On The Road Again

The title is literal. I skipped a bunch and will try and fill it in later but for now we are in Ixtapa. We surfed Tenacious into the marina on six foot breakers! I thought it was fun but the rest of the crew holds different opinions. After over a month of sailing Susan is ready for a break from nausea and a steady diet of Dramamine so I rented a car and tomorrow we will make the drive to Huatulco where she will wait with the kids while my buddy Steve and I sail Tenacious the rest of the way down.

Lots has happened over the last month so I'll try and get caught up on my writing so everybody is informed.

Wish me luck! It has been over four months since I've been at the wheel of something that will do over seven knots!

OK Mom

I'm 14 again and catching hell from my Mother,

"Why aren't you posting anything on your blog?! It's been over a month!"

"I know Mom, I've just been busy."

"Busy? ...You're on the beach."

Me, sulking "Well... it's hard to get good internet access... and nobody except you reads it anyways"

"Oh Danny, that's not true. Lots of people read your blog!"

So I checked my stats and she's right (Yes Mom, I said it. You were right). There are over three thousand hits right now. So if I subtract the amount of hits I would conservatively guess that my Mother is responsible for that leaves at least a couple dozen other readers!

So for my exclusive group of followers here is a rundown of the last month.

After months of prep Susan finally got tired of sitting in the marina and frustrated enough with our lack of progress that she agreed to start our way south. I had learned from our trip to Yelapa, so I chose the weather window with care knowing that if I freaked her out again I would have a lonely sail to Huatulco. Our trip around the notorious waters of Cabo Corrientes went great, flat calm and not even enough wind to blow out a match. So we motored, no sails, which was fine with me as long as Susan and the kids were having fun and I could keep the anxiety level down.

We pulled into the normally quiescent little one street town of Punta Ipala to find it overrun with revelers for the week of Semana Santa.

Oh wait, I need to back up.

On the day we left La Cruz Morgon was stung by a bee. He got about a half dollar size welt on his forearm which I considered normal and didn't really give it anymore thought. By the time we pulled into Ipala his entire forearm and hand were numb and had swelled to about twice their normal size. His left side looked the true life form of Popeye. I tried really hard not to show my concern but we were a twelve hour sail from a Doctor so I pretty much always had one eye on Morgon and one eye on the 911 evac button on our spot gps. It took about five days for the swelling to diminish and he returned to normal except for a drastically increased wariness around bees. The odd thing is that they really seem to be attracted to him... along with stinging jelly fish and aggressive little fish that bite. Good thing he's tough. Once in Manzanillo we tracked down a pharmacy to try and get him an epi pen but they aren't available in Mexico so we had to settle for a bottle of epinephrine and a needle. All for about seven dollars over the counter. How's that compare for drug cost up north! M

orgon saw that inch and a half long needle and used the little spanish he has to try and convince the pharmacist to find a smaller one but to no avail.

On our way to Manzanillo we stopped at Bahia Chamela and Bahia de Navidad but our favorite and still is thus far was Bahia de Tenacatita. Tenacatita is a great anchorage with a lagoon to explore, fantastic snorkeling and the quaint little village of La Manzanilla on the southwest side of the bay. It was also the spot where we all had our first up close dolphin experience. I had come up on deck just as dusk was setting in and heard the "FHOOSH" of a dolphin exhaling right off of our starboard side. I called Susan and the kids up and for almost an hour we watched them feed on little fish all around the boat. Danny and Alora would hang over the bowsprit and the dolphins would come up just a couple of feet below them!

Morgon and I had run the three miles into La Manzanilla from the anchorage to pick up supplies but Susan, Danny and Alora hadn't gotten to see the town. Two days before we were going to head out I checked the weather and saw we were in for a rough afternoon but the next day would be even worse so we decided to pack into the dinghy and head in to explore.

With two people in a 9 foot 10-hp dinghy you can get up and go! But when you pack in three more people, two dogs and two backpacks full of all of the stuff you haul around when you have a family she sits low in the water and trudges along at a snails pace. On top of all the added weight I had gotten some dirty fuel so about every two minutes the outboard would sputter and choke threatening to die out completely on me before coming back to life. Nevertheless the water that morning was fairly calm and I am reasonably certain we arrived three miles away in La Manzanilla the same day that we had left.

No you can't keep him!

And it was an incredible day! We explored the lagoon on the east end of town spotting monstrous dinosaur-like crocodiles, some almost five feet wide and twenty feet long! We walked the beach sampling the vendors fresh pineapple and mango, giant coconut honeyed treats, grilled shrimp and live raw shellfish. Eaten just after they’re shucked they are still moving when you hit them with some lime!

We took in the clowns and roving mariachi bands; the best of which was a boy of about six or seven belting out classic mariachi tunes. The crowd around him would get so heavy you almost had to stand on a chair to see the little guy!

The whole time we are out it is nagging at me that the wind is picking up and I know the seas are getting bigger. But I keep pushing those thoughts away so that I can enjoy this great experience with my family. And it was a great experience! But the day was coming to an end and we were all exhausted so we hauled ourselves back down the beach to our little dinghy and pushed off into the bay.


We hadn’t gotten two minutes from shore when I started to wonder whether I should have given more consideration to the warning bells that had been going off in my head. Ten minutes into the crossing the waves started crashing over the top of the dinghy, at first only occasionally, every twelfth or fourteenth wave; but that soon became every second or third and we were soaked! I didn’t know if we were gaining ground or destined to fight it out in the middle of the bay, not gaining or losing, just hovering until I ran out of fuel. It wouldn’t have been so bad but every time that @&#$* outboard would sputter and choke the bow would dip down allowing the next wave to catch us full force causing the dinghy to slow even more which in turn would bring water over the stern! And the outboard was getting worse. It would cough and sputter every thirty or forty seconds now and every time I was sure that this was it, it would die for good and we would be pathetically trying to push our way through the wind and waves with paddles.

Susan and Alora were great sports! Unafraid, giggling and laughing, trying to shield themselves from the next wall of water. I laughed along with them to hide my concern, trying to quietly urge Danny to BAIL FASTER!! He was already bailing so fast he was a blur! The dogs looked miserable, sitting in four inches of water they held equal looks of doom, giving me condemning glances that told me they knew it was my fault.

A little over halfway into the bay we crossed past the stern of a big Mexican navy ship. Through the water streaming off my glasses I could see the crew all standing on deck watching us all crawl by, wind on our bow, still getting swamped with waves and bailing furiously. I felt like a fool but looked up and waved non shalantly, as if to say “ Oh yeah, this is no big deal, we Canucks do this all the time”. When I looked back a minute later I was crazy with relief to see that the enormous ship had pulled anchor and was following us across the bay.

This ridiculous ordeal went on for what must have been hours until five minutes from Tenacious we crossed into the sheltered side and the seas and winds died down. Soon we were standing on deck, wringing out our clothes, our groceries, and our dogs.

I never did let on to Susan how worried I was. I suppose she’ll read this post and know. I hope that she remembers that God (and the Mexican Navy) looks out for fools, and still be glad she married one.

Hey buddy can you spare a prop?

Susan has been bravely working to breakthrough her seasickness and fear, and been doing great! So about a week and a half ago we headed out of La Cruz to Punta de Mita to anchor for the night before embarking on to Las Tres Marietas (the three little Marias), an island chain renown for incredible sea life and snorkeling.

Does it get any prettier!



Morgons first kill

Looked ugly but tasted awesome!

We were motoring against the wind on the way back. When we were about an hour out of Punta de Mita we heard a big BANG and the boat started to shake violently. Morgon was at the helm and I hollered for him to back into neutral and rushed down below to pull the sole up and see if we were taking on water. There was none that I could see so I went back up and put her back into gear. The shaking started again. The only thing left was to go over the side to see if I could find the problem. It wasn’t hard to spot. One of the propeller blades had sheared right off at the hub. The good news was that the hull looked untouched.

After that point we were sailors! Motor sailing or straight motoring was no longer an option. We tacked four times to get back into Punta de Mita and sailed beautifully into anchorage like we had done it a thousand times. It had gone well enough that Susan and the kids were comfortable going all the way back to La Cruz under sail the next day where I could start my search for another prop.

Under sail after we lost the prop

Rooftop restaurant in Punta De Mita

View as we sailed into Punta De Mita anchorage.

I have been getting a real education on propellers the last week. You don’t just grab the one nearest you, toss it on the boat and head out. Propeller sizing is one third science, one third art and one third alchemy. I found that I had been way over propped, which meant that my little perkins diesel couldn’t get up to its running rpm's. Kind of like driving up a steep hill in sixth gear.

After a week of searching, charming and begging (there are boats everywhere in Mexico but no props) I had resigned myself to sitting at the dock for a few weeks while one shipped in from the states when one of the cruisers on my dock coughed up his spare. It is beautiful! A campbell sailer 15X9 cupped prop. This is the one I would order new if I had time and money. But when I put it on it wouldn’t slide up the taper enough to cotter pin the nut on! After going over the measurements with Norm from West by North up in B.C. (thank you Skype!) he told me to just cut about a quarter inch off of the prop base with a hacksaw. I was pretty sure that with my cheap little saw, hacking away dockside would make a mess of this shiny new prop. Peter at the La Cruz shipyard was too busy to get to me for a week so told me to help myself to his shop so I could get it done (I was a little stunned, do you get this kind of hospitality from your shipyard mechanic back home?). So now the propeller is back on and we are ready to head out the first calm day we get!

Look at the size difference! Way less drag with the new prop!

Working under snorkle power. Glad I quit smoking!

Interesting Mexico Danger Facts

I came across this link and thought I would share it. After reading this I looked up the murder rate for Tacoma WA, the neighboring city to Port Orchard, our home town. There were 21 in a city of just over 200,000. Approximately eight million Americans are in Mexico every year (one million live here full time). That means Tacoma is about EIGHT TIMES more dangerous than Mexico!
http://travel.booklocker.com/2011/05/18/travel-safety-in-perspective-usa-vs-mexico/

THE BUCKET, GIVE ME THE BUCKET!!

On the way to Yelapa

On Tuesday, February 28th after almost two months of scrubbing tinkering and pulling wrenches we pulled out of Puerto Vallarta and set course for Yelapa, a little anchorage about four hours away. Almost everything went off without a hitch. Morgon took the helm just out of PV and had it for the entire trip, the weather was great, the seas a little rough. We had wind on the bow so motored for the trip and the little Perkins ran great, no overheating or blowing black smoke.

So why do I say "almost" everything went off without a hitch? Susan got seasick. Not just a little seasick but heaving pina colada (first mistake = pina colada) over the rail, body shivering, fighting shock seasick. I've done some research on seasickness as I knew that this could be a problem for her, and what I found is that 20% of the population are immune to it. This is somehow linked to the 20% of the population that are real assholes. I am immune to seasickness. So for those budding cruising couples out there let me offer some advice. If you find yourself the lucky asshole that is immune to seasickness an attempt at sympathy is what is called for when your spouse has her head hanging over the rail blowing chunks. Do not roll your eyes and sarcastically spout off "Awww Jesus, so we're moving up and down a little. Big deal, suck it up" or tell your son to "Quick! Drop a lure over the side, this is really gonna bring the fish!". These types of responses will only have you headed straight for the boat broker once you tie up.

So once we had dropped anchor in probably the rolliest anchorage I had ever seen (it was calmer on the open seas) we helped Susan into the dingy and then ashore. With her feet on dry land she turned to me and for the first time in three hours said something other than " THE BUCKET, GIVE ME THE BUCKET!!".

It was "I hope you like it here, because I'm not getting back on that f#&*ing boat".

I at least knew enough to curb my mouth, just respond "okay honey" and go rent a room.

The good news is that while I didn't have the foresight to find an anchorage that was calm instead of like being in a washing machine I was able to find one that there was only two ways out of. One was by boat, the other a month long trip on the back of a mule. I think she really considered the mule.

So after two days in Yelapa we started planning our escape. No drinking, not the day before or the day of the sail. Eat a light breakfast, drink lots of water and above all, take Dramamine an hour before we head out.

It worked great. We had a three hour uneventful beautiful sail to La Cruz. Even spotted a couple of whales. Besides the bucket episode the last week and a half has been great. Yelapa, while a terrible rough anchorage, is an incredibly breathtaking place. We trekked through the jungle to waterfalls, handfed vultures (sounds creepy but it was pretty cool) and just took in the beauty of the place for three relaxing days.

La Cruz is just northwest of PV. We headed here because it was a shorter sail than around Cabo Corrientes and would be easier for Susan. The marina here is only about four years old and wonderful. Its like living in a country club. The showers are shiny, new and have an endless supply of hot water. Security is great and the daily fish market is incredible!

Our plan now is to just take it easy here for another week or so, go out for short day sails, and see if Susan will be able to acclimate. I have hope!

Commuting in Yelapa




Yelapa main street



Picking up pirate habits!



Starting our jungle trekk



View from the room







Watching over dad on the boat

Mexican planters

New Yelapa room, new view

On the way to La Cruz from Yelapa

At the beach in La Cruz

Awesome fish market!

Pucker up!

Sunset at the Marina

Just About Sailing Outta Here!! (fingers crossed)

This is Pancho and Pancho jr, he cleans most bottoms in the marina. Boat bottoms you wierdo.





Hard at work sanding down the boat stripe

 Our new goal date is Monday! The tank is done, new lines run, oils changed, added a fuel lift pump, even got one side of the boat stripe painted. Looks pretty good from the port side lol. Hit Costco today and stocked up and got a 3g usb stick from Telcel. I cant believe how much faster this is than piggy backing off of random wifi! Our plan is to check out with the port captain Monday morning, fuel up, and with some luck and prayer we'll sail south!



Cooper finally got his haircut, now he's hiding under the table



New Dodger!

How do you change your lightbulbs?

Its been an expensive week. Another thousand for the marina (Dam I need to be out of here and on the hook!) $800 for a little yamaha generator, $300 for house batteries and $250 in labor for the new dodger & bimini. I am totally stoked (Morgon says I'm too old to say stoked but I'm doing it anyway) about the new canvas. It turned out better than I thought it would and the price was awesome! I used about 8 yards of the $5 a yard material I got at walmart in seattle (pro tuff, gets comparable ratings with sunbrella) another $20 for zippers and $25 for clear vinyl for the windows puts me at less than $350 for a new dodger and bimini! I had kept the old torn up one for a pattern and sent it off with Miguel so that he had a foolproof pattern and it turned out great! 

I paid moorage up until this Saturday. It gave us a goal and a little push to get everything checked off the list so that we could get out of here but it looks like we are going to get a little weather so we'll have to sit tight for another day or two. Everybody is a little disapointed but none of us want our first day out to be hairy so we'll suck it up and get a little more done while we're on shore power.

I need to put the snaps on so it tightens up but it turned out great!
Miguel Angel (Tapizados D Angel) gives great prices on upholstery and canvas work, you can reach him at 322-293-76-58 in PV
He speaks only spanish but his wife speaks great english.