As much fun as we have had here, it is time to head north. The tropical storms south of here are beginning to threaten this area, and September is the worst month for that sort of thing. The further north one goes, the better. I am sorry to leave our friends on Sundancer, but we have reservations for a kick-ass trip with them in mid-October to the Copper Canyon area of Mexico, which is inland and a bit north of Mazatlan so it is not good bye, merely see-you-later. I have wanted to go there since I saw a travelogue about it on TV about four or five years ago. We will spend six days riding trains and visiting gorgeous places.
We also signed up for a criuser's rally to El Salvador. It starts in March and ends in April. Again, we will have our friends with us. We all work our way down the Mexican coast, and end up in El Salvador at what looks to be a fabulous resort-type place with plenty of anchorage and a marina. Since we wanted to go there anyway, and have never done a rally, this looks like a lot of fun. So far there are 22 boats signed up. One of the problems with the Baja Ha-Ha (which we signed up for last year but did not make because the boat wasn't ready) is that it has something like 150+ boats, which actually makes it harder to meet people, as there is always just this big crowd at the events. These rallys have organized stops different places, where there are parties and barbecues and things like that. With less boats, you can get to know people better. I have discovered I like a balance of being alone with just the boat and Mike in a deserted anchorage, and being with other boats in a marina or a more populated anchorage. Marinas are a double edged sword in that you have power, dockside water (although often not really drinkable, but good for washing the boat), laundry, and restaurants and plenty of cold beer. But the water is always dirty so no swimming off the boat, and you are cheek-by-jowl with all your neighbors. Anchoages almost always have woinderful clear water for swimming, but you can't use your AC and stuf like that. So a balance is nice to have.
I hope my nephew decides to come back - I sent him an email about El Salvador.
I have not done too much off-the-boat exploring here because it is simply too hot and humid. Our thermometer has registered temperatures like 109 and 107 at the warmest times of day, and even allowing for thermometer placement issues, that is damned hot, especially with high humidity. Even a short walk to the store leaves me so sweaty it is like someone poured hot water over me. I could almost wring out my shirt. North of here it is still hot, but without the humidity. I always used to think that hot was just hot, whether it was dry or humid, but I have come to the realization that is not so. Dry heat is better - at least your sweat dries. Sometimes I feel like there is a bug crawling down my back, and then a realize it is just a big drop of sweat. Trust me, there is not one inch of one's body that does not generate sweat if conditions are just right. I was trying to read something on a piece of paper, and wondered where all the drops of water on it were coming from, and I realized I was dripping all over it. So when someone says "Yes, but it is a dry heat" I will know what they are talking about.
When we leave tomorrow, we will have about 80 miles before our anchorage, which will be the longest sail we have had since leaving Mazatlan for La Paz, or maybe Ensenada to Turtle Bay. It will be at least two days, and maybe longer depending on the wind. I am looking forward to it - I do like my 2 am to 6 am watch so I can see the sunrise. Both our autopilots are working well, and I have had some helm practice now so I am doing way better with that. I don't feel panic everytime I have to take the wheel now. Steering a boat is different than steering a car - the response is not immediate, and it is very easy to over steer, and then over steer trying to get back to where you want to be. If you hold the wheel all the way over until the boat actually turns, it is likely you will turn way too much, and then have to veer back again. Plus even if you hold the wheel perfectly straight, the boat does not usually go straight, because you are being pushed from side to side by waves or currents and things like that. So in order to just maintain your course (nautical lingo for steering straight) you have to be turning gently from one direction to the other. The electronic chartplotter helps, because you can see where you are going on the screen. You can also steer to the compass - meaning you keep looking at the compass and make sure you are going the right way. If there is no land visible to measure your course against, you would not believe how easy it is to get turned around. At times, in the beginning, I almost reduced poor Mike to tears.
The general area we are going to has a "hurricane hole" that is supposed to be one of the best, but we heard that there are 50 boats up there, and I don't want to play bumper pool with that many boats, especially since that many boats means there will be some people who have no idea what they are doing, and others who don't care and expect everyone else to just stay out of their way. There is another hole further north, so we will likely head for that if anything kicks up. The good thing about hurricanes is that they do not sneak up on you - we will have plenty of notice from the short wave radio weather reports to get the hell out if necessary. The thing is to make sure you are no more than three days from a proper hiding place. And the truth is - you are probably better riding the storm out at sea since there is nothing to bump into, and the boat is not likely to sink. It will be awful and scary and horribly uncomfortable, but land and other boats are your worst enemy in a storm. Or so "they" say. I am not in a hurry to find out.
Well, it is time to wrap this up. I have to finish up my re-provisioning, pay up at the marina, clean and straighten up the boat, and in general get ready for getting underway tomorrow. Until next time . . . have a great week!
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Sunday, August 28, 2011
No Hurricanes Here
It is the truth, but I mainly chose the title because I couldn't think of another one. We are still here in Santa Rosalia with our friends, enjoying a respite from the heat with our air conditioning units. Last night we went out and had hotdogs, but not just any hotdogs. These are bacon wrapped hotdogs with everything on them except kraut. (We are in Mexico, after all - there was salsa instead.) This particular hotdog cart is famous, and on a good night they sell over 1000 of them, even in this tiny town. They are pretty good, actually - although not exactly what I would call health food. All the cruising guides for this part of the world recommend it.
Both Mike and I came down with some sort of dysentary-type thing - Mike was actually sick in bed with it, but I only had some annoying, TMI symptoms. But when our nephew had the same thing in La Paz, I kept the prescription information and went down to the pharmacy yesterday and picked up a cure. We are all better now. I suspect the water here is a bit dicey, so we will have to be more careful. I do get careless about that sort of thing even though I know I shouldn't. After all, I have been in Mexico for months and want to get used to all this, but I am beginning to think it doesn't work that way. And every locale is different and gets their water from different sources. And the smallest street vendors all sell bottled water along with soda and juices. So there is no need to actually drink the water.
Otherwise there is not a lot of exciting news. We have had a couple of days of threatening weather that did not turn into anything, although the night before last all of us on boats were awakened at 2 am by our rocking boats and the sound of wind in the rigging. We cleared our decks of anything that might blow away or cause a problem, checked our docklines, and settled down to wait for another chubasco (short violent squall accompained by high winds, rain, thunder and lightning) but luckily it never came. It did thunder and lightning and rain on us, but the wind didn't get high like the last time. I just looked at the weather and there is something brewing south of us, but so far no indication it will be a problem here. Right now it is overcast, a little windy, but nothing dramatic. There is a cloud bank that looks suspicious, but that's all and it is a distance from us.
This is the town taken from a hilltop. The big smokestack is from the old mining operation that is not functioning anymore. They never got rid of the old smeltering operation. It is just sitting there, rusting away.
Here is the marina gate with Mike carrying a load of groceries to the boat.
So now you can see where I am spending my days. We usually stay at the most yuppie marina we can find - believe it or not, that is Mike's choice, not mine - but this place is actually a lot of fun. They have a big lending library inside - most marinas do - which tends to run towards Tom Clancy, James Patterson, and Barbara Taylor Bradford. They do have some good stuff - I found a John LeCarre I hadn't read, and right now I am reading a T.C. Boyle I hadn't read, so that is pretty good.
Mike is still in bed. We went out last night for the famoous hotdogs, but after that we decided to go to a pool hall. It was interesting. My friend Heather and I were the only women other than the one running the place. We were quite a novelty - I had no idea I was one of the most beautiful women in Mexico, as I was told repeatedly. There was a lot of beer flowing, and what was nice was that after a while, it was not just the gringos buying. Mike and our friend Ron were playing pool all night with some guys who insisted on buying the beer as well. The woman who runs the place kept giving Mike back some of the extravagent tips he always leaves when the beer is cheap (I think she thought he was too drunk to know how much he was putting down). Heather and I did have to fend off some persistent suitors - we have decided that there are times when it is best to pretend to speak no Spanish. The woman who ran the place did run some of them off for us - we saw her take one or two of them aside and talk firmly and they slunk away. I suppose we should not have been there once we saw there were no other women, but too late now. It was a good time, and is the way things go when you are not in a tourist town.
By the way, when you are in Mexico, sometimes you see bars that bill themselves as "Ladies Bar". I thought that meant it was a good place for women to get together and have drinks with their girlfriends, sort of like "Ladies Night" in the US. Well, I was wrong and I am glad I found out before I blundered into one. Here, a "Ladies Bar" is a brothel, pure and simple. I found out from one of the septugenarians living down here on his boat. The old fellow was very interested in telling me he frequented the one here. Who knew? Mike almost split a gut laughing at me when I told him what I had thought.
Well, that is enough for now. I wish everyone a really good day!
Both Mike and I came down with some sort of dysentary-type thing - Mike was actually sick in bed with it, but I only had some annoying, TMI symptoms. But when our nephew had the same thing in La Paz, I kept the prescription information and went down to the pharmacy yesterday and picked up a cure. We are all better now. I suspect the water here is a bit dicey, so we will have to be more careful. I do get careless about that sort of thing even though I know I shouldn't. After all, I have been in Mexico for months and want to get used to all this, but I am beginning to think it doesn't work that way. And every locale is different and gets their water from different sources. And the smallest street vendors all sell bottled water along with soda and juices. So there is no need to actually drink the water.
Otherwise there is not a lot of exciting news. We have had a couple of days of threatening weather that did not turn into anything, although the night before last all of us on boats were awakened at 2 am by our rocking boats and the sound of wind in the rigging. We cleared our decks of anything that might blow away or cause a problem, checked our docklines, and settled down to wait for another chubasco (short violent squall accompained by high winds, rain, thunder and lightning) but luckily it never came. It did thunder and lightning and rain on us, but the wind didn't get high like the last time. I just looked at the weather and there is something brewing south of us, but so far no indication it will be a problem here. Right now it is overcast, a little windy, but nothing dramatic. There is a cloud bank that looks suspicious, but that's all and it is a distance from us.
This is the town taken from a hilltop. The big smokestack is from the old mining operation that is not functioning anymore. They never got rid of the old smeltering operation. It is just sitting there, rusting away.
Here is the marina gate with Mike carrying a load of groceries to the boat.
Here is Magda Jean in her slip.
And here is the marina office.
So now you can see where I am spending my days. We usually stay at the most yuppie marina we can find - believe it or not, that is Mike's choice, not mine - but this place is actually a lot of fun. They have a big lending library inside - most marinas do - which tends to run towards Tom Clancy, James Patterson, and Barbara Taylor Bradford. They do have some good stuff - I found a John LeCarre I hadn't read, and right now I am reading a T.C. Boyle I hadn't read, so that is pretty good.
Mike is still in bed. We went out last night for the famoous hotdogs, but after that we decided to go to a pool hall. It was interesting. My friend Heather and I were the only women other than the one running the place. We were quite a novelty - I had no idea I was one of the most beautiful women in Mexico, as I was told repeatedly. There was a lot of beer flowing, and what was nice was that after a while, it was not just the gringos buying. Mike and our friend Ron were playing pool all night with some guys who insisted on buying the beer as well. The woman who runs the place kept giving Mike back some of the extravagent tips he always leaves when the beer is cheap (I think she thought he was too drunk to know how much he was putting down). Heather and I did have to fend off some persistent suitors - we have decided that there are times when it is best to pretend to speak no Spanish. The woman who ran the place did run some of them off for us - we saw her take one or two of them aside and talk firmly and they slunk away. I suppose we should not have been there once we saw there were no other women, but too late now. It was a good time, and is the way things go when you are not in a tourist town.
By the way, when you are in Mexico, sometimes you see bars that bill themselves as "Ladies Bar". I thought that meant it was a good place for women to get together and have drinks with their girlfriends, sort of like "Ladies Night" in the US. Well, I was wrong and I am glad I found out before I blundered into one. Here, a "Ladies Bar" is a brothel, pure and simple. I found out from one of the septugenarians living down here on his boat. The old fellow was very interested in telling me he frequented the one here. Who knew? Mike almost split a gut laughing at me when I told him what I had thought.
Well, that is enough for now. I wish everyone a really good day!
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
Santa Rosalia
We are at this funky marina here in Santa Rosalia. The docks are rickety, the cleats are marginal, and it is full of elderly men living on their boats and bemoaning wives that are either long gone or shortly gone and not returning. It is run on the honor system - there is a refrigerator filled with beer. Really cold beer. Each boat is given a sheet and told to record anything we take, and we are expected to settle up when we leave. The beers are only 15 pesos each, which is less than a dollar fifty. Pretty hard to beat. Our friends on Sundancer are here too - they had a birthday yesterday and we all, along with the man on the boat next to us, went to dinner to celebrate. It is so nice to have good friends here with us.
The weather is a little dicey today - cloudy skies, more wind and waves than usual, and a rather ominous weather report showing a low pressure system leading straight up the Sea of Cortez that could open us up to hurricanes, which until now have apparently been blocked by what is referred to as a Pacific High. I was the one who woke up this morning early, and discovered our windvane power generator being quite active. I looked outside, decided to tie down the dinghy and add an extra dockline. Then I got Mike up. We have been keeping our eyes on the weather - so far, so good. I am not looking forward to another chubasco , which is the official name of the storm we went through earlier this week. Hopefully we are not in for more of that.
This is a very interesting town. It is not a tourist town at all, probably because there is no beach. Cruising sailboats stop here on their way to other places. The town was originally a copper mining town, run by a French company. There is a steel church here that was designed by Eiffel in Paris, built there, and then dismantaled and shipped over here and reconstructed. It is really interesting - it almost looks like a toy. It is made of steel. There are also a lot of wooden buildings here, another unusual thing for this part of the world where there are not and never were any trees. The mining concerns shipped them down from the Pacific Northwest. There is a Yaqui Indian population that has never really assimilated. They contracted to work the mines, with the understanding the Church would allow them to practice their own religion and maintain their own culture. Surprizingly, the Church lived up to its part of the bargain. The mines closed down years ago, and the old equipment is lying around all over the place. Recently there has been an attempt to reopen the mines due to the rise in the price of copper. It remains to be seen how that will play out.
I had the chance this morning to accompany our neighbor down to the commercial panga docks to see his brother-in-law who was returning with a big load of sharks. (One note - if you are going to enjoy third world or even second world living, sometimes you have to suspend your own value judgments. People here do what they have to do to get by.) There were about eight or nine dead sharks, all of which were caught in this big net. It was pretty interesting to watch these guys, most of whom live without running water in their homes, unload and cut up these big fish. They leave the guts and heads for the gulls and pelicans, the body goes to the fishing collective, and the fins go to the boat captain, who then dries them and sells them. They get about one hundred and fifty dollars a kilo, which is a tremendous amount of money for these people. I don't think it is legal most places. At least here the whole shark is used, whereas in Asia, they take many more sharks and take only the fins, throwing the rest away. My first stepmother tried sharkfin soup when she was dying of cancer, I am here to
tell you it does not work.
Enough about that. It is very hot and humid today, as per usual, maybe a little more humid because it is cloudy and this storm system is hovering around. We have some shopping to do - this is the last place to reprovision for over 100 miles. There are several small stores here that seem to have pretty much everything we need, if maybe not everything we want. There is plenty of cold beer, an important item. We don't drink when we are actually underway, but a cold beer at the end of a day of sailing after the anchor is dropped is hard to beat. That and a fresh water shower. Plus, I have never been so grateful for a glass of cold water in my life.
Here are a couple pictures of the storm. The first one is at the beginning, when the sky scared us. The second one shows our friends' boat in the middle of it - and later it blew so hard we could not even see their boat. The pictures do not do it justice, but they are the best ones I have.
Unfortunately, I discovered that the other pictures I wanted to post are in some file that Mike uses that I have no idea about. So I will try mightily to get some new stuff downloaded as soon as I can get him to help me.
We plan to be here for about three more days, and then we will head north. The next anchorage is about 80 miles north, which means at least one overnight depending on how fast we can go. As anyone who has read this before is aware, Mike would rather drift along sailing at one knot before he turns on the engine. So it could be a couple of days. I am looking forward to it because we have not done any overnights since Mike, Walt and I came from Mazatlan to the islands off La Paz in late June. Everything we have been doing so far is day sailing, stopping at night. I have missed watching the sun come up at the end of my night watch. After that, I am not sure where we will stop next. Our eventual goal is Bahia De Los Angeles, which will theoretically keep us safe from any hurricanes. This is hurricane season in this part of the world, and September is the most dangerous month, so we really need to get going. Then come early October, we will head south again. My nephew wants to come back, and we are really hoping that will happen.
Well, it is time for me to get going to get my chores done. Here in the marina it is easier to do my chores because we get to use shore power to run our air conditioning. It makes things so much more comfortable, especially at night. We even get to snuggle again, something we really haven't been able to do when it is so hot at night. It is a treat not to wake up with the sheets soaked in sweat. So - here is hoping all my fellow Americans on the east coast are spared the wrath of Irene. For the first time, that sort of fear is more than theoretical to me. Have a great day!
The weather is a little dicey today - cloudy skies, more wind and waves than usual, and a rather ominous weather report showing a low pressure system leading straight up the Sea of Cortez that could open us up to hurricanes, which until now have apparently been blocked by what is referred to as a Pacific High. I was the one who woke up this morning early, and discovered our windvane power generator being quite active. I looked outside, decided to tie down the dinghy and add an extra dockline. Then I got Mike up. We have been keeping our eyes on the weather - so far, so good. I am not looking forward to another chubasco , which is the official name of the storm we went through earlier this week. Hopefully we are not in for more of that.
This is a very interesting town. It is not a tourist town at all, probably because there is no beach. Cruising sailboats stop here on their way to other places. The town was originally a copper mining town, run by a French company. There is a steel church here that was designed by Eiffel in Paris, built there, and then dismantaled and shipped over here and reconstructed. It is really interesting - it almost looks like a toy. It is made of steel. There are also a lot of wooden buildings here, another unusual thing for this part of the world where there are not and never were any trees. The mining concerns shipped them down from the Pacific Northwest. There is a Yaqui Indian population that has never really assimilated. They contracted to work the mines, with the understanding the Church would allow them to practice their own religion and maintain their own culture. Surprizingly, the Church lived up to its part of the bargain. The mines closed down years ago, and the old equipment is lying around all over the place. Recently there has been an attempt to reopen the mines due to the rise in the price of copper. It remains to be seen how that will play out.
I had the chance this morning to accompany our neighbor down to the commercial panga docks to see his brother-in-law who was returning with a big load of sharks. (One note - if you are going to enjoy third world or even second world living, sometimes you have to suspend your own value judgments. People here do what they have to do to get by.) There were about eight or nine dead sharks, all of which were caught in this big net. It was pretty interesting to watch these guys, most of whom live without running water in their homes, unload and cut up these big fish. They leave the guts and heads for the gulls and pelicans, the body goes to the fishing collective, and the fins go to the boat captain, who then dries them and sells them. They get about one hundred and fifty dollars a kilo, which is a tremendous amount of money for these people. I don't think it is legal most places. At least here the whole shark is used, whereas in Asia, they take many more sharks and take only the fins, throwing the rest away. My first stepmother tried sharkfin soup when she was dying of cancer, I am here to
tell you it does not work.
Enough about that. It is very hot and humid today, as per usual, maybe a little more humid because it is cloudy and this storm system is hovering around. We have some shopping to do - this is the last place to reprovision for over 100 miles. There are several small stores here that seem to have pretty much everything we need, if maybe not everything we want. There is plenty of cold beer, an important item. We don't drink when we are actually underway, but a cold beer at the end of a day of sailing after the anchor is dropped is hard to beat. That and a fresh water shower. Plus, I have never been so grateful for a glass of cold water in my life.
Here are a couple pictures of the storm. The first one is at the beginning, when the sky scared us. The second one shows our friends' boat in the middle of it - and later it blew so hard we could not even see their boat. The pictures do not do it justice, but they are the best ones I have.
Unfortunately, I discovered that the other pictures I wanted to post are in some file that Mike uses that I have no idea about. So I will try mightily to get some new stuff downloaded as soon as I can get him to help me.
We plan to be here for about three more days, and then we will head north. The next anchorage is about 80 miles north, which means at least one overnight depending on how fast we can go. As anyone who has read this before is aware, Mike would rather drift along sailing at one knot before he turns on the engine. So it could be a couple of days. I am looking forward to it because we have not done any overnights since Mike, Walt and I came from Mazatlan to the islands off La Paz in late June. Everything we have been doing so far is day sailing, stopping at night. I have missed watching the sun come up at the end of my night watch. After that, I am not sure where we will stop next. Our eventual goal is Bahia De Los Angeles, which will theoretically keep us safe from any hurricanes. This is hurricane season in this part of the world, and September is the most dangerous month, so we really need to get going. Then come early October, we will head south again. My nephew wants to come back, and we are really hoping that will happen.
Well, it is time for me to get going to get my chores done. Here in the marina it is easier to do my chores because we get to use shore power to run our air conditioning. It makes things so much more comfortable, especially at night. We even get to snuggle again, something we really haven't been able to do when it is so hot at night. It is a treat not to wake up with the sheets soaked in sweat. So - here is hoping all my fellow Americans on the east coast are spared the wrath of Irene. For the first time, that sort of fear is more than theoretical to me. Have a great day!
Saturday, August 20, 2011
Anchored and Loving Life
We are currently anchored at a place called Caleta Los Arcos, which is on Isla San Marcos, just a short distance from Santa Rosalia. We had planned to be in Santa Rosalia today, but there was very little wind and we just poked along. Mike hates to use the engine - and truth is we have a sailboat, not a powerboat, and like to sail along, not motor along. That does mean that at times we go pretty slow, no question.
Mike changed the fuel filter today after I got the idea to email our diesel mechanics teacher (we took a one day class in diesel engine maintenance in February 2010) and ask him for suggestions on our engine issues. He agreed that the dipstick we have does not match our engine configuration, which would explain why it registers empty, then is overflowing after adding less than half a cup of oil. He also thought the white smoke could be from dirty fuel - not an unusual problem here in Mexico - and suggested we change the fuel filter. The engine ran great after that, so maybe the problem is finally licked. I hope so anyway.
We had a great stay in Punta Chivato - there is a wonderful hotel there we have stayed at in the past. This time we did not stay there, but did have dinner and cold beer (which is something we are out of). The beer, that is. Anyway, the meal was wonderful. Of course we forgot to put on our mast light or bring a flashlight when we left the boat in the dinghy, and when it was time to go home we had a hell of a time finding our way back along the beach to the dinghy. It was a rocky beach too, so that made it even harder. I vow to remember to turn on the lights and bring a flashlight the next time we leave the boat when it might be dark when we get back.
Today Mike caught a dorado (mahi mahi) which we are having for dinner tonight, along with Mike's cole slaw (made from the last of our fresh vegetables. Cabbage lasts a long time.). We are also having ceviche and homemade tortillas. Not too bad if I do say so myself. We do need to get to Santa Rosalia so we can get more fresh food and more beer! There is nothing like a cold beer at the end of a good day sailing!
I decided I did not need my hair three quarters of the way down my back, so a few days ago I had Mike cut about six inches off. He did a great job, and if he learns to do facials, could be an esthetician. It is still long enough to pull back and put up, which is exactly what I wanted.
The anchorage here is gorgeous. It backs up to a high rocky cliff, with so many different colors of rock it is breathtaking. There are also two large sea caves for us to explore, some reefs for snorkeling, and of course beautiful clear water to swim in. We are planning to use our snorkel gear tomorrow to do some cleaning to the waterline and bottom of the boat. I get to do the waterline as Mike can dive better and hold his breath longer than I can. But I can scrape barnacles with the best of them!
I hope to have a better internet connection when I get to Santa Rosalia so I can post some more pictures. Right now I have to go and fry up some of the fresh tortillas to go with the ceviche. I'm in heaven.
Friday, August 19, 2011
The Balance Between Sublimity and Terror
Well, I have endured my first storm with thunder, lightning, and 50+ knot winds. But let me start at the beginning.
We left Caleta San Juanico two days ago, on August 16. After the rocky night I last wrote about, things got nice and calm again. We took off for Bahia Santo Domingo, a 44 mile sail. That is a bit longer than the usual day sail, so we made it a point to leave early so as to reach the anchorage in daylight.
The sailing was pretty good - although the wind was right on our ass, requiring us to use a point of sail called wing-on-wing. I really don't like it that much. Believe it or not, having the wind at your back is not the most efficient way to sail. You want your wind just off the side and a little bit forward, at least for Magda Jean. Wing-on-wing is when you have the mainsail out on one side and pole your headsail out on the other side. Although we made good speed, the headsail tends to luff and make noise, and the ride is not as comfortable. But - we were making good speed, which is also often not the case with wing-on-wing. So I did not complain about it as much as I usually do.
As usual, we were towing fishing rods. But there was a problem in the form of brown boobies. I am a big fan of seabirds in general, and these are usually some of my favorites. But these guys were causing big problems by diving for our lures. So we did everything we could think of to scare them away. We yelled, waved our arms, and even blew an obnoxious air horn. Nothing helped. We took the lines in for awhile, hoping they would go bother another boat. They did leave, but as soon as we put the lines out again, back they came. And of course when they did get tangled up with the lures, it happened with both rods simultaneously. One set we were unable to pull in and had to cut the line - I have no idea what happened to the birds but I doubt it was good. Did I mention that two birds were caught on each line? We were able to pull the second line in, and one of the birds sort of fell off and took off. But one was still stuck. So Mike reeled him in (I know they were males, no self respecting female would get herself in that situation) and yelled for me to get a towel. I wrapped the bird's head in a towel, so he couldn't bite us while Mike got the hook out. It was a total bummer - the bird was struggling and I was really afraid I was going to strangle it by accident. Finally the hook came out and the bird flapped away. He looked okay to me, but maybe that was wishful thinking.
After a period of time had gone by and no more boobies seemed to be around, we put out the lines again and this time we hooked a fish. And not another skipjack - this was a dorado, about 10 pounds. We reeled him in and Mike cleaned and fileted him right there on the deck. I did ruin yet another white tee shirt with fish blood, but oh well - almost all my tee shirts are stained with either fish blood, sweat, or something.
When we got to the anchorage, we were delighted to find our friends on Sundancer already there. In fact, they called us on the radio when we were still about an hour out. (I love having people call us on the radio. In fact, we have gotten more radio calls than we ever had phone calls before we took off.) We made plans to have them over for dinner on the 17th to help us eat the dorado.
After a wonderful day of swimming and snorkling - the sea life is amazing in the Sea of Cortez - we had our friends over for a great party. I poached the fish and everyone liked it. We were up until after midnight just talking and laughing. The three of them killed off Mike's fancy tequila that he has been saving for just such an occasion.
We made plans to go on a trip to the Copper Canyon in October together. It was a truly wonderful party and it is great to have new friends.
We went to bed and I slept well, even though it is really hot, as I have talked about many times. When we got up, it was cloudy and Mike said he thought it might rain. I said "I will believe that when I see it." Then a bit later we heard some people a bit south of here talking about some bad weather in the making, and Mike expressed serious concern about the way the clouds looked. He told me he thought we needed to put the dinghy up on deck and get ready for whatever might be coming. We got the dinghy up in record time, I battened things down securely in the cabin, and we waited to see what would happen.
In about 15 minutes tops, it went from a gentle breeze to an extremely strong wind. We could see the wind blowing across the water towards us, and then it hit. The wind was so strong we felt the boat go over sideways. The waves kicked up, with spray blowing off the tops. Then it began to rain really hard. Luckily we thought to close all the hatches and windows, or the cabin would have been soaked. We could barely see our friends' boat which was only about 300 yards away because of all the flying water. We had to go below and monitor whether or not we were dragging anchor by watching our position on our chartplotter. It was really scary. Before they stopped working, our wind instruments showed winds of 50 knots. Mike kept saying he had never experienced anything like this, not even in the Navy. That was not reassuring to me! I am now living proof there are no atheists in foxholes, because I was praying we made it through without running aground into the rocky shore. The wind just screamed through the rigging, and the canvas protectors around the cockpit made this really angry sound I can't even describe. When I looked outside, everything was grey - water, air, rain, clouds - you couldn't tell where one stopped and another one started.
The storm lasted at that degree for about an hour, but it seemed a lot longer. Finally, we realized the wind was abating, and the seas seemed to calm a bit. Within 45 minutes, things were pretty calm again, and we were able to relax a bit. The only casualty seems to be our wind instruments, which us the wind speed and direction. If they don't come back up it will be a bummer, but not the end of the world.
I hope I don't have to go through that again, but we did not drag, we did not lose anything important, nobody got hurt, and our friends were okay too. We didn't even argue. I now know a little more about what the boat and I can handle. Hopefully I won't be so scared if there is a "next time" for this. I can really live without going through it again anytime soon, that is for sure
So that brings this blog up to date. We plan to leave tomorrow for Punto Chivato, which is about 20 miles away. After a day there and a meal at a wonderful hotel, we will leave for Santa Rosalia, where we will stay for few days while we reprovision. We are out of eggs, beer, and fresh produce except for a couple onions. The beer is the really important part, after all.
Since I am posting this by radio, I can't post any pictures, but trust me, we have some great ones taken while underwater and some pictures of the dolphins that swam next to the boat for quite awhile the other day. Right now Mike is installing some new LED lights our friends gave to us. They also gave us a new fan. I can hardly wait to experience the new fan! They have one like it and it works really well. I hope to have a more boring post next time!
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Monday, August 15, 2011
Rock and Roll
That is what we did all last night - the anchorage had a wraparound swell that kept us awake almost all night. I know I slept some because I had crazy dreams that seemed to last a long time. No harm was done, but this boat went from side to side and up and down. It was like being underway in heavy surf. There is something rotten in the frig as well - shit never ends! But that is small potatoes.
Otherwise, it is fine here. There really isn't a lot of news, and I can't post pictures over the radio. But we are alive and well, and hopefully everyone else is doing fine. When I saw the stock market reports before I lost internet at the other anchorage, I was glad I can't touch my money for another four years. By then hopefully things will calm down. I don't understand why "investors" are allowed to control the economy anyway - and they (whoever "they" really are) are such a bunch of reactionaries, getting all excited and buying and selling in a feeding frenzy every time someone in government sneezes. Was it always this way?
This will be a short post - sometimes there just isn't a lot to report. I will probably do some snorkling and maybe a little fishing from the dinghy. Hopefully if we catch something, it will not be skipjack! I miss everyone, and hope you all are doing well and having fun.
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Sunday, August 14, 2011
Buenos Dias From Caleta San Juanico
We have been here in Caleta San Juanico for about three days. It is another beautiful anchorage, which we are sharing with our friends Sundancer and Shaman I. (You identify everyone by their boat name out here.) We had a great visit with Sundancer the first night we were here, which involved lots of good talk, laughter, sharing stories, and having WAY too much to drink - and I have not been that hungover since I can't remember when - but it was a wonderful time with good friends. Shaman I went snorkling yesterday and got lobster - but we are not doing that because Mike cut his foot and needs to keep it out of the water for a day or so. I guess the lobsters will still be there when he recovers. The cut is healing nicely, so it is not a problem. He was able to build a lobster extraction tool (to get them out from under their rock hiding places) - those are tough suckers that do not succumb easily.
Both of us are reading books about Baja. Mine is called "Almost An Island" and Mike's is called "Baja Legends." They are both about the history, geography, and general lore about Baja California. We will switch off when we each finish.
Today we made water - it took three hours to make about 100 gallons. We used a lot of water yesterday giving the boat a fresh water washdown to get rid of the crusted salt. It is good for the boat and all the winches and lines and stuff to do that as often as you can. When we daysailed our old boat, it got a fresh water washdown every time we sailed it. Obviously that can't happen here, because we are not tied up to the dock with unlimited water. It seems like our biggest water use is for cleaning - dishes, laundry, and ourselves. We do drink several gallons per day, because it is so hot. It is important to stay hydrated, everyone knows that, but sometimes you forget, especially when you are swimming even when the swimming is in salt water. My, my, my - what a run on sentence that was! Sorry Matt and Buffy!
Today when I was hanging the laundry off the lifelines I saw two rays swimming near the surface right next to the boat. They are beautiful with their patterned backs and graceful swimming. I also love it when they jump out of the water, flapping their fins which look for all the world like wings. I have probably said this before, but I like to think they jump because they are having a really good day. Mike says they are probably getting rid of parasites, or some other rather prosaic reason. I like my idea better and I am sticking to it.
We had another wonderful sail from Isla Coronados to where we are now. Again, the wind was exactly where we needed it to be and we just flew along at 6 to 7 knots. It was the best sailing possible, I believe. We caught a skipjack, but threw it back. I have decided that we are going to keep the next one we catch and see what can be done with it to make it taste good. Skipjack is very dark meat with a strong flavor and most people won't eat it. I think if I soak it long and hard in salt water, rinsing often, and then marinate it in soy sauce and ginger, I can make it palatable. If we could eat jack cravalle, which is supposedly worse and not hate it, I can do something with skipjack. Especially since that is all we seem to be able to catch. The fishing does not seem as good as it was a couple years back and I do not want to think about why that might be the case.
I could go on and on about how beautiful it is out here, but I would only be using the same words over and over again, and I could not do it justice anyway. Even photos do not do it justice. While we were sailing down here, we got in with a pod of dolphins. I took pictures of them and I will post the good ones when I am in a place with regular internet connections. I don't care what anyone says - I think they play with boats. They go all around and under, and at times seem like they are racing. I tried to get a shot of them jumping, but I am not that good of a photographer. However, they are so close to the surface and the water is so clear you can see them really good from the deck of the boat.
Speaking of the boat, things seem to be going well with all the systems. The new water pump is way better than the old one ever was. For some reason we do not understand, the batteries seem to be charging better. We didn't do anything that should have made that happen, but there you go - it does seem to be the case. The engine is running better now that we are not putting as much oil into it, but it still acts up sometimes when it is time to turn it on. It clicks but does not turn over. When that happens, Mike goes into the engine compartment and fiddles with the starter wires, which makes it work, but there seems to be no rhyme or reason to it. I guess we will need to get it checked out at some point. I just hope all hangs together until we get to either La Paz or Mazatlan at the end of the fall. I do not want to be engineless!
We are starting to think about where we want to go this winter - likely down the Pacific coast all the way down the Mexican mainland, then on to Central America. Mike is leaning towards the south Pacific - Tahiti and so on - and I really don't know what I want. It all sounds good to me. I guess it depends on what we feel tough enough to do. I know I have said that before, and will likely say it again.
This is enough for today. I wish everyone reading this a really good day and hope all is well.
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Friday, August 12, 2011
Leaving Isla Coronados
Last night we slept out in the cockpit. Mike brought the sofa cushions up and they fit perfectly. I slept quite well - when it is this hot I wake up drenched in sweat. I still got hot, but it was a lot more comfortable. I learned the meaning of the term "bathed in moonlight" when I awoke to the almost full moon. It was so bright I almost could have read a book. When morning came, we were awakened by a whole bunch of rays jumping out of the water. It was really amazing - a word I know I overuse, but I can't think of another one that is more fitting.
Everything seems to be working well on the boat. We will be leaving for a new anchorage today, and we will see if the theory about the engine is correct. We do have to burn off some of the excess oil - I do not completely understand the whole thing but Mike is optimistic. The batteries seem to be charging better, and I have no idea why that is. The new water pump not only fixed the problem, but uses less power and works better. So at this point, all is well on the mechanical front.
I tried to change my Facebook picture, but I don't think it worked. Just as well - it is a picture taken underwater of me snorkling and I look just like a fish. If all goes well, I will post it here. Our internet connection is not the strongest.
Yesterday we went for a hike on this island. I was proud of myself for hiking in hot sun and well over 90 degree weather - a year ago I would not have attempted it. It wasn't just that I don't like being hot and sweaty, but I would actually become physically ill when I got too warm. Now I am just as hot and sweaty, but I feel fine. Even without chewing betelnut like I did in Taiwan. But that is for another post unless I already talked about it. I can be really repetitive, if that has not been noticed already. Anyway, the island is volcanic, and part of the hike was over a lava field that was completely covered with rocks that were hard to climb over. I was real careful and did not fall down, which is good for me because I am well known for tripping and falling. There was evidence all over the place of the ancient people who lived here years ago - I have seen some stuff like this when I have hiked in the California deserts, but never in such abundence. It must have been a hard life. After the hike we snorkled - the fish were incredible and we saw a moray eel. Mike loves to see those but I admit they scare me. Our scuba instructor in La Paz has a scar on his face from being bitten by one. Of course he was messing with it, it did not just come up and attack him. Still, they have a couple rows of really sharp looking teeth.
The plan for today is to sail about 20 miles to an anchorage on the mainland called San Juanico. Some friends of ours left here yesterday and we hope to catch up with them. We haven't had any overnight passages for a long time now, and Mike plans to do mostly day sails, stopping for the night. I sort of like overnights, but it is also nice for everyone to get some good sleep. It takes at least three full days to adjust to an on-and-off watch schedule - and Mike has a hard time getting enough sleep as he knows I am not the sailor he is. I am getting better though - my sail trimming skills are almost as good as his if I do say so myself. I am still a poor helmsman - thank goodness for Iron Mike and Adelaide, our two autopilots.
I had better wind this up - it looks like the internet may be dying. Have a great day!
Everything seems to be working well on the boat. We will be leaving for a new anchorage today, and we will see if the theory about the engine is correct. We do have to burn off some of the excess oil - I do not completely understand the whole thing but Mike is optimistic. The batteries seem to be charging better, and I have no idea why that is. The new water pump not only fixed the problem, but uses less power and works better. So at this point, all is well on the mechanical front.
I tried to change my Facebook picture, but I don't think it worked. Just as well - it is a picture taken underwater of me snorkling and I look just like a fish. If all goes well, I will post it here. Our internet connection is not the strongest.
Yesterday we went for a hike on this island. I was proud of myself for hiking in hot sun and well over 90 degree weather - a year ago I would not have attempted it. It wasn't just that I don't like being hot and sweaty, but I would actually become physically ill when I got too warm. Now I am just as hot and sweaty, but I feel fine. Even without chewing betelnut like I did in Taiwan. But that is for another post unless I already talked about it. I can be really repetitive, if that has not been noticed already. Anyway, the island is volcanic, and part of the hike was over a lava field that was completely covered with rocks that were hard to climb over. I was real careful and did not fall down, which is good for me because I am well known for tripping and falling. There was evidence all over the place of the ancient people who lived here years ago - I have seen some stuff like this when I have hiked in the California deserts, but never in such abundence. It must have been a hard life. After the hike we snorkled - the fish were incredible and we saw a moray eel. Mike loves to see those but I admit they scare me. Our scuba instructor in La Paz has a scar on his face from being bitten by one. Of course he was messing with it, it did not just come up and attack him. Still, they have a couple rows of really sharp looking teeth.
The plan for today is to sail about 20 miles to an anchorage on the mainland called San Juanico. Some friends of ours left here yesterday and we hope to catch up with them. We haven't had any overnight passages for a long time now, and Mike plans to do mostly day sails, stopping for the night. I sort of like overnights, but it is also nice for everyone to get some good sleep. It takes at least three full days to adjust to an on-and-off watch schedule - and Mike has a hard time getting enough sleep as he knows I am not the sailor he is. I am getting better though - my sail trimming skills are almost as good as his if I do say so myself. I am still a poor helmsman - thank goodness for Iron Mike and Adelaide, our two autopilots.
I had better wind this up - it looks like the internet may be dying. Have a great day!
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
Isla Coronados and What I Hope is Good News
The good news part is that Mike is pretty sure he has figured out what is wrong with the engine. I will try to explain it. The problems are two-fold. First, the engine is installed on kind of a slant, which makes reading the dipstick difficult. Mike noticed it would read almost empty, so he would add oil. It always seemed to be empty when he would do a routine check. Then we noticed the oil pressure gauge was always falling way down, indicating a lack of oil pressure. So he would add more oil. Then we had a problem one day with the engine making white smoke and revving itself up and refusing to turn off. Scary. Yesterday Mike discovered that oil was coming out of some hose or pipe or something near the air intake thing. (As you can see, I am sort of hazy on the whole thing.) Then we noticed that when the engine is off and the gauge should be at zero, it is almost half an inch below zero. Mike then noticed that if the dipstick showed empty, a tiny tiny bit of added oil caused it to immediately register full. So the bottom line (hopefully) is that we have been adding too much oil, causing an overflow, which got into the air intake thing which caused the smoke and the runaway engine. This can be handled, which has caused a HUGE relief to us here on the boat.
The other good news is that we found a new water pressure pump in Loreto that Mike is going to install, so no more problems there.
Lets hope this engine thing is as he has postulated - the disappointment would kill him. Plus this is not an expensive fix and can be handled.
We are having a really good time here. There are three other boats here with us - Sundancer, Raindancer (no connection, just coincidence) and Big Wonderful. We met Sundancer at Agua Verde, where we all took a hike to see some cave paintings. (I cheated and accepted a ride in a passing truck up a big hill.) We met Raindancer in Ensenada, and then caught up with them again in La Paz. This was our first meeting with Big Wonderful - who, interestingly enough, are originally from Wisconsin. We had a great time swimming at the beach after we anchored - talking and drinking beer and floating along. Raindancer has THREE miniture Australian Shepards, two of whom like to swim. The dogs swam out to our dinghy as we were approaching shore with welcoming barks. It is great to spend time with really smart, interesting people.
One thing about being out here is that at night, there is so little light pollution the stars are amazing. I have seen more shooting stars in one night than I have in my whole life.
No hurricanes on the horizen, thank goodness.
We had a wonderful sail getting here yesterday - for once, the wind was in the proper direction and blowing about 12 knots. We were sailing along with full sail at about 6.5 to 7 knots - which is just about at hull speed, which means the boat is not supposed to sail faster. The only time is does is when it is surfing down waves. This was just one hell of a sail, and we loved every second of it. We usually poke along at 2-3 knots.
One piece of bad news - we saw some roaches on board, and we are not near anywhere to buy roach traps or boric acid. I am going to ask around and try to find out if anyone has anything we can do about it. Of course, that means we have to admit having bugs aboard . . .
Well, that will do it for now. I am going to try and post some pictures before I lose internet connection. Everyone have a great day!
The other good news is that we found a new water pressure pump in Loreto that Mike is going to install, so no more problems there.
Lets hope this engine thing is as he has postulated - the disappointment would kill him. Plus this is not an expensive fix and can be handled.
We are having a really good time here. There are three other boats here with us - Sundancer, Raindancer (no connection, just coincidence) and Big Wonderful. We met Sundancer at Agua Verde, where we all took a hike to see some cave paintings. (I cheated and accepted a ride in a passing truck up a big hill.) We met Raindancer in Ensenada, and then caught up with them again in La Paz. This was our first meeting with Big Wonderful - who, interestingly enough, are originally from Wisconsin. We had a great time swimming at the beach after we anchored - talking and drinking beer and floating along. Raindancer has THREE miniture Australian Shepards, two of whom like to swim. The dogs swam out to our dinghy as we were approaching shore with welcoming barks. It is great to spend time with really smart, interesting people.
One thing about being out here is that at night, there is so little light pollution the stars are amazing. I have seen more shooting stars in one night than I have in my whole life.
No hurricanes on the horizen, thank goodness.
We had a wonderful sail getting here yesterday - for once, the wind was in the proper direction and blowing about 12 knots. We were sailing along with full sail at about 6.5 to 7 knots - which is just about at hull speed, which means the boat is not supposed to sail faster. The only time is does is when it is surfing down waves. This was just one hell of a sail, and we loved every second of it. We usually poke along at 2-3 knots.
One piece of bad news - we saw some roaches on board, and we are not near anywhere to buy roach traps or boric acid. I am going to ask around and try to find out if anyone has anything we can do about it. Of course, that means we have to admit having bugs aboard . . .
Well, that will do it for now. I am going to try and post some pictures before I lose internet connection. Everyone have a great day!
Monday, August 8, 2011
What a Difference
a day makes . . . And that is really true. I have a whole new outlook and feel great about everything. I got to chat with my sister via Facebook yesterday and that is what made all the difference. By the time we finished chatting, I was a new person. Thank you, Buffy.
Yesterday we got all the fuel and provisions we will need to push further north. We were going to leave today, but the wind is really high and we felt like hanging around and taking it easy.
We are in a fabulous anchorage with a resort hotel on the shore. They really welcome cruisers - to the point we can use the pool and all their other facilities. They send someone out in a kayak each morning to deliver coffe and pastries to all of us out here anchored in sailboats. There are currently three of us out here. Not all beach resorts welcome cruisers - so we really appreciate this.
Last night we visited on another boat and had a wonderful time - it is great to meet people you really click with. We laughed and talked for the longest time.
The weather is still hot, but there is a strong wind and moving hot air is better than still hot air. And from what I hear, there is an incredibly amount of heat in the US right now, so I doubt we have it any worse than anyone there. At least we have an ocean to jump into!
Our friends from last night just stopped by in his dinghy to return the glasses Mike left on their boat (he cannot keep track of his glasses to save his life) and to see if we needed to have any garbage dropped off in the cans on the beach. This leads me to two different reflections.
First, the dinghy is your car. You use the dinghy to get off the boat to shore, and to motor around your anchorages. It is a lifeline and everyone treats them with great care. In a large, public area like Mazatlan Harbor, you have to be careful and put your outboard engine up on your boat every night and not leave it on the dinghy tied to your boat or it might get stolen. Here, there is no one around to steal it (and nowhere to take it if they did decide to steal it) so it can sit on the dinghy in the water all night. We have a real easy way to get it up and down, so when we are in an area where theft could occur, it is not a big deal to bring it up on deck. But there are other dinghy hazards to be aware of. The first night we were here we went up to the hotel for dinner, leaving the dinghy on the beach. The wind was blowing really hard. All of a sudden one of the employees came running up to tell us our dinghy had blown upside down! And it had! We righted it and luckily there were no problems starting it. The wind must have been even stronger than we thought as the dinghy and engine together weigh about 300 pounds.
Next, garbage is a big problem. There is often no place to get rid of it legitimately in most anchorages. I have seen bags dumped in these beautiful places and it makes me sick to see that. You know it is cruisers and not the locals because the anchorages are inaccessible except for by water, and by the amount of wine bottles. We just carry the bags on our deck until we find someplace with trash cans. Food scraps can be dumped in the water anywhere, and if you are far enough out you can dump paper and cans, because they degrade quickly. But no plastic, never, and it is sad to see how much plastic trash one boat can generate, even when you make a concerted effort to avoid things with plastic packaging. I have become so much more aware of waste management than I ever imagined I could be. Sometimes I feel like I risk becoming a miniture BP if I were not vigilant.
Here are some of the fish we see when snorkling - these were taken with the new underwater camera.
Another sunset.
One of our anchorages - the cactus grows right out of the rock.
Here are the goats of Agua Verde. I am partial to goats.
Yesterday we got all the fuel and provisions we will need to push further north. We were going to leave today, but the wind is really high and we felt like hanging around and taking it easy.
We are in a fabulous anchorage with a resort hotel on the shore. They really welcome cruisers - to the point we can use the pool and all their other facilities. They send someone out in a kayak each morning to deliver coffe and pastries to all of us out here anchored in sailboats. There are currently three of us out here. Not all beach resorts welcome cruisers - so we really appreciate this.
Last night we visited on another boat and had a wonderful time - it is great to meet people you really click with. We laughed and talked for the longest time.
The weather is still hot, but there is a strong wind and moving hot air is better than still hot air. And from what I hear, there is an incredibly amount of heat in the US right now, so I doubt we have it any worse than anyone there. At least we have an ocean to jump into!
Our friends from last night just stopped by in his dinghy to return the glasses Mike left on their boat (he cannot keep track of his glasses to save his life) and to see if we needed to have any garbage dropped off in the cans on the beach. This leads me to two different reflections.
First, the dinghy is your car. You use the dinghy to get off the boat to shore, and to motor around your anchorages. It is a lifeline and everyone treats them with great care. In a large, public area like Mazatlan Harbor, you have to be careful and put your outboard engine up on your boat every night and not leave it on the dinghy tied to your boat or it might get stolen. Here, there is no one around to steal it (and nowhere to take it if they did decide to steal it) so it can sit on the dinghy in the water all night. We have a real easy way to get it up and down, so when we are in an area where theft could occur, it is not a big deal to bring it up on deck. But there are other dinghy hazards to be aware of. The first night we were here we went up to the hotel for dinner, leaving the dinghy on the beach. The wind was blowing really hard. All of a sudden one of the employees came running up to tell us our dinghy had blown upside down! And it had! We righted it and luckily there were no problems starting it. The wind must have been even stronger than we thought as the dinghy and engine together weigh about 300 pounds.
Next, garbage is a big problem. There is often no place to get rid of it legitimately in most anchorages. I have seen bags dumped in these beautiful places and it makes me sick to see that. You know it is cruisers and not the locals because the anchorages are inaccessible except for by water, and by the amount of wine bottles. We just carry the bags on our deck until we find someplace with trash cans. Food scraps can be dumped in the water anywhere, and if you are far enough out you can dump paper and cans, because they degrade quickly. But no plastic, never, and it is sad to see how much plastic trash one boat can generate, even when you make a concerted effort to avoid things with plastic packaging. I have become so much more aware of waste management than I ever imagined I could be. Sometimes I feel like I risk becoming a miniture BP if I were not vigilant.
Here are some of the fish we see when snorkling - these were taken with the new underwater camera.
Another sunset.
So that is all for now.
Saturday, August 6, 2011
Hello From Loreto or Thereabouts
We are currently anchored in Bahia Candalera, which is about 25 miles south of Loreto. It is really nice here - especially since we are anchored right off a gorgeous resort hotel. They are very friendly to cruisers - they let us use the pool, eat in the restaurants, drink in the bars, and throw our garbage in their trash cans. It is so nice that Mike and I got a room for a couple of nights, just to be in air conditioning, have unlimited showers, and sleep in a real bed. Heaven!
It is not always positive, though. I have made it a point to only write this blog in an upbeat manner. But things do get hard. My nephew and his girlfriend left us yesterday and flew back to the US. I am afraid the main reason they left was that we are going through a difficult spell. The engine is acting up and there is no way to even get anyone to look at it until we return to Mazatlan in the fall. We can't sail south now because of the hurricanes, and there are no marine facilities up here. So if all goes south, we may become engineless. Even though we can still sail the boat, the engine is important for a number of reasons, like when fine manuvering is required. We can charge the batteries with our portable generator, but fuel is limited to what we can carry, which means strict water rationing in incredibly hot weather. I wake up every night simply soaked in sweat. I have little sores that are caused from sweat, salt, and a lack of fresh water. With four people on the boat, even with our watermaker, showers had to be limited. It was not pleasent, and all the little problems caused Mike and I to be really stressed, which caused us to argue almost constantly. Finally the kids had enough and they left. I miss my nephew a lot.
It is kind of hard in some ways, especially when things on the boat break down. Mike has to fix everything himself, and I am of very little help other than handing tools and calling out gauge readings. It is frustrating for both of us. I am also a little lonely - it is hard not being in regular touch with my family and friends. We are usually out of cell phone and internet range, and although I can send posts through the shortwave radio, it is not always possible to get a signal. Plus there is always the power use issue - we have been having a problem with power disappearing when we didn't seem to be using any. Mike found the problem - our pressurized water pump was not turning off when the water was turned off. We weren't losing water, but the power to the pump ran constantly and we didn't hear it because of the noise the fans that keep the cabin bearable make. So now we have to turn off the water pressure manually, and if we forget, there will be a serious power drain. It is not all paradise out here.
I wrote a long post whining about it all, and luckily for anyone who reads this, it was deleted when my internet connection went down. I am sort of down these days - I feel bad about my nephew leaving and miss everyone and my son won't answer his phone on the rare times I am actually in cell phone range. I feel really isolated. Although it is incredibly beautiful down here, I miss the company of others, especially my sisters and girlfriends. I think when we get to Bahia de Los Angeles, which is our final summer destination, it will be better because there will be other boats around.
There are times when I think maybe I bit off more than I can chew. I am a better sailor, but not much help otherwise. Mike is responsible for almost everything else. Right now he is taking a picture of an enormous bug on the wall of our patio here at the hotel. I can't get the internet to come up unless I sit on the patio, so I am dripping sweat all over the computer keys. I had no idea one person could generate so much sweat. It literally runs down in big drops. I could go on for days just talking about how hot it is. And it is going to get even hotter before the summer is over. September is supposed to be the worst. I live for drinks of cold water.
Anyway - this is kind of a downer post and that is not a good thing, but I do feel a need to be honest. It isn't always paradise, even though I am surrounded by all the physical beauty one can ever imagine. The people here are kind and friendly, the fish are amazing, and there is always something new to see. So it is time to stop feeling down and concentrate on the good things. I promise the next post will be better! And hopefully I can post some pictures - the internet connection here is not able to handle that. So this is it for now. We will be heading out to a new anchorage likely the day after tomorrow.
It is not always positive, though. I have made it a point to only write this blog in an upbeat manner. But things do get hard. My nephew and his girlfriend left us yesterday and flew back to the US. I am afraid the main reason they left was that we are going through a difficult spell. The engine is acting up and there is no way to even get anyone to look at it until we return to Mazatlan in the fall. We can't sail south now because of the hurricanes, and there are no marine facilities up here. So if all goes south, we may become engineless. Even though we can still sail the boat, the engine is important for a number of reasons, like when fine manuvering is required. We can charge the batteries with our portable generator, but fuel is limited to what we can carry, which means strict water rationing in incredibly hot weather. I wake up every night simply soaked in sweat. I have little sores that are caused from sweat, salt, and a lack of fresh water. With four people on the boat, even with our watermaker, showers had to be limited. It was not pleasent, and all the little problems caused Mike and I to be really stressed, which caused us to argue almost constantly. Finally the kids had enough and they left. I miss my nephew a lot.
It is kind of hard in some ways, especially when things on the boat break down. Mike has to fix everything himself, and I am of very little help other than handing tools and calling out gauge readings. It is frustrating for both of us. I am also a little lonely - it is hard not being in regular touch with my family and friends. We are usually out of cell phone and internet range, and although I can send posts through the shortwave radio, it is not always possible to get a signal. Plus there is always the power use issue - we have been having a problem with power disappearing when we didn't seem to be using any. Mike found the problem - our pressurized water pump was not turning off when the water was turned off. We weren't losing water, but the power to the pump ran constantly and we didn't hear it because of the noise the fans that keep the cabin bearable make. So now we have to turn off the water pressure manually, and if we forget, there will be a serious power drain. It is not all paradise out here.
I wrote a long post whining about it all, and luckily for anyone who reads this, it was deleted when my internet connection went down. I am sort of down these days - I feel bad about my nephew leaving and miss everyone and my son won't answer his phone on the rare times I am actually in cell phone range. I feel really isolated. Although it is incredibly beautiful down here, I miss the company of others, especially my sisters and girlfriends. I think when we get to Bahia de Los Angeles, which is our final summer destination, it will be better because there will be other boats around.
There are times when I think maybe I bit off more than I can chew. I am a better sailor, but not much help otherwise. Mike is responsible for almost everything else. Right now he is taking a picture of an enormous bug on the wall of our patio here at the hotel. I can't get the internet to come up unless I sit on the patio, so I am dripping sweat all over the computer keys. I had no idea one person could generate so much sweat. It literally runs down in big drops. I could go on for days just talking about how hot it is. And it is going to get even hotter before the summer is over. September is supposed to be the worst. I live for drinks of cold water.
Anyway - this is kind of a downer post and that is not a good thing, but I do feel a need to be honest. It isn't always paradise, even though I am surrounded by all the physical beauty one can ever imagine. The people here are kind and friendly, the fish are amazing, and there is always something new to see. So it is time to stop feeling down and concentrate on the good things. I promise the next post will be better! And hopefully I can post some pictures - the internet connection here is not able to handle that. So this is it for now. We will be heading out to a new anchorage likely the day after tomorrow.
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