We left Huatuco at about 1pm, next stop is www.bahiadelsolelsalvador.com. Should take about 5 days or so. We had mild winds but a strong current so we made good time this afternoon. Speed over ground was about 6kts in 7kts of wind. Timo had his engine on, I sailed the whole day. Tonight we approach the Tehuantepec. This bay is known for its winds. Weather forecasts can change and just when you think you’ll have a nice night, it can blow 50kts. We left Mexico with about 6 other boats today. Whenever a weather window opens, a mass exodus occurs. Many boats will cut straight across the bay. Advantage: A little shorter but a lot more exposed. Sailing with “one foot on the beach” gives a lot better protection from swells and any storms that may crop up but it is quite a bit longer.
We decided to error on the side of caution and stick close to the beach. It’s about an 8hr difference in the trip but I think it’s the right decision.
Last night, I had a few beers at a bar and downloaded the movie “The Bucket List” from www.watchtvsitcoms.com. You can get it free and I highly recommend it. There was a line in there when the two of them were looking at the stars and he said “Stars, now that was one of God’s good ones”. Sitting out here tonight with a full moon, gazing at the stars (yes, they’re bright even w/ the moon) makes me tend to agree. I was listening to my Kenny Chesney and just truly enjoying the sunset. I doubt the novelty of watching a sunset under sail or gazing at the stars while at sea will ever get old. Kenny Chesney’s songs sum it up pretty well.
Anyway, it’s about 8:30 so I’m going down below to see what I’ll cook up for dinner. The seas are mellowing out so perhaps I’ll cook something up. We’re motoring along now as the winds died but I have a great seat up on the bow, out of earshot (and smell) of the engine!
Well, we made it to El Salvador! 5 days at sea and about 480 miles. I used about 40 gallons of diesel the entire trip, actually had 30 left over. This is big as diesel is $4.50/gallon down here. Beers are $1 so if I drink enough, I can actually break even on the fuel. Bahia del Sol is nice and the people are very nice. They claim it’s a 5-star resort but I think that’s by El Salvador’s standards. In the States, I’d put this around a 2 to 3 star. The people make it a 4 star though.
Spent 2 nights in a slip but I’m moving to a mooring ball this afternoon. The current rips in here and since I’ll be here for 2-3 weeks, I don’t want to worry too much about anchors dragging when I’m not on board. More updates later, check out the pic of the 3 ½ foot Dorado (mahi mahi) I caught on the way down, fed me for 3 days!
Thursday, April 24, 2008
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
In Huatuco, last stop in Mexico
We’ve been in Huatuco now for about a week and it looks like our weather window for the passage to El Salvador just opened. We need to cross a 200 mile bay where winds can pick up to 70mph in about 20minutes. They have dedicated weather stations down here specifically to aid cruisers in passages. Looks like we’ll be leaving Wednesday night, arriving in the “bay of winds” Thursday morning. We’ll have about 48hrs in the bay until we get to the other side. From there its skip Guatemala and on to El Salvador. Should arrive sometime around Tuesday. Since we don’t have enough fuel to motor the whole way, we’ll be sailing a large portion of the trip, thus it may take longer or perhaps less time to make the passage. To date, this will be the longest for me but once in El Salvador, beers are $1, thus we may stay there for a month or soJ.
After talking to some friends down here, I am leaning on going through the Canal. A couple of reasons why:
1. It’s the Canal, what a story that would be……
2. They speak English on the other side (tired of fighting my way through translations even though it has not been really that bad).
3. The water. Clear with visibility down to 100 feet.
4. My boat was made in Florida, thus it should be easier to find a buyer if I choose to sell her. Not sure on this yet, I kind of like what I’m doing.
5. Employment. Should be pretty easy to live on my boat and pick up a job at one of the resorts/bars along the water to put some money back into the pocket.
6. It’s that or the S. Pacific and I’ve seen enough women from Tonga to know that I don’t want to go there by myself! I’ll save that trip for when I have a partner on board who wants to spend 27 days straight on the open ocean with a guy like me!
With that said, I’ll sign off. My next update should (better be) from El Salvador! Adios Mexico!
Trip to Acapulco
Well, it’s 4:45am on 4/2 and we’re motor sailing down to Alcapulco. We plan on heading in to town for dinner, then getting to bed early. Tomorrow, we’ll head to Puerto Angel, then Hautulco. From there, it’s across the Tehuantepec, probably the most dangerous passage to make. The winds there can blow 60 knts but if you plan your departure right, it’s a “breeze”.
Got a fresh cup of coffee and been thinking about the trip so far. La Paz to Mazatlan, down to San Blas, Chemela and Tennekitecca (sp?) and Barra de Navidad. From there, down to Zijuantenejo. It’s been nothing short of amazing. Tonight, we got passed by Nexus, a Nord’Havn 47 ….a very expensive trawler. We spoke on the radio and after about an hour, I think he has me talked into going through the Canal over to the other side. Sounds like a lot of fun but our plans keep changing. They refer to that down here as “going where the wind takes you”. For me, it’s more about doing something that you’ll never forget, that’s originally why I wanted to cross the Pacific to the West. Going through the Canal would be pretty cool to say the least.
Anyway, we’re going to run into him in Huatuco and grab some beers and pick his brain. Right now, we’re heading to El Salvador, looking forward to spending some time at Bahia del Sol (www.bahiadelsolelsalvador.com) . A cruiser friendly hotel that allows you to use all their facilities and tie to a mooring ball for 5 bucks a day. On top of that, it’s a $1 for a local beer….what more do you want?
Anyway, the moon is out and the sun is about to come up so it’s time to get my fishing junk in the water. I kicked down for a new reel and so far, it’s paid off. I landed a Dorado (mahi mahi) and a Bonita yesterday. Kept the Dorado and filleted it, that’ll be dinner tonight. Hoping to catch a Yellow Tail this morning for some nice cerviche and meat for the rest of the week!
Got a fresh cup of coffee and been thinking about the trip so far. La Paz to Mazatlan, down to San Blas, Chemela and Tennekitecca (sp?) and Barra de Navidad. From there, down to Zijuantenejo. It’s been nothing short of amazing. Tonight, we got passed by Nexus, a Nord’Havn 47 ….a very expensive trawler. We spoke on the radio and after about an hour, I think he has me talked into going through the Canal over to the other side. Sounds like a lot of fun but our plans keep changing. They refer to that down here as “going where the wind takes you”. For me, it’s more about doing something that you’ll never forget, that’s originally why I wanted to cross the Pacific to the West. Going through the Canal would be pretty cool to say the least.
Anyway, we’re going to run into him in Huatuco and grab some beers and pick his brain. Right now, we’re heading to El Salvador, looking forward to spending some time at Bahia del Sol (www.bahiadelsolelsalvador.com) . A cruiser friendly hotel that allows you to use all their facilities and tie to a mooring ball for 5 bucks a day. On top of that, it’s a $1 for a local beer….what more do you want?
Anyway, the moon is out and the sun is about to come up so it’s time to get my fishing junk in the water. I kicked down for a new reel and so far, it’s paid off. I landed a Dorado (mahi mahi) and a Bonita yesterday. Kept the Dorado and filleted it, that’ll be dinner tonight. Hoping to catch a Yellow Tail this morning for some nice cerviche and meat for the rest of the week!
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Updates from Zijuantenejo
My stay in this town is wrapping up and I'm sad to go but it's time. The trip down here was great but as usual, little to no wind. Erin, a good friend of mine from Mazatlan, joined me for the passage from Barra to Ztown. Unfortunately, we were suppose to stop in Buffadero Bluffs but the swells killed that plan, thus we did over 200 miles straight. Erin was a great addition and hope that she joins me further along in the trip.
Timo and I originally planned on heading over to the S. Pacific but some finances came into play and we thought it better to keep working south this year. The S. Pacific or the Canal is on the radar for next spring. We're heading south on Saturday, next stop Acapulco! From there, we'll hit one or two more stops before leaving Mexico.
Some great friends from CA just left, the Miller's were here for a week. The entire family for 7 days...Kate, Christine and Steve! They told me they had a blast but I'm not sure if Christine will be returning. I took her to the local market and let's just say she didn't enjoy the environment too much. No one got sick and we had a blast. Zip lining through the trees, sailing for 2 days, hooking up w/a 30lb yellow fin tuna (but after a 45min fight, we lost it at the boat!) and an amazing Easter dinner with a view overlooking the Bay. We couldn't have asked for a better week (except for the market visit).
Anyway, I'll try to add some more stories/pics but that's it for now. Hope this update finds everyone well!
Dan
Timo and I originally planned on heading over to the S. Pacific but some finances came into play and we thought it better to keep working south this year. The S. Pacific or the Canal is on the radar for next spring. We're heading south on Saturday, next stop Acapulco! From there, we'll hit one or two more stops before leaving Mexico.
Some great friends from CA just left, the Miller's were here for a week. The entire family for 7 days...Kate, Christine and Steve! They told me they had a blast but I'm not sure if Christine will be returning. I took her to the local market and let's just say she didn't enjoy the environment too much. No one got sick and we had a blast. Zip lining through the trees, sailing for 2 days, hooking up w/a 30lb yellow fin tuna (but after a 45min fight, we lost it at the boat!) and an amazing Easter dinner with a view overlooking the Bay. We couldn't have asked for a better week (except for the market visit).
Anyway, I'll try to add some more stories/pics but that's it for now. Hope this update finds everyone well!
Dan
Monday, March 3, 2008
Crew Needed!!
The first week of April. Zihuantenejo to the French Polynesian....appox. 3000 miles or 25 days. Sailing experience preferred however negotiable if you look good in a bikini. Seriously, if anyone wants to join me for this leg, it'll be a great trip that you'll never forget...for the best or worse of it!
Barra de Navidad
Hello from Barra, been here for about a week so far and love it. Small little town with a lot of gringos (big surfing town). Plan on leaving on the 7th for Manzanillo, then south to Buffadera Bluffs and Zihuantenejo! I've been bad about taking pics so I'll see what I can do over the next couple of days. Outside of that, got the engine running and I'm ready to go. Just need to replace the valve gasket today and I should be done.
The big news is that I just committed with some friends to head to the French Polynesian the first week of April. 3000 miles, appx. 25 days at sea. More to come on that but I'm pretty excited (and scared!).
The big news is that I just committed with some friends to head to the French Polynesian the first week of April. 3000 miles, appx. 25 days at sea. More to come on that but I'm pretty excited (and scared!).
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Engine is fixed, heading South!
The engine is fixed and I’m underway. The front seals went, thus it was leaking oil all over the place. $1000 later, the seals were replaced and the raw water pump rebuilt. I headed out of Maz on 2/13, buddy boating with a friend named Temo. He has sailed around the world and is currently single-handling a 27 footer. We headed out around 11am with beautiful weather. I checked the engine about 2 hours into the trip and found it puking oil all over! I turned around and limped back into the marina, mostly with sail power. After looking at it, it appears the mechanic forgot to tighten a screw on the valve cover. It was fixed in an hour and I decided to go catch Temo.
Our plan was to depart Mazatlan and head for San Blas (Longfellow wrote a poem about the bells there or something….). It would be about a 26hr passage, first true single handling I’ve done. About 2am, my auto-pilot alarm went off stating I was off course. After checking everything, I found that I had no propulsion! Temo was about 4hrs ahead of me. I gave him a shout on the radio and told him to hold tight. I went below and checked the transmission and engine, everything appeared perfect. I then looked down into the water and saw white water as I throttled up but I didn’t go anywhere. My biggest fear….I lost the prop! I grabbed the big flood light and immediately identified the problem....I ran through a fishing net that had no buoys, lights or boats around. Just a couple floats on the line. I eventually found the two fishermen in their Panga about 300yrds away. I hit them w/ the search light and woke them up. After 10 minutes, they arrived and we cut the net. Luckily, it was just snagged on my skeg and not wrapped around the prop/shaft.
About 2 hours later, same thing! I didn’t panic; I simply looked for the Panga. Unfortunately for them, they were gone. I guess they dropped their nets in the middle of the ocean and went back to the shore! Highly illegal btw. Well, they’ll have a surprise in the morning. I grabbed my boat hook and cut the line myself. No fish for them……
That was about 4am. We sailed into San Blas around 3:30 pm on 2/14…about a 28hr trip. We spent 3 days there, and then headed out. PV is pretty expensive and hard to find an anchorage so we made the decision to bypass PV and head south. This trip will be about the same length but it’ll put us on the north end of what’s called the Mexican Riviera. From Chamela south, there are beautiful anchorages all the way down to Zijuantenejo, with each anchorage being appx. 4-12hrs apart….nice!!
Well, that’s all for now. The engine is purring (although a little bit of white smoke in the exhaust. It’s not overheating and oil pressure is good so I’m going with it). I’ll be hopping down the coast for the next 3 weeks, ending up in Zijuantenejo ready to party with The Millers (Steve/Christine/Kate) for 10 days). More later!
Dan
Our plan was to depart Mazatlan and head for San Blas (Longfellow wrote a poem about the bells there or something….). It would be about a 26hr passage, first true single handling I’ve done. About 2am, my auto-pilot alarm went off stating I was off course. After checking everything, I found that I had no propulsion! Temo was about 4hrs ahead of me. I gave him a shout on the radio and told him to hold tight. I went below and checked the transmission and engine, everything appeared perfect. I then looked down into the water and saw white water as I throttled up but I didn’t go anywhere. My biggest fear….I lost the prop! I grabbed the big flood light and immediately identified the problem....I ran through a fishing net that had no buoys, lights or boats around. Just a couple floats on the line. I eventually found the two fishermen in their Panga about 300yrds away. I hit them w/ the search light and woke them up. After 10 minutes, they arrived and we cut the net. Luckily, it was just snagged on my skeg and not wrapped around the prop/shaft.
About 2 hours later, same thing! I didn’t panic; I simply looked for the Panga. Unfortunately for them, they were gone. I guess they dropped their nets in the middle of the ocean and went back to the shore! Highly illegal btw. Well, they’ll have a surprise in the morning. I grabbed my boat hook and cut the line myself. No fish for them……
That was about 4am. We sailed into San Blas around 3:30 pm on 2/14…about a 28hr trip. We spent 3 days there, and then headed out. PV is pretty expensive and hard to find an anchorage so we made the decision to bypass PV and head south. This trip will be about the same length but it’ll put us on the north end of what’s called the Mexican Riviera. From Chamela south, there are beautiful anchorages all the way down to Zijuantenejo, with each anchorage being appx. 4-12hrs apart….nice!!
Well, that’s all for now. The engine is purring (although a little bit of white smoke in the exhaust. It’s not overheating and oil pressure is good so I’m going with it). I’ll be hopping down the coast for the next 3 weeks, ending up in Zijuantenejo ready to party with The Millers (Steve/Christine/Kate) for 10 days). More later!
Dan
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