Dec 20

We are at anchor in La Cruz and have been very relaxed leaving our readers in suspense. Our apologies. Well the bees are gone. They reorganized under the BBQ and this made it even more complicated. Till someone had a brainstorm and suggested to use the pressure washer.

This worked and within seconds they where all scattered but it took at least half an hour to knock off the individuals one at the time.

We arrived in Chacala with some still laying on the deck. Anchored for and aft and had a great night in this normally rolly bay. The ocean is been exceptional calm the last few weeks even here in La Cruz.

We sailed to Punta De Mita slowly for most of the way. Arrived at dark making Bonnie happy with the experience. The next day checked out the Tress Marietta's. Clean water and decent temperatures. It is a lot warmer than the last few years right now. The caves are always fascinating.

Bonnie left this Tuesday but the goodbye's are only temporarily as she is going with us on the big blue trip to Hawaii.

We are at anchor of La Cruz the last few days doing light maintenance stuff like replacing a few lines, paint the forward bilge area etc. It is greatly rewarding after a long time at sea to do maintenance at a slow pace. Look after the ship and if need be she will look after us.
 

Dec 13

Early to the market and out with the high tide. Just outside the harbor we got swarmed by bees and closed the hatches and 10 minutes later had a look. A large cluster of bees had settled under the dodger.
Thousands of bees. After the panic had subsided made a smoke pot from a metal coffee can and sprayed a generous dose of "deep woods off". Only to see them scatter all over the deck  really making the problem worse.
At present we have to tend to this issue so stay in touch.

Dec 12 Earlier morning we took a trip with the zodiak into the estuary. this is a large mangrove area of many square miles. A few poor fisherman make a living fishing the area. They work with very small panga's, some have small outboards but the most poor have only paddle power. There whole day fishing yielding only a few fish. back after almost 4 hours we spend the rest of the afternoon cleaning winches. At night we went back into town and had a great time.

Dec 12 Got out early and approached San Blas harbor just at high tide at 0800 hrs. The entrance is getting silted in and the channel is narrow and shallow. Made it in with a minimum of 4.7' of water under the keel. Arrived at the estuary anchorage 0830 hrs. Anchored just outside the green buoys. Lowered the dinghy and explored the market square. John did the port captain paperwork and was done in 5 minutes.

At night we enjoyed this charming town. It is the oldest port on the west coast of the America's.

Dec 11 Arrived at dawn at the island to find everyone just leaving due to a weather report. Having the whole place to ourselves. Went ashore and did a dinghy tour. The birds as usually tame and approachable and took some great pictures. The fisherman where leaving to celebrate the Fiesta in San Blas. Bonnie had a long swim and we all went snorkeling. In the afternoon the low swell out of the SW suddenly increase to 7-8' prompting us to leave. Just as we had left things settled down again but we decide to move on. Arrived in Mancahten Bay to anchor for the night. Rolly night.

Next day met our friends John & Debbie who came in by cruise ship and we had a great day in town. Something quiet special about meeting special  friends in foreign places. After our visit out for Isla Isabel and picked up a nice breeze outside the harbor. We where hoping the cruise ship was going to come by close but due to a medical emergency they returned to port and passed us during the night.

Dec 10

Arrived at midnight in the commercial harbor in Mazatlan. No problem getting in as it is a big entry used by large ships. lots of room and we anchored in 5 meters in mud so good holding.

Got a good night rest and next morning we hit the job list and did some small maintenance. The SB running light lens was cracked by the seas hitting it and made water get in. This corrodes the electrical connections and Bonnie replaced the whole unit with a new one we had onboard just in case. We will use the old one for spare parts.

Several boats we crossed paths with laying next to us. This is a convenient anchorage as there is a place to land the dinghy at Club Nautica for 30 pesos a day. From there it is easy to hop on a bus or take one of the small VW golfcart taxi's. 40 pesos to centro. At night we went all to downtown and enjoyed a great visit and meal in town. Then we took one of the small taxi's for a hour long tour, seeing the sights and getting to the summit of the hills enjoying a great view over the city. The VW huffing and puffing to get up the hill. Great fun. One hour tour $15 US or 200 pesos. The Taxi driver telling us that the population is around 1 million.

Earlier on Bonnie did a tour with the dinghy exploring the commercial harbor. Hundreds of commercial fishing boats laying idle at the docks. Whole fleets all painted in the same color (or what paint is left) laying wasting away. Things don't look good for the fishing fleet. These are all steel ships 60 feet or so. Also dozens of very large Tuna boats among them. These are the hunters of the oceans 200-300 feet in length and will go anywhere on earth to find a catch. Even this sector seems to have a hard time. Looks like the fishing is pretty well over, like in most places. Maybe the fish will have a chance to recover.

Dec 7

Had a wonderful trip with strong winds yesterday in the mid twenties and seas to match. Overnight we got a big splash of spray coming on deck and we had two hatches open on a crack and got water in and a cleanup. Should not have happened as the seas where not that big but a strange combination of a wave hitting the bow wave send water crashing up high and it landed mostly right on top the pilot house.

A glorious night with bioluminescent lighting up our wake and the waves on the bow. Millions of stars in a clear sky. Today things slowed down but we still averaging 5 kts right now. Expect the winds to go light tonight as we approach the coast. Bonnie did here first night watches and did very well. Should overnight and plan to anchor in the old harbor. Than we think about staying till Tuesday afternoon and proceed to Isla Isabela

Dec 5

Yesterday our new crew arrived and we got to work right away. As learning about maintenance in the engine room was a objective spend the afternoon rummaging around and cleaning fuel filters. This morning we did a oil change, oil filter and air filter change. Checking all the bolts on engine, shaft etc. Checked transmission and cleanup.

This afternoon we called the Fuel dock if we could come in for fuel and we were informed that we could come in as soon the previous boat was done. Pulled up the anchor and again brought up another lost anchor this time a #40 SQR. Made a call to the fleet for anyone who needed a anchor to come and get it. Had some one right away and managed to untangle the whole mess. No need for old anchors unless they are in good shape.

Departed La Paz around 1400 hrs. Bonnie on the wheel. Bye, bye la Paz ( La Pause) as the locals say as some many have come for a visit that lasted much longer than anticipated. Had a great time and got lots of little jobs done. A ship is like a air plane in many ways. For every hour of sailing an hour of maintenance. We find that we always get carried away if we get into a job. We normally several times a year focus in on a area like aft cabins for instance. We clean every thing out, check all nooks and crannies for dirt, wear and tear moisture etc. Clean out the bilges check for odors and so on. By doing this we keep a real sharp eye for problem developing. A small leak undetected or a loose wire can be come a problem real soon. Also the bilge pumps need to be clean and always checked and tested. Sump pumps and holding tanks to be checked and cleaned. Always much more than meets the eye.

Anyway we are off sailing now again and depending on a favorable weather forecast we may start to cross tomorrow to Mazatlan

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