We Were Lucky In The Yard

We had Sea Lady moved from the storage area to the work yard at Marina Seca after we got to San Carlos. Then we needed to remove all the foil and tape we put on her to protect her through the summer. We were damn lucky and found only a bit of dirt on the deck clogging the scuppers with a little standing water. We had left the bilge pump on, but turned the batteries off so we had a little water in the bilge. The worst thing for me was the heads (thats marine talk for toilets) boiled out the enzyme-water mixture and the oil we put in to keep the seals flexible. It smelled putrid and I had to wipe it out. We’ve heard some horror stories though. Shadowfax had bees nesting in the mast and he told of another boat that had ants because sugar was left aboard. One gal on an Island Packet said the cockpit drains plugged up and the water flowed into the lazerette and soaked the new sails, so now they were red, purple, blue, green and yellow with mold and needed to be cleaned. Water also went below and soaked their aft cabin custom-made mattress. She said she was lucky because another Island Packet had water back up into the cockpit and flood the engine. I guess it’s all in the perspective.

So we have spent about a week here in the yard. We’ve been sleeping aboard, but dry camping as we haven’t taken on any water. First we (Steve) wet sanded the entire bottom and then we put on a new coat of Trinadad Red oblatetive paint. Two gallons cost over $400 and only did one coat! Then we cleaned and rigged the halyards and lines. By the time the boat is up on blocks and stands we have to use a straight ladder to get aboard. I guess it is about 13 feet from the land to the deck. A couple times Steve had to climb the mast to run the new jacklines. So he’s up there pretty high. The first few times I climbed the ladder it felt as though I was climbing 2 stories.

Terzians in Mexico 2006

Steve and I are on our way to Mexico. When we left Bend, rain was in the forecast and we experienced temperatures of the low 20’s and saw freezing fog south of Chemult. We stayed with Karen and Dan in Mt View, muchas gracias you two. While in the Bay Area, we visited Paula and Dad at Leslie’s house where I made dinner and we all watched the ball game. There was a little bit of betting going on! The annual Terzian/The Point meeting was on Friday, also at Leslie’s. On Sunday, Karen and Dan treated Kay to a birthday (late) dinner at an Indian restaurant, whooooo, hot but good. Then on Monday, we drove south to Jacques’ place in Palm Springs. The temperature in Palm Springs was in the high 80’s. We stayed just 2 nights and completed a couple of household projects. Again we packed up the car again and on Wednesday drove east to Tucson to stay at Rancho Vistoso, the Worldmark Resort just north of Tucson. So far, each leg of our drive has been about 8 hours and very manageable. Especially for Kay, since Steve did most of the driving and we listened to a book on CD.

It was so nice in Tucson, we stayed an extra day just to relax, read and soak up the sun and to watch the World Series. Yea SLT Cardinals! I think someone might have lost her bet! In Tucson we went to the Mexican Consulatado to obtain our Visas but although we picked up the forms we were told that we had to pay and get them stamped at the border. We took our time on Saturday did laundry and had the brakes on the car checked out before we headed south. We stopped in the historic town of Tubac for a picnic lunch and a little exploration. It is a huge artist community since the 1920’s, but was first established in about 1751 by the Spanish. We intend to return and explore the town more thoroughly in the spring.

It was a breeze going through the border and immigration, taking only about 20 minutes, passing through at about 14:30. Steve estimated that it would take us about 4 hours to get to San Carlos and he was right on. The sun set around 18:00 and boy was it dark. I kept remembering the cautions we received last year about traveling on Mexican roads, “where the cows are white in the daytime and black at night”. No, we did not see any cows or owls on the road. Highway 15 is two-lane all the way with fast moving traffic traveling at about 110 kl/hr. (We are now in a metric country, Steve reminds me).

South of Nogales, we passed the stand with the big copper pots on display where we bought the big pot for Karen and Dan last April, and promised ourselves that we would stop again on our way north to get a pot for Richard.

Arriving in the dark in San Carlos, it took us a little while to find the little hotel, La Posada del Desierto where I called and reserved a room for two nights. I read about the little, very economical hotel in the Lonely Planet’s Mexico book and called while on the road. Hey! Our phones work in Mexico this year. We couldn’t be happier, except it cost $1.49 per minute for all calls, including voice mail. Oh well. Email is still the best and preferred method to communicate with us. Each of the 7 rooms has a little kitchenette, air conditioning, a TV (though we haven’t turned it on) with showers and overlooks Marina San Carlos. It’s neat and clean, painted brick red with turquoise trim (even inside) and lush vegetation gracing the patio. The only downside is that it is wide open to the bar music and noise of the Marina.

We walked down for coffee and breakfast at Baracuda Bob’s and hooked up for free wifi. We are rich! For as the Tarahumara Indians say, we have everything we need. Hasta luego.- Kay

Sailing Season Almost Over

Hello all, we are counting down the days until Sea Lady is hauled out and placed on the hard for the summer season, it is way too hot for us. San Carlos is a delightful town and Guayamas is a very big, busy city. We took the bus to Tucson two weeks ago and bought a car while we were there. I was amazed at how fast and easy it was. We bought a 7 passanger Chevy Venture, but now can only carry two people because we loaded it with 3 sails to bring back to clean and repair. Sea Lady looks funny without her sails. Here's a picture of her at anchorage on the Baja. Bye for now, Kay Marie

Update from La Paz

As we get ready to leave La Paz I want to write down some of our experiences and observations. The internet connect has been somewhat iffy here at the boat. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve gotten connected and started writing emails or posting to Myfamily.com only to completely loose everything when I try to send or publish it. Then I’m so disgusted with myself I don’t even try to connect for several days to re-write everything. When I do connect again, I’ve forgotten what I wrote about before.

We usually get up by 7am each day to listen to the Amigo Net on the SSB (single sideband radio). Don on Summer Passage, transmitting out of Oxnard CA, gives his weather forecast for Mexican waters and south sometimes to northern South America. Many times we can’t hear any of the net because of our location here in Marina Palmira, tucked up against the hills. Don broadcasts again in the evening on the Southbound Net. Sometimes the clearest transmissions are from way down in Zihuatanego. Don is truly amazing and provides a real service to all the English-speaking cruising community in Mexico because of course NOAA would not be providing weather for Mexico, only the United States. As I understand, Don is in his 70’s and has spent many, many years cruising Mexican waters. He gives boaters warnings when not to attempt to cross the Gulf of Tehuantapec or the Gulf of Papagallo. Sometime the winds blow in excess of 50 knots and the seas exceed more than 15 feet. It can be a horrible experience if you are caught out there in that and very dangerous.

Steve and I have been taking Spanish classes three days a week with Raymundo right here in the Marina. Raymundo also offers tours to Todos Santo, the Cacti Sanctuary and Los Triunful as well as whale watching out of Bahia Magdalena and teaches English and Spanish classes the other three days a week in Todos Santos. I have taken two of his cooking classes in which he picks us up, gives us ride to and tour of the local grocery store, then delivers us to the home of his sister-in-law, Patricia, who with his wife, Julieta actually teach the class. In the first class we learned how to make chili paste from the dried poblano chilies and tomatilla sauce for three kinds of enchiladas; pescado de tomate, enchilada rojo de pollo and enchilada verde de pollo. In the second class we made two kinds of chili rellenjos; carne picadillo and queso. The chili rellenjos then were topped with a wonderful consume that made all the difference to the flavor. While I took the classes, Steve got to enjoy the results, and actually continues to enjoy the results because I learned so much. Julieta speaks English very well, but Patricia is too shy to speak any English although she clearly understands English.

Although I’ve been taking the Spanish classes for a few weeks I really can’t be understood. I find I can’t speak either English or Spanish when I’m trying to speak to a local. One day I told a woman in a store, when she asked where I found the skirt I was holding, “Yesterday” I said and pointed ‘over there’. She only smiled at me and it took me the rest of the day to figure out what I had said. Communication seems to work better with me speaking English and the person I’m speaking to responding in Spanish because I can generally understand what I’m being told. Actually most all of the residents understand English, especially those involved in retail or service. There is a very large American population here in La Paz, many of them having lived here more than 10 years. I went to a ‘Ladies Luncheon’ the other day and found nearly 30 women there. They have been meeting for lunch once a month for twenty five years! Most of them are land based former (or never) boaters. From what I gather, the group was only a small percentage of the community. One woman told a friend of mine that she had lived here for 14 years and her only regret was that she had never learned Spanish.

In many ways though, the community is very ethnocentric; Americans and Canadians moving in bringing their culture and not even trying to learn Spanish or appreciate the very rich Mexican culture. Sr Raymundo was lamenting the changes happening to Todos Santos since it has been ‘discovered’ by artists and now has lots of trendy shops and galleries. The farmland is being bought by foreigners and pricing the local Mexican right out. It’s changing into a little Aspen, much like Bend is. It is much worse in Cabo San Luis with homes costing millions of dollars. Cabo San Luis is neither an American nor Mexican city. It’s very expensive with very clearly haves and have-nots and no obvious middle class Mexicans.

La Paz in contrast is truly a Mexican city and has a flourishing middle class from what I can see and from what Sr Raymundo has told his classes. Several city-wide projects are underway. One of which is developing the malecon (water front walk) with paving, lights and plantings. We noticed work has begun on widening the road from La Paz to San Jose del Cabo. There is very little pan-handling although just recently someone (or several persons) went on a ‘tagging’ or graffiti spree. The Mexicans appear to be very hard working, starting early in the day and working long hours. Often the work they do is very hard physical labor, as in digging ditches and remodeling with picks and sledgehammers. In many businesses, the employees all wear uniforms from the bus boy to the cashiers to the office staff. This gives all the employees a neat and clean appearance. And yet a lot of the work is involved with cleaning; sweeping, mopping, washing windows and washing cars (out of buckets to conserve the water).

Sunset In LaPaz

Steve in the cockpit

Feliz Navidad y Prospero Nuevo Ano

Happy holidays to everyone from La Paz Mexico. It is difficult for us to believe it is Christmas, it is warm (daytime it's in the 70's at night it dips to 58 or so) and sunny. Everywhere we look we see blue skies filled with palm trees and blue, blue water. I've got to rub it in, because I know it is very cold in Bend.
The residents of La Paz have gone all out and decorated for Christmas. They have strung ropes of white lights around all the palm trees along the maelcon (water front There are a couple of life-size nativity scenes, one in the plaza al central in front of the church and another in front of a governmental building near the marina. They have also created large christmas trees, 40 or 50 feet high, made of artificial evergreen garlands strung vertically in a conical shape, then hung with large ball ornaments and festoon with wide ribbon. Juxtiposed against the sand and palm trees is the wide scale use of snowmen and Santa Clause.

We are in Mexico

We left San Diego on October 31 after staying 5 nights anchored off Coronado Island near the Coronado Bridge, joining the Baja Ha-Ha fleet of about 130 boats. San Diego harbor is incredibly busy with all manor of pleasure boats as well as US and Canadian navy destroyers and aircraft carriers and several cruise ships.
From the Captain's log: "We sailed all day and into the night. At first we reefed the main sail and we're making 6.5 knots in about 10-15 knots of wind. Whooee. By nightfall the wind is down to less than 7 knots then drops to less than 3 knots at 02:00. The wind dies completly by 08:30 so the engines are turned on and we motor-sailed all the rest of the day, through the night and into the third day." We arrived at our first stop, Puerto San Bartolome (Bahia de Las Tortugas)about 72 hours later. Our goal was to try to sail the entire way but at the same time try to maintain forward progress of about 3.5 knots per hour in order to clear Islas Cerdros before the weather changed and to arrive at the mouth of the bay in daylight.
On the first day, gosh darn, I was sea sick again. I guess it's a good thing that I have such a poor memory, because I so easily forget how awful I feel and get back on the boat again.
There are four of us on the boat now, on a watch rotation of four hours on and eight hours off, with Leslie and I standing watch together. It's cold, so we wear our "foulies", hats and gloves. Joe has the forward berth, Steve claimed the port settee and Leslie and I share the aft berth with our baggage taking up about 1/3 of the berth. While underway and because I feel so awful, we usually don't prepare meals, each on our own for eating. The most frequently eaten item is peanut butter and jelly in a flour tortilla. We try to keep a thermos of hot water, but have to be careful; if you pour the boiling water in and shut the lid, it just spews hot water everywhere. So you have to let it cool a bit before latching the lid, but also try to remember to latch it before it cools too much. And of course, chocolate must be on board; candy bars and M & Ms.
We have our fishing licenses for Mexico, that is, one for the boat, one for the dinghy and one for each of us on the boat even though only Joe has the gear and is the real pescadero on Sea Lady. This is required by the Mexican government and is pretty expensive. Steve and I don't know how to fish or how to fillet one if we were to catch one. Joe is pretty lucky, and lands five fish on the voyage to Cabo San Lucas. Two (one Wahoo and one Bigeye tuna) of the three were too small and had to be thrown back. The other three, 2 Blackfin tuna and 1 Yellowfin tuna, were between 20 and 30 lbs. Joe gives Kay lessons in filleting the fish and prepares sashimi, lumi lumi and cooks a fabulous meal with the tuna. We have enough fish to share with a couple other boats when we reach our second anchorage in Bahia Santa Maria. His luck runs out then and he doesn't catch any more on the final third leg. He did have a Mahi Mahi following his lure, taunting him, but it doesn't bite. A short while later, when we turn on the engines to recharge the batteries, we discover it had been hiding out beneath the boat.