Throwing off the docklines

Well, we are leaving La Cruz today. We lost one or two skirmishes in the war on "the List", but won the war.  Will leave around 1000 today for Neuvo Vallarta, check out of the country and head to Punta Mita for the evening, then we will head out tomorrow.  Looks like we will have good winds and weather.  More later

carol

test email

March 16,

Happy St Patty's day tomorrow.  On our final countdown for leaving Mexico.  Weather permitting, we will leave on Tuesday next week.  Projects are ongoing - bilge pumps, shade (aft complete, forward almost complete, bimini retrofit will be fast), boat is being buffed and polished by Adrian and his crew (looking good).  Water tanks being filled, provisions being bought and stowed.  Internet is back up.    Yeah!!!!!   Pacific high seems to be settling into place ( good for the trade winds to push us to the Marquessas), boom vang goose neck stil MIA, hopefully tomorrow???  Josh is getting as much kid time in as possible, so all is pretty much status quo.. this is my test post to the blog via email.  hope to post a position report tomorrow and see if it shows up in the blog (it could happen).  Costco run tomorrow afternoon - hope to shoe horn it all in somewhere.............

Projects, projects, projects!!!!

March 9, 2011

Definitely in project mode.  Still in La Cruz, still at the dock.  Teak is being sanded and hopefully they will be done by friday.  It is looking really good. Knock wood I think we are getting more than our money's worth out of these guys.  Dennis has done engine work and installed storm sail track on the mast.  The rigger's have been by to inspect the rigging - which passed, but we are still waiting on the return of the piece of the boom vang that needed welding.  Don't underestimate that amount of chemistry you learn on a boat.... unlike metals (e.g. aluminum and stainless steel) will corrode if they touch.  Hence the need for a weld on the stainless bracket on the boomvang.  I have been working on the shade for the back of the boat.  I figure I have one more full day left.  I am not entirely sure I will have enough supplies to do the shade for the forward section of the boat - may have to do a redesign... we will see.  In the midst of it all we chose to take on 2 crew members for the crossing.  Mark and Vickie from s/v Southern Cross.  They were planning to cross in their boat this year, but as we all know, sometimes life just happens and so they were looking to crew on a boat.  Since we know them and they seem to think they can tolerate a Morrison adventure......We are now 5.  Will make provisioning and space a little crazy, but on the up side we will have two more brains and sets of hands.  Watches are going to be much easier.
So the list is getting shorter, still have a second bilge pump to install and provisions to buy and stow.  We have all been to the dentist this week, and all have return appointments for one thing or another.  Josh gets the prize for no cavities though!!!!  We will have the boat hull and bottom cleaned before we leave, Josh is going to clean the stainless and paint the inside of the hard dinghy....I can't wait to leave the dock and all these projects behind.  We are the poster children for "Boat maintenance in Paradise".
Josh is crewing on a boat for the Banderas Bay Regatta this week.  We all did it last year, but no time for Dennis and I this year.  We heard a call on the net for teenage kids to crew on a boat, went and met the guy and his wife and the rest is history.  There are three cruising kids, and then four or so from the American school in Puerto Vallarta.  So, he will be out the next 3 days on SplishSplash.
Josh even got a birthday party this year.  The kids on Scout made him a cake, Dennis and I went in to PV and got three buckets of the Colonel's best chicken and all the kids and parents sat around the hot tub at Paradise Village in Nuevo Vallarta and had cake and beverages.  Paradise Village is two bus rides from La Cruz, but that is where the kid boats were at that time - so that is where we went.  Not too many big kid boats this year, lots of younger kids here in La Cruz - about a dozen I think.  There are at least four "big kid" boats crossing, so Josh will have something to look forward to when we all catch up in French Polynesia.
Well, not the most creative blog post ever, but the news is here. Maybe next time I will remember to bring up the picture drive and post pictures too!

Friday February 11,2011

Still in La Cruz.  Henry (my brother) arrived yesterday.  He brought us all kinds of goodies, including water pumps, coffee, wine, GreenBay packer shirts, fabric and tent poles for my shade project, and various and sundry other boat parts.  Is great to have him here.  We are planning a trip in to old town Puerto Vallarta today, then tomorrow we will leave the marina here at La Cruz and head out into the bay for some surfing and snorkeling.  The weather has been really nice - perfect actually -warm days, cool nights.  If I could only kick this cold...... Its the first full blown cold I have had in two years, so I guess I shouldn't complain, but I really hate being sick. So, it is vacation mode for a week with Henry, then back to full tilt project and provisioning mode.  More soon   Carol

Mazatlan to La Cruz

Finally left Mazatlan on January 29. The boat is fixed or at least has not overheated once since we left, and we have tried....We left the marina around 1400 to give the engine a bit of a run before we headed south to Isla Isabella. Its about 80 miles , so we left planning to arrive in the early morning. Last year we were uable to stop there becuase of unfavorable conditions so we were really hoping to spend time there this year. The over night trip was pretty uneventful. Dennis and Josh saw some phosphoressing dolphins, and I did my usual radar check of Venus (It comes up looking like a ship's light on the horizon, and always gives me a start.). We Buddied with Moondance who got the better dolphin show that night. We arrived to a settled anchorage, Yippee!!! Blue footed Boobies here we come!! Isla Isabella is basically an uninhabited island that is used as a base for fisherman and a group of scientists from the University in Mexico City who study the birds. It was a beautiful day for a hike and the birds were oh so cooperative. We saw cormorants with their red chests puffed out and fluffy white nestlings and lots of blue footed boobies. The boobies were in various stages of nesting, so we saw them on their nests with eggs, with brand new babies and older babies. It was so cool!!! The Lady from the university said these boobies have been being studied for 30 years. After our hike around the Island, we retired to our own private beach for a post hike bottle of wine and relaxation. After returning to the boat it was even warm enough for a quick swim to clean up (very quick I might add).


The next morning we left for Matachen Bay/San Blas again buddying with Moondance. We got caught several times in fishing lines, but fortunately never wrapped the prop or lost any tackle. Didn't catch any fish either. So far we have been skunked in that arena. We made it to Matachen for sunset - which was beautiful.

Don't know what the ground hog saw on the 1st, but we had another beautiful day. We did some school and finished off installing Josh's new bow seat in the morning. That afternoon we joined Doug and Carla from Moondance for an excursion into San Blas. On the spur of the moment Dennis stuck his thumb out as we were waiting for the bus and that is how we ended up in the back of a small pickup going into San Blas. What fun, and something you would never do in the States. The nice senors would take no pesos either. San Blas is a pretty little town with a nice central square and just about everything you could need, ferreteria (hardware store), tortilleria, esotetica (barber), market and tiendas. We enjoyed looking around and having lunch at McDonalds - no burgers to be found!!!!! Josh scored a new hammock on the way out of town. The bus ride back was far more conventional, but we didn't have to worry about losing anyone out the back either!!! When we got back to the beach we saw that s/v Scout had arrived. Josh could hardly wait to go see them, so after a bit of negotiation he was off to their boat to hang with the kids, and invite Lisa and Charlie to come in to the beach with the adults.

We left Matachen Bay the next morning managing to avoid snagging any lines or catching any fish for that matter. Our destination was Punta Mita. We were hoping for some good surf. A full day and another beautiful sunset later we were on the hook at Punta Mita. Sadly the next day did not dawn bright and sunny. We were experiencing the effects of the big high pressure system freezing the southern US and causing gales in the northern Sea of Cortez. Josh and Dennis fianlly decided to try it out, and did catch a few good waves. Two pretty tired and cold guys came back to the boat. We then decided to go on and head in to La Cruz (about 10 miles). We had great wind and actually sailed faster than we could motor. We dropped the hook in the La Cruz anchorage and here we are......

Being in La Cruz is sort of like coming home since we have spent so much time here. Many things are the same, and just as many have changed. Still it is comfortable. The anchorage is a little bouncy, and pretty full. The marina is busy too. We will eventually spend some time here at the dock, but for now we are out on the hook. Although we may move around the bay some, our next departure will be for the Pacific. Is kind of mind blowing. Also caused Dennis to break out "the list". I thought we had whittled that list down some in Mazatlan, but it sure doesn't seem like it to look at it!! Oh well got to have something to keep us busy, otherwise we would OD on social life!! We attended the Pacific Puddle Jump Party in Nuevo Vallarta on Friday, so I guess it is official..... We have the birgee (flag) and were interviewed for Lattitude 38 (the puddle jump sponsor) all that is left to do is finish the list, provision and leave. Wow again having a hard time getting my mind around it, it feels like a dream. Sure hope nobody wakes me up. In the meantime we have been catching up with old friends, meeting some new friends and are preparing for my brother Henry to visit. So yeah, we may not have jobs,but we are really busy.

Now you know where we are and what we have been doing. The one downside of La Cruz is poor internet coverage, so I will post this, then try to find a good place to upload pictures. Still waiting for warm tropical weather........Carol

Bar crawl

red truck ride



So occasionally you just have to cut loose and have that happy childhood.  Such was the case this past Wednesday night.  We joined Doug and Carla from Moondance, Dot and Brian from Rainshadow, and the folks from Enchantress for a night in the historic section of Mazatlan.  Doug and Carla are excellent guides, and Carla manages to have her camera fully charged at all times unlike me on this particular night. (All photos are courtesy of Carla's camera)  We started off in one of the Mazatlan's "Red Trucks".  Brings back memories of when riding in the back of a pickup was a perfectly acceptable way to travel. 



sunset from Puerto Viejo



Our driver transported us to Puerto Viejo, a bar across from the beach - with the obligatory stunning sunset. 



Puerto Viejo

From there we wandered into the square with the full moon rising over the trees.  Dinner was at a place called El Tunnel across from the Peralta theatre.  After stuffing ourselves with guacamole, tortilla soup, enchiladas, pollo asado and bring your own beers we went to the "bull bar".  It is definitely a must see.  Next time I am taking a picture of the banos - Not something you will ever see in the US.  Our next stop was Topolos, definitely a leap up.  I had a spanish coffee that was a work of art in the making.....Fire and carmelized sugar, cinnamon, flaming brandy and kahlua....very cool, and very yummy and the setting  - WOW!  I would love a courtyard like that! 

Carol And Dot rest before 8peso beers

From there we took a sharp turn downhill into the 8peso beer bar. HHHMMM - I was wishing for the "bull bar" bathrooms.  About 11pm we decided to call it a night and this group of happy children dispersed into the fog......

January 21 2011

Still in Mazatlan waiting for the part from the states - went on the plane today - may be available to be picked up Saturday, but probably not until Monday. It continues to be chilly (48 at night, upper70s during the day), humid and foggy. Kind of weird weather, but I suppose we will be grateful for the extra cool time come July when it is really hot. Many people have asked what our daily lives are like so I thought I would tell you about today, which was pretty typical of days at the dock.

Dennis was up by 0700, I was up by 0730. I went with Carla (s/v Moondance) to the veggie truck. He comes Mon, Wed and Fri from 0600-0900 to Marina Mazatlan. I picked up some grapes, potatoes, bread (fresh), onion, mango and tamales. It is a little bit of a walk, but not bad - just enough to get the blood pumping.  Got back to the boat by 0845. At 0900 I woke up Josh and started breakfast (french toast and bacon). We ate, I did dishes and Josh did some homework. He usually does 2-3 hours of work every day. Today he got off early because Dennis needed help with some projects. There are always projects to be done on the boat - saltwater and constant motion have a way of making things just sort of break or wear out spontaneously. Today Josh went up the mast to reattach the running backstays, move the spinnaker halyard to the port side of the mast and work on the flag halyard. While they were doing that, I did a little work on the computer then went out to work on the sea kayak that we bought from s/v Just a minute. The sun does a number on everything and in the case of the kayak, a lot of the webbing needs to be replaced. We had lots of of people coming and going commenting on what we were doing - especially with Josh up the mast. After the mast work was completed, Josh took the dinghy over to El Cid to see his friends. About 1300 the guy (Ezequiel) who does sewing came by. He needed to see our dinghy in order to give us a quote for the dinghy chaps. So I had to track down Josh at El Cid. He brought the dinghy back and went back to El Cid. We discussed the dinghy chaps we are ordering from Eziquiel and he decided he needed to take the dinghy today. That involved removing the motor from the dinghy, taking it out of the water, putting it back in on the other side of the dock moving the dinghy to the boat ramp and loading it onto Eziquiel's truck. That finished we went back to work on the boat. Dennis fixed some sharp areas on the mast and installed the final mast steps. At 1530, we showered then met friends at 1600 and went for drinks at a bar on the beach. The sunset was beautiful. After the sun went down we went to a little place called George's a short walk away. We had a very nice dinner and were back at the boat by 2030.

Nights on the boat after dinner usually involve a movie/tv shows. Tonight Josh is holed up in his boy cave, I am working on the blog and facebook and Dennis is watching a movie. We have pretty good internet here, but uploading pictures is always iffy. Not so good tonight, so always check back for pictures. I am usually in bed by 2200, Dennis and Josh by 2300. So, there you have it. The chores vary and it isn't every night that we go out, but it is pretty typical.

Since we are at the dock, we are trying to get through our list of things we want to complete before we leave on the passage to the South Pacific. The more we get done now, the less we will have to do when we get to La Cruz (Puerto Vallarta). We hope to leave for Hiva Oa in the Marquessa's between March 15 and April 1.