Somewhere in the Pacific

As we left Cabo San Lucas on Wednesday April 14th, bound for Hiva Oa, Marquesas, a two year dream in the making come true, we should be somewhere by the equator by now. If you want to ping us via SSB or Ham radio, we will be available on the "Amigo Net", on frequency 8188 at 0200 Zulu time after the broadcast ends. Our call sign is WCV 2093.

Blog at you all later..... from somewhere out there!

Half day in Guadalajara

As it turned out, getting a flight out of Guadalajara to La Paz was our only option to get back to town on Tuesday, the day we were expected. As an added bonus, it was only a 2 hour flight and we found ourselves with a half day to explore a new place.

Our usually plan for short term sightseeing, the hop on, hop off, was too expensive for our allotted 2 hour window. Hmmm, so we just took off on foot. I must say for the little amount of time we had and the shear size of Guadalajara, we did well. Our hostel was pretty much in the cultural center of town, it was great.

Pictures to follow as I haven't had the chance to edit/post them.

Sidebar: Sayulita

For a quick break and a weekend get away, we took the ferry over to a little beach resort 35km northwest of Puerto Vallarta. There we meet up with friends, and hopefully made a couple of new ones.

Notice the swimming pool size Margarita!

uh, I couldn't finish it

Assume the position - beach side, that is!

ahhhhhhhhh, so sweet

When we finally arrived after an overnight ferry trip that arrived 2 hours late, causing an extremely long bus ride to Sayulita, it was dinner hour. Being booted off the bus on the highway and told to walk that direction for town, kitty say what!, we got picked up by some nice tourist in their rental car.

First order of business, we had to find Carmen and William. No problem as we had there cell number, hotel name and directions. Easier said than done, and after walking through the hotel, well beach bungalows & yurts calling out for them, we headed to town. Maybe we could find them at dinner. After all, Sayulita is not that big.

No such luck so we ate some dinner ourselves. In a last ditch effort before we got a hostel for the night, we made another pass through the beach & sleeping area. As we called out, literally, and I meowed, a figure appeared from one of the yurts. I couldn't make out who it was since the light was coming from behind and it was totally pitch dark out, but when Carmen peaked around him and said "oh my god, you found us", we were home!

The Yurt

A peak inside - really cool

Anyhow, we had a fabulous time and it was great to be with friends. However, as usual, the time just flew by and ended way too fast. Well, we had to get back to La Paz anyhow, and start our journey which was also very exciting. First though, a quick stop in La Cruz to meet some people, pick up our puddle jump t-shirts, have dinner with good friends, and collect some valuable information for the sail over to Tahiti.

And yet another adventure begins......

Another place to call home

Well, as it turns out Imagine decided to sail the Sea of Cortez this season so that meant we needed to find a new ride, and fast! Our goal: the South Pacific or bust. Well.........we're going to Tahiti! :)

We found a new home with the owner and crew of "the Spirit of Nyami Nyami". This is a 53ft ketch, and there will be a total of 6 people on board. I suspect we are going to get to know each other really well.

We were lucky enough to be granted the v-berth, which was most generous considering we were such last minute crew. Best part - we leave on Saturday - April 10th!

Sail on.

Rock to the Dock Race

This was our first test run sailing the boat and whoa, it's electric! I mean to say that everything is motorized - electric winches, an anchor windlass, a roller furling Jib and Staysail on electric winches, and even a mast furling Main. I wasn't quiet sure what to do, it was so automated.

We got off the dock Saturday afternoon and headed for the evening rendezvous spot to anchor for the evening. Putting up our lovely "Happy Hour burgee", compliments of Lynette (THANK YOU - Love it!), we had absolutely no idea that it would spur an instantaneous party. Good thing I had made up a batch of mango salsa a couple of days earlier. After a few mis steps and at least 2 people going in the drink, we all called it a night. After all, this was a serious race the next morning, starting at the crack of noon - NOT.

This was the first annual race for a new yacht club and 18 boats were signed up to participate in a 11 mile race. Like I said, it was serious racing :). It was a beautiful day but the expected winds were lighter than anticipated, making for an ultra slow start. However, I was not worried about making the 11 miles, we had all day - literally.

As soon as we crossed the start line, we hoisted the spinnaker on deck. It was in a sock but no bag and it was the first time putting it up. All in all, things went fairly well. Coming down the home stretch, everyone was squeezed into a small channel. Then the wind died. You could almost reach out and touch thye neighbor. With the tide against us, we started making negative way. What! Yes, we went backwards and the last boat caught up to us and passed us before the tide changed in our favor and the winds picked up. Then it was game on! As all the boats, all 18 practically, rallied for position down the 2 mile channel towards the finish, Brian passed 8 boats on the outside of the channel in just 10 feet of water( we draw 8 1/2ft) and we rocketed acrossed the finish line at almost 9 knots. Very exciting.

However, due to our size and rating, just because we crossed the line 5th or 6th doesn't mean that's what we placed. Actually, the last place boat that I said caught us and passed us, won. As her Captain later said, "How could I not win, I had a 11 mile handicap for a 2 mile race!"

s/v Imagine crossing the finish line-chut up!

Love it.

Enjoy the pictures! http://www.flickr.com/photos/katnbrian/sets/72157623646178497/

Our new home!

Our new home, for the time being, is a beautiful 65ft Gulfstar, center cockpit, sailboat. We will be helping a family sail to New Zealand, where they are originally from. Although, they have been living in the states for 15 years and still have a home in California.

The boat mascot - a "Merchilla (Mermaid/chinchilla)

We will be laying our heads in a beautiful v-berth stateroom and even have our own bathroom! Their are 3 heads total, each with showers on the boat, two staterooms (aft & forward- the v berth), and two crew cabins (each with bunk beds). The center cockpit has a hard top and is fully enclosed if you want it to be. Schweet, schweet, indeed!

Perfect, puddle jump and Tahiti here we come. Maybe finally I can visit my friend in Australia (since I never made it to Micronesia!). When at first you don't suceed, try going around the other way :) !

Meow & The Man
Enjoy the Pictures: http://www.flickr.com/photos/katnbrian/sets/72157623652518765/

Driving Baja

We were fortunate enough to be able to drive down to La Paz, which afforded us a little more space for bring gear. Not sure if this is a good thing or not, but we also were able to pick up addtional items / parts that the boat needed. We picked up a large screen TV that was so big it didn't fit on a bellmans cart when we checked into the hotel the first night!

Due to our rather large cargo, Brian wrapped everything in a huge blue tarp that was impossible for the Mexican boarder inspectors to unroll, so after a few minutes of poking around they let us pass. There were 8 inspection stations total on the way down, with each resulting in just letting us pass. Additionally, before we left Brian downloaded a 55 page route map (highly recommended),that showed everything including speed bumps, gas stations, and geographic stuff which made for an easy drive.

The drive was great, and Baja is really beautiful. The roads were in great shape, and there were no signs of trouble. We basically just wanted to post some pictures.

Enjoy!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/katnbrian/sets/72157623645822359/

Coming Home - Just a break!

We flew out of Tel Aviv at 8 AM in the morning and as you might have guessed, calculating 2 hours for check in on an international flight and getting through security, plus travel time to get to the airport which was 45 minutes away from the marina, we were up at 4:00 AM!!!! Yikes, we still had to pack everything up and it was 10pm before we got back to the boat. Plus, we needed showers and this marina had them! Hmmm.... would 2 hours be enough time for security?

Not a lot of green to this county

We left Carl's boat a complete mess at O'Dark 30 and had to fight the drunks from the bar as they tried to steal our pre arranged cab. We had a short hop from Tel Aviv to Jordan, straight up straight down. Then from there we flew Royal Jordanian Airlines, which was awesome, good hot meals and free drinks, to Chicago. We then switched to American Airlines. They announced they had 2 roast beef sandwiches for the packed plane and it would cost $10 to get one. All I can say is I wish we had some time to explore Jordan specially would love to see Petra. (That's the site of the final battle scene in the last Transformers Movie.)

All our "free" goodies

Any airline with a crown on it, is my kind of Airline - Meow!

As most of you know, we came back to San Francisco, but only for a limited time. Brian needed to get his 100 ton captains license and we both needed a break. It was good to be home.

Although we were busy, Brian studying and me working, we still managed to fit in some time to do stuff/see some people, eat some crab, smoke some salmon. Thanks to all who re-arranged schedules to make it happen.

Next up: Drive back down to La Paz, Mexico, picking up parts and pieces along the way, and attempt No. 2 at the Pacific Puddle Jump; a sail from Mexico to French Polynesia. We then will cruise the islands of the south pacific with a final destination in New Zealand.

Warm Weather here we come!

Happy Easter!