Our provisioning bill. Never spent $1,214 on groceries before.. Oh.. Did I mention that the peso symbol is the $... we have come to accept it as ours as well. The US dollar sign is actually a capital S with the two upward strokes of the U overtop. Just funny to look at the bill and see over $1,000 for a couple weeks provisions. Ha.. I know some of you folks spent that much just on a week's groceries.. Mexico is pretty cheap.
November 13 and off we are to Manzanillo. Wind looks good and all sails are up... That lasted about 3 hours, then the main was interfering with the genny so we took it down. Making about 4 knots. At about 2200 the wind was no more so the iron genny was fired and off we went again at 3 -4 knots. Still have an engine down. We'll look at that in Manzanillo or Panama. Probably take it apart in Manzanillo (AGAIN!) and if it's serious (Cracked block) then have it welded and machined. Wish we would have had the new engines delivered to Ladysmith. It would have made a much faster and more economical trip. New engines (Cummins 75 hp x 2) will use about 6 l/hour and give us 7 – 9 knots where these old farts only give us about 7 MAX at 6.5 – 7 l/hr.
Beautiful sunny day and headed for the tropics. Things could be worse. Wind is on and off for the next couple days and the sails are up and down. Make about 4 knots total.. Kingsley and I had great shifts the other night. Had about 12 knots of breeze and made 6 – 7 knots average. Still have to break a 100 mile day, but that has been one of the best days yet.
Nov 16 Rounding Caps San Lazarro, just before Santa Maria Bay and Bahia Magdalena. That's where the ha ha'ers stop the second time. We looked as we sailed by. Or motored by or sailed.. Depends on the time of day really....
Nov 17, 2011
Monumental moment in our lives. We are now south of 23 deg 27.5 minutes south. Oficcially in the tropics. Wo hoo.. Things are a little tense however because of this lack of wind. And dealing with the swells. If there were no swell, it would be fine.. The swell is really not so swell. Even motoring with the main up for stability is not worth it. As we were motoring last night the main was slapping so violently that it broke 4 slugs on the foot. Down it came. Funny, we don't actually use that sail much. When running it just blankets the breeze for the Genny and we get most of our power from the Genny.
Lots of Dolphins
Nov 18'th.
Engine on again and coming up on Cabo Falso. That's the one just north of Cabo San Lucas. Whole bunch of fishng boats out so we decide to drop our line too. No luck.
Lots of development going on here though.
Cabo Falso
Condo's everywhere and more land being prepared... Mexico is a great place to "retire" to. Cost of living is about 1/2 Canada or the US and Real estate is still a good buy. Labour is very reasonable and the people are amazingly happy.
Cabo Falso Developments
The only fish we have caught have been flying fish that landed on our deck over night. Yes, you can eat them, but they are not that big. About 4 inches. They sure can fly though.. Saw a couple schools getting out of the way of the boat and they fly a couple hundred feet out of the water. Well, some did anyway.
We have had Dolphins galore playing in our bow wake. They are very cool, but getting to be about as common as a harbour seal in BC. Dark Grey bottle nosed I think. Not the Pacific White sided. Haven't seen them at all for the past month or so. Water is getting warm.
Yes, That's another pic of dolphins in our bow push
Nov 18, 1100 hrs.. Cabo San Lucas.
Pretty cool cape.. Not really interested in stopping, just seeing the landmark. Here it is:
Cabo San Lucas
A mariners Icon as it is the mark that you have Made it to the Tropics. Sea of Cortez just up to the east and the rest of Mexico southeast. That's the way we are headed – southeast to Manzanillo.
We were going to meet up with Lucy's folks there, but they are in Puerta Vallarta about the same time as we will be in Manzanillo. Unfortunately we cannot give them a specific date we will be there because wind is not predictable. Sailing into Puerta Vallarta also is about 3 – 5 days out of our way and we are already on a tight schedule to get to Panama by the 14'th Dec. At this point I hope we can make it on time. With the winds being as they are and not really expecting much different on our offshore passage from Manzanillo, we'll be lucky to make it on time. Maybe they will be able to head down to Manzanillo when we finally get there.. Hope so, it would be sad to miss them.
Nov 19. 0000 - 0400
Doing my best to keep sane and not scream and yell at Neptune and various other so-called deities due to lack of wind and too much swell. Kingsley's shift went fine with an ok breeze making about 3 – 4 knots.. I get on my shift and first it shifts so I can't head any more east than 170 to keep the sail full. Trimming in does no good. Then every 10 – 17 seconds, Neptune grabs the keel and shakes us violently from side to side for about 10 or 12 reps. I guess he sees a dumbell (that would be ME! :-)) and needs to have his morning workout.. Genny flapping like a gossip at a sunday picnic and everything in the boat getting thrown around. In 3 – 5 knots of breeze. Insane!!! I think Lucy got thrown out of bed once. And there isn't any better course to steer either.. the swells are coming from bothe N/E and N/W Then it settles and a breeze picks up and I get about 3 – 4 knots. Goes for a couple minutes – just to make you think it is not going to be so bad and it happens all over again... Pacific Ocean My Ass. Nothing Pacific about it. She looks like a baby, but when you get into her grasp – she beats the hell out of you. When it's calm.. And we keep coming back for more...
One of the most exhausting shifts I have had so far.. Managed to make about 4 miles in the 4 hours.. REALLY looking forward to the Caribbean.. NO tides. Very little swell, if any.
Lucy Lost her hat this morning. She ran out of breeze completely, broke down and fired the iron genny up.. Woke me up.. Went on deck to help her with the sail strike. She looked up and the huff from the sail caught her hat and over it went. Would have been an easy recovery if it weren't for those pesky dolphins.. I think they are still fighting over which one gets to wear it. Funny, they went after it almost as fast as I spun the boat around to go get it.. Dolphins 1, Stone Age 0. Grrr... :-).
Nov 20 – 1600 hrs.
22 deg 58.183'N
107 deg 50.516'W
After motoring for about 27 hours I check where the fuel is.. Guess we should have stopped in Cabo. Didn't expect to have to motor when the U-grib files are saying 10 – 12 knots for most of the time crossing the Gulf of Cortez. Was expecting to sail.. We aren't out – we still have about 100 litres but now we HAVE to sail as much as possible.. engine off and set up the sails. (1000hrs) And there is NO wind. Well.. a huff here and there.
Yes, that calm. Ship in the distance...
GPS says we are headed 240 deg – out to sea (falling tide) The boat is headed about 120. So we are basically moving sideways. Main is up, Genny is out. Flap Flap.. Kingsley got some headway in his 4 hours. (0800 to 1200) Made about 2 miles. I was able to get out 1.6 miles toward Manzanillo over my shift. We'll see how Lucy does.. She has this Wind magnet as there is about 5 knots now and we are making 2 or so,. Water is all rippley – no glass.. That is a really good thing. Maybe the Ugrib was just late in predicting...
As far as advice from folks.. every time we have been told to “Watch out' and “Be careful” at certain places.. Juan De Fuca, Cape Mendencino (ok – that was a bit nasty but we were well offshore for it), San Francisco Bay, Cape Flattery, the opening of the Sea of Cortez etc.. It has been FLAT CALM. Everyone says we are lucky, but I think we are being teased.. Well, No, I don't want 40 knots again, but 15 – 20 would be ok...
Bird flying off a turtle's back - Yes - not only in "BC" comics.. Real life too....
Been a fun day – Lucy has been fishing with no luck.. Same with Kings. Kinda hoping that there's a few under our hull because we are offering some shade. But not even a nibble. The can went off last night (on the line we are dragging. Lost another hook. I checked it almost right after and no fish, so I let it back out. Didn't check for the hook.. Just to see if the lure was still there.. Yup, it was.. Lure, but no hook.
Kingsley saw a marlin jump today. I think it did it twice, but I only saw the aftermath. Sure it was a marlin however because he saw the beak and dorsal fin.. Very cool.
Well, maybe we'll see land sometime tomorrow. It's been 2 1/2 days since Cabo and we are still about 124 miles from Cabo Corrientes – We can usually spot land at about 75 miles so we should see it tomorrow sometime.. there's a light on it too (GPS says so anyway – Seems the GPS is only sometimes right down here too – Advice for anyone sailing this way – EYES are your best bet... no guarantees as to the actual location of things.)
That's all for now.. Going to go get some rest and have a shower. Don't even need hot water any more.. The water temp is at least 75 now and getting warmer. Very refreshing. :-)..
Nov 21'st.. Noon
20 deg 30.188n
106 deg 40.311W
Morning comes and we actually are not able to see land yet.. Very misty down here.. Not fog, but mist. Still sailing well. Counting down the miles to Manzanillo. Another copuple days so we get there in light. Might even have to slow down a bit... Go figure...
Nov 22'nd.. Noon
19 deg 18.9N
105 deg 13.86W
Yup have to strike the genny and run under stay for a while so we can arrive in daylight.
Midnight shift.. I've been running at about 3 knots and have been heading for what I thought was the light on the point at Manzanillo.. But it got too close too quickly. Really dark – (no moon) so I decide that it's best to stay well clear of this light.. About a mile off or so.. Coming up on a bank (so the chart says) at about 200 feet so I try and see if it's a fishboat anchored. We are about 7 miles from shore. Looks kind of like a vessel bobbing in the swell, but the light is bnot moving at all. Think it MUST be a rock.. radar shows nothing. Common sense says stay away....
Pass it well to Port and it goes off in the distance.. Showed Lucy when she came up for her shift (4am) and again nothing on radar and it's way behind us now.. Hmmm... Didn't think to get a lat and long.. Duhhh...
Kingsley coomes on shift at 8 am and at 920 we start motoring into Manzanillo. Headwind and tacking will take all day.. 11 days at sea is enough sailing for the time being..
Finally - a peek at our destination....
Approaching Manzanillo
Mexican Navy Ship - Manzanillo.
Las Hadas Resort
Anchored Outside Las Hadas Marina - Off the beach of The Dolphin Resort. They are very friendly to us yachtistas and are going to be putting in a dingy dock in the very near future.
1217 Nov 23
Anchored Manzanillo
19 deg 6,123N
104 deg 20.686 W
Contacted the Port Captain on VHF to see about checking in and what the prcedures are. Told him we were inbound from San Diego. He insisted we head over to Las Hadas Marina and have the agent there do our paperwork for us. That was where the cruisers (Yachtistas) are supposed to check in and out.
Ok – so first thing we do after all is settled is head into the Marina to do our paperwork. The gal there is very friendly and we mention that we need to check into the country. She says, no problem.. She will call the port captain and if there is anything special we need to do, she'll get in touch. Ok we say.. A bit confused, but that was it. Still haven't shown anyone our passports except to the navy.
Headed into Manzanillo that afternoon and had lunch at a Chicken BBQ kiosk. VERY good. Went to Wal Mart and stocked up on our booze bin.. Super cheap here.. Decent bottle of scotch for $8, litre of vodka with 2 glasses for about $6, tequilla, rum – nice to be able to afford a liquor cabinet (full) again.
What a score.. An affordable liquor cabinet... Wo hoo! i think all this was about $70
We were going to taxi it home but passed another stand that had tacos for 9 pesos so we had to stop for dinner too.. Then headed home.
Time to see to repairs list and getting hold of Lucy's folks.
Nov 24'th.
Lucy's folks and brother arrive about 4 pm and hail us over to the Dolphin resort just beside Las Hadas. Mention that we are all invited to the restaurant for Thanksgiving dinner by the owner of the resort. Wow. What a spread. Blackberry Margaritas all around and a turkey dinner that was awesome. And on the house. Bill and Clare Brown (the owners) are super people and we highly reccommend staying at their resort if you want a vacation in Manzanillo. Really nice place and reasonably priced too. We talked quite a bit with them. Both active travellers and are hoping to come to Belize to visit.. They liked that we were heading that way. Bill is also a sailor. Really like them.
Kingsley double fisting it.... No encouragement from his uncle, of course.. :-)
Lucy's Mom 7 Dad, Linda & Alan & her Brother Alec at Thanksgiving dinner What a great spread.
Good times were had by all....
Even a Pinata
Nov 25'th
Had a great visit with Lucy's folks. Her brother Alec (lives in Seattle) too. A really nice surprise. Really happy we were able to meet up. Good to see all of them again.
Alan took us into town for groceries after breakfast and we got all provisioned up for our next jaunt down to Huatulco. He also helped us see if we can find some parts for the watermaker. A 3/4” tee and some hose.. VERY difficult to find here... Did actually find one at a little hole in the wall so that is good. Alan was running out of time so we headed bcak to the resort.
Final goodbyes on the beach
They left about 3 or so after we got back. Got everything put away and had a look at what else needed to be done. BBQ'd chicken and we had a great night.
Nov 26'th..
Went into town again and dropped off the laundry – WAAAAY too expensive at Las Hadas. And the laundry room is a bit of a hole.. raining from the ceiling – not very safe.. and $40 US to do 3 loads.
Too late to have it done today and they are closed tomorrow so we aren't able to get it back until Monday at about 2 pm.. Ok have some repairs to see to and get the water maker up and running as potable water sin't as available as it used to be. We still have about 3/4 of a tank, but want to be sure of a supply.
Wandered around town and saw some sights – took in the open market and some other things. We really need to start using the camera more. Manzanillo is a very busy town. Got a few more provisions . Still trying to find a decent hardware store. Looking for laquer finish for my mandolin. . Don't think they sell it here...
They do sell taco's however.. And very cheaply. 9 to 12 pesos each. that's about 75 cents.
Headed back to the boat at happy hour time. Headed back to dolphin resort and Bill and Clare were having dinner with their family. Went over to say hi again and thank them one more time for the dinner the other night. Ended up having dinner with them again and talking more about how they could further welcome the cruiser into the resort. I am now drawing up a small dingy dock for them and making a list of reccomendations for things to do to make it ewasier for us boat people.
Kingsley had the fish... you know - if you ever head to Manzanillo.. Be sure and check out the Dolphin Resort. Really nice place, right on the beach and a $2 cab ride to down town.
Such great people.
Nov 27'th
Lucy tried fishing again and We figured out the noise that was making the grinding on the rudder. Loose bolts on the quadrant. Got them tightened and all is well.
Ok – next - Water maker up and running did the bench test and all is well. Install it tomorrow in the mid cabin for easier access. Having it below the floorboards was not a good idea. Corrosion took it's toll, but all is well now.
I crashed shortly after that.
Nov 28'th – HAPPY B'Day Lucy... Back to town to get the hose for the watermaker, Laundry, ice cream (very important).
Installed the watermaker – only blew it up once – but it survived after Lucy doing some electronic surgery.. Blown up hose replaced, circuit fixed and valve OPEN this time – it works great!!! Uses a bunch of power, but give life sustaining water for it.. Cool.
Gathered fuel and then consumed our share of adult beverages, Heading to bed to be ready to head out in the morning... Or so we thought... Just before we headed in Lucy asked why the lights were flickering and we determined that it was the water pump.. Turned it off because it wasn't turning off on it's own.. Then I head into the aft head and hear a pssssss.... somewhere.. Look around and because the water pump didn't turn off it over pressurized the system.. seems that the pressure relief valve on the H/W tank was inadequate as well because a hole got blown out of the bottom... Grrrr.. Now we have to replace our water pump and take the Hot water tank out of the circuit.
Make a list of parts we need. In the morning....
Nov 29.
Tear the boat apart to see what is up... Yes, the electronics are gone n the old pump.. REALLY glad now that Dan had a spare on on board Lungta – When he ordered a spare for them Sureflow sent them a 12V oneinstead of 24. So he had no use for that one.. Brand new in the box variable speed unit. So we bought it from him.. Thanks again Dan...
Tried to install it andfound that sureflow and Jabsco (old one) don't have the same size fittings and the new one didn't come with barbs so we now have to find them...
Tried to figure out a way to stem the flow of cold water entering the Hot Water tank as well.. Silly me didn't install a shut off valve in line so now we have to figure something out. List made and late in the day we relax for the rest of it... More bevvy's and a show or two on the 'puter...
Nov 30
BACK to town... Kinsley stayed home. Mass frustration because Mexico has NO IDEA what Pex plumbing is.. Of course – because that is what we used. If you used Pex Plumbing on your boat and want to do foreign cruising – Take Spares and a crimper.. It's worth the expense to buy one...
They have a similar system here but much heavier duty and ALL metric.. They also have no NPS fittings.. everything here is tapered. No fittings for the water pump.. not even 90 degree barbed elbows.. Ok so the only thing we managed to get on our list is a dozen hose clamps. At least those are universal..
Cab it home again and jury rig the water pump so it works.. Use some rubber hose and a plug to stop the h/w tank in. Turn it on and it works like a charm.. Could have done that without the last run into town, but I guess Lucy and I needed to have a day on our own and a really nice lunch at a restaruant called El Camaron. Our waiter, Memo, actually spoke english and went way out of his way to help us decide of our meal.. brought samples of the salsa's and even a sample of the fish Ceviche. It was really good.
We had a really nice meal and then headed back to the boat.
A great place to eat in Manzanillo.. el Camaron -
Memo, our waiter.. Very helpful and spoke good English. really went out of his way to make sure we were fed well.
Rowing back from the marina we met up with Robert and Bobbie on I'O out of Arizona. Also David and Mike were crewing as well... With their 2 dogs Murray and Koa. They were heading down to Panama as well, but have had similar challenges with equipment. Now headed back to Puerta Vallarta for repairs.
Had a couple bevvy's with them and enjoyed just relaxing for a couple hours on their boat. Very nice, knowing that we had a bit of work to do when we got back to Stone Age. Great to meet you guys and we'll see you in Belize when you do make it to the Caribbean side....
Back to the boat.... Get into it and now the water pump is working and no leaks any more – we are finally ready to head out.
Dec 1'st.
1600
Leave Manzanillo for Huatulco. Our fishing licenses have now expired and I hope they don't make us buy a new one when we get there because we are NOT staying.. We are only there to ensure we survive the gulf of Tehuantepec winds that can reach out 1,000 miles to sea creating very large waves along with the winds (up to 50 knots at times)
Byye Manzanillo.. Huatulco, here we come...
Lucy;s shift (1600 – 2000hrs) was uneventful.. A bit of breeze. Many small boats coming in from the day's fishing. There was even one panga that greeted (I think that's what it was) us in Spanish. One came bay after dark with no lights or anything.. We could hear him slapping on the swells, but couldn't see him until he was passing us. Good thing we were all lit up..
Kingsley had a not so good shift – Noisy because of Iron Genny again. No wind. A couple ships and Dolphins.
Dec 2'nd 0000hrs
My shift was breezy again so we set the sails up and ghosted along at 2 – 4 knots in about 6 knots of wind. This boat sails pretty well in light airs. Saw a couple of ships and many dolphins. There was one point many dozen were around. Seems they like it when the boat is doing about 3 – 3.5 knots. It was very cool because I could hear their breathing and could see them but only because of the lumiescence of the plankton. The ocean was sparkley all around the boat – it was very cool.
Lucy took over again at 0400 and tried very hard to keep her going, but without any breeze it was difficult. She held off starting the engine though.. Swells kept knocking the boom around. Even with a preventer it made alot of noise. Then it picked up again for Kingsley's shif at 0800. He did pretty good keeping her in line but had to head out a bit to keep the sails full. Almost due south.. And at noon when I took over it was more than that.
Noon Fix
18 deg 23.886N
103 deg 53.645W
52 miles
Interesting sailing. Picked up a bit again. I headed out on a 170 – 180 deg heading for an hour so we could tack ( yes it is a S/E breeze today) and head back at an angle that won't take us directly to Punta San Telmo. Now it's just a 120 deg heading basically to Zihuatanejo. We will stop there for a day.. As we were not able to check into Mexico at Manzanillo, we will try again there. Apparently they are really stamp happy in Panama and want to see an exit stam from SOMEWHERE on our passports – so we'd better get one.
The following photo's are of an adult nature and viewer discretion is advised....
Turtle Porn.. Never seen that before - You go Turtles!!!
More turtle porn.
Dec 3'rd
18° 4'12.96"N
103°18'55.44"W
38 1/2 miles
No wind so less progress but progress at any rate is good. Could be better, but that's where it is.. Panama by dec 14'th right?
Dec 4'th
17°36'54.24"N
102°23'13.74"W
60 miles.
Much better progress today.. No longer going to stop at Zihuantenejo. No real reason to other than to get a Zarpe for Panama. We'd just be stopping and have to spend a couple hundred bucks to import the boat to Mexico for a couple days. If we are still feeling strong as we go by Huatulco, we won't stop there either, but if we need to (fuel most likely) we'll just get what we need and go tackle Tehuatepec. We'll get our Zarpe in Costa Rica. Or even head straight to Panama and deal with what we have to deal with. We got a stamp on our cruising permit when we checked out of San Diego. The agent we have been talking with says they are really stamp happy there however,
Dec 5'th
17°12'22.86"N
101°22'0.84"W
64 miles – Better than yesterday .
Been a frustrating few days.. No wind really to speak of and had to run our engine for a few hours. Again. Shut it down at about 1530 and are playing around in 1 – 3 knots of zephers. Maintaining about 1.5 knots though so I guess we aren't doing all that bad. Panama by the 14'th.. Doesn't seem likely and everything on our radar say no way, but we still believe it's possible. Maybe some time portal will open up and beam us over when we need to..
Talking alot about what our house and B&B is going to be like in Belize. When it's all set up it's going to be really cool. No sharp corners anywhere and completely self sufficient. Raised above ground with a pool in the center deck. Central kitchen with a spiral staircase to the upper loft. There will be the master and library up there. (secret door included) Guest cabins will be scattered around the property and Family and friends will stay in the guest wings. 5 bedrooms in the main building and 3 – 4 guest cabanas.
Super cool bar (teak) and living room with a killer sound system and movie theater.
Deck outside will have an outdoor kitchen and teak root benches. Pool and hot tub will be in the middle of the courtyard and set down a step or two.
We are thinking pretty seriously about the Dome homes from Lexxa - They aren't the geodesic bucky balls and need to be tropicalized. They are pretty cool. Lucy and I have even met with Axel to talk about prelims for building them in Belize and throughout the Caribbean.
Anyhoo.. have to talk about something while we while away the days.. Might as well be something positive and make us all feel good. We need the good energy. All ready to get Scotty to light up the warp drive....
Panama Dec 14'th.. Until tomorrow...
Noon Dec 6
16°52'14.40"N
100°40'50.94"W
43 miles. Dissapointing.
Caught a few fish. Had a Dorado on the line twice.. He broke the line twice.. BEAUTIFUL fish.Yellow and blue with dark stripes. So colourful and majestic. A bit weird with the flat nose. He was just loping along beside the boat, barely moving his tail to keep up woth our whole 3 or so knots... I decided to see what would happen.. I tossed a Mr Twister lure about 100 yards in front of him – he saw it and went for it, turning sideways (the water here is SO clear we saw it all) and biting down.. Realized there was something holding him back, he dove and the line broke.. Put another lure on and did the same thing... so did he.. This time I had him.. Or so I thought.. He went for it again right away.. When he realized there was a tether, he jumped about 3 feet in the air and spun.. Well, that broke that line.. Didn't see him again. Some of you folks will know him as Mahi Mahi or Dolphin Fish.
After that I had the pleasure of fighting a blue fish – Don't know what it was, but it was big enough to win. Took the line all the way to the end jumped a few feet out of the water, ran and and broke the line Time to move up to the 30 pound stuff - seeing as the reel was now empty.
Never got another bite... On that line anyway... Later on about dinner time, Lucy noticed that the line we were trolling was letting go a bit.. Drag was “giving us a bit of notice” so it was... Reeled it in and found it to be quite heavy and then it started doing a little bit.. Kind of like bringing a trout up from the depths.. well, there was our first tuna so fresh tuna for dinner. He was just a little guy, but he started to bleed as soon as I grabbed him so we had to eat him.. Shook like someone was giving him an electric shock too. Weird. Never saw a fish bleed so much too. Only about 2 pounds and just soaked the aft deck. VERY tasty :-)
Warp drive is still down... Did some fuel consumption comparisons.. 1200 rpm = 1.5 l/h (to be verified) and offers the best economy and the longest range. Maybe 1100 will be better, but that's tomorrow when the winds die – if you can call them wind – we are “drifting right now under genny and about 5 knots. Making `1.5 – 2 knots. It seems to pick up at about 1600 and die around 1000. There's supposed to be some land breeze during the day too, but that has yet to be experienced.
I know this is going to be late, but I have to apologize to Marty and to Charlotte for not showing up when we said we were going to. There is no way, without a warp drive, that we will make Panama (Balboa) by the 14'th. Being the 5'th now and still 260 miles form Huatulco.. And no wind in the forseeable future in this area of the world, 2 knots will get us to Huatulco by the 12'th Dec. As that still leave 1250 mile to go before we get to Balboa (Panama) even if we get 15 – 20 knots we won't make it..
Earliest we'll get to Balboa is Christmas. That is only if there are 15 – 20 knot breezes and we average 6 knots. Not common for these parts. At this point I have NO idea when we will end up getting anywhere. I also refuse to give any dates for anything any more. Sailing is one of those activities where you absolutely cannot have a plan or dates set for anything. I have learned that if you DO set dates and have plans, everything will break and make it so you cannot live up to your word.
I had every intention of being where we said we were going to be, but the powers that be say differently so I am giving everything up to them. When THEY decide we can be where we are supposed to be, that's when we will show up. Sailing is fun – really it is.. But you need WIND.
The Sierra Madres along Mexico block it all so we have none. I am praying the Caribbean will be different, but no expectation. Learned that I cannot have any. As soon as I do, I have been dissapointed.
Sorry to miss Christmas, but that's the way it has to be. Celebrate without us and we will stop by Roatan when we get there. Have no idea how to get hold of anyone when we DO show up. The only communication we have is VHF, so maybe we can get a message via Jerry at Fantasy Island Marina. We won't be able to stay long either. 2 – 5 days MAX. I have to get to Sanctuary ASAP in January.
Most likely Wendy and Andrew will be gone back up north and it will only be Mom to visit there. That's fine. It'll be great to see you again, Mom. Would have been nice to see Andrew & Wendy again though. (We are still hoping) Another time. Only a few hours away by powerboat. Have no idea how long by sailboat and will NOT make any guesses.. We will be back there on occasion. Hopefully timetables will meld.
That's one killer fish :-)
Have to go and see how Scotty is doing on that warp drive.. Until tomorrow...
Noon Dec 7
16°25'34.38"N
99°45'19.62"W
60 miles. A bit better.
Looks like Scotty has a piece of one dilithium crystal in line again.. Had a pretty good day. 60 miles is better than 43.. Almost half way to Huatulco.. Another gorgeous day here on Stone age.. Decided to try fishing again about noon. Why? Because we saw some fish following with us enjoying the shady side of the boat. I think they are mackerel.. Kind of look like tuna, but more scales and silvery pearl.
Well, they sure liked the Mepps. Got 2 almost immediately. They also must have some kind of communication system because we didn't get another bite. They would come and look at the lure and decide not to eat it. Even when we changed lures. I wonder if the line has anything to do with it... The first two we got were on 6 pound test and all the rods now have 30 pound on them...
Hmmmm...
Anyway – Dinner will be great – again. Nothing better than fresh fish.
Time to go and see if Scotty has anything further to report....
Dec 8'th Noon
15°56'55.98"N
98°32'4.68"W
76 miles.. Better. Best day along Mexican coast yet....
Well, for only 5 – 6 knots of wind we are sure getting better days. Scotty has another portion of the crystals lined up, but the warp engines arent quite firing properly, so there is still more work to do...
Meantime.. another Dorado following the boat this morning. Wow, BEAUTIFUL.. Kingsley said there were some flying fish “flying” along the surface – Another friend Peter (not the one that was with us) said that if we see flying fish get a line out because a Dorado is sure to follow... So we did.. He wasn't interested.. When I casted the lure out in fron of him he swam away from the boat to avoid the line and didn't even show interest in the lure at the end.. Hmm... Guess it might be the line. 30 pount test is alot easier to see than 6. And these fish(all of them, not just the Dorado) have EXCELLENT vision. They can see a tiny spec of a bug on the surface, scoot over so fast you can barely see them and have lunch.
We even tried a fly or two.. They weren't interested in that either.
ANDREW – HELP!!!!! (Bro in law is Caribbean fishing guide – One Fish Two Fish Charters on Roatan – look it up :-) )
Really want to catch a Dorado.. Although it seems a shame because they are so beautiful. The mackerel that are STILL following our boat – how they keep up and never tire is amazing – STILL aren't interested. Would really like to have more fish for dinner....
Anyhoo, that's about all there is for today. Time to go and check on Scotty again.... Warp drive is getting better, but still needs a tweak or two..... Nice to not have to light up the iron genny all day.. Looks like the warp will last through the night again. 100 miles tomorrow? Hope so... (warp is the wind if you haven't figured it out yet... )
Noon Dec 9'th
15°43'55.20"N
97°25'15.90"W
65 miles.. Not as good as yesterday.
Scotty needs to get that third dilithium crystal into placement. He keeps telling me another few hours or so... Not sure when that is going to be.
Huatulco about 60 miles off still. We have to average 3 knots to get there in daylight. I'd like to get there tomorrow AM, but it just doesn't look like it. Been sailing today for about 10 hours. Not even close to the average needed however so it looks like we will get to Huatulco when we get there. No dates or times. Although if we get there at night we'll lumber around the outside until daylight. Unless it is a full moon. Sure was bright last night. Wouldn't have had any problem going in last night.
Fish still aren't biting and our new water pump decided to spit the hose off it this morning. More repairs. Hope this one will work. If Mexicans had heard of NPS threads we wouldn't have this problem.. They understand what they are, but don't have any. Grr. Clamping over threads just didn't work so I used a bit of silicone to fill them in. Too slippery, popped the hose off and dumped a couple gallons of water into the bilge. Grrr.. we are getting low.
Ran the watermaker after and got a few gallons back, then ran out of gas for the generator. Still have about 30 gallons of water so we are allright, but can't go too much longer than a few more days. Well, I know we can go 2 weeks on 16 gallons, (did so on the little boat) but you have to get used to that smell....
Kingsley saw something really big jump today. He said it was about as big as he is. Not a dolphin either. He said it might have beena tuna. Don't know, I was sleeping. He was pretty excited about it though...
Have enough fuel to get to Huatulco if we have to.. Just don't want to use it all up. Seems the wind pattern is nothing from about 1100 to 1400, then about 5 or 6 knots to sunset (1800), nothing to 0400 and then about 8 – 10 knots to 1100 again.
This is the way it has been for 1600 miles. Let's see, 1600 miles at 2.5 knots average... 26 days – So far. Tenhauntepec should have better winds. Further south should as well. No expectations, but hope is still alive.
Dec 10'th..
Anchored in Bahia Santa Cruz on the 10th..
15°45'36.00"N
96° 7'3.90"W
Rocky and rolly anchorage. Quite uncomfy.. Kingsley and I rowed into the marina to see if there was a) room and b) somewhere to buy some parts.. Ended up running into an old customer of mine from the Wine Art store I had in Winnipeg. Chris and Jerry are on Misty Michael. A 45 foot Aluminum trawler they built in BC and broguht to Huatulco for a visit of 4 or 5 days. It is now 4 years later and they are still here.. Hmmmm....
Scary, but we will be coming into the marina tomorrow - hope it doesn't gobble us too... :-).
Dec 11'th
Moored
15°45'49.32"N
96° 7'16.50"W
Raised anchor and motored into the marina today. A bit stressful as the depth sounder read about 1 foot under the keel... Will be leaving at high tide when we do leave..
Had to move the boat around a bit to get placed in a spot where there is power. Also got to wash all the salt off her for the first time since Bodega Bay. She really liked that. Bunch of dirt went too.
Then we just settled in to see what was going to happen with our water pump.
Cruise ship Coming out of Huatulco.
Bahia Santa Cruz - One night at anchor.
Dec 12'th
Still at the dock..
Some poor guy died on his boat last night. Police and a bunch more officiales were all over the place this morning. An American and apparently he has no friends or family to sort it all out. Even bigger shame.
Entourage of officialdom for removal of the body. Poor guy had no one.
Spent the rest of the day driving around Huatulco with Chris looking for a water pump. Well all I can say is that Huatulco needs a better stocked chandler.. Didn't find one, but had a good time anyway.. Saw a bunch of things and had lunch at a restaurant on the beach near Tangalunda. It was great. Came back to the boat and spent a bit more time with Chris and Jerry. Tried to get to Immigration to check into the country, but they were closed.
There's a couple of suspicious looking characters... That's Chris in the blue...
Heading to the Beach
Open air church on the beach in Huatulco. Apparently, Jesus was here long before the Spanish... They already had a cross erected when they got here.
Inner harbour, Huatulco
Cliffs from the lighthouse in Huatulco
Bahia Santa Cruz - Cruise ship dock.
Lunchtime Cafe
Dec 13'th
Chris & Jerry drove us back to town today so we could get some propane and gas for the Genset. Dropped us off in front of the Port captains office so we could actually check in.. A bit of a painless process. They asked us to fill out a form and then we had to go put 300 peso's (about $25USD) into their bank account. We got the stamp on our piece of paper and were told to come back two days before we wanted to leave for our Zarpe.
Tried Immigration again and they were closed – again. Not sure what to do about that. Guess we have to try again manyana.
We did end up with a whole lot more summer clothes and lunch on the beach again. Things are pretty cheap here. Stopped by a clothing store where they bought new old stock of brand name merchandise.. Last years designs that didn't sell I guess.. Well, a pair of $100 slacks for $10. etc.. we all got a few more shorts and Tee's.
Managed to get a waterpump sent from Veracruz today too. That was about the same price as it would have been in Canada plus shipping. Should get here on Saturday. A bit longer than we wanted to stay, but it's forcing us to enjoy Mexico a bit longer. Nice. No longer peeved because we have to zip through.. We can actually smell some roses. Very good.
Heard from sureflow too.. They said they were going to send a new diaphram to fix the pump we just installed. We'll see what happens there.. Gave them the address to send it to. Not sure they realized where we were though.. Time will tell.
Hot and sunny. LOVE IT.
Dec 14'th
Got the boat's paperwork up to Eziquiel today – He's the wharfinger and he's supposed to look after all the in and out procedures. Love that and he speaks English. Very good thing. Super nice guy and will bend over backwards to make sure you are happy. Told him we hadn't checked in yet and he said he'd take care of it. Awesome.
Also looks like we will be here until Monday. Pump will arrive on Saturday and customs will be closed so that's the way it is.
Lucy and Kingsley went back into town today so I could work on the port engine. Happy to say it is now back up and running. Replaced the head gasket (Happy I had a spare) and all seems to be well.
Came up with a new shooter after that.. Called a Chocnogsky Creme de Cacao, Egg Nogg Liquer and a whiskey topper. Quite tasty.... A bit blurry after that...
Dec 15'th
Spent most of the day planning our next leg. Talking with my sister over facebook to see if there was any way we could actually get to Roatan for Christmas or if they could get over to this side to visit for a couple days. Not really feasable unfortuanately.. It would a) cost about 5 grand by the time it's all said and done and B) cause another week's delay getting to Sanctuary. Can't have that. Have to be there for at least Mid January. No way we'll make it for the first week. Won't even make Panama until at least Christmas. 1200 miles and we won't be leaving here until Monday and we can most likely count on a 12 day passage if we don't stop anywhere. IF we get good winds. Other wise it wil be 15 days and we are looking at New Years before we even get to Panama.
That's a big GRRRRR......
Anyhoo.. Have to take Chris's torque wrench back now..
Dec 16'th
Decided that we will wait until Monday to leave. As the new waterpump isn't due until Saturday and we need some time to install and so on.. Monday it is.
Check into Mexico is now complete. Spent most of the day at immigration. Got some help from a nice lady who actually spopke English. Then had to go back to town and pay them.. Was it worth it? Well. For about $400 we got to see a good part of what mexico is really all about – not just the resorts that everyone goes to.
Costs were:
Insurance - $153
Fishing License - $100
Port Captain entry - Huatulco - $25
Immigration Visa's - $75
Port Captain – Exit fees - $50
Total of $403 -
Moorage $5,000 peso's
Water Pump - $3,500 peso's
Cost of reparis in Huatulco - $650 approx.
So for a couple weeks in Mexico, at resorts on the waterfront with all privleges, I's say yes, yes it was.
Had an impromptu Music night on board. No one else showed, Guess you guys are too far away to hear us playing :-)..
Dec 17
Went to town with Kingsley to get some diesel. Met another couple that gave us a ride. Fellow cruisers having their boat worked on at the marina yard. Came down by boat a couple years ago.. Hmm.. It Huatulco going to gobble us too?
Lucy spent the morning getting the fwd head ready to paint. Then I took over and painted fwd head. 2 coats. I also Chipped off some more deck paint. So did Lucy and Kingsley.
Invited some folks over to the boat on Saturday night for our annual solstice bash. No one came. Most had other things going on already. Getting so close to Christmas now..
Dec 18'th
Super Che provisioning. I checked over the engines to make sure they are BOTH working the way they are supposed to. Set up the computer on the binnacle for the rest of the charts thru Nobeltech.
Then we BBQ'd a chicken. Bit of a lazy day.
Dec 19'th – Water Pump arrived in the afternoon – FINALLY :-). Everything all set and in place so we can actually leave now. That will be tomorrow. I installed the Rudder position indicator and found out the sender is not working properly. One step closer to knowing where our rudder is.. next is the auto pilot.
New water pump now in place. Same as the old pump. Worked great for 7 years.
After the day's work... Then the last night out on the town.
Pina Colada's come in many shapes....
Time to go home to sleep......
Pottery monument for the Aztecs. This IS their area of the world.....
Dec 20'th Waiting for High tide and doing some final cleanup for leaving. Time we actually headed out was about 1800 hrs. Just at dusk. Headed up the bay to get to the 16'th parallel before cutting across.
Heading out to Tehuatepec. 1800 hrs. Forcast - Next 3 days sunny and calm. 10 - 15 knots the second night out.
Dec 21'st noon
15 Deg 48.942N
95 Deg 29.588W
Tehuantepec is behaving rather solemnly. Just as predicted. Seems that every time we are warrned about a particular place – it turns out to be a puppy dog. No where near what was expected.. Don't take Tehuatepec lightly however.. I have heard many stories of vessels leaving Huatulco in a dead calm and coming back with broken masts the next day. thought they could just head straight across. Do NOT do it.. stay on the beach. Higher the winds, the closer in you go. The winds are easy to deal with.. They are just loud and maybe you can even use them to your advantage.. Closer to shore there are no seas to build so it is more comfy. 300 miles out at sea you could be dealing with 40 - 50 footers AND 50 knots of wind. Been there - done that - NO thank you.
Tehuantepec is supposed to be calm 'till Friday. Have had some ok breezes however. Nothing too much – just enough to push us along nicely.
Another Ship.. Light breeze
Dec 22 Noon
15 Deg 51.643N
94 Deg 36.755W
Heading across the bad part of the Bay. We are about 25 miles from the windward shore. We were told that if it wasn't blowing by this point in time – just to head across. Anything that blows from here on will just push you out. So that's what we are doing. Going to head straight across from here then head out toward Guatemala later tomorrow. A 'peccer is supposed to begin blowing Friday AM to about 25 knots. We sure can use that.
Another ship - And a bit more breeze. YAAAYYY!!!! Still not enough for the main to go up though.
Dec 23 noon
15 Deg 17.462N
93 Deg 28.518W
Had some really good breeze last night. Saw the GPS hit 8.9 knots. Super run. Made about 75 miles. Wish all the days could be like that. ALL day :-).. Back down to 3 and 4 knots of breeze later in the afternoon but still moving under sail.
Had to run the engine for a couple hours, but the breeze picked up yet again and we are now under sail..
Another Beautiful Sunset
Dec 24'th Noon.
14°55'49.50"N
93° 1'2.82"W
Here we are at Christmas Eve, 2011. 16 or so miles off the coast of Mexico. Only a few hours left until we are south of the Mexican Border into Guatmalan Lattitude. We are going to stay out 12 + miles because we have no intention of stopping. Actualy our hop across Papagayo I hope to be even further out and not have to hug the coast. They are calling for 20 knots out about 50 – 60 miles and even more closer to shore.. The trick there is do you deal with the winds or the swells... It's not supposed to be that big of a blow so we'll be fine. And if it is like all the other “Better be careful” spots – then it too will allow us safe and fair passage. Just like Tehuantepec just did, and all the others.. Crossing the Sea of Cortez- Flat calm first haLF – Motored. It picked up the last half to 10 – 15 knots. Great sailing all the way to almost Manzanillo.. Point Conception was flat calm, Cape Mendencino - we were 125 miles offshore for that in a force 8 so perhaps it lived up to it's reputation... Juan De Fuca strait - calm. Anyhoo - some winds at Papagallo will be good.
Doesn't feel like Christmas right now because there's nothing up for decorations or music playing etc.. Never mind it's 90 degrees out.. We are just trying to deal with getting this leg under our belt as fast as we can. Sure are disappointed that we aren't with Charlotte, Mom Wendy & Andrew on Roatan. That was the goal.. Ha.. Well, that's the way it goes.
Dec 25'th tomorrow.. Maybe God'll bring us some breeze..
Dec 25 – Noon
14°20'40.62"N
92°27'54.54"W
Merry Christmas to everyone.. I say that because that is what I've said my entire life. Happy Hannukha, solstice and every other celebration that is going on today. Hope everyone has the “Best Day EVER!!!!” Hope Lucy likes the pendant I bought her from that jeweller in Huatulco. Santa Cruz to be exact. Kingsley'll like the bobblehead turtle too.. Neither even know I got anything for them. ;-).. Had to buy the pendand right under Lucy's nose because we were in the same jewellers shop just having a look around.
Only jewelery shop I have ever been in that served beer and margarita's. On the HOUSE.. Pretty cool.. Jerry the owner was a really friendly guy. Lucy thought he was too pushy because I asked him if he could find a pair of earrings that would go with the Pennant that Lucy would like.. I thought he would use a bit more discretion, but she was really put off by his persistance.. all the poor guy was doing was trying to find a pair she liked, knowing that if he showed her a pair she liked I would buy them. Really good guy otherwise, though. It was kind of funny watching it.
Turkey isn't thawed yet and we are using it to keep the fridge from working too hard so we'll have that another day...
Entered Guatemalan Lattitudes now. Had a shot of tequila for Mexico and a Pina Colada for Guatemala. Not sure what their national Drink is.. But it had to be tropical.. So we picked PinaColada.. Then el Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama. We have a bottle of champagne for Panama. Really looking forward to that one..
Not a great day miles wise. Wind needs some work.. Scotty still hasn't lined up them crystals just right yet.. Made it across the bay with some good breeze, but more motoring as well. It's a funny place.. 4 miles behind you it's blowing 45 – 50 knots and you know it only because of the large swells. THEY rock and roll you so the sails flop and it makes it a bit less comfy...
Dec 26 Noon
13°58'43.80"N
91°59'29.76"W
Turkey is thawed. Guess that's getting cooked right away. Mmmmm. I love turkey. Guatemala off our port side still. Getting some on and off winds here. Most of the time off. But we have figured out that we are drigting in the right direction. California Current is a great help. Least I think that's the one that's got us right now. 24 miles a day whether we want to go anywhere or not.. Well, we do so let's get on with it.
Turkey smells good. Glad it's calm today. Wouldn't have been able to cook the turkey on a 20 degree heel.
Yeah, that's me basting the turkey. Lucy couldn't hold the boat still.. I think we were sailing at about 3 knots then.
Time to EAT!!!
Turkey at sea. That was really cool. also very tasty. Buch less fatty than a turkey we'd buy in Canada. I had to add water to baste the silly thing. Never had to do that before.
Dec 27 Noon
13°25'39.78"N
91° 0'41.04"W
Turkey was awesome last night. Tonight, tomorrow night and the rest of the week.
Dec 28 noon
12°58'47.16"N
90° 3'23.64"W
More on and off engine running.. WAAAY more than we'd anticipated – again.. :-) Mmmmm More turkey....
Dec 29 noon
12°38'5.64"N
89°26'10.80"W
Yawn.....
Dec 30 Noon
12°32'3.84"N
88°31'57.72"W
What a great day. Perfect sailing conditions (at least on my shift anyway) and all the love of a good wife and adoring child. :-).. It's my day today. Lucy and Kingsley did a great job to boost my ego today. Make me feel wanted and loved. Hot pancakes with turkey bacon for breakfast, and a specially made HAND DRAWN card. Those are the best.
Kingsley made me a collage box. Really cool.. 1 8 ½ x 11 piece of paper - He drew pictures and wrote out sayings etc for all the inside sides, coloured the outside sides to look like a gift box , made the appropriate cuts and bent it into a gift box about 2” x 2”. really cool.. THEN he volunteered to take ½ hour of my shift coming up. Could it GET any better???
Very cool stuff.. That box is amazing...
Well, it turns out, yes, yes it can.. When I did finally make it on watch, the breeze was perfect and he sailing was really good. Then LUCY volunteered to take the last ½ hour of my watch – and we had a celebratory drink for being in Nicaraguan lattitudes.. Getting closer.
Having cake (Lucy made me a choocolate cake starting with FRESH cacao beans.. Ohhhh AWESOME!!!!! The Bock isn't bad either... That is Mexico's Christmas beer. Nuevo Nocho special edition 2011
Dec 31 Noon
12° 3'47.58"N
87°39'13.32"W
Drifting along... Cannot believe how far we have drifted. Decided that the current is taking us along in the general direction we are going – we'd use that. There's not much wind anyway.. why let the sails flog. Lucy and I spent the time on the foreck lying in the sail on deck just enjoying the afternoon.
Have a bit of wind now and are trying to get the boat to steer to the starboard tack, but the current is too strong and won't let us out.. Drifted for approx 24 hours.. A little sailing in too.. current at about 2 knots and forward way about 2 knots.. Just barely steerage way as it was anyway.
we have to get onto the other tack so we finally decided to power through as the winds and seas are building. Getting closer to Papagayo. We will be in the full influence by this time tomorrow. Should see breezes to 25 knots and short seas as we came toward land a bit.
I'll let you know how it works out in the next update. That one will be from Papagayo to Panama. We are in Costa Rica right now leaving for Panama on the 15'th n the early morning. Yes, January 15'th. Still pushing it, but Costa Rica was another week's delay -
Until next time...
1-250-713-7245 Central America
