~S/V Nanu~ Eric and Rachael's Pacific Adventure

Broken this, broken that... Leaky this, creaky that...

2010-06-21T12:31:00.000-07:00

Before I start... apologies for no pictures on this one. We're at an internet cafe and I'm not on my own computer... I'll add pictures when I can!!

Halfway up the Baja! 400 miles to go...!

This trip has been an incredible learning experience.

Eric finally coaxed me into buying an over-the-ounter prescription drug called "stugeron," which is recommended in sailing books to relive effects of seasickness. The drug is actually made for people with vertigo, but taken in 25 mg tablets, it works like a charm to dispel vomiting, fatigue and the other symptoms of seasickness. Thank goodness, because this trip would have been (literally) hell without it.

I have a new respect for fiberglass hulls, and the sturdyness of our boat. As we slammed into waves and were worked by the wind, we could hear the boat flexing and could feel our own bodies cringing at the feeling of being tossed over the edge of another wave... but Nanu has stood strong. I'm very glad that I have a good captain though.

Aside from the miserable sea conditions, the trip has been splendid! The outside coast of the Baja is a barren desert full of adventures and secrets that we've been enjoying on our stops.

When we stopped in Magdelina Bay, we had all kinds of adventures. There used to be an old whaling station ashore, so we went on a mission to find some whale bones. The station had actually been inhabited- by shark fishermen, and we got to talk to them, and see their catches of bull sharks, hammerheads and other mean-looking people eaters. I even pet a dead one! We found whale bones further down the beach, athough most of the bones had apparently been taken into one of the closer cities to be put on display at a museum. We almost lost the dinghy there... the tide came up and swept it away. Had the fishermen not come to the rescue, it could have been a not-so-great situation...!

In San Juanico we saw some AWESOME longboard surf places, although the water is so unbearably cold here that neither of us are exactly excited about jumping in... even with wetsuits. Eric found a gigantic old lobster carcass that must have belonged to a lobster well over 15 lbs.

In Asuncion, we went to town and finally got some much-needed provisions and were impressed at how well-groomed the town was. Grape vines hung out onto the sidewalks and locals watered their orange, lime, and other trees on their front yards. The sidewalks were clean and lined with everything from sunflowers to pink poppies to beautiful flowering catuses... we were very impressed.

Here in Turtle Bay the streets are gravel and sand. The little stores sell more american food than Mexican, and people race out to your boat to be the first person to sell you fuel, water and to take your garbage...

One of the biggest challenges of this trip so far is cooking underway. Things on the stove often end up on th floor, we find carrots in strange places sometimes, and the motivation to carry out a meal under such annoying circumstances turns into a dread. But does it ever make the meals in harbor wonderful!! ...I made cabbage rolls one night that were heavenly. My lasagna tonight tasted like it was straight from Italy.

There is certainly no slow in widlife, even though the water temperature is so different compared to the mainland. Sea lions that think they're dolphins jump up and spin ahile they take curious looks at the boat. Dolphins that must be more comfortable in colder water (we never saw them on the mainland) still play along the bow with their grey backs, white tummies and half-grey, half-white fins. Boobie birds still try to make crash-landings on the boat and the amount of fishing boats off of the coast here makes me think that there's plenty of good fishing... although Eric is apprehensive (understandably) to catch anything while we're underway.

So we are now officially 1/2 way up the Baja...

We've been having engine problems that have enabled me to learn a bunch about engines. Whether that's good or not... Not really sure. It started off that our hot water maker was not working (which sucks in the cold weather!). When Eric (with me hanging over his shoulder) did some further investigating, we found salt water in the aux. cooling tank. Which meant a hole in the heat exchanger. With the hole, it means that the water is rapidly replaced with more water (from the hole) and makes the overflow spew out extra (salty) water into the bilge. Yesterday when I grabbed our mainsail cover, I found it to be SOAKED, and after digging out everything in our rear quarterberth, we found everything sokaed. The aux. overflow was leaking back into the boat onto our sails and cloths, rather than into th bilge. Hmph. The boat looked like a garage sale after we laid everything out to dry... Now we've got the overflow piped in so it is directed into the bilge. We have to pump it out every half an hour or so now... there's ALOT of water that runs through that engine!!

A few days our autopilot kicked out, which has left us manually steering the boat outside in the elements. It{s miserble work and both Eric and I have talked it over and are not down for doing 400 more miles without an autopilot to steer the boat while the engine is running.

We have decided to sail 200 miles NW out to sea to Isla Guadalupe (the furthest west in Mexico you can go) and then turn back east and do another 225 miles NW to (hopefully) San Diego. This will allow us to sail rather than motor straight into the wind. Well be able to use our windvane rather than our electronic autopilot. It adds on almost 75 miles onto the trip, but other wise, we would have to sail back down to Cabo to get aother autopilot. Bum business I tell yah.

I cant wait until I can sit on a toilet and not have to hold on for dear life so I don't fall off!!!

So we'll be here in Turtle Bay until we can find some water (no available water in town) and fuel up. Well have to provision and plan for about three weeks at sea. Isla Guadalupe has nothing on the island. The weather looks favorable, and with all the hurricane activity south of us, we're even hoping for some south wind.

The thermometer is reading 21*C right now, and I've got a teeshirt, hoodie sweater, wool socks and wooly jogging pants on. We're southern chickens now, and in addition to not being climatized to the chillier weather, the ocean wind freezes us to the bone. At night I wear full foul weather gear (heavy gortex waterproff/windproof bib pants and a jacket), wool socks, shoes a toque... in the afternoon if the sun is shining I'll still have my wool socks and bib pants... but maybe a tee-shirt on a good day!

So keep tuned into SPOT to see where we are. We'll give you a happy next blog (hopefully) with pictures from our trip to San Diego!!

900 Miles Up the Baja...!

2010-06-03T08:38:00.000-07:00

...More later...!

900 miles up the Baja...

Punta Mita to Cabo San Lucas

2010-05-28T18:56:00.000-07:00

We've got a good weather window and are itching to leave...
You'll hear from us in three or four days.
Check out our SPOT to see where we are...
300 miles from Punta Mita to Cabo San Lucaaasss!!

P.S. We heard rumors that Lion's Paw and Caramelo will be joining us there!

YAYYYY!!!

Rach and Eric Oxo

Freshwater Fun...!

2010-05-25T07:16:00.000-07:00

Most recent thing we ate:
Eric: 0.9 peso bread from Mega with butter
Rachael: 0.9 peso bread from Mega with cream cheese

We're listening to:
8.122.00 HAM net weather. We're hoping for a weater window to head north.

What are we planning on doing today:
Getting our propane tanks filled. Apparently the marina will do it in La Cruz.

What's the first thing you'll eat when you get to an "American" grocery store:
Eric: Nothing really. But I do miss pesto sauce... and I wouldn't mind salami.
Rachael: Salami. And raspberries. And cheese.

What are you most looking forward to once we get to HMB?
Eric: Will not comment.
Rachael: Running along the boardwalk at HMB... a pretty jog!

What are you least looking forward to:
Eric: No comment. He doesn't play this game very well.
Rachael: Smog, traffic, people, rat racee... ugh.

Ask most people who grew up in inland USA or Canada and they'll tell you that there's nothing like the smell of a freshwater river or lake. Nothing like swimming in salt-free water and nothing like the thought of not getting eaten by salt-water man-eaters... well, maybe that's only me... but...

We left Punta Mita in the morning and headed south across Banderas Bay. The wind was just right to fly a spinnaker and before long, Nanu was being pulled along by our conventional spinnaker. Nanu sailed along never letting us go slower than 4 knots.

Quimixto was rolly. Nanu lolled from one side to another as wind swell hit her beam and sent her tipping to the other side. We put out a stern anchor (to point her into the waves) and then put the flopper stopper out and (most) of the rolling abated.

We rowed to shore early the next morning and followed the muchly eroded donkey trails up the slopes behind Quimixto.

We spent the entire day wading through crystal clear river water, dodging under trees, sliding between boulders, climbing up cactus-infested hills and swimming in all kinds of sand-bottom swimming holes.

The river was often lined by granite-sided "canyons," which were awfully fun to wander around in.

Every bend in the river turned up a beautiful new vista that made us want to go "just around one more" bend...

Soon enough, the sun was beginning to set and we were well aware that with abundant freshwater, the mosquitos and no-seeum's would be out in full force and we turned around and headed back down along the river bed.

We picked up anchor the same day and sailed the thirteen miles to La Cruz with the intention of staying for the least amount of time possible. The next morning we motored to the fuel dock, got 30 litres of diesel and filled our water tanks and rinsed Nanu's topside with freshwater and motored to Punta Mita...

We spent a few more days in Punta Mita. Surf reports showed swell coming in at 13 feet and we anxiously awaited it's arrival... but it didn't really come the way we thought.

After a few days of not so great surf, we sat down and decided that it was time to start talking really seriously about heading north. Both of us admitted that we "were ready," to leave the sunny shores of Mexico and begin the ominous journey back to the "normal" life.

We're now in La Cruz. We went to Mega yesterday and filled our shopping cart with provisions that we will be needing for the trip north. Hot chocolate, Earl Grey Tea, zucchinnis and tomatoes. Even gouda cheese! ...Amongst other things...

Today, as said before, we're going to fill our propane tanks...

Tomorrow we're going into town and playing some guitar with an old friend from town. He was excited to hear that I played and sang and was interested in trying out some duets... so we shall see how that goes!

Aside from propane, we're going to need tons of fuel to motor us the 900 miles from here to San Diego. We priced out two 150 litre paint jugs that are heavy duty that we're going to go and pick up. They'll be holding diesel in them from Cabo up to San Diego.

And then- we have to wait for a weather window. Right now a gale is blowing off of the Baja that would make it unwise for us to try even crossing the Sea of Cortez until it subsides.It sounds like the wind may die down by Saturday, but things may change in five days... we shall see!!

Anyhow, we'll keep you updated... either from La Cruz or Punta Mita...Cheers!

Trying to Reason With Hurricane Season...

2010-05-16T07:51:00.000-07:00

Yesterday officially marked the beginning of hurricane season in the eastern Pacific ocean. That exciting day hid the sun behind clouds and sent a trickle of rain down onto the top of Nanu's deck. Not that the rain had anything to do with huricane season. Nor did the hundreds of jellyfish that floated into our favorite surf spot, or the cold water that couldn't have been more than 70*f.

In fact, according to the "facts," not to much is going to start happening around here for at least another month. I've been doing my research and here's what I've come up with...

If you want to read more, these are the sites I grabbed stats and images off of:

http://www.bajainsider.com/weather/hurricanes/historic_hurricanes.htm

http://eebmike.com/

MAY:

1951 not a single tropical storm or hurricane has passed within 250 miles of Baja.

JUNE:

In June the Eastern Pacific is starting to really warm up and the storm activity increases. By mid June hurricanes become a possibility in Baja, although still pretty remote. The last time a June hurricane hit Baja was in 1958. The early season storm packed winds of 85 mph as it passed within 25 miles of Cabo San Lucas, which wasn't much more than a few fishing huts at the time.

A map of the west coast of Mexico showing all the hurricanes in the month of June since 1948.

JULY:

In July the water in the Sea of Cortez is warmer. But hurricanes in our hemisphere want to go to the west because of their rotation. The jet stream usually doesn't drop southward across Baja until late August. Historically speaking, July is a safe month too, as the storms move harmlessly out into the Pacific and dissipate. There has been one Category 2 hurricane brush past Magdalena Bay and make landfall north of San Ignacio back in July of 1954. Tropical storm Calvin hit East Cape in 1993 and another tropical storm Calvin hit Todos Santos in 1981.

A map of the west coast of Mexico showing all of the hurricanes in July since 1948.

SO... knock on wood that this will be like any other year!

But our trusty hurricane watch website has told us there's nothing to worry about...

Our trusty hurricanewarning site tells us we don't have to worry about hurricanes right now...

So- on to more exciting things!!

Rum for everyone! We finally left Punta Mita!

Rachael trying to ride a left wave. I have only recenty become competent at standing up regularly...

With the predictions of the surf swell dying off in Punta Mita, Eric and I decided that it would be fun for a change of scenery... we were laughing about being "locals" at the place where we surf and were itching to check out something new...

About a week ago we scrubbed Nanu's bottom (which is in dire need of a paint job) and grabbed some last minute provisions in town.

Nanu, Tao and Caramela left pUnta Mita before the wind picked up. The sun was just rising over the land as we went around the point and headed north.

The sailing was phenomenol! A straight reach all the way to Chacala (30 miles) without any need for a tack. We chatted on the radio with Tao and Caramela and had a lovely sail with our main and 120 drifter keeping us going between three and five knots...

S/V Caramela managed to anchor in the prime spot for some phenomenol sunset pictures at Chacala.

Chacala was wonderful! We stern-anchored (when we have two anchors out- one on the bow and one on the stern to keep us facing into the swell) and were amazed at the clarity and temperature of the water. It was so warm!

The little bay was surrounded by fruit orchards. Orange trees, pineapples, bananas and every other kind of fruit you could ask for waited to be picked for the local markets in the area.

Chris, Kristina, Ryan and Eric on a mission to go to Las Varras... Chacala in the background...

We surfed our hearts out on a left break that Chris and Eric knew about and explored around town. Although the waves were small, it was a fun break that kept us all entertained for several days!

Eric enjoyed Chacala's left wave. Although the swell was small, it still provided us with hours of entertainment!

Ryan managed to get an infection in his eyes and Christina had insisted that they go and see a doctor. Chris (Tao) and Eric and I went along and we hopped in a taxi that took us 12 miles inland to the bustling town of Las Varras. While Ryan and Christina visited the doctor, Chris, Eric and I explored the town.

The main drag in Las Varras. The small tiendas and stores were well-stocked and everyone was friendly...!

Trying to find an internet cafe, we found the local library that was (in my opinion) not very full of books. And very well-hidden in what looked like an apartment building. Had there not been a massive sign, we might not have known...

La biblioteca de Las Varras. The library was hidden away in an apartment building and had maybe a thousand books.

The poor juice-maker lady had to fill my painstaking order of three fresh-squeezed orange juices. Do you know how many oranges it takes to hand-squeeze three large (750ml) cups of orange juice!?

Eric and Chris taking a break in the Las Varras zacala. The community church is in the background.

Meeting back up with Caramela we ended up at a neat little taco stand owned by a fellow with a smart- butted comment for everything you said... the tacos were great!

Kristina and Ryan choosing only the best mangoes from the fruit stand...

We managed to get the taxi driver to drop us off at a HUGE fruit stand on the side of the road and we spent 20 minutes marvelling at pineapples, mangoes, bananas, yacas and CANDY! We walked away with a kilo of mangoes and enough fruit-based candy to make anyone (other than a sugar-holic) a tooth ache... success!!

Although it looks like tons of variety, there was mostly only watermelon, mangoes, pineapples, coconuts, bananas and yakas...

With the promise of 8ft surf, we left Chacala and headed another 30 miles north to a bay just south of San Blas caled Matenchen Bay.

There was no surf.

Rachael, Eric, Kristina and Chris waiting for waves on a very flat day at Chacala...

But lots of bugs (we're still itchy!)

Please. Don't poo here. A sign that we giggled over in Chacala.

We spent a day at Matenchen hunting down "potential" surf spots. Chris crammed into the Fatty Knees and the three of us went on nearly a three hour sail around the bay to see the breaks. The sail was nice, but we didn't turn up anything interesting...

Chris came over for dinner that night and we enjoyed an evening of beers and stories before bedtime.

The next morning, Eric made the executive decision that we were going back south to catch the last of the swell at Punta Mita.

We bid a final farewell to Tao and Caramela before pulling anchor and headed south again in the name of surf.

The sail was another wonderful reach with only one tack and an average speed of around 5.5 knots. Awesome. We arrived in Punta Mita right before the sun set and dropped anchor before hitting the hay.

In the morning, the clouds and a chilly breeze greeted us and as we headed out to the surf spot, we knew it was going to be a weird day. Indeed it was. A jellyfish infestation and cold, cold water drove us out and we spent the rest of the afternoon in Punta Mita picking up some fresh produce.

Once again here we are in Punta Mita, although now we are beginning to seriously think about heading north.

With the winds of change coming soon, Eric has been making more of an effort to listen to the weather and we're slowly getting the last bit of our kicks in Banderas bay in before we begin the bash north.

We still plan on going to Quimixto one more time for a hike up a waterfall and haven't quite gotten enough surf in, but soon enough we'll be one of the boats that we regularly see northbound.

Can't help but smile...

2010-05-05T19:15:00.000-07:00

So I can't help but smile as we sit in Punta Mita anchorage sipping red wine and recalling the last two weeks of adventures...

Right now the sun has just set after casting the western horizon in shades of pink and yellow before slipping below the tree line. Now the anchorage is dark but the distant crash of waves is audible from all areas of the boat... the surf is the biggest it's been in a long time, and the air, full of the noise of moving water and sticky salt air is getting us excited for our surf session tomorrow morning...

But much more has happened other than surfing these days. It's been a wonderful blur of dinners with friends, sailing adventures and cultural celebrations that take place nowhere else, except wonderful Mexico.

We've been having some wonderful times with people that are our age- S/V Pisces made an unexpected stop in Punta Mita after doing the LONGEST trip between La Cruz and Punta Mita (it took them threes days and something like 750 miles) and we had a wonderful potluck dinner on their boat with S/V Tao, S/V Estrella and S/V Carmella.

Another night, Chris (Tao) got a year older and we all grouped up on Estrella's boat and had a wonderful evening of pineapple upsidedown cake (without the maraschino cherries) and drinks.

Adam (Estrella), Chris, Eric and I are the surf bums and spend alot of time out at the "Bahia"...

Punta Mita is quickly becoming our favorite anchorage in Banderas Bay. Put the awesome surfing aside, it's a beautiful, calm anchorage set beside a bustling but still largely traditional Mexican town- but surfing is certainly its big draw.

Eric and I have spent very few days in town considering how long we've been here, but it's been fun notheless.

After I ran out of my last pair of underwear we were forced into town to do a load of laundry which was an accumulation of at least a month and a half of our dirty clothes and linens. 45 lbs of laundry was handed back to us, clean, folded and smelling squeaky clean from the local lavanderia for 273 pesos...

Our favorite few tiendas are well-stocked and we occassionally make a trip into town to stock up on veggies and meat...

It was only a few days ago however when we looked at our empty fruit hammock and our empty fridge and our empty water tanks that we decided that we had to pull anchor in Punta Mita and head to La Cruz t re-stock at WaMart and fill up our fuel and water tanks at the marina.

Tao and Estrella and Nanu all pulled anchor together and we had a great time playing Pirates of the Caribean with each other as we tested the downwind capabilities of our boats. The wind was blowing a steady 14 knots off of our stern and we sailed wing-on-wing until we had to round the point. Taking a less direct route to get to La Cruz, we left Estrella and Tao and ended up in the middle of Banderas Bay when the wind suddenly picked up to 20 knots...

We haven't been doing much sailing in the past while, so it seemed like EVERYTHING became mobile and while Eric reefed our sails, I ran around frantically below deck securing fans, water jugs and other things that had found a new home on the floor.

La Cruz was fun...

We went to WalMart the day after we arrived and stocked up on all of the things that we haven't been able to find at the local tiendas, and found things at the store that we haven't seen since leaving California... like Swiss Miss Hot Chocolate! We also found our much sought after "California" red box wine... 1L for 36 pesos. Yup, we're high rolling around here! But we did not find things like yeast, basil, crisco, kidney beans... and the list goes on and on...

Following the advice of several cruisers, we found ourseleves at the Puerto Vallarta airport renewing our visas for another 180 days. It was a very, very verrrrry simple process. Very Mexican. Probably very under-the-table. But we have papers. And it only cost us 265 pesos per person. I think that immigration officer is going to be eating really well for awhile...!

The La Cruz festivals were going on while we were anchored in town, and Eric and I enjoyed a fun evening in the zacala watching an often jaw-dropping display of haphazard fireworks that seemed to go everywhere... except the sky.

A man with a papier-mache donkey strapped to his back ran through the crowd while fireworks errupted every which-way into the crowds as people struggled to get out of the way of the crazy donkey-man...

At midnight, a 150ft tall "Tower of Doom" (the most suitable name I could think of...) was lit, and fireworks lit up the ground and sky as wheels turned and fires burned and... whoa... it went really well with a tequila.

This morning we packed up and pulled anchor just in time for the regular 25-knot wind from the west to start up. We followed Tao into the Marina and docked at the fuel dock, filled up on gasolina and water before shoving off (it was difficult in the wind!) and heading back north towards Punta Mita.

It was a lovely sail! We tacked up the coast with at first only a reefed jib (the wind was shrieking around us at 23 knots). WIthin the hour, the wind died down and we were under a full main and a 120 jib heading north...

Now we're here (again) in Punta Mita, waiting for the sun to rise so we can hop in the water and catch some waves.

We have two mouldy bananas that I have to make into bread for tomorrow's snack...

Our thoughts are that we may head up to Chacalla in a little bit so we can get a change of scenery before making more plans on where we'll be going from here...

Until then, take care...!

Does she even know how...?

2010-04-25T19:08:00.000-07:00

We woke up at 4:00am and Eric started some water boiling for coffee. The propane stove took the edge off of the chilly morning and we busied ourselves with pulling anchor... and bringing Nanu up to a real dock.

"Do you think she even knows how to dock anymore?" I muttered under my breath as Eric tied on our fenders and gripped onto his coffee mug.

The sun hasn't risen yet and La Cruz's anchorage is a mirror, reflecting the lights from far-off Bucerias along the hull of Nanu as she slips through the entrance of the marina.

It's been a little more than 180 days since our happy home has bumped up against docks...

Eric maneuvered Nanu professionally into one of the fuel dock slips and as soon as Nanu was secured to the cleats, we began our pre-planned attack on the fresh-water supply at the taps.

I was 6:45 when we hopped onto the pavement, armed with water hoses, jerry jugs and scrub brushes. Eric was going to wash the boat in the 15 minutes before the fuel dock opened, and I was going to fill up all of our jerry jugs (20 gallons) and our inboard tanks (40 gallons and 18 gallons).

A security guard met us before we could attach the hose.

Plannn B: ... Rinse the boat. Fill the water tanks. Buy the fuel.

So under the security guard's wary eye, Eric hosed down Nanu's salty decks and then I filled up our tanks.

And then we paid for 5 gallons of diesel fuel and left...

Mission: Successful. Nanu was full of water, rinsed off, and ready for another surf session in Punta Mita.

Our "sail" from La Cruz to Punta Mita was... very, very simple.
There was no wind, so Nanu's engine puttered away in the calm waters the entire 9 miles to Punta Mita. It was only perhaps 1 mile away from the anchorage when the wind began to pipe up... a little too late...

So began our usual regimen of wake up, surf, go home, eat, surf again and sleep...

And then I was having this really stellar day. I was catching waves, riding them... and then I fell.
And then I could barely walk...

SO then it was Eric waking up early, making plans with Tao and Estrella to go surfing, and I was left on Nanu to rest my back.

I never want to get old. I hobbled around Nanu taking Aspirin, reading novel after novel, and puttering around on our tempermental internet connection.

Eric, Chris and Adam would come back to the boat gleaming after a great surf session, or complaining about how windy it was, or how many pangas (and surfers) there were... they've been having a ball!

SO the days go by...
Surfing...

No plans on leaving Punta Mita yet...

But we'll keep you updated when we do...

And I will take some pictures one of these days...

MmmMm... Peanut Butter Pasta...

2010-04-15T18:24:00.000-07:00

"Ressurect it! Bring it to life, please!?"

Think you know what I'm talking about?

Yup. My cooking. Again.

Background story:

Last night Eric and I sailed into La Cruz from Punta Mita. We had been planning to do the quick 9-mile hop between anchorages for awhile, after Eric had glanced at our propane tank and realized it was just about empty. It would be the end of the WORLD if we woke up one morning and didn't have enough propane to heat water for coffee!

The sail was splendid! A good 15-knot wind was finding it's way into Banderas Bay and we sailed downwind into the anchorage going a steady 5.3 knots with only the main up. I snuggled down on my spinnaker seat and dug into my Wilbur Smith novel (thanks Greg and Deb!) while Eric went between enjoying the sail and then trying to get my nose out of my book. He will be very happy when it's done.

Arriving in La Cruz, it was my turn to make dinner. We didn't have meat so, recalling a vague recipe for Pad Thai from Eric's vegetarian sister, I plopped some peanut butter, vinegar, sugar and other fun things in with some sauteed veggies etc etc... It was not Pad Thai. Not at all.

When we opened up the leftovers this afternoon all Eric could (sarcastically) say was, "MMMmmmMMmm... peanut butter pasta." Another failure in the Galley of Rachael. Really, I'm not a bad cook. I'm just on a losing streak with the pots and pans these days!

It was only a few weeks ago after trying to make a radish salad when Eric sat back and said, "Rach, I'm so glad we're past the stage in our relationship that I have to pretend to like this..." Another one of those "Please ressurect this gross-looking leftover?"

Score:
Galley: 2
Rachael: 0

Enough on food though!
We are BACK in Banderas Bay after our adventure down to Zijuat...and back...

Margie and Bob (S/V Noname) and Eric on the trail to Revelsito from Tenecatita... a lovely walk!

Banderas Bay has been FUN for the past few weeks!

Hikes up freshwater rivers, dinner parties and surfing have dominated our lives since we arrived in the cruising mecca of Banderas Bay... Where to start?

Only a few days into being in La Cruz we went hunting for adventures elsewhere. I dragged Eric kicking and screaming into a bus labelled "Puerto Vallarta," and we were dropped off in the tourist hub of "Zona Romantica." Dodging the street vendors and gringo-hungry timeshare representatives I dragged Eric eastwards until we had left the loud, busy streets of the city and were plodding along a dirt road lined on one side with steep hills covered with palms and other exotic flora ad fauna. On the other side, a crystal clear river wound its way from up in the mountains...

We walked for a couple of hours before finding our own swimming hole (they were in high demand)- sandy on the bottom, and lined with river boulders and filled with freshwater. It was wonderful! I had brought soap and shampoo and we spent the afternoon in the river.

Eric trying out the freshwater river... it was an experience neither of us had felt in months and months...

...No salty taste in my mouth, no sharks, no human-eating octopuses and no jelly fish stingers to worry about... I felt right at home! C'monnnn all you swamp donkeys!

No sharks, no jellyfish and no man-eating octopus... I was right at home...!

Eric was lucky enough to have his birthday in La Cruz, and we reserved Ana Bananas on a closed night... and enjoyed the tables to ourselves before heading up to a neat restaurant for dinner. Oh, the cake I made him... that was a galley success. Chocolate marble cake in a pressure cooker.

Galley:2
Rachael:1

My lovey pressure cooker cake- for Eric's birthday... my only problem: It was so hot out that the icing melted!

And now we can all tease Eric about grey hair...

Moreso our life has recently been revolving around Punta Mita.

Our life has been measured in how big the surf is, and where it's coming from.

Every morning the VHF booms, "Nanu, Nanu this is Tao..."

And then Eric perches himself on the companionway steps and him and Chris (S/V Tao) have a few minutes' conversation about where the surf will be best and then a rendezvouz time.

Eric originally met Chris on the outside of the Baja over a year ago and Eric was heading north, and Chris and his girlfriend, Shawn, were heading south. It was an exciting reunion when we anchored in Punta Mita and Tao was sitting only a few hundred more feet away from us!

Eric the unstoppable kiteboarding at Tenecatita...

Chris is an avid surfer and his commitment to the waves has been a positive influence on both Eric and I. Mind you, we no longer need influence though, and now crave to be back in Punta Mita.

The two guys (Eric and Chris) have seen me go from a butt-over-tea-kettle surfing wreck to a semi-competent wave-catcher... and THEN butt-over-tea-kettle wreck. But my surfing skills have been honed and are beginnning to work in my favor with all the practice that Punta Mita allows.

With four easily accessed breaks, it's a rare day when we're not out in the water.

Proof that we dreamed about surfing, went surfing and ATE surfing...

Chris's girlfriend came down from working in California last week and when they finally arrived in Punta Mita (after cruising other places in Banderas Bay), we hung out alot.

Shawn is a surfer chick and it was fun to have someone who wasn't quite as "Rawwwwrrrr... me man. There is wave... must catch..." We traded boards for awhile and I got to try my hand at a 9' board and she tried my little 6'.

I think I like my shortboard better.

We joined Shawn and Chris for a night out in La Cruz with more friends of theirs (and Eric's) from S/V Carmela, S/V Estrella and S/V Pisces. It was splendid meeting everyone and we had all kinds of fun conversations at a little local taco joint. I never knew what a "gringa" was until we went there.

Gringa: Oversized flour tortilla with your choice of meat... AND cheese. Marvellous. Ingenious. Quesedilla y taco de carne asada en uno.

What a wonderful night in La Cruz with a younger crew of sailors and explorers...!

Another thing I noticed: I think Eric and I are the only ones who are not fluent in spanish out of that entire group. Time to crack open those spanish books.

Chris was very sad when Shawn left. Waving goodbye to them as they dinghied to shore to catch the bus to the airport gave me watery eyes and I thought about what was happening. I had done the exact same kind of visit a year an a half ago to the exact same place... there's never enough time... come back, Shawn!

We spent that day cleaning the bottom of Nanu. She had begun to host her own little ecosystem of flora and fauna along the waterline right down to her keel. Diving on her, Eric and I came back wide-eyed and horrified... Little fish had made their home in the shade of Nanu and enjoyed the three-inch long algae along her waterline. Barnacles bigger than my fingernail (and 20x as sharp) pocked Nanu from waterline to keel and we used a steel scraper to shove them off. It was an adventure in itself getting rid of the jungle from the underside of our beloved vessel!

These bad boy enchilladas stuffed me in Punta Mita and left me running for a toiletan hour later... 8 enchilladas is just too much...

Lesson learned.

And now...

We're counting down the hours until the sun rises and we can get to the fuel dock to fill a 5-gallon jug (and our water tanks!) at the fuel dock...! We know, sneaky... but much easier than hauling 5-gallon jugs out into the anchorage!

Eric's even done the evil deed of taking out fenders. We haven't even looked at them since San Diego... Hopefully Nanu will know how to dock still!

Anyhow, I'm being a computer hog...

I'll write more later. And make a conscious effort of taking some pictures of us surfing...!

Kudos to Shawn for motivating me to finally get back on the blog wagon. I've been such a slacker... oye...

The Flame-Throwing BBQ...

2010-03-08T16:38:00.000-08:00

"Baby! Look at the BBQ!"

Eric points to his flame-thrower of a barbeque with two pieces of chicken sizzling on the grill.

Such is life these days- always an exciting mix of washing machine ocean and gourmet meals while listening to "you might be a Redneck if..." while enjoying a sunset in Mexico...

We always claimed we were cultured, didn't we?

"Tranquilo, Tranquilo!"

I had just jokingly hailed M/V Tranquilo on the VHF when Mike called us back and told us that their motor boat was in hot pursuit of our bubbles- but we had won- we had already anchored at Isla Ixtapa by the time Tranquilo materialized on the horizon and Froatzy, their dog started barking at us.

The sail down from Manzanillo to Ixtapa was wonderful.

Although we had intended to stop at anchorages on the way down, when we pulled in to Marijuata we got spooked by the breakers swirling around and ricocheting off the beach to the "protective" rocks of the anchorage and abruptly did a u-turn and high-tailed out of the sketchy anchorage. If anything positive could be said about it, it was sure a really pretty beach!

Sailing further on, we realized we would not make the next anchorage before dark, so we sailed through the night in light, favorabe winds. By the morning the winds had eased, so we pulled up our big red, yellow and orange spinnaker and let it pull us the rest of the way to Isla Ixtapa.

After the frightful winds and rain of the last storm, Ixtapa was plagued with muddy water and debris that littered every single beach in the area. Wary of the 1-ft visibility in the water, we didn't step a toe in it, and spent most of our time in the Fatty Knees sailing the small bay and playing frisbee on Playa Linda beach. Tranquilo's company added a fun twist to the island and we spent a few nights lighting the charcoal barbeque with blowdriers, and poking fun at each other for one reason or another!

We pulled anchor on the calmest day of the year, we think. Zijuat was a nice 2-hour motor boat ride. It was only when we were preparing to drop anchor in the murky water there that the wind picked up- from the north!

"It looks like someone torched the hill," I groaned as we chugged through the brown water in the shadow of Zijuat. On first take, Zijuat looks "only slightly better than Tijuana (says Eric)."

Really, it's not that bad though...

Our first day wandering the town we were delightfully surprised. Cobblestone streets lined with quaint shops and bars crowded with locals and gringos alike beckoned you in with signs saying "Thirsty? Yup! Cold Beer? Yup! Beer- One American Dollar!" Small mom'n pop restaurants with frienly hosts offered meals cheaper than eating on the boat. At our favorite place, a bowl of soup, a salad, chicken wings and a beer could be bought for 42 pesos. We both stuffed ourseleves with 9 peso tamales. Really, it was quite a cheap little town.

Exploring further past the "touristy" part of town, we found ourselves at the mercado.

If you were willing to search, you could find just about anything your heart desired in there. The same store selling wheel rims offered us "Bimbo" bread, while a refridgerator stocked with dairy products at a different vendor also showed off it's fine collection of floor mats.

Cows hung from butcher hooks as friendly butchers beckoned us over to check out the "finest meat in Zijuat." Chickens- with their heads still on- rested on countertops while women looked into the crowds for interested buyers. We bartered with the best of them, and walked out the proud owners of some beef cuts, chicken and freshly baked buns...

The fruit street was splendid. Bananas hung on string swayed in the wind, while a store on one side of the street offered tomatoes and papaya for 1 peso cheaper than on the other side. We spent 52 pesos on enough veggies to stock our fruit hammock for a good week or more...

Tranquilo (die-hard Americans) had to duke it out with a crazy Canadian at the final Canada VS USA Olympic hockey game. All four of us met with game faces on, dressed in the appropriate colors at a local sports bar and joined the throngs of (mostly Canadian) supporters as the overtime game played out. There were ALOT of happy Canadians high-fiving each other at the end of the hard-earned game! GO CANADA, eh?!

One morning we woke up to news that Chile had been hit by a magnitude 8.8 earthquake and had caused a massive tsunami that was heading up the coast. Nervous radio talk on both VHF radio and the HAM provided little information about whether it had actually materialized or not and CNN and Fox news on our Sirius satellite radio did a really great job of trying to scare everyone. We picked up our stern hook and contemplated our situation- it would have been smart to head out to sea, but we hadn't heard that Acapulco had been washed away into the ocean. For two hours we stood watch, waiting for a wall of water (or even a lump) to come racing at 500 mph into the bay but it never materialized. Bored, we headed to shore.

We later found out that indeed, the water level in the bay dropped about 4 ft and then raised high enough to wash out all the tables at Los Gatos beach, a little tourist area on the far end of the bay. Everyone went home. The tides were kind of goofy after. One minute we'd be loading the Fatty Knees in knee-deep water, and the next it would be high and dry and the water 10 feet away. Most peculiar, but nothing worrisome. Nobody was hurt, and in the end, we sighed in relief and sipped on a beer to "surviving the tsunami."

We got to meet all the parents in Zijuat. We spent a hilarious evening with Ohm Shanty (Heather and Shawn) and got to meet Shawn's awesome dad. Mike (Tranquilo) had his mom come and visit and we spent several nights cavorting both onshore and off with them!

We found the Tim Horton's of Zijuat while walking back from the Mercado one day. We did a u-turn and walked back to the wonderful scent of fresh-brewed coffe. After being dared inside by a white-haired Mexican man, we emerged sheepishly with devilishly good coffee. We spent a good half hour bantering amongst the locals while we sat on the sidewalk sipping our tasty treat...!

We left Zijuat craving some swimmable water and did an overnighter in Isla Ixtapa.

Heading north from Ixtapa, Tranquilo stayed within sight of us until wind VS motor got in the way. We followed our own tack while they beat their way up north. We had a lovely sail. 18 knots from the north kept us busy tacking, but we were really pushing ourselves up the coast! Nightime was a diffeent story, with strange currents pushing us around and a lack of wind...

We stopped in Caleta de Campo the next day and Eric came down with a high fever and sore throat. I doctored him up with Ibuprofene, chicken soup and cool towels on his forehead while he snoozed in and out over the next two days. When his fever broke, we took a walk into town. Very, very peculiar. The beach was beautiful, but when we headed towards town, unfriendly locals greeted us with suspicion. We gathered a few provisions (tomatoes, cauliflower and some beef) and high-tailed it bak to the comfort of Nanu. We think we got that kind of greeting because of all the strange drug activities in the area. Other cruisers we talked to got the same strange reaction from the locals.

We motor-sailed north from Caleta de Campo and by mid-afternoon, dropped anchor at Cabeza Negra. We could finally swim in the water! Both of us jumped into the water and practically drooled the entire time we had our hop-in-hop-out saltwater showers! ...But the anchorage sucked.

By 9pm we were holding on for dear life as the boat bucked and rolled in the tumultuous waters. We finally gave up trying to sleep and pulled anchor. It was a wild ride along the coast until around 1:30am. The boat swayed and rolled with the crazy seas and the lack of wind did nothing to stabilize the boat. We pulled back into Manzanillo exhausted, just in time to wave goodbye to Tranquilo.

Nobody saw us all day- we were fast asleep.

Emerging today, we eneded up provisioning at Soriana's, and by evening we had hauled 22 gallons of fresh water to the boat. Only 60 more gallons to go!

From here, we're heading north to Tenecatita. We're planning on taking a vacation from the dirty water of these towns, and the busy streets that often make us want to scream for some enchanting scenery and clear ocean water.

Next update might be awhile, but I'm sure we'll be full of new and exciting stories of the non-city life!

P.S. The chicken this evening was great!

The Adventures of Rachael and Stitch...

2010-02-08T07:51:00.000-08:00

A cool breeze and rain started our morning off this morning. In the darkness we ran around the boat trying to keep sails dry and closing hatches. Eric and I looked skeptically up at the sky. This couldn't be the next trough of weather that Don's been predicting, could it?

Since the last weather scare a few day ago, people along the coast have been quick to point out menacing clouds or an unfamiliar stir of the (usually) predictable winds.

For those of you who weren't holding on for dear life last Tuesday, here's a quick recap of what happened here at Las Hadas.

I had been typing up an article to submit to Latitude about the fantastic healthcare Eric recieved during his stay at Echauri health clinic that night. At around 10pm, the wind began to blow and rain started coming down the front hatch. Bummer. I was curled up in bed with the laptop.

Taking down the windscoop, I noticed that lightning was lighting up the mountains along the coastline time after time again...

By 11pm, both Eric and I were wide awake. Wind was whipping through the anchorage and rain was driving down so hard that the jumbled seas at times appeared to flatten. Anxious and concerned radio conversations flooded the VHF radio as fellow cruiseres checked in on each other. Frantic flashlights lit up the anchorage as we compared distances with others around us to see if we had dragged. The wind and rain continued until around 3am, when finally the heavens decided to give us a break.

Three boats dragged that night in Las Hadas. The Fatty Knees was filled up with enough freshwater that when I went to bail it out, I was up to my knees in water. I took advantage of it and managed to have a bath, but it rained the whole of the next day and I found the same amount of water in the dinghy the next morning as well.

Havoc had struck up and down the coast. Caught offguard, boats dragged in anchorages from La Cruz (near Puerto Vallarta) that 88 knot winds were reported, to Tenecatita where aluminum biminy's were twisted into irrepairable pieces of material and metal, to Barra where the muddy bottom served as a nightmare holding spot for any boat wanting to stay in one place.

Despite the dragging boats up the coast, very few casualties were reported. A woman reportedly broke her arm when flying deck furniture hit her in La Cruz... but all in all, the cruising community was fortunate.

This is Latitude's recap of the storm: http://www.latitude38.com/lectronic/lectronicday.lasso?date=2010-02-05&dayid=384#Story4

Nothing exceptionally exciting has happened since.

Eric and I are regulars around the Las Hadas hotel, where the security guards and staff go out of their way to come and say hello and have a chat with us.

During the really warm days before the storm I was taking a daily swim in the cold, freshwater pool, but since the storm the temperature has dropped dramatically.

We've gone to just about every provisioning superstore we know of to compare prices and have found that we prefer Soriana's for the prices- and for their bakery that's a delight to walk through, but very difficult to leave without a handful of tasty cookies and pastries.

Our ice cream dates have been going fantastically well. Often I skip the ice cream and get a litre of fresh-squeezed orange juice from one of the stores. I never get tired of it!

On one of the rainy days I made cheesecake and Eric, Kevin (S/V Tashee) and I gobbled it down over an afternoon coffee.

One day I sailed the Fatty Knees clear past 3/4 of the way across the bay to go and see another tanker ship, called "Prometheus Leader." My sailing skills have been on the rise, but when I called Eric from the handheld VHF to check in, I

realized how far I had gone and after heading to the big tanker's stern to find out that they were from Singapore, I did a quick tack and sailed directly home.

After getting a little tired of the usual Soriana's, WalMart, Commercial walk, we took a bus down to the Manzanillo malecon and enjoyed a good walk along there. There were tons of nautical-oriented statues, but nothing of genuine interest...

Lou and and Marge from S/V Seabird came into the anchorage a few days ago on their Swan 51. Lou has been an invaluable source of company and knowledge for us for the past couple of days. A couple of nights ago Lou came over for dinner and we talked about everything from sailing to history to books- a refreshing change from sails and repair work. He dazzled us with a tour of his boat and Eric told me not to get too comfortable on Seabird.

I had never seen a Swan before going onto Seabird. The sleek design of her gave her sailing capabilities away. With no dodger and easy access to all of her three-speed self-tailing winches (that were bigger than our anchor!), she is a piece of work. Looking up to the top of her mast just about broke your neck, and comparing the thickness of Nanu's lines to Seabird's would make anybody chuckle. Everything was SO big!

Last night Lou, Kevin, Eric, me and Kris and Joel (S/V 40 Love) went for a nice dinner at the little restaurant where Eric and I go for ice cream. Good times were had by all!

We're getting excited about leaving this anchorage. We're slowly filling up water tanks and provisioning so that we can hopefully leave in the next few days to the secluded anchoarge of Carrizol, where we got the coconuts last time we were there!

From there our plans are to go 180 miles south to Zijutenejo and then do a u-turn and head back up the coast. From there, we're not sure what we're doing or where we're going.

But we promise, we'll keep everyone in the loop when the time comes!

The Lessons of Life...

2010-01-29T16:15:00.000-08:00

I was looking at the anchor snubber today and noticed that it had been sitting in the water for long enough that it had developed a small garden of sea life. Bright yellow and black fish hung in the shade of the anchor chain and a thin layer of crystallized salt has formed where the rope meets the water. Such is life in the slow lane these days.

Eric accidentally knocked the frigate into the water with a coconut, after originally planning to scare it away from our dinghy painter. And then it was a rescue mission to save the big frigate. These birds can't fly after their wings get wet!

It was less than a week ago (before Eric's emergency) when Eric and I arrived in Carrizol, a beautiful anchorage tucked only a few miles north of Manzanillo. Not a single building littered the steep-to shoreline and a lovely palm tree patch looked down over a small rocky beach at the far end of the cove.

What a wonderful surprise it was to wake up to crystal clear water and a cool breeze the next morning! We could see our anchor 35 feet below us and the area just begged to be explored! We rowed to shore that day, anchored just off the beach and swam in. After doing a bit of beachcombing (and returning with nothing of value) we clambered up a cleared path and came to a lovely vista point with a well-maintained road leading up into the hilly region.

Leave it to Eric to find useful things (like 5/8" hose for our cockpit drain) in an abandoned Jeep parked up in the foothills by Carrizol!

We spent several hours wandering around the area that seemed to once have been the site of a major building project- with signs pointing to cleared out areas for condos and aparetments that never got built. Gardens with avocado trees and other vegetables stood forlorn on the roads ridden with weeds.

After our exploring we returned to the palm trees and spent several hours tossing rocks up at the towering palm trees in the hopes that we could get some sweet coconut juice. After competing to see who could knock more down and clean them on the curb at the road (and giggling until our gyts hurt and our arms were sore from peeling and throwing rocks), we walked back to the beach with eight coconuts!

Our coconut adventures left us full of sweet juice and coconut fruit, and our bodies sore from throwing rocks, peeling husks, and laughing!

That night our wonderful friends Linda and Mike from Tranquilo invited us along with a single hander, Kevin from Tashee for dinner onboard their boat. We talked well into the night and enjoyed a barbeque with real charcoal...which was a real treat!

Americans and their football. Pfft. Just about the whole anchorage in Barra joined together at a hotel to watch the football game. We came for the internet... and to cheer for NY... because everyone else was cheering for San Diego. NY won!

The next morning, We forced Eric into Tranquilo's dinghy and we rushed him into Manzanillo to see the hotel doctor for severe abdominal pain. After the doctor assured us it was only an intestinal infection, we stocked up on antibiotics and EletroLyte juice and headed back to Carrizol.

The next morning we were introduced to Berk, Casey and "Mighty Quin" from the sailboat Isis. After I gobbled down from Mac and Cheese, Kevin and the Isis crew and I went snorkelling on the wonderful reef at the anchorage... Quin could name just about every fish you pointed at, and even knew ones if you could describe them to him! Not bad for a four year old!

We left that afternoon to Las Hadas for a follow-up appointment with the doctor. The wind was wonderful- on our stern at around 15 knots. Although Eric wasn't well enough to set our jib up with the spinnaker to sail wing-on-wing, our main had us going at a hot 4.8 knots the majority of the 4-mile sail.

Las Hadas anchorage is nice, but the regular water skiiers that do circles around the boats are a headache. At least the hotel pool is free...

Since Eric's operation things have been slow and relatively benign. I'm beginning to really enjoy our mandatory walks that Eric's doctor has prescibed him. No more alcohol for the poor fellow, so we go for an "ice cream date" everyday- it gives us something to look forward to after the hot and sometimes painful walks.

Eric's recovery is going so well that he often surprises me now at his grinning and usual self (that I haven't seen in quite some time!).

Although the recovery period is going to be a long one, Las Hadas is full of beautiful gardens and pathways and has access to pools and... of course, ICE CREAM!

A beautiful sunset over Las Hadas hotel grounds. The gardens and amenities here are beautiful... although you better be wealthy to get a room here... they start at $500/night!

We'll keep everyone updated on how the ice cream dates are going, and whether as Eric heals, he gets to the ice cream parlour faster than before!

If we have learned anything out of this ordeal, it's that you never know what's around the bend for you...

Eric's strength is coming back in full force. This picture was taken only a couple of days after his operation. We were in Paradise Restaurant!

We hope all is well and everyone is healthy and safe and enjoying the weather (whatever it may be) this crazy, crazy season!

Still Grinning...

2010-01-25T15:05:00.001-08:00

For those of you who have been honed in on the VHF and SSB for news on our current situation, we're happy to announce that everything is fine.

Three days ago Eric was admitted to the Echauri Medical clinic in Manzanillo with severe abdominal pain and after a series of tests, x-rays and abdominal scans, it was found that since his last accident, scar tissue had completely closed off his intestines leading to a severe medical condition called an ileus.

After several specialists assesed his condition, they agreed that an emergency surgical procedure called a lysis had to be performed to cut out the scar tissue to allow his intestines to work again.

Although it was a sleepless, coffee-drinking, stressful day, he emerged out of surgery fine. Less than an hour later he was chatting with me and although severe pain still ecisted, the doctors were happy with the outcome.

Today, three days later, we're sitting together in his hospital room. He has had his first real food consisting of lemon jell-o and hot tea and iced tea and his stomach is managing it well.

Doctors are optimistic that we may be free to go back to Nanu, anchored in Las Hadas, by tomorrow.

Because of post surgical health risks and the idea of being somewhere (further south) that may not have as good health care as we've recieved here, our plans are on a daily basis... which, makes it much, much more interesting.

We will have to stay in Manzanillo for much longer than planned to allow Eric time to recuperate and ensure that he is 100% before we move again. Although the southern hemsiphere looks enticing, his health is our major concern.

We have no idea where we're gpoing from here.

The important thing is, that we're both together, Eric is healing fine and nanu is anxiously awaiting our arrival after our four night stay in the hospital.

We'll have some wicked pictures of some serious resting and recuperating at Las Hadas hotel, and the streets around Manzanillo.

We hope everyone is in fine health and good spirits.
More from us later!

That Is A Crocodile...

2010-01-18T14:38:00.000-08:00

Eric and I are sitting at the edge of the Barra Lagoon bickering over who's more computer savvy. I cannot get my computer to connect to the internet. Pfft. There's a strong cool breeze coming from the north (for once) and strange exotic birds chrip in the background. Pangas make periodic stops at the local restaurants before professionally maneuvering their way back around the other pangas and zooming off to yet another calling on their VHF.

Eric just gave me a scrunched up face... he's gotten my computer to connect.

Such is life in Mexico these days. We couldn't wait to get our hands on a good internet connection to say hello to everyone!

We've gotten into the habit of sailing just about everywhere we go. Eric has become a master at our symmetrical spinnaker and we have even become quite competent at anchoring under sail as well. We arrived in Tenecatita exactly that way, with our bright red and white spinnakker flying until we could no longer, and both of us skittered about the boat preparing the anchor...

Tenecatita was fascinating and fun, with all kinds of interesting adventures to fil our memory books.

On our second day there, we decided to attempt the jungle river trip to Revelsito, a four mile trip through narrow twists and turns surrounded (full canopy) by mangroves that find nutrients in the brackish tidal waters. People chuckled at us as we rowed past the anchored boats and headed up the river... as the tide was going out.

The trip up the river was a fun row until we got to the narrow section of the river, where we had to pull up the oars and use them like paddles and row our way through twisted mangroves while exotic birds flew within arms reach of us. Inguanas hung off of branches and the constant reminder that crocodiles made their homes there kept my eyes sharp and my paddle moving quickly (even though Eric's seven-foot oars were so incredibly heavy!).

Nothing could get this kid more excited than a fast-paced river trip careening around corners at wide-open speed...

We spent a short time in Revelsito with our friends from Lazy Days, Ron and Sheryl, and checked out the surf on the outer bay.

After a couple of pokes and prods by Ron, he convinced us that it was a wise decision to get towed out of the mangroves before dark to escape the mosquitos and the four of us did a wide-eyed wide-open dinghy train through the narrow river. I've never seen Eric smile so constantly as we missed trees by a hair, and left a wake that would put a tanker ship to shame!

We took the Fatty Knees on an adventure to find surf, and wound up five miles across the bay in La Manzanilla (a slight detour) and wandered the streets of the VERY gringo town. Aside from the splendid sandwiches we had at a small family-owned restaurant, the highlight was the 10 to 12 foot crocodiles that lined the shores of the mangroves. Those things are huge! Although parts of the fence that protected human from croc was still there, there were big gaps that left people frightened to step much closer to the edge of the pond!

This was as close as I wanted to get to the crocs while Eric held the camera...

Greg and Deb from Lion's Paw finally caught up with us... after a year of not seeing them! We spent two nights with them at the anchorage, and had a hard time catching up with everything that's happened since we last saw them... we giggled well into the nights and promised we would catch up with them, as they departed for Las Hadas.

Our trip to Barra was interesting. Deb had lent me a novel that I have become slightly addicted to, and Eric spent his time watching a several squalls pass over as we headed south. The rain pummelled every amchorage in the area and the wind switched from south, to directly north, which made our sail alot nicer! More on weather later.

Barra de Navidad has been fun so far, but we're certainly looking at our options again. The lagoon is dead flat, which is strange compared to being in an anchorage out on the ocean. Barra is a surf town, and it shows. Eric and I spent the whole afternoon today surfing on a beach break off of the town with our friends from Delos. It was wonderful, after not being able to swim in the lagoon (there are theories that it could be some very, very dirty water!).

We have been mingling with other cruisers in town, and it's never a surprise to bump into someone you know on a regular basis. Eric is getting his fill of cheap tacos at Mexico Lindos, while I am still searching for somewhere with cheap tortilla soup!

We have only a few things to take care of before we head south. We've been getting free water from the fuel docks here, but we haven't gotten potable water in a long time and today we drank our last drop of "safe" water. Time to hit up a tienda!

From here we are planning on heading to Manzanillo and from there, to Zijuatenejo... onwards and downwards!

Take care to everyone, and we wish you all well!

More pictures later...

From Paraiso...

2010-01-10T07:17:00.000-08:00

Hola!
Just a quick update while we have internet...

There's nothing more wonderful than rolling out of bed, walking straight out the companionway, up onto the side of the boat and jumping into the crystal clear water of a sheltered little cove.

We left La Cruz only a few days ago, but already our stops have felt more fulfilling.

Following the wind, we found ourseleves at our first anchorage on the south shore of Banderas Bay at an anchorage called Quimixto. As we dropped anchor, I marvelled at the wonderful green peaks, quaint houses and happy children running along the beach. Eric marvelled at the awesome left-hand wave that was only a short paddle from the boat.

We spent two nights there, hiking, doing the laundry (by hand) ...and surfing.

Children playing in the freshwater river running through Quimixto.

We passed around Corrientes with little drama.

The wind did circles around us, and we were often left flopping around in the waves before we turned on the engine. We lost our wind vane around 3 in the morning as we were rounding the cape. Both of us heard a "THUNK!" and then saw a dolphin playing around the boat, and then the wind vane wasn't working... we can only guess what happened!

We stopped in Chamela for one miserable, rolly night. By 8:30 am we had pulled anchor and were heading south to warmer more suitable anchorages for the goofy southerly weather.

The wind died conveniently as we passed Paraiso anchorage, about ten miles south of Chamela. Poking our nose into the unpopular anchorage we found paradise. Crystral clear water with a sand bottom greeted us. Caves of every shape and size littered the small islands and mainshore. Between dinghying around and exploring and enjoying the refreshing, wonderful water, we were ecstatic to have stopped.

Old ruins littered the beaches around Quimixto... they were fun to explore and wander around...!

Last night we spent the night on a quaint beach drinking wine and sharing adventures with two couples from Tranquilo and Lazy Days. We laughed well into the night and only called it quits when it got dark...

Eric sailing around in the Fatty Knees in beautiful Paraiso anchorage...

Now we're planning on sticking our heads into Careyes- just to see what it looks like, and then meet up with our friends in Tenecatita!

Until then, fair winds and happy adventures!

...I'll put up pictures when I have time later!

Run, shiny boy!

2010-01-02T07:15:00.000-08:00

A cloudy morning greeted us as the sun rose this morning. Another rainy day in paradise- a curiosity these days, as Banderas Bay is not used to heavy rainfall. Locals have told us they haven't seen rain like this in decades, and it's quite obvious. The streets and tree leaves that are normally caked with dust have been cleaned regularly from the heavy rains and everything seems clean- and green!

After the arid, tree-less scenery of the Baja, it's fun to spot the beautiful flowers and trees that make this area so beautiful...

Our trip over from Cabo san Lucas was an uneventful one. For the first day that we sailed, the seas were a mirror, with not even a hint of wind. Sea turtles and dolphins broke up the glassy water occassionally as we read our books on "How to Sail Around the World," by Hal Roth. Eric regualrly mumbled about the lack of wind and we juggled sails in and out of the cockpit as clouds dumped their rain showers. It was only on our third day of motorsailing that the wind picked up- from the south.

The sail to La Cruz had no wind, some rain and was a pretty uneventful three-day crossing...

Within a half hour, the seas began kicking up from two different directions and Nanu flopped around in them. The wind was irregular- from 0-35 knots every half hour, which made for alot of sail changes and uncomfortable sailing. In the end, Eric gave up and we sailed with a double-reefed main and 150 jib going between 6knots to 6.8 past the three prison colony islands. At one point in the frustrating conditions, Eric lost the main sail halyard and the two of us spent about half an hour on the foredeck with the gaff hook trying to catch it as it swung around in the crazy wind and seas...!

Sailing into Banderas Bay at night was a little nerve-racking. We had two different cruising manuals with two different sets of directions to go through the Tres Marietas islands. The GPS maps are about 1.5 miles off so at one point, it looked like we were sailing on land... We had another good scare with a whale once we got through the islands as he popped up to get some air- right beside us.

We anchored in La Cruz at around 1:00 in the morning on the 23rd and have been enjoying the slow Mexican lifestyle ever since.

La Cruz is beautiful. Cobblestone roads make up the majority of the streets that weave in and out of traditional mexican houses and small tiendas. The town hasn't seen too much american-influenced development yet so the traditional Mexican restaurants and feeling still lingers in the air. We already see hints of development here though, so it won't be long before it loses it's charm to time-share sharks and party-hungry tourists...

La Cruz is still a small mexican town, relatively untouched by the tourist industry and resorts that make up much of Puerto Vallarta

Christmas was lovely. We went for a brunch at Ana Banana's and enjoyed live classical music by several amazing bands. We were invited by our friends on Pacific Jade to go to Punta Mita and enjoy christmas afternoon on the beach with a group of expats who now call la Cruz their home. The company was wonderful and we enjoyed meeting up with old friends and meeting new ones! We went to the local community center that evening, and over a few drinks watched about 500 local kids recieve gifts from "Santa." The line-up of kids stretched down the block...

Children line up at the door to Phyllo's restaurant to accept a bag of gifts from santa on Christmas eve...

Eric's bamboo tree served as our christmas tree and christmas carols echoed through the length of Nanu! We opened some splendid gifts from friends and family and slurped on egg nog! That night Eric got on Skype and talked with his family in Foster city and I got to say hello via telephone to my family up in snowy Kirkland Lake.

After christmas, when immigration re-opened, we sailed to Nuevo Vallarta and checked into the country. Despite horror stories of bribery, crooked officials and just general unpleasant experiences, we decided that we would assess the situation for ourseleves rather than hiring a "paperman". We were greeted by friendly port captains, english-speaking agricultural and customs officers and a team of immigration officials that had Eric and I smiling the entire time that they went through our paperwork. We arrived at around 9am, and were checked in with visas and on our way back to La Cruz by 2pm, only short of all of our fresh produce.

Me standing outside the port captain's office in Nuevo Vallarta. The officials were english-speaking and courteous!

Since christmas, we've been taking life in the slow lane. I've gone to a few jam sessions at the Brittania pub and played with some extremely talented musicians. Eric seems to know just about everyone here and we're often busy catching up with old friends. Eric's managed to go surfing right on the beach at La Cruz. I paddled around, but didn't catch anything. Not only did Eric catch waves, he also caught a sea urchin- in his foot- which has been giving him some painful grief lately, as the spines slowly come out.

Eric and I have shown up to the jam nights at Brittania's and have become fond of the exceptional music and fun company that gathers there...!

We spent New Years' eve at a couple of different local bars, enjoying live music at both Phyllo's and the Brittania pub. I'm still feeling the after-effects of that night!

Eric and I bumped into an old friend from Marina La Cruz while at a New Years' party at Brittania Pub...

Yesterday Eric and I committed the majority of the day to climbing up into the forested area around La Cruz. It was lovely! Eric suggested we follow a dried up river bed up into the surrounding hills. Four miles later, we were surrounded by lush greenery. Trees with massive trunks were hosts to green vines that hung right to the ground. Wild papaya trees grew in abundance and other odd trees were spotted along the dirt road that we eventually ended up walking along. Beautiful birds and butterflies accented the already beautiful flowers and- eventually- we even ended up at some real flowing freshwater! When we got to the end of the road, looking around, we were smack dab in the middle of the green jungly hills that surround the area...

It's hard to explain the look of satisfaction on Eric's face after we caught up with some freshwater (which he had sworn up and down would be there...

The scenery was splendid in the backwoods and kept us gawking in one direction or another...!

After our hike, we found ourselves at Yaya's. Yaya (or grandma in english) owns a small restaurant in La Cruz that Eric and I have been regular visitors at. On top of fresh-squeezed orange juice that she makes right in front of you, she's got everything from cheeseburgers and fantastic sandwiches (on awesome fresh-baked buns), to traditional spanish skewers and some entertaining company!

Jose, Yaya and Eric in Yaya's restaurant. She's a wealth of information about the surrounding area...

We've already been into Bucerias and done our main provisioning, so we can move on south. After being at Mega, both of us agreed that most of the basic foodstuffs we got at Mega could have been obtained at the small tienda's here in town- for much less! Today we're planning on getting five more gallons of fresh drinking water, tooping up our water tanks and getting some more veggies to top up our veggie hammock.

One of the simple things we take for granted back home is healthy drinking water. Eric is walking through La Cruz on a mission to find potable water... It ranges in price from 25 to 30 pesos for 5 gallons.

Eric has a couple of things he would like to do with the engine, but other than that, we are at the mercy of the wind. Neither of us are exceptionally fond of motoring anymore, so we've aggreed that from now on, we go when the wind blows- and we stay when it doesn't. From here we're off to Tenecatita. It's got a jungle river trip that everyone raves about...!

As much as we dislike motoring, when Joe and Deb from Pacific Jade offered us a tow on a windless day, we welcomed it. We hadn't taken out the oars until that day.

We'll try to say hello soon!

Happy New Years' to everyone! We hope this year brings you endless opportunity and good health.

Tin Cup for a Chalice...

2009-12-20T21:04:00.000-08:00

San Diego.

The skyline of big lights and tons and tons of sailboats. What a marvel it was for Eric and I to sit on the shoreline of Shelter Island in San Diego and watch countless boats sailing swiftly past us as they sailed with full spinnakers through the finish line! Originally it was thought that we would spend only a few days in San Deigo- enough to mount some solar panels, get some water and fuel, perhaps fix our transmission and be back at sea. Oh gosh, how dearly we were wrong!

One thing after another seemed to plague our San Diego visit. After Eric installed our solar panels, he found that one was not working at all- and had to be exchanged. After a few days of doubting that we had the right transmission parts, our prayers were answered after looking at some internet schematic drawings (thank goodness for the internet!). Somewhere in there I came down with the stomach flu and spent a day hurling into the toilet and resting...

Our big city visit wasn't quite as bad as you may picture in your minds, however. While wandering through West Marine, Eric bumped into an old cruising friend Sheilagh Goetsch and we spent a lovely evening aboard Sheilagh and Jim's S/V Aurora, a Valiant 42, trading stories of what had happened over the last year, and giggling over past memories and future plans. It was a nice break from the monotonous days of waiting for parts and allowed me to see yet another beautiful boat!

Eric's parents made a surprise visit down to us one of those days and we enjoyed a fun dinner with them, as well as a small tour of San Diego's more historic points of interest...

Eric walking through historical San Diego. The multiculturalism here and history was really interesting!

As well, San Diego has some great cruising stores. Eric and I frequented Downwind Marine and the Marine Exchange more times than we could shake a stick at, whether it be for spinnaker chocks, screws and nuts and bolts, or rigging. We cannot thank them enough for being so helpful!
We left San Diego on our tenth day at the Police Docks. Full of fuel, water and cookie dough (and other things, of course!), we began our 650-mile sail south towards Bahia Santa Maria.

The first couple of days gave me hope for never being seasick again. The seas were relatively smooth with small waves at long intervals, and the wind was tempermental, but kept us going for the most part. We enjoyed the dolphins and sea life and Eric was even daring enough to make a beef pot roast out at sea...!

Eric's first fish- a 15-lb Yellowfin Tuna that we greedily dug into and had for lunch!

The next couple of days were to be reckoned with. A goofy swell coming from two directions gave us a run for our money (and for my stomach). A northern swell came from behind us, pushing us south, and nearly right after, a wave from the east would slam into Nanu, leaving both of us listening to Nanu lurching around hoping she'd make it through. It was certainly an adventure! Between (quite literally) dodging cruise ships and tankers, pounding back Dramamine pills and changing sails on a regular basis, we were happy to head into Sta. Maria.

We got into Sta. Maria after dark. Our wind meter (which we had become quite a bad habit for judging the wind) had kicked the bucket a few days into the sail, and our autopilot was also out of commission. When we turned on the engine (from our perspective) it appeared it was smoking heavily out the exhaust (which turned out to only be normal exhaust that showed up more in the LED lights). We anchored without much hassle... we were the only ones in the bay. As soon as the anchor was dropped, we opened up a bottle of wine, sat across from each other and errupted in laughter. What a goofy predicament we were in!

Interesting geology and rock formations was everywhere on the craggy cliffs and beaches at Bahia Santa Maria

The autopilot was quickly fixed with spare parts from another one aboard, and we have since learned the art of judging wind direction and speed by a piece of flagging tape tied to our backstay. While on a rampage of fixing things, Eric tightened the stuffing box and double-checked that our engine wasn't pouring out noxious black smoke like we could have sworn it was motoring. We passed the emmissions test with an "A".

Eric setting the anchor for our dinghy so it would still be there when we got back (tides).

We were trying to figure out our christmas plans, so we wrote them out. In the sand. At low tide...

We spent two days bumbling around Sta. Maria. I humored myself with finding "the Ultimate Sand Dollar," while Eric humored himself with playing chicken with the numerous crabs in the area (who become quite aggressive if you chicken them too much!) and digging (unsuccessfully) for clams. Our first morning we traded four rolls of lifesavers and two AA batteries for four lobsters and had a meal fit for the kings that evening. We went for a long hike the next day and stumbled upon an old fishing village, presumably flattened by the most recent hurricane. We ended up on the outer shore of Sta. Maria and marvelled at the beauty of the area we were in.

Our Fatty Knees has become the source of much entertainment, as well as transportation.

We had a ball on the beaches climbing in and around the sea caves and other natural formations in the rocks...

Two AA batteries and four rolls of lifesavers scored us four lobster for dinner that evning!

That evening we had drinks aboard S/V Fiona, a Westsail 42. Eric, the captain had just finished doing the Nothwest passage, and we marvelled in his stories and Eric (from Nanu) picked his brain about cruising into remote locations.

We left Sta. Maria by 3am and spent... largely most of that day motoring. The wind was gusty and we often rolled in the jib and main rather than watch them get pushed around on the spreaders or bang back and forth on the boom.

We came very, very, verrrry close to hitting four whales as they swam in front of us our first day heading to Cabo. The sea was teeming with life and after the close call, we kept our eyes glued to the horizon. Eric caught his 20-lb Dorado shortly after and we had a lovely lunch of dorado steak and rice. We still have 1/2 of the dorado steak left!

Eric's beautiful Dorado will keep us fed for awhile, with 1 1/2" steaks as long as the fish iteslf!

Coming into Cabo was an interesting experience. As we anchored, not less than 20 jet skiis whizzed around us driven by wreckless half-intoxicated tourists. Locals in pangas were not afraid to come alongside the boat and ask us if we needed anything from water taxi rides to jet ski rentals to info on the latest party scene... We quickly learned that to appreciate Cabo, you had to have a beer (or two) in your system so you could fit in with the rest of the yahoos...

I insisted on this picture that gave credit to how Cabo really is, quite a pretty place...

Cabo really is a pretty place, although extremely crowded and over-americanized. The water is crystal clear and refreshingly cool to swim in. We spent some time at a beach bar called the Mango Deck and fell into conversation with a couple of locals. The four of us joked and conversed through the evening until we finally decided we had to get back to the boat. Today, we explored more of the inner city. We compared prices of juice crystals from the gringo market to a small Mercado in the more "Mexican" areas, and got some essentials like toilet paper, tortilla chips and some fresh veggies.

The busy city streets of Cabo were our first re-introduction to Mexico. I'm still awe-struck...!

Tomorrow we're planning on leaving. We need fuel and water, and then plan to be heading south towards La Cruz.

We're hoping to celebrate Christmas at Phyllo's!

If you don't hear from us before the 24th, Merry Christmas and Happy New Years...!

We hope that this holiday season finds you in the company of good friends, good food and in great spirits and health. When eating that 'one last christmas cookie,' blame it on Eric or I, and chow it down. We'll do the same for everyone else...

Surf's Up, Duuuude!

2009-11-29T23:07:00.000-08:00

Point Conception wasn't nearly as exciting as we had anticipated. Stories of raging seas and ruin as the strong winds pushed around the point had my imaginative mind think of crashing waves and frothy water, despite Eric's reassurance it wasn't going to be too bad. The sea was exactly opposite. Seas were benign and the sky was sunny and warm. By the time we were alongside the point (within view of the lighthouse), we had tossed our jackets below decks and pulled on our sunglasses. We had a steady wind from behind us at about 12 knots and munched on Eric's homemade bread as we rounded the point...

The notorious Point Conception was ultimately a thrill-seeker's let down as we sailed it's benign waters...

Point Conception's lighhouse was a cute, sun-bleached house and tower visible from several miles away

We had barely dropped our anchor on the other side of Point Conception and Eric had already pulled out the fin key, two surfboards and our wetsuits. We were at Hollister Ranch (or Cojo Anchorage) and some of the most perfect waves were breaking only a few hundred feet away from Nanu. I looked at the rocky shoreline and two boats wrecked along the shore I was a little more skeptical, but the surf was up...and Eric was already paddling out...

Wrecked sailboats along the shore at Cojo were somber reminders of careless anchoring drills.

The convenience of having a surf spot a small paddle away from our home was indescribable!

I spent that evening on the beach, watching Eric happier than ever riding waves along the shore. I took a tour along the endless sandy beach and humored myself with the sealions that took a keen ineterest in the fact that Eric could catch waves. They would sneak up behind him and when he turned around, they'd slip under water and out of sight. Down the beach two beached sailboats- one identical to Nanu were somber reminders of what southerly winds and improper anchoring gear will do for you. I surfed the next morning further down the beach, where there were less rocks and enjoyed the mellow waves that seemed to break just right... every time...

Eric didn't hesitate at catching the waves along Hollister Ranch and surfed for two days until he couldn't anymore...

We skipped past the Channel Islands and sailed through the Santa Cruz Channel straight to Catalina Island. It was a lovely sail, although in the end we resorted to the engine, as glassy waters signalled our approach to Catalina.

The flat waters were frustrating for us sailors, but also allowed for a pod of dolphins to play along with us...

In the early morning as we were arriving at Catalina I was on deck and was host to a spectacular show by several dolphins on our bow. They swam with us for nearly forty-five minutes before finally finding something more interesting to do. It was really quite alot of fun hanging my feet over the edge and listening to them!

Catalina was not what I had expected it to be. Tall, desolate hills/mountains reached up on either side of our anchorage. Very little greenery was anywhere to be seen, and what was green was only knee-high scrubs, able to survive in the near-desert conditions. Roads webbed their way up the sides of the escarpments in bright red lines and hummers and Land Rovers dominated the streets. The small town of Two Harbors was not paved and was very rustic, but touristy. One bar, two restaurants and a small general store made up most of the town, with the exception of perhaps fifty trailer/houses. A can of tomato sauce was $3.50.

The town of Two Harbors on Catalina Island.

We spent American Thanksgiving at Two Harbors, and Eric treated me to dinner out that night at the restaurant. Turkey, stuffing, potatoes and butternut squash were placed in front of us, and shortly after, none other than pumpkin pie. We were stuffed!

A fun road that took me back down the mountainside to Two Harbors. Palm trees lined the red dirt road the whole way...

Aside from the scenery, Catalina had something else that she was reknowned for. Exceptionally strong winds. Running down off of the mountains, we were blasted for two days straight of gusting winds up to 50knots, making for sleepless nights and days on the boat yearning to go to shore but knowing we had to watch the boat (for fear she might drag anchor and end up on the rocks). The last day we were in the anchorage Eric stayed on the boat and I meandered a few trails to some mountain ridges and got a better look at where we were.

A hot, dry climate allowed for only cactus and small shrubs on the island once outside the town's irrigation system

We were treated to strong winds as we left Catalina in the evening that tossed Nanu around as we double-reefed the main sail. Although it was only at its worst as we headed around the island, it was enough to put me in a sorry seasick situation and Eric sailed through the night.

We arrived in San Diego yesterday (Sunday) to an exciting array of cruisers lined up at the San Diego's "Transient" Police docks. The air is filled with adventure as people busily run around for their visas, as well as do last minute repairs and preparation for their trip down the Baja.

As for us, we have a few small(er) projects to accomplish before we leave. We have two 55-watt solar panels that have to be mounted and wired for our fridge and other electronics. Our transmission is slipping and although doesn't require immediate work, it needs some TLC. And then it's small things, like visas, and a sail bag filled with so much laundry I have to grunt to lift it...! We'll be busy for awhile, but the weather's great and the company around here is phenomenol.

Breathe in, breathe out... Move on...

2009-11-22T21:02:00.000-08:00

Feeling slightly seasick and staying above deck to ease the urge to throw up, I looked over the horizon and noticed huge spouts of water only a few hundred feet out. Taking a second look, I watched a huge whale jump right out of the water and seconds later a tail flip up towards the sky. Instantly my sea sickness was gone and the camera (and Eric) were up on deck. We were only two hours ouside of Monterrey and already had a parade of whales to see us out."I'm slightly cold. And slightly seasick. But don't worry. If you need anything,
I'll be here."

The wind blew and blew all day and slowly died out through the evening. To both of our delight, our Norvane windvane was able to handle the tight-fitting rudder and worked so well we didn't even use the autopilot until sundown. Eric kept busy on deck changing sails and keeping himself entertained while I tried my best to stay out of the way and out of the smell of food... which triggered my sea sick stomach to rebel...

By the time the sun set, our drifter was flapping helplessly in less than 5 knots of wind and our main flopped around at the mercy of the waves. After rolling in the drifter, the main was short to follow, as was the engine. We motored through the early hours of morning and as dawn broke, the wind began again. As we tossed on our warmer clothes, a pod of around 20 dolphins welcomed us to the Morro Bay area.

The entrance to Morro Bay was described in our cruising manuals as "difficult," and we were nervous heading in. Breaking waves at the mouth of the estuary were common and the port captain had advised us of dredging. Regardless, we entered seamlessly and were awed by the cool scenery in the area.

Eric Navigating the entrance to Morro Bay anchorage.

We spent three days in Morro Bay. The weather was a welcome warm compared to the chillier northern areas and even our cockpit showers were fun! The fatty knees was a really fun mode of transportation and we explored further into the anchorage- right down into the marina that is tucked back past the mooring balls. Eric and I took turns on the tiller and I got a little more comfortable with the capabilities of the Fatty Knees.

Sailing the Fatty Knees to the end of Morro Bay Marina. The entrance was surprisingly shallow.

Morro Bay in all was like a tourist ghost town with some really stellar scenery. The streets you would have thought should be thronging with sunhat-topped tourists and flip-flops and ice cream cones. Instead, local surfers crossed the estuary to the surf on the other side fo the spit, and the bars and restaurants were karaoke-filled locals on a friday night. The streets were empty and the stores were filled with bored shopkeepers, eager to catch the odd sailor on a deal. The fishing industry took a hard hit here and then with the economy so slow, the tousists just hadn't come.

We went on a fish and chips misson one night and had a pumpkin ice cream finale (a goofy story for later!). Eric took me out for chinese food on Saturday night as a bit of a birthday dinner and we had coffee and turnovers at a local bakery. We fixed a hole in one of our spinnakers and I had a bit (okay, ALOT) of fun on one of the parks' playgrounds. Hey, hasn't everyone wanted to be a pirate at one time or another!?

I'm Captain Morgan! Harrrrrghhh!

We were very happy to have the ground tackle we had in the anchorage. The tide was so strong and the wind so strong that it was like being anchored in a river 24 hours a day!

The tide current in the anchorage often had us standing on Nanu's bow wondering how our anchor would hold.

We left Morro Bay this morning, and are now in Avila. The US Coast guard issued a gale warning for Point Conception and we decided to lay low until early tomorrow morning. Avila is quaint. Although right beside Pizmo Beach and other larger towns, it's quaint three-restaurant, one pier, a couple of fish markets and a set of public bathrooms is all that makes up this huge anchorage. As we pulled in, both of us scrunched up our noses to the familar smell of sea birds and sea lions...ew. Morro Bay was much nicer.

Tomorrow we plan on round Point Conception. The point is also known as "the Cape Horne of the Pacific," because of the often turbulent waters and strong winds off of the coast. It is (apparently) also alot warmer on the other side. We can't wait!

After rounding Point Conception we'll be anchoring in Cojo anchorage. It's notorious for awesome surf and is part of the Hollister Ranch, a beach accessible only by boat or with a key.

From there, we may do the channel islands... and... San Diego...

But don't hold your breath. We're planning on enjoying the warmer weather, so San Diego (hopefully) won't be too soon!

It's Five O'Clock Somewhere...

2009-11-18T15:52:00.000-08:00

One of the most exhilerating feelings after so much work on Nanu was finally tossing on a toque, foul weather gear and wool socks and shoes and slipping out of the harbour at Half Moon Bay before the sun even rose. Finally, after nearly two months of work, we pulled up the main sail, and passed between the reefs in Half Moon Bay's waters. As the sun rose, and we could see the open ocean to the south of us, we knew that all of the hard work was worth it. We were on the move.

Before we left we had several other projects to conquer before we were home free...

Nanu's windows, after we got into a two-person routine of laying on sealant, tighetning bolts and carefully cleaning up the frightening mess the black sealant (on the white boat) made was a fun job, but certainly messy and frustating at times. The entire project took two days to complete and was often thretened by ominous clouds and rain. After the last window was sealed, both of us stood out on the dock beside Nanu and looked at her. After the initial shock of how much they changed the look of the boat, we now look at her and tell each other, "Rock on! She's ready for anything!"

Nanu's finished windows make them look bigger than the original, but are much more seaworthy!

The new rudder for Nanu turned out to be a bit of a nightmare. The rudder shaft was 1/16" too large for the bearing that it had to fit into and Eric and I spent alot of time hoaning out the hole and putting in, and taking out the rudder time after time. Even now, it's a tight fit and the autopilot has a good workout everytime we get him working!

Our new rudder is taking some getting used to, and was a real challenge to get right.

Eric made several more trips up the mast before we could call it a done deal. Our HAM antenna had to be mounted, along with a brand new backstay. When Eric's dad walked up to the boat with the backstay both of us said, "Whoa! BIG!" And big it is... Our backstay is now a 5/16" stainless steel backstay, big enough to support a 45' boat's mast.

We had a few more adventures in Half Moon Bay before we left...

While I was on a rescue mission of the hoan diving below the boat where the rudder would normally come out, a fisherman came over to Nanu and wistfully asked if I was a diver. I immediately answered no, but he asked if I could do him a favor and look at his propeller. 40minutes later, I walked back to Eric and Nanu with $150 worth of fresh crab and a $20 bill after cutting a bunch of rope from the fisherman's propeller. Eric and I invited our friend Nick down to the boat for a goodbye sort of dinner of a crab boil and we ate crab and drank wine until the early morning hours...

My payment for 40 minutes worth of work. The fisherman felt bad that he hadn't given me more...

Provisioning was a fun adventure at Trader Joe's and a couple of other stores. I was the cookie monster and Eric was the bread and pancake pumpkin king. We loaded up on everything from baking powder to pasta to oranges to our favorite $2.00 wine... it was fun laying it out at the end of the day and looking at everything we had gotten. MmmMmm- chocolate!

We could barely wait to dig into our pantries after filling them up!

Our original plan was to head north to San Francisco to visit Eric's sister and her husband. We worked until nearly three in the morning before tossing off the lines at our slip and beginning to head north. By four am, we were pounding through square seas... which means the height of the waves were equal to the length... which makes for very hard sailing. The wind was blowing from the north, and waves broke over Nanu's bow. It was the biggest stuff I had ever seen in my life. I clung on while Eric did everything, simply amazed that I wasn't throwing up over the edge from sea sickness. An hour an a half later we agreed that we were going nowhere and beating up the boat and ourselves. We turned around and headed back into the harbour and anchored.

After recovering from our northern adventure, we made plans to was to head south (with the wind) to Monterrey and two days later, we woke up early. With hot chocolate and coffee in our hands, we sailed out of HMB and never looked back.

A content Eric sitting on Nanu's bow. He was preparing to change our sail to the 150 Drifter.

The sail down was phenomenal. Early morning we pulled up the main sail and motor-sailed for a few hours before the wind came up. When the wind finally started blowing, we changed out our 120 jib to a 150 drifter and were making 4.5 knots in 8knots of wind. After agreeing we should be changing sails according to wind conditions, Eric decided to experiment with our spinnaker sail (a huge, colorful sail meant for downwind sailing) and in 9 knots of wind, we were doing 6 knots. In 12 knots of wind we were doing 7.5 knots. We managed to shave about 4 hours off of our ETA.

Our spinnaker made for a super-exciting sail from HMB to Monterrey!

We saw whales and sea lions and all kinds of fun and interesting sea life...

Eric's parents met us in Monterrey and we were treated to a tour of Monterrey and Carmel in their motor home. Both towns are historically rich and boast beautiful beaches and crystal clear water. Monterrey has a monarch buterfly reserve that we got a tour of by a friendly local. We wandered around Carmel's beuatiful beaches and enjoyed Monterrey's colorful history of the sardine canning industry that hit rock bottom after the fish left. Now both towns are posh and touristy, but fun to check out.

They also brought cartloads of fun things like christmas presents, Trader Joe's christmas coffee and traditional Danish cookies. Eric has me under control until December 13th (St. Nichlolas Day...a traditional Hungarian celebration) and then I'm breaking out the peppermint chocolate cookies and cinnamon coffee and snowman towels!

Eric's parents managed to get a sunset sail in on their visit to Monterrey.

After two days in Monterrey, we're preparing to set sail again tomorrow morning. Our next stop is either San Simeon ( where we're panning on stopping at the 165-room Hearst Castle), or Morro Bay, (where a 580ft black lava plug stands in the middle of the bay) depending on the wind direction.

Check out our SPOT, because I'm SPOT-happy these days...!

I'se The B'y That Fixes the Ship...

2009-10-26T23:21:00.000-07:00

We're finally back together at Pillar Point Harbour in Half Moon Bay, California. The harbor is south of San Francisco and used to be a hub of salmon fishing vessels that would frequent the waters until the government put a stop on the overfishing. Now there's the two extremes...old delapidated fishing boats with fishermen anxious to tell their tales of the high seas, and mixed between are the cruising sailboats- maintained and loved, and tugging at their lines. Each cruising boat has a fun aura around them- the feeling of anxious adventurers, waiting until the day their dreams can begin...!

My days have been a good mix of exploring the coast and staying at home with Nanu and doing what I can to ready her for her downwind voyage. I've been everything from the chick handing Eric his crescent wrench or Phillips screwdriver to the surf addict to the boss of the galley. I've become re-acquainted with the small cooking space and would give Martha Stewart a run for her money if she ever took up cooking on a small vessel! All in all, it's a real ball to see what a mixture of broilers, frying pans and pressure cookers can make!

Eric has been busy with the sailing integrity of Nanu, from reinforcing her mast base and rigging, to ensuring that the electrical wiring from mast head to bilge pump is working well. Nanu's got a new mast step and brand new fiberglass between her compression post and the step. In a few days we'll be duct taping the original glass windows and taking a hammer to them- an easy window removal practice so we can replace them with new Lexan plastic windows.

The pictures do no justice to the amount of time, frustration and feeling of accomplishment that we've been rollercoasting through in a regular basis. We keep telling each other, "only a few more days, and we'll powered by wind." Now we're down to the nitty gritty of late-night work on Nanu's mast and planning on big smiles on the horizon.