I danced with the Oaxaca Star

You'll need to skip ahead for the fun and colorful part of
the story. The entrance to Bahia Topolobampo. 

It was 10:30 at night, mid-watch for my 6:30p to (hoping to make it to) midnight shift on Pura Vida. Black as night can be out on the sea, with low lying clouds, a few fuzzy stars overhead and no moonlight to guide our way. We are happily motor sailing southbound for Topolobampo and I am busily watching gauges and staring into the darkness at regular intervals. Hoping to not see anything but sometimes you do.

(L to R) My diverted route, my planned
route and target vessel

Something white passed by rather close across the waves. I have no idea what and no contact, so I guess it’s all good. Then I see an AIS (automatic identification system) Target on our chart plotter. Foggy enough that I can’t get a visual, which is disconcerting as the Target is the Oaxaca Star, an ocean freighter inbound for the port of Guaymas, Sonora. Our paths were running parallel on the typical N-S course for large vessels, about 10 miles off shore.

It's way better to see freighters than imagine them

Well, I am peeling my eyeballs as they say, to see any light in the distance. I am tracking our CPA – closest point of approach – a rather important detail, especially on a night like this. Although he is a few miles out, he’s traveling way faster than we are toward me and I admit, I am getting a bit more nervous as minutes pass. Still no visual so I finally feel compelled to hail him on the VHF radio. Roughly translated…”Hey buddy do you see my navigation lights as I am little smaller than you are?” And the response was YES, he would take me to starboard. So, that was a relief.

I am not really in the mood for a midnight dance and regardless, I don’t want to dance too close - the Oaxaca Star gets the floor. I veer off course to port, deciding it’s better to arrive later at our destination and be safe. I am at the helm and get to make decisions that are right for me and for our boat. So, my adjusted route causes a bit of luffing on the reefed main sail but there you have it. Decision made and finally I see his nav lights, way off in the distance. Thank you and goodnight, Oaxaca Star.

The remnants of 'Carnaval' were being torn down
as we walked the malecon on arrival. Smaller than
the huge carnaval in Guaymas this past week

Two days and several adventures later, we are ensconced at Marina Palmira in Topolobampo, Sinaloa on the mainland. There are several things I love about Topolobampo, not the least of which - it's the only other city I know with 5 vowels like Oconomowoc, my hometown. Another busy port town, Topo is a welcome change.

See the #11 on this buoy?
Entrance to Topolobampo takes
~ 4 hours of careful navigating.
There are a plenty of buoys.
Some faintly red or green,
some with legible #, some serve
best as sea lion resting spots

We left the dock!

2nd return trip. Chilly!

Amazing sunset as we limped back, first return trip

While for many, that shouldn't be a headline with an exclamation point, but this is us and this has been our journey. It's been a few months since we successfully left the dock, so this is a big deal for us to make it 200 miles south of our home port. As many who have been following our efforts since November already know, we had a number of parts setbacks, let's just say. Oh, the stories...

Then, finally ready and weather allowing, we departed from Guaymas in January and again in early February, heading south. Both journeys ended abruptly after 40 or so miles heading along the same track, caused by different and big repair issues. Both required return trips to the Guaymas dock and led to multiple repairs, all completed by el Capitan. As we live through each issue, I guess that it all works out as it's supposed to?

My next blog will be about our adventures to Topolobampo, Los Mochis and El Fuerte which begin as soon as I post this. While I have more stories and photos, I guess you'll have to wait for the fun part as the first of two bus trips leaves soon. For now, we're packing up for the road trip and buttoning up Pura Vida. 

"loco" fruit vendor hand selecting
my 4 incredible, giant oranges from his
well-stocked pickup.
The guy standing next to me
asks in Spanish, "do you know Spanish?
Well, they call him loco."

Mike & his repaired
Mixing Elbow

If anyone is interested in a myriad of boat repair photos, just let us know. We can regale you with close ups of broken, then fixed parts, new additions and improved systems. 

Auto pilot repairs require dismantling our
sleeping area. Can you spot the sore back in this photo?

Fireworks kicked off Carnaval in Guaymas. While taking this photo,
I think, that's a diesel fuel tank
between me and that exploding firework...

Moon rise over Topolobampo. Pretty sweet.
Captured by el Capitan, the BBQ king at the stern

Captain Santa – to the rescue

Arrghhh Matey!

During the holidays in the evening hours, I enjoyed assembling a few quick holiday puzzles while listening to Christmas Carols. Imagine my delight when Captain Santa came to the rescue - appearing as the next puzzle on my tablet. I laughed out loud as I realized that's who I live with! 

There at the helm of our mighty ship reigns my favorite santa. The guy who makes each day brighter and brings joy to my days, working in the engine room for hours on end, fixing a myriad of all things mechanical. 

Our rebuilt Perkins 4154

During the summer and early fall, Omar rebuilt our old Perkins engine so that requires a lot of follow on work which takes time, energy and patience. And parts that are oh so elusive for us to get here in Guaymas. Many stories too troubling to tell of expensive shipments stolen, parts delays due to customs and the Mexican postal service (note to self: do not use this service - but that's a story, too).

Window added to engine
room door for safety

Not very easy crawling into the
lazaret several times to remove,
install, repair various systems

Next he's installing solar panels, adding devices for tracking power, replacing alarms, repairing pumps, fixing plumbing. Basically, making our house a home. 

Battery monitor with a bezel that was
hand cut at the local wood shop 

Bring on the lard and margarine!

And being Christmas, 'twas the season of islands of lard and margarine; olives, pickled tripe, cheese whiz and jalapenos in bulk containers; Lambrusco, 3 levels high, Doritos monuments, and don’t forget the many fruit flavors of Boones Farm. 

The Dorito monument

Lambrusco from floor to ceiling. Cheers!

It’s been festive in Guaymas although very sadly, more muted than previous years due to cartel activity and heavy police/national guard presence.

As we sit in Guaymas, once again, waiting for boat parts, we celebrate the joys of the season, amazing friendships old and new, powerful camaraderie, and a slip at the dock.

Christmas dinner in Nogales AZ

Full moon setting on our early morning walk

It all started with an expiring Alaska Airlines companion fare ...

Turks & Caicos - NW of Puerto Rico

Early in the summer, we had a companion fare on Alaska Airlines that would soon expire. That prompted discussions about possible destinations – how far does Alaska fly? The answer was Miami, so we set a course for the Turks & Caicos islands southeast of Florida for September. We hadn’t dove there since 2005 and it’s an amazing SCUBA destination. Yes, we realized it would be hurricane season, but we figured the odds were in our favor (?), took our chances and booked travel. The sisters who own the bungalow we’d stayed at on Grand Turk welcomed us back with a 10% discount and we would once again dive with Oasis Divers.

First things first - trimming branches on the shore
with neighbor Scott, before Mike heads out

That having been established, we started our work schedules which entailed Mike spending the great majority of July and August in the San Juan Islands teaching sailing with Passion Yachts. I remained in Portland working multiple jobs including with my long-term marketing clients.

My sister and I celebrated our Virgo birthdays
for several days - she's 9/5 and I'm 9/7

Welcome to Wisconsin!

We reconvened in early September and headed to Wisconsin to unite with my siblings after a long time (Covid separation like everyone!). My oldest sister planned an excellent getaway for us all at a really great log home in eastern Wisconsin near tourist attractions, Frank Lloyd Wright’s Taliesen and the House on the Rock. Both were amazing experiences, and we had a lovely time together being tourists.

Player piano at
House on the Rock

All of us at Taliesen

Frank Lloyd Wright living room-incredible designs

Then it was back to Portland to pack up for our highly anticipated dive trip. Hurricane Fiona beat us to Grand Turk, wreaking havoc and shutting down the island literally the day before our planned departure from Portland to Miami followed by two short flights to that Caye / key. We canceled that part of our trip and decided to fly to Florida, thinking – in our brilliance – the tropical depression that followed on the heels of Fiona wouldn’t turn into a full-blown hurricane. Bad call on our part. By the time we arrived the next night in Miami, Hurricane Ian had been named and was definitely alive and increasing in strength with each passing hour, turning from tropical depression to tropical storm to hurricane over a several hour period.

Power cat ready to roll

Ibis in the lagoon at Biscayne Bay National Park

Our trip was exciting, short lived and full of changes. We flew back 4 days into the trip, thankful Alaska allowed us to make changes twice on our return travel. On the day the hurricane was making landfall over Florida, we flew anxiously out of Miami directly south then east to avoid the fray taking place all around us. Probably 85% of flights were understandably canceled, ours was not. After a rough take off, we were on our way and all parties happy to arrive safely to our destinations. We had a great time, as we tend to do, just not what we'd expected!

We managed to explore Key Biscayne by car and did a full day excursion via power cat in Biscayne Bay National Park. As the only customers, we had a great time with our captain. We learned great stories of the park, snorkeled and paddleboarded around the mangroves, and watched the storm approach. It was time to call it a day. We literally got to the dock and into our rental car when the rains and winds came with a vengeance, signaling the end of our trip.

When in Rome... appropriate to enjoy a Hurricane
as we escaped from the torrential rains! We got soaked
walking the 1/2 block - first door we could tuck into

Welcomed with his new 
concoction - had to try
one

Support Global Cooling!

The next flight we could catch was the following night, so we headed to Miami Beach for some adventure and exploring. The best part – we were but a handful of tourists on the beach and walking the city streets so that made Miami Beach much more palatable than if it was full-on tourist time! We got sandblasted walking the promenade and headed to Wet Willie’s to get out of the winds and rain.

We are very sorry for the incredible damage and devastation so many people are dealing with there, and consider ourselves fortunate to get in and out without issue.

We’ve just rebooked our travels to next June to use our credits. This is supposedly a calm time in the Turks & Caicos. Time will tell.

We are starting our journey to Mexico tomorrow, seeing family and friends along the way to Guaymas. We are anxious to see the work done on Pura Vida by our great vendors there, who we know and trust. And as we always know, time will tell what adventures await us south of the border.

Painting the cockpit, new companionway door, etc!

The Mexican Navy and a loose screw

 

Anchored at La Ramada Cove

Greetings from Nogales, Arizona. We crossed the border yesterday, thankfully without incident, on our way north to work this summer. We’re stopping along the way to explore, visit our friend in Las Vegas and spend Mike’s 65^th birthday in Reno!

Gotta include photos of happy dolphins!

Can you say Nachos?

After our unintended, lengthy stay in La Paz, we escaped marina life in late April to explore anchorages on our way north. We arranged to meet various friends in peaceful anchorages which brought us great joy. We enjoyed the colorful rock formations of the Baja peninsula, the hues of blues and greens of the shallow waters, the sea life and so much more.  In light of all the adventures, we are thankful for every day.

We chose to cross the Sea to the mainland from La Ramada Cove, just north of San Juanico. Zooming along at 5 knots per hour, the 100-mile, 20 hour crossing brought us to Guaymas in the early morning. Our crossing featured lighter winds out of the east, then southeast to help push us north. With our main sail and jib - and the help of our engine - we chugged along the choppy seas, as often happens on the narrow Sea of Cortez. 

Sunset over the Baja

Sunrise on the mainland

With my choice of first and last shifts, I experienced the sunset and the sunrise, so pretty cool.

With the ‘washing machine’ motion of the sea, we faithfully adhere to the ‘one hand on the boat’ rule, a good practice since every single thing that could shifted in transit. In a momentary lapse in the early morning hours, I mistakenly opened a cabinet and a glass bottle of vinegar crashed to the floor. Truly, a stinking mess. Another lesson learned.

Scoping out our anchoring spot at Isla Coronados

MEXICAN NAVY ENCOUNTER

I was midway on my 7 to midnight shift at the helm. As a reward for achieving the 9:30 milestone, I was ready for my long-anticipated treats of Diet Coke, carrot sticks and chips. Hey, you have to look forward to something when your eyes are staring into the darkness for an extended period, looking for anything weird.

I went below to gather my goodies and came up to the helm to see a green navigation light, indicating a vessel would shortly be crossing my port bow. I checked the chartplotter and sure enough, the CPA (closest point of approach) of that vessel was very close indeed. I had the Right of Way, but in the darkness, you can’t assume, well, anything. So I awkwardly called on the VHF, ‘boat to my port side heading east, what is your intent?’ to know if I needed to ‘fall off’ or if they would.

The response came from the Mexican Navy, announcing their search for a vessel that had made an SOS call. They flashed their searchlight, asked our boat name, how many souls on board and whether we had seen any vessels. I responded that we hadn’t seen another vessel since starting at 2PM. As you can imagine, it was quite unnerving, staring into the blackness and wondering how close I might be to another vessel that perhaps had no lights. They turned off their spotlight and after a few more minutes, sped away. The next half hour for me was rather unsettling.

We were traveling on a waning moon, so the moonrise didn’t happen until Mike’s shift, about 12:30 or 1. At least he would have moonlight for a short time to help illuminate the night. To be clear, the bountiful stars provide some pretty amazing ambient light, but you can’t see very much.

Colorful rock formations abound

Full moon eclipse

A SCREW LOOSE

Part of our spring and fall deal when we reach Guaymas is visiting Family Dental, with brothers Gustavo and Octavio following in their father’s footsteps as dentists. Dental cleaning and inspections are $35 and the experiences are always pleasant. Upon completion of my cleaning, suddenly there was a small screw on my tongue. Dr. Gustavo and I were both perplexed! How was that possible, where did it come from? Of course, I laughed, stating that I always knew I had a screw loose (couldn’t pass that up and not sure with his English that he got my joke).

Since the screw was about the size from sunglasses, I checked my Maui Jims, adding quickly that I don’t put my sunglasses in my mouth, but hey, we were on a mission. He checked all of his equipment and we parted ways still wondering. About an hour later, his WhatsApp message advised he’d found the source of the missing screw. Another life mystery, solved.

And now, we’ve put the boat to rest for the hot summer and hurricane season. Safely, we believe, on the concrete at the Fonatur Marina. Thankful to escape the summer heat already settling in.

Crown of Thorns

Flower pot made from
a palm tree round

The mission at Loreto

Loreto Mission

Pescaderos killing lots of rays

Solar powered tortilleria in Agua Verde

 

Haul out at Fonatur