svbeachhouse

Category: 2007 – 2008 California – Baja & The Sea of Cortez to Mazatlan Blog

  • Copper Canyon….

    Dear F&F,

    October 2nd though 9th
    When Cindy and I returned from our trip up to LA and Santa Rosa, we were looking forward to our long awaited inland tour of Mexico\’s Copper Canyon. This is the Grand Canyon of Mexico, but 5 times bigger. Several rivers and most of the canyon complex is deeper than the Grand Canyon of Colorado.

    Part of the experience is the 6 hour bus ride from Mazatlan to Los Mochis and then taking the famous \”Chihuahua Pacific Railroad\” from sea level to 8000 feet. This is considered one of the most spectacular train rides in the Western Hemisphere. It took 90 years to complete the tracks from Los Mochis in the west (on the Sea of Cortez), to Chihuahua City, capitol of the state of Chihuahua.

    We left Los Mochis where the daytime temperatures were in the 90-100 degree range to arrive at Creel (the top of the mountain) where the night time temperatures were in the mid 40\’s. Needless to say, after the \”Sea\” in the summer, this was quite a shock to our systems. After only one night in a hotel that had no electricity and a fire place for warmth, we took a spectacular and quite harrowing ride down to the silver mining town of Batopilas. We sat on top of an SUV with race car style seats, strapped in and looked down into gorges over 1000 feet below us. This was a one lane, unimproved dirt road and the ride took 8 hours! We had some spectacular views and some disappointments.

    Our driver, Pedro was a terrific guide and we did our best \”Spanglish\” with no real communication problems. Once we arrived in Batopilas, we found an active town of about 1000 people with 100 Mexican Federal troops, M-16\’s and flak jackets. Drug wars go on in these areas and unfortunately there had been some recent killings of town folk by the bad guys. The town itself was nice, we stayed in a restored hotel but were the only guests. We went for a day trip to the \”Lost Cathedral\” of Satevo, built in the 1700\’s.

    We lucked upon a horseback group leaving for a 13 day trip to re-enact the old mining days and celebrate the 300th anniversary of people living and bringing silver out of the Batopilas area. After two nights, we\’d had enough and frankly, didn\’t understand the big attraction of the area other than the beautiful scenic drive. The bumps and bruises down and up the dirt road made this a \”no recommendation\” unless you had a very specific reason to want to go there.

    After a 10 hour trip UP the same road, we arrived at what was to be our \”luxury hotel\”, the \”Posada Mirador\”. The accommodations were 3 star, the food was horrible and the views were spectacular. Unfortunately, the staff was used to \”cattle caravan tours\” coming and going on a daily basis. This didn\’t help many of the \”old timers\” attitude toward the tourists. We had been told they had internet access and even satellite TV here. The only internet was at the front desk, the only TV at the bar. We watched the last US presidential debate from the bar at the Posada Mirador. We did some hiking and did get to see the very interesting Tarahumara Indians. These people have had many books written about them. Here, I\’ll be brief. They are short of stature and LONG on endurance. They represented Mexico in the 1968 Olympics and did \”middle of the pack\”. Why such a poor showing? They complained they had to wear shoes and the distance was TOO SHORT! They have since entered and easily won 100 mile running races.

    The Tarahumara live in caves, caverns and wooden houses. They are renowned for drinking huge quantities of \”corn beer\” and are very private and shy people. They are also the Indians that made \”Peyote\” famous. We visited a Tarahumara cave dwelling or two, but alas, they have become part of the \”tourist world\”.

    We would only recommend a trip up here for SERIOUS BACKPACKERS. For those folks, this is heaven. The canyon we did not see and is reputed to be the most spectacular is \”Sinforosa\”. Sheer cliffs going straight down for half a mile! If we had to do it over again, we would have stayed only at the Posada Mirador, not traveled anywhere as much as we did which was exhausting and done day trips or hikes from the hotel.

    We left to go back to El Fuerte and stay the night on the train. The train was 7 hours late!
    Welcome to Mexico! A track had come loose with a heavy freight train coming up from Chihuahua. By the way, we saw exactly ONE Chihuahua in all of Chihuahua. : )

    We arrived at El Fuerte exhausted from our long travel day. This is the city in Mexico reputed to be the home of the legendary \”Zorro\”. They even have a show and a statue commemorating the one who took from the rich and gave to the poor.

    We left El Fuerte by public bus to go back to Los Mochis to catch the long haul bus back to Mazatlan. Here we were robbed. Our luggage was separated from us and we lost approximately $2000.00 of stuff including 85% of my photos. Fortunately, no camera gear was lost, but it left a bad taste in our mouths to a trip we had so looked forward to as our \”vacation\”. In retrospect, we would only recommend this trip to train buffs and backpackers. Also, we moved way too much and were not counseled correctly about how much traveling was involved with our itinerary. We should have known better, but live and learn. Most of the photos we posted on the website were from our little Canon point and shoot and whatever photos were on my Nikon at the end of the trip. Stay tuned, we know it\’s going to get better.

    Scott and Cindy

  • French Polynesia Long Stay Visa Application……

    September 22, 2008

    This was the main reason that we both came to California at this time. I had
    a trial run applying for the visa when in Los Angeles by myself in June.
    With our boat documented at my sister\’s address, we were deemed no longer
    residents of Southern California, so the LA office rejected my packet. We
    had to apply at the French Consulate office in San Francisco. We do not
    intend to cross the Pacific until early next summer, but it is takes time to
    get the Long Stay Visa. Once they accept a packet it takes 3-4 months to
    process. Something about SF-Paris-Tahiti bureaucracy. If you are approved
    you have 90 days to pick it up. One person, of a married couple, must
    personally return with both passport to pick up the visas. You then have 90
    days to check into the country.

    If you do not go through the hoops to get a Long Stay Visa you can only stay
    in French Polynesia for 30 days with a 1-2 month extension. That is a very
    long way to travel for such a short period of time. Once you have the L.S.
    Visa you can get it renewed. You do have to leave from time to time, but it
    is a much better way to go. With great diving throughout this large region
    of the Pacific, we were motivated to do whatever it took.

    Here is a list of requirements for this visa application:

    · Application forms, in French (3 copies)

    · Passport valid for 1 year (3 copies)

    · Passport photos (3 copies)

    · Proof of health insurance that is valid outside the US and
    guarantee of return of our remains in case of our death

    · Financial guarantee/proof of income: minimum $1700 per month per
    person (2 copies of statements from bank or brokerage firm)

    · Letter written in French certifying that we will perform no paid
    activity

    · Police clearance from the city where we reside or last resided in
    the US – translated into French

    · Letter written in French explaining our purpose of applying for the
    long stay visa

    Friends in Paris, Clark & Vincent, provided the translation service. Our
    French was never very good & has not been helped by a year in a Spanish
    speaking country.

    Applications for this visa are accepted by appointment only on Monday and
    Wednesday afternoons. The No. Cal portion of our trip was scheduled around
    our Monday Sept 22 appointment at 2 pm. It was a happy coincidence that my
    Dad\’s side annual family reunion fell the day before. Scott & I brought Dad
    & enjoyed visiting with my sister Alberta & her husband David as well as all
    the other Brain\’s relatives.

    We had everything in order on Monday September 22 except the paper from the
    Sebastopol Police Department verifying that Scott was not a known criminal.
    I had gotten my clearance in June, but just for good measure got a current
    one. Our translating friends used my June clearance as a sample for what we
    needed, just changing the date. As soon as the secretary got in, we were
    there with our $20 cash fee and were soon on our way to SF, our packet
    complete.

    We were early along with several others at the Bush Street office, near the
    gate to Chinatown. We showed our appointment slip to the security guard, our
    bags were searched & we walked through a metal detector. We were happy to
    get the young, sweet looking woman behind the glass, not the more stern
    officious looking man. She went down her checklist & we handed her the
    documents one by one. Or in most cases: three by three. She neglected to
    ask for our proof of health insurance, so we volunteered it and she said
    fine.

    If it goes as expected, my sister will get a call from the SF office in
    early January. I will wait until nearly the last of the 90 days to fly from
    wherever we are to pick the visas up. We want as much leeway as possible in
    getting there, not to be rushed. We figure they must have to make allowances
    for weather or repairs, since we will be arriving by boat. But no sense in
    getting the officials suspicious by checking in \”late\” if it can be
    prevented. As we left, we breathed a small sigh of relief that it was out
    of our hands & now just a waiting game. If we don\’t qualify for this thing,
    we don\’t think anyone can.

    After the No.Cal trip, Scott went back to So.Cal ahead of me to pick up and
    pack up the umpty umpty amount of boat stuff we needed to take back with us.
    We stayed in LA mostly with Scott\’s Aunt Barbara who was very tolerant of
    our taking over her living room; making it look much like a cross between a
    SCUBA store and Yacht Chandlery…..

    Scott & Cindy, just back from L.A., Mazatlan, Mexico

  • Quick Trip to Cabo San Lucas…..

    September 9-10, 2008

    There are certain things you never send in the mail: passports, original
    boat documentation, original import permits, etc. These happened to be the
    things that the office in charge of issuing permits to visit the
    Archipelagos Revillagigedos required. So we flew to Cabo San Lucas.

    Just reaching the right office to find out what was required to get a permit
    was tricky. If it hadn\’t been for the patient & persistent assistance of
    Elvira Lizarraga we would not have succeeded. Elvira is the best marina
    manager in the entire world. I know we have not been around the world yet,
    but we can say that without hesitation. She made multiple phone calls & sent
    multiple emails on our behalf. The only private boats that go there are
    divers. And not many cruisers are divers, so getting this permit was not a
    commonly known procedure.

    Once we found out the long list of original documentation required, we
    realized we had to travel in person to the Oficina de Proteccion de Flora y
    Fauna de Cabo San Lucas. We could have taken the ferry but that would have
    been an all day trip each way & we were running short on time. Our flight
    back to Los Angeles was booked for September 13. So Elvira booked the once
    daily Mexicana flight to Cabo for us. Initially the price showed as $525 per
    person, so Scott was going to go alone. But when Elvira pushed the \”Buy
    Now\” button on the Spanish language Mexicana website, the price dropped in
    half. Very interesting & noted for future reference. We decided it would be
    more fun together since it was the same price we\’d planned to spend for
    Scott alone.

    At the end of the short flight we were assaulted by the Cabo hawkers for
    taxis, timeshares, and rental cars. It turned out to be less expensive to
    rent a car for the day than take a cab. After a few wrong turns we made it
    to the office in town. Sr. Biol. Carlos Eduardo Narro Flores was most
    helpful & we were glad to hear that they are now welcoming private boats to
    the islands and that the permits are free. The area has a sad history of
    fishermen slaughtering the manta rays & sharks that are an unintended
    by-catch. It is now a marine sanctuary with a 12 mile \”no take\” zone. There
    is a Navy outpost and they will investigate & prosecute reports of illegal
    fishing. The islands were completely closed to visitors for 3 years, but now
    the wildlife has recovered enough that they issue permits to a few live
    aboard dive charter boats and as many private boats that wish to go. We were
    only the 3rd private boat requesting a permit for this year.

    Our planned visit to these islands is for the month of December. It is a
    good thing we started early on the permit application process because once
    Sr. Flores copied all the required documents he mailed copies to the La Paz
    office for rubber stamping. The permit that was to be delivered via DHL to
    Marina Mazatlan in \”1-2 weeks\” appeared (after much follow up from Elvira) 6
    weeks later.

    Scott posted a detailed outline of the process required on a cruising weblog
    called the \”Southbound Net\” so that others might benefit from our
    experience.

    All our business was accomplished that first day. But there is only 1 flight
    each way per day so we took it easy at the Comfort Inn, listening to the
    rain. Strolling around Cabo\’s marina & town was not enjoyable due to the
    aggressive hawkers everywhere. We felt accomplished & relieved to get back
    to Mazatlan where the approach to tourists is much more mellow.

    Scott & Cindy, Mazatlan, Mexico

  • Marina Mazatlan……

    September 2, 2008

    Scott did a brilliant job of navigating us through the breakwater in the
    dark. I know that because I didn\’t hear any crashing noises as I had my eyes
    closed. The navigation lights are hard to distinguish from the lights on the
    land. So the visual is very confusing. We had our prior track on the chart,
    which we knew was a safe path, so he just followed that back in. Still scary
    for me.

    The dock master, Elvira had left instructions for security that we would be
    a late arrival so they were expecting us. It was great to see our Tres
    Amigos (security guards) there to catch our dock lines. There had been quite
    a lightening show all evening, not close enough to be scary, but quite
    impressive. We were so exhausted after 2 full days & 1 ½ nights at sea we
    couldn\’t crawl into bed fast enough. I made the big big mistake of leaving
    hatches open. At 4:30 am I awoke to a deluge of rain pouring inside the
    boat. Scott was absolutely passed out & of no help. Yikes! It took me an
    hour to scurry from cabin to cabin closing everything, mop up some & finally
    get back to bed. Needless to say I was pretty tired all day & took it pretty
    easy.

    September 3-8

    We met 2 other folks on boats. There are only 12 boats with anyone aboard
    out of over 300 boats in the marina. It is called \”off season\” for a reason.
    It is unbearably hot & humid day & night. We are so glad we spent the big
    bucks to install air conditioning because we would not be able to tolerate
    this climate otherwise. . Most other boaters do not have air conditioning
    which is why there are so few people here at this time of year.

    We get slow WiFi on the boat which is adequate to send & receive email. But
    we can walk 10 minutes up to the marina office to hard wire the laptops to
    use Skype. The office is blessedly air conditioned.

    It seems a slew of business was waiting for us & we are busy busy busy. For
    me the main concern is my Dad. He fell again, without injury, but it is hard
    to know what is best for him now & I feel so far away. Our flight to LA is
    September 13. I wish it was sooner.

    Our other immediate project is to obtain a permit to dive in the Islas
    Revillagegedos (San Benedicto & Socorro Islands).

    Scott & Cindy, Mazatlan, Mexico

  • Crossing \”The Sea\”……

    August 29 & 30, 2008

    Turns out these were our last 2 days of diving in the Sea of Cortez. We took
    Monty, of catamaran \”The Heavenly Star\”, diving. He is certified, but hadn\’t
    been on scuba in a very long time. Scott & I kept a close eye on him & he
    did great. He was thrilled & very appreciative to have had the opportunity.
    Very few boaters, even those certified to dive, carry the full array of gear
    needed to be a self-sufficient dive boat. Terry has been providing & filling
    tanks for JJ, Mick & Joyce. We have gotten good use out of our scuba
    compressor this summer and will be installing some upgrades soon to help it
    last even longer.

    Our very last dive we got to see something spectacular. It is rare to see
    zebra moray eels, and we saw two that appeared to be fighting (or mating?).
    They are black with white stripes about 3 1/2 feet long. They were
    completely wrapped around each other like tangled lines. Wrestling &
    struggling for over 10 minutes. Finally 1 extracted itself & swam away to
    another hole in the rock (with another species of moray eel!). We guessed it
    was a territorial battle, but such fierceness right in front of us was
    really unusual to see. They paid us no attention at all.

    It seemed that every species we had seen all summer swam by to bid us
    farewell. We enjoyed every minute of diving in the Sea of Cortez, but it was
    time to move on.

    August 31, 2008

    The Weather Guru Don Anderson is convinced something will develop off
    Acapulco mid week, but NOAA is not reporting it yet. We also heard the news
    about Hurricane Gustav that may hit Louisiana. Not a danger to us, but we
    hope that it does not cause a lot of damage there.

    We decided prudence was the better part of valor & took off across early
    this morning. We like 6 hour watch shifts, more opportunity to get sleep
    when you are off. It was calm & hot all day. I am barely wearing clothes. It
    is 88 degrees with 76 percent humidity. The ocean breeze makes it
    comfortable. It will get better as the sun goes above the bimini & there is
    more shade in the cockpit.

    Just what you want when underway: an uneventful passage.

    Sept 1, 2008

    I love waking up to a new day at sea. After a long dark night it is
    wonderful to have the sunshine & be able to see as I move around inside &
    out. I stayed alert for about half my 9 pm to 3 am watch. Scott had
    convinced me that we were unlikely to see any other boat traffic so I did
    not have to stand watch like Hiawatha. So when I got drowsy I went to the 20
    minute timer watch. I was a bit nervous at first that I would not hear my
    wristwatch beep, it is not that loud. But did not want to use the kitchen
    digital timers since they are really loud & might disturb Scott\’s sleep. At
    first I lay down in the cockpit on a cushion, staring up at the stars. But I
    could feel the boat\’s movement a lot & it was emphasized by watching the
    navigation light at the top of our mast wig wag around. A bit queasy
    inducing. So I moved some of the blue cushions in the salon, so I could lie
    on my side for napping. That worked out great. The next 3 hrs flew by. I
    usually woke up just a few seconds before my watch timer was about to beep.
    I couldn\’t believe 20 minutes had passed, so I knew I had been asleep. I was
    alert enough to go outside, confirm the auto pilot was maintaining the
    correct course. Note our speed, check the barometer, wind speed & direction
    & scan the horizon for lights that could be another boat. Since we did not
    stay along the coast of Baja to La Paz, but cut across directly from Agua
    Verde there was not much likelihood of traffic. There is a La Paz – Mazatlan
    ferry & cargo ships, but we are not in their path.

    Despite pretty good rest from my cat naps, I happily turned over the boat to
    Scott when he got up at 3 am. I made him a cup of tea. Put out cold cereal.
    Gave him my report & went down to our cabin for a wonderful sleep. I took a
    Sonata to make sure I really slept soundly. It worked great. I woke up 2
    times, but went quickly back to sleep. Being well rested makes all the
    difference in the world in my attitude & sense of adventure vs. enduring
    something grueling. I got up at 8:15 am so we could have some overlap time
    together. Scott reported to me, we put both the main & genoa up & are motor
    sailing. We have fuel to burn since we don\’t really want to be loaded to the
    gills for our haul out in mid Oct & between now & then we\’ll be on dock
    power so not using up diesel running the generator.

    At our current pace we will arrive at about 2 am tonight (early Tues a.m.).
    I had designed our watch schedule so Scott would be up for both the 8 am & 7
    pm HAM radio nets. We may switch to 3 or 4 hr shifts after that since Scott
    will definitely want to be up when we take the boat into the marina in the
    dark. Because we\’ve been there before he says he feels confident to do this
    & not slow down & spend 2 full nights out here. Always better to have the
    shortest exposure to the elements if there is a risk of unfriendly weather
    cropping up. It is hurricane season around here, but it seems we picked a
    nice calm window so are taking full advantage of it. Arrived at 1 a.m. and
    we were met at the dock by the security guards who were expecting us. A
    nice night\’s sleep at the dock.

    Scott & Cindy, Mazatlan, Mexico

  • Crossing \”The Sea\”……

    August 29 & 30, 2008

    Turns out these were our last 2 days of diving in the Sea of Cortez. We took
    Monty, of catamaran \”The Heavenly Star\”, diving. He is certified, but hadn\’t
    been on scuba in a very long time. Scott & I kept a close eye on him & he
    did great. He was thrilled & very appreciative to have had the opportunity.
    Very few boaters, even those certified to dive, carry the full array of gear
    needed to be a self-sufficient dive boat. Terry has been providing & filling
    tanks for JJ, Mick & Joyce. We have gotten good use out of our scuba
    compressor this summer and will be installing some upgrades soon to help it
    last even longer.

    Our very last dive we got to see something spectacular. It is rare to see
    zebra moray eels, and we saw two that appeared to be fighting (or mating?).
    They are black with white stripes about 3 1/2 feet long. They were
    completely wrapped around each other like tangled lines. Wrestling &
    struggling for over 10 minutes. Finally 1 extracted itself & swam away to
    another hole in the rock (with another species of moray eel!). We guessed it
    was a territorial battle, but such fierceness right in front of us was
    really unusual to see. They paid us no attention at all.

    It seemed that every species we had seen all summer swam by to bid us
    farewell. We enjoyed every minute of diving in the Sea of Cortez, but it was
    time to move on.

    August 31, 2008

    The Weather Guru Don Anderson is convinced something will develop off
    Acapulco mid week, but NOAA is not reporting it yet. We also heard the news
    about Hurricane Gustav that may hit Louisiana. Not a danger to us, but we
    hope that it does not cause a lot of damage there.

    We decided prudence was the better part of valor & took off across early
    this morning. We like 6 hour watch shifts, more opportunity to get sleep
    when you are off. It was calm & hot all day. I am barely wearing clothes. It
    is 88 degrees with 76 percent humidity. The ocean breeze makes it
    comfortable. It will get better as the sun goes above the bimini & there is
    more shade in the cockpit.

    Just what you want when underway: an uneventful passage.

    Sept 1, 2008

    I love waking up to a new day at sea. After a long dark night it is
    wonderful to have the sunshine & be able to see as I move around inside &
    out. I stayed alert for about half my 9 pm to 3 am watch. Scott had
    convinced me that we were unlikely to see any other boat traffic so I did
    not have to stand watch like Hiawatha. So when I got drowsy I went to the 20
    minute timer watch. I was a bit nervous at first that I would not hear my
    wristwatch beep, it is not that loud. But did not want to use the kitchen
    digital timers since they are really loud & might disturb Scott\’s sleep. At
    first I lay down in the cockpit on a cushion, staring up at the stars. But I
    could feel the boat\’s movement a lot & it was emphasized by watching the
    navigation light at the top of our mast wig wag around. A bit queasy
    inducing. So I moved some of the blue cushions in the salon, so I could lie
    on my side for napping. That worked out great. The next 3 hrs flew by. I
    usually woke up just a few seconds before my watch timer was about to beep.
    I couldn\’t believe 20 minutes had passed, so I knew I had been asleep. I was
    alert enough to go outside, confirm the auto pilot was maintaining the
    correct course. Note our speed, check the barometer, wind speed & direction
    & scan the horizon for lights that could be another boat. Since we did not
    stay along the coast of Baja to La Paz, but cut across directly from Agua
    Verde there was not much likelihood of traffic. There is a La Paz – Mazatlan
    ferry & cargo ships, but we are not in their path.

    Despite pretty good rest from my cat naps, I happily turned over the boat to
    Scott when he got up at 3 am. I made him a cup of tea. Put out cold cereal.
    Gave him my report & went down to our cabin for a wonderful sleep. I took a
    Sonata to make sure I really slept soundly. It worked great. I woke up 2
    times, but went quickly back to sleep. Being well rested makes all the
    difference in the world in my attitude & sense of adventure vs. enduring
    something grueling. I got up at 8:15 am so we could have some overlap time
    together. Scott reported to me, we put both the main & genoa up & are motor
    sailing. We have fuel to burn since we don\’t really want to be loaded to the
    gills for our haul out in mid Oct & between now & then we\’ll be on dock
    power so not using up diesel running the generator.

    At our current pace we will arrive at about 2 am tonight (early Tues a.m.).
    I had designed our watch schedule so Scott would be up for both the 8 am & 7
    pm HAM radio nets. We may switch to 3 or 4 hr shifts after that since Scott
    will definitely want to be up when we take the boat into the marina in the
    dark. Because we\’ve been there before he says he feels confident to do this
    & not slow down & spend 2 full nights out here. Always better to have the
    shortest exposure to the elements if there is a risk of unfriendly weather
    cropping up. It is hurricane season around here, but it seems we picked a
    nice calm window so are taking full advantage of it. Arrived at 1 a.m. and
    we were met at the dock by the security guards who were expecting us. A
    nice night\’s sleep at the dock.

    Scott & Cindy, Mazatlan, Mexico

  • Me and Julio down by the school yard…..

    Aug 24-25, 2008

    Remember that song?

    We have been on weather watch for days as tropical storm Julio is heading
    our way. Not sure when we will go \”OUT\” next. Our next \”OUT\” will probably
    be our last. This is the trickiest weather month, we must watch for our
    weather window to get the boat across the sea to Marina Mazatlan for our
    scheduled trip to Los Angeles on September 9th.

    11 am

    The weather report indicates that tropical storm Julio is due to affect our
    area about midnight tonight. Seems like weather challenges always occur at
    night. We are anticipating AT THE WORST 50-60 knot gusts, maybe sustained 35
    knots for a few hours. I was in that amount of wind in Gibraltar so I know
    what it feels like. I am very calm & even feel somewhat excited. You should
    hear the chatter on the radio & group hysteria that is brewing.

    Because of the geographic peculiarities of the Baja Peninsula & Sea of
    Cortez we cannot anticipate which direction the wind will blow from. Our
    best guess from the info we have right now is that it may come from the
    South & East. So we moved Beach House closer to the mountains enclosing this
    mooring area on the S & E side to get some wind protection from those
    mountains. Scott scuba dived on this mooring & secured the bridle lines (one
    from each bow, like reins on a horse) to the mooring float ball. He is
    confident that we are secure. As the day progresses we will do a thorough
    scan of everything on the boat that could potentially blow overboard or get
    shredded from strong winds.

    A local problem is many boats are tied to a mooring & left unattended for
    months or years. No maintenance & no one watching if the lines are chafing.
    Two days ago one of these neglected boats broke loose from its mooring.
    Luckily it did not hit another boat, so no damage, but it jacked up the live
    aboard community & they are pretty irate with these negligent boat owners.
    Many of them now live in homes in Loreto which is 20 miles away. The owners
    of these boats should just sell or sink their old boats. Now with this storm
    coming, the ante is up & tension is high. The unattended boats in the area
    near us seem well secured. Our closest boat neighbor is now Ray on s/v Adios
    who has been down here 4 yrs & through 2 hurricanes. He is very mellow & I
    am hoping he will be a calming influence as the night progresses & the wind
    picks up. The spa radio is a good seratonin drip, usually Scott is content
    to have it on. It is a sign that he is really worried when he turns it off.
    The sky is dark & cloudy.

    3 p.m.

    Just after I wrote the above the rain started coming down. Scott zoomed back
    from shore in the dinghy. We secured everything outside, including the
    dinghy & got soaking wet. Several other boats came scurrying into the
    mooring area. Scott uploaded some large satellite images via Satellite phone
    (which can handle much large files than our HAM radio connections). The
    satellite images look pretty impressive. Sure glad we aren\’t in Cabo. We are
    tracking the barometer, wind speed, direction & trying to get some rest
    since it could be a long night with the most action expected then.

    August 25 morning

    We are happy to report that the anticipation was much worse than the actual
    event.

    It is overcast & there is some wind, but the weather is almost back to
    normal. It turns out that Julio brought far more rain than wind, which was a
    big relief. We got a good soaking: 8 inches in 24 hours. Scott & I were both
    up several times during the night, but never saw wind speed over 25 knots.
    Whew!

    So now you know the story of \”Me (we) and Julio down by the Marina Yard\”……

    Scott & Cindy

  • Diving in the Sea of Cortez….

    July 25 – Aug 21, 2008

    Scott & I stuck to Terry of trimaran Manta like glue all summer. With his
    years of experience diving these waters we didn\’t feel the need to stray any
    further than his wake. Often our group of diving multihulls included s/v
    Rhumb Line (Mick & Joyce), s/v The Heavenly Star (Monty), and s/v
    Rapscallion (Henry & JJ).

    We were generally out 5-10 days, coming back to a mooring at Puerto
    Escondido for 3-5 days then out again. I didn\’t need to stock up on mass
    quantities of food since I knew I\’d have shopping opportunities frequently.
    The in port days were convenient to work on boat projects & do other
    business from the internet café.

    There were just-ok dives, good dives and great dives but we always enjoy
    getting wet & blowing bubbles. Mick & Terry were often \”on the hunt\” with
    their spear guns. They also enjoyed zooming around under water on their
    motorized scooters. Seeing Joyce in tow holding onto Mick\’s legs was a
    comical sight. If the sea life was not that interesting you could count on
    Terry to entertain with underwater antics. I have always taken diving very
    seriously. This summer I learned I could play more & still be safe. My
    diving became more instinctual & relaxed.

    One dive I got a cramp in my toes that made it impossible to kick with that
    leg. I handed my fin to Scott & tried to stand on a rock & massage it &
    stretch it – everything I could think of. But the minute I tried to use
    muscles in that leg it cramped again. So we cut the dive short & I \”limped\”
    back to the surface. Of course it went away immediately upon getting in the
    dinghy. Cramps are weird that way.

    My goal was for 2 dives a day, but we moved around to many different islands
    & anchorages, so often only dove once per day. If we only dove once I made
    it a point to at least swim or snorkel. Being in the water was the only
    thing that made the heat bearable.

    Isla Ildefonso is known for hammerhead sharks this time of year. We did 2
    dives, but no luck at seeing sharks there or anywhere in the Sea of Cortez.

    After one successful hunt, \”Rhumb Line\” hosted a cabrilla \”fish fry\”. The
    idea of frying anything in the heat was beyond me. We are one of the few
    boats with air conditioning but I did not volunteer my galley. Mick & Joyce
    bravely endured the heat & mess. With her homemade tartar sauce it was
    absolutely delicious.

    We did host the \”chocolaties\” (clams) grill-fest. Terry taught us where to
    stick your knife in the sand & lift them out from hiding. The messy part was
    done in the cockpit: prying open the shells, scooping out the meat &
    chopping it. We used Henry\’s recipe of mixing the clams with salsa, garlic &
    parmesan cheese. Scott & I are not big on clams, but we were happily
    surprised – they were quite good. Of course just about anything with enough
    salsa, garlic & parmesan cheese becomes edible.

    Besides diving & eating, we watched a lot of DVDs. I found it too difficult
    to read in the heat, but watching a show or movie was good entertainment. We
    love our Sirius radio & are so glad the reception is good down here
    still. Scott
    finally got the still and video camera gear in the water, but mostly for
    getting used to it. Scott posted a few underwater photos in our Photo
    Gallery (**06, 07 & 08 – 2008 – Puerto Escondido & San Diego).
    * *

    Diving in \”The Sea\” with Terry is an experience we will never forget.

    Scott & Cindy

  • Road Trip: Driving to California

    July 16-24, 2008

    Cindy first met Clark as a physical therapy patient (See Photo Gallery – 06, 07 & 08 – 2008 – Puerto Escondido & San Diego) and later Scott became
    his dentist. We became good friends with shared loves of cycling, sailing,
    diving & joie de vivre. He has lived in Paris for many years. When our boat
    was being built in France, we enjoyed seeing Clark & partner Vincent on
    every trip. They helped us \”move in\” once we launched, unpacking items we\’d
    shipped via container to set up house.

    I was very sad to miss their civil union ceremony in Paris (known their as a
    \”pax\”), so we were thrilled to receive the invitation to their wedding in
    San Diego. Seeing the shopping opportunity, Scott was easily persuaded to
    join me in the epic journey to drive up the Baja to attend the wedding. We
    had a pretty long list of boat items that were impossible to fly in, but
    easily driven across the border. At the top of our transport list was
    synthetic transmission & engine oil that is not available in Mexico. You can
    get it in Hawaii, New Zealand and Austrailia, but for some odd reason not
    down here.

    So we rented a car in Loreto (2/3rds of the way down the inside of the Baja
    California Peninsula) & set off. It was a 600 mile journey on a very windy
    road. There were construction & dirt sections that made progress slow. Scott
    & I took 2-3 hour shifts driving, listened to our IPOD & enjoyed a full
    array of junk food. We really got to see the Baja terrain. Which is mostly
    rocks and cactus. But a wide variety of cacti, very interesting & beautiful
    in a desert-y way. The drive was interrupted by 6 military checkpoints.
    Later we found out that they get money from the US for every car that is
    inspected. So every single car was inspected at every single check point. It
    ranged from a brief glance to actually opening bags. They almost all tapped
    on the door & trunk walls to listen if it was packed with drugs. We were
    polite & so were the soldiers, but it was a tiring process and added about
    an hour and a half to the trip.

    Entering Ensenada felt like we were almost home, since we had spent so many
    weekends there after our boat was delivered from Mallorca in June 2004.
    Scott had taken a long shift on the roughest part of the road & was
    absolutely exhausted, so I took the final leg: crossing the border. It is
    tricky finding your way through Tijuana to the border and I hesitated at an
    intersection whether to turn right or go straight. Immediately a motorcycle
    cop flashed me to pull over. He saw the fear in my eyes & assured me \”No
    moleste\”, for which I was immensely grateful. I explained we were uncertain
    of our way & he kindly directed us. We had a previous \”mordida\” (which is
    Spanish for \”the little death\” and is a small bribe) experience with La Paz
    police so were relieved for this better encounter.

    The northbound Mexico-US border crossing is always tedious. Despite it being
    after 9 pm on a Wednesday, the backed up traffic took over an hour. We were
    soooooo happy to finally pull up to our favorite Doubletree hotel & stumble
    into bed. Door to door it was 17 hours.

    No time to be wasted, we shopped with a vengeance all day Thursday: West
    Marine, Kragen, Home Depot, Staples, Bed, Bath & Beyond. We enjoyed a lunch
    break with sailing buddy Ty Hokansen who lives in & works in San Diego. We
    ran into several contractors that had worked on *Beach House* during our 6
    weeks stay at the end of 2007. It was fun to be back in one of our many
    \”old neighborhoods\”.

    Friday was more shopping including upgrading some of our dive & dinghy gear
    suggested by Terry Kennedy, our Sea of Cortez diving mentor. We were looking
    forward to seeing the happy grooms to be at a pre-wedding dinner that
    evening when Scott got a phone call. It was his half brother Courtney
    telling him that their father, John Rush, was declining rapidly with
    melanoma. Please consider how serendipitous this was: When we are out of
    the US we do not use our cell phones & would not have gotten that voicemail
    for weeks or months. Courtney had no idea that we were in San Diego. He was
    just trying to contact Scott on the only number he knew. The timing was
    fortuitous. Although we had not intended to drive the additional 2+ hrs to
    Los Angeles we immediately agreed that Scott should go see John on Sunday
    after the wedding. Scott was no longer in a celebratory mood, so I attended
    the dinner with Clark & Vincent by myself. It was great to see them & I
    really enjoyed getting to know their intimate family & friends.

    A bit more shopping was done before the Saturday evening wedding & then we
    spiffed up & headed to the Hotel del Coronado. It was a perfect setting for
    this beautiful event. Wouldn\’t ya know we drove 600 miles for Mexican food?!
    The ceremony was touching, the grooms gorgeous and a good time was had by
    all. I was honored to sign their marriage certificate as the witness and be
    seated next to Clark for dinner. A highlight moment was the toast given by
    Clark\’s mother, with her charming Oklahoma accent: \”Vincent, I welcome you
    into the family & I love you. No woman was ever good enough for my son!\”

    We had so much boat booty piled in our hotel room that we decided to drive
    up & back to LA in one day & just leave our stuff there. We had a quick hug
    with Christine (Scott\’s former office manager) off a Lawndale exit to
    retrieve our mailbox key. We visited Scott\’s first former office manager,
    Marion, in the Fairfax district. We emptied our Marina del Rey mailbox, then
    headed \”over the hill\” to the San Fernando valley.

    I had called my friend Linda\’s husband on his cell to make sure they would
    be home so I could surprise her. It was a success! Martin did not spill the
    beans & Linda was thrilled by my unexpected visit. Scott went alone to see
    his birth father. He got more acquainted with 3 of his 4 half siblings. A
    few weeks later, when he got the news that John passed away, he was very
    glad to have been able to see him that one last time.

    Skye met us for Thai food, it is always a treat to see our beautiful
    daughter. Our last stop heading south was at Mike & Beth Lonnes\’ home in
    Redondo Beach. Mike is our main shipping & receiving address when we order
    boat stuff. He does a ton of finding, shopping & accumulating for us.
    Without the incredible assistance of Mike, we\’d be in a world of hurt.

    We loaded 250 lbs of batteries into the trunk and the car. Knowing how much
    we already had piled up back at the hotel room in San Diego, I was wishing
    we had rented a bigger car…

    Monday was our last day to do business in San Diego. We picked up special
    order parts from Kragen and Kaman Bearing. We picked up my rush order
    repaired dry suit from DUI. We had a final dinner with Ty & got to pet his
    still-a-puppy yellow lab Chase.

    Packing the car brought out Scott\’s origami skills. We first removed all
    packing materials. Then stuff was crammed in every imaginable nook & cranny.
    We would drive down to Baja in a low rider.

    With no line at the southbound border crossing & no checking of cars for
    drugs, we made it back to Puerto Escondido on Tuesday in 15 hours. Our
    faithful friend Terry was there to shuttle us by dinghy to *Beach House. *It
    was the first time we left her unattended on a mooring and were relieved to
    hear the weather had been calm and all was ship shape.

    The next day, Terry (s/v Manta) & Mick (s/v Rhumb Line)
    *heroically*assisted Scott with installing the 12 volt batteries. And
    also helped us
    shuttle via dinghy load after load of our boat booty to empty the car. Once
    stuff was onboard, stowing it properly was another massive job & spawned
    many repairs, upgrades & installations. We took advantage of our last day
    with the rental car to grocery shop in Loreto and to pick up our FM-3\’s
    (temporary resisdent Visas).

    It was a worthwhile trip with benefits on many levels. Thank you Clark &
    Vincent for providing the inspiration.

    Scott & Cindy

  • Puerto Escondido – Part 2……

    June 28 – July 15, 2008

    There are 2 times I don\’t write much for the website: When we are too busy
    having fun. And when we are too busy with boat projects. The above stretch
    of time was happily spent diving diving diving.

    We followed Terry Kennedy everywhere & dove with him almost daily. When we
    weren\’t diving, washing dive gear or pumping tanks with the compressor for
    the next days dive, we were swapping stories, sharing food & cocktails,
    watching DVDs and thoroughly enjoying ourselves.

    What is so great about the Sea of Cortez is that there are so many islands &
    dive sites within a short distance of our \”home base\” Puerto Escondido. We
    didn\’t mind the 90+ degree weather every day since we were submerged in 80
    degree or colder water for a couple of hours per day. Affectionately termed
    \”Therapeutic Hypothermia\” – the longer we spent in under body temperature
    water, the better we tolerated the heat & the more tired we were at night. The
    topside terrain is stark: very little vegetation, rocky mountains &
    scattered cactus. Underwater there was a great variety & abundance of fish
    life, eels, sting rays, lobsters & some hard coral. We were so privileged to
    have Terry be our mostly private tour guide of his underwater playground. We
    had, as he loved to say: \”all the fun we could stand\”.

    We will be posting more soon….

    Scott & Cindy