Mid January update..Return to Mazatlan. 

The trip back to Mazatlan was less than restful for Bill. He did the night watch, which included many shrimp boats along the way. We were starting to think all the shrimp boats from Mazatlan had come out to be in our path. Other than that everything with the exception of an alternator belt breaking in the middle of the night went well. Fortunately we had a spare preventing Bill from getting out his sewing kit again.

When we got back we anchored in the old harbor of Mazatan. Bill was very tired and went to sleep while I took the dinghy to shore to try to get on the internet. We had an email from our friends and boat neighbor back in Alameda while we were in Altata. They heard we had left Mazatlan and were sad they had just missed us. They planned a vacation to spend ten days in Mazatlan just prior to Carnival. They had no idea we were going back and were really excited when we emailed them to let them know. I called them on their cell phone with the internet based phone we use called Skype. I did not have any luck reaching them because they were actually arriving that day and I was a little early.

While I was hanging out at the tables on shore which is known as Club Nautico I met several young people who were staying on a bus and one of the boats in the harbor that was anchored right in front of us. It turns out they were part of the large circus that had just finished performing in Puerto Vallarta. They were trying to book flights back to Washington while on the weak internet connection.

I offered to give some of them a ride back to their boat because they seemed to be in a bit of confusion about how to get back on the boat  without a dingy.   What I didn't know at the time was that the owner of the boat had left to take some of the crew to the airport. Within five minutes of getting back on our boat I noticed the boat of clowns,( yes I did ask which of them were clowns when we were on shore, they all were) seemed to be dragging anchor and heading toward our boat. Their boat was about a 70' schooner.

I went below and tried to gently wake Bill with out making him panic. I asked him to please come up. Perhaps I was too gentle. He was brushing his teeth when I asked if he could please come up NOW! By this time the boat was within a foot of hitting us. A couple of the clowns had climbed out on the dinghy davits (metal bars that hang off the back to hold the dinghy while underway) and when pushing themselves off our shrouds (wires that hold up our back mast). If we did not get them pushed off our mast would come crashing down. This was a bit too exciting for us but we do have the story to tell about the day we were nearly taken out by a boat of clowns.

It turns out that none of them had ever even been on a boat before. They had no idea if the boat had an engine let alone another anchor. I told them they needed to look for these thing before they hit the rocks after they passed us. By this time there were six dinghies around them with lines trying to pull them back to the anchorage. Bill went aboard and gave directions to the clowns to get them to pull up the anchor and reset it. Does this make him a ring master? Once they were anchored Bill thought they may be dragging again. We decided to pick up our anchor and move to the other side of the anchorage.

The next day we met our friends Norm and Karen from Alameda. They picked us up in their rental car and we went off to lunch at the end of beach in Mazatlan. We had been there before and enjoyed this quiet place on the beach. I walked Sparky on the beach before our lunch was served. Then all the waiters started looking down below on the beach where Sparky and I had just been. There crawling ever so slowly was six foot boa constrictor. Typically I am terrified of snakes. Bill had asked me to stand by it so he could take my picture. I can not believe I did so and was not afraid.

We had a wonderful visit with Norm and Karen. It was great to catch up on everything back at the marina in Alameda. A few days later they met us after we moved to the marina where we were staying and working on boat projects like varnishing and waiting for Carnival. One day we took them on the same dinghy trip we had done with about six other dinghies in the marina. On the previous Friday night we had met in dinghies and taken a ride up the estuary where there are lots birds and some very expensive houses. In the middle of the estuary an anchor was dropped and appetizers and drinks are served pot luck style. We did the same with Norm and Karen and they thought this was pretty cool. We even saw an iguana swim across the water to the island. I am not sure what happened but we some how went through an entire case of beer. We certainly had a fun time.

The two carnival events we had planned to see were the fireworks and the parade. The fireworks were incredible. We had a group of about six and later nine people. It just so happened that we got a place to see them front row on the wall on the beach. The fireworks were being set off right below us. The display was a simulation of a battle with one of the Navy boats out in the sea playing the part of the French. This was my first experience with "interactive" fireworks as Bill calls it. We had them landing on and around us all night, quite exciting. At one point we had to put our friend TJ’s head out since it caught on fire. There were no serious injuries. I must say that is the most memorable fireworks display I will ever see.

The next day we watched the parade which went well into the night. A lot of the time was spent waiting for the parade. It was very nice but not as exotic as I had expected. Along the parade route were several band stages and lots of loud music. We left to head back to the marina around midnight. At this time there was a line about a mile long of people trying to get into the parade area and the parade was over. This is when the really party starts. We had plans to move along the next day so we headed back to our boat and dog.

Mid January Update....Altata, Sinaloa, Mexico

We arrived at the entrance to Altata in our usual style, much later than we wanted! The entrance is a bit tricky with standing waves on both sides of you as you enter. We will hit bottom in six feet of water and the entrance showed us nine and some change. This was only for a short distance but when you have waves crashing on both sides of you it is a bit scary. The other thing that had us a bit nervous was the guide book and CD, made by another cruiser with the waypoints, recommends entering at high slack tide. We did the complete opposite. Once we made it through the entrance and turned left up the estuary for several miles things were looking good. We had thirty feet of water and it was absolutely flat.

In the estuary we saw pangas with spinnakers.   At first we thought we were seeing things because we were tired from the all night trip. These pangas all had bamboo poles sticking out from the front and back along with one used as a mast. Not only was this strange to us but they were also sailing side ways with fishing nets out the side opposite the sail. The sails all had beautiful bright colors and it looked like there was a regatta going on. We weaved our way through the pack and arrived in Altata where we anchored on the town side of the estuary.

Last year only six boats came through Altata which is a vacation destination for wealthy Mexican citizens. Once the anchor was set there were boat loads of Mexican tourists circling the boat and taking pictures. In turn we took out our camera and took pictures of them. It was quite comical. One lady called out “I speak a little English. How are you?” I responded in Spanish and everyone smiled. The waterfront of the town consists of many palapa restaurants that line the water with a dirt road behind them and then restaurants in buildings. At the end of the palapas is an open area were young men go to spin donuts with there cars to impress their chicks and other guys.

The majority of these drivers have a can of Tecate beer in one hand at all times.

Doing donuts was quite the attraction, that is until one day someone rolled a brand new four wheel drive pick up truck. After the accident the driver was tossed (literally) into the back of a police pick up truck where they wrapped his head and sped off to the hospital. It was quite obvious there were open containers in this truck since they were tossed onto the beach along with other items from the inside of the truck. Fortunately none of the onlookers were hurt. It's quite odd to see a guy sipping on his beer and smoking a cigarette while giving the police his version of what happened. Some how I don’t think you would see this in the states.

All this action was easy to view from the seats at the La Perla Restaurant. La Perla is the restaurant of Gustavo who makes it a point to welcome all the boaters who come in to Altata. He did have a wall where cruisers could write their name along with their boat name and the year they arrived, but the health department told him he had to paint over is because it looked dirty. Before he painted the wall there were sixty names dating back to the first official cruiser to enter the port in 2002.  He now has a book to insert your boat cards (business cards with your boat info).

We took our dinghy to shore when we arrived and a man came up to us and welcomed us to Altata with his limited english. We knew immediately this was Gustavo. The next day he came out to our boat with his English speaking son and three of his grandchildren. We brought them aboard and learned about the town and the pangas with sails. It turns out they were catching shrimp and use the sails to keep from scaring the shrimp with their engine noise. It is an ancient Chinese method of fishing.

From what we saw it worked quite well. The shrimp were huge and quite tasty. We bought two pounds which consisted of 24 shrimp larger than my hand for $6.00. I don’t think you can get one pound back home for this price and talk about fresh. They were still alive. This was the best shrimp we had ever eaten.

The people of Altata were quite friendly and made a point to say hello to you first. This town has a couple of small stores to buy tortillas, eggs and such. There are also a couple places to buy beer. Bill loved this. You drive up in your dinghy and walk across the street to purchase a case of beer for $14, they even threw in some Corona glasses just to seal the deal. Another thing the beer store has is a urinal around the side of the building. We have seen several beer stores with this. I learned this when asking where the banos were. Needless to say it was quite funny for the guys when only mingatorial were available.

Altata is a great place to explore with the dinghy. There is a lot to see. One of our trips took us to the sand dunes on the ocean side of the estuary where we walked over the dunes to the sea. Here we found more sea shells on the beach than I had ever seen. There were so many different types that I had never seen before. I took some pictures of the shells on the beach to use as a background for my computer desktop. The waves were large and made a thunderous sound as they crashed on the beach. Sparky loved this and ran along the beach for hours.

Another dinghy exploration had us digging up clams for dinner. This was pretty cool. We were living off the land and sea. Bill did an excellent job of cooking them. We had our friends over from Triple Stars for dinner one night and we ate steamed clams with garlic, butter and herbs.

After finding the internet café, which is a house with lots of computers in the front room, we got an email from the folks at Club Crusaros in La Paz. These are the people who help arrange for the packages to be distributed from DownWind Marine. Our package had finally arrived. We left them with instructions to send it on the next boat to Mazatlan. Our plan was to head back down as soon as we heard it was crossing the sea. Well, as it turns out our friends on Sugata where leaving and heading to Altata and knew we were there so they volunteered to bring the package. They arrived the day after we learned they were coming. This worked out great and allowed us to stay another week in this place we liked so much. It was also great to catch up with them. Bill met them back in the bay area on the Hans Christian Owners website and helped him with a boat project. We never guessed we would be seeing them in Altata a year later.

There are plans for a marina to be put in but from what we saw it will be quite a while before this happens. The plans for the gated community on the ocean side have begun. The bridge to get there is done and there are lots of houses already built. We went out and had a look at these with Gustavo’s son Caesar. We took a tour of some and the workmanship wqs scary.

We took two trips inland on the bus and had no trouble bringing the dog. One trip was to Culiacan, which is the capitol of Sinaloa. This town was okay but nothing really stood out to us. On the bus there was a girl in front and across from me. She had a newborn baby and a friend with her. The child made me think about my grandson Shane who was also a less than a month old; I looked at the baby and told the mother she was precious. As soon as I was settled in my seat this girl handed me her baby. This was odd. I held the baby for a while until I was concerned the baby had been shaken too much from the rough bus ride. I handed the baby back and later saw the girl hand the baby to the girl who was sitting next to her and then she got off the bus without her baby. This was very strange. I later heard a story about some mothers trying to give their babies to Americans to take back to the state and raise them to have a better life.

The other bus trip was to Navolato.  We had fun in this town. They had a central Mercado with veggies and meat. Also, we found a very expensive super market. In this town we picked up some things we needed but could not get in Altata. Bill was quite excited to find a fan belt we needed.

After staying here for two weeks we decided to start heading south to warmer weather with a stop in Mazatlan for Carnival. On our last day we had a pre-arranged meal at La Perla. The menu there was the same as all the others in town and we were looking for something, local, new to us and very special. Bill came up with the idea to approach Gustavo and ask him to prepare a meal for us for $1,000 pesos. Gustavo eagerly aggreed.

The meal would serve six adults and one child. We were to arrive at 5:00pm and when we did it we were treated to a very special meal. All the food was served on large platters with great presentation. First we had cerviche that included shrimp, octopus, cucumbers and lots of other goodies. The meal included all beverages as well. Next on the table was shrimp Diablo which was the first time I had this and it is on my list of favorites. Soon after this came the platters of fish, which was bake whole with some great seasoning, three types of shrimp, rice, beans, and salad. It was better than a Thanksgiving feast. For dessert we were served a bowl with some soupy white stuff in it. Gustavo called it crema. It was actually cream of wheat with cream and vanilla. This certainly was not what we expected for dessert but it was good. I made a comment that we had been there for so many hours they were serving us breakfast.

 

The meal worked out great for everyone. We took several group pictures after. You could see in the eyes of Gustavo and his wife they were proud of the meal they presented. It was a chance for them to show their talent. We left around 9:00 and prepared for our morning departure

Late December and January updates.....

Arriving in Mazatlan we had expected to see some warmer weather. We did but not much warmer. The walk into town from the anchorage takes about twenty minutes. On our way out we had the realized there is a sewage treatment plant right across the street from Club Nautico which consists of a place for cruisers to sit and connect to the less the desirable internet connection. The adventurous can even use their filthy showers that are heated with electrical wires over your head. If the wind is not blowing from the north the smell is not too bad. The wind usually blows from the north. We anchored far enough out that we rarely were reminded it was there. The anchorage was not too bad. It was $3.00 to land your dinghy

Mazatlan has a large estuary that goes back about ten miles. We took our dinghy for a ride to explore the area. The Pacifico beer factory is along the estuary and just out side it's property are the Mexican navy's ships, presumably guarding the treasure. Now here is a country with its priorities straight. Further up the way we found hundreds and hundreds of old shrimp boats. Some appeared to still be in use and other look like they have not moved in many years.

One of the first matters of business we needed to do was get a new alternator bracket built. We talked to several friends on the radio net and they each had a different suggestion for us on this. In the morning we grabbed the old bracket, the dog and headed into to town for an adventure to a place to get this done. Once we landed on the dinghy dock Bill found some local guys and asked them where they would go. They asked many details about what we wanted. After several minutes one of the guys told us about a guy who would be able to help us. Once we asked if there was a bus and also tried to get walking directions the guys said he would give us a ride as soon as he emptied the back of his truck into his storage unit at Club Nautico. The next thing we knew we were riding in a very old Ford pick with our new friend to see the fabricator. At times I was worried the truck would not make it up some of the hills. We tried to pay our new friend for the ride and guide service. He absolutely would not take anything. Perhaps we were just cashing in on some karma.

The fabricator told us to come back at exactly 1:30. This was only a couple of hours away. We walked around the downtown area and stopped for lunch. When we returned the bracket was exactly what Bill had asked for and they even put some paint on it for us. The price was $40. We were quite pleased with this experience. I had thought this repair process would have taken several days instead of a few hours. When we returned to the boat Bill installed the bracket and it fit perfectly. Now we are waiting for our new alternator to arrive.

The old harbor where we anchored is also right next to the trail that leads up to the lighthouse. We have heard that it is the tallest lighthouse on a natural base that is still manned. There are several variations of this claim so. Some say that is applies to world wide others say it is applies to North America. We chose to take the hike to the top which took about 45 minutes. Some portions were steep with cement stairs. Once on the top we experienced a fantastic view of the sea and all of Mazatlan and the estuary. Oh, let’s not forget the view of the sewage treatment plant which is at the base of the hill.

This lighthouse uses a Fresnel lens. At night we could sometimes see the light flash inside the boat.

We spent many of our days just walking around the town. One day even had us on the bus to a WalMart Super Store. This is where we took our first Pulmonia ride. Pulmonias are golf cart like vehicles with VW engines. Most only seat four and have a small area for packages in the back. For some reason they all seem to cost $5.00 no matter where you are going. They are really cute.

There is an area called the Machado Plaza, which is in the historic district which we found to be a favorite. At night the palm trees and plants in the middle of the square all lit up with tiny white lights. The walk way around the plants comes alive at night with vendors selling jewelry and snacks. To the outside of that square are several very nice restaurants with outside seating. We spent one evening here with several friends. First we met for beers then on to the restaurant El Tunnel for an awesome meal that was actually not expensive.

After that we hit another corner of the square for after dinner drinks and dessert. There were about ten of us. I ordered a coffee with Kahluha. Well, I was told they only had Spanish coffee and I would like it. It seriously took 30 minutes for the comical fire presentation. Everyone had finished their drinks and dessert before my coffee was even made. The waiter would start the fire then leave. He would come back and warm the glass and then leave. Again he came back and burned some sugar and cinnamon on the rim of the glass and then left. Perhaps he was never taught to never leave an open flame unattended. He returned again with a cup of coffee which he warmed up and then left again. Eventually he poured some brandy in with the coffee and Kahluha. At last I had my drink after everyone else had finished. A few ordered second drinks while waiting for me to get my Spanish coffee. Welcome to Mexico. Nothing happens quickly here.

We later walked back to the anchorage through some interesting houses. Many of them have a New Orleans feel to them. Then again, I have never been to New Orleans. At one time there was a large German population here and some of the architecture reflects a European flare to them. I have been to Germany so I can say this is so.

For our New years celebration we took the bus to the marina which was about five miles away. There we had dinner on Triple Stars. We were joined by Jammin’ and Hiatus. For dinner Bill made shrimp scampi and Rob grilled some lobster. Hiatus brought some delicious cheese and crackers and Helen from Jammin’ made a fantastic salad. We had a short visit from Jim and Susan on Windward Bound before dinner. Susan had a made a tasty olive spread she brought to share. This is one of the great things about cruising , everyone is ready to join forces and put a meal together even at a moments notice.

After dinner we took a dinghy ride over to the next marina called El Cid. This is where Jammin’ had their boat. Along the way we stopped at some vacant docks where the guys lit cigars Bill brought and then the champagne started to flow. This is where we were as 2008 rolled in. We were able to see some fireworks here as well. Later we arrived at Dave and Helen’s boat where Bill and I were going to catch a cab back to our boat. Bill and I got out of Triple Star’s dinghy and on the dock while Rob was trying to tie up the dinghy when somehow he fell in. As he went in he held his cigar up as high as he could. Once out of the water and on the back of Jammin’ the first thing he did was try to puff on his cigar. No luck, it was soaked but he tried again. We laughed once we knew he was okay.

In the mean time Bill had left with Kent from Hiatus and Dave of Jammin’ to go out the entrance into the ocean to check out the waves. Fortunately some of them were a little sober and went along to ensure the safety of all. They did have fun and Dave got his wish to go surfing in the dinghy.

When we were ready leave and find a taxi we realized Rob and Jan left with our bag containing money to get home. We could have borrowed some from Dave but the bag also had the key to our dinghy lock. We had Dave’s son who was visiting take us back to Triple Stars. Upon our arrival and several radio calls letting them know we were coming we caught Rob naked in the cockpit. He had taken off all his wet clothes outside. This made for many jokes during the following few weeks.

After walking out to the main road we flagged down the first means of transportation we could find for fear of never seeing anything else. The night was really cold. We caught a Pulmonia. The driver was pretty fun even though we froze our tails off. He put on some disco music to which Bill and I felt we needed to seat dance to. Our driver would pull up next to other Pulmonias with tired old gringos in them and crank the music while Bill and I totally got into the music. You could tell the other drivers were envious of the great time we were having. Some of the cars would roll down their windows and give us the thumbs up. We were cold but we were having fun.

The next day we woke up and Bill and I were both very sick with the flu. We are not sure if it was our wild night or if we cought it form other cruisers as the illness has been going around for several weeks. Heather from Hiatus missed all the fun on New Years eve because she was sick in bed with the flu.

The day after New Years we just hung out at the boat and made plans to head north to Altata. This would mean we needed to go to the marina area to get fuel and water before we took the 115 mile trip. Getting in and out of the fuel dock takes lots of patience, good timing and plenty of luck. Most of the time the tour boats are docked on the fuel dock. Before you can even get there you have to pass the dredger at the entrance which only stops twice a day to let people in and out. The entrance is too narrow for more than one boat.

A few days later we went to the fuel dock and made it in without too much trouble. We had plans to go on a tour of the Pacifico plant that afternoon as well. With things taking much longer than we planned we decided to stay the night at the marina. This had us quite busy. We did not get into the marina until noon and by the time we checked in, filled our water, washed the boat we had only a short time to catch the bus to the Pacifico plant. I was feeling a bit stressed trying to get all this done. We also needed to walk the dog since he could not go with us this time. After talking with several people on the dock we decided it would be okay to leave him on the deck. All the neighbors knew he would be there and said they would keep and eye open in the event he decided to jump ship. The dock had a locked gate so if he did jump he would be confined to the dock.

We were nearly running to catch the bus for the tour. I hate being so rushed but that is what needed to happen. We were told only 12 people could go on this English tour and there were many people who had been turned away. One of the boats from the marina had pre-arranged the tour and we were lucky to get in on it.

Once we got into town and caught our second bus to the beer plant we met up with the others who had walked from the old harbor. The tour itself was not too over stimulating but at the end of the tour we took an elevator to the top of their tall building. Here was a Pacifico museum where they handed us ice cold beers and water for those who did not drink. There was a sign on the wall that made me smile. I think something got lost in the translation. The best part was the view. It was almost comparable to the view from the lighthouse.

After our tour the 12 of us went to dinner at Te Amo Lucy's. It was here that we met our entertaining waiter Tony. He actually pulled up a stool, got the calculator out and sat at the end of our table to add up our bill. We went back to the marina by bus shortly after that to be with Sparky and prepare for our departure to Altata in the morning.

The trip to Altata was uneventful although our departure was a little later than we had wanted but we had to wait for the dredger to allow us out. I was also able to try my new drugs for sea sickness. This stuff called Sturgeron is awesome! It is too bad you can't buy it in the states.  

December 24th...Departure for Mazatlan

We woke up at o’dark thirty. I believe it was 4:30. We were ready to go. The trip to Mazatlan takes two over nights and not wanting to anchor in the dark in a strange marina we needed to leave early. Bill turned in our dock keys to the security man and got back our deposit. Then in broken English he told Bill he can check out but he can’t leave. Confused Bill asked several questions. It turns out the port was still closed. At this point Bill had a spell of turrets syndrome. He came back to the boat and started calling the port captain on the radio to ask when it would open. The winds were only blowing 15 and the seas had calmed in comparison to the days before.

From what we could understand the port captain had not shown up for work yet and he was the only one that could make that decision. If we did not get out on this day we would be in La Paz for a minimum of another week waiting for the next weather window. I did not want to spend another week in cold windy weather.

At this point we started asking what would happen to us should we leave. The answer was 500 US dollars in fines. There were two other boats that started heading out. We decided to follow them hoping we did not spend Christmas in a Mexican jail or at least if we did perhaps we would have some company. As we left the marina we got a call from the marina saying the port had opened and we needed to sign out. We told them we already left. They seemed shocked but told us to call the port captain to let him know. We did and everything was fine except it was now after 9:00. With our slow boat we can not afford to get a late start.

The seas were rough for the first half of the first day. This caused us to change our planned course. I did not feel good. This was not how I wanted to spend my Christmas eve or Christmas. I don’t think anyone wants to spend Christmas eve sea sick. I spent lots of time thinking about what I would be doing if I were back home. I love decorating for Christmas and baking cookies.

The next day I was feeling a little better and the weather seemed to be getting better as well. Listening to the Don Anderson we could not waste any time because there were 50 knot winds on our tail. We felt we were doing well for time and then I heard something that did not sound right in the engine. Once again it was the alternator. A different bracket had broken. This was not a going to allow us to miss those winds.

The engine continued to run with us watching the temperature constantly. The belt for the alternator also drives the water pump. We had talked about getting some emergency belts but never did. This would have allowed us to run the water pump without the alternator. Once the engine started heating up we had to shut it down and sail. The winds were working for us and we were able to move along at an average of 4 knots. We needed to do at least 5 to stay on track.

I made us a very nice Christmas dinner with a stuffed chicken and pumpkinlicious for dessert. We exchanged gifts. Bill gave me a bottle of Amaretto. I gave him some new razors and other small things he wanted for the boat. It was strange to spend Christmas on the boat in the middle of the sea.

We arrived in Mazatlan just before dawn. Being unfamiliar with the entrance we did not want to enter in the dark. On top of that we did not have an engine. Bill went into Mc Gyver mode and sewed a belt out of rope. I did not think this was going to work. It was way too Flintstone like. I kept my opinion to myself as I held the flashlight while Bill sewed.

We talked over our plan for anchoring without the engine. After making several tacks to avoid cruise ships we sailed through the entrance to the anchorage just inside to our left. The anchorage was a little crowded. He decided to start the engine to get us to the perfect spot. To my surprise his rope belt worked. We picked up a bit and then headed into town for some lunch.

December 15th..Life in Marina De La Paz

Our first night in the marina was spent at the fuel dock. We had several of our friends who were staying in the marina walk over and visit us. The next day we were moved to the end tie on the outside of the marina. There was not much protection from the weather but we did have a huge dock to allow us shore access without getting wet. There were three boats on this dock and just on the inside was a huge mega yacht. At night the mega yacht would turn on it’s underwater lights. The yacht was backed in with some space behind it. Bill took his fishing pole out at night and played with the fish. He actually caught a few and tossed them back. He smiled like a child while playing this cat and mouse game.

Now that we had a very wide dock to use we decided to start making chaps for the dinghy. This took us two days to do but we still need to finish the trim around the holes for the oar locks. They came out really nice. Fortunately we had our VHF back and turned it on to see if it was actually functioning when we heard the marina office call us. They asked if we wanted to take a large slip inside the marina. We previously had asked about the same slip and were told we would have to pay for the full 70 feet so we stayed outside. I asked the office lady how big the slip was that she had. It was the 70 feet. I then asked if the price would be more. She said no which was good because we had already paid through Christmas. That was a no brainer. We moved to the 70 foot slip inside the marina. Here we met more people. It was very nice.

On the 23rd we went see the La Paz orchestra play. It was an outdoor Christmas concert. We froze but enjoyed it very much. Our friends Steve and Teresa from Gypseas Palace were with us. Steve stayed warm by drinking peppermint schnapps out of his cell phone shaped flask. He wife with her southern accent kept asking to have a piece of the conversation.

Earlier in the day we had listened to the weather on the SSB net. They have Don Anderson on who is the weather expert for the parts of Mexico we plan to travel. He is usually very accurate. This is one amazing guy. He volunteers all his time and we are told he has a huge electric bill from his radio. He is located in Oxnard, California. If you have time look him up on the internet. Search Don Anderson Weather. His boat is Summer Passage. He is very interesting. Don has predicted a two day weather window to get across to Mazatlan. The windows seem to be getting fewer and fewer. We had talked about going straight to Altata which is 100 miles north of Mazatlan but with such a short window we decided not to do that.

For the last few days the port captain had closed the port. This means boats can come in but can’t leave because the seas are too dangerous and they don’t have a coast guard here. We are told the Navy will only pick you up if you abandon your boat. On Christmas eve we got our refund from the marina for days we paid for but will not use. Also, we made arrangements for our packages to be sent to Mazatlan if they should ever show up.

We were ready to get on with cruising and find warmer weather.

December 13th, Back in La paz

We were excited to listen to the VHF radio net to hear if our package had arrived. We were sure it had since we had heard there was a delivery from DownWind Marine. Not hearing our name called we went into town to the internet café to check our email and use Skype to make sure our daughter sent our package . Well, due to her very busy work schedule and finals she did not get it in the mail until a couple of days before.

We called DownWind and they had received it but it missed the ride down to La Paz. We were also waiting to pick up our VHF ICOM 502 which apparently has a card inside tracking minutes. If you use them up it needs repairs. We have had nothing but trouble with this thing. Two of our friends with the same radio have had the same problems. ICOM quit communicating with us once they found out we were in Mexico. We are not done with our battle with them. Sorry, back to the story.

The ICOM dealer here still had not repaired our radio. He said the part had just arrived today and he would have it done tomorrow. This was after walking a couple of miles to his shop several times in one day. It was time to unwind and let our disappointments go. We headed to dinner with a total of five couples to celebrate our Anniversary.

Our first stop was at the local bar/café for their two-for-one happy hour. The crazy thing is they expect you to drink two and not share with your partner. When you order they line up your drinks in front of you. I felt like I was quite the alcoholic. Next we walked down to our favorite dirt floored restaurant. I had the relleno stuffed with shrimp. It was fantastic. This dinner was also a send off for Jammin’ and Hiatus who were leaving for Mazatlan in the morning.

With the weather getting cold and very windy we decided to look into moving to the marina to make it easier to socialize and walk the dog without getting soaked on the way. We also needed to get fuel before he left for our next port of call Mazatlan. We were ready to head south to warmer weather but had to wait for our package and radio to be repaired. The packages are brought down by fellow boaters who are making the drive from San Diego to La Paz.

We decided to stay in the Marina until Christmas so we weren’t stuck on our boat with the high winds. We were also hoping someone would be coming south for Christmas with our package. We had also decided to order a new alternator to come from DownWind. On a very windy day I went on shore to do our laundry. While waiting for it to dry I called some friends back home on the Skype phone. Bill came to get me and started talking to our friends on the phone. The first thing I heard was him telling them our generator stopped working and he could not figure it out. Without that we have no electricity. They talked awhile coming up with different ideas. At this point we needed to get into the marina for some shore power. We pulled up the anchor and headed for the fuel dock.

The marina did not have any open slips for us at this point. On our way in Bill yells for me to drop the anchor. The winds were high and we were in between two moored boats with not much room on either side of us. My response was “HERE?”. Then it clicked we have an engine problem. This was the worst place for that to happen.

I dropped the anchor as quickly as I could and prayed it stuck. It did. Bill then asked me to get on the radio and ask for someone to come help us get into the marina. We were only about 25 yards away. We had several responses but no one had a dinghy that could handle pushing or pulling our beast into the marina in rough water and high winds. Bill was down below checking the fuel supply lines.

By now the marina docks were full of people wanting to help but unable. Bill switched the fuel tanks and did all the man tricks to get the fuel back in the system. It worked. The engine started. Our port tank was out of fuel .  The fuel situation was also why the generator stopped working. It uses the same fuel tank. We run the generator two hours a day and guess what? That can empty a tank after awhile.

Our fuel tanks are, like many other boats, without gauges. To check the fuel we need to empty the back room, pull up the mattress and put a stick in the tank while keeping your body in the shape of a pretzel. The good news here is nothing is really broken other than our egos.

Once we pulled up the anchor there were several people to help up tie up to the dock. Fortunately the wind did not blow us in the direction of those two boats.

Friday December 7th... El Cardonal Cove Islas Espiritus Santos 

We packed up and moved a few coves down which took less than an hour. This new cove was long and skinny compared to the others. The waters were quite shallow for getting the dinghy into the beach. We took the dog to two beaches one of which was covered with thousands of tiny Fiddler Crab. They were so cute and fun to play with. I told Bill it was as if we were seeing one of those nature programs in real life.

The weather was starting to turn yucky so we decided we would only stay for one night. In the morning our Friends on Triple Stars called on the radio from the other anchorage. They wanted to know where we were headed next. Bill joking told them to come to our anchorage and bring over some coffee so we could all discuss it. To our surprise we heard a knock on the hull about 30 minutes later, they actually came and anchored by us and brought coffee over!

The decision was then made to leave for an anchorage north of Isla Espiritus Santos. We are heading for San Everisto which is on the Baja peninsula. As usual we arrived at sunset.

In the anchorage were two other boats that were friends of ours. It was Dave and Helen on Jammin’ and Kent and Heather from Hiatus. Kent called us on the radio to invite us over for cocktails and asked if we could bring beer since they were out and had no place to buy any. It had been raining for the last few hours but we still took the dinghy over in the rain. We had towed the dinghy and did not have the engine on so Bill had to row.

We had a nice visit and lots of laughs and beverages. With a break in the rain we headed back. We had called Triple Stars on the radio to join us but they did not answer.

The next day we took the dinghy and Sparky to a rocky cove. We did not go to the main beach because there were several large dogs roaming which can be a problem with Sparky. Our friends said the dogs were a little aggressive. We later went to the beach and left Sparky on the boat. There were some fishing shacks along with a small community of houses.

We walked up to the first shack that had fisherman to see if they had any to sell. We were told the truck had just left with all the fish. The fisherman also told us the store was closed. I then asked if anyone sold tortillas. He got on the VHF radio and started shouting at who I would guess was his wife. He told us he would be back in while and meet him back at the shack. Most of our conversation was done with hand signals. My Spanish sucks and he did not speak English.

About 20 minutes later he came flying down the muddy road with the back of his 1970 Ford pick up smoking and sliding around. We had been walking along the beach when he pulled up with a dozen hot flour tortillas. I think he had his wife make them up just for us. I paid him and we headed back to the boat for a snack and to play with Sparky for a moment before Jammin’ picked us up for cocktails and nibbles. We had put our dinghy away for the trip back to La Paz in the morning.

On board Jammin’ were our friends from Hiatus and Triple Stars there too. We all sat in their huge cockpit which was covered and had side curtains to protect us from the wind. Dave and Helen shared some of their home made wine. It was pretty good. We enjoyed lots of cocktails and food. By the end of the night we were laughing so much we were crying. It was a great time. I am not sure what day this brings us to but we headed back to La Paz to pick up our package and check the weather for a good window to make passage to Mazatlan.

The trip back was warm and sunny. After having the boat washed with rain water for a few days we did some waxing and polished all the stainless. The boat looked good. Again we pulled into the anchorage at sunset. How is that we can do that almost every time regardless how far we travel? Jammin’ and Hiatus were already there and Triple Stars stayed another day at San Everisto.

The next day was our anniversary. We had planned to go out to eat but the weather was crappy and the dinghy ride in to the marina would have soaked us so we decided to go the next day instead. There were about twelve of us who went to dinner. Before dinner we went to the internet café since we could not get the net on the boat. It was at that point we found out our package had just arrived in San Diego. I was a bit frustrated because this meant a minimum of one more week before we would see it. Oh, well.

Dinner was really yummy. I had shrimp stuffed rellenos. Our friends gave us a card and candle for our anniversary. That was a pleasant surprise. In the morning Hiatus and Jammin’ left for Mazatlan. A couple of days later Triple Stars left. Now most of our friends are across the sea.

Bill decided it would be nice for me to be in the marina and set us up with a slip for a week which would take us through Christmas. We made the decision to be in La Paz for Christmas.

About four days before Christmas we were listening to the weather reports on the radio and found the next good window to make the crossing would be Christmas Eve. Not wanting to stay here forever we decided to leave our precious packages behind and make the crossing. 
 

We've made arrangements for another boat to bring our packages to us in Mazatlan after Christmas sometime. On the 22nd we took the bus to Pichilingue to get our temporary import papers for the boat. This allows us to import replacement parts without having to pay the import tax.

We rode the bus there and took the taxi back.

A funny thing happened while there. The one guy working behind the glass window came out of his office to ask us a question. We were waiting for him to do the paper work. The line was a bit long but he seemed to keep things moving. Well, this guy went back to the office door and realized he locked himself out. Working alone he needed a key to get back in. We laughed with him as he took off and said he would return in a moment. Thinking he would come back with a key we were surprised to see him with a credit card which he used to jimmy the door open. Again we laughed with him. Inside he had credit cards for all the people in line sitting on the counter. Their security is a little on the light side but it seems to work.

Last night we had Steve and Teresa from Gypseas Palace over for bratwurst and wine before we went to watch the La Paz orchestra Christmas concert out doors. It was so cold and windy we left about half way through. 

So, today is the 23rd of December and we are preparing to leave in the morning. There is not much to do but update the web site. The wind has started to die down to 16 knots. All of yesterday is was blowing 25-35 knots. This is not a warm wind either. We are looking forward to the 80 degrees they have in Mazatlan.

So, Merry Christmas to everyone. We will be crossing the sea while you are opening your gifts.

Thursday, December 6th 2007

I woke up early and took a look outside in the cool fresh air. To my surprise I looked in the sky and saw Orion as I was coming out of the companion way. I spent all the morning writing. Bill made breakfast for me and brought it outside with my coffee.

I had not written since we arrived in Muertos. This meant I had many hours of writing to do. It feels great to be caught up. Now to up load all this to the site will take several hours more. The internet in La Paz comes and goes so it is very unreliable.

After I finished writing we took our dinghy over to see our friends on Triple Stars who pulled in a few hours earlier. We were planning to ask them if they wanted to go snorkeling. They were also getting in there dinghy to come ask us the same thing, so we headed off to the reef around the rock island.

There were tons of fish but the water was not clear enough for pictures. The coral formations here were some of the best we have seen. I was thrilled to see a chocolate chip starfish. That is something Bill and I had in our aquarium years ago. There were also some ruby red starfish. The fish were very colorful. I wish I had an identification book so I could look up and mark off all the fish I have seen.

We snorkeled for about 45 minutes. Bill had a bloody nose that started when we first got there. It was not enough to bring any sharks into the reef. I love snorkeling. Bill and Rob got stung by some of the tiny jellyfish but Jan and I wore super thin wetsuits and were fine. The water here is only 74 degrees at the surface so we are just barely able to enjoy it.

After our dive we pulled the anchor up on our dinghies and Rob and Jan brought out some ice cold beers. We tied our dinghies together and floated, drank and talked about what we saw. We headed back to our boats with plans to meet on our boat for dinner. Sparky was happy to go back to the boat. He was in the dinghy the whole time. We would swim over to him every ten minutes to make sure he was okay. The dinghy was pretty close to where we were snorkeling, in fact Rob bumped into it once.

Once back at the boat we cleaned things up, showered and prepared for dinner. Jan brought over twice baked potatoes. They were quite a tasty treat. We cooked up some Rib Eye steaks which we had bought in La Paz. They only come in breakfast steak thickness. I miss the juicy thick Rib Eyes back home. That will be a must have when I go back. Sorry, A,D.D. kicking in, we were talking about dinner.  Bill made a salad, and on the grill we cooked the steak and zucchini. Rob and Jan also brought over a nice bottle of Zinfandel. At the end of the night we had three empty bottles of wine. It reminded me of the days back at the marina.

After Rob and Jan left Bill and I went up on the fore deck and looked at all the stars. This time I was able to find Orion right away.

Wednesday December 5th...Caleta El Candelero

At last we are leaving La Paz and heading for a real anchorage. We thought we were going to go to Isla Ballena but when we arrive we did not find a place to land the dinghy so we move a few miles up the island of Espiritu Santos to Caleta El Candelero. It is fantastic here. The anchorage is super calm.

On shore is a kayak camp. We took Sparky ashore even though we heard he may not be welcome on the island. The water here is emerald green.
Just off to the side of our boat is a rock island. We took the dinghy over and had a look to scope out a snorkeling adventure for Thursday. Before we were able to head into shore Bill had to do a full carburetor rebuild on the dinghy. We think our troubles are with the fuel in the tank. We are trying to use it all or find a place to dispose of it so we can put in some good fresh fuel.

While Bill worked on the carburetor I finished the sewing on the shade covers for the dodger. For dinner we barbecued a whole chicken and enjoyed it with a bottle of wine in the cockpit by candle light. It is amazing how getting out of the city instantly puts you in a zero stress mode. It is really peaceful here.

The waters are flat calm and rock formations are spectacular. From the cockpit we can see rock at the top of the hill filled with holes. Many of them look like faces. My favorite looks like a monkey face. At night there are so many stars you can’t find any of the constellations.

The night here was extremely peaceful.

Sunday, December 2nd

Today is an event call subasta put on by Club Cruceros to raise money for the kids. It is an auction and flea market. All the items have been donated and last year they raised $13,000. I volunteered to help set up. This meant being in the marina parking lot at 7:30 in the morning. On the way over the dinghy engine stopped working and Bill had to row me over. (he fixed it later, water in the fuel) I ended up working the whole day selling stuff in misc. tent.

Some people got some great deals. One example was the vertical aluminum ice cube trays that sell for $35 each went for 5 paseos which is 50 cents. Our tent had lots of boat and kitchen stuff. After I was done we ate some wonderful bratwurst being sold by a lady who makes them herself. She was from Bavaria.

Later we met up with some friends who did not do the Ha Ha but have a Hans Christian named Sugata. Bill met Todd a last year from the Hans Christian owners website and did some wood work for him. (Hans Christian is the make of our boat) We joined them for drinks. Todd’s nephew Eric made tostada shells with beans cheese and salsa baked in the oven. Very tasty stuff. Also onboard were Susan and her daughter Sequoia. We hope to share an anchorage with them in the near future.

Saturday, December 1st

Bill wanted to take a tour of the Cathedral so we left Sparky on the boat and head for the Cathedral on our way to the large CCC further in town. We bought food to stock up for the next couple of weeks. We are planning visit the islands just out side of La Paz before we leave for Mazatlan. We took a cab back for $4.

Thursday- November 29th

Another day to do some walking around and explore a bit. We checked out some neighborhoods a few more blocks in. We were also invited to join a large group of Ha-ha folks for dinner.

Bill and our friend Lyman dropped Terry, Lymans wife, and I off at the restaurant and went further up the road to take our VHF radio in to the repair shop. Lyman had the same problem with his not transmitting and found a place to fix it.

The fabulous folk at Icom will not accept a shipment from Mexico and we would have to send the radio to Steph and then have her send it to Icom in Washington. The Icom 502 is not even a year old and has already been shipped to the manufacturer for repairs once. Now we are in Mexico they don’t want to help us at all. It’s not like they were paying for the postage! I wish we had purchased another brand.

Sorry for the rant. Lyman's radio had taken the last part we needed so we now have one week before it can be fixed. So, back to dinner.

We had a total of eleven for dinner. We met some new friends and said good bye to old friends who were leaving for Mazatlan in the morning. It is amazing at how many friends we have. We seem to see them in one anchorage and not the next but then run into them again. Once we do met up again there are always drinks and stories to share. For this I am glad we did the Ha Ha. It seems like most of the people from the Ha Ha look out for each other and keep radio contact while making passages. This is insurance that if you have any trouble there are about ten people there to help.

The walk back to the boat was nice. We strolled along the melacon which is a tiled walk way that goes for several miles down the waterfront.

Wednesday November 28th

We took the dinghy into the marina dinghy dock today. We saw lots of friends from the Ha Ha and stopped to visit with many of them at the local Yacht Club: Club Cruceros. Club Cruceros is a little shack where cruisers pick up their mail and exchange books. Outside are tables and chairs where every morning people meet for coffee and to catch up on the latest news. There are a lot of folks there who came to La Paz and never left. This is something I will never understand.

The club is self does lots fund raisers for different programs that benefit the local kids. Bill took several books he had read to the club shack and picked up a few he had not read. We were also able to pick up our mail which our daughter had sent to DownWind Marine in San Diego. Downwind has a truck that comes down to La Paz once a week to deliver mail. The service is free for cruisers. Thanks DownWind!

In our mail our daughter had made a movie on a DVD for us. It was a music video showing our home, daughter, fish, Fleet Week air show, and our daughter’s guinea pigs. It was awesome. It also included all of our mail sorted on the floor. I sure don’t miss all that junk mail. When we left the club we walked down the main street one block up from the water.

The streets were crowded and stop signs are taken as a suggestion not a law. The buses are old short yellow school buses with destinations written on the windows with white shoe polish. The vehicle exhaust is intense. There is lots of graffiti but little trash on the streets. We walked to the closest big grocery store called CCC, pronounced say say say. I was mostly on a scouting mission and only picked up some eggs and tortillas. This store was a mini version of a super Wal-Mart. Bill waited for me outside with Sparky.

On our way back we stopped at a very open restaurant. The food was good. Because we were not sure what to order we just closed our eyes and pointed to the menu. We were surprised in a nice way at what we got. We are learning the foods this way and trying new things.

November 27th, La Paz

As usual we arrived just as the sun was setting. The anchorage was really crowded and we

had been warned about the strange boat swinging patterns. We were advised by another Hans Christian there to find a place to allow lots of room to swing which was a bit of a challenge with so many boats around.

Once we set the anchor we put away anything that someone might possibly think about stealing. Most of the people on boats were even pulling their dinghy out of the water at night. This is not an easy task to do daily so we cable locked the engine and dinghy to side of the boat.

Fortunately we have a dog which helps keep thieves away. When we would leave we hide the computer just in case someone broke in. It is the only thing I would hate to lose because all of our logs are on it and it would be tough to replace.

Sunday November 20th, Los Frailes

Today is like Christmas for us. The reef (Pulmo reef) is the present we are about to open. Bill made oatmeal for breakfast and at 8:00 our panga driver, Memo, came to get us. His panga was very  Large and very clean.  Bill had told him the day before we would have coffee ready for him in the morning and he told Bill that he preferred beer. So, as promised the first matter of business was to give Memo his beer.

We piled our snorkeling gear into the boat and then headed over to Ray and Diane’s who were hesitant to go. Once we were all in we took off at a fast pace toward our snorkeling spot. At this point we still did not know what to expect.

Memo took us to a cove just inside the national park. The water was shallow and super clear. It was sooo awesome. Bill took pictures but they do not show the colors we were seeing.

It seemed like we had spent lots of time there when Memo asked us to get back in the boat. He told us we were going to four places. Our next stop was to see sharks. We  had asked about them earlier and he told us he would take us to them.

We took off across the way and then Memo stopped in the middle of the park. He looked in the water and pointed to the sharks. We were told they were nice and would not bother us. I had put on my thin wetsuit at this point. I was a bit nervous and chose to jump out of the boat on the opposite side the sharks were on.

We snorkeled around and watched the sharks on the bottom. They really were not scary at all. While I was right over the top of them one started to move around a bit which did make me wonder if I was in a safe place. For the most part they just hung out at the bottom. Bill did free dive down closer to them to take some pictures. The water was not as clear here so it is difficult to see them well in the pictures. 

The third spot was on the coral reef where we saw lots of fish. The water here was a completely different color. It was dark and more blue than green. The sun started to shine through the water and onto the fish. There were so many colorful fish. It looked like an over crowded aquarium. This was more than worth the price of admission.

Our final stop was to swim with the sea lions. I am a little afraid of them which is something Bill loves to tease me about. While swimming around these huge fellows Bill decided to free dive down making one come up right next to me. At this point I realized they are actually quite afraid of people. We saw several more colorful fish here as well. This completed our trip. In the panga I was swinging my feet and smiling. This will be a day I will always remember.

Back at the boat we decided to take Sparky for a long walk since he had been locked up all morning. We walked pretty far down the beach and found a few houses full of Americans. After our long day we all took a nap in the cockpit and then started picking up for our pre-o’dark thirty departure to Muertos.

Reflections of Cabo and the Ha Ha

Now that we have settled into the relaxation mode it is time to sit back and reflect on the process of getting here. It certainly was no picnic. The Ha Ha was extremely fast paced with zero time to catch up on sleep. To say the least it was pretty rough on me.

There were some good times and memories along the way. We met lots of new friends who we hope to stay in touch with even though we seem to have all headed different directions or at different paces. It is nice to know there are lots of boats out there flying the purple Ha Ha flag who would lend assistance should you need it. So to sum up the whole experience I will say I am very glad we did it but I don’t think I would sign up for a second one.

Looking back at Cabo San Lucas I did not do a good job writing about what we experienced or saw. Again, having been rushed resulted in poor writing. Cabo was very much a tourist destination. The first two blocks into town from the waterfront were very different from the rest of the town. Actually, it was quite contrasting.

Along the marina waterfront the walk ways were very clean tile paths with perfectly trimmed plants in fancy planter boxes, similar to a theme park. It was difficult to tell you were in Mexico. The marina is the second most expensive in the world and filled with tournament fishing boats. There happened to be a big tuna tournament going on while we were there. This meant in the morning hundreds of boats would dash out of the tiny marina just after sun up every single day. The route they took was across the harbor from us but it sounded like we were anchored on the interstate. That was not the only noise we experienced.

The jet ski rental was along the beach on the side of the harbor we were on. This meant every afternoon our boat was filled with exhaust fumes from the noisy craft. To finish it off there were about three parasail boats that would circle us many time through out the day. All this made for a very rocky anchorage. Oh, one more thing, the tour boats that took people out for a ride in the harbor. There were three types, dinner boats, large tourist boat and the disco party barges.

The party barges like to play their music really loud and they would go until late in the night. Along the beach were several night clubs that would stay open all night. This meant at 3:30 in the morning we could here the DJ asking if California was in the house. All the noise got sort of old after several days.  We were longing for a nice peaceful quiet anchorage.

Two blocks in from the tourist area was the real Cabo San Lucas. The roads were mostly dirt with uneven sidewalks in front of some stores. It was amazing how many empty soda bottles and chip bags were on the ground. Perhaps there is no fine for littering here. We did lots of walking and pretended to speak some Spanish to find a place to fix our alternator along with finding some things at the hardware store. They actually have an Ace Hardware in Cabo.

There aren’t any do it yourself laundry facilities so you have to pay for fluff and fold service. I must say I am in love with the fresh scent left on my clothes. We found a nice clean laundry service several blocks in town from the marina. We were able to get our laundry done in two hours. Most of our friends said it took a full day and a half to get theirs done. It pays to go inland.

We ate at two different restaurants. One was for breakfast where we discovered Jaimica tea. It is iced tea made with Hibiscus flowers; that is some very tasty stuff. The other place we had lunch and I had the best chili relleno. They also had some very cold beer. We were doing a lot of walking that day and it was super hot so it was really nice. Sparky has learned to behave well in restaurants.He just lays on the cool floor and sleeps at our feet.

The beaches were very clean with granular sand. The clarity was not all that great but was a pretty teal color. The hotels along the east anchorage were very nice looking. This was were Adam Sandler was filming a movie causing us to pull up anchor so they could film the hotel and beach where we were anchored. Hopefully this will give a little better vision of Cabo.
 

Saturday November 17th, Los Frailes

This was our first morning in a calm anchorage. Bill and I slept really well. For Breakfast Bill cooked some French toast which we ate out in the cockpit. Looking at the beach and hillside during breakfast we decided to take a little hike up the arroyo and in to the hills.

Our hike was hot and dry. We discovered a lake that looked like it was for the cows. After about 30 minutes we ran out of trails and were surrounded by prickly things. When we got back to the boat we hooked up with Ray and Diane of Emerald Star and decided to hike the road to the next town which was supposed to be only a couple of miles.

After what felt like several miles to me we decided to take a break on some rocks in the shade. We consumed some beer, salami, cheese and crackers. The dogs drank lots of water; Ray and Diane have two schipperke dogs.

Sparky was a little bad along the way. We had him off his leash when we came up to a farm house. There were cows and a large dog. Sparky went right into the yard as if it were his home. We were afraid the dog might attack him and he would not come when called. Bill and I were both worried and angry with our dog who would not listen.

Sparky took off into some bushes where we could not see him. By now I am thinking the owners were going to come out and we would be in trouble for our dog disturbing all his animals. After we corralled Sparky he was exiled to his leash for the remainder of the day.  It turns out Sparky was chasing a goat. 

While we were taking our break a group of about six cows came along and seemed to be afraid to pass us. I must also mention most of them have huge horns. Our daughter would have been scared to death.

Bill climbed up some rocks to see how far it was to the town. We still had a very long way to go so we decided to head back to the boat for some guacamole and chips for dinner along with a nice cold glass of gin and tonic since we have ice from our fancy ice trays given to us by our friends.  Bill made mention of how he wished Dino and Cathy were here with us and I agreed. They would have loved it.

Friday, November 16th, Los Frailes

Our journey to Los Frailes started pre-o’dark thirty. We pulled up the anchor in Cabo at 3:30 in the morning. Surprisingly I was not really all that tired. Perhaps the excitement of moving on had me a bit wired. The seas were calm and winds were mild. We tossed our fishing lines out in hopes of catching something but we had no such luck. We did see several manta rays jump out of the water and do a flip or two before disappearing into the water. Bill had told me they do this but I did not believe him. It’s true they really do. It makes me laugh every time I see them.

Los Frailes came into view just a bit after noon. By 2:30 we were settled into our new anchorage. There were about 10 boats here of which most were from the Ha Ha. Our friends Ray and Diane from Emerald Star had arrived the day before and organized a potluck on the beach at 4:00. We scrambled to put some food together blow up the dinghy and head to the beach. The water here is 82 degrees and the beach is a mix of pebbles and sand. Landing the dinghy was not too bad but the beach drops off pretty fast into some deep water. This makes it a challenge for ol'short me to get into the dinghy when leaving he beach if there is any surf.

Once we landed Sparky took off running for the group. Bill and I followed with table, chairs, beer and pasta. We did not know the twenty or so people already there had the food set out on a beach blanket. Sparky thought he had found the doggy buffet. Fortunately he did not get into anything and came back when we called him. We had to tie him to a beach log until everyone had finished eating. The food was awesome. I think it is so cool to get fresh tuna at a potluck. Once the kids found out there were brownies they disappeared real fast.

While we were eating and visiting with some people we had just met, a pod of dolphins came along the beach slapping their tails to stun the fish and eat them. It was super cool.

Darkness came quickly so we headed back to the boat. At last we have found a calm relaxing place to hang out. This is what I had expected out of the cruising life.

Saturday, November 10th

At last I have finally figured out the date. This was the last official day of the Ha Ha and the night of the awards ceremony. We went into town and found a place to get out alternator rebuilt. It had quit right before we pulled in to Cabo.

The ceremony was at night in the parking lot behind the marina office. This was the last time we would see most of the Ha Ha fleet. Some of us have decided to stay in Cabo while most of the boat started up for La Paz the next morning. The next few days were all a blur. They all seemed to run together.

We spent many hours walking around trying to do website updates, laundry, buying food, fuel and fixing things on the boat. I took a trip to Costco with Sharon from Jake, Misty from Pepe and Julie from Itchen. We had a great time.

Julie is hilarious. She has an English accent and a potty mouth. I never have heard someone sound so proper using the F word, Bill doesn't even come close. We bought lots of fruit and veggies and then shared them once we got back to Itchen who was in the marina with a broken transmission.

On Monday evening we took the dinghy to Lovers Beach along with some cold beers. Ray and Diane from Emerald Star joined us with their two dogs. Lovers Beach is the beach at the very tip of Baja so there are two beaches one on each side of the land. The dogs had a great time running on both beaches. Tuesday we had Ray and Diane over for dinner along with the dogs. It was a bit over whelming to have all the dogs on the boat together but we did enjoy ourselves.

Wednesday the decision to leave was made. We planned to leave at 3:00 am for the 10 hour trip to Los Frilles. This pushed us to head into the market one last time for beer and more veggies. While eating dinner we decided to wait one more day so we could get our website updated. This takes many many hours since we have fallen a bit behind on the writing and the time to upload in incredible.

So, here you have it. This is our update until we get to La Paz. The weather is awesome, we are enjoying swimming in the 80 degree water and at last we are no longer on a schedule and feeling relaxed and having fun.

It finally feels like the trip down was worth the trouble.

Look for more updates after Thanksgiving.

Bahia Santa Maria to Cabo

The last leg was without wind. We motored almost the entire trip and did not catch any fish. At last we have arrived in Cabo San Lucas! The water is a beautiful teal color and about 80 degrees. The air was quite warm too. Having lost track of days I think it was Thursday. We were super tired by now and opted to skip the party at Squid Roe.

In the morning we pumped up the dink and went out a couple of miles to help bring in a disabled Ha Ha boat (Delight). After that we headed in to the dinghy dock and to the many offices to clear into the country. It was super hot so Bill left Sparky and I at one of the cantinas in the shade while he did some of the walking all over town.

We saw the people we helped in and they bought us a round of drinks. Later in afternoon we joined the beach party at Mangos. We had fun visiting with all the folks we met along the way. It felt like we were still running around and not able to settle down and enjoy life.

November 1st ish, Turtle bay to Bahia Santa Maria

The sailing to Santa Maria was not very eventful other than I caught my first fish. It was a Dorado and made excellent tacos. I am not sure how much it weighed but it was pretty big in my book .

The weather had improved and was getting warmer and seas were getting smaller. I also had caught two mackerel which we tossed back. The trip was two over nights. Bill had also caught a Dorado which we used to barter with later in Santa Maria.

We traded some of the fish for wasabi and some for a bottle of wine. On our way there another bolt on the alternator broke so as soon as we dropped the hook Bill went into action to fix it. He busted out the hacksaw and some metal to fabricate a new bracket to work without the broken bolt. This also required using the belt sander and covered the cockpit with tiny bits of metal that later turned to rust. While Bill finished up Sparky and I took the Panga to shore. The surf was big here and it was recommended we don’t go ashore in our dinghies. Sparky was excited to go ashore.

There was not much in Santa Maria. There were a few 10x10 shacks and one larger building where food and beer were sold. Sparky and I walked around the hill and along the beach for a couple of hours. There was a band playing which was brought in for the dinner the next day. The only electricity was from generator or wind vanes. We stayed on the boat for dinner but went over to Hiatus for a few drinks after dinner.

The next morning was the rum tasting for the boat skippers. Bill went over in the dinghy with Ray from Emerald Star. The tasting consisted of the skippers pulling up to Profligate the mother ship and drinks were handed out to all the dinghies. I had sent over some Giant Ginger cookies in hope of getting my bowl back that we left at the potluck. I was told to wait until Cabo to get it.

While the guys were tasting rum Diane and Don from Emerald Star came over and brought some wine and chocolate covered cashews. We also ate the rest of the cookies. The lunch/dinner ashore had to be delayed because the surf was too high. We waited for a couple of hours before we could get a Panga in. There were only a couple of hours for us to be on shore because the surf was high and we were told to be back on our boats before dark.

We went ashore and ate and drank a few beers. The food was very expensive for what we got. We look at it as supporting the locals. We heard there was a line to get the pangas back so we headed down to the beach. Some of the pangas had stop running because the surf was too high. Our friends Jeff and Misty were put in the front of the line to get the baby back on their boat before the surf got even higher.

Just after our friends from Hiatus left the pangas quit running because the surf was over eight feet high. We would have been in the next Panga too. This meant we had to stay on the beach until daylight. I had told Bill while we were in line I was afraid to go in the Panga through the huge surf in the dark. I no longer needed to worry about that. We stayed with 70 other people on shore for the night.

I am glad we had the dog with us. With the sun down and the wind blowing hard it was getting cold. All I had on was a pair shorts and a tank top and sandals. Bill had shorts and a t-shirt with sandals. We all headed into the one building and tried to sleep in our white plastic chairs. There was beer and some food being sold but we only had enough money with us to get back on the Panga.

David from Contigo gave me a towel he had in his backpack to keep me warm. It was a long night. The lights kept going out and there were people everywhere on the cement floor and in chairs. I ended up on the floor on top of the towel with a chair over me to keep people from stepping on me. It was not fun.

 Early in the morning before light I felt a large bug crawling on me which made me jump and yelp waking some people. I thought it was the huge cockroach I had seen earlier but later heard there were scorpions there too. I was very cranky and one of the first to the beach as soon as the panga started running.

Once we got back on the boat we pulled anchor to be ready for the start of the last leg. We only had about an hour before the start. I was happy to get a shower and eat before we left.

October ?? Lost track of the date, Turtle Bay

We arrived as the sun was setting. Being one of last boats to arrive we anchored pretty far out from beach. Sparky could not wait to get ashore as were Bill and I. We pumped up the dink (short for dinghy) and headed in for our first Mexico impression.

Arriving, we were greeted by several young boys eager to help us in for a dollar. Bill pointed to two boys who got us on the beach without getting wet. Part of the service was for them to watch our boat to make sure it did not drift off as the tide came up. The beach was small and filled with kids looking for candy which we forgot on the boat. When they would get candy they would all break out in a chant of “candy!”.

On the beach there was a shack with a television on in the covered porch area selling food. Walking up into town it was obvious the people of the town had taken the time to made things look nice. The roads where a powdery dirt which had been recently raked and there was no trash lying around. The houses were made of scrap wood as well as the picket fences. I really liked being there. There were many food stands on the way up to the restaurant Bill had been to before when he did the Ha Ha in ’99. We certainly took the scenic route.

The restaurant was super busy since it was the spot most of the fleet had gone to for dinner. They served lobster and other typical dishes. Unfortunately they ran out of lobster by the time we got there.

The restaurant was on top of one of the hills in this tiny town. We ate and headed back to the boat as we were very tired from the trip. Unfortunately we not only forgot to bring the candy for the kids we left our camera on the boat too. I tried to take in as much of this little town as possible since there would be no pictures.

One thing I did notice was each casa had a water "bucket" raised up on a tall platform. Someone said it was because they did not have much water pressure. On the way back we ran into our former boat neighbor from Alameda. We chatted for a bit and headed for the boat and some much needed sleep.

Day two in Turtle Bay: After what seemed like a very long radio net of all the boats checking in and arranging to help each other with things that broke on the way, we headed to the beach for a potluck. This was a different beach with no walking access to the town. The food seemed to go fast so there was not much to eat. Perhaps not everyone brought enough to share or there were some really hungry people. We met up with our friends Jeff and Misty on Pepe along with their 16 month old daughter Tobylee. We made margaritas and hung out under one of the tents.

Later in the day I went in the water to play in one of the big balls that you climb inside and roll around in the warm surf. It was pretty fun. The kids were good about letting the old lady in.

On our way back we met the guys on Contigo who had been taking on water but were able to keep their pumps working to keep them from sinking. To show their appreciation for our radio contact with them they gave us a couple bottles of wine. With less wine they made room to take more water in the bilge. They were from Canada and a great group of guys with excellent attitudes. We then went by our friends Heather and Kent on Hiatis. They had a panga(water taxi) lined up to take them into town to watch the Lucha Libre Professional. (fake wrestling with costumes) We decided to join them.

We had very little time to get cleaned up from the beach before the panga picked us up. The panga took us to a large tall rickety pier with some very scary old metal stairway. We did not have a lot of time before the match started so we walked quickly through this cute dusty town. There were lots of kids on the streets and I was amazed at how neat and clean they all looked. Many of the boys had fresh haircuts and the girls all had their hair in ponytails as if they had just gotten ready for school. My kids would never have stayed that clean with all the powdery dust around.

Just outside the arena we ate Tortas at a taco stand. Lucha Libre was so cheesy if was hysterical. It cost us six American dollars to get in but he beer was cold and only one American dollar. Our friend Kent and another friend Seth from Tallion purchased wrestling masks. It was as if it were their childhood dreams to be wrestlers. They put them on and started grunting at each other. I went and asked if it was okay for them to go into the ring since the event was not starting for a bit. They were given the okay. We laughed and laughed. I can only imagine what the locals were thinking about the gringos in the ring. Now I know where the idea for the ridiculous movie Nacho Libre came from.

On the way back Kent purchased his 15th taco of the day and Bill and I shared another torta. At last more sleep.

Monday October 29th, Baja Ha Ha Start 

The day has come to leave San Diego and Start our journey to Cabo. Since we are out of money this is a good thing. We will get our next allowance deposited in our account on the first. There really is not anywhere to spend much money for the next couple of weeks anyway.

Bill took Sparky to shore to get rid of the last bits of trash and walk Sparks one last time before the four days and three nights at sea. That is a lot of time for Sparky to be without bushes to pee on. He does go take care of his business up on the foredeck and then we wash it off with a bucket of water.

I am feeling both excited and nervous about this trip. I suppose it is natural to feel nervous about going into the land of the unknown. One thing I am not is scared. I feel confident enough in my skills and Bill’s to make the journey.

Day one of the trip started with 160 plus boats heading out for an imaginary line and listening to the radio for the go signal. Once that happened at least one third of the boats put up their colorful spinnakers. You could feel the excitement in the air as friends past and wished each other well. Within 30 minutes some boats were very far ahead of us and very few behind us. We certainly do not have a "go fast" boat. The sailing went well during the day and at night the seas started to get ugly. 

Bill and I did not work out a watch schedule because he would not sleep if the seas and winds were ugly. I tried to take over for him but he could not sleep for long below. Every little noise woke him. There are lots of those noises. Many of them were things rattling in the cabinets that had not yet settled. I got some sleep but certainly not any beauty rest.

Day two was hella ugly! The seas were anywhere from two feet to fourteen and the winds were 5-39 knots. Oh, I must also mention the seas were mixed which means the waves were going in all different directions. I was feeling sea sick but not enough to puke. I was super tired but did not sleep much. It was not the vacation I signed up for and this weather was not on the glossy pictures in the brochure. I thought about being back home and going to work each day and was thinking maybe that was not so bad. I really wanted to be back home taking a shower and the sleeping in a bed that was not possessed. To help me through this unpleasant time I sat on the floor in the kitchen and pulled out the bottom drawer; That is were I had my stash,  my secret supply of treats.

I ate an entire bag of mini Snicker bars and remembered the many times at worked I had wished to be here. I felt much better after that but only for a few hours. At that point I went back and ate all of my super special delicious very dark chocolate. That did not make me feel better because that meant I was out of goods. Bill felt bad about me not enjoying the journey, it was nothing he expected either, in fact the weather and seas we were having were not in the report earlier in the day.

Because of the weather we actually headed inland to find an anchorage to stop and rest for a few hours. Again the glossy photos did not match what we were seeing. The anchorage was very rocky and the winds were blowing 30 knots with gusts to 37! Instead of rest we just made our trip longer. To put the final touch on day two, I was behind the wheel when I saw two beautiful white birds begin to circle the boat. It lifted my spirits. Yes, this is what it is all about. Just after this thought I heard a loud noise coming from the shrouds (wires holding up the masts), I looked up only to see it was one of the birds. I watch him fall into the water and float away. Perhaps his day was worse than mine.

Day three during the radio roll call the organizer of the trip asked a few people how they were doing. Of course they were all guys and all them said that this is what they were there for and it was wonderful. I could not help but think they must be sailing on another planet. One of the boats called in saying he was taking on water at about a gallon a minute but his bilge pump was taking care of it. We volunteered to be his buddy boat since he was not far in front of us. We set up a radio check schedule every three hours.  This made us put in another change of course. It felt like we would never get to Turtle Bay.

Day three and night three were a bit better. I took watch a couple of times and let Bill get some rest. The nights were cold and damp. Being on watch meant staying outside and watching out for other boats both on the sea and radar. We had our autopilot set so we did not have to steer. That is certainly a bonus. We have named her Wilma.

Day four brings us to our first stop, Turtle Bay. Before arriving we decided to try out the water maker. I did the set up myself and gave Bill the shot glasses for the taste test. One had our tank water and the other was from the water maker. The water maker was quite obvious it was the best water we have ever had. We are quite happy about that being fixed. We carry plenty of water for a couple of weeks but now we don’t need to worry about running out as long as things keep working. We have an older unit, which only gives us about a gallon and a half per hour.

In the afternoon the seas picked up a bit and we heard loud metal noise. Bill was sure the autopilot let loose. I was inside and did not think that is what it was. It did not sound like that was where the noise came from.  Not knowing what happen and afraid to continue to work Wilma we shut the auto pilot down and hand sailed our last forty miles.

Sunday October 28th

Our last day in San Diego and we did not get to do many of the things we had talked about like go to Balboa Park, visit with our daughter-in-law Anya’s family, go out to eat one night. Perhaps all these plans were tossed out the window because of the many time consuming and expensive repairs that needed to be done. We also did not get to enjoy the wonderful (or so I am told) weather due to all the smoke and ash from the fires. It seemed like any small task would take us all day because we did not have a car. Perhaps this is all part of the adventure.

In the morning I spent much of my time cleaning and organizing again. Sparky got a bath to make sure he was looking and smelling good for the party. It was a costume party and Stephanie had sent him down with a spider costume.

Bill had to pick up a few items and attend the skippers meeting in the morning. We met up at around noon to go to the party. The party was really fun. So many people had dressed up for the contests. Everything was really well organized. We lined up to go in and once we entered the party zone in the large parking lot of West Marine we traded our ticket for a swag bag filled with cool stuff. There were three T-shirts, Frisbee, beer bottle insulators, beach ball, sunglasses, and we were one of the few who had a special Pussers Rum flag. All this was in a nice heavy canvas bag.

Next we headed for the beverage line which was not really a line at all because it was so well organized. Then we got into the short line for food.

The air had been filled with the smell of meat on the grill. I think they were calling it a tune up dinner. First they put a huge tortilla on your plate and then chicken or beef, beans, lettuce, guacamole, salsa and salad, and chips. It was a huge plate of food and really tasty.

After we ate we watched some of the costume contest and visited with so many of our new friends and old ones too. It was a great time.

The cutest pet contest was last and Sparky had actually fell asleep waiting. It was so darn cute. He did not win but had a fun time. After the party we headed back to the boat after picking up some candy for the kids in Turtle Bay and some cash. Bill finished up some things on the website and we were in bed early for the beginning of our new adventure in the morning.

Saturday October 27th

Saturday was the last day to pull it all together. Sunday is the big party and Monday is the start day. We still had things to get from the grocery store and also Target. We headed into West Marine early to get set up for the shuttle. It was not a surprise that there were lots of others there to do the same. With the Vons closing and no other stores in walking distance there were a lot of boaters needing a ride to get the last of their fresh food. The wait for the shuttle was quite long so I sat in on a seminar about Mexico. It was quite interesting and I wished I had worked it in to my plan for the day.

I missed some of the seminar but did take away some good information. One of which is when being boarded by Mexican officials only talk to the guy with the side arm. He is always the one in charge and it is an insult to him to speak to any one else. I always thought it was best to speak to the one with the biggest gun.

The crowd for the shuttle had grown to over 15 people so West Marine called the car rental company for another minivan. I was given the okay to get on the first shuttle to the Ralphs and Target. There were seven of us and I was wondering how we were going to fit our purchases in the Ford Expedition as one of the ladies already had several bags of goods with her.

Once we got to the market it was decided that we would only take one hour before the shuttle returned. I panicked, I have never been able to shop that fast. Two stores and no idea of the lay out made me stress. I was not the only one who felt this way.

With over 160 boats in the area and many with crew, there were lots of people walking around with a glaze over their eyes; It was quite obvious they were cruisers. I ran in to my friend Diane and shared my feelings of being lost and not able to find anything on my list. All the things I could not find were on the top shelves. Gee, I never thought to look up. Diane got a laugh from watching all five feet of me trying to get something off the top shelf.

Once the shuttle arrived everyone started loading up. It was no surprise I was the last one out of the store. I ended up with most of my stuff under my feet and on my lap, the driver was laughing, he could not believe we were able to pack everything in. He said he wished he had a camera.

When I got back Bill and Sparky had gone to fill all our gas cans for the dinghy so, I took the dinghy and then had a friend help me drop it back off at the dock so it would be there for Bill. The rest of the day was spent putting things away and making sure everything was stowed well enough for a passage.

We had only one day left and the time was taken up by the festivities. Bill updated the web site and watched a little television before bed.

Friday, October 26th.  San Diego

Friday was moving day and a very busy one. It started early in order to get everything done. First off Bill installed the water maker that had been delivered on Thursday afternoon. We won’t know if it is fixed until we get out in the clean ocean water. They are not made to be used in oily harbor water. Once that was done he took Sparky over to the beach for morning ball chasing.

I stayed behind and started putting things away that would fall while moving. The pillow I made to stuff the television in worked well, oh, I also happen to think it looks pretty too. Once that was done we pulled up the anchor. We have an electric windlass which is a motor that pulls up the anchor. Bill had to hose off the yucky mud while bringing up the anchor. I drove the boat.

The ride over to the new anchorage was over an hour. Part of the reason for this was we decided to tow the dinghy rather than break it down and bring it up on deck just to put it back when we got here. On the way we saw three Canadian ships coming in while it looked like the aircraft carrier Ronald Reagan was preparing to take off.

We decided to fill our fuel and water tanks to beat the rush of 178 boats doing so over the weekend. There was an open space at the fuel dock which had water as well. This took us almost another hour and was quite painful at $4.00 per gallon; our last fill was $2.60 a gallon. Looking at our log book we determined that we are averaging 50 gallons of fuel per month. Our generator uses diesel and while at anchor it gets run one hour twice a day.

With our boat sitting low in the water due to all our tanks being full we headed to anchor just a few minutes away from the fuel dock. The anchorage is just outside to the San Diego Yacht Club docks. Here we are able to get an internet signal. That will make it easier to update the site since we can do it any time from the boat. We checked and replied to emails.

Next on the agenda was to get the West Marine Shuttle to go back to Coronado. I know this sounds silly but we had some trouble getting Sparky’s health certificate. We were not told he needed a stool sample and this delayed things. The three of us took the 30 minute ride each way. Bill had the propane tanks to be filled and did that while Sparky and I picked up the certificate across the street. In the mean time the diver picked up some other boaters before coming to get us again, it was a well timed plan. The West Marine shuttle has been wonderful, of course they do allow you plenty of time to make purchases at the store before getting in the shuttle.

Today it was my new wetsuit that had been on order for well over a week. It fits really nice and was very affordable. Back on board I decided to hit the grocery store before the day was over. The only store in walking distance is a Vons which is closing it’s doors on Sunday. The walk was a bit far and the store had very low stock, so we tried to get what we could but there were several items that are must haves forcing us to make yet another trip.

On the way back we ran into Marcus who we met at the potluck on Sunday. We invited him to come aboard and have a beer or two. He is a big fan of the Hans Christian boats. I have no doubt one day he will own one. We had a nice visit and look forward to hearing from him in the future.

We cooked up a quick dinner, watched Grey’s Anatomy, surfed the net and then hit the sack.

Wednesday October 24th

The morning started by cleaning the ash out of the cockpit. I had stuffed paper towels in all of the dorads (Winters peeps, dorads are the chrome air scoops that keep the inside of the boat ventilated) which I did  to keep some of the ash out of the boat. Unfortunately, Bill left the companion hatch open all night so we still had ash in the boat in the morning.

The fires in San Diego have burned thousands of houses and are still burning. The air quality is terrible. It seems that every one has some sinus irritation.

I called for the West Marine shuttle to take me to Costco to stock up for the up coming 11 day trip. When I got to the shuttle our boat neighbors Jake and Sharon were in the shuttle. Jake was on his way to pick up his outboard engine that had been in the shop since they arrived here. We have two outboards and loaned them one so they could get around the last week without having to row the long distance to the dock from the anchorage.

Sharon joined me to do some shopping at Costco. We left at 9:30 and were back at the dock by 11:30. Bill was amazed. He expected me to be gone much longer. Bill had the boat completely torn apart once again. He was changing the oil on the main engine along with fuel filters. This meant once again the doors and cushions have all been removed to allow him to twist himself into a pretzel to get these things done. It was hot and ashy inside the boat. To add to this he started the refrigerator and it shut down by itself. Great, we have a Costco load of meat and the refrigeration is not working.

I suggested he check the Freon level. Bill did not think that could be the problem since we had just paid to have a small leak fixed and the Freon filled. We have all the equipment and Freon needed to do this but have never done this on our own. Bill busted out the books and went to work. So far things are working well once again. The Freon was low.

After waiting patiently for Bill to finish I was able to get into the kitchen and start finding homes for all the stuff I bought. This also meant cutting up the meats and vacuum sealing them into meal size portions. I also prepared some chicken to take to the potluck BBQ at Fiddlers Cove just down the bay.

We decided to take the dinghy to the BBQ instead of taking our friends Misty,baby Tobylee and Jeff’s offer to ride in their car. It was a pleasant ride and calm ride. When asked how long it takes to get to Fiddlers Cove I respond with the answer, just one beer away.

Fiddlers Cove is a military marina and RV park. Originally the BBQ was some of the Haha fleet getting together. Later it turned out to be a mix of the marina and RV park which have several people who have been evacuated from their homes due to the fires. It was a great mix of people. To my amazement there was a huge amount of wonderful foods. This was the best potluck I have been to. The there were about 10 very clean round picnic tables that sat 6 and all of them had been filled. At our table we had Susan and Brice who had to leave their home and were staying on their boat. Also we had Josh and Marcus.

All of them are boat owners and seemed to be interested in our up coming journey. We had a great time enjoying good conversation, laughs and excellent food. We look forward to receiving emails from our new friends. With our tummies filled and some good memories we headed home. Sparky slept all the way home.

Tuesday October 23rd

It has been quite a while since I have written. I just have not really been in the right mood for it. I find it difficult to write when I am forced to do it but fortunately today I am in the right mood.

In the last week we have been pretty busy. The weather has  been lousy until a couple of days ago. Much of the time it had been rainy which did not make us excited to get in the dinghy and head into town.

One of the days I spent cleaning and once again doing some organizing. That seems like a never ending task. While doing the organizing Bill called the free shuttle service from West Marine to take him on the thirty minute drive into the city which is where all the marine stores are. After he was done he called me to pick him up at the dock in the rain. To my surprise he had not gone to West Marine for parts like he said he was, he went shopping for a new television for me. My little six inch television had died a few weeks before. We are now the proud owners of a 15” HDTV. For some boats that is considered a big screen!

We spent several hours reattaching the antenna wires to the the mizzen mast that had been cut when the masts were repainted. Then we had to run all the wires to the other side of the boat under all the floor boards to get the connection where I wanted to put the television. It was a lot of work but worth the effort.

Once the weather cleared a bit we started heading out to explore the area a bit more. Bill and I negotiated a deal with the owner of the boat rental place who has a nice dock for the dinghy that is secure. They wanted $5 per day to use the dock. We paid for the first day and then told him if he lowered his price we could get him some more business from the rest of the boats in the anchorage. It has worked out great for all of us. We only paid $20 for the rest of the month. They even gave us the code to get in and out of the secured dock after hours. The only other option would have been to use the five feet of public dock with metal plates welded on the cleats so you can not lock your dinghy to the dock.

A few of the things had to get out of the way were to get our Mexican fishing license and visas. This is all done in the downtown area of San Diego. The downtown is huge. We decided one afternoon to take the dinghy over to the other side of the bay to check the area out. We took the first available dock which was a Joe’s Crab Shack. We had a beer and some mussels and then took a walk around town. The consulate was not in the area we walked around in so we had to take the shuttle a couple of days later which allowed us to visit Little Italy and have a wonderful lunch. We did however find a Cost Plus and purchased a wine called Pinot Evil. It had pictures of monkeys on it. To our surprise it was cheap and tasted pretty good, you know, oak undertones, a hint of cherry and a light finish on the pallet.

This trip was taken after much frustration with the water maker and us being in need of a break. Since we have been here we have had three major breakdowns. The first was the refrigerator. It would work fine unless we had been running the engine. After many phone calls and no one willing to look at our problem Bill called the guy who originally installed it. Craig Anderson of Anderson Refrigeration in Alameda, California was kind enough to spend great amount of time helping Bill diagnose the problem. It turned out to be an over heating issue with the compressor.

Some of this may have been caused by us storing paper towels in the same compartment as the compressor and blocking the vents so we moved the paper towels and Bill installed a fan which we had in our spares compartment. That problem is solved.

Next we had the water maker problem which we had worked on for about a week. We started that project while out at Catalina. Working on the water maker, which is about 8 years old and has maybe been used a total of 45 days in 8 years, made it impossible to move around inside the boat. To get to the water maker we need to take all the cushions off the dining seats and the floor boards need to come too. But, that’s not all folks we also need to remove the doors from the main engine which is under the sink. You basically need to climb like a monkey to get to the bathroom while this work is going on. It went on for a couple of days before we sent the whole unit to the manufacturer (Katadyn).

Yesterday we got the call saying it was done and will cost nearly $500 plus shipping. With expenses like this perhaps you can see how I would get excited about anything free.

It has been said bad things come in threes. Hopefully this is our third. The pump on the generator started making a funny noise. Then it started leaking antifreeze. We had this happen once before but I won’t even go into that other than to say Bill has been on hacksaw restriction since then.

Without the generator we are not able to get enough power to keep our batteries charged nor to turn on the water heater. This meant going to the community center and paying to use the showers. It took a couple of days to figure out the diagnosis on the generator. We had a new pump sent overnight from Oregon. Total cost on that was another $400.

Bill had it installed and ready to go in thirty minutes. There was one problem we did not have any antifreeze. This meant getting in the dinghy and going to shore, then a walk to the Albertsons.

We took the dinghy to the beach with the cable to lock up too. The tide had been out and we had to put down our fancy new dinghy wheels and pull the dinghy a very long way up the beach.

Now on to the fun things we have been up to. Saturday our daughter drove nine hours to bring Sparky to us. It was so great to see her. It is also great to have our dog back, we have missed him. Perhaps he will write a bit on his page about life back on the boat.

We took them for an ice cream after we barbecued some fat hamburgers. Hamburgers are Stephanie’s favorite food, in fact she likes them so much that in high school she had her prom date take her for a burger.

Last Sunday we attended a party for the Ha Ha fleet at Downwind Marine. That was fun and we met lots of new friends and visited with some old friends. Some of the new friends have invited us to a BBQ potluck on the beach about a 30 minute dinghy ride from here. Well, maybe not quite 30 minutes away. We took a ride down there yesterday and it is one beer away. The BBQ should be fun.

On our way back to the boat we stopped at West Marine to get the shuttle back to our boat. While waiting for the driver Bill spotted an excellent buy on a fishing pole. This is something he has been looking to buy for me. I don’t know much about fishing but I am about to learn. Also in our future plans is the water maker which should be here on Thursday.  Thursday is also the day for Sparky to see the vet to get his health certificate. On Friday we will move to another anchorage which I am told has internet available. Friday will also be my first day without cell phone service. Sunday is the meeting for the Ha Ha fleet and Halloween Party. Monday we leave for the border.

The agenda for today is to continue to clean the ash off the boat from the fires in San Diego. It has been snowing ash for two days now. There is so much of this "snow" that while writing this my computer is covered in ash. I can’t help but think this ash may very well be some ones home or heirloom pictures. The news has reported up 700 homes have been destroyed and more than 250,000 residents in the area have been evacuated. Bill had tried to call the people we bought our solar equipment from to ask a question but they were closed due to evacuation!

The weather is warm and sunny but smoky and ashy. The view of the golf course and beach here are very nice.

Saturday October 13th, San Diego

Bill made French toast for breakfast with the remainder of the bread I had baked the day before. It had rained most of the night and into the middle of the morning. I can’t remember the last time I had seen rain. We put my plants out to try to keep them alive. They were quite happy.

Once things started to dry up a bit we took the dinghy into shore. We did not see too many places to dock our dinghy so we went over to a boat rental place and asked if they could direct us. We were told there was nothing but for $5 a day we could leave our dinghy at their dock. Keep in mind we could have gotten a slip for $10 a day back at the customs office. I bit my lip, paid and then we walked around Coronado. We found a hardware store and two grocery stores. One of which was an Albertsons. Bill had a gift card from his  work and has been trying to use it before we left the states. We did. Also, we discovered a very tasty ice cream place, Mootime.

MooTime has an ice cream called toasted coconut. It is coconut ice cream with chunks of dark chocolate. That made for an excellent lunch. 

We returned to our boat which is anchored just off the beach from the golf course. It is pretty here but seems very isolated. We tried but can not get an internet connection. This mean we need to pack up the computer and head in to a local Starbucks to get online. I am a bit frustrated by this knowing we will be here for 18 days. Perhaps it is to prepare me for Mexico, no television and no internet.

After putting away the groceries we took the dinghy over to meet the people on two other boats anchored here who are part of the Haha fleet. Then we moved on to see a beach that has a cable to lock dinghy to while you go into town. We also went to a beach in front of a nice restaurant where Bill dropped me off to walk across the street to get some beer. It would have been too heavy to carry earlier since we did not have our cart.

We later sat out in the cockpit and watched all the dinner cruise boats go by while we enjoyed our cocktails. For dinner we had left over chicken and rice along with a nice big salad.

Friday October 12th, Sailing to San Diego.

The sail down was pretty uneventful. The distance is about 60 miles but it went pretty quick. We left the entrance of the marina at 5:00 in the morning, or as I would say o’dark thirty. Along the way we a huge whale that gave me goose bumps. He did not even come all the way out of the water and was bigger than a semi truck. We also saw some dolphins that were jumping completely out of the water.

Most of the way we had all of our sails up and the motor running. The combination had us moving along at close to 7 knots. We tried shutting down the engine but that slowed us to 2.5 knots. Needing to get to San Diego by dark we started the engine back up.  We made the entrance to the bay around 3:00.

The procedure for checking in included a stop at the customs office. Bill had misunderstood the direction from the office when he called them so we had to do some back tracking. By the time we made it to the anchorage it was 7:00 and getting dark. I was tired hungry and grumpy by now. We ate and went to sleep.

Wednesday October 10th and 11th, Dana Point

We were up and on our way before 8:00 to be sure to arrive before dark. Originally we were going to go straight to San Diego but changed our minds and decide to break it up. After all we don’t really need to be there so soon.

Once we were underway we pulled out a chart and saw Dana Point was somewhat in the middle. The winds were light but consistent for a change, this allowed us to put up or spinnaker (for Winters peeps that is the pretty colorful sail we attach to the front). We sailed the entire 40 plus miles and were able to move along as fast as our engine would have taken us. It was nice to not have to listen to the engine and know we were moving along at a cost of zero. 

It is surprising how much I have learned to appreciate things that are of no cost now that I don’t have a paycheck. I do however think I am getting a little extreme about not spending any money. We certainly have enough to live comfortable. I think if we sat down and actually looked at our expenses we would be under half of what we have allowed ourselves.

When we were a couple of hours out from Dana Point we called the marina to see if they had anything for us. They did but it was $65 for the night. That was the highest price we had ever seen. We then called the harbor patrol who directed us to an anchorage near their tall ships. The rules were strict but the price was right. Free! You were not allowed to leave your boat unattended. After talking to the sergeant there he agreed to allow us to leave the boat for a couple of hours providing we left a note with our destination, the time and our cell number.

Tuesday October 9th, Emerald cove

This anchorage is less protected than most, but had more morning sun than Catalina Harbor. I love the morning sun.

After coffee and some breakfast I put on Bill’s wet suit since my was not comfortable on my still tender stomach. Bill took me out in the dinghy and dropped me off near a large rock in the middle of the cove. I did some snorkeling and am very sorry I did not have my camera with me. I saw so many beautiful colorful fish. 

At one point there was a school of well over a hundred fish that came from behind me and swam right past me. I don’t know what they were. The best I can describe them is that they looked like Neon Tetras on steroids. I must get myself a book to learn what all the names are of the fish I seen. Another shy fish I saw was orange with a purple tail. It was super pretty but it quickly hid in some rocks.

The area had a tall kelp forests with one area that opened up. I truly wish I had a picture to share. The sun came through this open area and was shining on the school of fish that had past me earlier. Then on the rock around the sides to this area were Orange fish called a Garibaldi which is the state fish.

Monday October 8th, Emerald Cove

The morning was sunny and winds were light. We were not in a big rush like many other departures. It was only about 12 miles to Emerald Cove and when we arrived another boat from the HaHa fleet had came in right behind us.

We both dropped our hooks in the small anchoring area. Since the area is so small, it required us to drop our stern anchor as well. (for the Winters peeps that means back anchor). The water was the clearest I had ever seen. We were able to see the bottom which was 40 feet deep. Not only could we see it but you could see the individual links on the chain lying on the bottom! The water was a beautiful blue green color. It looked very much like the water in the glossy brochures for the Bahamas. I could not believe we could see that in California. Obviously this place was a well kept secret.

Later in the afternoon I decide to blow up my inflatable kayak and take it for a spin. I was a bit unsure if my lower stomach muscles that had been cut during my surgery could handle the paddling. I hopped in and away I went. Fortunately, there was not much of a current as I did not last long.  There are some stitches inside my stomach and I could feel them being pulled. I thought it would be wise to head back and try again another day. It was fun for a short bit.

Bill fired up the BBQ and we had a nice dinner then watched one our movies for our 50 pack of classic Hollywood movies. They are not the best but it is something to watch. I have always thought I watched less television than any of my friends and now that I don’t have it I feel I must have spent a lot of time watching because I do miss it. Oh, I should mention most of the time I fall asleep within ten minutes of the movie starting. In 20 minutes I am drooling.

Sunday October 7th, Catalina Harbor

Originally we had planned to leave for Emerald Cove today but we heard that the Santa Anna winds were blowing. We have had several people tell us the only safe place in the Channel Islands during the Santa Anna winds is Catalina Harbor so we stayed put to see what the big deal was.

Being in a very well protected area we took the dinghy to shore so we could see what the other harbor looked like. It was sunny and very calm. There was a very peaceful feeling in the air. Perhaps it was because so many people were recovering from the night before and moving quite slow. I found it amazing at how clean the entire place looked. It was as if nothing went on the night before.  As we remember, there were mountains of empty beverage containers last night, many of them empty pints of beer and rum bottles. Two Harbors must have an excellent cleaning crew that worked through the night. Perhaps some teenagers who have parties when their parents are gone should take lessons from the crew.

With the morning being so nice we decided to do the breakfast buffet and eat outside in the calm sunny air with the palm trees surrounding us. After we filled our tummies and enjoyed the time to sit and chat about the night before we went back to the boat to listen to the weather. It did not sound good for anchoring in Emerald Cove so we decide to just hang out on the mooring ball for one more night. Once again we took the dinghy to shore to pay for another night. Just our luck, as soon as we paid, the harbor office posted a new weather report in the window. The update said the Santa Anna wind warning has been cancelled. Perhaps it is best to be on the safe side.

We heard that Santa Cruz Island, where we had been a week or so before was hit pretty hard and two boats were lost. The rest of the late afternoon and evening we spent just chilling out on the boat after picking things up for a morning departure.

Saturday October 6th, Catalina Pirate Day

At last it is Pirate Day or officially Buccaneer Day. We were pleasantly surprised at the beautiful weather in the morning. The night had been pretty windy which is why we were on a mooring ball. Bill made some very tasty banana pancakes for me for breakfast.

We headed to the festivities in our best pirate attire. There were lots of kids and adults dressed up. I had some pirate coins to hand out to the kids. The smiles on their faces were awesome. In fact there was little boy whom I gave a coin to that still had it in his hand six hours later. I had to give him another to put in his other hand because he was too cute.

We saw a couple with two dogs which made me really miss Sparky. I had to play with the dogs to get my doggy fix. It turns out the couple happened to run the festivities. He asked where we were from and told us about the days events. Then he asked us what size shirts we wore and gave us each an official Buccaneer Day T-shirt.

Soon after that we headed over to participate in the treasure hunt. The treasure hunt started with a crossword puzzle which held the answer to our first place to go to get a clue. It was fun watching everyone running in all different directions. There was one family who were communicating by cell phone the get each family member lined up to the next clue. While on the hunt we had to climb a steep dirt road which allowed us to see some buffalo.

Unfortunately I fell on the way down  my pirate flip flops slid on some rocks. The result was a very bloody knee. 

We soon after ran into some trouble finding the last clue. Since our pitcher of margaritas was empty we decided to give up and head back to the boat for some dinner. Later we found out that someone had removed the last clue. So, we did actually finish.

After dinner we went back to the adult costume contest and to watch all the wild folks come out at night. The costumes had changed quite a bit. There was certainly lots of eye candy for the guys. In fact Bill took a picture of one girl who looked at him, pointed her finger at him and then showed him her young perky boobs. It was funny to watch him fumble to try to get that picture. It did not happen.

Earlier we had talked to Stephanie and tried to convince her to bring her gal pal down and take the ferry over to check out all the young pirate men. I found a group them all sporting really nice pirate attire. I went over to ask them if I could snap a picture to send to my 21 year old smokin’ hot daughter who looks nothing like me. They were a fun bunch of guys and were excited to help me out. These pirates were very interested to hear more about Stephanie. One handed me his cell phone and said let’s call her. These are my kind of guys.

She did not answer and her voicemail is in German. This made these pirate more interested. One even started speaking German. They took turns leaving pirate sounding messages on her phone. It was really funny. I was bit nervous as to how Stephanie would take all this but she took it well and sent me a text that said “ha ha ha”. When she sees the picture she may be sorry she did not pick up the call. Later we went to the bar and tried their famous Buffalo Milk. I liked it but Bill just thought it was okay. If I remember right it had milk banana liquor, Kaluha, vodka and I think coconut liquor.

We danced for a while and then head to the beach to watch a girl do her fire dance. We had met them earlier and filled their drinks with ice from our ice chest. This concluded our wild night out. We started the walk back to the dirt road and then the dinghy ride out to the boat. It was a fun day full of smiles.

Thursday October 4th & 5th, Catalina Harbor

The harbor master was up and at our door early to collect our mooring fee. We let him know we were planning to anchor for the next night. He updated us on some weather changes which would allow us to anchor one night if we squeezed in with all the others in a very small space.

Many of the boats were sporting the Haha flag. After making sure the anchor was set well we took the dinghy to the shore to scope out the island. There was a flat red dirt road about a half a mile long that took you to the other side of the island.

At the harbor on the other side we went into the little general store and purchased a pirate type hat for me and a pirate bandana for Bill. If you were not aware, Buccaneer Days just happen to coincide with our arrival this weekend, imagine that!  When we completed our purchase and started for home we realized we need to go back  to buy some cat food because we had heard that is what is used to catch lobsters in traps.

Back at the boat we gathered what we could to try to make up pirate costumes. Considering we were working with what we had we did okay. With that task aside we went for a ride in the dinghy to go meet some of the others going along on the Haha.

The night went well without too much movement. The next morning the winds started to pick up causing us to stretch out some of the millions of feet of chain we had out. We were anchored in 75 feet of water and Bill had let out a little over 300' which he said was a little short!

As the day went on the wind stated blowing from different directions, putting us closer than we prefer to another boat. Our anchor was well set but there just was just not enough room for us to swing so we decided it would be best to pick up a mooring ball again. This gave us a chance to relax in the extremely high winds.

With the boat completely out of danger of bumping into another boat we headed inshore again this time to pay for the mooring. Once we got there and checked the weather we decided to pay for two nights and hope we could move onto Emerald cove after that.

We did not do much on Friday other that clean things up a bit and chill waiting for Buccaneer Day. We have been having a problem with getting on a good sleep routine. For some reason as soon as it gets dark we want to go to sleep and then wake up at three in the morning. We need to find a way to change this.

Wednesday October 3rd, Sailing to Catalina

Our morning started a little early. We were up and on our way just after six to get to the fuel pump right when they opened. The fuel dock was conveniently located next to the harbor masters office which was another stop we needed to make to check out.

The fuel was super cheap so we fill all our tanks. The total bill was $279. With our boat sitting low in the water from our fuel and water tanks at capacity we left for Catalina. The plan was to arrive there just before dark at Catalina Harbor which is on the back side of Two Harbors.

We sailed most of the way and it was wonderful. In fact it was so smooth I went down below and baked some giant ginger cookies . Baking is something I have always enjoyed but never made time to do.

Our timing was just a bit off. When we found the well hidden entrance the sun was setting and there were many boats already in the anchorage. We did not feel comfortable dropping the hook in the dark so we picked up a mooring ball. This is something we were trying to avoid to save money. We have all the gear to anchor why not use it.

We were pretty tired and slept really well.

Tuesday October 2nd, Oxnard, CA

The morning was cold and very damp. It was really nice to start the heater/fireplace. In almost no time we had our cozy little home up to 80 plus degrees. It was really nice. Have I ever told you I hate to be cold? Everything was dry in a very short time and we started opening windows.

As the morning moved on the sun came out and it was another fantastic day. After some emailing and a hot shower, we went for a dinghy ride to see a little more of the marina

and see if we could find our friends (Ron and Ardis) boat; it did not take us long. Ron happened to be outside when we cruised by. We stopped and had a chat and invited him and his wife to dinner on our boat.

After we finished chatting we gathered our homeless get up (cart and bags) and  headed to the local grocery store to get some food for our week in Catalina plus the addition of a new large gas can. I was amazed at how cheap lettuce cost in southern California. I got a strange look from a lady in the store when I called Bill over to look at the half price lettuce.

With our homeless cart and bags with I am sure we were quite a sight walking back to the boat with five 12 packs of beer, two canvas shopping bags, and a cold bag, along with the 6 gallon gas can. Oh, we were also trying to eat our Snickers bars while doing this.

Back at the boat we put all our goods away and did a little clean up before our guests came to dinner. We did this quickly to allow time for another dinghy ride. I found the cutest thing while we were out. It is a little electric boat called a Duffy 21. There are tons of these cute little boats every where. One in particular caught my eye. She was named Pricilla and she was a very clean boat. I told Bill that one day, all my crazy old lady friends and I are going to ride our motor scooters down to the lake and take Pricilla out for a ride on the lake near our house. Pricilla will have an awesome sound system cranking out the tunes of Led Zeppelin and Flogging Molly. Of course this is all in my fantasy world. These beauties have a bar in them and I was told that under every seat is an ice chest.

Dinner was very nice and we had some wonderful wine and spent much of our time visiting outside in the cockpit listening to sailing stories. We headed off to bed around midnight.

Monday October 1st, Sailing to Oxnard

Some people wake up to go to work on Monday after a fun filled weekend. Today we woke up to spend our day traveling. We were thinking about going to Anacapa Island to see the arched rock. Later we decided we were able to see it from a long distance and still be satisfied. We were towing the dinghy just in case we wanted to stop there and take a look around.

We arrived in Oxnard at Channel Island Harbor just before sunset. The trip was uneventful which, was a good thing. Most of the day was spent enjoying a perfect sail. I caught up on some writing and did some knitting on the blanket for Shane who will be born sometime around Christmas.

After checking in with the harbor master we washed all the salt off the boat with fresh water. Before we had dinner we went for a dinghy ride in the marina. The Marina is like a little city with water ways for streets which all have huge houses and a dock with some sort of yacht. It was very cool but all the houses are way too big for my liking.

Dinner was steak cooked on the BBQ with some rice and fresh carrots. Once our tummies were full we fired up the computer and found and open internet signal allowing us to check our emails and do some updates. We had another boat pull in next to us who was from the same marina we came from in Alameda. We did not know these people. They were not from our dock.

As the night rolled on, everything outside start to get really wet. The inside of the boat felt damp too. Cold and damp is not something of my liking but it did not keep me from falling asleep.

Sunday September 30th, Pelican Cove

This morning we woke up to some mirror like waters. The plan for the day was to be sure to get into the dinghy and check out some of the beaches in the area. All the beaches were small rocks and zero sand and had very quick drop offs into the water.

We hiked up a rock hillside and over to the next cove. The view was awesome.

I was surprised to see what looked like volcanic rock, perhaps  I should do a little homework and get some more history on Santa Cruz Island. I do know that in the 30’s or so there were lots of films made in Pelican Cove and there were some Indians called the Chumash or something like that who lived on the island.

After our hike we took the dinghy to the cove we had hiked to. Bill once again donned his skin diving get up and went down to provide us with another fish. I sat in the dinghy floating around the kelp waiting for the great hunter to ask me to come pick up him and his catch. 

I had just started to straighten up some stuff in the boat when he popped up and yelled for me. I don’t think it had been even two minutes from the time he rolled out of the boat. He had a huge Sheep Head fish with big teeth. It could have set the standard for white teeth.

We headed back to the mother ship for some fish cleaning before heading out on yet another ride. It was warm with flat seas. This was the vacation I had signed up for.

Bill wanted to go to Prisoners Cove to say hello to some people we had met while in the harbor in Santa Cruz. As we pulled into the cove we noticed a boat that looked like our friends from the Alameda. Sure enough it was Ray and Diane on Emerald Star. They invited us aboard for a couple of beers and a chance to catch up on things. We were surprised and pleased to run into them.

The next stop was the folks from Santa Cruz Harbor on Tribute. They were just about to leave but we were able to chat with them for a few minutes. They are also part of the group going to Cabo. This group of nearly 200 boats all fly flags that say Ba ha ha. That is the name of this rally. Most people just call it the Ha Ha.

After we left Tribute we noticed another boat sporting this purple flag. We went over and met Dave on a boat named Jammin’. After a nice conversation with him we went back to the boat for some tasty fish dinner. 

We took the dinghy out again after dinner to look at the phosphorescence in the water. We talked with a couple on a sailboat in our cove who were heading south but not on the Ha Ha. After our visit it was really dark and you could see lots of phosphorescence. It is like some magic potion someone poured in the water to amuse me. Any movement in the water gives of a sparkly glow. Imagine filling your hand with water and letting it drip out of your hand. This gives the illusion of diamonds pouring out. This was a great way to end a fantastic day.

Saturday, September 29th

Hooray, warm sunshine! I can’t remember the last time I woke up, put a pair of shorts on and went outside to enjoy my breakfast. The decks were dry and the wind and waters were super calm.

 It was a beautiful morning. I fussed with my herb garden which has been taken over by these little beastly spiders. They are killing my plants faster than I can.  I took advantage of this weather by doing a little work on the cockpit table which was in need of a few coats of tung oil. It was easy work and made a huge difference in the feel of the cockpit. This prompted me to get on a cleaning binge.

My mission today was to clean all the “stuff” that had accumulated under the dodger. (for Winters peeps that is the canvas over the entry way). I don’t think it had been cleaned since we left Alameda.

Bill took advantage of this nice weather and donned his wetsuit and dove for some lunch. He had lunch within 15 minutes. Using his spear gun he was able to provide us with an Opal Eye fish. After he was back on board with his catch a guy from a neighboring boat came over and asked Bill how the diving was. He also asked Bill if he would like to go scuba diving with him and his brother. Bill told him we did not have much air so he could not do it.

I still am unable to dive because I am not totally healed up from the surgery. It is starting to frustrate me. I real would love to have dove in the area. This is why we did not have all the tanks filled.

Our new friend went back to his boat and returned with a full tank for Bill so the game was on. We ate fish tacos before Bill headed out for his adventure. That was some very fresh and tasty fish. They were gone for several hours which gave me time to do some major cleaning. I used bleach and oil soap to scrub the cockpit which contained much more dirt than I could imagine. It was not a really fun day for me but I did feel good about having our home clean. It was also nice to see Bill get a chance to enjoy some prime diving. He was very smiley.

Dinner was eaten outside with wine in our crystal glasses. That is one of the luxuries in our life. I buy cheap crystal as to not cry when a glass breaks. I think everyone should use their crystal and enjoy it. Perhaps it is imagination but I think it can make a cheap bottle of wine taste better.

Friday September 28th

We are still sailing and trying to decide where we would like to end up. I got about three hours of uninterrupted sleep during the night, which was really nice. There is some wind finally so we are moving along quite comfortably. Bill turned on the generator to charge the batteries. The alternator started having problems again. It was not putting out a charge and Bill was afraid to look to see what was going on for fear it would be something major he did not want to deal with. After he did check, it turns out that one of the bolts holding it on had worked it self out. It was fixed in less than five minutes.

Since it was so cold I did all I could to stay inside yet not let Bill think I was abandoning him. I decided to cook up a breakfast of bacon and eggs. After breakfast we saw huge pod of dolphins. Without exaggeration there were well over fifty. The creatures never stop amazing me.

The conversation about our destination continued. Originally we were planning to go to San Miguel Island. Then Bill kept bringing up Santa Barbara. My thought on the was although it is really nice in Santa Barbara it is another marina which means more dollars and I am a bit burnt out on the coast tourist shops. I am not really sure why we decided to skip San Miguel but we did. We both agreed to go to Santa Cruz Island.

We had been there before and really enjoyed it. This time we planned to anchor in Fry’s Cove. We plotted our course set the auto pilot and we were on our way. This just added several more hours to our trip. Bill went below to get some much needed sleep while I was on watch. Once we arrived we saw about five boats in this tiny anchorage so we made the decision to head down to the spot we stayed last time we were here. Both of us were tired at this point. We dropped a bow and stern anchor.

The stern anchor required Bill to blow up the dinghy and make three attempts at getting the anchor placed just right. With both of us so tired we had popcorn for dinner and went to bed. Well, I did anyway. Bill woke up often to make sure the anchors were behaving. Late in the night he reset the stern anchor and pulled some of the 200 plus feet of chain up on the bow anchor.

The anchorage was quite calm with a constant gentle roll and the sound of the water lapping on the haul. This was soothing and made for a great night of sleep.

Thursday September 27th

I woke up early to get myself caught up on writing. I had not written for several days. This caused me to forget some things, one of them must be shared.

While, we were putting around in the dinghy enjoying our cold beer I had quite an experience. Bill and I were sitting on the floor of the dinghy on the same side. We had our feet up on the pontoon on the opposite side. The sun was going but it was not yet cold. We were very relaxed, looking at the boats along the dock and waving to all the friendly boaters.

We passed a place that rents kayaks, and takes people out on whale watching trips. Bill waved to the guy on the dock and asked if I waved. Just then as we were passing the whale watching boat a guy in his wetsuit popped out of the water right in front of me and made a very loud roar. I was so scared I almost jumped out of the boat and spilled my beer. To top it off he looked like the red headed punk kid with the yellow eye's in the movie A Christmas Story. After I realized I was okay I could not stop laughing. Perhaps the scary guy was laughing just as hard.

After spending most of the morning writing, checking email and chatting with my daughter-in-law on MySpace, Bill and I headed in to shore. First on the list was to see if we could use the clothes washer at the yacht club and find out where to get propane. We have two small propane tanks and it seems that we get one month per tank. We have been on the boat and out of Grand Marina for about a month now.

When we arrived at the club we talked with the lady we shared our beverage with the night before. She said we would need a car to get to the propane place and she offered us a ride. We declined knowing she was getting ready to leave for the Channel Islands within a few hours. The club had its tent removed (Termite fumigation) and we were looking to pay for our stay when Lola from the club showed up.

Lola only charged us for a half of one day since the club was not available and the clothes dryer did not work due to the gas not being turned back on yet. We did not realize this until we had already put our clothes in the washer. Bill asked Lola if she knew of a place to get propane, thinking she might know of another place. She said she was going up by the place to run a quick errand and took Bill with her. The cost of a tank of propane was $4.10. When Bill returned we recovered our clothes from the washer and headed to the not so near by Laundromat.

We dropped the clothes in the dryer and were shocked that you only get five minutes drying time for a quarter. After filling the dryer with quarters we went to the post office to see if the overnight package containing the extra alternator brackets arrived. They had not. The clerk there needed a course in customer service. Fortunately, there was a young girl there that remembered Bill from the day before and was more than willing to give good service. She actually offered to called our cell phone to let us know when the package  arrived.

We left the post office and headed up the street to Albertsons to get some fresh vegetables and eggs. Bill asked me if I have been good all day as he

looked over at Mc Donald’s. I certainly had! 

While walking through the parking lot to get to McD’s I saw a beautiful red motor scooter. I could not help myself from thinking about how fun it would be to have one just like that. I begged Bill to let me put one on the boat but he said no. We ate outside where I stared at this scooter until some old hag parked her minivan in line of my vision.

"One day I will have a scooter just like that and all the kids in my town will talk about the crazy old lady that rides the red scooter".

Up until this point all of our walking had been up hill. Now it was time to head back to the boat and plan our departure for late night or early morning. Once again we recovered our clothes and made another unsuccessful stop at the post office so we continued to head back to the boat with our cart of groceries and laundry. Walking back I made comment to Bill that perhaps this time people won’t think we are homeless because I was sporting a new pair of sneakers.

When we got back to the boat we put our stuff away and tossed our fresh whole chicken on the BBQ. Then we let loose of the mooring and tied up on the yacht club dock. Bill made a mad dash to the post office after the nice girl called while I filled the water tanks. We had a key to the club and took advantage of their showers. They felt great but the water could have been a little warmer. The gas had not been turned on long enough to have really hot water.

We listened to the weather report again and realized we needed to leave now or wait until Monday. We both did the chart plotting and were on our way. The seas were mostly calm but the wind was not strong enough to keep us from bouncing around. We were able to sail for only a few hours. There were many visits from the dolphins. I went below to sleep but woke up each hour to write down our position and see if I could do anything for Bill.

At 2:15 am I took my watch. It was really cold outside. I hate being cold. To keep myself from being totally bored looking at the dark ocean and radar, I brought up my little portable DVD player. For the twentieth time I watched Talladega Nights while sitting on my seat that Bill made to fit in the door way.

We put up some sails in the morning and changed our destination. Now we are heading for Santa Cruz Island.

Wednesday September 26th

Today the top priority is to get the parts to fix the engine. Bill had made several phone calls to get this process started yesterday. He ordered some to be sent overnight mail to the post office and has a machine shop lined up to  make the part just in case the ordered ones don't fit.

He left early to walk the couple of miles up hill to the shop. While out and about he picked up a package we had had delivered to the post office and got a hair cut. I stayed behind and took a nice hot shower and tidied up things a bit. He dropped off the part and within a few hours we had a call saying it was ready. At this point Bill needed to get the alternator off with the broken bolt and try to get the bolt out. This prompted another series of cuss words. He was determined to get the bolt out but was defeated.

We headed into town with our own missions. Bill was off to pick up his part and see if the machine shop could get the bolt out. I am sure the alternator weighed 25 pounds in Bill’s backpack. I was off to get a small crochet hook to allow me to fix the mistakes I made while trying to knit. I remembered where there was a yarn store near the post office which I needed to go to. The lady at the yarn store was not very nice. Not only was she not nice, can you believe a yarn store would not sell any needles? She advised me to check the local thrift store. I did and was told there was another yarn store that sold needles. The not so nice lady told me there was no other store. Hmmm.

The other store was a long walk toward where Bill was at the machine shop. On my way there I stop at another of my favorite shops here called Old Paris. They carry lots old world European home décor items. It is just a fun place to look around. I picked up a small gift for Stephanie, and need to figure out how to mail it. While on my long walk to the real yarn store I ran into Bill. We went together and purchased the hook that only cost $2.10 but took five miles of walking to get. We picked up some wine and ice on our way back to the boat, along with a few post cards.

Walking back we decided we were going to have margaritas when we got back. We whipped up a pitcher of margaritas and tossed a few extra cups in our bag and went for a dinghy ride. We came across another boat with the Baha HA Ha flag and went over to introduce ourselves and share our beverage. The Baha Ha Ha is the rally we will be joining in San Diego to Cabo. After that we putted around the anchorage and then had an excellent candle light dinner in the cockpit. After doing the dishes we were off to bed.

Monday September 24th & 25th

After rocking and rolling most of the night we woke up to another sunny day. We had breakfast in the cockpit as we talked about our departure to Morro Bay. It is a hundred miles and some change and with our average speed being around 4 knots per hour we were looking at 24 plus hours of sailing or motor sailing.

Originally we were planning to depart on Tuesday but after listening to the weather and realizing we have to pull up the anchor and reset it with a stern anchor as well, we decided to leave. Bill had me plot our course. Navigation is something I can do but have zero confidence in my ability to do it. Practice is what I need.

We were on our way around 11:00 am. We were motor sailing most of the way but did get about four hours of straight sailing. The boat was certainly doing some rocking and my stomach muscles have not healed enough to handle it. Sitting and trying to keep my balance was starting to bring some pain and then some more pain. Finally I went down below to lie on my bed. I felt terribly guilty for leaving Bill out there by himself. He did set the auto pilot to allow him to adjust the sails and come below to see how I was doing. I got up a few times to be outside with him. We saw a whale some dolphins and jellyfish. One thing I never tire from is watching dolphins.

Bill made Ramen noodles for dinner which we ate outside. Then again I was back in the bed. As the sun went down the seas seemed come at us from every direction. Now my stomach is really not happy. I decided it was time for a Vicodon. I was wishing I had one those Velcro body suits to stick me in one place. I braced myself with my hands and feet on the side walls and tried to sleep. I never really did get much sleep.  I Worried about Bill getting tired and I came up top about every hour to see if he was okay. I swear one time I did this I woke him up. He was behind the wheel sitting up sleeping. Thank goodness we keep ourselves strapped into the boat.

I asked if he wanted to come below and sleep but he did not want me up there while on drugs and was concerned about my internal stitches. Finally at 5:00 AM I came up and just took over. He happily went below and slept for an hour. I cooked up some breakfast burritos and joined Bill up top to greet the morning.

The seas had calmed and our moods were good. I was still getting sharp pains when I moved so Bill said I should get back in bed. Not long after that I notice the engine was making a different sound, I am always tuned into that. I flew out of bed ran up top and had Bill come down to have a listen for himself. He opened the engine compartment and saw the problem was with the alternator.

He shut down the engine and had me sail out to sea. Sail ha ha. We only had 4 knots of wind. That is not even enough to mess up my hair. So we did more drifting than anything else. The problem was a broke alternator bracket. Bill went into his McGiver mode. I swear this guy can fix anything with duct tape and a rubber band. Okay well, not this time but close. He found a scrap of brass left over from making the cockpit table and cut it and drilled it to make a bracket. He thought "great, just bolt this baby on and we will make it the 9 miles into Morro Bay". Not this time….

The Novak luck had kicked in and a bolt broke off. Mind you all this is happening while we are bobbing around and tools are falling. I tried not to listen to Bill talk to himself. Yes, I did hear some cuss words and bad ones too. He could not fix the broken bolt and was left with only one option. The vice grips. Fortunately we had not left them in Bills car to roll down the window. He clamped his fancy brass bracket in place and we very slowly motored toward the big rock of Morro Bay. We were afraid to go any faster than a slow crawl for fear of the vice grips popping off.

Bill had me go below to check them every few minutes. Being fearful of the entrance into the harbor Bill called the Coast Guard to see what the conditions were at the entrance. There have been a lot of boats lost there and it can be a rough bar to cross. Bill told them we needed to know because we were coming in on limited power and sometimes you need a lot of power to not end up on the rocks. The Coast Guard of course had to go through their routine and ask million questions before they would tell us the condition at the entrance.

It turns out the tide was coming out at a pace faster than we were going. We had to radio in our position with the Coasties every half hour. It took us four hours to go nine miles. At that point the Coasties sent out a boat with about twenty hot young men to follow us in and help if we should need it. Where was my daughter now??? The boat was not moving due to the current so Bill put on the coal while I watched to see if our trusty vice grips were moving at all. We kept our fingers crossed and all went well. We both took a deep breath and looked forward to tying up at the yacht club and maybe getting a nice hot shower there as the anchorage was too small to accommodate us.

To our surprise the club was not only closed but had been tented for fumigation and the docks were full. We called on the radio and the harbor master who has nothing to do with the club told us to pick up a mooring ball from the club so we did. By now we were exhausted and were ready for a nice cold beer. Bill blew up the dinghy and dropped the little 3.5 hp engine on and we were off to putter around and enjoy another beer.

The weather was awesome. We came back had dinner and slept really well.

Sunday, September 23rd 

Bill and I woke up and went straight into cleaning mode.  We were so determined in fact that I don't think there was much coffee drank that morning.   When we were done both the inside and outside looked great.

We were taking some friends out sailing and the weather was perfect for that. Our friends arrived with their three children who were excited to go. Well, all but the oldest Colleen who is in the 6th grade, she was a bit nervous.  I gathered the kids in the kitchen after showing them around, where I keep a large bag of hard candies to suck on and had them each pick five pieces of candy for their pockets to eat when they wanted.

We made it out of the slip with no trouble. I am always worried something will go wrong when we have new boaters onboard and I really wanted them to have a great experience. I believe they did. The weather was just perfect, nice winds and flat seas. We did not get to see too much wild life but there were a few seals and some jellyfish just no dolphins or whales.

Bill had a special treat for us all after the great lunch our guests had brought, banana splits. As we finished with lunch it was time to start heading back. Each of the kids had a turn at the wheel by now and even Colleen was enjoying it. The other two kids, Christopher and Jessica, were little dare devils they were up front on the bowsprit a lot of the time.

The sail went very well. After we returned our friends Debbie and Chris treated us to a fantastic meal on the wharf. It was a great day. I am sure the kids were asleep before they left the parking lot.

At this time Bill and I still needed to move out of the marina and out to the anchorage. This was to avoid dropping another $40. It was pretty rocky there and we should have taken our friend Dino’s advice and dropped a stern anchor. That would have kept us pointed into the waves and made the night much more pleasant. It doesn’t pay to be lazy.

After midnight things calmed and we got some sleep.

Saturday, September 22nd, continued

I have decided to do my best to make things easier for you to read. I know my writing format is not ideal. I am going try making some changes. Hopefully one day I will have this writing stuff figured out.

To continue with the events of Saturday. It was raining lightly but not really cold. We were grateful for the two umbrellas we had onboard which kept us dry while walking the four or so blocks to the bus stop.

On the ride to Salinas from Monterey we did not get to see much. The bus had no heat and all the windows were fogged up. We did get the pleasure of a listening to a young man sitting behind me talk with his buddy. He gave me some insight on how others think, others being those who have vodka on their Coco Puffs for  breakfast. Actually, I could not tell if it was vodka or a cheap gin I smelled.

We arrived at the Salinas bus terminal after about an hour ride. The museum was about a two minute walk in the rain. We enjoyed our visit there and learned quite a few things. One of them being, the number of times John Steinbeck had married, perhaps he was a trend setter for today’s standards.

Another thing we learned was that he had written a book about his travel on a boat to the Sea of Cortez, this is where we are headed. Bill and I are both interested in reading The Log of the Sea of Cortez which Steinbeck wrote.

After the museum we stopped at a little hole in the wall Mexican place for lunch. We enjoyed our food as we talked about all the books we want to add to our library. The rain had stopped while we headed to the bus for the hour ride back. This time we were able to see out the windows.

When we returned we checked with the harbor master to allow us to stay in the marina one more night. We put up the internet panel and found an open signal from a near by pub. By now the alarm on my cell phone was going off. It is set for 5:00 every day. This is to remind us that it is cocktail hour and we need to stop what we are doing and chill a minute or 30. We started this because so often we get working on a boat project and keep going until late at night. Perhaps it’s just a reminder to enjoy life.

I imagine some of you think our new life is nothing more than sailing and cocktails. Well, let me give you a little insight on an average day. On second thought I will make that a separate entry to follow this one.

For our cocktail hour we grabbed a glass of wine and walked the docks looking at all the boat and seals. We also were able to watch and otter eat his dinner. They are cute but the noise they make while biting into the mussel shells gives me goose bumps. After we had dinner we did a little cleaning to prepare for some friends we were taking out sailing on Sunday.

^{Saturday, September 22nd}

 Sparky and I arrive at Stephanie’s house around one in the afternoon. I did the laundry and took a long hot shower. On the boat we don’t leave the water running while we shower. We get wet soap up and rinse off. It felt soooo good to let the water run until there was no hot water left. Ahhh, the small pleasures in life. After that it was back to my list of a million things to do in 24 hours.

I sorted through a few weeks of mail. Out of the large stack I only found three pieces that were of interest (hint, if you pay off all your credit cards the number of credit card offers will increase tremendously).  I Also went around the house picking up a few things we wished we had brought.  After that I realized I needed to get moving to make my doctor appointment, after all that was the main purpose of the trip.

I hopped in the car, made a quick stop at Mariani’s to say hello to everyone and then a quick stop at my friend Ann’s house. I made it to my appointment with five minutes to spare. So, drum roll please, the doctor was a bit hesitant but did give me the go ahead to start moving down the coast.

The reason for the hesitation is that I still have an open hole in my belly which puts me at a high risk for getting another infection. She says I still have about two weeks of healing to go. It will be sooo nice when that happens. I think my doctor has done a great job and hate to think about what my life would be like if I had not seen her for a second opinion. Her office staff has been wonderful as well. I will miss their smiles.

After my appointment it was run to the hardware store and then dinner out with Stephanie. We had a great dinner followed by several hours of shopping. We got home at 9:00pm and watched a movie then went to bed. I had to get up at 4:00 to be on the road before 5:00 to miss all the traffic. It was tough to leave Sparky at home but our government will not let him go to the Channel Islands which is on our list of planned stops. Stephanie will drive to San Diego and we will pick him up there.

I got back to the boat just after 8:00 and hauled all the "stuff" I bought down to the fuel dock where Bill met me. We loaded the boat and then I returned the car and he came back to the fuel dock so I could jump on as he drove by. It is official we are on our way.  We put up some sails and headed for Monterey.

Bill made some bread dough in the morning so we baked that and had it with salad for lunch.

We picked up a slip in Monterey because we will be gone for several hours today and did not want to be worried about the anchor dragging. Today we are going to the Steinbeck Center in Salinas. Tomorrow we are going to take a friend and his family out sailing.  Monday night we will leave for Morro Bay. I will be doing my first long night watch on that trip.

Things are going well. 

 ^{Thursday September 20th}

Wow, it’s been nearly a week since I wrote.  I think I have a little catching up to do.  Perhaps I should start with last Friday.  That day we got up and moving at o’dark thirty.  This was a big day for Bill. He was about to become a “surfer”.  His lessons were scheduled for 7:00 am.  Obviously he did not consult with me first. I would certainly have chosen a later time. We left the boat around 5:45 in the dark.  The dinghy ride was not wet but cold. Then we walked to Pleasure Point.  

We allowed an hour and made it there much quicker.  We now know that surfers have a different time zone from everyone else. Bill’s instructor showed up just after 7:30.  The lessons went well. The smile on Bill’s face was priceless. He said that was best birthday gift ever.  The rest of the day was filled with comments such as “I am a surfer. I am not sure if I can help with the dishes”.

Within a few hours of returning he was sleeping in the cockpit with a cocktail in his hand.

Saturday was another perfect weather day. I took a stroll down to the mall to pick up a better birthday card for a friend and get my hair trimmed. Bill stayed at the boat and did some reading. When I returned we did a little cleaning for our guests the day.

Sunday was quite busy for us. Bill’s mother and brother came for breakfast. His brother John cooked us some special Mexican breakfast.  It was very tasty.  It was about an hour drive for them to get here from John’s house. We had a nice visit and then went to Costco.

Bill stayed at the boat and it was a good thing.  When we returned I was dropped off at the wharf and said goodbye to my mother-in-law and brother-in-law.  Walking down the wharf I was trying to call Bill with my cell phone to the Skype phone.  He did not answer.  We had been getting pretty good internet coverage so I was a little surprised he didn't pick up the  phone, then I noticed the boat looked like it was not in the right position.  At that point I realized there was trouble.  

When Bill suddenly appeared behind the wheel I knew he needed help and there must be a serious problem with the anchor. I tried to get the water  taxi but he had just left to see if he could help with a guy who had just had a heart attack on a charter boat that often comes through the anchorage.  By now I am surrounded by medics in gloves and police who arrived by boat. I just wanted to get a ride out to the boat to help Bill.

The taxi driver Ed was coming back and I yelled to him that I needed a ride because our anchor was dragging. He pulled up the dinghy to the dock just like Captain Ron and said jump in. I was on the boat and behind the wheel within two minutes.

Prior to my arriving Bill had dropped the anchor line after tying a buoy to it as a marker because it had started dragging.  He was currently trying to pick up a mooring ball. The wind was blowing pretty hard which made things a bit challenging.  After that was done we still needed to get our anchor.

We put on our wet weather clothes and jumped in the dinghy and had a successful recovery mission.  By this time our friends Dino and Cathy called to let us know they were here for a visit. We cleaned up and went into shore.  Luckily, the wind had stopped just after we finished cleaning up so we sat in the sun and had a couple of drinks before we went to dinner to celebrate Dino’s birthday. 

Monday we anchored out again and life seemed to be pretty good. I love Capitola but feel I am ready to move on. We are waiting in this area until my last doctor appointment. I was in a bit of a funky mood and missing my friends. Perhaps I need find something to tickle my mind.  I recalled seeing a yarn store on our way to do laundry so I headed out thinking I would pick up some yarn and crochet a blanket for my grandson. After all he won’t be here until late December. I should be able to finish it. 

The store is called The Yarn Shop.  I walked in and told the girl what I wanted to do and had no idea how much yarn I needed and I was on a tight budget.  She made a comment that knitting takes a third less yarn.  Jokingly I said I should learn to knit. She asked if I wanted to. I said sure.

She sat me down and taught me right there. This was wonderful because since I had learned to crochet first I hold my yarn in the left hand and had to be taught to knit left handed. If you ever need yarn and are in Capitola go to The Yarn Shop on Capitola Avenue, . They have great books on knitting. 

My blanket is coming along great.  I had gone back to the store the next day and learned to fix the mistakes I made during cocktail hour knitting. After learning to fix my mistakes Bill, Sparky and I  took the dinghy for a long ride out to the cement boat at New Brighton which was a beer away. The weather was really nice.

Wednesday brought us a change in weather.  It was getting pretty rough cold and windy.  Listening to the weather report is sounded like we were in for a rough day and night. This prompted us to take our friend Dino’s advice and head for Santa Cruz which is more protected from the weather.

The ride over generally takes about an hour and it was so rough it took over two hours. I felt like one of  those little Downy fabric softener balls you toss in the wash machine.  We decided to get a slip( for Winters peeps that means dock) for the night. Here we were able to wash the boat down with fresh water and charge our batteries. We also will fill our water tanks before we leave.

That brings us to today.  The day we have been waiting for. I am renting a car and driving to Vacaville for my doctors’ appointment.  I will also do some shopping for food and such.  Our daughter Stephanie has plans for us to go out to dinner tonight too.

 Actually I have a ton of things to do today. Laundry, see my Winters friends, and shopping, not to mention it is a minimum three hour drive each way. If I am feeling too tired I may drive back really early in the morning.  Early meaning 4:30 so I beat the traffic. I still need to run that by Stephanie.

I am a little nervous about the doctors’ appointment.  I still have one hole in my belly that has not completely closed.  This has me worried that the doctor will not release me to move further south.  I have no doubt it will be closed some time in the next few days. I can’t wait to be fully recovered. 

Oh, I forgot to mention we have zero internet coverage here. Bill is going to head up to the coffee shop after I leave to update this to the site. I hope to share some good news with you tomorrow.

Thursday morning I picked up a rental car for my three hour drive back to my former home and to see my wonderful doctor. I truly do think she is wonderful. Bill helped me load up all of our laundry and the dog. It was sort of a sentimental journey leaving Santa Cruz. There is a huge hill with a very windy highway to go over to get to the bay area. This was the very hill I drove over when I was in high school to get to the beach. Well, some of the time I should have been in school but my desire to get a tan and be near the ocean was much stronger than my desire to sit in a classroom. I have not driven this road for at least fifteen years. That part of the drive was much shorter than I remembered.

^{Thursday September 13th}

I am still loving it here. The anchor is holding great so we are sleeping well at night. Yesterday was pretty overcast so we decided to make it a work day. I spent the entire day cleaning.  You may be thinking there is no way it could take and entire day to clean a boat but I can. I even lifted up the floor boards and cleaned under them.  I also washed all the wood down with Murphy’s oil soap.

I am still moving things around to find just the right place. I am starting to understand the whole less is more concept. Bill was busy working on sewing a shade cover for the butterfly hatch. For those is Winters, that means the sky light. It came out great. He did all his work outside on the deck. After all that work we were rewarded with a very beautiful sunset.

  After dinner Bill took the dog for a walk on shore then we sat outside and had some hot chocolate while looking at the stars. 

Today we spent a bit more time on shore. Come to think of it yesterday I did not even leave the boat, I am okay with that.  Early this morning we headed out to get some laundry done and pick up some groceries.

My friend Sandra grew up here so she called me to let me know how to get to the right stores. We dropped the clothes in the washer across the street from the grocery store and then did the shopping. After that we put the clothes in the dryer and headed into the Dairy Queen to enjoy some ice cream while waiting for the clothes to dry. Sparky even got a big portion of Bill’s ice cream.  

It turns out that we can walk less than a mile and find everything. On the way to the grocery store we found a produce market.  They had some of the best looking produce I have ever seen and excellent prices too.  We stopped there on our way back and I went a little wild. Bill stayed outside with the dog and our homeless cart. When I came out he shook his head and asked when we will have enough time to eat all I had bought. I just smiled and asked if I could add it to the cart.

Our cart is an extremely beefy luggage cart. It folds up flat for storage. Today we had a large bag filled with bags of groceries including wine and our bag with laundry bungee strapped on it. Bill made it a point to shave today to make sure were not mistaken for the homeless.

The walk was wonderful. The weather was once again perfect.  When we returned to the boat we saw about ten dolphins swimming around our boat. They hung out for and a half an hour.  I had a cold beer and watched them.  

In the afternoon the wind kicked up but started to die down around 6:30. That brings me to now. I have artichokes on the stove and Bill is cooking chicken on the  que. I am sitting in my favorite spot on the couch next to the bar with my feet up on the seat across from me. Oh, I also have a glass of wine and we are listening to a great radio station called KPIG.  It is amazing what they can get away with playing on the radio. I love it.

We did decide to leave Sausalito on Sunday. We headed out the gate and down to Half Moon Bay. On the way we saw lots of dolphins and seals along with about eight whales. It was a nice sail. We arrived just as the fuel dock had closed but the young kids running the place were kind enough to allow us to fill up. We then anchored just out from the yacht club. There was quite a party going on there. After making a run out of the harbor to drop our crab trap we went over to the club and bought a beer. We were also able to score the internet code. The signal was weak but we were able to send a few emails out and check the weather. Since the weather was so good we decided to head down to Santa Cruz.

We left for Santa Cruz at four the next morning. Well, okay we left a bit after that. 4 AM was the time the alarm went off and I still needed another 15 minutes to get up. It was really dark. After a couple of hours I went back into my bed for a few more hours of sleep. There was no wind so we motored for about half the day. The seas were flat. In the afternoon we put the sails up.

There was not much in the way of wild life. We saw some dolphins and jellyfish which were a golden brown. There was one whale which was not very far from us. We actually heard him blow before we saw him. He was really pretty with no barnacles on him. Hmmm could it have been a girl?

We arrived in Santa Cruz around 4:30pm. Once we got there we realized there was a boat there from Half Moon Bay. Bill had talked to them the day before. The anchor did not seem to be holding well so we decided to pick up and move on to Capitola.

As we were entering the anchorage in Capitola we heard a call on the radio. It turns out our friends Dale and Ken were here watching us come in. They live on A dock where we had our boat for three or so years in Alameda. This was great because we never got to say good bye to them because they were traveling.

We had a nice visit and they moved on today. It is sooo nice here. We stayed on a mooring ball for the first night but at $25 a night we unhooked and dropped our fancy new anchor just out from the anchorage.

The people here are really nice. The sign says no dogs on the wharf but they have no problem with Sparky. The beaches also say no dogs so we just dinghy over to a beach that can only be reached by boat or surfboard. I could not ask for better weather. It is clean and relaxing.

We were here back in June for our friend Nina’s graduation dinner. I loved it then and I am happy to see it from the ocean. I think we will stay here for a few days.

We took the dog for a walk and ended up at the 41st Street mall. We found a Longs drug store where I purchased a calendar because I keep forgetting the date. The wharf has a dock for the dinghy and the locals are friendly. I think I am will enjoy another beverage and kick here in the sun. I am one happy girl!

Saturday September 8th

So, by now you may be wondering why we are still hanging out in San Francisco Bay.  I sometimes wonder this too.  Well, it turns out that after my surgery I ended up with an ecoli infection. Most likely having to have my bowels removed from my uterus due to endometriosis had something to do with that.

The treatment required the doctor to open my incision in three places to get the infection out. She also prescribed some very expensive pills which my insurance did not completely cover. These holes, which were not really small, required lots of attention. For the first week we had to drive to see the doctor every single day to have them cleaned and packed with gauze, thank goodness for Vicodin! The packing was not a pleasant thing.  We became very tired of this lifestyle quickly after making the more than one hour drive each way for the first week. We consulted with the doctor and she understood immediately and taught Bill how to "torture me", er clean and pack me,  which he picked up on really fast.

Last week, after yet one more appointment the doctor let us leave the marina.  She was quite impressed with Bill’s work as he was packing me twice a day.   Somehow I believe he actually enjoyed the "torture".

We left the marina and headed over to Sausalito which is where we are now and have been here for almost a week. Our friend Mike helped up get our car here so we could get to my doctors appointments without too much fuss.  Dr. Zubair only required a visit once a week.  During my last appointment on Friday, she said that things were looking GREAT! and it is time to let the holes close up.  No more packing and no appointments for two weeks. Hoooray! This means we are leaving the bay either today or tomorrow. Once we head out the gate we will truly feel like we are on our way.

Last night our daughter came and picked up our car. Well, now it is her car, her house….Trust me she is certainly earning everything.  She does an awful lot for us and it is very much appreciated.

So, enough of all the garbage! Let’s get onto the happy side of life. We still have Sparky with us. The plan was originally to leave him until we hit San Diego. The reason for that is we were going to scuba dive in the Channel Islands and dogs are not allowed.  It has been great to have him.  He loves being on the boat and better yet going for rides in the dinghy. 

We explored the entire Richardson Bay by dinghy the other day. There are lots of huge fancy houses on the waters edge.  I prefer much smaller houses myself.  The town here is cute with lots of over priced little shops and snobby people. Walking through down town here I feel like we fit in more with the homeless people than the common folks as we were often treated like we were street people here vs "High end Cruisers on a budget".  Can’t they see our dog is a pure breed with papers from a line of champion show dogs???

There is an exception to this treatment. Yesterday we went into the yacht club (Sausalito Yacht Club) here and asked if we could fill our tanks with water. Not only did they allow us to do that, they bought us drinks, gave us a mooring ball to hook onto and the password to their internet. This has allowed me to log onto my “myspace” and see the 3D ultrasound pictures of my grandson who will arrive around Christmas.  At the moment his name will be Shane Alexander Novak.

Well, I better get off the computer and start putting things away in the event we decide to take off out the gate in the next few hours. While we were back home visiting the doctor we were able to shop for lots of food at my favorite store, Winco.  We bought tons of food for only $53.  Now I need to put it all inits little places. 

Feeling good and readyto go!!!