10/03/2009, Puerto Amistad, Bahia De Caraquez, Ecuador
Today will be our last blog for this season. Tomorrow we leave for Quito and then fly back to the States. If all goes well, we return to Leu Cat in early to mid December to start our third cruising season.
I thought that I would end this season's blog by sharing with you our thoughts on our cruising life. Basically, we love it! We get to sail, travel inland and explore foreign lands that we have only dreamed about and meet nice people (both other cruisers and locals). While this year we sailed the longest continuous sail we have tried (Panama City to Bahia de Caraquez, Ecuador; about 700 nm), we have also stayed at anchorages for very long time (i.e., we have been here in Bahia since mid July).
These first two years of cruising were designed as shake down years. It was a time where we would test ourselves and see if we have the mettle to take this to the next level. Next year is when we really start sailing. While we will be looking forward to island hopping once we get into the South Pacific, we also know that there will be a series of very long passages between island groups. For instance, going from Bahia to the Galapagos is about 600 nm, from the Galapagos to the Marquesas is about 3000 nm, the Marquesas to the Tuamotu Archipelago is about 500 nm, and then on to Tahiti is another 250 nm. From Tahiti we plan to push on to the Cook Islands, which is another 650 nm sail. From the Cook Islands we sail west to the Tonga Archipelago, which is about 825 nm more. Finally, in late October to early November, we will sail SSW for about 1300 nm to New Zealand. If you add the distances up, we will be sailing over 7,100 nm! This does not account for the various sails we plan on doing as we island hop around each of these major destinations. All told, we anticipate sailing over 8,000 nm next year.
To do this much sailing, you really need to love sailing. Fortunately, we both do. There is such a good feeling you get when you are sailing. You know that it is just you and your mate, using your skills and knowledge to tame the wind and the seas. You understand that Mother Nature is the boss and it is your job to learn how to work your boat so that you are in concert with Mother Nature instead of against her. There is a special joy in trimming the sails to maximize your speed and still maintain good comfort as you bob over the swells. You feel that you have mastered something that is important in life and is useful as well. Fortunately, sailing is not brain surgery and ordinary people like Mary Margaret and I can master the various techniques that are required to sail comfortably. Of course, an important part of this is also to learn when not to sail. However, we know that next year, when we are making these rather long passages, we may have to sail through all types of weather conditions. But, as long as our electronics and radio work, we should not be surprised too much. We will just have to wait and see!
Sailing gives you a new and refreshing view of life and living. It takes you back to the basics and requires that you take no short cuts but instead, take responsibility for your actions and then react to what is dished out at you. You use your brain, some brawn, and a lot of will power to carry on over the seas and it gives you a sense of accomplishing something that is concrete and real.
This is MM. I too love sailing. I love the freedom it gives us and as Dave said the ability to travel anywhere. I think I have said in other blogs that I am really a "home-body" type of person and traveling with our boat meets that need in me very nicely. I also love the freedom of not having a lot of "things". Being on a boat does not allow you to be a pack rat. I am not one but (I won't mention names) someone I love is and "he" can't be one on the boat! It is great! All of our children have their legacy from us. I have given my mother's china to the children etc. It is very freeing and you can live with so little so very comfortably. I really enjoy all the new fruits and vegetables that we are experiencing. I like challenging my cooking skills with what is available and most times it is not too bad! As a cruiser, you are forced to really enjoy the little things in life because you rarely are going to experience much else! Life just is not that exciting unless you make it that way. Cruising is a very slow paced and calm life style. I wish all of you could experience it but I know not all of you would like it. We are very blessed because both of us love it. On a personnel note - I want to thank all of you who read our blog. We are so very blessed that all of you do and some of you are kind enough to send us e-mails and your comments. We now have between 500 and 600 of you reading us each week. You help us be consistent in writing our thoughts and adventures each day. Our children also thank you because it is because of them we started the blog! And now we continue it because of you! (the children also!)
Techno-Tip Of The Day: Water For Your Batteries
If you have liquid acid batteries, an excellent source of water to keep the batteries happy is your water maker. If you have an Reverse Osmosis water maker, then the mineral content of the water it makes is so low that the water is great to use in your batteries!
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Comments [6]
10/01/2009, Puerto Amistad, Bahia De Caraquez, Ecuador
We just wish to say again how much we appreciate and enjoy reading the various comments that you leave on our blog. They mean so much to us because the comments let us know that people are reading our blogs and care enough to take the time and leave a comment. We read every one and try to answer back if any questions are asked. There have been a few questions or suggestions that we have received in which we have not had the opportunity to respond to. One was a suggestion that we list the items on our boat that have performed well and list the items that have not. This is a great idea and something that I am anxious to do. However, it is a pretty large undertaking and something that I will not have time to do until we return to our boat in December. However, I promise I will do it.
Another comment pointed out that I did not say how our batteries were when I was trying to determine if they were being charged properly when we were away during our trip to Peru. Well, as it turns out, they were in great condition and fully charged. My amp counter meter was in error. It had been reporting that the batteries were down by about 200 amps and that was not correct. I simply reset the amp counter meter and everything is now just hunky dory.
Another question we received was about a travel tip of bringing a calculator with you so you can determine the amount of currency you should get when you exchange your currency for local currency. The writer wanted to know if we had been fleeced by a moneychanger. The truth is we just don't know. They always do their calculations so quickly and then just show you the final number on their calculator. The one time we had the gumption to ask the moneychanger to show us how he arrived at his final number, the "final" number did change a little bit but only by a 1.5 Soles (about fifty cents), so it was not a big deal.
We also enjoy getting historic information that either enhances what we said in the blog or corrects it. For example, our daughter Heather left a comment that said a PBS show on the Inca said that one of the reasons Pizarro was able to defeat the Inca is that he had Indians that were hostile to the Inca fighting for him. Thus, it really was lots of Incas vs lots of Indians plus Pizarro's little group. Very Interesting!
One comment we got asked if the Nasca Lines were worth it. I would say yes it was since they are so special. However, the very long (14 hours round trip) bus ride that resulted in only a 30 minute flight over the Nasca Lines and the fact that they were hard to see, makes it a trip that we will only do once.
We also enjoy the feedback we get on our blog through the comments received. They let us know how to modify the blog to make it more enjoyable to read. An example of this was the repeated suggestion to include more pictures. This we have tried hard to do even though it takes a very long time for the pictures to be loaded into the blog due to poor Internet speeds we seem to encounter everywhere.
Anyway, thanks to all of you for taking the time and leaving your comments. They all have a very special meaning to us and we greatly appreciate receiving them.
Techno-Tip Of The Day. Jeanne Pocket's Cruiser's Dictionary
We only have two more days left in this cruising season. Since I started the Techno-Tip of the Day or Mary Margaret started the Travel Tip of the Day, we have been pretty good about providing some type of tip that we hope well be useful to you someday. These tips have mostly been created by us, based on our experience through the "School of Hard Knocks". However, you should be aware that there are other people out on the Internet that have actually published their tips. One excellent source that is free and available on the Internet is Jeanne Pocket's Cruisers Dictionary. You can download it at http://www.cruiser.co.za/faq1.asp
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This photo show the finished product. The white gel coat that I have is not quite as bright white as the gel coating that Lagoon uses but it is close enough. Fixing dings is realy quite simple and is something that you need to do as soon has you see one.
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09/30/2009, Puerto Amistad, Bahia De Caraquez, Ecuador
Today was more of the same as our days here in Bahia are quickly winding down to a precious few. We will be taking the bus to Quito on Sunday and then flying to LA on Monday.
One of the good things about it being Wednesday is that it is "movie night". Usually, on Wednesday night, Puerto Amistad offers a special dinner and a free movie. Tonight, the dinner was a T-bone steak, a baked potato and mixed vegetable for $6.50. The steak was very good and you just can't beat the price. The movie was a Robert Dinero, Al Pacino shoot em up, good cop/bad cop thing. It was pretty good but it is hard to hear with all of the background noise going on. They play the movie in English with Spanish subtitles. However, I believe it would be better if it was in Spanish with English subtitles. One of the good things that comes out of watching these movies is that we are getting pretty good at being able to read Spanish!
Toward the end of the movie we were disrupted by the sounds of a fire engine's siren slowly making its way down the street in front of Puerto Amistad. Further down the street we heard a drum corp. Since the movie was coming to and end, I went to the street and saw a parade of firemen and EMS people marching down the street. They were carry torches and flags and waving to everyone. There was even water truck and a second fire truck carrying men dressed in SCUBA suits, masks, fins, and tanks. Everyone was having a gay old time. Only in Bahia!
Tomorrow, Carlos comes over to Leu Cat to clean the bottom of our hull. It has been over a month since the last cleaning and it is due for another one.
Techno-Tip Of The Day: Deck and Hull Repair - Part 3
After the second layer of Marine Tex is fully cured, you can now sand it flat. You need to sand it softly, as the Marine Tex is not a hard epoxy. I use 100-grade sandpaper and it just takes a few seconds. Once I brush the dust off, I then take a small tube of white gel coat and put a few dabs on top of the Marine Tex. With a small paintbrush I spread the gel coat over the Marine Tex and on to the existing deck. The gel coat seals the Marine Tex so be sure to have it extend beyond the Marine Tex and on to the existing deck. Don't worry about brush marks as the gel coat will flow and fill any brush marks that occur.
Now you just let it dry and pat yourself on the back for a job well done!
The photos posted to this blog shows the ding after the Marine Tex has been sanded smooth and the photo in front of this blog shows the ding after the gel coat has been brushed on.
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09/29/2009, Puerto Amistad, Bahia De Caraquez, Ecuador
Not much is happening here, except we are continuing to work on exhibit materials for the upcoming trial. The little excitement we did have belonged all to Mary Margaret. Besides working on exhibit materials, she also went into town to have her waxing. When she returned, she then had her hair cut. It is a pretty sad state of affairs when the highlight of the blog is waxing and then a hair cut. But, such is the state of our affairs as this trial is quickly approaching.
To offer at least something of interest today, let me share with you the bad effects of the slight to Moderate El Nino year we are having here in Ecuador. El Nino is a meteorological event that happens every 5 to 10 years. Up along the west coast of the US, where we used to live, it means that the up coming winter will be especially wet.
El Nino is actually the result of a periodic oceanographic event. The upper surface of the equatorial current (the one that runs east to west near the equator) heats up and the water piles up slightly in the western pacific. This gradient causes the current to reverse itself now forcing the water to flow in a west to east direction. This in turns impacts the wind direction somewhat and this results in changes to the weather conditions around the world.
Here in Ecuador, the concern is not so much the impact on the weather as it is on the fishing. You see, the Peruvian current (also known as the Humboldt current) is what brings the cold Antarctic waters north to Ecuador. This cold water is rich in nutrients, which attract plankton. The plankton are what the fish feed off of so in a normal year, as the cold Antarctic waters upwell toward the surface due to the continental shelf, great masses of fish feed off of the plankton and this is that makes this area one of the world's best fishing grounds.
Unfortunately, when the Equatorial current reverses, causing what is now called an El Nino (wet) winter along the west coast of the US, it also shuts down the upwelling of the Humboldt Current. This means there are little nutrients in the near surface waters and, as a result, few fish.
The already poor Ecuadorian fishmen are having a lousy year and many have stopped going out each day because they have been returning with very small catches. Instead, they are looking for other work and other ways of supporting their families.
Thus, when those of you up along the west coast of the US complain about the amount of rain you will be getting this year, stop for a moment and think about how bad the poor fishermen have it down here.
Techno-Tip Of The Day: Deck and Hull Repair - Part 2
Now that the Marine Tex epoxy has cured overnight, it is time to apply the second and last coat. The purpose of this coat is to bring the epoxy slightly above the height of the deck that is being repaired. It doesn't have to be pretty since tomorrow I will be sanding down to be smooth with the deck. The photo attached to the blog shows an enlargement of the ding that I am repairing. What it shows is that the hole is fully covered and the epoxy goes out beyond the ding and covers part of the deck. Just for references, this ding is very small, just about the size of the nail on my small finger. You would be following the same procedure if the ding was the size of a walnut. Tomorrow I will do the sanding and then apply the gel coat.
was the size of a walnut. Tomorrow I will do the sanding and then apply the gel coat.
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