Adventure Time

Before you sit down and think this is a quick read...let me prepare you...it may require a bathroom visit and a snack before completing...you've been warned....  :0)

If you remember last year the family, along with Neil’s father Jamie, went to Puerto Vallarta to buy him a sailboat. He bought a Cal 2-46 and we had a lovely time while there. On that trip he met a woman named Maria who is native to Mexico is now his wife. The newlyweds invited us down for 3 weeks to move his boat to Mazatlan where Maria has family who owns a boatyard.  

 

We flew out of Tijuana instead as it was much cheaper thanSan Diego and surprisingly not a hassle at all. The day after arriving in Guadalajara where they live we took off for our 3-5 hour car ride to Puerto Vallarta. Maria told us this was their dry season and wasn’t as pretty but I thought it was lovely. The fields were full of sugar cane and palms with“coca’s” everywhere. Maria speaks little English but with my broken Spanish we were able to communicate without a hitch…most of the time!

 

There were little roadside fires everywhere. The fires were right up next to the road. Some were near little shacks and small houses but no one rushed out, it was no big deal. The flames were so hot you could feel them through the car. Maria just said, “Not to worry, I do this all the time”, as we barreled through it like in the movies! I should havegotten pictures of it, but we were driving at incredible speed, flames and all!Ha ha.

 

Half way there we stopped and ate at a roadside restaurant where they cooked on what looked like whatever was handy. Most meals come with a staple...beans and something else. Today it was beef. About that beef...upon arriving the night before we went to a local taco stand..I ate what later was told to me as “intestines and other stuff.”That other stuff would come to haunt me..but more about that later.

 

After our meal we stopped at another road side stand andbought some interesting local fruit that looks like a pea pod with a cottony textured fruit inside. The taste varied from plant to plant but it was ok. I am sorry but I can’t remember what it was called for the life of me.

 

 We also got coconuts.

 

 

 The colors of that area are spectacular. You need sunglasses for the colors not the sun! The foliage as well as the wildlife is so pretty it's like walking through a painting with the volume turned way up!

Wish you were here post card worthy foliage..

 

some bright green fish...

 

 

hot to trot red, purple and yellow crabs...

 

  even the bird stalking them is brightly colored..

 

We brought along our handheld GPS and paper chart of the trip from there toMazatlan. That area is pretty sketchy. The GPS units are so vague and the paper charts are old and unreliable. We planned to stop every night along the way andhad no worries as far as safety is concerned. The vessel was stout, full of gear to be put on later..ie..solar panels and charging units, new batteries, lights, all kinds of electrical, paint, windows,plumbing fixtures, you name it. Most of it was to be done in Mazatlan at the boat yard.

We left on a beautifully sunny day and motor sailed our way to our first overnight. A little patch of islands just north of there where there was a bird sanctuary and a lovelysheltered anchorage. Crashing gentle waves onshore. After arriving just before sunset we took a swim over to the islands while Jamie and Maria rowed to shore. We didn’t stay long as it was getting late, and well if I don’t have to be in the water at night, I won’t. 

...little coves here and there...

a quick little jaunt onshore...

 

 beautiful bird heaven..

 

 

little rocks popping out everywhere...

 

The next day we took off for our next anchorage, a littlefishing village about 45 miles from our first night. Upon leaving the island wewere given a spectacular show of jumping rays, some of them as high as 10-12ft! It was fantastic to watch.

 

First a little splash..

 

which turns into a leap..

 

they jump so high...

 

ready for the free fall...

 

 

and a belly flop back into the water...

 It was amazing!

Shortly thereafter we were met by a pod of whales. Babiesjumping out of the water like dolphins. Jumping high and turning mid air thanbelly flop down for a big splash.

 

 A little peek a boo action...

 

 

hello world....

 

 

 up and out...

 

a tale flip..

 

a little twist...

 

 

down she goes...

 

 pop back up again..

 

 

another peak a boo...

I will never get tired of this!!

After the “show” the butterflies didn’t go away. I had issues…vomiting and loose bowels..all day thereafter included frequent trips tothe bathroom, the side of the boat, etc…I drank water and ate crackers. It wasn't sea sickness but that “stuff.”

I didn’t let it get me down and enjoyed the sail in which I steered the boat with my feet most of the way.

 

There was no need to tack, so a slow and steady  pace to our nextdestination. I enjoy being helmsman probably because ever since Neil and I started sailing, that’s where I was, and that’s fine by me…most of the time…get me in a storm with heavy sea..I may just let the captain take over! Haha

We pulled in at dusk once again and anchored next to some pangas..oh ya I forgot to mention we did not know the depth. The boat did not have depth sounder on it so we winged it..it was like old times with our first sailboat, also a Cal.

This town was full of fishermen bringing in their daily catch.

the locals gather round to buy fresh fish onshore.

 

Nonetheless we enjoyed our stay, swam, cleaned the bottom of the boat and took off for ournext destination, San Blas. Upon leaving we had a problem getting the starterto work on the engine and resorted to starting it old school with a screwdriver. The batteries were pretty weak but we had new ones ready to be installed once we got to Mazatlan so there was no need to worry.

We arrived in San Blas late in the evening. When anchoring we took heed of the warnings of not getting too close to shore because of the no-see-ums which will bite the bejeebers out of you. After we arrived we were pretty sure that the starter was shot. With the “Charlies Charts” book that was aboard wesaw that there was a marina there so we decided the best thing to do was tohead into town and see about a repair. We were also running low on water. As much as I tried to tell Maria and Jamie how important it was not to waste water…wellsometimes you just have to learn the hard way. Multiple showers and frivolous usage is not something a seasoned veteran of the sea does…before leaving there was diesel mixed into one of the water tanks. I bought some detergent to put in to cut the petroleum. It was misinterpreted and an entire bottle, not a capful or two, was added. That tank was very sudsy!! So we were hoping the marina had a water hookup also. We deployed the dinghy only to find out that the repairs done to the little outboard were fictitious.It was merely cleaned for  500 pesos and not tuned up in Puerto Vallarta. Neil and Jamie took it apart to find the needle valve was broken and the spark plug was bad. So we limped her into shore, a mere 30 seconds offire, than wait 30 seconds….

it took a while but it was the only way to push through the current.

Onshore we hailed a taxi. The shoreline was full of little huts that obviously catered to tourists who liked to drink, dance and eat.

 

I think this was a dance club??

 

I was getting very ill by now. Nothing was staying in..or going in for that matter.We found a  pharmacy where with some handgestures and my poor Spanish was able to convey the need for strong antibiotic.For $3  US I got a large supply of pills.I took 1  and within an hour was feeling better. I was amazed and quite relieved to say the least. You could not do that here without seeing a doctor and spending a small chunk of change. We were ableto find a mechanic to rebuild the starter, a mobile mechanic to fix the dinghy engine and a dock to pull into for water and fuel. This little town had a brand new and quite impressive Marina with haul out that rivaled some of the ones here.

We got back to the boat and decided to pull into the narrow channel and up to the fuel dock. They let us spend the night on the next dock over. We weren’t able to get a lot of water as the pressure provided no more than a trickle. At this point between this and that breaking and malfunctioning Maria was anxious to get there already so we headed out the next morning for a non stop sail into Mazatlan.

On the way the batteries wouldn’t hold charge. Neil had rigged two of the solar panels up before leaving and they helped tremendously during the day but in the night they were pretty much shot. The engine was starting to overheat and the starter was malfunctioning as well. We ran out of good water and were now using the soap filled tanks. That night we had to shutdown the engine which was fine by us but scary for the newbies first night at sea. We had to hove to but the lack of any wind made for sails to be dropped. 

We bobbed around like a cork…it wasn’t too bad for Neil and I but the motion ofthe ocean made Jamie and Maria seasick. They had it bad. By morning the windswere light and the seas were a steady 6-8 foot swells and spaced far apart. We made good time at about 7 knots, not bad for a heavy boat.

All of a sudden I saw what looked like garbage floating in the water...it was sea turtles!!

 at one point I swear the little guy gave me a wave...

 than as quickly as he came up he dipped back below the water...

A couple of hours later the dolphins appeared out of nowhere...jumping high above the water putting on quite a show...

 jumping high and far...

 almost racing across the water..

then came up close next to the boat for a full 30 minutes or so...

swimming back and forth off the bow...

playing off to the sides....

That evening the as the sun was setting and I took full advantage of the gorgeous view off the bow...

A few minutes later a booby started circling the boat...

after a short time he decided to take advantage of

the situation...

 

and landed on the boat.

 

the sunset was amazing..

 I shared it with the booby...

Soon thereafter Jamie declared that they had had enough and we need to just keep the motor running and press on for Mazatlan, full speed ahead…

We complied with the captain. The engine started to leak oil..we started recycling the oil back in as it was coming out at a decent flow. The engine got hot often so we kept her cool by adding the soapy water in as soon as it evaporated away.We kept going this way until at one point the water quit pumping from the water tanks.

In a moment of panic the captain took 3 gallons of our drinking water and dumped it all over the engine. Before he could grab the last oneI ran inside and scooped up the jug and hid it in the v berth. Neil went andgot the tank unplugged and talked some sense into the near delirious and overly tired captain…We advised him and his wife to try to sleep.

We limped in under a tired overworked engine, no wind and after midnight to Mazatlan. We were on high alert knowing the entrance was known for rocks and plenty of warnings. We had good full moonlight and plenty of good markers.

We pulled into the anchorage around 2 am exhausted and relieved after 2 days of little sleep and stress.

 

The harbor was quite lovely after all.

 

 

Upon arrival the night before the bird left us... he also left us a tip for our troubles...a BIG one..all over the dinghy..haha!

 That morning we had no starter, no batteries, no engine and plenty of obstacles…but we hand WiNd!! Lots of wind! What? Oh Sheesh! So with gratitude we used it to sail the narrow inner channel all the way to the “boatyard” .

This  turned out to be abunch of fishing trawlers and a rail system..no fancy haul out.

We pulled it up to the trawler to tie off to, under wind, ina tiny cove, with no room for error like a pro. It was dreamlike and very verycool. If it weren’t for our first heavy Cal with no engine we would have never known how to complete the task without hitch.

After that we unloaded the boat by jumping from trawler totrawler…about 5 deep and got into Maria’s friends car and away we went to therented apartment for a much needed rest.

We relaxed a bit...

played tourist a bit....

enjoyed each others company...

took a ride on the famous buggies only native to Mazatlan...

 and walked along the beach...

                                                              the area was gorgeous...

The whole experience was overwhelming for Maria who at first was very strong in her dislike of sailing. After some convincing she agreed that she would give it another try..but not until the boat was finished. We were never in any danger really but for the first time out ever, it was scaryfor her not to see land, not to have a good engine and not to know how to sail.At one point even the toilet came off its hinges with her on it...at the time it was devastating to moral but after good rest and good drinks it made for a laugh along with many other awkward and stressful moments....

 

For the next two weeks they worked on the boat. It was still in the yard when we left to come home. We spent our days overseeing repairs made by the yard men during which time my spanish improved tremendously and afterwards we did a little site seeing when we could. The boat didn’t need huge repairs but lotsand lots of little ones that if not prepared for can drive a person batty!

Last we heard she was back in the water with new bottom paint and a fully functional engine! The water tanks are working and no more suds. The solar panels are in place atop a newly built steel frame. The electrical is complete. The alternator is charging and the plumbing is tip top!Did it taint Neil’s dad on the whole boating experience? At first yes, but after some thought he took it as a crash coarse in boating and was thankful for the experience…he now knows his boat from one end to the other…I know I sure learned a lot along the way. He just might become a salty dog after all!

 Now that we are home we have been busy with our own repairs and projects. The bimini has been coming together nicely.

Neil rounded the corners...

he is adding some trim..

added room for the much needed skateboards..and later lighting...

 We ended up foaming the west marine dinghy. What a day that was…the first try was on a hot day as directed and well let’s just say it went off before the boys were ready for it to…result? Foam everywhere!!

 

The next few attempts were more controlled and overall not too bad.

Since then we have been pulling off sections of the old “shell”

and filling and fairing her out to be covered in fiberglass followed by paint.

 

 It has been a crazy month or two. Neil’s doctor said he has healed about as much as he can…his disability will be permanent. We are not too pleased with this but are not giving up just yet.

Neither one of us can wait to go on our own search for sealife…its always an adventure and always a story to be told…albeit this one was close to becoming a novel…but I wanted to share my tale with you.