Last Call.

24.2N 110.3W. Marina CostaBaja, La Paz, B.C.S., Mexico.

Monday is our last day in the marina as we haul out Tuesday morning. We are sure going to miss our early morning workouts in the little gym and the endless supply of fresh water for Gitano. We will make the most of our day running errands and doing a few more little chores...

Cheers!

Artisan Festival.

El Triunfo, B.C.S., Mexico..

On Sunday, we took a run in land to the old mining town of El Triunfo to check out an Artisan Festival. The festival was small but the music and the dance troup were fun and we enjoyed our dusty day in the sun amongst the ruins.

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Apr2009ElTriunfo

Marina Life.

24.2N 110.3W. Marina CostaBaja, La Paz, B.C.S., Mexico.

We tried to haul out on Monday, 13 April, but found the high tide to be 2” too low to do so. So…..we bash back to Marina Costa Baja for another nine days of marina life.

Our typical routine these easy days include early morning workouts, listen to the local radio nets starting at 0800, do a few boat chores here and there as most of the work has already been done in anticipation of the earlier haul out…and, then….

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Apr2009 Marina CostaBaja

"You Know You Are A Cruiser When...

1) People offer you food they were going to throw away — and you accept.
2) You take a shower, then put on the same clothes you were wearing before the shower.
3) A swim in a pool or a hot tub counts as a shower.
4) Your friends try to nail you down on a time and place to meet, but you just can't commit.
5) You feel proud when you serve drinks that have ice cubes."

-- www.zialater.com

We could easily add to this list....

Crossing Back.

20.8N 105.5W to 22.9N 109.9W. Southern Passage, Sea of Cortes, Mexico…aka “We Should Have Waited Another Day” Passage.

It is the second day of March and we are hauling up our anchor and heading across. We had to bide our time, waiting for a Norther to blow its way through…but, finally, we think it is time to get going. We depart at dawn with winds from the Northwest at 10-12 knots. The going is smooth…IN the anchorage. However, once we pass through the rip outside of the bay, we find ourselves in confused seas with some pretty prominent cross chop. The time is now, though, we say…with more northerlies predicted in less than a week. We need to get going…giving ourselves a buffer of time to deal with some potential transmission issues that might make us divert to Mazatlan.

Oh…what a mistake. There should be a cardinal rule in cruising that says something like “though shall not manhandle your boat.” OK, there already is probably a rule…but we were thinking “wind” and not “boat”…so we kept going. We got slapped around pretty hard and to add insult to injury ended having to head up to Mazatlan…because we did, indeed, end up needing more ATF. The passage was rough. Gitano’s decks were awash the entire way…the boat leaked...when we could rest, one at a time when the other was on watch, we did so in a wet birth…we bumped, we groaned, we cursed, we ached...that was just us...who knows what we really put the boat through.

To sum it up…we should have waited another day!

The transmission is leaking oil…and our supply is almost depleted. We decide to change course for Mazatlan in order to restock and head out the next morning. What a difference a day makes! The seas have calmed way down…and, while we will have to motorsail across the Sea…it is a much nicer crossing than the past two days.

Another overnight passage and we begin our approach towards Ensenada de los Muertos in the early afternoon. Steve puts out a line and catch a nice fat little male Dorado. Ten pounds of fresh fish meat. Wonderful!

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Apr2009 Crossing

Lifeboat.

From time to time, we come across an article or letter that speaks to our own spirit...here is one we thought to share with you all.

SHE'S THE LIFEBOAT OF MY BODY, MIND AND SPIRIT

As I watch the value of my investments wither, lament my diminishing net worth, and listen to news of worse to come, I am gladdened to remind myself that, among my many ventures, I deigned to own a little boat. Though her value tallies poorly on my accountant’s balance sheet, whenever I cast off from the dock under a press of sail, the dividends come tumbling in. The follies of greed, avarice and envy vanish in her wake. I am lifted free of all petty concerns. She is the lifeboat for my body, mind and spirit. As for the accountants, financial advisors and other bean counters, I say damn their eyes! She is my one truly recession-proof investment.

Marc Hersch
Songline, J/42
Santa Cruz / Ventura

Marc — We know what you mean. Latitude 38.

Cazar Ballenas Canción.

20.7N 105.3W. La Cruz de Huanacaxtle, Nayarit, Mexico.

We often are treated to humpback whale songs...especially at night while in the berth...with our ears at the water line. Last night's experience was profound. Early one morning, Steve noted the whales...as he often does. I was also awake listening to the distant songs. It sounded to us like three whales...each taking a turn at answer-and-call. As time rolled on, the whale songs continued...progressing, in sophistication and nearness. At one point, we felt that we were surrounded by the whales...one calling from one side of the boat...another answering for the other side. It was truly incredible. We kept awake for hours listening to their songs. Before dawn, the whales had moved on...our experience, however, held us in awe. Amazing.

Come morning...and the morning boat chores...it was interesting to hear one boat to another hale each other, asking if they had heard the whales. Yes, yes...was the answer...all over the anchorage....of fifty or more boats at anchor. Yes!, we heard them. I had an image of the whales singing along the bahia...hearing the voices of mariners tucked in their berths...asking each other if they heard the whales...the buzz from the anchorage enticing the whales to swim closer....sounding along...more voices...more songs...more voices...for hours...

I will never forget this experience. It was magical. There was one sailboat, however, that had an even closer experience with the whales in the anchorage. Interesting enough, the boat hails from Arcata. You can read about their Ballenas Interruptus if you are wish.

La Bahia de Banderas.

20.8N 105.5W. Bahia de Banderas, Nayarit, Mexico.

…surf…whales…warm water…more surf…more whales…good home-cooked food…tropical air…waking to whale songs at night…a few worrisome mechanical problems…problems fixed…more surf…

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Jan2009 Banderas Bay

The Crossing.

20.8N 105.5W. Bahia de Banderas, Nayarit, Mexico.

We begin our passage on New Year’s Day. The Sea is in chaos – roiling with wind waves and chop from a near week of northerlies. We leave the anchorage under power but are able to shut down the iron genny and enjoy being under sail for as long as it lasts. Unfortunately, favorable sailing conditions last for only a few short hours. The wind fades by late morning and Gitano gets slapped around smartly. We decide to suck-it-up and keep moving on, expecting the seas to smooth out over the next few days.

Morning turns to afternoon…turns to night watches…to morning…to afternoon…to night…and, come sunrise, days later, our eyes are greeted with much-appreciated glassy seas. The sea is pocked with turtles slow in awakening to the sounds of our passing. Signs of a groundswell grow as we approach land and we glass the shoreline looking for surf. By mid-morning, we are at anchor at the point of Punta de Mita.

Happy New Year!

Christmas Morning.

23.5N 109.5W Ensenada de Los Muertos, BCS, Mexico.

We are free. Free of dock lines, free of the several-times-daily-made-stations-of-the-cross-type-walk (marina version), free of the much-too-enjoyed high-speed internet, free of shore power, free of endless hot water, free of easy access to land and stores.

Gitano slips out into the Sea with a sprightly step. The air smells fresher. We feel younger. The sun rises and we are underway, once again.

We shut down the engine and hoist our new main, testing her out in the light Northwest winds.

We enter the Ceralvo Channel under dolphin escort...lovely!

We set anchor by early afternoon with the expectation that we will spend some time at anchor here as Northerlies are predicted to commence soon and last for most of a week.

Feliz la pura vida!

Still Life in La Paz.

24.15N 110.3W. Marina Palmira, La Paz, BCS, Mexico.


It has been interesting hearing all of your news from up north -- e.g. freezing temperatures, snow, canceled trips, and rapidly diminishing supplies of firewood... to name a few. By contrast, it is1100 as I write this and the sky is clear, the air is still and the temperature is in the mid-70s.

We are getting ready to shove off tomorrow morning -- Christmas Day! Steve is putting the car in storage and I am doing some last minute business on the internet.

We are heading across the Sea to mainland Mexico. At this point, we are not certain if we will do so in one long passage or break it up. It all comes down to the weather. There are Northers predicted. Some sources say there will be relatively strong Northers commencing in just a few days...while other sources say the winds will be a bit less and a bit more tardy. quien sabe?

So for now, it is fair winds and following seas....and, of course, feliz navidad!

The City of La Paz.

24.15N 110.3W La Paz, BCS, Mexico.

For the past three seasons, we have staged out of La Paz. La Paz is a real Mexican city. It is charming and busy and rich in history. On Sunday, we had some time to go out for a nice breakfast and take a stroll before the crowds hit the main square.

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Dec2008 La Paz

Surf Trip.

Pedrito Trailer Park.

We took a little road trip to Pedrito to catch a bit of surf. It is just an hour and a half from La Paz...with thirty minutes of that time just getting out of the La Paz sprawl. Up early and on the road at sun up and Steve was surfing by nine. We stayed the night and then headed back to the boat after another morning surf.

Here are a few more photographs of our day trip.

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Dec2008 Road to Pedrito

Old Mainsail.

24.15N 110.3W.

We needed a new mainsail when we purchased Gitano in 2002. In spite of that fact, our old mainsail drove us through six full seasons. She drove us through several Tehuantepec-kers of Mexico’s Hurricane Alley though we swore we would only sail through one. She drove us through the worse winds we ever faced -- being the Papagayos -- herself suffering some significant tears in the old fabric.

She is a large old style sail. She can make you proud when she is set right and full. She humbles you when you don’t quite know what you are doing and are getting overpowered and drug across wind waves rather than cutting gracefully through them.

I have learned to sail under her. I have sat under her shade while cruising through the day in the company of dolphins. In my many irrational moments while under sail, I have begged for wind to fill her up so that we could continue to sail without the engine. There were other moments when I have begged for the wind not to fill her up too much requiring us to turn to and reef her in. Always when underway, we were aware of her presence...under her tutelage. Her instruction was on occasion demanding...but more often subtle and forgiving.

So, I am sad today as we replace her with a new-to-us sail. Life in the tropics simply took its final toll on her fabric leaving it too easy to rip and tear. The re-cut sail looks like it will work well…but it will never be the same as our old (and we think original mainsail for the boat).

I will miss her...

Marina Life.

24.15N 110.3W. Marina Palmira, La Paz, BCS, Mexico.

We will be tied up here on the dock at slip #329 for the next two or more weeks for anyone passing through…

Clean Lines and Bottom.

24.15N 110.3W. Marina Atalanta Astilleros, La Paz, BCS, Mexico.

She's a beauty.

Back On The Hard.

24.15N 110.3W. Marina Atalanta Astilleros, La Paz, BCS, Mexico.

We arrived to La Paz late Wednesday, 19 November 2008, after an extra twelve hour layover at the LA Airport this day….following our aborted attempts to fly anywhere out of the Redding Airport throughout the day on Monday. All delays due to mechanical problems….requiring replacement planes to fly in to our airport from some other airport after long delays. In spite of the lengthy delays, it still beat a long multiple day road trip from the Northern California to Southern BCS.

So…here we are. Our first night back on Gitano – in spite of the fact of being on the hard – was very restful and peaceful. zzzzzzzzz

We have just a few projects before launching back in the water. The worst is a bottom job. The job entails sanding the most superficial of the old paint and growth off, scrubbing off a bit more and then painting the bottom with the most toxic, fowl bottom paint we can still find on the market. (The best paint has been outlawed and mariners in this part of the world now find themselves in a constant search for something that works better than the almost better-than-nothing bottom paint that we often find on the bottom of our boats…hosting the masses of barnacles and sea grass that we had been hoping to kill off instead.)

Our work is done in three days and we prepare to launch back to the water.

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Nov2008 La Paz

Hasta La Vista.

41.95N 124.1W. Azalea Avenue, McKinleyville, California, USA.

It is hard to remember when we last lingered so long here. Fall is upon us in full with its shadows stretching beyond imaginable lengths...cool, crisp temperatures graced ever so briefly with a glimmer of sun. We awake in the middle of the night enticed by the light of the full moon to creep outside in wonder. Abundance is everywhere…apples, wild mushrooms, the last harvests from our summer garden. enchanting.

However...we are beckoned to elsewhere and it is time to move on. Our bags – including a new-to-us mainsail and refurbished prop -- are packed. Almost two hundred pounds of it! I cringe at the thought of running the airport and customs gauntlets. groan.

Come Monday...

UPDATE: ...ummmm...better make that Wednesday...

Hello from the lovely Redding Airport. Our plane "broke." After numerous and various "updates" regarding the "simple" problem with the nose strut, the various estimates for the mechanic's arrival, the hoped for soon departure, the hoped for not-so-soon departure...it came down to please leave security to stand in the long and very slow line at the counter and work out other arrangements for getting to wherever it is that you got up at 0330 this morning to get to. Our's was the worst case for all passengers as our LA to La Paz flight is scheduled for only a few days a week...and it came down to flying to LA via a trip back through Arcata, then on to Guadalajara via a red eye flight arriving in the early morning hours to depart around 0500 for a flight to La Paz....or simply fly back to Arcata later this afternoon and try again on Wednesday. So La Paz will have to wait for another day.

C'est la vie

Mmooooo.

Camozzi Family Reunion Weekend.

Casa Camozzi-Ekberg, Tukwila, Washington, USA.

The Camozzi family dropped in on the Ekbergs once again for the annual Camozzi weekend in early August. Hanging out catching up on family news and events. Big breakfasts to start our day. Preseason Seahawk football scrimmage. Mariners baseball games (they even won one!). The Sunday New York Times crossword puzzle. And even more good food. I am sorry that I didn't get any great photographs...so am left with a placeholder of some diehard Seahawk fans who appeared to be almost as eager as the Camozzis for the upcoming season to start.