Sunday, February 28, 2010

Fuel Dock Debacle

We finally left Barra today, but before leaving the lagoon we visited the fuel dock to take on more diesel. There we had a minor disaster. The fuel dock attendant was a young woman who appeared to be about 16. After we tied our boat to the dock, the attendant handed Claudia the nozzle of the fuel hose. Claudia was about to pass the nozzle across the boat to me so I could insert it in our intake port, when the attendant turned on the high pressure pump. As it turned out, the nozzle was stuck open. It began spraying diesel all over the boat. It was pointing up at the time, so diesel sprayed all over our sails and our dodger. Claudia was taken by surprise and could not get it turned off. Eventually the attendant turned off the pump, but out boat was soaked in diesel. We spent a long time trying to clean it up with soap and water, but it was a big stinking mess. We are not happy. We'll need to be a lot more careful about refueling in the future.

Getting away from the fuel dock was also a problem. An eddy in the tidal current pushed us hard against the dock. As we backed away from the dock, the current pushed us toward the protruding stern of a large motor yacht tied to the other side of the dock We might have hit it but we were cushioned by a small inflatable dinghy that happened to be between us--a bit of good luck. We were glad to get out of there, across the bar, and out to sea again, although we did not go far. We decided to stop in a nearby bay known as "the secret anchorage." More on that later.

Saturday, February 27, 2010

Surviving the Tsunami

After a month in lovely Barra at the Grand Bay Marina, we thought we were ready to leave today. We have taken on provisions for a couple of weeks, refilled our water tanks, and cleared the decks. Relying on very cheap local laborers, we have had the bottom of the boat cleaned, our fiberglass waxed, and our stainless steel polished. All seemed ready for our departure until, during a last minute check on the weather, we got the tsunami warning. A major earthquake in Chile was expected to produce tidal waves along the Pacific coast. The waves would hit Barra about 11 am. What should we do?

Most of the cruisers anchored in the lagoon decided to run out to sea. Although the waves were not expected to be large here, there was concern that tidal surge in the shallow lagoon could cause boats to hit bottom. The marina is a different matter. It is deeper and the docks are strong and secure. Most of the skippers in the marina decided to stay. We did as well. While we participated in yoga class with Sara on the beach, we watched a parade of boats from the lagoon, and a few from the marina, heading out to sea--some of them at full throttle.

At 11 am, as predicted, the surge began. There was no noticeable tidal wave, but water began to drain from the lagoon at what appeared to be an unusually rapid rate. Navigation buoys were pushed over on their sides as a strong current flowed through the narrow entrance channel. A power boat attempting a late exit through the torrent lost control while passing through the channel and collided with a big navigation buoy, breaking it off its moorings.

The rest of the afternoon there were strong surges, as if water was sloshing in and out of the lagoon. The current past our slip was strong and unpredictable--making us worry about a trip to the fuel dock. So we decided to wait another day before leaving.

Boats returned to the lagoon and marina through the afternoon. No damage was done (except to the navigation buoy). This evening we'll be toasting our survival of yet another natural disaster.

Thursday, February 25, 2010

Barra de Navidad


After nine relaxing days at Tenacatita Bay, we were ready to move on. On January 27 we made the short trip down the coast to Barra de Navidad, where we had reserved a slip at the marina of the Grand Bay Hotel--a large and luxurious resort hotel with practically no guests. Visitors at the hotel's marina are allowed to make use of all the resort amenities, including several big swimming pools connected by water slides, free movies every night in a large theater, free yoga classes, water aerobics, and a weekly manager's reception with free food (elegant appetizers) and free drinks. After several weeks of anchoring out, we felt like we were in sailor's heaven.

The hotel is on the south side of a large lagoon that can be entered by passing over a shallow sand bar in a narrow entrance channel. On the north side of the channel is the town of Barra de Navidad (Barra for short), which is a tourist mecca full of good restaurants, craft stores, and small hotels, many with holistic, health-oriented themes. Here are shots of the Grand Bay Hotel from Barra; and from our dock.





The marina is full of mega-yachts, many with professional crews. Sabbatical is by far the smallest boat here. Many cruisers anchor in the large shallow lagoon behind the town of Barra (which can be seen in the photo to the left) because anchoring is free, while the marina slips are expensive (at least in the short term). But the marina offered a very good monthly rate--we found that staying an entire month cost no more than staying ten days. We were so impressed by the Grand Bay resort, that we decided to stay a month.

Life here has been nothing short of idyllic. Each morning, around 8:15 am, a French baker from Barra arrives at the dock in a small boat, delivering fresh baked goods, such as croissants, quiches, baguettes, and sweet rolls. That takes care of breakfast. We then go to the free yoga class, which runs from 9-10 am on a beach in front of the resort. Sara, the yoga instructor, is from Ashland, Oregon. We have become very friendly with her and her husband Colin, who is also a sailor. All the yoga is helping us become more flexible, both in body and mind. If yoga is akin to a religion, I'm becoming a convert. Here we are with Sara.

After yoga, I generally take my laptop and head for the pool outside the Presidential Suite on the tenth floor of the hotel. No one is staying in the Presidential Suite, nor in the nearby Governor's suite--but these suites share a beautiful swimming pool and jacuzzi with marvelous views of the lagoon and hills. Claudia likes to swim laps and read by the pool while I sit in a large covered patio and work on writing. projects. I call the patio my "office." Claudia and I are generally the only people there. It is like living in a gorgeous private villa--with a staff willing to bring food and drinks, supply fresh towels, and otherwise attend to any whim. I've been making good progress on a book project.


By late afternoon, when I'm tired of writing, we often go down to the lower pools, where our fellow cruisers like to hang out. It is a good time to have cocktails and trade stories. Jeff and Kathy from Stargazer (a Catalina 42 based at Cabrillo Marina in LA) have taught me to play bocce ball and a dominoes-like game called "Mexican train." Phil, from the other Sabbatical, and I have engaged in some empirical research to find the best way to make a cocktail with the frozen fresh mango puree available at the bar. This has required controlled tests in which mango and tequilla (mango margarita) went up against mango and rum (mango daiquiri). So far we favor the daiquiri, but I think additional experimental trials are needed to control for order effects.



There are many fun restaurants in the town of Barra. This is Sambuca, one of our favorites, which is built in a tree. Wytie Cable, the skipper of Reality Check, an Island Packet 420 from San Diego, introduced us to Veleros, a place with wonderful molcajetes. With the folks from Sabbatical Ninos, and from Old Moon, we also had a great dinner at a restaurant called Maya in the town of Melaque, just north of Barra. Maya is run by a foodie chef from Canada who also has a restaurant in the Gulf Islands. If all goes well, we may be able to visit that restaurant before this sabbatical is over.

Mardi Gras took place while we were here. In Barra there was a very amusing parade that we attended with our new friends John and Marianne from S/V Old Moon (a gorgeous Hylas 49 from Ventura Harbor). Below are some Mardi Gras parade pictures.



It was the only parade I've attended in which those parading by passed out free beer to bystanders--a very nice innovation (Rose Parade Committee, take note).


And one of the parade kings, Rey Momo, is the owner of a popular bar.



We later visited Rey Momo's place with Eric and Valerie Wagoner (shown here with Claudia), from Pacific Mystic yet another HaHa boat. They arrived in Barra with a broken boom and ripped mainsail, after an accidental jibe in heavy seas. Luckily, they were able to get everything repaired in Barra, so they could continue on their way to Panama, and ultimately Europe. They generously gave us a set of charts of the Pacific Northwest (where we are hoping to be this summer). In return, we took them out for molcajetes. We ended up at Rey Momo's on open mike night, where we heard a band called SoulFire Project do a set. The band is on its way to Peru (a trip designed, they say, to raise ecological consciousness and thereby save the planet). I didn't really feel cool enough to attend their performance--but we wished them well.




One of the nicest parts of Barra has been the opportunity to visit my cousin Laurie and her husband Chris (shown here). They have been coming to Barra every winter since 1978 and seem to know almost everyone who lives in town. Shortly after we arrived, they invited us to come have cocktails with them at their beach house and watch the sunset from their beach palapa. Unfortunately, it rained torrentially--Claudia and I showed up in foul weather gear from the boat--but we still had a great time. A couple of weeks later, we got back to their place later on an evening when the sun could actually be seen as it dipped beneath the sea to the west--although we did not detect the famous green flash that Laurie assures us can often be seen at sunset here.



Although we love staying at the Grand Bay, there are some problems with the marina. There are only three showers for the whole marina, and often only one of them has hot water. The showers are poorly designed so that they do not drain properly--leaving standing water in the bathrooms nearly all the time. There is a laundry facility, but the equipment is usually out of commission. We left our laundry with a lady who offered to do it for us. Later we saw our clothing draped all over the marina shrubbery to dry (because the dryer was broken). For a supposedly first-class facility, these were odd lapses. We understand that the marina is managed by a different group than the hotel, which may explain the contrast between the competence of the hotel staff and the hopelessness of the marina staff.

It is a mystery how the hotel manages to stay in business with so few guests. I estimate that the occupancy rate was 10% or less while we were there. Rumor has it that the hotel is owned by a wealthy Mexican family that can afford to take losses on a premier, signature property. Rumor also has it that the hotel books have consistently shown it to be fully occupied. There was much speculation (usually over margaritas) that the hotel might be used to launder money from (nod nod, wink wink) "other sources"--but who knows. The place is beautiful and deserves to be much more popular than it is, but I have been happy to enjoy it with so few other people around.

I will certainly miss the French baker, the yoga classes, the "office," and the great restaurants when we leave. We have decided to start heading back north soon so that we can work our way up into the Sea of Cortez in the Spring. At the end of May we have arranged to have our boat transported on a freighter from La Paz to Victoria, British Columbia, where our adventure will continue.