Category: 2024-04 (April)

(posted 04/30/24)
It was a fairly quiet night until about 4 am or so when the winds picked up, then pretty rolly. We were up at 6 to do our morning routines.
After lunch, we took the kayak to the beach and walked out to the point.
On the kayak trip back to the boat, we stopped by the smallest boat we have seen cruising.
It’s a 22 foot with a swing keel.
Mel and Mona are from Utah (she is Austrian) and they have done some of the inland waterway in Alaska in this boat. SV Bavarian Dragon. They drove down to Puerto Escondido and put it in the water there then 5 days to get here. We invited them over a discussion about weather and they used our internet to get the Predict Wind app and to download the Forecast. Then off to bed for us.

 

(posted 04/30/24)
Up at 0530 underway by 0600. Gorgeous sunrise! We attempted to sail, but again most of the wind was from our movement. So, no go.
We arrived early afternoon.

(posted 04/30/24)
We went ashore for lunch and a walk through “town” it’s pretty small, less than 200 people. A few small ranches, a Tinda (market), a church and three restaurants on the beach. We had lunch at Brisa del Mar. Lenore is the proprietor. The fish tacos come 3 to a plate 60 pesos each. It’s a large meal and exceptionally good! We talked to Thorn who has a ketchup, and is a neighbor of Brian Coleman in Posada Conceptión.
Then back to the boat and put the kayak away and make sure we are ready to go in the morning.
I plotted the course to Isla San Francisco. It’s about 52 miles away. Which will make for a relatively long day on the water. We normally target about 40 miles maximum. But, we want two nights there before we start our crossing to San Blas (350 miles across). We ended our day sitting on deck and reading.

 

(posted 04/30/24)

We anchored here in Agua Verde B.C.S. Mexico last night. After we dropped anchor and had dinner a small “cruise ship” came in. We were told later that it is National Geographic and they do a week at a time and include tours and explanations. Great!! Down side, they ran a noisy generator all night.
When we got up and around this morning we noticed a couple of other Island Packet sailboats. We got our kayak down and went for a paddle. There are 5 IP’s here!!
One 445 (us)
Two 420’s
One 379
One 370.
This the biggest convention of Island Packets I remember ever seeing.

Anna Marie, Reality Check, Tasi, and Solitude are the names of the other four Island Packets.

We are here at Puerto Bello for lunch.

(posted 04/30/24)
Up at 6 and into port on the dinghy for showers and laundry. Then a tour of Mikes boat, followed by breakfast.
Back to our boat and underway by 1130.

The way the mooring ball works, there is a big hunk of concrete (or an engine block or….) at the bottom and it is attached to the white ball via rope or chain or a mix, the the yellow float is attached by some fairly stout line to the white ball. This line has an “eye” in it. When you come up to it in the boat the person on the bow (Reneé) uses a boat hook to get it up to the level of the deckand then threads a dock line from each side of the boat through the eye. the other end of the dock line is then cleated on the oppositte side of the boat at the bow.