A day off.............

David, our crew, was able to get a surfboard off  the net for 800 coconuts, which is about $60.  We decided to quit working for the day and go to Sayulita which is a famous surf town so he could surf and we could vegetate.  We found parking under a tree, had a great mahi mahi sandwich, and watched the surfing ---small waves, but fun for everyone.  When we had cleaned out the boat last spring to leave, Robert and I were so exhausted that we drove to Sayulita (not even an hour away from Nuevo) and spent three days there, loving the beach and the town- so this was a fun return for us.  Dogs run free, Canada has invaded and real estate has skyrocketed .  We were there "when" about ten years ago when it was discovered as a great surf spot - giant waves in Sept and Jan.  Now, the fact of finding parking under a tree on the beach was pretty miraculous. 

Here at Nuevo, a new tacos restaurant has opened where there was an empty space in the building facing us - wonderful food and cheap, but the chef, and I use that term correctly wants to do wonderful food.  He does, but all us gringos want his tacos.

That is my new weedwhacker haircut resting with my new BF who is a cool dude of a dog.  The haircut was named by Jean who got one for the Hawaii crossing, but who managed to look put toghether, no matter what was going on the boat.

We are taking a break from trying to find places for all the stuff that was on the dock and the deck, so we could look like reasonable people for Mike, who joined us yesterday.  Turns out he loves Hawaiian music, plays the Uke, and does dishes.  God has an interesting sense of humor with the crew we have found.  They are pretty special people and it seems that we have connections.  Finding crew from the Latitude crew list is always an adventure, but we have been blessed with great friends from that list.  It is like a blind date getting people you don't know on a small space of  a sailboat.  We have really lucked out.

Getting there.....slowly

Robert and Murray having a conversation:  Robert:  "Murray, is there anythng you would like to be doing?"

Murray:  "You talking to me?"

The List.....

People ask what we do all day - an example for the last week, getting ready to cruise is not typical, but should be of interest:
Clean off mildew with Fabuloso...miracle worker- but took a week
Round up a diver
Round up a sailmaker
Clear the stern of the boat and find out what all that rusty stuff is
Install the main and find the area to patch...took 2 hours with wimpy muscles
Install the jib - I guided up the track while Robert hauled
Hook up the anchor
Install new autohelm thingy
Commission the nav system..not done yet
Fix the head
Clear stuck bilge hose
Paint deck....done - three day job
Paint cockpit- tomorrow
Change out batteries - tbd
Connect new anchor chain...laters
Wire up new fans
Fix wind vane
Install new nav lights
Put the dinghy together and hang on the davits
Install all sorts of filters...Saturday, maybe
Cut, shape and install new forpeak hatch.....underway, now.
Install new deck cleats at the windlass
Unclog bilge pump hose
Sew the new bimini and new dodger...will have to do that in Zihuat as Shelley found the
    fabric at Eileen's and is sending via a new crew guy
Change out batteries....later
Check zincs
Connect the anchor chain
Reorganize under the bunks
Install more filters....
Visit misc. little shops to buy strange things to connect other strange things.
Check radio........and
on and on...
plus my job of sewing projects.
The catchword about all this glamour is, oh, this is I'O....fageddaboutit and get to work.

Are we having fun yet?

Slacker blog.....

The second week of chores and getting ready, with the dock partially clearing of "stuff".  My word was crap.  As in what is all that crap out there and why can't we put it away.  The answer was pretty unprintable.  The bimini poles are stacked on deck, the tape is still not removed from the deck painting in the photo...proves we did something in this heat.  We are both probably losing weight with the work we are doing, and thankful that David showed up to help out.  We did give him the option of waiting a week before he came down.  And boy, are we glad he  came when he did.  Murray and Koa are in their usual position, waiting for something to happen, like a hose down or a beach trip.

David, who is a forest service firefighter, graduate of the University  of Alaska, and general adventurer, looks pretty happy.  At the end of the day, after reinstalling freezer equipment, cleaning crap (there's that word again) out of a bilge hose, going to Punta de Mita to buy surf board, shopping with Robert, swimming with the new boogie board (the guy is into toys), and other misc. stuff - fell into bed almost right after us.  He has plans of climbing volcanoes in different Central American countries.  Ok.  We will watch.

This spinnaker got wet - we tried to do a float test on it.  We call it the snail slime and it has, in the past been a secret weapon-in the Runga Kutta race:  we were stalled out at the South Tower in the fog, SFO bay, with the foghorn reverberating through our bodies, frustrated at not moving against the flood.  All the other boats were crowded around us, and when we hauled out the snail slime, pulled it up and started moving, we heard awe.  We could move.  One startled voice, as we slid by, yelled, "What is THAT?"
We have been trying to dry it for days from the float test - flying it as shown above did not work - wind came up.  Robert almost got pulled off the deck.  I tried to dry it on the lawn near the harbormaster's office and some gardener said I was on private property and no amount of "no entiende" could convice him to let me stay.  So we fly it and dry it another day.  That is manana  for here.
I labeled this the Slacker Blog, as I am below, in front of the fan while the guys are on deck working.  Us journalistas gots to stay on top of life.  Right.

Home in Nuevo....

Color, lots of color - and so typical.  In the spring, Jon, on MollyJ and I were wondering why the hills were so brown.  Coming down the highway, with the incredible lush greeness of the hills and trees, we figured out that the vines that cover the trees all through the tropics lost leaves in the winter.  There was so much summer rain, as well as a hurricane, that the jungle has taken over.  Fields that were empty this past winter are full of sky high weeds and flowers are thick, throughout this muggy humid time.  Not our house, but the marina where we kept the boat.
The trip down was fairly easy as the highway is wonderful and we found our favorite rv parks - but the heat has been intense. The toll came to about $100 but it is worth it as the highway is safe and fairly new.  When we were here in November, last year, the weather  was perfect....am not complaining, too much, but we spent four days washing the interior of the boat to get rid of the mildew.  So much for hiring someone to open the boat to air it out all the time.  But we are getting better organized and getting rid of stuff.

This is a .85 and we are having a local sailmaker cut it down into a cruising spinnaker.  We got a bid from a fellow who waved his arms a lot, asked for money for  the estimate, and then called Noe.  Noe was actually born in Phoenix, and is Mexican, but an illegal Mexican.  We took him and his helper to lunch to hear his story - but he is able to pass between the US, legal there, and here fairly easily.  He knew what to do for hardly any money and we will have the stress and terror, well, perhaps not much, of flying a cruising spinnaker.  We thought it was great fun flying it at the dock and several people raced down to ask if we needed help dumping it.  Nope.  But nice neighbors and good to be "home".

The new guy, Captain Jack Murray - who knows his last name and that he has a great new home, although he is a bit of a klutz.  Watching him run in the grass areas here in the marina is watching greased lightning, but jumping around on the boat, he hasn't got it down yet.  We rescued him, altrhough the girl fostering him was uspset about letting him go, but he already has had adventures in swimming in the surf and learning the ropes from Koa.
The drawback is the heat caused both of them to shed like mad every day.  We are back to square one, sweeping up the boat.  He learns fast - and will the dinghy adventure tomorrow. 
We just saw one of those stand-up paddlers going though the marina.  I wonder if she knows about the crocodiles.

Then there were two...

While staying at Camp Cleveland, we spoke to a couple down on the artist's walk who had a mini aussi that was beyond adorable.  Ever since Jake, who was half aussie, we had considered one - and a mini would work on the boat.  We visited the shelters in Santa Barbara, appalled at the number of pit bulls and chihuahuas - does that say something about our culture?  We almost adopted a mini dobie that was very cute but the idea of that tiny thing at sea didn't seem right.  We also went to an Aussie Shepherd show where there were every types imaginable, all running through hoops, climbing ladders and doing the slalom poles.  Very impressive.  But the sellers wanted a lot of money and we need new batteries on I'O, 

Barbara, in a call from the cold north suggested getting in touch with a friend's cleaning lady's daughter who was fostering a German Shepherd - we did, with several calls from Hawaii from the friend and some mixup from one of the shelters who didn't know if they could let us have the dog".  Hell, we hadn't even seen the dog.  Finally we were able to arrange a meeting, the day we were heading back to Ian's....and there was this mutt, that had some German Shepherd, and a lot of the neighborhood lothario.  He was very sweet, very quiet and careful.  He and Koa liked each other so we took him.

He had been left in the back yard of his former home, and we didn't know how much training he has had - not so much, but he follows us and wants to be close, although the first time into the car was a fight.  After that, Koa showed him what to do.

Now, for the boat.....he is a natural boat dog....isn't afraid of the surf, like that big Koa, and swims like a fish.  He is loving and sweet, but still a bit stubborn and looks at us with those big brown eyes when we ask him to do something - as if, "are you talking to me?"

Koa has a pal, and we do too...so Waterdogs is back to being plural.  We lucked out.  His name is Captain Jack Murray, answering to Murray - Meathead, Lumplumpm, goofus,.....and it was a committee naming at Ian's house, as he was called Trey and Buddie...he answers to Murray, very well as he knows that a dish of food follows.