Side Trip to Guadalajara

While the boat was in the yard, we decided to visit the city of Guadalajara. For about $40 each, we bought tickets on a very comfortable bus for the seven hour trip. We stayed four nights at the San Francisco Plaza Hotel, in an old colonial building in the Centro Historico--the city center. Here is a picture of Claudia having breakfast in one of the interior courtyards for this nice, old hotel. It was not luxurious, but it certainly had character and a sense of history.
Here is the stairway up to our room.

And here is the outside of the hotel, which is on a small square about a block from San Francisco Plaza.

We spent two days looking at the architecture and public art in the city center, and visiting museums there. The Centro Historico is beautiful.



Much of the art made reference to events in the history of Mexico. We found ourselves wishing knew more of this history so that we could understand the art better. There are major murals by Jose Orozco, and one of the museums has an extensive exhibit that documents Orozco's entire career as an artist. Orozco's art is highly political and his huge figures are very impressive on the walls of the old buildings. Orozco seemed to make a point of criticizing his patrons. He painted murals with anti-religious themes (such as images of Christ cutting down his cross) on churches; images of legal corruption and bribery on the walls of appellate courts; images demonizing governmental power and glorifying insurgency on government buildings; and so on. It is disconcerting, although certainly interesting. Here are some of Orozco's images from the Governor's Palace.




We also spent a day in the nearby town of Tlaquepaque, which is a well-known center for arts and crafts, particularly ceramic pottery, as well as mariachi music. Here are some Tlaquepictures:




Another highlight of the trip was a visit to the central mercado, a huge building full of tiny shops. It was a giant warren crammed full of merchandise. One area had dozens of tiny restaurants. Birren (goat) is a local specialty.



We returned to Mazatlan on Monday, March 29, and discovered that progress on the boat had been slow. We have moved back aboard the boat, but it is still "on the hard" (as yachtistas say). To board the boat, we must climb a ladder. Work has been slow because this is Semana Santa (Easter week), which is honored here with much loud revelry and partying. The population of Mazatlan has more than doubled as Mexicans from inland areas have flocked to the beach. More on the boat project, and Easter celebrations later...

Haul Out

It has been three years since we had Sabbatical's bottom painted with anti-fouling paint, and the current paint is wearing through, making it difficult to keep the hull clean. Having heard good things from other cruisers about the work of a company called Total Yacht Works, at the Singlar Marina Boatyard in Mazatlan, we decided to have them do the bottom job for us.

We had to wait a few days at El Cid Marina for an opening in the boatyard. While at El Cid we made arrangements to have our interior upholstery redone--new cushions and new fabric. We also arranged for a canvas expert to resew and make repairs to our dodger (to fix some damage I caused when I installed our solar panels and replace some broken threads). We are impressed by how inexpensively we can have work done here. With luck, the upholstery and dodger should be completed while the boat is in the yard.

We also had a chance to reconnect with Seth, Sophie and Casey from Liberty. They are passing through on their way to the Sea of Cortez. We had a great evening sharing Mazatlan's famous cuisine--barbequed camarones with cerveza.

For exercise, we have been doing a lot of kayaking. We toured the very extensive waterways inland of the marina complex where the El Cid Company is developing condominiums and houses. Never have we seen so many infinity pools in such close proximity to one another.

We also kayaked to Isla Pajaro (Bird Island) which sits invitingly about a mile offshore, just outside the entrance to the marinas. There was a strong swell coming from the west, creating steep waves over the bar at the entrance channel, but once we got over those, it was an easy paddle to the island. Once there however, we encountered the following rather contradictory sign.

Hmmmm. Welcome, but you shouldn't be here. We stayed on the beach, took a few pictures, and paddled back. Here is the view of Mazatlan from the island

Our haul out was scheduled for 10 this morning. Because our holding tank was full, we got up early and left the harbor through the entrance channel in order to discharge the holding tank off shore. We encountered some steep waves as we motored over the sand bar at the mouth of the entrance channel, but we weren't too worried about it.

After dumping our waste three miles out, we headed back to the entrance channel. As we approached the entrance, we encountered some large swells that seemed to be coming in sets. We also saw what appeared to be breaking waves at the harbor entrance. Coming out through the channel we saw Patricia Belle , a classic 60-foot schooner that is well known in this area. As the schooner approached the bar, I saw it suddenly stop, turn, and start backing up. At first I thought she had run aground. As we got closer, I realized that the skipper was afraid to exit through the breaking waves, and was turning around in the narrow channel to reenter the harbor.

What should we do? I didn't want to be late for our haul out appointment. On the other hand, if the skipper of a 60-foot schooner was afraid to cross the bar, it seemed wise to be careful with our 33-foot sloop. I slowed down and got ready to radio Singlar Marina and tell them we would need to reschedule. While doing so, I noticed that the seas had flattened out--we were in a lull. I looked behind us--no swells were coming. Figuring this was our best chance, I gunned the engine and headed for the bar at full throttle. As we approached the bar, I saw some large swells rolling in from the west, but we beat them across and motored into the channel with no problem at all.

Just inside the entrance, near the El Cid fuel dock, we passed close abeam of Patricia Belle. Skipper and crew were all staring at us. The skipper yelled that we must have had a "hairy" time crossing the bar. I yelled back that we had timed it for lull and had had no problem. He shook his head and said (Claudia can verify that this is an exact quote): "well you're a better sailor than I am." I doubt that is true, but we did manage the entrance pretty well. Our familiarity with the wave sets, from having kayaked through the entrance the day before, probably helped. A short time after we entered the channel, the Harbor Master "closed" the marina entrance--which means that boats were no longer allowed to exit due to the danger of breaking waves.

We got to Singlar a few minutes early. The Singlar staff waved us into the lift, placed straps under our keel, and lifted the boat out of the water.

Bob Buchanan, the jefe at Total Yacht Works, examined the bottom carefully and recommended that we have all of the old paint removed. He said there is a thick layer of paint, from previous bottom jobs, and that the paint is beginning to separate from the underlying gel coat, with water penetrating between paint and plastic. I was able to remove some large sections of paint with my fingers, which seemed to confirm what he was saying.

We agreed to have all the old paint removed. The staff will then apply two coats of epoxy primer (a barrier coat) followed by new Proline ablative paint. This should put the hull in better-than-new condition. The good news is that everything else on the hull looks fine--and that the work can be done here much less expensively than would be possible at home.

While the boat is in the yard, we will take an inland road trip to Guadalajara.

North to Mazatlan (and a story of one that got away)

We were pinned down in La Cruz for a few days by strong northwest winds. After our rough trip around Cabo Corientes and across Banderas Bay, we were looking for a calmer "weather window" for the trip north to Mazatlan. We finally got it--and left on March 13th.

The first night we stopped at Chacala, a small bay north of Punta Mita and South of San Blas. We were joined there by the other Sabbatical, which was also heading north. We also saw Saphire, another HaHa boat that we had last encountered at Las Frailes.

Chacala is pretty, and has a nice beach with the standard palapa restaurants, but we did not go ashore. We were eager to move on to Mazatlan.

When we left Chacala in the morning, I used a spinning rod with relatively light (20 pound) line to troll a small plastic lure. I have another pole with heavier (50 pound) line, but had not gotten around to setting it yet. I was talking on the radio to Phil on the other Sabbatical when the pole bent over and the line went singing out. By the time I got the boat slowed down, and got the rod out of the rod holder, a lot of line had been taken off the reel. I was tightening the drag, thinking we might have a nice fish for dinner, when I saw an enormous sailfish come flying straight up out of the water, about 100 yards off our stern. It was at least 5 feet long. It took me a few seconds to realize that I had hooked a monster.

The pressure on the line felt light, so I reeled in as quickly as I could, while yelling for Claudia to get the net and the camera. The fish made several spectacular leaps, coming entirely out of the water while shaking its head violently, trying to toss off the hook. Then it made a run away from the boat. Line went smoking off the small reel and after what seemed like less than a second I was standing there holding a fishing rod with no line attached. The fish made one last vertical leap, and then was gone.

It is probably a good thing it got away, as we would have had no way to get such a large fish onto the boat, and I would hate to harm such a magnificent creature. But I now have a better understanding of the appeal of fishing for giant bill fish. It is very exciting to have one on the line--even if only for a couple of minutes.

We continued to sail northwest. By the afternoon, the winds were stronger--it was blowing 20 knots from the northwest--exactly the direction we wanted to go. We started the engine and motored into the swells with the mainsail up for stability. At sunset I went to the mast to drop the mainsail, so that we could motor more directly toward Mazatlan. To keep the halyard from slapping the mast, I disconnected it from the mainsail, but I lost hold of it before I could secure it to the sail cover. In the strong breeze, the halyard went flying behind the boat and wrapped itself around the backstay and the topping lift. I tried to reach it to pull it down, but the boat was pitching so much in the choppy waves that I thought better of it. We proceeded with the engine only through the night.

In the morning, the winds had calmed and the seas were smooth. I was able to reach the wrapped halyard with a boat hook and bring it down. We then reset the sails and continued on to Mazatlan, across calm seas. We arrived off the marina area in the early afternoon and motored into the channel to El Cid Marina, where we are now staying. Our last time here we stayed in Marina Mazatlan. El Cid has nicer facilities, although there is more surge at its docks because it is close to the harbor entrance.

We are planning to have Sabbatical hauled out at the Singlar Boatyard here for bottom paint. While here we are also hoping to have the interior upholstery redone and make some other repairs.

Back to La Cruz

We left Chamela on March 8th. We motorsailed up the coast into light headwinds and reached Ipala by mid afternoon. Ipala is known for lobster, so we had a lobster dinner at one of the palapa restaurants, then spent the night at anchor in the bay. The next morning we continued northwest around Cabo Corrientes.

We motored with the mainsail up and drawing. By mid-morning, we faced 15 knot headwinds. The winds built as we continued and the seas around the cape became confused. It was like being in a washing machine, with heavy chop hitting us from all angles. The boat pitched fore and aft, and was slowed by the waves, but managed to cut through them without any slapping or pounding. It was a wet trip, but with assistance from the engine we were able to maintain about 5 knots of speed until we rounded the point and entered Banderas Bay.

Once in the bay, we had a couple of hours of fine sailing, close reaching into winds of about 20 knots and making good progress. We flew along with a single reef in the mainsail and the genoa slightly furled. In midafternoon, the wind suddenly became much stronger. It was whistling through the rigging at about 30 knots. The boat heeled far over and became difficult to control as it tried to round up. Because the seas were rough, I was reluctant to leave the cockpit to put in another reef. We furled the genoa and fell off to a beam reach, running with only the main. This stabilized the boat and we continued forward at about 6 knots. Waves kicked up by the strong winds broke on the deck and drenched the dodger and cockpit in spray. The winds gradually dropped as we approached La Cruz and gained some protection from the surrounding hills. By the time we reached the anchorage, the winds were moderate. The boat and crew were heavily crusted in salt.

The anchorage at La Cruz was crowded with over 40 boats and the marinas were reported to be full. A lot of people are here for a boat show and the upcoming Banderas Bay regatta. After one night in the anchorage, we were able to obtain a slip in the La Cruz marina, which was helpful because I needed to wash the salt off the boat.

We have spent the last couple of days resupplying, changing the engine oil, and getting ready to continue north. We have also spent time at the boat show and in La Cruz, still a fun town. We will continue north tomorrow.

Back to Chamela

We have been waiting in Chamela the past three days for a "weather window" that will allow us to round Cabo Corrientes and get back to Banderas Bay. Several boats that started north from here have been forced to return by strong winds and big waves. The most recent predictions show the winds moderating tomorrow, so we'll probably make a run for it (although some of the other skippers plan to wait until next week).

While here, I took apart and reconditioned our electric windlass, which has been misbehaving. It has clutch pads, which have been slipping, making it difficult to raise the anchor. To get the clutch pads off for cleaning required removing a chain pipe and chain stripper assembly, which was bolted through the deck. Once I had the windlass disassembled, I noticed water coming from a vent in the gearbox, so I decided to drain and replace the gear oil. That required removing the entire windlass from the deck to pour out the old oil. The job took most of a day, but the windlass now seems to work much better.

At anchor near us are Richard and Roseanne Packard of the Willard 40 trawler Lilliana. When we first arrived in Bahia Chamela they were the only other boat here and they generously invited us to dinner. We learned that he is a physics professor at UC Berkeley and she is a lawyer as well as a registered nurse. It was a very interesting evening.

Richard has spent the past 17 summers on another trawler that they own in southeast Alaska. When he learned that we are heading to the northwest at the end of May, he offered to give pointers on cruising to Alaska. I spent the next afternoon going over charts and getting inspirational guidance from a true cruising veteran. It was a pleasure to learn from such an enthusiatic, generous teacher.

A high school group from Guadalajara is visiting the bay. They are spending time on the beach at one of the palapas. One of the teachers and two of the student swam out to our boat to say hello. They spoke little English, and they soon exhausted our limited Spanish, but were very friendly. The students have brought along musical instruments, including a tuba, and are now producing mariachi music with perhaps more enthusiasm than skill.

Here are two of our visitors.

Careyes

We left Cuastecomates on March 3rd and headed up the coast. We motored in the morning because the winds were light, but by afternoon we were able to sail. The wind filled in on the beam and we had a fast run northwest to a small bay known as Careyes, where we anchored for the night.

Careyes was spectacular--the most exotic, beautiful scenery we have encountered--like a cross between Big Sur and the Italian Riviera: rocky cliffs, dark green foliage, lots of palm trees, brightly colored houses and condos built into the steep slopes, with lots of trailing flower vines and bouganvilla. There are condos and a resort on a private beach. It is definitely high end with a woo woo ambiance. There was a sweat lodge/hogan on the beach next to the massage tables enclosed in gauzy fabric, and next to that was a woman sunbathing nude. (I gave her a friendly smile, but she seemed less than delighted to see me kayak up to the beach with a camera dangling from my neck).

There was almost no one there (besides the naked lady, two teenagers in bikinis, and a couple who claimed to speak only French). There was a high-end palapa restaurant with a staff of about 12 dressed in white linen but no customers. They did seem delighted to see us, but after surveying the menu (all the usual dishes, but three times the usual prices) Claudia and I decided to pass in favor of grilling camarones on the boat.

There was also a ritzy but nearly empty hotel and lots of large, beautiful condos built into the slopes, all well maintained but mostly empty. The condos even had a funicular--I suppose to help deliver pate and champagne down from the road above.

Amazingly enough, we were the only boat there. We anchored in the tiny upper lobe of the three-lobed bay, off a pure white beach called (appropriately enough) Playa Blanca. Club Med once had a resort at Playa Blanca and much of the infrastructure (including a concrete pier and a spectacular suspension bridge from the mainland to an island) is still in place, although crumbling. The bay is tiny, with enough room for one or two boats at most.

Now, the bad parts. The old Club Med is being rebuilt (we're told as a private residential compound) and there was a huge and very noisy construction crew that worked from 8 in the morning to 8 at night. Lots of jack hammering and and what sounded like steel bars being dropped on concrete from great height. The other problem was that the tiny bay got lots of surge during the night. It was a rolly anchorage, and by morning the surge was strong enough to worry me, as we swung near rocks, so we beat a hasty retreat right after dawn and motored up to Chamela.

Here are a few pictures.

Cuastecomates--The "Secret" Anchorage

After leaving Barra, we headed for what cruisers call "the secret anchorage" in a small bay off the village of Cuastecomates, which is a few miles west of Melaque. It is a "secret" to cruisers because it is not described in any of the popular cruising guides. But when I told my cousin Laurie and her husband Chris about the "secret anchorage" they laughed--saying it was no secret to them; they go there all the time to swim.

As the pictures show, this bay is very pretty. We were able to swim or kayak from the boat into a nice beach that has a few palapa restaurants and hotels. Here is what the beach looks like.


Here is Claudia sampling a michelada in a beachside palapa.


And here is what I had. Sabbatical is the boat just above the bottle.



The weather is beautiful and sunsets are gorgeous.

The snorkeling is not as good here as we had been led to believe. There is a lot of sediment in the water (perhaps stirred up by the tsunami) that impairs visibility, but it is still a nice place to swim.

The second day we were here, we heard someone shouting "ahoy." I looked out and saw a woman wearing a large hat swimming toward the boat. Another woman was close behind. It turned out to be cousin Laurie, who was out swimming with her friend LizAnn. They stopped to chat for a bit before continuing on--both are impressive swimmers.