Leaving Mazatlan

A few days in Mazatlan is all we need. It's a beautiful spot, but sadly much overgrown with condos and hotels...the downtown area being of most interest. We took a bus down to the Pino Suarez Market in search of fresh fruits and vegetables. We also spent a few days with Joe and Carol Ellerston, friends from Portland and their friends...a day sailing, an anchorage at Isla de Venado for lunch, and lots of conversation and "time shared." Joe took this photo as we left the marina area (had tied up at the Singlar Marina) as we began our passage across to La Paz.

Passage Banderas Bay to Mazatlan

Red Footed Booby

They say red-footed boobies are relatively rare, so we were pleased to have one join us onboard for part of our passage from the Bay of Banderas to Mazatlan. Its ability to balance on a 1/2 inch diameter lifeline was truly impressive, especially as we were sailing at about 6 knots, in a 10 knot wind!


It caught its breath, checked us out, and investigated some ties on our back rail, trying to untie them with its beak (was it in the nesting mode?).




A beautiful bird, it didn't stay long, as we were close to shore, and it had other booby business to attend to.





More information on the red footed booby

Banderas Bay Regatta

Racing on Talion again with an all Portland Crew!



Racing on the 50 foot Gulf Star Talion with skipper Patsy Verhoeven is truly an awesome experience! She is a captain unparalleled in the fleet! Here she demonstrates her unique "Look, Mom, no hands!" technique of driving.



Seriously, Patsy takes her sailing to heart and works hard at it.



There is never a dull moment on board, from the pre-race strategy discussion of how to start, running the starting line, avoiding boats ahead of and around us, trying to keep track of the time until our start...through the decisions about when to tack as we try to find the fastest course to the windward mark...to the final moments as we work our way up to avoid hitting the committee boat yet not having to gybe (again!) under spinnaker.


It gets real quiet on a racing boat when you find yourself in a deep, deep hole, surrounded by calm, still water, watching your competition, a mere two hundred yards away, enjoying the rush of 15 knots of wind in their sails. You racers know what we are talking about.



But we had a great time, finished 2nd to a fine crew on a boat called Tomatillo...and young, up-and-coming sailors (Patsy's delightful granddaughter, Andrea) got their chance to practice both driving the boat and painting commemorative images of the event.









We made the front page of the Banderas Bay News.


Photos of the Opening Ceremony


More photos on the official Regatta page

Moorish Idol

Snorkeling is a treat for us, one we can't always take advantage of. In Tenacatita we teamed up with Bob Smith from Pantera and went to a small reef just off the point of the anchorage. There were dozens (!!) of sting rays. Hundreds of damsel fish, including the beautiful blue giant damsel (as a juvenile, it has iridescent blue spots) fished the reef, and we were fortunate to see a few of these spectacular Moorish Idols. You'll remember the fish tank in the dentist's office in the movie, Nemo. Ardy painted this picture for grandson, Miles.

Tenacatita

A mangrove tree had fallen across the river the day before we arrived in Tenacatita. The "jungle river trip," however is a must-do, so we put our kayaks in the water and set out, hoping that, even if the river was blocked, we could work our way through. Fortunately, we found a clean-up crew hard at work, panga full of debris from their labors, and the passage clear all the way through.Talking to the workers was interesting...they were brothers-in-law, one of whom has a sister and brother living in the United States. The sister and her family visit Mexico regularly; this man and their parents have tourist visas to the U.S. and just got back from a 3-week stay in California.


Just before this photo was taken, the small crocodile (about 3-4 feet long) slithered off the branch and plopped into the water, leaving these two crabs behind.


The mangrove roots are covered with thousands of crabs...fortunately, fewer crocodiles. We only saw one along the river. At the laguna where the small town of Tenacatita is located, they say there are big ones...10-15 feet long

Way behind

Just a quick note before we set off to sea again to let you know (if you hadn't already noticed) we are way behind in updating the blog. Marv has put up some photos, but I haven't gotten to a computer to enter the text. :(

We leave Santiago Bay, Manzanillo today and our next stop with reliable internet connection will be in Puerto Vallarta area in two weeks.

The tsunami following the Chilean earthquake was a minor event here...all the boats in our anchorage hoisted anchor and went out into 200 feet+ water to wait it out...there was a small tidal drop (maybe 50 feet of sand exposed that usually isn't) and a small wave, but we felt nothing out at sea.

All is well. The sun still shines every day. The birds still chirp. The bugs still bite. The turtles come to our boat and look for cabbage leaf handouts.

We will write from Puerto Vallarta.