Confessions of a Reluctant Sailor

Confessions of a Reluctant Sailor

It is time to write my synopsis of this sailing experience. To ensure that I wouldn’t change my mind about how I feel, I have thought the experience over very carefully.
No one, I am sure, is more surprised, at how I feel about sailing, than I am. The emotion that best describes the trip is elation. Yes, I had some very bad times (mainly caused by fear of the unknown), but they were so minor compared to all the beautiful moments that we experienced.
During the 2- month sail, we had about 18 hours of real discomfort, when we were hit by the gale. The other times that I was very anxious I had no cause to be so upset, except of course I didn’t know anything about sailing…. again fear of the unknown.
During the whole trip I was never seasick which was such a surprise. I did take Dramamine when we were going on an overnight sail or if the seas looked rough, but most of the time I was fine without it. Certainly during the high winds and big seas my stomach was uncomfortable, but I was able to convince myself that being sick was just not a good option. Where and how do you execute vomiting when the boat is pitching and rolling? I just couldn’t imagine the logistics of being sick. Poor Patches came close to being sick (lots of licking on his part usually indicates that he will vomit) but he didn’t. Perhaps he thought the same way as I did.
Another surprise…I miss the excitement and the boredom of sailing. The days that we headed off to a new place were always a thrill, but after hours of looking at water I was ready to be THERE, wherever there was.
Come November I will be back in Mazatlan making MY changes that should enhance our enjoyment of cruising, and Bob will as usual be checking and updating who knows what.
Then in early January we will be off again doing much the same trip as this season. We have our favourite places and we will stay in those places for a longer time. Now that we have been to Zihuatanejo we will not likely go there until we head further south which we are planning to do in 2013…. if all goes well. I suggested to Bob that I would like to go as far as El Salvador, and Bob was so surprised that he was speechless for some moments.
There is much more for me to learn about sailing. I doubt if I will ever be seen climbing the mast, reefing the sails,or climbing in what I call the 'Hell Hole' (that is where are the pumps. etc are to be found) but most other duties are within my spectrum.
This seems to be the time to thank Bob for 'shoving me' into sailing. If not for Bob's encouragement/manipulation/or whatever, I would never have left the dock. At times I felt obligated to join him in this venture. (That did not make me happy.) Now I must say "Thank you Bob" for the adventure that I have just experienced. It has been truly life-changing for me as it has shown me that I can still brave the unknown and come out feeling better than I did before the experience. That knowledge is very powerful and affects my life in general. So watch outfolks!!
I will keep posting but from now until November these posts will have little to do with sailing so if you are only interested in sailing news revisit me in November.

The tsunami is coming??

Today Friday we were awakened at about 4 am, by the marine radio informing us that Japan had had a severe earthquake and we should expect a tsunami. I was not in a deep sleep but when I heard tsunami, I was fully awake in a moment. We stayed awake for awhile, but as there were no further notices we went back to sleep. In the morning the marina was buzzing, but from all reports it sounded as if there would be only a slight rise in the water level. The port authority did close the marina entrance so that no boats could enter or leave.
It is now almost noon and nothing of note has happened so I presume nothing will.
This past week has been busy but we have had lots of time to enjoy ourselves. I am almost finished my chores and Bob is doing some important but not crucial fixes. Right now he is unclogging the drain in the bathroom. When we showered we had to use the plunger to get the water out, and then do the same the next time.
Once more the boat looks like a dump but now that is only superficial ...things to put away, but the cleaning is done.
I am still not quite ready to do my synopsis of the trip, mainly because I am always interrupted in the midst of what I am doing on line.
The weather is gorgeous...hot days and cool nights. That will soon change to hot days and nights...that means it is time for me to be back in the mountains.
Our plan is to leave here on Sunday morning and that should get us home by late Sunday afternoon.

Back in Mazatlan

Yes we made it to Mazatlan...and although the seas were a bit rough we only took 24 hours to make the sail. Yesterday morning (Thursday) saw us arriving at 9 am. The sail was uneventful except for the fog. About 2 hr out of Maz the fog descended like a blanket. All we saw was fog..not a light, not a star. We wondering how we would negotiate the channel into the marine, but just as we were approaching the channel, the fog lifted. When we arrived we had a lovely welcome...friends there to catch my line..what more can you ask??
My lady friends were having an art morning followed by a pool party afternoon. At first I declined to join them for the pool party but after some thought I changed my mind. What a ball we had. Swimming, eating, drinking, laughing and a bit of crying.
I will be writing a synopsis of our trip, but I will wait a while so that events can mature in my mind.
I can say that most of the trip was an exciting, novel experience for me and I am ready to do it again next Jan.
We will be heading home to Patzcuaro in a week and I am looking forward to being in our house and seeing our friends there.
What a great life!

Off to a early late start

Tuesday March 1

Our plan or so I thought was to leave La Cruz at about 4 pm. We had originally planned to leave in the morning but there were some bad weather reports so I wanted to leave later. Well I should have known..if Bob has made a date in his mind it has to happen.
So here we are in Matanchan Bay..arrived at 10 pm and anchored in the dark. Times have changed as I was okay with all of this.
Another couple that we met a few weeks ago decided to change their plans so they arrived here shortly after we did.
Tomorrow barring bad weather or whatever we plan to leave for Mazatlan. There is a chance that we will get into Maz on Thursday.
Today we had a lovely day...some wind not too much. Swell was okay.
And we saw whales and more whales plus hundreds of dolphins.
Time to say goodnight as I am tired.

Monday, February 28


Monday, Feb 28

Today we finished doing stuff on the boat to prepare for our departure tomorrow.
When we went for lunch we met a couple who had been in Marina Mazatlan. Of course we swapped stories and they too had had their share of woes.
About 6 we went for Happy Hour and met our former La Cruz neighbours who were still in the same slip. She is gaining some sailing experience in small chunks as they go out sailing in Banderas Bay.
All is quiet on the home front.
Tomorrow we are off to Matanchen Bay, and then Mazatlan. We are hoping for decent weather and if so we may be in Mazatlan on Friday.