Still Going South.

Well we're in La Cruz right now which is about 20 some kilometers outside of PV. There is a new marina here that we're staying at for a few days. Our path from Matazlan to here has been: San Blas, Chacala, a tourist town (?) and then here to La Cruz. In San Blaz we spent a few days hanging out. The town is a small tourist town. Probably would be a bigger tourist place if it weren't for the bugs, no-see-ums gallore. But that is why some people like it, it's still like a Mexican fishing village with some nice places to stay. The main mode of transportation for most the local people in town is bicycles. To me the magic of this town is the plaza on a weekend night. This is when the people come out and socialize, very family and friend orientated. We hung out in a ex-pat bar for a couple of nights called San Blas Social Club. They had good food, number of cruisers there and Kak did an open mike there. One of the guys there playing music was one of the founders of Rogue Brewing. He sold out and is now being a musician.
After that we hit Chacala for a couple of days. This is a small tourist town that is accessible from PV. To me this is the perfect place to take a vacation. Very small with beautiful beach. Kak was able to connect with her sister and her boy friend from Utah there.
Can't remember the name of the next place we stopped. It was a tourist place about 10 miles south of Chacala. There was a local brew pup there. Had great beer but a lot of people. Mostly people with RVs and people that flew into PV. We had anchored out in the bay and were going to spend the night there. We got rocking from the swell pretty bad and pulled anchor and went to the leah side of a nearby island. That was better but still not the best.
From there we made it to La Cruz. In the last leg we've sailed from about a third to half the time. Not the greatest wind, but you take what you can get. In La Cruz we've made some trips into PV looking for plumbing and engine belts. The shower on Tashee has new valves using Kevins ingenuity and a new alternator belt. We did provisioning and got five cases of beer for the next leg of the trip. La Cruz is nice because it isn't a major tourist place and still has some Mexican character. PV is very touristy.
There are a few more pics on my flickr site, I'll get more up when I can: http://www.flickr.com/photos/29445481@N05/

In the Tropics Now

Here is a short post. From Mazatlan we've been to Isle Isabela, San Blas and are now at Chacala. The weather has gone from desert to tropics. Sometimes hot. sometimes hot and humid. I got a few pictures on my flickr account which are at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/29445481@N05/.

Finally - Leaving Mazatlan

Well we were going to try to be out of Mazatlan a few days ago. We didn’t make it because of parts and the weather. Kak needed a new temp sensor for Vivid and it took about 3-4 days to find one. In the process the weather changed on us for the next leg of the cruise. The winds picked up and the seas got rough. We could sail it but it would the difference between really working hard and having a rough ride or enjoying the cruise. We will be leaving New Years Eve for the next destination. About a 17-18 hour sail to Isla Isabela, an island south of Mazatlan. John, Kak’s crew has left so Kak will be solo for the next part of our trip buddy boating. From there we’ll be heading further south making a few stops before Puerto Vallarta. We had some good times in Mazatlan between the run arounds getting Vivid’s parts and doing this and that. Spend a couple of evenings in one of the plazas in town. Christmas night we listened to Gene, a fellow from BC that plays blues at a café. There we invited a gal, Natasha that was spending the holiday someplace warm for drinks and conversation. That seemed to make her holiday more enjoyable. Another night we went to a different café and had drinks listening to a Latin jazz band that was really good. Then another night we went in for an open mike at a Canaian bar. Kak did a couple of her tunes along with a Tom Waits tune while another cruiser Bill did some cowboy and folk tunes. The internet has been hit and miss so it’s been hard doing the photo thing, but believe me I have been taking pictures and do have some good ones. Happy New Years - until latter Jay.

Felez Navidad....

Everyone, we are drinking beers in a cafe in Mazatlan. We had about a ~220 mile sail that took about 2 days from La Paz to here. We were able to sail about half way across the channel to here. We got to the plaza we're in (Kak, Kevin and I, John had an early date with the tequila) in the late afternoon. It was a lazy, surrealistic seen with the sun and people lazying in the plaza. As time slips into the evening the plaza seems to be livening up. Felez Navidad to everyone. Be safe in the weather. Remember what's important this day, good family and friends, good health and the simple things in life that give us smiles.

Some More Details...

Well right now I have more time to gt some stuff written up. It´s hard here in La Paz sitting here in 70ish weather drinking beers. Got to stay hydrated right?

Got to say a good trip is when you can´t remember what the date is or what day of the week it is.

We started out in Quaymas and spend a busy couple of days getting Tashee provisioned and things ready to go. We wanted to get out of town around noon but that ended up being about 3:30. Once under way we motored out of Guaymas and got some wind. We were on about a 24 hour sail. There were some rolling seas once we got started with the wind on our beam (side). taking 3 hour watches we got closer to the inside of the Baja peninsila and the winds became more favorable. As Kevin said we had a sleigh ride into Escondido. This is a smaller bay with some protection from the weather. We caught up with the boats that Kevin wanted to buddy boat with there. Vivid a 40' sail boat with Kak as captain and John as crew. Also Hotspot which is a decent sized trimarane with Ron as captain and Z as crew. Kak just got Vivid and this is her first sail with Vivid. She has crewed on a number of boats before but this is here first. We heald over in Escondido to let the winds settle down. Vivid was at the dock when we got there and had to be pulled off the dock with a motor boat to get out to anchor. We were having 25-30 knot winds at anchor with gusts up to 40. Not a good time to sail. We got a number of things done for both Tashee and Vivid while there. Also got some hiking and pictures in for me. After the winds settled down we made our way to Aqua Verda a nice little bay where we got even more work done. Kak was able to meet up with some Sherry and Ken who are taking a road trip with their tent camper and towing a small catamaran. While there we had a couple of nights on the beach with a pot luck and munchies. It was hard sitting around the fire watching shooting stars and enjoying the company. Kak got a new sail installed on Vivid while we were there and Kevin tried to get a new main installed. Unfortunately the new main for Tashee wasn´t cut right and doesn't work. Next on the list was an island called San Fransisco. We sailed most of the way there and Vivid with her new sail beat us there (damn you Kak). Spent the night at San Fransisco and had a movie night watching Dr Strangelove on the computer (Peter Sellers rocks here). Did some hiking in the morning and then took off for La Paz. We had good winds starting out going towards La Paz and then they picked up the closer we got. We had to reef in the sails (less sail area) because the winds were getting up past 25 knots sometimes. With Kevin at the helm we were able to get 6-7 knots out of Tashee. That's about as fast as she can go. We made it into La Paz and got anchored just before sunset. La Paz has stong currents and winds in the harbor. Dingying in and out can be a pretty wet exprience, so it goes. We took a long road trip to see some friends of Kevin that have a seasonal residence a long ways outside of San Jose/Cabo. It was a pretty long and rought road trip to Ray's place. He wasn´t but his daughters Mel and Tanna were great hosts and we had a wonderful night. Back on the road again the next day we ended up in La Paz. Today we got the boats mostly provisioned and read for the next leg. The winds are commoning down and tomorrow we leave for either Mazalana or futher south depending on the winds. This will be about a 2-3 day sail, maybe the longest of the trip.

It's been a great trip so far with great people. Sometime in the future there will be more pics. Everyone be well and take care with the weather the way it is.

Dec 20 '08

Well it sounds like things are pretty cold up there. We're doing a lot better down here.

Made it to Guaymas and got abort Tashee on a Sunday, did provisions, erranes and got going Monday. Had great sailing from Guaymas to Escondido. Had to layover a few days to let the weahter settle (to much wind and waves). From there we made it to Aqua Verda by motoring. Hung a couple of days there with out buddy boaters on Vivid and Hotspot. From there we had a sail to San Fansisco Island to 'The Hook'. Had a movie night on the computer with Kak and John on Vivid. Next in line was a sail to La Paz. Real good sail in. Had to reef the sails in with 20-25 knot winds. Right now we are on the beach staying at one of Kevin's friends (Kevin is Tashee's captain who I'm sailing with. Need to wait for some weather to change before we move on either Monday or Tuesday. So we're getting some provisioning and work done.

The Start

This is the start of my blog. I plan to try to use this to keep this up to date while traveling as much as I can. As most of you know I do software contracting. Our contracts were cut short this year so instead of sitting around home over the holidays I'm talking the time to travel.



My friend Kevin is in Mexico on his 36' sail boat and can use some crew. So guess where I'm heading with cameras in hand. I'll be arriving in Guaymas Mexico by bus on 12/7. Sometime after that we'll be taking off and heading south. The normal trip is to go from the main land and head over to the Baha peninsula. From there we'll go south to La Paz. Next will be the longest part of the trip. That will be sailing from La Paz to Mazatlan which will put us more or less in the open ocean.



So as things progress and evolve I'll add more. Right now there is more packing to do.