March ‘97

*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!

March 1, Saturday

We took the bus to Melaque and did the “tourist thing” – shop. Danielle got several goodies. I asked one little fellow how much a basket was - $110 pesos, I said “No thanks.” – He followed us four blocks and kept bringing down his price, each time I say no. Until he got down to $60 pesos and looks so desperate for a sale that I buy the pretty basket. Now that’s the easy way to haggle over price!
The wind blew again all day – 25k outside. Cloud Nine finally made it around Cabo Corrientes and into P.V.
Chelle wants to come down the first week of April. Shine said there was a foot of snow when they left Show Low yesterday and still snowing. Brrr!
It’s Danielle’s last day, it’s been fun with her here and I’ll miss her!

*I loved these cruiser’s walls (below) - there was always a handful of boat names we recognized. Some people were so clever and great with their designs!
I spy Mom’s new basket in the second photo below! She still has it - it’s faded, but still in great shape, although it does look like it’s lost it’s handles. I found a photo of some basket sellers in Jalisco - I remember them carrying huge loads of baskets which I think were usually strung along sturdy rods or poles which they would sling across their shoulders and carry along the beach.

March 2, Sunday

Happy B-day to me!

It was freezing this a.m. when we all caught the 9 am bus into P.V. The ride wasn’t so bad cause they played the movie, Maverick. Danielle got carsick, though. We took a taxi to the marina, had lunch and visited Nanamuk. They plan to leave on Wednesday. We sure have missed being with them this season. Well, we picked up Michael and Peggy and 15 minutes later put Danielle on the same plane to go home.
We got rooms at the Hotel Marlin, walked around and had dinner.

*Looking back, our visit with Nanamuk was all too short for the fact that it would be the last time we saw them for who knows how long. I can’t imagine knowing it’s your last few days on shore around any other people for the next 20-30 days before you cross the enormous expansion of open blue ocean that lies between you and the other side of this beautiful world! Hats off to all the cruisers and sailors who’ve heeded their call to cross the Pacific (or any ocean) to make such a journey! I’m not sure I would do it, myself, but I know I sure would love to visit those islands and experience that whole slice of life! Maybe one day I will crew with some hearty sea captain, who knows?!

March 3, Monday

Had breakfast and got the 8 am bus back to Barra. No movie this time, so it went slower – or so it seemed (4 hours).
Hit all the tiendas to stock up. Girls went swimming. We had Chris and Lorrie over for a spaghetti dinner – they brought a cake  - so I’ve had a b-day celebration for 3 days now.

*Awe, my sweet Momma is so loved! 3 days of birthday celebrations! ❤

March 4, Monday

John and I took the bus into Manzanillo and got my cast removed and a short one put on. Oh boy, does my elbow hurt and my upper arm is a soft, mushy bunch of flab. My wrist is still swollen and looks deformed – still hurts too, but the doc says normal. We took a taxi back so the kids wouldn’t be getting bored. John took them in to the pool. Miss Teak II had to turn back 80 miles and get back to Punta Mita because of a fuel pump problem.

March 5, Wednesday

We talked to Miss Teak II, they thought they fixed the problem – got 15 miles out and had to turn back and dropped the hook in La Cruz at 4 am. On Happy Hour they told us they had found the problem. Something to do with air in the fuel line.
We left Barra at 7:30 am and had a smooth 3-hour ride in to Tenacatita. John took the kids on a short ride up the river and later he and Shine went fishing and came back with 2 snook.
Michael and Peggy are both queasy tonight – bummer.

*Happy Hour was one of the evening HAM radio nets. Sounds like a long couple of days for Bob and Cynthia! First an 80-mile turn-around and then a 15! I’ll bet there were stoked to finally get that fixed.
Bummer that Peg and Mike were both queasy! 😩I hope it didn’t take too much fun out of their trip.

March 6, Thursday

The morning started nice, warm and calm. But at 10:30 just as we were gonna head up the river, the wind all of a sudden kicked up to 15k out of the south, which immediately brought in a swell and a surf too big to make it safely through the entrance. So they got out the kayaks instead. It was a pretty boring day.  
Star Song made it into La Cruz this morning. Miss Teak II got everything fixed and fueled up and were 8 miles from Chacala at 5 pm. They will anchor there tonight. That’s where Summer Wind is, too.
I’m getting really tired of this cast and writing this sloppy mess as a lefty.
Talked to Chelle and she’s gonna wait to come out till next October.
At 5:30, Nanamuk was underway just off of Cabo Corrientes on their way to the South Pacific. They are really doing it and plan to be gone for 3 years.

*That’s a bummer we didn’t get to go up the river again with Mike and Peggy! Like I said, the waves in that bay could get pretty gnarly. I’m not sure why we never anchored in the other bay with the beach that the river led to. Maybe this anchorage was less crowded - ah, yes - the map reminds me that it was more protected. We still had fun in the kayaks and tooling around the bay. Mom seems to remember Mike was queasy a lot of the time, poor brother!

*Yay, in the video below, you can get a good idea of what my giant hatch was like in my room! I basically had a huge sunroof right above my bed! I loved when it was fully open, cause I could pop my head out just like Peg does here, to see what was going on outside. Once I got tall enough, I could climb in and out straight through the hatch! At night it was so great to be able to watch the stars if I wanted to. What a lucky little duck I was, and I really had no idea. ❤

*I’ve included a map for an idea of how far of a trip Nanamuk was in for. I can’t help but wonder what shenanigans we’d have gotten into if we’d had more time with them that year! The hardest part about cruising life was parting ways and not knowing if you’d ever see your friends again. Thankfully for us, Nanamuk would be one of the most lasting friendships we were able to maintain after our travels! We went to visit them in B.C. in the early 2000s and Mom and Dad got to spend plenty of time with Rob and Grace when they took the boat up to La Conner, WA from 2005-2008. And then just this last October, Janelle came to visit me here in Phoenix and we had the most delightful 5-day adventure! 🥰 We went horseback riding, hiking, and paddle boarding, we checked out old monuments, museums and the meteor crater. We enjoyed beautiful sights all the way from Sedona to Greer, and made sure to leave room for a good ‘ole western ghost town (Tortilla Flat). There was so much to catch up on that we pretty much had a solid stream of conversation going from sunup to sundown for 6 days straight! It was the best! I think it goes to show that there are some people we meet in this life who we just connect with and will always get along with. The type of relationships where time and distance are of little consequence and you can just pick up from where you left off! 🥰
After the map showing the trip they were embarking on, I added a photo of Nanamuk surrounded by all that pretty blue ocean; I believe she was around 36’. Next is when we went to visit them in 2004, 7 years later: Jelly and I getting ready for a little horseback ride, Dad with Grace and Rob, and a little photo recreation with us kids. The last three are Jelly and I on our grand Arizona adventure!

March 7, Friday

We left Tenacatita at 7 am. There was a small swell from the north and south, wind 5-8k from the south, fairly south-going. Talked to Nanamuk, they were at ?N 106.24 W with 8 knots out of the NW = all is well. Miss Teak II was 83 miles south of Mazatlan at 5pm. Oh – the current coming into the marina in Barra today was so strong going out (against) that John had 1800 rpms on the engine and we were barely going forward.
It hit 100° again for a while until the breeze picked up. Tonight it’s cloudy and muggy, there’s lightning off over the mountains.

*Below is a rough idea of Nanamuk’s whererabouts at the time.

March 8, Saturday

The girls went to the pool for 3 hours or so - sunburned. We all took the bus into Melaque and did the tourist thing again. It was 90° and so humid that my arm got sweaty and sticky in the cast and it felt like it was on fire. So we came back early. I’m so exhausted. Had a quiet evening on the boat. I managed to write out 8 sloppy post cards and finally got to bed at 11 pm.

*Peg and I had fun at the Sands Pool! I feel like most of the time, we basically had this place to ourselves. Maybe everyone else was busy swimming in the ocean?
On Melaque beach, someone had flower sticks that I’d been learning to play with - I was determined to master some tricks!

March 9, Sunday

We got the kids on the 9 am bus to P.V. - 72 pesos each. John figures we spent $400 U.S. while the kids were here. Between busses, hotels, food, etc.
Mom called at 2:45 pm to say they made it to the P.V. airport ok.
Samie and I both took an hour nap this a.m. Love the kids to pieces, but it’s so nice to have our boat back to ourselves. Steve from Star Song came by – he took the bus down from P.V. to get his van.

*It was always great to have company, but a 41’ boat can get cramped pretty fast!

March 10, Monday

The fridge quit this morning. Kirby from Luna is a reefer guy and put some more freon in the refrigerator. It’s been 2.5 years since it was checked, we also had a bad breaker. He has it set now, to shut down on its own at the right time. We went in to Chris and Lorrie’s for a great dinner.

March 11, Tuesday

Happy B-day Cammie.

We were gonna leave today, but want to make sure the fridge is ok first.
John and Lisa on Jazz left today for Las Hadas for a few days on the hook. Then they’ll come back here to pick up Bob and leave from here on the 20th for the South Pacific.
We talked to Don on Luna, heard him calling Las Hadas. Anyway, they were heading north from Z-juat and wrapped a jib line around the prop and pulled the shaft out! They got the leak stopped and Jermane had been towing them for the last 125 miles. They made it in and several dinghies helped them anchor. Hope they can fix it without hauling out – there are no haul-outs until P.V.

😧 Oh man! That’s terrifying about Luna’s jib line getting wrapped around the prop! Thank goodness they were able to stop the leak and had plenty of help to bring them in and anchor. Sheesh!

March 12, Wednesday

We decided to go out and anchor at Melaque to wait for weather. When we got back out there in the open, it was blow’en from the west with a good swell. We continued on to the anchorage, but decided to come on back to the marina. We would have had to put out a stern anchor and the beach landing is even more difficult than normal, all too much for this one-handed girl. So we’re back in Barra waiting for a south wind.
Hot Toddy was out there and followed us in.

*The entrance to Barra could be quite tricky. It had some real shallow spots which resulted in us kissing the bottom once. Thankfully it was a very sandy bottom and no damage was done, but we were in it enough that we did require some help from our fellow sailors in their dinghies to pull us off that spot.
I remember one time when we were leaving Barra, there were thousands of jellyfish everywhere - must have been mating season!

March 13, Thursday

Slow day – John finished waxing the boat. The wind is starting to shift around to the south.
Samie and John went swimming.

March 14, Friday

I forget what happened today.

*Mom must have been playing catch up in her journal here. It’s crazy how easy it can be to forget what happened just a few days ago!

March 15, Saturday

We finally left Barra today at 8:30 am. It was lumpy, but calm until 2 pm when the NW wind kicked in at 15k and built to 20k right on our nose. We were making no headway – so we ducked in at Chamela for a restful night.

March 16, Sunday

We left Chamela at 7 am – calm wind and flat seas until 2 pm again, so we went on in to Ipala at 3:30, got showers and dinner. Amity was coming up from Tenacatita and said it had died down to 13k. So at 6:30 pm, we headed out again to go on around Corrientes. We had 20k on our nose all the way around but flat enough seas – not bad at all. We finally anchored in La Cruz at 3 am.

March 17, Monday

Jim and Kitty, Summer Wind came over first thing this morning – sure good to see them. John and Jim went into Nuevo Vallarta to check-in. Leah, Amity spent the day here. We all went into Cruise Quarters for a while. Saw Blair, but Rosa is in Israel and won’t be back till Friday.

March 18, Tuesday

We left La Cruz at 7:30 am and got into P.V. at 9:30 – our old slip, A-11. I defrosted the freezer and vacuumed, John washed down the boat and cleaned the water maker and started the fuel run. Samie spent the day on Amity, who also came in.

March 19, Wednesday

One more week with this cast. Yeah!
John finished the fuel – cleaned the water maker – changed the oil and all filters.
The kids – about 12 of them – all went to the water park, but all 4 slides were shut down for work. So they all went to the Nautilus to go swimming. We went to Angela’s restaurant for dinner, then to Comercial and spent $600 pesos. Oh, we talked to Angie and Hal on Angela, they are in Nuevo Vallarta, so is Island Trader. 7 rolls of 24 film is $320 pesos.

*Back when we couldn’t instantly see our photos - it was like Christmas when we finally got them printed! Especially seven rolls of film?! Oh goodie, I know I was chomping at the bit to go through them and see how everything turned out!

Monday 20, Thursday

We made it out of the slip ok and back to La Cruz at 11:30 am. We anchored next to Summer Wind in the normal 20k of wind.
Ourselves, Jim and Kitty went in to Dos Felipes to meet Tom, who took a bus over and had a nice visit. Jim and Kitty came over and we BBQed burgers.

March 21, Friday

We woke up to rain, lightning and thunder. It was cloudy all day, the winds are flukey. The first race in the Regata went well. Around 4 pm, it started raining buckets and blowing from the north. A local boat started dragging. There has been no one aboard and it’s drug before. Several guys got on board and let out more scope, no help. So, as it continued to drag, the dinghies, 6 or 7 of them, pushed it to keep it from hitting other boats. It finally drug far enough out and around 10 pm, the Navy rescued it and took it into P.V. It rained hard and blew 25-30k for an hour or so. We were gonna go in to see Rosa, who just got back after being gone a month – 2 weeks in Canada and 2 weeks in Israel.

*I remember one or two rescues in this anchorage, but I’m surprised I don’t immediately remember this one in such terrible weather! What great guys, out there in the wind and snot in their dinghies doing everything they could to rescue someone else’s boat and keep it from hitting or dragging others along with it. Some of those boats in that bay were always empty and had collected barnacles 5” thick on the hull. It was hard to imagine the last time those poor vessels had been out for a sail. Sounds like we didn’t make it in to see Rosa that day, what with the snotty weather and all.

March 22, Saturday

Happy B-day Delores.

It cleared off and was warm today. We spent a couple hours at Cruise Quarters – then went back for Blair’s wonderful ribs.

*Mom loved those ribs!
I’m willing to bet I stayed on shore with Jena while Mom and Dad went back to the boat for a bit. She and I would have had fun either swimming in her pool, making lunch or watching TV. We regularly had Cup o’ Noodles for lunch, and I remember Jena liked to warm up Parmesan cheese on tostada shells, lol. We would watch Nickelodeon on her TV - I remember a lot of Rocko’s Modern Life and she also had a Barenstein Bears game that we would play - I liked that game! (For those who are familiar, do you remember it being Barenstein or Barenstain?! iykyk). I think this might also have been the year that she had a cool new animation program on her computer where you could design sets and characters and make a little short film - kind of like the bird and the fish animation I shared in February ‘97. It was so cool and fun to design, despite being quite time-consuming. Sometimes I would also “do” her homework with her; I liked seeing how it was different from my Calvert Schooling, and trying to read Spanish.

March 23, Sunday

The Regata race went again today – Star Song took first in their class, Angela took first and Island Trader second in their class. We went into Cruise Quarters and watched U of A beat Providene in OT.
Oh, we finally talked to Nanamuk at 8 pm on 14.313. They were at 02°N / 124° W on the 22nd – have only had 10-15k and a great time. They were so glad to hear our voices. Not a good copy tonight, but heard they were at 01° N in 5k.
I watched the lunar eclipse – pretty cool, 98% of the moon was shadowed and had a red glow to it. Pretty.

*Below you can see all the sails up across Banderas Bay during the Regata, a photo of La Cruz Bay, and finally, Nanamuk’s position just north of the equator.

March 24, Monday

We sure have a swell coming in and are rolling around.
Talked to Bob and Lisa on Jazz, they are at Isla Benedicto – in flat seas, no wind! Lisa even saw an Orca!
Spent the afternoon at Cruise Quarters.
Talked to Nanamuk, they crossed the equator at 4 pm. They all celebrated by taking a swim! At 8 pm, they were at 00°, 06 S / 126° 25 W!

*When crossing the equator, sailors love to pay homage to Poseidon or King Neptune and the great wide ocean, thanking them for a safe passage. People can get very creative! Many will go swimming for the ceremony - it breaks my brain a little to think of swimming in the actual middle of the ocean like that with all those miles and miles and miles of water and who-knows-what underneath you!

March 25, Tuesday

Jazz is 75 miles SW of Benedicto, doing great. John polished the brass in the engine room – the other day he changed 15 hose clamps. He’s been working in there for 3 days now. Nanamuk at 0300 Z was at 01° 19 S / 127° 25 W, with 8k. Today they got enough wind to make 5k boat speed. They figure 8 or 9 more days.

*“Z” = Zulu time, known as military time, or also UTC, Coordinated Universal Time.

March 26, Wednesday

We took a 9 am bus into P.V., Jim and Kitty came along. Went to one place to get an x-ray and took a taxi to old town to CMQ to have the cast removed. The doctor cutting off the cast was not very gentle and the saw nicked my skin. It was $150 pesos to cut the cast off. Manzanillo is cheaper than P.V. I’m still using my left hand until I can get the use back in my right wrist. P.V. was packed, Easter week and all. One bus we took was so crowded, there were more people standing than sitting. We even had a guitar and violin players serenade us! We stopped at Cruise Quarters for a nice, cold beer.
Nanamuk is at 02° 52 S / 129° 08 W – 12k and made 140 miles today. They had rolley seas and when Rob was carrying his dinner and drink up to the cockpit, he almost fell overboard, but made a dive down and spilt his drink and dinner on Grace. She lovingly gave up her dinner to Rob, who had spent an hour cooking.

March 27, Thursday

My wrist is slowly limbering up. I can at least hold this pen although it hurts and is sloppy.
Hal, Angie and little Hal on Angela came in and anchored today. This was the first time we saw Angie this year. Spent our usual time at Cruise Quarters while Samie and Tarn and Mia went swimming.
Nanamuk is at 04° 28 S / 123° 33 W, 15k wind, 6k boat speed. 550 miles to go, they made their second sail change of the trip. The sun goes down there around 8 pm.

March 28, Friday

Samie did test lesson #100 – 3 more to go. We enjoyed another afternoon at Rosa’s.
I sent a fax to Bill and Trish.
At 0300 Z, Nanamuk was at 05° 43 S / 132° 36 W, 12k wind – 5.5 boat speed. All is well and they think 4 or 5 more days!

March 29, Saturday

Samie went to Samara I and decorated cupcakes with Tarn and Mia. Then they all went to Imoni to do eggs. We all – the group – went into Cruise Quarters to watch U of A beat North Carolina. Good game – had dinner, fun night.
Coming back out, the fish were lit up with phosphorescence and jumping all around the dink.
Nanamuk is at 07° 03 S / 132° 21 W.

*Apparently that game got U of A into the national championships that year - I bet Dad was real excited.
Mia must have been from Imoni - I don’t remember a lot about her. I think I remember this day, though - I remember I tried to close Tarn’s knife on someone else’s boat, and I almost sliced my finger when it snapped shut. To this day, I get sketched out closing a folding knife!

March 30, Sunday

Happy Easter

Another slow, lazy morning. I baked a cake, John and Samie went into Cruise Quarters.  Tom, Island Trader and Jim and Kitty, Summer Wind came over for Easter dinner. Pork roast, potatoes, gravy, stuffing and salad. Great meal and great company.
My wrist is still stiff and the skin real tender, but improves a little every day.
The clouds over the P.V. mountains were so pretty today, with different shades of pastel blue and soft to brilliant whites.
Dan on Hot Toddy came in tonight. He decided not to go on south and is going back north.
Nanamuk is at 08° S / 165° W – I think, poor copy and Peg called just then, crying. Her dad told her not to go to the lake and she did. So now she’s in trouble.

*Ooooh, Peg was getting herself into some trouble! Oh, to be a teenager!

March 31, Monday

We went in to Cruise Quarters to watch U of A beat Kentucky in overtime, 82-79! John has waited 48 years for this and thoroughly enjoyed himself. Unfortunately, the game was a late one and we missed talking to Nanamuk. It is Jelly’s birthday and they may have made that landfall.

What a great birthday gift for Jelly, to make landfall after 25 days at sea!
I remember this U of A game at Cruise Quarters ‘cause they (probably Dad) got the room chanting “U of A! U of A!” and I remember being really excited even if I didn’t have a clue about what was happening in the game. I can still remember Dad’s giddy face, cheering his team on.