Mazu Adventures

Zihuatanejo to Acapulco

2012-01-27T13:30:00.000-08:00

January 8^th to January 17th.

We arrive back in Ixtapa after a month home for Christmas. It was a great time. I really enjoyed spending time with Spencer, Matt and Sherry and the kids. We spent Christmas day in Sunriver.

We made arrangements to have our friend Mark and Emily from the boat Groovy come today to help us with the reattachment of the gooseneck. Boy were we glad for the help. Mel and Mark with just a few improvisations had us all back ship/shape. We made tentative plans to sail south together to Hutulco via Acapulco.

Our friend Joaquin came by the boat too. We met him here last year while in the restaurant where he works in Ixtapa. He lived in Tillamook Oregon for 8 years. We have been emailing him off and on and while in Oregon we offered to bring him parts or equipment that would fit in our luggage. He asked for a fish finder for his boat. Joaquin also provides tourist fishing trips or inland tours. And as you will read later we are glad that he is here. We make arraignments for an inland tour when we return in February.

Our dock hand Brian did an excellent job and Mazu looked great. We went our early the next morning to anchor for the morning for him to clean the bottom of the boat. (no doing it in the marina because of the resident crocs!) He did the final washing of the boat and all that was left was to provision for the trip.

The next morning we took the bus (9 pesos) to the Bodega Mercado and filled up the cupboards, freezer and fridge. Paid our bill at the marina and set out for Zihuatanejo. We plan to anchor here for a couple of days and leave with Groovy on Friday morning.

We anchor in front of town and dink in for drinks and dinner and to watch the basketball game, there seems to always be a game or something going on in the square. We have one the street burgers, and they are good.

On Thursday I hitch a ride in with Groovy. She is going to the dentist. She noticed something wrong and thought she lost a filling. Mel did a little exam, and yes she had so she was going in to get it filled. I needed to make change at the bank and top off my produce supply at the central market. Every town has one, an open building, no walls just booths of various items, produce, meat, poultry, fish, house wares, clothes, you name it. The prices are usually very good. I buy produce and some fish and shrimp.

Friday: I did not sleep good last night. I noticed that the temp. on the fridge was high, and in the morning was even higher, not good, not good at all. After some diagnosis and phone calls to our friend Bob Ridenour we decide it needs Freon. Sounds easy right? But this is Mexico. We need to find the adapter and hose that will take the Freon from the can into the system.

So off to the taxi stand. The best place to get what you need. I ask a few drivers if the speak good English and be willing to help us find what we need and interpret. We are in luck and find one. He takes us to an air-conditioning supply store. They have the Freon and part of the adapter that we need. We try a few other places but need to go back to the boat to measure so we can have a hose made. We pay the driver and thank him for his help.

Back to the boat and Mel is assured he now knows what he needs. We first hope to find a charging kit in an automotive shop, if not we now know what we need to have a hose/adapter made. I call our friend Joaquin, and as luck would have it he is in Zihu and has the time to help us. After a few tries at various stores looking for a kit, we end up at the hose shop getting the part made. I asked Joaquin if this was usual, to go to several places to get on thing done, he said always. So what would have taken us maybe an hour at home to complete took us all day. But luckily it seems that it is working. We put off our departure for a day just to make sure all is working.

Zihuatanejo, Papanoa, Acapulco:

We raise anchor early in the morning heading 37 miles to Papanoa for the night. We have a lovely day and sail for over 3 hours. Papanoa is a small bay with break water. A small naval base and shrimp and fishing pangas are located here. Various houses and shacks are along the shore. We are here for a short rest to leave for the 77 mile trip to Acapulco.

We leave Papanoa at 1 am. We hope to sail part of the way but motor to begin with. Luckily Mel has the first watch. We arrive in Acapulco at about noon on Sunday. WOW it is a huge city. I would say the largest we have seen while cruising in Mexico.

A sailboat race is about to start so we have to weave in and out of the fancy race boats. We finally are able to secure dock space at La Marina Acapulco. The office is closed by we are assisted by the guards. It is here we decide we need to be as the fridge temp. is again going up. Here we go again.

We look online and find the address to an Auto Zone where we know we can get more Freon. It takes a while but we are soon back at the boat adding more to the system. On the good side we find an excellent grocery store, just across the street. It is brand new and has gringo items like cheddar cheese, sausage, cinnamon rolls, and steaks that look like steaks.

On Monday we decide we should see if we can find someone to look at this fridge system. No one at the boat yard speaks much English but we are finally able to find someone who will call someone and they will meet us here in 20 mins. And he does. We get a diagnosis; he takes me to buy the gauges we need to measure the Freon pressure and more Freon. We are good to go.

Clava distas (Cliff divers)

Our friends Groovy are going to stay a few more days, we decided to head out on Tuesday night. But first we want to see the famous cliff divers. We take Mazu around to the cove where they dive. We are surprised to find that we are able to motor up pretty close. Prior to the dives one of the divers swims out to any boats in the area (there are about 3) to tell them the divers names, and the heights of which they will dive. The also ask for tips as this is how they are paid. It was so exciting to see it up close like that. I remember seeing the divers on TV as a kid, on the Wide World of Sports. There were 6 divers that day. They also dive at night with torches. We then take a cruise over around Acapulco bay to Marges Bay to meet with Groovy. It is a very pretty anchorage with some lovely beach front hotels. We leave at midnight for Huatulco.

Manzanillo to Ixtapa/Zihuatanejo

2012-01-27T13:23:00.000-08:00

We arrive in Manzanillo for a short stop to rest prior to the longer leg to Zihuatanejo/Ixtapa. We anchor in Las Hadas bay. It is called that because of the beautiful resort here. Las Hadas means fairies. The resort is all painted white with beautiful architecture and is very stunning when you approach. We do take the dink to the marina to get rid of garbage, stretch our legs and to have a meal off the boat. An early evening and then back to the boat.

We leave November 29th at first light for the 30 hour (give or take) sail to Zihuatenejo. Our plan is to stay about 10 miles off shore, but with it a couple of hours we have run into a long line fishing operation. This type of fishing involves one or more panga boats. They set up these long fishing lines onto floats. The floats can be just about anything, foam, plastic bottles etc. These float lines are then strung along the currents and can be up to 5 miles long. On these other lines are tied with weight and hooks and bait. At the end of the lines there is usually a float with a small flag pole. This, if you are lucky is what you will see to warn you that the line is there. We then slow down; I go to the bow with binoculars and search for the connecting floats. We then slowly follow the line until we see the end flag. You can then turn and continue in the direction you want. Also if you are lucky one of the pangas will see you approach and quickly motor up to warn you. This is what happened to us. The fishermen will then point you in the right direction to get around their lines. After about 2 hours of dodging lines and not getting anywhere we decide to go our 20 miles from shore, in the shipping lanes. We figure it will be easier to see the cargo ships that the fishing lines. There we find no more long-lines and we are then able to make good time as we head south.
The night watch was busy watching for cargo ships. I did see one sail boat pass us by. She showed up on the radar well in advance so I could change course out its way. While I did not see any fishing boats this far out I could on occasion hear their chatter on the VHF radio, so they were out there somewhere.
As we were having trouble with the gooseneck connection of our boom to our mast (discovered on our crossing from La Paz) we had to motor the entire way. But there was not much wind anyway. But because of this we had decided to go straight to the marina in Ixtapa so we will have a calm place to remove it to take back home with us.
We arrive safe and sound in the Ixtapa marina at about 12pm on Wednesday November 30th. We have a flight home to Oregon on December 6th. We spend the time getting the boat ready, and removing the gooseneck to take home for repairs. We also take trips to Zihu to eat and walk around. The marina is quiet as we arrive early in the season, very few cruisers are here.
We meet Brian on the dock, a local Mexican who works on a boat near ours. We make arrangements for him to watch our boat while we are gone.

Barra de Navidad

2011-11-28T18:03:00.001-08:00

We arrive in Barra de Navidad midmorning on Saturday November 26th. As it is early in the season we are one of only three boats in the lagoon anchorage and the marina looked fairly deserted also.
This is our second time in Barra, a small tourist beach community. Where there are a fair number of expat gringos who live and vacation here. We are anxious to see how it weathered the recent Hurricane, Jovan that passed through here in October. We had seen some pictures posted on the web but were not really sure if they were a good representation of the destruction.
What we found was mostly the destruction was to the beach front businesses/restaurants. It seemed that what happened was the surf eroded the foundations, and as nearly all construction in Mexico is concrete and concrete block the buildings just tumbled. Some of the restaurants were open with just half of their original decks or building. We had drinks in one such restaurant and when I asked to use the bathrooms I was escorted through the owner’s home (attached) through his bedroom and into his bathroom. If you wanted to walk on the beach from here, there was a convenient ladder at the ready. I love the Mexicans, nothing keeps them down.
As we are here early in the season some of our favorite restaurants were not yet open. But we had a nice dinner out anyway, and found some good music and drinks after.
I am not sure if I describe the water taxi service here. It is great, especially if you are planning on being our after dark as it is a long way back into the lagoon where you anchor. Anyway, the panga is 25 pesos round trip each (about $2.30). You hail them on the VHF radio and they are at your boat in no time. These guys are experts on getting their pangas alongside of your boat so it is an easy step aboard. They then drop you and the dock (use the term loosely) at the towns waterfront. Here you pay and get a colored square of paper that is your return ticket.
You do not need to be in a hurry to return. When it is time to go back to the boat and the cashier has closed all you do is flick the lights switch on the dock. A panga driver is watching for it and will be along to get you. For the night panga drivers I also give them a nice tip.
Only two days here in Barra as we need to hurry down to Zihuatanejo to have time there before we leave.

Thanksgiving in Tenacatita, Mexico

2011-11-25T16:53:00.000-08:00

We left La Paz on Sunday November 20th. We had a good weather window for several days so this was our chance to go. It is a 3 day crossing, and we made it in 74 hours. It was the longest passage Mel and I have done on our own, so it was a bit of a test for us. Everything went well. We fell easily into our watch routines, and while some of the meal prep. was challenging we ate very well. We arrived in Bahia Tenacatita (a popular anchorage south of Puerto Vallarta) at about 11:30 on Wednesday. We were very suprised that there was now cell phone service in the bay. There is a small town near by so I guess they finally got a cell tower. We are happy to have access to the phone and internet to let our family know we are safe and sound and we were able to wish our family a happy Thanksgiving.

Here is how we spent Thanksgiving:
There is an all inclusive resort located here,called Blue Bay Hotel. Mel and I decided to call and found that we could come in for the evening,.

So to get there we need to do a beach landing in our dingy. We have done that here last year so we know where the best place is to go with the least surf. Not so worried about getting in, I am more worried for our return as it will be dark.

We know that we most likely will get wet during the landing process so we pack "dress" clothes in our drybag and wear swimsuits. The landing is very successful. We pull the dingy up on the beach and put on our good clothes and walk the half mile to the resort, good thing I remember a flashlight as it is getting dark fast.

We have an enjoyable buffet dinner and to our surprise they have turkey (we had hoped so, as we knew that gringos stay here too). Turkey they have, side dishes... not so much. One pan was labeled cranberry sauce, and it was, a sauce, warm and thin, placed right next to the gravy! Some things get lost in translation. But they did have a version of pumpkin pie that tasted very good. All in all it was a good meal.

As part of the cost for the evening we also go a show. A local group of young men and women doing various dance routines. The lady EM could talk so fast in Spanish and English that you had a hard time understanding her no matter what language it was.

Well soon enough it was time to go and attempt our return to the boat through the surf. Oh, did I mention we had no moon last night? The degree of difficulty is going up on this surf launching. We return to the dingy, change clothes and drag it back in to the water.

The trick to launching is to watch the wave sets and predict the calm period. Much easier in the light of day. But we make it out with just a bit of excitement as we get over a big swell just before it crested. Yes we got wet, but did not get pitched over.

All of this fun and excitement for a bite of turkey?... worth it, as it brought us a little closer to all of you and thinking of everyone around the table enjoying your families.

On Saturday we will leave and continue our trip south to Ixtapa/Zihuatanajo where we will leave Mazu and fly home for the holidays.

La Paz and Sea of Cortez. October 2011

2011-11-18T14:21:00.000-08:00

We arrived to La Paz in 100 degree heat. Luckly our new A/C unit was just getting the final touches and was working with in 2 hours of our arrival. Everyone here says don't come before Oct. 15th as it is still very hot, and right they are.

We get busy putting the boat back togther as our plan is to go north up into the Sea of Cortez.

As always with boats there are lots of things to do and you can be sure something unexpected will come up. For us it was discoverying our bilge had a bunch of oil in it. Luckly it was not from the engine, it was some stored oil. What a mess to clean up, taking the better part of 3 days. Oh, and not to mention the freezer going bonkers... got that fixed too

Finally the cuboards and freezer are full and we are ready to go.

We have a fab time, visiting our favorite anchorages, and of course visiting Loreto. We caught up with several of our boat friends and had a great time getting caught up with them and finding our what everyones plans are for the "season".

The fishing was fantastic! I caught 3 good size dorados, also called mahi mahi. They are very yummy. I made my first bach of ceviche, it came out very good if I do say so myself.

This year we have purchased 2 inflatable kayaks. We really enjoyed using them to explore the anchorages and nearby reefs. I am very glad we bought them.

One of the most incredible things to happen to us was having a full blown rain storm. I lasted all night, unheard of. In fact we were told that in one night they got more rain than in the last 2 years combined! It has been the only rain we expirenced here.

We are snug in a marina in La Paz getting ready to make a 3 day crossing on our way to Zhuatanao. We will leave Mazu there while we fly home to Oregon for the holidays.

I am also trying out a new blog site, it will allow me to make posts along the way via my SSB radio.
that new address is: www.sailblogs.com/mazuadventures
check it out I will try an post during our crossing.

Sea of Cortez, Espiritu Santo to Bahia Concepcion

2011-05-30T06:13:00.000-07:00

We are finally on our way into the Sea of Cortez. We have spent the last 6 weeks in Marina's, Haul-Out and crossing over from the mainland of Mexico. Now it is time to relax and explore the Sea.
We leave La Paz on morning of May 5th, after a farewell dinner, dancing and Margaritas. Our first anchorage is in Partida Bay on Espiritu Santo/Isla Partida Island(s). We have anchored here before, last November. A truly lovely night. I make coleslaw and grill steaks.

We do not stay but one night on Espiritu Santo as we want to get north to explore areas we have not been to. But we cannot resist though another stop on Isla San Francisco, one of our favorites from last fall. Here we find a fantastic shell beach and collect a bag full to go with my collection from La Paz.

In Bahia Salinas on Isla San Jose, once the location of a salt mine, it is now abandoned. We explore the "ghost town" of old trucks, equipment, and small buildings. We then anchor in San Evaristo on the main land side (Baja). There is a small fishing village here, we stay just one night.

We stop in Puerto los Gatos where we are celebrating Mothers day. It is very pretty here with beautiful red rock bluffs and the dramatic backdrop of the Sierra de la Giganta. But the bees are very bad here, chasing us out of the cockpit and into the boat. We leave the next morning.

Aqua Verde This bay ranks as one of my favorites. This bay has good wind and wave protection, beautiful views, aqua colored water, good snorkeling, and a small village complete with a school 2 small tiendas and a resturant (well kind of). It is a popular spot with cruisers and there are several boats here, but it does not feel crowded. We are greeted by our friends, Mark and Emily from Groovy. We last saw them in San Blas. That evening, in our cockpit we enjoy drinks and snacks and catch up on our various adventures.
The next day we take our dingy to shore to explore the "town" and go to the tienda. There are about a dozen homes, a school and soccer field (dirt and with free range goats grazing the sidelines), some sort of official building, 2-5 dirt roads, and 2 small tiendas. The red building is the "SuperMini" tienda. It is a small concrete building with old chest freezers in the yard outside. It is surprisingly well stocked. No shelves but various products in boxes line the walls with bread, T.P. some veggies, box milk etc. Outside in the old chest freezers, (not freezing) are bags of other various veggis. I was able to buy all the veggies I needed. We also run into old frinds David & Donna from the boat Salona.We have not seen them since Tenacatita, on the Mexican mainland.

We spend several days here snorkeling, beachcombing,and swimming. We saddly raise anchor and head to Puerto Escondido to get fuel and water (oh, did I mention our watermaker is not working, but that is another story), and to go to the town of Loreto.

Puerto Escondido/Loretto:Puerto Escondido is one of Baja's most protected harbors with lots of room for many boats and can easily hold over 150 boats. You can either anchor, hook onto a mooring ball, or tie up to the dock at the small marina here.

From here we are able to rent a car for the trip to Loretto where we plan on spending the night. Loreto is a very historic town. It is here in 1697 that Jesuit padre Juan Maria Salvatierra landed to establish a settlement and the first mission of the Californias. Loreto then became the center for the church and government becoming the first capital of Baja. This mission became the center for establishing other missions in Baja and California. Loreto is where Franciscan padres Portola, and Serra left in 1769 to travel north to San Diego and eventually to discover San Francisco Bay. The mission is open to the public and we visit it and the museum next door. It is beautiful. We spend the night in the beautiful Hotel Posada de las Flores.
Loreto is a active oceanside town. There is an international airport (small, arrivals and departures 2-3 times per week) here so along with the localMexicans there is a large group of gringos who call Loreto home, at least for the winter.

We return to Puerto Escandido and take on fule and water and contiue north. Anchoring in: Honeymoon Cove, Bahia Salinas (another one), Carmen Island, Isla Coronados, and Punta Mangles as we contiue north. Along the way I have been reading John Stienbecks, "The Log of the Sea of Cortez". It chronicles all of these areas, it is fun and interesting to read his descriptions of the places I am seeing over 50 years later.

Caleta San Juanico : Another one of my favorites. A large bay with several "lobes". Here there are fantastic reefs, pinnacle rock formations, a small sea cave to explore,varied colored cliffs, birds (we see several Osprey and their nests), clear water and white sandy beaches. We spend several days here where we snorkel, and fish along the reefs (I catch a 4lb. Trigger fish, good eating). The weather is getting warmer but there is a nice breeze to keep you cool and of course you can always cool off with a jump in "the pool".

Continuing north we reach Bahia Concepcion on Thursday May 25th. We have some problems going on with our Chart plotter, luckly we have back-up navigation but it is still a big pain as it beeps a lot and goes off a lot. There seems to be always something to fix on a boat.

Bahia Concepcion: Our guide book says, "RVers, campers, kayakers, fishermen and vacationers from around the world all come to Bahia Concepcion to sample its beautiful bays, and beaches." I can see why, it is beautiful. This large bay is nearly 25 miles in length and protected by a peninsula of land on the east. There are a number of good anchorages and we stay in Playa Santispac, (one night), and El Burro cove. Here we get to see and swim (I swam with Mel watched) with the magnificent whale sharks. As the name implies,these sharks are very large but these gentle sharks are harmles. They lazily swim around with their massive sized mouths open and gobble up the krill in the bay. We are lucky to seem them each day we are there.

We also take a short hike to see the Amerindian petroglyphs in the rocky Mnts. near El Burro Cove.

Along El Burro Cove are rustic playpa style houses, while Hwy 1 meanders through Bahia Concepion these places are off the grid, using solar and generators for power. There is even a resturant and bar is this small community. A beach front playpa can be bought for about 30,000.00 USD, you are leasing the land for about 200.00 USD per month.

Next we will head to Santa Rosalia, the furthest north we plan to go. There is a town and marina there. It is time to restock the fridge.

Pictures in this Blog:
*The abandoned mine building Salinas
*Mel surveys the equipment left on Salinas (hmm... can I make a race car from this?)
*The school yard at Aqua Verde (note the free range goats)
*A boat at anchor in Aqua Verde
*looking through a window of the abandoned mine buildings Salinas
*Courtyard of our hotel, Loreto
*Mision Nuestra Senora de Loreto (Mission of our Lady of Loreto)
*Bahina Salinas (#2)
*Whale Shark, El Burro Cove
*Pinacle Rock @ San Juanico
*Trigger fish, San Juanico
*Example of one of the petroglyphs near El Burro Cove (Bahia Concepcion)
*Mel overlooking El Burro Cove
*Elaine resting
*Mazu anchored at El Burro Cove

La Cruz de Huanacaxtle- San Blas - Mazatlan - La Paz

2011-04-26T13:53:00.000-07:00

It is a two day trip from Bandaras Bay to Mazatlan. There are several anchorages along the way so you can make it a leasurly trip if you have the time. We on the other hand did not. We have an appointment to have our boat hauled out (more on that later in the blog) so we have to get up there quickly.

Luckly we did take a 2 day trip north of Bandaras Bay, up the coast a few weeks ago. We wanted to see the town of San Blas (remember the famous Longfellow poem, The Bells of San Blas). San Blas is about a third of the way from La Cruz to Mazatlan. It is a 10 hour motor there from La Cruz. We arrive and anchor to see a magnificant sunset. The cruising guide warns of the prolific Jejenes (hay-hay-nays) tiny, no-see-ums that come out at sunset and for little guys sure can bite. We are far enough out that they are not too bad.

We see that our friends Mark and Emily, on Groovy are there so we contact them on the radio and make plans to take the bus into town the next day.

The next day we have a great time exploring this nice Mexican town. We see the old church, the new bell, visit the square and have a nice lunch. Then a bus ride back for beers at the beach Palapa. We know when it is time to leave the plapa as the Jejenes come out in force.
We have a nice eveing on the boat, and head off to bed at about 11. As it is hot we have all the screens up and doors and hatches open. We have also raised our dingy out of the water and secured it to the boat. As we have been warned of motor thefts in the area. Well, the next morning we awoke to a missing motor. We don't know how they could have been so quiet as to not wake us. We are understandably upset, and decide to cut our visit short and head back to La Cruz. Our friends on Groovy are also creeped out by the theft and also leave. I want to say that this is the only bad thing that has happened to us while we were in Mexico. While there is no excuse for them taking our motor, we should have had it locked. Most people here make about 10-20 dollars per day, and in the remote fishing villages I am sure it is less. I guess we look like rich gringos and cannot resist the easy access to the free motors.

We are glad to get back to La Cruz. Luckly the marine store here had the exact same motor in stock so we were able to purchase a new one. We were having problems with the old one so we can only hope that it stopped working all together for the new "owner".

As I mentioned we have a short time line to get to Mazatlan. We leave La Cruz at 10pm on April 11th. We motor all night and arrive at Isla Isabel at about 12pm. This remote island is called the Galapagos of Mexico due to its enormous number of nesting birds and resident iguanas. This island is also free of natural preditors so the birds do not have any fear. You can walk freely around the birds. There are many various birds including, Blue Footed Boobies, frigate birds,and other boobies.

Our plan was to have the afternoon to explore the island and then head out at dusk, sail through the night to arrive in Mazatlan in the late morning. Well, it was very rolly, and it would be very difficult to get the dingy down and the motor on, and we really needed a nap, as we did not sleep well on our trip. So we decided just to sleep for a few hours and explore the island next year. Also, we were slowly being surrounded by fishing nets. So after a short nap we were underway again by 4pm.

Arriving in Mazatlan ahead of schedule we wait outside of the harbor until light. We are greeted by Larry and Danice from Ladara Star. Larry is a retired dentist from Springfield that Mel knew. They have been very helpful with our plans through-out Mexico and especially during our stay in Mazatlan.

Haul-Out.
Every few years you need to haul your boat out of the water for various reasons, mainly to repaint the bottom of the boat. Little critters and plant life like to attach themselves to the bottom of boats. It is a special paint you use that keeps them from attaching. Even then you need to have your bottom cleaned every few months or so to remove the growth and barnacles.
The haul-out process is a little complicated as you must be at a boat yard that has a very large travel lift (see photo of Mazu in the "sling" ). After they get you out of the water the boat is then place in various jack stands. They are then free to sand off the old paint and apply the new. It is also an opportunity to give all your fittings, prop, and rudder a good inspection. To get into your boat they place a ladder for you. Many people decide to stay on their boat during the haul out. We decide to rent a hotel. We rent a room in a small hotel on the beach. As we have not watched any tv for a long time. We find a few english channels and get our fill. They also have a couple movie channels with many are english with spainish sub-titles. It is fun to watch these as it helps with our spanish.
The boat is out of the water for 6 days.
We are then need to plan for our crossing from Mazatlan to La Paz on the Baja side. It is this time of the year that cruisers start to migrate to the Sea of Cortez to get out of the hurricane areas of the mainland coast of Mexico. We have been listening to the weather reports and all predictions indicate a several day period of calm weather. We decide to take the favorable forcasts and cut our time short in Mazatlan and make the crossing.

The crossing from Mazatlan to La Paz is about 200 miles across the lower part of the Sea of Cortz. Unlike the other overnight passages Mel and I have done on our own this is not a coastal passage. We will be out of site of land for a portion of the trip. We need to plan our speed and when we leave so that we arrive on the other side in daylight. We leave Mazatlan at about 12pm. on Good Friday.

As I have explained in a previous blog, there is no stopping along the way so we have a watch schedule. We do 4 hours on 4 hours off, 24 hours a day while underway.
We are very happy that the weather reports were correct, the seas are nearly flat. We also have good wind so we are able to sail about half of the time. We are able to sleep well and I can easly cook our meals. It is rare now for us to get seasick and it is not an issue on this trip.
I set out our fishing lines but have no luck.

We arrive safe and sound in La Paz at about 12pm on Easter Sunday. In previous blogs I have written about La Paz, one of our favorite places. While we are here we will have our water maker upgraded to make more water per hour. We will also provision for our 6-8 weeks in the Sea of Cortez, where stores and towns are fewer and smaller.
When we leave here I may not be able to update the blog very often. I will try to when ever I can, even if I can't post pictures.

Pictures in this blog:
New church in San Blas with new bell tower
Old bell tower
Sunset over San Blas in Matanchen Bay
Elaine, Mel and Mazu in Mazatlan
Haul out:
In the sling
old bottom paint
new bottom paint

Huichol Art

2011-04-08T14:38:00.000-07:00

In La Cruz de Huanacaxtle and in the Puerto Vallarta area you will see some stunning examples of Huichol Art. Our guide book writes:

"The Huichol (ooh-ee-chol) are and indigenous group of people living deep in the Sierra Madre Occidental mountains in the states of Nayarit, (La Cruz is here)Jalisco, Zacatecas, and Durango. The Huichol are one of only a few tribes people remaining in North America. Because their settlements are so remote and inaccessible, their way of life and their religious beliefs have changed little over the centuries. The Huichol have an intimate and complex bond between their physical life and the spiritual life of their gods and the environment around them. Once each year the Huichol make a pilgrimage to their sacred land, Wirikuta, where they harvest the peyote cactus. It is with peyote that the Huichol are able to communicate with all of their gods. The Huichol create stunningly colorful works of art through the use of beads and yarn in order to honor and please their gods, as well as to reflect their own experiences, beliefs, myths, and ceremonies."

I took a short class today on this bead art from a "famous" local artist. I had previously purchased one of his works. He told us that the art was at first made with seeds of various natural and dyed colors. Both men and women are trained in the art. He has works on display in Mexico City, including a volkswagen covered in Huichol art. The Photo is of 2 sides of a jaguar head, and a coconut shell covered inside. The outside is carved with figures of animals and birds.

Tsunami and Spencer visit

2011-03-30T19:59:00.000-07:00

March 11th. We awake early in the morning to complete some tests on our batteries. For this test we have turned off all of our systems overnight to measure the voltage. Our VHF and our computers are therefor turned off. We did not at first hear anything of the earthquake and tsumani in Japan. We soon though hear folks talking on the dock about the tsunami warning issued. We quickly finish our tests and listen to the VHF radio. Here we learn that the surge is due to hit our area at about 12pm.

From my past tsumani evacuation experience in Samoa in 2009, I am especially anxious to get out of the marina and into deep water. This is the course of action most experts say is the the best plan if you have sufficiant warning. There is much confusion on the radio at first. The Port Capt. it is said, has closed all ports. We later hear it amended that it is meant only for commercial boats, not pleasure crafts. We had already made our decision to leave no matter the closure. We have plenty of time so I take our trash off the boat and stop to buy a berry pie from a worker on the dock. I guess his wife makes them. Might as well have something good to eat out in the bay.

We head out into the deep Banderas Bay by 11am. We are out there with what we extimate to be about 100 other boats, (it is a very large bay). We listen for updates on the VHF radio. In the deep water it is a "non-event". We do not notice anything in the sea or current. The reports on the VHF are saying that all the marinas are closed for all boats due to the strong, continuing surges and currents entering and exiting the marinas. As evening approaches and the marinas are still closed we sail to the anchorage area and set our hook for the night. This is no problem for us as we are prepared for anchoring. But for some other boats this is a problem. There was a big race scheduled for the afternoon, the Banderas Bay Regatta. Many boats had taken off their anchor to lighten the boat for the race. They either had to raft to another boat or sail around through the night.

The next morning most of the marinas were still closed, but all opened by the end of the day. The marina in La Cruz suffered some damage to serveral docks. Fortunately no boats were damaged nor anyone hurt.

The surge contiued on a smaller scale for several days. Upon reflection, even though no boats were damaged we felt we made the correct decission. Out in deep water with plenty of room to move you are far safer than tied to a dock in shallow water with many boats around you.

And I say 2 tsunami experiences is ENOUGH for me!

Spencer flew into Puerto Vallarta on March 13th to visit us during his spring break from college. We have secured a slip in Paradise Village Marina in Puerto Vallarta for the first part of his stay. From here you can easily access tours, the city, and by having a slip here your have access to the resort facilities. We have a jam-paced week with him:

Monday, we go on a Jeep tour in the Sierra Madre

Tuesday, day sail to Playa Animas for fun and sun on the beach

Wednesday, tour old town and to to the bull fights, (yes the bull really dies)

Thursday, enjoy the resort and go to a Mexican Fiesta in the evening

Friday, sail to La Cruz, dinner and great music at Philo's bar

Saturday, enjoy walking around La Cruz

Sunday, farmers market. Great food, local crafts, and music

Monday, rest and take Spencer to the airport

It was sad to say good-by to him, and we are exhausted! It takes us several days to recover. We are going to stay here in the La Cruz marina. We find this area to me quieter. Much better that the fast paced (and more expensive) tourist area of Puerto Vallarta. As an example; there is a grocery store right next to the marina in PV. It caters to the gringo crowd that keep their boats there or live in the condos around the area. They carry plenty of name brands from home. One of the items I saw was Triscuit crackers. Now, I have not seen these in any of the stores in Mexico. I know that Spencer loves these so I pick up a box. We also see Fig Newton cookies, one of Mels favorites, so these go into the cart. When I reviewed the receipt later, I found that the Triscuits cost $8.00 for one box as did the Fig Newtons. Ouch!

So we have decided that the smaller, "Mexican" La Cruz fits our style.

Las Hadas, Santiago, to Banderas Bay

2011-03-07T14:52:00.000-08:00

We left Ixtapa Marina early in the morning on Feb. 19th. We have an over night passage back to Las Hadas bay at Manzanillo as we continue our trip north.

The passage was was mostly uneventful. We did have to dodge a pod of whales as they swam across our bow, too close for comfort for me (which will really take on new meaning in an event that happens later in the blog). We arrive in Las Hadas anchorage at 12:00 pm. ,time enough to go to shore and get some shopping done. Then back to the boat for much needed rest.

Las Hadas is in the North West corner of Manzanillo Bay. You anchor in front of a very picturest Hotel, all in white. There is a marina there where you can also park the dingy. When you pay the fee in also includes use of the pool facilitiesl Many of the cruisers take advantage of that.

We decide to go around the point to Bahia Santiago as we only spent one night there on our trip south. Here it is quieter and you can do an easy beach landing to enjoy the nice beach, or take the short walk to the bus stop. We take the bus to Santiago to explore this small town. It is also where I go with several of the gals to take in the Saturday "flea market". Here there are many booths of: tourist items, clothes, kitchen items, bookleg videos and cd's and fruit and veggies. I buy fruit and veggies.

We spend several nights here, enjoying the company of cruisers, the warm lovely breezes, and the tuba music from shore. It seems that tuba, along with an accordian and drummer are popular roving entertainment for the mexican tourists on the beach. But only the tuba carries out to the boat, and man, he must have a set of lungs as it goes on all day.

I thought you may be interested what we do while we are anchored. Here is what a typical day (this one in Las Hadas, taken from my diary) at anchor on the boat is like:

get up 7:30 ish make coffee turn on the VHF radio, drink coffee in the cockpit and look for dolphins or sea birds.

listen to the cruiser radio "net" for local weather, boat check in (who's in the area) and check outs (who's leaving), anouncements etc.
make breakfast, eggs, sausage, oranges

rinse off boat with fresh water (it was very salty from the passage), as we had plenty of water

clean windows on the dodger, wipe down the stainless steel (there is a lot of that on the boat), shake out rugs, dust and wipe down the interior of the boat
take a rest, and check emails (we are getting good wi-fi here), read a book

get into the dingy and visit our neighbor boat, Groovy (met them here before)

make lunch, tuna sands, chips and apple

go to marina to get rid of a bag of garbage, look for a part in the chadlery

return to boat, study spanish, read, research on the internet

cocktail hour rum and cokes with chips and salsa

cook and eat dinner, soft tacos

watch sunset

clean up galley

watch 2 episodes of X-files on DVD

bed at 9:30, write in diary, and read

We stay in Santiago for several days then raise anchor on Sunday the 27th for the short trip Tenacatita. This trip starts out very nice, and I set out the fishing lines. The wind starts to build so we raise our sails. By early afternoon the wind is building to 20-25 knots. We put a reef in the main and jib. The wind contiues to build 25-30 knots. The seas are also building at this time. We do not feel unsafe just want to get to where we are going as it is a bit uncomfortable. Well, I decide that it is too rolly to try and take in the fishing lines, I will do it in the ancorage I tell myself. So along we go, heading for our next stop.

After a while I take a look out the stern of the boat to check the lines and too my horror, I see a bird attached. We are still several miles out and in very lumpy windy conditions. It would be too dangerous to try to reel in the line. There is nothing I can do. On top of that I see that my two lines are getting very tangled together. Again, nothing I can do until we are in protected waters. So along we go. We are about 2 miles from the bay when again I look back at my line ( it is only one line now as the two have become one twisted line) and see a fish on! He his caught on the second lure. Still nothing I can do until we reach the bay, so he is pulled along. At least he will be dead when I reel him in and will save me from having to bonk him on the head.

Finally we reach the bay. We lower the sail and slow down. Now for the work of getting the bird and fish in. Hand over hand I bring in the line as Mel feeds it onto the paddle. First I dislodge the bird and give it a burial at sea. Next I am getting to the fish, which is still on, and as he gets close to the boat I see he is still alive and starts to fight me! But he is tired so it is not hard to bring him up on the swim step. At first I think it is a Yellow fin tuna, but later research tells me it is a Crevalle jack, not good eating if over 1.5 ft. he is 30" long and must weigh 20lbs, but he makes a tasty dinner, with proper marinade.

We have a very nice and relaxing time in Tenakatita. One day we take a cab to the cute oceanside town of La Manzallia. A nice, pretty little town. There is an estuary here where you can see crocs. We walk the beach and have lunch.

One of the habits cruisers get into is leaving your VHF radio on (usually on channel 22a) This is how other folks in the anchorage contact one another throughout the day. It turns into a party line as we all listen in on the conversations. The proper etiquette is to call the boat name you want to talk to and then say your boat name, "Windy, Windy, Windy, this is Mazu". You then wait for them to answer then you change to a different channel as to keep 22a clear. Of course others may change to that channel too to listen in. I admit I am guilty of this, it is human nature I guess. Sometimes if one of the boats signal is not strong or is far away you may only hear one side of a conversation. This is what happend while we were in Tenacatita, which is too bad as it is very dramatic. Here is what happened.

I could hear over the radio the boat next to me asking another boats its position, then I could hear him ask if they needed assistance. Then I heard him ask if they wanted him to call the Navy. Then I heard him say that he was getting into his dingy now and comming out to help. By this time others must have heard because several dingys and one sail boat were on their way. Of course once we saw there was ample help going Mel and I were glued to the radio. As we were listening we gathered that a sail boat just outside the bay were were in had an encounter with a whale. It seems that a whale came up on the side of there boat and was bumping it. Then it went under the boat and they thought it was hitting the boat with its tail. They were of course very frightend, it when on for a while. The boat was taking on water, (not good). The guys who went out to help were able to get the water stopped and the boat was towed in to the bay. Here one of the guys dove on the boat and discovered that the propeler shaft and rudder were damaged. They left early the next morning trying to get to Puerto Vallarta to effect repairs. All this was relayed over the VHF radio. An important safety and communication device for us.

One of the traditions in Tenakatita is Friday cocktail hour raft-up. All the dingys meet in the bay and raft up to each other. We pass snacks around and we enjoy cocktails, snacks, and conversation. The host of the event is the "Mayor" you are elected mayor if you have been in the bay the longest on Friday. You are responsible for making a toast to start the evening.

We leave early Saturday morning for an overnight passage around Cabo Corrientes. You must time your passage around this point during periods of low winds. Most cruisers go around at night or early morning. You then round the point into Baderas Bay, home to Puerto Vallarta and La Cruz.

We have a great sail in light wind with our colorful spinnaker out. I catch another Crevalle, bigger than the first, 36" long and again very heavy...

We lower our spinnaker in the early evening prior to dark. The wind has died so we motor sail with just our main sail up.

We pass around Cabo Corrientes at about midnight. This puts us into Banderas Bay way before daylight. So we slow down and finally at at about 5am we just turn off the motor and drift while we wait for enough light to get into the anchorage.

We are now safe and sound hanging on the hook. We have napped and I am now cooking dinner.

today, March 8th we spend the day exporing La Cruz, a very small village. It seems very remote but it is just a few miles from Puerto Vallarta.

We have breakfast at Anna Bannanas and lunch too..

Pictures:

my big fish
Mel relaxes in the central "square" in La Cruz
A croc in La Manzallia
On the beach in La Manzallia

Leaving Zihuatanejo/Ixtapa February 18, 2001

2011-02-18T17:52:00.000-08:00

We will leave early tomorrow morning to catch the high tide needed to exit this marina. We are heading north as we contiue our exploration up the mainland of Mexico. We will take 2 days to get to Manzanillo, the first major harbor. Here we will rest and provision for our next sail to Puerto Vallarta where we plan to stay for several weeks.

Mel's daughter Kristine, her Husband Brian and our granddaughters were visiting here this week at Ixtapa Club Med. We were able to enjoy a day in Z-town with them. The next day we had a fun eveing at Club Med where we had a great meal. We were entertained by the kids show, a fun music and dance extravaganza. Mary and Katie did a fine performance, we were very proud.

While we have enjoyed our time in the marina and seeing family here, we found Ixtapa to be very expensive. It is really only here for the tourista's. The only thing cheap is the bus ride from the marina to Z-town, only 8 pesos (70 cents). It was fun to take it to town to run our errands. Our other great find here was the best hamburgers at Ruben's.

One of the things we purchased while we were here is a wi-fi card from the Mexican cell phone company TelCel, so I am hopeful that I will have internet more often. If I do I should be able to post to the blog regularly.

The pictures in this post are (left to right): Mel and Kristing in Z-town), Mel and I in a resturant at the Marina Ixtapa, Mazu in here slip at the marina, Mary and Katie at Club Med, Katie dancing in the show, Mary dancing in the show.

Thanks to all who are reading and posting comments.

Zihuatanejo and Ixtapa

2011-02-13T17:13:00.000-08:00

Here are some pictures that I have taken here in Z-town and Ixtapa.

A crocadile in the marina Ixtapa. This was taken just off the back of our boat, less that 20 ft. from us, (Yikes!)
Mel on the walking bath from Playa Madera to Playa Ropa at Bahia Zihuatenajo.
A view of the fishing pangas at Playa Madera. This next to where we land our dingy when we want to go ashore.
Sunset at anchor at Isl. Ixtapa
A afternoon basketball game in Z-Town, note it is right by the beach. This is also next to the town "square" where there is music on Tue. and Thurs. nights. Other nights families and teens gather and the young children play in the court.
Me by the bus station
Boats at anchor in the bay (Z-Town, this is where we spent about a week)

Manzanillo to Ixtapa/Zihuatanejo Jan. 28 - Feb. 4 2011

2011-02-05T06:02:00.000-08:00

From Manzanillo to Zihuatanejo (Z-Town) is nearly 200 miles this stretch is relatively remote and isolated. The anchorages along the way lack protection and can be very "rolley" which does not allow for a good nights sleep. For these reasons many cruisers decide to sail through the night to get to Z-Town.

This too is what we have decided to do. We have talked to another boat in our anchorage here in Bahia Las Hadas and there are several boats leaving that will also sail through the night. We therefore all plan to buddy boat down. When you buddy boat you are able to keep in contact with the other boats. This is helpful as we all can look out for each other.

Mel and I stand 4 hour watches. As I like my sleep in the middle of the night I take the 9pm to 1am watch for my night watch. Let me explain a bit about sailing/motoring the boat at night. No we do not have headlights to see forward. What we do have is a chartplotter, radar and AIS systems. A chartplotter is a screen that I have at the helm of the boat displaying the chart on it. The chart also shows our boat moving along. I can overlay the radar screen onto this same screen. Radar will show a "blob" of purple if there is something within its range so you can avoid it. The size of the blob helps you determin what it is. The AIS system is carried by all large boats and now many small motor and sailing vessels. With this device you send, and receive a signal. This signal is then displayed on your chartplotter screen as a triangle where the vessel is located. You can then hover your curser over the triangle and it will display the data on that ship, name, speed, how close it is to you, direction it is going etc. Then you can avoid getting into its path. And remember they can then see me too. If I need or want I can also call the ship on our VHF radio to talk with them and be sure that they see me and I can give them our position.

So with all this information you are able to set your course and watch for other boats and/or land in your way. Our boat also has autopilot so the boat can steer its self. This means your hands are free and you can read, go down and make a quick snack etc. while monetoring your screen and of course looking all around your boat regularly.

Along this trip we had very little wind so we motored all the way. We were lucky enough to see many sea turtles. They look like big helments floating on the water. We also were treated to dolphins and whales. And, drum roll please, I caught a 30" Dorado, (see picture)!

We arrived at our first destination Isla Grande early afternoon on Saturday (the 29th) after 31 hours of motoring. We anchor do a few chores and take a long nap.

Isla Grande is a small island that is used as a island getaway by Ixtapa and Z-town residents and tourists alike. The soft sand beach is lined with many palapa resturants serving cold beer and fresh caught seafood. We dingy over and enjoy the servings of the nearest palapa. We spend a couple of days here before we head to Z-Town.

We arrive in Z-Town on the first day of Sail-Fest, an annual five-day festival hosted by a group of volunteers with a goal to rais money and awareness for the education of children in the area. There are boat races, concerts (small), a boat parade and beach games. We sign up to be a host boat for the parade. Sail-fest then sells the boat rides to people as a fundraiser.

We have 4 fun Canadians on our boat, Keith, Joy, Diane, and Audrey. We have a fun day in the Parade. For the parade the boats follow the Port Capt. first, around the Z-Town bay then over to Ixtapa. Here he stops and as all the boats pass him they salute and wave there flag. As we had so many Canadian's I get out my Canada flag and we wave both the US and Canada Flag. The rest of the day we went to Isl. Grande for lunch. See picture above.

Zihuatanejo, is a wonderful place... The pre-hispanic history of Z-Town began with the Cuitlatec people. These people were known for growing agiculture and for production of cotton blankets and carved scallp shells. In the 1400's after an invasion by the Aztec's much of the area in Zihuatanejo were abandoned by the Cuitlatec. In the 1500's the Spanish conquistabors arrived and began exploring and eventually colonizing the area.

Mel and I have really fell in love with this town. The food is great, the people are very nice, the town is clean and the music and entertainment is outstanding. We plan on staying here for a few weeks. We hope to see even more. We will be seeing Mel's daughter and family here next week. We are looking forward to that....

Manzanillo

2011-01-27T06:32:00.000-08:00

Manzanillo has hundreds of years of maritime history. The orginal Mesoamerican inhabitants used Bahia Santiago and Bahia Manznillo as a port of call for their trade routes, much of what is documented started with the Spanish conquistaor exploration of the Pacific Mexico shoreline.

Hernan Cortes came there in search of the rumored trade routes between China and the orginal inhabitants of Pacific Mexico. Manzanillo is still a major shipping port for Pacific Mexico. It also is a cruise ship destination. The large sailfish sclupture you see here in located in the jardin (garden) near the waterfront. From here we walked the narrow streets with various vendors serving both the tourists and locals alike. We were too late in the day to visit the Mercado 5 de Mayo reported to be filled with local fresh fruit, veggies fish, and eating booths.

The picture of the large white hotel is the Hotel Las Hadas. We are anchored in Las Hadas bay just in front. It is a beautiful place. There is a small marina there which allows us to tie up our dingy. From here we can catch a cab or a bus to town.

Suspecting that 'eight-fingered dentistry' might be OK in Mexico, Mel has been searching the towns for a suitable dental practice with ocean views. However not being successful and with time running short, he has now lowered his sights a bit and is currently waiting for the dentist pictured to roll up his door so that an offer to purchase can be made. Absent a deal, Mel assumes he will have to continue cruising to warmer waters for the foreseeable future.

We only have 2 days here on our trip south. There are several boats that will be leaving for Zihuatanejo at daybreak so we have decided to0 buddy boat with them as it is about a 36 hour sail/motor from here. We hope to spend more time here on our return trip north.

Our current plans are to stay in "Z-Town" for a few weeks. We will meet up with Mel's daughter Kristine and her family as they take a vacation there. It will be fun to see them and especially the granddaughters.

Remember you can click on the pictures for a larger size.

Tenacatita to Barra De Navidad

2011-01-26T07:22:00.000-08:00

January 19, We raise anchor in Tenacatita at 9am heading for Barra De Navidad. We only have a short distance to go, about 15 miles. We motor the whole way as there is little wind. I set out our fishing lines with pinky squid and bluey squid with no luck. We see whales spouting and swimming close by. We also see another sea turtle. There are 55 species of sea turtles along this coast. The green sea turtle, hawksbill, leatherback, loggerhead and the olive ridley. These ancient creatures spend nearly their entire life in the water and can life up to 80 years. Adult leatherbacks are the largest ranging in size from 4 to 6 feet long and weighting from 400 to 1,100 lbs. I do not think this is what we saw. I think we saw a green.

We also pass through a small cove with the most brightly painted houses that cantaleaver (spelling??) out from the cliffs, they are beautiful.

The anchorage for Barra is in a lagoon. To enter the lagoon you first enter into a narrow channel. We have a good guide "Pacific Mexico a Cruiser's Guidebook" by Shawn Breeding and Heather Bansmer. In this book they lay out the waypoints to safely enter the lagoon. Once there there is good but shallow anchorage.

The best way to get to Barra Navidad from your boat is to call a water taxi. These pangas come and get you for 25 pesos each, round trip. We head into town to explore and eat. Barra Navidad is a small fishing and tourest town with both gringo and mexican vacationeers. We find a great bar, Pipers-Lover for music and drinks. Luckly the pangas run 24 hours, just flick the light switch on the dock to signal the driver.
We say goodby to Al and Barb here. Mel and I stay for 6 days.

We were lucky to be here during a fishing tournament. On the last day we sat at the head of the channel and watched the boats come in with their catches tied to the swim steps of their boats. There were Dorado's and Marlins (see pictures) Iguess the boat with the most fish over the 3 days wins.

One of the requirements when you are cruising in Mexico is to check your boat in with the Port Captain if there is one in your location. The thing is, they are never near the water. We located the Port Capt. here by asking; first a taxi driver (the directions were in Spainsh so we got little from that) then we asked a gringo who lived there. He had us go through two vacant lots, down a small cobble stone street, and another block. We found it at 3pm, they close at 2:30. At least we now know where it is, so we check in 2 days later.

In the lagoon we get some much needed cleaning projects done. In the evening we sit in the cockpit and watch the fishing boats fish with their nets. Usually this is with a small row boat and a man, he rows in a circle playing out his net. Then he stands and slowly pulls it back in. The fish are caught by their gills, he carefully removes the small fish and drops it into a bucket. He then rows to a new location and repeats the process. While we watched I only saw them get one or two small fish each time. Looks like a hard way to make a living.

Our next destination is Manzanillo. A large city and port. Here we will be able to provision, and hopefully find some boat parts that we need.

Bahia (Bay) Chamela to Tenacatita

2011-01-25T15:15:00.000-08:00

We leave Bahia Chamela for a short sail (motor) to Paraiso. A little gem of an anchorage. This small ancorage only has room for a boat or two. We are lucky, as we are the only boat. We lower the dingy and explore the shore and take a swim. There is a small resort located here but it appears to be deserted, except for the caretaker and a friendly dog.

It is a beautiful eveining so we decide to bbq. I have a lovely pork-loin in the bbq, as I turn it the entire bbq turns over and I loose the porkloin and the innerparts of the bbq. Now how am I going to get replacement parts for that into Mexico? I should inject here, it is very difficult to get things shipped into Mexico. It seems that the customs people must look at every package to see if it is something they may need at home. If it is not, then, if you are lucky it will arrive at the intended destination in a few weeks. So most of the boaters must resort to alternative means. If you are on your way to Mexico, please let us know, we may need you to bring us something.

Our next stop is Tenacatita. For many boaters, this is the destination they have dreamed of. With white sandy beaches, local hospitality, good food, and a comfortable ancorage, this is what the dreams of Mexico cruising were made of

We anchor and snorkle for the afternoon at the "aquarium", a beach area with several reefs. There are many fish but the water is not as clear as the Sea of Cortez. Our final anchor here is near the Hotel Blue Bay. The next morning we dingy out to take the estuary tour. The dingy tour though the lush mangrove lined Estero Verde is one of the best highlights of our stay in Tenacatita. You meander along the estuary for 2.5 miles. It is teaming with wildlife, egrets, many birds, racoons, crabs, and lined with mangroves. I tried to get pictures of all the birds but they were camera shy.

We have one of our best meals here at a smal lpalpa, La Vena. I had Roll-del Mar Yum. Mel had the most tasty fish yet.

We have a nice walk on the beach. This beach has a protected area for sea turtle egg nests. It is a fenced off area where the eggs are taken to be buried. If you are lucky you can be there when they hatch. Volunteers they take them to the ocean to be released.

Things we saw along the way:

Whales breaching

dolphins playing at our bow

SEA TURTLES!

La Paz to Chamela

2011-01-16T09:02:00.000-08:00

We left La Paz in a "Northern". This is a weather term that they use here. It usually means that there will be very high winds coming from the North into the Sea of Cortez. This causes an uncomfortable seas. Most folks wait it out prior to making a crossing to the mainland. Most people are making a crossing to Mazatlan and then they may head south along the coast. We wanted to head further south so we looked at several weather predictions and decided that we would be fine as we were heading south east rather that a straight east.
We have invited Al and his wife Barb to come along to help crew. It is easier for watches etc. to have an extra hand or two.
It took us 72 hours to make it to Chamela.
The first day and most of the second we had favorable winds but high lumpy seas. This made it difficult to get meals prepared but the boat sailed fine. We were able to make good time during this.

We are currently anchored on the east side of Isla Pajerera in Bahia (Bay) Chamela. Last evening we hired a panga to take us to shore where we ate one of the small palapa's on the beach. The panga then took us back to the boat. Along the way he gave us fishing tips..

We will head to the next anchorage soon on our way to Manzanillo.

Se Habla- La Paz

2010-12-05T06:42:00.000-08:00

We are still in La Paz. We have spent some more time in La Paz after our last excursion to the islands. We have been waiting for another boat to arrive that is delivering some parts for us from the U.S. As it is difficult to get things shipped to Mexico this is a common way to get parts for your boat. It is taking a long time though because there was a big "northern" that kept the boat from contiueing to La Paz from Cabo.

We decided to take advantage of our extra time here with Spanish lessons. There is a great little school here called Se Habla...La Paz. We were only able to take a weeks worth of lessons but it has been very helpful.

We learned the proper pronunciation of the vowels. Learned to conjugate verbs etc. We now have a good base to contiue to practice on our own.

We truly have enjoyed La Paz. It is a great city with lots of things to do and see. The people are very friendly, it is a good spot for cruisers. There is even a club for cruisers here that sponsores a morning "net" in the vhf radio and publishes a handy guide to services in La Paz.

The parts we have been waiting for arrived on Friday (Dec. 3rd) so we are now free to explore the area. We will take another short trip to the islands here. We fly home on Dec. 11th for 3 weeks, so there will not be further postings until the first of the year.

The picture is in La Paz looking down the Malacon and the pangas on the beach.

Happy Holidays !!

Isla Espiritu Santo, Isla Partida, and Isla San Francisco

2010-11-26T06:25:00.000-08:00

We leave La Paz for a week excursion to the Islands of Espiritu Santo (Holy Spirit) and Partida, which is located about 20 miles north of La Paz.

These islands are a natural marine park. The guide says "the Sea of Cortez is the second most diverse marine body in the world. It is home to 31 species of whales and dolphins- one third of the worlds total. The region also serves as a breeding ground for sea lions and marine turteles, and is a migratory corridor for 210 bird species. "

There are many bays to anchor in. Our first stop is Bahia San Gabriel. A beautiful bay lined with a pristine white sand beach that onced housed a pearl factory. We anchor in about 20ft. of water. We have the bay almost to ourselves with only one other boat in this large bay. We snorkle and have a lazy afternoon. The next morning we dingy to the shore with a lunch, there is a trail that cuts accross the island to the other side. We hike through the arroyo looking for the elusive black hare, but all we see is its scat. Later in the day we also find a good snorkel spot, it is like swimming in a fish bowl.

Our next stop is Caleta Partida. This cove is where the two islands divided (at low tide) . Again a great bay, the moon is on its way to being full and rises right in the middle of the saddle that separates the islands, a beautiful site. We follow the guide to the best snorkle site yet! On the way back to the boat we stop at a fishing camp and buy a fresh dorado from the fishermen. A great dinner was had.

Our last anchorage here is Ensenada Grande. We stop here as it is very close to Los Islotes, which is famous for its sea lion rookery, snorkerlers have been frequenting this rock outcropping for years to experience the beauty of swimming with the sea lions.

We have a very rolling night as the wind comes up from the SW where there is no protection. Not much sleep. It settles down the next day so we dingy to Los Islotes to swim with the sea lions.

I have to admit that swimming with the sea lions is a bit scary. They are very fast and get very close to you. Some other boats told me later that the mothers were being very aggressive. I did not experience that. Even though it was scary I am really glad I did it. The pictures of the seal was taken there. I also posted a picture of the rocky Los Islotes where they live.

Today also we go to the cove next to us to see the Blue Footed Booby rookery. They are beautiful birds with robins egg blue feet. If you click to enlarge the pictures here you may be able to see it. I could not get very close for pictures as they are on the cliffs.

After 2 nights in Ensenada Grande we leave for Isla San Francisco. About 20 miles north.

Here again is a large bay with plenty of protection for the predicted north winds that are comming. We hike accross the narrow section of the island through the salt flat to the rocky beach on the other side. Here we look for shells and agates. We spend two nights here and enjoy the beautiful moon rises.

We head back to La Paz on the 24th. Along the way I catch my largest fish yet, a 28" 10-15 lbs Stripped Bonita. We are have Thanksgiving diner here in La Paz at the marina. The cruising club, Club Cruceros, sponsors this potluck each year. There were about 270 people.It is only 20 pesos per person. They do the turkeys and gravy the boats bring side dishes. It was a lot of fun and very good.

Again, please excuse my spelling mistakes, the spell check is only looking for spanish words that are misspelled while we are in mexico.

also you can click a picture to enlarge it... Please send along your comments, they are fun for us to read.

Elaine

Road trip to Todos Santos

2010-11-17T06:15:00.000-08:00

Today (Nov. 16) is Mel's Birthday. We decide to celebrate by renting a car and taking a road trip accross the the Baja Penisula to Todos Santos.

It is a beautiful drive through the desert. It is all cati and scrub, with some cattle and chili fields and rimmed with mountains.

Todos Santos is a small town with a lot of personality with many old buildings, we stop for a drink in the famous Hotel California (the picture of the metal sculpture is in its courtyard). We then drive the dirt bumpy road to the ocean.

All in all a fantastic day. We leave Wednesday (the 17th) La Paz city to sail to the island of Espíritu Santo to explore and snorkle. These island is suppose to be a meca for snorkling and swiming with the sealions. We will be back to La Paz on the 24th. I will post more then.

(p.s. please excuse and spelling mistakes as I am on spanish blogspot and the spell check is only looking for miss spelled spanish words)

Cabo to La Paz

2010-11-13T13:58:00.000-08:00

4 days in Cabo is more than enough. It is a real tourista town and it is noisy and expensive. We left on a Monday morning for a short trip to Marina San Jose los Cabos. It is about 30 miles south of Cabo. As we did not stay in the marina in cabo (150.00 per night, not thank you) we decided to check out this newest marina. Here I was able to finally wash the salt off the boat and do a couple loads of laundry.

We leave early the next day (wow the sunrise was outstanding) and head for an anchorage called Los Frailes (The Friars). It is a beautiful rock cliff with a white sandy beach next to it. The beach is home to a small seasonal fishing village and you can see the camper tops over the sand dune. There were about 30-40 fishing pangas . It was a great show when they came in. They would go full blast straight for shore and ride up the beach, raising their outboard motors at the last minute. Then an old 4 wheel drive truck would hook on and drag them up past the tide line. In the morning the same truck would push them back to the water.

We had planned to stay 2 nights but the weather report is calling for high winds later in the week and we want to get to La Paz before it hits. So off again in the early morning, and enjoy another sunrise.

We anchor in Los Muertos. Another sandy beach, but with a resort and golf course, out in the middle of no where. Many of the boats from the Baja Ha Ha rally are on the same route so we see many famiular boats. It is nice to know that we have them to call on if we need help.

Up and at it again early for the last leg to La Paz. We enjoy watching the scenery go by. I keep my fishing lines out as this is one of the fishing meca's of the world. And as luck would have it I see a fish on just as we are approching La Paz. We slow the boat and I pull in a lovely silver fish with yellow spots (and TEETH). I give him a good wack on the head and really ruin his day. I latter look it up and I caught a Spanish Mackerel. I forgot to measure him but it was bigger than my Dorado.

We get a slip at the Marina Palmira, at only 35.00 per night, wow what a difference from Cabo.
Frank is anxious to head for shore, a motel, long shower and to see the town. We celebrate our arrival with Cerveza and a toast. We later here that he is happy in a hotel and we meet up with him on the steets of La Paz.

We need to get a temporary import permit (TIP) for the boat. This is a permit that allows you to keep you boat up to 10 years in Mexico and to import repair and replacement part for it with out custome fees. This entails a taxi ride to the office, copies of our boat papers (I had) copies of the owners passport and visa (I did not have, luckly for 20 pesos you can do it at the emigration office next door) and 50.00 dollars. Our cab driver offered to stay and help translate. That was nice and helpful. With that chore out of the way we are free to explore the town.

LaPaz is a regular Mexican city, not really for tourists, everyone goes about there normal daily lives. There is a beautiful walk way along the beach on the main street. Along here there are no buildings on the ocean side. In the eveing it is full of activity, families bike, roller blade, or just walk. There are food vendors that come out in the eveing and people sell crafts, draw portraites, etc. There are also many sculptures along the path. Every one is very friendly and helpful. We are enjoying ourselves so much we have decided to stay 2 extra nights.

We decide to tour a local grocery store. It was very interesting. It is amazing on home much is the same. One of the big differences was the cuts of meat. Not really recognizable as steaks ect. It was more along the line of chuck roasts and stew meats. Chickens were mostly whole although I saw a few boneless breasts in a package. No lunch meat selections like we have, ham, and balogina (spelling?) is all I could see. I carry an electronic translator with me and it has been helpful. It will do english to spanish and visea a versa.

We will leave on the 16th to explore the Isla Espiritu Santo just a few miles from here. Here there is suppose to be great snorkling and fishing, and hiking.

Monday we will go with friends to shop, at : Sam's Club, and Wal-mart and Home Depot. Got to find recognizable lunch meat.

The pictures are of us at the marina, Los Frailes, my fish, and the beach with some of the pangas. Remember you can click on the picture to enlarge it.

More Baja Ha Ha pictures

2010-11-07T18:24:00.001-08:00

Here are more pictures of our trip from San Diego To Cabo San Lucas

Baja Ha Ha 2010

2010-11-04T18:54:00.000-07:00

The Baja Ha Ha is a rally of sail boats from San Diego to Cabo San Lucas. There were about 150 boats who signed up this year. The magazine Latitude 38 sponsors the event each year. It is a fun way for a bunch of boats to go down to Mexico. Many of the boats are here for a season or two, or like us who are going on to the Pacific or further south.

The rally is in 3 legs. San Diego to Turtle Bay. Turtle Bay to Bahina Santa Maria. And last, Bahina Santa Maria to Cabo.

The first leg we completed in about 48 hours. We have a crew with us. Al and Frank. So we share watches, 4 hours on, 4 off. We had fantastic sailing out about 30-50 miles from shore.

The rally sponsors events at each anchorage. In Turtle Bay we had a locals - v- yachties baseball game. Baseball is HUGE in Turtle Bay, so the whole town comes out for it. Lots of folks also bring baseball equipment to donate to the town.

The pictures of a town are Turtle Bay. It is a very remote village on the Baja peninsula. There is a big bay that we all anchor in and the panga's will come to your boat to ferry you in (for 2.00 a head). This weekend for them is one of their biggest money makers for them with all the crazy gringos spending money.

There was a beach pot-luck partythat was a lot of fun.

People here live a very simple life, mostly fishing. But I did see many newer cars, but as you can see the houses are very simple.

Our next leg is to Bahina Santa Maria which is even more remote. They too depend on fishing. They put on a lunch for the rally which is a huge fundraiser for the villiage. We also bring school supplies, clothes etc. to donate. They bring in a rock and roll band and mucho cerveza! and as you all may know I love to dance, so I got my exercise that afternoon.

Several boats have kids aboard so one night it was anounced that there will be trick or treating, if you have any treats turn on your boat lights. Families came by dingy with their kids, in costumes to the boats. We had 4 boats come by. We had brought candy for the kids in Turtle Bay and Santa Maria, so I had lots. It was very fun to carry on the tradition even in this most unusual way.

The beaches are beautiful, the people are nice, and we are meeting lots of fellow sailors, that I am sure we will meet up with again and again as we travel through Mexico.

We have had the best sailing since we left Seattle. The boat is fantastic. It sails well and is very comfortable. We havebeen lucky enough to see whales, dolphins, seals, etc.

One of the highlights of the trip was my first fish. I caught a 28" Dorado. We troll with hand lines, so I am glad it was not tooo big. It made a great dinner for the 4 of us..

Attached are various pictures of the trip down and of course the fish.

Turtle Bay Mexico

2010-10-28T15:54:00.000-07:00

Here we are in Turtle Bay Baja Mexico. We had a great sail. 48 hrs to get here from San Diego we sailed the entire time. We will post more later

San Diego

2010-10-01T13:06:00.000-07:00

I am sorry that I have neglected to update our blog for a while. As many of you know we arrived home on September 11th to take care of land-based business and to see our son Spencer off to college at Southern Oregon University.
We arrived safe and sound in San Diego on September 6th. Mazu is are in Kona Kai marina while we are home. Here is a synopsis of our trip from Marina Del Rey to San Diego.

After we left Marina Del Rey we had a fantastic sail to Catalina Island. Along the way we were treated to a whale show. We must have seen at least 5 whales. I will soon try to put a link up from my flip video.

Catalina Island is very pretty and we ended staying there for 4 nights.
We then sailed to Oceanside. It was fun to see my cousin Eileen and her family. The Oceanside marina was full of activity. It was one of our favorite stops. I also took the train to visit my sister Sharon and her husband Dennis.

Getting to San Diego marks the end of of first part of this unbelievable journey we have decided to take. We are so grateful to all the support of our friends and family. A huge help to us here in San Diego has been Frank Slater owner of Outbound "Ocean Dancer". We have just met Frank but he welcomed us on the first day we arrived as if we have been friends for years. It is great to have someone here that is so knowledgeable of the boating community and services,as we have several finishing touches to accomplish on the boat to get her ready for Mexico.

We return to Mazu on Oct. 2nd. and will finish up projects and provision her for the trip. We set sail for Mexico on October 25th.

Again thank you all for your support and comments. Please keep in touch... Love, Elaine

Santa Barbara to Marina del Rey

2010-08-29T08:02:00.000-07:00

Fog, lots of fog. That is the story of the Southern California coast. We left Santa Barbara in very thick fog. We had poor visibility all the way down to our next port, Channel Islands Harbor in Oxnard (or as we heard two fishermen call it over the VHF Fognard). I guess we can say we our honing our radar skills.

The Channel Islands Harbor had lots of transient moorage available. We have noticed a lack of activity each place we have gone. I guess the economy is effecting everyone.

On Friday we leave Oxnard in guess what? Pea-soup fog! On our way to Marina del Rey.

We arrive mid afternoon. We are lucky again to have little traffic as we enter the marina and find our slip easily. We spend the rest of the day cleaning and then going to a nice shopping center near here for provisions and dinner. We had hoped for a movie theater but it did not have one so we returned to the boat for a movie night.

My sister Dolores (DeeDee) her husband Bill and son Charlie along with my cousin Margie and here husband John came to see us on Saturday. We had a great visit and they appreciated seeing the boat.

I have posted pictures of them and one looking at the fog we have encountered.

Port San Luis/Avila Beach to Santa Barbara

2010-08-25T16:08:00.000-07:00

We left early in the morning to head for Port San Luis. I believe that we will be close to my nephew Greg and his wife Angela so I call to leave a message for them.
We arrive early in the after noon and find a good anchorage. We decide to take the dingy to shore to see the sites. Things are different along the coast, goodbye to the nice harbor dingy docks, here you are expected to tie a long line from your dingy to a wharf ladder and then climb upthe ladder. I am not talking a foot or two these wharfs are quite high. But we are willing to try. we get all tied up and I start up the ladder, then I make a mistake and look down. I decide that it is too much and climb back down telling Mel that perhaps I will be braver tomorrow. Luckily we see a platform for loading and unloading on the other side of the wharf. There is no sign telling us we cannot tie up so we do and take the nice reasonable stairs up to the wharf.
Avila Beach is very nice with an all new beach front (thanks to Union 76 and an oil clean-up) and a nice long beach. We have a margarita and try to cool off as it is an unusually hot day for the beach.
On the way back to our boat we notice another Oregon boat on the hook. They are from Newport so we stop to talk. They are also on there way to Mexico and are going to do the Baja-Ha-Ha ralley in October. We note their name in our log and hope to see them in Mexico.
The next day we meet up with Greg and Angela for cocktails on the boat and dinner at the "New" Custom House restaurant, (see picture of them on our boat). They are the first of my family to see the boat.

The next day we leave early as we have a good weather window for Point Conception, this is known as the "Cape Horn of the West Coast" the winds and waves can be quite bad in this area. We pass around it with little wind and low seas, it is all about timing.
We also pass by Vandenberg Air Force Base. Boy, talk about being in the middle of no where, I guess that is by design.
Our engine prop starts to make a very strange vibration so we lower the RPM's and head to our anchorage. We are very concerned and after we set the anchor, Mel gets on the scuba mask and looks under the boat at the prop but sees nothing on it. We decide that there is nothing we can do so we have dinner and a movie (2 episodes of X-Files).
Luckily the next day we have no vibrations and the engine works just fine.
We motor in the fog all the way to Santa Barbara where the dolphins greet us and "dance" around our boat. They always leave when I get the camera out, darn.
Tomorrow we continue on south and will be in Marina Del Rey for the weekend and will see family there.

The pictures posted here are of me at the helm on a very windy with somewhat high seas. Point Conception, and its lighthouse. Greg, Angela, and me.

We countinue South

2010-08-21T20:42:00.000-07:00

We sadly said good-by to Santa Cruz in the early morning fog (typical) and headed across the bay towards Monterey. We were entertained by several whales, and had to slow up several times to watch as they slowly meandered by. Several times we saw their flukes slowly sink into the bay. We are also surprised by the many birds that seem to make their home on the water, many with their babies squawking behind them.

We decide to head for a mid way anchorage, Point Lopez. A couple we met in S.C. said they anchored there. We want to make it to San Simeon on Saturday. She mentioned that is was a "rolley anchorage" and boy ever was she right. This is the only time that I got sea sick on this trip. I was ok until after dinner then I told Mel I had to go to bed or get sick. Bed did the trick and I was soon asleep with my dinner still in my tummy.

We have been going too fast to troll as we have had to motor most of the time. We hope for more wind as we head south.

Today we made it to San Simeon bay. It is very pretty with the lovely brown rolling hills in the back ground and the impressive Hearst Castle perched on the top the the hills. We were going to go on a tour to see it but they sold out (we tried to book on line prior to leaving the boat).

We decided to go for a dingy ride (dingy being the small inflatable boat we have on the back of the sail boat). As there is not a dingy dock here you are required to make a beach landing. We were excited to try our first one as we know we will have to master this in Mexico.

We sized up the beach, motoring from one end to the other to pick the most favorable (and least populated) spot to make our entrance. Mel and I discussed our plan, Mel would gun the motor at the precise moment I would be ready to jump out of the dingy and pull us effortlessly onto the beach, all with out getting my shorts wet.

We approached the shore behind the breakers (all of 2 ft) and waited for our moment. Mel waited for one wave and then gunned the engine, he saw another approach, but it was too late, he felt we could ride in it in, but noooooo, over we went, inflatable life jackets inflated, we are tossed out of the boat, and scramble to shore with our dingy upside down.

We get it righted, check that camera, wallet, etc are dry and secure (we are soaked). Of course the engine would not start, so we now have to row back to the boat.

Luckily we provided enough entertainment that a nice man decided we could use some help. He offered to push us out past the breakers and send us on our way. He also was able to get our engine started again.

After we got all the sand off of us and the dingy cleaned up Mel and I enjoyed an adult beverage on the boat. I sure hope we do better next time.

Here are some pictures: John, Cindy and us at Aldos at the harbor (note Mazu in the background), Twin Lakes Beach, and misc. pictures along the way. Sorry no whale pictures, too busy watching them. I have also noted that if you click on a picture you will see a larger image of it.

Santa Cruz

2010-08-19T15:54:00.000-07:00

Well I did it! We sailed our boat into the Santa Cruz Harbor....

As most of you know Santa Cruz is where I was born and raised. It was a very special moment for me. To see my home town from sea was a perspective I have never seen.

Twin Lakes beach is all grown up, with beach volley, restaurants, and boats. The harbor looks the same. We had lunch today with cousin John and Cindy at Aldo's overlooking the harbor. Last night we had drinks with Chris Cole at the Crows Nest and listened to music.

Today I walked to Days Market on Seabright Ave. and down to a place that I live right above the train trestle and Boardwalk.

It all brings back memories. Like I cannot believe that I would walk from that house all the way to the end of Ocean Ave. for work at 5a.m. in the morning. Wishing for a TOGOs avocado and jack cheese sub sandwich, hanging out at the downtown mall and Cooper House. And the summer that Nancy and I spent at Twin Lakes beach, and riding our 10 speed bikes all over town.

We think we have solved our gremlin in the electronics as we have someone working on the boat as I write this.

Tomorrow we depart. We will cross the bay and anchor somewhere in Monterey and contiue our trip south. Watch for my SPOT emails that will tell you where we are.

Here are some pictures of West Cliff Dr., the light house, wharf and boardwalk, and our boat in the harbor looking out to the bay

Newport Oregon to San Francisco

2010-08-12T13:00:00.000-07:00

We departed Newport at 6:30 on Sunday Aug. 8th. We soon had favorable winds and sailed mostly southerly. We stayed about 20 t0 30 miles off shore. Today we are sailing with a full main and Genoa winds are 15-18 knots and we are going about 6.5 knots, with calm seas. In the evening we tuck in a reef and switch to our jib.

Over the next two days we have favorable winds and were able to go up to 10-12 knots for a while but the average seems to be 6-7 knots.

We have had a few problems, one is when Roy and I tried to furl the jib and it would not budge. It was all hands on deck and we figured out the problem. It was the spinnaker halyard. We left it on the whisker pole earlier that day, it was getting wrapped around the jib and "putting on the brake" of the furler. All in all a very minor problem. We are also noticing an issue with our goose neck fitting (the part that connect the boom to the mast). The screws are working their way out, not a good thing. We keep and eye on it and will repair in S.F.

Roy and I were treated to a wonderful dolphin show when a pod of dolphins played at the bow of our boat. We also saw whales 2- 3 times. Poor Mel and Steve did not get the show.

It is funny that it is getting colder as we move south?? We did not expect that. Morning and evening watches are cold and foggy. Thank goodness for radar.

We arrive at the Golden Gate Bridge at about 1p.m. on Wednesday the 11th. We celebrate with champagne.

We will spend several days here visiting family and getting repairs done on the boat, and other chores like laundry and shopping.

Sadly we say good-by to Roy and Steve today. A better crew we could not have had. Thank you Roy and Steve.

Well friends and family, this is the end of the first leg of our journey. From here to San Diego it will be just Mel and I gunk-holeing down the California Coast. Our next stop will be my home town, Santa Cruz.

Seattle to Newport Oregon

2010-08-07T19:49:00.000-07:00

We left Seattle 7:30 p.m. on August 3rd. We wanted to make the tides. Mel and I have a crew along with us, Roy and Steve. They will accompany us all the way to San Fransisco.

Our trip to Newport was uneventful as we had no wind and the wind we did get was right on our nose. The good news was that the sea's were flat, you could have water skied behind the boat.

We settled into 4 hour watches. That seems to work well as you can get a good bit of sleep when your watch ends.

Cooking was easier underway than I thought it would be, but again, we had pretty calm seas. I had on mishap with the pressure cooker, I had only used it once before so I was sure I could cook rice in it. I followed the direction, but soon I could smell something burning, I guess I did not put in enough water, what a mess, and I had to start over, (I did it the regular way, in a pot)

We arrived in Newport at 1:30 a.m. and had to negotiate the bar in the dark and fog. We had Roy and Steve at the mast spotting the buoy's and Mel was at the helm with the chart plotter, all very exciting.

Thank you to all our friends and family who came to Newport to see the boat and wish us Bon-Voyage !

We leave Newport at 6:30 a.m. on Sunday the 8th, for a straight run to S.F.

We cut the docklines!

2010-08-03T20:30:00.000-07:00

Dear Friends and Family,

we have done it! We left Seattle at 7p.m on August 3rd for the first leg of our journey.

We are sailing with 2 crew members, Roy and Steve. We will make our first stop in Newport Oregon. We will then head to San Francisco. Mel got me a SPOT gps locator, so I will send out a signal along the way to let you know where we are.

Here is a picture of Mel and I as we are leaving our slip in Seattle.

I will post more as I have cell service.

Barkely Sound and San Juan Islands

2010-07-18T15:54:00.000-07:00

We had a great time in Barkley Sound. This area seems to be the fishing capitol of the world, or at least Canada, we saw so many fishing boats and folks catching salmon.

This is a very pretty area of Vancouver Island on the west coast of the island. There are many islands and area's to anchor and gunk-hole around. The wildlife is abundant. We saw eagles at each area we anchored.

This is suppose to be our shake-down cruise before we leave from Seattle to California, but we did not get much sailing in. We really expected to sail back down the Strait of Juan de Fuca on our way back but it was flat calm and what wind there was, was right on our bow. Even though we made good time and I did not get seasick again.

We met Kristine, and the granddaughters for a 3 day tour of the San Juan's We went to Sucia Island and explored the china caves, Stewart Island and saw the school house, and Roch harbor and walked through the sculpture garden and watched to lowering of the colors.

Here are various pictures of the trip so far.

First Over-night

2010-07-15T07:36:00.000-07:00

Ahh, to be out to sea, the feel of the wind on your face as you stand your first watch of the evening, the sound of the boat going through the water, and yes knowing that your barf bowl has a tightly sealed lid!

Mel and I had our first overnight sail together, from Sooke to Bamfield in Barkely Sound.
This passage had us in the Strait of Juan deFuca. We left Sooke at about 9:30 pm and arrived at Bamfield at 10:00 a.m. the next morning. Even though I got seasick it was very satisfying and comforting to know that we can do it.

I will tell you more about our adventures in Barkley Sound in my next blog.

2009-08-25T16:23:00.000-07:00

Tyler (our grandson) came to visit us for our last week. We visited Bellingham and toured the tall ships and a destroyer. We had a great time. Now Elaine is back at work and Mel is still on the boat in Seattle. He and Matt are spending a few days together in the San Juan's

Chatter Box Falls and other pictures....

2009-08-05T20:00:00.000-07:00

We have been having a great summer. After leaving Bowen Island we have cruised around the Gulf Island, Sunshine Coast, and The San Juan's.

One of the highlights was our trip to Chatter Box Falls. This is our second time there and it is truly a magical place, with breath-taking beauty! It is located at the end of Princess Louisa Inlet which is North of Vancouver B.C.

At the entrance to the inlet is a Young Life camp/lodge. Mel went there for two summers when he was a teen. On our way out we stopped for a visit as they give tours. Since we toured the grounds on our last trip we opted just to get ice cream and visit the store.

The rest of the trip has been spent getting to know our boat, we sail when there is wind, even if it is not blowing in the direction we want to go. We have learned so much about how to set our sails and how she rides in various wind conditions.

We have routinely seen: Eagles, dolphins, seals, and once Orca whales.

I am posting various pictures. The water fall is Chatter box....

We are currently in Port Townsend (yes, again) Mel is visiting his Mother and will check in with Spencer and bring our Grandson, Tyler back with him to spend a few days on the boat with us.

I return to work on Aug. 17th so my vacation is almost up. Mel will stay on the boat and hopefully do more sailing and/or get things done on the boat.

Thetis Island and Union Steam Ship Company on Bowen Island

2009-07-15T21:31:00.000-07:00

we checked into Canada at Bedwell Harbour, (yes, the Canadian's use the French spelling) on Monday. On the way to Bedwell, sailed comfortably on a close reach, it was fantastic. We stayed in Annette Bay that night.

The next day we looked for wind out in the Straight of Georgia, but is was calm. We motored up and through Porlier Pass to one of our favorite anchorages on Thetis Island (voted, by us for the best sunsets in the Gulf Isl).

Today is Wednesday and we again tried to find wind on the Straight of Georgia but none to be found. We motored to Bowen Island (near Vancouver B.C.) and are docked at the Union Steam Ship Company Marina. It is owned by the parents of a good friend of Kristine's (Mel's daughter). We had a nice diner with them and friends of theirs Gary and Jean of Daisy. A good evening for sure.

Here is a picture of Mazu and the beautiful sunset at Thetis Island. We miss all of our friends and family and we are having a great time!!

Leaving Port Townsend

2009-07-12T07:00:00.000-07:00

Today Mel is taking the boat up to Anacortes. As we have the van in Port Townsend I will drive it up. We want to keep a car in Anacortes so we can visit Mel's Mom in Portland as often as we can.

Brion and Gordon finished up with the rigging projects (well most of them, we still have a few "fussy" things we want to do that can wait until the end of summer). While we did not expect to stay in PT as long as we did I feel it was valuable time well spent. Mel and I know more about our boat and we have a sturdier boat for it.

Brion taught me how to splice a loop into a rope and how to whip an end... good skills to know!

Last night we were treated to a spectacular lightning and thunder storm and today it is misty and foggy.

I am posting a picture of Mel and Brion Toss on Mazu...

2009-07-09T12:14:00.000-07:00

We have been in lovely Port Townsend getting work done by Brion Toss Rigger. They do fantastic work and we have been learning a lot about rigging and our boat. He tried to convince me to get a lesson on going to the top of the mast but I begged out. I am convinced that Mel and I will just have to flounder around in the ocean if something happens to our rigging that would require one of us to go "aloft"....

Here a picture of Brion going to the top of our mast

Elaine

Summer 2009

2009-06-22T12:47:00.000-07:00

Well, we will soon be starting our summer vacation on Mazu. The boat was sailed up the Oregon/Washington coast in early May to our slip in shilshole. Mel has been on her most of the month of May and June with just one short trip home to get her all ship shape for the summer. Our first trip will be to Port Townsend for an appointment with the riggers.
I will post pictures soon.

Pictures from our trip

2008-08-14T19:13:00.000-07:00

Here are some various snapshots from the trip. A beautiful sunset in Garrison Bay, San Juan Isl. Tyler B. fishing at sunset, Matthew and PaPa take down the Canadian courtesy flag down as we reenter the USA, Elaine at the helm (going about 7 knots). And other pretty pics.

Wow what an adventure we had. We saw Orcas, dolphins, eagles, seals, and whales. I saw some of the most breath taking mountains you could imagine. We "battled" the Johnstone Strait in 25 knots of wind. We sailed our new boat and it is a dream to sail. I got to share the adventure with my husband, son, and part with my older son and 2 grandchildren, and met some wonderful folks. This will be a trip I will not soon forget.

Happy Birthday Tyler

2008-08-14T18:55:00.000-07:00

We celebrate Tyler's 8th birthday Aug. 3rd) with a cake! We are in beautiful Village Bay. We took a hike up the creek to a bluff that overlooks a lake. The boys enjoyed a fresh water dip in a swimming hole along the creek. The hike was a little more brisk than the guide led us to believe. Attached are some misc. pictures. We are having a great time on the boat, the boys are catching fish, swimming. We saw another whale, not a Orca, Tyler (who is a marine animal expert) says it is a humpback. Matt got a good picture, I will post it when he gets it to me.

Bryson boys come for a visit

2008-08-01T19:46:00.000-07:00

We meet up with Matt, Matthew Jr. and Tyler in Lund. We then head for Prideax Haven. Although it is raining, it is warm. We find a great anchor and have a good dinner (see picture). We are now in Hariot Bay marina. The pub has free wi-fi. We are going to have dinner and listen to the local music. Spencer, Matthew and Tyler are crabbing off the dock thanks to some friendly Canada's who lent them a crab pot.

They also had fun the first night when they all caught at least 2 rock fish (catch and release). tomorrow is Tyler's 8th birthday, we will celebrate with a cake on the boat. Just met Joe in the pub here and he told me to tell you all he is great. (not sure if that is true, but what the heck.)

Matt brought 2 batteries to make a temporary repair for our bad ones. The fix seems to be working for now. The Outbound company is great, they are going to replace the others when we return to Seattle.

Sunset at Potts Lagoon (July 21)

2008-07-23T07:31:00.000-07:00

We had a nice sunset at our anchor spot in Potts Lagoon. The anchorage is shallow and after being the second boat in, it became very crowded with strong winds blowing in Clio Channel and few other good choices in the immediate area. Just off to the right are several floating homes that are very rustic, one that has has a sign advertising wilderness adventures. I think they mostly use them to come up and fish and crab. We are having continuing problems with the boat 'house' batteries, plus something has clogged the the water intake for the generator. We have been concerned for awhile about an apparent steady decrease in battery capacity. Instead of spending the day and evening at Village Island to explore the many native sights we will head to Port McNeil tomorrow to buy some tools, testing equipment, work on the boat, and hook up to shore power. Port McNeil is the largest town in these parts and is on Vancouver Isl. As a bonus we will be able to replenish our fresh food stock and maybe have a meal in a restaurant.

Misc Picture of the Broughtons

2008-07-22T20:08:00.000-07:00

Orcas

2008-07-22T19:54:00.000-07:00

Today we finally see a pod of Orca(spelling?) whales! They were in the same area as the dolphins we saw earlier. We were able to watch them for about 20 minutes. I have put up the only picture that I could get. If you look close the two black fins are the whales. (ok I know you may need a magnafying glass, but I was on a moving boat and they were shy) While it is very beautiful it has been cold. We are thinking of leaving a little earlier than planned and head south to find some sun.

Eagle Picture

2008-07-17T20:15:00.000-07:00

We see many eagles here. In fact we almost always see or hear a pair at each place we anchor. this is a picture of one we spotted on one of our evening dingy "cruises"

What does Mazu mean anyway?

2008-07-17T19:56:00.000-07:00

I think I should explain the name of our boat, Mazu. Mazu came while we were researching for our trip to China. The Outbounds (out boat) are made in China. We had a great tour book and one of the towns near where we were going had a statue in honor of Mazu the goddess of the sea, protector of ships and sailors. There are many folk lore stories and festivals in her honor. We felt this would be a great name for our boat. You can "google" the name and get more information, it is a very interesting folklore.

July 12 – 15 Echo Bay and Turnbill Cove

2008-07-17T19:30:00.000-07:00

Another day is spent at Echo Bay. We take a scenic walk to visit the school (a small one-building school) It is sad as this was the last year it will be open. There were not enough students to keep it going. Like with all small communities the school becomes the heart of the community. I spoke with the teacher and she is hopeful to get a grant to make this an outdoor type of school. She is looking a partnering with some of the First Nation tribes on the Islands to see if she can make it work. I give her my email address and let her know I am willing to help in her grant writing efforts. We also visit Billy Proctors “museum” it is a collection of finds he has made while beach combing, and other misc. artifacts he has collected that represents the history of the Islands. He is a really neat fellow and a wealth of local knowledge. While he spent his life here working in the woods and fishing he is now an adamant environmental activist for the area he loves. He has written two books, we purchase one of them.

We have a great dinner at the Marina, Pierre’ (the owner) and his wife Tove do a pig roast every Saturday night.

We leave Echo Bay on Sunday to head further north. Our first attempt to go up the Queen Charlotte Strait is not successful there is too much wind. We back track and stay in O’Brien Bay at the end of Simoom Sound. It is very pretty and quiet so we stay the next day also to relax and catch up on some boat chores.

Tuesday we make it up the Queen Charlotte Sound. We are greeted by a pod of dolphins; we believe they are feeding as they are jumping around. We stay and watch them. We are also in cell phone range so we check messages and make a few calls.

The end of the day finds us in Turnbill cove, Wow! We are surrounded by mountains, trees, and wildlife. While there are about 10 other boats here we do not feel crowded, like we are on our own little island. There is a trail to a small lake that we plan on taking tomorrow.

Playing with the Dolphins

2008-07-13T09:11:00.000-07:00

As we entered Blackney Passage we were "escorted" into The Broughtons by some playful dophins. They look like baby Orca's as they are black and white. The metal you see in the picture is the bow of our boat. They stayed with us for several minutes.

Port Neville

2008-07-13T09:06:00.000-07:00

Here we are entering Port Neville, We just came off the Johnstone Strait, where it was very windy and choppy. We had a very windy anchorage here but our anchor held.

Up the Johnstone Strait

2008-07-11T21:27:00.000-07:00

Below are some various blogs I wrote while going up to the Broughtons. Sorry but I cannot download pictures from here (we are in a small marina on a small island) as the inter net is not much better than dial up...

July 8th
We are sitting at anchor in Charles Bay, across from Blind Bay Marina. Our route to hear is as follows:
Roche Harbor, check in a Bedwell Harbor, Canada. We head north to Nanaimo. Along the way we try to sail but the winds are light so we test our some different sails and our whisker pole. We arrive at Nanimo at about 8:30 p.m. Leave Nanaimo with the 12pm tide and head for Ford Cove on Hornby Isl. This is a pretty and quiet anchor. Our next destination is the town of Campbell River. The current is with us so we make good time to our anchor spot in Gowland Harbor, another pretty and quiet anchor, where we have a relaxing afternoon to rest up for the early start to Seymour Narrows.

Seymour Narrows can be quit treacherous if not arriving at the correct time. We time our passage to go through at a neap slack tide, so our trip through is uneventful. We head up Johnstone Strait but turn up Mayne Passage to get out of the winds that can easily get to gale force in the afternoon. And that is how we got to beautiful Charles Bay.
The picture is of Mazu taken from our dingy, Jenny (Spencer named it).

July 9, 2008 Johnstone Strait to Port Neville

We leave Charles Bay very early to catch the favorable tide/currents going up Johnstone Strait (JS). Every thing starts off nice a quiet. But the winds and sea start to pick up just after Race Passage. The boat is actually quite comfortable in the cockpit, the bow and deck got a nice “bath”. At one point we measure gale force winds on our instruments.(for about 2 seconds). We decide to tuck in at Port Neville. Our anchor is secure but we are swinging like crazy in 16 knot SE winds.
Here is picture looking out over the stern of the boat, very pretty!

Echo Bay, Broughton Achipelego, marine park

2008-07-11T19:35:00.000-07:00

We had a rough couple of days trying to get to the Broughtons. The Johnstone Strait(JS) was very windy and rough the last couple of days so we had to find anchorages in various places. We finally made it today. Wow what a difference, the JS was a monster for two days, we kept trying to make our way up it but to no avail. But today (July 11th) it was a smooth as glass, what a difference. We are now in the friendly marina in Echo Bay. We just came back from Happy Hour with the various local color folks who make this area there home, and the folks who are visiting. We had a great time listening to the local spin their yarns. Sorry I cannot send pictures, as the Internet here is limited in its capacity. Today was a great day!

Fourth of July

2008-07-11T19:23:00.000-07:00

Mazu Adventures: July 4, 2008

Left Anacortes late, we had some minor glitches. It seems we were the last out of the marina.
There was absolutely no wind to be had so we motored up on our way to Roche Harbor to meet Jim and Linda, owners of Outbound # 33.
It is a cloudy day as we had thunder and lightning for the last 2 days. As we were arriving Mosquito pass to anchor at Roche Harbor, but what do we see out on the horizon, an Outbound. It is Jim and Linda out taking a nice sail, as finally there is wind. We contact them on the VHF and make arrangement to meet for drinks later. We leave tomorrow morning to head for Canadian waters.
I am sending this on July 11th at Echo Bay, while they have internet it is too slow to send pictures, I will catch you up on pictures at a later date-- Elaine

Return from Port Ludlow

2008-06-29T19:29:00.000-07:00

All systems are a go. We had a great trip back to Seattle. Everything seems to be working. It was a great day to sail as we heard it was over 90 degrees in Seattle. We saw a Navy aircraft carrier along the way. We think if was an older one as it seemed small, as aircraft carries go. Just a few minor "spats" as we learn to sail this beast, of course Mel is always always at the helm, which leaves me pulling the sheets (that's the lines that move the sail from side to side) or hoisting the halyards (that's the lines that lift the sails up and down), then he sits back and takes the glory. (Just kidding, he is the one who goes out and untangles the lines and who is the only one who really knows what we are doing, I'm just brooding a bit). All in All it was a good day, we have a bit of color in our cheek (Mel is beet red) and the boat is safely back in its slip. I have a glass of wine and all is good.

Test over night sail

2008-06-28T20:48:00.000-07:00

We are sitting at anchor in Port Ludlow, very pretty. We are trying out our water maker now, so far so good. The only glitch was when we tried to hoist the main sail it would not go up. We discovered that the guys who repaired the sail did not hook up the main halyard (that's the rope that pulls the sail up the mast), just a minor detail. Luckly Mel was able to connect it while I motored the boat around, no easy task for him. Here is a picture out the back of our boat in Port Ludlow.

Elaine

Picture of Mazu

2008-06-27T14:02:00.000-07:00

Here is Mazu in our slip in Seattle. Mel and I are going on a test over-nighter tomorrow, if we can get the electronics to work correctly. In the mean time we have been organizing things. We have just about every size of plastic containers a person could find at Fred Meyers. We will have the most organized boat around, if only we can remember where we stowed everything!! (I know where the wine is!)

My first attempt at a picture

2008-06-26T09:51:00.000-07:00

This is a picture of our new "friend" in Seattle, he (she) was on the dock at the end of our boat!

Almost done

2008-06-26T08:23:00.000-07:00

we are doing some last minute details. Mel and I are going to take the boat out on a test sail overnight to Blake Isl. if all goes well. We had a great dinner out last night at Chinooks, we had salomon -- yum!

working in Seattle

2008-06-25T16:37:00.000-07:00

Mel and I are busy getting our Outbound 46, Mazu ready for its first adventure. Spencer is in California visiting my sisters for a week.
We are looking forward to leaving for Canada in about a week. As this is my first attempt a blooging we will see how it goes, I'll try to post pictures etc when ever I can get to and internet source.