Boy how time flies. It's been quite a while since I updated the blog and lots of water has gone under our keel since then.

We arrived in La Paz on December 20th and set about numerous repairs and upgrade that are too numerous to list here. We made a list as we headed South from San Carlos so that we(or I) wouldn't forget any of them. We were up to 33 by the time we pulled into the dock and got Zephyr into a "dock" mode from a "transit" mode. We didn't have to be so paranoid about leaving latches on doors and drawers off. When in transit, every door and drawer has to be locked down so it can't possibly open a spill its contents on the floor. Dock mode--not so much. We did a bit of shopping to refill the larder of fresh veggies and meat and that was about it. The biggest thing we got done was the forward head. She's a thing of beauty now. You takes your thrills where you can folks. A broken head(toilet) is something you dread but is a fact of life. When we get to Puerto Vallarta at the end of the week, the stern head is next for an overhaul.

Anyway, Christmas was spent with a pot luck dinner on the dock with 70 other cruisers and their families that flew in for the holiday. We sat with two other couples--George and Celeste off Neried and Paul and Karen off Gigi. George and Celeste journeyed South with us from Port Townsend last year and got caught in a bit of government red tape before they could cross the border. Because of that, they cam South almost a year after we left San Diego. Paul and Karen, we met at San Juanico after our crossing from San Carlos. They had been in San Carlos for 7 months waiting for parts to come from the US before they could take off. They had left before us and spent time North in Bahia Concepcion before coming South. George and Celeste are staying in La Paz for the next few months and Paul and Karen left the same day we did except they are headed for Mazatlan before coming down the mainland coast.

We left last Monday, December 27th for Ensenada de los Muertos. The same place we had been just over a year ago as we headed North into the Sea of Cortez. Now we were headed South and out of it. As the seas were flat with no wind, we were forced to motor most of the way. About 5 miles out, we finally got a bit of wind and up and out went the sails. If you got em, use em. One thing we did find was that our water pump has developed a nice leak. Of course, only when its running and only at normal running speed. At Idle, it's just fine. We could have returned to La Paz, but we pushed on anyway. We just have to pump out the bilge on regular intervals, that's all. We got in there(23 59.215N 109 49.620W) late in the afternoon after covering 55 miles and planned on being out of there the next morning and that is just what we did.

Tuesday, we took off for Bahia Los Frailes(23 22.863N 109 25.286W), where we had gotten stuck for the better part of a week last year when a Norther(winds in excess of 30 knot) blew through and there was no way to make any kind of progress North. We spent the time with 12 other boats before we broke free. Again, some motoring and some sailing before we got in there again, late in the afternoon. As we ere pulling in, a pair of whales started playing and breeching about 70 yards off our port side, having a great time playing around. We on the other hand, not so much as one of the last thing you want to do is get up close and personal with a big big whale. They eventually passed us(with a fisherman and a couple of tourists in tow taking lots of pictures. Wednesday, we were set to make the crossing to Isla Isabela, about 215 miles to the Southeast.

We upped the anchor and took off early in the morning a we had lots of miles to go. As luck would have it, the winds, and not much of those, lasted about 5 miles. On came the engine and off we went with the ever present rumble of the "iron jenny" under our feet. No wind that day and no wind the second. We had to time our arrival as there are reefs around the island and we wanted a clear view of everything so there would be no problems. This made us journey at a wopping 4 knots all the way over!!!! I can walk faster than that but that is what it took to get us in about 0900, the morning of the third day. We passed 8 or 9 pangas(fishing boats) as we came in and saw several lined of nets that we really wanted to avoid as they can play havoc with your prop if it gets in there. We pulled in and "dropped the anchor(21 50.541N 105 52.923W) just after 0900. After not getting much sleep for the last 48 hours, we both opted for naps through most of the day until we felt rested. We spent most of the afternoon "vegging" and getting ready to head for the mainland. We'd thought of going ashore at Isla Isabela is a large nature refuge for birds. The anchorage spot we ended up in is primarily rock and just about no sand so there was no real way to make sure the anchor was "set". With it being so rocky, the place has a reputation of swallowing anchors--it lets them go down but won't let you bring them back ups as they get wedged in the crevasses in the rocks. We attached a "trip" line to the anchor so that it resist getting pulled up, I could pull the "trip" line and yank it free. A "trip" line is just a line attached to the opposite end of the anchor so it pulls the thing free should it get stuck with the point in a rock or in a coral bed. We got lucky and had no problems. Well, ok one. The trip line I played out from the bow as the anchor went down was 50 feet long and we were only in 25 feet of water. As the line floated, it slowly wrapped itself around the keel and rudder forcing me to have to jump in the water to release it. While there, I checked the zinc at the tend of the prop--looks great. I tightened the line and dove down on the anchor while there and saw it had wedged itself into a nice fissure in the rocks. As long as the wind remained from the North we were fine. Because of this, we decided to not leave Zephyr and explore the nature preserve. Zephyr is more important than that.

We upped the anchor again yesterday(January 1) and took off for Matachen. A sleepy little bay just outside the town of San Blas on the mainland. Oh, by the way, we are back in the tropics after crossing the Tropic of Cancer on the way South. It's not any warmer but we have got to be getting down into warm water eventually. We got lucky and had wind. Yes, that's right, wind and from a usable direction. We hoisted and rolled out the sails and took off at a wopping 4 to 5 knots!!!! About as fast as our motor had taken us but this was "free" movement. No diesel involved. With the mainsail up and the jib and genoa out, we were off. We plied out way Southeast along a course that would take us where we wanted to go. As the wind slowly moved around toward the North, we changed our sails position as the day passed. Another sailboat passed us early in the afternoon. We think they had their motor going as well as their sails up, but couldn't prove it(darn cheaters). We decided to take drastic measures as our speed was such that we wouldn't get to Matachen till about 2000. Much too late for a safe entry into a strange and unknown harbor. Down came the sails and out came the spinnaker. The biggest sail we have. With a big "womp", she popped open as the "sock" we store her in was raised. We were off!!! Our speed took off as did Zephyr. With the winds from behind us now, we were flying along at over 8 knots. Unfortunately, not quite in the right direction, but we changed that by shifting the sail from the starboard(right)side to the port(left) side of the boat. We stayed in the 7 to 8 knot range as the winds increase to 20+ knots. Now, this sail is not really meant for winds much higher than that though we have foolishly had it up in winds as high as 35 knots(WOW)and looked like crazy people as we were doing it. So after about 18 miles, we, we hauled it down again and pulled back up the mainsail and let out about 60 percent of the genoa and again, we were off to the races. Our speed staying in the mid 7 knot range we were now set to pull in about 1630 and that is exactly what we did. With Tracy behind the wheel and me out as "deck monkey", we had a great day on the water using just about every sail we have on board. Most several times.

We pulled in along 8 other boats and checked in with the Port Captain and got settled in for the night. We had heard of a tour of the La Tovara river, we made plans to do it today. We left Zephyr early(0730) and headed in so we could beach Puff and walk to the embarkation point for the river tour. As there were only the two of us(the parking lot as deserted) we had to pay a bit more as the boats normally hold 12 people but it was worth it. We had our own guided tour stopping along the way to point out birds, snakes and lots of crocodiles. We visited a refuge for the crocs at the far end of the river and then journeyed back to a natural spring that is protected from the crocs by a big steel fence. By the time we got there, there were lots of people swimming and having a great time. As we had not brought out suits, we just did a bit of shopping and headed back to our boat and back to civilization. It was one on the most enjoyable side trips we have made since we took off 20 months ago for Alaska. We have unfortunately been side tracked by jobs on Zephyr just about every time we pull into a port. With a good bit of time we have planned in Puerto Vallarta, we will have lots of time for more adventures. Once back from our trip up river, we returned to the beach where we had stashed Puff and had a great lunch of beer, coke and shrimp and fresh caught fish. You can even see your dinner get filleted after you place your order. Not that's fresh! Once we finished lunch we hike back to the small village we had walked though earlier and bought some banana bread as well as some coconut bread that the area is famous for.

We returned to Puff and with her wheels attached, slowly pushed her back into the water with numerous natives on the beach watching and taking pictures and videos of us. Matachen is a very shallow bay so we walked a good 150 yards off shore before we hopped into Puff and rowed out till we were deep enough to start Dragon and home we went. The generator is running and batteries are getting refueled so we will be set to take off for Chacala tomorrow. It's only 22 miles so a nice easy trip. We're due in Puerto Vallarta on the 8th and have lots of time to get there.

Stay tuned. I'll try and do better with my posts.