Jacaranda Passage Note #42 (12-2010)
We Survived Summer #3 in the Sea of Cortez
La Paz, Baja Sur
It is winter here in the Sea of Cortez, bringing cooling temperatures to the Sea and friends returning to their sailboats that had been put on the hard for the summer months - and we can now say we survived another summer in the Sea - our third!!!
The excruciating heat experienced by those on the East Coast this summer - their deadly heat wave - was what was a normal part of our lifestyle here during the summer - hot Hot and HOTTER temperatures!! Plus just a few hundred miles to the north of us in San Diego they were having the coldest summer for many years. Go figure! Our strategy to try to stay cool was being in the warm waters (mostly 86 degrees) for a good part of the day - swimming or snorkeling - and showering on deck to then sit below in the cabin under an army of 12 volt fans that ran day and night. And a fresh cold limonada never tasted so good!! Our tiny 12V water-cooled fridge ran more than 14 hours a day just trying to keep up. The warmest water temp we saw this summer was 91 degrees! We always looked for anchorages that had a small piece of land as protection from the sea so as the wind blew across it, the temperature would not rise to a blow dryer inferno.
But the Sea of Cortez is the place to be if you want to stay on your boat in Mexico outside of a marina during the summer hurricane season which runs from June 1 to Nov. 1. Thats why we do it - along with 47 other boats this year - a record number!!! Last year we only had about 27 boats.
Once you learn to deal with the heat, the joys of being in the Sea of Cortez for the summer are many - camaraderie of a small group of fellow cruisers, spectacular sunsets, strikingly beautiful desert scenery along the coasts and the numerous islands, the ability to have an anchorage all to yourself if you want, beach walks, hiking and shelling, fantastic fishing with fresh fish for dinner every night (not to mention other edible delicacies from the sea), and close personal experiences with marine wildlife - dolphins, seals, and whales.
This summer was one of the mildest hurricane seasons on record - a mere seven named storms compared to an average of 17. These storms brew in the Tropical Kitchen in southern Mexico and then move north and - if we are lucky - then west. This year we were very lucky as the 7 named storms never became a threat to us by moving up into the Sea. Good thing too - the best hurricane hole to be in, affording the best protection - Puerto Don Juan near Bahia de los Angeles (BLA) - would not have been able to hold the cadre of boats up here this year....maybe 35 at the most. We never even once went into Puerto Don Juan (affectionately know as Puerto Pollo or Port Chicken) this summer. Although it is a nice enough anchorage, it has an unfortunate association with weather threats, and we were glad to have the choice to avoid it this time. There are no warnings California to Panama, Don Anderson, our weather guru forecasting from Oxnard, CA. would say on the radio, and it was music to our ears.
Some of the most memorable events this summer were social ones. We reunited with long time friends Jack and Hermy (Lindas comadre) aboard IWA who returned to Mexico after being in Ecuador for a few years. Darrel and Rita on OVERHEATED, who were preoccupied with their new condo in Mazatlan for the last couple of years, headed for the Sea once again after a hiatus. Darrel and Rita were the first cruisers we met in the Sea when we visited IWA for a week in 2000 at a time when we were only dreaming of being there ourselves on JACARANDA. It was a great threesome reunion and we spent some fun time together, especially when both boats accompanied us up to Gonzaga Bay on our way to San Felipe in late August.
And it wouldnt be the Summer in the Sea without our good buddies Sandy and John on MASQUERADE - with them, for the third year, the Sea felt like home. Linda started beading sea shells she collected with Sandy and now Sandy is doing a whole collection as Christmas ornaments for her family. Gourmet meals are the hallmark of our get togethers - boy, do we eat well!! Sandy is the sushi queen rivaling any Japanese restaurant. So heres one of our unforgettable dinners we made after a delivery from an expert free-diving friend - fresh sea scallops with vodka and creme fraiche over Jasmine rice, zucchini casserole, and Sandys homemade blueberry turnovers (which rival her cinnamon buns).
With these folks and lots of additional friends, new and old, our days were filled with fishing, beachwalking, shelling (just how many pustulatas do you need? I asked when Linda found a bonanza of these hard-to-find cowries), snorkeling, beading, and sharing stories over good food. Every evening when the sunset lit up the sky with streaks of color, Linda would blow the conch shell in salute to another beautiful day in the Sea.
The Full Moon Party held near Bahia de Los Angeles every year is the opportunity for the cruisers to gather and have yet another reason to celebrate together. Mentioned everyday on the radio net by social director Jake on JAKE, the August bash drew more than 25 boats. Covered in our last 2 summer passage notes in greater detail, its a great locale to get together, dress up in costume and float out of the lagoon when the tide changes. This year Linda did her usual outstanding job of building a costume out of aluminum foil, showing up as the Star Fish Witch (a good witch)! The evening pot luck on the beach under the rising full moon was great fun as usual except for the fact there were no musicians in the fleet this year to entertain us! But we did watch the sky in unison as the space shuttle orbited overhead!
After the full moon party we headed north to San Felipe, one of the northern most towns in the Sea of Cortez that is accessible by boat. We left the boat in a marina and hauled our anchors and 340 feet of chain to get galvanized in Mexicali, then continued onto San Diego for 10 days. The trip to SD was a whirlwind of activity with revamping the garden of our rental house, visiting with friends and family, and seeing son Joe play his music at a local venue. We were excited to be there to greet son David who returned from a year of teaching English in Seoul, South Korea. Sadly, we received the news of the death of Lindas Dad on September 5, after several years of debilitating decline. Stan passed on his love of sailing to Linda and it was a joy we were able to share together whenever he would come visit us.
Most of the anchorages we visited this year were repeats from previous years and already covered in past passage notes. Therefore, we were familiar with many of the good fishing spots and we did well this year. I had one lure that I kept count of the number of fish caught and was hoping to retire it at 100 -- but then I finally lost it when a large yellowtail took it and ran. The tally on that one lucky lure was 82 fish in 5 weeks!! And that wasnt the only lure I used during the summer but the only one on which I kept track of the catch. The yellowtail were larger than last year and just as tasty! We had a really exciting day when, leaving Puerto Refugio on Isla Angel de la Guarda, we sailed through a school of mahi mahi and had 3 double hook ups within 30 minutes!! We only kept 2 of the six since we only keep what we can eat.
Late in October we departed Bahia Concepcion and headed eastward across the Sea of Cortez to Topolobampo on mainland Mexico the place to jump off and go inland to visit Mexicos famous Copper Canyon. The trip across was uneventful except for the rather rough sea conditions that were strange - we never saw more than 7-8 knots of wind yet the sea state appeared as if it should have been blowing 25 knots. We later learned that there were major earthquakes occurring in the Sea along a fault line right underneath us during this time!! No wonder the sea was so agitated luckily there were no tsunamis! Topolobampo (Topo as the locals refer to it) is a small fishing village renown for its fresh seafood, located about 150 miles north of Mazatlan. Marina Palmira has nice new docks but is still under construction. This was a convenient spot to leave the boat in a safe place while we traveled inland by bus and train to Copper Canyon a definite must see.
Copper Canyon (Barrancas del Cobre) is Mexicos version of the Grand Canyon. Located in the state of Chihuahua, it is actually an area four times the size of the Grand Canyon and contains six canyons, several of which are deeper than the Grand Canyon. At the top, the 8000 foot elevation is cold and forested with pines yet the bottom of the canyons are hot and semitropical with orange and mango trees. We traveled by local bus and also by train. The famous El Chepe railroad is one of the most scenic railways in North America and is very exciting! Running alongside the edges of canyons, it offered fantastic views of stunning scenery.
The area is home to the isolated Tarahumara Indians and we saw many living in the area in simple log or stone houses or in caves. They call themselves Raramuri and are known for their unbelievable long-distance running ability. They hunt deer for ceremonies and run them down until the deer collapse from exhaustion! The men compete in races over 100 miles lasting 2-3 days where a small ball is knocked along using a curved stick (similar to a lacrosse stick). These races are run not on the flat but over the mountains. The women also compete in similar races but use a hoop in place of a ball. These shy people are dressed in wonderfully bright clothes and wear sandals of leather with straps around their ankles. The women and girls weave remarkable baskets out of pine needles and grasses. Everywhere the train stopped, all through the towns, and at every scenic overlook where there was likely to be a hiker or tourist, dozens of women and girls were selling their work. The prices were ridiculously cheap and yes, we came back with an arm load of the beautiful woven handicrafts.
Taking a local bus 6 hours down to the bottom of one of the canyons to the old silver mining town of Batopilas was in itself an experience..a white knuckled one! The dirt switchback road was just barely wider than the bus itself with no guard rails, drops of a thousand feet, and the bus tires within inches of the edge. And the bus driver chatting with his girlfriend who was standing in the door well next to him had the locals on the bus crossing themselves and saying prayers! Linda said she was doing fine until we had to squeeze past a cement truck that had gone off the road well, not completely, it still had two wheels on the dirt while two wheels hung in the air.
We returned to Topo after 10 days of traveling mostly with Mexican tourists. In many places we were the only people staying in the hotel and the locals told us tourism was down in that area almost 85% due to the US State Department warning for the Mexican State of Chihuahua. We never saw any indication of trouble during our whole journey although we heard the stories of marijuana growing in these remote areas and drug-related friction with federales. After all, many of the new SUVs and Ford Explorers we saw in the canyons were not purchased with basket money.
We departed Topo on November 10 and our trip westward back across the Sea to La Paz was a motor boat ride with very little wind and flat sea conditions. In fact this summer we motored more than the previous two summers combined. The generally light wind conditions this summer put many hours on our not-so-new-anymore engine.
We are currently in La Paz on the Baja peninsula after just returning from our annual Family Thanksgiving in Philadelphia and New York. We plan to spend about 6 weeks doing maintenance on JACARANDA and preparing to head to Central and South America this season.
We would love to hear from you so please drop us a note and let us know how you are!
Wishing everyone a good holiday season and a healthy new year!
FRIDAY, APRIL 04, 2008
Jacaranda Passage Notes #20 (04-05-08)
Puerto Vallarta
Hola
We are currently in Puerto Vallarta getting ready to head north to Mazatlan on Monday. Then into the Sea of Cortez. We have included some photo's of our trip this season.
Please click on the links below then click slideshow.
http://picasaweb.google.com/chuckhoulihan/BarraDeNavidadCarreyes
http://picasaweb.google.com/chuckhoulihan/Guadalajara
http://picasaweb.google.com/chuckhoulihan/JacarandaJourney
Next Passage note is being worked on and should be posted soon.
Warm Regards
Chuck & Linda
SUNDAY, MARCH 09, 2008
Jacaranda Passage Notes #19 (02-26-08)
Barra de Navidad
Mexican Chickens & Popcorn Manta Rays
We headed south 80 miles from Nuevo Vallarta sailing around Cabo Corrientes(Cape of Currents) directly to Chamela Bay. Corrientes can be a lumpy drafty point if the wind is up but for us it was light air and a motor boat ride for most of the way. We arrived before dawn, made a radar approach and hung just outside the anchorage of Perula for 30 minutes waiting for first light before anchoring. ENCORE (Mo & Buzz) arrived mid morning and anchored close by.
Ahhhhh Chamela! -- one of our favorite places on mainland Mexico where we like to stay for an extended time. Most people just stop for the night and then rush down the coast. There are numerous small islands to anchor off of, a beautiful long walking beach, and the tiny village of Perula has a remarkable variety of food for provisioning and lovely palapa restuarants. So we hung out in Chamela Bay for a week with Mo & Buzz, caught up with lots of sailing friends we had not seen for awhile (always the case at the beginning of the cruising season) and swam every day.
One day we went with friends from DOLCE VITA on board SPIRIT QUEST to explore. We anchored at nearby Isla Passavera where we snorkeled all morning - fun even though the visibility was not so good. Then we motored over to the far islands in the south part of the bay and anchored in front of the fishing village of Chamela (behind Isla Pedro) to eat lunch and spend the afternoon before heading back to the anchorage where our boats were located. We had not been over here before and it was fun to see this side of the Bay with its long stretch of pristine beach - especially since we understand that a massive resort development is slated for this area in the near future.
A week went quickly and it was time to move on. On Saturday, we went into town with Mo and Buzz to do our provisioning and load up with fresh vegetables, milk, bread, and other necessities from several small abarottes (grocery stores). There was a very nice pescaderia (fish store) selling shrimp, scallops, Dorado, and other fish as well as a carniceria (meat store)that had a long line of customers waiting to buy Sunday dinner and the chicharones that were being fried in the large open kettle out front. But Linda was on the hunt for chicken. "Walk down past the zocalo (main square) turn left then make a right on to a dusty road that looks like it leads to nowhere, pass the trailer park, and eventually you will come to a small white house that has a sign that says "Se vende pollo" (chicken for sale) on the gate" we were advised by a local Canadian transplant with the nod of the onlooking Mexican woman who tended the grocery store where we had just stocked up on some avocados and tortillas. Off we went and after a healthy walk we found the house. A short plump Mexican woman waved us into the yard and onto the covered patio on the side of her house. Her husband brought out 4 chairs and set them up audience style facing an outdoor stovetop with a large pot of boiling water and cleaning platform for plucking. Beyond that was a pen of clucking white chickens. Sparing the details, we left about 40 minutes later with the freshest chicken we ever had for our larders.
We left the islands of Chamela with the intention of finding a small cove we had heard about in the south bay called "La Virgen" but that was not in the guidebooks. It was a breezy day with a solid NW swell running so we decided to pass up the tight anchorage when we found it. Downwind a few miles was the lovely cove of Rancho Paraiso, home to a large private estate nestled in a coconut plantation on a long white beach. The name "Lobo" was spelled out in white rocks on the lawn below the pool. Our cruising guidebook says there are armed guards and landing on the main beach is prohibited. We pulled into the turquoise water of the small bay and anchored. Although we had some protection from the swell by an offshore island, we spent a very rolly night. The next morning we swam to a small side beach and snorkeled before leaving for the next anchorage of Careyes. Careyes is a gorgeous spot surrounded by multi million dollar homes hanging on the cliffs, brightly painted condos, and posh resorts in two of the three lobes of the bay. We anchored in front of the now deserted Club Med with barely room to swing at anchor between the rocky islands on both sides and mooring buoys behind us on the beach side.
Above us was a bright blue mansion on a high sheer cliff with a rope swing bridge linking it to the small island sheltering us from the sea, and a funicular negotiating the 100' rock wall from the house to the beach below. At the base of the cliff we noticed 200-300 chairs sitting on the rocky beach and we watched from the cockpit as a bundle of 4-5 folding tables were being lowered down the cliff by rope. Some of the tables dropped a little too quickly, crashing and bouncing off the cliff making them hard to catch by the host of workers waiting for them below. Then we heard a loud KAAABOOMM!! The explosion turned out to be workmen dynamiting a walkway thru the cliff so people could take the funicular down and arrive at the stone beach without having to wade across the slippery rocks! The sound of insistent jack hammering was followed by a short silence, workmen scurrying out of a cave at the base of the cliff, and then another KAAABOOOOM! We speculated that there must be a wedding planned for Saturday - it was now Wed. and the "Patrone" must want the work completed in time!! It would be close but the crew of 40 men worked industriously like ants from 8 a.m. until 11 at night. We decided we had enough entertainment of the sort and left after breakfast the next morning. Linda did some snorkeling the previous afternoon and said even though the water was not super clear there were great fish and live coral.
The next day we sailed down to Tenacatita and met up with Mo & Buzz who had left a few days earlier. This wonderful anchorage is well known to the cruising community and a number of boats spend all winter anchored here. We were thrilled to see a couple of whales as we sailed into the bay and they stayed around in the anchorage for a few days. We took the dingy up the river and did the "jungle trip", joined the dingy raft up for the Mayor's night out and did some swimming.... (similar to last season's activities covered in previous passage notes).
After almost a week JACARANDA and ENCORE left for the town of Barra de Navidad to pick up my niece Kerry and her husband Marc for a week's visit onboard. We followed the waypoints on our chart plotters and both successfully entered the tricky lagoon at Barra de Navidad, keeping off the mud bars and sand spits. As the saying goes, "It's better to be at the bar in Barra than to be on the bar at Barra." The lagoon was very crowded with 45+ boats and
After almost a week JACARANDA and ENCORE left for the town of Barra de Navidad to pick up my niece Kerry and her husband Marc for a week's visit onboard. We followed the waypoints on our chart plotters and both successfully entered the tricky lagoon at Barra de Navidad, keeping off the mud bars and sand spits. As the saying goes, "It's better to be at the bar in Barra than to be on the bar at Barra." The lagoon was very crowded with 45+ boats and can get to be a bit of a circus. The very narrow entrance channel to the lagoon is not marked and the water is murky so running aground on the way in or way out is an everyday occurrence; one has to also be cognizant of the tides. When the call goes out on the VHF radio that a boat is "stuck", everyone available jumps in their dinghy to help by forming a flotilla to push the boat off the bottom. Mostly they are successful and very few boats get so stuck that they have to wait heeled over for hours for the next high tide to float them off. In addition, when the typical brisk afternoon winds come up, calls would come out on the VHF radio that a boat was dragging its anchor - often sliding back toward a neighboring boat. Despite the lagoon being a very shallow 8', it is a very slippery bottom and is not the best holding, therefore requiring extra anchor scope.....instead of the typical 5x the depth rule (which would be 40' of anchor chain), most boats put out 120-150' of chain here! When the radio call to attention comes for a boat dragging, the dinghy round-up reassembles to commandeer the wayward vessel back to a safe place to be reanchored, hopefully by its skipper. Often, however, the owner is ashore and other cruisers have to jump on the boat and try to reanchor it temporarily. Fortunately, we have never seen any instances where damage has occurred. Cruisers helping each other is one of the best traits of this lifestyle out here on the water!
Kerry and Marc flew into Manzanillo from San Diego on schedule and took a taxi to Barra de Navidad, 10 miles away. The expanded Houlihan clan of 6 spent a day or so exploring Barra, watching the sunset from a great hotel bar, eating at fun restaurants, and doing some shopping in the neighboring town of Melaque (a 20 minute bus ride to the other end of the bay). We happened upon some fisherman unloading their catch in a small fish store. The back of their pick-up truck was piled high with more than 150 large mahi mahi!! (Now I know why the fishing has been so poor for us!) After waiting to buy almond croissants from "Zee French Baker" who delivers them to your boat in a panga every morning, we traveled back to Tenacatita where we introduced Kerry and Marc to the regular activities and socialized with many friends. We were entertained by the two whales that still hung around nearby and large schools of small Manta rays that leapt out of the water like popcorn in an aerial ballet! The time flew by and before we knew it the week was up and we were headed back to the lagoon to the delivery of fresh baguettes and croissants!!
So now Kerry and Marc are back at work as lifeguards in San Diego where it's cool and rainy. We said good bye to Mo & Buzz as they go southbound to start their trip down to Costa Rica (we heard them check-in on the evening radio net a few nights ago from Zihuatenajo). We are turning northbound again, heading slowly toward Puerto Vallarta...that is, once we get our outboard engine working properly again (dirty fuel in the carburetor). I stripped it down twice with no success so I drove the dinghy to the local Mexican Yamaha shop on the beach. I imitated the sounds the engine made so the guys understood the problemo - like a marine version of NPR's "Car Talk"! - and they got the outboard running again. It ran fine until a little while ago - so I'll take it back in for a readjustment.
By the way we have put our flannel sheets back on and dug out our sleeping bag as it has been unseasonably very cold. Ok Ok low 60's to us is cold. But someone said they should rename this area the Mexican Cold Coast this year instead of the Gold Coast as it's known. The water temp dropped from 79-80 degrees at Tenacatita to 68 degrees in 10 days!! In addition we have had numerous days of southerly winds ......in winter on the gold coast?..hmmmmmmm very unusual. And thick fog banks move in once in a while. Even the Mexican fishermen are talking about the unusual weather this year and we are seeing many of the locals bundled up at night/early morning with ski hats and heavy coats.
SATURDAY, JANUARY 26, 2008
Jacaranda Passage Notes #18 (01-27-08)
Warmth at last!!
Our New Years resolution is to make more of an effort in more timely Passage Notes - sort of like promising yourself you will go to the gym or not eat that piece of chocolate cake well lets just say our intentions are good
We departed Marina Mazatlan a day earlier than Mo & Buzz on Encore so we could put a few hours on the engine under at sea conditions rather than just at the dock. We motored south past Mazatlans old harbor for a few short hours to anchor at Stone Island where we could get some movement to the boat and start getting our sea legs back. Both goals were successful since the engine ran great and there was just enough roll to the anchorage that helped us become acclimated to the motion. Being at anchor again sure felt great after 10 months of being dockside and shore bound!
We left Stone Island the next afternoon with a favorable weather report and with Mo & Buzz calling us on the VHF to say they would pass Stone Island in about 15 minutes! We both sailed south towards Isla Isabella (88 miles) in moderate NW breezes of about 15-18 knots and as the evening progressed the wind continued to lighten. Finally, about 15 miles from Isabella, we turned the engine on and anchored mid morning. Closing the island we had two baby humpback whales swim over to check us out. Isla Isabella still had tens of thousands of frigate birds soaring overhead - a sight we had enjoyed from previous stops there. The next day we went ashore with Encore and Janet from Tupo and had an excellent hike on the island. Overhead, within two arms length, the frigates perched in the branches of the tall bushes shading the trail. On the ground were nests of blue footed Boobies, many filled with chicks in their fluffy white plummage. The Boobies were totally unafraid of us and we had to gingerly step over many of the nests that were built right in the middle of the hiking path. Last time we were at Isabella and wrote about the blue footed boobies, a friend from work remarked that she also encounters many brown-nose boobies at work each day and wondered if they were related!
The following day we left at 3 a.m. for the 65 mile jaunt down to Banderas Bay, bound for Punta de Mita. We motored for the first 20 miles and then had a wonderful sail with the wind from behind right into Banderas Bay, where we could see the humpback whales jumping and tail slapping. Mo & Buzz had to sharply alter course to keep from hitting a rather large humpback whale that surfaced directly in front of them. They joked that if anyone saw a whale with green bottom paint on it, it was their whale!
We spent a few days anchored out at Punta de Mita, going ashore one day to see all the new buildings that have sprung up since we were here last year. Its really is a boom town/village with many new homes going for more than a million $US. The place is out of control with construction on every street corner.
We wanted to visit our friends in Puerto Vallarta so we moved to our old haunt - the pile moorings in Nuevo Vallarta. The few days we had were quickly filled with socializing, some boat projects and getting ready to head south. It was wonderful to connect with old friends we hadnt seen since we departed PV last March.
One evening Linda walked up the beach to a sea turtle conservation area. Each night they release between 200-400 endangered baby Oliver Ridley sea turtles. Every attendee is given 12-15 new hatchlings to set on the sand near the water and point in the right direction. When the female turtles come ashore to lay their eggs each year, the eggs are dug up the next day and placed in new nests created by the turtle researchers within a secure pen. Poachers and development (loss of beach habitat) join natural predators as the threats to these creatures. Each nest is placed side by side with others, marked with a stick and identified by date and number. Moving the nests and then releasing the hatchlings in the evening just at dusk reduces the chances that these baby turtles will be snagged by birds and hopefully they get a head start to the deep sea. Even so, only very small numbers of these turtles will reach maturity and find their way back to this same beach to lay eggs. Hopefully these conservation efforts, Mexican law enacted a few years ago making it illegal to eat or disturb them, and the huge public educational campaign to save the turtles is working. Indeed, every year we seem to see more and more large sea turtles along the coast. (Remember the Pitt Helmet association from earlier passage notes).
Saturday morning we are headed south around Cabo Corrientes (Cape of Currents) to either the tiny anchorage in front of the village of Ipala or if that is full (the Ipala anchorage now only holds 2 boats due to extensive fish nets, etc) then we will travel the additional 48 miles down to the lovely bay of Chamela.
We are happy to report that the engine appears to be working just fine.
TUESDAY, JANUARY 01, 2008
Jacaranda Passage Notes #17 (01-01-08)
Mazatlan
Feliz Ano Nuevo!!
Its been ages since we have posted an update so well take advantage of it being January 1st to wish everyone a very Happy New Year and all the best of health and joy in 2008!!
Like last year, we spent the summer in Boston with our son Joe. Boston rocks and the summer time is a great time to be there. Linda traveled back to Boston in early July and I followed a couple of weeks later after preparing Jacaranda to survive the hurricane season. We had been in Mazatlan installing our new engine and awaiting the interminably delayed opening of the new boatyard to complete the work. Mazatlan grew brutally hot by the time we left. Most everyone had departed for cooler climes by then; we bought an air conditioner and joined the few cruisers who were still onboard their boats in Marina Mazatlan, hiding below during the day in air conditioning and popping up like Meerkats from their burrows in the evening when it got a bit cooler.
After last summers residency there, we found the familiarity of Bostons South End very comfortable and filled with recognizable places, faces, and old haunts.
Linda rented a room in a home in a South End brownstone for July and August but we needed to be out by Sept. 1st. Accommodations beginning in Sept. are tough in Boston as 300,000 college students flood the city. Kay, our previous landlady and now very good friend from last summer (known for guiding great local travel explorations we dubbed Kays Forays) introduced us to a friend of hers who had a brownstone up the street. We made arrangements with Addie to fix up one of her vacant flats getting it ready to rent in exchange for rent. It worked out great for us and also for Addie. We departed Boston Nov 1st and drove down to Lindas cousins house outside of Philadelphia (adjacent to her aunts Farm). Chuck and Ros were such wonderful hosts and we so enjoyed our month there. We stayed to attend the annual family Thanksgiving celebration on The Farm and always love our reunion with everyone (including son David who flies in from San Diego).
Linda and I returned to Mazatlan the beginning of December from Philly. Jacaranda survived the hurricane season in good shape and was well looked after by Ruben, the Mexican diver whom we hired to check on her every couple of days.
We shifted into overdrive as the new boatyard was now open and hauling boats out of the water everyday. We scheduled a haul out to have the bottom painted while I attended to replacing the prop shaft, installing a cutlass bearing and getting the new engine connected. The new yard is very posh with an immaculate concrete hardstand area, swimming pool, Jacuzzi, laundry room, cruiser lounge, wifi, huge shower rooms etc. Believe us when we say you can lounge in the pool and look down at the workmen toiling away on your boat!
So we have the new engine hooked up and running everyday at the dock trying to get 50hours on it for service before departing for points south. All seems to be good with the installation now and the new enlarged prop is able to get the engine up close to its rated specs. We will know more when we get away from the dock and are able to do some sea trials.
Early Christmas morning brought an expected Christmas present. My sister Maureen and her husband Buzz sailed into Mazatlan on their boat Encore. They had been delayed leaving San Diego due to poor weather and really had to push hard to get here for Christmas. They are in the slip right next to us and the proximity reminds us of our raftups together in La Playa in San Diego ..so we have been enjoying the holidays with M&B and are able to chat from boat to boat. They are headed to Ecuador soon so we do not know how much time we will be able to spend with them in Mexico. We are hoping to maybe travel a little south with them but it all depends on when we are able to get away.
We are getting a late start in the cruising season so our plan, provisional as always with us cruisers, is to head down to the Gold Coast, 300-400 miles south where the living is easy and hang out in various anchorages. Hopefully son Joe will be down to visit; older son David just started a new job and vacation time is nonexistent at the moment. In early spring our plan is to head north into the Sea of Cortez and see where we end up.
We were glad to escape the East Coast before the snow and were looking forward to warm weather again but it is considerably cooler here than we anticipated. Now we are too cold with lows in the upper 40s at night.unseasonably cold. We have pulled out all our cold weather clothes including wool blankets and a sleeping bag. The heater has been fired up for the first time since November of 2005! We watch the disappointed vacationers on the beach shivering in their bathing suits, thinking they are either from the far reaches of Canada or just determined to do what they came down here for.
We sure enjoy your emails and hearing how you are so please keep them coming.
>>>> >>>Please remember to remove this note before you reply. <<<
Have a safe and especially Healthy New Year (as one of our favorite people in the know writes: With healthy you have happy!).
www.jacarandajourney.com (Website with more info old and not updated)
www.pangolin.co.nz/yotreps/tracker.php?ident=WTF6014 (Goggle map shows where we are and where we have been). Our Google position for the Marina Mazatlan shows us a bit south east of the actual location. Zooming in you can clearly see the old harbor of Mazatlan and further north the marina basin
SUNDAY, DECEMBER 16, 2007
Jacaranda Passge Notes #16
Photo slide shows
August 2, 2007
We have uploaded a few photo's for your viewing pleasure. Click on the links below and then click slide show. You can adjust the speed by the use of the speed button. Our suggestion is to set the speed for 5-6 seconds.
We will try to incorporate photo's in our upcoming passage notes but wanted to have a few from our past travels.
Monarch Butterfly Reserve (see Jacaranda Passage Notes #14)
http://picasaweb.google.com/chuckhoulihan/ButterflyReserve
Colima day trip from Manzinillo (see Jacaranda Passage Notes #13)
http://picasaweb.google.com/chuckhoulihan/ColimaInlandTrip
Melaque Saint Patricks Day Fiesta ( Jacaranda Passage Notes #14)
http://picasaweb.google.com/chuckhoulihan/MelaqueSaintPatricksDayFiesta
More soon
Currently in Boston
TUESDAY, JUNE 12, 2007
Jacaranda Passage Notes #15
Its either the Sea or A.C. this summer!!
(06-12-07)
Hola,
Thanks to those who have inquired if we were still floating around since we havent written for a while. Well the truth of the matter is we are being held hostage in Marina Mazatlan by our new engine installation! Yes, the engine saga continues but we are still looking ahead to the summer: It will be either the Sea (of Cortez) or A.C. (an air conditioner in the hatch while in our slip in Mazatlan). Why the choice? Lets back up..
The last passage note from months ago found us in Nuevo Vallarta tied up to a pile mooring while Linda went back to visit son Joe in Boston. Once she returned we departed and began our trip north to Mazatlan with the intention of putting in a new engine and transmission there with Mechanic Bob. We spent the night at Punta Mita on the edge of Banderas Bay stowing away all the items that seem to come out of the woodwork when we are in shore side mode.
Departing before sunrise the next morning we began our trip north to Mazatlan thinking we would make a direct shot with the option to stop at Isla Isabella since it was directly on the rhumb line. We approached Isla Isabella at dusk and stopped for dinner. Anchoring just as we lost daylight we decided to spend the night since it was so flat and calm. The next morning we awoke to thousands of frigate birds and boobies flying around and the usual clear water we have experienced from our previous stops here. The following evening happened to be Easter Sunday and we departed for the 100-mile trip north. It turned out to be the perfect time to be traveling, as we normally would have been surrounded by many shrimp boats, forcing us to be hyper attentive on our watches to track each one and stay clear. But on this night trip we did not see one boat even the shrimper crews were home with their families on this most major of holidays in Mexico - and that made for very relaxed traveling. We arrived to a reserved slip in Marina Mazatlan and were reunited with many old friends!
Bob the mechanic came the next day to verify that the new engine we wanted to purchase (Yanmar 40) would fit in the engine room and had the same transmission angle. Assuring us all was well, he placed the order. I disconnected our antique engine (35- year-old Westerbeke 4-107) and we pulled it out, necessitating the removal of our hard dodger and using the boom as a lift. Luckily we were able to sell it to the Blues Brothers (it happened to be running fine just now. like a persistent toothache that mysteriously disappears the day of a dentist appointment) and they carted it off the next day. Work now began in earnest while Linda went back to Boston to spend three weeks with Joe (hoping she would return and Voila! all the engine work would be completed and off wed go!).
But the combination of boat and Mexico undoubtedly conspires to mean that things will not go like clockwork. I spent about 2-3 weeks rebuilding the engine beds (reshaping, fiberglassing, adding metal plates), removing the years of grime and painting everything white. So far, so good. The plan was to replace the old shaft (with a slightly longer one) while in the water, averting the need for a haul-out. A loose and apparently worn cutlass bearing changed all that! Glitch #1: now a haul-out was required.but the new boatyard was not scheduled to open until June 1. Although the travel lift has been tested on one boat, there are still no jack stands or cradles - and there hasnt even been a Grand Opening Party yet and nothing can open in Mexico without the party!! As I write this, the date for the yard opening is still manana.
Linda arrived back in Mazatlan for a quick stop to take a look at the shining new engine in its crate on the dock, pick up papers for her taxes, and head to San Diego to celebrate son Davids 24th birthday. I was to follow her a week later. Just before traveling to San Diego, Bob and I lowered the new engine into the engine room. Two things became quickly apparent: (1) the new one was a few inches taller than the old one, making access to the rear of the engine totally impossible (with the old engine I jokingly said I had to exhale to slither in to check the transmission fluid or do any adjustments), and (2) the new engine beds I so carefully built with daily directions from the mechanic appeared to be too high for the back of the engine. Glitch #2: Technically the engine did fit but I couldnt get in to service it! Upon returning from SD we pulled the engine out and placed it back on the dock until we could come up with a creative solutionwhich is to cut out the galley counter top and sink that sits above the engine and hinge it so it can be lifted up, giving me the access I need. That work is currently underway and were hoping to get it completed by early next week. The mechanic will modify the engine struts so luckily the engine beds will not need to be changed.
We just bought a window air conditioner for the midship hatch of the boat a very chilling thought, both literally and figuratively. Literally, the summer heat switch really flipped on here while we were in San Diego - the temperature increased by 6-8 degrees to mid-afternoons in the high 80s and the humidity went up by 20-30% (to 85% in the mornings). each climbing a little every day. Figuratively, committing to an air conditioner means accepting that we may indeed be stuck in Mazatlan for the whole hot and steamy summer until the boat yard opens (??). We didnt want to delay buying one too long on the hope that we would be leaving soon because these small air conditioners tend to disappear fast in the stores with the approaching heat.
Even with the unfolding saga, we remain optimistic that we can resume cruising for the summer. We could get everything installed and working by mid July and attempt a trip up to the Sea of Cortez before we get too far into the hurricane season (which has just begun). Its been blowing out of the south for the past 3-4 weeks and we could still jump on a southerly and hustle up to the Baja side so we could be close to a couple of hurricane holes and just hang out in the Sea for the summer.
All the best
THURSDAY, MARCH 29, 2007
Jacaranda Passage Notes #14
Butterfly Magic and Malarkey in Melaque
(03-30-07)
Hola Everyone,
While we were in Zihuatanejo with friends Elise and Jerry from Salt Lake onboard, we took what turned out to be a most awesome inland adventure to the Monarch Butterfly Reserve (El Rosario) with stops in Patzcuaro and Morelia in the neighboring state of Michoacán.
