Adventures of the Blue Dolphin

Las Tres Marietas Islands

2011-03-23T17:36:00.000-07:00

With our friends Dan and Daryll visiting from San Francisco we packed up the boat with other cruiser friends from Hemisphere Dancer and Sun Dancer and headed out to these islands for a day of snorkling and just enjoying the sun. We saw an enormous number of whales on the way out and on the return to La Cruz.

Christmas in La Cruz Huanacaxtle

2011-03-23T17:25:00.000-07:00

Merrry Christmas from Tropical Pacific Mexico

The crew of the SV Blue Dolphin enjoying Christmas

Dinner at the clubhouse at the Marina in La Cruz.....near Puerto Vallarta.

Dock party Cristmas Eve. 22 Boats showed up for the Zepplin |Group Christmas party.

Presents were exchanged and this is a photo of all the participants. We won a canvas laundry bag....whoooo hoooo!

Example of the dinner tables...no idea who's these people are....so many new cruisers here!!!!

The girls loving Santa at a local beach bar!!

The Zepplin Group! A group of 22 boats from up and down the West Coast US plus a boat from Denmark I believe

The Marina Riveria Nayarit. We stayed here for 10 days and then went to the anchorage where we stayed for another few weeks. We liked this area a lot and will plan on being here again next year as we are planning on keeping the boat in Paradise Village in Puerto Vallarta whcih is not far.

Journey to Isla Isabel

2011-01-18T12:43:00.000-08:00

The Blue Dolphin anchored in the southern bay on Isla Isabel around the middle of December before we headed to La Cruz to spend Christmas with the Zepplin Group. The island is a wonderful national bird preserve with frigate birds and the famous blue footed boobies. We all went ashore and hiked around....not a good time to watch the movie "birds" as there are our feathered friends....EVERYWHERE!!

Kathy loves to eat fresh fish.....cleaning, not so much! Fish was caught by Nils and Leo using a spear gun....best way! There is a small fishing camp here, a co-op and the fisherman spend a week or so here fishing then head back to the mainland. That's the "dolphin" in the background as well as our friends Aquadesiac.

Fishing camp and one of the pangas they use.

A rough way to live!

Baby Frigate bird....amazing that we could get this close! BTW, this island was made famous by Jacques Cousteau.

Male frigate bird strutting his colors trying to attract a mate.

Blue footed booby and eggs.

Call me Mister Bird !!!!

Frigate birds over the island......so many!!

Topolabumpo to San Blas MX

2011-01-11T12:08:00.000-08:00

"Field trip", Leo and the Python Snake that resides on Stone Island near Pizza Benji's.....

Topolabumpo to Mazatlan via San Blas, January 2011

Kathy and Aquadesiac's French crewman, Leo making bread in the Blue Dolphin Galley! Awesome bread, a real treat while crusing.
Nils, Caro and Leo on the windward side of Stone Island. A hard hike from Pizza Benji's.

Pizza Benji's on Stone Island. Just a short Panga ferry ride from the old harbor....and a short walk. A large group of us from the Blue Dolphin, Seabear and Ron and Heather fron Sundancer. Many Ballenas of Pacifico were drank as well as at least 6 large pizzas of all sort of ingrediants.
Pizza Benji's HOME.

San Blas. Famous church which inspired the poem, "Bells of San Blas" by Longfellow. Intersting town, up a river. We decided to anchor in the Bay around the point to get as far away as possible from the "no seeums".....tiny bugs that make you itch a lot. San Blas is a short taxi ride from the anchorage. We were able to get fresh spring water at the nearby palapa bar.

San Blas Plaza.

Trying to get the text near the photos but this blogspot program isn't very user friendly........

2011-01-11T11:55:00.000-08:00

Sailing Season Two

After a very busy summer visiting 7 states, the Grand Canyon, Roslin NM, Carlsbad Caverns, Kathy’s children in TX, sister in Cal and picking up parts in San Diego, we made our way back to the Blue Dolphin in San Carlos MX. Upon arrival we had a lot of work to do to “re-commission” the boat as we had prepared it for the hurricane season by removing everything on deck and “plugging” as many holes as we could. Unfortunately I forgot and missed closing all the holes on the main mast and when we arrived discovered we had a bee’s nest inside the mast. We tried to politely remove them or have the bees removed “professionally” but to no avail and we had to resort to “mass-annihilation” using a Honda generator exhaust.

It took 4 days and 2 bee stings before we were 90% rid of them.

After a week or so in San Carlos we picked up our friends and crew for this season, Nils and Carolyn, a German couple that we had met in La Paz the previous season while they were on a extended cycling trip that would have taken them from Alaska to Argentina.

After 2 weeks or so we were “on the road” again, so to speak and along with our “ buddy boats, Aquadesiac and Perigrine, we made our way to Topolabumpo, a commercial port half way between San Carlos and Mazatlan, 225 miles.

FAMILY REUNION OREGON 2010

2010-08-27T01:56:00.000-07:00

My brothers and sisters, nieces and nephews met in Oregon at Detroit Lake for a campout. What fun!!! I have a pretty crazy family--a real group of mixed nuts!! I got to see the newest addition to the family, Wyatt, 4 months old. What a doll.

Summer Fun

2010-08-27T01:25:00.000-07:00

We are enjoying the rest of the summer at our friend's home on the Napa River. They are in San Carlos on their sailboat Aquadesiac enduring the scorching heat this summer while we are drinking wine from their deck right on the river in Napa.

Texas Visit

2010-08-27T01:01:00.000-07:00

Tubing with the grandkids! What a blast!

The view from my front porch in Texas is awesome. Lots of wildlife and so much fun with the family waterskiing, wake boarding, tubing, bbqing and enjoying the morning with a cup of coffee, watching gorgeous sunsets and beautiful moon rises. It is a magical place.

The Summer of 2010

2010-08-27T00:32:00.000-07:00

We left San Carlos mid June traveling first to San Diego then to Texas to my house on the lake. We spent about 4 weeks working on the house and playing with my grandkids. They have all grown so big!! I have 5 of the most adorable grandkids a nana could wish for :)

We visited Carlsbad Caverns, the Grand Canyon, Roswell, New Mexico, Tucson, AZ, New Braunfels, Tx where we stayed in a haunted old hotel, the Alamo in San Antonio and stayed with good friends Teri and Tim Burrows.

San Carlos/Guaymas

2010-06-08T23:20:00.000-07:00

We left Santa Rosalia at 10 pm and sailed all night arriving in San Carlos at the Marina Real where we have a slip rented for the summer. We had an uneventful, mostly motoring night but had some beautiful starlit skys. We had an extra passenger, Ted. He was going to take the ferry back to San Carlos but heard we were headed that way and asked for a ride. It was nice to have another sailor onboard to help with the watches and sails. He was a great help.

Another rough passage!

Our favorite hangout

Santa Rosalia

2010-06-08T22:18:00.000-07:00

We anchored in Santa Rosalia harbor for 3 days. It is an old copper mining town with lots of dust, dirt and not a lot of charm. The best part was the hot dogs wrapped in bacon and deep fried--an artery clogger for sure. Robert spent a lot of time working on the alternator, our main head is not pumping out and all of a sudden we are having some electrical problems. Ah the crusing life. We were ready to leave this anchorage asap!

Punta Chivato

2010-06-08T20:59:00.000-07:00

On our way to Santa Rosalia we stopped at Punta Chivato. We were surprized to find a large community there, mostly ex-pats with house that lined a dirt airfield. Evidently they fly down in the Winter and sometimes for a long weekend. Right next to this anchorage was this beautiful resort, Bahia de la Flores. We went ashore several times for cocktails and on A Sat. night we stayed in one of their beautiful rooms.......a nice break from the boat as we approaching almost a month on this part of the trip from Puerto Escandido to San Carlos. We met a couple from Palo Alto that we shared some pool time with...have met and made some great friends during this trip.

We stayed there in Punta Chivato for several days, I did some kyacking and Kathy went snorking and "shelling"! This beach had more shells then we had seen anywhere else. The weather here was great and it was a pleasant anchorage to spend some time in.

Robert training for the Furnace Creek 508 bicycle race in October. I wonder how many other cruisers have a bicycle trainer onboard? What dedication!

A Video Clip of El Burro beach

2010-05-21T12:47:00.000-07:00

Baking cinnamon rolls

2010-05-21T12:22:00.000-07:00

Amazing what you can cook up in a itty bitty kitchen and an itty bitty oven! I made homemade bread also as we haven't been near a store in a couple of weeks and ran out of bread.

Lazy days at Conception Bay

2010-05-21T12:04:00.000-07:00

Our friend from SV Aquadesiac enjoying life at Geary's unofficial yacht club on El Burro beach.

The rays love to play

2010-05-11T06:32:00.000-07:00

Lazy day at Isla Coronados

2010-05-10T17:27:00.001-07:00

View from our boat this morning. It was a truly magical morning with the rays jumping out of the water and doing belly flops with loud splashes just in front of the boat. Large bait balls of fish went by the boat. A floating armada of tiny fish. A mother whale and juvenile gave us a show with tails slapping the water, fins splashing the water and water spouts!!! The north wind came in strong and it is too rough to really leave the boat so this was a day of reading, internet (only 7 miles from Loreto), eating and sleeping--another rough day. If anyone wants to see where we are on google earth we are at Lat 26 degrees 06 minutes and 41.50 seconds, Long 111 degrees, 17 min, 02.23 seconds.

Another beautiful sunset.

Dolphins visiting us

2010-05-09T20:18:00.000-07:00

Loretofest and Puerto Escandido May 1st

2010-05-09T19:29:00.000-07:00

Kathy and her new "bottom fishing rig"...caught 5 small fish yesterday.
Some friend came to visit....Larry, Arlean and Steve,,,,aboard the Perigrine, one of our buddy boats. We always have at lleast one get-together once we arrive at a new anchorage. This is in Puerto Escandido.
During our visit to the Loretofest we took a taxi into Loreto and spent one night in a bed that didn't move. Great treat. this is one of the town squares in the historic part of the City. Found a good coffee place....of course.
Some kaycking was done......
So here is the "Dolphin" in calm waters off of Puerto Escandido during Loretofest....a 3 day "cruise-in" with 124 boats from all over the Sea of Cortez and the Mexican Mainland. Spent a week there enjoying the festivities. Kathy went to a few fishing lectures, me, I played bocce ball and cam in third with my friend steve from UBUNTU, one of our "buddy boats.

Sailing the Sea of Cortez

2010-05-04T03:39:00.001-07:00

The shark got most of the fish! Oscar and Erica worked hard to get this fish aboard. He was big! We think it is a Bonita. No fish tonight

We look like true cruisers with stuff stacked everywhere on the boat. The beaches are beautiful, the water warm, the snorkeling and diving fun. We are buddy boating with 3 other boats--Ubuntu with Steve and Arleen, Perigrin with Mugs and Larry, and Aquadesiac with Doug and Linda.

Erica and Oscar were our crew for our trip to Loreto Fest. They are originally from Columbia, moved to Alaska and are currently on a bicycle trip that originated in Port Townsend, Washington. We met them in La Paz and they stayed on our roof top along with 3 other bicyclists for a couple of weeks.

They are brother and sister and we really enjoyed their company, enthusiasm and all the help they gave us sailing from La Paz to Loreto. They enjoyed the adventure of learning to sail and all the work it entails. We will miss them tremendously. I feel so lucky to meet them and hope we get to see them again some day.

Back in the water at last

2010-05-04T03:31:00.001-07:00

After 2 months the boat bottom is complete with 12 coats of assorted epoxies, primer a

nd bottom paint. We flew to San Diego and brought special paint and expoxies back with us across the Mexico border and down to La Paz taking 6 days and having lots of fun visiting the coastal towns along the way. It was a beautiful drive with no problems or hassels along the way. I really don't know why people are so reluctant to drive here in Mexico. It isn't the US for sure but overall the roads weren't that bad and we never drove at night so we wouldn't hit a cow in the road. The hotels averaged $25 a night and dinners $10 for the both of us. There are some gorgeous bays along the way we hope to visit with the boat.

A great trip back to La Paz

2010-02-27T08:25:00.000-08:00

Our trip back to La Paz was wonderful. We saw so much sea life. While at anchor in Los Muertos we had our own Sea World Dolphin show. The dolphins were really showing off, leaping through the air sometimes two at a time in a synchronized show. We clapped and hooted and hollered giving them a "10" . Wow, I have never seen anything like it.

We are back in La Paz now and will leave for San Diego in a couple of days so Robert can have his second carpel tunnel surgery. We are hoping to have the boat back in the water early April so we can sail the Sea of Cortez. Next season we hope to make it to El Salvador to wait out the hurricane season.
.

Mazatlan and Carnival

2010-02-24T14:59:00.000-08:00

Wow! Lots to see and do in Mazatlin....Carnival was interesting and fun was had by all. Spent time with our buddy boat yatistas, Jessies Girl and Leo and Larry on Chaz de Mar. We stayed at the El Cid Marina, a bit on the "Spendy" side for us "budget" crusiers but we enjoyed the jacuzzi and swimming pool a bunch. I have managed to get some good bike riding in although did suffer some bad road rash after a crash on the way out to a cool coffee shop in the Cerrito area, Looney Beans!!

Will post some photos soon.......meanwhile waiting for the "Norther" to blow itself out so we can head back to La Paz as we are leaving for San Diego on the 2nd of March. Can't wait to get the Blue Dolphin back in the water!!

Ciao for now!!

Lovin Mazatlan

2010-02-24T14:51:00.000-08:00

La Paz to Mazatlan back to La Paz

2010-02-24T14:39:00.000-08:00

This is the view from the restaurant having a "cuba libre" or rum and coke, where we are waiting for better weather to finish our sail back to La Paz from Mazatlan. We have had a great 3 weeks sailing on our friend's boat while ours is getting a new bottom job in La Paz. We had a lot of fun at the carnival celebration, relaxing in the sun at El Cid Marina resort at their pool and hot tub and enjoying visiting Mazatlan. Thought I would include some photos. kathy

Life in La Paz

2010-01-23T06:42:00.000-08:00

A beautiful La Paz chuch under renovation. I love listening to the church bells every morning at 7 and 8 AM. A nice way to wake up.

La Paz's version of Macys

Yummy red snapper for dinner

I think I will pass on the pork!

Food carts are very common on the streets. My favorite is the Carne Asada tacos and the shrimp tacos. I haven't gotten sick yet! And the best is that they are only $1.00

Another beautiful sunset in La Paz.

Our New Home (for awhile) and New Friends

2010-01-23T05:51:00.000-08:00

We are enjoying our new little apartment. The compound is completely walled and has a very nice family feel to it. Their is a great room with a huge, huge kitchen, tables, couches and American TV. A fun congregating place for guests. The compound comes complete with two very fat, friendly and lazy dogs and a new adopted black kitten that loves to lay in my lap and sleep and purr.

I can see myself building a little Casita in Mexico when my cruising days are done. I love the laid back lifestyle. It does come with drawbacks such as horrible sidewalks and hurricaines. It is amazing to see the number of ex-pats living here. We got our FM3 which allows us to live here for a year. It can be renewed each year and after 5 you can become a resident. Who knows where we will end up? Having fun! Come visit.

We have been hosting a couple from Germany that have been on an 8 month bicycle trip starting in Anchorage, Alaska and they will continue on to the tip of South America. Nilz and Carolyn are a wonderful young couple and we have enjoyed. There is the ferry but it costs a lot for most of their budgets so they look for a free ride to the mainland. They are living on the boat in the boatyard under pretty primitive conditions but they usually spend most nights in a small tent they pitch wherever they can find a spot so this is luxurious to them. We finally found them a ride on a catamaran leaving in a week so they are excited to add a sailing adventure to their adventure. We will miss them when they leave.

Nilz and Carolyn

Sam, from The Neatherlands was our first bicyclist to stay on the Blue Dolphin.

He is cycling from Newfoundland to South America. I have heard recently he is in Costa Rica now. He is the most minimalist cyclist we have met. A small backpack and a light road bike is all he carries. He sleeps under a tarp at night. What a nice guy.

Alex and Meredith bicycled from Canada to La Paz and are on their way to Panama.

What an adventuresome group of kids these are. So fun to have on the boat to share their stories.

Life is Good......mostly

2010-01-19T02:39:00.001-08:00

We hauled our boat out to paint the bottom (it is good to apply special paint every 2 years to keep the critters from growing on the boat bottom) and it was time to remove all the years of accumulted paint and redo it all. We got an expert to look at the boat and he suggested we remove all the paint and let the boat dry out for 2 months! (I KNOW I WILL NEVER GET OUT OF LA PAZ). We are also taking the opportunity to do some repairs to the hull, put in a new tranducer, new inspecti0n ports in the diesel tanks and other "stuff".

We will head on over to Mazatlan with a friend on his boat. We will get to be his crew! We sure didn't want to miss Carnival and I am sure ready to see more than La Paz. It is really wonderful here though. Great people, great food and the weather is amazing!! I have flip flop suntan marks on my feet. I haven't worn a pair of shoes in months.

We are staying at a really cute Bed and Breakfast. We have a little apartment that is very nice within walking distance to the boatyard. I tried staying on the boat in the boat yard but we can't use the bathroom or water and the trip up and down the ladder was too much!!

We won't get to cruise south this year because of the late start so we have decided just to sail the Sea of Cortez this year and be in Loreto for Loreto Fest which I have heard is a lot of fun. We had wanted to spend the hurricaine season in El Salvador but guess we won't make it this year.

We will spend a couple of months in the US for the hottest part of the summer. Can't wait to see the grandkids!!!

All in all I am really enjoying life. I started a new mosaic and I am trying to work some and play some. It is easy to get caught up doing nothing but boat projects! Robert brought his good road bike back with him from San Diego so he is a much happier camper now.

Our next plan is to visit the grey whales in Magdelena Bay. It will be a 2 day trip with an overnight somewhere, then we will go out in pangas right up to the whales! The whales have had their babies now and are wintering here in Mexico. I am really looking forward to that!!

Hope all are well back home. We miss you!!! Kathy

Poem from Terry Downs

2010-01-03T13:17:00.000-08:00

Sunset Looking Away

The sun slides under earth’s cover

Slowing, slipping Liquid fire diffusing the blue at its edge
Heating the wisps overhead to the color Of coral and softness.
It takes only moments really for the heat

To leave the sky and the air to start to cool

But in that moment you can see God.

--Terry Downs

(Terry was crew for us on the haha and we were all so impressed with her beautiful poetry inspired by the moment)

Happy Captain Robert

2010-01-03T09:35:00.000-08:00

It is still a daily struggle keeping things working. Our diesel tank has been leaking into the bilge and needs a new valve, our water to the kitchen sink drizzels out, we need a new faucet I think, we have someone working on fixing the blisters on our hull, we still have to deal with hauling the boat out and putting in a new transducer/depth finder (hey a couple years ago I didn't even know what that was). Keeping a smile on your face can be hard sometimes. Everyone I know has "issues" on their boat no matter how new or how expensive. It ain't for the faint of heart.
Still for some reason I really want to keep going. Ask me why in a year will you? Kathy

Ispirtu Santos

2010-01-03T09:17:00.001-08:00

Our wonderful new friends Steve and Arlene on the sailing vessel Ubuntu.

A typical position for Robert

Just another day in Paradise

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

2010-01-03T08:37:00.001-08:00

We are still here in La Paz. Robert left for San Diego this morning for Doctor appointments and to get my car ready to sell. It looks like we will be cruising for awhile and I don't see any need for a car. We do a lot of walking around town, taxi's and buses. Our next stop will be Mazatlan for carnival. It should be a blast with other couples meeting us there. A week of non stop parties, music, parades similar to Mari Gras. We will try to rent a room on the parade route for good viewing. We have a week reserved at the El Cid Marina resort while in Mazatlan as we have heard the anchorage is near the sewer plant and doesn't smell too good! Then off to Puerto Vallarta where I have heard they have some good anchorages.

We had a wonderful Christmas with our friends from Babeeze and Ubuntu. All crusiers refer to each other by boat name. The cruisers net on VHF radio each day at 8 am is a wonderful resource for anything local. Club Cruceros hosts it and every day someone gives the weather, any emergencies, local assistance, swaps and trades, tides, rides and crew--I got on the radio the other day as our electric cord needed repair and by the end of the day 4 people had come by to see if they could help! Awesome.

My life long crazy friend Kay ( that I love dearly) came to visit for 10 days and even spent her first Christmas away from her family with me. I am honored.

We had so much fun! Robert and I and Steve and Arleen from Ubuntu went to the Island of Ispirtu Santos for 3 days. We tried 3 different anchorages and each had it's own beauty and attractions. The Island is protected and only a few fish camps are allowed. The water was a beatiful turquoise blue, the beaches white sand with fun shelling, hiking and kayaking.

Zorro lives

2009-12-12T14:16:00.000-08:00

yes Carrie!, the fishing is good

2009-12-12T14:14:00.000-08:00

Video of Copper Canyon

2009-12-10T09:50:00.000-08:00

Ramblings about cruising

2009-12-05T18:09:00.000-08:00

For 3 years Robert and I have been planning our trip to ??? My observations are
1. Most women HATE THIS
2. It is way harder than anyone can imagine
3. Get used to the boat breaking down, every day plan on some new problem !
4. A lot of relationships fail doing this.
5. Most people end up changing plans and course. Not a bad thing. It is ok to see the Sea of Cortez instead of sailing around the world. Don't be disappointed. It is ok.
6. You will meet the most wonderful people and make the best of friends.
7. I have a lot to learn.

Kathy

Some random images from early in the trip

2009-12-05T17:03:00.000-08:00

Steve and Michael and the famous "rocks" on the way into the Cabo Harbor....hot showers and lots of Margaritas!!!!

Turtle Bay

The "Dolphin" in Cabo Harbor!

Bahia Santa Maria was one of our favorite stops on the way to Cabo!

The "crew" enjoying Margaritas on the Beach at Cabo San Lucas

Trip to Copper Canyon

2009-12-05T15:46:00.000-08:00

Some of the fabulous views into the Canyon! "They" say this Canyon is longer and deeper then the Grand Canyon. One major difference is that the surrounding area here in Mexico reminds me of the Tahoe area whereas the Grand Canyon is more of desert environment. Great trainride up from Los Moches where we arrived from Baja Sur via the ferry, a six hour crossing of the Sea of Cortez.

The trip was over 5 days, we stayed at the Hotel Santa Anita in Los Mochis then took the train through the country side up to the Sierra Madre Mountains to Parque National Barranca de Cobre where the Canyon is.

Robert

Happy Thanksgiving

2009-11-25T19:23:00.001-08:00

We have been in Marina Palmira for over a week enjoying the city of La Paz. The weather has been wonderful. It is winter here and the temperatures are in the 70's and sunny every day. Yesterday I bought a big bag of fresh shrimp from a gentleman here on the dock (today he was selling huge fresh scallops) took them back to the boat, boiled them up with some seasoning and we sat down and peeled and ate shrimp until I couldn't eat another bite! Tomorrow is the annual cruiser's Thanksgiving dinner here at the marina. They supply all the turkeys and everyone brings a dish. I made two pecan pies. Quite an undertaking with a little boat oven!
The cruiser's etiquette is to bring all your own utensils, plates, drinks to all parties, dinners and get togethers.
Our next plan is a trip to Copper Canyon. It is a canyon 5 times the size of the Grand Canyon. We take a 6 hour ferry ride to the mainland at Topolobombo, a cab to our hotel, get up the next morning to board the train that goes through the canyon (a 14 hour ride) over 80 tunnels and many bridges , 2 nights at a gorgeous hotel that is perched right on a cliff that hangs out over the canyon (each room has a balcony right over the canyon), a horseback ride along the canyon, a short train ride to Creel that is home to the Tamurara Indians, back on the train heading back we get off in El Fuente, a cute town with lots of architecture and one night in a hotel there then a ferry ride home at 11 pm with our own cabin and arrive home at 5 am. The Copper Canyon has been on my bucket list for a long time.
We rented a van and Robert and I and 2 other couples took a drive up to Toto Santos, ate a wonderful lunch at Hotel California and a fun trip to Walmart. It was a little unnerving when we were stopped by the police who said we were speeding. Maybe we were but everyone else was going faster than us! Luckily Paul, our driver speeks spanish and somehow he was able to talk his way out of a ticket.
It is quite dry here. Only 2 inches of rain a year. The landscape is desert with lots of cactus but it is very beautiful in it's own way. The city is very safe and has a high per capita income. Low crime. Many Americans never leave once they get here.
We have to take the boat to a boat yard and have it hauled out to put on a new transducer/depthfinder before we take off for the Island of Espirtu Santos to swim, snorkel, dive, fish and swim with the seals. There are gorgeous bays to anchor in, hiking, shelling and just plain relaxing and goofing off. My friend Kay is coming to visit for a couple of weeks. I hope other friends will come enjoy the boat with us.

Kathy

2009-11-20T19:02:00.000-08:00

The Grey Dolphin...
our basic transportation!!

La Paz anchorage

Kathy in

picturesque

alley

Lighthouse

tower along

the beach

Palapa at Bay

Beach chairs at

Bahia de Los Muertos.

Last stop before

we left for La Paz!

Hey, where's the

Coronas??

La Paz

2009-11-20T18:19:00.000-08:00

A brief note about our trip from Bahia de Los Muertos (near the Cape) to Balandras Bay ( which is a trip thru the Canal Cerralvo). We had been waiting several days for a weather window to make this trip to La Paz. Being a bit impatient we decided to leave which wound up being a day too early. The "Norther" was still blowing...which in sailing terms means the wind was coming out of the direction we needed to sail. In addition the strong winds over the past few days had created large swells coming from the direction we needed to go. Ugh!! After turning the corner we were instantly into very strong wind and it was a struggle all day to make good progress. Since there was also a good current we were down to 3.9 knots at some times under power. I did manage to have the mizzen (reefed) as well as the new staysail up which helped a bit. A lot of the other boats decided to sail right up the middle of the channel but I opted to run close to the shore. This meant a longer trip mileage wise but we were able to mitigate the wind and waves a bit and were able to catch up on boats that had left several hours before us. Kathy was in the prone position almost the entire trip...seasick despite taking every medication known to man!! I was able to maange the boat myself which is a handful! Thanks to the new autopilot I was able to run around a take care of the sails, etc. We arrived at the anchorage about sundown which had been our goal. We were now a few hours from La Paz. After a restless, windy night in which the boat rocked excessively keeping me awake.

At one time I woke to check the anchor and discovered that the boat was a complete 180 from the place where we had dropped anchor. Odd that, which I should have realized might create a problem later...and sure enough Kathy woke me around 5:30 after hearing the anchor alarm go off!! We had dragged our anchor into deeper water and were drifting towards other boats. I immediately fired up the engine and moved away and decided to leave for La Paz. Unknowingly our neighbor had seen what had happened and thinking that we were still sleeping chased us out to sea in his Dinghy. He had mistakenly thought our nav light were still our anchoring light(seen from the back you can only see the white light, not the red and green.0 Fortunately he realized we were OK and returned to his boat, GRACE but not before there was a little concern about his whereabouts. Thanks Paul and Judy for your concern.

Since we were awake we decide to continue on to La Paz rather then re-anchor and arrived at the Marina around 8:30 AM. The photo is a view from our dock....not very exciting but will post more later.

Robert (Captain SV Blue Dolphin)

2009-11-15T10:53:00.000-08:00

SO here we are at the Bay of Dreams....aka Bay of the Dead(Bahia de los Muertos).....about 55 miles South of La Paz, another full day of travel. We have been waiting for a "Norther" which has failed to appear yet....would mean some substantial winds and waves going in the wrong direction. Unless it appears today we are heading to La Paz tomorrow! Trip has been peaceful for the most part excepting the night before last...high winds at the anchorage kept us all awake. Fortunately all was well and we were able to rest well last night.
Today we are just hanging out and planning a dinner at the local resort along with some "old buddy" friends...maybe a swim before. Robert

Bay of Dreams aka Bay of the Dead Nov 13

2009-11-15T10:20:00.000-08:00

We are toughing it out here for a few days waiting for better weather to La Paz. Roughing it. Actually we are sitting here at a beautiful restaurant having breakfast burritos looking out over a beautiful bay with a beautiful white sand beach and turquoise clear water. There are about 20 boats in the bay, most from the haha. It is just a fishing camp mainly with a restaurant and a hotel. We took our dinghy over to the hotel last night, pulled it up on the beach and enjoyed the gorgeous facilities. They had an infinity pool Robert went swimming in, hammocks to lay in, a swim up bar. As we arrived in the Bay yesterday afternoon I heard "Kathy" really loud but couldn't figure where it was coming from but soon I heard from my good friend Eva on Babeeze on the VHF radio. They had sailed all the way from Mazatlan (190 nautical miles) to meet up with us!!! I met Eva a year ago in Ballena Isle, Alameda as they were preparing to leave on the 2008 Baja Ha Ha. about 8 couples are meeting tonight at the restaurant for dinner. There goes the cruising budget!
We had a great crew member come with us from Cabo. Charlie is his name and what a great guy. I wish he could stay forever with us. He taught me about fishing, cooked, cleaned, and jumped up to help whenever we needed it. He had to leave yesterday to make it back to Cabo for his flight out as the weather isn't cooperating for the final leg to La Paz. We miss you Charlie!
Now the big test comes as Robert and I are on our own-no crew. I have been struggling with the anchoring but I think I am getting it down. We motored most of the way from Cabo to here. Either too much wind or not enough. We had dolphins jumping and swimming in front of the boat on the way here from Los Freiles. No fish though. Steve caught a yellow fin tuna and 2 mahi mahi on the way to Cabo and we really enjoyed eating it. I have heard that the way to kill the fish is to pour cheap tequilla in their gills and they die instantly. I think I will try that instead of beating them about the head with a billy club. Lots of blood and fish guts flying.
Landing the dinghy on the beach with surf is still a challenge. Our first landing ended up with the boat sideways in the surf, Robert got it turned around and it filled half way with water from a wave! I really hate landings and takeoffs from the beach. It is alwasy fun getting into the dinghy from the boat with things rocking and rolling! Some interesting experiences:
forgetting to put the plug in the dinghy before we put it in the water.
trying to go snorkeling but having to get through waves to do it and getting thrown back on the beach several times before being successful--nice scrape on the leg
loosing the use of our solar panels for 3 days but luckily finding a loose wire and now we are back charging
running out of red wine--our crew drank 5 boxes! But we did have the best parties on our boat.
forgetting the fish in the cooler and running out of ice-smelly
staying up all night because the winds in the anchorage here picked up to over 20 knots and boats were dragging anchor.

Today I am going to work on sanding and varnishing the hatch cover I think, or maybe I will just read a book. I spend yesterday scrubbing and polishing the floors. Amazing how dirty a boat can get. We are looking forward to La Paz as we have a slip at a nice resort until Thanksgiving. Robert will have to go back to the US in Jan for doctor visits and I want to visit my kids in Texas. Our plans are "written in the sand at low tide" as Eva says. Anyone want to come visit?
I wasn't sure I would like this life but for now it is heaven. Love to all, Kathy

San Diego to Turtle Bay

2009-11-09T10:54:00.000-08:00

We left San Diego Oct 26th. What a sight! Over 190 sailboats all leaving at the same time! As we left the bay and sailed into the ocean huge colorful spinnaker sails used in light air started flying. Usually most sails are white with maybe a few letters or small decoration but the spinnakers are all wild colors and designs. We put ours up but it didn't last long. It caught on a step and made a long tear tht is too big for me to repair and will have to go to a sailmaker in La Paz. After the first day the next two are a blur for me. I got very very sea sick. The winds picked up to 20 to 30 knots which was good for sailing but the seas became really wild with 10 to 12 foot swells and confused seas. (Meaning all shit broke loose and waves were coming from all directions and we were rocking and rolling big time) Lots of boats ended up making an unscheduled stop for the night in an anchorage to wait out the storm but we pressed on about 60 miles out to sea. Eventually we decided to come in closer to land looking for calmer seas but didn't find any and it set us back about 12 hours. Even though we deviated from the straight course to Turtle Bay, our first anchorage, we were among the first to arrive. On the second and third days I spent almost the whole time on the couch tucked in with a lee cloth sicker than a dog. I tried every sea sickness remedy known to man kind. Nothing worked. After the 3rd day the wind and seas calmed down and I have felt great!!! It took us two days to make it from Turtle Bay to our next stop Baja Santa Maria mostly motor sailing because of the light winds. I am finding there is usually too much wind or too little !!! Kathy

we are on our way!

2009-11-06T11:35:00.000-08:00

I am sitting here trying . my best to remember what day it is! Ok, I looked at my computer calendar and it says it is Tuesday Nov 3. It is so nice not to have to think about what day or time it is. I put away my watch and haven't worn it since we left San Diego.

We are at anchor in a beautiful bay called Bahia Santa Maria. One side of the bay has some pretty impressive hills that are actually very green from all the rain the hurricaine recently brought. The other side of the bay has a long sandy beach with some small surf. It is our second stop since we left.

Our crew consists of 5 friends that are helping us sail to Cabo San Lucas. Lori, I met many years ago through relatives. She is such great help, a good cook and always smiling. Bob is Lori's partner and he has been working non stop on our boat before and during our trip. A perfectionist. He makes me feel safer as he is always looking out for things that could cause potential problems. Steve is our boat mechanic from our days in Alameda, Ca. How lucky we are to have our own boat mechanic onboard. He wins the prize (whatever that is) for fixing the head (toilet in boat speak) which consisted of having to deal with a lot of nasty stuff. He must have a stomach of steel for he was doing this in a small confined space with the smell of diesel, the smell of hot rubber (some belts were hot and putting off a bad odor) and with the boat rocking and rolling. I can't thank him enough. Michael is a great friend we met when we first bought our boat and had it in San Leandro. He is strong and always ready to jump up and help with any dangerous situation. He is patient with me, a real newbie to all of this with so much to learn. He is teaching me how to fish. We haven't caught anything yet but some boats have reported some good fishing. I need to call them on the radio and find out their secret to sucess. Terry is the newest of our boat crew. She is a member of the single sailing society that Michael belongs to. The boat she was to crew on had some serious problem and had to drop out. She has done some interesting things one of which is car racing. She is also a great writer and has written some beautiful poetry on the trip which she says I can include in our journal.

The Adventure Begins

2009-10-14T23:13:00.000-07:00

I should really say "the adventure continues" as the past 3 years has been the biggest adventure/undertaking of my life !!
3 years ago Robert and I purchased this huge, old sailboat. On kind of a whim, I should add, as I had only been on a sailboat once before on one of our first dates. I met Robert through Match.com and I remember saying something to the effect "I want to meet someone adventurous, buy a sailboat and sail around the world" really meaning I just wanted to meet someone different that might want to try new and fun things and live life to the fullest.
So after only a couple of emails he excitedly wrote back "Sure we can buy a boat and do that. I will start looking". Yikes! We waited to buy the boat 3 1/2 years into the relationship and for the past 3 years we have put most of our time and money into outfitting The Blue Dolphin sailing vessel for long distance travel over the high seas.
I have never worked so hard! From the very first night on the boat it has been a grueling, expensive learning experience. I knew NOTHING and now the more I know the more I realize I don't know! We have replaced just about every mechanical, electrical, and plumbing part on the boat and the few left will probably need it soon.
If we had had a decent survey ( like an inspection when you buy a house) I am sure we would never had purchased this boat. But we have perservered on when I think most would have given up.
One of the best things about living on the boat you plan to take cruising is that you really learn to know your boat. I wake up in the middle of the night hearing small noises and you NEVER ignore a strange noise on a sailboat. Stopped up toilets, broken plumbing, water up to the engine in the bilge, leaks, worms eating the boat, dry rot, electrical problems- the list is endless. I quit saving all the repair receipts. I don't want to even know how much we have put into this boat-it might make me ill.
So why do I keep doing this. Shouldn't I be living in comfort and style by now after working so hard all my life? Instead I opt to live in a small, dinky space with no storage, a minature refrigerator, stove and an apartment size washing machine that will hold about 2 towels, a bed that is impossible to make as one side is against the bulkhead (fancy word for side of the boat) and I need a step to get up into it. I tell people it is like living in a motor home on the water only the marine envirnment is very harsh (like the time all our clothes had mold on them that were hanging in the closet). Now all my clothes fit in 4 drawers. Robert only gets 2 drawers.
Well, with all this complaining you probably think I should hate this lifestyle but I LOVE IT. I have met some wonderful cruising couples that have become close friends. I think this is the best part and I hear this all the time from other cruisers. I love living on the water. I feel more at home here than I have ever felt anywhere else in my life.
We decided a couple of years ago that we would take off cruising someday and with the recession hitting so hard, Robert out of a job, Me being off almost 2 years with 2 rotator cuff surgeries we said now is "someday". We leave Oct 26th from San Diego with the Baja ha ha boat rally. Over 190 sailboat all traveling together to Cabo San Lucus. Most go further south or sail the Sea of Cortez until the hot summer months or head to the South Pacific. We plan on leaving Cabo San Lucus shortly after arrival and sail to La Paz Mexico for Thanksgiving, then to ??????????
We don't really have any plans. We just want to go with the flow. See how we like it. I will try to keep this blog up so our friends and family can keep track of us. I hope we get lots of visitors along the way :) Wish us luck :) Here we go!!!!!!!!!!