Tsunamis and Space stations; we have them all.

Note strut, shaft and missing prop


Note rudder damage and bent strut, missing prop


J-G and a brace of Tecate (Beer company)Girls at the carnival last week


Time: 1705


Time: 1725


Finally, the first fish of the season.

1130, Thursday, 10 march 2011, Anchored in Tenecatita Bay
We are just back from a shopping excursion by dinghy to La Manzanilla, about 5 miles down the coast from the anchorage. We left at 0830 to take advantage of the calm conditions that prevail in the morning, hoping to return before the onshore wind developed. On our way we were treated with a spectacular show of a large whale and its calf frolicking a few hundred yards away. It appeared that mom was teaching junior how to flipper slap the water. We suspect it might be the same pair we observed in Manzanillo bay last month. We made it back by 1030, just as the wind started to blow. It was a wet ride back but we now have fresh groceries and the supplies that we were short of. Now we should be able to stay here another few days but we will have to watch our water consumption carefully.
We are in company with about 15 other boats. The bay has seen a lot of traffic over the past few days with boats entering and leaving on a regular basis. A few of us have taken advantage to the fabulous beach and palapa restaurants almost every day. Rosie has benefitted with long walks and lots of exercise while we have participated in beach games. Narjana has a set of bocce balls and we have a couple of pitching wedges and golf balls. We just invent a game and go from there. After an hour or so we repair to the palapas for beer and guacamole. Fran and other cruisers have brought table games (cards, dominoes, etc) to keep the more sedate amongst us busy.
We have met some wonderful cruisers; Doug and Lanita (Ka’Sala, Comox), Tom and Louise (Narjana), Damien and Erin (Rose of Erin), Ann and Hugh (Serendipity, Port Ludlow), Groovy, and others. We were surprised to see Sweetie (Tony Morelli) arrive yesterday afternoon. Tony owned Moresails and made our sail covers last spring. Tanque De Tiburon also arrived yesterday. It was nice to see them after such a long break and we are looking forward to some quality time with them. They brought with them a number of items we had ordered, a special transformer for the TV, fins for the outboard, a dinghy seat, fuse holders for the solar panel system, a water pump repair kit and a cord for our pactor modem which should fix the problem we have been having with it since we left Guaymas.
The divers were not able to recover Full Quiver’s anchor so Steve and Pam decided to bypass Tenecatita and head directly for La Cruz. Luffin It, the vessel that was struck by a whale has also made it into La Cruz but had to be towed in for the last 30 miles after losing their prop. As soon as they arrived they hauled out for repairs. The photo was taken by Bill and Linda (T de T). Besides the damage visible in the photos above there was a 2 inch shift in one of the aft bulkheads. Sounds like major surgery...The weather and sea conditions continue to be odd. Days are warm but nights are still cool and very humid. We wake up to puddles of dew on deck. The winds have again played havoc on the boats in Barra. There were reports of 30 knot winds and more vessels needing to be rescued. One boat dragged into Windward Bound causing some paint damage. It also fouled their anchor cable and was quite a mess to untangle. Here we have not seen those winds but they have been up to 15 in the afternoons. The swells have been more of a concern here. Although we are tucked in behind a headland and are protected from the direct onslaught of the swell it does get rolly at times. Beach landings and departures are a challenge. Several boats have been swamped and those sitting at the palapas have seen some spectacular dumpings. Although our landings have been text-book we have had a few very wet departures. Rosie has had that wet dog look on a few occasions now. There is also the presence of red tide every few days which ruins any yearning for swimming off the boat.
2300, Saturday, 12 mar 2011, Tenacatita Bay
What a difference a few days make!! Yesterday on the morning net we learned about the earthquake in Japan and another in Chile. We had ears glued to the radio for the next few hours to gather as much info on possible tsunami conditions for our location. We soon found out that the initial wave-front would arrive here by 1325. As we did last year for the Chilean earthquake we headed out of the bay for deep water. Winds were light and from the south so it was not a hardship to sail away from the coast for a few hours listening to the reports of conditions further north. The ham nets were very active and we learned about the wave in Tofino, Crescent City and other locations along the California coast.
After the time for the wave-front came and passed we headed back to the anchorage fully conscious of the 7-10 hour advisory period where subsequent waves could arrive. It was reported that the second wave caused more concern and damage on the California coast.
We arrived back by 1530 and anchored in our spot in about 14 ft of water. By 1700 we noticed a significant surge in the water along the shore. Our depth sounder began to indicate a rapid decrease of depth below our keel ending up at 1.2 ft. Needless to say we immediately weighed anchor and moved to a deeper anchorage location. Between 1730 and 1930 we observed surges of 10 feet that uncovered normally submerged rocks along the shore only to wash back in and completely submerge parts of the beach well above the high water line. (see the photos above. Note the times). The boats also heaved that their anchor cables but, thankfully, the anchors held fast. This morning there was much debris that had been washed down the river from the mangrove swamp floating around us. We didn’t see any critters but in Ixtapa , our friend Kirk (Freedom Kirkland) reported that there was lots of reptiles in the tide line outside that river.
Other nearby locations reported more hazardous occurrences. In Banderas Bay the water rushing in and out of the marinas was so great that the port captain closed the port and threatened to fine any violators $5000. This was the second day of Banderas Bay Race Week. Racing was cancelled for the day but many of the boats that left port as we did were participating in the races and had removed their anchor gear to reduce weight. They were caught with their pants down when the port was closed and had to beg other boats for spare anchors and rodes for the night. The marina at La Cruz was also closed after a dock broke loose.
In Barra de Navidad the channel entrance marker buoys were pulled under by the strong currents. Here too the port was closed. The main water line which spans the channel and is normally anchored to the bottom was dislodged and floated to the surface cutting all access to the lagoon, thus forcing another 20-30 boats to find alternative anchorages and those that chose to remain in the lagoon to be locked in until it the pipe was re-anchored. One boat that had remained in the lagoon broke her anchor cable and was washed ashore. It was refloated, undamaged today. The pipe is expected to be re-anchored by tomorrow. At dusk we saw some strange animals along the shore. Some think they were monkeys while others think they were a lemur type of animal with long brown bushy tails.
Over the past year Mexico has erected some high tech tsunami warning towers in each of the coastal towns and we expected to hear the warning sirens. We have since learned that the system is not yet activated. What a great opportunity to prove the system had they been ready! Nevertheless it was reported by some land based cruisers that the public information system went was quite efficient and many inhabitants of low-lying areas evacuated to higher ground.
Today was quite the quiet aftermath. We spent the morning on boat projects. We spent part of the afternoon under the beach palapas with Bill and Linda (T de T) and a few other boaters watching the 3-4 ft tidal surges from shore. Later on we had the weekly dinghy raft-up, postponed from yesterday. It was very well attended with 12 boats participating. Food choices are always a surprise at these events but no-one goes away hungry. Fran made sushi from some fish we bought from a fisherman passing by this morning.
Tonight we were treated with a spectacular sighting of the space station flying by directly overhead. Tomorrow we expect to head over to Cuastecomate. We have changed our schedule yet again. Cruising plans are normally written on the sand at low water. We are now going back to Barra for fuel (the fuel dock repairs are almost completed) for a few days and over the 17th to see the St Patrick’s Day festivities. We have been told that it is an event that is not to be missed and this may be our last chance to see it. Weather conditions permitting we should then be on our way north to La Cruz by next weekend.

Manzanillo to Tenecatita

Most floats gave candy. This one handed out glasses of beer!! Only in Mexico!


The "not so real" Queens


The Real Queen

22:00, 24 Feb 2011. Anchored in the lagoon, Barra de Navidad
The festivities have begun, the queen will be crowned Saturday and the weekend should be a blast. Mardi Gras in Mexico is celebrated in style. We won’t see as good a parade as we saw in Manzanillo last year but I am sure that the small town spirit of Barra will not be outdone. For some reason Barra celebrates the event a week early.
We have been in Barra since Monday. Our friends Marg and Bruce arrived the previous Thursday by bus from Rincon de Guayabidos. We had an eventful program planned for them. We toured Manzanillo, sailed to Santiago for a day, another day to Cuasecomate and finally back to the lagoon in Barra de Navidad for a day of seeing old haunts. They had a 2-week stay here a few years ago. They left from here Tuesday morning and, from the feedback, appear to have enjoyed the diversion from their condo/apt in Rincon.
We arrived to a very crowded lagoon. We counted 61 boats yesterday morning but there is still a lot of room for more. Many of our friends are here and others are headed this way in the next few days. We had cocktails with Cheyenne yesterday and Koala Kai this evening. Full Quiver arrived today and tomorrow we will have lunch with 5 other Blue Water cruising boats. Unfortunately Sea Turtle 4 left yesterday, on their way south to Central America and beyond. The lagoon is much warmer now than it was a few weeks ago. When the breeze dies it gets stifling. Our first night back with Marg and Bruce we saw what makes it so worthwhile to do what we are doing. The full moon was rising and the water was like a mirror. The sailboats up-moon from us, were outlined in the moons reflection on the water and the sound of the crashing surf on the other side of the peninsula was the only sound. My only regret was not being able to record it in any way.
On the domestic side, there are lots to do. The ever present need to replenish water tanks can be a pain. We will have to look into a decent sized watermaker for next season to relieve us of the need to replenish from ashore using jerry cans. We also have to refuel here but the fuel dock is still out of commission. This entails more trips by dinghy ashore to fill jerry cans with diesel from the local gas station. The bright side of this is that the fuel will be cleaner and 13% cheaper than at the dock at Las Hadas. We have just heard from friends that didn’t filter their fuel from there and lost both engine and generator from clogged fuel filters enroute to La Cruz. The bright-work also needed sprucing up so J-G spent the better part of 2 days polishing all of the stainless using a product called Flitz. It is quite expensive but a small amount goes a long way and it does an excellent job. Just to be on the safe side he finished the job with a sealer wax. Hopefully this will last the season.
J-G is still doing the SSB net on Monday evenings. For the past 2 weeks he has also done Wednesdays for another operator who is away. He also volunteers for the local nets when no-one comes up. Fran is beginning to feel like the subject of a song by Eilean Quinn, “SSB Widow”. Eilean sings about cruising subjects and some can really hit home.
21:30, Sunday, 27 February, 2011
Happy birthday to our son Chris!!!
It has been quite a day! It started with a boat going aground on its way into the lagoon. Why anyone attempts to enter without the waypoints is beyond logic! It took a number of dinghies and a panga to get him off the bar. Later we got a NW wind blowing 20-22 kts until past sunset; the forecast was for the light offshore winds we have experienced over the past few weeks. Boats were dragging all over the anchorage and several of us, who had decided to stay on our boats, played the Barra Rodeo circuit rescuing boats and dinghies for a good part of the afternoon. It is an excellent way of meeting people....
The wind conditions caused us to miss the Mardi Gras events ashore and the special Oscar reception held at the Grand Bay Hotel/Resort. So far the events in town have been fun. We have made a point to attend the shows in the town square where comedians (Spanish, so lost on us gringos), singers and dancers have performed. Mexicans like their music and announcers LOUD, so after the first show we have been bringing ear plugs with us. Hopefully we won’t miss tomorrow’s crowning of the “Gay” princess tonight and the parade on Tuesday.
We have had our wheel recovered with leather. Weston is a craftsman who has been doing this for years. He did a few last year for other boaters so we were glad that he was still here this season. He finished it today and it is beautiful.
2230, Monday, 28 Feb
Best laid plans... We had another very windy day. This time the wind blew steadily in the mid 20s and we saw one gust at 26.4 kts. Boats behaved this time and no rescues were required. We stayed aboard again and had another “movie night” with microwave popcorn done in a pot on the stove. Whatever the conditions are tomorrow we will not miss the parade.
1800, Thursday, 3 Mar
Another quiet morning in the lagoon at Barra. Boats are arriving and others are leaving to go north and south. The wind conditions are always best for moving offshore between Manzanillo and Cabo Corrientes in the morning hours before the daily diurnal wind sets in. Normally that means 10-15 knot northerly winds, either on the nose for those sailing north, or directly on the stern for those proceeding south. We are hoping to get a southerly flow by the weekend and will take advantage of that to get up to Tenecatita with Full Quiver.
The Carnival is over. The parade was a lot of fun with floats depicting a variety of subjects having nothing to do with Lent. The general theme seems to be a Rio type of event on a much smaller budget and scale. The most outlandish floats belonged to the transvestite community which has a strong following in this area. Later on they were front and centre at a stage show in the town square. They are very good entertainers, lip synching to a number of Mexican divas.
We did our last shop in Barra, checked out with the Port Captain and had a last swim at the pool at the Sands Hotel, the cruisers’ hangout. It has been another hot day with light winds and the pool was a refreshing stop after walking down to the market. We met the folks from Kenta Anae, another Canadian boat that we had met a few years ago in La Cruz. They are a young couple with 2 boys, 6 and 8.
20:00, 4 March. At anchor in Tenecatita Bay
We arrived in this, another of our favourite anchorages, just in time to participate in the Friday evening raft-up where the cruisers get together at a designated spot in the anchorage and tie up together, pass appies, drink whatever and share stories. All of this is under the direction of the “mayor” the boater that has been here the longest. We were in that position last year for a similar event.
We left Barra mid-morning just after the local radio net that J-G was running. Full Quiver as supposed to accompany us but as they pulled up their anchor a swivel snapped. Last we heard they were staying another night in the hope of getting divers to locate the anchor tomorrow morning.
We had a very nice motorsail all the way in very light southerly winds stopping at Cuastacomate for lunch and trying in vain to catch a fish at the reef at the entrance to the bay. We are still fishless this year. How long will the blight last?? Just as we were entering the bay our bilge pump went off. We were quick to identify a fresh water leak and shut off the pump. We later found a disconnected hose under the sink. This is the third time we have had this problem so we are able to respond quickly and not lose much of our precious fresh water supply.
At the raft-up we heard of a sailboat called Luffin It that was struck by a whale just off Tenecatita yesterday. Apparently it damaged their rudder, sail-drive strut and the stuffing in the stuffing box to shift and water to leak in. They also had trouble with some jammed doors afterwards. A number of boats responded to their call and assisted them back into the anchorage, stopped the leak and she was able to proceed to La Cruz in the company of another vessel today. Fortunately conditions are ideal for a transit up the coast and around Cabo Corrientes over the next few days. This same boat ran aground coming into Barra a few days ago....
We plan on staying here for a week or more before heading to La Cruz. This is a good location to clean the bottom and do a few other chores. We are also thinking about going over to the Blue Bay resort to check out the restaurant. We have been told by friends that you can arrange to get a full course meal with drinks for $25 US. If Pam and Steve (Full Quiver) make it tomorrow we’ll take advantage of the deal to celebrate Pam’s birthday there.

Last days in Manzanillo for 2011

1700, Monday, 7 Feb 2011, At anchor in Santiago Bay
It’s Monday and we are back in Santiago bay so that JG can conduct the Southbound cruiser’s net this evening. We have been here for the past few days enjoying this peaceful anchorage, however, this weekend is a long weekend in Mexico and the beaches are crowded and the waters teem with Sea-doos, tour boats and pangas towing banana boats or water skiers. Rosie goes nuts running up and down the length of the boat barking when they get too close. Some seem to do it on purpose to get her going while others come close to take pictures of her.
We are here with 7 other boats. Optical Illusion is still with us but will be heading north in a few days. Yesterday, Bill and Bob (Katie Hill) and J-G went off on a scuba dive along the point at the entrance of the bay. It was nice to get back to tank diving after such a long absence but conditions were poor. The water here has not begun to warm up. It is still in the low 70’s F when it should be 10 degrees warmer. Besides the cool temps the visibility was not good. There has been a lot of swell over the past few days and that has caused a lot of disturbance in the waters close to shore. The whales seem to be enjoying the cooler temps. We could hear their calls while underwater, how cool is that!! We have also seen several whales in the area over the past week. One seems to be teaching its calf how to breach and skyhop. The baby is mimicking everything the adult is doing.
Last week J-G and Murray and Colette (Tarazed) helped Alan and Rosie (Serendipity, UK) to get loaded on a Yachpath vessel. It was quite an experience to see the process. The crew appeared to be very professional and they took great care with each of the 6 vessels that were being loaded onto the ship. The largest, a 240 ton steel cruising vessel, took the longest and delayed everyone else by several hours. As a result, Serenditity’s loading time slipped from 17:00 to 22:00. Alan and Rosie stayed with us for the following 2 days until their flight departed last Friday. It was odd to have two Rosies on board at the same time but neither seemed to mind and we never got them mixed up.
We have just learned that Full Quiver, naiad and Lunautica have just arrived at Las Hadas. We will be heading back there within the next few days to join them when Optical Illusion departs. Now that the Sailfest in Zihuatanejo is over there will be many boats vying for anchorage spots in all locations in the area. With any luck we’ll be able to get the buoy again at Las Hadas.
Alan (Serendipity) gave us an old 60 lb CQR anchor before they left. We now have that as our primary anchor. I still think the problems we had with the Danforth were due to the wind changes. This is the first time we have had problems with the Danforth. We’ll see how this one fares as we travel up the coast.
Sunday, 13 Feb 2011, At the Sea Scout Mooring ball in Las Hadas
We returned to Las Hadas last Wednesday and met up with Lunautica and Full Quiver. Merry-Lee, which was tied up beside us at El Cid is also here. We are back at the buoy and the bay is full of boats. There were 25 at last count with many anchored well out into the bay. Kirk (Freedom Kirkland), and his friend Perry, arrived yesterday and we had a fish dinner onboard, some of the fish he had caught on his way up. He seems to be the only one catching fish this year.
On arrival at the mooring there was a boat, a newer Beneteau, anchored very close to the mooring ball. They seemed upset when we tied up and came over to advise us that they drift over the ball at night. Fran promptly told them that they would have to move but they were adamant and remained there all night and appeared to keep an anchor watch all night. We thought that the rusty old 60 lb CQR anchor our bow would be threatening enough and J-G emphasised it by putting a few fenders on either side of it. By sunrise the next morning the other boat was about 3 ft away and he was getting ready to fend off. At this point they decided that moving was the better part of valour. The tell-tale pink Ha-Ha pennant they wear indicates that they are this year’s crop of cruisers from the US. I am hoping it is inexperience on their part to even consider anchoring so close to a mooring ball, occupied or not.
Bill and Janet (Optical Illusion) are headed north. We bid farewell to them when we departed Santiago bay. We have heard from our friends Lexi and Gil on Sunday. They are about to leave Costa Rica on their way to Panama. We also got word this week that Doug and Trish are calling it quits for a while. They plan to sail the boat back up to Oregon this spring. They are not making ends meet in Mexico and have decided to go back home and make a go up there. They are looking for crew to bring the boat north from Mexico. Doug will be on the boat while Trish will drive the van back up loaded with as much as they can off-load.
We are in our last week here in Manzanillo. We have had to cancel our meeting with our friends arriving by cruise ship in early March in order to begin our trip north. Bruce and Marge, friends from Victoria, arrive on Wednesday and we plan to take them back to Barra with us with a few stops enroute. They were with us a few days last year. Quite a few boats are beginning the trek north but we will be staying in Barra and Tenecatita for a spell on the way up. We are counting on a warming trend to the cold weather and cool water as we head north. It has been a very cool winter in the Sea of Cortez and we hope that things are back to the balmy conditions we are used to by the time we arrive there next month.
Kirk has delivered the photos that Tanque de Tiburon took of us as we left San Blas last month. Attached are some of them.

Barra and Las Hadas

14:00, 1 February 2011, anchored off Santiago Beach, Manzanillo Bay
I have just realized that my last posting didn’t go through and i seem to have lost it altogether so here is a catch-up entry for the past 2 weeks.
We got into Barra de Navidad on the 19th without further incident and negotiated the narrow channel where many boats go aground. Since we have the waypoints permanently installed on the chart plotter it is a safe and easy transit for us.
We anchored in near our normal anchorage spot and joined a group of 26 boats. Several of these are here only for a short time getting ready to travel down to Zihuatanejo for the Sail Fest. We did that 3 years ago and that was enough. Maybe we’ll stop in next year on our way south.
Our plans to fuel and water were thrown in disarray when, as we approached the dock we were waved off. We later found out that a power cruiser had seriously damaged the diesel dock and repairs were extensive, without an estimated time of repair. The only option is to jerry can diesel from the gas station up the hill, a long and arduous task....
In the anchorage we finally met Lunautica with Mike and Judy aboard. Mike is Steve’s (Full Quiver) brother and we sailed with them aboard Full Quiver in last years’ Bay of Banderas race week. Their boat, a Moody 46 is a beauty! We also saw several old friends there including Manasea, Pacific Jade, Serendipity (UK) and Windward Bound. Many of the other boats were sporting the pink pennant of this year’s Ha-Ha event, an organised sail of southbound boats from San Diego to Cabo San Lucas. This year there were 170 boats.
We didn’t stay very long in Barra this time as we were impatient to get to Las Hadas to meet up with Optical Illusion. A few days of re-provisioning fresh goods, a pedicure (for both of us), laundry and we were off once again down the coast to Manzanillo Bay.
We arrived at Las Hadas on the 22nd and joined 11 other boats at anchor off the beach in front of Las Hadas. It was nice to meet up with Optical Illusion again and with Serendipity (UK) which arrived a few days later. Three days after we arrived several boats left for Zihuatanejo giving us lots of elbow room. Just as well for us. The normal daily wind-shifts this year bring us around our anchor in a 360 degree circle. Danforth anchors don’t really like that so they tend to flip out and drag a bit before biting back in. This can be very disconcerting in a tight anchorage like this one. We had to re-anchor several times.
Serendipity (UK) is waiting for a Yachtpath ship that will take her from Manzanillo to Europe. She is scheduled to be loaded aboard on the 2nd or 3rd of Feb. Alan has asked me to help him get her to the pickup point and we have offered them accommodation until their flight leaves on the 4th. They are a very pleasant couple who live very close to where we had lived in the early 90’s. It is great to reminisce with them. They are also very experienced European sailors and are a fountain of information on cruising the Med and Greece where we would like to end up eventually.

After a few days at Las Hadas we headed to Santiago Bay for a few days with Optical Illusion (Jan.22nd). This wonderful bay is rimmed by a beautiful sandy beach and the shallow waters are host to many forms of aquatic life including whales. Early this morning at 6:30 Fran heard the tell-tale “whoosh” of a breaching whale and, lo and behold, there was a huge female fin whale and her young calf, no more than 100 ft from the boat. It happened at the exact time that the sliver of the last crescent of the moon was rising and in the same direction. Magic!!! Although it was difficult to make them out in the dark they were there for quite some time after we went back to bed. This may be the pair that were observed a few weeks ago when the calf was born.
One of the reasons we are in Santiago Bay is to have J-G do his evening SSB net control duties in a location where he will be better heard by the listeners up and down the coast. The net serves as a focal point for cruisers to get information on other boats and to get updated weather information from the weather experts. Nets are conducted morning and evenings near the times of dusk when propagation is best.
We are observing that Las Hadas has seen better days. The marina is in sad shape and the management is sorely lacking the experience necessary to run such a complex organisation. Adrian, the manager at present, has been hired on a 60 day renewable contract but he is getting little or no support. He has no marina management skills and has been told by upper management to charge exorbitant fees. As a result he is getting no cooperation from his potential marina clients, the tour operators, fishing charter people, cruisers, etc. or the upper echelons of Las Hadas. There are lots of people willing to give him advice but unless upper management is willing to listen there will continue to be a stand-off. Although we are supposed to be charged a 200 peso landing fee we have yet to see anyone enforce this policy so we continue to use the facilities free of charge.

Cruising the Gold Coast, Costa Legre

0515, 18 Jan 2011
Morning watch, on route to Barra de Navidad
It’s another lovely night with a full moon and calm seas. We have just passed Cabo Corrientes, noted for creating its own weather systems. Tonight it is being kind, in fact, all week conditions are expected to be ideal for passing by this infamous point of land that forms the southern extreme of Banderas Bay.
We departed San Blas yesterday morning with Tanque de Tiburon (TDT) and Aeolus, an Australian boat. Don Anderson, the SSB the weather man in Oxnard California, had predicted the entire area to be calm and dominated only by land and sea breezes for the next week. We bid our farewells to our new friends and motored out of the estuary into a flat and windless sea. By late morning the wind picked up a bit so we decided to take advantage of the situation and get some new photos of Gosling under a number of sail configurations. The quartering wind was ideal for deployment of the mizzen staysail and the spinnaker. TDT took a lot of photos but it will be some time before we get to see them as they are headed for La Cruz where they will leave the boat while they travel back home for a few weeks.
We managed to power-sail for a few hours during the night but the land breeze has let up. Hopefully the morning will bring enough wind to let us sail some more. If we continued under power, at this speed we would arrive off Barra in darkness but entering the lagoon must be done in daylight, so we have another night at sea and time in hand.
While we were sailing yesterday we came upon 2 pods of whales. One group of fin whales came quite close to us while the other, humpbacks, could be seen cavorting closer to shore. It was a wonderful sight after seeing very few last year. At sunset we were treated to another spectacular Green Flash, the best we have seen to date.
0545, 19 Jan 2011
Approaches to Barra de Navidad
Another cold night but, thankfully, the humidity is much less than we have experienced to date. The wind is light and the sea is calm. It is absolutely clear with a bright full moon setting in the west, a very bright Mars rising in the east and the Southern Cross visible on the southern horizon. I can’t understand why Fran doesn’t like the morning watch but it suits me fine. In a few hours dawn will break, the sun will rise over the Sierra Madres and a new day will be upon us.
We are getting close to our destination. We sailed most of yesterday in 10-12 kts of wind. By evening it died but we kept the sails up and ghosted down the coast passing Chemela just before midnight. At present we are motor-sailing in 8 kts of wind. Ahead of us is a mess of lights. The navigation aids are difficult to discern from the background lights of Barra, another reason to wait till daylight. We are ready for another few days of warmth. These night passages have been quite cool. Soon we will be complaining of the heat.
We’ll listen in to the morning net to find out who is here. We expect a few of our old acquaintances. On arrival in the bay we will go to the fuel dock and replenish before going to the anchorage. It will be nice to wash the decks and get rid of the dust that accumulated in San Blas. The dirt is so much more obvious on our white decks. Note to self: Grey decks would have been more forgiving....
Fran has been chomping at the bit to arrive here. This is where her favourite hairdresser/pedicurist is. It is also a location for inexpensive laundry and fresh produce.
Still no fish! Have we been cursed?? Last year by this time we were sick of fish.
22 Jan 2011, on route to Manzanillo
We are powering into a light easterly breeze still dragging a lure and still no hits. We have just passed through waters that, in the past, have always produced a hit from a sailfish or marlin but they weren’t interested this time. It has been a quick visit to Barra this time and our shortest but we will return on our way back north.
We weren’t able to realise our plans to fuel and wash the boat. Approached the dock we were waved off and we noticed a float blocking access. It seems a powerboat lost control and smashed into the diesel dock a few days before. There is no estimate of repair time at the moment. Thank goodness we still have lots of fuel left to get us to Manzanillo.
Arriving in Barra is like coming home. We have been here so many times that we enter a nice comfort zone as we anchor in this silty, muddy lagoon. There are 26 other boats here, many we have seen before and lots of new boats sporting the 2010 Ha Ha flags, signifying that they traveled with an organised group from San Diego to Cabo San Lucas. Apparently this year there were 170 participants.
One of those boats is Lunautica, with Mike and Judy aboard. Mike is Steve’s brother of Full Quiver and both were part of Full Quiver’s racing crew for the regatta last year. It was nice to spend some quality time with them and Rosie was particularly happy to meet Gunner, their 6 yr old Jack Russell. Their boat is a beautiful Moody 46.
We also had a good time enjoying Barra’s hospitality. We did our laundry, pedicures (yes, even J-G had one), market day (Thursday in Barra), a wonderful taco stand and breakfast at the Golf Course with Mike and Judy and another couple, from SV Barramundi, Steve and Pam.
We have heard from Bill and Janet (Optical Illusion) that the marina at Las Haddas is charging an exorbitant fee for landing a dinghy there. This might curtain our activities there and cause us to move to Santiago bay earlier than we had hoped. More on that in the next blog.

Lazing about in San Blas

At anchor in San Blas

2200, 13 January 2011, at anchor, San Blas estuary
If it wasn’t for the midges (really tiny black flies that sting like hell) that come out at dusk this place would be an ideal place to hang around for some time. The village is rather small and quiet but has most of the services that a cruiser needs to be comfortable. It has no big grocery stores or movie theatres, but you can find most things if you know where to look. There are lots of cheap restaurants and the Singlar facilities adjacent to the anchorage have the laundry, showers and other services that we have come to get used to.
We have been here 5 days now and have enjoyed the slower pace. We are in company with Tanque de Tiburon who arrived 2 days after we did. Third Day is here as well and has been the brunt of more attacks by Norm Goldie, the local self appointed head Gringo. I have mentioned him in previous posts. It has been disturbing to hear the not so veiled verbal attacks he has made on them. Today he even called the Port captain on the VHF and accused them of hassling him. Later they were visited by a team of immigration people who came down from Tepic to verify if they were conducting a business onboard. What a waste of time for the officials who admitted it was in response to a complaint by Norm. Who needs a movie theatre when we have Norm for entertainment?
Today I split the solar panel banks using the spare 20 amp controller. This one actually has a readout that will tell me how many amps I am drawing through the bank. For the past 2 days I have been watching the fuse holder on the solar system melt away. Today it fell apart. It was made up of 12 gauge wire connected to 10 gauge leads so there was a lot of heat generated at the fuse base. I managed to make up 2 new fuse holders with 10 gauge wire. Hopefully that will fix the problem. The splitting of the banks will also help.
1500, 15 Jan, 2011.
Looks like the solar panel modification worked. I am now getting a good flow of power to the batteries and I am able to make up what we are using during the period where the panels are not producing. One of the fuse holders is still hot but the one I made up is OK. Kudos to me...
We woke up to thick fog yesterday. It took a while to burn off but it sure was a pretty sight. Today the fog was higher producing an overcast sky until about mid-morning. It is also breezy and cooler.
Another project is done! Yesterday I managed to install the springs on the doors of the aft cabin. It was a difficult task and blood was shed but now the doors will no longer be able to crash down to the deck. The doors to the main salon were done 2 years ago. We had so much trouble doing them that we put off this job until we were more motivated. Fran’s dropping the door and ripping off the latch provided that motivation.
Norm’s tirades have led to a new round of concern among the locals. There is a movement afoot to make representation to higher government officials about his visceral attacks on cruisers and the resulting loss of business from the fewer visiting boats. He claims to have been here helping boats for the past 41 years. Boaters who were here 10-15 years ago still find him as irritating as they did then. Can’t understand why he hasn’t been run out of town before now.
Looks like, we will be heading south on Monday morning. The weather gurus are predicting calm conditions all the way to the gulf of Tehuantepec. We’ve decided to take advantage of that and get all the way to Barra de Navidad in one hop. Many of our friends are still in La Cruz and Nuevo Vallarta enjoying the big city environment. Many will be heading down soon. Optical Illusion is already in Manzanillo at our favourite anchorage off Las Hadas.

Last days in Mazatlan

Mazatlan, 21:56 Thursday, 6 Jan 2011
Just back from watching a movie (Green Zone) on lawn chairs in front of a big sheet strung between 2 palm trees on the lawn. It is a twice weekly event and one we have been enjoying, even though we have to bundle up in our warmest clothes due to the chilly evening breeze. They even provide popcorn...
On the 29th we had a visit from our dear friends Reno and Nina from Palm Springs and their daughter Natasha and son-in-law Jean- Francois. They came into Mazatlan on a cruise ship and were here only for the day. It was a memorable but compressed visit where we tried to fit as much as we could in the time available. After a few hours onboard we met them in old town and had a wonderful late lunch before they had to get back to the ship.
We had planned to go out New Years Eve but as it got closer we decided on a quieter small scale celebration. We weren’t alone. Tanque de Tiburon and Full Quiver were on the same wavelength and we chose to go out for pizza and see the New Year in watching the fireworks on the point near the marina entrance. At least we stayed up till midnight this year.
Since then it has been a quiet and lazy stay here at the resort. We have also accomplished a few projects that had been on the to-do list; caulking the underside of the toe rail, refurbishing some of the door catches, devising a new way of securing the life raft canister, replacing the galley foot pump, putting away all of the Christmas decorations, and generally keeping Gosling clean and presentable. The cabinet has been built but remains unfinished. When J-G saw the plans for the finished item he chose to stop it there and pay the carpenter off. All of the hard stuff is done. The basic box is installed with all of the compound curves and angles factored in. Looks like another summer project to build the fronts and doors.
Rosie has especially liked her stay, getting 3 walks a day and lots of attention from the resort guests. Pretty dogs are always chick magnets and J-G likes to walk her a lot....
The weather has been cool and quite windy lately and we are looking at a reprieve over the weekend so we can leave here and head south towards San Blas. We would have left earlier this week but high winds and fog have been prevalent. Kirk is waiting for us in San Blas now. We have his bottom paint and he is probably getting antsy to get it applied so he can leave too.
Optical Illusion has arrived in Barra and has reported that the weather is much warmer down there. The others that left early are all in the Puerto Vallarta area. It’s time for us to leave the resort at El Cid but only after the swap meet on Saturday.
20:30, 7 Jan 2011
We received some great news today. Doug and Trish called on Skype and informed us that Doug’s tumour is gone and his prognosis is excellent. What a relief for them and all those involved in his recovery.
Looks like we will be the only ones leaving tomorrow. Full Quiver has decided to stay on for another week and Tanque is planning on leaving on Sunday or Monday.
Fran and I went off for a much needed massage today. You can’t beat $20 for a full hour. Now if only our soon to be daughter-in-law was here we wouldn’t have to leave the boat. Dove where are you when we need you?
On to warmer waters south folks......