03/05/2009, Chamela to LaCruz
Our sail from Chamela to LaCruz was very fast for Warren Peace. The first few hours we motored under bare poles as the seas were absolutely flat with no wind and then a nice 16-18 kt breeze came in on our port side still with perfectly flat seas...Warren Peace was in her element and we were doing 8s and 8.5s all day long. Most all sailors just wish for those sort of days. The sea conditions were perfect and inkly blue. We made LaCruz in just over 12 hours.
But...here's the really neat part of the whole day. For hours we were sailing through hundreds and hundreds of sea turtles. Their shells are about two and half feet in diameter. We've never seen anything like it before in all our years of sailing. This year we have seen so many sea critters...whales, dolphins, and now turtles. Many of the turtles had birds sitting on their shells...I guess just taking a break from flying around in the ocean with no place to land. You'll notice the white area on the turtle's shell...remnants of the hitch hiking birds!!! Attached is a picture of one of the turtles and you can see just how inky blue the ocean was on that day.
We are now back in Bandaras Bay at the marina in LaCruz. We'll be moving Warren Peace to Paradise Village (a very nice marina in Puerto Vallarta) on Monday for three days and then start moving north once again on Thursday if weather permits. Our stops will be Punta Mita, Chacala, Isla Isabella and then Mazatlan for several days. Warren Peace will need more diesel and good weather to make the 200+ mile crossing to LaPaz from Mazatlan.
Take care everyone...we miss you! Hope your weather is as fantastic as ours. Everyday here is the same...blue skies and mid 80s.
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Comments [2]
Jamie
03/04/2009, Chamela
After two months of cruising south down the Mexican coast, last week we were at our most southerly destination...Las Hadas. Yesterday we started our journey north leaving Las Hadas and motorsailing to Tenacatita. We did stop at one anchorage on the way..Ensenada Carrizal to snorkel and scuba, but the waters were filled with thousands of jelly fish about 8 inches long. I had no desire to share the waters with them...se we kept going.
We left Tenacatita this morning for Chamela with the thought of possibly stopping in Cayeres. We did go into the Cayeres anchorage which was so beautiful only two years ago. However, when we arrived this afternoon, the local fishermen had anchored mooring balls for their pangas virtually in all the good spots...so we sailed on to Chamela where we are now.
We are only 60 miles from Cabo Corrientes and once we round that cape...we'll be back in Bandaras Bay where Punta Mita, LaCruz and Puerto Vallarta are located.
Our journey north back into the Sea of Cortez and ultimately back to San Carlos should take about 6 to 7 weeks. We already have a reservation at Marina Seca for a haulout on April 28th due to low tides in San Carlos.
The cruise south this year has taken a toll on Warren Peace and also due to the economy, we haven't been able to do the normal maintenance required. We are now doing a little commercial fishing to supplement our cruising kitty. Note the picture of our modifiations to Warren Peace.
We have been having a wonderful time down here in Mexico. This is the best cruising season we've had for sure...and the weather is just tremendous! It's Ground Hog Day...everyday is in the mid 80s with blue skies.
We miss everyone
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I was thinking I might want to sail in your boat but after a look at the most recent picture I am having second thoughts. Ya'll have a safe trip home! Love, Judy
Reading your blog brings back great memories of our time together. It also makes us insanely jealous. Have a great trip north. Kim
love to you both; larry & karen
02/28/2009, Manzanillo
We're anchored just off the beach at the Las Hadas Hotel in Manzanillo. All the hotels, homes and condos are painted white...it almost appears that we would be in Greece. The palms trees are swaying in the breeze and the boganvillas are in a full bloom of red. The whole beach is gorgeous and contrasting in white, green and red from the foliage.
We had dinner last night with a friend from the Bay Area that has a villa here. What a beautiful view of the Pacific Ocean from his home. In addition to visiting with Mark and Kathleen Barger, we've met more boaters here in the anchorage. We just got back from a dinner on shore with two other boaters that we will start buddy boating with up to Bandaras Bay.
Manzanillo is a rather large city and unfortunately has lots of pollution...mostly from their power plant across the bay...we assume its being powered by coal because there is constant pollution billowing from the power plant smoke stacks. But...the beaches are beautiful and life appears to be good here. Manzanillo also has one of the major ports for the entire country of Mexico...lots of cargo ships coming in and out of the bay.
So...we'll spend one more day here (Sunday) and then head all the way out of the bay (about five miles or so) into a little anchorage called Ensenada Carrizal. Many other boaters say that it's one of the most beautiful anchorages on this coast line with some of the best snorkeling and scuba diving.
After we depart Ensenada Carrizal, we will definitely be heading north again, but we plan on going slow...at least that's the plan!
This year has been so much fun because we've met so many nice people, the weather has been great and we're just more comfortable with the cruising life. We just can't say enough nice things about Mexico and the people here.
Don't know when we'll have internet after we leave here so we probably won't update the blog again until we arrive Bandaras Bay.
Everyone take care...we miss you all.....
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02/28/2009, Colima, Comala, Manzanillo
Sharon and I along with Scott and Sue on Suebee (Catalina 42) decided to get off our boats and go on an inland adventure. It's time we see a part of Mexico that doesn't have a coastline. We rented a tiny little Nissan Platina (they must only make these cars for small people) and drove to Manzanillo, Colima and Caloma with no real plan for the day except to buy some "dancing dogs". Colima appears to be a rather wealthy city and very clean. It's the state capital of Colima and we think it also must be a financial center. For the first time on our trip we've actually seen people dressed in suits...very professional.
Our fist stop was Colima for lunch. We ate on a sidewalk restaurant right across the street from a beautiful park. On the adjacent corner was the state capital building. We walked around the area for a while to see the sites and then decided to get back in the Platina and drive to Comala.
In Comala we went to their town square to have a few beers and free hors'dourves. While we were there a mariachi band started playing for us and it was so entertaining. The band had three trumpeters, two violinist and a couple of guitars....they actually were quite good.
After about an hour of beers and listening to the band, Sharon and Sue went shopping for the "dancing dogs"...replicas of local tomb artifacts.
The day was getting long and we decided to start our trip home. We tried to get back to the marina before dark, but couldn't make it so we diverted to Manzanillo to have dinner. On our drive to Manzanillo we stopped at a fruit stand and bought water melons. Some of the fruit that we saw and sampled we had never seen before....ever! And...we don't care to ever see them or sample them again. Once back in Manzanillo we drove to the Las Hadas Hotel overlooking the local anchorage and had a wonderful dinner.
By the time we finally got back to Isla de Navidad it was close to midnight. There are no street lights close to the Grand Bay Hotel and as we approached the marina we had to drive through a golf course. There are so many streets on this golf course that we got lost for about half an hour...we were laughing so hard and thought we'd have to spend the night in the little Platina on the 18th hole. The only good thing about getting lost was we were driving around in an air conditioned car...you'd have to be here to reeeeally appreciate the air conditioning.
It was a very long day, but one that we will remember for many years to come. It was filled with laughter, friendship and fun experiences had by all.
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Vance
Love, Ann, Michael and Boris
02/15/2009, Barra de Navidad
We arrived Barra de Navidad about two weeks ago and one of the first things we were asked to do was to help out with the local cruisers net. We were a little leiry at first as we had never been net controllers before, but we agreed and jumped in with both feet. I agreed to be Net Manager which means lining up Net Controllers for every day of the week except Sunday. They actually run the net on VHF radio every morning on channel 22 at 9:00AM. Sharon runs the net on Mondays and I have my turn on Saturdays. I have Net Controllers for the other days of the week except Sundays. It's actually quite fun and we get to know even more of our sailing neighbors. No one ever accused Sharon and I of not being social!
The Net Controllers job is to call for emergencies first and foremost in the sound of their voice. The sound of their voice on VHF radio is line of sight...that could be 25 to 30 miles from our boat considering all the buildings and mountains surrounding us. Then we do a role call for all boats within VHF range. For this area its...Tenacatita, Melague, Barra Marina, Barra Lagoon, Santiago and land based stations. Each day we have about 55 to 60 boaters check in. Once the role call is finished, we ask for general announcements, trading things that we have on our boats, services needed and community assistance. We feel that we are doing the sailing community a service and like I said...it's fun.
So...we have two more weeks of Net Control and then we'll hand it over to some other willing boater.
We're having fun with the radios...both VHF and (SSB) Single Side Band. We're enjoying sailing this year from anchorage to anchorage then to a very civilized marina. Life is treating us good and living each day at a time.
We really look forward to hearing from friends back in California and Oregon... and we're meeting new friends this year on the water...as we do every year. Just the other day I ran into a friend from Corinthian Yacht Club...Mark and Julie Leonard...they are here visiting family. What a small world!!! We miss all of you and would like to hear from you on our blog. Take a moment and send a note please...it makes our day when we hear from someone back home.
So..take care all...stay tuned for the next update hopefully it will be before we leave Barra de Navidad.
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Vicki
Love reading your notes!
e.t
02/14/2009, Barra de Navidad
Well...it doesn't matter what country you're in...Valentine's Day is Valentine's Day! The girls want to be treated to something special. We are staying at the Grand Bay Hotel Marina and the flower arrangements at the hotel are quite incredible. A friend of mine suggested that maybe the hotel could create a flower arrangement for Sharon...for a small fee of course!
So...with that in mind...I ordered flowers for Sharon and we also went to dinner with friends in Barra. I must say that it was a very nice and memorable evening. Sharon loved the flowers and Valentine's Day was a total success!
We agreed that every day of our lives should be Valentine's Day...treating each other as if it were Valentine's Day all year long!
Love is in the air!!!
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