Leaving Mexico

Our time remaining in Mexico is coming to a close, sniff! We sure have loved it, but it's time to head out on new adventures. We have our final checkout inspection with Customs scheduled for 9:00 this morning, then we are off to Hawaii! Winds aren't shaping up for a fast passage, but we will have plenty of food.

The to do list is mostly crossed off, so we are feeling pretty ready, some final stowing so we are ready for sea and then it will be good enough. A week ago, we left La Cruz for the Marina in Puerto Vallarta in order to be closer to provisioning stores, and be away from the distractions of La Cruz, We have been able to get a lot of work done while still having time to do some exploring in Puerto Vallarta. Old town is great, as is the Zona Romantica and we've had some really good, shrimp heavy meals.

Riki Tiki Tavi came down from La Cruz for a last good visit and to see us off. It's been wonderful to be with them, our families have become very, very close. But we are starting to experience that terrible part of cruising, saying goodbye to dear friends. Odin is bereft about saying goodbye to Neli and Liam. He was totally exhausted night before last which certainly compounded things, but he basically cried himself to sleep. I rubbed his back until he fell asleep for the first time since he was a toddler. Tough, tough, tough!

But, we are excited about the passage, and excited about Hawaii. We have two newly minted swimmers that will be ready for snorkeling when we get there! Can't wait for some family snorkel time! They also have been able to try out boogie boarding, so I think that once we get to Hawaii, Yare will be sporting a couple of new boards for lots of beach play.

The passage is about 2800 miles and given that winds aren't shaping up for a fast passage, we are guessing it'll take us close to 4 weeks to get there. We have plenty of food, and I hope reading material! I plan to post to the blog from our satellite phone daily with a short update of our position and progress towards our goal, plus anything else that seems noteworthy :).

I hope to have time to catch up on the blog while we are at sea, we've had a wonderful time in and around Banderas Bay since we last posted. But I haven't even had time to download photos from the camera, let alone blog over the last month.

We're off!

Test Blogging from Iridium Go satellite phone

We haven't been very prolific in the blog department (to say the least!). Rest assured we will return to more regular blogging soon, now we are spending our time and energy working hard to cross off items on our pre-departure check list. We plan to leave from Puerto Vallarta for the 2800 mile sail to Hawaii on or around April 2nd. We should be at sea for 3-4 weeks, and with our Iridium Go satellite phone, we should be able to continue blogging, text only no pictures, but blogging none the less. This blog post is coming from our iridium go system, so if this message makes it onto the blog site, I can cross another item off the to do list. Let's try!

Mazatlan

A two night, and rather idyllic passage from near La Paz took us across the Sea of Cortez to Mazatlan. About 40 miles from Mazatlan, we knew things were going to be different than what we’d become accustomed to in the Sea of Cortez, because we looked down on the sole (floor down below) and it was covered with moisture from the humidity in the air being attracted to the salt all over. In just a few miles, the moisture of the air worked wonders on all of our stiff and unwieldy lines, all of a sudden we could coil them neatly, and best of all, we could easily clip the gate closed on our lifelines. The line that makes our lifelines had stiffened and apparently shrunk so much that it took all of Tor’s strength to muscle them closed.  Of course, humidity has it’s downsides too, towels don’t dry within 30 minutes of being strung on the line, and the dishes now need to be dried with a towel before being put away. Can’t win everything.

Mazatlan has been an absolute delight. Tor and I were very tired after 2 nights of broken sleep on our passage, so we happily tied up at the El Cid resort marina and signed up for a week. What luxury we landed in! The swimming pool has a cave, waterfalls and water slides. As marina guests we get to use all of the resort amenities without the high price of the rooms, and since we are staying at the resort in our own “house” we can cook our own food, so don’t have to pay to eat at the restaurants. Quite comfortable indeed. With all the time we’ve spent in the pool, Odin is all of a sudden swimming on his own, even underwater with his goggles on. What fun to watch!

A 10 peso bus ride, or flagging down a pulmonia (a special open air taxi based on a VW beetle chassis only found in Mazatlan) gets you out of the Golden Zone where all the hotels are, and into Old Town to the heart of Mazatlan. The Mercado and shrimp market are terrific places to provision, and get tasty eats. Shrimp is everywhere in this town, and Lars has been a happy kid!

Best part of Mazatlan for us had to be spending time with Auntie Arlene. Interestingly enough we got next to no pictures of our time together, but we have had a blast. She showed us all around her adopted city, and shared many of her favorites; it added so much to our visit here. We are leaving tomorrow, but we look forward to coming back. You hear that Arlene?!

Before we left La Paz for the last time, we met another kid boat Asunto. Asunto also spent the last week in the El Cid marina here in Mazatlan. Asunto has a 2.5 year old crew member and another baby on the way. They live in Vancouver BC and with the exception of a trip back home for the new crew member to be born; we are on the same schedule as them. Both boats will be leaving Mexico from Banderas Bay to sail to Hawaii, spending six or so weeks in Hawaii, then sailing to Alaska for the trip home, all in the same approximate time frame. It’s a good thing we all get along so well. We spent hours with them this past week, swimming, playing, working on boat projects and just hanging out. They are wonderful people to spend time with and it has been terrific to connect with another sailing family.

Speaking of connections, we also met the crew of Calliope, another Canadian boat and they generously invited us to breakfast in a town about 40 minutes away from Mazatlan, El Quelite. It was a wonderful outing to a terrific restaurant, and the company was best of all. Ron of Calliope took one look at Lars and Odin and decided that the restaurant was just the place for them, fun décor (one of the urinals in one of the Men’s rooms was the shape of a pig), chickens to feed, goats and turkeys to watch, and local boys who saddle up their horses and burros to take kids for a walk around the block. Fun times all around!

Tomorrow we head off again for another overnight passage. We will head toward Isla Isabel, a National Park and bird rookery. After Isla Isabel, we will head on to Banderas Bay, near Puerto Vallarta, where we plan to connect again with our friends on Riki Tiki Tavi. We are all excited about that!

The off watch crew on the passage to Mazatlan

The on watch crew

Buying shrimp by the kilo with Auntie Arlene. We then
took it to a bar/ restaurant for them to cook it, delicious!

The pool at El Cid Marina. Swanky!

Feeding chickens after breakfast in El Quelite

Two happy boys taking a spin around the block

Carnaval in Loreto

With the Neverending Norte, we realized that we just wouldn’t be able to get back to La Paz in time for Carnaval. We reluctantly let go of the idea that we’d get to see and participate in Carnaval in Mexico. There was disappointment all around for the Yare crew. Happily though, it turns out our trip to Loreto, in order to escape from the boat, coincided with Carnaval. I suspect that Carnaval in Loreto was much more our speed than the giant celebration in La Paz. We happened upon a parade our first evening, and it was terrific (though the most memorable part for the boys was witnessing the semi-truck that towed the float for the Carnaval royalty hit a parked car, right in front of us, before the parade even got started!). The parade consisted of about six floats with associated dance troupes, and we ended up following it the whole way watching people throw confetti filled eggshells at each other. It was delightful. Then, our second day, we decided to walk the length of the Malecon and happened upon the carnival type set-up of rides for kids and food stands. We went back once it was open at night and had a terrific time, riding rides and eating junk food. What an unexpected pleasure!

Waiting for the parade to start

So much effort went into the floats, costumes and dance
choreography, Carnaval is a big deal!

Jellyfish dancers!

Odin was on a mission! He wanted candy so he followed the
floats in hopes of catching up with one of the trucks tossing
candy out. 

These kids threw confetti filled eggshells at all their friends in
the crowd, and in return were showered with confetti. They
were having a great time.

Merfolk Dancers

Ferris Wheel, not open for business yet, but it sure was fun
when it was!

Carousel

Driving a Taxi

Elotes! Smother a corn cob with mayonnaise, salt, shredded
cheese and add some chili sauce and you have some serious
deliciousness!

Treasure Hunt!

“Yare, Yare, Yare this is Hoku Pa’a on 16,” Barb’s voice sounded over the VHF radio.

“Hoku Pa’a, this is Yare, let’s go to channel 68,” we replied with terrific radio etiquette.

“68,” she said.

Once on channel 68.

“Hello Yare, this is Hoku Pa’a. We are just leaving Isla San Franscisco, we know you are headed here and we are sorry to miss you. I don’t know who is listening to the radio, but I have something to say that is only for adult ears,” Barb said.

I think, “Uh Oh, what terrible news do they have to share? Thank goodness for Barb’s sensitivity.”

“Okay Hoku Pa’a, we have only adult ears listening to the radio,” Tor replied.

“We’ve set up a Treasure Hunt for Lars and Odin on Isla San Francisco. The GPS coordinates of the start point are 24 deg 49.424N, 110 deg 34.294W. There is a note by the large boulder at the north end of the beach in a cactus skeleton and there are three more spots with GPS coordinates. Take a hand bearing compass with you,” Barb said.

How amazing is that? Barb and Bjarne are so much fun and such great people. Great friends to all four of us. We are so touched by their thoughtfulness, and delighted with their creativity and ability to have fun.

First clue, notes from the radio conversation.

Starting note found!

Treasure map

Looking for the aid to navigation light and the lonely cardon 

cactus on the top of the hill to take bearings from.

Turns out our only “hand bearing” compass is in our binoculars,
must rectify that!

Found the landmark pipe. Mama! There is a lizard living in it,
do I really have to reach my hand in there for the treasure?!?!

Nope, no need to disturb the lizard. “Walk 25 kid steps at a
compass bearing of 260 degrees to find a partly buried
red rock.” Next, “At the rock, turn and face the water.
Take 21 steps at a compass bearing of
175 degrees. Look for a mostly buried rock.”

X marks the spot?

“The treasure is buried 15 cm deep, just past the rock towards the water.”

-“Treasure Found! Hi Yares. Congratulations on your sleuthing.

 I bet you with we had a bigger jar :)”

The treasure? Delicious cookies.

It calmed down!

After a lovely 2 days in Loreto, we returned to a different Puerto Escondido. The Neverending Norte seems to have blown itself out, whew! We are heading back to Agua Verde in the morning, we can't wait! 

The Neverending Norte

Winter in the Sea of Cortez means there are short periods of strong winds of 20-30 knots from the Northwest, called Nortes, or Northers. The Nortes necessitate hiding out in an anchorage with good protection from the northwest for a few days. The wind isn’t necessarily the problem, it is the sea state, the Sea of Cortez is 600 miles long and relatively skinny, and therefore has a lot of fetch for waves to build from wind blowing over it. The waves are steep and close together and no fun to be out in. We are certainly no experts, but we’ve dealt with a few of them since we’ve been in the Sea. It blows hard for a few days, we hide out in a good anchorage, then about 24 hours after the winds calm down, the seas flatten out and we have several warm, calm days perfect for travel or to hang out in the warm sunshine on the beach.

Enter the current Norte. If hurricanes and tropical storms get names, this Norte deserves a name too, Neverending*. There is a local guy named Gary on the Sonrisa net who has been forecasting the weather in the Sea of Cortez and broadcasting it daily via ham radio for something like 25 years. He actually said on a recent broadcast that these are the strongest winds he has ever seen that aren’t associated with a hurricane. This one is a doozy. We are on day 4 and the winds aren’t supposed to calm down for another 3 or so days and the weather predictions everyday seem to push the end off yet another day, so who knows.

Fort building!

We are safely moored in a great and safe anchorage called Puerto Escondido, about 14 miles south of Loreto. Puerto Escondido is such a great harbor for storms that it is used by boaters as a hurricane hole for the summer hurricane season. The Mexican government has put mooring buoys throughout the bay and we are tied up to one at the far northwest corner behind a big hill for a little more protection from the NNW winds. We’ve been safe, but we haven’t been particularly comfortable. Highest wind gusts that we’ve heard from other boats with anemometers have been 34 knots, but it is sustained 20-25 kts for the past four days with no end in sight. Puerto Escondido is huge, and we are moored about ½ mile from the dock to get the most NNW protection. Since we only have a rowing dinghy for getting to shore, we knew when we tied to that mooring that we would be stuck on the boat, but the NNW protection seemed worth it.

A LONG way to the dock...can't even see it in this photo, it's
behind the boats that just appear as specks.

On the first day of the event, Tuesday, when the winds hadn’t even reached their peak speeds, the mooring for a boat named Allora failed. The owners weren’t aboard and it was frightening to watch the boat drift across the bay toward other boats and eventually toward the rocks. Fortunately fellow sailors were able to reach the boat and sail it, under bare poles alone, away from the rocks so a dinghy could tow it to another mooring. Amazingly, about 2 hours later, when the owners were back aboard, Allora broke free again. None of us in the harbor were feeling particularly confident in the moorings and both Tor and I had consistent knots in our stomachs. Just before dark, yet another mooring line broke on a big catamaran and only one small line was holding it to their mooring. All boats have since been re-secured and seem to be okay, 3 days later. Fortunately the broken moorings allowed us to really think about how we were tied to our mooring and we made some big changes to avoid chafe. We also used our cockpit sunshade to rig a riding sail to keep our bow pointed into the wind more consistently so we didn’t get broadside to the gusts and get rolled 25-30 degrees.  Once everything was all set with the boat, all that remained was waiting it out.

Anchor watch track for a few hours one night. the green circle is
30 meters, so we are secure, but we sure have moved around alot!

Fortunately we aren’t alone. We have friends in the anchorage (Moon and Kialoa), and have made new friends (Inkatu). The generosity and friendliness everyone has showed us is amazing. Lisa on Moon has offered and given us rides to shore (which is no small favor…you get soaked in a dinghy when going against the wind), and I got a ride into Loreto with Scott and Tanya on Kialoa yesterday to get groceries and cash. Casey and Ineka on our closest mooring neighbor Inkatu even stopped by on their way to shore and brought several kid movies and asked us to give them a shopping list so they could get stuff for us at the mini mart ashore. Equally important is just knowing friendly voices are on the other end of the VHF for commiserating and friendly chit chatting.

Ineke on Inkatu sent the boys a note in a bottle! See the speck in the
water just ahead of our white mooring buoy? She tied it
to a long spool of fishing line so she could retrieve her water bottle!

The contents of the message in a bottle, actually getting the bottle
 to us proved challenging, so some ballast was needed.
The lime was a perfect addition to rum and cokes for Tor and me :)

The boys have done great not being off the boat for 5 days. We have been doing school, an absurd amount of Lego building, a few movies, fort building, card games, and in general lots of family time and it all has been really terrific. When Tor and I were both nervous as cats after the boats broke their moorings, and we couldn’t really focus on anything other than listening for new sounds that might indicate a problem with our mooring, Lars and Odin were amazing and just played together and kept each other entertained. We couldn’t be present as parents, and we didn’t need to. Amazing.

We did however get very tired of hearing the wind whistling in the rigging. Knowing the end of this weather is still several days off, and feeling confident in how secure our boat is now that we’ve been through the highest period of winds (we hope), we got off the boat this morning and took a taxi into Loreto. We plan to be here for 2 nights in a quiet hotel (no wind noise!) with a pool. Life is grand. Back in the land of internet, and glad for the chance to reconnect!

  

*Compliments to Scott on Kialoa for naming our storm.