October 26 - November 12, 2008 - La Paz to Mazatlan

Sunday - Tuesday, October 26-28, 2008
La Paz - Lay days and lazy days spent in the marina. Had drinks with a few fellow cruisers and swapped some stories. A few of the boats from up north are starting to trickle in. It’s an annual migration, up the sea for the summer (to avoid the hurricanes) and back down the sea to La Paz or points further south for the winter (to avoid the cold weather and northerners). Many cruisers elect to stay in Mexico for their cruising lives. Many others are commuter cruisers: six months in Mexico and six months in the States. It is true that the weather is beautiful, not a lot of sailing, but certainly no shortage of cruising ground, with marinas conveniently spaced and the States easily accessed. Many world cruisers say Mexico is their favorite cruising grounds. I don’t get it, but then what do I know?

Wednesday - October 29, 2008
1230 - Cast off from the docks at Marina La Paz. Skies clear, winds light and variable, and the current giving us a nice push out. Blake Rodgers, a single sailor from California signed on as crew at the last minute. I was warming up the engine and getting ready to cast off when he contacted me about crewing to Mazatlan. On the morning radio nets in La Paz I had announced that I would be going to Mazatlan and was looking for crew. I was somewhat hesitant, because one never really knows what they’re getting. One sailor called and said he would like a ride but couldn’t go until the next week. I didn’t want to wait that long.

I had just returned from my final provisioning (ice and beer) and the couple on the boat next to me said they heard a hail for ITCHEN and the crew position. I broadcast on the net and SARA ANNE came back saying they had seen a note on the bulletin board in the cruisers' lounge. I was debating about taking the long walk back up there when Blake called on his handheld VHF. We chatted, over the radio, for a minute and he came barreling down; we chatted, in person, a few more minutes and he departed to collect his gear and check out of the hostel.

Blake is from the Bay area, about 40 years old, single, has saved up some cash, and he is boat-hopping down to the Caribbean. He flew to La Paz, caught a ride with me to Mazatlan, will catch a ride (or multiple rides) to Panama, thru the canal, and then into the Caribbean. He describes his folks as original hippies. As testament to that, Blake was shipped off to Hari Krishna boarding school when he was a youngster. He attended a private college and has quite a varied background: computer programming and financial analysis, as well as practical skills like carpentry and mechanics. He was good crew. He stood his watches, kept his gear stowed, was affable, and he didn’t break anything.

Thursday - October 30, 2008
O600 - N23.26.025; W108.09.721; about one-third of the way to Mazatlan. The boat is moving along nicely and the sailing has been spectacular. We’ve had the jib out most of the night and the NE winds have been steady at 10-15 knots on our port quarter. The moon didn’t rise till about 0230 but the night is clear and the stars give ample light to see by. We’ve only seen a couple of vessels since we cleared La Paz and they were cargo ships; the radio has been quiet.
1900 - Check in on the SouthBound.net over the SSB. The controller was in San Carlos (hundreds of miles north on the mainland side) and there were cruisers on the net from all over the sea (including the weather guy who is in Oxnard, CA). The net was a little slow due to the many relays that were being performed.

Friday - October 31, 2008
0400 - We are closing Mazatlan rapidly. I slow the boat, as I don’t want to get to the harbor prior to daylight. It is poorly marked (by U.S. standards); additionally, it is narrow and shallow and takes a left turn just pass the break wall.
0700 - Daybreak and we can see the fishing boats exiting the harbor; skies clear, seas calm, no wind, and the temperature is 85 degrees.
0730 - Tie up at Marina Singlar, Mazatlan, Mexico. Engine hours: 660.
0800 - Blake grabs his gear and heads off looking for his next ride. I check into the marina, stop in to say Hi to Bob and Raphael and wander about a bit getting my land legs back.

Saturday - Wednesday, November 1-12, 2008
Mazatlan - Cleaning the boat and doing small projects. The weather has been very comfortable; not too hot during the day and cool enough to need a blanket for a small portion of the night. Fixed the dinghy leaks and tuned the dinghy engine. Fixed the computer wi-fi and the computer's operating speed. Ordered a rigid boom vang from Garhauer (best people in the business). I'll pick it up at Thanksgiving when I go up to see Julie (I decided not to install a boom gallows as it was about twice as expensive and the options it gave me just weren’t worth the cost). Filled with fuel: 19.41 gallons ($54.00 Mexican; $43.00 US). Fuel consumption is still about 0.4 gallons/hour. I’ve talked to most everybody on Skype or email, except Tim (who fell off the face of the earth). Brigid is in England and enjoying the first weeks at a new duty station. Molly/Bodhi/Keelyn are adapting to Texas and thinking about moving back to Colorado. I talked to both mothers. I usually Skype Julie once or twice a week as she is working lots of 12 hour shifts and needs her beauty sleep.

I have many more projects to complete and some are real stumpers, but I need to discipline myself better to work with what I have and understand that the boat will never be finished or perfect. That’s a harder pill to swallow than you might think. Most days I have trouble getting motivated, but slowly I’m developing a structure that serves as a booster to jumpstart me.