We splashed on the 14th and Puddle Pirate was looking good. She got her bottom completely done and we even added some fish art. Our favorite football team is on track for the championship game, so Lew had to add his 12th man Go Seahawks to her freshly painted bottom. Rosie added some dolphin art as well. After we added our own touches, Puddle Pirate was ready to splash.

The splash went great and we started our engines for the first time. Puddle Pirate started up with no problem. It was if she was waking up from her summer nap ready to play. We motored over to our slip and started loading her up for the trip across the sea.

After a couple of days Puddle Pirate set sail. It was Saturday morning and the winds were just perfect coming out of the Northeast. We left the anchorage and headed for Puerto Escondido located just south of Loreto. We had some distance to cover so all the sails went up and we headed south. Now was the time to see if the newest crew member would work. Lew set the paddle on our new hydro vane "Mistress" and as predicted she grabbed the wind and off we went. We took off like a rocket, the winds kicked up to 15knts and our newest crew member, Mistress was now in her element. We made the crossing in the fastest time ever. We sailed 20 hours then pulled into Puerto Escondido the next morning, just in time to watch our Seahawks win the championship. Go Seahawks!

We left Puerto Escondido the following Tuesday morning hoping for perfect winds again. Unfortunately the winds were not in our favor. They had died down to 4 to 5 knots, so it was motoring south for now. After 6 hours of motoring the sea state was building to 6 to 8 ft at 4 seconds. This made for a very uncomfortable ride. We pulled into the closest anchorage Puerto los Gatos. We like to call this anchorage "Red Rock". Puerto los Gatos unmistakable red rock formations gave us protection from the building waves out of the North. We dropped anchor and settled in for the night. The moon was full and the sky was clear. This made for a beautiful starry night.

The next morning we headed back out South for La Paz. The wind was still not in our favor but the seas had settled down some. As we motored south it was clear we would not make La Paz before night fall. We decided to motor to a well known anchorage of ours from last season. Puerto Balandra "aka" Mushroom rock.

We arrived in the anchorage at 7:00 pm. There were 3 other boats sharing the anchorage with us that night. In the morning we pulled anchor and headed to La Paz. We had reservations at Marina Palmira thanks to our good friend Dan from S/V Papillon. I couldn't believe we finally made it to La Paz. We were now on track for our next stop Bahia de Banderas Puerto Vallarta. We ordered new sails that were now waiting for us in La Cruz. But La Cruz would have to wait until next Tuesday, which is our next weather window.

For now we can enjoy the comforts of La Paz. Pizza was on the agenda. Dan told us about a great new pizza restaurant that was all it took. Lew was now on a mission to try this pizza. Yesterday we made our way to town and found the pizza restaurant. Let me tell you, it is the best pizza in La Paz. It is located on the same street as the baggle shop right on the corner. He also found his German sausage at the farmers market. We better be careful not to settle in and lose track of the next destination of La Cruz. Last year we got stuck with the La Paz bungee attached to our stern. We don't want that to happen again. Today we are doing boat choirs and getting her ready to make the crossing to the main land. Can't wait to see all are cruiser friends in PV.