2017 - Follow us as Jarana cruises the Algarve coast of Portugal and Spain and on into the Mediterranean.
Under the blog post you'll sometimes find a link to our location on Google Maps.
We spent a few delightful days in the south end of Fakarava atoll, which is rightfully renowned for its fantastic underwater life. Snorkellers can drift on the (incoming) tide, via the pass through the enclosing reef, over the luxurious coral and other aquatic life. There are all kinds of fish. And, all kinds of sharks.
Fins to the Left, Fins to the Right...
I don't mind the big lazy ones snoozing on the bottom. But the busy hunting ones, small and large I'm "a'skeered" of. The water level on reaches a few feet above the coral, so it can be unnerving whilst you are paddling along, minding your own business, that a good sized (and well fed looking) shark cruises by in the nearby shallows. There's a small resort there that has docks over the coral filled water. The sharks are buzzing around there too, so you don't dangle your toes over the edge of the dock! Most of the sharks are not very big, maybe 3-4 ft, but that's plenty big enough to take a bite!
We stopped at one small reef to snorkel and a couple beautiful, though aggressive ones went whizzing around the dinghy. We moved on.
We are currently sailing along, broad reaching, the 250mi route to the island of Tahiti. The seas have been very calm, and the wind is moderate, so it's one of our easiest passages so far. The sun sets promptly here at around 5:30. We have a new moon now and the ambient light is dim enough you can see the dark side of the moon setting on the horizon. The stars are glorious and the milky way is really milky. We can still see the Big Dipper to the north, but Orion and Cassiopia is long gone.
There are several other boats in the area also headed to Tahiti, so we really gotta stay awake at night to be sure not to run into them. At most anchorages, there are other boats we know from Mexico.
The weather is warm (and not too humid) during the day and our dark painted boat gets really hot inside. Yuk! Night time is much cooler and more comfortable. Although we don't get much done, because one of us always needs to get their sleep.
We expect to arrive in Papeete tomorrow. There has been a strike of government workers (how French!) that interfered with their weather reporting! Fortunately, we can get US, Fiji and New Zealand forecasts. But the strike has ended so, life can go on.
Well, it's almost dinner time. I gotta figger out what combinations of delicious canned foods to open tonight. Sigh... Fresh veggies are just a day away.
Kathi
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Friday, June 10. 2010 Paumotu are the people of the Tuamotus. After an uneventful 515mi sail from Nuku Hiva to Makemo, we spent an uneventful week in the Makemo atoll. There's several hundred people there in a well kept village. However, there is a huge overpopulation of dogs, and it's a tragic situation.
It was overcast and showery up to today, so we didn't do much snorkelling. However, exiting through the little known NW pass in bright midday sun, we could see the dazzling coral garden below.
We spent the last two days slowly and painstakingly slow motoring from one end of the atoll to the other. There are many coral heads and pearl farm strings, so great care, low speed and constant bow watch is required. We made it without incident. We didn't see another soul for days, and very few structures. We really felt far away from everything. However, once you get out on the sea and can see several other atolls around, even though we haven't seen any other boats, we get the sense there are people around, somewhere. The sun set tonight at 5pm.
We're en route motoring to Fakarava in the calmest seas since Puget Sound. We expect to arrive early tomorrow morning. This last week, we saw the most rain since Puget Sound. It was great, though. We collected lots of rainwater to use lavishly for washing.
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We've returned to Taiohae again to stock up for our 500 mile crossing to the Tuamotus. We spent the last week in idyllic Anaho Bay. It is a protected bay on the north side of the island with a fabulous coral garden under water. There are few houses there, but no road in. You can hike over a steep hill to Hathieu for a store, restaurant and post office.
As we raised sail en route, we discovered a 2 foot long tear in the main, so we sailed under jib alone and then motored. That was the ideal time to catch our first fish ever, a beautiful mahi mahi! We used the robust rig given to us by Paul Baker in Seattle. We had drug the fish long enough before we noticed it, that it didn't have much fight left, so it was fairly easy to land. (photos at 11)
At Anaho, we met up with Holly and Denis from Tango, who we last saw in Dana Point, California. On a "whim" 6 weeks ago, they decided to make the crossing.
Although the winds are very calm, there are huge southerly swells pouring into Taiohae Bay. We arrived after dark last night and put out a stern anchor to keep the boat somewhat pointed into the swells. Landing at the quai is quite an experience, as the huge swells rise up and down several feet very quickly. Bill used the dinghy to tow a boat into the harbor, because their engine wasn't working, there was little breeze and darkness was approaching.
We'll be here a few more days, then head for the Tuamotus. You need to time arrivals there to coincide with slack currents in the reef passes AND bright overhead sun. The tides are lunar driven, so Bill used the nautical almanac (finally) to calculate slack water before and after moon rise and moon set and floods and ebbs. Since the stars (or sun) is not aligned, we need to wait a few days to arrive at an auspicious (and safe) time.
It's pleasant here, although warm. But it's comfortable at night and when the wind blows. The scenery is stunning and the villages and towns are neatly kept. People have nice midsized 4wd vehicles and some still get around by horse, sometimes at a gallop, smoking a cigarette! There are goats all over the place too.
Tahuata a small island between Hiva Oa and Fatu Hiva. We spent several pleasant days there in the company of Secret Agent Man and Delos from Seattle. One day, we were towing the dinghy a short distance across smooth tho windy seas, and it flipped, soaking the outboard. Bill changed the oil a couple times and it ran OK for a while. But now it's fussy, so he cleaned the carburator. Now we're trying to figure out how to get a new carb in French Poly. We spent several days at Tahuata before heading down to Fatu Hiva.
Fatu Hiva is lush with fantastic, or grotesque rock formations. All the islands are craggy and exotic.
It has very limited transport to the other islands, ant therefore very little in the local store. So the locals are avid to trade fruit and crafts for just about anything you may have aboard. Internet is hard to come b y and Fatu Hiva has no internet service whatsoever. The local teens say they've been given email addresses but have no way to use them. Kids go to Hiva Oa for lycee (high school)..
A french friend lined up the local drum and dance troupe to perform. (will post pictures when possible). Most of the boats there were European, vs the mainly US and Canadians we run across elsewhere. We spent several days there before heading north to Nuku Hiva.
We often meet up with our Seattle and other US friends, and make other friends easily, so we don't feel isolated. We spent a night in Controllers Bay nearby. It was fairly shallow and murky. At night it was a glwoing, sparkly phosphorescent soup. It was so cool. You could see the fish swimming around AND the sharks that feed on them! There were mostly small hammerheads, with a few regular sharks and rays mixed it. (Sharks after dark - wow) We didn't swim there.
We are now in the largest town on Taiohae. It has wonderful stores and a good veggie market. The stores are much smaller than Sid's, but they have what we want. It doesn't rain much, so some islands don't have much water to spare. They get fuel deliveries by ship, and last week they ran out. So our friends were here waiting to get fuel. Usually, you transport it in jerrycans by dinghy back and forth to the boat. Even tho the bay is calm, there is a surge from the sea, so we're learning to work with that. Bill has also transported 120+gal of water from various towns that way over the last couple weeks.
It's been interesting monitoring the weather across the south pacific. It's winter down here, so big storms are brewing south of New Zealand and off Chile that big generate swells that travel here. Also, weather systems develop south of the Tuamotus. The dynamics are somewhat different from the north pacific, so it's interesting to learn about that. Also deciphering the French text weather forecasts took some work. French radio weather is hard to receive and impossible to understand anyway.
Apae
Our passage was uneventful, which is the way we like it, though both Kathy and I were a little uncomfortable from the heat and motion for much of the trip.
We were joined for the passage by Steve Froebe, one of my former co-workers from Avtech. As with everyone who comes to visit, Steve also lugged a large bag of boat supplies down for us. We departed La Cruz Marina at 8:30 pm on Friday, April 9th after our last dinner ashore. By the time we took off, the afternoon sea breeze had died and we motored for about 5 hours before there was enough wind to sail.
Our first night out of Puerto Vallarta we saw seven freighters. The next day, we saw one more and passed close to a fishing boat. On the 14th we saw another boat that we knew was nearby from listening to the position reports on the Pacific Puddle Jump marine radio net. On the 16th we saw the lights of a fishing boat way off in the distance. We didn't see another boat (or even a contrail) for two weeks until just before we arrived in Atuona. After the first few days, it starts to dawn on you that the Pacific Ocean is REALLY BIG and it just seems to get bigger and bigger every day.
By the Friday we left, the weather forecasts had changed and it was looking like we would have good wind for the first few days. By the evening on April 12th we had pulled off a 178 mile day. The next day we were joined by a large pod of dolphins. We would continue to see dolphins on the crossing, but only every few days.
On April 21st, we arrived at the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) at about 5 degrees N. We motored along for about 19 hours in total before coming out the other side. It was very hot and humid crossing the ITCZ, with frequent squalls in and on both sides. Fortunately, none of these squalls packed much wind, though there was plenty of rain.
On April 24th, we crossed the equator at about 0430 at 129d 42m west longitude.
On April 25th we made our best 24 hour run of 197.6 NM. I was really hoping that we'd get to 200, but didn't quite make it. We'd been on a pace to make landfall on April 28th, but the wind started tapering off.
On the evening of April 28th we spotted Hiva Oa and Motane Islands off in the distance. What a glorious site to finally see land. I speculated that we would have trouble moving about on an unmoving level surface while standing in a strange upright position with nothing to hang onto or lean against. By this time we were all greatly looking forward to some time on terra firma. As we approached the island, you could smell the earth and the vegetation. Some have said that land can really stink after weeks at sea, but this island was sweet smelling to me.
We arrived in Atuona on Hiva Oa in the Marquesas Islands on the morning of April 29. We motored in the last 10 miles or so as the wind had died to almost nothing. By the time I got ashore and made the 45 minute walk to town, the gendarmarie was closed for the day (at 11:00 am!?), so we were stuck on the boat for an extra day. We finally got checked in the next day. Our passage was relatively fast. In total, it took 19 days and 16.5 hours. To us, it seemed like forever, but we really can't complain after talking to the couple on Lilith that took 55 days from Costa Rica!
Crewman Steve was a joy to have aboard, always pitched in, and never seemed to have a bad day or even a bad moment. He left the boat a few days after we arrived and headed back to his family and work in Seattle. His presence will be missed.
Casualties
We had a few things go wrong with the boat, but nothing that couldn't be easily dealt with:
Before we even got out of Banderas Bay, we took a splash in the galley port. The igniter for the stove subsequently quit working.
We flew the spinnaker for half a day before we discovered a large tear in it, so down it came. I hope to patch it up before we start the passage to the Tuamotus.
By the ITCZ our brand new main halyard was showing a lot of chafe right above the shackle and I reluctantly cut off the splice I had just done right before we left. We tied it to the shackle with a bowline and it seemed to hold up after that.
The autopilot quit working somewhere after the ITCZ, but we didn't really need it with the wind vane. In Atuona, I discovered that the vent fitting for the second fuel tank (which had been professionally installed in Seattle last summer) was not properly sealed, and saltwater was leaking right onto the brain box for the autopilot. Somehow, after a few days to dry out, the autopilot started working again though I should probably try to clean out the salt. The leak has been fixed.
Sea Flyer
On the Pacific Puddle Jump radio net, we've been monitoring the progress of the boat "Sea Flyer" making the crossing who has had nothing but trouble. First, he had three lower shrouds and a chain plate fail (these hold up the mast). He was able to put together a jury rig to keep the mast from coming down. He then got going under power only to have the engine overheat and ended up having to swim under the boat to clean mussels out of the raw water intake. He rendezvoused with a freighter to take on extra fuel. It turned out the fuel was bad and had to change his fuel filters four times, before he gave up on the fuel. He then took a fuel drop from another freighter. He has since managed to repair his rig so that he can sail again, but the repair isn't nearly as strong as the original shrouds should have been. Like I said, our passage was uneventful!
KATHI: The passage was really fatiguing, from heat, constant and irregular motion, interrupted sleep, and just the effort required to move anywhere on the boat. Sometimes, I felt best at the wheel in a stiff breeze in a driving rainstorm... really! Otherwise, sometimes, there just didn't seem any point to getting out of bed, at least it was dry. Conditions that are fun sailing for a few days or hours, just lose their appeal after a while.
Steve was super crew to have with us. He sure made things better for sure. What a great guy!
I have a simple rule of boat maintenance. I try to accomplish one boat project every day and when I am done, I allow myself a beer or a drink. The beauty of this rule is that I get to define and choose the project, and if the project gets too big, I can break it up.
Unfortunately, the first rule of boat maintenance fell apart when we got back to Bandaras Bay and pulled into the La Cruz marina on March 8. With our upcoming 2800 mile passage to the Marquesas only a month away, there was much to do to get the boat prepared. As a result, we spend the majority of our time in the area working on the boat.
The 9th was my birthday so we invited the crews from Capaz, Totem and Soirce as well as Greg of the Coast Guard Couple over for a party. Kathy served up a most excellent Paella and a good time was had by all.
We started two major projects while in La Cruz. One was to replace the AC powered refrigeration with a more energy efficient DC powered compressor. The other project was to reconfigure the bimini and install two 85 watt solar panels.
I had the refrigeration compressor waiting in La Cruz when we arrived and got started in earnest. I did the mechanical and electrical installation and hired Don May of Fresco marine to do the plumbing and to charge the system. Don is reasonably priced and is great to work with, so if you need work done in PV, he is your guy.
On March 12th Kathi's former co-worker and friend flew into Puerto Vallarta for a stay split between the Mayan Palace and the Krystal. We joined her for dinner a few times during her stay and made a trip down into the old town where we saw the Mexican military band perform while perched on a restaurant balcony overlooking the square. We probably didn't need that pitcher of sangria after the first round of drinks, but the ribs were excellent.
Nuevo Vallarta
We had signed up to do the Bandaras Bay Regatta and moved to Paradise Village Marina in Nuevo Vallarta on March 14. The next day, Lynn McNulty and (Doctor of Chocolate) Kristi Leissle arrived. Lynn stayed with Ron Anderson while Kristi stayed on the boat with us. Unfortunately, due to the backlog of projects, we were unable to sail in the regatta, but Kristi had found a ride on another boat so we got to live vicariously through her.
Ron and CJ Anderson, expats from Seattle, have made careers in Banderas Bay and now have a fantastic home overlooking the bay in La Cruz. We, as well as the crews from Capaz and Totem were invited to their house where we had a very enjoyable dinner. I must extend a special thanks to Ron and CJ not only for the wonderful dinner, but also for receiving my compressor and for taking care of the import duty. (I did pay them back)
We really enjoyed having Kristi aboard, but too soon she had to fly home so that she could fly back to see family in New York.
We continued to chip away at boat projects. Once the new bimini frame was fabricated, I installed the solar panels. Once this was done, we had to have the bimini re-cut and some modifications done to some of the other canvas work. For this work, we used Camillia Fox. Though not cheap, her work was excellent and it was done when she said it would be. This was a rare occurrence for us in Mexico.
Our scheduled departure was for April 5th and on April 3rd, my former co-worker Steve Froebe arrived. As it turned out, the forecast was calling for light winds for the first 300-400 miles and we really weren't ready to leave, so we worked feverishly to get the boat ready to go. Steve pitched right in and was a joy to have aboard.
The staff at the Paradise Village marina gave my a free boat shuttle ride across to the port captain's office and I checked us out of Mexico on April 8. For immigration, they actually sent two agents over from the airport to the port captain's office. We now had 48 hours to get out of Dodge.
On Friday afternoon we finally got underway with a final stop in La Cruz to top off the diesel. While we were there, we had our last shore side meal at the marina. At 8:30 pm, we were finally on our way to the Marquesas.
I know, I know. We are way past due for an update. We've had a busy few months on the Mexican Riviera and are now on the way to the Marquises Islands. For those tracking our progress, we are no longer in the coverage area for SPOT, but you can track us on YOTREPS at the following link:
He's my stream of consciousness summary of the last few months. In theory, I'll go back and add some pictures to this post when we get to civilization. This is the first of two installments.
Jan 9, 2010
From Mazatlan, we headed South for Isla Isabella. Because of the bad swell in the anchorage, we never got off the boat, but promptly headed south for Chacala the next morning. We spent two nights in Chacala, enjoying the white sand beaches and sea side restaurants before heading south again. We never could find the port captain's office open so we can and went without checking in or out. Other cruisers reported the same experience.
Jan 15th, we arrive in La Cruz de Huanacaxtle on Banderas Bay. Because it's late we decide to spend the night in the anchorage before heading into the marina in the morning. When we tune into the VHF net in the morning, one of the other cruisers reports a water spout out in the bay. We decide to expedite our arrival into the marina. As we're doing this, I take bearings on the water spout and find that they are not changing. Fortunately, it doesn't move either, but more than half the boats in the anchorage end up in the marina.
We spend about two weeks in La Cruz, catching up with friends on Pikia Mist, Done Dealing and Merry J and doing the inevitable boat projects.
Jan 28
After two weeks, its time to continue south, so we leave in the afternoon on a nice NW wind and make a fast overnight passage to Chamela. We are joined by Pete, who was skippering the boat next to us in the La Cruz marina.
As we are tired from the passage we spend the day aboard in the anchorage and head south to Tenacatita where we spend a few days. Pete goes ashore here and catches a ride back to La Cruz. Dolphins are swimming among the boats in the anchorage most of the time we are there.
On our second night the weather started turning sour with lots of rain. By the next afternoon, we had 25 knots of wind blowing into the anchorage, so we decide to move over to the La Manzanilla anchorage on the south side of the bay. At about sunset, the thunderstorms start and the lightning is nearly continuous for six hours. I've never seen anything like it. The anchorage is fine until about midnight, when the wind again changes directions and we roll rail to rail all night, so the next morning, we move back to the north side again. It rains for another day. There is no reports of damage in our area, though some boats drug anchor. Up in La Cruz, there we reports of winds up to 88 knots, with lots of damage to boats, with one boat going aground after dragging their anchor. And several boats drug anchor in the Barra Navidad anchorage to the south of us.
Feb 4
The weather's finally cleared up, so we take a dinghy trip up through the mangrove swamp to the back side of the beach just inside the bay.
We again head south for the Marina at Barra de Navidad. While we are here, we rent a car and drive back to Puerto Vallarta for the Pacific Puddle Jump kick-off party. A good time was had by all.
Feb 8
Luiz and Anna join us for a week to make the passage south to Ixtapa. For a few pesos, we take the water taxi into Barra de Navidad and enjoy the many restaurant they have to offer.
Feb 10
We depart the Barra Marina. We are shocked by the moorage cost ($2.60/ft/day!). Next time, we'll use the anchorage.
It's a day trip to the anchorage off of Las Hadas on the north side of Manzanillo. This once famous resort now seems tired and run down. Next morning, we take a long bus ride into down town Manzanillo, where I get a Mexican style haircut, complete with straight razor with half a dozen men just hanging out.
Feb 12
We depart early for the overnight passage down to Ixtapa.
Feb 13
Early afternoon, we arrive at Isla Ixtapa just north of the marina and drop the hook for a swim. This will be our last swim for a while. This is a really nice anchorage, but completely overrun with beach palapas, pangas, jet skis, etc.
After the swim, we head into the marina. After checking in, I return to the boat to find a cocodrilo hanging out next to the boat. We ask the dock attendant if they ever get on the docks, and he says "at times, but they shy away from people".
After two nights in Ixtapa, Luiz and Anna head back to the states. I accompany them to the airport to retrieve my new solar panels.
Feb 16
There is a nice park with a bike trail that extends from the marina up to Playa Linda opposite Isla Ixtapa, so we saddle up the bikes and ride out to the end with friends Dick and Cindy on Mentor. We see a few more cocodrilos along the way.
Feb 17
We leave the marina and do the short day trip south to the anchorage in Zihuatenejo where we spend about a week on the hook. Zihua is a nice little town and well worth the time spent. We managed to do a little snorkeling off the reef at Playa Las Gatas, and joined fellow cruisers in various social activities. We also discovered how hard it can be to transfer diesel from a 10 gallon fuel jug to the fuel tanks when the boat is rolling all over the place.
Feb 25
We begin the trek north with a very early departure from Zihuatenejo. Just before sunset, we arrive in Caleta de Campos, where a significant swell is coming in to the anchorage. The are big waves breaking on the beach only a hundred yards or so behind us. We decide not to stay and press on in the morning. It's on this leg of the trip that we first noticed Manta Rays jumping several feet out of the water and landing with a big belly flop. And they seemed to do it in groups.
Feb 27
After an overnight passage, we are approaching Manzanillo. On the morning net, there are reports of the big earthquake in Chile and there is a tsunami warning for the Mexican coast. In many anchorages, boats pull up the hook and head for open water. We are still offshore when it passes and reports were of only minor problems. Mostly, there we just strong currents in and out of channels and marinas in the area.
We arrive in Manzanillo bay and decide to anchor off the beach just to the west of Santiago.
The next day on the beach, I spotted a gentleman carrying a harp. Knowing that both the harp and jarana are common to veracruzan music, I decided to follow him. Soon we were introduced to the two man band of Jose y Jose, with the father playing melody on the harp and the son playing rhythm on the jarana. They played a few songs for us and the next day I bought a CD from the son under a bridge.
Mar 2
After three nights in Santiago, we again head north. On the way out of the bay, we stop at Ensenada Carrizal for some snorkeling in the clearest water we've seen so far. When we arrived the was one other boat anchored and absolutely nothing on shore. While we were there, a few other boats arrived.
After lunch aboard, we continue our trek north and soon find ourselves sailing up the cost. As evening approaches, we pull into the anchorage at Melaque. There is some rather unusual music for Mexico coming from a restaurant on the beach. They are featuring artists like Barbara Streisand, Cher and Donna Summers. When we get ashore, we discover a drag show in progress. We hang around until the novelty wore off and headed into town for dinner.
Mar 5
We continue our trek north to Bandaras Bay, but first we have to resolve an issue with the holding tank not draining. It had to be fixed from under the boat. Enough said.
Later that afternoon, we arrive in Tenacatita. We have drinks with a Melanie on Journey, then head over for the famous Friday night dinghy raft up.
Mar 6
We depart Tenacatita with a planned overnight passage to Bandaras Bay. About two hours after dark, we find ourselves faced with ugly seas and a strong wind on the nose. We finally decide to turn around and sail back to Chemala. We are able to follow our GPS track in the dark back to the same spot we had anchored before.
Mar 8
After two night, we make another attempt for Bandaras Bay. We depart at 3 am and power into the wind and chop and are not able to sail until 4 in the afternoon, with La Cruz in sight. We continue on to the La Cruz marina for a few days before we move on to Paradise Village marina in Nuevo Vallarta.
