April ‘95

*Additional notes may appear in italics after my mom’s initial journal entries.
A ladybug means you should check the comments at the bottom of the page to see what Mom has chimed in on after reading these!

April 1, Saturday

Happy April Fool’s.

Talked to Unity, it’s Bud and Gloria’s anniversary. They were in a rain squall, so they took a shower in the cockpit. John painted under Samie’s bed today.
We went to Cruise Quarters to watch the NCAA playoffs, UCLA/Oklahoma State & Arkansas / NC and had dinner.
Unity = 10-07N / 117-46W 10K N/E -lumpy and rain squall
Pacific Visions = 03-31N / 124-28W 8K S/E
Talked to Leo P. today – set up 6pm on 7294.0 to talk to Steve.

April 2, Sunday

John fixed the aqua/water and oil alarm. Samie went in to play with Jena. No contact with Renegade or Steve P.
Unity = 08-17N / 119-22W 8-10K E/N/E -off and on rain squalls, 100% cloudy.
Pacific Visions = 02-33N / 125-32W 10-12K S/E  -40% cloudy

April 3, Monday

John and Samie went to the beach to clean the dink bottom. He paid her 10 pesos for her good help. John went back in to watch UCLA and Arkansas. UCLA won. Samie and I stayed onboard.
Talked to Steve P. in Phoenix, they bought a 3 bed, 2 bath, 2 car garage and pool. They should be able to start moving in the end of April and then get all moved in June.
No position on Unity.

April 4, Tuesday

Samie played at Cruise Quarters with Jena. John and I did little things – he was pretty hung over.
We talked to Renegade off and on – they ran out of fuel and in getting to the bottom of the tank, they stirred up the gunk, so the fuel line is plugged. Every time they added fuel, they had to prime the lines – or something like that. They did make it all the way in to La Cruz at 10:30 pm or so. At one point, we thought we would have to tow them. It was such an odd day in the Banderas Bay – NO WIND! The normal 20-25 knots out of the S/W were 5 knots from the north! So, no wind made it a real slow trip for them. But they anchored along side of us safely! So good to have them back!
Unity= 05/46N / 121-20W 10K W -Rough night, squalls, 100% cloudy

April 5, Wednesday

We pulled anchor along with Renegade and went in to the marina. They stalled again just outside the breakwater – but they got her running again.
We pulled in to N4 and they are in N5 – neighbors!
We cleaned her (The Star) up and I defrosted the fridge/freezer while we are here with shore power.
John pulled the battery charger out and put in a new fuse holder, that seemed to be the only problem.
We all went to dinner at Angela’s.

*Angela’s was a restaurant we went to quite often in Marina Vallarta. It’s no longer there, but I believe this was the location, it was a real nice restaurant right there in the marina, pretty much in our back yard. I remember once accidentally taking a gulp of my mom’s Corona here. The evening lights gave off a yellow glow and I thought I was taking a drink of her water - big surprise for me! Arne and Janice were with us and Janice said she saw me take the swig and thought “ok, wow, maybe they let her have a sip every now and then” - yeah, no. My face was probably hysterical when I realized it definitely wasn’t water and I froze, cheeks bulging with the beer I didn’t want to swallow. The taste was terrible and the adults were getting a kick out of it, saying just swallow it, it’s ok! Meanwhile, I was desperate to spit it out, but where?! I think I contemplated running over to some nearby bushes, but I’m sure I gave in and gulped it down and undoubtedly followed it with actual water afterward. lol

April 6, Thursday

John filled the fuel tanks and waxed the sides of the boat.
Samie watched Anne of Green Gables – again – Janice let her borrow it while her, me, Tracy Endless Summer, and Kerry Meika, all went to town for a girl’s day. We had some lunch and looked around; real nice day.
Samie has been practicing her rowing here in the slip alleys – she’s good. We went out with Arne and Janice for pizza and pasta – I sure enjoy their company.

*I fell in LOVE with Anne of Green Gables this year and still have a soft spot for the series. I related so much to some of Anne’s outlooks and confusion about people and their behaviors toward each other, and I loved getting lost in those movies whenever I could borrow them!
You can also see here that boat names were used in lieu of last names, which always makes me smile now.

April 7, Friday

Nice, quiet day, kind of a lazy one. We dinghied out to the turning basin where the cruise ships all dock – there is a replica of Columbus’ Santa Maria ship from back in 1492. We were able to take a quick 10-minute tour, only of the eating-living area below and the center deck – in the rear at the wheel house. It was so cool! Some of the windows were stain glass; the rudder is huge! It would have been so fascinating to take a tour of the whole ship and see everything! The windows were actually with the panes and opened out, swung out, all wood frame, of course.
Arne and Janice’s friends on Sea Crane, Rick and Carol, came in to N-dock; they hadn’t seen them for a year. We BBQed burgers ourselves and watched Pretty Woman - Janice let me borrow.

*Fun fact: a lot of cruisers had lists of their movie inventories, which friends would peek at and request to borrow from. Everything was VHS at the time, and we’d just swap tapes with each other like little community movie rentals.
Also, I remember this tour, and that this was the only time I ever felt sea sick, even though the boat was docked. It’s due to being so high out of the water - the movement is totally different than what we felt on our boat, where I never got more than queasy on rolly days. I didn’t realize how short our tour was and I don’t know why we couldn’t do the full tour, but my parents have said a few times that we did get to see a lot of cool “extra” things because people are always excited to share fun stuff with kids and see those excited little faces full of awe. I imagine that was part of the pull with this tour and another one we got to take on a Canadian Navy ship, the Winnipeg, where I got to sit in the Captain’s Seat! It looks like it would have been on February 9th, when we went to Mismaloy and had a big day out in general. Mom forgot to mention it, I bet she was exhausted after spending all day out and about! So I’ll give you the deets and photos here: The internet tells me that the HMCS Winnipeg was delivered to the Navy on October 11, 1994 and left Halifax, Nova Scotia on January 16, 1995, headed for Esquimalt, B.C. where she was commissioned on June 23, 1995. So we were able to get a tour while she was on her long voyage down the East Coast, past the Bahamas and the Caribbean, in through the Panama Canal and out the other side to head up the Mexican Coast, past Baja, California and finally through the notoriously crummy seas headed up the West Coast to Washington and finally, Canada. Ironically, Esquimalt is right by Victoria, B.C., where my parents and I visited several times after they relocated The Star to the PNW. There’s a decent chance we were in her vicinity again, about 10-12 years later, provided she wasn’t in service at the time. 🐞

April 8, Saturday

We had breakfast at Time Changer’s with Rick, Carol, Arne and Janice. When we pulled out of the slip to leave – of course the wind was blowing 10 knots and we were pushed sideways against finger ends – but we did manage to get out with only John’s knee bruised. Once we rounded the breakwater, we had 15 knots out of the WSW, right on our beam and had a very nice sail into La Cruz and were anchored at 2 pm or so.
BBQed some pretty good steaks and corn on the cob.

*Check the photo below for an idea of what we’re talking about with slips and fingers and all that. Some slips are wide enough for two boats, others for one. The fingers are set perpendicular to the dock, both creating structure for each slip and allowing the boaters easier access on and off the dock. When pulling out of a slip, you’d back out like any other parking spot, except that backing up in a boat is not quite as simple as a car. Our boat didn’t have any thrusters (do you remember what thrusters are?!), which makes it really difficult to make tight turns or to simply turn away from something when the wind is blowing you towards it. I’m guessing Dad was either fending off the fingers and dock poles from off the side of the boat, or maybe even had to jump off to push the boat away from the dock finger. Not to infer that we were doing this alone - dock arrivals and departures tended to be a friendly affair, with fellow cruisers offering to help and to either greet you or bid you farewell and safe travels. It makes me feel happy and loved just to think about - really, so much of this lifestyle filled me up with more love than I could have ever imagined growing up in the States, I truly believe that. It was enough love to carry me through the last 26 years, and it’s still running through me, strong and full and bright as ever. I have so much more hope for humanity, having been witness to the best of it. I know it exists and I know it will persist. I didn’t need church or religion to show me love and to make me feel safe; I had the cruising community. 🥰 I also had the kindness of locals and strangers in simple places, in simpler times. People would sometimes ask my parents if we felt safe in Mexico - I can tell you I’ve experienced more warmth and kindness from absolute strangers in small villages in Mexico than I have from some of my own family members - no joke. Kindness is everywhere - just as much as hatred or greed. You know, it’s funny how so many of us like to believe we’re safer sticking close to our own back yard. I am not exaggerating when I say that this experience with my parents on the Wandrin’ Star is the best thing I’ve yet experienced, and was at such a perfectly influential time in my life, and the things I learned out there have absolutely been my foundation and helped me keep my head straight when life starts spinning out. I will never be able to thank my parents enough, or explain how truly, deeply and madly* grateful I am for that life choice they made. Putting this all together is the closest I think I can get to honoring it all, collectively. It’s a hats off to my dad following a dream and going after what he wanted, for being smart and prepared and consistently on task, and to my mom for trusting that dream and being willing to live a life wildly outside the world she grew up in, and brave enough to take her daughter with her. It’s also a tribute to our beautiful, sturdy, cozy vessel, the Wandrin’ Star. A boat digs into your heart so much differently than a house does. She protects you, transports you, carries you over wild, open seas, sometimes with nothing solid around your for hundreds miles. She takes care of you - as long as you take care of her. There is nothing passive about boating; it requires a symbiotic balance, and you better believe a boat will tell you when things are off! We loved the Star and took care of her, and she reciprocated magnificently. After every rough passage, we’d pat her and say “Thanks, girl!” ❤
Ok, now that I’m a blubbering mess, back to the story! lol
*Also, I couldn’t resist sharing this for those who caught it. 😅

April 9, Sunday

John put on his dive tank and really cleaned the bottom of the boat good. The rudder was encrusted, no wonder we were only doing 3 knots speed at 1600 rpms.
Samie played in at La Cruz Cruise Crew’s Quarters one last day before we leave. We all went in to dinner for one last plate of good ribs. We bought Samie a ‘We visited La Cruz Cruise Crew’s Quarters’ t-shirt and had the gang sign it for her. They were all such nice people. Sometimes it’s hard to leave these neat places and wonderful people.
Unity = 22-22S / 127-56W  15 K S/E
Pacific Visions = 06-37S / 134-51W – clear, 12K E

 *This would be my aggressively happy face, lol. I’m not sure if I was really just that excited about the shirt, or just how much I loved this crew!

April 10, Monday

Weighed anchor at 7:15 am, leaving La Cruz for Chacala. We had only 0 knots until we rounded Punta de Mita! Then we picked up 5-10 knots for most of the way. No fish again, but a nice motor-sail. We were anchored in Chacala by 4 pm.
John and Samie went ashore for ice. While they were gone, the boat that anchored too close to us in the first place was now dangerously close as we began to swing on the hook. I had our motor running to avoid a collision, should it get that close (and it did). They were not even aboard their boat – John made it back and we took up some slack on our rode and set a stern hook - twice before it held. Once they made it back they re-anchored at a much safer distance. So we were all able to sleep.

April 11, Tuesday

I just had to go back to April 4th in my entries, seems the time goes by so fast that I still thought it was March! *
Yesterday, Samie drew the game board for Chutes and Ladders, a game she played with Jena.
We hoisted anchor at 7:30 am, headed for San Blas, Matanchen Bay. We only had 5 to 6 knots and had to leave the motor on all the way -again. But it was a beautiful day. We reached Matanchen Bay, along with 7 or 8 other boats also leaving Chacala, and were anchored around 2:30 pm.
I thawed out dorado – no luck fishing on this trip either – and put the mosquito netting all around the cockpit – we are San Blas bug-proof!

*It’s fun to see this happen a couple times in her journal, where a few days into a new month, she reverts back to the previous month and catches it about a week later. Time really is a strange concept when you’re out on the ocean and not following the whole Monday through Friday nine-to-five mumbo jumbo. Days and dates don’t matter so much as weather windows and basing your plans around nature, not the other way around. 🐞

April 12, Wednesday

John cleaned the outside of the boat while us girls did school. We headed in the dink all the way around in to San Blas, did the check-in and out thing, saw jan and Norm, lunch at McDonald’s, tried to fill the diesel jugs – but no diesel in town – and headed back to the boat.
The trip in was smooth and a fast ‘plane’ all the way in – the big motor is great – but the return trip was not fun. I was just hoping to stay in the dink, but John did such a good job that we didn’t even get wet.
The pitfalls of long nails: In the States when I had to WORK (bad word), I had to keep my nails short in order to hit the right keys on the typewriter and now I have to keep them short or they dig into my palms when I’m hoisting up or hauling in lines. I tell ya, this is a hard life. Ha!
This afternoon from the boat, we watched 2 frigate birds fighting over a fish. The first bird, while in flight, dropped and retrieved the fish several times before he fell into the water, where another bird joined in the rescue efforts. This went back and forth between the 2 birds for quite a while before a third, fourth, and soon fifth and sixth joined in. It was quite a show with the free-flight fight of one lone fish – who was, by this time, some 10 minutes later, just wishing someone, anyone, would “just eat me!”

*I love this story from Mom about the birds! I found this video which shows us a little of what that might have looked like! Apparently frigates often try to steal fish from other birds, so it sounds like this moment would be pretty common for the species. I like Mom’s thoughts for the fish! Can you imagine that POV?!
As for the dinghy ride, on a real windy day the water gets choppy and makes things more difficult in the small inflatable boats. You have to try and steer mostly in to the wind to avoid waves breaking and splashing into the dinghy and when you do have to go sideways to the waves, you just try your best to read the waves and time it right. And while we’re discussing dinghy tactics, let’s talk about beach landings! Heading in to shore is typically the easiest, as long as the swell is low and waves are reasonable. It’s essentially the same concept as surfing in that it’s all about reading the waves and learning the timing; the main difference is we are avoiding the big waves. Sets tend to come in 3s and 4s and you learn to read the larger crests vs the ones that will be more likely to peter out - those are the ones you want in a dinghy. You find the friendliest one you can for your boat size and you gun the engine to catch it and coast in to shore. You hop out once the water is about ankle-deep, pull the engine prop out of the water and haul the dinghy up on to the beach, easy peasy. Don’t forget to account for the tide and how long you will be gone - you don’t want to come back only to find the dinghy has floated off to sea! Now, heading back out is a similar premise with timing; you are watching for the break between sets, where there is a lull that gives you the time you need to scuttle out past the surf. You have to wait outside of the dinghy until you see your window, then hustle to shove off, jump in, drop the engine, start it, and open her up to get out before the next set comes in. Most trips in and out were fine, but some days there were added challenges, like on grocery days when we also have bags of perishables and other things we’re trying to keep dry. It weighs the boat down and makes the whole process a little more sluggish. Or if the waves are choppy or you miss the break, you then have to race into the waves, trying to pass over them before they crest! This has resulted in some WILD rides back to the boat, especially in anchorages like Tenacatita, where they had nutoriously large surf. Say you’re headed into a larger wave that’s about to crest - for starters, someone needs to be in the bow of the boat to keep you from flipping over backwards and capsizing. By now, you best be gunning that engine in order to beat the crest and you hold on to whatever you can, cause even if the boat stays upright, the top of that crest might cause you to buck right out of the boat! 😅 It sure was a pain in the ass some days, but man there’s some fun/funny memories there! Oh! And it was a total bragging point if you made a gnarly landing without getting “dinghy butt” which just meant your ass was wet from water splashing into the boat or having to wade out father for whatever reason. Oh man, good times! 🐞

April 13, Thursday

We weighed anchor at 8:00 am and are underway – 2 minutes out and it’s the last minute, oh shit – there’s a fish net strung in the path – hard to the port and around just barely!
When we arrived at Matanchen Bay, there were 14 or so boats, as we leave, there are only 2 remaining.
For about the first 4 hours, we were beating in to a good size swell and chop, not too comfortable. Slowly, the wind shifted around and we had 10 to 15 knots out of the N/W, but we still had the motor on. The wind died down to 5 knots and held there all night with smooth seas.
John is bringing in a good-size amber jack, not good eating, so back he goes. While I’m watching the sunset and I saw the green flash that I’ve heard so much about. Really neat, just as the last of the sun slips away for the night, it flashes green for 2-3 seconds!
We talked to Meika, who was at Punta de Mita and Endless Summer who was underway, starting their journey to the South Pacific. Good propagation for VHF.
This was one of our better night passages, full moon and calm seas. We both got about 3 hours sleep and no big ships tried to “run us down”!

*Another helluva day at sea! If you didn’t catch why the fishing net was such a big deal, it’s because we were motoring out of the anchorage and can’t risk the net getting caught up in the propeller, which would be a nightmare to untangle and cut loose! Also, the ships ‘running us down’ comment is, I believe, in reference to when we were headed south towards Tenacatita a couple months back, in February. I don’t see that she mentioned it originally in her journal - let’s see if she can tell us about it now!🐞

April 14, Friday

Happy B-day, Chelle!

The full moon setting on the ocean is equally as awesome as a sunset. To our port, the full moon slips out of sight and to starboard, the many shades of sunrise color the low band of clouds that blanket the horizon. Every time we think it doesn’t get any better than this – it does.
We passed through hundreds of small manta rays. Some floating and basking in the warmth of the morning sun, while others were jumping out to greet it. This was quite a spectacular show that lasted for a good half hour. I only hope the pictures I took capture at least a part of the beauty!
We came on in to Mazatlan and were anchored (mud bottom) by 10:30 am – a long 26-hour trip. John and Samie went for 60 gallons of diesel, by way of dink and jerry jugs and will make 2 more trips tomorrow. I took a nap after cleaning up, it sure gets cluttered being underway. We all wanted to order pizza to be delivered, I wish, but we settled for taking a bus in to town and did find a good pizza.
Too bad we won’t be here longer to explore the town, it looks really neat!
It's 7:30 and John is fast asleep. I can hear the snappy Mexican music from the shore; this is the way to live – always on holiday!

 *I know these photos don’t do it justice, but they are still quite magical and do show the colors growing on the horizon like Mom said! You can kind of make out one manta ray totally out of the water - you can also tell how far photography has come since 1995! Next, is the anchorage at Mazatlan, where we also saw boat, O-B-Gone, who’s mast had broke in half! I don’t remember it at all, or how the mast snapped, but my guess would involve some very rough weather at sea. 😬 Finally, there’s the moonrise that night behind the Wandrin’ Star. We probably realized the photo opportunity on our way back from pizza - I’ll bet Mom or Dad grabbed the camera and went tooling around to get some photos. You can see me on deck, excited to be in the photo. One of my most favorite memories was cruising back up to the Star in the dinghy, especially on nights like this. Something about approaching our floating home, always from the starboard aft because we kept the ladder on the right side for entrance since the cockpit was easier to get into on that side and the boat was slightly lower on the right, due to the weight of storage and canned goods under the settee.* I can still hear the dinghy motor slowing to a putter before being shut off all together. But my favorite part, for whatever reason, was the sound of the water slapping on the back of the hull as the Star rose and fell in the water. I loved watching her swish and sway, while we lined ourselves up just right to come alongside, climb up the side of the boat and worked together to tie up the dinghy and hand in any treats we were bringing back from whatever new shore we’d just visited. ❤
*The settee had storage behind and under it, where most of our dry food and canned goods were stored. There is storage space built into practically every nook and cranny on a sailboat. I have spent the rest of my life wondering why every home and piece of furniture isn’t built this way, lol. Seems like a waste of space, haha

April 15, Saturday

John finished filling the fuel tanks and we have 10 extra gallons. I did laundry and while it was “in the dryer”, we took a bus to town, had a Mexican lunch, very good, and checked out the old open market. You can find anything from clothes, shoes, toys, fruits, veggies, canned goods, meat, fish, chicken, most anything! There were whole skinned pigs and cows waiting to be cut, or maybe you could purchase the whole side. It was fascinating to look around and follow your nose to the next fragrance, maybe it’s fish, cheese, or one of the many restaurants on the top floor. You could easily spend the day in this huge building that takes up one whole block.
We heard this morning that Unity and Pacific Visions made it to the Marquesas – way to go!!
We called Chelle for her B-day yesterday. She’s ready to have the baby – tired of being pregnant. Danielle is moving back to Lakeside next weekend. She’ll live in her mom’s trailer with a girl, Amy, from Mesa. She’s gonna try and work at Walmart and maybe one of the vet offices. She wants to get in to marine biology – that would be great!
Sitting on the boat, we are anchored near the harbor entrance, we watched a dozen or so shrimp boats going out. Each one making a full circle to starboard in the turning basin before they went out. I don’t know the meaning behind it, maybe it brings good luck.

 *Check it out! The market literally takes up a whole city block. I do remember being wowed by everything going on in this market!

April 16, Sunday

Happy Easter

We hauled in the anchor at 8 am and are underway to La Paz.
Noon: We had had 5 knots S/W, the seas are beautiful, blue and calm, there is no swell from the Pacific. John put out our mizzen staysail, really pretty red, white and blue. This is the first we’ve ever flown it. Again, no fish. The day went smooth. John slept from 7:30 pm to 11:30 – good thing, because around 3 am the wind shifted around to the NN/W and shot up to 30 and 35 knots!

*Ok, let’s talk knots! So knots are how we measure speed across nautical miles, which are different from land miles/measurements. One knot is equivalent to one nautical mile per hour, or roughly 1.15 statute mph. If you are interested in how nautical miles work vs miles/kilometers, check out this video! I don’t think I ever fully comprehended how they measured the distance, so that was fun for me to learn! I remember helping chart out our courses sometimes, but this was extraneous detail for me at the time.

April 17, Monday

9:30 am and it’s still blow’en 25-30 knots with 5-to-6-foot swell, or wind chop, not all that pleasant. Thank goodness for the hard dodger and canvas that we have all the way around. If not, we would be drowned rats by now, and so would this book. We’re very lucky! (Thank you, Tony).
As the day progressed, the winds increased to a steady 30-35 knots with gusts up to 42 (the other boats with us saw gusts to 51-wow!).
The seas became a whopping 15-18 feet, breaking and raging as far as the tired eyes could see.
Samie says King Neptune is real mad – I say he’s super pissed off!
By 3 pm, a full 12 hours of this plowing, slicing, slip-slop, splish and splashing through the seas, we’re tired and have had enough! Samie went below around noon and watched movies for the next 8 hours, she fell asleep just before we anchored and never woke up until 3 am – starving! To make our way around below – safely – crawling on the floor was the best option. The new bumps and bruises to our bodies are too numerous to count.
We had 3 or 4 huge waves break sideways, clear over the dodger. The boat was never really healed over because of the wind in the sails, but the swell would rock us down in the deep cradle, causing the port side cap-rail to swim in the foam as we rolled across the waves.
No matter how water-tight a boat is, all the twisting and bouncing can jar loose numerous stanchion screws. After 20 hours of a little drip here and a drop there, all the inside starboard closets and half of the port side were sopped, not damp, but dripping salt water wet! All of Samie’s clothes, bedding and school papers had to be hung out to dry. This summer we will re-caulk every possible pinhole! The vent in the “shed” (old head) needs a plug, water was pouring through with each and every wave that jumped up to say hello. At one point, John had to go forward on deck to tie the dinghy down again, it was sliding around. The mizzen sail blew a seam just as the sun came up this morning, so John had to go out and take it down in a blistery 25 or 30 knots. The rest of the day was spent under reefed main and partial jib with 1600 rpms on the motor, giving us between 5.5 to 7 knots boat speed. We made our way in to Los Muertos Bay to get out of this SHIT! La Paz can wait till the sea is a peaceful, sleeping beauty again.
We were anchored, wet and cold, but in calm water by 8 pm – THANK GOD!
There were 2 other boats with us, Running Free and Anastasia, they later had their autopilot go out, causing their steering to fail just as they came into the anchorage.  Luckily, they had a clear path and dropped the hook and settled back in safely. We were lucky to have all the wind and waves and a good N/W angle and not beating directly into it which is even harder on the boat, not to mention the crew. We made the trip from Mazatlan in 36 hours. A boat the day before had to beat straight into that hell and took 50 hours.
The Wandrin’ Star is a wonderful boat and we love her! She took all the bouncing and beating for a full 20 hours and held together (in spite of the leaking, which in reality is minor) and got us to safety! We have now experienced what is un-affectionately called the Northers!
Even in the anxious hours of watching the waves rage so high and fierce, there is still a beauty to be seen in the deep blues and rich coral colors breaking in brilliant white contrast in every direction for miles. It’s a beauty I’ll never forget and one I hope I NEVER SEE AGAIN!

*This was the biggest storm we encountered during our sailing. From what I understand, we hesitated to leave when we did, but another boater who we were crossing with encouraged us that it would be fine to go on ahead with them. Needless to say, things didn’t go as planned! But we made it through to tell the tale, and I will say that of all the sailing stories I’ve ever read that involve big storms with these giant, threatening, cresting waves always includes these notes of beauty in the chaos. And it’s great, because you almost don’t have time to be scared, because all your energy is focused on staying alert and aware for anything and everything that needs tending to in order to keep your boat afloat, upright, and with as many pieces still attached as possible.
Two notes on words and terms: When Mom talks about the “cradle” of the wave, she is referring to the low point between two waves. A really wild experience is seeing another boat disappear almost completely down the other side of a large wave, into a deep cradle. I tried to find a decent video example and found this example (forward to 12:10 in the video until 13:50). This should be about what it looked like in the beginning of the storm, and I believe we were headed more into the swell, which would eventually more than double in size.
I missed out on most of this because I absolutely laid down in front of the TV and proceeded to get lost in movies for the rest of the time. It was probably too rough to sleep, which explains why I crashed once we were anchoring - the boat would have finally stopped bucking all over the place. I do remember having to go to the bathroom, which meant crawling along the floor past the cockpit, the galley and the engine room before figuring out the mechanics of peeing into a bucking bronco! 😅 Ok, that’s maybe a little dramatic, but not altogether untrue! Anyway. Mom shoo’ed me away (understandably!) when I woke her up at 3 am asking for food. 🙃 I think I made myself some cereal and went back to bed.

April 18, Tuesday

We slept like babies last night, both of us only getting 3 hours in the last 36. Waking up in Muertos Bay is beautiful, a big bay with white sandy beaches and the prettiest turquoise, clear water. We are sitting in about 15 feet of water so clear we can see the anchor resting peacefully on the bottom. We spent the day in bits and pieces as energy was not in abundance today; drying out and cleaning up. The life lines draped with all the drenched clothing, bedding and other items. There are two American couples on the beach that have a small restaurant, so we went in for pizza! It’s amazing what you can find in paradise when there is no town in sight. As the sun was setting tonight, it cast a glow on the sandy beach and hill that looked much like it was covered in snow. The nights have been real cool for the last week or two. At first it felt good to cuddle up, down under a quilt on the bed, reminding you that it is, indeed winter and not summer – but that’s enough of that memory, even though in another month we’ll a be dripping in sticky sweat and want a cool night again.

The next morning definitely sucked with everything sopped and smelly from the salt water. Takes awhile to for things to really feel clean after being doused in all that dried, cake-y salt. But then again, how bad can it be with a view like this to ease the pain?! Also, there is nothing like the peace that comes after reaching your destination and turning off the engine. The constant vibration and rumble of the engine over time wears at you, so that first slice of silence and stillness (especially in a really calm anchorage) is like a wall of peace hitting you, and your body almost melts suddenly into it.

April 19, Wednesday

Running Free and Anastasia left for La Paz this morning at 5 am. We were gonna go also, but the wind was blowing 15-20 and had been most of the night, so we opted to wait one more day. John dinghied over to the pizza place and happened to get a ride in to a small town 6 miles and get some ice and cigs. The pizza place is called Sourdoughs and he also bakes bread, which he picked some up – yum!
We met the crew of Nanamuk on the beach and let the kids run around and use up some of their never-ending energy. They have a boy, Alan, 8 and a girl, Janelle, 7.
John BBQed some wonderful chuletas de cerdo, or more commonly known as pork chops. Samie was asking me how do you know if a boy likes you? She thinks Alan is cute and maybe she likes him.

*Awe! This was the day we met our beloved friends on Nanamuk. ❤ Jelly, Alan and I were nearly inseparable when together, and yes, I definitely maybe kinda liked Alan. 🙃 We remained friends and kept in touch - we even went to visit them nearly a decade later at their home in B.C. during a road trip we took in the motor home my parents bought. By that time they had gone and circumnavigated the globe! So awesome. It has since been nearly another two decades since we’ve gotten together, but we are still friends with them and remain in touch to this day, thanks to good ole’ Facebook. Janelle and I are actually planning a couple trips together in the next year - including a trip to our old stomping grounds in La Paz, a place you will read about next! It’s crazy cause I know that when we get together, the last 26-odd years are going to melt away and it’ll be like a day hasn’t passed! 🥰

April 20, Thursday

We weighed anchor at 6 am and had a very pleasant, calm trip on up to La Paz. The winds only made their way up to 15 knots – what a perfect day. Just as we were ready to start into the channel to the anchorage, John hooked a small dorado, enough for 2 meals – which is what we had for dinner tonight, wonderful. We dinghied to the dock and walked in to town with Rob, Grace, Janelle and Alan, the crew of Nanamuk. Got some fresh veggies.
La Paz looks like a neat place – big and pretty modern. Sitting on the boat, we can watch the cars going up and down the beach front street, looks kinda odd, actually.
Coming in to the bay today, we have the desert mountain background rising in the sky with palm trees and palapa-covered beaches; quite a contrast.

*As you will come to find, La Paz is one of my favorite places we went. La Paz and La Cruz were good home bases for us - there was always someone we knew there and we tended to stay for longer periods of time. Marina de La Paz is where we spent most of our time - if we weren’t docked there, then we dinghied in damn near every day. The Marina grounds were so much fun to wander and run around, and was an excellent place for us kids to let out all the extra energy and movement that we seemed excessively fueled with. There was a book exchange place which was one of the first places I went when we got to port. The books were always free because you just brought in your old books and took whatever caught your interest. I’m nearly certain this is where I obtained my first Sue Grafton novel, G is for Gumshoe. I have loved reading my Kinsey Millhone stories ever since!

April 21, Friday

John and Rob went in to do the check-in, check-out routine. While the guys filled the boats with fuel via – 3 dinghy runs and the kids all ran around on shore – they’ll sleep good tonight. Grace and I did a big shop at a market – American style – and took a taxi back to the dock.
True Blue came in today. It took 52 gallons to come up from Mazatlan – powering through the storm included!
We did 4 loads of laundry – only a start on everything that got sopped.

April 22, Saturday

John ran water through the water maker so that it can sit, we can’t make water in here. He charged the engine and gen-set.
Samie ran around on shore again, there are a dozen or so kids there. I was mostly lazy and typed my storm story to mail home.
The crew of Nanamuk came over for a while.

*It may not sound like it, but a dozen boater kids in one place was a total jack pot! And the great thing about cruising life is that age wasn’t as much of a factor and we all just kinda got together and hung out. This was also why I enjoyed La Paz so much, there were usually at least a few other kid boats around, which meant lots more fun!
Also, we couldn’t make water here due to a combination of strong tides, heavy currents and crazy winds that would always buck up muck and sand from the heavy shoals throughout the canal. This combo of elements also creates what is notoriously known as the La Paz Waltz! It’s a pain in the ass, is what it is! So, when it comes to anchoring, typically boats are going to swing on their anchors in the same direction, due to the tides flowing in and out of the bay, ok? When anchoring you need to give enough space for the boats to drift randomly during slack tide and not risk turning into bumper boats. Otherwise, the boats will always swing together based on those incoming and outgoing tides. In the La Paz Canal, however, tides often conflict with currents, pushing boats in random directions. The afternoon winds that funnel through the channel cause even more of a ruckus, blowing the boats around as much as they are being pushed by the conflicting currents. I remember there being some close-calls with boats who anchored too close to each other - which is why cruisers were especially on alert for newcomers here in La Paz. As you may have ascertained from our anchoring woes, it has a learning curve, and you never know how green a new arrival is until you see them anchor. 😅 In open anchorages with lots of space, you might be inclined to get out the popcorn and watch the “show,” but in La Paz, you are at attention in case you need to hail them on the radio and offer tips and guidance, or even tell them off from dropping anchor too close.

April 23, Sunday

Samie took another test today and got a 100%!
We moved the boat into the marina for a couple of days. Gave the Wandrin’ Star a much-needed fresh water bath.
Called Mom, Peg was not home, poop! Oh – we put the mizzen back up, it was $20 or $N120 pesos.

* What the heck is $N pesos, you ask? I’ll tell you, as per Wikipedia:
”On January 1, 1993, the Bank of Mexico introduced a new currency, the nuevo peso ("new peso", or MXN), written "N$" followed by the numerical amount.[9] One new peso, or N$1.00, was equal to 1,000 of the obsolete MXP pesos.”
At the time, the exchange rate was apparently at around 6.42, and now is at 17.60, meaning that this same purchase would now only cost us $7 U.S. That’s wild!

April 24, Monday

Happy B-day Grandma Davis.

John swapped the anchors around to make it easier to use the all chain, which is the only one we use now that all the anchorages are all so full (there is less swing). I did another 3 loads of laundry, that takes care of all the salt water wash down. We watched the America’s Cup races from the comfort of our own sailing vessel today – Young Americans beat the Stars & Stripes in San Diego.

*Wow, I haven’t watched those types of races before, that was an intense 9 minutes!!! If nothing else, check out the near misses at 5:40 and 6:30. 😧

April 25, Tuesday

We had to move out of the slip we were in today. It was quite a long ways to back straight out, and a slight turn on out to the outside end of a dock. No mishaps, no close calls, nice and easy for a change. John took apart the head and got it to pump a little more water as you flush. We called Roach, they had lost the address to send mail; so he will do that tomorrow. Also got to talk to Peg.

Big chillin’ at the dock with my Barney umbrella and my little Kitty Surprise.

April 26, Wednesday

We paid for this dock through Thursday night. Might as well stay here since we can’t make water in the anchorage. Besides the cable TV is nice, we have been in Marinas so often lately, we (especially Sam) are getting caught up on all missed flicks in the last year. The last couple of days have been HOT, reaching around 90°! But the nights are still cooling down, this morning it was only 58° - too bad it can’t stay somewhere in the middle morning, noon and night.

Although for the most part of my journal I only write of the daily routine of shipboard life, which in itself is an easy, relaxed, yet exciting and enjoyable way to spend our days and hopefully many years to come. Yet there are awe inspiring moments like… sitting on the deck of the Wandrin’ Star tonight, the feeling is so peaceful as I listen to the water quietly slap against the hull of our floating home and watch yet another breathtaking sunset. Tonight, the pink colors range from brilliant to pastels as they weave their way between the deep blues and soft white clouds resting low on the horizon. The night air grows cool as the breeze lightly touches my skin and ruffles my hair, but it’s hard to pull myself away to the warmth of the cabin below, so I sit and watch. Slowly, yet ever-changing are the colors and shapes of the cottony clouds that are there for anyone who takes the time – not only to notice – but to absorb the beauty and peaceful feelings that one can find within your heart. With the lack of all the daily rushing from here to there, time schedules and worries of the everyday life that we have gladly left far behind this is such a wonderous space in time and I feel so fortunate to be here and be a part of it all. As my thoughts run wild and free the colors have once again sadly slipped out of sight, leaving only the scattered twinkling of the anchor lights in the darkness with the distant ringing of a church bell. Although tomorrows colors may be different, they will still be the same and I will be there to feel their warmth in the cool night air all over again and again!

 *Literally me, reading this. ❤

April 27, Thursday

John took a swim to clean out the thru-hull to the refrigeration which had grown shut with barnacles – all is working again. Still no mail.
Samie has become addicted to TV again out of boredom, all the other kids are gone. She is also writing a journal of her own – I hope she keeps it up.

*I didn’t keep up the journaling too well, but I do have the entries from this one which she’s talking about and I do plan to share them in here too!

April 28, Friday

Finally, mail! John found that the main engine batteries are not so good. He bought two new ones and we’ll find the better of the original four and replace the two that are worse off. We ate dinner up at The Dock. We are “in training” for the hot summer to come in San Carlos. Today was another 94° day!

*The Dock Café was the best! It was literally right above the dinghy dock and was basically a hub in the center of the Marina lot, by the office where our friend Mac Shroyer ran and operated the Marina. You might remember his name from back in December ‘94 when I explained what a panga is and who designed them! This is where we knew him from.

April 29, Saturday

John switched batteries, only one was bad, so he tossed the old spare and kept one of these as spare. I vacuumed up all the dust and sand that accumulates, John cleaned the dink. We ate out again – True Blue came back in.

April 30, Sunday

Sprayed the boat down again. Tameron came by for about an hour this a.m. We left the dock at slack tide (10:00 am). For the first couple hours we had 15 to 20 knots – on the nose, of course! Nice, uneventful motor for the 5 hours it took to get to Isla Partida. Anchored in 20 feet of fairly clear water, with the water turning to a pretty turquoise along the beach. We did not make it to the beach, though. The fridge didn’t want to work so John dove down and cleaned the thru-hull again, to no avail. Next, he took off the inside part of the thru-hull that brings the water into the pump and removed an offensive 7 inch piece of seaweed. Problem solved; fridge works wonderful!