01/31/2012, Barra Navidad Lagoon
"Is this frequency in use..... Is this frequency in use?
Good evening and welcome to the Southbound Net for Sunday January 29, 2012. My name is Amy aboard THIRD DAY and I will be your volunteer net controller this evening. THIRD DAY is located in the Barra Lagoon. On board with me tonight is my mom, brother, and our cat Cortez.
The Southbound net meets nightly at zero zero five five zulu on 8122 upper side band.........."
Our good friend Laura from SV Just a Minute wrote out the script for the net and she came over and helped Amy with any questions as she was on the radio for the past two Sundays. The first Sunday that Amy did the net she had 12 check-ins with two of those being underway. She also passed traffic, took the weather from Patrick on Just a Minute, and even joked with some of the people on the radio. After she finished talking to people on 8122 she moved down to 4149 upper side band to finish out the net. The second Sunday had fewer check-ins, four in all, but it was still fun.
Amy's grandfather, Vern is a HAM radio operator as well as her father, Rich so the nut does not fall too far from the tree. I do not know if Amy will go as far as getting her HAM license but she is well on her way of keeping up the family tradition.
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Comments [1]
01/28/2012, Barra navidad
Unit 3 Lesson 8 Composition--Argument Amy Boren
Your dingy and your outboard are very important. Together they are your life line to the rest of the world. This is your car, your way to get groceries, explore, and visit with friends. It is the best way to get off of your boat and stay dry. There is a question of whether or not cruisers should raise their dingy up at night or leave it in the water. I think that all cruisers should put their dingy up at night to help prevent theft. You can do a lot of fun activities with your dingy including fishing, dingy surfing or taking your dingy out sailing, but all of these you couldn't do if you didn't have a dingy or an outboard motor.
Dingy thefts can happen during the day and have, but mostly happen at night. The thief is usually after the motor on the back of the dingy. They will cut the rope attaching your dingy to your boat, let the dingy drift away, then take the motor off of the dingy. The people who take the dingys have cable
cutters and will cut through the cable. So, if you thought a steel cable was safe, think again. In places like estuaries where there is a current, accidents can happen. Ropes do come untied and it is not always theft, but this is not often the case.
One of the ways to protect your dingy and motor is to raise it out of the water at least five feet. Some boats have dingy davits, but if you don't you should still raise the dingy up by attaching it to a halyard
and pulling it up alongside you boat. Another way to protect your dingy and outboard motor is to paint the motor cover with some bright colors and add some reflectors. A painted motor cover will help prevent theft because the thief would rather have a nice shiny new motor. It is easier for the thief to sell an unpainted or unmarked up one. Another way to protect your outboard is to always lock it to the dingy.
Two years ago nine dingys were stolen from Barra Navidad lagoon. All of the dingys that were stolen were recovered but they had no outboards on them. Some places that use to be safe are not safe
anymore. You should take the serial number of the engine just in case it gets stolen you might have a slight chance getting it back. It is very difficult to find a new outboard in Mexico. Outboards are expensive and there are higher import taxes in Mexico. The dingy is not much without an outboard but
you can still use it.
Instead of the drama of losing your dingy of the hassle of getting another one, I believe all of the cruisers should just lock their outboards to the dingy and pull the dingy up at night. With that, hopefully there will not be as many dingy or outboard thefts.
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01/22/2012, Barra Navidad
He was so tall that I had to stretch my neck skyward. His eyes sparkled with life and his robes were dazzling. I just looked at him and thought of the things he may have done in all of his years. Some of my musings were about the battles that he may have fought, the kingdoms that he had ridden through on his trusty steed, the women he must have swept off of their feet... The grandeur of it all took my breath away.
Then I saw what could possibly be an enemy to him. I watched warily as the orange orb approached. As time passed it grew lighter and brighter. I knew that my prince had to run as fast as he could if he wanted to survive the night. The onslaught began and the Milky Way faded. Slowly at first, I could tell he was fading too. His splendor was leaving him but he was still standing tall. After a while his fine vestments were all but gone and he almost looked like the king who had no clothes on, but he still was a great presence and only gave up a little ground.
Translation......... It was somewhere between 2 and 3 am of a long, long night watch in the Pacific Ocean somewhere between Bahia de Los Muertos and Barra Navidad. I was trying everything I could to stay awake so Rich could get some sleep in case anything ugly happened. All of the sails were up so I had to be alert and pay attention to what was going on. The battle between Orion and the Moon went on for a couple of hours. Orion was finally left with only the primary stars in the group, but the constellation was still shining bright. At that point I was getting tired so I got Rich up for his watch. I doubt that Rich paid Orion too much attention but I think that Orion winked at me as I was going below to sleep.
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