Very Busy Days

We are convinced that there are not enough hours in the day. Do we take on too much or is it that we have not yet really learned how to be retired? The reality is that cruising can be a lot of hard work. Owning and maintaining a fairly complicated boat can be a full-time job and preparing for a long offshore passage can be daunting. Hours are spent making sure all maintenance issues are taken care of and, knowing that we are heading to parts of the world where marine supplies are unavailable or very expensive, that adequate spares are stocked aboard. Provisioning for months is another task that is enormously involved. Inventories are taken, lists are made and numerous shopping runs are made by bus and taxi to various stores and huge loads are schlepped down the dock and back to “Blue Rodeo”. Then begins the really difficult task of stowing it all away. Time is spent daily digesting weather information from many sources while trying to pick an appropriate “window” to head offshore. Add to this the overload of social interaction between our ever-expanding group of sailing friends and its no wonder that we collapse into our berth each night almost completely exhausted. Despite all that is going on, we are tingling with excitement and anticipation of our South Pacific crossing and are truly having the time of our lives.

As our boat yard ordeal was coming to an end, we were treated to a visit from our good friend Abbe, an Alaska Airlines flight attendant, who was working a trip with a Puerto Vallarta layover and joined us for a night in La Cruz. Dinner with Abbe and friends at the famous Philo’s bar and music studio was a great way to celebrate her birthday. Before Abbe departed the next day, she accompanied us to the boat yard and, after “Blue Rodeo” was carefully lowered back into the water, helped us return to our marina slip. After bidding her a warm farewell, we turned our attention to the task of scrubbing off all of the accumulated grit and grime from the nearly two weeks in the yard. Wow, did it ever feel good to be back aboard our clean boat.

As we wait for the wind forecast to improve, each day will be like those before it with boat chores taking taking most of our time and evenings spent with friends sharing information about the South Pacific and saying goodbyes. It looks like we will get the weather we need after the next cold front works its way through the area next weekend so our next blog entry will probably be made just before we cast off our dock lines. Until then, we will be making good use of and savoring every minute of every day.

Out of the Water

One of the major tasks we chose to accomplish before our South Pacific departure was to have “Blue Rodeo” hauled out for bottom paint in the La Cruz Shipyard. We had agonized over whether to budget the time and money to haul her out now or wait until fall in New Zealand. Ultimately, the decision was made based on the fact that areas of bottom paint applied in 2010 were pealing off giving the fast-growing, tropical barnacles places to adhere. The whole bottom of the keel was bare so barnacles were very happy making a home there and, we figured that after a 18 day passage to the Marquesas, we’d be dragging along our own, thick, rough marine ecosystem which could cost us a fair amount of boat speed. In Mexico, we have been diving down to clean it weekly but that would probably be difficult to do in mid ocean. We were especially disappointed that we had hauled out just a year and a half ago at a very reputable yard in Washington and paid a premium price for a top quality bottom job. When we sailed down the coast to California just a week later, paint was already peeling off the keel. It’s been an extremely frustrating issue so we are looking forward to putting it to rest with a good job here in La Cruz. When all was said and done, we made sure the work here was done properly with all of the old layers of bottom paint completely removed and three layers of epoxy barrier coat applied before the new anti-fouling paint was applied. It was a dusty, messy process but the workers did an excellent job and we were finally satisfied that we had a paint job that should be good for several years.


While “Blue Rodeo” was in the boat yard, we are unable to stay aboard her so we were very fortunate to have the use of a house in La Cruz to use for as long as we needed. It belongs to our friend Karen (who sailed with another friend Mike on “So Inclined” last year) and was away crewing on another boat heading south for the Panama Canal. Her home is a cute, little, two bedroom Casita with a pool and large deck on the hillside just above town. It took us just five minutes to walk from there to the boat yard and marina. Having the use of the house greatly simplified the whole boat yard ordeal. We feel so grateful for her generosity and hope we can, in some way, reciprocate in the future.


It was frustrating for us to be off the boat for the two weeks that the boat was out of the water as it hampered our ability to make much progress on the many projects to be done before our departure. While fellow Pacific Puddle Jumpers were busy aboard their boats readying them for the passage, we could accomplish little other than attending a seminar or two and studying information in books and on line about the areas we planned to visit. Fortunately, we have had a few pleasant diversions as well. Our friend Robert from Seattle and his new girlfriend Kathy came down for a few days. They rented a house with a pool right on the beach near the marina and got to watch all of the sail boat racing action that had been scheduled for the week. The whole area was bustling with activity as the La Cruz Marina was hosting a big sailing event called the MEXORC and providing the finish venue for the big San Diego to Puerto Vallarta Yacht Race. Even Mexico’s President Calderon (a sailing fan) arrived by helicopter to signal the start one of the big races. It was truly crazy around here with all the work being done for the Presidents arrival. Event facilities were erected and police and military personnel in full combat gear were everywhere providing security. As imposing as they appeared though, they were all quick to return a warm smile and a “buenos dias” as we frequently strolled by them as we headed to and from the marina. They even went as far as to put in metal detection machines at all the gates. We had front row seats as the President’s helicopter landed in the parking lot just just a few feet in front of us. Even with all of the commotion, just a short distance away, live went on as usual in the small and charming town of La Cruz. Happy children played in the streets, sleepy dogs lay about and hard working men and women went about their daily routine.


Also during the wold week, our friends from Oceanside, Lee & Cathy from the vessel “Sirocco” arrived for a brief vacation and to crew aboard a boat from their yacht club that was racing in the events. We sure enjoyed their company and reminisced about all of the fun we’d had last season with them and fellow Oceanside sailors Dave and Marissa from “Pacifico” and MIke from “So-Inclined”. We treasure the memories of the great times spent with the group.

To the States and Back

Just a few days after arriving back in La Cruz, we made our final trip to the States before our South Pacific crossing. We timed it so as to be in Los Angeles to celebrate Mark’s mom’s 84th birthday. Unfortunately, travel was complicated by the need to fly first to Seattle for doctor’s appointments. This did give us the opportunity though to see Anne’s parents, our good friend Abbe (who generously let us stay at her house) and make the usual runs to all of the fine marine stores in the area. As you can imagine, we’d been compiling quite a list for this last, pre-passage shopping run. The travel coincided with the President’s holiday weekend so, with flights between Seattle and Los Angeles looking impossible for our retiree standby travel, we had to rent a car and drive to Portland where we managed to get on a flight to Burbank, arriving just in time for the birthday party. The next morning, it was off to LAX early to catch a fight to Idaho, via Portland. Whew...even reading this makes us tired! All went well though and we arrived in Boise by mid afternoon where we picked-up our car that had been driven down from McCall by a friend who was flying out. By early evening, we opening up our house, turning up the heat and settling in.

Our time at home was hectic with trying to see our many good friends, dental appointments, doing taxes (yuck) and making sure our house was still standing. The weather was quite a change from what we’ve grown accustomed to in Mexico and we even awoke to a foot of new powder snow one morning. Unfortunately, with our crazy schedule, we couldn’t take time to enjoy the excellent ski conditions.

We were home in McCall for just four days before flying back to Los Angeles. The three days spent there with Mark’s family seemed to fly by and included provision shopping for our favorite treats at Trader Joe’s, Costco, and various other places. We tried to anticipate what cravings we’d be having in some of the remote areas we planned to visit where food is scarce and very expensive. We are worried less about sailing safely across the largest ocean in the world than we are about running out of peanut M&Ms on some tropical atoll. When Mark’s sister Kim dropped us off to catch the bus to LAX for our flight back to Puerto Vallarta, we were dragging six enormous duffel bags totaling over 300 pounds and four additional, carry-on bags. Thank goodness our airline benefits still entitle us to check bags for free.

Our return to wonderful La Cruz felt like a home coming as we lugged our bags down the dock and spent an hour trying to stow our new goodies aboard “Blue Rodeo” before rushing off to dinner with friends. The next day, those signed-up for the Pacific crossing (known as the Pacific Puddle Jump or PPJ for short) were scheduled for a meet and greet kick-off party at the Puerto Vallarta Yacht Club. Andy Turpin, from the sailing magazine Latitude 38, was there to meet and interview this years jumpers. It was a fun event and gave us an opportunity to get to know more of the interesting folks that we’d be seeing as we migrated across the ocean. Former “Puddle Jumpers” were on hand to share advice and information. In fact, many were organizing a series of weekly seminars to help our group gather information about the crossing. At a later seminar, we got to know many of the people who made the trip in 2002 and had returned to Puerto Vallarta for a ten year reunion. What a great group of folks! We found ourselves envious that they had such a cohesive group that still got together after all these years. Some of them continued around the world while others sold their boats and are now land bound. They had wonderful stories to tell and all, without exception, said it was the most incredible experience of their lives.

Thursday evenings, this year’s Puddle Jumpers who are in La Cruz are meeting on the dock for drinks and pot luck appetizers and to get to know each other and exchange information about the trip. There is quite a variety of people of different ages and backgrounds sailing all sorts of boats. Many have a variety of plans with some continuing this season to New Zealand or Australia and some going north to the Marshall Islands to escape the hurricane season in November. A few will be staying around Tonga and hoping that no serious storms head that direction. Everyone has some sort of a plan but all agree that cruisers’ plans are written in sand and reserve the right to change our minds at any time. We think that this is one of the things that makes this adventurous activity so special.

Barra de Navidad and Northbound to Bandaras Bay

A day and a half after Anne’s parents left, our good friends, Mike and Beverly from our home town of McCall, Idaho, arrived in Barra de Navidad. We met them at the water taxi dock and took them to the boat to change clothes and stow their belongings before returning to Barra for an orientation walk-about and dinner at the new German restaurant. It was great to see them and get caught up with all of the news from McCall. Mike and Beverly are experienced boaters, having cruised the Pacific Northwest for years aboard both sail and power boats and we were eager to share the delights of our Mexico experience with them.

The next morning, after the French baker delivered a few treats, we departed for another of our favorite spots, the small bay of Cuastacomate, just 6 miles north of Barra. After carefully following our GPS waypoints out of the shallow channel from the Barra Lagoon, we motor-sailed to Cuastacomate and dropped the hook. We found the water there surprisingly clear compared to the last time we visited and quickly put our dinghy in the water and donned swim suits and snorkeling gear for an exploration of the nearby coral reef. During the outing, we were especially entertained by the diversity of the fish on the reef and the territorial behavior of some of them. After a quick lunch aboard “Blue Rodeo”, we dinghied ashore and did the two-mile walk over a hill to the town of Melaque. We spent the next several hours exploring the town, buying a few provisions and stopping for a beer in a beachside palapa restaurant before walking back to Cuastacomate. As we walked over the hill on the road leading back to the bay, we made plans to quench our growing thirsts with margaritas on the beach. We remembered that one of the palapas there served what were arguably the best ones in Mexico. When we reached the beach, we were so disappointed to see our favorite place closing for the day. Fortunately, another restaurant, just down the beach could accommodate us, and even had comfy beach chairs. As we slowly sipped our drinks, we enjoyed the amazing view of the bay with the sun setting over the water. Before long, it was time to return to “Blue Rodeo” for dinner and a movie before retiring for the night. It had been another great day along Mexico’s beautiful mainland coast made extra special by having shared it with our wonderful friends.

After a peaceful night at anchor, we left for Tenacatita where we planned to spend the next three nights. We arrived early that afternoon and, after a quick lunch, climbed into the dink and went snorkeling. We took Mike and Beverly to our favorite spot near the rocky point to the west of the anchorage. We had an enjoyable swim and saw some interesting critters but, unfortunately, turbulence in the water was kicking up quite a bit of sand causing somewhat limited visibility. Sadly, the Spotted Eagle Rays that we had often seen there failed to make an appearance. We also noticed the water was a bit cooler than at Cuastacomate, probably due to the churning action of the surge. Returning to the boat, the guys lay around like lizards warming themselves in the sun as the girls prepared dinner. Sunset cocktails followed by a cockpit dinner under artificial candle light was a great was to finish-off another splendid day with our friends.

Another fine day was spent at Tenecatita beginning with the classic, dinghy, “Jungle Tour” through the mangrove lined estuary. At high, slack tide, entrance into the small river can be made by navigating through the hopefully small surf into the calm and deeper water that meanders for several miles. On this occasion we managed the clip one on the submerged rocks in the surf zone with our outboard motor’s skeg. Fortunately, no damage was done. While searching for animal life, we worked our way up into the mangrove jungle until the overhanging branches and fallen tree limbs prevented any further progress. The afternoon was filled with more activities. A swim to shore, beach walk and Bocce ball were followed by beverages at the palapa with many of our new friends that we have met while cruising the area. Back aboard our boat and just about to begin dinner, we were treated to an invitation to join others on a nearby boat who were demonstrating their new margarita blender. Delicious drinks and lively conversation followed. What fun! We all enjoyed getting to know another friendly and interesting group of people.

Our original plan had been to return to Barra de Navidad with Mike and Beverly to spend a final night before they were to fly home from Manzanillo. We would then head north to La Cruz in the Puerto Vallarta area so as to be able to leave “Blue Rodeo” in a marina and fly to the States for family visits, doctors’ appointments and tax preparation (yuck!). After monitoring the weather forecasts on both VHF and HF radio, we realized that the trip back to Barra might cause us to miss a favorable weather window for the trip north around the often rough Cabo Corrientes. With Mike and Beverly’s agreement, a new plan was formulated to head north the following day and have them accompany us on the overnight passeage back to La Cruz and then fly home from Puerto Vallarta rather than Manzanillo. While cruising, weather often changes the best made plans so we are learning to stay flexible. Any guests that try to coordinate visits with us have to be equally flexible.

We got a leisurely start the next morning for the four hour trip to Chamela where we planned to make a pit stop before continuing through the night to Bandaras Bay. The water conditions were nice and smooth and the wind very light so we had to motor sail the entire way. The plan was, if conditions were favorable, to anchor between the small islands just south of Chamela for an afternoon of swimming and snorkeling followed by a leisurely dinner before continuing. This plan would allow us to round Cabo Corrientes at dawn the next morning in favorable ocean and wind conditions. Arriving at the islands, we found the conditions were good enough for the stop. We did have a northwest swell with light southwest winds, making it a bit bumpy and somewhat uncomfortable. Mark, Anne and Beverly decided to jump in and go snorkeling after dropping the anchor. Mike was busy reading and opted to stay aboard for a while. We had a wonderful time exploring the island’s small sandy beach, picking up shells and watching the baby pelicans in the nearby trees. The snorkeling was great! After exploring the island’s shore. Mark took off swimming around some offshore rock islands with Beverly and Anne not far behind. We had a wonderful time snorkeling and, as we climbed aboard the boat, Mike decided to go in for a quick dip himself. The girls felt it was too rolly to cook dinner at the current spot due to the swell wrapping around the point and they were both feeling a bit nauseous so once Mike was back aboard, we decided to move the boat to the main anchorage off the town of Chamela where we hoped to find even calmer water. Once re-anchored in the bight, we found the new spot to be a bit better and we all had a nice dinner before leaving for the overnight portion of our sail around Cabo Corrientes.

After dark, we motored slowly out of the anchorage keeping a watch for fish traps and nets. Dense clouds overhead prevented light from the nearly full moon from providing any help so we all strained our eyes looking for obstructions until we were safely offshore. Soon we settled into a watch schedule with Mark taking the first while the others napped. During his shift, lightning from thunderstorms over the coastal hills began to illuminate the sky and thunder claps could clearly be heard over the sound of “Blue Rodeo’s” purring diesel engine. The “show” became more worrisome when some of the lightning began striking the water in all quadrants around us. Fortunately, after a few sprinkles of rain, the storms subsided and the moonlight began to illuminate the surface of the sea. As he stood watch, Mark thought to himself that this was a good introduction to what we were likely to find while crossing the Inter-Tropical Convergence Zone on our way to the South Pacific.

We ended up motor sailing all the way to La Cruz since, as too often happens along this leg, the winds were on our nose. Mark, and Mike stood the longest watches through the night and Anne did a couple of hours even though the previous afternoon’s sea conditions left her feeling a bit queasy. Beverly was out for the count and managed to even sleep though most of the crashes when “Blue Rodeo’s” hull came pounding down between the short period, choppy swells. At times, as we approached Cabo Corrientes the sea conditions made us feel as though we were sailing through the tub of an enormous Maytag washer on the heavy duty cycle. Entering Banderas Bay at sunrise, and in the lee of the Tres Mariettas Islands, we found the sea conditions settling down and soon our whole crew was topside enjoying the views. Re-entering the harbor and docking in our assigned marina slip was uneventful except that, as we began our turn into the narrow slip, we noticed that two small sailing trimarans were in our way and we had to back part way out while folks on the dock scrambled to clear the slip. Our final approach was less than elegant but soon our lines were secured and we all turned-in for a few hours of sleep before heading out into the community of La Cruz to show Mike and Beverly our favorite haunts.

Unseasonable rain showers moved into Bandaras Bay the next morning and we pulled-out rain coats for the first time in Mexico. After Mike and Beverly departed for the airport though, rays of sun began appearing through breaks in the clouds and everyone in the area was treated to the sight of the most intensely brilliant rainbow that we have ever seen. With our friends jetting toward the States, our focus turned to preparations for our South Pacific passage. We have been enjoying Mexico so much that, when our world travels are completed, we have vowed to return to this warm and friendly place.

Vacation from Hell?

For several months, Anne had been encouraging her father Doug and step-mother Nancy to come visit us in Mexico. She was both very pleased and surprised when they agreed to make the trip. They arrived at the Grand Bay Hotel in Barra de Navidad after traveling from Seattle via Los Angeles and Manzanillo. Dear friends Lynn and Howard joined us when we took the water taxi from the lagoon anchorage to the hotel to welcome them and help them check in. The plan was for them to stay just one night at the hotel before joining us on the boat for the next couple of days. After checking in, the six of us water taxied to town, where we went for a walk to check out the sights before going to dinner at our favorite little restaurant, Mexico Lindo. Anne’s folks loved the food and the restaurant’s cute little courtyard and we all had a great time. Their visit was starting off well. After dinner, we escorted them back to the hotel and Lynn and Howard decided it was time to say a hasty goodbye as they planned to leave the next morning for their trip south to El Salvador. It was very difficult to say goodbye to them after all we have shared over the past year and a half and we will miss their smiling faces until we see them again.

The next morning, Anne made an early trip to the hotel to help her parents pack up and escorted them to our boat via water taxi. We breathed a sigh of relief when they were safely aboard as we had worried that making the transition from panga to “Blue Rodeo” might require more agility than they could muster. As they settled-in, the local French Baker came by boat to deliver fresh pastries. After polishing off several of the treats, we raised anchor from the lagoon’s sticky, mud bottom and departed for the lovely bay at Tenacatita. Fortunately the weather and sea conditions were good and Doug and Nancy enjoyed the trip to the anchorage. A relaxing day at anchor there concluded with a short, dinghy sight seeing tour. This was the first opportunity we had to help Anne’s parents down “Blue Rodeo’s” transom steps and into our inflatable dinghy. Both of them have had knee operations and their balance isn’t quite what it used to be. So we felt fortunate that we managed to get them in and out of the dinghy without any serious mishaps. The process was especially challenging for Nancy who has never had the opportunity to be aboard a small boat, let alone a sailboat with all of its rigging and awkward angles, and was very tentative about stepping into the bobbing dinghy. With Anne on the transom swim step and Mark in the dinghy, each holding on to her arms and legs, we accomplished the task. Our slow, sunset cruise along the anchorage’s rocky, north shore provided a splendid opportunity to observe fish and sea birds “up close and personal” as well as the bay’s weathered cliffs covered with remarkable vegetation. Back aboard our boat (the dinghy to boat transition was easier) Anne and Nancy collaborated to prepare the fresh Dorado that Anne had bought at Barra’s fish market. We had already decided that in order to offer them the most comfort and privacy while aboard, we would happily gave Anne’s parents our cabin with its king size bed. We would sleep in “Blue Rodeo’s” salon on the settees and pilot berths. When we turned in for the night, we both felt content that they were enjoying themselves. Before long however, that would change dramatically.

Unfortunately, during the night, poor Nancy developed some sort of gastro-intestinal distress that left her feeling miserable and making making multiple trips to “Blue Rodeo’s” only small bathroom. We felt so bad for her, especially knowing that we were at least several hours away from a hotel’s more comfortable surroundings. Instead of complaining though, she repeatedly apologized for being such a burden to us. For those of you reading this, Nancy was born and raised in Peru and, as a young woman, discouraged from doing anything athletic. So, as you can imagine, for her to agree to come out with us in the first place took a lot of courage. The next morning, she was still feeling awful so Mark dinghied over to a nearby cruising boat which we knew had a doctor aboard. After discussing Nancy’s symptoms, he advised us that it was probably a virus and would pass shortly. We conferred with Doug and Nancy about going back to Barra to the hotel but decided that it was better that Nancy stay in bed and rest instead of going through the ordeal of trying to get off the boat, water taxi to the hotel and walk through the considerable grounds to a room. We could only imagine how miserable she was feeling being in a strange country, and on a small boat with no privacy. Later, while Nancy was resting and recovering in our berth, we spent the day with Doug, taking him on the jungle river tour and then meeting other folks from the anchorage on the beach for bocce ball and drinks at the palapa restaurant. He had a great time and played a mean game of bocce ball to boot. When the three of us arrived back at the boat, Nancy was feeling a bit better but decided to continue to stay in bed. Anne prepared fresh shrimp with mango sauce and a salad for dinner. We all went to bed fairly early that night with Mark sleeping in the salon and Anne sleeping in the cockpit. At some time before sunrise, we were awakened to Doug calling for Nancy after stubbing his toe while stepping over the high door sill into the bathroom. By the time he realized that he had nearly torn off a toenail, he was standing in large puddle of blood that vaguely resembled the shower scene from the movie “Psycho”. We all pitched in to bandage up his wound and clean up the mess before trying to catch a few more hours of sleep. Once we were all awake, we raised our anchor and began the 2 1/2 hour trip back to Barra de Navidad in order to enter the shallow lagoon at nearly high tide. Once back in the lagoon, we arranged for a water taxi to pick us up and transport us to the Grand Bay Hotel where Anne’s parents had planned to spend two more nights. Nancy was feeling much better by then and, despite his foot injury, Doug was doing well. Both of them agreed that they would like to return to the small town of Barra that night and have dinner once again at Mexico Lindo Restaurant.

We all had another great meal that night and wandered around for a bit before returning to the hotel. Mark returned to “Blue Rodeo” to bring the dinghy aboard before it got to late and Anne escorted her parents to their room. About a half hour after entering the room, her dad started getting violently ill. He was having the same symptoms as her mom. Anne helped them get as comfortably settled as possible before coming back to the boat and then proceeded to get ill herself. Not to be left out of the fun, Mark followed several hours after that. With both of us ill, this is one time we wished “Blue Rodeo” had more than one bathroom. During the night, Mark made numerous trips to the swim step where he vomited with such gusto that he awakened every sleeping dog within miles of the peaceful lagoon. On one trip to the bathroom he even passed out, falling to the galley floor and striking his head. Neither of us could ever remember being hit so hard by a stomach bug. What a night!

We were awakened early the next morning by Anne’s mom calling to say that Doug wasn’t doing well. So, Mark dinghied Anne to the hotel where she found that Doug was still throwing up. Fortunately, a doctor had been called and when he arrived, he gave Doug a shot to stop the nausea and prescribed antibiotics and something to stop the diarrhea. Unfortunately, this meant Anne (still feeling quite poorly herself) had to go into town to purchase the meds. After an ordeal of her own, she returned to the room where her father had started to feel better. He was resting comfortably so Anne settled in to monitor the situation for several hours before coming back to the boat to rest for an hour or two. She remained extremely concerned that he had not had sufficient fluids and, due to his diabetic condition, an adequate amount of sugar. Calling her mother, Anne requested that she wake him up and give him a can of Coke and some water. We returned to the hotel later that afternoon to check on his condition. We all were wondering if he would be well enough to fly home on schedule the next day. Anne checked with the hotel about extending their stay and found that they were nearly booked-full the next night and only the only room available was a suite for $799.00 USD per night. The thought of moving them to a different hotel with less amenities was mind boggling, especially considering Doug’s condition. Fortunately, after the doctor’s medicines and taking some nourishment, he began to feel a much better and announced that he wanted to go home on their original flight the next day. We can’t tell you how relieved we were to hear that.

The next day, We helped Anne’s parents into a taxi from the hotel to the airport and said our goodbyes. Doug and Nancy were able to summon-up enough of a sense of humor to declare that this had been the “Vacation from Hell”. Anne was relieved, but also disappointed, that it had turned out the way it did as she had so been looking forward to having a wonderful memory of this trip together as she sets sail across the South Pacific. As we will learn to say in French Polynesia, “c’est la vie”. At least no one drowned.