Underway - Day/Night 1

We got off to a nice, but slow start. We motor-sailed out of the bay and when we turned our motors off just outside Cabo Corientes, we only had about 9 knots of wind and were making 3 knots speed. And so it went. We put a reef in the main before Andy went to bed just for good measure (and because I asked to) and now...
Here I am on my first night watch in a long time and conditions have changed drastically since Andy went to bed. Wind is up to 16 knots (very nice) and we're doing almost 8 (I'm in my happy place at 61/2 - 7). The wind is coming on our beam which makes for a funny ride. I have to say, this speed scares the bejesus out of me. I'm still trying to get back in the grove of things. Night watches can go either way... tonight I'm trying not to let my mind take over and just go with the flow. Andy asked me what I was thinking earlier and I told him, I'm trying not to think anything. If I think too much, I just might ask to turn around. So here I am, after listening to all my playlists on my iPod, attempting a French podcast (did you know those were all in French?), and doing all the exercises I could think of, I'm distracting myself with a blog post.
We decided to extend our normal 3 hour watches to 4 at night so that in theory, we could get more sleep. If all goes well, maybe we'll up it to 5 hours later in the passage. Some good news is that I'm feeling great (although I am questioning the decision to have hamburgers for supper). A lot of folks were worried about us leaving today since I've been sick, but all is good here. No headaches, no queasy stomach, no tiredness (yet).
It's getting up to 17 knots, pushing 20... it's times like these I remember how much I don't know. Should I wake Andy up and put another reef in? (I know that's what I would LIKE to do) Should I slow us down by adjusting the sails or our course? I know, you're thinking "geesh Monica, it's your first night out!" Cut me some slack. I haven't done a night watch in months and I've never had the daunting task of crossing an ocean in front of me...just getting my sea legs back.
For now, I'm going to watch the wind, put some Uncle Kracker back on and keep watch on this boat coming at us on AIS...
Update from the morning... Watches went well for both of us. We've gone over a hundred miles since we left yesterday. We were able to check in with the nets on low power (kind of a cruiser conference call) so our radio is working really well. Jake slept well and we're trying to power up this school thing again for the first time in a few weeks. He says he's feeling queasy and needs a break. I don't know if he really is or if he's already figured out a ploy for delaying school work? Andy is on deck breaking out the spinnaker. Our winds have been good but they're petering out a little bit now. I think he just wants to practice... All is good on Savannah. Thanks for tuning in!
By the way, you'll notice a new link above our picture on the blog. So far, it's not working. It was my intent to send our position so everyone could follow exactly where we are. The e-mail preprogrammed into our computer (and the email address I wrote down off the website) is not working so I'm stumped. I'll let you all know if/when I get it up and running. In the meantime, if anyone already using this feature knows the current address for yotreps, send me an email wdf4139  (AT) sailmail (DOT) com - keep it short and sweet, no attachments, no address books, no spam - but you already know that, right?).
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Adios Mexico!

We did it! We pulled anchor about a quarter to 12 today and headed out for the Marquesas. We said goodbye to some really dear friends and now we're on our way. Thank you to everyone who gave us our grand send off (several times!). We heard the horns and waved our little arms off as we saw you running back and forth on the break wall. Thanks to those who sent us off in their dinghy's (we love you Scott and Teri), and Thanks to Victor and Hose who sent us off in the SeaBeast (I want pictures)!

And thank you to all of our friends and family who have been with us the whole way. Andy has dreamed of this for 20 years and I've been dreaming and planning for the last 10. There's no way we could have lifted that anchor without all of your support, both emotionally, spiritually and physically (getting our mail, money matters, etc.).

No... keep saying your prayers, keep the good wishes coming and we'll keep you posted as we go along.

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One MORE day delay...

He looks remarkably happy for fixing a leak

Through a series of unfortunate events, we are now delayed one more day.  We came home from our last day of shopping Monday and I started to feel bad.  What looked to be an upset stomach turned out to be a 24 hour bug that about killed me (at least I was hoping it would).  I don't think I've ever been that sick.  Well, while I was laid out, Andy was trying to find a place to store the rest of our rum and he started looking around the diesel tank under Jake's bed.  Instead of storage, he found a leak.

Eyoni rafted up next to Savannah

So he spent the better part of yesterday afternoon fixing that leak.  Thanks to Eyoni for delaying their departure to Yelapa...without Ethan's help, I think Andy would have gone nuts.  Eyoni pulled up next to us and helped us unload 60 gallons of fuel into their tank and a few jerry jugs so that Andy could get to the problem.  Then Ethan hung around to help with the actual fix.

We woke up this morning with a few things on our list to do... fill water tanks, wash boat, check out from Marina and La Cruz, then head over to Nuevo Vallarta to check out of Mexico (I'll try to post the actual procedures after we complete them for those of you leaving later or going next year).  One more problem.  No water.  This has been an ongoing problem this past week for the marina but we though for sure after it happening 2 days in a row they would have it figured out by now.

But all is good now...the water is back on, Andy's washing the boat and Jake and I are finishing up last minute things before checking out.  This seems to be what Savannah does before a big trip - spit parts.  Remember the pinhole leak in the hull before we left San Diego?  Better that it all happens here at the dock than out there, right?  Baring no unexpected delays today, we'll be out of here tomorrow.  It looks like it might actually happen!  And it's a good thing...I've got veggies ripening as we speak!

Provisioning for Fruits and Veggies...check

Last on my list is provisioning for fruits and vegetables.  Thanks to Diane on Ceilydh and all of those puddle jumpers before us, I have hit the mother load.  One of my worries has been how I was going to get vegetables that would last more than a few days.  The tiendas here always sell good veggies, but they need to be eaten within a day or two of buying them.  Where was I going to find green tomatoes? 

It turns out, there is a warehouse in town that opens its doors twice a week at 6:00 pm to supply all of the local restaurants.  It is filled with green veggies and fruits.  And I mean FILLED.

For those of you in LaCruz (or possibly doing the jump next year), as you walk to Philo’s you’ll see some red tables always set out at night for tacos.  Turn right at the road right before those tables.  On the left you’ll see some warehouse doors.  They open on Sunday night and Wednesday or Thursday night (there’s debate about that and I personally haven’t checked it out on those nights) and you can buy as much as you want.

So today was the day…  I started off my day visiting the Sunday market close to the marina here and bought up the smoked mozzarella and smoked cheddar.  I made my way to the pesto stand and bought a few containers of some of the best pesto I’ve ever eaten.  It freezes well and goes great over pasta, so I’m planning on that being one of our easier dinners within the first few days while we’re getting acclimated.

Andy took some friends to Mega (we still have our rental car) to buy their groceries while Jake and I stayed on the boat and watched movies.  He was up sick all night and I thought it was best to keep his cooties on the boat today. 

This evening, I took our neighbors who are leaving the same day as us to the warehouse to get our vegetables.  I can’t believe I didn’t take my camera.  It was so much fun to go through the bags and bags of beautiful produce.  For about $100, I got apples, oranges, limes, lemons, peppers of all kinds, watermelon, lettuce, grapes, chayote, onions, potatoes, and the list goes on and on…hopefully, enough for the next three weeks.  (Now the trick is to figure out how to store all this stuff and keep it from going bad.)  The night was going so beautifully until it was time to leave. 

“Where are the keys?” someone asked.

“I gave them to Jobie when he started loading the car” I responded

“Jobie?”

“Yes”

“Jobie?”

“Yes”

“SH#&^@” and someone took off running.

Apparently, Jobie was on his way to Sayulita to see his wife, not to return until tomorrow.

I was sitting on our neighbor’s boat using their phone to call the rental company to try to get a new key when I heard Jobie outside our boat talking to Andy.  He had gotten as far as Bucerias and reached in his pocket for change and found the key. 

No harm done.  The veggies are resting and we are heading that way ourselves.  Tomorrow is our last day to do the last minute things before checking out with the port captain on Tuesday.

2 more days…

Tsunami

We woke up this morning to the same news much of you did…Japan had been hit by a major earthquake and then a tsunami that was heading toward Hawaii and ultimately us, here in Mexico.

After a little debate, we decided to be safer than sorry (after all, we’re not exactly insured) and head out to the anchorage.  In our opinion, it was much better to be out of the marina so we don’t have to worry about big swells pushing into the docks.  Once out in the anchorage, we heard news that they actually expected a good 3-6 feet and maybe a 6 knot current.  So ultimately, we decided to head out to open water, as did a number of other boats.  I counted at least 75 boats and I’m sure I missed a few (unofficial report was 155).

But it was a beautiful day for sailing.  We had a few minutes to run in the marina with the dinghy and get some beer and ice.  We just went to Costco yesterday so we were stocked with food.  We had a little bar-b-que, drank a few beers and enjoyed our day.

The marina saw over 6 feet of surge and the channel to the marina got pretty good currents which kept all boats out the rest of the day.  So we fired up the grill and had a nice dinner with Ethan off of Eyoni while we waited it all out.  There were well over 100 boats here in the anchorage as all of the ports were closed in Banderas Bay and no one could get in or out.  We’ll spend the night out here and hope for reentry in the a.m.

Dock 11 sits right at the mouth of the channel.  It's now missing 2 of the finger piers.

Having sat through a few hurricane warnings on the east coast, I think I prefer the Tsunami.  At least we felt like there was something we could do…leave.  The safest place for a boat… 

Kind of exciting for our last few days here.  It did push our trip out a day or so as we didn’t get to continue on our marathon provisioning session and will have to keep our rental car another day.

I know I’m being rather blasé about the whole thing but those who were in real danger and had to endure the real experience, our heats and prayers are out to you and your families.

For an account on how it was in the marina, check out Diane's blog on Ceilydh...www.maiaaboard.blogspot.com

Friends

One thing I’ve totally miscalculated this past couple of months is how many friends I’ve actually made (ok, "we've" made...but really, who's writing this blog?).  I normally complain about how I don’t bond with anyone and I miss my friends and yes, I love the cruising life but if there’s one thing I REALLY miss (aside from family)….it’s my friends.

Aren't they cute?  Who says he won't get any socialization?

Well, the last few weeks have made me eat cake (although I still miss you all VERY MUCH).  I have met some fabulous people and now that we’re coming down to our last few days, I’m getting kind of sad.  OK, I’m getting really sad.  Jake has not only been reunited with old friends, but he’s made plenty new ones.  There’s a whole Kid’s Club here that he gets to do 3 days a week and in reality, they informally get together the other days.  Not a day goes by when he’s not running up and down the dock with some other little person.

My running partner and great friend, Tami (and me)

Today, I went to the “Cooking with Amanda” classes here at the marina, which is really how my friend Tami and I manage to get away from the kids and disrupt class while we get to drink free beer AND take home a bunch of good recipes (I cooked the Chicken Tinga last week for Andy and he loved it).  Tami’s husband works in the States for two weeks and then he comes back here for two weeks, so she’s single today.  Andy was sick, so I was single too.  I had a fabulous girls day just doing girl stuff.  Heck, I’m typing this while watching borrowed Sex in the City DVDs from Tami (although I do have to sleep on the sofa tonight…germ free…who’s getting the good deal here?).

Tonight, I was finally able to check my email and my good friend Nancy had sent me some wonderful pictures of our two kids (check out the blog on the right of my page “Eyoni”).  I love Nancy.  We have spent many a hot days in the sea just doing the girl thing…watching kids, talking… Nancy’s the one that taught me about bones (remember that post?).  I will REALLY miss Nancy.

Diane and Evan on Ceildyh

Due to a few different circumstances, we’ve had to blow off our good friends on Ceildyh the last few nights while we were supposed to be doing some South Pacific planning.  Diane and I are two unlikely friends but I really enjoy her company and she’s about the only friend I have here that is also crossing the Pacific, albeit 10 days after us (really?  Can’t you move that up?).

Then there’s Andrea, Kat, Amanda, Ann, my new friend Vicki, Lisa, Dan, Tammy….  I feel bad if I leave anyone out…but seriously, I feel like I live here now and I’m moving out (Hunter, remember how that went?).

But even still, I think we’re all ready to leave.  Jake informed me he was tired of Mexico because it was a really long walk from our dock to the Palapa and can we please go ahead and go to the South Pacific so he will have days and days to play and play?  Andy is doing the piddly things around the boat, and I start my provisioning marathon tomorrow.  We're totally going to miss this place and the people (even the chicken guy is starting to know who I am).  But the boat has the itch and we’re all excited.  Five more days….

Andy the Electrician

Radio setup at our Navigation Station

I was trying to decide what to write about when Andy started losing his mind over our radio.  Which radio?  This time it was our radio we use to plug our ipods into.  Jake was wiggling the cord one day to get it to “work” and the end of it snapped off into the radio.  It worked for a little while if we stuck the broken piece in and wiggled it this way and that but eventually, it stopped working all together.  Overall, not a must have item for crossing the ocean, but it sure is really nice to have.

We’ve had lots of radio problems this year, the past few weeks in particular.   First we ordered some cables to help us hook our SSB radio up to our modem and computer so we can get weather faxes and send/receive email.  Well, the cables didn’t come in time (before I left CA), despite paying for 2 day shipping so we had to find them here in Mexico.  In addition to that, we were having trouble getting people to hear us on our BRAND NEW SSB.  We called a local radio guy over and not only did he have the cables but he fixed our tuning problem too.  Technically, I think Andy fixed it the day before, but Rob was able to make a few tweaks to our settings to get everything working together.  (Anyone in PV looking for radio help, call Radio Rob on VHF22 – great guy)  Needless to say, I’m thrilled as we’ve never had our email working and we’ve sounded fuzzy on the radio nets for the last 8 months.

Seriously?

When I came back from CA I brought a new hand held VHF because ours was crap.  As soon as we had that up and running, our main VHF radio decided to quit working.  After many hours of trouble shooting, two trips up the mast to install a new antennae and a few cocktail hours getting ideas from others, Andy finally decided the problem was in the wires leading from the mike to the radio.  Well, they don’t sell those separately.  The only way to replace that is to replace the radio.  So we have one on the way from LA where a fellow boater is flying in from next week.  But today, Andy got ambitious, took ours apart and now it’s fixed!  At the very least, we have a spare.

As I write this, he took the drill to our music radio as he announced he knew exactly what he was doing and well, lo and behold, we have a working radio!

He’s very close to adding electrician to his resume.  He’s even starting to fix things that aren’t broken (like our autopilot).  We have a hard drive that won’t power up…let’s see what he can do with that.