Cruising

I kind of pride myself on having a “feelings” kind of blog. You know, the kind that is more interested in how a place, or thing, or experience made me feel rather than (strictly speaking) a description of the place/thing/experience in question. Which is sort of by way of explaining why I’ve been a little short on blog posts lately. The problem, in vague terms, is that I have been feeling the same thing over and over again. This whole chapter in my life can be summed up in one short word; WOW. I feel like I’ve been sailing, hiking, and bumming around in an ever increasing state of slack jawed amazement and revelry at the immense cultural and natural beauty. And while this is certainly no regrettable state to be in, it is a little overwhelming and, well, not entirely conducive to introspection. ...

I fear I may sound like a broken record if I continue to extol the many virtues and superlatives of these remote, exotic, and vibrant islands. So rather than continue along that path, I will just share a few photos of our time in Tahuata (where we got the tattoos) and Ua Pou (where live the friendliest people in the Marquesas). Hopefully these varied snapshots will capture the essence of our last 2 weeks in a way that words can’t.

Well we have covered about 3000 miles since we left Mexico and as any passage maker can attest, stuff breaks. I was actually kind of surprised by what broke and, by and large, how quickly and easily it was repaired. Most of our damage was small, interior, and caused by our kids. I left a lot of the little stuff off this list because it was already getting long. A few of the breaks were avoidable, and we have learned some good preventative maintenance lessons (like don’t let the sails flog at all). The remainder was either just old boat stuff, or general maintenance. ...

I’ve been lucky to have a number of encouraging and reassuring people cross my path, people who have confirmed that what I was after was the right thing for me, and a couple of years ago I met someone who had such confidence and assuredness about his sailboat and his cruising plans that I couldn’t help but admire him . As we became friends he repeated his mantra, “it’s okay” about any worries I had about living aboard, fixing up Convivia, and sailing away. He even called us just before we untied the dock lines to remind us that everything would be just fine. I’ve tried to remember /just/ the tone of his believable voice and though I’ve repeated his words a million times, I’ve been searching for my own authentic, “it’s okay.” ...

Four days after making landfall on Hiva Oa we sailed into Baie Hanavave on Fatu Hiva, the most beautiful place I have ever seen. It is the most beautiful place I can even imagine. The hills are high and covered with a hundred colors of green. Palm trees lean toward the ocean cliffs. The grassy areas are dotted with mountain goats. The sky is a dark blue, heavy with mist, and threatens to explode into a squall or a rainbow. I wonder if rainbows are overlooked here. I can’t find a local person that can tell me what they’re called in French or Marquesan. ...

Today’s goal was to obtain a zarpe. For those who haven’t done this, a Zarpe is the official document that you get when you leave a country by boat. They aren’t strictly necessary, but you can be rejected from entering your next port if you don’t have one. We decided that a 2,800 miles U-turn was enough reason to jump through a few hoops. So armed with a thousand opinions and rumors, we headed over to the Capitainia de Puerto in Puerto Vallarta. The Capitainia gave us a bit of a hard time but ended up giving us the paperwork we needed. After filling it out and giving them the correct paperwork we were directed to Immigration and Customs at the airport. The customs officer was very polite and very confused. I seems that the fact that our boat was in La Cruz created a bit of a jurisdictional problemo for our new friends. Finally one of the customs officers pointed us in the right direction. ...

We are about a month away from setting out across the largest ocean on the planet. The list of things to do; for the boat; for the kids; for us; just gets longer but we are confident that we will be able to make the trip safely and comfortably. This week we are working on the haul-out. We got an insanely high quote last week, and then subsequent tips from fellow cruisers gave us renewed hope that we might not have to spend a fortune for a few coats of paint and some holes in the hull. Once we figure out where and when to haul, we have to decide what we are going to do with the family. Depending on where we haul out we may be able to live on Convivia, but do we want to? Living on a boat “on the hard” means no grey water, no potty, and a 15’ drop if anything or anyone falls off the deck. It most likely means a lot of eating out. Right now I am leaning towards a cheap apartment or hotel for the week that Convivia is out of the water. ...

We are in our final port of the Mexican leg of our great adventure. The boat is falling apart around us*: port lights leak in the rain; blown gasket on the water heater causing fresh water to hemorrhage when we turn certain faucets on; little sun for power; water maker broken; and we are temporarily out of money. Note: I did not catalog any of the things I have fixed recently. ...

Today we said goodbye to a family that we have been traveling with since Mazatlan. In the cruising world this is called buddy boating. That term really falls short of the mark though. When you cruise intentionally like this with another boat, especially one with kids the same age as yours, your lives get subtly interwoven. You tend to eat together daily, errands and activities sync up and within a few weeks you feel almost as at home on their boat as on your own. ...

We’re in Manzanillo, anchored outside of Las Hadas resort and we’re on the verge of a transition. Our friends that are heading to El Salvador and Panama are heading south while we turn around and return to La Cruz in Banderas Bay. Manzanillo is where we make the choice not to head to Panama, or El Salvador, or Columbia, or Costa Rica, or the Galapagos or even to Zihuatanejo, because it’s too far to just turn around. Boats are now making their plans to head south, or head into the Sea of Cortez, or like us, to sail across the biggest ocean on the planet. ...

Chamela For some reason I didn’t take as many pictures as usual, but I did manage to capture the flavor of these two stops, with just a handful of good exposures. Chamela is an unassuming, quiet harbor frequented (it seems) more by Mexican tourists and RVrs than by cruisers and foreign tourists. I loved the chill, laid back beach scene and Ruby worked up the nerve to ask a spanish speaking girl to play. Once she got over the initial static barrier of communication, they played for an hour or so in the surf and on the beach, while Vick and I enjoyed a great grilled snapper. Perhaps we will get another chance to enjoy this harbor on our way back to La Cruz. ...

I’m going to risk sounding slightly ungrateful or whiney—though perhaps other long term travelers will understand—in an attempt to bring some resolution to the way I am feeling today. I woke up this morning to this view: (note, I took this with the iPad, just now. No extra care was taken, it looks more beautiful in real life). It’s gorgeous right? I mean, more gorgeous than usual. Yet somehow my reaction to it was meh-ish. Vick thinks this might be the most stunning place we have been so far, but I am more interested in a nap and maybe a few days of book reading than going for a hike or zip line. ...

We just sailed through our one hundred and first day. In this time we have begun to set the routines, behaviors, and mentalities that will be the foundations of our cruising lifestyle. After 101 days I can say with confidence that, while I haven’t experienced everything (who has) I am most definitely a cruiser, and I know that this life choice was the right one. As with any milestone (and this one is arguably more arbitrary than most), I thought I would take a moment to publicly reflect on what life looks like at 101. So here, in no particular order, are some thoughts: ...

We just sailed from Yelapa, which must be blogged with photos, to Bahia Chamela, about 90 miles south. Ninety miles requires an overnight passage for us, which it turns out, we all love. The winds and seas in Mexico have made for very easy and comfortable sailing (and unfortunately a bit of motoring when the winds die completely). We left our anchorage at noon so that our arrival would be during daylight. The boat was ship shape, the heads cleaned, the floors swept, every last thing put away, and even fresh baked bread before we left. Maybe passage making is so wonderful for me because all the chores are done first! ...

When you ask a dozen cruisers about Mazatlan (as a potential stop) the resounding sentiment is “skip it.” I wanted to write a quick post to add some weight to the countervailing position. Mazatlan is a great city to visit, especially if you are following the common pattern of Cabo San Lucas, La Paz, Mainland. After a solid month of desert landscape and beach towns, the bustle and unique character of Mazatlan was a welcome change. If I were to equate my two favorite Mexican cities (so far) with their familiar counterparts, I would say that La Paz reminded me of Santa Cruz and Mazatlan reminded me of Barcelona. For sure it has it’s grime, and apparently it has it’s crime (though we didn’t see or hear of any directly) but it also has character, a proud congenial populace, and some really great sights. ...