Monday March 16
I must say this was the first time I’ve ever operated a sewing machine on the foredeck! The Genoa was a taped patch that was coming off, now it is securely sewed. also the first time I used my hand instead of my foot to drive the pedal.
Dan took apart a winch, to clean and grease it. This is the third one he cleaned.
Other than this it was an uneventful day here in Mexico.
Sunday March 15
When we woke up this morning there was this crackling sound we heard almost like electrical sparking. Immediately we turned off the electricity then began opening up every compartment in the boat in search of this sound. I posted on a few sailing sites if anyone else has heard this sound at this marina. The answer was a shrimp! Yes, shrimp! Snapping shrimp on the sea floor in the marina, who knew.
The afternoon was spent walking around the marina shops as well as to a marine store not far from here.
Well we finally go up the courage to take a look at the code sail. This is way beyond me fixing it.
Since we purchased this new sail, we’ve been having difficulty getting it to furl or roll up properly. Several exchanges with suggestions were made to our sales rep, none of which worked. Not even sure this sail repairable! It truly makes me sick thinking about the cost of this sail and the lack of customer support from #NorthSails regarding it not furling properly.
Saturday March 14
Anchor was up by 7:30am, on our way North, going to Puerto Vallarta, it’s a resort town with great beaches, water sports, restaurants and nightlife. 50% of its workforce is in tourist related industries.
Rounding the point at Cabo Corrientes perched on the hill you will see this prominent navigational landmark.
As we entered Bahía de Banderas, we saw whales and several flocks of birds, perhaps the whales were chasing fish to the surface? The bay is an important breeding and birthing ground for humpback whales, and is home to the city of Puerto Vallarta, our next stop.
Arrived at the harbor around 4:30 pm. Approaching the inlet is an 110-foot high structure, El Faro Lighthouse it’s Marina Vallarta’s primary landmark. No longer used as lighthouse, the top of the structure is a circular cocktail lounge. There is a boardwalk surrounding the marina that has shops, hotels and restaurants as well as cruise ship docks.
MEXORC (Mexican Ocean Racing Circuit) Regatta is going on right now March 13-18, hosted by Marina Vallarta. The marina is very full, but thanks to the Harbormaster Pablo Fernandez, he was able to find us a slip for our boat.
We had dinner at a Mexican Seafood restaurant on the boardwalk then stopped for ice cream on our way back to the boat.
Friday March 13
We left Bara de Navidad shortly after breakfast and day two of getting pastries from the French Baker.
During the day we sailed past a replica of the Christopher Columbus’ Santa Maria, she was heading south.
The day started with light to moderate winds as predicted. As night fell the winds increased to 22 knots (not as predicted). This amount of wind is generally not an issue for us, except this time. We had the main and staysail deployed. A new sail to our inventory is a NorthSails Code 65 3Di sail with a Harken reflex furling system, was not in use but wound tight, as was the Genoa.
The wind unfurled the code sail. It flogged in the wind so much so it tore in several places, our only option was lower the sail to boat deck. Any maneuver in high winds can be dangerous, the darkness elevated the situation. We did successfully managed to drop the sail and tie it to the boat.
We anchored for the rest of the night at Punta Tehuamixtle also known as Tehua, it’s a traditional fishing village. There’s a great beach and the restaurants are know for their seafood dishes.
Thursday March 12
Most mornings, the French Baker sells pastries in his panga to boats in the marina. We purchased two little quiches and two little pie (for later).
Mid morning we took a water taxi into town, check in with port captain, bought produce and had lunch.
Pool time!
Wednesday March 11
100 days, 4400 miles to Seward, Alaska, that’s averaging 44 miles per day. I know we’re moving fast, we’ve been averaging 110-130 miles per day minimum on overnight passages. There have been long weather delays with too much wind, those Papagayo’s and Tehuantepec’s. Sometimes you have to “stop and smell the roses”, go sightseeing, food shopping and rest.
We arrived at Bara de Navidad marina around 4:30pm. The passage took us 34 hours averaging 6.2 knots. This place is beautiful resort, The Grand Isla Navidad Hotel.
Bara de Navivdad (Christmas sandbar) is a farming and fishing community has a sandbar that arches the beachfront bay.
Tomorrow we will take a water taxi into town to check in with Port Captain. There is also a farmers market every Thursday we hope to find.
Tuesday March 10th
The anchor was up by 7am and we’re off. We buddy boated with Saltair3 for 43 great days! During the summer they have a food truck in Vancouver BC https://www.facebook.com/TriosTruck/ Mac n cheese, you can find them at various events around town. If you’re ever up there in the summer check them out!
Longline fishing is a commercial fishing technique that uses a long line, called the main line, with baited hooks attached to it with smaller lines. We’ve seen several of these the past two months. The longlines are supported with several poles either with black flags or lighted poles for night visibility. It can be an obstacle course trying not to cross over these lines. This morning I noticed several plastic bottles in a row. Realizing it was a longline, then spotted the boat, we went off course to not run over the line. While rounding the little boat, we saw the fishermen were sound asleep.
It’s time to put on some miles and head north. One overnight passage then anchor, about 200 miles.
Monday March 9
The dinghy repair job seemed to hold for at least toady. We walked around Zihua, had lunch with Dan and Nancy Berkey from Tempe, Arizona, fellow Island Packet 420 owners. We anchored next to them when we arrived. It’s like a cult, Island Packet owners. Where ever you are with your boat, we always connect.
This week is an International Guitar Festival here. There is a stage on the beach with pay per seats in the sand. The music can be heard on our boat and across the bay.
Sunday March 8
Passage Day 6- Spring forward! We arrived around 10:30 am, very picturesque looking cove! Haven’t gone to shore yet, tomorrow. Did some needed interior boat cleaning.
Zihuatanejo is a resort city known for its beaches. It was a sleepy fishing town until the 70’s when the marina in Ixtapa, about 8 miles away, was built. You may also remember in the movie Shawshank Redemption where Andy and Red meet on the beach in Zihuatanejo. The scene however was actually shot at Sandy Point National Wildlife Refuge on the southwest point of St. Croix.
Saturday March 7
Passage Day 5 – there was conversation about a day trip into Acapulco. After further review of the gas dock we opted to just do a drive by, kind of like a “Sunday Drive”. We paraded close to the semi circular beach. Acapulco is a beach resort town, lots of hotels, resorts, water activities and expensive homes.
The moon is 94% waxing, cloudy, still have the bioluminescence in the water. Spring forward!
Sailing Trance 