I apologize again

For all those who got spammed with 30+ emails from this account, I apologize. Again. It seems that when I went in -- with a new password -- to set up email posting so I could send things from our SSB at sea, it enabled whatever/whoever to spam post to this account. I just went in and deleted them. Again.

Facebook Update

Okay. All right. I concede. It's victory to those who pushed me to join Facebook. Even with all of the hassles, the stolen blog, the email invitations to all and sundry and my subsequent embarrassment, I now admit that I'm having fun connecting with friends I haven't heard from in years.

So, to my agent, Terry Burns, thank you. I say it publicly, you were right to spur me on to join. It's way too easy to sit back on the boat and write my stories and feel contentment because the sky is almost always blue, the sun shines ninety percent of the time, the people are friendly, and the doctors still care more about their patients than about their non-existent Mercedes. Most importantly, the Lord my God, the Almighty reigns. Always.

Sometimes, though, He wants us to slip out of our comfort zones. Joining Facebook was uncomfortable for me. Still, there I am. And I'm having fun.

Thank You, Lord, for EARPLUGS

 

We're surviving Carnival thanks to earplugs. With these in, a pillow over my head, the Hella fan on high, and all the hatches and windows closed, we find we can sleep through the worst of it. Though last nigh, Michael (who eschews the pillow over his head routine) woke to what he said was quality music. Too bad it was at 1 AM. He finally took his earplugs out at 1:30 so that he could listen, and then stayed up for an hour. I'm not at all sorry to have missed the program, thank you very much. 

Today, it's back to the dermatologist for a mole removal in a sensitive spot. Oh, well, this too shall pass.

Carnival in Guaymas

Today is the beginning of Carnival. As a prelude, the carnival with rides arrived just after we did. I must say, as I watched the folk going up in the needle and then dropping rapidly to base, my heart stopped. We watched them set up the things; you couldn't have paid me enough to ride on it.

The loud music is supposed to begin tonight. Ah, me. A fan as white noise? A pillow over my head? Hmmmm.... I may get a lot of work finished instead of a lot of sleep.

The picture above was taken a couple of evenings ago. That's from our deck, about 100 yards from the carnival excitement. Tuesday a cruise ship came to port, so the fine restaurants put on a shrimp festival just up the Malecon from the carnival. For 25 pesos per ticket ($1.92) I could get a plate of shrimp fixed by one of these restaurants. Michael, my non-shrimp-eating husband, bought me four tickets. I found shrimp ceviche (incredible), and three other dishes, most of which I brought back to the boat (para llevar--to go--pronounced para yeebar) for lunch and then dinner. Wonderful.

Today I went for my final flouride treatment and Michael had a cavity filled. Let's see, that was $13 for three treatments, $38.46 for each of us to have our teeth cleaned, and another $38.46 for Michael's filling. We both saw the opthalmologist on Saturday for $30.76 each. I love Mexico. The oncology specialist in La Paz last year cost $47.60 for 1.5 hours of consultation along with an ultrasound. Living on Social Security also? Join us for your medical needs. The treatment is first rate. The doctors have time to talk to you. They smile and tell jokes -- usually. And if they don't speak English, they muddle through or have someone in the office who is bilingual. Thank you, Lord, for the blessings of Mexico.

Spam Postings

I want to apologize to any of you who received spam postings from this blog. I recently signed up with Facebook on the advice of my literary agent. Somehow, they got hold of my entire email address book AND this blog. and sent invitations to everyone I'd ever written or done business with -- much to my chagrin.

I logged on here and found that I was now advertising watches. As the friend who notified me of this mess said, if they only gave us all their profit, that might work.

I'm not quite sure how to fix all of this, but I'm trying. Please be patient if it continues. Just let me know and then delete the email. I hate having to register and start all over again.

Blessings to everyone,
Normandie

In Guaymas Again

Leaving Bahia San Carlos.

Kaisen, an 85', 90 ton, steel converted Army work boat owned by Hugh and Victoria, is in the foreground.

Heading to Guaymas into the rising sun.

We may regret this move to Guaymas. Granted, it lets me walk with friend Diane from Daydreamer. And we're closer to shops. And Michael can work on the dinghy while we're here -- the rubberized paint he wants to slather on that ancient PVC dinghy takes 7 days to cure, which we could not manage at anchor.

But, we forgot that Carnival is almost upon us. They are setting up roller coasters RIGHT NEXT to Sea Venture, who is on the end tie with a perfect view and perfect sound. I foresee earplugs in my future.

Oh, well. It should be an interesting experience. Mexico doesn't sleep during Carnival, which may mean we won't either. Diane said that if she and John are still here, they'll drive to the States for the duration. If only we'd set up our trip home for these days!

Tomorrow It's Back to Guaymas

We said good-bye to folks in San Carlos Marina and here in the bahia today. Tomorrow morning we leave for Guaymas, where we'll go back to the Singlar Marina to ready for our trip to the States. We've dinghy projects and woodwork to finish, because when we return after taxes and visits home, we'll have Mama in tow again with plans to cross back to Baja.

Our friend Ken Osgood, on Lovely Rita, left the marina to head across to the Baja. Michael took this picture as he and his friend Eric were leaving.

Friends took this picture of us at anchor here in Bahia San Carlos. Can you see why we're still here? Of course, this afternoon it's supposed to blow with a norther coming down the sea, but we'll just stay tucked in, doing an anchor watch at night with our GPS set to wake us if we go walkabout.

We've been having fun with all sorts of new friends, most of whom have recently bought boats here and are getting them set up for cruising south in the next few weeks. Ken on Lovely Rita, a Westsail 32, has proved delightful company as well as extremely generous with his automobile. Ken has sailed for years in the Caribbean, but is like a kid in a candy store with his beautiful little boat as he fixes it and dresses it for cruising. We stopped by to return his car key the other evening and found him listening to classical music, his small diesel heater toasting the cabin, a smile on his face of the purest enjoyment. We'll get pics when we can.

Darcy and Isabelle, Canadians from Victoria, bought Ideal I, a gorgeous Hans Christina, a modern-rigged Hans Christian. They sent pics of the Christmas brunch on their boat. They sailed out yesterday for points of call on the Baja.

Isabelle is the lovely lady with the huge smile in the red vest. Alan and Marisa (in Santa hats) have businesses here in San Carlos, he as a surveyor, she in boat sales. They also have a house and a large fishing boat. Cheryl and Peter, the other couple on board, hail from Australia and are old hands at cruising, having spent years on their former boat plying the waters of the Indian Ocean. Now they own Stolen Kiss, a lovely Hylas, for which we will eventually find photos. We've developed a rather symbiotic relationship with them as well: Michael has the tools and an occasional winch, they have a car loaned to them by Marisa. Good folk all. Cheryl will also get a note if my next Beaufort book sells as she allowed me to interview her about abused children, with whom she worked in Australia. Founts of knowledge found in fun places...

The Lighted Boat Parade

Christmas Eve in Bahia San Carlos included a parade of lighted boats that went out of the bay and around the corner. We had a front-row seat and then went back into the warm boat to eat yummy food with our guests.

 

Feeding frenzy

The birds have cottoned to us on Sea Venture. They figured out it's not only the pangas that drop goodies off their stern, but also this big old boat. Here are three Heerman's Gulls fighting for a morsel Michael tossed into the air.

More gulls.

 

Look at those eyes. These guys are intent on catching that dried bread!

Lunch time!

We were sitting out in the cockpit, enjoying a leisurely lunch today when suddenly the motor boats/ fishing fleet decided to return en masse. Just before he dashed down to fetch his camera, Michael counted eleven boats entering the channel at the same time. The only other time we've seen such a group effort was in Santa Rosalia when all 150-plus pangas came blasting back into the harbor in one steady stream of loud motors as a chubasco (thunderstorm) approached.

This time, we figure these guys didn't have enough food or beverage on board. But all at once? We're just sorry we didn't have the camera on hand to record the start of the race.

Cockpit captain's chair and table

Some folks on www.force50.org were interested in the captain's chair we installed after our boisterous trip south, so we're including one picture here and a link to all the others at the right. The line attached to the seat front is for our PFD tether that keeps us on board in the cockpit in bouncy seas. We have jacklines running the length of the boat, because the last thing either of us wants is to try to fetch the other from the sea.

The table is mounted using a pedestal seat flange that we bought at West Marine. It is offset so that it can be turned to provide easier access to the lazarettes. The pedestal base block is made of laminated Douglas fir planks, which gives a solid base, and it is through-bolted to the deck. Makes for a much more secure ride than sitting on the cockpit cushions.



You can see pictures of Mama and us taking turns sitting in it on the link showing her summer trip to visit Sea Venture.

The table is just temporary, made out of an old tray table we had on hand. As soon as Michael finds the proper wood and has the time, he'll make a prettier one. But with lots of other projects taking precedence, this may be a while in coming.

No hurry, eh, mates?

Bahia San Carlos

With a view like that and with weather that gives us warmish days and cool nights, with a bay that's clean enough that we can make RO water when the tide's incoming, with work aplenty to keep both of us busy, how can we leave?

A number of boats filling the anchorage have taken off toward the south. Frankly, after the sweltering summer months, we're glad of a reprieve. We'll miss family for Thanksgiving, but we've friends who have invited us to sup with them, so it will still be a day of blessing.

As we look around us, we can't help but consider our entire life so full of God's glory that we daily give thanks and praise. How can we help it?

The best thing would be if one of you would like to come share some of this with us.

Sleepy Creek in flood

Sleepy Creek is behaving oddly. The tide has been higher than normal during most of September, but now all the docks are under water and we have a new pond behind the house! We haven't had much rain for more than a week, but we do have depth, finally.

This is the backyard pond extending from the end of the harbor. It is normally marshland.

Here is Furnifold, Mama's rowboat, with her bowline tied at least a foot above the normal dock level. If you click on the picture to enlarge it, you'll see what I mean.

These show the dock in front of the old house, which is normally quite a bit above water, and the top of the steps leading down to the water on its other side.

A Link to San Carlos Clean-up

The following link will take you to Kiki Grossman's blog to see some great pictures of how well the folk there are doing in the post-Jimena clean-up. Michael has been hugely impressed.
http://www.marinasancarlos.com/blog/

The Hurricane in San Carlos

It's Senor J. Salas's fault. He stood in the Marina Seca office and said they needed rain. "Don't worry about the wind. It won't be much. But if we don't get rain, things will be bad around here."

They got rain. And things are very bad around there.

We weren't there for the downpour, but Michael drove back to San Carlos after seeing me off for a visit to son Joshua in San Antonio and then home to Sleepy Creek. Friday night he found the road out and had to sleep in the rental car. By Saturday morning, they'd fashioned a temporary detour that allowed him to get part way into town, then, finally, to the apartment we're renting until Sea Venture is in the water again.

There is still no showering/flushing water in San Carlos. The electricity finally came on yesterday, but it's sporadic. Not enough to run an air conditioner. Boats that were on moorings are now up on the beach. And Marina Seca is a mess.

Here are some photographs that tell the story. Fortunately, Sea Venture was on a trailer and stands, but with rain that didn't stop for 36 hours and dropped 21 inches on land that couldn't handle it, the mudslides and mess were inevitable. Michael reports that the Marina Seca folk are working non-stop to get things back together. The gate and guard house washed away, but patrols are keeping those who don't belong at bay; they won't even allow Michael to drive in to pump out SV and to dry her innards. He slogs through the mud twice a day, trying to pump the bilges on a boat that sits bow down, trying to dry the mattress and keep mold from growing. The marina office flooded, drowning computers. Boats on trailers slipped and slid into each other, but they've just about gotten these straightened and back in place. They say that none were structurally damaged, which has to be good news for the owners. The marina folk are pumping water out of boats. It will be a long time before they get to Sea Venture's decks and rudder. Mud swallows feet and shoes for bootless folk roaming the area. And they say it may be weeks before running water is restored. Pray, please, that it doesn't rain any more so that all these boats can dry out.

If we'd been in the water, our generator would keep Sea Venture drained and cool. Bad timing. Really bad timing. I suppose the Marina Seca folk couldn't imagine this happening, but I wish they had. At least they kept SV on the trailer so she didn't slip away. Only her dinghies did. We don't yet know how much damage they sustained.

I will be on the East Coast longer than planned, obviously. But poor Michael is there, coping. Being the MAN.

Boarding Ladder

We had these constructed while in Mazatlan, but now a friend wants to see them, so I'm posing the pics here. It's a great ladder, especially the seat that opens when it is fully extended, allowing us old folk to climb out of the water easily. It's a great place to sit to cool off on a hot day or to take off fins and masks before getting on the boat. Our friends on Daydreamer had one without the seat, a smaller version which Michael used as the genesis for this project design.

The first picture shows me lowering the steps. They can be lowered with one extension, which works for boarding from the dinghy or dock. With two extensions down, they go about 18 inches into the water, and completely opened, have the seat that you can see in the following picture, taken in Aqua Verde when Michael was cleaning the hull. That blue tube floating in the water is his hookah breathing hose.

For additional pictures of the ladder, see link to the right.

 

View of Guaymas and Friend

I love herons. This fellow landed on a neighboring boat and soon decided he didn't like the view, so he turned around where he could watch the bay instead of the boat's windows. (Pictures loaded backwards.)



Michael's been spending a lot of time aloft recently, trying to deal with the Raymarine masthead wind transducer, the second of these to go south. This one didn't like the 50+ knots of wind it encountered off Isla Ceralvo back in May. Poorly made, it broke off and was hanging by I'm not sure what. He glued the broken pieces together for use until the back-ordered replacement arrives. On one of his trips, he took this picture of the cathedral in Guaymas.

Guaymas

We motored over to the Singlar Marina in Guaymas yesterday in the early hours before the wind piped up. It's hard to maneuver this old girl into a slip with cross winds. We're now moored next to our friends' boat, Thea Renee, whose occupants are at the moment enjoying their backyard pool and air conditioned house in California. We decided to enter a marina because Jesus, from Marina Seca, warned that the Chubascos coming in to Bahia San Carlos can hit 80 knots of wind and Sea Venture sat at anchor in the direct path of storm surge. We'd had no other choice there as smaller boats were moored all over the anchorage. Marina San Carlos offered us a more expensive slip on at outside tie, also in the way of the surge. We opted to wait for haul-out in Guaymas, perhaps not as picturesque as San Carlos, but within bus distance of stores and walking distance of restaurants. Hopefully, we'll search out an ice cream store this evening.

This morning, Michael took the photos of an osprey atop a neighbor's mast.

Isla San Marcos to San Carlos

These are the caves at the northwestern end of Isla San Marcos on Los Arcos. We snorkeled in the lee of the rocks. Lovely. As if we had our own aquarium of brightly colored fish.

Now we're in San Carlos. As Michael says, we've circumnavigated the Sea of Cortez. We left San Carlos in July of 2004 and we returned two days ago after almost five years of being in California or other Mexican waters. It's changed. We were surprised by the number of new waterfront homes built just north of Bahia San Carlos. We couldn't get close enough to see them, but we did take pictures of the lovely homes surrounding Bahia San Carlos.



We left Isla San Marcos at 3:45 AM, Sunday, with promises from the weather gurus of flat seas and 10-15 knots of breeze. Sweet Pea Cove was quiet in the early morning hours. We didn't want to bother with the mizzen cover in the dark, so we navigated by radar out and around. As soon as we cleared the north end of the island, the waves and wind hit us. Friends who left the day before had spoken to us on the Amigo Net and mentioned 6-8 foot seas at 10 second intervals, which would make them manageable. What we saw were 4-6 feet and 3-4 second intervals. Sloppy, choppy, and rolly...all the way across, mostly on the beam. We never could get that mizzen cover off; it would have been too dangerous in those seas, so we opened up the staysail and wasted more diesel. Thirteen hours later, we entered Bahia San Carlos, exhausted, but glad to be back.

The anchorage is crowded with boats on moorings and a few at anchor. Very few are occupied, which is why Michael kept watch last night when a chubasco came through with its high winds, driving rain, and thunder. He turned on the motor during the fiercest wind, keeping the boat pointed into it and watching for strays. That's the thing we worry about most in a anchorage. A boat that drags can run into us or uproot our anchor if it crosses our rode. With our 120 lb Spade and 250 feet of chain out, we weren't likely to drag unless some other force took over.

The fellows from Marina Seca came out yesterday. They'll fix our nonskid and do a few other chores needed on Sea Venture. Good men to stand by their work. But they can't start until the beginning of September, so we're moving tomorrow to Guaymas, to the Singlar Marina there. We like the Singlar/Fonatur marinas that line the Sea of Cortez. Each one is exactly alike: the same tower structure for offices, the same well built and maintained docks, the same pool/laundry/bath facilities. They always have a small tienda, and usually a nice restaurant on site. Our friends from Thea Renee have left their boat in Guaymas for the summer. It will be fun to see Erwin when he comes next week to check on the boat.