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So, momentarily I have accepted a paid position on a boat being delivered north. Hmmm, I might be crazy but it should take about two weeks then I will fly back to paradise!! It's a different kind of boat or I wouldn't have gone for this deal. It's an electrically motored catamaran with all sorts of innovative technology on board so I will have a chance to see how this works out. In any event, it will be a way to see how a long term cruise might be on a cat!!! The Electric Leopard has been in charter service in the Caribbean and is being taken home to San Francisco... my part in this is only to San Diego then jump off. Sweet!!
The picture will have to wait because after 3 very long tries at getting the picture in I am giving up until I can get a better connection. Oooops, spoke too soon... so here's the picture.
So, today I needed to get into Puerto Vallarta from La Cruz. It is easy to get there. You would need only to walk up the small hill from the marina (if you are in the marina), a distance of less than a mile and catch the ATM bus for NP$14.00 (about a dollar at the current exchange rate). Then sit patiently for a span of about an hour (less on an E-ticket ride) and you are there. Well, you are at the out skirts of P.V. anyway. You then look for a bus that says it’s going to Centro and hop on that for another NP$5.50 and the next thing you know you are there!
This trip had multiple stops that I needed to make so was a bit disjointed because I kept paying for more than the distance from place to place because I didn’t correctly recall which place came first. Oh well, at the end of it all I made all the stops I set out to make and probably paid a few pennies more than I would have if I had been more organized. No big deal. You almost never find what you are looking for at the place you think you should find it… but that’s just fine with me. It usually means that I end up with a little more adventure than I otherwise would have. This particular trip was solo so I wasn’t trying to help a group get on and off at the needed stops and I was following only my own agenda. It definitely gets more complicated if there are multiple drivers for where “we” should be going next. Especially if the destinations change as the day progresses!!
For all that this was a great if exhaustive day. Despite all the bus riding I probably hoofed it about four miles. That’s very healthy although I am now very stiff and will wind this up and go in search of appropriate refreshment.
I ended up writing this from Philo's (file-oh's) in La Cruz de Huanacaxtle and the beer is cold the ribs are on the grill and life is sooo good!!
As I sit here in Banderas Bay at La Cruz in the warm state of Nayarit a series of thoughts have fought their way to the surface. The journey to arrive here has had several sides to it. From Portland to San Francisco was a really cold segment now, almost but not totally, forgotten. The dimming rear view window of the Baja Ha-Ha is still fresh enough to gather impressions from but it too is fading as the real cruising starts here in this fantastic bay. The things that we needed to remember to bring along for the Ha-Ha we mostly remembered. The extra lures resurfaced yesterday when we put the salon back together after using it as a stateroom for several weeks. That might have been useful when the fishing was so good between San Diego and Cabo but we had all the fish we could store. Now I look forward to catching more fish to refill the freezer and pop quickly on BBQ or make sashimi from an on deck specimen. Remembering to bring fishing gear is a big item on my list of things not to be forgotten. The warmer weather has made us rearrange the storage of our clothing too. All that fridged wind and water up north meant that we lived in our long underwear for most of the first quarter of the trip but it really needed to be put away south of Point Conception. The Ha-Ha folks kept commenting that this was one of the warmest or possibly THE warmest year ever so we didn’t need to have so much of that stuff available from San Diego on. Ah well, it was a good thing to have out even though it made the clutter factor go WAY up! Putting all that away was a significant plus in my personal morale adjustment here. The outbreak of shorts and t-shirts will likely continue for the rest of the cruise. Another thing that stands out now is the excellent choice of crew that Sandy made for each leg. Everyone was incredibly compatible considering the close quarters. It is not to say that everything was always smooth but the heartburn was definitely minimal. This is a difficult thing to judge before you leave the dock but the fact that most of these folks had sailed together before is probably partly responsible for this major plus to the trip. Each person seemed to have good things to offer for each leg. Parallel to this is that we have enjoyed similar music most of the time. There is a lot to be said for an iPod that can be passed from watch to watch. We had two audio books that have stood watch almost as many times as I have. Granted, we had two and sometimes three iPods going at times but it has been surprisingly compatible. I have also begun to add to my Latin music collection here… when I am someplace that has music I like I ask about it and sometimes try to buy it on the spot from the owner. In any event, this entire time has been filled with music.
Beer, now there’s a subject for cruising Mexico. Since we left San Diego we have sampled many types of the available cervesas!! It has been hot enough of late that a cold beer or two from the fridge is just what is called for. We haven’t had much opportunity to trade beer for something but that’s a minor issue. The fact is that toting a few beer-i to a nearby boat is a great ice breaker. Since we have been in marinas more than I anticipated this has been even easier than a dinghy ride. Between distributing excess fish and a few beers we have met and made lots of friends. One great thing about the Ha-Ha is that you get a book of the profiles for the fleet… since these are the same people you tend to see in the anchorages and marinas later you have enough information to start a conversation anyway but grease it with a gift and you start on a better foundation.
A little bit of change has been the check-in/out drill had gone to a simpler format but now seems to be edging back to the complicated in small increments. We have checked-in in person in La Cruz and find that we will have to do the check-out in person as well. Some places have been by radio so that’s just one of those things that changes from port to port. Overall I would have to add that the procedural side of this isn’t nearly as difficult/bad as it used to be. Everyone is still professional but any little thing seems to upset the sensibilities of these first timers so it can amplify any misperceptions quickly on the morning net. Being laid back seems to be a hard thing for some people no matter where they are!!
Time zones are a small oddity that has confused my internal clock more this time than usual. This is a small thing but it has meant changing three zones and the difference between the long summer days of the Northwest and the flash and down sunshine here is making it hard to readjust. It is probably easier for me than my shipmates because they are used to the Portland time that we left and since it’s warm here they are thinking they are on summer time… sunset is WHEN? Well, that’s okay; they had to listen to my sense of amazement at 10:00 p.m. sunsets in Portland to no end.
Ahem, boat projects, which as we all know are actually endless have, surprise, surprise, been endless. The dripless shaft seal that broke underway, the inverter that wouldn’t drive the coffee pot, the windlass that packed it in somewhere before Turtle Bay, the water system that lost pressure, the discovery that the system for hauling the dinghy outboard to the rail sucks and sooo many more items that have hit the list in the last thousand or so miles are no news here but it leaves little time for fun if you are the one expected to fix the stuff. I was so drained the other day I actually got a little cranky. That is something that rarely happens… really. I am so happy to be doing this that a little bit of work doesn’t sow me down much or for very long. Currently there are about 16 known issues on the boat and I am working through them knowing that the list will get still longer before I get to the end of the list!!! It’s just like homeownership; the work never really stops. Prioritizing is probably the biggest issue here because I might set a different cast on the problems than someone else onboard. As they are used to me saying at this point, “It’s all good!!” We are here doing something we want to do as opposed to digging ditches or some such. As the water guy said to me today while we were schlepping water to the boat, “You guys have it so easy.” Of course this, from his point of view is so totally correct that words fail me. He earns about US$18 per day and really works to get it. I rode with him to the plant and got him cleared into the marina to earn a bunch extra because I had flagged him down. He said it in Spanish, naturally, but we chatted politics and such as we collected the water needed to run the boat for the next month. We now have nearly 30, five gallon, jugs of water in the tanks. He couldn’t believe I was helping him bring the bottles to the boat either. The buyer usually lets him deliver and here that can sometimes mean quite a hike carrying two of these really heavy jugs at a time. That’s right he doesn’t use a cart!!
E-ticket rides are numerous here too. I will let others in the connected blogs tell you about this from their perspectives but I will say that between panga rides, taxis and bus rides makes even an atheist feel like crossing him/herself anytime you have to go somewhere. Between the crashing gears and the quick dodging moves complete with blaring horn you would think that the passengers would be white knuckled and crazed but no one even flinches. Like I say I will let others tell the story but this is the preview of these tangential thoughts.
So, We are in Puerto Vallarta with all that happened between San Diego and here burning to be told!!! At this time we will be in one place for about 10 days so there may be time to update this puppy and let everyone know that the Baja Ha-Ha IS A HOOT and a half. It was disconcerting to move as often as we did and stuff on the boat has broken BUT, all-in-all, this has been a fun part of the semi-planned fun of cruising. Right now, after two days sailing from San Jose del Cabo, just 18 miles east of Cabo San Lucas, we are in need of bathing and refreshment so this will be short. MMMM, cleaning myself in fresh water sounds like heaven!!!
Be good one and all!!
Pictures at 10:00.
So, it has been awhile for me to do the update because I didn’t have a connection or time (either one in sufficient quantities anyway) to get this done. We are here in San Diego for the next ten days and then off to the south and a likely big gap before anything else will be put into here.
Let’s see, what has happened in the interim time period to be filled in on? Since last we met… the trip south from Monterey has been interesting. We did manage to sail for a time out of Monterey Bay with a course that eventually would have led us to Hawaii. I was out voted so we had to turn on the iron gennaker (a very special 50 horse power “sail”) and point the boat more toward the south. From Point Sur to Point Conception we were surfing in some larger waves with a great wind on our stern (either and/or both quarters from time to time). The great thing was that I said that it would be all different as soon as we rounded Point Conception and it truly was!! We went from rough to flat seas in a matter of a half an hour or so. The temptation was to enjoy the new kind of seas and a fresh warmth that we have not seen before in the northern parts of this trip. We caved into the temptation. The smoothness of the ride into Marina Del Rey is to be marveled at. The night sped away and we ended up exactly on track coming into port. Sunshine and palm trees are the most notable of the changes. Marina Del Rey has a great guest dock and facilities and with very wide fairways is also something new… to say that the skipper liked this would be a grand understatement. In MDR we had a fantastic walk to Venice beach and more than a few instantaneous parties with new and previous friends. This was a great break in traveling and seems to mark a real beginning to the cruising part of the adventure because it has not now been about making the next port. Instead we are enjoying staying in each place (as you will see in a minute). We did have a small concern or two about the Santa Ana winds predicted for our next “passage” out to Catalina Island but when we set out there wasn’t that much wind. We did, however, have a wind plan, just in case. We activated the first part of the plan when we hove to and reefed the mainsail at 15 knots of wind but as soon as we deployed sail and proceeded the wind went back down to 5 knots and had us rolling out the iron gennaker again.
The really good news about all this is that we went to Catalina Harbor (Cat Harbor, as it is more often called) around the “back side” of the island. This a place I have been several times before and much prefer over Avalon Harbor. As it turns out the Santa Ana winds did finally arrive and ripped through Avalon and overturned a power boat in the harbor at its mooring. Yikes!! We on the other hand were quite happy in our comfortable natural bay and had no trouble playing for a couple of days. The straight shot from there to San Diego meant that we had a day sail after leaving a little before dawn into Mission Bay’s Mariner Cove. Happy and sad defines all this at the moment because the first thousand miles is now behind us and only another 800 miles separate us from Cabo San Lucas. The even warmer waters that await after that are calling too so maybe this idyllic place that I have always enjoyed will awaken the crew to the new possibilities when we leave. Call me silly to think this but it won’t be long before we are out of San Diego and moving again.
More on all this later.
Right now I am back to having a slew of boat projects that MUST be completed before the starting gun goes off for the Baja Ha-Ha rally starts. There are many things to be done but the good news is that S.D. is loaded with chandleries and resources to help make this as easy as it can be. Not to mention the fun of exploring new chandleries and marine related stores. One of the plagues that has beset us for the last 400 miles has involved the inverter/charger… that’s the device that changes DC electrical power to AC electrical power (among other duties) and has been misbehaving for us. Personally I am less grumpy when I have had lights on demand or good coffee in the morning.
Another side note too; you may remember my cousin Steven giving us copies of his latest CD’s in San Francisco. Well, this has become an instant hit on the boat. He did not disappoint in any way with his new selection of music. I mean, damn, he and Jackie really put together some tasty stuff!! Get the iPod fired up… it’s time to put the new stuff in there and weave it into the playlists!!
Okay, enough for now. We will be here long enough to have a shot at adding more while we are here.
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A few side notes are appropriate at this point. It’s a safe bet that our days of sailing will increase from here on out going south… the arrival of the spinnaker has seen to that!!!
Another thing to come along has been the correction of the circuits for powering the various devices aboard. Oh happy day!!
I went to an all day seminar for Sailmail (and Winlink) and hope to have that completed and running soon. The issue is that it doesn’t allow attachments, mass address joke files or much more than simple text messages.
