March in Marina de la Cruz is a beehive of actvity. The Puddle Jumpers are getting ready for, in most cases ,the biggest passage of their lives in fact it is one of the longest anywhere. 3 weeks at sea on their way to the Marqueses and the gateway to the South Pacific. Everyone who sails dreams of the South Pacific. There has been such a huge commitment to get here and everyone is nervously busy with last minute repairs and seminars as put on at the beautiful Marina. Demelza, Elizabeth and I were amongst that group.
Not all was work as we spent some time at Philos bar and restaurant: the Vancouver olympics were on and he had CTV`s excellent coverage on the big screen. The Canada /US hockey was especially raucous and fun. The beer advertisements made us a tad homesick. The closing ceremony was fantastic.
I really wanted to catch the Sicorro/ San Benidicto island which lie 300 miles off the Mexican coast on our track to The Marqueses. Because it is a marine reserve you have to have a permit to visit. Lovely Maria at Philos worked hard and acquired that for us. Cost about 600 pesos.
Demelza was hauled at Opeqimar boat yard in PV where we painted the bottom,polished the hull, cleaned the heat exchanger and various odd jobs. 6 days and some times it was like an oven as the boat yard is flanked by tourist high rises. Spent some time with s/v Chanty, Ivan and Jane from England. Got to know another pretty green boat Brian and Dorthy off Tagish. March 12 2010 Demelza splashed in and was more or less ready for passagemaking although Gordon was to arrive in a few days with more boat parts from Waypoint Marine, Sidney. Back we went accross Banderas Bay to anchor at La Cruz. Elizabeth flew home Mar 18 and Gordon was coming in a couple of days later. He was laden with boat parts including a 5 ft shaft from Hydovane for our neighbors Mike and Hyo on IO. Gordon and my mission was provisioning which we did with a few bus trips to the big stores in PV. We had to have enough food!
Another trip across the bay to Paradise villge for our Zarpa exiting Mexico. Full of water, fuel and provisions we headed out mid morning under motor until the wind filled in at the mouth of the bay. Passing Punta Mita and the Islas Tres Marietas we headed for open ocean. Quite an introspective time. March 23 2010