Friday, 20 May 2011

Getting ready go go home


We are into our last week in Mexico for now. In fact, I should have been away last week, on Friday the 13th of May. Now wait a minute! Quite right. It all went wrong. We started printed my boarding pass, just to find that we couldn't! The reason was, that the plane had already left, so no boarding pass for me on that plane!
It wasn't meant to be. Now David and I are going home together on Wednesday 25th from Mazatlan to Scotland.
We are packing boat to sleep the hot summer and the hurricane season and saying good buy to all the new friends we have made here in the marina.
Here is from left: Gitte, David, Sasanna, Richard, Mike and Mike.

Billy, the Australian cattle dog on SV Wide Open.

The dock- cat, Slacker, who owns and rules the dock. He never lets a mouse, a rat or cockroach, let alone another cat near his kingdom!

Two happy chappies, David and the Aussie, Johnny McInnes, from Wide Open.
It's getting hot! The bees are looking for water.



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Saturday, 14 May 2011

More photos from trip to Baja




Seagull on the dinghy

Fishing camp. Local fishermen gut fish for the market in La Paz


Dramatic sandstone rock formation.

Pinicle

Sea-lions on the rocks.

Lunch is served.

Yellow- chested bird hitching a lift!

We put out a fishing line and caught a large tuna or marlin. It took us both, helping one-another, more than an hour to pull him in.We could see him in the water. He was big! Just as we were ready to pull him up, he gave a big jerk............ and disappeared into the deep blue sea! We were quite relieved as we wondered how to' land' such a sea-monster. But he was a big fish!

Sunset in the Sea of Cortez.



David on night-watch.
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Friday, 13 May 2011

sailing to Baja


On Friday 29th April, day of the Royal wedding, David and I sat sail on Aquarius, as we still call her, and sat our course for Baja, the Californian Peninsula, 250 miles away. We were very excited and the boat did very well.
The winds were gentle till we reached the Baja coast after two days and nights sailing when we suddenly had a Northwesterly force 5 on the nose. We were struggling and 'wilting' but fortunately David found a safe heaven, Los Muertos, with excellent shelter in a northerly wind.
We couldn't get off the boat for two days due to high wind and sea, but lighted the anchor next day as the wind had abated and veered. We sailed all day up through Channel Cerrolvo. When the sun was setting in the evening, the wind died and the sea was totally glassy calm. The engine was on, and in Channel de Lorenzo, three miles from the anchorage, the engine died on us just as we had taken in the main sail. What a classic mistake!

No way could we start the engine again. Fortunately the dinghy was hanging in the davits above the stern. We lounged it and David tugged the yacht safely all the way in to the anchorage. I was alone on the boat steering, navigating, using the autohelm, working the GPS and increasing the lights so that I could read the instruments, and eventually putting down the anchor. This was a total learning curve to me. The boat was new and David had been doing all of these till now, and he was in the dinghy, happy as a sandboy unable to hear me. I can tell you my adrenalin was flowing!

However, all went well and the next few days we did some good sailing and beautiful anchorages with glassy turquoise water.

We made shore expeditions a few times to find barren shores and dessert.







We did some snorkeling and saw a lot of different fish. Out in the sea we saw both whales and lots of dolphins. At the most northern of the three islands we visited we saw and heard sea-lion.


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Thursday, 28 April 2011

Mazatlan, Mexiko ombord på Aquarius.

På dansk

28. April 2011

Det er nu to måneder siden vi kom hertil Mazatlan og taget Aquarius i besidelse. To måneder er lang tid,men der er bare så meget nyt at vænne sig til at der ikke har været mange kedelige stunder.

David har haft travlt med at finde ud af båden og har moret sig gevaldigt og jeg har simpelthen bare nydt det!

Kysten, varmen, atmosfæren, musikken, lyset og glade mennesker omkring os, ja, hvad kan man andet end bare glæde sig ved at være til og være så heldig at være her i Mexiko.

Vi har lært en masse søde mennesker at kende, både canadier og amerikanere og mexikanere, selvfølgelig, og fundet mange nye venner som vi vil følge på lang sigt.

Mange skæbner møder vi daglig. I går mødte vi et ægtepar fra Canada, som lige havde mistet deres båd 27. 12. 2010 i en storm lige udenfor den californiske halvø, Baja. De havde motorsejlet i to dage og ankret op i en ”dag-ankerplads ” i blik stille vejr. Da det var mørkt, blæste det op og de ville gå til søs. Det blæste så meget at båden red hen over ankeret og de fik problemer med at få det op, Tabte moter-kraften og endte op på klipperne på kysten. Det var en dejlig stor træbåd, som de havde været helt nede ved Kap Horn i. Dernede var de nødt til at tage hjem til Vancouver for konen, sød pige lidt yngre end mig, havde fået brystkræft og skulle hjem og opereres. Nu var de så på vej sydpå igen. Tænk, så mistede de deres båd!De er stadigvæk chokerede. Nu kører de rundt i et ”rugbrød” og leder efter en ny båd her omkring.

Kevin, 53 år og fra Devon, traf vi her i marinaen fordi vi var blevet bedt om at tage nogle værdi-parirer med til ham. Ham er single-handed sejler og bosiddende i New Zealand.......Han havde haft et ansvarsfuldt og stressende job i mange år og røget 20-30 cigaretter om dagen . Kevin hjalp os med storsejlet og var oppe i vores mast og oksede løs på at få det ud af masten. Næste dag havde han ondt i brystet og gik til læge. Denne mente ikke det var noget særligt og gav ham medicin for gigt, nok for at udelukke muligheden. Kevin kom her med en indsprøjtning, som jeg administrerede i hans bagdel. Næste aften fik han igen ondt i brystet, da han hentede nogle dunke diesel olie. Denne tog han på hospitalet. Her kom han på trædemøllenet , og ekg var unormalt. Han kom tilbage med hjertemedicin. Næste dag meddelte han at han ville sælge sin nyanskaffede båd og tage hjem til New Zealand og gå på hospitalet der. Inden for et par tog han af sted. Hvis han havde spurgt lægen på hospitalet her, om det ville være tilrådeligt at flyve til New Zealand, ville man nok have sagt nej. Han tog altså livet i sine egne hænder.og tog af sted sidste onsdag. Igår skrev han til os og fortalte at han havde været indlagt på hospital i Oackland , hvor de gav ham et angiogram, en ”stent” i en af de store pulsårer i hjertet. Han skrev at pulsåren næsten var lukket og at han var heldig at være i live. Jeg har stadig gåsehud ved tanken!

Den dame som er partner i det mæglerfirma som vi har brugt da vi købte båden, og som David har snakket med siden efteråret, blev for et par uger siden opereret for kraft i tarmen. Hun er og var meget positiv og vi har besøgt hende et par gange. I går fandt vi ud af at det hele er meget værre end det først så ud til, for der er metastaser alle vegne, og hun skal det hele igemmen med røntgen og kemo og prognosen er ikke god. Så det er synd for hende. Igen, det er meget nær een selv.

Som du kan se bliver man involveret i andre. folks liv sådan et sted som her.

Lige nu er enginøren, altså riggeren som kender vores båd ud og ind og som har arbejdet på den mange gange, i færd med at sætte maste lejet til storsejlet på igen så vi kan få sejlet op i masten . Jeg tør næsten ikke håbe. Men hvis det går som sdet skal så sejler vi i morgen! Jeg tør faktisk ikke håbe, men indtil nu går alt efter planen.

Ha det godt for nu.

Wee guard dogs on balcony Mazatlan.

Gitte under burgangillia.

Rick the rigger, on the deck of the boat putting the bearings back for the mainsail and 'in mast reefing.Posted by Picasa

Wednesday, 20 April 2011

Problems in Paradize!


We have been in Mazatlan since 24th of February and acclimatized to the hot, humid weather and the Mexican way of life.
We don't speak the language but we get on with life here in the marina. David is busying himself all the time sorting out the boat and forever running into problems which has to be sorted out before we can sail. Our time is running out soon and I have bought my ticket to go back home, leaving Mazatlan 13th of May. David will follow 14 days later.
The latest problem we have come across is the main-sail with in-mast reefing.
We have had a lot of problems, as the sail got stock as we tried un-furling it and had people up the mast to sort it out and many helpers using winches and furling gear in the cockpit and at the mast. This problem got sorted and the next one unfolded, as we realized that it was next to impossible to furl it in. The result is that the mainsail is now down, the boom is off and we are waiting for bearings to arrive from the supplier in town. It is now Easter break and and the Mexicans are in holiday mood and shops are closed till Saturday. We keep running into this SLOW TO- A -HALT manana life. Of course it does have its own charm, as so much is happening all around, and we are sitting on a lovely yacht, and we have plenty of nice people around.

Here is Kevin, British born, living in New Zealand and single-handed sailor. Kevin went up our mast and did a great job pushing a fold of sail back in the mast. Kevin had to fly home today due to a personal emergency. We will miss him, and hope he will be back soon.



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Saturday, 9 April 2011

Live-aboards and still in Mazatlan.

Gitte shopping at Mazatlan market with Lita and Sasanne from other boats in the Marina.

Meanwhile David has fun climbing the mast, using a 'top-climber'.
He is a week short of his 78ths birthday!
and getting his first Mexican hair-cut.