Ocean Dream

Vessel Name: Ocean Dream III
Vessel Make/Model: Hallberg-Rassy 40' (2009) Hull #134
Hailing Port: Nanaimo, Canada
Crew: Kevin Bourgeois, Richard Bourgeois
Recent Blog Posts
09 March 2024

La Cruz -AIS Transponder finally fixed!

It has been a while since our last posting. I have some serious catching up to do. There will be a number of post-dated entries to cover the period from 19Nov2023 to 09Jan2024 to follow later.

26 May 2023

Guaymas to La Paz

A crew of 3 (2 sons and myself) returned to Ocean Dream on April 30th. Thomas and Philip helped clean the boat and get ready for "splash day". The facility is called Guaymas Marina which seems odd as there are no boats in the water. There are hundreds of boats "on the hard" ie.land . We splashed on May [...]

20 March 2023

Mazatlan to Guaymas

The direct route to Guaymas from Mazatlan is not the easiest. Anchoring is limited. It is easier to sail across the the Sea of Cortez, go up the coast and then cross over again to Guaymas. The distance was increased by only 30miles and going up the Baja was wonderful. I would rate it a solid 3rd -after [...]

09 March 2023

La Cruz to Mazatlan

After waiting a week we did get a slip at the La Cruz Marina. The electronics specialist, Pieter Karsten came on board the same day. He had lots of gadgets including a computer for testing. The boat's depth sounder display is working again.

23 February 2023

Barra de Navidad to La Cruz (Puerto Vallarta)

Left Barra on the Feb.11th and spend a couple

10 February 2023

Marina Ixtapa to Barra de Navidad, Mexico

Don Goodman and I returned to Ocean Dream

La Cruz -AIS Transponder finally fixed!

09 March 2024
KEVIN BOURGEOIS
It has been a while since our last posting. I have some serious catching up to do. There will be a number of post-dated entries to cover the period from 19Nov2023 to 09Jan2024 to follow later.
On board were Drayden Goodman, Thomas Bourgeois and me. We sailed the boat from Guaymas to La Cruz.

This post starts at La Cruz.
The main reason for coming here was to get Peter Karsten, an electronics expert, on board to put the final repair for the lightening damage from El Salvador. He did a great job.
However, the AIS unit was still not sending; receiving only. Which means we can see other vessels on our chart plotter (especially at night) but they can not see us. Unless their radar is on.
Thomas solved the problem! It was a software issue NOT hardware.
The AIS transponder stopped working at midnight 31Dec2021. We were anchored in front
of Panama City watching the New Year's Eve fireworks. Thomas thought the timing of the stoppage was suspicious; similar to the Y2K rollover. However, unlike the Y2K rollover which had no effect, The AIS transponder program had a date issue which stopped working 31Dec2021.
Thomas downloaded a patch program from Furuno which allowed the unit to work again! However, the new program will only work for 19 more years and then it will need another update.
I have marked the date in my Google calendar!
We are leaving the marina today and heading
south to Barra de Navidad.

Guaymas to La Paz

26 May 2023
KEVIN BOURGEOIS
A crew of 3 (2 sons and myself) returned to Ocean Dream on April 30th. Thomas and Philip helped clean the boat and get ready for "splash day". The facility is called Guaymas Marina which seems odd as there are no boats in the water. There are hundreds of boats "on the hard" ie.land . We splashed on May 3rd then started harbour hopping up the coast anchoring at San Carlos and then 2 nights at San Pedro Bay -great for exploring and snorkeling. Also flat calm water -good for making repairs!
Ocean Dream's bilge was filling up at the rate of
6L per hour but only when the engine was running. The first suspect was the propeller shaft
gland which is dripless (vs the older style stuffing box which drips). The gland was not dripping. Followed the trail of the water flow which led to the stern. The 90degree stainless elbow in the wet exhaust line just prior to leaving the boat had sprung a leak! Corrosion. The elbow was removed. The hole was plugged with red hi-temp RTV (by J-B Weld) then covered by clear waterproof Gorilla tape. Cresswell Walker had recommended this tape and I thank him very much for that!
A couple of days later we crossed the Sea of Cortez to the Baja peninsula. The wind was good most of the way. It took about 12 hours in which we motored for only 2.
The winds have changed from a few months ago
when they were always strong northerlies. Now it is slowly changing to southerlies.
We stayed 2 nights at Santa Rosalia Marina -an old French copper mining town with a steel church designed by Gustave Eiffel. Great place to explore. From here we went south down the Baja peninsula dropping the hook in mostly isolated bays. No inhabitants. No cell service. Places that were good for exploring and snorkeling. We anchored at La Paz a few hundred feet south of the municipal pier.
The La Paz "Waltz" does actually occur! Current flows up to 2knots and wind from a different direction can make 2 boats almost touch each other.
It was a pleasure having Thomas and Philip on board. Thomas was able to get my auto pilot working. Sailors know what a big deal that is.
Philip treated us with a unending variety of tacos. I think he should open up a taco shop.
There is a picture of our last tuna. We got tired of eating fresh tuna and put away the fishing gear!
Thomas and Philip flew out of La Paz. Dad gets to retrace the route and return to Guaymas. Ocean Dream will be back on the hard and stay safe from hurricanes.
For my fraternity buddies (Delta Kappa Epsilon) and fellow Blue Water Cruising Members: there is a Celebration of Life for Ken Garfinkel on 31May2023. For more info contact Phil Roche
philcroche@gmail.com
Ken (a fellow Deke) introduced me to BWC.
I miss him greatly.

Mazatlan to Guaymas

20 March 2023
KEVIN BOURGEOIS
The direct route to Guaymas from Mazatlan is not the easiest. Anchoring is limited. It is easier to sail across the the Sea of Cortez, go up the coast and then cross over again to Guaymas. The distance was increased by only 30miles and going up the Baja was wonderful. I would rate it a solid 3rd -after our (BC) coast and the Greek islands. In 4th place would be the Hebrides.
Shortly after leaving Mazatlan we were out of the Tropics at 23.4 degrees N. Our most southerly location was Las Perlas islands, Panama at 8 degrees north.
We left at noon. It took 2 nights to cross the
Sea of Cortez to the Baja peninsula. Our first stop was San Evaristo; a little bay about 50nm
north of La Paz. We then "harbour hopped" up the coast to Bahia Aqua Verde, Punta Mangles
and then Punta Chivato. The scenery is stunning.
After the boat is fixed up I look forward to spending more time here.
From Punta Chivato to Guaymas, on the other
side of the Sea of Cortez is only 70nm. Fortunately we had nice wind on a beam reach
-one of Ocean Dream's best days of sailing.
The boat has been hauled out (sailors say
the boat is "on the hard") and is sitting next to
Ricky-T (blue boat in picture). Ricky-T belongs to my good friends, Dave and Diane Cherry.
They are fellow Blue Water Cruising Assoc. members. Great people to hang out with!
Don and I have returned to Nanaimo.
I will let you know when Ocean Dream is back
in the water.

La Cruz to Mazatlan

09 March 2023
KEVIN BOURGEOIS
After waiting a week we did get a slip at the La Cruz Marina. The electronics specialist, Pieter Karsten came on board the same day. He had lots of gadgets including a computer for testing. The boat's depth sounder display is working again.
The auto pilot and the wind instruments are not working. It appears that the Furuno Heading Sensor PG-700 and the Furuno Analog NMEA Data Converter are both toast. At least we know what to replace.
On Feb. 20th we had an evening at the Tree House Bar & Grill where we saw Amy Armstrong performing. She was billed as a singer/comedian
with the "mouth of a sailor". She lived up to her
posters. The place was packed.
We had a pleasant visit with Al and Trudie Yates
from Nanaimo who were staying at the Grand Palladium nearby. A day sail and whale watching was done in Banderas Bay. Next was a visit and dinner in Bucerias -which has a nickname "BC erias" because of the number of Canadians.
On our last day at the marina I ran into Michael Terides from Duncan and a fellow Blue Water Cruising Assoc. member. Small world. He was heading south and we were going north.
After an overnight anchor at Pt.Mia the next stop was up the coast to San Blas Bay. We anchored 1 mile out in 5 meters of water (very shallow)
and were eaten alive by no-seeums. On the advice of another sailor we moved a further 1/2
mile out (6 meters depth) and there were no
bugs! I guess they can only fly so far.
The next day on the way to Isla Isabella 120 turtles were counted in 1 hour!
Mazatlan was the next target -anchoring at night in a nice quiet bay. The following day while
entering the channel to the marina we grounded
on the sand bank at the entrance but the next
swell pushed us over. Should stop doing that.
Mazatlan was a nice place to visit. The sea temperate was a bit cool for swimming at 65.2F.
Ixtapa water temperature was 84F. For reference, the kid's wave pool at the Nanaimo Aquatic Center is 82F.
At the marina we met a couple (boat "The Great Wazoo") who have there for 35 years. They honeymooned at Yellow Point Lodge in Cedar, BC
in 1963! Small world.
While were doing boat stuff in Mazatlan I contacted all 7 marinas in La Paz. Four replied.
"Booked solid. We'll put you on the wait list for
next year"! Flying out of SJD would have been
easy but there was no marina space available.
This changed our plans; not that we had any firm ones. Our next target became Guaymas.
Here the boat could be hauled out

Barra de Navidad to La Cruz (Puerto Vallarta)

23 February 2023
KEVIN BOURGEOIS
Left Barra on the Feb.11th and spend a couple
days at Tenecatita. Great anchorage with a beach bar. Spent an hour on the dinghy coming up a river through the mangrove swamps. Stopped at a sand bar and what did we find -another beach bar!

Our fishing has improved. Tom and Dennis (& Kelly) on Roxxy set us up with a couple nice lures. We caught the first tuna in 10min. The 2nd tuna took 15min. We have not put the lures back in the water. You can only each so much tuna -even if you have lots of wasabi.

Ocean Dream continued harbour hoping up the coast stopping overnight at Chamela and Ipala.
We reached La Cruz (Puerto Vallarta) on Feb.15th. All 4 marinas in Puerto Vallarta are filled to capacity. Our best chance is at La Cruz where we went on the wait list. We need to get into a slip so the electronics specialist can come on board and fix (hopefully) the lightning damage stuff. Otherwise we would have kept on going up the coast. The anchorage outside the marina is good with easy dinghy access to the marina. There are 60+ other boats to keep us company. Always lots to do on board -spent 2 days just overhauling the winches.

We did a 2 day sail around Banderas Bay; had the best wind to date for sailing. Stopped many times to watch the humpback whales. One 40' whale breached a few boats lengths in front of us -presenting us with a full body splash.
In 2 days we saw about 40 whales.

Hopefully we will get a text from the marina
today or tomorrow to say it is time to weigh the anchor and head in.



Marina Ixtapa to Barra de Navidad, Mexico

10 February 2023
KEVIN BOURGEOIS
Don Goodman and I returned to Ocean Dream
on Jan.31st. This is Don's 5th trip on the boat!
Ocean Dream was at the Marina Ixtapa over the holidays.
There was the usual boat stuff needed doing to
get ready to shove off. Our greatest success was with the repair of the washing machine! The pump-out motor had quit. Richard Bourgeois got a new one sent from Italy. It was installed but it didn't work. The problem was the frequency of the 220v.
Europe uses 50hertz. North America uses 60hz. The solution: when running the washing machine
-disconnect shore power and turn on the boat's
inverter (European). The boat's Mastervolt Inverter produces 220v at 50hz. This makes a small drain on the battery which is easily recovered after the washing is finished by hooking the shore power back up. Simple. It only took a year to solve the problem.
After leaving Ixtapa we "harbour hopped" up the coast and anchored at: Isla Grande, Caleta de Campos, Cabeza Negra, Manzanilla and finally Barra de Navidad.
As we approached Barra 200+ dolphins came by to greet us. One dolphin in particular was quite photogenic (see photo).
At Barra de Navidad there is a beautiful marina
(expensive) and 5 star hotel. We anchored (for free) in the large lagoon nearby with at least 50 other boats. There are crocodiles -no swimming.
In 3 or 4 days we should be in Puerto Vallarta. We have been given some names of electronic specialists to contact in the hopes of repairing the lightning damage (El Salvador) -ie. no autopilot, wind instruments, depth & speed (although depth & speed do show up on cellphone via bluetooth).

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