August 29, 2011

Hello friends and family.

Well, we took a big step the other day.  We signed up for the BA JA HA HA.  We’re paid up so we’re committed.  The plan is to leave from Ensenada, meet up with the other boats and go from there.  We’re also planning on taking our Mexican captain so we will have some additional experience and safety onboard.  There are parties and meetings in San Diego as well as a parade.  We’re thinking about whether or not we should go to any of them.  Our information package is being sent to Toronto so we can get it when we visit.

Which, incidently, will be on Sept 17.   This time we’ll only be there for 2 weeks.  Border crossings are getting easier.  Our last two times, we were pulled over for additional screening, but no one wanted to see our papers, besides our passports.  Perhaps our file is getting cleaned up.  Anyway, we’re selling the house in Scarborough and we expect to be reviewing offers when we’re there.  We’re selling it with optional furniture.  Hopefully, the new owners will want it, so we won’t have to deal with it. 

We’ve been technically challenged the last little while.  The power supply unit on the dock for our boat suddenly stopped working.  Luckily for us, there is no one in the slip next to us, so we’re plugged into their outlet.  Our cable went out and just came on now.  It was out for a week and because of that we’ve watched most of our dvds.  They were supposed to be for when we are at anchor.  We’re going to have to get some more, that’s for sure.  Our Magic Jack isn’t working.  Our subscription ran out and when we went to renew, we were automatically taken to the Mexico site.  We thought we set it up properly, but the system wouldn’t take our credit card.  The system isn’t very flexible and we’re waiting for someone to fix it for us.  Its been over a week too.

Otherwise, we’ve been learning more about the boat.  We’re figuring out the GPS unit.  We found out it includes a chart plotter, which is excellent!  We’ve also trying to figure out the radar and inverter.

We got our dinghy davits.  They look beautiful.  Now we have to get a pulley system and we’re rolling!  We also got a new anchor installed.  Our chain is out getting painted.  We’re slowly getting her into tip top shape for our departure.  The HA HA leaves on Oct 24.  Not too long now.  It’s a little scary, but very exciting.

Today we went inland a bit to visit Mexico’s wine country.  When we left the marina it was 22.5 degrees.  About ½ hour later, it was 43 degrees.  Both of us felt, though, that we could handle this type of heat.  It is dry and in the shade with a little breeze, it wasn’t too bad.  If the Sea of Cortez is like this, it’ll be great.

Here are a few short videos of our day.  We were at native Mexican lands and you’ll see some historic structures and some colourful clothing.

Bye for now.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=met2krG4Z0U
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G07SN0DA8K0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ahopnt4UVT8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ahopnt4UVT8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mTImwD4jcCw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9IXz8NpWP1U

An Ensenada song we got Neil Diamond to do
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i0lg5cY4UQI

August 20, 2011 - Ensenada

August 15, 2011

In keeping with our promise to update the blog more often, here’s the latest.

We were busy last week.  We had visitors from San Diego.  Our friend/broker Tom sailed his boat to Marina Coral along with a couple of friends, Ken and Ryan.  It was different and fun having guests who had their own boat.  They also had another boat arrive the next day along with 4 or 5 of their friends, who also happen to be friends with Fernando, one of our friends from E dock.

So we did a lot of sight seeing and socializing.  Ryan bought a big halibut from the fish market and cooked it on the bar-b-que on paper.  It is the first we’ve heard of cooking on paper on a b-b-q, but it worked out great.  The following night we had dinner, brats, on their friend’s boat, Tara.  We were lucky in that they put us all on the same dock.

Now that they are gone, we miss them.  But Tom says he’s retiring next year and we hope to meet up with him somewhere in the Sea of Cortez.  We think we’re going to meet up with a lot of people in the Sea of Cortez.

We’ve still got some work to do on the boat.  We’re considering getting a generator/watermaker.  Expensive, but what is the price of independence?

No new videos this week.  Sharon did see some porpoises in the marina, just behind our boat.  They were darker in colour and bigger than the dolphins.  There were only two (or perhaps 3, counting a baby) and they were very quiet.  We’d heard they were coming in after the anchovies.  The water is teaming with those tiny, shiny little fish. 

We say a poor injured (or something) pelican, in the slip across from us.  Poor thing just kept swimming around in circles.  Maybe he was blind.  One of the security staff was going to call someone to help it.  Not sure what happened but the next time we looked, it was gone.

One of the marina workers caught (is that the right word) a nice, big fat starfish the other day.  It was just clinging to the piling.  Everyone got involved in the operation, bring poles and nets and buckets.   It took some doing and the help of half a dozen people, but he was able to extradite it from the piling in one piece to take home for his aquarium.

Piggy is getting less shy everyday.  He loves to go outside on deck and he now goes out during the day.  He sleeps in the cockpit most of the time.  He still runs from everything, but some of our dock mates have seen him now.

We should be going to San Diego this Thursday to pick up a bunch of stuff on our shopping lists.  It might be our second to last visit for supplies before we head south.  We’ve starting stock-piling.  We need to get a lot more cat food and litter.  Not to mention Miracle Whip, bagels and everything else non-Mexican we can think of.  Also need to get some boat parts.

Signing off for now.

Update – Aug 20

Once again we’ve taken too long to update the blog.  So, here goes, assuming we have a good Internet connection.

We went to San Diego for the day on Wednesday, then went to the boat yard the next day.  Cleaned the boat, got new dinghy davits installed and had neighbours over for dinner, so you see, we really are busy.

We’re re-evaluating our plans to go south.  We might still decide to go with the Ba Ha Ha Ha and still take a captain along.  It would be a slower trip, but with lots of learning and experience along the way, not to mention parties, etc.

A couple of photos for your enjoyment:

Cats in the cockpit.

One of our Canadian neighbours on Canada Day, can you see the flags?  Even the dog had the Canadian flag on..

Gotta go and post this….

August 8, 2011

We’ve been remiss, not updating the blog often enough.  So, we’re going to start trying to update it once a week. 

We’ve been busy lately, getting a lot of work done.  We had the sail cover re-sewn, and had some places on the mainsail re-enforced.  They did a pretty good job, and cheap.  We also bought a major windlass, for pulling up the anchor.  We’ve got dinghy davits on order, which are for lifting the dinghy out of the water.  We had the boat cleaned and polished.  We’re getting there, getting ready to head south, that is.

We had Neil’s family for a visit and they stayed onboard.  It was interesting having so many people in such tight quarters.  Neatness becomes important, they’re so much more stuff on board.  Well, we survived it.

They brought us our new video camera, so we’ve been playing with it.  Also, in order to make updating the blog easier, we’re going to include more video and less words.

Here’s a video of our visit to the blowhole with Neil’s family.  You’ll see Moe, Steven and Thomas.

And the fish market:

There’s a blue heron that’s been hanging around:

And an usual shot of the boat moving, from the dock. 

Adios amigos.

In no specific order the videos are below:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9a2sH_hjTkE&feature=youtube_gdata
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1KTsrsGvl6Q&feature=youtube_gdata
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m1qkOmJicgQ&feature=youtube_gdata
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i6aPJzKHmGc&feature=youtube_gdata

Here are some pics as well:

 Bathroom signs at a restaurant in town

Concert at our hotel marina

little vortex voyage

Keeping everyone updated, we apologize as we are busy fixing up the boat.  However, until we do a full blog enjoy some videos of us in our little vortex.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VGuW8BmljN4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5UP_Q4iubjU

Dolphins and Barracuda

Buenos Dias, Tardes and Noches
It’s been a while since our last update, so we need to do some catching up.

The weather here is very predictable.  Everyday/every hour is between 18 and 22 degrees celcius.  I hardly ever rains.  It rained once a few weeks ago for a few minutes in the morning and we guess it rained last night or early this morning cause there was some evidence (not much).  Our bike seats were wet and there were a few wet spots on the docks.

It is overcast (more foggy than cloudy) at the moment, just like every morning.  It usually clears up by nine, but in June, the fog bank sticks around a bit longer and it sometimes doesn’t go away until one pm or so.  They call it “June Gloom”.  Next month, it will clear up and get a bit hotter.

We continue to make lots of friends here at the marina as well as through the cruiser’s net.  We recently attended a party held by some cruisers who just moved into a house here in Ensenada.  The house is awesome, its got 3 bedrooms, but the master has a sitting room bigger than our bedrooms back home.  The backyard is all ceramic tiles, no mowing necessary.  They rent it furnished (nicely to boot) for about $760/month.  Not bad.  It really is a lot cheaper to live here than in the US.

We’ve made a few Mexican friends, including our new sometimes-captain, Jesus.

Here is a video of our first outing.  We’re still honing our video-taking skill, so sorry for the amateurishness of it.  We’ve just ordered a new camera, which should be a lot better.  We keep losing our videos on this one, it thinks it’s out of memory.  Oh well, it was cheap. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kpBbTVUtPdk

We went fishing for the first time yesterday.  The fish weren’t biting much, but just before we returned to the marina, we caught one.  A nice 5 pound, or so, barracuda.  Here is a picture of the fish.  We had it for dinner last night.  Yummy.

While we were out, we saw dolphins.  This time, we caught them on video.  Sorry for the quality, but it really is impossible to see what the camera is recording at the time…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jPhfXxa0Vvs

We’ve been working on the boat, getting little things fixed or tuned up.  We blew one of our fenders, so will be looking for a replacement.  Everyone here tells us we need a second anchor, so we’ll be looking for one of those too.  Our friend Jesus is helping us learn the lay of the land, so to speak.  He showed us where we can get second hand anything.  He says it would be good to shop there for anchors and fenders and fishing lures.  We’re planning on going there this afternoon with our friends from our dock.

Tomorrow we’re heading back into to San Diego to get some groceries and some books for us to read on weather, or the Baha and to get some planning guides and cruising books, etc.  We’re also going to stock up on $2 wine.  Jesus tells us we can trade a bottle for 4-5 lobsters farther south.  He’s letting us know what is good for trading.  So far we know to bring used clothing, filet knives, sharpening stones and any toys or candies for the bambinos.

Got to go now, so we can load the videos up and get this posted before we get busy again…

Adios Amigos.

The Latest From Ensenada

The Latest From Ensenada

Today is Thursday.  Normally, on Thursdays, we attend the so-called “yacht club” meeting.  It is really just a collection of cruisers from our marina and the other one in town, “Cruise Port”.  We meet at a restaurant that does not have a liquor license, so we bring our own, usually wine.  It costs us 20 pesos each (around $1.70) for what we believe is to pay for the owner’s license for the night.  Not sure about that, but who cares, its cheap.  Most of us will order dinner there, so its all good for the owner, who just happens to be American.  The food is decent, American food, except for the pizza.  We’ve never seen pizza like that before.  We think its just pizza toppings on a giant tostada.  There is a little guy who always comes along while we’re eating selling DVDs.  We usually buy a few from him.  Only 20 pesos each.  Again, cheap.  Today, we’re going to skip the yacht club.

We returned to San Diego on Tuesday.  Getting into the US was difficult again, probably because we drove (and the customs officer thought we were carrying over $10000, even though we told him “NO”).  We got pulled over again.  It was an hour and a half delay we could have done without, but we got through.  Every customs officer tells us to make sure we carry all our papers with us.  We have a big blue folder with all the papers they could possibly want in it.  We purchased some new lines and some fishing equipment, as well as some groceries.  The Mexican border is a joke and getting through is a breeze.  You drive through it and when they point at you to pull over, you still keep driving.

We also purchased our Mexican fishing licenses.  So, everyone, that means if you come to visit, you will need a fishing license if we go out, whether you want to fish or not.  That is the rule here in Mexico.  Everyone on the boat must have a license.  A license isn’t expensive.  Its around $5 for a day, $20 for a week, or $45 for a year.

The Baha 500 came and went.  There was quite a lot of excitement around the whole thing.  It was something to see with the trucks jumping off ramps and skidding in the dirt close to hitting viewers. We got some video for you. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UTYGE5AAHtc

There was also a mushroom festival in town a few days ago.  That was fun too.  It was similar to other type festivals where we purchased a set of tickets, which we traded for food and wine, etc. samples.

There is supposed to be a Paella festival coming up, but we heard its been sold out.

Yesterday, we lost Sharon’s bike.  Early in the morning, we discovered a flat, but maybe, because of the flat, the bike was unstable and fell into the water.  Or, maybe someone took it.  We reported it to the marina office, who called security and they checked all around the marina as well as looked at the video from the cameras.  They said they’d have their divers check around the boat in the morning, in case it did fall in.

Well guess what?  It did fall in the water, the divers found it, and brought it back up for us.   We were advised to hose it off right away, so Sharon got the hose going, and promptly made the bike fall back into the water.  Yep, the flat tire did make it unstable.  We got the divers to bring it up again (for a nice tip) and the bike is now at the shop, being repaired (the flat) and cleaned up.

Stay tuned for better quality video as we ordered a better camera with 45x zoom capability

Hotel Coral and Marina

Today we did laundry (ho hum), but while we waited, we played pool in the hotel.  It was fun, but Sharon kept swearing that the pool cue was bent!

We found out we could shower at the spa, so we tried that out this morning.  Very nice, and they provide the towels.  Its cool to not have to carry towels to shower, not to mention washing them.  But Neil was surprised (naked!) by one of the cleaning ladies.

There is water, coffee and fresh juices available free, all day long.  Lots of our neighbours get their morning fix at the marina office.

I must make a correction to a previous blog.  Captain Marty wants to keep us honest and pointed out that boats heel, they don’t list and that we were probably only heeling over at about a 15 degree angle, not 60.  Well, it sure felt like it!!  

Today, here, they are calling for gale-force winds.  We’ll have to tie down the bikes, just to make sure they don’t end up in the water.

We finished installing the netting.  So far, its keeping Archie on board.

We made some more video, this time of the hotel, for your viewing pleasure.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VPbRHW77WuI

Inside Gym and pool at Hotel Coral