La Cruz Prep for Leaving for Bahia Chamela - also good tools - 2012

End of December - 2012 La Cruz

We decided to go straight to Bahia de Chamela (Perula Bay) Unless the weather turns bad on the way around Cabo Corientes (Cape of Currents) we will not stop at Punta Ipala for a rest. We were thinking of this stop for an overnighter to rest up but we think it is easier to go straight through to Chamela  It is where we want to be and spend some time, possibly a few weeks at anchor there. The passage is an over-nighter with a 20 hour passage time. The weather window looks good for leaving La Cruz Anchorage Banderas Bay  tonight at 8pm to round the Cabo Corientes at 2 am.

La Cruz Anchorage - Waiting for a weather window - 2012

Late December 2012

We are sitting at anchor in the La Cruz anchorage - waiting for a weather window and getting some R&R. We will round Cabo Corrientes (Cape of Currents) in a day or two. It will be a night passage and we now have our auto pilot working so great!

Nuevo to La Cruz then arround Cabo Corrientes - auto pilot passed calibrateion

 Late December 2012
We got our auto pilot working!! Yes on the way out of Nuevo Vallarta (Paradise Village Marina) we tried to calibrate the auto pilot(AP) but it keep failing. We determined the seas were too rough so we set sail for La Cruz, highly disappointed. Once we got to La Cruz about a one and a half hour trip the northern point there shelter the seas enough to try he calibration again. Part of it consist of 15-20 sig sags by the AP and it takes a fair amount of distance. We pulled up by the anchorage and started our tests point south. After the first try we aborted thinking it failed. We gave it one more try before heading into the marina. This time it passed. Ya!

Our next passage is around the point of Cabo Corrientes and the point has two currents colliding and the wind is from yet a different location. Hmmm.

Mazatlan - El Cid Marina 2 of 2 - 2012

End of November 2012 we were in Mazatlán, Mexico
 Let’s talk marinas in Mazatlán, Mexico for a moment. Pros cons or so from my perspective. First at the beginning, our thoughts of cruising Mexico we had picked El Cid for our “Summer over home port” but then after more research we decided on Paradise Village Marina
Hurricane hole?

Arrived La Cruz marina - 2012

Late December 2012- La Cruz marina (Marina Riviera Nayarit at La Cruz)

We have been in the La Cruz marina  now a couple days and will stay a total of three. The first day our first thought was this is Cabo all over again. It is a city marina so you hear road traffic and the sound of the propane truck as it winds its way through the streets with its loud speaker playing some tune and yelling propane. It gets all the many dogs barking etc. There are tourist boats in the marina that play loud music and on and on. It is not as bad as Cabo San Lucas but it was our first thought about noise when we woke up.
 The marina people are nice and the view is nice and open, you can see the mountains and the sea.

Anchored in Chacala Mexico 2 of 2 - 2012

 OK we got it set this time!
A good piece of gear to consider having is enough rode to set a stern anchor. That means possibly 300 ft forward to set the stern anchor in 5 fathoms of water. That would also mean about 250 ft for the stern anchor.

Projects - Outboard bar lock, Teak Wonder treatment, anchor light etc.- 2012

Mid December 2012  - Currently in Paradise Village Marina in Banderas Bay Mexico
 
We made some modifications to the original steel out board bar lock so it would fit the space where the outboard sits on the boat. We used the dremel to cut a corner off and then sand the edges and some rust sots. Debbie then cleaned it up and painted it with some Rust-Oleum

New tool - wet vac

Mid December 2012
 Just had to get one, we gave our old one away but this is missed a lt. Vacme out the refer fter a defrost, the bilge any time, the propane locker if water is in it from seas etc.

Got a new wet vac 2.5 gal at Home Depot here in Puerto Vallarta.

We summer over here in Nuevo Vallarta, Paradise Village Marina.- 2012

Mid December 2012 - Currently in Paradise Village Marina in Banderas Bay Mexico

The decision has been made; we summer over here in Paradise Village Marina versus La Cruz Marina or Marina Vallarta (downtown).

 It is or they cannot beat this place for us. Paradise Village Marina offers just too much for us. It is gringo-vil though. There are major hotels and condos and time shares etc full of gringos. No Mexican fishing village here. However there are all the marine services you could want and 5 miles away is PV with the rest, boat yard etc.
Mall with plenty of tables and chairs and benches. Some with 110 power outlets.
Here there is a two story mall and free WiFi throughout the mall and AC.

Projects - Air Breeze, Garmin Drive A auto pilot, stern chain etc - 2012

Mid December 2012 - Currently in Paradise Village Marina in Banderas Bay Mexico
 While here the last couple days we have re-coated the teak cockpit grate with Teak Wonder. Cleaning the great out on the dock then applying the product.

 We have been trouble shooting the AirBreeze wind generator with a multimeter as we have the dock to work with for bring the tower down.

Passage and anchored in Chacala Mexico 1 of 2 - 2012

12-7-2012  ChacalaMexico

With the autopilot still broke Debbie is doing the hand steering here.

Punta De Mita Anchorage and Banderas bay - Whales - 2012

Mid December 2012 - Anchored in Punta De MitaMexico
The short eight hour or so passage to Punta De Mita we saw some whales.

Punta Mita anchoring then on to Paradise Village Marina in Nuevo Vallarta - 2012

Mid December - 12\12\2012 Anchored in Punta De Mita , Mexico

Ok so the guide book said this anchorage was a nice slow swell rolling in from the stern as the wind blew from shore. OK they did not say all that but just the same as it was a comfortable roll. Not so for us and the weather could hardly be better. As the wind clocked around in evening the boat drifts around and the swell hit you on the beam (just like in Chacala). A flopper stopper (Rock N Roll Stabilizer) would be nice although none of the dozen or so boats there had them deployed. We rolled all night so our sleep was a series of naps.
 This anchorage did serve the purpose of an all-night rest area before moving on to our current location at Nuevo Vallarta, Mexico (a few hours trip away) and so it was just fine.
  There are some good surf spots in Punta De Mita and the area is quite nice from the sea at least.  A lot of boats had surfboards on them! A big golf course in front of us.

Anchored in Punta Mita, Mexico - 2012

12-10-2012 Anchored in Punta De Mita , Mexico

Punta De Mita, Mexico is at the beginning of Banderas Bay.

This was a planned stop and we anchored here because we could not make Nuevo Vallarta before dark. Tomorrow on to Nuevo Vallarta and Paradise Village Marina

We had a nice shower on the hook thanks to the hot water heated by the engine and now for some dinner.

Stern anchoring in Chacala with our Fortress anchor #16 - 2012

After stern anchoring with our Fortress anchor #16 and see how hard it is pulling up 20’ chain I looked up the amount of chain recommended on the Fortress web site.

Mazatlan to San Blas\Mantachan Bay - 2012

Late November early December 2012.Anchored in Matanchen Bay
Avoid shrimp boats! We must have seen a dozen about ten miles out.
We had to get off our course (route) a few times to avoid them.

Mazatlan -El Cid Marina - 1 of 2 - 2012

At the El Cid Park across from the El Cid Marina there were weddings are a lot. Some were like concerts. The ferry was the way to get to the park\wedding.  

New MASTERVOLT AGM batteries batteries installed - 2012

2012 Marina Kona Kai Shelter Island San Diego, CA
Debbie labeled all the cables for re-installation.
 Changing over to the new MASTERVOLT AGM batteries was a bit of work. luckily the cables were still good to fit the new batteries in length.

Harken Furler - Furler problem was resolved in Mazatlan, screws - 2012!

January 2012 - Tied up in the El Cid Marina Mazatlán, Mexico
 So the furler problem we had while making the Cobo to Mazatlán passage turned out to be set screws. All three set screws came out of the Harken furler at the same time? Yep and so we went to Home Depot in Mazatlan (mid November) and got some metric fine thread screws and used them. 

Rollerblading the board walk in Mazatlan - 2012

11-20-12 Currently in El Cid Marina in Mazatlán, Mexico
Rollerblading the board walk in Mazatlán, Mexico was something we wanted to do for a long time. 

It is a long and beautiful board walk with a beautiful beach. We were at marina El Cid Marina in Mazatlán, Mexico so we walked out to the road from El Cid Marina and took a bus to the board walk. We put on our gear and went rollerblading! It was fun and by the end we were real tired.

Home port is San Diego - graphic for stern - 2012

 Home port is San Diegobecause the law requires that we have one for documented vessels which ours. Really our home port would be some place in Mexico and for now will probably be Puerto Vallarta (PV) Mexico. That is because we are cruising the Mexican Riviera and it starts about there. That means what we do not see this year we can easily get going and see next year from PV.

Lee clothe

Before leaving on the Baja Ha Ha (10-29-12) Debbie made a lee cloth for the settee for the crew to sleep on. This may also serve us sometime in the future but we are kind of hoping not as it means a long passage in bad weather? She added two zippers for ease of getting into and out of bed, the settee. So far it has and was not used however.


Anchored in Matanchen Bay - To a trip to San Blas - 2012

 12\12\2012 Anchored in Matanchen Bay, Mexico

Yesterday we dinghy'ed in to shore then walked down a dirt road to Matanchén, the town. We are anchored in Matanchen Bay. They make good banana bread there and have a Corona distributor there. From there we went to the bus stop and waited with three locals for the bus. A cab came by and they flagged it, asked if we would join them so we jumped in. A good ride to San Blas, Nayarit it was and then we went to the plaza. It was lively and interesting. We walked around enjoying the goings on and all the locals. We decided to look for a restaurant with WiFi that is in the Pacific Mexico Guide pg 53 and 56 the Wala Wala restaurant. We eventually found it. On the way we almost went to the marina for a look see and to say hi to a couple Elizabeth and Brian on Autumn Wind that had just left Matanchen Bay to stay there a couple days. We decided it was just too hot. We made it about 80 percent of the way. Oh well...so we went to the restaurant. As it turns out the WiFi was broke so we had some food and had some good conversation with the owner.

Anchored here at Matanchen Bay near San Blas, Nayarit, Mexico 2012

2012, Anchored in Matanchen Bay in San Blas, Nayarit Mexico

Here we are in Matanchen Bay near San Blas, Nayarit. We ended up here with three other ha ha boats. The day we arrived we put up the BreezeBuster hatch scoops  and screens that are no-see-um screens also. We took a shower together in our head and it was great. Plenty of room and the water felt real good. We slept real good with the two fans we installed in the stateroom on full blast. They got turned down as the night cooled off. The next day was dingy day. We blew up our Achilles LSI-310E dingy. We used the electric pump and set up we made and did this on the fore deck. 

Netting added and Mermaid 5200 btu working great

Debbie added the netting so items would not fall on the Mermaid 5200 HVAC unit.
 
Or new Mermaid 5200 btu unit that was rebuilt twice by Mermaid worked when it counted. First off when we arrived in Cobo from San Diego and it was 92 deg it worked fine. We really needed the rest and the Mermaid unit came through and allowed us to rest. Now in Mazatlan Mexico for the past nine days it has worked great. We are off to San Blas next and may attempt to use it on the 2000 Xantrax modified sin wave inverter. We did this once when the shore power plug was accidently pulled and it worked great, even with the digital thermostat. Next test is to see if it will run all night on our 520 amp hour AGM house batteries. The anchorage may be cooler than these marinas as we are blocked in with no breeze, the boat is facing the sun and the breeze is not going in the hatches. On anchorage that will change.
 
 

Sailing from Cabo San Lucas to Mazatlán, Mexico - passage - 2012

AT the fuel dock in  Cabo San Lucas,topping off.

Finished propane box, moved vent hose up - 2012


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The finished propane box looks like this

Baja Ha Ha - Arrived at Cabo San Lucas, oh my! - 2012

November 2012 - Baja Ha Ha in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico
Going into Cabo harbor was like going into a harbor you see on TV in China. It was busy and chaos. Lots of panga, water taxis, sport fisher boats and tour boats all making noise. Not to mention the jet skis etc.and all going every which way.

Deck teak Cetoled before leaving on ha ha - 2012


We finished off the cap rail and the cockpit teak and even did the top side of the cockpit table just to be clean and comfortable on the Baja Ha-Ha which was 10-29-12. It all came out good. We did a coat of Sikkens Cetol a day as there was no time to waste!

Baja Ha Ha - Bahia Santa Maria to Cabo San Lucas - 2012

The sail or the motor to Cabo San Lucas was sun-event full other than the fact we wanted to get there. Showers and excitement about Cabo and what it is like was in the air. None of us had been to Cabo before.

SSB/Sailmail Test Post

This message is being sent via our SSB Radio using Sailmail to our Blogspot blog in Cabo San Lucas...or not !!

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Baja Ha Ha - Turtle Bay to Bahia Santa Maria - 2012

 Leaving Turtle Bay

Sailed into Mazatlan, El Cid Marina! 2012

11\11\2012 Currently in El Cid Marina, Mazatlán, Mexico

A Quick note to say we are in Mazatlán! We arrived on 11\-16-12.
We will be off to Matanchen Bay soon and make posts and videos to the blog when we can.
So far so good, the boat has performed well, I am not so sure we have realized what a trip to Mazatlan was going to be like in such a short amount of time, over a 1000 sea miles and lots of overnighters.
Now that we are here we are slowing down. We are at El Cid Marina. Great deals on slips so far in Cabo and here. Almost 1/3 the price of a few years ago!  Off to San Blas, Nayarit  (Matanchen Bay) in a week.😎
 

What gear worked and did not for the Baja ha ha - 2012


So what worked and what did not as systems go?

 Our wireless is now good enough in Cabo San Lucas. The marina wireless is crap but using “The Wire AP“ we installed we grabbed some free Cabo WiFi and are using it now. The WiFi is too slow to upload videos to YouTube but good enough for other things like this post on the blog. For video uploads we need to go to a coffee shop

Baja Ha-Ha - Our first leg out of San Diego to Turtle Bay, wow! - 2012

 The first leg was hard on us. We do not have an asymmetrical spinnaker and the winds were real light. There was a mixed 3-4 ft swell and so we were motoring. We tried to raise the main and the genoa with the whisker pole holding out the genoa.

Cabo San Lucas noise verses San Diego noise - 2012

2012 we are in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico

Cabo San Lucas, noise is a lot different than the Shelter Island San Diego, CA noise.

When we pulled into the Cabo San Lucas, harbor it looked like a port you would see in China. There was a lot of activity with pangas and sport fishing boats coming and going along with jet skis and tour boats etc. Lots of noise from all the activity a sensory overload!

Ringer came along

This ringer we bought at the Chula Vista Swap Meet some years ago for a steal. We are not sure yet if it will get used but think it might. We brought it along on the Baja ha ha just in case.

 


 


 

Achilles LSI-310E dinghy cover purchased - 2012

November 2012 - Marina Kona Kai Shelter Island San Diego, CA
 Because we did not have time to make chaps before we sailed we purchased a dinghy cover for our Achilles LSI-310E dinghy from the Dinghy Doctor as an alternative for now.

Leaving San Diego on the Baja Ha Ha with fleet, class of 2012 rally - 2012

Crew member Pam on our boat .s\v Elegant'sea.

Cleared into Mexico in Cabo San Lucas - We can raise the Mexican flag! - 2012

November 2012 - Cabo San Lucas, Mexico
We are now all cleared into Mexico and can raise the Mexican flag! Debbie jest sent off and email to Lindsey our daughter by Sail Mail because the Wi-Fi at the marina stinks. We will go to a Internet Cafe today to post a few messages.

 Today we changed the oil in the Beta Marine 38 hp engine, filter and air filter and checking out the bolts for tighten etc. We drained the Racor filters of water and replaced one (#1) and cleaned the sea strainer.

False floor (deck)

Debbie built a false floor (deck) for the cabinet that the water maker filter is in. The one that needs changing a lot. There never was a floor there and theitems would sit on the wires and hoses snaking through. That is not good.

First she made a template and the used the template to cut out a piece of marine plywood to fit.

Then a couple more cuts and fits for a screww on the bulkhead and then some wires and it fit perfectly.

Debbie then drilled a bunch of holes in the floor to vent it. There is water that can drain through the hull to the bilge in the area.

After all that Debbie painted it and then messued for the brace to hold the floor flat. After screwing in the brace and the paint drying she installed the floor. Debbie added a screw for a esay handle to pick it up for inspetion ect.


 
 
 
 

Spectra water maker through hull installed - 2012

October 2012 - Marina Kona Kai Shelter Island San Diego, CA
Our new Achilles LSI-310E dinghy is also a work boat now.

Diving gear at Sport Chalet

 Picked up a set of diving gear at Sport Chalet for cleaning the bottom. It all came in a handy dandy carring\storage bag. Debbie gave it to me as a birthday gift. Yep down under for the bottom cleaning but the water will be worm!

Edison one step arrived

Our Edison step arrived. We also sold our dock steps to Ann Marie and Ralph who have a Catalina 34. They will pick them up at our cut the lines party next week.

Water fall faucet and vessel head sink - 2012

The water fall faucet for our vessel head sink came in.

Saving the Merc two stroke - 2012

Standing up in the storage area.
 It is hard to let go of the Mercury two stroke 4 hp motor. It has forward and reverse and neutral on the side. It runs great and uses little gas. It has an internal gas tank, so it is self-sufficient.

Magma boat stabilizer

We picked up a Magma “Rock ’n Roll”™ Boat Stabilizer (flopper stopper) just because we do not want to say we could of but didn’t do it as we rocked side to side at an anchorage. It is a bit pricey and a bit heavy but we went for it. At the swap meet we looked for some plastic round cone ones as a possible solution but there were none.

Dingy lock cable made up

Chris at Dwonwind marine helped us with fabricating a dingy lock. We bought 25’ of heavy life line and two crimps for the cable. Actually Downwind did not have enough of the heavy life line so Chris sent us over the Sailing Supply to get it. Also Downwind did not have a large enough crimper to do the job. Chris said 25’ was needed in case we had to climb ove a couple dingys at a busy ding dock, makes sense. The eyes a made small so they can be squeezed together and slit in through the ole in the dock cleat. The other end is around the motor lock or some other way locked to the boat etc.
 So we went to the rig shop at Sailing Supply and Debbie and I got into a music conversation Ed the rigger. Seems he plays in a locals band with his guitar. He offered for us to come jam with them or him but we are leaving town. So Ed crimped up the cable and off we went with our new dingy lock up cable.

Honda Motor mount welded on at Benchmark Custom Welding - 2012

OK we have a really nice Honda 9.9 hp outboard motor. As it turns out we have no place to mount it! It will not fit where the Mercury 4 hp two stroke sat on the stern rail.

Screens

Out of all the places to have screens on the boat we thought we had them all covered. Debbie is in the process of making one for the companionway. But at the swap meet Mike and Holly had a couple of dorad screens they gave us. Hmmm, now where else could the little critters get in?
Now to get a coat of red paint on these dorads!

VacuFlush maintance

The VacuFlush toilet got maintained. We replaced the ball valve and the rubber seals over it. These will go on the spares list also.

Back up and flushing.

Baja Ha Ha, in a few days, to-do-list! - 2012

October 2012 - In Kona Kai Marina, San Diego, CA

 Our to-do list is getting hacked almost daily. There are now things we know we are just not going to get done. We have the parts but not the time. For instance we have the LED lights but not the time to convert the rest of the salon lights to LED.
There is only a few weeks left so it is crunch time. We are hoping to take the last week before we leave off from projects and relax before we start out trip south.

Water maker through hull in -done - 2012

 
 Putting in the Spectra Ventura Water maker 200TDeluxe through hull strainer and connecting it up was a bit more challenging than we would have thought. The angel through it off a bit and couple different setups had to be tried and there was limited space for a wrench.