Life on B dock.....



Meet Jenny - at least I think that is her name.  Robert yelled that there was a seal on the dock, so we all raced out to see it.  As we didn't have any fish, she ignored us, but looked hopeful.  We have had a mullet run in the harbor,  and she would flip on and off the dock looking even more hopeful, but her trainer would throw a fish and she was back on the dock scooting up the ramp.  We have no idea what she and her trainer were doing but it was entertainment.  The dogs wanted fish, too.....

MS Haganes was built in 1907 in Norway and named after a town, and supposedly was sunk during WWII so that it would not be taken by the "enemy".  That is the story on the dock, as well as the fact that it came across the Pacific from Malaysia and is in need of repairs.  According to a blog I found, it was headed for Manzanillo, but they didn't have enough fuel, so they ended up here at the very end of the dock.  Twice, very elegant modern yachts have been docked alongside and the contrast is wonderful.  Their crew were here without visas, so all went home except the girl cook who looks to be a good friend of the skipper.  Future plans for the owners have led to all sorts of stories.  You can find some of the blog  about their  horrible trip online.

More trip ....

In front of the elegant Las Hadas resort, Manzanillo.  We found a grass area by the fuel dock where they could run around and do their thing....so much better than surf/dinghy landings.

We were in front of the empty restaurants, having pupus - as Mike had graciously offered to take us all to dinner on his last night.  We walked to a restaurant that overlooks the anchorage for the main course, but as we were all so tired, we just had more snacks.  I don't know why we were tired:  Mike and Dave kayaked to shore to swim in the big pool, while we just wandered, took the dogs ashore, wandered, got wet, read, looked at any boating activity....and may have wandered some more.  Really tough day.  We could see that guests are beginning to arrive at the hotel - but perhaps they are Mexicans as all the Americans and Canadians are scared.  They are really missing out.

More photos below

Happy to find Manzanillo...all covered from the sun.

Dave and Robert looking for Manzanillo...actually, we just get about five miles off the coast and look at the ancient charts,  and at the GPS and try to figure out where we are.....as sometimes, because of the ancient charts, the GPS puts us a mile or two on shore.  That is fun.

None of this was in Santiago/Manzanillo when I first came here which is over 30 years ago..  We are turning the corner to find Las Hadas at the right.    We kept going into the bay, seeing huge surf, then saw the crazy/but now, not so crazy architecture, and saw a moored sailboat and figured, this is the place. We anchored outside the harbor in front of the millionaire's beach. This was a pretty calm day.  Dogs were happy, we didn't sink, and we could eat ashore -which makes the cook happy.  Mike made some incredible crepes for breakfast one morning and we had them with lingonberries and whipped cream.  Decadence.  Wonderful.

More photos from the trip......

Dolphins coming up for breath(s) were the only sounds to disturb the peace in Tenacatita - that and strange bird calls.  Morning, after a calm night's rest.....

Trips to shore to "do their thing" are times of tension and excitement for the dogs or high anxiety.  Getting off the boat means guiding them when they jump into the dink - Murray just does it and one time landed on his head. He is not the most graceful dog.  Koa does a lot of whimpering as he thinks there are waves waiting to skunk him.  Getting them back on board means muscling them up the ladder, or in Murray's case, just hauling a limp body by the handle of the life preserver while asking him to, for pete's sake, to work with the ladder.  His expression, is as usual, one of asking if someone is talking to him.

The boat in the foreground is Mind Magic and we asked him for a weather report while in Tenacatita.  He gave us one from Buoy Weather that sounded ok, but I remembered firing them when we came down the coast, so we were on our own.  What was strange was that he said he remembered us from his dock in Long Beach, as he remembered the shepherds.  Never been in Long Beach on I'O. 

Those rocks are all along the coast - and when viewed from the ocean, while underway, are spectacular with breaking surf foaming up the cliffs.  I kept seeing an astonishing slice of pure turquoise color agains the cliffs and finally realized we were seeing  sunlight coming through the giant waves  before they break.   Absolute magic. This view is from the lovely little harbor of Cuestocomate.

Last week's trip



We are really in Nuevo Vallarta....and due to the intenet hassles - are posting the trip this way....see prervious post.  Above is I'O in Custocomate.....we get beat up on the ocean and then find the CostaAlegre small inlets and relax.  The strange knob on the stern is the outboard.





When the seas are rough, the dogs get very anxious and try to climb to the cockpit to be with us.  So we have to spend time below, leaving the on watch short handed.  I watched them slip and slide around below and was terrifed they would get hurt, so we made the decision for me to get the car when we got to Perula.  From Tenacatita to Perula/Chamela was very rough and we ducked into Careyes, a place I had wanted to see.  Robert and Dave took the boat upwind of the islands at the entrance and very neatly turned downwind to tuck behind the islands to anchor in what was termed "moderate" holding.  We still rocked and rolled, but were out of the big waves - at another ghost town, although, very colorful.  The morning trip to Perula was a nonevent, and as we were very tired, that was good.





Las Hadas anchorage - peaceful and good - nobody at the hotel due to the American press...more shootings go on in one day in Richmond/Oakland than in a month in the drug areas.  This hotel was developed over 30 years ago and was stand alone elegance until more tourism development occurred here in the bay.  The guys went to town and found they had to create their own excitement as everything seems to work around the beach and the hotels, but they got to use the millionaire's pool at the hotel.

Internet hassles....

We are back in Nuevo at our old slip - taking care of repairs.  I will put more photos on teh blog of the trip once we can sort out the internet here - can't do Skype, and the internet keeps shutting us down.  The harbor master insists that he will get it fixed.
I left the boat in Perula, about 100 miles south - lovely little place with big waves and too exciting beach landings.  David had found a cove where there was a "road" that I could walk to the little town and get a bus...well the road was a path that wandered and I ended up way upstream, having to follow the river down to the mouth and cross.  I kept asking people if they spoke English and found Francisco, my new best friend.  He had lived in Santa Rosa for 8 years and took me the several miles  trip to the highway where I flagged down a bus to Puerto Vallarta.  We had tucked into Perula because of horrible weather forecasted, but I noticed there was no wind all the way up....and in calling Robert, found he had been given a good weather window.  So, race back down with the car to get the dogs.
The trip up was eventful - giant black bull in the road...and and even more giant, gigantic, huge, incredible awful snake on the highway. 
I said ugh and then could only think of my trek throught the wilderness to get to the road to get to the bus....ugh. Again.  And me withouth a machete.  I don't think snakes respond to screaming.

Robert and David arrived after 20 hours of little wind and strange currents, with only a minor rough water around the horrible Cabo Corrientes.

So now, Robert is trying to round up crew  for the trip north and I will take the doggies to Calif.  David went off on another adventure and we will head north to take care of family for a bit.  That is ok.  Very much ok.

Cuestocomate.....



This unpronouncable little place wqas a delightful find - but now even a glimpse of it is available when travelling down the coast.  We had a wonderful night's sleep here, although when we were ashore, David up and ran down the beach, insisting that the boat was dragging anchor.  It might have, but both Robert and David raced out and reset the anchor in 15' of water.  We all were very nervous at our lunch.

Tenacatita Bay

Where the hell is the anchorage?  We found Roca Central and looked left, and were so happy to be able to be in peaceful, calm water that describing us as blobs(previoius post) was not accurate.  We just sat and soaked up the beauty.  The boys and Robert took the dink into Manzanilla, the little town, while I napped on deck and watched the dolphins.  Chippie may or may not have been with them - but their whiffing along side he boat had both dogs peering over the side watching them intently.

A good photo of Dogpoop beach, with the lovely pink trees and cactus. 

Going south, literally......

David joined us on the 14th and immediately went to work on the list of things to be done - bought a surfboard, and Mike joined us a week later, and immediately went to work on the list.  We tried to leave on Thanksgiving, a day I forgot- whoda thunk?  We ran aground in the channel and some great parasail guys pulled us out of the minus tide channel and we returned to our slip.  Good thing, as the people who opened the new taco stand did a dinner for the cuisers here in the harbor, complete with cranberry sauce.  Going aground was meant to be.
We left with the tide in the morning and went to Yelapa where el Bully put us on a mooring close to a power boat that at one point it was two feet away from us.  A famous old raceboat, Sayula II was moored close to shore - great races with Windward Passage, Kialoa, etc. 
Of course we started the trip on a Friday, a superstition that we didn't understand, but we got turkey and mashed potatoes and gravy and cranberry sauce, when we forgot Thanksgiving.
Sailors get involved in the endless list and things like a major US holiday fall by the wayside - we got covered!

Going south around  Cape Corrientes  was a challenge and the seas got bigger and bigger - and we were on a three reefed main I came on deck at one point at night and found that the boom vang had given up the ghost, with the boom tied to the rail, still heading down wind.  I'O's crew handled it well.  There was a great discussion about the Real Tenacatita .David was right and I was wrong with no more excuse than three hours of sleep.
We anchored where we were with Molly J in the spring and were blobs.