[Note: You might have noticed that this “Holiday Card” is a little more than a little late. And, that’s pretty well true regardless of what holiday we’re talkin’ about - be it Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Diwali, Ramadan, or all Twelve Days of Christmas! It’s not my fault – My calendar stopped. That’s right, it was working just fine, right up to moment it quit – Yeah, it was the darnedest thing. Damn Mayans!!!! Oh well, better late than never, right?]


¡Feliz Navidad y Feliz Año Nuevo!

Buon Natale e Felice Anno Nuovo!

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!

It was the best of times; it was the worst of times. Nah, it was just the best of times. Debbie & I had another great year! We hope the same was true for you!
We rang in 2012 in Mexico, and we were in Mexico to ring it out. But, our news was primarily from the good ol’ US of A. In April, we listed Younger Girl for sale Nuevo Vallarta’s Paradise Village Marina, and flew to Portland for the summer. A few weeks later, we bought a house in Vancouver. It seemed as though we were just getting settled in before we began travelling again. In August, we flew to San Diego, so that we could sail our old boat Consigliare to the Bēnēteau Rendezvous on Catalina Island (Thanks Tony!). Only a few weeks later, we drove to San Diego, with stops in Sacramento and Bakersfield to visit Debbie’s sister and brother, for the Lucky Duck Swing & Soirée That was great fun as we had the opportunity to see lot of old friends !
But, the big trip of the year was a fly/drive to the American NE/Canadian SE. In order to attend last year’s Banderas Bay Regatta crew members Michelle & Jordan’s wedding in October, first we flew to Buffalo, where we spent the night, then rented a car. It was then a series of mostly one night stands : Niagara Falls (Niagara on the Lake*), ON; (2 nights) Geneva, NY* ; Newport, RI* ; Cambridge, MA* ; Québec, City, QC*; Montréal, QC*; Toronto, ON*; Thedford, ON*; Bay City, MI*, (2 nights) Clio, MI; and finally back to Buffalo. The asterisks indicate locations with excellent sailing opportunities. Of course, we had no boat to sail.
So, now it’s February, and we’ve begun sailing south from our boat’s summer base in Banderas Bay (Puerto Vallarta). This is likely to be our final winter in Mexico, as we hope to “bash” back to San Diego in the late spring and try again to sell the Younger Girl. In the meantime, we’re looking forward to the Banderas Bay Regatta in March, and Loreto Fest (Sea of Cortez) in early May. In between those, we’ll probably spend a bit of time in Mazatlán and La Paz.
Why sell Younger Girl?, you ask. Well, with four double cabins and 2 heads, she makes the perfect floating home. And, with the right wind conditions, she can sail fast, very fast! But, she just doesn’t transmit excitement back to the helm (steering wheel). So, we’re now thinking “tri”, rather than “cat”. In exchange for the performance, we’ll be giving up a whole lotta’ comfort.
Why do I tell you this?
Well, if you’ve ever dreamed of cruising with us, this is the season! Or what remains of it…. If you’re a racer, you might want to join us for 3 days of “marks” racing in the Banderas Bay Regatta (19-23 March), There might also be racing at Loreto Fest (2-4 May). In between, we’ll be “hangin’ out in Banderas Bay, Mazatlán, La Paz, and various islas in the Sea of Cortez. And of course, for you sailors, there’s the passages to and from these locals. Finally, sometime shortly after Loreto Fest, we’ll be doing the 800 mile Baja Bash from Cabo San Lucas to San Diego. Wanna’ join us? Especially, family! Call or write – we’ll see if we can make room for you!

Merry Christmas,
Mark, Debbie & (of course), Stinky