Here are a couple of the past Ship's Logs for 'LA OTRA'!
(All the older Logs took so long to load that we've left them
out now)
BOATS
It is hard to believe that it has been a year since we last
updated our web page. I was
wondering how this could of happened until I started mentally reviewing this
past year. We had a lot of land and
sea adventures plus we had to deal with the sickness and loss of a number of our
friends. This year has been a mix of
extreme joy and sadness. This year
did bring me a clear picture about how wonderful life and health are and how
they should be enjoyed to the fullest. Following
is a summary of some of the more interesting adventures:
Hurricane Season 2005
The Hurricane Season of 2005 was a non event in La Paz.
There were a couple of times when
I got everything ready for an approaching hurricane only to have it pass off to
the west. I am not
complaining. Lindsey was
working at the Ranch so I spent the time here in La Paz working on boat projects and trying to keep cool. The down side of all this good weather was an extreme lack of rain here
so our normal late summer “greening” did not occur.
October
I was off for another drive up the Baja to visit Lindsey
and to take part in a party at the Ranch for her Mother’s
Birthday.
It was a really great event that I think everyone enjoyed.
I am sure that all of Lindsey’s planning and advanced work made it all
come together smoothly. When the
party was over and we had recovered we drove back to La Paz, taking an extra day or so to enjoy the scenery.
December
In early December I took a trip to Puerto Vallarta
on Isla Bonita II. Isla Bonita is a
Sunseeker 51 that goes very quickly if you want it to do so.
The owner Ron asked me to make the trip with him and I gladly accepted as
I really wanted to drive the boat.
We made my fastest ever crossing of the Sea
of Cortez. We did the 194 mile run from
Muertos to Mazatlan
in ten hours and that is with an hour
out while we repaired a bad hose on the starboard engine.
We fueled in
Mazatlan
and had a wonderful dinner before departing south the next day.
We ran a little slower on the rest of the trip to save fuel cost and to
enjoy the sun and scenery. We
anchored late at night at Punta Mita and waited for the Marinas
to open before making the final run into Puerto Vallarta. While waiting with a cup of coffee
we had one of those spectacular sun rises that you only seem to see from the
ocean.
The Annual Chili Cook-off was underway while I was in town
so I had a chance to visit with some old friends.
It was a short stay, then I was on the bus headed north to Los Mochis. It is about a fourteen hour bus ride to
Los Mochis
from Puerto Vallarta and while this trip was mostly at night it was still interesting.
I stayed for two days at Los Mochis
to explore the town before catching the Ferry Boat at Topolobampo for the six
to seven hour ride back to La Paz.
Later in the year I returned to
Puerto Vallarta
to bring Isla Bonita back to La Paz for the summer. She was in the boat
yard when I arrived. When we were
preparing her to go back in the water we discovered a crack in the hull near a
place that was damaged by the boat yard a few years earlier.
It was clear after careful examination that the repairs would take a
while so I retraced my trip back to Mazatlan
then a Ferry ride from there to La Paz.
Later in December I was involved with loading a boat onto
Dockwise. The Dockwise transport
ships sink
into the water then boats are motored into the docking bay where they are secured and the
ship is pumped dry and re-floated. The
operation was very professional and once underway went quickly.
This is a typical big ship operation where time is money so they have it
worked out to a science. It was a
very interesting day.
January
January 2nd found my friend Colin and I enroute
to El Salvador
to pick up a sailboat and return it to La Paz. I had never been to
El Salvador
so I was looking forward to the trip even if it would require almost 1,700 miles
of up-wind work to get the boat back to La Paz.
Que Tal is a Tayana 37 owned by Dave and Caroline. We
had sailed with them a lot two summers ago. Dave
and Caroline had to leave the boat
in El Salvador
where it had been broken into and had been sitting while the owners were in the
States taking care of necessary business. We
encountered a lot of mechanical problems with the boat and that became the major
issues of the trip. We ended up
spending over a month to make the trip and boy did I learn a lot about fixing
boats in remote locations. There
were seven legs on this trip which I will highlight.
Trip to El Salvador
We departed La Paz
Airport
at 0700 hrs for a flight to Mexico City. We had a lay over and airline
change in Mexico City. We arrived later in the day at
San Salvador
and took a cab for the one hour ride out to Bahia Del Sol where the boat was
moored in the river. We spent six
days there getting the boat repaired and ready. Even with all our work we were
still having trouble with the engine overheating.
Bahia del Sol, El Salvador
to Puerto Madero, Mexico
(252 NM)
The start of this leg required a departure at high tide and
being guided out over the river bar by one of the locals who know the ever
changing channel out through the surf. We
had an interesting trip out with a number of shallow spots and breaking waves
near by but nothing like I understand the bar is like during the spring when most people are arriving on their southbound trips.
We had checked out of El Salvador
and headed off shore as we did not intend to stop in Guatemala. We arrived at
Puerto Madero with a badly overheating engine again.
Puerto Madero is the first city in Mexico
coming from the south but it has no services to offer except a fuel dock.
We were to get a very clear picture of this place, as we spent six days
there continuing to fix the boat. We
were required by the Port Captain to hire an agent to check us into the country
which is contrary to the current trend in Mexican check-in processes.
We were pleased with the City of Tapachula
which is only about twenty miles away. We
were able to find good markets, places to eat and even a radiator shop that
could assist us in putting together a jury rigged heat exchanger for the engine.
This did solve some of our engine issues but its small size required us
to run at a very low RPM.
Puerto Madero to Huatulco
(265 NM)
This leg is the crossing of the famous Gulf
of Tehuantepec. The Gulf averages gale force winds
148 days per year and there are many stories of boaters who have fallen to
disaster in this area. We were very
concerned about our crossing as we did not have an ability to push the engine if
we needed extra power to get out of a tough spot.
We followed the normal guidance of running with “one foot
on the beach”. This means running
in about 30 feet of water right along the beach where even in high winds there tends to not
be much swell, as there is no time for the waves to build up in the
short run from the beach. The down
side of this theory is that there is no sea room and we had to be careful in
navigation and watch keeping. There
are two river mouths that extend into the gulf and we needed to go into deeper
water to get past them. These were
our two roughest points on the Tehuantepec crossing.
The first part of this leg we had winds on the nose and a
strong current from the stern making for steep short period waves and very slow
going with the limited capabilities of our engine.
The middle section of the Gulf found us with winds off the starboard beam
at up to 49 knots. Interestingly we
had almost no seas but about 400 yards to our port (seaward) the sea was at
eight to ten feet. I guess they get
even bigger a little further out to sea.
We arrived at Huatulco late at night and found all the off
shore areas full of commercial ships waiting to enter the harbor along with a
ton of fishing boats. We anchored in
a small cove until daylight then went into the Marina
for fuel, supplies, water and a shower.
Colin and I both found Huatulco a pleasant city which seems
to have a large Mexican Tourist trade.
Huatulco to Zihuatanejo
(395 NM)
This was the longest leg on this trip and required the use
of all our on-deck jerry can diesel fuel as well as that in the tank.
This leg was somewhat uneventful but very long as we has some adverse
currents and winds to deal with and more local shipping traffic than we
had found south of this location. We
arrived at Zihuatanejo very early in the morning and with radar and great care
we entered the bay until we got to 30 feet of water where we anchored.
We were able to have some fresh water delivered but we were
advised that no fuel would be available for at least a day if not longer.
I had done some careful fuel use figures and determined that we needed a
minimum of 35 gallons of additional fuel to make our next fuel stop but there
was no fuel dock and the guy who brings fuel from the Pemex was saying there was
nothing available until late the next day.
Maitairoa (Alex and Sue) to the rescue.
Alex had 35 gallons of fuel stored on his deck which he would sell us for the
cost of replacing it. He not only
did us this great service but brought it over so we would not have to unload our
dinghy, and he helped us load it on board. He
then lent us his dinghy so we could get the rest of our business done.
We checked in and out of the harbor at the same time then got food, oil
and some other necessaries which we stored on board.
We also had time to have a nice posole lunch in town with some of the
local cruisers. Thanks to the help
of others we were able to leave Z-watt (Zihuatanejo) just before dark, spending a total of only 12 hours and 20 minutes there to take care of our business and socialize
a little as well. We did want to
make up for some of the time we lost to engine repairs and go while the weather
was holding.
Zihuatanejo to Barra de Navidad
(200 Nm)
This was the shortest leg of the trip but presented some
challenges just the same. We had
some interesting big ship encounters near Lazaro Cardenas and Manzanillo.
The cooler water temperatures helped the boat run a little cooler and for
the first time on the trip I felt that I did not need to watch the temp. gauge
all the time. I spent some of my on-watch time doing some needed on deck maintenance. We needed to take on
fuel at Barra as well as change fuel filters and a lot of other maintenance
items so we decided to spend the night in the marina and clean up the boat and
ourselves as well. The Marina
and Hotel at Barra is really plush and a little pricey for old sailboat people.
It was nice to get our work done in calm conditions, get clean, and have a
couple of good meals fixed by someone else.
Barra de Navidad to Mazatlan
(310
NM)
This was another long leg on the trip.
This leg we also had Cabo Corrientes to get around.
The weather at the “Cape
of Currents” had not been too good as we were heading in that direction and although the
engine was doing a little better it was still questionable, if we needed to push
it at all. We were approaching Corrientes
at a time that would have us trying to make the rounding in the late afternoon, which is not a good time. Radio
reports of the Corrientes
conditions were not good so we went into Ipala and anchored until midnight.
This gave us a much needed rest and when we did get to the Cape
it was an easy rounding. We pushed
on toward Mazatlan
just standing our watches, adding fuel from the deck cans and fixing anything
that had broken. We found that we needed
to change fuel filters again so we stayed at Marina Mazatlan for the night to
get some provisions for the last leg and to do boat maintenance.
Mazatlan
to La Paz
(240
NM)
I was really looking forward to this leg as the north winds
we had been fighting for the last 1,000 miles would now be a beam reach and we
could sail all the way to La Paz. You would think that after all my
miles at sea I would know better than to harbor such crazy ideas.
An hour out of Mazatlan
we had westerly winds and lots of chop and cross seas.
It was so uncomfortable down below that I spent one of my off-watches trying to
sleep in the cockpit because it was unbearable down below.
As we rounded the north end of Cerralvo
Island
and headed for the narrow San Lorenzo Channel, the fuel filters plugged again and the engine died.
It was too sloppy to try and solve the problem then so we sailed through
the Channel and Anchored in Ballandra where we changed filters again and bled
the fuel system to get the engine running. We
motored the last ten miles into La Paz
and met Dave and Caroline at the dock just as the sun was setting.
I had a good sleep safely back on La Otra that night.
The next morning I went back to Que
Tal to do some clean up work. It had
been a very long trip but looking back on it I did learn a lot about dealing
with boat problems and got to see some new country (water) and say hello to some
old friends and make a few new ones. You
can’t ask for much more that that.
February
In late January our good friend Nick Clarke passed away
after a bout with cancer. Lindsey
had been staying with Nick’s wife Willy on Artemis, in San Diego
so I drove up to meet with them. It was a sad
time for all of us.
From San Diego
I made a quick trip back to Ohio
to visit with my mother and start the planning for her 90th Birthday
Bash. The flight was uneventful but
it is cold in
Ohio
during the winter.
March
Our friends Richard and Susie Hewitson from Maverick asked us
to come down to Zihuatanejo and give them a hand taking their boat back to La Paz.
Even though I had just covered that same
water in January, I was looking forward to doing it in the 70-foot Mikelson and
not on a sailboat. The planned pace
of the trip on Maverick was intended to be slower and more relaxed than the
delivery trip with Que Tal.
The day after I returned from my trip to Ohio, Lindsey and I
boarded a plane in San Diego
bound for
Mexico City. There we changed planes for the
trip to Zihuatanejo. I think it was
a plane but I had never seen one like it before.
It kind of resembled a Canada Air Otter but one made in some strange
country with no aviation history and trolls as the primary design and
construction team. Other than that,
it was a good trip down and we took a cab over to the Ixtapa Marina to meet up
with Maverick.
This was Lindsey’s first trip to Zihuatanejo so we spent
a day or so shopping, sight-seeing and visiting with old cruising friends.
We also ate a lot, both in town and on Maverick.
We departed Ixtapa late in the afternoon for an overnight
run to Barra de Navidad. The
weather was up a little and we had a bit of a bouncy ride during the
night. This would have been a real
trip on La Otra but Maverick handles big seas well so we pushed ahead with out
any trouble. Richard and Lindsey
shared a watch as did Susie and I. Susie
became an expert at tracking things on the radar, and the watches passed quickly.
We arrived at Barra Marina about 1300 hours and ended up staying for five
days.
The Grand Bay Hotel and Marina
is very nice and has some extra things like the French baker who brings pastry orders to the boat each morning. We
also spent some time with our friends Barry and Judy (m/v Too Goode) who filled
us in on all the local news and took us on some fun tours of the area.
Our next major layover location was to be at Paradise
Village Marina in Banderas
Bay
but, we planned to do this leg as a number of short day trips with time to enjoy
the anchorages along the way.
Our first stop was at Tenacatita about ten miles from
Barra. Stop number two was at
Careyes. This is a small bay with
not a lot of anchoring room but it is a beautiful spot and well worth the stop.
The buildings on the shore are all painted brightly and lighted at night.
Lindsey and I had never anchored at Careyes before so it was a special
treat to stop there. Bahia de
Chamela became stop number three. We
departed Chamela about 0430 hours with a plan of stopping in Ipala if the
conditions at Cabo Corrientes were bad. When
we got close to Corrientes
we could not believe how calm it was so we took advantage of this good
situation and proceeded into Banderas
Bay. Our good luck in rounding Cabo
Corrientes made us a day early for our slip at the Marina
so we anchored at La Cruz for the night. We
were able to talk to our old friends Bill and Jean (s/v Mita Kuuluu) who were
leaving that same day for Hawaii. The once quite
village
of La Cruz
is now building a breakwater and Marina. I guess this is progress but I do
not think I like it very much.
We spent four days at
Paradise
Village
where we did a little boat clean up and a lot of socializing.
Next we made the forty-mile run to Chacala, one of our
favorite spots on the Mainland side of Mexico. We had some good fish dinners and
lunches on the beach. This was a new
anchorage to both Richard and Susie and I think they really enjoyed our short
stay there. We spent two days and
one night at Chacala and departed about 1600 hours on our second day in order to let us reach the
Baja
coast
during daylight hours. A good thing about power boats is their consistent speed
which allows for some very accurate ETAs.
None of this “well if the wind holds we should be there in the next ten
to twenty hours” kind of navigation.
Both sunsets of our 38-hour crossing of the Sea
of Cortez
(Chacala to Muertos) were beyond belief. I
saw my first green flash at sunset. I
thought this was just some sort of sea story as I had never seen it before, and I
have seen a lot of sunsets at sea. Well
it really happened and everyone else on the boat saw it also.
Then just to prove that green flashes are real we all got to see another
one the next day. We arrived at Muertos mid morning and had a relaxing
day. We went to shore for a nice
dinner at the Giggling Marlin. The
next day we made a lazy trip back to Marina Palmira where we arrived at 1730
hours.
A few days after our Maverick trip Lindsey and I flew to Tijuana
on Aero
California. This was apparently one of their
last flights, as a few days later they were out of business.
We took a cab to the border and then on to San Diego to visit with Willy and Tigger and get our cars.
I picked up some boat parts and study material and headed back to Baja.
Lindsey departed to visit with her Mom and Ryder in Arizona.
She then returned to work at the Ranch while I goofed off on the boat.
Did you get the part about study materials?
I had signed up to take a Captains License Course with the Maritime
Institute in San Diego. I also had copies of all the legal paperwork that I needed to fill out in order to
become a licensed Captain once I passed the exams. During the next
month I did some studying and
documenting of my sea time and experience.
I also worked on some boat projects and did some visiting around the Marina
and La Paz.
April
The loss of Aero California Airlines has caused the airfares
on the one remaining airline flying out of La Paz
to triple. The result of all this
is that we now all go to San Jose del Cabo for our flights back to the USA. I had a chance to test out this
new route in April when I went back to Ohio
for my Mother's 90th Birthday Party.
I departed La Paz
early on the bus for the three-hour ride to San Jose del Cabo.
Next was the taxi ride from the bus terminal to the airport.
The first leg of the flight was to San Francisco. Then I flew to LAX where I took a
cab to a local hotel where Lindsey was waiting after driving down to from the
Ranch. The next day we flew to
Canton/Akron via
Denver.
The day after we arrived, my daughters Torrey and Kelley and
granddaughter Mari flew in for a long weekend.
The party was a great success with all the local relations in attendance.
I think everyone enjoyed the event and we had a chance to see family
members we see rarely. Lindsey and I
were able to spend a week in Ohio with my mom and the others.
The return flight was even stranger than the trip out.
We both flew from Canton/Akron to LAX via Denver
again. Lindsey then departed for a drive
out to Palm Desert while I had a ten hour lay over in LA.
Late that night I departed LAX for Mexico City
where I had another layover. In the morning I flew from
Mexico City
back to Cabo and retraced the cab/bus/cab route until I was safely back at the
boat.
Even with all the strange travel arrangements it was a good
trip and I am glad we all made it back to Ohio to have a special event for my
Mother.
June
I drove back up Baja to San Diego
to take my classes and exams for the Captain’s License.
It is good that I enjoy this long drive most of the time.
I had a couple of days with Lindsey onboard Artemis, with Willy, before classes started.
I checked into a hotel about one block from the school which was a good
idea. The Institute tells everyone that
if you want to pass the course you will not have any time for anything but study
and practice chart work and navigation. They
are not kidding!
The navigation section of the exam must be passed with a
minimum score of 90%. All chart work
must be done by hand. No cool aids
like GPS. The Inland Navigation
Rules which I have almost never used were a challenge, but I am now qualified to
operate a tug boat on the Ohio River
if that ever comes up. There was
really a lot of good stuff presented in the class and I gained some new insight
into operating commercial vessels both on inland waters and on the open seas.
Making this long story short I was able to pass all my
exams and get a license as well as a sailing and towing endorsement for my
license. One of the many required
items to get a license is a current first aid and CPR certification from a Coast
Guard approved course. I got my
first aid stuff updated by taking a course called Standards of Training and
Certification of Watch keeping. Does
the name of this course make you think of governmental paperwork and such?
Anyway this course was great fun after two weeks of classroom work.
We got to do some shipboard fire fighting at the Navy
Fire
School
and spent a day messing around with life rafts and rescue equipment.
This course is not an endorsement on my
US
license but it is required for the transport of passengers offshore.
In the USA
this certification is issued by the Coast Guard for MARPOL the international
maritime organization.
During the same time I was in class I was getting my
physical, drug test, letters of recommendation and sea service forms all
together for presentation to the Coast Guard.
When all that stuff was together in the proper format and
color ink, I had to take it to the Coast Guard Office in Long Beach.
The package was reviewed and
approved and I was finger printed and sworn in as a Captain (Merchant Marine).
When all this was completed I was off to the Ranch to pick
up Lindsey and head back south to the calm of La Paz
and a number of major boat projects. As
I write this report I am mid-way through building a hard dodger and bimini top
out of fiberglass for La Otra. I
have not done this type of thing before so I am inventing some of the processes
as I go along. So far so good.
Just to insure that the boat is totally unlivable I am also
in the process of pulling the engine out of La Otra for a complete and major
rebuild. The dodger/bimini/engine
rebuild projects will be covered in the next update of my web page notes.
If it is not covered then you will know it did not go well and you should
not inquire about it ever again!
We decided to spend this past month at our favorite hotel
here in La Paz, the El Moro. It is much nicer than
trying to walk around parts all the time and I do not have to put everything
away each day so we can live on board. We
are considering this a mini vacation although I am spending a lot of time
everyday at the boat.
This is the time of the year when we watch the National
Hurricane
Center’s web site at least twice a day and more often when there are storms down
south. So far we have only had some
much needed rain out of Tropical Storm Emilia.
I hope the rest of the hurricane season goes so well.
Just like so many of the birds of the world who fly away to areas of
better weather, Lindsey will soon be departing to do some work at the Ranch.
While it has been very hot in California
lately, they do not have hurricanes there.
BOOTS
A year has passed and I have taken thousands of photos, and have
been many places. However, I have failed miserably in keeping this website
updated! It seems that I'm never holding still long enough to organize all
the parts required to put together an update that makes sense. I haven't
even kept up on my email correspondence either. Please forgive
me.
As you read our stories and wander through our photos, please
keep in mind that we do think about all of you often, whether you see the
evidence of it or not. I am also attempting to put together some digital
photo albums that will be viewable on a shared website soon. My thinking
is that this might be a good way to share more of our photos with you more
often. I will let you know when that is available.
Twelve months is a long time to cover in a few paragraphs.
Since Mike has outlined all of our on-the-water time, I will focus on other
times shared with friends and family. This has been an exceptional year
for the extensive amount of time that we have spent with those we love.
In August and September I actually accomplished some work.
Then the fun started. In early October, Maureen & Riley & Liam of
"Alouette de Mer" came by for an overnight visit at the ranch.
This was the first time I had met baby Liam, and he's a character.
The birthday celebration we had for my Mama (Donita) was so much
fun. My family hadn't had that many relatives together at once since I was
a kid. Most of my cousins (from Mama's side) were there, both of my
brothers, Mama's sister CJ, friends Betsey & Marci, Ryder's brother Kelley
& wife Larae, and all but one of Ryder's daughters came to the ranch for the
three-day event. The weather was perfect and the ranch location (for which
I will be eternally grateful to Richard & Suzy "Maverick") worked
out wonderfully.
Before we left for Baja, our friends Mike & Sallie, with son
Michael, came over for a fun day visit. They had been our dock neighbors
in Channel Islands when we first bought "La Otra", and now have a new
catamaran and house in Florida. Mike & I stopped by Moorpark for a
brief visit with Dale & Marilyn (formerly "Sea Lady", also old
dock neighbors) on our way south. They are now "cruising" in a
beautiful new motor home.
The holidays were spent in La Paz this year. For
Thanksgiving we went out to eat a traditionally American turkey dinner at the
Club Marlin, in Comitan, just north of La Paz. As December passed, a group
of the crazier folks at the marina put together a Winter Solstice dock
party. We painted our faces blue (don't ask why) and ate and drank and
visited all night.
Christmas Eve, Pat (formerly "Victory of Wight") and
Eldon (formerly "Black Rabbit") joined us for caroling at Marina de La
Paz, then dinner at our favorite Mexican food restaurant "El Zarape",
followed by "light-seeing" around town. We spent a quiet
Christmas morning on board "La Otra", eating panitone sweet bread and
seeing what Santa put in our stockings. Later on we went to Club Marlin
for Christmas dinner, with friends Mike & Tonya "Amazing Grace",
with their visiting son Kevin, and Dick & Judi "Corazon de
Acero". My Christmas gift to Mike this year was newly painted dragons
on the bow of "La Otra". The day after Christmas I was out on
the dock with the red paint for a dragon
make-over.
Our New Year's Eve was quiet, and on New Year's Day Mike & I
went over to "Maverick" (Richard & Suzy were in CA) to watch DVD movies and drink mimosas. Mike packed for his trip to El Salvador, and
left the next day. While Mike was gone I socialized. I had great fun
with Mike & Tonya "Amazing Grace", Dave & Debbie
"Oz", Mark & Sue "Blue Suede Sue", Martin & Robin
"Cat's Meow", Mike "Good News", and Eldon.
In mid January, I flew up to San Diego to try to be of some help
to Willy on "Artemis". Nick passed away that evening, and I
stayed on with Willy for several weeks. Losing Nick was quite a blow to
Mike & I. We have had such fabulous times on "Artemis" and
at the condo in La Paz.
Another of our friends, Roger "Victory of Wight" had
passed away suddenly in October. His wife Pat is now living in the home
they had just bought in La Paz a year earlier, and just recently sold their
boat.
Losing friends to illness is difficult, but we had another loss
in April that was truly tragic. Mark & Sue "Blue Suede Sue"
were crewing on a delivery to the States of the 65-ft. Nordhaven
"Charlotte B", when the boat went aground. Mark was killed while
trying to secure the boat.
We are fortunate to be able to continue to have close contact
with Willy, Pat, and Sue. These folks are our La Paz family and not just
passing cruisers. Nick, Roger and Mark will all be sorely missed by us and
many others.
While I was staying with Willy in San Diego there were many
other friends who helped us with the plans for Memorial service and other
transitional issues. Now I have many new friends like Rudy & Karyn
Wolf, Mike & Jackie Woods, Michelle & Terry Willis -"Coastal
Passage", Dock master Eric, Eileen Johnson, and several other folks that I
have enjoyed getting to know.
The time I spent at the ranch
this spring involved a little work and little play. I was able to have
some wonderful weekend family visits. When I returned from our Zihuatanejo
to La Paz trip on "Maverick", I drove out to see Mama & Ryder in
Salome, AZ, and the three of us went up to Yarnell to spend a day with Don &
Judy (formerly s/v "Orioco"). I went up to Pacific Grove to see
my brother Ed, and the two of us drove to La
Selva Beach for a great visit with old friends RC & Gayle
Johnston. My cousin Phyllis
& I met up at her daughter Gennie's in Fresno for a fun Easter
weekend. I got to see them again (and cousin Becky with daughter Samantha)
Memorial Day weekend, when I went to stay with Phyllis in Mariposa.
Mike & I shared a wonderful week in Ohio, celebrating his Mom's
90th Birthday, with his two daughters Kelley and Torrey, and Torrey's
daughter Mari. We had the opportunity to really spend some quality time
with Mike's aunts & uncles and cousins. And the Spring weather was
perfect for us. Mom's sisters Ruth, Marjorie and Marcella did a fantastic
job of arranging everything for the big party. Including the gorgeous
centerpieces of fresh tulips and daffodils, cut from their yards. And I
owe a big thanks to niece Jennifer for the beautiful invitations that she
made. Cousin Robin did a great job of being our Master of Ceremonies for
the event! Our thanks, love and hugs go out to the whole family for always
being so involved.
After we got back to California, I made a quick trip out to Palm
Desert for a visit with good friend Phyllis Keys, who so kindly takes care of
our business issues, so we can live in Mexico. Then it was back to the
ranch to pack for another trip!
A quick turnaround and drive back to San Diego! This time
it was to meet up with Mike at "Artemis" for a few days before he
started his Captain's School. While he was studying and learning all about
"driving" boats, Willy packed up Tigger and the three of us drove to
the ranch for our first night of what was to be our tour of Idaho. We had
to drive separately because Willy was staying in Idaho for several weeks, and I
was going to Libby, MT, and points south. We saw some beautiful scenery,
and it was always fun to stop for meals together.
When we got into Idaho, we were hosted to a fantastic bbq salmon
dinner at Eldon Walker's house in
Caldwell. Rick & Darci Critser (s/v "Tea Leaves"), along
with daughters Dianna and Kristi, joined us there for a lovely evening
visit. The next day it was on to Hope (near Sandpoint), where Rudy &
Karyn Wolf have moved. They hosted a super sashimi dinner, and there were
lots of local friends for us to meet. Rudy, Karyn & Willy drove to
Libby too! On the way we stopped at a cedar
forest, and the Kootenai Falls, before meeting up with Mama & Ryder and
my Aunt CJ for dinner at the Red Dog Saloon in Libby. We said our
goodbyes, and the three of them went back to Hope.
Mama & Ryder were escaping the heat of Arizona by spending
the summer house-sitting for friends in Libby. I went up to collect a few
of my things that they had stored for me. Besides spending fun times with
them and CJ, I was able to visit with Tom & Penny (my step brother &
wife), and friend June Barnes, while I was there.
CJ & I left (driving two cars) and went all the way to CJ's
house in Woodinville, WA, near Seattle. I spent the night there after we
attended a live performance of "Hello Dolly". Then it was on to
Vancouver, WA, where I met up with Eldon again. He and our mutual friend
Lanny Allmaras were getting ready to move Lanny's boat from Vancouver to La
Conner. They took me to lunch, and then I drove on to Winchester
Bay, OR, to see my brother Ed's family there. Ed, Elizabeth and Guy
keep their sailboat "Kibitka" in the marina there. They also
have a lovely mobile home in a park right at the marina. I ended up
staying with them for several days. We had such a great time! There
was an International chainsaw sculpting contest going on that was truly
fascinating to see. The seafood there is a real treat, with salmon, crab,
oysters and other fish so fresh and wonderful!
By this time, Mike was finishing up his classes and I had to get
back to the ranch to take care of some personal business. Before Mike
could get back up to the ranch, I made one more trip. CJ came down to her
daughter Roberta's house, and I joined them there for a wild weekend, which
included a surprise birthday party for Marisa, one of Roberta's friends.
Plus, I got to take hundreds of photos of Roberta's menagerie which includes
three cats and two rabbits.
Then Mike & I had a day or so together before driving
south to La Paz. He was sweet enough to stop at two Mexican wineries
so I could taste and buy some local wine. Our first night was spent at San
Quintin. Once again we stopped at our favorite, the Casitas in Santa
Rosalia for the second night. Upon arriving in La Paz, we checked in the
El Moro for an extended stay. "La Otra" is still in disrepair
and I'm really happy in our homey rooms here at El
Moro.
Our friends here are keeping us busy. We've been able to
get together with Pat (formerly "Victory of Wight") a couple of times,
including once with Robin "Cat's Meow" who was in town for a visit
while Martin stayed on their boat in Escondido. Mike drove Sue "Blue
Suede Sue" to the airport in Cabo so she could stay with sons in Santa
Cruz. Dick & Judi "Corazon de Acero" have had us over to
their beautiful new palapa home in Comitan, along with Mike & Tonya
"Amazing Grace". "Maverick" Richard & Suzy took me
out one weekend to anchor at Isla Partida,
while Mike worked on our bimini. No cruising for us this summer due to the
projects that are underway, but at least I feel like we've had some nice
relaxing time together in this beautiful place.
My time here in La Paz, for this trip, is rapidly coming to a
close, as I will be heading back to California next week. I will see as
many of you as I can while I'm there. We don't know what the plans might
be for us this fall and winter, but we'll keep you up to date!
BOATS
PASSAGE NOTES
Since our last web page update I (we, sometimes) have been traveling on
other peoples boats while leaving poor old La Otra sitting at the dock.
I have traveled 1,557 nautical miles and a lot more on land in the last
few months. Following is a
description of some of the more interesting sights and places.
Venture Forth Trip
Venture Forth is a beautiful Nordhaven 46 which belongs to our friends Mac
and Carole. I finally got my chance
to drive it in April. The owners had
a guest down from Salt Lake City
and they wanted to take them out to the local islands and to check out some
anchorages I had been discussing with them.
Mac and Carole were kind enough to ask me to come along.
I had a great time playing a combination of guest, boat boy, guide and
pilot. We departed the Marina
early and returned before dark. We
saw some of the local island sights, had a good meal and lots of fun.
I think the guest really enjoyed the trip and I know I did.
S/V Magena Trip
In early May I did a boat delivery trip from
La Paz
to
San Diego
with my friend Colin Agar. This was
my 7th trip along the Baja Pacific coast but it was number 26 for
Colin. I have included some items out of my log as well as some notes for anyone
interested in what it is like doing the Baja Bash.
Magena is a Specter 41. The owner, his wife and two young children had
returned to
California
a few weeks before our departure.
4/9/05
Cleaned the boat and got it ready for sea.
We went to the market for provisions and stowed them on board.
4/10/05
0400 hrs.
On board
0600 hrs.
Departed Marina Palmira under power. We put a reef in the mainsail to help
stabilize the boat and to provide some lift as we motored.
The reef was to allow us not to have to do it later when the wind
increased as we were underway.
Note: Delivery trips are not pleasure cruises.
The owner wants his boat and we want to get back for other work or fun
so most of the trip is motor sailing. As you will note in the following log
entries almost the entire 1000 miles is dead into the wind and swell.
0740 hrs.
Single Side Band Radio out of service. No
weather reports or radio nets.
0900 hrs.
I cleaned up the boat after breakfast. We are through the San Lorenzo Channel
and have turned southerly into the Cerralvo Channel. Wind 15 mph, North.
Seas, short and sloppy at 4 feet plus from the Northwest.
Note: Colin likes to cook so he cooked and I cleaned.
We did 6-hour watches and kept an active ships log and chart with
updates every two hours at a minimum.
1630 hrs.
We took the SSB radio apart to try to fix it.
It worked well until the next morning.
1930 hrs.
Wind up. Seas building and breaking on the port stern quarter. So roly
below that a pork chop flew out of the frying pan and landed behind the
gimbaled stove.
2100 hrs.
Changing course more northwesterly. Better
ride, but the wind is still up.
2300 hrs.
Wind dropping some. Calmer ride. Some other boat traffic in our
area.
4/11/05
0200 hrs.
Off San Jose del Cabo. We will get
to Cabo before sun up and well before the fuel dock is open.
0725 hrs.
At the fuel dock, Cabo San Lucas. Topped
up all fuel tanks and jerry cans.
0840 hrs.
Rounding Cabo San Lucas. Reef in the mainsail. Wind 15 to 20 N.W.
We are getting a lift from the main and are making 7.5 knots.
0915 hrs.
Around Cabo Falso. Setting a new course directly for Cabo Tosca.
Very wet. Taking a lot of water over the deck at times.
1230 hrs.
I tied more lines to the dinghy that was hung on davits off the stern.
The rough seas make the dinghy chafe on the davits and stern.
1400 hrs.
Dodging a cruise ship. Course change to starboard until passed the big
sucker.
1700 hrs.
I am off watch but can not sleep because of the boat pounding into high seas
and water coming over the cabin. What
fun!
1943 hrs.
A beautiful sunset. Seas and wind
still up.
2130 hrs.
Seas and wind down a little. I can
see the glow of the lights from
La Paz
across the Baja land mass which is narrow at this point.
Note: We had been concerned about some occasional noise
coming out of the cutlass bearing area. When
looking this situation over we found that the engine prop shaft was out of
alignment and made noise when running at full power or in certain sea
conditions. We did not have all the tools we needed on board to fix this
correctly but had discussed stopping at
Santa Maria
to anchor and work on the problem. We found an engine RPM that would not
hurt the boat and continued on.
4/12/05
0945 hrs.
Starboard fuel tank low, switched to the bow fuel tank.
1000 hrs.
Engine stopped. We discovered that the fuel filters and lines were full
of salt water. I took the reef out of the mainsail and I started sailing
in the general direction of our course while Colin worked on clearing the fuel
system.
Note: We soon found a flaw in the design of this boat.
The air vent for the bow fuel tank comes out about two feet aft of the bow and
six inches below the hull-to-deck joint. This
allowed water to be forced into the fuel tank when the bow of the boat was
buried in the oncoming seas.
We needed the fuel in this tank to get to our next fuel
stop at
Turtle
Bay
. We kept sailing to conserve fuel while working on the problem.
We could not sail directly on the rumb line so we took up a course for
Bahia Asuncion. Sea conditions
were rough at this time
We knew that there should not be a lot of water in the
tank as it was full when we left Cabo. We decided to pump off the water
in the tank and then pump off the fuel and transfer it to the starboard fuel
tank. Water is heavier than diesel
and sinks to the bottom of the tank in theory.
The only pump we could find that worked was the priming
bulb for the dinghy outboard motor gas can. We cut it out of the fuel
can hose and installed it into the bow fuel tank hose. Colin started
pumping by hand. The first liter and a half came out as 100% saltwater.
Next came a liter of mixed fuel and water then pure fuel.
We pumped fuel into one gallon jugs which I took out on
deck to the deck fill pipe. I then opened the deck plate and poured in
the gallon, all the time trying to keep any water coming over the deck out of
the tank. We got 22 gallons of
fuel from the bow tank using this slow process.
Colin pumped 3,360 pumps and we sailed 20 miles generally in the right
direction while this was all going on. We
were making slow progress sailing so after the fuel transfer we put a reef
back in the mainsail and started motor sailing again.
We also noted that a section of the pipe leading from the
windlass to the chain locker was missing which allowed water to run into the
area between the bow fuel tank and the forepeak bed and storage area.
Everything up there was soaked. A
lot of water comes over the boat even on good trips north up the Baja.
2343 hrs.
A nice moon set. I am tired and a
little beat up but in good sprits as we push on.
4/13/05
0245 hrs.
A long watch. Nothing on the radar all night. Cold and wet in the
cockpit. We still have about 170 N.M. to get to
Turtle
Bay
and fuel. At least another 30 hours.
1700 hrs.
While on watch I did some boat clean up and worked some more on making the
dinghy secure. I also watched a lot of breaking waves and flying water.
I worked on some navigation stuff and tried to keep busy and awake.
It was hard to sleep when off watch because of the conditions but I did get a
nap or two during my off time.
2100 hrs.
Boat speed down to 4 knots or less. Seas still bad. Colin fixed a
great dinner which was something considering the working conditions
below. After he did that I, of course, had to match his effort by
cleaning everything up below decks.
4/14/05
0015 hrs.
We put a second reef in the mainsail and changed course a few degrees to try
to improve the ride and reduce the beating of the boat. We are closing
on land near Punta Abreojos and hope for improved conditions as we get into
shallower water.
0230 hrs.
When we got to within 6 to 8 miles of land it calmed down a lot.
Note: It is very hard to pick up the land in this area on
radar. You need to get within a few miles and then you only seem to get
a good target return from the points or high ground.
0740 hrs.
We put the on deck jerry can fuel into the fuel tanks. Another wet job.
1145 hrs.
Anchor down in
Turtle
Bay
. We quickly found out that
Annabelle the fuel boat, and the fuel dock had both had problems with their
government permits and were not selling fuel. This meant that our only
option for getting fuel was to carry it by hand from the Pemex station in
town. We also had to figure out how to carry enough fuel on deck to
replace the bow fuel tank which showed as full on its gauge meaning it had
taken on about 20 to 25 gallons of salt water during the last day of bashing
north.
All we could find to carry fuel in this little town was
six used five gallon oil cans which we purchased.
We took them to the Pemex station and washed them out with
gasoline. We took them back to the boat.
We also found out that the Pemex station was out of diesel fuel but
they hoped to get some tonight or maybe tomorrow.
Colin went back into town to try and arrange for fuel while I did some
navigation stuff and cleaned up the boat and tried to dry some things out a
little.
2200 hrs.
Ernesto (fuel dock) came out to the boat in a panga with 110 gallons of diesel
which we used to fill our tanks and oil cans on deck.
We tied the deck cans down securely, checked the fuel filters and got
ready to get underway.
4/15/05
0010 hrs.
Anchor up, departing
Turtle
Bay
.
0245 hrs.
In the middle of the Dewey Channel and the GPS/Chart Plotter and Radar alarms
are going off. We got out the hand
held GPS and entered waypoints for the
next 24 hours. The radar shut down
again. I was able to reboot the
radar and all was well. A few
hours later while Colin was on watch he was able to locate a bad cable
connection on the Chart Plotter which he fixed and put the unit back into
service.
Note: This kind of stuff always seems to happen in the
middle of the night.
1140 hrs.
We are past
Cedros
Island
and into Bahia Viscaino which most often is a bad stretch of road.
So far conditions are not too bad and we are making good time toward
Sacramento Reef. A very large
tanker 2 miles off our port beam. Flattened the mainsail.
1500 hrs.
I had a good watch. I got a lot of things done on the boat and made good
time for this area.
1900 hrs.
I am still off watch but I am up for dinner and such.
The wind and seas are up again and our boat speed is down.
2100 hrs.
I am on watch now. A lot of set to
the east in this section of the Viscaino. Care must be used to make sure
we are not set into the Sacramento Reef.
4/16/05
0050 hrs.
We are at the Sacramento Reef waypoint and we have the Isla San Geronimo
Racon showing on the radar screen.
I have set a course for Bahia San Quintin where we will anchor and put
the on deck fuel into the fuel tanks for the run to
San Diego
.
0115 hrs.
The shackle holding the main boom to the traveler came undone causing the boom
to swing freely. I had to get
Colin up to handle the mainsheet and act as the safety man while I went on
deck and fixed the problem.
Note: Another middle of the night adventure.
I do not like shackles that you can not wire shut.
Sometimes shackles break but they should not just come undone when
worked hard.
0710 hrs.
Anchor down at San Quintin. We
transferred the deck fuel to the tanks and secured all the empty cans.
We had breakfast and made some phone calls from Colin’s cell phone
which worked at this location. It
is very overcast and cool here this morning.
0930 hrs.
Anchor up and underway. Next stop
San Diego
.
1135hrs.
Isla San Martin off our port beam. Swells
5 to 6 feet but well spaced and no cross chop so we are making good time and
having a good run.
1345 hrs.
Six to eight gray whales just off our port side.
They went along with us for about one hour.
2320 hrs.
I had to do some big course changes to miss a couple of big ships south of
Punta Banda.
4/17/05
0700 hrs.
9.8 NM off of the #1 bell at
San Diego
. I am cleaning salt and such off
the dodger window so we can see to get into the harbor safely.
0905 hrs.
We are at the Customs dock in
San Diego
waiting for a 100 foot vessel to clear so we can get into the dock.
1100 hrs.
We finally got to the dock after circling in the channel forever.
We have cleared Customs and are in a slip at the Police Dock.
We spent the afternoon getting some stuff Colin needed
and going out to lunch and dinner. I
worked on a little boat clean up. I
called Lindsey at the Ranch to make arrangements for her to come down for a
visit.
We made the trip up in seven days and three hours with us
and the boat still in operating condition.
4/18/05
0910 hrs.
We departed the Police Dock and took the boat to Sunroad Marina where the
owner of Magena had made arrangements for a slip.
We spent the rest of the day cleaning the boat and getting it ready to
turn back over to the owner. The
owner (Jeff) came by late in the afternoon and we gave him a briefing on the
trip. We turned Magena back over
to Jeff and we took off to our Hotel to wait for Lindsey and Colin’s friend
Tere to show up for dinner.
We spent a couple of days in
San Diego
with the ladies. We turned in our
rental car and took a taxi to the border.
Then it was another taxi to the airport then a quick flight to
La Paz
. You cover the distance
from
San Diego
to
La Paz
in an airplane in about one third of a watch on the boat but with a lot less
adventure. I guess something may
be a little off in my head but after a week to rest up I’ll be ready for
another trip up.
Land Trip
I spent about two weeks on the boat after the Magena trip to San Diego, then I packed up the car and drove up to the Ranch.
This trip is just under 1,300 miles, most of it on two lane roads.
I covered this land route in detail in the last web page update so I will
not cover it again in this writing.
While I was at the Ranch I got a lot of stuff done.
I did some medical check up stuff, and did some shopping for me and the
boat. I was able to attend the
annual Foresters and Fire Wardens Meeting and catch up with a lot of my old Fire
Department friends. I also had a
chance to visit with my daughters Torrey and Kelley.
We had some good functions up at the Ranch but after about
a month it was time to head back to the boat. I loaded up the car with
stuff for both La Otra and for Maverick and started south again.
I changed the normal course a little on the return trip.
I crossed the border at Tecate and took Highway 3 to Ensenada
where I got back onto Highway 1. Highway
3 is a poor road but does go through some interesting country.
The road travels through Baja’s wine country and some remote farming
towns. There were some major road
repairs going on which added to the travel time.
I took my time coming down and made the trip in three days
instead of the normal two days. There
was some bad traffic situations but it is a beautiful drive if you enjoy views
of the desert, mountains and water.
Maverick Trip #1
On June 9th, Lindsey, Richard, Suzy and Gayle all flew down from
the Ranch and I picked them up at the airport in the evening.
Sixteen hours later we were all provisioned and underway for a great
cruise up into the
Sea
of
Cortez
. Gayle is a long time friend of the
Hewitsons and was a great addition to the group for this trip.
All the folks coming down from California had been working
really hard and were ready for a little vacation time so this trip was a lot
about changing gears and having fun and less about exploring new places but we
did get to do some of that as well.
6/10/05
1600 hrs.
We departed the
Marina
after topping up all the fuel tanks. This
takes some time on a vessel like Maverick.
We then went out to Embudo on the north end of Isla Partida.
We had our normal great meal and drinks and did a little
swimming. The south wind came up
after dark and made for a roly anchorage.
6/11/05
We fished a little going up the San Jose Channel on our way to El Gato.
The fishing was poor as it had been for some time.
The water was still a little cool for this time of year (78 degrees).
El Gato is a beautiful anchorage but it is open to any wind and seas
from any direction from northeast to southwest.
It was a little bouncy here but the biggest problem here was bees.
Bees are a problem in some anchorages before the summer/fall rains set
in. The bees are looking for fresh
water and at times almost swarm the boats at anchor.
After we get some rain they become less of a problem
6/12/05
We were up early and out of the anchorage to avoid the bees.
We motored through the rest of the San Jose Channel to the southern end
of Isla Monserrat. We checked out
the two anchorages at the south end of the island but took a pass on them
because the wind and swell were coming from the south.
We took an easy ride up the western side of Monserrat to the north end
anchorage known as
Yellowstone
. This was a new anchorage for
Richard, Suzy and Gayle. The port
generator on the boat shut down. It
does this automatically if it starts to overheat.
After a little testing we found that the thru hull fitting which lets
cooling water in was plugged. This
was fixed by diving under the boat and cleaning out the thru hull.
Maverick has a 20 foot beam and huge props and shafts.
It was a challenge free diving under the boat, finding the fitting and
cleaning it out. It took me a few
trips but once it was done we were shortly back in service.
6/13/05
The ladies are all out early to go snorkeling. They had a great time
and saw a lot of beautiful fish.
When the snorkeling event was done we departed to the
eastern side of Isla Carmen. We
fished on the way over but did not catch anything we wanted to keep.
We do not eat skip jacks when there are good fish to eat lurking
nearby.
We checked out the anchorages at Bahia Salinas and Perico
South on the northeast corner of Isla Carmen.
These two anchorages were new to all of us.
Perico South would be good in a northerly blow but was open to the
south wind we were having at the time. Bahia
Salinas is large and shallow. You
would need to anchor so far off shore that a swell would build up in the
anchorage if the wind was from the north.
The anchorage is open from the east through the south.
We took a pass on staying here.
We went to the northeast side of Isla Carmen and anchored at
Bahia Cobre. This was a new
anchorage for all of us. The
anchorage is completely open to the north but provides great protection in the
normal summer winds. The
surrounding area is rocky and beautiful. We
like it a lot and we will return again.
6/14/05
We left Bahia Cobre and went to the hook at Isla Coronados.
We hooked more skip jacks on the way over and sent them back to the
deep as soon as we could get them off the lures.
It was a beautiful day for motoring over the seas.
Coronados
is a very popular anchorage with the boaters.
Eco tourists are now being panga-ed out to the island from Loreto so
this was not a private anchorage. The
water was beautiful here so we did a lot of swimming and took a couple of long
dingy tours of the bay. We topped
off a great meal with a Texas
hold-em game.
6/15/05
We messed around until after lunch and then headed south to Bahia
Candelero. This is a great trip
with Isla Carmen to port and the town of Loreto
to starboard. Later you come to
Juncalito, Puerto Escondido, Isla Danzante and Los Candeleros.
Sometimes it hard to believe this is all in my backyard and I get to do
it a lot.
We had a good anchorage here.
I was able to dive for some clams and had a good time swimming, etc.
This was a new anchorage for Richard, Suzy and Gayle.
6/16/05
One more day at Bahia Candelero. More
swimming, diving, kayaking, sunning and taking it easy.
We took a tour of the Danzante Resort and had a chance to say hello to
the owner Lauren who we got to know last year.
We capped off our day with a great meal and movies on the big screen TV
in the Maverick Saloon.
6/17/05
Suzy and Gayle took off heading south in the kayaks. I
had been diving and on my return Richard, Lindsey and I pulled up the anchor
and motored after the girls. They
were able to cover five miles before we picked them up as we were passing in
route to Agua Verde.
Agua Verde is a very popular anchorage and this was the
first time we had ever been there with out some other boats around.
We anchored in the southeast bight and had a comfortable night.
With more good food and Texas
hold-em.
6/18/05
We spent the morning taking a walking tour of the little village
of Agua Verde. This takes about 30 minutes if
you walk slowly. We did a little
shopping at the tienda, enjoyed looking at the goats walking through
town and checked out some of the improvements that had been done to a lot of
the buildings since we were there last summer.
We departed south after lunch in very calm weather.
A great day for motor boats. We
anchored in an open roadstead somewhere north of Timbabichi.
The place has no name and is not in any of the chart books.
Richard had been here before but it was new to me.
This is a spectacular anchorage but would only be safe in near perfect
weather. Richard has found some
interesting places to anchor in the southern Sea
of Cortez
during his years of fishing these waters.
6/19/05
We headed south again early in the day.
We had planned to anchor at El Embudo for some protection from the
predicted winds. Some evil-doer
had anchored at Embudo before we got there and the anchorage is too small for
two large boats so we went on to El Cardonal where we spent a windy and roly
night.
6/20/05
We contacted Ricky (Maverick’s Fishing Officer) and made arrangements to
meet him at Tecolote at lunch time. The
plan was to do some real fishing for the rest of the trip.
We anchored off Playa Tecolote and went into the beach
for lunch at one of the beach eateries. We
trolled down the Cerralvo channel without much luck.
We anchored in another nameless roadstead north of Los Cruces.
The anchorage was OK and was close to where we wanted to start fishing in the
morning.
6/21/05
We fished the Cerralvo Channel all day with poor results but I was getting
a lot of good deep sea fishing tips from Richard and Ricky.
We returned to the roadstead anchorage from last night and found that
it would be totally uncomfortable and unsafe to anchor there.
We took off for Balandra which was up the Cerralvo
Channel and through the San Lorenzo Channel then past Tecolote.
This kind of a trip on La Otra would have put us into the anchorage
well after dark but on Maverick you can just increase the RPM a little and
cover a great deal of water in a short time.
6/22/05
We departed early to see if we could find some live bait.
We had not been able to catch any the night before.
After a lot radio traffic we found out that we could buy some bait from
one of the local fisherman who was related to Ricky. A quick trip across
the San Lorenzo Channel to a cove on the southern end of Isla Espiritu Santos
got enough sardines to fish for the day.
We fished live bait all the rest of the day in the San
Lorenzo Channel and managed to land five nice dorados.
I am really learning a lot about how to drive the boat when fishing,
which takes a lot more skill than one would think. I am really enjoying
these fishing days but I still have a lot to learn to be a valuable member of
the crew.
While we were fishing Suzy was able to make radio contact
with friends on the Hylas 49, Creola, who were just arriving in the area after
a trip down from Ensenada. We took a break from fishing and
had a late lunch with Bill and Linda (Creola) and Barry
and Karen (Sarabi) once again on the beach at Tecolote.
We fished a little while longer then headed toward the
Marina
in order to get there before dark and the cocktail hour. We had a great
time on this trip but it was time to get back as Gayle was running out of
vacation time.
Maverick Trip #2
We had spent five whole days back at the Marina
before we all decided it was time for another trip out.
The justification for this trip was that we needed to see if we could
find Creola and Sarabi and see what they were doing. So off we went.
6/28/05
We left the Marina
before lunch and headed in the direction of Isla San Francisco and the San
Jose Channel. When we neared that
area we were able to make VHF radio contact with Creola who was a few miles
north of us fishing. They were
about to head into Evaristo to anchor for the night.
We headed over to Evaristo which is an anchorage that both Richard and
I are not fond of so we were not too excited about staying there.
There were six or seven boats in the anchorage which is more company
than we like. We motored along
side of Creola and talked them into going north with us.
Sarabi also pulled up anchor and followed.
We ended up anchoring in the open roadstead in the San
Jose Channel again. Being open (no
enclosed bay or protective point) there was lots of room. We actually
had a good stay here for two nights as the weather was very calm.
Suzy invited the other two boats over to Maverick for a
wonderful fish dinner. We all had
a great time.
6/29/05
We spent the day at the same anchorage as the weather continued calm.
We were in the water most of the day or just taking it easy in the sun.
I did do a little clean up in the fishing cockpit and swim step areas.
We explored some of the surrounding area by dinghy and topped off the
night with another group dinner on Maverick.
6/30/05
We departed the anchorage in the mid morning and headed south.
Creola and Sarabi headed north. We
fished in the San Jose Channel but only got some more skip jacks which quickly
went back overboard.
We anchored early on the north side of Isla San
Francisco. This was my first time
to anchor at this spot on the island. We
were starting to see a southerly wind developing and this spot would provide
more protection than the “hook” on the southwest side of the island.
We did some more swimming and relaxing and had another great meal
served on the aft deck while we watched the sun set.
Other Stuff
Before meeting Lindsey in Guadalajara for a mainland trip, I flew to Ohio
for a week with my Mom. It was great to visit with her and I was also able
to see my aunts and cousins who live nearby too.
Marina Palmira now has wireless internet connections
available to the docks for free. This
is a great service. No more trips
downtown to the internet café you just sit in the boat and hook into the net.
This is great for getting good weather info and such.
Lindsey got me an XM Satellite Radio for Christmas which I now use on
the boat. We now have something like
100 radio channels so there is lots of music, news and other stuff to listen to
when I am in the mood.
La Otra is now in full “summer mode”.
The awnings are up and our portable A/C unit is sitting in the companion
way. As the heat and humidity of summer increases these little touches
help to make it a little nicer here.
I may be making a few trips out to the local islands while
Lindsey is up at the Ranch but I will be staying within a day or so of
La Paz
because we are rapidly approaching the time of year where hurricanes present a
problem to La Paz.
I have been doing a number of minor boat projects and will
be doing some more during the rest of the summer.
Along with the boat projects come all the regular recurring maintenance
work needed to keep the boat in top shape. So
that’s what the rest of my summer looks like and hopefully all the hurricanes
leave
La Paz
alone.
BOOTS
Ranch life (work and play)
is always interesting. During the months of April and May, among various
other activities, I was able to work on the construction of a large metal
building for storing organic wheat seed, fill out load tickets for a dirt
hauling operation, and personalize digital photos taken at the somewhat annual
Avenal Ranch Picnic. One of the best things about "working" now
is that I get to do some really fun and new-to-me type projects.
During my stay at the ranch, I had the company of Mike for
part of the time, and a wonderful visit from Mama & Ryder, who were here for
about a week. Easter Sunday I was
invited to spend the day with Richard & Suzy's family. Son Cam &
his wife Kathy had a lovely meal at their home in Paso Robles, and I really
enjoyed meeting more of their family. I managed to get away on a few weekends
for visits with my cousin Roberta and Auntie CJ, in San Jose, another with
my brother Ed and family in Pacific Grove, and a day of wine tasting with friend
Todd at Harmony. When Mike made the Magena delivery trip, I drove to San
Diego, and we had a nice visit with Nick & Willy on "Artemis"
while I was there.
My two months in Mexico just breezed by. Our trips
on Maverick were great fun. Having Gayle along was a real treat
too. Being on someone else's boat is like going on a cruise ship.
There are always activities and wonderful food! Seeing dozens of rays at
one of the anchorages was a real highlight. We always have a good time
with Richard & Suzy, whether out on "Maverick" or in town.
While in the marina we enjoyed time with Gene & Aggie
"Wanderlust", Mark & Sue "Blue Suede Sue", and Mike
& Tonya "Amazing Grace". It was also neat to see Roger &
Pat's "Victory of Wight", newly purchased house in La Paz.
Renewing our annual Mexico visitor visas (FM-3) went quite smoothly this
year. On La Otra, Mike & I accomplished some difficult plumbing
projects without too much trouble.
We were invited to the wedding of one of the Mexican Navy
pilots that we had met in La Paz last year. Luis and Eréndira were
getting married in Morelia on July 23rd. Morelia is about halfway between
Guadalajara and Mexico City. So, we had a fabulous trip to mainland
Mexico. It actually began with Mike flying to Guadalajara and then
directly on to Ohio for a one-week visit
with his mom and family. I flew to Guadalajara several days after he left,
and I took a 4-hour bus ride to Puerto Vallarta for a super visit with Flo &
Jim Rhodes (and kitty Molly). They have been living in a great hillside
apartment in town ever since the guys took their boat "Inspiration" to
San Diego last year.
In Guadalajara, Mike and I met
up at Villa Ganz, a wonderful "boutique hotel" (like a bed and
breakfast style) in a converted historic mansion. We celebrated our 8th
Anniversary with a candlelight dinner on the terrace, and champagne in a
candlelit bath afterward! Wow! The next day we left to go to Morelia. We chose the premier bus line,
ETN, for the 3-hour
trip.
The bride-to-be, Eréndira, had made arrangements for us to
have a room at the Hotel Torremolinos, owned by family friends. Our room
was a cleverly converted windmill (molino). This lovely hotel was
our home base for 5 days. Eréndira graciously took us, and her friend
Delia (who drove up from Colima), to meet her parents and then out to dinner and
around town for sightseeing the night before the wedding.
Morelia has beautiful architecture, many public parks and
fountains, an amazing aqueduct, and an interesting history. We spent
several days visiting museums, and historic sights while enjoying some lovely
meals around the city too. There is a locally famous public market devoted
to candies, called Mercado de Dulces! Of course I had to shop
there.
The wedding was held at
the main cathedral in the center of Morelia, with the reception at the
convention center in the new part of town. Only Luis and Eréndira spoke
English, but we had fun visiting in "Spanglish" with Luis' mom, Linda
(who we had met in La Paz) and his two sisters from Vera Cruz, as well as
Eréndira's parents and friends. There was a live band at the reception
and there was lots of dancing before and after the midnight dinner. It was
such an honor to be included in this event. Luis and Eréndira, and
family, have become very special friends.
The day after the wedding Mike & I took a one-hour bus
ride up to the city of Patzcuaro for a day of
shopping. Mike had been there before and had seen the lake and resort
area, so since there was a light rain all day, he patiently waited while I
shopped around the city square. The city is a local tourist town with lots
of handmade goods like tablecloths and intricately hand-painted wooden boxes.
Back to Guadalajara by ETN bus, then taxi to the airport, then
fly to La Paz, and taxi to the marina. On board La Otra we spent my last
week catching up on misc. things before my return to California.
On August 3rd, I flew to Los Angeles, rented a car and drove
out to Palm Desert to stay with
Phyllis Keys for a week. Phyllis and I spent one entire exhausting day
shopping at the factory outlet stores in Cabazon. She had her sweet
granddaughter Kaytlin overnight one night. I got to visit with friends Al
& Linda Stoddart, and spent my birthday celebrating with margaritas and
Mexican food with Phyllis and another long time friend Debbie Gray. What
fun!
From there I drove out to San Diego for an overnight visit
with Nick, Willy & Tigger on "Artemis". We've really missed
seeing them down in La Paz, and it was good to catch up on Tigger tummy
rubs!
Now it's time for me to get back to the business of having fun
at the ranch. I do love being here where I can stretch out.
Hopefully this summer will be mild weather-wise in La Paz, and Mike can either
come up here or I can go back down for some time together. I'm looking
forward to more visits with family and friends while I'm here in California
too!
