A whale of a tale

Happy Valentines Day

Today we were up at 6 and off from Isla Ixtapa by 730 am. It takes about ¾ hr to get the dinghy stowed away and other pre-sailing stuff done. Most of this has to be done by Bob but there are few things that I can do to cut down on that time.
This morning we have seen sea turtles, dolphins, and skates. The skates look like such comedians to me. They jump way out of the water and then belly flop into it. There must be a reason.
Later today we saw 4 huge whales. Bob saw one come up about 10 ft from the boat. Apparently his back was covered in scars. Moments later another one came up and actually bumped the boat…scarey. Moments later all we saw behind the boat were 4 huge whale tails….now isn’t that a whale of a tale. Sorry but I had to do that.

Now I am writing the rest of this blog on Feb 16.

About 6 hr out of Isla Ixtapa we had 20 knot winds, big swells and the winds were right on our nose. Our speed slowed to about 2 knots/hr. The boat was banging over the waves. It was uncomfortable to say the least. Bob reefed the sails when the winds were gusting over 20. That went on for about 12 hours. About 3 am the wind direction changed and that made the world of difference. We all sat in the cockpit as it was too rolly and bouncy below ..good nautical terms I am sure.
Later we had favourable winds and Bob steered manually which made the world of difference, and we were doing 7 knots. We were anchoring in Manzanillo after 34 hours of sailing. Patches has a new record now of 36 hours without a pee.
I was able to sit watch for awhile so Bob got about 3 hr sleep in 36 hr. Soon I will be confident enough (if the weather is okay) to take my 2 hr shifts at night.
During the night we saw 3 sailboats and several large ships. The ships are frightening because we do not show up on their radar ..it is up to us to take evasive action. Sometimes it is difficult to know where they are going because they do not have port and starboard lights.
Santiago Bay, which is Manzanillo, is a lovely bay. There are about 25 boats here and room for many more. Can you believe that I found such a deal on wine in a tiny store very close to where we come into shore on the dinghy. A kind man from Ontario showed us the way to it.
The beach has a number of palapa restaurants and we have enjoyed drinks and food there …so nice after our food while sailing. Cooking is still not an option while we are under way. I cook before hand and make sandwiches.
Tomorrow we plan to go to Tenacatita and will stay there a few days. That is only about 7 hr but as I know that no plan is ever a plan, we will leave early so we have lots of time.
I will soon be putting up a web album and will send emails and put a link on on my blog so you can access our photos.
The Zihua trip certainly had its stressful moments for me but I have overcome a few more fears..yes my friends I will soon be sailing solo…how hard are you laughing now???
Time for wine.