table was refinished over the summer. There are also a couple of wooden mouldings there, part of the head-liner framing. Those we can replace here but the hinges are a British product and there is nothing close available here.
We are waiting for the mechanic to show up to remove the prop and replace the cutlass bearing. The prop was last removed just after we bought the boat and is refusing all attempts of removal so far. The fact that it is on a 1 ¾ inch shaft doesn’t help. Normal prop pullers are designed for smaller assemblies. Hopefully the mechanic will have done work on fishing vessels.
The plan to swap out the solar panels has gone by the wayside and we have had to look for other solutions to install the 2 new ones on the rail. Mounting brackets are difficult to find here but the brackets for the Scotty rod holders will fill the bill nicely for now.
This week we finally took the plunge and removed the wind vane. It was a difficult decision to make but one that has given us peace of mind. It has been the source of constant trouble for the past 3 years so this season we were planning to replace the entire mounting assembly, however, the prospect of having the mounts welded by Sr Hernandez, a very good but notoriously unreliable local welder, had us concerned that it would hold us up. Mike (Tazmo) had shown an interest in the gear since he first saw it so it was sold even before it was removed. The scars left from the mounting brackets then had to be filled and the entire transom repainted. Now we have a very bare and pristine transom.
One of the most essential tools I have is a rechargeable drill that Fran gave me for Christmas some years ago. It has a saws-all and a circular saw attachment so is a very versatile tool. I even had one of the batteries rebuilt last summer but, as (bad) luck would have it, the charger has given up the ghost. I am lost without it. We just managed to get friends, who will be arriving later this week, to get us a new Dewalt drill/driver combo to replace it.
Over the past 2 days we have re-rigged all of the running rigging and have put up the new “stack pack” sail covers. What a difference they will make to the appearance of the boat and the stowing of the sails. Fran also had a cover made for the dinghy by our German friend Elke.
One of the chain plates had been showing a bit of corrosion that appeared to be a crack so it was removed and re-welded. More piece of mind.... Before the end of the week we will have to take apart the furler in order to tighten the forestay. This should simplify furling the foresail when under pressure, something that has bugged us for some time now.
Fran has now recovered from her falls (stitches to come out today) and has been sewing winch covers while the dinghy has been out for a new cover. She has been borrowing a Sailrite machine from a friend but has now decided she would rather work with a sturdy Singer type, one that can do both heavy and light work. She has found one at a local Singer repair shop, and will pick it this week. Soon she’ll be making the fuel and water container covers and curtains. She has started making up winch covers using a borrowed machine.
On Sunday night we were invited to Elke’s 60th birthday party. It was a pot luck affair with Ted (the refer man) cooking up tempura onions and shrimp. The highlight of the evening was the piñata that Fran brought. Fran survived the 3rd Sunday unscathed even from the swinging piñata sticks.
Hope this week goes better.

Pre-launch refit: week one

2010-11-30T17:47:00.000-08:00

Guaymas, 28 Nov 2010
It has been a week already since we arrived. Progress is slow but we can look back and see that some of the items on the to-do list have been accomplished but the list is long, there is much left to do and we are procrastinators.....
The trip from Tucson was much better than we had anticipated. Once again we breezed through the border crossing and visa stop and with, 2 green lights we were on our way without any real delay. We arrived in San Carlos by 1700, dropped off the turkey at the condo where Thanksgiving dinner was going to be held and proceeded to Guaymas. We arrived at the Singlar yard in the last of daylight and saw the “re-born Gosling”. She is absolutely beautiful with her new (original) colours. Yesterday we completed the transformation in putting up the name and home port decals. Now she isn’t just “the white boat over there”. Thanks again to Dave Deeks for the recommendations for the “gold-ish” Gosling “S”. It sure makes the name stand out. Several other boats have been painted in the yard after their owners saw the job that Francisco did on Gosling. He has been smiling a lot since we arrived back, particularly after we paid him.
The morning after we got in we went for a walk looking for a breakfast and Fran tripped over a protruding piece of rebar and scraped her knee and elbow and sprained her wrist. X-rays confirmed nothing broken. We are happy to report that after a week she is much better and golf is still on the schedule of events this season. Then, this afternoon while she was prepping woodwork for varnishing she stumbled and fell back into the cockpit. She earned 5 stitches to her ear this time, not to mention a loss of dignity. They say crap comes in 3’s. She is staying in her jammies all day next Sunday...
Quite a few friends are already here getting their boats ready. Sea Turtle (Jordan/Judy), Rio Nimpkish (Tom/Shirley), Manasea (Phil), Relax (Bob/Gisele), Full Quiver (Steve/Pam), Faith (Chris/Sandy), Wind s of Change(Uwe/Elke) and Naida (John/Barb) are all here and are at various stages of preparation. Thanksgiving was a blast with Doug and Trish spearheading the preparations and everyone (11 of us) contributing to the event at the condo. The guests renting the condo were so gracious to agree to play hosts to a bunch of reprobate cruisers but down deep they are cruiser wannabees so all was kosher.
Some of the more critical tasks have been done. The Sirius radio has been installed; OK, not critical but desirable. It took 2-3 days just to unload the car and organise the contents aboard. J-G spent the better part of a day re-installing a radio and weather-fax and re-organizing the wiring behind the radio/GPS panel and getting it set up for easier access. The Inverter has been re-installed but not yet wired in so we are relying on extension cords and the solar panels for power. The aft cabin ceiling panels are a tight fit but will look super when all up. We have decided that the wind vane will not break again this year so we are looking at getting it welded. Hopefully Herdandez will be able to do it this week. There will be lots to do this week and hopefully the urge to procrastinate with be held at bay. Trish and Doug will be here for a day to do some plumbing and electrical work. Fran is getting down to her sewing projects. The knock-off Sailrite machine turned up to be a bust so she has borrowed the real thing and is getting things done.
Hope fully by the next report I can report some significant progress. Maybe this blog can become an incentive....
Photos to come.

Season 3: 2010-2011

2010-11-19T20:18:00.000-08:00

19 November 2010, On the Road to Guaymas
The migration is on. We left home on the 15th and stopped briefly in Vancouver to visit the grandkids and then spent the night in Anacortes with Les and Marcia Books. Les was with us for the crossing from Escondido to Mazatlan last April. The road trip was not pleasant for the first 2 days with rain and fog for most of the way through Washington and Oregon. Almost by magic the weather cleared and the temperature rose as we crossed into California. This time we took a different route through Central California, through Merced and Fresno before turning east at Bakersfield to San Bernardino to avoid the LA traffic on # 10. We stopped in Palm Springs for a few restful days to visit our old friends Reno and Nina and to pick up our 2 buck chuck, an indispensible cruising commodity. Tonight we are in Tucson, poised to cross the border tomorrow morning after a visit to Harbour freight (J-G’s new favourite toy store) and picking up the Thanksgiving Turkey for our US friends.
We have never had any problems with the border crossing into Mexico, however with all of the tourist warnings of late we admit to being apprehensive. We have heard of a few American cruisers who have been turned back because of minor documentation issues but, so far, there have been no reported issues with Canadians so we are hoping for a clean entry and an uneventful trip down to Guaymas. The plan is to do the well travelled route entirely in daylight to avoid any problems.
We had a very busy summer. Fran’s chair repair business kept us off the streets and J-G was kept busy with yard, house and boat projects. We took time out for a trip to PQ to visit our son Chris and J-G’s parents and another week to house and dog-sit on Mayne Island for our son Mike and his partner, Dove.
Boat projects included collecting the myriad collection of items on the “to get” list and completing the tasks that needed specialty tools or that could be better done in a workshop environment. This included the making of new ceiling panels for the aft cabin, re-finishing of the salon table, rebuilding the boarding ladder and a smaller dockside step. Some of the major items we have collected are a 9.8 hp Nissan outboard, a Honda 2000 generator and 2 x 100 amp solar panels. We have also swapped the 10.8 ft Avon inflatable for a 9.5 ft model. The van has never been so full, in fact, for the first time we have had to use the roof rack to its full advantage.
When we left last May we had contracted with Francisco to paint the hull, expecting him to complete it after we returned. He must have been short of work this year because he completed it in August. The photos we have seen are spectacular and those who have seen it have all raved about the finish. We had chosen to revert back to her original colour scheme of white with gold trim. She’ll look so good we’ll be reluctant to put her back in the water. With the new tan stack packs she will not be recognizable.
We have our work cut out for us in the next few weeks. There is bottom paint to apply, installing the stack packs, replacing the cutlass bearing, re-installing the inverter that was removed for repair when we left , re-installing the running rigging and sails and a myriad of other preparations before we leave. Fran also has a lot of sewing of covers for the gas cans and a new wind scoop. The most difficult task will be to find space for all the stuff we are bringing with us. Hopefully we will replace many items and sell the old ones at the first swap-meet.
Several of our friends have already arrived. Some have already launched and are enjoying a few weeks of great weather in the northern Sea of Cortez. Others are working on their projects and will be launching over the next month or so.
Hopefully I will be able to post an update in the next few weeks.

On our way home

2010-05-25T19:43:00.001-07:00

21 May 2010, Palm Springs
We are with friends Reno and Nina in Palm Springs for a few days. It is a real bonus to break up the trip north.

The last few days on Gosling after the haul-out were a blur of frenzied activity. We worked on the long list of chores was but as we got into the routine many more items seemed to pop out. By day 3 the boat was a mess. We are taking home the headliner for the aft cabin, the dingy and the salon table. The defective inverter charger and the TV/DVD player were also removed to be sent for repairs. All of the lines and sails were removed and stowed below as well as anything removable from the upper deck, water tanks emptied, engine flushed with fresh water, all ports plugged with green scrub pads, the list goes on. All of this was done in temps pushing into the 90’s, the hottest days of the year to date.

We also had tony Morelli take a look at our sail covers and we have contracted with him to replace them with a stack pack to replace the ugly purple covers we now have. We have also arranged with Francisco, the painter, to repaint the hull when we return in November. So much for all the money we saved cruising this year....

On our second day we both came down with flu symptoms. Fran’s lasted less than 24 hrs but J-G’s did not let up and eventually he had to see a doctor. Seems the virus had attacked his prostrate and he spent the last few days in a very uncomfortable state. The doctor’s orders were to stay out of the sun, no alcohol, spicy foods, pop, coffee or seafood. What a way to finish off a season!

We didn’t have a chance to meet up with Doug and Trish before we left but we did get word that Doug was not well. The radiation therapy is taking a lot out of him. He only has 6 treatments left to go so we wish him all the best.

We left as scheduled on Monday the 17th and headed straight to Sierra Vista, AZ to visit with Bill and Linda (Tanque de Tiburon). The 2 days spent with them allowed us to wind down, J-G to improve and Rosy to enjoy real grass for a change. The temps at Sierra Vista’s elevation of 5000 ft were very pleasant. We left there and headed west thru Yuma, where Fran’s parents spent a few winters 15 years ago. No idea what the attraction is for snow birds; miles of desert, heat and more desert. We stayed the night and carried on north to Palm Springs via the east side of the Salton Sea, another attraction that begs explanation. It is lined with very thick masses of weed and shells interspersed with dead tulipa and the stench is overpowering.

From Palm Springs we will be taking a new route north through South Lake Tahoe where we will meet up with Pam and Steve, (Full Quiver) for a few days before heading to Vancouver. Lake Tahoe should be an interesting stop. The temps are in the low 40’s and there has been quite a bit of snow lately. Maybe Rosie will experience the white stuff for the first time.

South Lake Tahoe, Monday, 24 May 2010

It is snowing!!! Yes we are in Lake Tahoe and the white stuff is coming down but not staying. There are patches of snow here and there but nothing substantial. We arrived yesterday and will depart tomorrow morning to continue north.

We took 2 days to get here from Palm Springs. We drove up the Eastern Sierras along rte 395 and spent our first night in Bishop. The following day was a spectacular drive through mountain passes and between mountain ranges covered with snow. Even though this is the continuation of the Sonoran Desert it is still cold at this time of year but quite barren. Rosie saw her first snow on a hike to the obsidian dome just north of Mammouth, CA where we stopped to see the sights. It was a treat to see her rolling in the snow, eating it and just having a grand time.

Pam and Steve drove us around their beautiful corner of the world this afternoon. Too many sights and too little time. Tomorrow we will continue north along 395 through Reno and ending up either at Shasta or in Southern Oregon for the night.

Mazatlan to San carlos

2010-05-09T11:36:00.001-07:00

Whale shark in Puerto Escondido

Doug and J-G on their way to fish for barracuda
Marina Real; Sunday, 9 May 2010
We have been in Marina Real, 2 boats over from Doug and Trish on Ke-Em-Te, for the past 2 days. After arriving from Mazatlan we decided to spend some quality time with Doug and Trish before heading to Guaymas tomorrow. We were hoping that Doug would be well enough to take the boat to San Pedro Bay but with his radiation therapy he is very sensitive to sunlight, a hard thing to stay shielded from on a boat at sea. Their boat alongside is covered with an awning which would have to be removed to work the boat so we decided to stay put until this afternoon when we will move out to the bay and stay at anchor for the night before moving south to Guaymas. Last night when the sun was low J-G took Doug out for a few hours of fishing, one of Doug’s favourite pastimes that he hasn’t been able to do for quite some time. With the lack of wind and swell, conditions were perfect to head out in the dingy. Although all they could hook were barracuda it was quite a thrill and a welcome diversion for Doug.
Our trip up from Mazatlan was uneventful. The wind was very light and from the south for the entire trip. At times we were sailing (OK, motor-sailing because we had the main up) on a mill pond, however, we did manage to get about 5 hours under spinnaker when the wind did perk up. A steady 10-12 knot southerly wind would have made for a perfect passage but we can’t complain except that 400 miles under power used up about 240 litres of diesel, driving the boat at 6 kts. Night passages were very dark, for the most part, with the moon rising after 2AM. The stars and phosphorescence were very bright. Contacts were minimal except when passing by the ports of Topolobampo and Guaymas. A large warship passed us just before twilight as we passed the entrance to Guaymas. We weren’t able to identify it but when it called in to the pilot it sounded like a Slavic accent. We’ll look for it when we enter the harbour tomorrow.
Today is Mother’s Day. One of the main reasons for anchoring out in Algadonas Bay this afternoon (off Catch-22 beach where the movie was filmed) is that we will be closer to a beach restaurant that will be having a Mother’s Day buffet. We’ll be meeting Bill and Linda (Tanque De Tiburon) there for dinner. They just arrived yesterday.
It will be old home week next week with some of the people we have met along the way arriving to put their boats away for the summer season. We have heard Steve and Linda (Warren Peace) and Steve and Pam (Full Quiver) in the past few days on their way.
More from Guaymas.

El Cid Marina, Mazatlan

2010-05-02T18:35:00.000-07:00

Alongside El Cid marina, Mazatlan, 2 May 2010
It has been a lazy week for J-G and Rosie while Fran has been away. Some messy projects have been done; refinishing some of the woodwork in the main salon and in the aft cabin where Fran and dust would not have been compatible. The dodger was also repainted in a brilliant white and a few more minor jobs were completed including some electronic repairs to the VHF/GPS interface and the connection to the Collision Avoidance Radar Detector (CARD) that has never worked since we bought the boat.
It was a long 10 days with Fran away but J-G and Rosie managed. Cooking for 1 is a pain when everything we have is packaged for 2 so it was the same meal every 2 nights. This marina is part of a resort so pets are not encouraged or tolerated so walks are normally taken early or late in the day. Another way around the rules is to take Rosie for a boat ride across the channel to the beach where we play fetch until she gets tired. She has taken a fancy to plastic pop or water bottles when sticks aren’t available. She likes the crunch sound when she bites down on them.
The weather continues to be excellent. We had clouds on a few days, always a welcome relief to the heat. J-G had strict orders from Fran to attend all of the poolside bingo and blackjack games. He did quite well with 5 bottles of tequila and 5 t-shirts and last night Fran won the 450 peso pot at Texas Hold-em.
Most of the week the weather has been excellent to head north, however yesterday’s gale had brought in the “noserlies”. It also caused the port to be closed for the past 36 hours. The entrance to the marina channel is quite narrow and is prone to large breakers. A powerboat came in after dark last night, not knowing that the port was closed and almost lost it at the channel entrance . Looks like we will be a few more days before we can head out. We will probably shift to the Old harbour anchorage tomorrow so that we don’t have to pay another 2 days here at the marina.
Fran reports that the operation to our daughter-in-law went quite well. She is recovering quickly and we hope that she makes a good overall recovery.
While here we have been able to get some quality time with Lin and Lee (Royal Exchange) who introduced us to this way of life.
The next issue will be from Guaymas after we arrive on or near the 12th.

Back to mazatlan, El-Cid

2010-04-23T09:07:00.000-07:00

23 April 2010, Alongside, El Cid Resort & Marina, Mazatlan
We departed Puerto Escondido expecting some decent winds but they failed to materialize so the “Iron Spinnaker “ took us all the way across. Les Brooks transferred over from Optical Illusion for the trip. Needless to say, Les’ experienced eye and skill was welcomed and many of his recommendations and observations are now reflected in our “to-do” lists. Les left for home in Anacortes on Sunday. We are hoping to renew our friendship sometime this summer.
It seems fitting to be back at the El Cid where we were in January as we passed through on our way south. Some of the same boats are still here and many of the boats we have seen along the way are in the Mazatlan area getting ready to jump over to the other side for Lorettofest or getting ready to leave their boats here for the summer. Slip fees are quite high compared to what we have been used to but here we have the full services of a first class resort, including pool, hot tub, great restaurants and easy access to town. They also have a good entertainment team that does pool games and shows movies at night twice a week.
Full Quiver was here when we arrived getting a leaking lift pump replaced. They had a runaway engine on arrival because their pump had filled the cylinders with diesel. There was also excess fuel in their sump so they had to change out their oil 5 times to ensure it was clean before leaving for La Paz 3 days ago. Just heard from them by e-mail and they still have a leak into their sump. They have had a lot of bad luck this year. We wish them all the best on their way north to Loretto and then on to Guaymas where we will see them again at the haul-out yard.
Fran flew back to Vancouver on Monday to care for Robyn and the grandkids. The operation went well and Robyn is back home recuperating. I am whittling down a “to-do” list and taking advantage of Fran’s absence to create dust. The main cabin is looking much better now that I have re-finished some of the worst of the woodwork. The vacuum attachment to my orbital sander has been a real plus in keeping down the dust and the foam brushes I am using with the Cetol make for a nice smooth finish. I have managed to keep Rosie at bay by blocking her access to the cabin but I still have to pick out the odd bits of her hair out of the finish. If we get a cloudy day in the next week I will be painting the dodger, another long outstanding task.
Full Quiver had been here for a few weeks and they had quite the run of luck at the various pool games and acquired quite a collection of El Cid t-shirts and bottles of tequila. They must have passed on their lucky streak . So far I have won 1 t-shirt and 2 bottles of tequila. Fran will be pleased....

Heading north and rescuing Little fawn

2010-04-13T14:04:00.000-07:00

Beach Golf - what posture!!!

Little Fawn on the beach

Whaleshark at Puerto Escondido

Salt Pan at Isla San Francisco

Bahia San Evaristo, 1400, 6 Apr 2010
We have just arrived at this sheltered anchorage on the Baja mainland side. It has been a short but rough passage with 20-25 kt the islands between its wide bay, beautiful sandy beach and crystal clear water make it northerly winds on the nose (noserlies) all the way.
Our trip from La Pas to Isla San Francisco was quite enjoyable. Although the wind was light most of the day we made good progress under power. By early afternoon we arrived at Los Islotes and conditions were ideal for a swim with the sea lions. The large colony of sea lions didn’t pay us much attention but several curious juveniles swam out to check us out. They even nipped at Fran and Janet but there were no injuries. As for the planned whale shark swim, it didn’t happen because of choppy seas and difficulty getting to their area by dingy. As we left the island the wind picked up from the east and we were able to set the spinnaker for the first time this year and had a very pleasant sail to Isla San Francisco.
When we arrived we found all of the Sailfest boats at the anchorage. We had participated in this event last year and knew many of the participants including the Profilgate, Cirque, Pantera and Moontide. They left the following morning leaving only a few boats in the anchorage. By 1800 the bay had filled up again with other boats heading north.
We left Isla San Francisco this morning in company with Optical Illusion. The island is one of our favourite anchorages in the Sea of Cortez and is part of the recently established federal park zone encompassing most of La Paz and Loretto. This is our 4th time and we never tire of it. Unfortunately they do not allow dogs on these islands so Rosie isn’t very happy to stay aboard while we go ashore in “her” dinghy. The water is cooler here and the beaches have shells. I’ve always wondered why there is such a disparity between the “shell-less” beaches mainland and those of the Sea.
On our way here we stopped at Isla Coyote, something we had always missed in our previous trips. It is a small fishing village of 5-6 houses perched on a rock formation. The 10-20 inhabitants live on fishing and selling trinkets to tourists who visit this unique location. Fran took the opportunity to stock up on Christmas and birthday presents and we bought some very nice fish from this morning’s catch that was being cleaned on the shore. We were surprised to see an abundance of dogfish (sand sharks) and small rays in the catch. We also gave colouring books and crayons to the kids.
When we left Isla San Francisco the winds were light, and according to the weather gurus, they were supposed to stay like that all day, increasing tonight. Looks like they got it wrong this time, again. We’ll be hunkered down here for a few days while this 25-30 kt northerly passes through. Slogging north under these conditions is not pleasant and our next stop, Los Gatos, is about 28 miles north, up the coast.
It is difficult to predict how far north we will get to before we have to turn back to make the crossing back to Mazatlan but we will be dictated by the weather. We are hoping for a northerly breeze and at this time of year the north wind is still predominant.
Honeymoon Cove, Isla Danzante, 12 April 2010
It has been an exciting few days since we left San Evaristo. The sailing wasn’t too remarkable with calm seas and light airs for the most part so we continue to be more of a motor cruiser than a sailboat. Our Perkins 4-236 has been very dependable. We are still in company with Optical Illusion. Bill, Janet and their guest Les have been great company.
After departing San Evaristo our first stop was Los Gatos where we had hoped to see our old fisherman friend Manuel. Instead we were visited by his son who reported that Manuel is suffering from prostate problems. His son seems to have taken on his father’s role of providing shellfish and langoustes for visiting cruisers. Unfortunately we weren’t able to get any because of an early departure the following morning. On our way there we saw a pod of false killer whales, 3 females and a male. Unlike their namesakes these whales have no white markings but the male’s huge dorsal fin was reminiscent of the killer whales of the Pacific Northwest.
We had heard on the morning SSB net a few days ago that a vessel called Little Fawn had run up on the beach close to Agua Verde during the brisk northerlies . As we rounded the headland towards Agua Verde we saw her laying on her side close to the beach, a daunting sight for any sailor.
After anchoring in the southern anchorage we went ashore for some groceries and some of the locally produced goat cheese at a small tienda ashore. Later we had a game of beach golf with our friends. Hitting the ball off the sand into a ring 20 feet away is not all that easy. But good for laughs while drinking cold beers. Yes, we did bring a couple of pitching wedges just for that purpose.
The next morning we went to see if we could assist in the rescue efforts of Little Fawn. It was a dismal sight to see this vessel in only a few feet of water. Previous attempts to tow her off the beach had resulted in dragging her over the rocky foreshore and holing her port side which was then underwater. The plan was to cant her over to her stbd side in the sandy shallows beyond the rocks to assess the damage and do temporary repairs, sufficient to float her and enable her to be towed to Puerto Escondido where she would be hauled out.
Initially attempts to cant her over weren’t successful and resulted in snapped stay fitting and a broken mast. However, with dogged determination, the cooperation of a number of cruisers, some with expertise in this kind of rescue and the help of The Cat’s Meow, a trawler – cruiser conversion with a massive 280HP diesel and a huge prop, the operation succeeded and a patch was applied. Little fawn is an older Chris Craft 38 ft sloop. I must note that the hull was remarkably thin for an ocean going yacht but with the use of wallboard screws, strips of thin plywood and a product called Splash Zone, a 2-part epoxy the hull was made as watertight as possible. The last part of the operation was to drag her back to deep water. The Cat’s Meow was able to tow her across the sand bar and she was refloated late afternoon yesterday. SV Perseverence, a Sampson ferro-cement ketch from Vancouver (BWC boat) assisted with the pumping operations throughout the night and the following morning a diver plugged a few other minor leaks. Once stabilized and almost watertight she was towed back to port, arriving this afternoon. Little Fawn’s owner has some serious work ahead of him if he wants to repair the damage. Personally I don’t think it is worth it on such an old hull.
Puerto Escondido, 13 April 2010.
We did the short crossing from Isla Danzante to Puerto Escondido this morning. We refuelled and took on water for our crossing to Mazatlan. While we were fuelling a whale shark was seen nearby swimming in the shallows.
Little fawn is on the hard and doesn’t look much better than she did on the beach. The patches have been removed and the repair job looks even more daunting.
We are doing our laundry and getting a few more groceries for the trip across. Weather dependant we will be on our way tomorrow morning.
Each morning we listen in to the ham and SSB nets to get weather and keep track of friends. Occasionally we listen in to a large net covering most of North America. We were blown away by hearing Barry on Passat II checking in from Belize. We were able to exchange a few words. Isn’t modern technology wonderful!!

Bahia San Evaristo, 1400, 6 Apr 2010

2010-04-07T13:02:00.001-07:00

We have just arrived at this sheltered anchorage on the Baja mainland side. It has been a short but rough passage with 20-25 kt the islands between its wide bay, beautiful sandy beach and crystal clear water make it northerly winds on the nose all the way.
We left Isla San Francisco this morning in company with Optical Illusion. The island is one of our favourite anchorages in the Sea of Cortez and is part of the recently established federal park zone encompassing most of La Paz and Loretto. This is our 4th time and we never tire of it. Unfortunately they do not allow dogs on these islands so Rosie isn't very happy to stay aboard while we go ashore in "her" dinghy. The water is cooler here and the beaches have shells. I've always wondered why there is such a disparity between the beaches mainland and those of the Sea.
On our way here we stopped at Isla Coyote, something we had always missed in our previous trips. It is a small fishing village of 5-6 houses perched on a rock formation. The 10-20 inhabitants live on fishing and selling trinkets to tourists who visit this unique location. Fran took the opportunity to stock up on Christmas and birthday presents and we bought some very nice fish from this morning's catch that was being cleaned on the shore. We were surprised to see an abundance of dogfish (sand sharks) and small rays in the catch. We also gave colouring books and crayons to the kids.
When we left Isla San Francisco the winds were light, and according to the weather gurus, they were supposed to stay like that all day, increasing tonight. Looks like they got it wrong this time, again. We'll be hunkered down here for a few days while this 25-30 kt northerly passes through. Slogging north under these conditions is not pleasant and our next stop, Los Gatos, is about 28 miles north, up the coast.
Our trip from La Pas to Isla San Francisco was quite enjoyable. Although the wind was light most of the day we made good progress under power. By early afternoon we arrived at Los Islotes and conditions were ideal for a swim with the sea lions. The large colony of sea lions didn't pay us much attention but several curious juveniles swam out to check us out. They even nipped at Fran and Janet but there were no injuries. As we left the island the wind picked up from the east and we were able to set the spinnaker for the first time this year and had a very pleasant sail to Isla San Francisco.
When we arrived we found all of the Sailfest boats at the anchorage. We had participated in this event last year and knew many of the participants including the Profilgate, Cirque, Pantera and Moontide. They left the following morning leaving only a few boats in the anchorage. By 1800 the bay had filled up again with other boats heading north.
It is difficult to predict how far north we will get to before we have to turn back to make the crossing back to Mazatlan but we will be dictated by the weather. We are hoping for a northerly breeze and at this time of year the north wind is still predominant.
As soon as we get to Mazatlan I will add photos to this blog. In the meantime I will ask our son Chris to post it via our ham radio link. It cannot accept large files such as photos.

La Cruz to the Baja

2010-03-31T22:01:00.000-07:00

Fish for lunch; a pompano jack (we think)

Frigate Bird, Isla Isabella

Full Quiver race Crew

2100, Thursday, 25 Mar, 2010, At anchor, Isla Isabella
We are at anchor at the eastern anchorage at Isla Isabella, some 48 miles from San Blas. We are on our way to the Baja side and this is our usual intermediary spot on that route. It is a bumpy anchorage tonight with a moderate wind blowing between the 2 islands protecting the anchorage. We are protected from the southwesterly swell which we can hear pounding the shore on the opposite side of the point to the west. We’ll be here for at least one night and maybe 2.
Our trip from La Cruz north was uneventful. We had very little wind so we had to power most of the way to Mantanchen Bay just outside of San Blas, midge country, and I don’t use that term loosely. This place is renowned for its flying pest problem. Most visitors come away from San Blas with welts over most of their exposed bodies. We are prepared with bug sprays and fine screening to keep the tiny bugs from getting into the cabin. We soon discover that the lotions we have are not as effective as we hoped but our screens work.
We stayed one night in the Bay and followed our friends Bill and Linda (Tanque de Tiburon) into the estuary the following morning. We were joined outside the entrance to the channel by SV Last Resort who writes articles for a sailing magazine. None of us was prepared for the conditions at the bar entrance. San Blas is not known for its adverse bar conditions so we weren’t anticipating anything unusual but it soon became apparent that the SW swell and the outgoing current was producing quite the swell at the entrance to the channel. To make a long story short, Fran screamed, we surfed and Last resort got it all on video, all, that is except the part where they almost rolled over. So see the video go to You Tube and search for Knock Down at San Blas. Gosling is the dark hull boat next in line.
We were welcomed, as usual, by Norm Goldie, the unofficial greeter and self-proclaimed senior gringo of San Blas. He has lived here for some 40+ years and lately has begun to get quite cantankerous and nasty to cruisers, particularly those who have offered assistance to their counterparts to navigate the channel to the marina or the anchorage sites in the estuary. He still considers himself to be the sole source of assistance and, until this year was cajoling cruisers for a $20 “donation” for his services. He still holds court in the town square every evening offering his assistance to all who ask. There is a very good letter published in the march issue of Latitude 38 (may be online also) on the subject.
We spent 2 nights at anchor in the estuary and commuted back and forth to the Singlar marina where Bill and Linda were tied up. We took advantage of the free showers, laundry and internet as their “guests”. We also met another interesting couple, Russ and Jodie on Smok-N-Blues, aluminum Peterson 44 that used to be owned by Dennis Connors of America’s Cup fame. They are on the hard there getting the boat stripped down to bare metal. Looks like Dennis used a lot of fairing compound...
Our outbound crossing of the bar wasn’t as exciting as the entry. We left under similar tide conditions but the swell was considerably lower than the 8-10 ft we experienced on the way in. Our passage to Isabella started off smooth with a close reach but the wind soon increased and backed to the WNW, our course for Isabella. In order to make it before dark we powered the rest of the way.
Wind conditions should be good over the next few days for us to continue on our way to Muertos and La Paz.
Monday, 29 Mar10, Anchored in the old harbour, Mazatlan
We weren’t planning on diverting to Mazatlan but a predicted 30-35 kt blow down the middle of the Sea convinced us that Mazatlan was a better destination. We departed in company with Tanque de Tiburon on the morning of the 26th into a light northerly breeze that increased to 25-20 by the afternoon. The seas generated by the wind were quite uncomfortable to pound into but we made good time. Our initial ETA was about 2300 but Tanque was delayed by another broken belt a few hours out and, just 3 miles outside the harbour, their engine quit. We decided to stay with them until daybreak and towed them into the anchorage the following morning. Thankfully, the wind had died but seas were running 4-5 ft on the beam all the way in.
The wind picked up considerably that afternoon and we were quite comfortable to be in a nice sheltered anchorage. Last night Tanque thanked us for the tow by taking us out to dinner at Fat Fish, our favourite rib place.
The weather gurus are saying that the winds are diminishing over the next few days so all those bound for the Baja will be leaving soon. We have decided to depart this afternoon while there is some wind left. Now that we are further north we will have a better wind angle towards La Paz. We’ll have to leave Tanque behind so that they can get their engine repaired but we will be in good company with Optical Illusion expecting to start their crossing tomorrow morning.
2000, Wednesday, 31 Mar 10; Alongside Marina Palmyra La Paz
We arrived in La Paz at about 1000 this morning after a 2 day crossing from Mazatlan. We are tied up at Marina Palmyra where we stayed last year. There are several other boats here that we know and others are arriving in the next few days. With Bayfest next weekend and the Latitude 38 Sailfest this weekend marina accommodations are at a premium. Because of our tight schedule, we have decided to stay only a few days and we will miss both events.
We departed Maz in mid-afternoon on Sunday followed by Tanque de Tiburon. Their engine problem turned out to be a minor one so they were ready to depart with us.
The weather guru had been predicting that the northerly winds would abate that night so we wanted to get a head start. The first 10 hours were quite uncomfortable with 15-18 kt headwinds and 5-8 ft seas but by early morning the wind abated and the seas began to flatten out. The rest of the trip was a diesel powered cruise on flat seas with little or no wind. Flying fish were seen everywhere and also the odd dolphin. On passages like this we are able to chat amongst ourselves and keep up-to-date with local conditions by VHF radio. During the long night watches this becomes a welcomed distraction. Another factor that made the night passages so enjoyable was the full moon.
Tomorrow we will be going out to the Magote to swim with the whale sharks. Monday we will see about swimming with the sea lions at Los Islotes. This will be a big thing for Fran; thank goodness whale sharks only eat plankton.

Banderas Bay Race Week and bad news arrived today

2010-03-21T21:22:00.000-07:00

1825, Sunday, 21 Mar 2010, Alongside Marina Nayarit, La Cruz
It has already been a week since we arrived, seems like yesterday. Our passage up from Tenecatita was good and, for the most part, quite smooth. We had to power most of the way but we did manage a few hours under sail. We made it in just under 24 hours arriving at dawn after rounding a calm Cabo Corrietes. The weatherman got it right this time.....
We arrived at the marina with the boat show in full swing and preparations for the Banderas Bay Sailing Race week in high gear. Many friends were here or arrived within a few days. Kirk (Freedom Kirkland) and Bill and Linda (Tanque de Tiburon) were already here and it was nice to meet up with them again after so long. It was amazing to see the changes to the marina forecourt after just a few weeks away. The entire boat show site, that had been a quagmire of mud with heavy machinery working day and night to fill in, is now a solid surface. The boat show wasn’t very elaborate and consisted mainly of power boats, engines and outboards (all Mercury products), condo developments and a few local marine oriented companies exhibiting their wares, however, the local government found it important enough to shell out some serious money to beautify the streets to the marina and the marina property itself, not to mention the great expense of the filled in forecourt. They even had the Mexican navy exhibiting their stuff, providing security and the usual power, stewards, food, drink, etc for a “by invitation only” cocktail party on the last night. We didn’t have our cocktail regalia so watched it all from the dock.
Race Week was a blast. J-G volunteered to crew on Full Quiver (40 ft, Beneteau First) with Steve and Linda (Warren Peace) and John (Naida). Steve’s (Full Quiver) brother and sister-in-law also participated. After a few days of practice we raced for 3 days eking out a 3rd place out of 9 boats. After day 2 we were in a 3-way tie for 2nd place with a Columbia-Tripp 43 and a J-80 driven by a hot crew. On the last day the J-80 smoked us but the Columbia that had pressed very hard on previous days, fell back early and stayed out of the running.
1900: We just got an e-mail informing us that our good friend Vicki has succumbed to cancer. We had such a great time earlier this month with her and her husband Bert on board . We will surely miss her but we are also fortunate for the quality time we had on board with both of them.
We will be leaving here tomorrow morning and heading north to San Blas to stage for a crossing to the Sea of Cortez. We will try to make it directly to Isla Partida or Isla San Fransico and get some quality “Sea” time before heading to Mazatlan where Fran will leave to return to Vancouver to look after our daughter-in-law after her surgery. She plans on being away only 10 days so we hope to be able to make it back to the Baja side in time for the Loreto Fest, an event we have managed to miss for the past 3 years.

Waiting for a weather window in Tenecatita

2010-03-13T09:01:00.000-08:00

We only stayed overnight in Barra this time and left the following afternoon after refuelling and taking water. Our departure from the fuelling dock was really slick with J-G using the dinghy as a tug to swing the bow around into the wind. We crossed over to Maleque and had a lovely afternoon with Bert and Vicky. After a rocky night in the anchorage we departed for another of our favourite anchorages, Cuestacomate, (the secret anchorage) where we enjoyed another excellent ceviche at the palapa restaurant that we have dined each time we have passed by. The following morning we headed to Tenecatita, about 12 miles up the coast.
We have been at anchor here in Tenecatita for the past five days amongst a large group of boats, 22 at last count but that number changes daily with vessels departing and arriving. Most of the vessels are starting to head north towards Banderas Bay, many to attend the racing series beginning on the 16th, some to assemble with other cruisers heading for the Marqusas while others are beginning their migration to northern ports where they will store their boats for the summer.
This year's group is quite different from last year when we had a "mayor" and lots of organised events on the water and ashore. There are many kid boats here this year and we seem to be in the midst of that group. Yesterday the water around us was alive with children (3-9) swimming, diving off boats and being ferried in to play with those aboard the boats around us. An ex-pat Canadian on a catamaran called Watchagonnado seems to be the nucleus of the activity. It is nice to hear the giggling and shrieks of joy as they dive off the boats and swim back to the boarding ladders.
This is an ideal anchorage for relaxation and the enjoyment of the cruising life. The long beach is bordered by the estuary at our end and the village of La Manzanilla about 5 miles away. There is only one hotel on the beach and it is relatively quiet with very few occupants this year. There is a small daytime restaurant on the beach but it is open only on weekends when campers set up on the beach adjacent the estuary. There are very few lights ashore so nights are dark and stars are bright. The fresh water from the estuary brings a lot of material down from the lagoon so biological activity in the bay is enhanced with many species of birds, fish, and night-time phosphorescence.
It has been a relaxing few days. Rosie has had her daily runs on the beach, a rare treat this year, and Fran and J-G have been able to snorkel every day. Steve and Linda (Warren Peace) arrived a few days ago to wait out, with us, the strong winds around Cabo Corrientes. According to Don, the weather guru, things should calm down by the weekend so there will undoubtedly be a mass exodus come Saturday.
We are also waiting for Steve and Pam (Full Quiver) to arrive from Barra. They should be here tomorrow. J-G and Steve (Warren Peace) will be crewing on Full Quiver for the race series. Following that we will carry on up to the Sea of Cortez for a few weeks until Fran has to fly back to Vancouver to attend to our daughter in law who will be undergoing a serious operation. Hopefully recovery will be quick and Fran will be back in time for a few final weeks before putting Gosling away for the summer. We intend to make for Mazatlan for the period she is away. J-G will have the boat to himself and will be able to get a lot of projects accomplished in that while Fran is away.
We should be away from here by Friday or Saturday and we hope to make the transit to La Cruz non-stop, weather permitting.

Heading North

2010-03-02T10:51:00.000-08:00

1930, Monday, 01 March 2010: Barra de Navidad
We are back at anchor at Barra de Navidad for a few days after departing Las Hadas this morning. We had Bert and Vicky Blattman aboard for the past few days, good friends from Victoria, who are holidaying in the town of Melaque. They joined us last Friday and left us after we anchored this afternoon. It was great seeing friends from home. Vicky and Bert had been aboard last year for a day-sail. This time they got to experience a few nights at sea, well, at anchor, at sea.... As we left the bay we were all treated to the sight of a mother and calf fin whale cavorting a few hundred feet for the boat.
On Saturday we had another of those strange phenomena that is making this season a memorable one. During the SSB morning net we learnt of the earthquake in Chile and the tsunami warning that had been issued as a result. The next few hours were spent informing all the other boats and ensuring that they were away from shallow water by the time the tsunami wave reached our location. Although it wasn’t expected to cause any problems no one wanted to tempt fate so all boats weighed anchor and headed for deep water. The predicted time of arrival of the wave was 1106. We got word at 1111 that the wave had passed us by and was only 0.2 of a foot, measured by one of the Mexican weather buoys offshore. When we got back to the anchorage it was more obvious that something had occurred. People ashore reported a period of low water (1-2 ft) and a small rise when it arrived but unusual currents were observed for several hours in the marina harbour. Another box to tick off on the boater’s list....
We weren’t able to see much of the Winter Olympics during the past 2 weeks but we were determined to see the last day’s events and closing ceremonies. We were fortunate to get access to a large screen TV with coverage in Spanish at a local restaurant. It wasn’t quite the same as the hockey play by play we are used to back home but the excitement was the same and with a good representation of both US and Canadian supporters we applauded the winners and raved at the success Canada earned overall. What a show the closing ceremonies were! It made us proud to be Canadians even though the beer was Corona.
We finished our 4th and last lesson in Spanish on Thursday. We’d like to think we have improved but only time and practice will tell. If nothing else these lessons made us realize a lot of bad habits and misuses of words and expressions.
While here we have taken the opportunity to revisit Colima, the state capital, and Comala close to the volcano. Four years ago we had done this on our own; this time we went with a tour guide (actually, the ex-husband of our Spanish teacher who is a taxi driver). It was well worth the extra few dollars. We saw many extras including an exotic fruit farm, brick factory, Mayan ruins and a very nice museum dedicated to the Mexican Artist, Hidalgo. While in Colima we saw the annual horse parade, a real treat, with dancing horses and every kind of livery.
The remainder of our time at Las Hadas was spent in an idyllic haze. We had full use of the resort’s superb pool and grounds, all for a paltry $30/week docking fee. We spent our time relaxing, swimming, chatting with newfound and old friends and wondering what we would do next week when this was all behind us. It was hard to bid farewell to the “gang”: Steve and Linda (Warren Peace, Whiterock) who have been there for the past month and plan on remaining for another few weeks, Pam and Steve (Full Quiver, San Francisco) arrived just a few days ago, Kristen and Ned (Bristol Blue, Seattle), who were with us previously in Barra, Hal and Cathy (Airborne, Vancouver) and many others too numerous to mention.
While there we also bid farewell to Christy and John (Indian Summer) who were headed South, We heard from them on the net this morning that they were departing Zihuatanejo for Huatuco in the next day or so.

Adios.
Las Hadas with Vicky and Bert

The Colima volcano and Mayan ruins

Relaxing at Las Hadas

2010-02-19T07:53:00.000-08:00

Las Hadas, Manzanillo Bay, 2200, Thursday, 18 Feb 2010
We have been anchored off the beach resort of Las Hadas in Manzalillo Bay for the past 5 days, where we have had a quite the mix of weather. We had light rain most of last night and all day yesterday after suffering through a few days of sweltering temperatures. This evening there was another “wind event” that peaked at about 30 kts here in the anchorage. There was lots of chatter on VHF about boats dragging anchor in Santiago. We’ll find out tomorrow how boats fared in other locations that were more exposed.
Manzanillo is a large industrial, centre with one of the most important commercial ports on the west coast of Mexico. The port and city centre is on the south side of the bay. The town of Santiago is on the north side and features most of the resorts and tourist havens. It also has the most sheltered anchorages for cruisers with Las Hadas and Santiago bay. Cruisers tend to spend a lot of time here because of the excellent local facilities, shopping and warm clear waters. It is also a convenient stop-over for vessels heading north or south. This is a favourite haunt for Linda and Steve (Warren Peace) who have been here a few weeks already and have seen many cruisers come and go.
Today there are 8 boats enjoying this location. 300 pesos (about $26 Cdn) buys access to the dinghy dock and the pool and beach at the resort. With the heat we are having we are taking full advantage of it. There are very few guests at the resort, about 80 (capacity for 500+) so they don’t mind us boaters. Unfortunately they don’t receive the TV feed for any station covering the Olympics so we have to contend ourselves to see the daily reports on the news web pages. Before leaving Barra on Monday we were able to see the opening ceremonies at the Grand Bay Resort a large complex across the bay from the town of Barra. One big advantage of this location (Las Hadas) is access to free WIFI provided by one of the restaurants bordering the Bay. We support it by having the odd meal or attending their happy hours.
When we arrived Gil and Lexie (Sunday) were here with their guests. They left the following morning for Zijuatanejo and their way south. After our close association for most of this and past 2 seasons it was a tearful farewell. We hope we will cross paths again in the near future.
We have begun Spanish lessons with Linda and Steve. Twice weekly we taxi or bus to Santiago for lessons with Theresa, a Canadian who has lived here for the better part of 20 years. Yesterday we met several of the boats in the anchorage at Santiago at a get-together at Stan’s place. Stan was a cruiser for many years but sold his boat and moved ashore when he arrived in Santiago. He has been an invaluable asset to the cruiser community for the past few years with his SSB and online weather information.
We will stay here for another week or 2. We are expecting Bert and Vicky from Victoria to arrive in a few weeks for their spring holiday in Maleque. We have arranged to have them meet us here and we will take them for a few days sailing up to Maleque before we start our trek northwards back to the Sea of Cortez. There is a lot to do and see. On Saturday we are planning a trip to Colima where there will be a horse parade at noon and then we will continue to Comala to see the volcano again (we saw it 3 years ago when we were here in Royal Exchange). This time we will be on a private tour with Steve and Linda. Ned and Kristen (Bristol Blue) have volunteered to dog-sit Rosie for the day.
Rosie seems to be getting the hang of life aboard, as long as we are at anchor or alongside. While at anchor she needs her daily walk so it is J-G’s task to dinghy her ashore for a 30+ minute walk each day. She gets a lot of attention from passers-by and is a very good and mostly obedient pet. She still isn’t comfortable while at sea but we are hopeful that she will adapt.
TTFN

Lazing in Barra de Navidad

2010-02-04T14:26:00.000-08:00

1300, 2 Feb 10, Anchored in the Barra de Navidad Lagoon
What an idyllic spot to be! Although it is a muddy shallow bottom and a 10-12 minute boat ride to the town it is a wonderful anchorage, well protected and not too hot, thanks to the land and sea breezes we have every day without fail. There are also a lot of our cruising mates here. Bill and Janet (Optical Illusion) arrived from Santiago Bay soon after we did as did Don and Lynn (Prairie Seashell) who we hadn’t seen in 2 years. To our relief Sunday arrived a few days ago. We hadn’t heard from them in a few weeks and we knew they had had to weather out the gales in the Sea of Cortez that had delayed us on our way down.
We have also met more boats from Victoria and Vancouver Island (Angus and Rolande – Periclees), Goff and Linda (Curare), Joe and Deb (Pacific Jade) and (Deb and Lynn - Dolphin Tales, who we had met aboard Sea Turtle IV in Victoria just before they left). Out of 20 boats in the lagoon almost half are Canadian.
It has been raining on and off most of the day, a very rare occasion and the first rain we have experienced this far south at this time of year. It caught us by surprise in the middle of the night having lightly doused Fran’s side f the bed (she is closest to the hatch). We are looking forward to another day of rain. It certainly is different to be hunkered down with nothing else to do but read, watch movies, play card games with the neighbours or doing some indoor projects. It was also quite surprising to see the number of boats that wanted a visit from the French Baker who sells his wares by skiff from boat to boat. Everyone, it seemed, wanted a pastry of some kind today (comfort food?); strange phenomenon. Unfortunately for Fran he was sold out of chocolate croissants but her disappointment was short-lived. She bounced back, declared this a soup day and her creative brain went into overdrive in making a superb pumpkin soup.
Nothing much has changed here in Barra over the past 3 years. The Sands Hotel still provides the cruisers with a dinghy landing, a convenient bar, WIFI and a pool to use with your 20 peso daily fee. Market day is still on Wednesday and the same gadget stands and tourist treasure dealers still offer the same junk for sale year after year. The DVD sellers always do a brisk business at 20 pesos each or 3 for 50 pesos. Avatar is already on the stands here. Fran’s hairdresser is still there but only provided a pedicure this year for both of us. Yes, even J-G got one. It was long overdue with all of the calluses formed over the past few months of wearing sandals. Our lavanderia is still there and still does our week’s laundry for less than $10.
The morning net covers most of the anchorage areas along this part of the coast including Tenecatita, Malque, Barra (lagoon and the marina) and anyone who can hear the net in Santiago Bay and Las Hadas in Mazanillo bay. It is always very informative and we have shared in the net controller duties on various occasions
On the weekend we helped Phil (Mannasea) prep the local school in Colimilla for painting. Phil has taken this as a project this year and we had promised to help him out. Although we are a month late we will be able to get the outside of the school done this year. The interior will be next season’s task. While the boys were scrapping Fran was painting the figures on the boys and girls washrooms. This weekend she will fancy up the kindergarten’s outhouse with painted flowers.
The solar panels have been a bit of a letdown. Although they put out 4-5 amps during the day they have just been maintaining what the boat draws during the day. At night the batteries drain slowly requiring an alternative charging method to bring them back to normal and today, with a cloudy day, they aren’t much use. Fortunately we brought down a 2000w generator this year and we have been running it a few hours a day charging the batteries back to full charge. Last year we had to run the main engine a more expensive proposition than the small amount of gas we now burn. We are still hampered by the lack of a suitable water-maker to satisfy our domestic water requirements. We can average 7-10 days on the 120 gallons in the tanks we have on board and then we have to drive to a water source for a refill or dinghy in jugs of water from ashore. By Thursday we will have to go to the fuel dock for a refill. The water-maker we have is only capable of producing 1.7 gals/hr so we only use it to make our drinking water and that is done outside the anchorages where the quality of the raw sea water is not suitable.
Thursday, 4 Feb 2010
WOW!!!! We have just lived through the wettest and wildest few days of our entire time in Mexico. We have had over 6 inches of rain over the past few days, winds to hurricane force, albeit a very short burst, and very unsettled weather.
It started 2 nights ago as we were playing cards on Sunday. We have only seen a thunderstorm on 2 other occasions; one was in Mazatlan only a few weeks ago and the other many years ago when we were in a timeshare. This one lasted the better part of 4 hours with a superb (and scary) show of lightning. We got back aboard by about 10 with the storm in full swing, lightning all around but none close to the anchorage. Fran went to bed but J-G stayed up just in case things got worse – and they certainly did. At about 23:30 a violent gust of wind which peaked at about 70 kts hit the anchorage with full force. The boat heeled over about 30 degrees and the air was white with a spray. Thank God the anchor held. We may have dragged a bit but everyone did, some more than others. Several boats were moving after everything settled down, having dragged enough that they needed to re-anchor. By 2 AM the wind had abated completely but it continued to rain for the next 24 hours. We have had over 6 inches of rain. Today we are back to nice sunny weather but all the boats look like Chinese laundries with all of their wet things hanging out to dry.
This is an El Nino year and things can be expected to be very different. Hopefully we won’t see any more of this type of weather.
We plan to be here for another few days and do some painting at the school over the weekend then head south to Manzanillo.

2010-01-24T09:10:00.000-08:00

0910, 18 Jan 2010: Enroute to Jaltemba
We have just departed Mantenchen (correct spelling this time) Bay, San Blas enroute to Jaltemba. It is a short ride of about 30 miles and we should be in by early afternoon. We had a quiet night in calm conditions with hardly any motion. It is definitely warmer 500 miles south of Guaymas and we had to keep the fan on all night to remain comfortable in the aft cabin. Also in the anchorage was Relax (Bob and Gisele) and Alobar (Joel, Dave and Robby). Both vessels had left from Guaymas and Alobar had been in the yard with us a week before we left. The reputation of this bay being “midge heaven” didn’t pan out, however, we did use the hatch netting that Fran has made and Dave. The guys on Alobar were covered with nasty looking bite marks this morning.
The remainder of our ride into Mazatlan was uneventful. We arrived at the El Cid marina mid-morning, a few hours after high tide. There is always a surge in this marina as it is located a few hundred yards from the harbour mouth but we didn’t expect the current. This was Fran’s first experience with a cross current and our alongside wasn’t pretty but no damage occurred to Gosling or the large cruiser we brushed against…. and, with the help of Dave (Star Dancer) and George (Shamrock) we were secured alongside in short order. Lots of fenders, extra lines and a tight tie kept us from moving too badly in the slip but the noise from the lines sliding in and out of the fairleads was always present. We wrapped old t-shirts at the friction points and that helped somewhat.
Except for the surge problem the marina was very nice, with all the resort services available to the visiting cruisers. At $1.00 (US)/ft it is a good thing we hadn’t planned a long stay but it was cheaper than marina Mazatlan by 10 cents/ft. We didn’t check out the Singlar dock but it appeared quite full when we passed by the following day in the dinghy. We had quite a light show the first night with a rare thunderstorm which resulted from the storm track further north. We later found out that the same system generated very high winds in San Carlos, causing 7 boats to go ashore in the bay and a waterspout to form in Banderas Bay just off the marina in La CruzRepairs were the order of the day for the 2-day stay. I procured another piece of stainless for the wind vane from Rick Cummings (Mazatlan Marine services) and with the help from Dave& Robby (Alobar) we had it repaired in no time flat. I tried to get a tech to look at the radio but all were too busy so I decided to tackle a few last possibilities myself. Inspecting the connection to the backstay antenna I found a lot of corrosion. A good cleaning of the backstay under the connection, a slathering of di-electric grease (thanks Trish) and a new section of stripped wire made a world of difference. I then tackled the software and discovered a discrepancy in the port assignment. I was amazed to find that everything worked perfectly afterwards. Sometimes I really surprise myself!!!!
Fran contacted her friend Dianne (a fellow line-dancer from Victoria) and with her husband we all went out for dinner at Fat Fish. The spareribs and the guitarist were just as great as 3 years ago.
Saturday morning was the local swap meet, a big event in Mazatlan. In getting the dinghy and outboard ready I found another problem. The hose from the tank to the motor and the bulb were rock hard and one of the connections at the bulb snapped when I tried to straighten them out. Furthermore, someone has decided that they needed my dead-man switch key more than I did. Luckily there was an outboard motor shop just down the street and I was able to get all the parts I needed. How many more “issues” will I find? The swap meet was quite fun and we got rid of a few items and picked up a few treasures, including an older copy of the Nobletech Navigation Suite. I later found out that the copy should have included a dongle so, at present, it is just a nice box containing pretty disks….
We departed later that morning, this time fully aware of the current and using it to our advantage. Fran did a phenomenal job of leaving the dock and her approach to the fuel dock was perfect. The boat preceding us, a 60 ft with bow thrusters, had lots of problems..... Too bad they weren’t there to see our manoeuvres.
We powered down the beaches and made sail when we were out of the shelter of the offshore islands and sailed all night down the coast with a following wind and sea, dodging fishing boats all night. By morning the wind petered out and we powered the remainder of the way, some 20 miles.
During Fran’s watch she heard the bilge pump running quite often; too often! We discovered yet another loose hose clamp on the fresh water supply line, this time at the engine room bulkhead. By that time we had lost most of the domestic water supply. Luckily we are only a few days from La Cruz. We should have enough to last until then. The splashing of the water onto the hot engine also caused the propane alarm to go off. It is refreshing to know that the detector can sense almost any vaporized agent, steam in this case. A few weeks earlier it detected the propellant from the spray paint I used in the engine room. I rather expected more leaks to occur with the new, higher pressure pump. I think a re-plumbing job is in the offing to remove most of the extra joins that have been added over the years.
1830, 23 Jan 2010, Slip 9B16 Marina Nayarit, La Cruz
We have been alongside for the past 3 days, enjoying the relative calm of this new marina. There are a lot of boats here that we have met along the way; Indian Summer, Full Quiver, Alobar and Freedom Kirkland to mention a few. We are waiting out a high wind and high swell event before we proceed south. The swell is the result of the terrible weather that has plagued the Pacific coast over the past week. When we arrived we were shown the photos taken by Steve (Full Quiver) of the waterspout mentioned above.

After our departure from Mantenchen Bay we made it to Jaltemba without incident, having to power all the way in light winds. We spent most of the afternoon and evening with Bruce and Marg Walton, Victoria friends who spend a few months in a condo in Rincon de Guyabitos.
The following morning we weighed anchor and continued south, again in calm conditions, around Punta Mita and into Banderas Bay to Marina Riviera Nayarit a relatively new marina where we had stayed last spring for a few days and at half the price of the El Cid it is more affordable. An hour out of Jaltemba we caught our first Dorado of the season.

Life alongside is sometimes busier than at sea with projects to accomplish and supplies to get. Without a vehicle we have to rely on others or, more commonly, on local transport which turns an hour errand into a half-day event. Luckily we were able to share a vehicle with the crew of Alobar the other day and got our Sam’s Club shopping done in short order. Today we went to the swap meet at Marina Nuevo Vallarta where we met up with Lin and Lee (Royal Exchange) and caught up with their news of the past year. An odd swap meet for JG; he sold an item and didn’t buy anything!!!
We have been out every night since we got here, playing Mexican Train with friends and listening to jazz and rock bands at some of the local establishments. Tonight, for a change we are eating onboard (Dorado) and enjoying a movie night on Gosling (with popcorn). We expect to be on our way south by Tuesday.

2010-01-14T15:10:00.000-08:00

2020, Tuesday, 12 Jan 10: 12 miles west of the entrance to Topolobambo
Well, we’ve made it! We are at sea, under sail in 10-12 kt following wind and a 3 ft following sea. It is a dark moonless night and there are no close contacts to be seen. We have been at sea for the past 35 hours after leaving a day later than planned. It has been a busy day trying to rectify a few nagging issues and we have been successful, for the most part.
We had planned to leave on Sunday but as we reached the entrance to the harbour we found that the autopilot and the Furuno sounder/fish finder weren’t working and that the gearbox pressure was fluctuating. On inspecting that we found most of the gearbox oil in the bilge. The problem was easy to find; a loose blanking plug, but it took most of our reserve oil to refill. We decided that it was better to return to the dock, sort out the issues and try again the next morning.
The autopilot problem was also an easy fix. The screen prompt indicated a compass problem. After tracing wires and searching through and under storage compartments under the settees, the fluxgate compass was located. The only possible issue was that something magnetic had been stored directly above it. The depth sounder wasn’t as easy to diagnose but we have a redundant system so we were happy to leave without it being repaired.
While in the yard we spotted a plastic mermaid on one of the catamarans. It was left behind when they left so we have adopted her and will pass her on to another boat in Mazatlan. Maybe we will start a tradition. Hope she isn’t responsible for the bad luck we have had. Just in case, we’ll leave her on the aft rail, near the wind vane..... (read on)
The following morning we bid farewell to all of our friends once more and, after a compass calibration to make sure the autopilot was back to normal, we headed out once more. This time we had no new issues and we powered out into a sloppy sea with 3-4 ft swells on the beam. Once out of the shelter of land we picked up a nice 15-18 kt beam wind and put up sail. The wind kept up until mid-morning today but it was a respite of only a few hours before the wind filled in again and we have been sailing ever since. At sunset, Fran saw her first Green Flash. She is no longer a sceptic!!
Despite the new solar panels we are finding that we have to run the engine in the morning to make up for the overnight drain on the batteries. Hopefully, when at anchor, that will not be necessary but with running all the electronics we had to make up about 120 amp/hrs this morning. During her watch Fran is more comfortable with a 15 -30 minute radar watch interval so that is the big drain. The autopilot is a must (OK we’re lazy that way) and that is the second major drain item. Once we get more comfortable with the wind vane we hope to be able to wean ourselves off the autopilot.
I found the problem with the sounder today; another bad connection. This time it was my error when reconnecting the system after the paint job. The GPS feed to the VHF radio was another bad connection but not mine. We blame that one on the storage temps during the summer. Hopefully I’ll be able to sort out the pactor modem/SSB problem too so that we’ll have e-mail capability underway.
Fran caught our first fish about 15 minutes after putting the gear out, a Mexican Bonita, great eating. It was served up for breakfast and dinner today, more fishing tomorrow.
Rosie is not a happy camper. Once we leave the dock she seems terrified at all the strange goings on, especially the engine and the white floppy things (sails). She has been curled up at the head of the master bed since we left. We have managed to get her to drink a bit of water and have the occasional pee on the bow (after we bring the genoa in) and Fran has fed her a few biscuits, in bed. Some boat dog!!
Well that’s it for now. There are a few contacts now and the radar is picking them up fine. The wind has calmed to about 10 kts and we are still sailing comfortably under main and mizzen making about 3.5 kts. We’ll have to make up some time tomorrow to arrive in Mazatlan in daylight on Thursday.
The following afternoon, 13 Jan:
Well so much for the wind vane, again.... It seems to have a major failure every year. Shortly after 2 this morning we discovered that it had come out of its mounting again. It took about an hour and some gymnastic moves to dismantle and store it on deck. The scenario was almost identical to last year’s failure but this time another part failed. Very frustrating! We’ll need to find a piece of stainless tubing in Mazatlan to fix it this time. Wonder if the mermaid had anything to do with this....
I got the weather from Don on the SSB this morning. We have to hustle into Mazatlan to avoid a 35 kt blow that is due to arrive tomorrow afternoon. As he has predicted the wind has almost died in our area in advance of this disturbance.
There has been a definite change in the ambient temperature. As expected, it is getting warmer as we proceed south. No need of the long-johns we wore a few nights ago and even the sea temp has risen by 5 degrees. That should mean the presence of whales and dorados soon.
2135, 13 Jan 10
We are about 55 miles from Mazatlan, dolphins off the port bow, powering at 6 kts in a fairly calm sea. There are many more contacts tonight, fishing vessels scouring the rich banks. Since we are powering we can afford to run the radar continuously. Looks like we will be entering the marina between 10 and 11 am, well ahead of the disturbance coming from the north, if weather gurus can be trusted. Predictions are that this will be a one day event but the residual seas will last another day. We’ll stay 2 days, get a meal or 2 at Fat Fish, our favourite rib place, repair the wind vane and get Rosie back on her feet.
Fran is turned in and I am on watch from 1900-2300. We have worked out a good routine. Fran loves the middle watch (2300-0400) and I like to see the break of dawn on the morning watch from 3 on. Fran hates seeing the sun come up. By default I, therefore, get the first watch (1900-2300). We have a relaxed schedule so some nights we extend from 4 hours to 5 depending on conditions, the reading material or other distractions we are into. This normally means Fran sleeps in till mid-morning and I have an afternoon nap.
Both of us observed another phenomenal green flash at sunset. We’ll have to try to photograph it next time for all the sceptics back home.

0630 the following morning;
It has been a quiet and enjoyable night at sea. The stars are incredible in the moonless sky. Even the nebula in Orion is visible to the naked eye and the Milky Way that we hardly ever see back home is fantastic to view through binoculars.
The breeze we had last night petered out by midnight leaving an oily sea disturbed only by the ever-present swells that have followed us since we left Guaymas. As dawn approached an offshore breeze developed and we are now heading into a 5-6 knot wind. As the sky brightens the developing cumulus clouds to the west become more and more visible, a sure sign that the disturbance we are expecting is approaching fast. We expect to be tucked into the marina by that time.
The watches we have established are working out well. Fran even commented on how different and more pleasant this passage has been from last year’s passage from the Baja to Tenecatita. This one has been longer. Maybe that is the secret – getting used to the routine; are you listening Rosie? From here south it will be short overnight hops from anchorage to anchorage until we get to La Cruz and the more of the same until we reach our Tenecatita-Manzanillo cruising grounds.
1200
We are safely tucked into a slip at Marina El Cid, a large resort, offering all of the facilities you’d expect of a quality resort. We have made arrangements to get a piece of stainless tubing for tomorrow but the repairs to the radio seem a bit more difficult to arrange.
To our great surprise we heard Lin (Royal Exchange) calling on the radio. We’ll be doing breakfast with him and Lee tomorrow morning.

Adios Guaymas

2010-01-09T12:59:00.000-08:00

Guaymas: 2230, Wednesday, 6 Jan, 09
We are finalizing our preparations in readiness to depart . This refit has gone on much longer than expected but we have achieved much this week. The rigging and sails are on, the dingy is inflated on the dock and almost ready to be lifted onboard. The inflatable keel is still leaking and we’ll have another look at it tomorrow. It has been a problem since we bought the boat but it is not critical, just annoying as it reduces its performance and, with only a 5hp outboard, we need all the performance we can get.
We ran wires this week too. The solar panels are wired in; Trish found suitable wire in Tuscon and did a great job of connecting up the panels but running the wires was my task. That took a half day of taking apart closets, piercing bulkheads, passing the wires through the engine room and running them through almost inaccessible places to keep them out of the way. Same can be said about the wiring for the new speed sensor through the salon floor, storage lockers and under the galley sink. We also completed replacing the xenon G-4 lights with new LED fixtures but were disappointed in the noise they generate on the VHF. We’ll have to find a solution for that one.
Slowly the items littering the cabin and decks have found a home. Tomorrow we hope to finally do a proper wash down, the first since the boat was painted. Amazing how the grime piles up.
Doug has just finished his second set of chemo treatments. The first day (blue bag hell) he receives a harsh medication that hits him hard but the medication on the next 2 days is easier on his system. I hope we’ll have a chance to see him before we go.
We aren’t sure whether we will be able to get away on Friday as planned. It looks more like Saturday now. That will give us a chance to see George and Maureen Godwin, from Victoria, who arrive on Friday for a week visit with Maureen’s brother. Gil and Lexi are hoping to leave the following day. They will surely catch up in their speedy tri.
The following day: 2230
Found the leak in the dingy and fixed that, I hope. Had a good morning shopping and found some last hard-to-get bits including a dimmer switch for the compass binnacle light. The BBQ propane tank now has its own stowage tube on the taffrail made out of an 8-in PVC water main tube with swimming “noodle” foam to keep it from moving around and a piece of scrap teak railing from Phil’s (Salty) project as a base.
1330, Sat, 9 Jan 09
That’s it! We have procrastinated too long. We depart tomorrow morning on a 400 mile trip to Mazatlan. We waited another 2 days to see Shirley and Tom (Rio Nimpkish) arrive and last night we saw George and Maureen and their hosts, fresh off the bus from Tucson. It was good to get the latest gossip from CFSA. Sunday is also delayed and will follow us soon.
We are ready to go. Fran is on her way to bring the van to the storage yard where it will remain until May. The bill here is paid and yesterday we spent the better part of the afternoon washing down the boat from all the accumulated yard grime since it was painted. She looks all new again. Fishing rod holders are up, the SSB has been trialed and we got the weather this morning indicating a good window for a southern passage over the next few days. With an average speed of 5 kts we should be in Mazatlan by mid-day in 3 days.
I must close this off and post it so I can finish my preps. Only a few more items to lash on deck and we can relax, whatever that is.....
Next one from Mazatlan.

Gosling's back in her element!!!

2009-12-30T21:20:00.000-08:00

Singlar Guaymas; 20:45, Tuesday, 29 Dec 2009
Finally we are there! We are suspended about 6 inches off the ground by the travel-lift bridles in preparation for launching in the morning. The boat is covered with gear waiting to be shoe-horned somewhere on board. Today was a blur of taking all of our stuff onboard from the car, the area around the boat where we had shed lots of loose gear to get it out of the way while working and from a small lock-up where we had the more valuable items stored. It was also the time to complete any watertight integrity related projects. That meant that the speed sensor that we had purchased and delivered to our Palm Springs friends had to be installed. Now all the holes below the waterline are accounted for. I had delayed this project until I had heard back from the manufacturer of the sensor to make sure it would be compatible with the existing system. Finally we will have a hull speed reading and not just speed calculated by the GPS. Meanwhile, Fran escaped with Elke (Winds of Change) and Kim (Salty) for margaritas in San Carlos leaving Rosie and me to fend for ourselves.
This week we also had the welding done. It isn’t as nice a job as we would have liked and the welder was working on Mexican time. When he showed up he did a fair job which will stand up but it won’t be as pretty as we hoped.
Another project for us will be polishing the welds. Another item that had been overlooked was improving the propane feed from the bottles to the regulator. With the potential hazards associated with propane you don’t want to take any chances. We have an excellent control system with an integrated sniffer and shut-off system in case of leaks but the feed lines needed attention. It was quite an accomplishment to finally find a dealer with all of the specific fittings we needed for under $2.50.
Sunday splashed today. Gil and Lexi’s big tri is at the end dock in the marina where we plan to join them tomorrow.
This week’s preparation brought this whole cruising lifestyle into perspective. This is our third and largest boat. Granted, the last 2 were not live-aboards but imagine trying to fit all the comforts of home on a 42 X 12 ft space where much of the space is already taken up by other more important stuff like the engine, electronics, tools, galley equipment with its all-important fridge( with a small, very small, freezer compartment that produces ice for drinks and keeps a few other items frozen). There is surprisingly little storage space in a 42 ft boat after all of the essentials are packed in. Ironically that includes the case of Girl Guide cookies, 5 months worth of dry dog food and the 4 cases of wine we bought in Palm Springs at $2/btl. (Don’t laugh its good stuff. Fran’s discerning wine palate says so). After you put away your clothes and food there are a myriad of items that have to find a home in a few cupboards and storage areas under the benches and bunks (Christmas decorations). We still have sails and lines stored in the V-berth. Once they are brought to the upper deck and installed, their places below will be taken up by stuff on deck waiting to be stored. We also have to clear up the sleeping quarters up there in case we have guests. Needless to say we will be giving all spaces a once over before we leave and all non-essentials will be stored in the van to await our return or taken to the monthly marine swap meet on Saturday. Wonder what I’ll find that I absolutely can’t do without this time....
21:00, Wednesday, 30 Dec, 09
We have made it!! Gosling is back in her element. It was a successful launch. Once the travel-lift had us lowered us into the water we did thru-hull rounds and found and fixed a minor leak in a valve. The engine started right up (thanks Omar the mechanic from last year) and Fran drove us around the marina to our berth. Now comes the real work of getting everything ship shape and all gear stowed. The problem is getting to those tasks without other distractions. As soon as we got alongside Fran announced that neither of the heads were working. That took a few hours to fix. One was easy the other required some repair to an overly large vaccuum break port in the salt water feed line. Naturally it took about 1/2 hour to access it. A more permanent repair will be an item on next year's wishlist. Shore power started to cut out; found the problem in a defective plug in the same cord we had been using for the past month.
Still hadn’t received a part back from the welder; he’s 3 days late. After 3 calls from 3 different people in the yard he finally showed up. The part is repaired and will work but it isn’t pretty.
Tomorrow will be a full day with no distractions, I hope, and tomorrow evening we will celebrate the beginning of a new decade.
Happy New Year everyone from Jean-Guy, Fran and Rosie aboard Gosling, in the water in Guaymas, Mexico

Refit Report #5

2009-12-24T22:14:00.000-08:00

Refit Report #4
2145, Sunday, 20 Dec, 2009, Guaymas
Happy Birthday Mike, our youngest son....
We are still on the hard but the end is in sight. We have re-installed most of the gear that was removed for the painting and today the bottom was sanded in preparation for the anti-fouling, Hope to do that tomorrow. Some of the windows still need to be re-installed but the fitting of the frames has been completed. We have given up on getting the welding done by Hernandez so we have contacted one of his competitors. Hope the quality of the work is up to par.
Another accomplishment today: for the past week we have had an annoying fresh-water leak into the bilge and it was getting worse – so much so that the water tanks were almost dry. Finally found the culprit; a broken clamp on the fresh water supply tubing under the galley sink, an excellent reason to check all clamps on a regular basis.
Fran has been busy making up wind scoops for the hatches from a design she saw on the web. They are turning out quite well. Maybe this will be a sideline. She has also found some other cruisers interested in morning yoga.
There are lots of boats leaving the area for points south. Manasea, Full Quiver, Tanque de Tiburon and Relax have left over the past few days and today War and Peace headed out for Mazatlan. Optical Illusion and Precious Metal are leaving La Cruz and headed towards Barra. Looks like we won’t be following for another week or so. Hope the weather cooperates. Those leaving are taking advantage of a weather window that will last a few more days before a strong northerly system takes over.
2244, Thursday, 24 Dec 09, Guaymas
We are still on the hard but there is a light at the end of this tunnel. The bottom paint has been applied and the railing is almost completed with just 1 or 2 hours more work to complete it. We have modified the original design slightly to provide more space between guardrail and rigging by bending the middle stanchion outwards and having the rails follow the new line. Thanks to Phil on Salty for the suggestion and direction. The windows are all back in and only 3 frames are left to be installed. There are still lots of checks and adjustments to do as is the re-install of lines and sails that will be done once we are afloat. That is expected to be on Wednesday or Thrusday next week.
We have just had a wonderful Christmas Eve dinner onboard with Trish, Doug, Gil and Lexi. As always it was a coordinated effort with Fran making the main course, Pollo Navidad, a special Christmas chicken marinated in fruit juices which Fran stuffs with citrus fruit. Very juicy and only one (of the 2 cooked) was enough to feed the 6 of us. Trish brought candied carrots and Gil brought his signature mashed potatoes, laced with lots of garlic. We get to do it all over again tomorrow for Christmas dinner at the San Carlos Yacht Club.
It is blowing hard outside with temps hovering around 62F but much cooler with wind chill. Still a lot nicer than a cold Ontario winter night. It has been like this for the past 3 nights but the associated system is expected to pass through in a day or so, Another mass exodus of boats headed south is expected when that happens. Funny how most sailors wait until the wind dies to zip before heading out....
It isn’t even close to a white Christmas here but there are fireworks close by. The Malecon is strangely quiet for a Christmas Eve. It has been quite loud for the past few days with Christmas music playing but tonight it is quiet, as is the nightclub at the marina. Maybe we’ll get a good night’s sleep.
Merry Christmas everyone.
Jean-Guy, Fran and Rosie send their best wishes

Refit report# 3

2009-12-17T09:32:00.000-08:00

Tuesday, 15 Dec, 09, Marina Singlar, Guaymas
We are finally back aboard Gosling. She looks like a new boat from the upper decks. The paint job turned out very well considering the environment of the boat yard, the heat and the dust churned up by the ever present breeze. It’s not a show-room car quality but it certainly makes a difference from what we had. The few days we had expected turned into 10 days. Much of the problem was translation difficulties between us and Pancho (Francisco) the painter. The prep work was extensive with lots of dings, old screw holes and blemishes to be filled and sanded then filled and sanded again. Masking and covering the parts not being painted took a day then primer coats, finish coats for the vertical surfaces, wait a day, re-mask for the non-skid, more primer and then finish coats, wait another few days and, voila! The job was done. Now the gruelling task of putting everything back together. The windows will take a lot of time. Three have to be completely re-installed because they sprung when the chrome framing was removed and all surfaces where the frames fit must be thoroughly cleaned and prepped for the final fitting. I just hope I have enough caulking. After going through the tubes I had left since last year I found about half had hardened and are unusable. When all is said and done the paint job will have set us back about $4000. For comparison sake, a similar job on Antares, the 34 ft Peterson we sold last summer cost us over $5000 back home, however, Gosling required much more prep work and after seeing the two, I much prefer this sprayed on finish and non-skid.
Fran picked up the re-upholstered cushions today. I must admit they look good and the price was right. Labour and material came out to just over $300, a fraction of the price back home.
Our time in the condo was very pleasant. Rosie loved the beach and could have been out walking back and forth on the sand chasing seabirds all day but we had other chores to do. The outboard was rebuilt and the door hatches received 6 coats of varnish and we did relax between trips back to the yard to check on progress and trips to San Carlos to visit friends and to prepare for the Silent Auction that was held on Sunday, another benefit for Doug.
Fran took the lead on the search for donations and was very successful. By the end of the drive she had accumulated several hundred dollars worth of gift certificates from restaurants, gift shops, spas and even a $75 gift basket from the kennel where Rosie had stayed last spring. With a host of other articles donated by individuals we had quite a variety for people to bid on. After the auction there was a puppet show and music by a few cruisers to finish off the evening. All in all we were able to raise another $2000 for the fund. The local community again showed its support. The next event will most likely be a bachelor auction sometime in February.
Meanwhile, back to the boat, it is 10 pm, it is blowing 30-35 kts and the boat is shaking on its stands. This is the second night of strong NE winds that are preventing many cruisers from leaving the area. This is the high time for the migration south to warmer waters. Phil (Manasea), Bill and Linda (Tanque de Tiburon), Steve and Linda (Warren Peace) are all leaving by the weekend. Gil and Lexi (Sunday) who are in the condo for a few days while their boat is fumigated will be launching soon but staying around till after Christmas and possibly the New Year.
Phil and Kim (Salty), who we have not seen since Barra 2007 while aboard Royal Exchange have arrived to get their boat ready. They are facing quite a challenge repairing the damage done to their boat when it was dropped while being lifted last spring. All of the damage is to the stainless aft and the rudder and mounting gear. Phil brought all of the materials needed to do the repairs and will be doing much of the stainless welding himself. Probably a good idea since we have been trying to get Hernandez, the welder, to come to the boat to do our railings. Promises to pay us a call have not been fulfilled 4 times now. It will be awkward to sail without the solar panels mounted.
The following text was written by Fran after the haircut event a few weeks ago:
8 AM, 5 Dec , 09, Marina San Carlos, Mexico
Who would have thought that 2 years after meeting such a nice couple as Doug and Trish, I would have volunteered to have my hair shaved off for a fund raiser to help pay for his medical treatments. But to know them is to love them. We met them in a bay, while sailing our new boat down from San Diego to Mexico, 2 years ago. We were out of bread, and Trish kindly volunteered a fresh-baked loaf. With talents like those of plumber Doug, and electrician/baker Trish, they were great to have as buddy boaters.
With all the plans, dreams and adventures to come, one would never think that cancer would rear its ugly head. But it did and now I stand here with shoulder length hair to be sheared at high noon, to a head I have not seen since I was 3. The event is to take place at the annual Christmas Bazaar at the San Carlos Marina. Wonderful, talented people will display and sell their crafts and goodies. The owner of the first raffle ticket to be drawn at noon will have first go with the clippers.
3p.m. It is all over, the planning, the work and the schmoozing with the crowds and we raised nearly $1000 with one nut case (Mike on Tazmo) buying over $300 worth of tickets just so that he would have a chance to shave my head, which he did several times. After finally seeing myself in a mirror, I realize that I am not defined by my hair but what I do in life. The day has been fun, and we have found a very supportive community down here that has either had or has been touched by cancer. I’m glad I did it. It was not about me: I did it for Doug! Fran Nadeau on S/V Gosling
More next week, Adios

Refit report #2

2009-12-05T18:14:00.000-08:00

Saturday, 5 Dec 09 - Condominiums Pilar, San Carlos We are in the “Cruiser’s Condo” for a few days while the boat is getting painted. This is the same condo we stayed in with Bill and Janet on our arrival. They left last week and have now sailed off to the Baja coast. It is a studio style but very comfortable and reasonable since Trish and Doug manage the place for a relative. The ocean is steps away and Rosie has miles of beach for her walks. J-G brought a few projects that could be done here while we wile away the hours, refinishing the door hatches, re-building a head pump and refitting the outboard. The neighbours will love us.... It has been another busy week getting the boat ready for the painters by removing as much as we could from the cockpit and upper-decks. Ideally everything should have been removed as we had done with Antares but we couldn’t afford the extra time needed to remove and re-install if we want to be in the water before the new year. We have briefly seen the work over the past few days and it looks good so far. We now hope to be back to the boat by mid-week. We expect to have the stainless railing work and the new upholstery done next week. Fran had it done to match the colour of the new counter top – anything to make the Admiral happy. The funding drive for Doug was held today at the San Carlos Christmas bazaar and was a resounding success. The support shown by the local gringo community was fantastic. Gil, Lexi and Fran manned the booth, selling tickets and cajoling all passersby that they should contribute and they did a sterling job. By noon, over $1000 US had been raised and much of that came from one individual, Mike from S/V Tazmo. He really wanted to cut Fran’s hair and bought enough tickets to ensure that his number would be drawn, and it was, several times. It was quite amazing to see the support we received from cancer survivors or those who have been touched by cancer one way or another. Once Fran was done she, in turn, cut Doug’s hair. Fran doesn’t look quite as bad as we had expected but under all that lush brown hair was the organic grandmother colour that she will now let grow out. The next event will be next Sunday, a puppet show and silent auction at the Captain’s Club in San Carlos. Doug received some good news on Thursday. His oncologist informed him that the results of the tumour biopsy indicated that it is a very treatable type but will require a different series of chemo that will specifically target the tumour cells, something they weren’t able to do last year. He starts the new series on Monday. More when we get back to Gosling next week.

Refit for 2009-2010 season

2009-12-01T07:59:00.000-08:00

Marina Singlar, Guaymas, MX, Sun, 29 Nov, 09
Day 5 of our refit period. It seems only weeks ago I was writing the same words in the marina Seca across the bay. It has been a very busy few days since our arrival on Wednesday. We have been trying to get some sense of order in Gosling but we don’t seem to have achieved much. We are working around our painter Francisco’s schedule and has been doing the prep work for the upper-deck paint job. Not being able to get some of the gear that we stowed below up on deck and out of the way adds to the sense of frustration but we have seen some of Francisco’s work in the yard and the wait will be worth it.
The last entry had us in Albany, Oregon, being chased down the coast by winter storms. We left Albany in bright sunshine and had a good drive to Sacramento. The news that night predicted that more storms were on the way and that the mountain passes in Oregon had received a 2-1/2 ft snowfall. We don’t know if that included any of the high passes along our route but we were glad to have avoided any of the winter weather. We left Sacramento the following morning to more threats of wind and rain and managed to get into Palm Springs unscathed except for frazzled nerves from driving in LA traffic for a few hours.
In Palm Springs we enjoyed the warm hospitality of very good friends who have welcomed us each time we passed through. We were able to relax, recharge batteries and load up on 2-Buck Chuck. How we were able to fit another 4 boxes in the van I have no idea but Rosie must have noticed her seat was getting smaller and smaller with each stop. We left on the Monday morning, intending on reaching Tucson that night and meet up with Gil and Lexi Ballatore (SV Sunday) who were there for a few days of shopping. On our way through Phoenix we bought the stainless tubing we will need for the railing aft where we plan on mounting the new solar panels. More weight on the car! This is where we noticed that the roof rack brackets had broken but everything up there was double tied and still secure.
We had a good evening with Gil and Lexi catching up on all the latest news and gossip. Before departing the next morning we had to make one last shopping stop at Walmart to get a turkey for the US Thanksgiving. We had received an e-mail while in Palm Springs inviting us to Thanksgiving dinner with Doug and Trish (Ka-Em-Te), Gil and Lexi and Bill and Janet (Optical Illusion) and asking us to bring the turkey. We’ll do anything for that kind of party!
Our next and biggest concern was whether we would make it through the border without a thorough search being made. A tidal wave of relief washed over us when we got the green light and were waved through. Welcome to Mexico! We arrived in San Carlos before nightfall and bunked in with Bill and Janet who were in a condo for the week while their boat was on the hard getting some last minute repairs, how convenient was that! We were also able to deliver the turkey where it would be consumed a few days later. Rosie got to play and make nice with their new kitten Amber.
The following morning we drove the last few miles to Guaymas and Gosling. There was evidence everywhere that Singlar has been a very busy location this season. We would like to think that we had contributed to that fact with all the recommendations we passed on at the end of the season.
Opening a boat after a six month absence is always done with a degree of anticipation. We had been assured that Gosling was dry after the hurricane but we found our bilges full with filthy water with a thick scum. That took the better part of the morning to clean up. So far we haven’t noticed any associated problems. Fran was also busy for the better part of the afternoon cleaning out cupboards where some of the water had seeped in. She also had to deal with mini-bugs that had permeated storage jars containing flour and a few spice jars. So far there has been no evidence of cucarachas that others have experienced this year. Maybe Fran’s Bay leaves have had their desired effect.
Plans for the benefit for Doug are in high gear. Several events have been organised to raise money for his chemo treatments and already donations have started coming in. There is even a website called www.payforward where donations can be made under “Friends of Doug”. Doug is actually looking quite well and is looking forward to restarting his treatments this week. Last year when he started them it was almost too late. We are hoping to get a big response from the local cruising community. An article on the benefit drive is being submitted to Latitude 36 for the next issue.
This weekend has been a very “LOUD” one where we are. For the past 2 nights it has been very hard to sleep. There have been 3 venues close by vying with each other to see who can be loudest. They must rest on Sundays because there is only the nightclub at the marina making noise tonight and the karaoke they are playing is God-awful!!
It now appears that the prep work on the boat will be completed by Thursday and painting will be done on the following 4 days so we will be occupying the condo (same one that Jan and Bill had) for the weekend. This will be handy as we will be attending the Christmas Bazaar and the benefit events for Doug that weekend in San Carlos and we’ll be spared the daily drive back and forth. This is where Fran will have her head shaved at high noon on the completion of the days raffle which will determine who will wield the clippers..
More next week. Adios.

Back to Gosling for 2009-2010

2009-11-18T22:33:00.000-08:00

16 Nov 2009, Vancouver
Greetings from a very rainy Vancouver where we are for a few days before starting our trip south back to Mexico for another cruising season.
This last month has been a blur of completing projects, getting the house ready for renters and satisfying the many items on our “to do and get” list that we are constantly updating from the day we arrive until we leave again. This has included the refinishing of all the deck sole panels that we brought home, rebuilding the galley counter, getting solar panels, paint for the upper deck area and too many upgrades and items to mention. The van is loaded down even more than last year but we have added another set of leaf springs to get the rear end up higher. Just hope the rest of the chassis survives the abuse.
Fran’s summer was very busy with a constant stream of chairs to be repaired. They were lined when we arrived and calls were still coming in a few days before we left. J-G was mostly busy around the house finishing off his workshop in the basement, refinishing the items we brought up with us and getting Antares (our 34 ft Peterson)ready for sale. She was sold in early July, the surveyor noting it to be a very good boat. J-G felt good about that, testimony to the work he put into her over the years we owned her but it was a sad day to see her being sailed out of the harbour by her new owners.
We are a bit later departing than we had hoped. In early October we learned that our daughter-in-law, Robyn has been stricken by cancer and for the past weeks the prognosis has been uncertain. We are here to help her get a few things in order so that she will be able to live the next few months of treatments without undue worry. Her mother has just arrived to be with her and the grand-kids during the ordeal.
Also, over the past few months we have learned from our very good friends Doug and Trish, on Ka-Em-Te that Doug’s cancer has returned and he is facing another six-month course of treatments. A number of their cruising friends have grouped together to raise funds to help them through this difficult period and we are looking forward to contributing to the effort. Fran has even volunteered to have her hair all cut off by the highest donor. It is a difficult time.....
18 Nov 09, Albany Oregon
We are finally on our way. The drive from Vancouver has been very good. The driving rain we had experienced in Vancouver let up just long enough for us to get this far south. There is promise of a large storm system moving into the Pacific Northwest tomorrow so we must get moving south to avoid it, particularly during our transit through the Oregon and California high country. By tomorrow night we should be close to Sacramento and basking in the Palm Springs sun by the weekend.
We received some great news on our arrival at the motel. Robyn’s oncologist reported that her cancer wasn’t as widespread as they has first assessed (mass on liver) and so the prognosis is much more positive. Obviously she is much relieved but she will still have to go through a painful and tedious treatment regime.
We are now expecting to make it back to Guaymas/San Carlos by the American Thanksgiving. Maybe someone will invite us for dinner....
Next blog will be after we get back to Guaymas.

Last post of the season

2009-05-19T12:06:00.000-07:00

7 May 2009; Slip 13, dock 12 Marina Real
We are about to leave for Guaymas where we will be hauled out tomorrow. The wind has picked up noticeably since this morning and thick fog is pouring over the hills from the direction of the Sea. It looks like we will be delayed for a few hours. Gosling has been here for 3 weeks and is looking quite different from when we arrived. Most of the sails have been removed as well as most of the lines. The genoa is still rigged just in case it might be needed on the way. We had another phenomenal sunset last night; see pic.
Our trip back home to tend to Fran’s mom was a fast and frustrating affair. Without going into details, she is recovered well and is now back home doing reasonably well on her own. Her hospital stay was longer than expected as she came down with the Norwalk virus (hospital induced) during her second week. We seemed to have dodged that virus and we are now hoping to stay clear of the Swine Flu which, so far, has not been found in this part of Mexico. On our way back to the boat we picked up Rosie from the kennel. She was in fine form but very tired from playing constantly with the other dogs in the kennel. She slept most of the following day. We have been surprised to see that she has gained self-confidence when dealing with other dogs.
It has been a very busy week since we returned from home. Putting Gosling to bed is much more work intensive than it was last year. Being in a stable environment, with a vehicle available to us, we have been able to get many of the chores that had built up over the past few months. After we haul out we will be rushed to complete all of the preparations to ensure that Gosling spends a comfortable summer on the hard. We have made electrical repairs, varnished the outer woodwork, emptied and refilled storage compartments, washed and scrubbed most of the lockers and bilges, washed and stored sails; the list goes on and on. One big chore at Singlar will be to wash all of the lines and store the genoa and dinghy.
We have also seen several other cruisers who have arrived back to store their boats for the Summer. Warren Peace, Optical Illusion and Indian Summer, among others, have returned and are already on the hard.
We paid a visit to Marina Seca Guaymes the other day and there seems to be fewer vessels there this year. Looks like the word is getting out that it isn’t such a bargain after all. Singlar has many more boats and they claim to have enough reservations to max out this year.
15 May 2009, Phoenix, AZ
We are on the road home, having left Guaymas yesterday morning. We have just dropped off Janet and Bill from Optical Illusion, at the airport and we are heading west towards Palm Springs.
The last week was a blur of activity. We arrived in Guaymas after a pleasant trip from San Carlos. The weather was ideal, light winds and the fish were biting. We caught 3 sierras on the way. 2 are in the pic above. After arriving at Singlar we spent the remainder of the day and the following morning removing and storing the genoa, removing the remainder of the lines and finally washing, dismantling and bagging the dinghy. We shifted to the haul-out basin by 1400 for our 1430 haul-out appointment. The staff at Singlar seemed to be apprehensive about hauling us out. We later learned that they had dropped a boat a few weeks before with our hull shape when a line parted. It took what seemed to be an eternity to get us raised in the travel-lift but all was done without incident and with the help of many volunteers from the boats at the slips and those on the boats in the yard. By 1600 Gosling was propped up and settled for her summer rest. (See pics above)
The remainder of the time was spent servicing thru-hulls and heads, washing all the lines , relocating a solar panel so it will trickle charge the batteries over the summer, deciding what was coming home with us, storing everything else away, cleaning out the fridge, disconnecting all the radios, varnishing the upper deck teak trim and oiling (teak oil) the toe rail, wrapping all shiny bits in old t-shirts to protect them from the sun, the list goes on and on. Finally the last day was upon us. Bedding was washed and stored for next season, through-hull valves were shut and the outlets were plugged with green scrub pads, all loose upper deck items were stored below, battery fluid levels checked, bug prevention measures were activated (cucaracha traps and lots of bay leaves). We have decided to do some major interior work that require bits to be taken home for work so the galley counter was dismantled and all of the main salon and v-berth floor panels were removed and put in the van. The final operation was to seal her up and lash the tarps down over the coach-house, remove the ladder and say goodbye to our friends in the yard. By the time we were finished it was past 20:00 and we were dead tired and looking forward to a few cervesas.
It has been a good season for us and Gosling. We have travelled almost 2000 miles have made many new friends and renewed old acquaintances and have gained another season of experience. Our long-term plans have changed. We plan to spend another year in Mexican waters, concentrating on the Sea of Cortez next year. In 2011 we are considering heading south to Central America, then visiting the Galapagos. Instead of continuing across the Pacific we are now planning a few seasons in the Carribean then onto Europe. This is all a pipe dream at the moment but, we now know we have the boat capable of doing it.
Look for the next adventure beginning in mid-November 2009. Thanks for reading my attempt at story-telling.

Gosling is flying north (temporarily)

2009-04-15T00:55:00.000-07:00

Installing the outboard.
22:30, 9 April 2009 –Halfway between Puerto Escondido and Guymas/San carlos
What a difference a few days make. We are heading towards Guaymas/San Carlos under power in a calm sea.
We learned a few days ago that Fran’s mom had an accident at home and is hospitalized. She has asked that Fran return home ASAP so we have cut our trip short and are heading back to our Mexican home-port. We were advised of her condition by our son Chris, over the ham e-mail service, WINLINK, while we were in Los Gatos and over the past few days the follow-up e-mails have made it clear that we have to go back. We arrived in Puerto Escondido yesterday and were able to communicate directly and make our travel arrangements. Luckily there is a lull in the weather in the middle of the Sea of Cortez and we have been able to make excellent time. If conditions persist we will be in San Carlos by early morning.
With all that has happened over the past few days our trip up from Isla San Francisco seems a distant memory. We departed on Monday morning with Warren Peace in 15-20 kt headwinds and made our way to Puerto Evaristo, 6 miles up the coast. We anchored in a small but protected bay, spent the night and departed the next morning for Los Gatos, another of our favourite destinations.
As we arrived we were please to see Manuel, our fisherman in the bay flitting from boat to boat. No sooner had anchored than he was alongside welcoming us to the bay and asking if we wanted any lobster. It has now been a tradition for us to get a few from him each time we visit this bay. He was overcome with emotion when we gave him a few items of clothing for diving. When Fran asked about his wife’s embroidered pillows he pulled out a plastic bag full of her work from under a thwart in his panga. The man comes prepared and Fran found one to her liking. It was a good day for Manuel. Apart from our purchases he managed to talk a few other boats into buying lobster.
We spent a very enjoyable day beachcombing and J-G went snorkelling in the crystal clear waters of the Bay. Bill and Sharon (Warren Peace) came over for supper that evening and were treated to a seafood smorgasbord with the lobster, scallops and conch that J-G found while diving and the last of the Dorado caught off Muertos the week before.
We had planned to proceed to Agua Verde from there but we received Chris’ news that night so we departed the following morning bypassed, Agua Verde, another superb anchorage and proceeded directly to Puerto Escondido where we took on fuel and water and called home for the latest developments. We had heard Optical Illusion on the VHF earlier that day and were pleased to meet them when we got in. We had hoped to buddy-boat with them a few days but had to be contented with only an evening with them at the restaurant at the Singlar Marina.
The Marina is almost fully operational. There have been many improvements over the past 2 years since we first visited this location in Royal Exchange. Most of the services are in but water is still not available to the docks and there are only 50 amp services. Dock space is very limited and we were quite lucky to get alongside for the night. All of the moorings for buoys in the anchorage have been reconditioned and there were more vessels in the buoy field than we had ever seen.
18:00, Easter Sunday, Marina San Carlos
We are sitting in the relative calm of the cabin, tucked alongside in the marina at San Carlos. The wind outside is howling, an accurate description. It has been blowing 20-30 kts most of the day and the noise it makes in the rigging is horrendous.
We arrived early Friday morning and were advised by our friends Doug and Trish on Ka-Em-Te to go directly to a berth they knew would be empty for the weekend. This is Easter weekend in Mexico and it is a very special holiday so the marina office is closed for the entire weekend. Fran brought the boat into the slip like a pro. She has been driving in and out of our berths for the entire trip and she seems to have mastered the technique.
It was nice to get back to familiar surroundings and friends we had last seen in December. Trish and Doug are doing very well, both working; Doug at plumbing for a local American contractor and Trish still baking for Barracuda Bob’s and working with a newly arrived marine electrician, hoping to add “marine” to her domestic electrician credentials. Gary and Julie (Seafire) are in Marina Real. We learned that they have a buyer for the boat and are busy getting ready for the turnover later this month.
We spent much of the weekend preparing the boat for our 10-day absence and starting on the long list of preparations to put the boat away for the summer. Doug and Trish made us an offer we couldn’t refuse on Saturday. We accompanied them for a relaxing day to a beachfront condo they have access to. It was an eye-opener to see how the Mexicans celebrate this holiday. The normally deserted beach was packed with people and tents. Everyone over the age of 15 seemed to have a cervesa in hand. There is litter everywhere.
00:30 Wednesday, 15 April 2009 The waiting room at the Phoenix Airport
We are doing an all-nighter at the airport waiting for our 06:15 departure. Tomorrow will be a long day.
Over the past few days we have moved the boat to Marina Real where the monthly slip rate was more affordable, found a kennel for Rosie and today we drove to Phoenix. Hopefully all will sort itself out in the next 10 days and we will be able to get back to put Gosling away for the season. We have made reservations to haul out on the 7th of may so we will have lots of time to get her prepped and, hopefully we can tackle some of the tasks we were going to put off until November. If we can do that we will be able to splash earlier and get away.
This will be the last blog until we get back.
Thanks for tuning in and reading my ramblings.

The Southern Crossing back to La Paz

2009-03-31T22:29:00.000-07:00

07:00 Friday, 27 March 2009,
We are 20 hours out of Isla Isabella on our way to La Paz. The wind has been from the NW, and as usual, the direction we are headed. When we left the seas were calm with a slight swell from the west and a 2-3 kt breeze that built up most of the day, peaking at 15-18 in mid-afternoon. We were able to get some sailing in but the odd swell pattern from 2 directions made progress really slow and 60 degrees off our planned course. By nightfall we were back under power as the wind died off. The wind has backed to the SW and if it builds we should be able to sail some more today with decent progress towards La Paz. The weather gurus have predicted very light conditions for the next few days. Our aim is to get to La Paz for the start of the Seafest on the 1st.
We stayed 3 days in Mantanchen Bay, lazing about and enjoying the ambience. The boats in the anchorage proved to be quite friendly and we did quite a few things together. One evening J-G organised a dinghy raft-up for cocktails and nibbles. That went off very well, as did Fran’s sushi rolls which have become quite popular and are being requested for such events now. We spent a few afternoons at Ishmael’s palapa , on the beach. Ishmael graciously allows us to bring our dinghies ashore adjacent to his establishment and looks after them for us while we are away. We also made an excursion into town and did the mangrove/river cruise.
The river cruise is a 4-hour expedition by panga and is well worth the $10 fee. We were 8 in a large panga powered by a quiet 50hp Honda outboard. The Mexican skipper had been doing this for years and he guided the boat skilfully along the narrow waterway, stopping at any interesting fauna and flora along the way. Fran took lots of pictures of birds and the occasional crocodile and turtle. We also stopped at a crocodile hatchery and got our fill of the reptiles in all stages of maturity and lengths. The breeding pairs were 10-12 feet long and ugly as sin. There was also a stop at a spring fed pool, fenced off of course, where we could take a dip. Few of the group took advantage of this after seeing the croc farm.
The unofficial “Cruising Mayor” of San Blas mentioned in Charlie’s charts and a resident of San Blas for the past 40 years, Norm Goldie, is still helping the cruisers with anything he can but now he is asking for a “gratuity” of $20 to guide cruisers into the estuary and to the marina. His description of the waterway and the shallows is quite scary. His claims that you will go aground unless he assists you are a bit hard to take but cruisers will do what they feel comfortable with. Eventually someone will provide the waypoints.
We left Mantachen Bay on Wednesday, in company with 5 other boats, all headed for Mazatlan, Juniata and Dash opting to stop at Isla Isabella on the way, the remainder continued on. We arrived at the Eastern anchorage at Isla Isabella in late afternoon yesterday. We are the only boat headed directly to La Paz from here. We spent a quiet night and Rosie got to bark at another dog on a boat nearby. It has been quite a challenge to get her to bark when other boats, especially dinghies, get near. Hopefully she will develop into a good “alert” dog. Once she does start barking, however, it is a problem to get her to stop. We might have created a monster.
The water was crystal clear and J-G took the opportunity to clean the bottom using the hookah. Having been here twice in Royal Exchange we had no desire to go ashore so we finished our tasks and sailed off by 11AM powering into a calm, windless Pacific with a low swell from the SW that lasted for the entire day and most of the night. By the next morning we had the start of a NW breeze, unpredicted by any of the forecasts. It continued to build until we had 15-18 kts on the nose with 4-5 ft seas. We had no option but to power into it. By the following day it had backed to the west and we were able to sail towards the NW. The next morning it was down to 12-14 kts and back to the NW.
We have adapted easily to being at sea, out of sight of land and night watches and but this is the first time this trip where we have sailed overnight without a moon. There is a certain comfort about a source of natural light when sailing. The radar certainly helps in those conditions.
Our fuel is getting low so we decided to continue under sail but altered to the west and into Los Muertos for the night. The plans is to use the remainder of our fuel reserves to get us around the headland and through San Lorenzo channel, hoping to catch the westerly’s for the remainder of the trip down to La Paz.
We are back in fish again with a 15 lb Dorado caught while we were under sail. He was quite a challenge to bring in as we couldn’t slow down and reverse course like we normally do under motor. It is nice to be back in Dorado waters.
Sunday, 29 March, 2009
We arrived at Los Muertos in late yesterday afternoon, and had a nice relaxing night. The temperature has dropped quite a bit so sleeping is comfortable. There were quite a few boats in the anchorage including Relax, who we had last seen at Las Hadas. The bay here is changing. The old Giggling Marlin has been bought out by a couple of ex-NFL players and the foreshore of the point is being developed. Several large new houses and the start of a resort/condo development are visible.
This morning we headed out just after sunrise into a calm sea. It has been a really good day to make the transit to La Paz. He wind has been very light and variable all day and has changed direction on us all the way up the coast and back down to La Paz. We have been able to sail for a good portion of the day so fuel is no longer a concern. We had asked Vicky on Inspiration at Sea to make reservations for us so our arrival and slip assignment was quite simple. We have 4 days credit from our last stay here in January.
The marina has changed hands since we were here last so there have been changes. The credit system has been eliminated and prices are going up. Good thing we leaving.
Most of the boats we were looking fwd to reconnect with at this marina are away. We have missed Freedom Kirkland. He crossed over to Mazatlan a few days ago. We had been trying to call him but had no luck. Both Inspiration at Sea and Precious Metal are out in the Islands. But Pam had to come in yesterday to pick up a friend and restock, so we got to see her. Red Pepper is tied up and it appears that Ken and Pat are away and Polar Bear is all sealed up for the season while he is progressing work on his “Glide Cycle”. Tanque de Tiburon has arrived in San Carlos and they should be on their way home by now. Everyone else we know is either anchored out or in one of the other marinas in the bay. With Bayfest starting this week we should get lots of opportunities to meet some of our new acquaintances.

Banderas Bay to San Blas; late post

2009-03-29T12:07:00.000-07:00

Sunday, 22 March 2009
We are at anchor in Mantanchen Bay, near San Blas after a 2-day passage from Bandaeras Bay. We may go up the estuary to San Blas in the next day or so but for now we are enjoying flat calm conditions with a slight south-westerly swell. There are 7 other boats here including 3 other Blue water cruising boats from Canada, Wattea and Naida who we have both met in La Cruz and Sea Lise who arrived the following day. The latter is on its way home after a 10 year odyssey that has included much of Europe and the Atlantic as far south as the Cape Verde Islands.
It has been a busy week. We arrived in the marina at La Cruz on Sunday the 15th. This facility is new and has yet to reach its full potential. Less than half of the 349, fully serviced slips were occupied so the management was offering a half-price special for members of the Puddle Jumpers group of which we have been members for the past few years. So for less than $20 (US) per night we had the run of the marina and were able to get the boat cleaned up with the abundant fresh water. We had been putting off cleaning the stainless for a while so it was starting to get messy. Within the first day we got an offer we couldn't refuse when a local wharf worker offered to do it for $85. It was well worth it as he worked the entire day and did a wonderful job.
The rest of our time was filled with replenishing supplies, getting laundry done; visiting friends we had met along the way and meeting new ones. Lin (Royal Exchange) kindly offered to drive us to the new Mega super store so we were able to fully replenish the larder in preparation for the next part of the trip. We were also finally able to reconnect on e-mail with the WIFI service offered by the marina and attended a talk on sailing in Central America and Ecuador. Being alongside also gave us the opportunity to explore La Cruz. It has changed much with the opening of the marina and new restaurants and services are a part of the new landscape.
This week was also the start of the Banderas Bay regatta. Bob, on Pantera, invited J-G to participate as crew on his supersonic catamaran but his invite came too late as we already had other commitments. J-G would have really enjoyed sailing in a boat that has topped 28 kts on several occasions. We have just heard from Bob. He finished 4th and is on his way to Mazatlan. He just bypassed San Blas doing 10 kts in a 6-8 kt breeze.
Our friends, Marg and Bruce Walton arrived in Wednesday from Rincon de Guayabedes where they spend their winters away from Victoria. We departed the following morning and sailed into some uncomfortable moments when the afternoon breeze increased to 25 kts. We experienced some difficulty reefing the main and Genoa but after some interesting manoeuvres we sailed into the anchorage at Punta Mita for the night. The next morning was flat calm with light airs so we had to motor the rest of the way to Rincon to deliver our guests and resume our way up the coast. We stayed the night in the lee of an island in the bay and continued the next morning to Mantanchen bay where we are now. We actually had an excellent day of sailing up the coast in a 10-12 kt breeze from the west.
Sorry for the late post. More tomorrow if we can connect to WIFI.

Visitors from Canada

2009-03-11T08:00:00.001-07:00

Sunday, 8 March 2009, Tenecatita
We have been anchored in this lovely bay for the past 3 days amongst a great bunch of cruisers. Surprisingly, of the 27 boats here a good portion of them are catamarans and several are boats we have met before so it has been a lot of fun renewing friendships and participating in some of the organised events such as beach games and the Friday evening dinghy raft-up dinner, more on that later.
After departing Cuestacomate last Monday we went back around the headland to the south and anchored in Melaque Bay. Waiting on the beach were Bert and Vickie Blattman and Vickie’s sister, Barbara and husband Murray. We sorted ourselves out and joined them ashore for lunch, dragging our dirty laundry with us, to a laundromat. We had heard about a beachfront bar that was catering to the land and sea cruisers with 7 peso beer and cheap food. What more could a cruiser ask for? This establishment was also planning a party for all of the Canadian land cruisers who were beginning to depart the trailer park adjacent to the beach.
We had planned to take our Canadian friends for a day-sail on the Tuesday but a problem with the dinghy outboard caused us to delay for a day. The first 2 days were spent exploring Melaque, repairing the outboard and cleaning up the boat. Early Wednesday morning (0830 is early for us) we ferried Bert, Vickie and company to the boat and departed into calm seas and light airs. With these conditions we decided to forego the sailing and motored over to Cuestacomate for lunch and snorkelling. We left there in early afternoon but wind conditions hadn’t improved much but we were able to fill the sails and provide our guests a semblance of sailing for a few hours. We arrived back to the Melaque anchorage by mid-afternoon, in time to attend the party at the beachside restaurant.
What a blast! The large crowd was made up of mostly older land cruisers with a few of us “younger” boaters mixed in. 7 peso beer was flowing freely (lemonade was 15 pesos by comparison) and the entertainment was continuous. The highlight of the evening was a female impersonation act with 4 of the best looking guys we have ever seen. The last portion of the act blew everyone away when the best looking impersonator reverted back to his male identity onstage, an amazing transformation to observe. We all felt a bit like voyeurs. (See pictures above before and after pics)
By Thursday we were ready to move on. We bid farewell to Bert, Vicky, Barbara and Murray and resumed our trek north. Before departing the bay we went back to Barra to fill our water tanks at the Grand Bay marina fuel dock. We were amazed to see a very large cruiser “Attasea”, complete with helicopter, alongside at Grand Bay. It was another windless morning with calm seas so we motored up the coast to Tenecatita. As we rounded the headland we saw several fishing boats near the reef so we tried our luck and were rewarded with a nice Mexican Bonito, the highly prized version of the species. We continued into the bay towards La Manzanilla and anchored off the town for a quick run into town to replenish veggies and fruit and pick up a jug of drinking water. Lately we haven’t been powering long enough to make sufficient drinking water onboard to meet our needs. Our water-maker only produces 1.5 gals per hour.
We arrived at the anchorage area at Tenecatita by early afternoon. The cruisers here are very organised. Archie on Sea-tacean has been acclaimed as the mayor of the bay and he and Barbara (who makes very unique bead jewellery) organised several events, including the Friday night raft-up. This is essentially an assembly of all the dinghies that tie up to each other (the first one at anchor) and each brings a main dish or dessert, their dishes and cutlery, boat cards and any books they want to get rid of or exchange. Plates of food are passed from boat to boat around the circle and each serves themselves. Big plates or fast eating is of essence. Fran’s bonito sushi was a real hit.
The atmosphere here is lazy and relaxed. Each afternoon at 1 several of the girls jump in and have a leisurely swim ashore then a walk down the beach before repairing to a beachside palapa restaurant for board games. The guys dinghy or kayak in, John (Paloma) brings volleyball gear and a few hardy souls brave the hot sand for a few hours between beer runs to the palapa. Snorkelling and fishing are popular pastimes in the mornings before the sea breeze fills in (about 10-11am) while others dive on their boats to scrub the bottoms clean. One feature of the bay is the tunnel through the mangrove swamp to the beach at the beachside community on the western side of the bay. This unique waterway is narrow and affords the explorers a rare view of the wildlife therein which include small crocodiles. Evenings are often spent visiting other boats or hosting a few couples aboard. Fran has also had several people aboard to teach them how to make sushi. This included Erin, the youngest of the girls on Don Quixote.

1 March 2009, Cuestacomate

2009-03-06T08:35:00.001-08:00

We have been at anchor in Cuestacomate bay since yesterday afternoon after motoring from Barra .
We departed Santiago bright and early last Monday morning to take advantage of the morning calm before the onshore breeze set in. We motored most of the way on glass smooth seas and into the distant mist that had been characteristic of the past few days. We arrived in Barra de Navidad just after midday and went directly to the fuel dock to replenish both fuel and domestic water, rinse off the uppers and have a shower in the cruisers facilities at the head of the dock. By early afternoon we were inching
our way up the channel under the guidance of sounder and the way-points that we had used last time we were here. We anchored amongst 25 or so other cruising sailboats and one large ex-US pilot vessel, Kolea, now a cruising boat, owned by, Serge, a French Canadian who used to own a life raft repair and inspection facility in Montreal.
Barra de Navidad is one of those places that attract cruisers and hold on to them, much like La Paz. One boat, Star Dancer, had been there since mid-December and David and Mary-Ann had no plans to leave anytime soon. The anchorage does have its advantages. It is a nice quiet and sheltered anchorage, surrounded by mangroves to the east, scrub land to the north, the waterway to the town of Barra to the west and the Grand Bay's golf course to the south. It is a 10-15 minute dinghy ride to the town
of Barra and less if you are going to Colimilla a small village between the golf course and the resort hotel where supplies can be obtained from Maria's well stoked (from Costco, PV) tienda. She also has the corner on propane and water delivery in the lagoon and can deliver your order for an extra fee. Then there is always the French Baker who faithfully makes his rounds daily by panga with his baguettes, croissants, quiches and exorbitant prices. Internet service can be obtained for a fee from
a shore based cruiser who donates all the proceeds to the Colimilla School where 6 grades are taught in the same classroom. There are not many negatives but our main one is the time it takes to wash off the fine muck off the anchor chain when weighing, a minor inconvenience. Also, the water in the lagoon is very silty and unfit to swim in or make water.
Many of our friends from Zihuat have made it into the lagoon and we have met a number of new boats and renewed our acquaintance with some from 2 years ago. Blue Water boats, Airborne and Neuromancer were there, the latter getting ready for a trans-Pacific voyage. Other Canadian boats included, Pacific Jade, Tica and Panterra, a beautiful and fast catamaran, built and being single-handed by Bob. He is on his way to the Banderas Bay regatta where he hopes to improve his record of always finishing second
in his class.
We spent a lazy 5 days there taking in some of the Mardi Gras celebrations that last all week long. We saw the parade (short but lots of fun) and attended one of the evening presentations of dancing and music in the town square. The acts were surprisingly very professional. The market day was also lots of fun. I find it amazing that even under NAFTA one can buy bootlegged music and DVDs anywhere in Mexico. We now have copies of Australia and Valkyrie in decent quality, both for under $5.
Fran was able to get her hair tinted at the same location as 2 years ago and she convinced J-G that he wanted a pedicure, his first. He'll have another next season.
By Saturday we were ready to leave. We had made a point to include Cuestacomate in our cruising plans. This beautiful, secluded bay a few hours from Barra, is not mentioned in any of the cruising guides and rarely gets any cruiser visitors. The beautiful beach is almost empty during the week but many local Mexican families make it their Sunday destination. We were last here in Royal Exchange 2 years ago and Fran was eager to return to the palapa restaurant on the beach where she claims is the best
seafood cocktail in Mexico. We went ashore this afternoon and Fran is now in heaven. Even J-G agrees with Fran's claim about the seafood cocktail. This will definitely be a regular stop for us. We also met a few Canadians; one couple from Saskatchewan, holidaying in a very nice beachside rental and a couple from Vernon who we had met briefly 2 years ago and who have their own place and have lived here during winters for the past 5 years.
Yesterday J-G dismantled the outboard to find out why the cooling water wasn't streaming out as it is supposed to be. After a frustrating afternoon of experimentation in taking the leg apart he found a badly worn impeller. He re-assembled it with only one screw missing which he made up from our hardware store and apart from a minor adjustment for the shifter it appears to be working much better. We'll have to be careful with it until we can get another impeller in PV in a week or so.
Tomorrow we leave for Melaque where we will meet friends from Victoria before heading up the coast back to Tenecatita.

Back to Las hadas and Santiago Bay.

2009-02-26T12:41:00.000-08:00

Sunday, 22 Feb 2009: 1400
We are at anchor in Santiago Bay, an open anchorage in a wide bay, on the west side of Manzanillo Bay. We are protected from the predominant SW swell but some of it makes its way around the point to give a slight. The land and sea breezes are quite refreshing and the lull between the two, between 9 and noon is an ideal time to go snorkelling.
After arriving at the anchorage of Las Hadas we settled down to a few days of projects and relaxation. J-G had been wanting to use the gas powered hookah system that we got with the boat but had never had time to try out. After 3 months in this warm water is time to do a bottom cleaning and the hookah is be an ideal tool. We have no idea when it was last used and, naturally, it would not start. It took J-G 2 days of fiddling with but finally, after soaking and cleaning the carburetor, he managed to get it going and it now runs like a top. Another project that was accomplished was the soldering of the ground plane copper straps that he had run last week. Hopefully that will improve our SSB/HF capability.
We also had to get some fuel aboard. Las Hadas has a fuel dock but all boats are required to med-moor into the dock. That decided us to get our fuel by dinghy using portable jerry cans. Las Hadas doesn’t charge a docking fee like most other locations in Mexico but their fuel prices have been adjusted to make up the difference, therefore, everyone pays the premium price whether you go alongside or not. At 8.6 pesos / li it was the most expensive to date. Thankfully, they didn’t charge for the numerous dinghy landings or for fresh water that J-G picked by jerry up every chance he got to supplement our fresh water supply.
We also took the time to explore Manzanillo. It certainly has changed since J-G was there in 1984 with Oriole. We also did a major grocery run here at the Sorianna store, one of 3 major food outlets close by.
While there we met quite a few boats, including, Rio Nimkish (Tom and Shirley) who we had met at the Blue Water Cruising rendezvous in August 2008. We also met Bob and Gisele Coffey from Victoria in a boat called Relax. We have also heard Curare, another Blue water boat that we had met last year in Guaymas, on the net and are looking forward to meeting Geoff and Linda when we get to Santiago Bay.
We left Las Hadas and sailed across the bay to Santiago on the 20th. We have been here for the past 2 days enjoying the crystal clear water and the beautiful beach. The beach seems to be used mainly by the local holidaying population living in the many houses lining the beach. It is rare and refreshing to see a lack of resort development on such a choice location. There are only 2 small hotels that we can see.
The anchorage is a popular one for cruisers. Snorkelling locations are hard to find along the coast at this time of year due to the swell and poor visibility caused by turbulence and plankton and we have seen an increase in plankton in the bay since we arrived. There is a wreck of an old freighter in about 30-40 ft that provides a great snorkelling site and the shore has interesting reefs. J-G spent a few hours trying out the hooka today and did a thorough cleaning of the hull. It was time. The algae growth was getting thick but the barnacles were quite small and easy to remove. Scrubbing with the pad removed quite a bit of the finish that was put on in San Diego last January so a new coat of bottom paint will be required next fall.
We expect to leave tomorrow or Tuesday for Barra de Navidad.

Back to Las Hadas

2009-02-15T19:14:00.000-08:00

Thursday, 12 Feb
We have just arrived at Maruata Bay, a remote anchorage about 90 miles south of Manzanillo after having done 36 miles against steadily increasing headwinds. By the time we arrived they were blowing 20-22 kts . Mannasea (Phil), a small catamaran with engine problems, is a few miles behind us and is beating against this wind, hoping to get into the bay by nightfall. It will be a hard slog for him.
After leaving Zihuatanejo, on Monday, we motored up the coast and anchored off Isla Grande, just offshore from the large resorts of Ixtapa. The island serves as a beach playground for the resorts with pangas delivering tourists in the morning and taking them back to the resorts in the late afternoon. By 5PM the place is deserted. The well renowned snorkelling coves on the south side of the island were inaccessible due to high surf conditions so we had to be content with a late afternoon stroll on the beach with Rosie. Tuesday night we decided to leave for Caleta de Campos with Kalalau , a boat from Port Townsend owned by one of the skippers of the Adventuress, the American tall ship in the pacific northwest. George and Kathleen will be heading off to the Marquesas in a few weeks so they are rushing back to PV to join this year’s group.
We departed at midnight, aiming to reach Caleta de Campos, a 67 mile run, before the afternoon winds developed. It was a very pleasant night with light winds and a full moon as we motor-sailed north. At 4 a.m. on Fran’s watch, as we approached the busy port of Lorenzo Cardenas, a darkened, very fast vessel passed down our starboard side and took station a mile away on our port quarter for 30 minutes. We had been advised by other boats that the Mexican navy was doing drug interdiction patrols in the area and we presume that was one of the patrols. Had we been a lone boat we might have been boarded but by maintaining a continuous dialogue between Kalalau and ourselves probably helped our lot.
We arrived in Caleta de Campos without further incident by early afternoon. As predicted, the wind had shifted from a land to sea breeze by noon so the last 2 hours were a slog into headwinds of 18-20 kts. Caleta de Campos has wonderful beaches but there was hardly anyone enjoying them. We were able to make a landing in the surf and had a nice afternoon walking Rosie and enjoying a cervesa in one of the many wall to wall palapa establishments covering a good portion of the beach adjacent to the village. The different table coverings are the only indication of where one starts and the other ends. If you like beer and fish dishes, this is for you. Much to Fran’s disappointment there were no Margaritas available but the guacamole was the best we have had so far. But in reality, these establishments are just an extension of a family’s home and they eke out a small living by feeding tourists when they can. Menus are basic and based on supplies that are easily available: seafood, beer and pop.
We left there the following morning after Rosie had done her business and after recovering the outboard off the dinghy. We have been towing the inflatable for the past few days instead of lifting it to the foredeck. Much of the morning was flat calm but by noon the sea breeze started to develop and it increased steadily until we arrived in here Maruata Bay. Phil arrived just after nightfall, very tired and thankful for our directions into the anchorage. Without radar and before moonrise it is very difficult to make out shore features after dark.
0530, 14 February, Happy St Valentines
Cruising north in light aires and calm seas. This can’t last...
We are on our way to Manzanillo after a 2200 departure. We were counting on the sea breeze to die down after sunset but it persisted until about 0200 with headwinds from 15-22 kts. It was not a pleasant ride for the first few hours but the wind has let up and the seas have calmed somewhat allowing us to make good headway. We hope to arrive in Manzanillo before the sea breeze re-establishes itself but that may be wishful thinking.
We spent the day relaxing and helping Phil sort out his engine problems. We were able to make some band-aid repairs to his engine, sufficient to get him to Manzanillo where he can get a permanent solution. Lucky for us he had an extra 15 gallons of diesel onboard. J-G miscalculated our fuel reserves for the return trip and we were contemplating hiking to the nearest Pemex station but thanks to Phil that won’t be necessary. Have to add spare diesel jerry cans to the shopping list for next season...
Maruata bay is very typical of the coves along this coast. It is a lovely sandy cove protected from Northerly winds but the SW swell refracts around the point giving us a gentle rocking motion. Landing on beaches like this can be an exhilarating experience. You start by choosing a landing spot and timing the swell pattern and then rushing in to the beach, jumping out and hauling the dinghy out of the surf line. We don’t want to repeat the dunking we experienced a few years ago in Tenecatita with Royal Exchange’s dinghy. This time we had Phil with us so the landing and departure were textbook. There is always that moment of apprehension when the outboard doesn’t start back up on the first pull but we had observed the swell pattern well and had a good calm period between sets of breakers. We had a pleasant few hours on the near deserted beach and had lunch in one of the few open palapa restaurants on the beach.
With another 80 miles to go to Manzanillo we decided to leave by 2200 to take advantage of the land breeze during the night and the calms that seem to develop from early morning to early afternoon. As luck (or bad luck) would have it we encountered 3-4 ft seas and 12-15 kt headwinds for the first 3 hours before it began to lighten up.
1800, 14 Feb 2009, anchored off Las Hadas
We arrived back at anchor off Las Hadas by 1400. The light winds didn’t last and by early afternoon the sea breeze developed again but by then we were entering Manzanillo Bay and we were finally able to have a good sail into the bay. By A few hours later Mannasea arrived. The engine repairs he had done lasted the trip but the rough seas were not kind to him.
We will be here for a few days before heading north towards Barra de Navidad and meeting friends in Maleque at the end of the month.

Zihuatanejo Sail Fest

2009-02-08T21:06:00.000-08:00

The Sail Fest has been a blast and the event has raised more this year than ever before, close to $65,000. This is surprising when you note that there are fewer attendees, both ashore and afloat this year, undoubtedly because of the recession. The shore year round resident gringo community has done the lion’s share of the organising and this has been supplemented by the winter gringos and the visiting cruisers. The latter have waded in with as much support as possible, helping out wherever help is needed and in particular, all of the events centred around boats.
The first major event was a fun race organised by Pam on Precious Metal. With her experience in running the Vic-Maui Race for the past few years it was a cinch for her to set up a race for a bunch of cruising boats, nevertheless, we were divided in 2 groups; fast and slow..... Surprisingly, the favourite boat came in second overall, much to the chagrin of the skipper-owner but to the glee of the remainder of the fleet. It seemed to mute the arrogance he had been displaying up to that point. Gosling fared quite well and came in 2nd out of 4 boats; beat out by a small catamaran but edging out the closest boat by 2.3 seconds after a 4 hour Driftsure style race. With only the 2 of us on board it was a real challenge. This was also our first experience sailing Gosling upwind and we were quite amazed at getting 1.6 – 2 kts of speed in light airs of 3-6 kts. Thanks to the light conditions J-G was able to try every combination of sails onboard. Other boats got a kick out of watching him scurry fore and aft trying to coax the wind to fill the sails. All in all it was a fun day.
Later that evening we attended a concert of local talent ranging from Mariachi musicians to Blues and Rock performances. One was a Louisiana native called Mamou who was reputed to have played with Jimi Hendrix and Chuck Berry and others before retiring to Zihuatanejo where he is a regular on the bar circuit. We were really impressed by the quality of the performances. Each year musicians contribute to a CD that is professionally produced. As part of our registration package we received last year’s CD as part of our entrance package and it is very good.
The following day was the Sail Parade. This event was more of a “get the locals out on the boats” event, where anyone ashore bought tickets to go for a day’s sailing. We had signed up to take 3 but by 10 AM, start time, they hadn’t shown up.
Other events included a poker dinghy race where participants had to solve a riddle to determine which boats to go to collect a playing card. Once 5 were collected participants met ashore to play out their hands. SV Panchita arrived on Tuesday with a large bucket full of rubber duckies that they use for fundraising events. People “rent” a duck and all rented ducks are dropped beyond the surf line. The first duck to make it ashore wins half the pot for its sponsor. The final event tonight was a BBQ sponsored by one of the local bars.
We have met a lot of very interesting people here in Zihuat. There are 2 other Canadian boats, Precious Metal with Ivy and Pam and Optical Illusion with Janet and Bill. Pam and Ivy are from Port Hardy where they have just sold the local marina. Optical Illusion is another Bluewater boat. We met Bill and Janet at the Bluewater Rendezvous at Montague harbour last summer. We learnt that they also have a summer place on Saturna Island and have attended several 1st of July lamb BBQs when we were there helping out. It is a really small world when you meet a local Gringo who used to be a nurse at Stadacona when we were first posted to Halifax. Julia was blown away when J-G mentioned names of fellow Naval Officers who had gone through Stad in the 1970’s. She also worked for Alan Porter, one of our fellow club members from CFSA. She had also lived on Saturna Island for several years. Another astonishing fact is that she had also played basketball with Fran while J-G was on the CCO course in 1979.
J-G also met his clone. A remarkable resemblance between the two was noted the night of the concert. Pictures will follow. He is from Brentwood bay. Go figure!
One item we omitted to mention in our last blog entry was that we were at anchor when Zihuatanejo was the epicentre of a 5.2 earthquake last week.... We slept through but some boaters actually felt it.
Each morning we have the morning net where the local cruising community share information. Morning nets here have been a real treat with one of the 3 young girls on SV Don Quixote running the net each day. As Fran puts it, it is her early dose of sunshine every day.
We have also seen the dark side of Mexico while here. We found out after the sail parade that the people who had been designated to be on our boat had been mugged the night before and had decided to fly back home immediately. The following day we learnt the one of the boats in the anchorage was the victim of an extortion attempt. Their kayak had been “found” washed ashore and some locals wanted a ransom for it. This caused quite a stir among the boaters but, thankfully, cooler heads prevailed and it was diplomatically handled through the Port Captain.
We will depart tomorrow morning for our trip back north. We will try to stop into every noted anchorage along the way. Looks like we will meet many of the same boats on our way as most will be heading in the same direction. A few are headed south to Central America and beyond. One boat, Kalalau, from Port Townsend will be heading for the South Pacific.
Unfortunately the bandwidth on the WIFI service here is insufficient to send photos so we will add them to this issue when we arrive in Manzanillo, sometime in the next few weeks.
PS: If any of you subscribe to Sirius Radio and listen to the Cousin Brucie show, listen out for our e-mailed requests that we send occasionally.

Zihuatanejo for the Sailfest

2009-02-01T18:52:00.000-08:00

20:00, Thursday, 29 January 2009
Another night at sea, our second since departing Santiago Bay,(Las Hadas). It is a warm, calm and windless night with a new crescent moon under a bright Jupiter, setting in the western sky. The water is considerably warmer here and the phosphorescence is superb. We have just observed a pod of dolphins playing in our bow wave, their wakes illuminated by the bright green trail they leave as they swim by. We have just dipped below 17 degrees N and only have 65 miles to go.
We departed Las Hadas yesterday afternoon and have been powering all the way because of the light headwinds we have encountered. In order to arrive at Zihuatanejo in daylight we dipped into a nice little anchorage at Caleto de Campos for the afternoon. We weren’t able to get ashore but this will be one of our stops on the way back. We departed again just before sunset in company with Acapella.
As we had expected it is getting warmer and warmer as we head further south. We thank our lucky stars that we chose a boat with a covered cockpit where we can take shelter from the sun. Even a light breeze is refreshing and we hope that there will be some breeze in the anchorage at Zihuat. We have been wearing less and less as we travel south and when modesty dictates we usually resort to Polynesian style wraps. J-G got used to them while serving in Kuwait. Our 2 sun-showers are serving us well but we don’t leave them out in the sun anymore. We prefer them cool. The sea water is nice and warm but still refreshing and we are taking dips off the boat regularly when at anchor. Rosie takes shelter in the aft cabin and is turning into quite the pit queen. We will have to get her ashore more often from now on, however, we have been warned not to take her to the boat docks in Ixtapa where crocodiles have been known to snatch the odd unsuspecting dog or cat right off the docks.
Sunday, 1 Feb 09
Day 3, in Zihuatanejo. It is 19:30 and we are rocking in a gentle swell amid a fleet of some 25 boats in the anchorage off the town. It is 85 F in the salon and relative humidity is 57%. It has actually cooled down a bit and we are waiting for the evening breeze to settle in. We are listening to a band playing on shore not too far from where we are. We seem to be one of a very few boats to have anyone aboard. Most of the cruisers are crowded into the Sunset Bar watching the Super bowl. We just came back from a walk ashore with Rosie and passed by the cheering (and booing) throngs. Fran is cooking up some fish that we bought at the fish market on the beach this morning. We have no idea what it is but we know it isn’t tuna, marlin or dorado. Rosie is tuckered out and sleeping in the cockpit after a long walk along the beach.
It has been a lazy few days. The heat during the day is oppressive but we are comfortable under the shade of the dodger and the sea breeze is wonderful. J-G started sanding the woodwork but had to wait till sundown to apply the finish coat of varnish. He has several other jobs to do over the next week or so. The wind-vane repairs will have to wait until we get the parts. We have managed to get friends in San Diego to get the parts and Gil and Lexie (SV Sunday) just so happen to be going back to San Diego next week from San Carlos. If all goes as planned we will get the parts in the next month or so when we meet up with Sunday as she sails south.
Tomorrow we have the first meeting about the Sail-Fest and we will find out how we can participate. Although we had signed up online it seems that the information was not passed on to the local organizers. There are many gringos, Canadian and American, in town are involved in this event. They are mainly shore-based residents and visitors who come here every year. The cruisers assist where they can but mainly the water-based events. The boat will be a lot lighter after we land all the clothes and school supplies Fran brought from Canada. The highlight of the week will be on Thursday when boats take guests onboard for a day sail to Isla Grande. With our small cockpit and the number of life vests, we have asked for just 2 persons. It should be a fun day on the water.
We are getting used to this lifestyle.....

Barra - Santiago bay

2009-01-28T09:02:00.000-08:00

Wednesday, 28th of Jan
We have been anchored off the Las Hadas resort for the past few days. Since the last entry we have been relaxing in sheltered anchorages and enjoying our surroundings. Here we have found a spot where we have free WIFI access so I can finally update the blog for the past week.
We departed Tenecatita the following morning and arrived at the entrance to Barra by early afternoon. Although I had the waypoints for the channel leading in to the lagoon we called ahead and were met by Shoot the Moon who guided us in his dinghy. The waypoints proved to be very accurate even though they had been charted 4 years ago.
Inside the lagoon there were approx 30 boats and we were the only Canadian boat for a few days until we were joined by a boat from Vancouver called called Mary Powell. We were in a good company of cruisers who maintained an enjoyable morning net that covered Santiago bay to Tenecatita. Barra hasn’t changed much in the past 2 years since we visited in Royal Exchange. The sands Hotel still caters to the cruiser crowd and it still appears to be run down but the bars are lively and it has free WIFI service. Who could ask for more? The laundry we used then is still operating and a still good deal, the little girl we photographed in 2007 is 2 years older now but still accompanies her mother to the same souvenir shop and the French Baker who delivers to the boats in the lagoon still has outlandish prices on his products but still finds customers among the boats in the lagoon and marina..
While there, the centre of activity was the Grand Bay Marina which hosted a 3-day fishing tournament. Our curiosity kept us there an extra day to see the final weigh –in. The winning fish was a 93.3 kg marlin. But the fish was only part of the attraction. 10 peso beer and the Tecate girls (Tecate was the principle sponsor for the tourney) and it being a focal point to meet other cruisers made it a fun event. The tourney itself was a rich man’s event and at $3000 per entry it was out of reach to the cruiser community.
We did meet some old acquaintances from last year’s passage up the coast, Coastal Passage and Darkside and a few we had met while on Royal Exchange, Dean and Maryanne in Rippling Waters and Bill on Raptor Dance who came out to the boat and gave me some pointers to improve my SSB/Ham performance.
Rosie enjoyed this stop and went nuts when we took her to the manicured lawns of the Grand Bay. She ran around in the soft grass like a whirling dervish for about 10 minutes. We also took her on the kayak to the golf course and along the shore where we found a beautiful plant nursery for the resort.
We weighed anchor and left Barra on Sunday the 25th and powered in light airs down the coast towards Manzanillo. During the 5 hour crossing we had the line out and to our great surprise we hooked a 25-40 lb sail fish that gave us quite a show for the 20 minutes he was on the line. Mercifully, it slipped the hook but we had had our thrill. Our only regret was not getting a decent photo.
We arrived in Santiago Bay in mid-afternoon and bypassed the usual anchorage spot on the north side of the bay for the cove outside Las Hadas. This proved to be a wise decision. Here we are close to public transportation for shopping, we can use the dock facilities of Las Hadas for free and we have free WIFI thanks to some unsuspecting provider and there are a few bars and restaurants along the beach that are very friendly to the cruisers.
There are a dozen other boats here, including a few that have followed us from Barra. We were thrilled to meet up with another Blue Water Cruising boat, Warren Peace (Steve and Linda Warren), who we had met at the farewell event for this year’s departing cruisers in Montague Harbour last summer. With Steve’s help I was able to re-rig my masthead halyard. We had a good morning snorkeling with them just off the 18th hole of the local golf course collecting golf balls and seeing the colorful fish and we topped it all off with supper on board, sharing stories and planning future rendezvous.
We have had to shut down the freezer. It was costing us a fortune in amp-hours. The difference without it is quite remarkable. Looks like we will have to go back to the drawing board on that one.
We will be departing this afternoon for Zihuatanejo, a 2-day run from here. The weather is ideal but the winds may be a bit light for us. No idea what e-mail service will be like when we get there.

La Paz to Barra de Navidad

2009-01-21T14:29:00.000-08:00

1500, Friday, 17 Jan 2009 - Posn:22 29.0N, 107 50.5W, 110 nm SSE of Cabo San Lucas
We are under sail with the mizzen and the spinnaker flying in a 12-15 kt quartering wind and stern on seas of 3-4 ft. The GPS indicates that we are doing 5.5 - 6 kts over the ground and we are enjoying every minute of it. We are out of sight of land for only the second time in Gosling. The first was a day or so on the way down the west coast of the Baja last spring. The air is cool and the sky is clear. The flying fish are all around us leaping from wave to wave in their attempts to flee our intrusion and the boobies are diving in chase.
We departed La Paz at 0900 on Thursday into a freshening northerly breeze. By the time we arrived at San Lorenzo Channel it had reached the 10-15 kts predicted on the morning net. We were able to sail down the coast to Los Muertos but by mid-afternoon we had to supplement with the engine to reach the anchorage before nightfall, arriving just as the last light was fading.
We departed the anchorage the following morning, sails up and running before a 12-15 kt breeze and have yet to see it diminish in strength. We were even able to steer by wind-vane for a short period, another first for us, however with a slight backing of the wind we had to resort to the auto pilot.
The night was long and quite cool but by 2200 the waning moon in its last quarter brightened things up. Several times we were alerted by the shallow water alarm only to see a solid mass near the surface on the sounder. This morning we found several small squid on the deck leading us to believe that these were huge banks of these creatures coming to the surface to feed at night.
Rosie is not having a very good time of this. She has been seasick and yesterday she made quite a mess, however today she seems to have perked up a bit. She still prefers to stay in her bunk but she has taken on a bit of food and water. In my last entry I forgot to mention the extra expense I had at Marina Palmira. On our first night we went ashore to a small restaurant with several friends leaving Rosie in the aft cabin. On our return we found J-G’s electronic dock key pass in shreds on the bed where he had left it. So far, this has been the first item she has destroyed but a $50.00 (US) mistake on J-G’s part.
As I was finishing the last sentence I heard an ominous “bang”! The spinnaker was in the water, the halyard broken at the masthead! It took some time to recover it and it came in undamaged. Looks like I will be some masthead work when we reach Barra to re-rig it and correct whatever was causing the chaffing. These lines were replaced 3 years ago and haven’t had that much use. Of the 2 halyards this one had to be the one that led up through the inside of the mast.... We are now proceeding under genoa and Mizzen and still maintaining 5.5-6 kts but rolling as bit more.
10:20 Monday, 19 Jan 2009
We made landfall on the coastline below Cabo Corrientes at sunrise. We are power sailing in order to reach Barra in daylight but it looks doubtful so we are planning on anchoring in Tenecatita for the night and continuing tomorrow. We are familiar with this bay as we were last here 2 years ago with Royal Exchange . Except for a few hours of light winds yesterday morning we have continued to experience great sailing weather, however, a few hours ago the wind died off and we are now powering in an oily calm sea with long swells from the NE. Fran is enjoying the occasional visits by dolphins and whoops with excitement when they come close and play in the bow wave. We haven’t seen any whales yet but the challenge is out for the first to spot one.
With the engine on there is no concern about power consumption so we are charging both computer batteries and operating the water maker to increase our store of drinking water. The freezer continues to worry us. It draws 6 amps when running and it runs a long time before shutting down. We are quite certain the reason is a lack of adequate insulation in the original refrigerator. Another project for next season.
They say that bad luck comes in 3’s; I hope that adage is true. At the change of watch 2 nights ago Fran wanted me to investigate an odd noise from astern. Sure enough it was trouble. The wind-vane that I had rebuilt in Guaymas was being towed by the control cables. All 3 mounting brackets had broken. With the aid of the mizzen topping lift we were able to recover it and lash it on deck. Parts for repairing this will be impossible to find here. The following day we flew the spinnaker again without incident but when we recovered it we noticed that one of the pulpit supports was loose. The through bolt had sheared. Hope there is a good stainless repair facility in Zihuatanejo. The “to do” list is adding up. We also lost a big fish in mid-morning, taking the lure with it on it’s dive to freedom. I didn’t mind that loss and expect to have the big ones get away. We only want the “easy to handle on deck” versions.
I have managed to repair the broken spinnaker halyard thanks to my time in Oriole where I learned to splice Sampson braid. Now the hard part will be to thread it down the mast and fish it out of the sleeve.
1800, 19 Jan
We are anchored in the outer bay at Tenecatita. On to Barra tomorrow. Just heard on the SSB net this morning that a boat called Carpe Diem was abandoned not far from our track just east of Cabo yesterday. Crew was saved but the boat is adrift. No other details were provided. There are many Carpe Diem’s around.

Loitering in La paz

2009-01-13T20:01:00.000-08:00

13 Jan 09
Well the few days has turned into a week. We were warned by Om Shanti that La Paz has a vortex effect on a lot of boats and we have found that to be very true. Mind you, the main reason we have stayed so long has been to wait out a gale that swept through here over the weekend.
It had been predicted early last week that the Northerly gale would hit the Sea of Cortez by Saturday with winds in the San Carlos area to peak at sand blasting strength and lighten as the system proceeded south. Initially we were at a dock exposed to the North but we managed to shift inside the marina with a few days grace. As luck would have it Kirk (Freedom Kirkland) was assigned the same berth and he was tossed about all weekend in the 25-30 kt winds.
We are also delayed by repairs to the freezer system that we had installed in Guaymas. Although the seller has guaranteed his system he can’t be here to make the modifications required so he has agreed to reimburse us the costs incurred here. Hopefully we will have the final tweaking completed by tomorrow morning so we can depart. Conditions are ideal at the moment but that can change quickly on the Baja side of the Sea. We have been monitoring the Magic Seaweed and Buoyweather websites for our forecasts as we can’t get the SSB forecasts here in the port.
Fran has been quite busy with yoga, Mexican Train dominoes and attending an information group for cruiser women. Last week the topic of discussion was weather forecasting and this week one of the members will make a presentation on her experiences of sailing to 5 continents.
We have joined up with our friends Bill and Linda (Tanque de Tiburon, Kirk (Freedom Kirkland), Ken and Patty (Red Pepper) and Vicky (Inspiration at Sea) and have had some good get togethers. We will be sad to part company but we hear Zihuatanejo calling. The party begins on the 4th of Feb so we still have lots of time to get there.
We have also met Robert Raymond an insurance adjuster with BC Yacht Insurance, the company that had refused us last year. He is here holidaying in the area and drumming up business amongst the local cruisers. Now that we have demonstrated that all of the survey recommendations have been satisfied they have agreed to cover us for the next year at a slight savings from our present coverage.
We have also acquired a 2-man inflatable kayak and have sold our 1 person model. We had been looking for a second single but Fran thought the double would be more suitable with her lack of experience and upper body strength. We are looking forward to using it when we get to the other side.
Sorry about the lack of photos. We don't seem to be able to upload from WIFI sites. Hope to get them on soon.
Next issue will be after the crossing.
PS Great news from Doug and Trish tonight. Doug underwent his PET scan in Tucson yesterday and the results indicate that his treatments were successful and that he is cancer free!

Arrived in La Paz

2009-01-05T21:17:00.000-08:00

Saturday, 3 Jan 2009
We are finally at sea and headed south. We have departed an overnight anchorage at Agua Verde and are headed towards La Paz. The wind is on the nose so we are powering and making good 6 kts at 1680 rpm.
We departed San Carlos mid morning on the first of January after spending the evening with friends at the Captain’s Club. Out of 5 couples at our table only 2 made it to midnight. The cruiser’s midnight of 2100 was obviously well ingrained. We were ready to depart. All preps were completed and we had bid farewell to everyone the night before. Julie (Sea Fire) cast off our lines while Rosie cast longing looks at the shore and at her pal Cortez. Trish (Ka-Em-Te) waved from her boat as we slipped along the moored boats and headed out of the marina. On the way out we passed Daydream, with Wayne and Susan from Ladysmith. They will be heading for the Marquesas this season.
Once out of the harbour we were met by light easterly winds and a 2-3 foot swell from the southwest but after an hour the wind veered to the SSW and freshened to 15-18 kts. We were able to sail all day and night under genoa, main and mizzen with the wind abaft the beam. Mid afternoon we had a strike on the fishing line and brought in a nice 8-10 lb Dorado. We have enough for 4-5 meals thanks to the freezer we had installed in Guaymas. By sunrise we were east of Isla Carmen and by 9AM the wind died. We continued under power to Agua Verde, one of our favourite anchorages and joined 2 other boats for a quiet night. Sometime after 2am Fran summoned me up on deck to see the phosphorescence produced by schools of bait fish and larger fish feeding on them, a beautiful sight and a reminder of the reasons we are here. The windlass completed its first official task and performed flawlessly.
After settling into the anchorage last night we tried to connect up to the WINLINK system (E-mail by HF/SSB radio) but found a broken plug at the back of the modem. It took several hours for J-G to do a temporary fix by soldering the wires back onto the DIN plug. We finally got it operating and got out a few e-mails and our first WINLINK position report. We will try to be more regular with these so that you can follow our track on the WINLINK site. Boats are identified by radio call signs. Ours is VE7JGN .
Sunday 4, Jan
We are anchored in San Evaristo Bay, about 55 miles from La Paz. We arrived here yesterday afternoon after a motor-sail down from Agua Verde due to light winds. We had initially intended on anchoring at Isla San Francisco but the anchorage is fully exposed to the westerly wind that has established itself during the afternoon. Our decision proved a wise one. By 1 AM the wind had risen to 25 kts for the remainder of the night. Our fearl of dragging made it a sleepless night but the anchor held firm and the Nobletech anchor aid showed a tight drift pattern of less than 40 yards. By the time we woke up it was too late to attempt the last leg to La Paz so we decided to lay up here for another day.
This morning several boats departed but one in particular raised J-G’s interest. There was something familiar about the name Om Shanti, a Westsail 32 that had been anchored just beside us. He didn’t realise until they disappeared around the headland that this was the boat owned by the couple who had written the newest cruising guide to the Sea of Cortez and who we had purchased our copy from at the Blue water cruiser’s meeting last October.
We have spent a nice quiet day relaxing and attending to minor odds and ends. We also met Ken and Patty Starr, two retired teachers from Powell River, aboard Red Pepper. By sundown the bay filled up with another bunch of boats seeking shelter from the westerlies predicted overnight. Tomorrow we expect to have the northerlies fill in so our trip to La Paz should be a comfortable one.
Monday, 5 January 2009
We completed our transit to La Paz today. We departed at 7:30 into a freshening northerly wind. We were able to make over 7 kts but needed the engine and sails to get us in by 3PM. We were greeted at the dock at Marina Palmira by our friends Bill and Linda (Tanque de Tiburon) who had been expecting us for the past few weeks. While we were checking in we spotted Kirk (Freedom Kirkland), our prairie farmer from Kirkland Alberta, wandering along the docks. Rosie was overjoyed of having solid land under her feet and she didn’t stop thanking us for the remainder of the afternoon.
This is a wonderful facility and we will stay for a few days before heading south again but we will certainly return here in April on our way back north.

Merry Christmas from San Carlos

2008-12-31T14:22:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas from San Carlos. Gosling has been alongside at Marina San Carlos for the past 2 days. We decided to come in to get the remainder of the work done before leaving for the Baja side.
After arriving from Guaymas we had a busy week working on a number of items but life at the buoy was tedious. Trips ashore invariably turned into half-day events where little progress was being made onboard but, on the other hand, were socially rewarding. After all, this is Christmas week. The main event of the week was the Christmas dinner given at the Yacht Club. For 80 pesos (approx $8 Can) we had a great lunch and lots of Christmas atmosphere, almost as good as we would have had at CFSA but without the white stuff outside..... We teamed up with Doug and Trish (Ka-Em-Te), Gil and Lexie (Sunday) , a British couple off of Fantasia and our old friends Lin and Lee from Royal Exchange who have arrived to complete the preps on their boat after an 18 month delay.
It was nice to see Lin and Lee again and recall our adventures together for the four months we sailed in Royal Exchange 2 years ago and which were the incentive that caused us to take the big step of doing it on our own.
The cruising population here is very transient at the moment with new people arriving daily to rejoin their boats, and others leaving their boats and heading north to be with family for the holidays. A few are heading south already but the majority prefer to remain here enjoying a much chillier San Carlos for a few more days or weeks. Although we still have nice sunny and warm days the nights are quite cool dipping into the mid 40’s F.
The main reason we have come into the marina is to have our batteries changed out. They were ordered on Saturday and are supposed to arrive on Monday. Trish has been helping us install the windlass and if all goes well that should be completed on Monday as well. The installation of the windlass has not been as easy as the instructions make it out to be. There had to be a few modifications made to accept the components and we found out that the 2/0 cables were too stiff to be wired directly to the windlass. Luckily Trish has some smaller, more flexible cables that we will be able to complete the job.
With any luck we should be good to go by Tuesday or Wednesday. We are still experiencing Northerly winds so it should be a good sail to the other side. During the past few days it has been quite blustery with Northwest winds gusting to 30 kts in the anchorage. We managed to get to the dock before the wind developed on Friday and Fran did a nice job of driving Gosling alongside. Keith Hanna would have been proud.
Rosie has been very thankful for the opportunity to go ashore anytime she wants to and do her business and play ball. She has another puppy pal, Cortez, a Peekapom, the same age actually that belongs to Greg and Julie of Seafire, a boat from Nanaimo. It is really cute to see the 2 of them playing in the parking lot.
Tuesday, 30/Dec
This will be a late post as we are now dependent on a few local bars for our internet.
The Windlass is in and working and the batteries have arrived and are onboard. They will be installed tomorrow. We had planned to leave tomorrow but after considering that we would be far away from anyone on New Year’s Eve we decided to stay another day and enjoy the festivities. Our revised departure date is now New Year’s Day so Happy New Years all.