Southwards and beyond...

1600, Saturday, 18 Feb 2012 At Sea between Acapulco and Huatulco
We have been sailing for the past 3-4 hours in a westerly wind of about 12-13 kts. We were able to do the same yesterday afternoon as we left Acapulco and only flashed up the engine after dark when the wind died. We are about 85 miles from Huatulco and we are trying to slow down our speed of advance so as to arrive off the harbour approaches after sunrise.
Days at sea are not as busy as when we are at anchor or alongside. Other than maintaining a watch for hazards and making sure the sails are trimmed we tend to read more and catch up on the sleep we miss during the night watches. Fran has read 3 books since we left Zihuatanejo and J-G is on his second. Fran’s Kindle is getting a workout now. She has hundreds of books downloaded so we won’t run out of reading material any time soon. If we could only get rid of the books we have on board first we could make room for other things like tools for J-G or shoes for Fran....
We departed Zihuatanejo with Von and Jacquie aboard and we have been sailing in company with Nauti Moments (Ken and Carol), another Blue Water Cruising boat from Vancouver. There are quite a few Canadian boats participating in the El Salvador Rally this year. Another boat, I Yam What I Yam is about 12 miles ahead of us.
Our sail down the coast was uneventful. We stopped and anchored at Papanoa, a small fishing village for a few hours, the same location where Optical Illusion found the snake on their bow. I am now more convinced than ever that some fisherman was playing a practical joke on them. When we arrived there was some kind of water festival on with lots of kids swimming and participating in a makeshift raft race close to where we were anchored. We spent Valentine’s Day watching the fun, relaxing and resting up for the night transit to Acapulco.

Kids having fun, Papanoa

We departed at sunset and motored in calm seas all the way to Acapulco. We arrived at the outer bay by 08:00 and by 09:00 we were anchored off the Acapulco Yacht Club. Checking in, we were able to get our paperwork done for the next leg of our trip and we obtained reciprocal privilege passes with our Blue-Water membership for the use of the facilities for the 2 days. The great showers, a wonderful pool and dinghy dock service made this stop worthwhile.
The following day we hired a driver/tour guide and spent a very enjoyable day touring some of the city’s attractions; the cliff divers, Fort San Diego, the Fairmont Princess that Fran and J-G had last seen in 1984 during Oriole’s stopover on her return from Quebec City, a few other local attractions and, lastly, a shopping stop at the Sam’s Club. The van was air-conditioned and easily accommodated the six of us and the driver spoke good English. The tourism industry is having a rough year this year with all the warnings of danger to tourists being spouted by the media. One result is the reduction of cruise ship visits from 125 last year to only 25 this year.
On Friday we bid farewell to Von and Jacquie. They bussed back to Zihuatanejo and we departed for Huatulco. We were sad to see them go but we were happy that they had an enjoyable few days onboard.

Touring Acapulco with Von, Jacquie, Carole and Ken

Fairmont Princess, Acapulco

Senor Frog humour. Note the "Barmacia".

Cliff Divers

Monday, 20 Feb 2012, Alongside marina Chahue, Huatulco
It is hot! But not as hot as it was earlier. At least darkness brings cooler temperatures. You drink lots of fluids (mostly cervesas) and take lots of showers, cold ones, which means that the water is close to 80F, but it does feel cooler.
We arrived here yesterday after an uneventful and very nice 2-day motor and sailboat ride from Acapulco. On our last day we sailed most of the time and even had the spinnaker up for a few hours. After sunset we had to slow the boat down to ensure that we arrived at our destination during daylight but we found that we had a 2 kt current pushing us so we kept the main up most of the night. We were making 3-4 kts through the water but 5-5.5 kts over the ground. I’d hate to have that against us going the other way. During that last night we had an awesome display of lightning from thunderstorms 20 miles inland. It lasted about 3 hours.
On our arrival we were thrilled to see that Optical Illusion and Warren Peace were tied up at the marina, however, they were not aboard. They arrived back from a 10-day trip inland early this morning. It was nice to finally meet up with them again and to make plans for the remainder of our trip in company. Paesano, another BC boat, with Margarita and Gojo (Nanaimo) aboard are also here. They are good friends of Bill and Janet’s and have been cat sitting for them.

Marina Chauhe dock party

Steve's (Warren Peace) Birthday party, Chauhe

There are many other El Salvador bound boats here too; Saucy lady, Swift Current, Liberty, I Yam what I Yam, Risk Taker and a few others all waiting for the next weather window to leave for Chiapas so that we all arrive in Puerto Del Sol by the target date of the 10th of March. . The Aussi boat, Amnesia 2 is also here waiting to leave directly to the Galapagos.
After hearing about Bill, Janet, Linda and Steve’s trip we (with Ken and Carole) have decided to take a 3-4 day trip from here to Oaxaca. Bill and Janet will care for Rosie. We have quite an advantage with directions and recommendations from Bill, Janet, Steve and Linda.
1700, 27 Feb 2012, Alongside, Marina Chahue
Our 3-day trip to Oaxaca was one of our best short holidays ever and our friends; Carol and Jim (Nauti Moments) were great company. Oaxaca is a very beautiful, clean and interesting place to visit. Our hotel (the Golondrillas) was a collection of apartments fashioned from what must have been a large walled hacienda at one time. The rooms were laid out on each side of courtyards and stairways with greenery everywhere. Outside our door there was a large fountain. Our rooms were ready when we arrived at 7AM so we were able to get started with our sight-seeing plans right away.

Garden outside our room, hotel Golondrillas

The first day we wandered about the down-town area and the Zocalo (town square). Our first impression was how clean the city was compared to where we have been to date in Mexico. The square is the hub of activity in most Mexican towns and this was no exception. We returned quite often to this location to experience and enjoy activity and energy. Street sellers were everywhere hawking everything from shirts to whistles, balloons to hot dogs. Added to this were demonstrators from many of the outlying towns protesting issues related to the upcoming elections. By the weekend they were gone but there seemed to be no diminishing in the number of people enjoying the ambiance. We felt safe everywhere we went and everyone we met was courteous and welcoming.

Buying another tablecloth.

Local "cheap" taxies, mostly outside of the city.
There were hordes of these Chinese built contaptions.

That afternoon we took a taxi to the ruins of Monte Alban, one of the oldest cities on the continent. It was the home of the Zapotec hierarchy from 500 BC until about 850AD. Situated on a hilltop, it ruled over a large agricultural based population until drought conditions forced them to abandon the area. (Climate change isn’t a new phenomenon). We had a very good guide who provided us a great deal of information on the site and explained the features of this formidable location and its inhabitants. Tomb #7, found in 1932, was a jackpot find with tons of artefacts and much of it gold and precious stones. Thankfully the finder was an honest archaeologist and the treasure was catalogued and made its way to the museums of Mexico with a large portion to the museum in Oaxaca, one of our later stops.

Monte Alban ruins.

Pelota court where players bounced a 2.5 kg raw rubber ball into a recess in the wall without using their hands. The guide told us that the winners were not sacrificed.

The goals are the upper recesses in the wall. The lower holes were rainwater drains to the huge cistern below the palace.

Part of Tomb 7 treasure: Jade head.

The next day we visited Tule where we saw a 2000 year old cypress,then on to a carpet-making area where we were given a demonstration of the art and a very good brief on the ways that they developed the natural colour dyes that are still in use today.

Tule tree.

Weaver with her Tree of life creation.

No tour of the area is complete without a Mescal distillery visit. They explained in detail the various stages of production and were actually producing on site while we were there. They were extremely generous with their samples of mescal and flavoured mescal liqueurs, probably greasing the customers so they would buy more. Their 8 yr old mescal, aged in a Canadian oak barrel was superb but we settled for a coffee flavoured variety instead.

Sampling the local hootch. Only in certain states have the right to call mescal "Tequila" everywhere else it is called by it's ordinary name.

The next stop was the ruins at Mitlan where the Mixtecs erected some outstanding temple structures with designs that are still used today in carpet weaving designs. The Mixtecs supplanted the Zapotecs after their disappearance and were the people who had to confront the invading Aztecs and later the Spaniards.

Mitlan.

The last point of interest was the “petrified waterfall”. There are only 3 such sites in the world, two in Oaxaca and another in Turkey. A spring disgorges a supply of water that is very rich in minerals. We tested it and fount it had 1400 ppm of solids (vs 160 ppm from our watermaker). The solids precipitate out and form a base under the stream and waterfall giving it the appearance similar to inside surface of a limestone cave. It is hard to describe so see the photo.

Limestone "waterfall".

At about $12 for a full day tour, this was a bargain. Lunch was at a Oaxacan buffet restaurant and cost about $10. They had a wide variety of local dishes but what caught Fran’s eye was the fried grasshoppers. She was the only one that actually ate them (she had an upset stomach the next day). J-G tried one but the iodine type flavour was a definite turn-off.
The following day was reserved for seeing more of the town and to visit the Dominican church that was built between the 1500s and 1700s and the museum of culture. The Dominicans spared nothing in building this palatial church and attached seminary and convent (where the museum is located). In their efforts to praise God and impress the local people they must have spent millions. It is very impressive but definitely over the top. The history of the New World Dominicans and other religious orders is also very interesting but too long to get into here. Suffice it to say that they were the “approved” order (by Spain and the Vatican) and, at times, persecuted and later fought for the rights of the native people. But, like in all such conflicts between first nations and conquering hordes, the native people didn’t have a chance and they were quickly converted, subdued and assimilated. The museum was spectacular with rooms (former dormitories, chapels and offices of the Dominican brothers and sisters) dedicated the various periods of local history. The room exhibiting the treasures of Tomb # 7 was very special.

Just one of the Dominican chapels.

1639 Clock....

Since then we have been trying to survive in this baking heat and strong sun. We have till Thursday to get ready for the next window across the Tehuantepec. Looks like most of the boats here will be leaving at the same time. We have been told that we may not be able to get to the marina in Chiapas because of dredging work being done on its channel. The marina manager is doing all he can to find a way around this problem so we are all following these developments closely.

2100, Tuesday, 28 Feb 2012, Marina Chauhe
Looks like we will be leaving tomorrow afternoon now. We had our rigging cleaned and waxed today, we are fuelled and watered up and just have to wash the uppers tomorrow morning. We will go to an anchorage close by and clean the bottom and propeller before we head out. The Tehuantepec is calming down after 4 days of gale conditions. We expect a very calm crossing for the next few days.
Just a few last thoughts: The thieves in Zihuatanejo were caught when they tried to sell the stuff, great news.
Fonatur has declined to honour the golf pass we had for Huatulco stating that any and all such passes are invalid after 24 Feb. Bummer!!
Bill, Kirk’s friend who was aboard in Tenecatita is here in Huatulco staying with his brother. What a coincidence to see him on his brother’s boat coming in from a fishing trip the other day!

Zihuatanejo and the Sailfest

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

Booby on a Turtle

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

friends at the Concert for the kids

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

Us and Julia

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

The almost twins, J-G and Art.

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

Jacquie and Von

Joe and Nancy from NYC

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

Different kind of water hazard

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

Farewell to the Mexican Riviera

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

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

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

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

Lazing around in Barra de Navidad

Fran's kayaking birds - spoonbill and egret

Hurricane Jimena damage

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

Lazing around on the Mexican Riviera

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

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

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


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

Happy New Year from Barra de Navidad

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

Topolobampo to Barra de Navaidad

Fran's garden. Chives not too plentiful!

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

Tourtiere for Christmas eve dinner, Yum Yum!

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