S/v Convivia

Okay, maybe a gourmet is a bit haughty when most of our meals are cooked in one pan but we have been having some seriously good food lately and I thought it was worth mentioning. If you search for a book or article and use the words “cruising” and “cooking” you are likely to find a lot of great resources. Great if you like canned (including canned meat) and and heavily processed foodstuffs. Victoria has read every one of these galley cookbooks that she could get her hands on and has summarily rejected the notion that she can’t sail the world and eat well. Let me tell you, this is one experiment that you want in on. So without further ado I will taunt you with some of the treasures we have had over the last few days. If sailing to the South Pacific wasn’t enough to have you scrambling for a crew position, this list should seal the deal. ...

Wow! We are currently rushing, racing, charging across the pacific at a sustained 7 knots with statistically significant periods of 8 knots. This speed, it seems, comes at a price. We have really enormous swell. If my estimation is correct (and it’s really tough when you are in it) we are looking aft at 3-4 meter seas. If you haven’t been out in huge, short period swell before you may not appreciate how high a 4 meter wall of water is. I sure didn’t. It is awesome! Really in both the modern and archaic meaning of the word. Water like this (though it won’t likely be the largest we will see) inspires awe, and is freaking cool. ...

We raced out of Bandaras Bay on Monday with good steady winds that moved us 173 miles in our first 24 hours. Even though we were bashing through swell and all a little queasy it felt amazing to be ticking away the miles so quickly. Since then we’ve passed the 500 mile mark, the boat has become a lot more comfortable. On Sunday night while we were sitting at the Port Captain’s dock our friends Pat and Ali and their two kids came to bid us farewell. Ali asked that we blog a lot, about everything, even the boring things. I’m sure no one has a more comprehensive blog, about their day to day life and adventures. She knows what’s she’s talking about! So, Ali, this post is for you. ...

Today was another slow and steady day. We had plenty of sun (enough to top off our batteries by 2pm) and the few clouds we saw were distant and fluffy. The wind was practically non-existent, but we ghosted along at 2-3 knots on what there was. On the “exciting” side, it was Olive’ 4.5 birthday today. We had a big celebration where Olive called in her half birthday wish for a glass of soy milk. This had been a hot topic lately, not because we are short on soy milk (heavens no) but because we didn’t have much space in the fridge. We relented and Olive seemed delighted, though she never did finish that glass. ...

I just had one of those rare pure moments of perfect bliss. It happened when I went forward to let out the boom vang. After letting it go I paused for a moment to look around (something we do almost constantly out here). Something about the familiar vista caught my attention and I went forward to the bow to figure out what it was. As my hand grasped the forestay I time-warped back to my childhood. In that moment I was standing on the bow of our Luders staring down Muscongus Sound. Ahead of me (it seemed then) was the whole world and my life, just waited to be experienced. ...

The first two days of passage making went quickly. We got into our grove after about 12 hours. Ruby got to drawing (some pretty amazing stuff really) and Olive pretended to blow things up. Vick and I just stared out at the sea and (I at least) tried to wrap my head around what we were about to do. Day 1 put 170 nautical miles under our keel. For the non-cruisers out there, this is a pretty astonishing pace. We were moving 7.5-9 knots with winds off the beam for most of the ocean time (Banderas Bay was quite a bit slower). The sea state was miserable with 2m swell at 15 seconds on the beam. Olive got sick once and then declared “I’m all done being sick now.” And she was! ...

We have been living on dirt for a week now and it’s not as totally weird as I thought it would be. Of course, I have been working on the boat every day, so it’s not like Convivia and I are estranged, but it is strange to watch the kids spread out all over this little house like gas (filling all available space). The boat was supposed to splash on Friday, but they found hundreds of blisters and they had to be dealt with. The yard has been great. Their staff have helped me through countless hardships and even lent me tools (an unheard of generosity in the realm of boatyards). ...

Last week I failed to appear at a Pacific Puddle Jump planning meeting and was consequentially elected to be the “Admiral” of the Banderas Bay “Fleet.” It’s not entirely clear to me what this means so I am assuming that I am the project manager of a cat herding operation. The Pacific Puddle Jump started nearly 20 years ago as a way for pre-gps, pre-accurate-long-term-weather sailors to support each other in crossing the largest ocean in the world. Over the years technology and knowledge base have matured and become fairly ubiquitous. The upshot is that nearly anyone can spend a little time on the internet and reap the wisdom necessary to cross the ocean. In spite of this sailors up and down the Pacific coast of the Americas still flock to the PPJ meetings in search of social connection, reassurance, and more information. ...

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’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. ...

Tonight I received an awesome email from a reader. She was wondering how we came to the decision to cash out a portion of our retirement to make this dream possible, and what struggles we had to overcome before feeling comfortable with the choice. I responded to her privately but then realized that I have been dancing around this in other posts. Rather than try to rephrase what I said, I’m going to post my reply in full, right here; with one caveat that I repeat in the body. This is a serious decision with serious consequences. In this email I was preaching to the converted, but our path is not the best for everyone. Also, to protect my dad’s honor and reputation I should add that while he is incredibly supportive of us and our dream, I don’t believe he would recommend this course of action if I asked him directly. This blog post is for entertainment purposes only. ...

We have now visited and reported on so many beautiful anchorages and towns that I’m feeling a little sheepish about declaring the new best place. So rather than declare La Cruz “the most awesomest pueblo en Mexico,” I’m going to provide some qualifications. Since we are planing to leave here tomorrow I have taken a moment to reflect on some of the things I’ll miss until we return. In no particular order: ...

Oh man. We had such an awesome time in Chacala. We sailed straight from Mantanchen Bay in pretty light and variable winds but the day was beautiful and we were all excited to see what was next. Chacala had been recommended by more cruisers and friends than pretty much any other harbor, so the bar was set pretty high. Truth be told, I was expecting a let down but that never materialized. From the moment we sailed around the point I was smitten. ...