| A note from Dick and Gail Barnes:
Some of you know that we recently finished another grand adventure on our wonderful Nordhavn, Ice Dancer II: from Prince William Sound, Alaska to Cape Horn Chile and north to Hawaii.
We purchased our almost new Nordhavn 57 in October of 2005, not long after taking our Nordhavn 50 on a fabulous trip from Hawaii to French Polynesia and return. Between the two Nordavns, we have cruised 57,000 nautical miles.
In November 2006, we completed a sea trial of Ice Dancer II that included a trip from California to Baja, to the Kodiak Island Group and elsewhere in Alaska and back to California. The sea trial run produced a list of things we wanted to change and other items that had to be fixed. We completed those tasks in Port Townsend, Newport Harbor, Dana Point and San Diego. The boat was ready for sea.
The South America segments covered waters rarely seen by private vessels. Most of the trip was on favorable seas and the rare, harsh conditions were crossed in the perfect comfort of a great Nordhavn. Besides the physical beauty, we enjoyed kind reception and treatment by locals met all along the way.
On the first of July, 2007 we arrived at Hanalei Bay, Kauai, Hawaii. We plan to tour the Hawaiian Islands this year from our base at Ko Olina Marina, Oahu, before striking out on a new high-seas adventure.
November 30, 2006
At sea
We left Zihautanejo, Mexico for the Galapagos Islands at 6:30 CST, this
morning. Our computer says that we will arrive on the afternoon of 11/06,
disregarding weather, currents and stops to exercise fish.
Departure procedures included a $40 cab ride to the international airport to
clear immigration. The Port Captain's office was friendly and helpful. It
is amazing, however, the amount of time wasted on unneeded paperwork.
Weather conditions look favorable. Winds in the Sea of Cortez are expected
to roar today, but that is far behind us. On Saturday, the Gulf of
Tehuantepec is expected to get windy. We expect to be far enough west to
miss that effect. We will see.
November 28, 2006
Zihautenejo, Mexico
17-38.16N 101-33.35W
We refilled the refrigerator with vegetables and fruits, today. Zihautanejo
is a comfortable anchorage with its only drawback being the daily arrival of
a different cruise ship. At least it is only one. With it comes the parade
of shore boats injecting tourists into the little town and commercial boats
of every stripe moving them off to fish, enjoy beaches and sightsee. Three
norteamericano sailboats are scattered across the bay. The cruising fleet
has not made it this far, yet.
It is fortunate that we filled diesel tanks in Manzanillo. The Pemex
concession is closed and so is the one in Ixtapa. Pangueros were anxious to
fuel us with jerry jugs ferried from the gas station. That would be
difficult with our need for over 1,000 gallons. The fuel dock problem seems
to be sale prices set by the national oil company that leave too little
margin for operation. Our previous fueling in Ensenada was similarly odd.
There is not fuel dock in Ensenada Harbor proper; only one the the Coral
Marina, about 10 miles north. Free markets work better.
November 26, 2006
A single point anchor gave us a quiet Saturday night behind the Las Hadas
Marina, in Manzanillo Bay (19-06.08N 104-20.70W). Well, the seas were
quiet. Local custom is for hotels to play highly amplified music, very
late. It wasn't Las Hadas, but another one down the beach that offended.
The anchorage is first rate, with upscale hotels, condos and houses ringing
the spot.
Ice Dancer II was fully fueled this morning at the Las Hadas marina. We
left Manzanillo for Zihautanejo, before noon. By midday Monday, we should
be anchored in Z-town's bay. Zihautanejo will be our departure point for the
Galapagos Islands, instead of Acapulco. Leaving before Acapulco will put us
further away from the gales that form at the Isthmus of Tehuantepec and fan
out into the Pacific. However, Zihautanejo's fuel dock runs out of diesel,
at times, so we wanted to arrive nearly full.
Seas and weather remain favorable. Air quality is poor, for unknown
reasons. It could be fires or pollution from Mexico City.
November 25, 2006
Bahia Tenacatita met expectations as a lovely anchorage. The bay is about
three miles in width. We anchored inside a hook on the north side 19-17.9N
104-50.3W. Our spot was well protected from swell and located not far from
a palm-lined beach.
Friday, we kayaked four miles up a mangrove estuary and back. Our quiet
mode allowed us to see many birds and small animals. We are now in a jungle
environment, quite in contrast to Baja's desert. Most of the kayak ride was
beneath a canopy, with vines hanging to the water. The green vegetation is
punctuated with occasional flowering trees in lavender and yellow.
Today (Saturday), we will move to Manzanillo, about 30 miles to the south.
November 22, 2006
We should be in Bahia Tenacatita at about 11 a.m., this (Wednesday) morning,
in about three hours. In all of our provisioning, we failed to pack a form
of turkey. Gail says, oh well, we can have steak and lobster. She didn't
go for my idea of trimming a chicken breast.
We gave John and Joanne 17 packages of mahi, so our freezer capacity for new
fish has opened up a little. We have about the same amount in reserve, in
case fishing gets slow.
If Tenacatita is a nice as expected, we will likely stay a few days. The
plan is to launch the Zodiac and Kayak, put out a stern anchor and the
flopper stopper. The next chore will be to wash off salt spray from the
exterior. Bashing into bow wind and waves Monday night and Tuesday morning
deposited a medium coating of salt. Some of the spray ended up on walls and
other inside surfaces that need to be rinsed. Since Tuesday afternoon, seas
and winds have been mild. Water temperature is up to 87 degrees.
November 21, 2006
Thanks for all the birthday greetings. Just think, in two years I'll be old
enough to retire.
We caught the edge of winds blowing from the Gulf of Mexico into the Gulf of
Tehauntepec. Last night and this morning was bumpy, but it is calming down,
now. Maybe we can put out a fishing line.
November 20, 2006
We pulled anchor at Cabo San Lucas Monday afternoon at 3 p.m. Our next stop
is Tenacatita Bay, 19-16N 104-50W, about 30 miles north of Manzanillo. We
are running at 109T for 360 miles, which will put us into the anchorage
Wednesday morning. We have beam seas of 3-4 feet and 13 knots of wind.
Water temperature is 84.6 and air is 82.
Today, we had a nice visit with John and Joanne while they shopped at Home
Depot for closet and lighting fixtures. Gail found a small, artificial
Christmas tree, for use later in the trip. Then, we picked up provisions
from Costco and CCC. It was great to see them before we left Baja.
Sunday gave us all of the entertainment we needed from Cabo San Lucas. The
beach party at the anchorage was non-stop and included large numbers of jet
skis, loud music and cruise ships. It is not your wilderness experience.
Puerto Vallarta was passed for similar reasons. It is described in a
cruising guide as the ultimate Mexican boating destination. Tenacatita is
described as a sleepy, undeveloped bay. Now, that sounds like our kind of
hangout.
November 19, 2006
Tropical storm Sergio appears to be losing steam and heading west. That has
allowed us to move to Cabo San Lucas, overnight. John and Joanne will drive
down from La Paz on Monday morning.
We stuffed the last corners of our freezers with another mahi mahi,this
afternoon. John will take some home with him on Monday, so we will be able
to fish some more.
Weather continues to be beautiful.
November 16, 2006
We are enjoying perfect weather and warm water at Bahia Santa Maria.
Activities include kayaking, swimming and the ever-present boat maintenance
and cleaning.
Our plans to meet John and Joanne in Cabo San Lucas have been delayed. A
tropical storm named Sergio is intensifying and heading toward Baja. It
will be a few days before we learn what its path and strength look like. In
the meantime, we will enjoy this lovely place. If the storm heads this way,
we will move to a nearby refuge behind Bahia Magdelana.
November 14, 2006
We ran overnight Monday to arrive at the Thetis Bank, about 25 miles north
of Magdalena Bay, for early morning fishing. We landed three large male
dorado (mahi) and had them in the freezer, by noon. It's great having a
plan come together.
Water temperature spiked to 82 degrees, today. Air temperature is 78.
We will be hanging out at Bahia Santa Maria, kayaking and looking around for
signs of tuna. On 11/18-19 we will go to Cabo San Lucas. John and Joanne
are supposed to come down from La Paz, for a visit.
November 13, 2006
We anchored Sunday night at Bahia Tortugas (27-40.55N 114-53.75W) and left
Monday morning for Bahia Santa Maria. We will run overnight and expect to
fish the Thetis Bank at daylight, Tuesday. Maybe the yellowfin tuna we be
lurking about.
The weather is good and all is well.
November 11, 2006
We left San Diego at 4 a.m. and made it to Ensenada at noon on Thursday
(11/09), fueled and checked into the country. We got a dose of
back-to-the-third world. Only one of the two diesel pumps in town were
working. Luckily, we did our 1250 gallons while others waited. To better
service the gringos, all of the relevant Mexican offices are in the same
building, along with a bank and a private forms and copying concession right
outside. The bank is owned by the military. It still took over two hours
to complete our check-in. We stood, papers in hand at Kiosk 2 for 45
minutes while the worker disappeared, at 4 p.m. Hours are 10 to 5, but if
you want service after 2 p.m., the fee is double. Well, we could have spent
another day, I suppose. I have trained myself to smile and not say a thing
about the system or players.
We arrived at Islas San Benito at 11 a.m. (28-17.93N 115-34.63W), after
running overnight from Ensenada. Bartering for lobsters still works, here.
So, seafood again tonight. Last night we enjoyed sushi from a small tuna.
Tomorrow, we will make the short run to Bahia Tortuga. Weather here tries
to be clear, but 20 knot winds off the water make some low clouds. The
island blocks the NW swells that are coming down from the North Pacific
storms. Water temps are up to 71 degrees. It should rise quickly as we
head south. On the outside of the Ranger Bank, just north of here, we saw
very large groups of porpoise and many whales.
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