Puerto Vallarta

We left Isla Isabella Thursday morning after a rolly night as the wind piped up and by morning had swung to the south making our anchorage a le shore so off we went.  We had relied on Charlies Charts for distance to Puerto Vallarta but when I figured it out, it was 25 mile closer.  We decided to make for Punta de Mita and anchor for the night before heading in to the Marina.  We had an uneventful passage with little wind, just enough to fill the sails but not enough to make enough speed to make the anchorage so we motored with the main p to steady us.  We saw a lot of humpback whales on the way and ran through turtle alley as well.  I kept seeing these blobs floating in the distance and when we finally got closer we realized there were turtles.  We saw hundreds of them and dodged a few as I really didn’t want to hit one.  It probably wouldn’t have done any damage to the boat but I would be loath to kill something that has survived possibly over a hundred years. 

We anchored about 10:30 at Punta de Mita and got a pretty good nights sleep and left for PV around 07:30.  I started calling the marina on the VHF just after 09:30 but no response.  I called regularly but still no response.  I called our friends on Toketie and they tried to hail the office but no answer.  We ended up coming in a tying up at the end of the dock where Toketie was and then walking up to the office to get a slip assignment.  Well, the lady manning the office was quite put out by us just “showing up” and quickly told us that they had absolutely NO SPACE AVAILABLE!! (She had the ability to speak in capital letters).  Well, after stating quite plainly that we had arranged a slip with her earlier in the week and under her instructions, tried to call her on the VHF to get a slip assignment, to no avail, we were not leaving where we were tied up.  Well, she grudgingly called the dock “guys” and they said yes, no problem, slip I6 was open.  In the meantime, the VHF radio on her desk has been busy constantly with people trying to hail the marina but she just ignored them.  Anyhow, I asked her for a key to get on and off the docks but she said no, and besides the docks are pretty much unlocked anyways (not actually true).  I asked about formally checking in and she said no come back Monday, I’m leaving at 14:00 (at this point it was around 12:30).  OK, no worries.  The dock guys were around and they took all the meter readings and gave a slip of paper to give to the office on Monday.  Well, the marina itself is in getting to be in a pretty good state of disrepair and it turns out it has been sold and the new owners take over at the end of April, so no maintenance now and little interest on the part of the office staff to actually help boaters.  Monday came and we went to check in.  They didn’t want any paperwork, nothing, just prepay for the nights you will be here.  We’ll see tomorrow how the power and water charges pan out before we leave.  We’ve had a busy time here doing some maintenance and topping on provisions.  Our friends David and Linda on Toketie convinced us to head south with them for a few weeks before we come back here for the 24^th to meet up with friends from Victoria who are flying in for a week.

Yellow and Black Footed Boobies

We anchored on the east side of Isla Isabella at around 07:30 this morning. We both were a bit tired but despite that Cathy managed to whip up some fresh muffins for breakfast and a loaf of bread. I launched the dinghy and after lunch we headed for shore to see if we could finally land. We went to the south anchorage landing and the surf was almost nil so no worries. I have put the dingy wheels on on preparation to haul the dinghy up the beach. Well, there are exactly four different ways to install the wheels. I consider it lucky that I had to only go through 3 before getting it right. We ran into people form two other boats on shore. One couple Todd and Susan with her daughter we had met before in Avalon, once again, proving that it really is a small ocean. The other couple Ralph and (?) (I hate it when I can't remember a name but oh well) are hading out across the pacific this year as well and leaving from Puerto Vallarta so we will see them again (and find out Ralph's partners name!) We had a short walk on shore. The island is a bird sanctuary and the birds were amazing. No fear of humans at all. Lot's of young hatch lings around as well as quote a few lizards (geckos, iguanas, etc). We came back to the boat and I decided that it was time to take a swim in Mexico. I dug out a mask, flippers and snorkel and checked out he bottom of the boat. I ended up giving it a pretty good cleaning so hopefully we will see a difference in speed tomorrow. Dinner was barbecued steak with potatoes, peppers', onions and mushrooms. Tough life eh!
Tomorrows plan is to leave shortly after 10 and head towards Puerto Vallarta. It's around 115 miles so we should arrive mid to late morning on Saturday. We called the marina from Mazatlan and they said they had room for us ad our friends are confirming with the office before we get there so we will have a place to go.

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En-Route to Isla Isabella

We left Mazatlan this morning around 10:30. The forecast was for winds 15-20 knots from the NW and as we are headed SE, great. Once again, the forecast was a bit optimistic. Winds have maxed out at 15 knots and then only briefly, most of the time we have had less than 8 knots. We have sailed most of the time with the motor on for only a couple of hours but it has been very rolly. The winds are from the NW but there is a small SW swell that keeps us wallowing around like a wounded duck. We are under motor again just now and we will se how long it takes the wind to pick up again. It's 21:00 and we are less than 40 miles from the island so we will likely heave to for a an hour or so to wait for daylight to enter the anchorage.

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Mazatlan

We made it to Mazatlan yesterday by around 10:30.  The entrance was a bit hairy as it is quite close to shore and you are in the surf until you make the entrance proper.  The current was running about 2 knots when we went in so no real problem.  Our intent was to tie up to the fuel dock at El-Cid Resort and Marina bu the dock was full so we went on further into the estuary and called El-Cid on the VHF.  We arranged for a slip and headed back.  Unfortunately we did not get quite the right directions on which side of the main finger we were on and I had to make a 180 degree turn mid channel in current that was now running aout 3 knots.  It was exciting and we did miss the big expensive power boat that was tied to the end of the dock.  We tied up after that without incident and settled in.  The marina is great with full use of the facilities $0.70 per ft USD per night under 40 feet.  They have a couple of pools, a hot tub, free towels, 20% discount card for food and drink, etc.  A pretty nice place.  We spent today going into town to the Mercado (market) to get some fresh food.  The market is a huge building in the middle of the city that has vendors for veggies, meat, fish, etc.  It’s where the locals ship and the quality of the produce was amazing and quite cheap.  Our friends Sandra from Passat II took us in a showed us around which was really cool.  Took the bus into town and wandered around the market.  We had a nice pot luck “appetizer” onboard another Canadian boat called Curare.  We met a bunch of the other cruisers who are moving through the area which was again pretty nice.  This is what it’s all about!

Somewhere in the Sea of Cortez

We have been sailing in 20-30 knots of wind from the north for the past 20 hours or so. Currently we are on a reach with only about half the headsail out and making a comfortable 5-5.5 knots. The boat is steering herself beautifully; we haven't had to touch the helm at all. A few light tweaks on the vane and we keep on rolling down the waves. The seas are 2-3 meters, steep and breaking. Every once and awhile, we take one or the port bow that breaks and sweeps back to the cockpit. The enclosure has been awesome, taking the brunt of the water. We still get some in the cockpit but not much. The exception is when a wave breaks on the side of the boat and blasts right under the side curtain. Only one of those so far and as the seas seem to be moderating, hopefully no more but who knows? We're trying to get to the Mazatlan harbour entrance by around 08:00 tomorrow morning but unless the conditions change, we likely won't get there until 10:00 or so. There is a bit of a tide issue but as long as it doesn't look too bad we'll probably charge on in anyways. Not another boat in sight all day or night. I heard one boat checking into the local marine net crossing from Muerte to Mazatlan and they were getting more wind and bigger seas up north.

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On to Mazatlan

We left Bahia Santa Maria at 08:00 this morning in little to no wind. Until 21:00 we sailed for a grand total of 40 minutes. The wind has filled in from the N, NE and we are deep reaching at 5-6 knots right now. Our friends on Nausicaa arrived yesterday afternoon so we were able to see them one last time before we parted ways. They are heading into the Sea of Cortez and eventually to Guaymas where they will leave their boat, go and get their semi truck and trailer and haul their boat back to Oxnard. Yes they have their own semi with trailer that David has modified to easily haul their boat around in. Our plan is to reach Mazatlan by Sunday morning around 08:00 top take advantage of slack water at the entrance. We are trying to maintain 5 knots and have been able to do so with main and motor until now. Luckily we have had some wind so we have been able to run again with lower RPM to save fuel. Hopefully, this wind will stay with us and we can sail most of the rest of the way. The prediction looks goods we are keeping our fingers crossed. This must be the night of the cruise ships. Between 6 and 9 tonight, Cathy had 4 pass her going north and now there is another one. I wonder where they are all going? Ensenada, San Diego. It was kind of funny when a sailboat that was a bit behind us called one of the cruise ships on the VHF and asked him to make one long blast on his horn so the sailboat could make sure it was the ship he was seeing. The cruise ship captain politely declined. It was polite, but he was incredulous that he would even be asked to blast his horn. The night is clear and why would he freak out 1200 or so passengers? That same ship very nicely altered course around us a bit earlier. It takes all kinds!

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Bahia Santa Maria

We arrived in Bahia Santa Maria around 09:30 yesterday morning in light winds and clear blue skies. Indian Summer had arrived an hour earlier so we anchored not too far away. A nice anchorage protected from the bulk of the swell from the north. We have been getting long rolling swell but not that rolls the boat much. We are getting quite a lot of promontory winds sweeping down off the hills into the anchorage. Not uncomfortable and actually it's keeping the wind generator humming along nicely. We haven't been able to get ashore as the swells, although long out where we are, are still running up to 2 meters and when they reach shore, well the surf is pretty impressive and we don't really want to take the chance on swamping the dinghy. We're pretty sure we can get to shore but getting back could be another story. Today has been spent on boat jobs, oil change, top up the fuel from the jerry cans, change the water maker filter, clean up from some spoiled fruit. We're finding that fresh veggies and fruit are NOT lasting well. We're down to a few questionable carrots, a couple of onions and potatoes. Oh well, we have lots of canned veggies so we'll probably not get scurvy. The plan is to likely hang out here tomorrow and then start off on Thursday morning for Mazatlan. It's about 380 miles so we figure 3 full days should see us there. A few days there then on towards Puerto Vallarta to drop off David and Linda's new wind generator and mounting pole.

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Motor, Motor Motor to Bahia Santa Maria

We've sailed about 5 ½ hours today which was better than expected. I did have hopes for the day early this morning when I got the sails up at around 04:00 The wind was 10-15 knots form the NE and looked like it was going to hang around. It died. Around 10:00, the wind came up again so sails up (all of them). It died. I lost count today of how many sail changes I made. Mizzen up, then main down, then main up with one reef. The mizzen came back down. The main went up all the way. The headsail came in and the motor went on. It's been on ever since (at 11:30 this morning). Cathy made fresh bread, we made 20+ gallons of water and generally the day drifted away. We have kept the revs down to keep our speed around 5 knots so hopefully our fuel consumption will reflect our miserly nature. We should make Bahia Santa Maria by around 08:00 or so give a take. We talked to Indian Summer earlier and they're ahead of us and will probably get there around 04:00. They have a Beneteau First 42.7 tall rig and typically make around 7 knots so….. The stern light died last nighy so we used the anchor light as an all around white. I replaced the buld today and it looked fine but now, no stern light again. Ah the joys of marine electrical systems that are 30+ years old. I'll get to the bottom of it tomorrow.

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The Dinghy Diaries (and More)

We spent a couple of nights in Turtle Bay catching up with new friends and old. It was a strange day for me and the dinghy on Thursday. When we got anchored in the afternoon, I launched the dinghy, put the outboard on and went over to see Nausicaa who had arrived about half an hour after us. They had called us earlier on the VHF and asked how many fish we wanted. Apparently Catherine imposed a moratorium on David's fishing until they ate what he had already caught so in order for him to keep fishing, he caught fish for us. Who needs a fishing license with people like him around! Anyhow, I went over and picked up a couple of 1 lb. Bonito that he had for us and went back to Tarun to clean them. I don't know what I did (or rather didn't do) but when I got out of the dinghy I didn't secure the painter. I went below to get my knife, cutting board etc and when I went out to get in the dinghy to clean the fish, no dinghy! It was floating 100 meters behind us and slowly drifting away. I scrambled below and got into my swim trunks intending to swim for it (the water was an inviting 15 degrees) when the fuel Panga operator saw the dinghy and retrieved it and brought it back for us. We gave him a nice "Canada" hat for his efforts and he was pretty happy. OK, one dinghy episode down, one to go. Nausicaa had invited us for a dinner of fresh lobster (they traded a box of cookies and 5 bucks for 6 lobster) and fish. Cathy supplied a nice salad and a tray of fresh brownies. We were sitting in the cockpit having a veritable feast when Jim accidentally knocked his seat cushion in the water. It floated away before anyone could get the boat hook. No problem, I jumped in the dinghy and went after the errant cushion. The dinghy painter and I seem to have had a problem with each other Thursday because for some unknown reason, instead of dropping the painter in the bow of the dinghy like always, for some unknown reason I dropped it in the water, without realizing it! Off I go to get the cushion and then wham, the motor stops ABRUBTLY. I had caught the painter line and wrapped it around the prop and killed the motor. Now, the line is securely tied to the bow of the dinghy and is now tightly wrapped around the prop with the free end trailing behind the motor. I can't lift the motor to unwind the line as it is essentially now tied down to the front of the dinghy with the painter. David then had to jump in his dinghy and rescue me (and the cushion). We get back to Nausicaa, a knife is produced and the offending line is cut from the bow so I can lift the motor and unwind the painter from the prop. Thankfully, no damage to the motor. We made it back to Tarun without further incident.
Indian Summer (Kristie and John) who we first met at the Oakland Yacht Club and then again in San Diego had arrived earlier in the day. We had a quick chat Thursday night and then caught up with them the next day for awhile. They had about 30 knots of wind the night we spent at Cedros Island. It made us glad we had stopped, despite the rolly anchorage.
I managed to break a stanchion base on the way down from Cedros Island by dropping the whisker pole onto the lifelines. I forgot to snug up the topping lift before I released the sheet end of the pole, live and learn I guess. No problem for the repair as I have replacements for all the old bases on board as I know it's just a matter of time before they all need replacing. I think I've done half of them now. Past experience in doing the job made me look forward to having to re-drill holes, clear out the core, epoxy fill and then re-drill through the epoxy. A simple job that only takes a few hours in total to do stretches to 2 days. Well imagine my surprise when the replacement base fit EXACTLY in the existing holes. I started tearing apart the v-berth at around 9 in the morning and had it all back together by early afternoon, job DONE! Friday night we traded a few computer files with David and Catherine from Nausicaa. They got weather fax's and a few pictures of their boat under sail that I managed to get and we got 33 episodes of an American public radio series called "American Life". It should make good listening. This morning we cleared up the boat and weighed anchor (about 45 pounds) and left by 10:30. The winds were light but we managed to sail for a few hours before it dropped out. We have been under motor for the past 6-7 hours now. We have reduced revs to keep our speed to around 5 knots as we don't want to get to Santa Maria in the dark. We should arrive first thing in the morning on Monday if everything continues as it is.

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Cedros Is. to San Bartolome Bay (Turtle Bay)

We made anchor at Cedros Is. yesterday by 14:30. We sailed through this giant kelp bed on the south end of Cedros which caused us some concern but we were sailing so didn't foul the prop (we thought). When we finally started the motor we realized that yes, we did have kelp on the prop. So, stop the boat, drift for a bit, hard reverse, drift for a bit and that took care of the kelp. The anchorage is pretty open and pretty rolly but we were happy nonetheless to stop for awhile. We had a great sail, better than half the way from Ensenada and we had to stop so we could get to Turtle Bay in daylight. We left at 07:00 this morning. It may have been 06:00 but we are assuming we changed time zones to Mountain time at Cedros. Either way, it was still dark! The anchor took a bit of persuasion to come up but with the motor and the windlass we broke it free. We got the sails up about 10 minutes later and are currently running downwind, wing on wing in 15-20 knots of wind and making between 6 and 7 knots with a double reefed main and full headsail. The duogen is making power and the water maker is making water so all is good. One thing I did do yesterday after we anchored was clear the water maker intake line after being in Ensenada. After our experiences with the motor intake and sink drains being plugged with muck we didn't want to take the chance. I thought that it would be a waste of time when I stared the job yesterday after all the rolling and crashing through waves but there was still stuff pushed into the valve so I was glad to get it cleaned before I plugged the strainer on the water maker. The sun is up, the sky is blue, the clouds are behind us over Cedros and it looks like we will have a really nice day. We did hear from Nausicaa yesterday but they anchored on the east side of the island but are heading for Turtle Bay today so we should see them tonight. Will call them on the VHF a little later.

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80 Miles North of Turtle Bay

We spent Monday night under power as the wind died as soon as we got out past Todo Santos Island and turned south. We had a brief idea that we would be able to sail all the way to Turtle Bay when we got the sails up just outside the harbour entrance. Oh well.
We motor sailed until midmorning Tuesday when the wind came up enough to hoist all sails. We sailed full rig for a couple of hours until again the wind died. By 16:30 however, the wind steadied up and the motor went off again. We have been wing on wing since then. It's now 04:30 and we've had a good sled ride dead down wind wing on wing. We had full main and headsail until a couple of hours ago. We started hitting 8 knots consistently so reefing became a good option. We're still averaging over 6 knots which will get us to Isla Cedros early afternoon. We've decided to stop there for a night so we can make sure to arrive in Turtle Bay in daylight on Thursday. The boat we met up with in Ensenada, Nausicaa, left a few hours before us and we have seen them each night. We talked to them on the VHF earlier and they headed closer to shore to fish, apparently quite successfully. They have offered us fresh fish when they get to Isla Cedros (who needs a fishing license anyways). We passed them tonight (everyone knows that whenever there is another boat around there is always some small element of competition). I recently sent an email to a friend with the statement "Our philosophy is that it's not who gets there first, but rather who gets there". Somehow that statement seems at odds with the small feeling of satisfaction I got earlier when I realized we had passed Nausicaa. Hypocrisy is wonderful thing, as long as you realize it I guess. I can live with it!

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Ensenada

We finally left Ensenada this afternoon. The weather delayed us a few days as here was a massive storm that hit the California coast and the resulting surge was felt as far south as Ensenada. We had a couple of interesting nights riding out the surf at Baja Naval Marina. Their docks are better than most so at least they didn't break up. We doubled up our spring lines and one of the bow lines Saturday afternoon and by Sunday morning, we had one broken spring line and by Monday morning we had parted a bow line as well. We use large gold braid lines for out main bow and stern lines and they hardly showed any wear at all from the surge. The marina staff were great. They supplied extra fenders (big orange ball fenders) and went around tying up boats that had suspect lines. I actually spent more time retying lines on the boat next to us than on Tarun. One marina in the bay basically broke up and al the boats there ended up at anchor. Sunday night a 60+ foot fishing boat dragged anchor and landed at the end of the main dock we were tied up to. What really got us though was the garbage. We have never seen such a cesspool. It rained and coupled with the surge all the garbage washed down into the Bay. It was unbelievable. There was so much crap in the water that the action of the surge plugged up our galley and head sink drains. Because of that, I decided to start the engine this morning, well before we left and found that the engine intake was plugged as well. Diving it was out. You couldn't pay me enough to get in that water. I ended up pulling the intake line off our water strainer and shoving a piece of wire down it. I'm really glad I put the above the water line strainer in a few years ago. In the search for the problem I also uncovered a failing impeller so changed that out as well. It was funny, I just had this feeling before I started the engine that there was probably something wrong. So lesson learned "Trust in the Force" oops, I mean trust your feelings.
As for Ensenada, well to sum it up, what a dump. Neither Cathy nor I were happy about being there for 5 nights. The people were nice enough but the environment was foul. The marina was full of cruisers who for whatever reason got to Ensenada and never left. There were less than 5 boats in all that were seriously only there or clearance then moving on. We met one couple who along with a couple of friends are heading to the Sea of Cortez for the season. David and Catherine along with Jim and Charlie invited us for a meal of fish chowder (made with freshly speared fish courtesy of David). A great evening swapping stories. We will likely see them again in Turtle Bay. They have 35 foot full keel sloop that they have been rebuilding from a wreck for the past couple of years. A little rough cosmetically but well laid out with beautiful teak joinery below.

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Mexican Clearance

We got to Ensenada yesterday around 10:00 and got a slip at Baja Naval.  Rogelio (Roger) is the marina manager and was very helpful in getting us sorted out.  He looked over all our paperwork before we went up to customs and immigration and made sure we had all the correct forms etc.  One thing we did find out was that the Crew List form in Charlies Charts is only good for LEAVING a Mexican port en-route to the next port.  You need a different form for your crew list when you first arrive in Mexico.  I have posted a copy on our web site (www.svtarun.ca) if you are interested.  You need copies of everything, i.e.

­        Boat Registration – bring 4-5 copies

­        Insurance – 2 copies

­        Crew List – 5 copies

­        Passport – original + copy of the picture page

Part way through the process you will also need to get a couple of the forms they give you copied but in Ensenada that’s no problem as there is a small office outside and to the left of the CIS building where a guy will copy them for you for a small fee (it cast us $1.25 US).  All in all the experience was pleasant and straightforward.  We tried to be well prepared which put us in the right mindset I think.  One thing we did find out before we let the US is that Canadian boats should get official clearance papers from Homeland Security.  We didn’t need them in Mexico but you may need them if you return to the US.

We’ll spend the next few days here waiting for weather to sort itself out and then south to Bahia Tortuga

 

Underway to Ensenada

It’s 01:00 and we are under way from San Diego to Ensenada.  We left Chula Vista at 13:30 and headed up the bay to the Police dock.  The idea was to get up the bay in daylight and then wait until 7 pm or so to leave for Ensenada.  It’s a little over 60 miles and we are in no rush so we should get there at first light.  Cathy took the first watch to midnight and we were close hauled in 15-20 knots.  We charged along.  Come midnight when I came on watch, the wind died and so we motor along.  The win d was from the NE but has switched around to the south.  Rumour has it there is a bit of a blow building in the next few days so we will likely stay in Ensenada through the weekend. 

Chula Vista was great.  Again, the welcome we had was great and new friendships made.  Ah, the cruising life, make friends quickly and say farewell a short time later.  The ocean’s are getting smaller though and I have no doubt that we will run into many of the people we have met somewhere downwind (well hopefully DOWN wind but so far NOT!!).

We spent the last two weeks of December in Ontario doing the work and family thing.  Work is now done for at least the next year.  I gave up the authorship of my course as I can not in good conscience keep it up if I’m not teaching it. Family Christmas was good.  We stayed with Cathy’s brother Alan and his wife and son.  Her mom was there for a couple of nights as well so we got a good long visit.  It could be awhile before we see them again.  We have plans for 2008 but as with all things to do with sailing, plans are subject to much change.  Who really knows what 2008 will actually bring.

I just checked the wind and it has now officially died no wind at all.  Oh well, we did sail half way, better than nothing.  We have managed to get comfortable with the wind vane.  Cathy only had to tweak a couple of times to keep us on course and as the control line is in the cockpit, it’s nice and easy.  We have a really hi-tech system, a cheap piece of purple (that’s why it was cheap) line, run through a block that’s tensioned with a couple of turns of bungee cord.  Sometimes the simple ways work best.  Throughout the whole process of getting wind steering for Tarun, we had so many different opinions.  “Oh, you have a centre cockpit well, you don’t want one with control lines, that’ll never work”.  Then the other side, well, ”boats are made to steer from their own rudder so if you bolt an auxiliary steering system in the stern you put to much pressure on a part of the boat not designed for it”.  At the end of the day, they all work well and we got the Monitor used from friends for a very fair price.  Everything seems to be working OK on Tarun for the moment so hopefully the only expenses we will have in the next couple of months will be for fresh food.