Land Ho!

We arrived on Monday, May 10th (Happy Birthday Dad), however internet is rather hard to get in Paradise! Hence the reason for the delay in posting.

The morning of our departure was the La Paz, Mexico, Bayfest Volleyball tournament in which the team Brian and I had been practicing with was to play. We had just practiced with the team to fill out the sides but we were asked to stay for the games. It went so far as the team captain asked our boat owner to stay over a few more hours so that we could be in the tournament. The owner relented and we played. The bruises and stiff muscles earned were well worth the delay. The team finished in a hard fought third place out of 3 teams. Our trophies consisted of the cold beers we paid for at the bar. Later, Brian told me he had been elbowed in the face and had a broken nose and loose front teeth. He still looked the same to me.
After a few quick errands and last minute showers we caught the out going tide and sailed past La Paz as the sun was setting. Many friends shouted out farewells over the ship to ship radio as we passed and one boat of friends set off a bunch of fire works! We had fair winds for a while and then motored.
As we motored into Cabo San Lucas, we watched many Humpback whales leaping out of the water. They were of in the distance but you could clearly see them throwing their whole bodies out of the water 3 or 4 at a time! We anchored 200 yards off the beach in front of 2 huge beach bars and in the middle of a huge swarm of jetskis and small sight seeing boats and 3 cruise ships parked right behind us.
We stopped into Cabo to officially check out of the country, fix a few leaky things and top off all our fluids, and most importantly find out why the hell our ATM cards don’t work!! Did you know that in Mexico you can not make an 800 call from any pay/public phone? Neither did we. Skype to the rescue. We learned that the credit card companies don’t read their clients files when a strange charge shows up and they had put a hold on them!
We got everything sorted and shoved off into the big blue sea. The trip started with good winds and a dolphin escort. A couple of days into it the wind quit, and we bobbed around like a cork making 100 miles in 3 days. The boys went swimming and Ali (a crew member) dislocated his shoulder diving off the boat. Not good. We set it and put him to bed with some pain killers. He was really bummed out but stayed in good sprits for the rest of the trip. We watched movies on the big screen TV and read books to pass the time. When the wind came back we cruised at a good pace and caught fish for dinner. Mahi Mahi. We caught fish 4 days straight. We made Teriyaki Ginger tuna on a bed of Asian noodle salad one night. The food was great for the whole trip.
When we crossed the equator, we swore our allegiance to the great Neptune and toasted to a safe crossing. Don, the boat owner presented us with some very cool boat shirts.
The next few days the wind picked up and we really sailed. We were averaging 7.5 knots for days on end. The night skies a just crammed full of stars and much time was spent trying find the zodiac signs. The book reading continued at a fever pace. Three loaves of bread got made and we broke a few things. We lost use of the radar and wind speed indicator. The wind generator doesn’t charge right. The toe rail broke free right were the jib sheet runs through a block and the hydraulic steering pumps came un bolted from their mounts and we noticed one of the lower shrouds has a broken wire. Just the normal sailing stuff.
Monday morning the sun came up revealing the big beautiful island of Hiva Oa and with the sounds of ukulele music we realized we had just completed the crossing of the Pacific Ocean in 25 days! Whew!
Pictures to follow whenever we can get them uploaded.

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.