April ‘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!

April 1, Tuesday

John and Jim went to check out today. Brent from Alpine got me on the HAM to let us know to call Navopache. So we talked to Tim – he wants John back as soon as possible. Gary has me in for June through September. So now we’ll head on up faster and try to  be in Arizona by the 2nd week in May! That’s only 4 more weeks – sad!
Eagle’s Pride had left for Cabo 2 or 3 days ago – but limped back in today. Their anchor broke loose, falling and breaking the bob-stay, they tore a sail and their fuel is bad, so no motor. It took them 19 hours to come in from Punta de Mita to La Cruz. Not much wind. In fact, the last 4 or 5 days have been very unusual for Banderas Bay.
Tarn, Samara I, spent the morning over here. We went in to Cruise Quarters for an early rib dinner and said goodbye to Blair and Rosa.
I haven’t worn the wrap on my wrist for two days now and it’s tender and sore tonight.
KC7MAT (Joyce) just relayed to us that Nanamuk expected to make landfall today and drop the hook at Hiva Oa around noon today. How wonderful for them!

*That is insane how long it took Eagle’s Pride to get into La Cruz from the Punta de Mita area - Mom wasn’t kidding when she said they limped in - that trip would normally take us around 2-3 hours, I believe. If they were a sloop, that would mean they had only one sail left to work with and no wind to fill it! The lack of afternoon wind was definitely unusual for Banderas Bay, and I’ll bet the 3-4 days of that trip felt like a lifetime to them - especially once they were so close to their destination, but had no wind or engine power to actually GET there. I’m just glad they got there safe and I hope they were able to fix everything.
Hooray for Nanamuk making landfall! I’ll bet land never looks more beautiful than after such a stint at sea - especially the luscious green islands of the Marquesas! I found this video, it’s about sailing the Marquesas from SV Julia, if you’ve got some extra time and want to daydream about sailing out to sea! 🐞

April 2, Wednesday

We left La Cruz at 6:30 am, heading for Chacala. Flat seas – hazy horizons. Once we rounded Punta de Mita, the breeze filled in at a nice 10-12k, 40° off and we had a beautiful motor-sail on up. 7.5 hours later, at 2 pm, we dropped anchor. Summer Wind was about a half hour behind.
Angela, Hal and Angie are still here and they came by for a bit. We did not bother to put out a stern anchor and it’s pretty rolly. Still nothing compared to the 3 or 4 days at San Benedicto!
I forgot to mention the pelican we had in La Cruz that slept every night on the connecting bars from the wind vane to the boat. We think he had a bad wing because he never flew off, only floated away.
Danielle called to tell us that Jason Fish was learning to walk again. He could go about 20 feet with his walker, but he fell and broke the back bones where they had put the metal plates in last year in February. So now he’s gonna have to start all over with the pain and therapy. Terrible news.
Goon called – 2 minutes after Danielle hung up.

*Poor Jason, I can’t imagine making all that progress and having to start all over again! 😩
Below, Jim and I having a little dinghy race in Chacala.

*I love hearing the local net on the radio in this video!

April 3, Thursday

We spent a rolly night in Chacala, awaking at 5 am and weighing anchor at 6:00 as the size of incoming swell was increasing. Once our anchor was up, we circled back to tell the boat Bivowak (SP) that they were dragging. He didn’t think they were, but it sure looked like it to us – oh well. In the meantime, Summer Wind got ahead of us. It was quite rolly with some big swells out of the bay for about a mile or two. Then, it smoothed out some. Then, wind filled in offshore at 10k and out went the sails.
Land was extra pretty with the haze hovering and the sun trying to find its way through the thick clouds above. As the land rose from the beach and to each mountain behind, they reached higher above the one in front, each taking on its own shade of blue-grey in the early morning misty dawn.
In the distance, we watched as a mother and calf whale frolicked in play, oblivious to the 20k of wind and building seas.
We had pulled alongside Summer Wind and were in the process of taking pictures of the boats undersail when John noticed that Jim’s jib had no sheet line attached! We’re hollering and pointing to the flapping jib – Kitty thinks we’re saying to wave for the picture. Jim finally sees the jib and can’t believe it. He tied the knot in the wrong end of the line!! We all had a good laugh over that one and it’s on film, too!!
Two miles out of San Blas, the wind died off to 10k and we came on in to the estuary which has now been dredged. We are tied up to the Navy pier – something new that Norm has arranged.
It's odd, the tide goes up and down, the boat goes up and down, but the concrete stays put. So, to get on and off, you either have a good-sized leap down or a big step up. I also feel like I’m in a fish-bowl with all the locals coming down and looking. They can see right down inside.
John and Jim went to check in.
It's raining now. We all went in to see Jan and Norm and then to Macdonald’s for dinner. John couldn’t find any rum-rasin ice cream.
It’s still raining at 7:30 pm and the wind is blowing 10k and pushing us away from the pier – I hope we hold!

*What an eventful, beautiful day at sea! Seems there was rarely a dull moment when we were with Jim and Kitty!
The Navy Pier was not our favorite spot, mostly to do with the looky-loos, like Mom said, but it wasn’t a requirement and we never stayed there long.

April 4, Friday

Samie and I managed to get some school in. It had drizzled rain most of the night and was cloudy all day again.
Amity is out in Matanchen Bay, they dinghied in today.
After all that rain yesterday, we checked Samie’s closets and sure enough, rain worked its way in and her clothes are wet again - something happened in La Cruz with that downpour. John finally found a loose bolt in that area. Hopefully, that is it – NO more wet clothes!!
John gave several little wooden toy airplanes to the little kids down here with families looking at our boat.
We bought some new bug netting to hang around the cockpit. The stuff we bought here 3 years ago is junk now.
Jim and Kitty came over for dinner, then we all went in to the Plaza. I bought one of those little Mexican puppets ($25p) and Samie was entertaining a group of little tiny kids. It was so cute, they were so fascinated. Especially a little boy about 1.5 years. I had to laugh – he was so cute!
We visted with Jan and Norm, then came on home.
Oh – Samie made bread at Kitty’s today. She was so excited with her surprise – she even wrapped it up as a present. She let it slip though, that she was making bread and her eyes got huge and her hand flew to her mouth. It was priceless!
The carnival is in full force and volume just a couple hundred feet from the boat. Music, loud music, which will probably go on until midnight or so.
My wrist is slowly improving, some days better than others. Writing this much all at once makes it ache, though. So, goodnight!

*Oh, no! Return of the leaky stanchion!! 😩 I believe I have come to understand the source of my lingering anxiety about making sure my things are kept safe from random mishaps! It’s funny that I only remember the first leak out of all of them - probably due to the 8-hour storm that caused it. I’m sure after the second or third leak we stopped putting anything that couldn’t be washed in those cupboards. Mom was certainly the most affected in the moment, since she washed everything for me - which, mind you, was all hand-washing unless we happened to have the luxury of taking our laundry to shore at the time.
I remember the little toy airplanes Dad had for such occasions! We would sometimes include pencils and paper, I think. I seem to remember something like these two kinds of airplanes, maybe we had both at some point, idk.
We loved going to the Plaza! It was a nice little walk into town, music was likely being played, and people were out enjoying the evening. I will always remember the most delicious churro I’ve ever had being served from a cart right outside the Plaza. So fresh, tasty and warm! Can’t beat it. Mom still has the puppet we bought, we named him Cerveza. I remember the kids being real cute with the puppet; I’ve always enjoyed entertaining the little ones and seeing the awe and excitement in their eyes. 🐞

April 5, Saturday

About 10 am we made the “journey” from the pier to the anchorage – five minutes later, the hook is secure. John and Samie headed back to the pier in the dink, then off to town and a hike to the old fort with the gang on Amity. John said it was pretty neat and the old church still had some of the carvings. Samie liked the cannons. It was all built by the Spanish 400 years ago.
I stayed on the boat and enjoyed a quiet day.
We ate dinner at Summer Wind.
The carnival is going again.

*Funny, before I read the above entry in it’s entirety, I went to look up the fort and was thinking it was a bummer I don’t remember more about it, as the building and it’s surroundings are stunningly beautiful. As I went through the photos on Google Maps, I seemed to recall the cannons specifically… only to continue reading Mom’s entry and find that apparently, the cannons are what stuck out to me (ha! No pun intended). I remember taking in the view of all that pretty blue ocean just beyond the thick jungle greens of San Blas. I’m surprised I didn’t take photos! 🐞

*The last photo here must have been when I was baking bread. All I remember is that I spilled water or some liquid on the floor and decided to get crafty while cleaning up. I taped paper towels around my feet and shuffled around the floor. 😅 Practical? Not at all. Fun? Heck yeah! haha. Side note, but Mom and I were talking about my time spent with Jim and Kitty and she seems to remember Kitty and I playing Go Fish using sign language. I remember we also played a lot of Gin Rummy. I always enjoyed myself.
Yay - I’ve been excited to share this next memory! I used to record anything and everything with my handy-dandy tape-recorder, and Jim was nice enough to sing Summer Wind for me once! 🥰 I was so happy when I found the cassette tape - I absolutely treasure this and am so glad I still have it! Jim and Kitty were some of the nicest, funniest and most pure humans I’ve ever had the pleasure of meeting and I’m so grateful for the times we got to share with them. ❤ I tried to add the audio alone, but it wouldn’t post, so I paired it with this video of Summer Wind from earlier in the season. Enjoy!

April 6, Sunday

No one slept too good last night – the nasty little biting bugs were active. So Samie fell asleep twice while trying to do math today. We’re all ready to get out of San Blas – so the day drug by.
Summer Wind was gonna stay until next Saturday or so – but the bugs have eaten Jim up, so they’re out of here with us mañana. John is calling Jim “grumpy when he get bumpy” (his bites really swell up).
Ourselves, Summer Wind, and Angela all went in to MacDonalds for dinner and a walkabout.
We have been trying to reach Nanamuk on the HAM, but since they have made landfall they’re never on the radio – poop!

*Oooh! Just imagine all the fun Nanamuk was having - exploring, learning, meeting new people and likely stuffing every ounce of sightseeing they could into each 24 hours! 😍 I got to hear some of their tales when Janelle came to visit me last year. What an incredible journey with some wild ups and downs, for sure!

April 7, Monday

John checked out of the bug-infested San Blas and we were underway at 8 am. The winds were light out until we rounded the white rock about 20 miles out, then the wind picked up and was right on our nose for the next 27 hours! Every time we altered our course to get off the wind and swell a bit, the “Noserly” followed! The normal 21 to 24-hour trip took 31 hours. At times, we were only moving 1 to 3k. It was the most uncomfortable trip I can remember having. Of course, we were taking sea water over the bow and Samie’s room got it AGAIN! I tell ya, it’s getting so old that it puts me and her on the verge of tears. It was a long night.

*Oy vay - this is at least the 6th time, if not the tenth! We must have been on the verge of never using those cupboards again! 🐞

April 8, Tuesday

The wind calmed down to 10k this a.m. and the sea had smoothed out some. We were able to put the jib out and motor-sail at 30° off the wind and finally make some headway. Summer Wind went on into the anchorage. We came into the marina by going between the islands and the beach. It got down to 15 feet – too shallow for my comfort. We had the main sail up and it’s blow’en 15 to 20k and some bozo in a panga pull’en a parasail cuts right in front of us – sees how close he’s gonna come, slows down and the poor guy starts descending, so he gasses it on in front of us! John “swerves” to keep from catching the parasail line in the mast and we go into 12 feet of water! The swell is roll’en in and looks like it’s real close to where it’s breaking on the beach.
I got a little tense, John got pissed! Coming in to the breakwater with the swell was a little nerve-wracking, too. Oh well, we made it fine. We’re on a dock with water, but no power. Oh – as we were out in the 18 feet of water, the generator quit. John thinks it’s a fuel pump or filter.
We’re docked next to Neil and Maryanne on Carousel. Samie went to Moonshadow for a while. What a long, rough trip!!

*Those parasail drivers sure do like to give their parasailors a story to tell (not to mention a tight sphincter)! Seems like this was something we dealt with every time we passed between the island and the beach - I can’t remember why we didn’t resort to going around the outside.
The breakwater going into Marina Mazatlan was always nerve-wracking. Swells sometimes ushered themselves in through the narrow corridor and made for an interesting ride in. Pair that with a bit of wind and things could get real tricky. There was always a bit of tension getting in and out of here, but we made sure to go during slack tide and were very careful. 🐞

April 9, Wednesday

John washed down the boat and I cleaned up inside. Jim and Kitty took the bus over here, picked up the van and we cambioed money AGAIN – we seem to do that a lot – then we got some lunch. Samie stayed on the boat. She is growing up so fast. Sometimes I try to remember her at 7 when we first moved on the Wandrin’ Star. She’s so independent now. Her and Leah got together for a while.
I got a kick out of the way they water the grounds here at the marina – they have a big hose on a water truck and drive around spraying the trees and such.
The Niña, one of the replicas of the Columbus ships, is here in the marina. Wayne and Leslie from another Wandrin’ Star take it out in the bay for tours.
Saw Lee from Papagayo and Samie went to visit Glo. We’re still really tired tonight.

I feel terrible that I really only remember Leah in Barra! Maybe partly because those are the only pictures I took! I have certainly noticed that the richness and in-depth nature of my early sailing memories start to give way around this age. Maybe it has to do with this no longer being the first time seeing these places and things, or being more invested in what’s going on with myself internally while learning more about interacting with others and carrying on my own, rather than being like some sort of extra appendage of my parents’. Whatever it was that sparked the change of memory intake, I would love to unlearn it! I have recently been practicing going backward, if you will, beyond that past horizon in order to better see things the way I used to. I want to see again how I used to and soak up the awesome, new potential of things - before my brain was packed with all sorts of context, opinion, labels, ideas and information (both the necessary and entirely opposite of). It’s tough to do, finding a way to resist the barrage of input that ignites in my thoughts when one topic or other comes up. There’s so much noise around so many things now that my perception is imbued with distortion and I am no longer so easily able to see such a thing as it simply is. In recounting my childlike perceptions, I have revisited my old pair of rose-colored glasses and am practicing seeing new and current things from that same youthful perspective, which was blessed with naivete and excited optimism.
I’m surprised we didn’t go for a ride on The Nina - at least, not that I recall.
I remember the trucks going around and watering the trees - they also sprayed water on the dirt to help keep the dust down on windy days - there wasn’t a lot of grass or foliage around the marina - it was mostly dirt lots at the time. 🐞

April 10, Thursday

Busy day. John got 5 jerry jugs at the fuel dock, then 5 more in town – way out, the other side of town. Jim and Kitty drove us there, also to immigration to get our VISA extended. We stopped for lunch and shopped at the comercial. I’m doing our laundry here at the marina – that’s a first this year, other than in San Carlos. It’s easier and cheaper to send it out! 🐞

April 11, Friday

John put 15 more gallons of diesel in – it’s finally full. The fuel was $800p – the slip was $263p for 4 days. Jim and Kitty took us back to get the VISA with the 60-day extension. Jim also took us to his favorite (and he’s tried out a lot of them) taco stand.
Riding around with Jim is quite frightening and comical. Driving in Mexico is a scary thing, but Jim makes me laugh! He takes a wrong turn or misses it and has to double back. And all the while, he is pointing out this place or that.
Hal and Angie, Angela, came by, they will leave the boat here for the summer.
John washed down the dink and stowed it on deck. We’ll head out early in the morning.
Samie had dinner and watched movies on Amity – they’re also leaving for La Paz tomorrow.
Called Chelle for her B-day on the 14th in case the phone doesn’t work then. Schyler got on the phone and said “Hi, I love you.” So cute and so great to hear his little voice. Danielle was in Pinetop.

April 12, Saturday

We left Marina Mazatlan at 5:30 am under cloudy skies. The breakwater entrance – or exit, in this case – was swelly and surgy as the tide was flowing in. Made getting out a little tricky and one swell caught us and we read a depth of only 3 feet. Too close for my comfort. The first 15 miles or so were slightly confused – no wind. Next came a 10k noserly out of the west, but not bad. Next, a 10k southerly, which lasted until sunlight.
Papagayo left ahead of us and called back to let us know of the 10-mile radius of fishing trollers out in the middle. So, forewarned, we headed a little more north and went around them. We approached just at sunset and finally made it by at 11:30 pm, or thereabouts. I counted 20 lights in the fleet, all lit up in yellow and white out on their fishing apparatus – they looked like a fleet of space crafts! It was a chilly, but very calm, pleasant night. Clouds even cleared out some and we could see the comet (Hale-Bopp) on this, the brightest night.

*Below: me in my favorite spot - the best spot! Looking forward from the edge of the bowsprit gave me a sensation like I was a bird flying over the water. I could watch the water for hours and be content as each ripple appears and disappears to and from the endless watery landscape.

April 13, Sunday

This morning, the wind shifted to the north, but was only a light 10k – wonderful! We saw 2 finback whales, John caught a good-size dorado, but he broke the lure just before he got the net under him.
Oh – yesterday, for 3 or 4 hours, we had a little tiny green and yellow bird as a passenger. The little bird walked all around the deck in circles from forward to aft several times. He even got up on the edge of the cockpit next to my arm a couple of times. He was so cute, but everytime I got the camera, he’d take off and run.
We were anchored at 4:30 pm. It was a peaceful, calm, flat 36 hours of motoring and not enough wind to add much speed.
Papagayo and Chances Are left with us from Mazatlan and are here in Los Muertos also.
Amity left this a.m. We talked to Tom on Island Trader, he’s still in P.V., he’s really going to the South Pacific. He has a crew member and plans to leave on Wednesday.
The water here in Los Muertos is a pretty, clear turquoise like the first year we came in. The gentle “rock-a-bye” will have me asleep in nothing flat.

April 14, Monday

Happy Birthday, Chelle.

Slept like a baby! John woke me up at 6 am, I sure didn’t want to crawl out of my nice, warm bed. We were underway from Muertos to La Paz at 6:30. Nice motor-sail all the way with 10k – variable until in the main channel where it kicked up to 15k and with the incoming tide, it got sloppy. It was actually the roughest part of the whole trip from Mazatlan. We saw lots of small mantas jumping and flipping all around. The GPS flipped out coming through the shallow Lorenzo Channel by the buoy, just like it always does. Must be a “black hole” through there. We were anchored at 3:15 pm. Lots of boats in here waiting for race week.
We went to the Dock Café for dinner.

April 15, Tuesday

We heard on 3.838 that Jazz made Hiva Oa, but 150 miles out, they lost their rudder – gone to the depths! Somehow, they must have rigged something up to make it on in, but we have no details yet.
John jerry jugged 55 gallons of diesel. We stocked up the boat for the next 2 weeks into San Carlos.
Happy Hour on Tweed.

*Mom doesn’t remember if they figured out why the rudder fell off, but she says she remembers they rigged it up somehow, she thinks it was with a hatch or something like that, maybe an extra that was on the boat. Lisa’s Dad, Bob, from Miss Teak II was with them, and we’re sure he was a big help with figuring that out after all his years of cruising. I still can’t get over the idea of the rudder just falling off to be lost to the depths of the ocean! There’s always some kind of surprise when it comes to boats!
Just a reminder, whenever Dad “jerry jugs” it means that instead of having the boat at a fuel dock where we can fill the diesel fuel straight into the tank, Dad had to take the jerry jugs to the fuel dock, fill them up, dinghy them out to the boat and empty them into the tank. Lather, rinse, repeat until the tanks are full.

April 16, Wednesday

We left La Paz at 6:30 am, it takes forever to get out of that channel. Once we were out of the harbor channel, we of course encountered the ferry coming in from Mazatlan – 2 ferrys, in fact. For the next 7 hours to Isla San Francisco we had zero wind and glassy seas, cloudy skies which burned off and the sun came out at around noon. It surprised us that we only saw 1 manta and 1 sea lion on such a peaceful day.
John shined brass and cleaned the life lines while we were under way.
Lee and Glo on Papagayo left from the east side of Isla Partida where they saw mantas and 1 orca yesterday. The orcas have been spotted several times in the sea this season. Now if only Samie could see them. Jim and Vivian on Sparkler are here, we haven’t seen them since Barra in Feb. They came by for a bit – then we went over to Papagayo.  The generator quit again, so John changed the fuel and oil filters, he also found the main engine fuel filter needed changed.

*Ooof - I bet I was peeved about missing those Orcas again! Always so close, yet so far!!

April 17, Thursday

John cleaned the hull of the boat. The wind started a breeze last night, 5-10k from the south that continued most of the day. Beautiful, warm, calm day – spent an hour or so on the beach. Sparkler, Jim and Vivian – Papagayo, Lee and Glo all came over for happy hour.

April 18, Friday

The wind blew again at 1:30 am last night, 12k and it got a little bumpy, but it kept me awake.
We left Isla San Francisco at 6:30 am and made the smooth ride in 2 hours to San Evaristo. Because the wind has been out of the south the last 2 nights, we anchored in the south anchorage and of course there are 8 other boats here now and at 6:30 pm the wind is out of the north – go figure.
John and Lee went diving on the hookah, then John cleaned the boat bottom.
Royal Venture came in today, haven’t seen them since December.

April 19, Saturday

Ourselves, Papagayo and Sparkler all went to the beach for lions paw shells, among others. John and Lee went diving on the hookah again. John says he’s getting one for next year.
Visited with Lee and Glo, we won’t see them until next fall. Dinner was shrimp, fresh scallops and sea bass – yum, yum!

April 20, Sunday

We left 6 am San Evaristo, had a smooth ride up to Agua Verde and were anchored at 2 pm. Sparkler was behind us, their motor quit coming into the anchorage, but they dropped the anchor, got it going again and came over here in the north anchorage.
Samie has been rowing around in the dink entertaining herself.
It’s been such a cold winter and the last week or so has been 90° and warm.
I forgot the most exciting part of the day – we had a big pod of bottlenose dolphins under the bow and got some great film. Then there was a pod of common dolphins for a while. 2 other pods swam by at a distance. We love the dolphins dancing in peaceful harmony with the ocean. 🐞

April 21, Monday

We called Bill and Trish Gibson in Lakeside last night, we’re trying to talk them into coming down to San Carlos the first of May.
We left Agua Verde this a.m. at 6:15, made a smooth passage to the “waiting room” in Escondido. Only saw a few mantas jumping and jelly fish floating by. We were pleasantly surprised to find Daryl from Princess Erika here. Linda and the girls were only here in February and he’s driving back in a couple days. He came over for dinner.
Don and Sherry from Luna came by for a bit, they spent the year in the sea.

April 22, Tuesday

What a slow day. John scrubbed the water line and cleaned all his tools. I cleaned out 4 of the food bins. 92° today and no breeze – until around 4 pm when it kicked up 10-12k out of the west. The barometer is down 4 points.
We went into the trailer park restaurant for dinner with Don and Sherry from Luna – very enjoyable evening.
We helped the boat Quest II get a phone call through on “Leo’s net” – the Arizona gang. Quest II had received a message to call home ASAP – thank goodness it was no emergency, but it’s amazing what HAM radio can do for us all out here.

April 23, Wednesday

We were gonna leave this a.m. but Samie was sick last night and I’m kinda down today. So we hung around in this 100° heat, every once in a while a breeze would float in.
John changed the zinc; the old one fell apart in his hand.
Samie took a test – good – only 40 more lessons to go – we’ll never make it before we get back to the States.
The barometer is down another 5 points, that’s a total of 10 points since yesterday. We figure it’s like a thermal low or something!
The water was so clear we could see the bottom, no fish of any kind, only star fish. Samie went for a short swim, she also kayaked again.

*I think I remember being sick that night - it was from a very greasy burger I’d eaten the night before. It was mostly from the bun and however they had toasted it - I can still remember the last bite being like a mouthful of grease. Not entirely sure why I finished it, unless I just didn’t want to be rude, or it wasn’t bad till that last bite. Anyhow, I at least made it to the boat before I got sick, I was appreciative of that.

*I know these photos are all essentially the same, but she’s just so beautiful! I couldn’t choose and I like seeing the other boats in the bay.

April 24, Thursday

We left Escondido at 7 am knowing that a front would be going through, but thought we could beat it to San Juanico. Well, we got out 15 miles and looking ahead we could see it already white-capping so we headed back. Ahead it was blow’en out of the NW – turn around and we have 15k on our nose from the south – go figure! Oh well, at 9:45 am we were re-anchored.
Samie went for a hike with Sherry and Don, Luna, and came back pooped. I went through a couple shelves and drawers getting ready to go back to the dreaded States.
The wind finally picked up in here around 2 pm – 15-25k and it pushed us up close to the mountain. It calmed down around 7 pm – I think, we can hope it stays calm for the night.
The barometer dropped again, another 5 points today.
We are talking to Running Free, Gill and Eileen, they are in Honduras in the Yucatan.
When the wind was calmer, we had a medium sized manta ray right beside the boat flapping one wing on the water surface, just like a whale slaps his fin. Of course, as soon as I got the camera, he dove. He did swim around for a couple minutes, then off he went.
It's 9 pm now and the wind is bouncing around between 5 and 15k.

*Below, Honduras, where Running Free was. 🐞

April 25, Friday

It remained calm all night and we left Escondido at 8 am, it was a little rolly, but not bad at all. Light wind, a few jelly fish and some sea lions floating on their backs, sunning their bellies. We made it to San Juanico at 2:15 pm.

*Sea lions are funny to spot out at sea, because you typically can’t tell what they are until you get much closer. They are small and unobtrusive on the surface, easy to be confused with a runaway tree branch from shore, some sort of trash, or a wayward buoy.

April 26, Saturday

They were talking a big northerly today, so we stayed put. We had 15 NE for only a short while in here, so we’ll probably leave tomorrow. It’s to the point that we’re just ready to be in San Carlos and get the summer over with.
The water is cold and green, so diving is no good.
We went over to the Cruiser’s Shrine to leave our 96-97 shell – we were disappointed to find that the cross-stitch Samie made last year and varnished into a shell was gone! The only thing left was the one with our boat card – someone, it appears, took the cross-stitch! Unreal – I hope they feel awful and return it!
We talked to Tom again on Island Trader. He and his crew, Carl, are about 400 miles out. They have been motoring for the last day and a half.
John and I sat out on deck around 10 pm and watched the “sparkly” fish dart around in the dark waters beside the boat and the graceful rays gliding across the bottom. The moon doesn’t come up until around 11 pm tonight, which was a beautiful, soft orange 3/4 ball on the horizon. We will really miss looking out at the millions of glittering stars all around and unobstructed by pine trees or city lights and smog.

*We were bummed and confused to find my cross-stitch gone. They had gone through the trouble of detaching the bottom half and leaving that part at the shrine - which almost makes less sense to me than taking someone else’s shrine offering all together. It’s like they had a guilty conscience, but were still committed to taking the artwork. 🤔 I added a photo below from the previous year when we had just hung it up in the shrine. Oh well - I wonder what ever happened to it?

April 27, Sunday

Well, they are predicting 15-25k NE all through the sea, so we’re here again today. I’m ready to cross and get it over with – but – I’m enjoying these last days on the hook!
We walked up one of the little mountain ledges that are over the bay and got some pretty film of the tidal pools at low water.
At noon the winds are still non-existent so we pulled out of San Juanico at 12:30 pm.
Beautiful sail on over the 95 miles to San Carlos! Until around 4 pm – 5k of wind from the east, then for a couple hours 10k from the south. We saw dolphins – whales – both sperm and maybe false killer whales! The sperm whale was right beside us when he looked right at us and then went behind. I got it on film – too cool!
Around 6 pm or so, the wind shifted to the west at 10k and we had a beautiful ride!
John slept while I took the normal first watch. It was so wonderful that I didn’t want to sleep and miss this last night at sea. The breeze wasn’t too cool, so we didn’t have the side canvas up and I even rolled back the top canvas to see more of the stars. I watched the moon come up through the binoculars at 11:40 pm, a spectacular 3/4 ball of orange fire! The tears came as I thought of leaving our ocean home for the next 4 months. Around 3 am, the wind shifted again to the NE at 10k. The trip covered every direction of wind there is, all at or under 10k. We came all the way from Mazatlan without getting the decks sprayed with salt water!!

*The incident with the sperm whales is something I’ll never forget! We passed the mother and calf first, and then spotted the male. We were approaching each other’s path at a 90° angle and were nervous that we might collide since there was no way to stop our boat in time or turn quickly enough to get out of the way. Suddenly, the whale stopped dead in the water and let us pass. As soon as we were out of his path, he went on his way. It was so cool and I remember running up and down along the decks like an overexcited dog while we watched the moment unfold.
Those night crossings really hit different - there’s just something about the darkness and open ocean surrounding you. Some nights were absolute magic with the moon shining down brightly, reflecting off the calm water, and the stars! Sometimes they were lit up brighter than a Lite-Brite! I wish there were a way for this current version of myself to be there with my mom in that moment. It would be so cool to experience her and that night through these adult eyes of mine. 🐞

April 28, Monday

We made it in to Marina Real just as the sun was lighting the eastern sky at 5:30 am – 17-hour trip.
Oh, I called Daddy last night from out in the middle and Goon called later.
John got right to work – I, on the other hand, took a nap and ate some lunch first.
We went to Tequila’s for dinner. We’re watching Son-in-Law, one of my all-time favorites.

*Dad really enjoyed this movie, too. It’s one of the two movies I’ve ever seen him really get a kick out of.

April 29, Tuesday

Long, busy day! John got the stay-sail and mizzen sail down today, among many other things. We emptied out the chain locker and under Samie’s bed and we sprayed it all out. Trying to go through Samie’s stuff is a big job – give aways, condense and keep.
The daytime temps are nice and warm, 80°s with a cool breeze. The nights are cool, this a.m. it was 67°.

April 30, Wednesday

John got the jib and main washed down and we got them folded up. The Wandrin’ Star is looking naked. John works hard all day out in the beautiful sunshine.
Samie and I finally finished her room. We’ve got a big pile of toys, books and clothes to give to Jeff’s kids. We went up to Dario and Emma’s condo for a couple hours for a nice visit.