Happy New Year

May this new year be a start of putting away old fears and moving forward with new dreams. There is no time like the present.

Last Few Days of the Year

 

Halcyon
Wednesday -Dec. 21, 2011
It’s the time of year where people get stressed and anxious, especially those who don’t have much in the world.  I think the holiday season is only a reminder. People say to be extra vigilant and watch your wallets.

We were approached today by a man .  He asked me for “Mike” as I walked passed him at the Cruisers Club morning coffee. He told me that he did work on my boat during the past summer and demanded that he get paid for it.  Said we owed him $5,000 pesos ($373).  Our boat was left in the care of a man
that had done much work for us over the previous year.  We were surprised to hear that he might have hired someone to work on our boat and not pay him, or tell us about it.  We told the man, Rafael, that we would have to talk with our man first.  He seemed ok with that.

Everything is coming together for us to depart from this place soon and the news that we might have to pay this individual this amount of money would keep us here another month. We weren’t very happy about the situation.

Thursday – December 22, 2011
Weather report states that a Nor-Easter is about to blow hard Friday thru Sunday.  Our engine was taken apart to get to the thermostat.  Sitting on the anchor out in the anchorage makes it an uneasy feeling not being able to start the motor should we need to during the blow. 

Our mechanic friend came out to the boat today to button the engine back up until our part arrives.  We tell him about our encounter with Rafael. 

Our mechanics reaction went from puzzled to surprised, to upset to really upset.  He began begging me to not pay this man.  “Por favor Ms. Shannon, Por favor Ms. Shannon, Por favor Ms. Shannon.”.

 He was standing in the wheel house where Michael was working doing some carpentry.  He backed up and sat right on top of the boxes of screws and fasteners.  His eyes filled with tears as he shook his head back and forth in disbelief.  He reminded us of a time in this past year
when some of the “locals” were jealous that he had work.  He said people were trying to cause problems for him.  He is a hard worker and is willing to go beyond the “call of duty” to get things accomplished. His belief is “If you don’t want to pay me for the work I’ve done, then don’t pay me.” Unfortunately, a occassional boater has stiffed him. 

Since we are the foreigners here, our espanol is very limited.  Our mechanic speaks very good english but sometimes things get lost in translation.  We assured him that we wouldn’t do anything without speaking to him first and that we were amigos (friends).

  Before he left the boat he said he was going to pay Rafael a visit and ask him ” what side do you want the blow on?”.    Our mechanic is an x-boxer, don’t think I would want to make him mad.

By the way, today I was determined to try out the pressure cooker pot I bought a year ago. Was anxious about using it since they had a reputation for exploding.  But since we’ve been on the boat I have read how cooking with these pots saves fuel, less cooking time. 

 So I had a cold beer, followed the directions and cooked beans for chili.  It went really well. The more I use this pressure cooker, the more at ease I will be. 

Friday 12-23-11

3AM I am awake.  The wind has clocked around and is gusting hard out of the north.  My son walks into our cabin and asks for the Excedrin.  He went to bed with a migraine that didn’t go away as he expected.  I do a few rounds of hot and cold compresses to help him relax.  It’s 5 am now.
I think he got back to sleep.

 The seas are rocking and rolling as the brass lamp above the galley table swings back and forth. Thought that would bother me but I hardly notice it any more.  The sound of the anchor chain rubbing on the anchor base vibrates the boat each time it comes in contact.  The water hitting
the side of the boat is relaxing but the motion of the boat twisting from side to side makes me unsteady when I’m getting around the boat.  Better get use to that too.  We are in it for at least 3 days this time. Not sure we will be able to go ashore to celebrate the holiday with friends. It’s a “wait and see”.

Holiday Season

 

Groups of boats arrived in La Paz over Thanks Giving everyone hurried to their destinations.  They filled up the anchorages and dropped their anchors almost on top of other boaters anchors.  The weather got cooler and the boats eventually left to head south for warmer climates.  The quiet takes over.

Four days before Christmas.  No television commercials and no pressures.  The Sanctuary bells ring in succession during the day and night.  The sound drifts across the water to where we are anchored and is only a faint but sweet sound.  Peace.  A delight full time.  Being able to spend time as chosen and not as dictated is a real blessing.  If these days were my last, they were so well spent.

 

Back in Action

We have been back in the water for six days now.  It was such a wonderful relief to put the boat back in the water.  It was like getting her out of jail.  Our dog had spent a week living out of her dog crate like a real dog.  It was impossible to bring her on board while the boat was on the hard, out of the water. Once it was splashed she ran down the dock with her tail wagging.  She wasn’t the only happy one.  Now you might ask me “just what are we looking at here?”.  We motored the boat out to the bay and dropped the anchor in a less populated area.  As the anchor was being dropped, Michael marked the spot where it went down.  Below is a picture of our GPS that has the feature of  where the wind has taken us.  It’s amazing the anchor and chain isn’t in one big knot under the boat.  We have had strong winds out of the south that clocked around out of the north and we are still holding strong. The diagram below looks like we have had sharp rough turns, but it has been a gentle glide and rocking motion the entire time. Life is good.

Traveling

We have one week left before flying west to LA and then south to La Paz, Mx.  We got our new studio set up in the states to do our art work and are ready to get on the boat and bring it back to the states.  By the looks of the weather up north Mexico will be the ideal place to be spending some time this winter.  We are excited and anxious to take the boat thru the Panama Canal and then north to the U.S.

Are We There Yet?

Seems like we spend most of our time wishing our lives away.

By the end of May we could hardly stand the heat in La Paz.  The days were starting to reach 100-101 and the window liners had been put back in the ports to keep the temperature down inside the boat.  Couldn’t wait for the sun to start setting just so we could sit out on the deck and attempt to catch a cool breeze.  By the first week in June we were planning on storing the boat for hurricane season and heading back to the states.

We had been in Mexico for 11 months and had no idea what we were missing. Television in the U.S. is mentally degrading not only the commercials but the programs as well.  The people are more self absorbed and less willing to speak in passing.   We discovered that we had been acclimated to La Paz.  Life in Mexico had taught us to slow down……. and focus on keeping it simple.

We have been back in the states for two months now and  are looking forward to returning to Mexico and our home on the boat. As soon as hurricane season is over and things start to cool off  we will be returning back to La Paz to pick up where we left off.  Are we there yet?

At Anchor

We’ve been sitting on the anchor now for about 3 weeks. It has been great. When ever we need something from the store we take the dingy to shore. The ride is about 10 minutes depending on who’s driving. It’s it little Mike it’s a 3 minute trip and if it’s Michael (Dad) it’s about 10 minutes. Fast trips to shore with Mike have been fun and painful. He pulled the dingy up to the boat last week and touched the trottle just as I had started to reach for the rubrail of the sailboat. The dingy lunged forward and I slipped off the seat and onto the floor at Mikes feet in a flash, landing on my backside. Mike got to laughing so hard that the words “I’m so sorry Mom” were almost unrecognizable. It was funny.

For the past two weeks Michael has been working on the watermaker to try to get the system to produce water under 600 ppm (parts per million) It was producing water for awhile under 400 ppm. Then the system picked up some oil or debris and it hasn’t worked right since. He thought since we were anchored in an area where there is a consistant tide and current that debri such as oil would’nt be an issue, but it was. So Mike has been hauling water jugs to the boat for washing up and drinking.

 The nearby marina sells showers at 15 pesos each, which has been nice. There is a sign in the showers that asks people to keep their hot water showers down to 5 minutes. It states that some people in La Paz only get water 3 times a week and it’s at night. After reading that I stopped feeling sorry for myself and very thankful for that 5 minute shower. Due to the watermaker issue, we haven’t been out sailing. Hopefully today Michael will remedy the problem and we can be “up and running” again.

 Our refrigerator and freezer quit working last week. I had to throw out several pounds of ground beef and chicken. We are now using blocks of ice that we buy from shore to keep our drinks and foods cold. Luckily I can start the generator to vacuum out the water once the ice melts. The freezer needs a drain plug so that we can drain it into the bilge.

 Other than the on going rewiring of the electrical system, everything else is working fine. It wasn’t until the other day when I was working on our budget did I realize that for the month of May we have been almost totally self sufficient. If we didn’t need water and ice from shore, we would be totally self sufficient. That is a nice thought!

Halcyon Waits in Baja Til Hurricane Season is Over.

The tropics are heating up and the storms are starting to brew. Not a good time to head south to Panama for Halcyon and her crew.

The choice has been made to sail around in the Sea of Cortez and get more familiar with the boat.

Sea Trials

The day was getting so hot that we were dragging our bodies around as we went about our chores.  The high was predicted to be 95 degrees and I think it was close to it by 11AM.  The deck looked like a bomb hit it. Michael turned to me and said “Let’s clean this all up on the way out of here”.  Those were the best words I had heard all morning.  So he started up the motor and out we went, cleaning up the deck as we motored along. 

The water was Blueberry Blue and the hues changed lighter to white as the water got shallower.  We motored up to the same place as before, a couple of weeks ago. There were people in kayaks, waverunners, and fishing boats. The anchor was dropped in 20′ of water.  The GPS set to announce any dragging of the anchor.

Mike jumped into the inflatable dingy with a 4 stroke 10 hp motor on the back.  Off he flew to go check out the sights.  He was so fun to watch as he bounced off the waves from a nearby waverunner.

As my eyes scanned the water I  saw several schools of fish right on the surface of the water.  Each time a bird flew over it was as tho the bird had a magnetic pull as a soft swosh sound would occur and many of the little fish would pile up in the direction the bird was flying.

Later in the evening the guys were out on the deck, when a kayak with a father and son pulled up next to the boat.

The little boy yelled “HOLA!” As if he were saying “I said Hi!   He spoke some english and asked if he could come on board and have his picture taken.  Up comes Father and Son.  More voices came from behind the boat. Three more people climb on board. It was Mom and two daughters. The children looked to be between the ages of 9-12.  They all wanted their pictures taken on the boat.  So we took their pictures.

As the sun  set and the full moon crossed the mountain, it reflected into the sea.

Michael was  done for the day and goes to bed.  Little Mike says he’s wired and can’t go to sleep.  Says he doesn’t like being on the anchor.  I tell him he’ll have to get use to it because we’ll be anchored out much over the next 3 months. He explains that he should have gone to bed while we were still up so that he could feel that someone was on watch.  So I tell him that I would be up for a while.  He finally settles down and goes to sleep.

If I weren’t so sleepy I’d stay up for hours sitting in the companion way watching the stars and the bright lit up moon. There’s a gentle breeze blowing which carries the sound of the mariachi bands tuba player over from the nearby beach.  Someone must have gotten married today due to the  white tents set up and music being played all afternoon.

By the next morning the guys go over the routine check of the engine and find a leaky transmission seal and a few other issues that need to be addressed.

It is decided that we head back to the marina and address these matters.  Shouldn’t take more than a day or two and hopefully we will be out again for another sea trial.

Bitter Sweet

A week has passed, almost two…but I thought I’d better update my blog.  Our family pet Wally passed away Sunday two weeks ago.  It was a very sad time for us.  We had the boat ready for a sea trial so we took the opportunity to motor out into the bay and bury Wally in close to 100′ of water.  The ride out was exciting.  The boat handled like a dream.  The day was clear and warm with virtually no wind and the water was crystal clear. Dolphins decided to escort us as we crossed the downtown area of La Paz.  They stayed directly under our bow wake and when I talked to them, they would surface and blow water at me.  It made me smile.

We left the dock around 3:30 pm and arrived at a deep place in the bay close to sunset.  As we looked around for a spot to say goodbye to our friend, we passed a seal playing around in the water.  I poured two shot glasses of Coconut Rum and one of Grape Juice as the three of us offered a toast to Wally.  He was wrapped in red canvas from the boat, weighed down with some heavy weight and slid into the bay.  We watched as his body sink below the depths out of sight. Not one of us could speak a word.

Michael slowly walked back to the wheelhouse, put the engine in gear and headed out to a nearby island where we would anchor for the night.  We pulled into a cove and dropped the anhcor in about 20′ of water.  We had a light dinner of salsas, bean drip and tortilla chips.  As the light faded away the wind began to blow and blow it did hard until 2:30 AM.  Michael set the alarm on the GPS, as we all took sights on land to get an idea where we were so if we dragged anchor we would know.  By the time we finished dinner the wind had picked up considerably and we were concerned that we had dragged, so the three of us went on topsides, Mike at the wheel, Michael on the anchor as I am handed a flashlight and the VHF Radio to give Mike orders as Michael attempts to reset the anchor.  The wind just howled in our ears.  Michael had to yell for me to hear him giving me directions as to where to shine the light all at the same time giving me directions to relay to Mike.  With all of the mix of emotions running around in my head, I notice I’m pointing the handheld radio at the anchor while talking in the flashlight. Not helpfull!

Michaels content at last that we are staying in the same spot and goes below to bed.  While Mike makes a place on the deck to sleep.  He wanted to keep one eye open in case we start to drag.  I bring him a pillow and warm blanket while our other dog snuggles up to him to keep warm.  Me…I felt I would be most useful if I just stayed up all night.  The sun warms up the land during the day and when the sunsets the cooler air covers the land as the warmer air rushes upward.  It felt like the wind blew over 30 knotts that night.

By 4:30AM, I went to sleep.  Guys got up by 7Am.  I joined them, fixed a big breakfast then we lowered the little boat over the side while Mike and Caelin, our black lab, took a ride to the beach for her morning walk.  Then we splashed my kayak over the side and off I went for a morning paddle.  It was absolutely beautiful.  The farther out I paddled the clearer the water got and I could see all kinds of large fish under me.  It made me feel like I was up high looking down, as my heart sank.  A sea plane passed overhead and then circled around the island as well as an ultralight float plane.

As I paddled around the rocky cliff, white sandy beaches came into view. Wow what a day.  When I returned to the boat I noticed the tide was going out, we were in 7′ of water.  Our draft is 6′.  Michael seemed content to stay there but on went the motor, then up he pulled the anchor and out to the bay once again.  We headed back across La Paz and over to the marina where we have been staying.  It took 1 to 2 hours to get back.

Once we were back in our slip at the marina we felt exhausted, mostly from the sadness in our hearts from losing our friend.  It was a bitter sweet time.