"StarPlath" 40-60 - Lance and Stephanie Leuthesser
StarPlath Adventures – Chapter 6
April 30, 2008
I can’t believe it’s been almost a month since my last chapter. Time flies when you are doing as little as possible. We left Zihua and went back to the marina in Ixtapa where the “cocodrilo” lives. As my very observant friend Connie asked, how come there was a crocodile in saltwater? Good question… the marina was carved out of a river estuary and then opened to the sea. The old guy would swim down in the late afternoon to visit. We didn’t see him during the 6 nights we stayed there but on the last night he swam by to say good-by.
I have decided that not speaking Spanish can be hazardous to your health. One exciting moment at Ixtapa… one of the security guards came running up to me while I walking Tavie and excitedly told me something and kept repeating it. I keep saying “no comprende.” What he was trying to do was warn me about a swarm of bees (see below) that had congregated on the boat two boats away from ours. Fortunately a fellow gringo walked up and told me what he said. Then you think “what do you do if you are attacked by a swarm of bees” and you think jump in the water but most of the time the water doesn’t include a 12 foot cocodrilo!!! So what to do? Walk carefully and pray you get back to the boat before they notice you. We made it…
So we left Ixtapa in beautiful conditions. A large group of spotted dolphins swam with us for a short while. It reminded me of Dave’s Dolphin Safari. For those of you who live near Dana Point I would highly recommend going on one of his excursions (www.dolphinsafari.com).
Mal de Mer
I need to digress a little and take you back to when Lance was young and carefree and was on a 300’ NOAA ship during his service days (in lieu of Vietnam, he got to see Tahiti, Barbados, Galapagos, Easter Island, etc.). His nostalgia for the ocean is a lot of the reason we have our boat today. He was proud of the fact that he never got seasick – even after a wild time in port he would head back to sea and never suffer the dreaded mal de mer. He often related the story of one of the other deck officers who was so sick for 5 days that he couldn’t even hold down water and yet he kept his watch – he would just brace himself against the bulkhead and try not to move. Standing your watch seems to be a real rule on a ship.
So now we have our own boat and Lance and James, our Nordhavn rep, take the boat to Ensenada. Lance was violently ill for 3 hours but when 3:00AM rolled around, he still stood his watch. I later asked James if he ate anything and his comment was “with Lance at a level 5 barfing, I lost my appetite!” Lance first attributed it to leaving when he didn’t feel well but with each new boat excursion he kept suffering from it so finally he decided that he was now susceptible – maybe the bigger ship was the difference or maybe it was the 35 years older that was doing it. I have always suffered from it so it was no surprise to me when I would feel queasy (although I hadn’t gotten sick YET). We got patches and they work remarkably well. But we have a limited supply and are saving them for the northern “Baja Bash” as it is so affectionately called.
So now we’re going north and then all hell broke loose with the ocean. We started pitching into the waves. It was so rough that things would have been flying throughout the cabin had we not cleared the counters off – see how neat it is.
Please note my lovely ‘curtain’ over the porthole. I’m sure other Nordy owners would be rather appalled but being the “sea trash” that we are, I thought it was fitting!!!
Well, actually, the ocean managed to clear off the counter for us… and because we both felt bad we just left it until we hit calmer seas!!!!!
The bow of the boat was going under the water on each successive wave so we finally slowed the boat down to 3 knots but were still pounding. I started feeling worse and worse but it was my watch. All I could think about was trying to maintain my watch so I stood in the door way of the bridge with my back braced against the door frame and was also close to the railing which I needed on occasion. Lance reminded me of the two levels of seasickness. The one that is less severe is level 2 and it’s the level where you think you are going to die. Level 1, the worst level, is when you realize that you aren’t!!! I was in Level 1 by this time. Fortunately, Lance felt bad but never got sick. But I survived to tell more of our story and I stood my watch!!!
And while on the subject of mal de mer, I finally realized where the name for a ship’s bathroom came from. It was originally called “head in the toilet room” since a lot of seafarers seem to have their head in the toilet for their voyages but it was hard to say “I have to go to the head in the toilet room” so it was eventually shortened to “head!” I actually googled the origin of this term and one site claimed it was because on early sailing ships it was located at the head of the ship – falderal! I know my explanation is closer to the truth!
Continuing North
Finally the ocean calmed down and we made it to an anchorage in Manzanillo – we spent several days there and then on to Bara Navidad. We knew our friends, Ted and Mary, from Port Aransas, Texas, would be there. They have a 47’ Nordy and they introduced us to Jim and Linda from Dana Point who also have a 47’ Nordy. Linda’s brother Lowell and his wife Janice were visiting as well and we wined and dined with them for 3 nights and had a blast. Here we are munching on a giant fish – thanks Janice for this great shot!!!
Money Issues
I’m digressing again but it will tie into the story eventually. Before we left on this trip I tried to get all our finances in order which included contacting the credit card companies to tell them we would be traveling in Mexico for three months. They all dutifully claimed they made a note of it in our records. But so much for that because we were constantly getting the cards rejected in various places, especially with our Capital One “no hassles” card – HA! So I would call and go through the 1,000 questions to explain once again we were traveling and once again they would assure me we would have no further problems. So now we need cash – everyone uses their ATM in Mexico so of course ours didn’t work here (this was my bank ATM card and they seem to use some obscure system that the Mexican banks don’t recognize). So now we’re getting short of cash and I’m getting worried. Lance did the “I told you we needed to bring more cash” routine but being somewhat of a worrier I didn’t want to have too much cash on the boat in case it sank! So Ted comes to the rescue… he gave us $500 and then I wired him the payback. I don’t know why Texans are so helpful but they usually are and Ted proved it over and beyond!!! But he even endeared himself further with Lance when he gave up the last almond croissant from the French baker for Lance – what a guy!!!
By now I’m worried that if we need cash again we’d be in trouble as we were leaving Ted and Mary behind. So I finally realized that I could use my Capital One “no hassles” card for cash but I had never gotten a pin number. So I called them (thank God for our satellite phone). Could you email me a pin? I asked. Of course not! Only snail mail. Well, I’m in Mexico on a boat so just mail it to me c/o “somewhere on the high seas.” OK that wouldn’t work so then I said mail it to Libby – no can do! OK so then I went on-line and changed my mailing address to Libby’s. Then I called and this time they assured me the pin number would be mailed to the address on file for me. GREAT!!! Can’t wait to get to Puerto Vallarta and use my Capital One card to get cash. Libby called while we were en route to PV with my new pin number. All is well!
Here’s a picture of the only person on board who doesn’t get mal de mer… she’s finally awake and asking for yummies. I still manage to cook her food although on occasion she does get “Veg-All” instead of fresh cooked vegetables. She is soooo mistreated at times!
That’s it for now… will write from either Matzatlan or Cabo.
Smooth sailing to all, StarPlath Crew – Stephanie, Lance and Tavie
StarPlath Adventures – Chapter 5
April 6, 2008
ANDY
Think you'll ever get out of here?
RED
Sure. When I got a long white beard and about three marbles left rolling around upstairs.
ANDY
Tell you where I'd go. Zihuatanejo.
RED
Zihuatanejo?
ANDY
Mexico. Little place right on the Pacific. You know what the Mexicans say about the Pacific? They say it has no memory. That's where I'd like to finish out my life. A warm place with no memory. Open a little hotel right on the beach. Buy some worthless old boat and fix it up like new. Take my guests out charter fishing. You know, a place like that, I'd need a man who can get things. Red stares at Andy, laughs.
RED
Jesus, Andy. I couldn't hack it on the outside. Been in here too long. I'm an institutional man now. Like old Brooks Hatlen was.
ANDY
You underestimate yourself.
RED
Bullshit. In here I'm the guy who can get it for you. Out there, all you need are Yellow Pages. I wouldn't know where to begin. (derisive snort) Pacific Ocean? Hell. Like to scare me to death, somethin' that big.
ANDY
Not me. I didn't shoot my wife and I didn't shoot her lover, and whatever mistakes I made I've paid for and then some. That hotel and that boat...I don't think it's too much to want. To look at the stars just after sunset. Touch the sand. Wade in the water. Feel free.
RED
Goddamn it, Andy, stop! Don't do that to yourself! Talking shitty pipedreams! Mexico's down there, and you're in here, and that's the way it is!
ANDY
You're right. It's down there, and I'm in here. I guess it comes down to a simple choice, really. Get busy living or get busy dying. Time goes by. Mail call. Red hears his name. They pass him a postcard.
RED
(Voice Over) Not long after the warden deprived us of his company, I got a postcard in the mail. It was blank. But the postmark said, "Ft Hancock, Texas." Red sits with an atlas, tracing his finger down the page.
RED (Voice Over)
Ft Hancock. Right on the border. That's where Andy crossed. (shuts the book) Now Red is out of prison.
ANDY (Voice Over)
Dear Red. If you're reading this, you've gotten out. And if you've come this far, maybe you're willing to come a little further. You remember the name of the town, don't you? I could use a good man to help me get my project on wheels. I'll keep an eye out for you and the chessboard ready. Remember, Red. Hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies. I will be hoping that this letter finds you, and finds you well. Your friend. Andy.
RED (Voice Over)
I hope I can make it across the border. I hope to see my friend and shake his hand. I hope the Pacific is as blue as it has been in my dreams. I hope.
If you don’t know what movie these quotes are from, you’re missing one of the best movies of all time – Shawshank Redemption – a movie based on a Stephen King short story and one that Lance has watched at least 50 times.
This movie helped us set our goat to reach Zihuatanejo. We stopped in Ft Hancock on our way back from Texas this past Christmas and mailed ourselves a blank postcard. Met the postmistress Billie there (a friend of a friend of my mother’s) who said a lot of people have done that since the movie was made in 1994. I forgot to scan the postcard and have it for this chapter but it’ll be part of the scrapbook for this trip. Here’s the photo op of us in that lovely burg – it’s about 60 miles east of El Paso – I can’t think of a more desolate place or an uglier one but the “townsfolk” are real nice and friendly but it was so deserted that we couldn’t find someone to take our pictures together.
 Note the foil in the window – at least, we can’t accuse this government entity of wasting the taxpayer’s money (ok, the PO is not a part of the government per se but you get the drift).
Well, we made Zihua as the locals call it. I guess you could say we “got busy living!” And we’re certainly enjoying our “worthless old boat” and enjoying looking at the blue Pacific! The anchorage is quiet now – in January and February there are around 60-70 sailboats anchored here – a very popular destination – but we’re late getting here which makes it more peaceful although it is hot… spoiled Californians are not used to this heat.
We tried to find the post office in Zihua for pictures but with our limited Spanish (make that nonexistent Spanish) we had to settle for the local “polloria” (that’s one of my Spanish words – I just make em up since it’s easier than trying to learn Spanish).
The Zihua market was not quite as interesting as Mazatlan but I’m still fascinated by the meats in these markets. Looks real appetizing, doesn’t it? We eat at local restaurants and buy fresh meats in the big grocery stores but haven’t gotten brave enough for dried jerky from the local market.
And what’s a journal from StarPlath without a picture of our number 1 sailor girl Tavie… here’s she’s relaxing with a CSI episode.
This marks the end of our journey south… we will soon turn around and go home which will be both a sad feeling but a glad feeling too. We will keep you posted on the trip north. Should be in Rosarito around June 1st or so. We have to be out of the hurricane zone by then per our insurance.
Smooth sailing to all whether it’s on land or sea!!!!
StarPlath Crew – Lance, Stephanie and Tavie
StarPlath Adventures – Chapter 4
April 4, 2008
Our next stop was Bara Navida where the marina is on Isla Navidad which is part of a beautiful resort hotel. This is where the rich Mexicans come to play – Carlos Slim has one of his boats in the marina – it was only 232 feet long. One night a boat right across the fairway from us had hired a mariachi band for their daughter’s birthday so it was nice to sit and listen to live music for several hours.
Every morning the local French baker came by the boats with his fresh almond croissants. What a treat! Before we left we consumed $38 worth of his wares!!!! On our last morning there he said we should not sue him if we get fat.
At Isla Navida, you take a water taxi from the marina to the little town. Ate at two really good restaurants. Had ribs at one of them – really nice for a change after all the seafood and chicken we’ve been eating.
Next we went to Manzanillo to an anchorage off Las Hades, a resort that has fallen into a state of disrepair since the movie “10” was filmed there. I looked just like Bo Derek walking down the beach, especially after all the croissants.
We wanted to go into the town so now it’s dinghy time again. My fear factor was growing but we only had a minor incident when Lance accidentally hit the throttle when he was looking back to see where we were going and ran into a boat next to us in the marina. We are getting better because neither one of us fell off!
We started walking toward town when the guard at the resort told us the bus might not be there for an hour since it was Sunday. We ran into a couple coming back to the resort and they told us it was way too far to walk the way we were going so we needed to turn around and follow them. We said that was OK but we’d just walk a little further and try to catch the bus. They went on their way for about 100 yards and then the guy turned around and started trying again to convince us to follow him and he would show us a short cut. Well, we finally relented. Turns out they were Canadians so they adopted us like the other couple from Canada (that was in Mazatlan). They were really nice and it did turn out to be a shortcut (after we got lost on a golf course). We then got a bus into downtown. Found out their whole life story in that walk… I don’t know what it is about us Texans and learning everyone’s bio in 5 minutes but it happens. Maybe it’s a defense mechanism to our gabbiness?
We had lunch around the town square where they have this huge sculpture.
Then it was time to find a bus back to Los Hades. The first bus that came by said it went to Los Hades so we hopped aboard. Buses kept passing us and we noticed they had the word “directo” on them. Oops, ours didn’t! We got the grand tour of every back street in Manzanillo. It took us about 45 minutes instead of 15 minutes. Here’s a picture of some of the “nicer” neighborhoods! Libby always tells me we are not lost (when we really are) and says we are on an adventure – we just keep finding those adventures!
We left Manzanillo for Ixtapa and thought we would make a solid run with one overnighter. Here’s Tavie on her night watch. We may have to get rid of her – she’s pretty useless on her watch.
Now we’re headed to Ixtapa. Have I mentioned we have “the slowest boat from China?” It goes slow so we can go long distances on little fuel but this night it was really slow as we were bucking a strong current. Turned out we couldn’t get to Ixtapa before nightfall of the second day and we never go into a port after dark, especially when we’ve never been there before. So we decided to anchor about 1/4 mile offshore at “Buffodera Bluff” which was a quaint little anchorage.
Before we got here we had been trying to fish along the way. Fred and Dian (our neighbors at the trailer) had provided us with excellent fishing gear so we were determined to make them proud. Well, we hadn’t caught a thing so far but finally we had luck in this anchorage (there is a punch line coming – it’s quite a “fish story!”).
We were having lunch when I noticed this kid swimming out to the boat. I went out to see what he wanted and he started speaking in Spanish. All I could say was “no comprende” but I finally understood the Spanish word for fish and thought he was trying to sell me some. Said “no” but he continued to rattle off stuff. Then he held his fingers up around his eyes like he wanted me to take his picture. I now know why man had to invent languages. We were like two cavemen grunting and pointing. Finally he held up a fishing line and indicated that it was wrapped around our stabilizers. So he finally got us to understand there was a fish on the other end of the line. He got up on the swim deck to try to hand reel him in but then he borrowed our snorkel mask to see better (that was the “fingers around the eye” thing). We thought he had freed it and that his friend on shore was reeling him in so he started swimming back to shore with our mask. We were OK with that since we always think how poor they are and how fortunate we are but after he got about halfway back to shore he turned around. We thought just to return the mask but the fish was back. This time he got him. We helped his fashion a line to enable him to swim back to shore with his fish. We gave him $100 pesos (about $10) and tried to tell him it was so he could buy his own mask (he probably didn’t get it but at least he had the money). So as I said, we “caught” our first fish on this trip!
We got to a really nice marina in Ixtapa. We had been told to carry Tavie on the docks because crocodiles have been known to grab little dogs and eat them – sounded like an urban myth to us but I carried her to shore while Lance checked in with the marina. I hadn’t been ashore but a few minutes when a very nice gentleman came up to visit with Tavie. Turns out he has a wheaten Cairn named Trixie and his name is Bill. He has a beautiful 80’ boat he keeps in the marina and according to Bill, the crocodile stories are NOT urban myths as you will see!
This is him swimming toward the back of our boat!!!! Tavie must have sensed him because she was going nuts barking. It turns out he was about 12 feet in length.
Getting closer (music from “Jaws” in background)…
Now he’s going under the boat to eat the prop or something…
Then we had the best time of our trip – there is a pool with dolphins where you can swim with them. We signed up for the 1 hour swim. While waiting to go in, we started talking with Laurel from Minnesota and she was letting her 3 children (Leah, Bryce and Bridgette) do a 20 minute version. She was delightful and her children were so cute AND polite (how rare is that). In our group we also met Chuck and Dorothy, a delightful couple from Tucson and of course we started talking to them. Turns out they used to live in Huntington Beach, had a boat and now have a twin engine airplane that they flew down here. So in telling boat stories, I decided they had worse incidents than us (one time their fuel line started spewing fuel mist (and it can explode), his auto pilot just went nuts and sent him toward land and then they left for a 10 day trip and got out there to find out their water tank had a leak and they had no water! Seems like adventures are the norm in boating!
Here are a few pics of us with the dolphins.
Lance got a lot of the audience’s attention because at the end they have 2 dolphins swim under you and push you up with their noses (one dolphin on each foot). Lance was one of the last to go and one of the few who got fully erect out of about 50 people and definitely the oldest. He claimed his surfing gave him the ability to do this. Notice there’s no picture of me doing this – I looked more like a torpedo.
So afterwards, when I saw Laurel I asked if her kids had a ball and she said they were so disappointed because they saw what we got to do in the hour session and all they got to do was pet the dolphins. So being probably the coolest mom in the world, she signed them up for the hour session in the afternoon!!! We went back and watched them for a while. This was absolutely a ball for both of us and the highlight of the trip so far. At first I was concerned about the dolphins being captive but then I thought about Tavie… she’s on a leash when she’s outside and doesn’t get to go everywhere she wants to go but at the same time she’s safe and well fed and pretends to enjoy our company – just like the dolphins!
Next stop – Zihuatenejo!!!
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