Waiting

Ten remain here now. When first we arrived there were five (including us) but there have been as many as fifteen. Hunkered down. Waiting. Making our way through the food and water we carry. Attempting to stay busy with entertainments even though most of our conscious thought is preoccupied with the weather. Some lower their dinghies and venture to shore but most don’t. Most are staying enclosed. Finishing up little projects. Doing the day-to-day chores. Reading books. Playing games. Watching movies. Putting a reef in the main. Getting everything ready and leaving only the smallest jobs to be done at the last minute…once the weather window opens. There is little radio contact between the boats. Mostly it is just comparing weather information. What they heard on the morning or evening net. How this one or that interpreted the grib files or weather websites. We all know first hand how nasty this leg can be. We all want to be safe. Have a comfortable passage. For me, the anxiety is raw as an open wound. Our previous attempt, four days ago, was wisely aborted. Uncomfortable and at times frightening. After that you tend to be more nervous about leaving a safe anchorage. Several have gone south (with the weather). Only three others have attempted the northbound challenge. One returned the next day. One had a very hard time and spent two days instead of one reaching his goal. The third…a macho uber-racer…must have made it as well but I’m sure the trip wasn’t much fun. Another opportunity seems to be presenting itself so all are preparing. Some will be leaving this afternoon. Others in the middle of the night. We have decided to wait for morning. Just to give the seas a few more hours to calm down. Hopefully it will be enough.

Chillin' in Chamela

Okay…I think I am finally “over” beating myself up for being a wussie-pants and turning back last night. Chris has told me that it was the “right” decision and he is glad I made it.

We arrived in Chamela Saturday afternoon after a nice, day sail from Barra de Navidad. We had been watching the GRIBS (official weather documents that we get via the internet) and listening to weather reports and it appeared that Monday would be the best day to scoot around the infamous Cabo Corrientes and into La Cruz. In the meantime, we had a little time to enjoy this pretty little palm fringed bay and relax. Our friend, Dan, was already here and waiting for the same weather window. He planned to leave on Sunday so we had him over for dinner Saturday night to catch up.

Sunday Chris & I were having our morning coffee when we heard “Faith! Faith!” and came up into the cockpit as Steve on “Nautilus” circled us on his way in. He and two other boats had come down from La Cruz that night and were ready for a little socializing followed by a good night’s sleep. We all got together on “Cloud IX” for drinks and a wonderful dinner of Chili Rellenos, beans and rice prepared by Marta. As is always the case with cruisers, it didn’t take long for the conversation to turn to weather and their trip south. Mike, the local weather guru in Banderas Bay said if you were going south, Sunday was the only day to go as there is a big norther building up that will be here starting Monday. Then they told us that they’d had 30 knot winds coming around the Cape and were going very, very fast under reefed sails. OK…second thoughts about leaving on Monday!

Monday morning we pulled the GRIBS again and it looked do-able. The official prediction was for NW winds of 10-11 knots and seas of 3-4 feet at 15 second intervals. It would be uncomfortable but nothing we haven’t done before…and…it was supposed to calm down after dark. Cabo Corrientes is well known for nasty weather (as are most capes) so most people go around it sometime between 10pm and 10 am under the theory that that is when it is the calmest. We discussed the options and what we wanted to do (see friends who are in La Cruz…get started on renewing our FM3’s…get to Mazatlan to get Chris’ knee looked at…etc) and decided to go for it. Again…IF the weather had been as predicted it wouldn’t have been any worse than last year’s trip north.

We left Chamela at noon yesterday and had fairly benign conditions with wind about 10 knots (smack dab on the nose, of course…which means you can’t sail into it) and seas about 2 feet. We motored happily north looking for whales and other sea life. About 5:00 I made dinner before taking my 6pm watch. While I was cooking it was clear that things had really started picking up. The seas came up to 4 ft or so and were very confused (from more than one direction) and the wind was gradually building. By the time sunset rolled around at 7:00 we were into winds that were 25 knots and higher (still directly on the nose) and breaking seas that had built to 5-6 feet and were very close together. The boat would climb up to the top of one of these big waves and crash down into the trough, drenching the entire boat in saltwater. Clearly, conditions were worsening by the minute. This was VERY uncomfortable! My mind was churning. I kept reminding myself that “the boats can take it…it is just the people who are uncomfortable” and thinking about being tied up to a slip the next day. As we climbed to the top of another big one and slammed down on the other side our boat speed went down to 2 knots. At that point I decided that the experience was no longer meeting our #1 criteria…it was no longer fun! I knew that at that speed it would take 10 more hours of pounding just to get to the Cape and then we had another 6-8 hours to cross Banderas Bay. I broached the subject of turning back and Chris said he was fine with whatever we did but that it was my decision. Oh…the “joys” of being the “La Capitana”! After a few more minutes of bashing, as the last of the light was leaving the sky, I decided I just, plain didn’t feel like doing this all night long and around we went.

Once we turned south again the whole motion of the boat calmed right down. Poor Abby had been below…terrified…through all that bucking and pounding. We’d been down several times to pet her and talk to her but she was not happy with the situation and we couldn’t really do a lot to ease her stress with all that was going on and our own elevated stress levels. At any rate, once we turned around things changed dramatically. We were now going w-i-t-h the wind and the seas and even though the waves were still big and still breaking, we were surfing down the front instead of trying to go over the top. We averaged 7 knots on the return trip and by 1:30 am we were back in the anchorage with the hook down & set and ready for a good night’s sleep.

This morning Chris checked the GRIBS again and we’ll be listening to the nets regularly to get the very latest but at this point it looks like we will be here for at least a week. Oh well. I am willing to wait for a MUCH calmer passage! We loaded up on food, water and wine before we left Barra. We have movies (and a few more episodes of Boston Legal) to watch, games to play, internet access and tons of great reading material. The wind is up again but we are securely anchored in a beautiful spot. I’m happy. Chris is happy. Abby is happy. And this is a nice opportunity for Chris & I to just enjoy being “alone together” for a while. Life is good!

Position changes!

Excitement abounds in the Barra de Navidad Lagoon today. A little land breeze came up this morning and the boats were off and running. The usual is for mornings to be quite calm and sometime in the afternoon the wind comes up from the west or northwest. It tends to funnel down the channel and it’s not unusual to see fairly high gusts between 2 and about 5. Then, after sunset, everything quiets back down again and we can get a good night’s sleep.

This morning when I woke up and looked out the ports to make sure we were in the same place, I noticed that a new boat had anchored slightly to port of us. It was a MacGregor 26 with no mast and looked vaguely familiar. Last year a similar boat had dragged around the anchorage (and was rescued) numerous times. Turns out it is the same boat and not much has changed.

We were busy today as Chris was running the morning net and we had ordered 100 gallons of water to be delivered at 10:00. Chris finished the net and Maria arrived right on time followed shortly by the French Baker with our morning croissants. We had just finished filling the water tanks and were sitting in the cockpit enjoying our pastries and the last cups of lukewarm coffee when I looked to port and realized the little MacGregor wasn’t in the same place. I asked Chris if I was imagining things (when it comes to dragging boats I tend to do that) but he confirmed that the boat was definitely on the move. Clearly, no one was aboard so Chris put out a call to the fleet and he and several others jumped in their dinghies and went to the rescue to secure the boat before it ran aground or hit someone else.

While all this excitement was going on, another, larger, boat to starboard of our starboard neighbor was also in the process of drifting. I could see the owner and our neighbor having a rather long discussion and finally the dragging boat pulled up his anchor and moved to a new (presumably more secure) spot.

Once the errant MacGregor was re-anchored, Chris was back and just finishing up his breakfast when another call came over the radio. This one was a larger boat with a deep (bulb) keel that the owner had just realized was aground. We have an exceptionally low tide today. There was much advice given over the radio, all to no avail, so Chris dinghied over to help the owner put out a second anchor abeam to, hopefully, keep the boat from tipping completely over. He was considering having a panga pull him out but the fleet advised strongly against this tack because of the possibility of damaging his rudder. As I write this, I can see the boat canted at an unnatural slant. I do hope the owners have decided to just relax and have a glass of wine while they wait for the tide to change.

While Chris was off helping the grounded boat, the radio came alive again. A large trawler was now dragging down on a 50’ sailboat and no one was aboard. Off went the dinghies once again! A couple people got aboard to see if they could start the engine (nope) or raise the anchor (fortunately there was very little chain out and they were able to raise it by hand). Meanwhile, the little inflatables worked like a group of tugboats moving the trawler to a better place in the anchorage. They then re-anchored the boat with much more chain out so he wouldn’t drag again.

This anchorage is well known for it's slippery-slidey bottom so those of us who have been here before know to follow a few simple procedures. 1) Always put out 100’ of chain…even though you are only in 10’ of water. 2) Always leave your key in the ignition and your windlass controls fully accessible. 3) Don’t leave your boat until you are absolutely sure your anchor is holding. 4) Take a VHF when you do leave and turn it on!

Even when you do everything just right, sometimes things just happen. Someone new may come in and drop his anchor on top of yours, unseating it. The wind may pipe up substantially from a new direction and swing the boat around so the anchor comes “un-stuck”. Those are only two of the myriad possibilities. Who knows…your boat might just decide it wants a change of scenery and it is time to go walkabout. Still…even though this anchorage is known as a place where anchors drag, it is a lovely spot to visit.

Fortunately, the world of cruisers is full of good Samaritans and you can always count on help when you need it. We are all in need of all the Kharma we can build up.

Dragging anchor seems to follow the same maxim “the boys” used to tell me about running aground on the Columbia River, “Its not IF you run aground…its WHEN.”

Jordan's Visit - Part Two

It’s hard to believe but we are closing in on the last couple days of Jordan’s visit. We’re very sad to see him go and would keep him indefinitely but Michael & Gabrielle are flying home on Monday and we were able to get Jordan on the same flight. This means that he will have adults he knows to help him jump through the customs hoops in San Diego. He could probably negotiate it by himself but we will just feel better if he has help.

After Michael & Gabrielle arrived in La Cruz we hung around there for a few days so they could see a bit of the area and Jordan could work ahead on schoolwork before heading south. We had gotten a bit complacent about watching the weather so when we started thinking about leaving the dock we were surprised to learn that a gale was on its way down from the Sea. We either had to leave Saturday morning (the 29^th) or wait for who-knows-how-long until the weather passed. We opted to leave.

Saturday morning we were up early to finish the last minute chores and give the dog one last romp on the beach. After a stop at the fuel dock, we were on our way. It was a beautiful day with very little wind. Everyone was on alert for whales, dolphins, etc but there weren’t many about. As we got closer to Cabo Corrientes the swell got a bigger and closer together and some of the crew began to feel a little uncomfortable. Jordan and Gabrielle were both queasy so we gave them some Sturgeron and I made dinner in hopes that something in their stomachs would help. It worked for Jordan began to feel better but not for poor Gabrielle. I’m afraid she was pretty miserable for the rest of the trip.

Even though the passage was a bit lumpy, everything was pushing us from astern so it was a fast trip…just 22 hours. As we came into Tenacatita it looked like there were few boats in residence but the closer we got the more masts appeared. There were over 40 boats anchored and even though it is a large bay, we ended up close enough to the beach to hear the surf pounding all night. The weather from the north created some pretty big swells and with our history of unsuccessful surf landings we chose not to challenge the huge waves.

One day Michael & Gabrielle decided to take the dinghy in, anchor outside the breaking waves and swim to the beach. After they were ashore and had walked down the beach, Chris realized the dinghy was not anchored anymore. The swells were just too big for the amount of rode. The anchor unhooked itself and the dinghy was on its way to shore. He had Lewis (from the Merry Lee) take him over to pick it up and bring it back to the boat. When Michael & Gabrielle returned and the dink was gone they had a few moments of panic before realizing it was attached to the boat.

Jordan was able to do some fishing from the boat (though he didn’t catch anything big enough to eat) and drive the dink around the anchorage visiting the cruising friends he’d met during our stay in La Cruz.

The weather was predicted to change again so we decided to head on into Barra de Navidad where we’d have a nice, calm resting place. The original “plan” was to go to Las Hadas and Santiago but with the expected weather change they were both likely to be pretty rolly and we didn’t want to test the stomachs of our guests again.

Since we have been in Barra we have enjoyed showing everyone around this town as well as Melaque and La Manzanilla. We’ve spent time in the pool at the Sands, dined at most of our favorite restaurants, caught up with more of our other cruiser friends and, of course, everyone has enjoyed the daily visits from the French Baker.

Tomorrow we put the three of them on a bus to Puerto Vallarta where they will spend one night before flying back to rainy Portland. Chris & I will miss them all but, especially Jordan. Still…we are already planning his visit next year!

Nieto (grandson) Jordan...part one

In our attempt to give our grandson, Jordan, a taste of Mexico that will leave him wanting more, we are doing our best to expose him to all sorts of experiences. So far it seems to be working.

Jordan is 14 and arrived here on January 11^th. This was his first ever airplane ride (Quote: “Flying is awesome!”). His first ever trip out of the States. His first extended trip away from home. Chris & I have wanted to have him visit us while we are in Mexico ever since we started this cruising thing in 2008 but until now it just couldn’t be done. This year Jordan is doing school on-line so the ability to “bring school along” made all the difference.

As soon as Jordan arrived we began indoctrinating into the wonders of Mexico. We are in La Cruz, which is a wonderful little town that is quiet, friendly and safe. There are no paved streets or traffic lights and is really pretty much the picture of a sleepy Mexican pueblo (village). Add to that the fact that the beach is mere steps from the boat and you see why we thought this was the perfect place to begin showing him around the country.

Since Chris & I have been here long enough to be used to some of the odd sights and sounds you encounter here, it is fun to see them again through new eyes. One of the things we hear often is “Boy, you'd never see that back home." This is applied to all sorts of everyday sights: a pickup truck with kids in the bed driving down the highway, a car stopping to wait while a little dog finishes pooping in the middle of the road, ATV’s being driven on the street, military personnel carrying large automatic weapons as they shop in Walmart, and so many more. Since they are under a system of Napoleonic law here (if you do something stupid and get hurt it isn’t someone else’s fault) there is not much in the way of litigation and there isn’t exactly a plethora of laws to “protect” people from one another (or themselves). In many ways it is like being transformed back to the 50’s in the States.

Another thing that we are having a great time with is introducing Jordan to many of the wonderful tastes of Mexico. He is a real fan of “hot” stuff so is pretty much our tester for salsas when we go out to eat. One of the nice things is that he is not like most 14-year-old boys and is extremely adventurous. His first meal here was pescado frito (fried fish). Of course, he thought this would be deep fried fish sticks just like in the States. Not so much! It is actually a whole red snapper that has been scored and fried on a grill. This is one of Chris’ favorite foods so he was delighted when Jordan dove right into it and loved it. We have taken him to fancy restaurants and street taco vendors and he consistently tries new things…so different from most teen aged kids. So far the only food he doesn’t care much for is jicama.

As you can imagine, keeping a 14-year-old from getting “bored” can be a bit of a project. So far I think we are doing pretty well. He can walk to the beach or town any time he wants. A week ago, Chris hired a panga to take the two of them out fishing and they had a great time and came back with 5 Sierra and a (very small) Grouper. It sounded like a good time was had by all and that evening we had our friends, Michael & Rene from Ahea Kali, over for fish dinner. We went to Sayulita for a day where we watched the surfers (and young girls in bikinis) and had lunch on the beach. Thursday our friends, Michael & Gabrielle from Portland, arrived for a two week visit and today they & Jordan are out zip-lining through the jungle like a pack of Tarzans.

Last week was the blessing of the fleet in Bucerias so we bused over there for brunch at a 2^nd story restaurant overlooking the beach. There was a parade, fireworks and the town was full of tourists and locals alike. The highlight, of course, was the pangas that come flying in through the surf and onto the beach. Even though Chris & I have witnessed these guys doing this it is still amazing…especially given our history of not-so-graceful surf landings in our dinghy. It was amazing to us that no one got run over since the beach was packed with people but these drivers are very, very good.

I must say that having Jordan with us has been a real pleasure. He is so grown up for his age and just delightful to be around. All our cruiser friends who have met him enjoy him immensely as well. One of the first things Chris did was teach Jordan to drive the dinghy and that has been a real hit. At first he was required to row the Walker Bay for 30 minutes to earn an hour of time on the inflatable but now that he has worked himself into position as chauffer and errand runner we’ve slacked off on the rowing requirement. He’s even been chauffeuring other cruisers around from time to time.

We will be leaving here Wednesday to head south so there will be lots of new experiences in store in the places we visit there. Stay tuned for further adventures.

Another Small Character Flaw?

Anyone who knows me at all knows that I am a serious bibliophile (bibliophile: lover of books). Some might even call my affection for the printed word a bit of an obsession. I’m not afraid to admit it. I love books. I love to look at them, to hold them in my hands, to smell that inky odor of the printed page, and, especially, to read them. Nothing is as soothing to me as curling up with a good book and letting the world run without my influence.

When I had a house on dirt, every main room had at least one bookcase and all of them were tightly packed with books that had been or were waiting to be read. Moving onto the boat caused no little anguish on my part as I was forced to find homes for quite a number of my inanimate friends. Still…there is no shortage of reading material on the boat. At the moment there are around 150 books (not counting the reference books) in residence, most of which are as yet unread.

Bookstores have always been a real problem for me. I can spend days perusing the shelves for new items to add to my collection. Powell’s City of Books in Portland (OR) is a particular roadblock. The main store encompasses an entire city block and is several stories tall. They carry many thousands of new and used books and especially refreshing is that they emphasize non-main stream books. Walk into any Barnes & Noble or Borders and the same “best sellers” will be prominently displayed just inside the door and on tables throughout the stores. Powell’s is more likely to exhibit books that are written by obscure or local authors. Publications that the big box stores often don’t even carry. Not to say I shop there exclusively because no bookstore is exempt. It’s just that, since I love discovering new authors and their works, I am likely to be “stuck” in Powell’s for a much longer period of time.

I have to admit that I have a few odd “quirks” when it comes to my books. First of all, I don’t like junk. To me, romance novels, mysteries and many of the high profile “best seller” novels are unbelievable drivel. That is not to say I don’t enjoy the efforts of Stephen King, John Irving, Anne Rice or Barbara Kingsolver but, quite honestly, if I never read another Danielle Steele or James Patterson (who apparently is incapable of writing without a co-author) I will survive quite well. My preference is fiction but non-fiction, biographies, real life adventures and travel writing also have their appeal…as long as they are well written. If the author doesn’t give his/her reader credit for having some intelligence I’m not interested.

I also have a rather bizarre need to finish a book in the same pristine condition it was in when I first purchased it (except, of course, used books). This becomes a bit of a problem when friends borrow books as others often don’t have the same respect (obsession?). It just drives me nuts when I see people bending pages down, highlighting or making notes and breaking the backs of books. I know…it is a little crazy. I’m trying to quit.

During my younger days I was stuck hard in the belief that once begun a book must be finished…no matter how bad or boring it was. Finally…I have reached a turning point. It finally dawned on me that if the author was not able to ignite my interest in the first 50 or so pages it isn’t likely to happen so the book goes to the local exchange and I am on to something new.

So what, you may ask, have I read of late that is good? At the top of the list is “Shantaram” by Gregory David Roberts. It was a very long book (almost 1,000 thin pages with small print) and took two months for me to get through it but the writing is stunningly beautiful and the story is riveting. This is the author’s first book and there were many, many passages I re-read and shared with Chris because they were so beautifully written.

Well, that is the latest, except to say how blessed I feel to have found and married a man who is as hooked on reading as I am. Chris, though, has gone to the dark side and purchased a Kindle. It isn’t the same as a “real” book but he seems to enjoy it…except when the battery dies!

Spanish Lessons

I am sooooo excited! I started a Spanish class yesterday and am finally learning how to actually make sentences!
I have been doing the Rosetta Stone thing for two years now and, between that and my "esposo" and just plain paying attention I've learned a lot of words. Words are helpful but, unfortunately, they do not conveniently place themselves at your disposal when you need them and they especially do not put themselves into proper sentences so that people can get a clue about what you are attempting to tell (or ask) them.
Since Chris speaks fluent Spanish he has become a very convenient crutch for me. Any time I don't understand what someone is trying to tell me he is there to interpret. Nice to know I have the help but not terribly conducive to actually l-e-a-r-n-i-n-g the language.
Philo's (one of the cruiser "hang outs" in La Cruz) has a language teacher (who speaks multiple languages) who gives Spanish lessons for a minimal donation to his charity fund. Philo is a huge philanthropist and has a great fund that he uses to help the needy in this community (and there are many). Andrea has many years experience in teaching languages but donates her time in exchange for a 50 peso donation (about $4 US) per class to Philo's fund as a way of giving back to the community she lives in as well. It is a win win for everyone.
So...just in the first class I learned all sorts of things I didn't know, not the least of which is how to correctly say "Hello" (it is different depending on the time of day and who you are talking to) "My name is..." and "good bye" (again...not just adios). I am so excited to think that MAYBE one of these days soon I will be able to have a real conversation with one of the people I say "hola" to every day and we will be able to actually understand each other.