Friday, December 28, 2007
Merry Christmas, Best Wishes for a Happy New Year Plus a Little History
Who doesn't need a little down time? Christmas Eve before dinner Rhea was stricken with a case of "Tourista". At four AM Christmas day I joined her. Fortunately, this happened to us two or three years ago in Puerto Vallarta where our dock neighbor was a MD. He recommended an antibiotic available in the local grocery store (that's really over the counter). We still had seven left, they were out of date by thirteen months but both of us were up for the Christmas Potluck Dinner the next afternoon.
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We ordered another seven pills from the local pharmacy. They don't stock them, probably because they cost $45 US, but they can get them in a day or two. The dosage is only one a day for three days so with seven we are hopefully good for another couple of years.
Now a little history; most of us know that the Spanish explored much of the Pacific Ocean in the 1500's and specifically the Philippine Islands. I always assumed that the trade route to the Philippines was around Cape Horn. What they mostly did was bring the metal parts needed for a boat across from the Caribbean Coast of Mexico via horse back and Indian slaves to Barra de Navidad where they built new boats for the Philippine trade. For many years Spain took zillions of dollars of precious metals from the Philippines to Mexico then transshipped it back to Spain.
Most of those vessels where built right here in the lagoon where we are currently anchored.
I wonder if they had as much of a challenge getting in and out as we do.
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First world and third world in Barra de Navidad Lagoon
JUXTAPOSITION
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The Grand Bay Hotel is on the west shore of the lagoon on the ocean side. This hotel has a first class marina. Spending a night on Vagari in the marina would cost over $100 US a night or about $700 a week. We never paid that much for a months slip rental in San Diego. The hotel is a five star hotel. The grounds and buildings certainly look like a place that charges several hundred dollars a night for just a room. The hotel appears full this Christmas week, mostly with Mexican nationals.
The first morning here we were in the cockpit at sunrise. An old man was rowing a small wooden boat with a fishing net falling out the back as he moved forward. A little later we saw another small crude wooden boat with two old men doing the same thing except between the two of them they only had one oar and one handmade paddle. I'm sure none of them could make more than a subsistence living fishing using the equipment they were using.
First and third world on display just a hundred yards apart.
So what is Mexico, first or third world? The answer is yes. We see a lot of affluence in the large towns we visit. Even in the small towns we see mostly newer cars, small for sure but a few years ago we saw mostly junkers that looked like they had zero miles left on them. Even in the small towns now we see some newer large SUV's. There are always lots of beachfront restaurants that have some locals enjoying a meal and cocktails.
So perhaps the answer is that Mexico is a country moving up in the world.
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Friday, December 21, 2007
A Few Days in Chamela Bay
Vagari is anchored off a small town in Chamela Bay. The main drag is paved but you couldn't tell it by looking because a sewer line is being installed right down the center. It's encouraging when a small village is concerned about pollution. Didn't used to be that way.
Let me tell you a quick tale from yesterday.
I have had a cold and ran out of Robitussin. Just after a late lunch I see a building on the town square marked "Pharmacy" with a hand painted sign saying "Open 24 hours. We speak English". The front of the store is a metal roll down garage door type thing that is closed. In the center is a small cutout door about 51/2' tall but its open. So I stick my head inside. Its dark inside but its definitely a pharmacy. I climb inside and say hola then again louder. Nobody around so I start looking at the shelves which are just like a grocery store. Everything is in alphabetical order. Lots of interesting things to fix aliments I don't even want to think about. So I find a bottle of Robitussin and put it on the counter.
In a minute or less a cute young girl about 10 years old appears. Se asks me in perfect English if that is all I want. Turns out she was born in Chicago, IL and just moved here two years ago. Yes she does miss the snow! My small bottle cost just under ten dollars US.
With Tom gone we have been relaxing onboard and going into town for lunch or taking a dinghy ride to explore the bay and a bird island that is a hatchery for bobbies and some other birds. We try to swim every day off the back of the boat.
The weather is very settled so tomorrow we plan to go 30 miles south to another large bay that usually has a large number of cruisers anchored.
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A week or two in Tenacatita Bay
Just 31 miles southeast of Chamela Bay is Tenacatita Bay. Its more protected from wind and waves than is neighbor to the north therefore cruisers spend more time here and there are activities sponsored by and for cruisers. The sail down was mostly a motorboat ride. The coast here is beautiful but it was a hazy day and because of rocks up to a mile offshore scattered about we stayed at least 1-½ miles offshore so we didn't see much detail.
There is a cruisers radio net in the morning here where we can ask for local advise, get weather and tide info, and get to know the cruisers in the anchorages. The net is combined with the one for Navidad Bay, which is 15 miles down the coast from here and is even a larger cruiser hangout. We learned the first day that we can get everything we really need here plus it's a beautiful, protected, tropical place and not crowed so we think we may stay for a week or two.
Tomorrow, just after the net, along with friends on Cabaret II we plan to take the "jungle ride' this is a trip up a brackish stream for several miles to a lagoon. There is a small settlement on the lagoon with a small store and a restaurant, which serves a stuffed fish roll that everybody raves about. Much of the stream is completely covered by a canopy of mangrove trees and other jungle plants. Viewing the various birds is supposed to be worth the trip. We need some fresh veggies, eggs etc. that the store is supposed to stock.
Not your typical drive to the supermarket and lunch down Oracle Road but it sounds like a lot of fun.
Tenacatita Bay is a beautiful place. Surrounded by jungle clad hills and one massive rock that has a dozen or two houses near the top facing the bay. There are other huge homes looking over the bay and at least one large hotel complex. We and the other cruisers are tucked into a corner of the bay that is only open to the east, which doesn't permit any significant waves to reach Vagari.
The town of Tenacatita is on the southeast shore but its not readily accessible to cruisers because of surf on the beach is usually to large for us to land in our dinghy.
We spent Monday morning doing odd jobs aboard Vagari. I fixed a salon light fixture switch, which was broken when we purchased her. I finally found the part this summer. We finished polishing the stainless steel. Usually we have that done before leave our homeport but this year none of the dock guys offered to wash or polish Vagari. Most of the dock boys are gone for some unknown reason. Rhea polished the plastic windows in the cockpit enclosure. I worked on cleaning the very back of the hull. It never gets cleaned properly because we always dock front in. About 1:30 PM we said what are we doing, working!
So we jumped in the dinghy and headed for the palapa (stick building on the beach covered with palm branches with a sand floor) restaurant. They will also do your laundry, fill you diesel jerry cans, sell drinkable water in five-gallon jugs and sell ice. Well usually, but they won't have ice for two more days and the laundry is a three day turnaround because…?
We signed up for all those services; two or three days don't make much difference when you are anchored in paradise. What they did have was a delicious lunch. Hard to chose between "shrimp to the pleasure", "fish fried or to the steam", " clam of season to" or "fillet of fish to the pleasure" and some I really didn't understand. In the end we had three appetizers plus and order of garlic fish with tortillas and greens. Very good and fresh. Worth a return trip when the ice, laundry and diesel are in. The food with two rounds of soda and five gallons of water with tip was $15 US.
After on couple mile walk on the beach we went back to Vagari to rest up for another day. Tomorrow we may take another trip up the river.
We spent several more days at Tenacatita doing the same; another jungle ride with lunch another lunch at the local Palapa, beach games with other cruisers and plenty of boat chores.
We signed up for a potluck Christmas dinner in a hotel at our next stop via the radio. So after a week we are moving along. We hope we can spend some more time here later in the season.
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Entering The Lagoon At Barra de Navidad
There are two anchorages at Barra de Navidad. One is in front of the town of Melague on the north side of the bay. It's open to the swells from the ocean that wrap around the protecting point and dinghy landing is thru the surf which is usually too large to negotiate in the afternoons. It is however, easy to enter and probably bug free.
The other anchorage is in the lagoon next to the town of Barra de Navidad. Lots of bugs at sunset but on the other hand absolutely no swells and you can take your dinghy to a very civilized dinghy dock at a hotel. Speaking of civilized, a local baker takes a small boat around the lagoon selling fresh pastry every morning. Also there is water taxi service 24 hours a day to take you to or from your boat.
What is the downside of the lagoon? Getting your boat into the anchorage can be a challenge. In fact at our last anchorage we were given a four-page info sheet on this area much of which is detailing how to get from the bay into the lagoon. The channel into the anchorage is marked with aids to navigation for the first half. The channel is narrow and the sides are very steep so the depth meter doesn't help because when the front of the boat runs aground the boats center, where the depth meter is, still shows enough water. The sides are mud so no damage is done to the boat, just to the skippers' pride.
Vagari planned to stop for fuel and water. The fuel dock is off the main channel in the unmarked end of the channel. With Rhea spotting from the very front of the boat we were almost half way in when a friend called on the radio. We were about an hour behind them making the same passage and they were getting fuel also. They ask us how far we were from the fuel dock. About two minutes we said. "Not good because the dock is full and will be for another 25 minutes," they replied.
Turning around is not an option in a narrow channel so they advised that we anchor in the side channel and wait for boats to clear. Just then a cruising friend in a dinghy pulled up next to us and told us that we picked a poor time because the tide was really low. In fact he had just run aground in his dinghy that takes well less than two feet of water. We planned to enter at low tide so that if we do run aground the rising tide will float us off.
We negotiate the turn into the side channel and see a large motor yacht on one side and our friends and a powerboat on the other side of the fuel dock. We shift from the tie up mode to the anchor mode in a flash. We find what looks like a safe place and drop the anchor. Up comes another dinghy with two ladies. They politely ask if we are OK. Really asking what in the world are you doing. We tell them our problem and they kindly point out all the things we can swing into where we are anchored. We thank them for their advice and they leave.
I look around and see another problem. We have anchored in an area where a cable crosses the channel. My Spanish is limited but the sign says something to the effect that if you are foolish enough to anchor here you will spend a long time starving in prison.
Up goes the anchor as fast as it went down. By this time Vagari has turned around on the anchor so we go all the way back to the ocean. Two minutes after reaching the open ocean our friends' radio saying the fuel dock is open now.
We fueled, filled both water tanks and our five-gallon gas tank for the outboard and generator and made a clean entry into the anchorage area. Forty gallons of diesel fuel cost 1,106 pesos including a thirty percent service fee or about $2.60 US a gallon. The 200 gallons of water was "free". We didn't completely fill the diesel tank because we will need some additional water when we leave.
Both Rhea and I were a little nervous about this anchorage because a cruising friend we visited with last summer told us he ran aground five times on the way in. And he didn't stop to fuel.
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Thursday, December 13, 2007
The Trip Down - First Two Days
We are safe and anchored in Chamela Bay off the little town of Perula, Jalisco, Mexico. That is well south of Cabo Corrientes and Puerto Vallarta. Latitude 19 degrees 33 minutes North: 105 degrees 7 minutes west if you want to look it up on Google maps.
The nonstop trip was 123 hours, 641 nautical miles or about 740 statute miles, average speed 5.2 kts/hr with some adventures and challenges but overall a pleasant trip.
Underway First Two Days
We needed a little luck with the weather and it looks like we have it. No wind is predicted for the first couple of days but that means no waves and warm temperatures. We caught three Sierra Mackerel the first day. One was too small to keep but the others, after cooking on the BBQ provided two delicious meals. We had fresh fish for dinner about an hour after we caught them. Tom not only cooks outstanding fish; he made a great breakfast the second morning. Bright sunshine sparkling on the water reminded us why we enjoy cruising.
The first night while on my 10 PM to 2 AM watch I found a little water in the bilge. I found the source. The exhaust hose that carries the exhaust gases and hot seawater from the cooling system was leaking a little where it connects to the engine. I had some work done over the summer that required this hose to be removed. It's a difficult connection to make because it's a 3" very stiff hose and its located in a hard to reach area. I showed it to Tom as we changed shifts. By morning he had figured a better way to run the hose clamps. In the morning we started to sail without the engine. After the engine cooled Tom had it fixed in no time.
The second day the wind stared blowing from the southeast, just the direction we needed to go. We beat into the wind and seas making very little progress but sailing.
After dark the wind decreased so we turned on the engine with the mainsail up and started to work our way back to the rum line course.
Just before Tom went to bed he pointed at what might be a light or perhaps a rising star to the southeast of us so we could track it if it was a boat. Rhea and I were on watch and the light was definitely a boat but small because it didn't show up on radar. We passed it to port about a mile off as best we could estimate. Just after putting it behind us we passed a white object in the water very close to us. I should have known it was a net float but didn't until it followed us. Rhea cut the power to idle immediately. But the damage was done. The prop and rudder had snagged fishing net. The net stopped us and turned us around so the wind was coming over the back of Vagari. We were 25 miles southeast of Topolobampo and about that far off shore.
Tom woke up immediately just as the boat we just passed started flashing a light at us and headed towards Vagari. After the small boat with three men arrived we showed them the problem using our big spotlight. Not only didn't they speak any English my guess was that may have never heard English before. But communication was not a problem. We all understood the problem but we weren't sure we could fix it without diving on the prop and cutting the net. Cutting a net never makes fishermen happy.
We gave them our spotlight and boat hook. With the big mainsail up Vagari was pulling on the net so we had to get the sail down. Sailors always head into the wind to take sails down because it takes the load off the sails. We couldn't do that so we had to muscle the sail down hand over hand as the boat bounced around on the lumpy seas.
A short time after we got the sails down the fisherman announced that the net was "in total" meaning it was free and not cut which hopefully meant our prop should also be free. We engaged the prop it worked but we thought there was a little vibration. Meanwhile the fishermen where attending their float and net. We had two problems. They had our equipment and we didn't know where their other nets where. We bobbed around for a couple of minutes until they completed their work. Then they came over and returned our gear. They also indicated that we should follow them. So off we went turning every which way for 10 or 15 minutes until they stopped next to a float and waved us outside. One guy bowed and waved his hand like we were entering a formal hall. Both boats said thanks, smiled and waved goodbyes. We were impressed with their skill in handling their boat and freeing the net with just our boathook and a long stick.
For Vagari the fun was just beginning. We tested the prop at high speed in both reverse and forward. Perhaps we felt some vibration but not a showstopper and no water was coming in around the shaft. An inspection showed no other damage to Vagari. We had a discussion in the cockpit reviewing our reaction to the problem and what needed to be done. We decided to dive on the prop at first light to look for any fishing net that might be attached to the prop, the prop shaft or other signs of damage and to run the engine at 2,000 RPM instead of the normal 2,400 RPM until we looked at the prop.
Rhea headed Vagari into the wind and I pulled the line that should raise the mainsail. It had no resistance and the sail didn't move. What happened? At sea off shore with no moon its black dark. With the flashlight we could tell that the line wasn't connected to the sail but where did it go? After looking for a few minutes we saw it swinging around well above our heads. Somehow it became disconnected from the sail. That had never happened to me before on Vagari or any other sailboat.
We have a spare line rigged and ready but with the waves tossing the boat around the metal fitting on the end of the original line could do a lot of damage hitting things including the mast. It took a lot of work to get it down. First I stood on the boom and then Tom stood on the boom. Tom finally hooked it with the boat hook. Once it was re-attached we started to raise the sail. We found another problem just before the sail was all the way up. A stainless bolt that is part of the system that attaches the mainsail to the mast had broken. We eventually found another bolt and nut that would work, installed it and finally raised the main. This may have been caused by the way we had to take the sail down and the fact that we didn't neatly fold the sail when it was down, it was all over one side of the deck.
I dove on the prop in the morning and found no damage or line attached. The water was 78 degrees and very clear. We decided to take the middle ground and run the engine at no more than 2,200 RPM.
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Underway Days 3 and 4
Sunrise found us on a calm sea with a very clear sky and no wind. After the previous nights excitement nobody complained about the lack of wind.
Just before lunch the wind came up from dead behind us at just less than 10 kts. Normally Vagari couldn't sail with this wind because the headsail and mainsail would flop around making lots of noise and not moving us more than a couple of Kts/hr. at most.
But I have a brand new whisker pole installed. This pole will hold the headsail straight out to the side. No flopping around, no sail shape either but with the wind behind us I just want the headsail to act like a big barn door and let the wind push us. We also have a movable boom vang, which we can use to tie the boom that holds the mainsail out to the other side. Sailors call this sailing wind and wing.
Once set up Vagari was doing 6 kts with very little rocking or rolling and no banging of the sails or gear. It was beautiful. By later afternoon we were going between 7 - 71/2 kts still with little motion. We went that way until 9:15 the next morning. The longest fastest sail we have ever had onboard Vagari.
Just after noon the same wind came back and we were off again until an hour and a half after midnight when we had to change course by 37 degrees. With all hands on deck and just star light and a deck light shining from half way up the mast we took the pole down to the deck and unhooked the main. The pole has three control lines attached to the far end plus a height adjustment on the mast end. Lots to do to take it down plus you don't want it banging around so we have to keep control of it all the time. Turning the boat to the new course moved the sails to the opposite side of the boat. We set everything up on the other side and off we went. It was great fun for the men. When on deck at night we are hooked via a tether to a strap that runs from front to back on both sides of the deck. The water was 78 degrees so we were dressed in shorts and tee shirts with bare feet.
The last two nights did nothing to change Rhea's mind that sailors are nuts.
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On to Chamela Bay
The winds went light winds during the middle of the day. We were so enthralled with the wing and wing rig that we didn't want to stop sailing. We have a big light air gennaker sail on board (a huge multi colored sail like a spinnaker but its not symmetrical). With the headsail poled out and the mainsail boom tied out to the other side there was a fifteen foot gap between the two. I start to bring the gennaker up on deck. Tom yells, "Lets do it".
Rhea gives us the "my God you are nuts" look as she reminds us we do have a motor.
We rig the sail using every block and line we have on board. It actually works until the wind goes completely dead. Following Rhea's advise we take all but the mainsail down and start motoring.
In the afternoon the wind came back from behind us so we rig the wing and wing setup and are flying right down the rum line when we start to slow down for no apparent reason. Behind the boat our hand line-fishing rig is off to one side of the boat with a huge gold fish attached. "Fish On Dorado!"
We pulled him in hand over hand. I start to pull him up to the deck. When he touches the side of the boat he gives one last blast with his tail jumps off the hook and tail walks away from the boat. He was close to four feet long and had to weigh 40 pounds. Even if he didn't get off the hook I don't think I could have pulled him up because of the bouncing of the boat and the strength of large Dorado.
Just before dinner we caught a 12-pound Dorado. Cooked on the BBQ it was the best fish I have had since last season.
The last day was a motorboat ride, no wind. Worse yet as we neared Cabo Corrientes (Cape Currents) a significant current was running against Vagari. So the last day was slow and slower. The really good news is that rounding the cape the weather and the seas were calm.
During the previous three years Rhea and I have heard lots of stories of difficult cape roundings. We have stayed just north, never rounding it for one reason or another for two seasons. The mental image of rounding the cape in the middle of the night got more vivid as time passed. The local marine weather forecasts always give a separate forecast for the cape. The standard advise is to round the cape in the middle of the night when the temperature difference between the sea and the land are at a minimum. We did that and the forecast for the night we rounded was pretty good. So we were thinking we may have been paranoid until a cruiser with a three hulled sailboat anchored next to us two days after we arrived with a two foot round hole in the deck at the back of his boat. He dinged over and told us that the wind off the caped was so strong that it pulled a cleat that held the line that controlled the mainsail right off the deck taking part of the deck also. He was sailing with two other boats but they were 10 to 15 miles closer to shore than he was. His buddy boats had no difficulties. The forecast for the cape that night was pretty good also.
While standing watch just after midnight I noticed a light under the water just five feet off our side. It was a little spooky until I realized that dolphin were playing in our waves and what I was seeing was the bio-fluorescence caused by them moving thru the water.
All night we see the bio-fluorescence caused by the wake as we move along and if you stand on the back of Vagari at night while sailing you see a narrow line of light behind us where the rudder and keel cause bio-fluorescence. That, the stars reflecting on the water and the brilliant Milky Way going straight down our course line that last night can make night sailing a joy.
One item I haven't mention is our fuel usage. We don't carry enough fuel to make this long a trip using our motor. Fuel stops are few and far between. The navigator has to constantly monitor remaining fuel and distance to the next fuel dock. The logbook is full of these calculations. We arrived with almost a quarter tank left so we did sail more, which was one of our goals despite using much more fuel that any estimate the last day.
So after five days at sea you would think we would rush into town for a hamburger and/or ice cream. No. To prove Rhea's feelings about sailors, before we put the anchor down we spent an hour motoring around this beautiful bay taking in the sights.
One last comment: our friend Tom Hoffman who joined us for this adventure is a great sailor and individual. He has lots of cruising and sailing experience. He is also a natural mechanic who can diagnose problems quickly and fix them even faster. He showed us lots of tips and tricks that will help us the rest of our cruising days. An example is the new whisker pole. Our learning curve was zero because Tom has used one for years and he showed us the right way the first time.
Beyond all that he is a wonderful person. Five days at sea in a small boat and 10 days before that getting ready for sea can tax a relationship, but we enjoyed every minute with Tom. He will be sailing his boat down here in a month and we can't wait to see him again.
Aside to Tom from Rhea…
Thank you from the bottom and top of my heart for accompanying us on this voyage which would have been a real nightmare for me without you, your confidence and sense of humor. You are a true friend. Thanks also for the extra trip into San Carlos to make some very necessary shopping adjustments at my favorite store
"Saggitario." You are always welcome in either of our homes. Love, The Country Club Girl.
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Tuesday, December 04, 2007
Preparing For Sea
This is a busy week for Vagari and her crew. We arrived Monday afternoon and splashed at 8:30 Wednesday morning. We have been cleaning, putting systems back together, doing some upgrades, needed maintenance and generally getting ready for sea. Tom Hoffman has joined us for the first few weeks. He is an experienced cruiser with more years and at least twice as many cruising miles on his boat as we have. He sailed on San Francisco Bay with his boat "Persistence" for years. With Tom's advice and help we have done much more than we expected.
The weather has been an issue. We have had two days of mostly light rain and now two days of strong (35 kts) northwest winds. The usual hazard of San Carlos still plagues us, meeting cruising friends for lunch and dinner and overeating. So after a week we need to go sailing.
Our plan is to leave Wednesday at first light and go down the sea off the mainland coast for four or five days. By then the water temperature should be well into the 80's. That should put us hopefully south of Puerto Vallarta. That will be a 600-mile voyage, a record distance for Vagari. This late in the year and this far north the weather windows are short so we will need a little luck for the first three days.
Latest weather looks better that before so we are leaving in the morning. 4:25 PM Tueaday
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Wednesday, November 21, 2007
Starting A New Season
Welcome aboard our sailboat Vagari.
Our first three seasons we have cruised the southern half of the Sea of Cortez and the Pacific Coast down to Puerto Vallarta. This winter we hope to spend most of the season south of Puerto Vallarta exploring new territory.
We think we have seen the best the west coast of Mexico has to offer but all our cruising buddies tell us that the “Gold Coast” region is worth a visit.
We hope to “splash” Vagari November 28th and leave San Carlos by the 4th of December. Then go south as quickly as weather permits. Remember, however, that all cruising plans are written in the sand at low tide.
We are pleased to have Tom Hoffman, owner/skipper of the cruising sailboat Persistence with us for the first couple of weeks. Tom is a very experience sailor having sailed Persistence on San Francisco Bay for years. His upbeat personality and sailing experience will be a welcome addition to Vagari. Tom’s boat is currently in Puerto Vallarta.
The new knee is working as advertised so we are anticipating another fun winter sailing in the tropics.
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