Voyages of SV Iron Rose

La Paz Costa Baja

2012-02-14T20:54:00.000-08:00

We arrived in La Paz after a short sail with successful fishing, to find our friends Doug and Marcie, getting their boat ready to put on Dockwise to take it back to Seattle where they plan to sell it and stay in condos in Mazatlan, like a lot of other cruisers who swallow the anchor. We had a nice last dinner with them at one of the many restaurants in beutiul Costa Baja marina, one of the nicest on the coast, as the photos from 2010 attest. I swam in the lap pool until the hotel manager decided that cruisers would have to pay a day fee for the use of the facilities (even though the marina and hotel have the same owner, and advertise the use of the pool, spa and weight room for both). We probably won't stay here again until they come to their senses. We were thrilled a couple of days later when Jim and Chris of La Ballona arrived, and spent the night in Costa Baja to be with us, before moving the boat to marina Palmira. We arranged for the van from the hotel to take us up to the beautiul new club house which overlooks all of La Paz Bay. There is a Gary Player designed golf course, but we were the only patrons of the club which closes at 7 pm. Jim and Chris came by the next morning on their way to Palmira to say good bye. We spent a relaxing couple of weeks buttoning the boat up for the summer.

Ensenad Grande

2012-02-14T20:42:00.000-08:00

Apparently we did not take photos at Evaristo, which after our first less than pleasant anchoring attempt, turned out to be a good choice with the first cove all to ourselves. We departed the next morning for Ensenada Grande on Espiritu Santu, sadly our last anchorage before heading into a marina at La Paz. We have both enjoyed being on the hook as you can tell from the first photo. We had another great sunset, and even though a corumwel (southwesterly wind) blew into the anchorage, we seemed to have the best spot and spent a calm night. We visited the crew on Angel after exploring ashore. Baja Adventures maintains a camp here for the tourist who sleep in tents ashore and kayak around the islands. We hosted Christian and Rick of Angel for cocktails. Angel is a Cheoy Lee 48 yawl, which the owner sails as much as possible. Christian is Swiss and spends the summer house sitting in the Pacific Baja town of San Juanico (not the anchorage on the east coast) for the owner of Angel. In anticipation of leaving the boat in La Paz, Linda gave them a lot of the stuff in our freezer. On the way in to La Paz the next day, I caught a couple of bonita on the lure I made in the fishing seminar at Loreto Fest. They seemed to prefer it to the lures I purchased.

Los Gatos

2012-02-14T20:21:00.000-08:00

On the recommendation of Christian (who is standing on the bow of the yawl Angel in the first photo) we next anchored in Los Gatos, red rocks, kind of like Sedona on the ocean. We met Jody and Doug on La Gitana (the gypsy) a Westsail 32 on their first year cruising. They joined us for cocktails on Iron Rose. I took the kayak around to the 3 coves of Los Gatos and snorkeled around the clear green water. A very pleasant, calm anchorage. We are really enjoying cruising Baja where nothing is more than 3 or 4 hours away to the next great anchorage. Next stop San Evaristo. In the past we have always anchored at Isla San Franciso, opposite the east coast. This time we plan to stop at the little village of Evaristo, near the big salt mines.

Bahia Agua Verde

2012-02-14T20:07:00.000-08:00

Roca Solitaria marks the entrance to Bahia Agua Verde, a beutiful big sheltered bay, reminiscent of Lake Powell, with it's surrounding mountains, and structures in the bay, like Gunsight and Padre Bay on Powell. This is the only place where we have had dolphins surf the bow wake on our dingy, which has happened on two different visits. On the first, our son Jon was able to put on a mask and dive in before I could get the dinghy motor shut down. The dolphins sounded at once. We anchored in the south cove this time in the lee of the small rock island in the second photo. We met Christian who was crewing on a friends yawl which they sailed into the ancorage on a light breeze he convinced us to stop at Los Gatos (the next series of photos). As usual, we enjoyed the sunset. The Agua Verde Yacht Club, an informal group of cruisers was founded here. There is a small tienda a couple of miles up the road that serves the small village that we visited when we were first here in 1996. One of the best books about Baja, The King of the Moon was written about this area. Always a pleasure to visit.

Loreto

2012-02-14T19:49:00.000-08:00

Loreto was the first town settled by the Spanish and the first capital of Baja. The first photo is the multiple islands in the Mexican National Park surrounding Loreto south to La Paz. Linda is sitting in one of the classic old hotels done in the Spanish style. There are many beautiful boulevards and classic Spanish style buildings throughout the area. Loreto has replace Mazatlan on the cruise ship tours of Mexico's west coast and Baja, as I discovered while having breakfast at one of the beach front restaurants. A large Holland America cruise ship came in and anchored in the open roadstead of Loreto and ferried the passengers in to the small darsena. Loreto does not have a protected anchorage, but Puerto Escondido is right next door, but too small for a cruise ship. The church in the last photo is the oldest chapel in Baja, built in the sixteenth centuary. You can see the different expansions in the varied stone work. Padre Kiono (famous for the crossing of the fathers at Padre Bay in Lake Powell) was one of the founders

Loreto fest

2012-02-13T15:47:00.000-08:00

Loreto Fest is a multi day event of games, seminars, music, food and all around fun, sponsored by Hidden Port Yacht Club (of which we are now members). There are horseshoe, bocci ball contests, seminars on fishing, cruising and cooking, and music and pot lucks. We had a great time with our old friends Jim and Chris (shown with Linda in 3d photo) and several new ones we made during our 2 week stay in Escondido. We renewed our aquaintance with Wickenburg cat sailors Helen and Ralph of Moon Drifter. We also met some new ones from Phoenix who had charted a Moorings boat out of La Paz. I helped erect the tents before the start of Loreto Fest. Chris is British
so they checked into a nearby hotel to watch the Royal Wedding. I tried swimming laps in the roof top pool that is a feature of all the Singular marinas. It was so shallow my hands hit the bottom. I went back to swimming to shore and back. The last day of the fest the wind blew 33 knots and higher. I went ashore on the shore boat for a fishing seminar, but the pot luck was cancelled due to the high winds, no one wanted to be off their boats! We had signed up for a day long trip to the old mission San Javier along with Jim and Chris and Ralph and Helen, but cancelled due to the high winds and our scheduled departure. We had a great last dinner ashore with everyone before heading south

Puerto Escandido

2012-02-13T15:30:00.000-08:00

We arrived at Puerto Escandio after a short sail down the coast of Isla Carmen. We docked at the fuel dock and luckly were able to get a mooring for Loretofest. There are 117 bouys and about 10 side ties for boats and anchorage for another 50 or so. They fill up every year for Loretofest, which last about 4 days. Only about a third were occupied when we arrived but a few days later the entire cove was full. The first photo shows a sunset our first night there. The second shows one of the 2 "windows". We think the original Spanish filled in the area between 2 islands to enclose the cove. You can see the Sierra Gigante behind the shot of the Iron Rose on our first mooring. The water is
exceptionally clear in the shallows. There are a couple of restaurants, a small store and chandlery ashore, plus a guy who could help me fix the 15 horse motor. It turned out to be the electronic ignition. We rented a car and went into Loreto to call and order the part from San Diego. We spent the first few days exploring the anchorage by kayak, and the water was warm enough for me to swim.

Ballandra Cove on Isla Carmen

2012-02-13T15:01:00.000-08:00

We left San Juanico for Ballandra Cove on Isla Carmen, a beautiful Island just off the east coast of Baja abeam Lorreto. The first photo shows the narrow entrance which opens into a big bay with a long white sand beach. The second shows Iron Rose anchored of the northern entrance. Although there were a dozen boats anchored, the beach was pretty deserted as you can see in the 3d photo. We met a few other couples ashore, Steve and Charlotte of Simple Pleasure, a Catalina 27, and Murray and Cindy of Valhalla, a 38 foot sloop. They joined us for cocktails and filled us in on the repair opportunity for the 15 horse in Puerto Escandido, our next stop. Sadly, we did not h
enough time to hike inland on the island, but it certainly looks inviting. The water was unusally clear, and we kayaked and dove for a couple of days before departing for Escandido. We were contacted by our friends Jim and Chris of La Ballona on the Amigo Net (a morning cruisers net on the Ham Radio) and plan to meet them in Escandido for Lorettofest.

San Juanico

2012-02-13T14:43:00.000-08:00

We departed Conception Bay on April 19 for San Juanico, a unique multi anchorage cove on the outside of Conception Bay, 45 nautical miles away. On departure, we discovered that Conception Bay is very shallow in what appears to be the middle of the large bay. The deep water is near the eastern side. The boat in the first photo is anchored a little too close to the rock that gives some protection from northerly winds. He was nearly aground the next morning at low tide. The second photo shows one of the many unusual rock formations that make this bay so attractive. There is a small beach behind us, and good clear water to dive and explore all around.

Diving Conception Bay

2012-02-13T14:31:00.000-08:00

I took these while free diving (no tanks) the islands of Conception
Bay. I do not have a strobe for this camera, so the colors are not true. The first is an ordinary 6 point starfish, the second is a skate and the third a Queen Angelish. I ended up doing another rescue as 2 kids in an inflatable kayak that was leaking air, lost a paddle and the wind blew them out to the islands where I was diving. I brought them halfway back, when their parents realized the problem and picked them up in a ski boat. It is the week before Smena Sante, the biggest holiday in Mexico, and the beach is already filling with tents and campers. We will be leaving before the noise starts. It is very pretty here when the winds are calm. There are many anchorages in this sea within a sea. The water is still cold enough to require a shorty wet suit. We visited the old river town of Mulege a couple of times to get parts and have a nice meal ashore. Coyote Bay is the largest anchorage and has a big expat community adjacent. They all showed up to dance and party on Saturday and the lone restaurant on shore.

Leaving San Carlos

2012-02-13T14:17:00.000-08:00

Crossing The Sea of Cortez
We departed San Carlos at 5 am on April 12, headed for Conception Bay with a single hander Tom on Nipagon. We had a nice passage after some rolly seas at the start and arrived in Conception Bay at 4 pm and anchored in Coyote Bay. Nipagon kept falling further behind on the crossing and we lost radio contact as only his portable was working. Around 9 pm we got a call rom Nipagon, who was in the Bay but with no wind, he could not proceed, so at his request, we launched the dingy with the 15 horse and sped out to the rescue. The winds were calm and he did not set the anchor as he could not get the transmission to work. We determined the next day that he had overheated it due to seaweed on the prop. I loaned him a quart and I think he had one as well, but he failed to try the transmission.Meanwhile the 15 horse outboard quit working. The next day the wind got up to 30 knots and we noticed his boat drifting. We could not raise him on the radio so I broadcast on channels 22 and 16 that he was adrift, and two other boats came to the rescue and helped him reanchor. Luckily, the transmission worked well enough to set the hook. When we visited his boat, we discovered he did not know how to operate the SSB Radio, and only had the portable vhf. I got the 2 horse outboard working so we could use the big dingy as well as the kayak

Alamo Homes

2011-03-15T12:39:00.000-07:00

We took a tour of the homes and gardens of Alamos. These are photos of each of the 3 homes we toured. All are entered thru a wroght iron gate and a carved wood door. The beauty is in the interior gardens and portico areas around the central patio. We liked the second, smallest house the best.

Alamos, Sonora

2011-03-15T12:33:00.000-07:00

We had to wait on some parts for the boat when we got to San Carlos, so we made an inland trip to the beautiful colonial city of Alamos. At one time it was one of the richest silver and gold mines in the world, and the owners built beautiful homes, many of which are now hotels. The whole town is a national historic monument. The second photo is the entrance to the Santos hotel. The third photo is of the Patio The photos do not fully show the beauty of the grounds. Alamos was essentially a ghost town from the 1920s until 1948 when an American bought and restored the Casa de los Tesoros (Treasure House) a former convent and the hotel we stayed at. The furniture is
from the 19th century as is the art work. The last photo is taken from the Gazebo in one of the two town squares. A truly unique place.

New Years Day in Prescott

2011-03-15T12:25:00.000-07:00

Here are Edwin and Hamilton on the back deck of our home in Prescott on New Year's Day, 2011. The drifts were almost 3 feet high and I dug little fox hole forts for their sn0wball fight with a couple of scoops in the deepest part. Beautiful, but it made the road to our home a mess when it started to melt a few days later. This is a video, but I don't know if it will open as one on the blogger.

Pronghorns

2011-03-15T12:21:00.000-07:00

Another sign of fall in Prescott, is the return of the Pronghorn Antelope to the area opposite our hanger at the Prescott Airport. They are somewhat used to people, and you can see how close I got to take this photo of the fastest animal in North America

Christmas in Roanoke

2011-03-15T12:16:00.000-07:00

We spent Christmas in Roanoke, VA. with Cat, Chad, Cooper and Parker. There was the usual orgy of gifts, and I surprised Linda with a Kindle, barely keeping her from ordering one on line just before we left. It snowed Christmas Eve so we had a White Christmas, as you can see from the photo of Cat and Chad's house. We spent the rest of the week at their condo in Wintergreen, skiing with Chad and Parker, Cat and Cooper are snowboarding now. A great holiday for all. We returned to Prescott on New Years Eve and took Edwin and Hamilton with us, to play in the two feet of snow at our house.

Fall in Prescott

2011-03-15T12:05:00.000-07:00

Until we moved to Prescott, Linda and I have never lived where there are 4 actual seasons. This is the road to our home in the fall. We visited Cat's family for Christmas, where we had a white Christmas, and returned home on New Years Eve and brought Edwin and Hamilton to Prescott where we had 2 feet of snow at our house. It snowed Chrismas Eve in Roanoke so the photos of Cat's house are Christmas morning. A new experience for us desert rats

Prescott

2010-09-06T12:29:00.000-07:00

We arrived back home in Prescott on June 1, 2010. We have seen some great sunsets at sea and at anchor, but it is hard to beat this one, taken from the back deck of our house in Prescott.

San Carlos Haul Out

2010-09-06T12:28:00.000-07:00

You wouldn't know she weighs 44,000 pounds, sitting on a semi trailer, looking like our first 22 foot boat (the only trailerable one) ready for a trip to the yard. We had blisters as expected, but were disappointed to hear that the Rose would have to stay in the yard until almost the end of the year. I had hoped to splash her in October so Jon and I could fly down while the water was still warm and take advantage of the great dive spots around San Carlos. We will fly down next week (September 14) to put the full cover on and check her out, as well as celebrate our 42d year together.

San Carlos

2010-09-06T12:21:00.000-07:00

We arrived at San Carlos just as the sun was rising over the famous Tetas de Cabras (goats teats). We anchored in the now too small anchorage, due to the addition of many more moorings. Luckily, we were able to get a slip in the marina while we await our scheduled haulout into dry storage. We met another cruising couple who were also going on the hard for the summer. The wind came up every afternoon and blew 20 to 25 knots directly into our slip. We took Iron Rose out to pump out the head and get ready for our 10 am haul out. The winds were calm. The marina called to reschedule due to problems with their large trailer. Later that day they called and scheduled 3 pm as the time to haul the boat. The wind was up over 20 and blowing into our downwind slip so I questioned whether we would be able to turn, however, with the help of a talented pangero and his helpers, we arrived safely at the haul out dock.

Sailing to San Carlos

2010-09-06T12:14:00.000-07:00

The wind stayed around 15 to 20 knots for several hours after we left San Juanico late in the afternoon. It was once again a Southerly, so we were able to make good progress under sail. The wind died during the night, so we motorsailed most of the way doing 3 hour watches, which seem to work well for Linda and I. We arrived at dawn the next day.

San Juanico

2010-09-06T12:07:00.000-07:00

We departed Puerto Escandido for San Juanico, a beautiful bay with several anchorage choices, depending on the wind. The wind favored the North anchorage when we arrived. The weather was perfect and the water very clear so I went diving for a couple of hours and checked out the area with our dingy. There were 13 boats in the anchorage, and we all went ashore to roast marshmellows, drink and share stories. Several boats had kids on board, hence the marshmellow roast. When they suggested it, the temperature was in the mid 80s so we wondered, however, after sunset, it cooled off to the low 70s so the fire was welcome. We planned to stay here a few days and then head north to Muleje or Punta Chivato, before crossing to the mainland. Unfortunately, the wind came up and blew into the anchorage all morning the next day, so we left late in the afternoon for San Carlos, where we will put Iron Rose on the hard for the summer, to dry her out before applying a new epoxy bottom and bottom paint.

Hidden Harbor (Puerto Escandido)

2010-09-06T11:47:00.000-07:00

We departed Agua Verde for Puerto Escandido, which has the reputation of being the best hurricane hole on the Baja Pennisula. We had never stopped here before. It is just south of Isla Carmen, where we have anchored on previous trips. The facilicties are moorings and a fuel dock and dockage for limited time for some boats. Singular, a division of the Mexican governments Fonatur (the tourism branch) built or took over 10 marinas in Mexico, in a project that they are now trying to sell. Although only moorings are available, the cost approaches a marina, typical for government operations. The 4 story high building next to the dock is a duplicate of the same type of facility that Singular built at it's other 9 marinas. The center of the second photo, taken from the patio by the second story pool, the mountain is not an island. There is a low lying land on either side of it and closer up you can see the Sea of Cortez on the other side. The large mountains to the west and north offer good protection, and there are moorings for over 200 boats. Linda is seated by the hot tub, which is next to a "lap pool" which is about 12 feet wide and 25 yards long. We left after a couple of days for San Juanico.

Bahia Agua Verde

2010-09-06T11:16:00.000-07:00

.We anchored in the south anchorage of Bahia Agua Verde. The whole bay is simlar to Lake Powell, surrounded by the Sierras, and with Roca Solitaria near the entrance. It is thought to be the spot memorialized in the novel King of the Moon, a great book about the Mexican pangeros (fishermen) and their lives. I finished it just before we arrived here. Due to the late season, we only stayed one night in this beautiful cove. It is the only spot where dolphins surfed the bow wake of our dingy. I made a short dive after checking the anchor in the clear, green water. We were disappointed that the only fish to bight on the passge to Agua Verde was a bonita, not worth fixing.

Isla San Francisco

2010-09-06T11:06:00.000-07:00

We departed La Paz for a short trip to the twin islands of Isla Partida and Espiritu Santu. Apparently I did not take any photos there. After a windy night, we left for Isla Sanfranciso, a perfect island anchorage with clear turquoise waters, and a perfect comma shaped white sand beach. You can see the anchor on the bottom. We were all invited for cocktails aboard a 52 foot ketch with two cockpits. Around 30 cruisers were on board. We joined Bill and Cynthia for dinner and music afterward on their Island Packet 40, Creme Brulle, our last night at anchor together. A Corumwel piped up to about 30 knots and blew thru the anchorage all night, making for uncomfortable sleeping. We left at first light for Agua Verde, and enjoyed a downwind sail for most of the day.

Cynthia and Bill at Beach Club

2010-09-06T10:55:00.000-07:00

We spent our afternoons in La Paz at the Beach Club, having lunch, drinks and swimming in the great pool. I don't have a photo of our friends Bill and Cynthia together (except in the ramada by the pool) so I included all 3. We enjoyed spending time with them in Puerto Vallarta, Matanchen Bay, Mazatlan and La Paz. The 4 of us left La Paz and did a mini cruise together as far as Isla San Francisco, where we left to head up into the Sea of Cortez. Sadly, they are taking Creme Brulle back to Bainbridge Island, Washington on Dockwise, where they will put her up for sale. They plan to return to Puerto Vallarta as condo renter/owners, so we hope to see them there.

Costa Baja Marina

2010-09-06T10:46:00.000-07:00

We took the boat in to Costa Baja where we met our friends Bill and Cynthia of Creme Brulle. This is the Beach Club. The pool is 50 meteres long and you can see the ocean just the other side of the pools edge. I did 20 laps a day along with Marcie of Charm. This is the nicest marina we have visited in Mexico in terms of design, amenities, and great restaurants surrounding your boat. It is a little too far from La Paz to bike in (as we have done in the past from Marina Palmira) but a really great spot. Jim and Chris joined Linda and Me, Bill and Cynthia and Jim and Marcie for dinner, before they left for Cabo to meet their son, the famous surfer, Rod Machado.

Anchored in Caleta Lobos

2010-09-06T10:38:00.000-07:00

Due to the wind direction, we could not stop at Ensenada de los Muertos, so we kept going toward La Paz and anchored in Caleta Lobos, about an hour from Costa Baja Marina. We hosted Jim and Chris for fresh fish tacos from the dorado I caught, and then we all went to bed early, after a 32 hour passage. Lobos was very calm, but there were more bugs than we remembered so we ate dinner below.

Crossing to La Paz

2010-09-06T10:33:00.000-07:00

We had a great passage to La Paz, after spending most of April in Mazatlan. The engine was overheating and we had to replace the heat exchanger and the exaust elbow. The delay was fortuitous, as a few days before our scheduled departure our friends Jim and Chris of La Ballona arrived and we departed together. The wind was out of the south the whole passage so we were able to sail. This photo was taken just after Jim put up the Spinnaker. We caught a nice dorado which we had for dinner with Jim and Chris on our arrival. Jim fought a huge marlin for over an hour before releasing it at the boat. The wind piped up about an hour after this photo was taken so the spinnaker had to come down. One of our best long passages yet.

Coming into Santiago Bay and Las Haddas

2010-04-13T18:15:00.000-07:00

There was a big earthquake in Chile in March which was supposed to bring a big Tsunami to our part of Mexico, so we all departed Tenacatita for Las Haddas (it is safer to be at sea in deep water in case the Tsunami hits) . We never felt anything although we had a nice sail down to Manzanillo and Las Haddas, where we stayed for a week. I like to sit here when we are underway, in the shade of the mainsail.

New Kayak

2010-04-13T18:11:00.000-07:00

This is the 2 man kayak that I bought for my birthday. We both love it and have used it on the mountain lakes around our house and here I am using it in Tenacatita Bay. It worked as a spare dingy and transport to other boats and shore, as well as a free diving platform (although I did not see any fish worth shooting) We both enjoy the exercise and the joint effort.

Sunset at Tenacatita

2010-04-13T10:28:00.001-07:00

One of the great joys of cruising is the fantastic sunsets you get to experience. Here is nice one from the anchorage at Tenacatita, where we stopped on the way back north to Banderas Bay.

Las Haddas

2010-04-13T08:23:00.000-07:00

This is the resort where the movie "10" was filmed. We were fortunate this year to have our friends Carol and Dick with at all of the anchorages on the trip south. We were sad to leave them at Las Haddas as we headed north to return to Paradise Village before heading up into the Sea of Cortez to San Carlos. The beach in the second photo is the one where Bo Derek was jogging with her hair done in corn row braids and beads. You can still have that done on most beaches in Mexico, but I recommend avoiding it unless you have a perfect face for the look.

Hair Drying at Sea

2010-04-12T16:38:00.000-07:00

I love this photo (don't know what Linda thinks about it). When we are underway or anchored it is a challenge for Linda to wash and dry her hair, so she air drys it on the foredeck with the wind blowing it out for her instead of a blow dryer. I like this shot because she did not know she was being photographed and has her natural good look.

Beach at Tenacatita

2010-04-12T16:35:00.000-07:00

It is not as lonely as it looks! There were 35 boats in the anchorage, and several folks at the Blue Bay Resort, not visible here, but you can get an idea of the great expanse of beach. We loved walking on it each day. Several skates and manta rays were in the shallows at low tide. They bury themselves in the sand, so you have to be careful to shuffle your feet in the shallow surf so you don't startle them and get a painful sting.

Sundowners with friends

2010-04-12T16:30:00.000-07:00

It is a cruiser tradition to celebrate the sunset with cocktails on board. We enjoy entertaining on board Iron Rose. Here are Carol and Dick of Tanoshii, Doro and Gary of Salty Dog. Gary owned Horizon Marine in San Diego and helped us get Star Bird (our previous boat) and Iron Rose ready to cruise. He is now a part time cruiser on a boat we helped him find, the former Mandingo, now Salty Dog. Doro is a Vetrinarian and they do free neuter and spay clinics along the Mexican coast while they cruise.

Jungle River

2010-04-12T16:24:00.000-07:00

This is the famous Jungle River in Tenacatita Bay. We have done it several times with the dingy and outboard. This year we used our new inflatatable kayak. Since there was no motor noise, we saw more wildlife. We enjoyed the kayak so much, we never launched the dingy at Tenacatitia, and paddled to shore daily for a walk on the beach or lunch at the little tienda. We walked all the way around the beach at low tide and discovered that the rumours about the beach on that side being a nudist colony were true! Sorry, no photos.

Isla Pasavera

2010-04-12T16:13:00.000-07:00

This is an Island in Chamela Bay that is a National Preserve. We took our dingy there with Carol and Dick of Tanoshii, to enjoy the perfect crescent shaped beach, the easy swimming in the gentle surf and the active bird life. The water was exceptionally warm this year and we were able to swim and dive without wetsuits for the first time in years. I was still working on my tan.

New Dive Camera

2010-04-08T15:40:00.000-07:00

Before we left, I purchased a digital dive camera to replace my old Nikonis dive cameras, which used film, and always seemed to run out of film before a once in a lifetims shot. These shots are from my first dive at Chamela. We were surprised to have exceptional visibility (for the Mainland coast of Mexico) of around 35 feet. I know they are not great shots, but for not having a flash yet, I was pleased, and I can take up to 500 photos, delete old ones etc with the digital.

Arrival at Ipala

2010-04-08T15:21:00.000-07:00

This is the first stop over on the way south. We usually just spend the night and leave, but this time we took the dingy ashore and had a great lobster dinner. We had a little difficulty on landing as I decided to leave the outboard on the boat and row in. We were assisted by a young man who was a student at the University of Guadalajara. The beach has some of the best sand we have found in Mexico, very white and almost like sugar. Eduardo (our new friend) declined a tip but joined us for dinner and a cervasa.

Video of Whale

2010-04-08T15:17:00.000-07:00

This is my first attempt to include video on this blog. I shot it with my new dive camera. Hope it works.

Squalls and Wales

2010-04-08T15:13:00.000-07:00

We sailed to Punta de Mita for the first leg of our cruise. After a nice sail out, we were surprised by an unforecast squall with 40 knots of wind. We managed to anchor after the wind dropped to 25 knots. We sailed out to see our friends and fellow Cal 2-46 owners, Pinky and Danny of Dulce Sueno. We were joined en route by Dick and Carol of Tanoshii. The seas were a little too rough for boat visiting, but we were entertained by a whale, which hung around long enough for me to shoot some video. Fortunately, they are very common on Banderas Bay, but always exciting to watch

2010-04-08T14:55:00.000-07:00

Back on Iron Rose!! Linda and I arrived back on Iron Rose on January 19th, 2010, after missing the 2008-2009 cruising season. You can tell she is happy to be back on board and looking forward to a great cruising season. We plan to head south down the Gold Coast and then be back in Paradise Village for the Banderas Bay Regatta, and then head north to San Carlos, where we will leave the boat for the summer

Cruiser Fun

2008-05-20T20:14:00.001-07:00

Well cruising is not always about great sailing, dinner with friends or walks on endless beaches. Sometimes you have to repair the head (thats a marine toilet for you landlubbers) Linda took this to remind me life is not always what we wish for. I am trying to put on a couple of hose clamps in a mostly inaccessable area.

More Cruising Friends

2008-05-20T20:10:00.000-07:00

When we are in a marina we enjoy going out to dinner with our friends or having them on board. The top photo of Hank and Betsy of Equinox, was taken at Barcelona Tapas overlooking the Bay, the second is of our neighbors, Kim and Dave of S/V Maluhia on board Iron Rose for an Indain Food dinner prepared by Linda. The bottom photo is of Bill and Cynthia of Creme Brulee, Dick and Carol of Tanoshii, Don of Freezing Rain, and of course, Linda. Our friends from San Diego Gary Kowal and Dorthy surprised us and joined us at Barcelona but the photos of them did not turn out. Sorry Gary.

Turtle Release

2008-05-20T20:03:00.000-07:00

What are all of these people doing? They are releasing the baby Olive Ridley turtles, which come to this beach near our marina to lay their eggs every year. The Mexican Government protects this area and the eggs are placed inside a fence and covered and dated so that 45 days later when the eggs hatch, the turtles are carried to the ocean by eager tourists and released. Only about 2 percent survive normally, but since the eggs and the baby turtles are protected from the birds during this process, maybe more survive. We have done this outselves and taken several visitors to the turtle release. It is always a thrill to be a part of the ongoing process of nature. The turtles seem to be coming back as we have seen more each year as we cruise up and down the coast.

Restaurant Maya

2008-05-02T15:16:00.000-07:00

Linda is standing by the best table at our favorite restaurant in Melaque, Maya, which is owned by two Canadian women who are cordon bleu chefs. The cusine is excellent and the views spectacular of Barra Bay. The surf was so high and close when we were there that spray was coming onto the patio.

Fast Passage

2008-05-02T15:06:00.000-07:00

We left Chamela at dawn and arrived in Punta Mita less than 12 hours later, an average speed of over 8 knots, the boat's theoretical hull speed (1.4 times the squre root of the water line). As you can see, we did over 9 knots over the earth at times according to all 3 GPS units. We had about 3 knots of current and 12 to 15 knots of wind on the beam, a perfect passage. You can see the crew was pleased to be back in Banderas Bay and enjoyed the run. I caught a nice yellow fin tuna for dinner to top off a great day.

Lake Chapala

2008-04-17T08:11:00.000-07:00

Lake Chapala is Mexico's largest lake, and home to around 30,000 American and Canadian retirees. There are 5 towns around the lake, and the climate is ideal, 70s and 80s year round, dry in the winter and spring and the rains during the summer and fall are mostly at night. I am standing in the gardens of a boutique inn on the lake where we had lunch.

Telaquepaque

2008-04-17T08:06:00.000-07:00

Telaquepaque is one of the municipal areas within Guadalajara. It is famous for its artwork and classic Mexican Architechture. Although it is much larger than we remembered, it is like a small village with beautiful plazas, surrounded by restaurants, shops and art galleries. A great area to walk around in and enjoy the music. On Sundays, several Mariachi and Folklorico dancers perform in the gazebo in the square, which is surrounded by several restaurants. The church is one of the newer ones, from the 1700s, the main cathederal in Guadalajara was constructed in 1560.

Round Pyramids

2008-04-17T07:57:00.000-07:00

We traveled from Telaquepaque to the Round Pyramids called Guachimontones, which are believed to be over 2000 years old. There are 10 in this site and several other sites are being excavated by an American professor of the University of Michoacan. Linda is standing in front of the largest pyramid and I am in the ball court with our guide, Chava. Each of the pyramids is a perfect circle, surrounded by another circle with multiple platforms, arranged in another of the 3 concentric circles. The ball game was played using only the hips and a 10 pound ball. They are believed to have played from dawn to dusk with the captain of the winning team beheaded at the end of the game. We visited another area where they are carefully excavating in a grid pattern and preserving the ancient obsidian knives, arrowheads and spearheads as well as pots, and sculptures.

El Super Classico

2008-04-17T07:31:00.000-07:00

For this year's inland trip, we traveled to Telaquepaque (Guadalajara), and we were fortunate to acquire tickets to Chivas vs America, a football (soccer) match between Mexico's two most popular teams, Chivas (Guadalajara) and America from Mexico City. Chivas only plays native born Mexicans, while America has many foreign born players. This game has the highest ratings of any sporting event on Univision in the US The stadium in Guadalajara has hosted the World Cup twice and the 1968 Olympics. Chivas won 3 to 2 although the game was not that close. We were probably the only Americans there but it is a really exciting event, with everyone including us, wearing the jersey of the team they support. The staff at the hotel helped us acquire the tickets, at only twice the face value. Everyone at the restaurant in the square was also wearing a Chivas shirt, whether they were going to the game or not. A great cultural experience

Barra Bay

2008-04-10T10:07:00.000-07:00

This is the south end of the bay taken from atop the surfer hotel, our favorite place to watch sunsets. The second photo is taken from the Grand Bay Hotel, and shows the lagoon entrance in the foreground, the town of Barra de Navidad and the beach looking north to Melaque.

Melaque

2008-04-10T09:59:00.000-07:00

This is the view from the a restaurant on the beach in San Patrico de Melaque, of the bay of Barra de Navidad. The previous photos are of the opposite end looking toward Melaque. Melaque's patron saint is St. Patrick and they really go all out for St Patricks day. We were there last year for the celebration with a carnival midway, multiple bands on the square and the biggest fireworks display we have ever seen.

Cruiser exercise

2008-04-02T08:44:00.000-07:00

Linda is always looking for new exercises to do on board. Last year she hosted a yoga on-board instructior. She decided this is a great exercise for her waist. The hoop comes apart so we can store it more easily, and she has fun doing it. So far, I have abstained.

Barra de Navidad

2008-03-30T10:54:00.000-07:00

This is our 3d visit to Barra de Navidad (so-called because it was discovered by the Spanish on Christmas Day). In the background is the Grand Bay Resort, a 5 star resort, on a pennensula with the marina, across from the funky little Mexican village of Barra de Navidad. We arrived on Friday, the 28th of March, and true to cruiser superstition should not have started even a short cruise on a Friday (it's only 2 hours from Tenacatita). We had 20 to 25 knots of wind all the way, and gusts of 30 when we got to the marina. We got pushed off trying to enter a slip, and hit the stern of the large motor vessel (125 foot Feadship) Orion. Little damage to their boat (a scratch to the new paint job and the stainless rub rail) and a dent in our solar panel. We moved to this slip the next day. Carol of Tanoshii was there to cheer Linda up. We are reaquainting ourselves with Barra and planning another inland trip, leaving the boat here.

Fellow Cal owners

2008-03-29T12:48:00.000-07:00

It's always fun to have another boat like ours pull into an anchorage. This is the vessel Sailfisher, owned by Al Briggs and his wife Yevette. They got married this month in Manzanillo. Al was President of the Cal 2-46 Association when Linda was secretary. We joined them for dinner on our last night in Tenacatita and explored all the modifications to each of our boats. As usual, we found things we liked better on each others boat.

Tenacatita

2008-03-29T12:40:00.000-07:00

This was our 5th time in Tenacatita, and we stayed for a week. The anchorage was great, although we did have a couple of problems with the dingy landing as the surf was very large. Linda got thrown out of the dingy on one landing and we just missed dumping the whole thing. I like to kayak for exercise. We bought this one 4 years ago from Gary of Delphina, and I used it a lot. It finally gave up in Tenacatita with the last of the d rings ripping out. The schooner in the photo was one of the funkiest boats we had seen lately so Linda wanted a photo. Kind of a Chinese Junk combinded with a schooner rig. While in Tenacatita, we met new friends Peter and Lane, who have been cruising Cheerio for 23 years, John and Laura of Pacific Wind, first season cruisers and Jay and Janice of Chelidh, pronounced Kaylee, with their little Pomeranian, who is demonstrating an amazing sense of balance in the photo. We also enjoyed spending time with Don and Marie Irvin of Freezing Rain, which had just returned from Ecuador and Central America. They like Mexico better.

Spring 2008 Cruise

2008-03-29T12:30:00.000-07:00

We finally got underway (and are actually sailing!) on March 19th. We stopped at Punta de Mita the first night and then went around the dreaded Cabo Corrientes the next morning, anchoring for the night at Ipala, which, we are pleased to report is an ok anchorage again, as the fish traps and oyster farm have disappeared. It was the first week of Semana Sante, (Holy Week) the biggest Mexican Holiday, and as usual the bands on shore played through the night.

Frustrating Season

2008-03-29T12:24:00.000-07:00

This is how I looked for much of this season with the continual delays and revised plans. It is all part of cruising. Linda likes this picture.

Banderas Bay Regatta

2008-03-29T12:11:00.000-07:00

These photos were taken during the Banderas Bay Regatta, from Bright Star, a Jenneau Fast 40, owned by Dorr Anderson, that I have raced on for the last 3 seasons. We won the Governors Cup Racing Class, and finished 2d in the Regatta Racing Class. You can see how close the race was in the photos showing 2 of our closest competitors. It takes all of our crew to race the boat hard. The crew is from Montana, Arizona, Canada, Washington and Puerto Vallarta.

Cruising Friends

2008-03-14T15:52:00.000-07:00

A big part of the fun of cruising for us has been the new friends we have made along the way. Here are some from the 2004 Ha Ha Terry of Shearwater (dark hair) and Jamie of Reba are in the first one, I was surprised to learn that Terry was one year behind me at Mesa High. Her husband Bob is pouring wine at the Yacht Club fund raiser. Our fellow Cal owners and good friends Frank and Dayna are pictured next with Linda on the beach at Banderas Bay, and our friends Carol and Dick of Tanoshii are in the last photo, taken on the Malecon in downtown Puerto Vallarta

Punta Mita Stowaway

2008-03-14T14:06:00.000-07:00

On the way back from Punta Mita, Linda discovered a stowaway on our bar. It took us 2 more days to catch him.

Carol Visit

2008-03-14T14:03:00.000-07:00

Carol came for a week. We did not take enough photos, although we had a great time at the beach and visiting PV with her. Luckily we did not take the boat out and discover the hidden problems until after she left. This is from the Botanical Gardens up in the mountains outside of PV. There are over 200 species of orchids there.

Pirate Ship Fun

2008-03-14T13:57:00.000-07:00

We all enjoyed the Pirate Ship, Maria Elena. Edwin discovered a friend from Mexico City, despite a small language barrier. Hamilton was featured in the show, and we thought she won but she ended up in the stocks anyway. Great fun for the kids.

Hamilton in the surf

2008-03-14T13:47:00.000-07:00

Hamilton became an expert after 1 lesson from Grandpa

2008-03-14T13:45:00.000-07:00

Edwin demonstrated to Carey the proper technique of boogie boarding.

Jon, Carey Hamilton and Edwin

2008-03-14T13:40:00.000-07:00

Jon liked it too!

Jon, Carey,Hamilton and Edwin visit

2008-03-14T13:38:00.001-07:00

Edwin loved the beach! We bought boogie boards for Hamilton and him.They had a great time playing with them.

America's Cup match race

2008-03-12T21:04:00.000-07:00

On Wednesday March 7th, a lay day for the boats racing in Mexorc and the day before the start of the Bahia de Banderas regatta, Vallarta Adventure allowed racers from Mexico to race crew from the U.S. on their America's Cup Boats, which were used by Australia in the 2ooo cup race. We went out on Kon Tiki, a large catamaran, with the crews for each boat and a guy from Fox Sports who kept getting in my way. After the first of three races, the wind did a 180 degree shift, so our boat became the weather mark and the two racers rounded us only a few feet away. A truly awesome experience. We have watched 4 cup races on the water but never got anywhere near as close as this. We were joined by our friends Herman and Nancy of Sea Tern. They are both 80 years old and have been cruising Sea Tern for many years, having just returned from South America in her last year.

San Diego to Puerto Vallarta Race

2008-03-12T21:00:00.000-07:00

Linda and I agreed to be a host family for one of the race boats, "Bad Pak" for the San Diego to PV race. The owner, Tom Holthus is a real estate lawyer from San Diego, and is the guy on the left in front. The boat is a J-145 (48 feet long) and they went as fast as 22 knots on the outside of Baja, before getting into a hole with the rest of their class and making only 1 or 2 knots for 36 hours. They were originally projected to get in Thursday at 5 pm (we made dinner reservations for 12 (including us) for Friday. They actually arrived at 2 am on Saturday morning. We met them on the dock with two buckets of cold beer, a quart of tequilla and some sandwiches and Linda's sheet cake. We partied with them on the dock as they killed the beer and tequilla and ate the sandwiches. We joined them on Saturday night for the awards banquet. I raced on Bright Star in the Governor's Cup on Sunday (we won!).

Bees, Mice Fleas, and other problems

2008-03-11T13:28:00.000-07:00

Linda and I returned to the boat on November 18th. We arranged last spring to have the engine and transmission overhauled, the mast and boom painted and the main and jib refurbished. We expected to head south to Ecuador in December, however that was not to be. Sometime over the summer, bees established two nests in the boat and despite every type of trap known to man, we also had an attack of mice who apparently contained fleas. We had the boat sealed up and poisoned to kill all of the critters. Unfortunately, this delayed the reinstallation of the engine by a couple of weeks Jon, Carey , Hamilton and Edwin arrived on November 25th and Tony completed the install of the engine that day. More about the kids visit later. After Jon's family left, we took the boat to Opequimar to be hauled and the bottom painted, a 2 to 3 day job. We watched them haul the boat and the bottom seemed to look OK. The next morning, we found that there were more osmosis blisters than we expected and the boat would need to have the bottom paint removed and the bottom coated with epoxy and then the new bottom paint. We flew the Bonanza home the next day (December5th) planning to fly to San Diego to pick up the epoxy and some other boat parts. The weather forced us to change our plans. It rained all day Friday in Prescott and began to snow Saturday night, and kept snowing until Monday. By then another system had moved into San Diego so we delayed the trip until Wednesday. We picked up the epoxy and more bottom paint and left on Thursday for PV. About 50 miles out of Guaymas, the tachometer went to zero (although the engine was running fine) so we turned around and landed in Tucson. A new cable was installed in the tach on Friday and we departed early Saturday for PV, arraiving in the afternoon, and concerned that we and Iron Rose would be spending Christmas in the boat yard. Thanks to hard work by Juan Gonzalez, we were launched on Sat the 22d and headed back to our slip. Our troubles continued, however, as the bilge pump alarm lit up just after we left the yard. On checking I discovered that one of the 5 freeze plugs on the exhaust manifold was spraying water onto the engine and the alternator. I could stop the flow with my finger, so I had Linda hold her finger on it and called the marina office for assistance. Dick the manager met us in the entrance in a panga and tied on so we could shut the engine down and give Linda's finger a rest. On entering the slip, the panga disconnected and we tossed a line to our neighbor to stop the boat, Sadly the line slipped off the cleat and we took out the dock box and broke the water line. I flew the Bonanza home on the 27th to fly back with my sister Carol and picked up 8 more freeze plugs. Tony installed the new plugs and after Carol went home on January a8th, we started to leave for Punta Mita to check out the systems, when Linda opened the door to the engine room and discovered one of the new freeze plugs was spraying water out of two holes. We shut down and called Tony. He had bronze plugs made for the manifold, meanwhile I discovered that he had failed to reconnect the grounding line to the grounding plate so that the electrolysis's went to the cheapest metal (the freeze plugs) instead of the zinc grounding plate. We finally made it to Punta Mita and all the systems seemed to work ok, but Linda still needed to get her confidence back in Iron Rose, so we decided on a shortened cruise this year.

Mother's Day Surprise

2008-03-11T13:13:00.000-07:00

After our return to PV, we hung out with our friends Alan and Suzanne of Delphini, and got back into the routine of doing laps in the pool, working out at the spa and riding the bike. We went horseback riding with Alan and Suzanne at Rancho Campona. My horse was a real jug head, although Linda had a really good one. Alan helped us take the boat first to Oppequimar to remove the old gen set and drop in the new Panda, and then to a slip in Marina Vallarta, where Gerber Marine installed the Panda. What an amazing difference in noise. Before Linda's birthday, I had attempted to have Cat and Jon fly in to surprise her but they did not have current passports. They got them renewed and arranged to fly in on the 11th. We arranged to have Jon show up at the lap pool wearing goggles . Linda was in the pool doing laps when Jon touched her, startling her. At first she did not recognize him, but when she did she asked "Is Cat here?" no, Jon said, just me. Despite Linda's protest, we went to the yacht club for lunch for Jon (and the next surprise) . We hung out for a couple of hours while we waited (unbeknownst to Linda) Cat's arrival. Alejandro, the bar tender took Linda outside where Cat was waiting to surprise her. We all really enjoyed spending the next several days together. We took Iron Rose out to Punta Mita, and ripped the clew out of the sail en route. Nevertheless, we had fun walking on the beach and eating at one of the beach palapa restaurants. The local restaurant could not get the Sun's playoff game on their TV so we went back to the marina after one night. The engine overheated on the way back although it was ok after cooling off and running at lower speeds. We sailed most of the way back under the Genoa. Kim and Dave of Maluhia (our next door neighbor) and John of Scarlett O'Hara, came out to escort us in, although we ended up not needing help, it was nice to have everyone available. We took Linda to dinner at Daquiri Dicks, on the beach for Mother's day. The last day was Cat's birthday, and we celebrated with a nice brunch on the beach before the kids had to fly home. Linda will always remember this Mother's Day.

Santiago Bay, Las Haddas

2008-03-11T12:40:00.000-07:00

A few days after returning to Barra, we left for Santiago Bay, just outside Manzanillo. Enroute we encountered our friends Pinky and Danny on Dulce Sueno . They were headed north but turned around and spent a couple of days with us in Santiago Bay. They introduced us to a restaurant at the resort overlooking the bay, which is reached by a river that flows into the bay. Pinky and Danny had visited it previously by kayak, but thought we could make it in our dingy, so the three of us carefully navigated up the river at a rising tide, with the motor on tilt to avoid the shallow bottom. We tied up in the mangroves and hiked to the top for great margaritas and a seafood dinner. We visited the big market in the small town of Santiago the next day, where I replaced my flip flops, broken the night before when tieing up the dingy. We had cocktails the next night with Rick and Darcy and their family on Tea Leaves. They joined us on board for dinner the following night. I dove the wreck of the container ship, part of which is visible above water even at high tide. We left a couple of days later to go around the corner to Las Haddas (the fairies) made famous by the movie "10". We anchored out, intending to leave for Ziuat in a couple of days, but unfortunately, the gen set overheated, so I arranged to go into the Las Haddas Marina to fix it. This was our first experience Med-Moored and we did not enjoy it. You set the anchor and then back down to the dock, tieing the stern to the dock. The surge and the close proximity of the adjacent boats made for some uncomfortable nights. We met the Hooligans (Tim and Paula), Gemini (Les and Diane) who had come into the marina the day before and they helped us tie up. We had to take the dingy off the davits for stern boarding. We hosted all the cruisers for cocktails that night. The next day, we met the famous Bob Bitchin and Jody, publisher's of Latitudes and Attitudes magazine at the pool. We introduced them to mango margaritas, and were invited to visit their boat, the Lost Soul, the next day. We really enjoyed meeting Bob and Jody. I had read a couple of Bob's books, "Emerald Cove" and "King Harbor". They had added many new items to Lost Soul and after hearing his quiet Panda gen set, I decided to dump our 25 year old gen set and get a new Panda. Bob arranged for us to get a large discount on the new Panda. The next night around 30 cruisers celebrated Bob's birthday, at a restaurant overlooking the bay. Linda surprised Bob the next day with a ceramic sea horse, both we and Bob and Jody had seen our first seahorse shortly before. Our sea horse was hanging out on the line to the flopper stopper (see photo) Because of our concerns about the gen set and the projected arrival of the new one in PV, we decided not to go further south. On the 14th we had a fabulous dinner at the restaurant on a peninsula overlooking the bay, about 40 feet above the waves crashing on the rocks and above the finishing hole on the Las Haddas golf course. Linda's 60th birthday was on the 15th and she wanted to go back to Santiago Bay. We spent her birthday using our new boogie boards. After a few days we returned to Barra for about a week before heading back up the coast to PV. We had a near miss and one mishap en route. Shortly after entering Chamela, I dove the anchor and checked the bottom of the boat where I found a plastic bag clogging the engine thru hull, although we never overheated. The wind picked up to around 20 knots apparent between Chamela and Ipala, and when we got ready to anchor in Ipala, we could not get the main to furl, so I had to drop it. The foil that holds the sail had come out of the bottom part that holds it (probably due to wind pressure). I refitted it but we decided not to fly it the next day going around Cabo Corrientes. Although the wind got up to 25 knots, we had a decent passage into the bay and saw two big manta rays right next to the boat on the way in. Their wingspan must have been close to 12 feet.

Ruins, Volcanoes, Patzcuaro and Butterflies

2008-03-11T11:05:00.000-07:00

We decided to leave the boat in Barra and travel inland. We took the bus to Colima and enjoyed touring a recently excavated Indian village, feasting on botanas (multiple courses of Mexican dishes) on the lovely square in Comala. We visited a beautiful hacienda formerly owned by a famous Mexican artist, and hiked to North America's most active volcano, Volcan de Colima or Vocan de Fuego, which is expected to blow within the next 5 years. Both Volcan and Nevado de Colima, the higher adjacent vocano are snow capped. Smoke regularly shot out of the top while we were there. On the drive to Patzcuaro we could see the snow on the north side. Our guide in Colima was Jupiter (his parents loved Greco Roman mythology) who was fluent in English and introduced us to several museums, a lily plantation and a mask maker. He helped us decide to drive to Patzcuaro rather than take the bus, as the express bus arrived at 5 AM. We took the auto pista (toll road) and got lost in Guadalajara and Morelos. In Mexico, the freeways don't stay a freeway in the cities and you have to take a regular surface street to get on the auto pista outside of the city. Our map was woefully inadequate, but luckily we found a Pemex station with a guy who spoke enough English to get us back on track. We arrived in Patzcuaro mid afternoon. It is a well preserved 16th century Spanish Colonial town with beautiful plazas, which, unlike most Mexican cities do not feature government buildings or churches, but residences which are now small hotels, bed and breakfast and restaurants and coffee houses. Patzcuaro is at 7000 feet so it is much colder than PV. Our room was heated with a fireplace ( no other heat) so we needed to build a big enough fire to get to sleep before the cold set in. Patzcuaro is located on a large lake with five islands. We hired a guide and toured two large ruins from the pre colombian era. Next to the original church founded by Bishop Quirogga, are the oldest olive trees in North America, brought to this area in the late 1500s by Quirogga. Unlike the other Spainiards who made slaves of the Indians, Quirogga taught them use full skills, such as wood carving and guitar making, which they practice to this day. We toured downtown Patzcuaro on our own, enjoying coffee on the large square across from the plaza. The following morning we set out with our guide and a woman from Montreal to the Sanctuario Rosario, one of four national park areas where hundreds of million Monarch butterflies come each fall to breed with the new butterflies making the long migration all the way to the northern U.S. and Canada. The preserve is 10,600 feet at the top, but well worth the hike. We arrived around 1 pm and after lunch started up to the top. The butterflies had just started flying. The trees, a type of pine favored by the monarchs, were covered with what appear to be orange leaves but are in fact the butterflies. At the top, it was like being in an orange snowstorm! (the video gives you a small idea). What an incredible natural adventure. We were in the sanctuary at the ideal time, just as the new butterflies were getting ready to migrate but the older butterflies were still alive. A truly wonderful and unique experience. The next day we departed for Colima (lost again in Morelos and Guadaljara). We returned the rental car the next day after spending the night in Colima and took the bus back to Barra. These inland trips have made cruising really special for us, allowing us to explore areas less visited than the usual cruiser hangouts.

2006-2007 PV to Barra and Ziaut

2008-03-11T08:39:00.000-07:00

Jon and I flew down for my birthday in 2006 and had 2 great dives on the Tres Mariettas. 88 degree water and 50 foot visibility, the divers in the group were all experienced so we went thru the tunnels and into the caves with good visibility. We flew the Bonanza down in around November 1st and then returned to Prescott for Thanksgiving. We hosted Jon, Carey, Hamilton and Edwin, and Carol, Jim, Matt and Jim's girlfriend Candace for the holiday. We returned to PV in early December to get the boat ready to leave in January, returning home briefly before Christmas, and then flew back to Roanoke, Va to spend Christmas with Cat, Chad, Cooper and Parker. We stayed at Cat and Chad's ski condo in Wintergreen and enjoyed skiing with the kids both of whom ski very well. Parker "got it" this time and really does well for a 4 year old. Chad and I played golf on the course at the bottom of the resort and then we all skied that night! We enjoyed spending Christmas with the grand kids and assembling the gifts the night before. Cat held an open house on New Year's Day so we got to meet all of their neighbors.
We returned to the boat on January 7th to get ready for the trip south. Larry and Sandy Arvidson arrived on the 13th to go south with us. We enjoyed showing them around Puerto Vallarta and Larry, Sandy and I took out one of the J-80s at the J World Sailing School on a really windy day on the bay. Larry got to race with us on Bright Star before we left PV. Unfortuantely, after going to Punta Mita for the night, we awoke to a rainstorm and big winds, especially around Cabo Corrientes which kept us in Punta Mita for another 2 days. On the third day the wind lay down enough to round the point, but we did not get started until noon due to a stuck solenoid on the starter motor. I replaced the motor and we departed for Chamela, expecting to sail overnight, however, the wind and seas pushed us along at nearly 8 knots so we arrived in Ipala (50 miles south) in daylight and anchored for the night. I wanted to anchor close in to the rock that provides most of the protection from the prevailing wind but Linda said it was too close to the fish trap. She was right, a boat that anchored there had to hire a diver the next morning to get their anchor unstuck. We stopped in Chamela for a couple of days and had a nice snorkel . Larry (a marine biologist) identified over 60 species of marine life. We took them on the jungle river cruise in Tenacatita and then left the next day for Barra. Dick and Carol of Tanoshii were waiting for us on the dock. It was great to hook up with them again. We had 3 knock down drag out tennis matches with Larry and Linda losing to Sandy and me. We introduced Larry and Sandy to the pleasures of Barra de Navidad including mango margarittas. We watched the Super Bowl at the Grand Bay hotel with Frank and Dayna of Snowgoose and other cruisers. Linda and Sandy added to their salt and pepper collection. Sandy really wanted to get to Zijuateno, one of her brothers favorite places, but we did not have enough time to take the boat there and allow them to return by bus to PV for their flight out. So we rented a car and drove for 9 hours (it looked like a 5 hour drive on paper) being searched 4 times by the military who was cracking down on the methamphetamine plants that are all over the state of Michoacan. We stayed at a hotel on Ziuatenjo bay (I am not sure of the spelling) and enjoyed seeing several cruising friends as it was Ziuafest. We delivered mail to fellow Cal owners Houston and Gayle on Blew Moon, and went to the cruiser beach pot luck. We had a nice dive at Los Gatos, where the water is clearer. Larry took us to a tamale specialty place with 16 types of tamales. I introduced him to tacos del pastor (slow roasted pork with pineapple) The drive back was also grueling and we got lost again and discovered that every village has at least 2 topes (speed bumps) which are not necessarily well marked. We had one more tennis match at Barra and then it was time for Larry and Sandy to leave.

2005-2006 season Repairs and Mistakes

2008-02-29T13:10:00.000-08:00

We began the season with Cat coming to PV again for a week. It is always fun to have her with us, and we all enjoyed the beach and the great restaurants and other sights of the area. Cat and I dove the Tres Mariettas, although the water was unusually cold ( I started with a shorty and changed to a full wet suit for the second dive). We went to the Rhythms of the Night show with Cat and our friends Dick and Carol, at Las Caletas, the private area operated by Vallarta Adventure. The show is a special experience in an outdoor amphitheater surrounded by the jungle and featuring Aztec and Mayan era dances, fire dancers, and exotic sounds, followed by dinner and a night cruise back along the bay. After coming down in October, we decided we needed air conditioning on the boat, so I bought an Aqua Cool portable a/c that we decided to have our friend John of Scarlett O'Hara install. John had done a lot of the electrical on the boat with our original contractor, and was great to work with. He invited me to race on Bright Star, a Jenneau fast 40, a full-on race boat with Mylar sails and several spinnakers. It was a real learning experience . Bright Star is owned by Dorr Anderson of Seattle, and he has raced boats for may years in Washington, California and Mexico. I was only trusted to handle the traveler and the main initially although I have since moved up to sometime spinnaker trimmer. It takes a surprising number of people to handle the boat, especially when setting or jibing the spinnaker when rounding a mark. 8 or so is the ideal number with everyone very active for several minutes before moving back to the weather (windward) rail. I met Bruce of the red trimaran Migration, while racing on Bright Star. After we had the boat essentially repaired from the flood damage and collected the insurance proceeds (dealing with a female Russian Lawyer who knew nothing about boats in settling the claim)we were ready to go around the beginning of March. Unfortunately, I spilled a small amount of water out of a portable bilge pump onto the bench in the engine room, it leaked onto and put the inverter/charger out of commission. We purchased an overpriced battery charger to keep the batteries up while we awaited shipment of the new inverter/charger. Besides getting held up in Customs in Guadalajara, the new inverter failed on installation. Rather than hassle with the customs folks again, I purchased another inverter/charger and flew home to pick it up and return it to PV. Meanwhile, we had the old inverter repaired so we have it as back-up. We left for Punta Mita on April 6th. We hosted a celebration dinner on board with Pat and Gene of Chalet Mer, Dick and Carol of Tanoshii, and Bruce and Ailene of Migration. We left Chacala on the 8th for Chacala, arriving after a nice 5 hour sail. Jim and Lois Ann of White Star, and Roy and Marlene of Jelly Bean were anchored when we arrived. Chacala is the cove you dream about when you think of cruising the tropics. White sand beach backed by a large palm grove and surrounded by mountains, with cute little palapa restaurants on the beach. Migration arrived the following day. Along with Bruce and Ailene, we hiked up to the Guayaberra Grove overlooking the bay and visited the cladera (an extinct volcano area). That evening we had cocktails onboard Migration with all the other cruisers in the bay (about 12) and Bruce showed "Don Juan Demarco" on the sail of Migration using his projection tv and dvd player. We had a problem with the genset and the alternator which delayed our departure, but I got the latter working and we left for Matanchen bay next to San Blas. We were pleased to see Migration was still there. Usually when we arrive, I dive the anchor. On arrival at Matanchen Bay, I noticed a large dorsal fin and big black shadow approaching the boat. We were in only 12 feet of water. As It got closer, I could see it was a whale shark, the largest fish in the sea (true wales are mammals). Unfortunately, I did not have a camera, so no photo but I estimate it was around 25 feet long We hosted Bruce and Ailene for dinner and the next day we visited the historic town of San Blas, made famous by Longfellow's last poem, "the Bells of San Blas". We visited the new art gallery and a beautifully restored hotel. San Blas is infamous for no-seeums, tiny biting insects that can penetrate all but the smallest screens. We anchored a mile off shore and put up our no=seeum screen around the cockpit, and no one except Bruce was attacked. We left the following morning for Isla Isabela, the Galapagos of Mexico. We had a great sail over, and anchored along with Migration at Los Moanes (the Manikins) on the east side of the island. The next morning, we all took the dingys to the main landing at the fishing village. What an incredible place. The frigate birds breed there and despite being beautiful fliers in the air, have the ugliest progeny I have ever seen. The "babies" are bald, about the size of a vulture (they are related) and perched in a large nest in trees that are only about 4 or 5 feet off the ground, so the babies are at eye level with you. We hiked up to the top of the island where the blue footed, yellow footed and red footed boobies breed. There are thousands of them, along with several species of gull. The boobies do an amazing dance during courtship, and the males feet turn bright blue. Although there are so many it is hard to walk, the mothers are very protective of their young, squawking away if you get closer than a couple of feet. The view from atop the island is spectacular. Deep blue water. Later that afternoon, I went free diving and saw my first free swimming tuna (about a 20 pounder) in only 15 feet of water! The visibility was nearly 80 feet and there were scores of schools of different species with over a thousand fish in some schools. Quite an unusual place and the best diving we have had since leaving Baja. I made 3 more dives and saw another tuna in about the same spot. After the last great dive, we left along with Migration and the Catamaran At Last for Mazatlan around sunset. The wind and seas were totally calm, so we motored all night, arriving in Mazatlan at dawn as planned. We got a slip in Marina Mazatlan and were promptly invited to a pot luck barbecue on the dock with several other 2004 Ha ha vets, including, Chalet Mer, Effie, Jellybean, Tea Leaves, Savannah, At Last, and the big catamaran La Dolce Vita. The next week was regatta week in Mazatlan and we enjoyed meeting new and old friends in the club above the marina offices at the various events throuhout the week, including, tacos by local cooks, a huge tuna cook out and pot luck and the final night a caterer dinner with entertainment by the Carnival dancers of Mazatlan. all for only 250 pesos for the whole week. We hired Rick to fix the problems with our gen set and make a new mount for the alternator. We found him to be very efficient and reasonable. While awaiting the new parts to be made, we decided to take the ferry to La Paz to obtain additional copies of our ten year import permit (which customs erroneously kept in PV). The ferry was an interesting experience, We paid for a cabina, about the size of the old pullman compartments, with en suite head and shower. The bar was very nice, similar to an old cruise ship with nice ocean views all around. The ship leaves Mazatlan at 5;30 and arrives in La Paz the following morning. We went up on deck before sunset and enjoyed watching the booby birds dive for fish that apparently the ship stirs up. They fly along each side of the ship and when they spot a fish, they pull up into almost a loop and dive 40 to 50 feet into the water, sometimes getting the fish. We learned later that they die from starvation due to blindness after years of diving . Arriving in La Paz, we stayed at the Los Arcos Hotel on the malecon, and enjoyed getting reacquainted with one of our favorite Mexican cities. The guy who gave us our import permit in 2004 (a University of Arizona grad) remebered us and we got two certified copies in 15 minutes! A record in Mexico. We picked up some boat parts, including several fans. We got a suite on the ferry for the trip back as no cabinas were available. It came with a king sized bed, dvds and tv and a large bathroom. We enjoyed the rest of our stay in Mazatlan, and "watched" the Suns playoff games on the computer and sometimes on cable at a local sports bar. We visited one of the Caliente sports books for the first time and discovered we could watch the Diamondbacks and the Suns at the same time, along with several other games and horse races. Our friends Pinky and Danny of the Cal Dulce Sueno arrived the last night of our stay and joined us for dinner and game seven of the Suns Laker series at a local restaurant. We left early the next morning and arrived at Matanchen Bay after a 21 hour sail. Linda went to bed, while I rigged the flopper stopper. I must have tied a poor knot as it immediately sunk to the bottom. As we were only in 10 feet, I put on my wet suit and dove in. The visibility was so poor, I hit the face plate of my mask on the bottom. I searched for several minutes before finding it on the opposite side of the boat from where it dropped. We sailed to Chacala the next morning, staying a couple of days before leaving for Punta de Mita. On the sail in from Punta de Mita, we put up our recut spinnaker (now a gennaker) and we were able to do 3.5 knots in a 4 to 5 knot wind. Not bad for a 44,000 lb boat. We returned to our slip in Paradise Village and got back into the routine of working out at the spa 3 or 4 days a week. Linda does pilates and yoga for 3 hours and I do weights and ride my bike to Bucerias (about 12 miles) and then relax in the sauna, steam and jacuzzi. We tried severalrestaurants with our friends and attended the Altruism festival again, and discovered some new places to try. We flew home on June 1, bidding farewell to our friends Bob and Terry who have purchased a Hylas 52 on the east coast so they will be selling Shearwater and cruising Maine and the Caribean.

Planes and boat problems

2008-02-29T12:47:00.000-08:00

We returned to Banderas Bay in time for the Altruism festival, where all of the major restaurants in the area donate their time, food, booze and entertainment to 25 local area charities. You get to sample a signature dish from all of the great restaurants on the bay and enjoy great entertainment for only 250 pesos ($25.00). We flew home on the 1st of June after a final going away lunch with all of our cruising friends from the Ha ha. When we decided to go cruising, I did not want to give up our airplane so I asked my friend Bill Cross to fly it while we are in Mexico. Bill took the Bonanza Pilot Proficiency Class with me and really got into flying again. He and his wife Landra were taking the Bonanza on a Pacific Bonanza Society tour of hotels across the country, when the engine quit near Apple Valley, California. Linda and I were in Tucson at the time at the Bar Convention. Bill did a good job of handling the emergency and landed the airplane on a dirt road and he and Landra were not injured. Sadly, at the end of the roll-out, the right wing struck a pole, skewing the aircraft around and damaging the prop as well as the wing. I agonized the next few days over whether to replace it with another Bonanza, and after some research on Trade-a-Plane, decided to go ahead and get another plane. I identified 4 that I wanted to see and was making reservations on Southwest Airlines to go to Albany, NY, Akron, Ohio and Orlando, Florida, when Teapot Tony, our boat watcher called and said " we came within an hour of losing the boat!" I had flown down to PV to deliver some new zincs for the prop and when the diver installed them the next day, the PSS (permanent shaft seal) came loose from the prop shaft like a nut on a bolt, and let 2 feet of water into the boat. David, one of the marina employees heard the smoke alarm going off (the large cables on the starter had been blown off and set off the alarm). I had committed to buy another airplane and now it seemed even more important in order to fly parts down to the boat. Linda flew down to inspect and clean up the damage, staying on board Tanoshii with our friends Dick and Carol, while I flew to the east to try out some other planes. I selected N671vc in Albany, New York, and we hired an electrician to rewire the boat, rebuild the starter motor, replace several pump motors, and rebuild the generator. Needless to say all of this took much longer and cost more than anticipated resulting in a shortened cruise in 2005 2006

Mexican Gold Coast

2008-02-29T12:26:00.000-08:00

In late March, our friends Dave and Darlene Mecke arrived for our first trip south of Banderas Bay to the Mexican Gold Coast. We had spirited sailing to Ipala the first stop, where we remembered that it was Semana Sante (Holy Week) the biggest Mexican Holiday, and two different bands played most of the night. Next stop was Chamela where we stayed a couple of days and visited one of the islands in Chamela bay that is a national environmental site. Its also a great small beach for swimming. Once in Chamela, the rest of the anchorages on the Gold Coast are only a day sail apart. We went in to Careyes, the site of the first Club Med in Mexico, but we did not stop as the surge was pretty uncomfortable. Instead, we went another 10 miles to Tenacatita , which is famous for its jungle river. We took Dave and Darlene up the jungle river with it's low hanging mangroves and tropical birds. We docked the dingy and had lunch at a palapa restaurant on the beach overlooking the other anchorage in Tenacatita bay. This area has a supposedly good snorkeling area called the aquarium, although visibility was not that good on this day. We stayed another day in Tenacatita, walking to the resort hotel on the beach, before leaving for Barra de Navidad. We were able to sail most of the 20 miles to Barra. We went into the marina at Barra which is part of a spectacular 5 star hotel and resort. We met our friends Jerry and Sandy of Romancin' the Zeas, and they introduced us to the pleasures of mango margaritas. Barra is an interesting place. There is a large somewhat shallow lagoon where up to 100 cruisers can anchor, and an expensive marina (10 days cost the same as a month) attached to a great hotel with a large pool and private beach. The hotel never seemed to have that many guests. You reach the town of Barra de Navidad by water taxi from the hotel. There are a number of interesting restaurants in Barra which also is known for the surf break just outside the entrance to the marina. The French Baker delivers fresh baked pastries to the marina and the Lagoon each morning. We stayed for the month of April. Near the end of the month our fellow Cal owners Pinky and Danny Gardner arrived in Barra and we enjoyed playing tennis with them on palm tree shaded courts, overlooking the sea. The 4 of us left Barra and traveled back up the Gold Coast to Banderas Bay, after a mostly perfect first season for us. Dave Mecke remarked "this is the first boat I've been on where everything worked". We sailed back into BanderasBay with big smiles to be back in Paradise Marina.

Guadalajara

2008-02-29T12:06:00.000-08:00

In February of 2005 we traveled to the historic city of Guadalajara. The church and several of the buildings on the square were built in the 1500s. The hotel Frances, must be one of the oldest in the Americas, it opened in 1603 and is still going. We toured the lovely square which has theTeatro Diana (theater) built in 1560, the government buildings which has several famous murals by Clemete Orozco, which satirize both Mexican and world history. We received a different explanation of who the various characters were from and ex-pat American with whom we did a walking tour, and a Mexican Guide, with whom we toured several of the historic buildings and Telaquepaque . Orozco was famous for creating optical illusions in his murals. The finger of Hidalgo (the priest who freed the Indian slaves) in the painting appears to move as you ascend the stairs in the legislature building. In the former orphanage building, now a school for architects, a figure appears to be on both sides of a door depending on where you are standing. His most famous mural, Man on Fire, painted on the dome of the architecture building appears to change in several respects as you change positions under the dome. We did the hop on hop off bus tour of the famous sights (similar to the London tour) on a double decker bus. We enjoyed some of the best Mariachi music (which originated in Guadalajara) at Bariachi, a large restaurant and night club. We arrived at 8 for what would normally be a late dinner for us, and discovered that the performance did not start until nearly 10, when the place suddenly filled up with large families, many with small children. The last night we went to a soccer game between Atlas and Chivas at the Guadalajara stadium, which was used in two world cups and the 1968 Olympics. Both teams have a lot of local support and the place was truly sold out with many people sitting on the stairs and the aisles. Earlier in the week we went to a performance of Carmen, although not the opera as written by Bizet, it was modern dance with a rock flavor, with the occasional use of the great arias from Bizet's masterpiece. We enjoyed the bus ride to and from Puerto Vallarta, the seats are comparable to first class seats on an aircraft, and the bus has restroom facilities and movies are shown through-out the trip.

San Carlos La Paz Puerto Vallarta

2008-02-29T11:54:00.000-08:00

After thanksgiving, we decided to wait until Monday to leave San Carlos for La Paz. Unfortunately, another Norther blew in and we did not leave until the following Friday. We did enjoy riding our bikes around the area and the many nice coves within walking distance. When we left, instead of stopping at all of the great spots on Baja, we went non stop to Isla San Francisco, which we made in 30 hours, averaging around 7 knots with 25 knot winds. We arrived in La Paz the following day after a windy night in Isla San Francisco, and spent a couple of days relaxing before leaving for Puerto Vallarta. We met our friends Bob and Terry of Shearwater in Los Muertos cove and traveled with them to Los Frailles and then across the Sea of Cortez (for the 3d time in a month) to Paradise Marina in Nuevo Vallarta, arriving on the morning of the 12th after a 48 hour sail. What a beautiful place. We flew home as scheduled on the following day. We now know not to schedule departure times in other places. The weather does not always cooperate. We had a great Christmas holiday with both of our children and all of our grandkids as well as Chad's parents and his sister. After crossing the sea 3 times in a month and not having time to stop and enjoy any anchorage for long, Linda announced that we were not going anywhere for a while. This is a great spot with world class facilities, 4 pools, a short walk to the beach and several beach restaurants, in addition to the great spots in Puerto Vallarta. It is also one of the most convenient places to have guest fly in for a visit. Cathy joined us for a week in March and we did the zip line tour and rode horses to a beautiful waterfall. We celebrated Linda's birthday at Vista Grill, a spectacular restaurant on the side of the hills overlooking the entire Banderas Bay.

Los Frailles to San Carlos

2008-02-28T14:15:00.000-08:00

We left Cabo and its Scottsdale-like atmosphere and prices, for Los Frailles (the Friars) if you look closely the mountains resemble 4 friars in their garb (sorry no photo) We beat into the wind and seas for several hours, leaving around 7 and arriving around 4. We anchored with several other cruisers from the Ha ha including 2 other Cals. We arrived on the 9th and a "Blue Norther" (strong Northerly winds) started to blow that night and for the next several days. We arrived on the 9th of November and left on the 12th for La Paz with Snowgoose and Relax. We stopped overnight at Los Muertos arrived in La Paz on the 13th. This is still one of our favorite Mexican cities. Little tourism, no time share or condo sales people, great diving and friendly people, with 4 marinas and a large cruising community. We enjoyed riding our bikes from Marina Palmira down the newly finished Malecon along the ocean, and rediscovering the area. We were meeting Jon, Carey, Hamilton, Edwin and my sister Carol and her boys Matt and Jim in San Carlos, Mexico for Thanksgiving. I had hoped to spend more time at the great anchorages along the east coast of Baja and the islands, unfortunately we had 400 miles to go and only a few days to make the passage. We stopped in Isla (island) San Francisco the first night. It is a classic island with a comma shaped cove and white sand beach. We caught 2 large dorado leaving La Paz so I quit fishing (we still had several tuna and dorado in the freezer). We stopped the 2d night at Bahia Agua Verde, a favorite with most cruisers. It reminds me of Lake Powell, with a large solitary rock island inside the entrance and large mountains forming the cove. We had dolphins surf the bow wake on the dingy here, the only time that has happened. We used our new Ham licenses to get weather and talk to old and new friends on the Sonrisa Net. We stopped the 3d night in beautiful San Juanico, where I lost my second pair of glasses when I rigged the flopper stopper. Linda was mad. No problem, I said, I'll get them in the morning when I dive the anchor. "I'll kiss your ass if you do!" she said. The next morning I dove and moved the anchor and chain and just as I was finishing the dive I saw a glint of sun on the glasses! I am still waiting for the kiss. We left San Juanico earlier than planned as the wind was up although it died around 20 miles off shore and we motored most of the day with too little wind to even motor sail. A small breeze came up around sunset but before we could decide whether to sail, a full on Norther with 45 knot gusts and steep 15 foot seas began, throwing Linda to the opposite side of the cockpit. This uncomfortable motion continued until our arrival in San Carlos at 2 am. We anchored in complete darkness, and had to re- anchor as we were only in 7 feet of water. We crashed for the rest of the night. The anchorage was quite beautiful the next day with new green desert grasses contrasting with the red rocks on the surrounding mountains. We could not get a slip in San Carlos Marina so we arranged to go to Marina Real a few miles away. We enjoyed diving with Jon and Carol and took everyone out to sail, unfortunately the wind was mostly nonexistent. We enjoyed thanksgiving dinner with 9 of us on board.

2004 Baja Haha

2008-02-28T13:48:00.000-08:00

With our crew of Larry and Sandy Arvidson, we departed San Diego at 1:30 PM on October 26,2004 in a light rain. We arrived in Bahia de Tortugas (turtle bay) at around 7 pm on October 29th during a full lunar eclipse, which blocked our light from the full moon. We picked up a nice yellow fin tuna as we passed the north end of Cedros Island. We spent 3 nights in Turtle (3 more than on any previous trip) culminating with the beach party on the last night with around 500 sailors at a pot luck. Sandy climbed the mountain overlooking the bay. We departed Turtle on the morning following the beach party with the new iron rose spinnaker up, making 8.2 knots Most of the boats in the ha ha (about 150) had a colorful spinnaker up so the departure was spectacular. Larry got some shots of the other boats (attached) The wind got to be too strong for the chute so we doused it and made 6 knots under the main alone in 25 knots of wind. We sailed about half the way to Santa Maria Bay and Sandy caught a nice dorado. We arrived on the evening of October 31 to this usually isolated bay with a 20 mile long beach. The last time we were the only boat in the bay. Now there are another 150 boats. We stayed for a couple of days with the fleet and partied with the other cruisers. Larry and Sandy swam ashore with the inflatable kayak and climbed to the top of the mountain that forms Cabo San Lazaro and got a great shot of all the boats in the bay. We left for Cabo on the following morning with the spinnakers up again, a really colorful sight. The wind moderated and then died so back to motor sailing until sundown when the wind piped up to 20 knots or more. We arrived in Cabo the morning of November 4th. Bill Cross flew our Bonanza down with my sister Carol and met us and flew Larry and Sandy back to Phoenix for their flight home. We all went to the beach party which featured drunks doing back flips off the elevated stage. I ferried everyone 3 at a time to the beach party from the marina. Cabo is still the most expensive place we have ever stayed, 125 dollars a night for a slip. We partied with our crew, Bill and my sister, our friends on Liberty Tom and Nancy, Frank and Dayna of Snowgoose, and Dick and Carol of Tanoshii. In hindsight, we did the Ha ha to meet more cruisers en route (we had done 3 previous trips solo) but mainly hung out with folks we knew from the Cal club, Ham class etc.