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Click the link above for a zoomable graphic ! |
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| Point Roberts, Washington -
Arrived June 2008 |
Ah, back home again. After
many wonderful adventures it is great to be back. |
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| New Zealand Nov 22nd -
April ish 2007. |
We were very happy
to be surrounded by the charms of this pleasant island nation. Things
work in New Zealand. There are
people who know what they are doing. They have the tools and supplies
to do anything. They can almost always understand you – even if the
thicker accents are a little hard to understand. The phones work, the
toilets work, newspapers, grocery stores, the roads are good, –
civilization as we know it !!
Our New Zealand base was Tauranga Bridge Marinia. Slip D60. On
the Bay of Plenty, east coast New Zealand, North Island. |
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| New Zealand Passage November 15th
– 22nd |
With a fresh crew,
Rae, Lee Wolff, and Graeme Tempelton point Mustang Sally
south and hang
on for the ride. Brisk winds hurry us south in powered up conditions.
185 miles days with a double reefed main.
Sharon goes the hard way – by
air. She is evacuated from Nuka’lofa via Australian military jet to
Sidney when the locals set the town on fire. |
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| Tonga October 28th
– November 14th |
Tonga is a string of lovely volcanic
islands. The northern Islands are reminiscent of the Gulf and San Jaun
Islands in British Columbia, Canada – except for the temperature. One
could spend a month or a season here, but an unbelievably early start to
the tropical storm season provides powerful motivation to get out of the
tropics and move towards New Zealand. |
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| October 19th -
26th 2006 |
Niue. Smallest
(in population terms) country in the world. Place where peoples hearts
are huge. Probably the most sail boat friendly place in the world.
And the clearest water in the world. Dive here!! It is
surreal. 1500 citizens on the island. 20000 citizens in New
Zealand. Weather delays. |
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| October 8th - 16th, 2006 |
Palmerston Atoll.
The picture perfect Pacific atoll. Palm trees. Bright white
sand. Warm trade winds. Warm turquoise waters. Great
fishing. Hospitality. Bob Masters and his family are
wonderful.
Here is a song about Palmerston Island and the Bob
Masters family. We had to leave in a hurry at cocktail hour after a
brisk westerly made the anchorage untenable. |
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| October 3rd - 6th, 2006 |
Aitutaki,
Cook Islands.
In the Cook islands people are more friendly and open. They love to
party and dance. Every night except Sunday you can find the
Polynesian dancers and singers. So much more spontaneous and
enthusiastic and innocent. We loved Aitutaki. |
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| September 21st - Oct 1st, 2006 |
Bora Bora. By
far the most beautiful island in the Society Islands. A place
where the turquoise waters reflect of the birds and clouds giving them a
distinctive green colour. Have you ever seen a green cloud?
Or a green sea bird. Perhaps the island should be renamed to "The
Land of the Big Green Cloud". Bora Bora was our favorite of the
Societies. |
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| September 12th - 21st, 2006 |
Rairatea and Tahaa.
More picturesque Polynesia. The living was easy and the free
public dock was nice. The snorkeling at Tahaa was just great. |
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| September 11th - 15th, 2006 |
Huahine. The
western interpretation of the word "Huahine" implies womb. A
Polynesian woman explained that the literal translation of the word
refers to a part of woman a little lower down in front. The early
Polynesians had no inhibitions about the parts of the body. The
missionaries tried to soften a lot of Polynesian place names. Our
Polynesian interpreter also explained that the ancient Polynesian's
considered 'it' a holy place from which the fruits of life spring.
I like that.
Regardless this laid back island was a fine hideaway far from
civilization and any worries. Except for the coral bottoms which
did not hold our anchors very well.
Shoot did I tell you about the time we went down a narrow passage in
the coral to a place where the deep water spread out like a spoon.
Just enough water to swing around on the anchor. At midnight the
wind picked up and the depth alarm went off. Mustang Sally was in
3 feet of water over ther reef.
OK, Rae! Lets see you navigate down a narrow passage, 20 feet
wide, two miles long, in the pitch black, with 25 knots of wind on
the beam. With Sharon and Annie helping we did it! Into a
safe anchorage at 2:00 AM. And the deck was slippery with the
bullets we sweated. |
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| September 5th - 10th, 2006 |
Cooks bay on the Island of
Moorea.
From the relative hustle bustle of Tahiti, back to tranquility - mostly.
This calm quiet anchorage represents all you have dreamed about in
French Polynesia. |
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| August 18th-Sept 4th, 2006 |
Threaded the pass into Papeete Harbor,
Tahiti, French Polynesia at 12:30 AM.
Stern tied to the quay right in downtown. Noisy traffic, but fun
to be in civilization again after so many months in remote area. |
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| August 15th & 16th, 2006 |
Fakarava Atoll, Tuamotu, French Polynesia.
The diving. Clear clear, deep blue water, warm water, with thick
coral, thousands of fish. The 1/2 dozen big grey sharks patrolling the
reef took my breath away. The ride to the reef was almost as good as the
dive. Big 35 foot inflatable, zooming through the rough seas at 20
knots.
|
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| August 9th to August 15th, 2006 |
Kauehi Atoll, Tuamotu, French Polynesia.
A week of relaxation and fun with our friends on Bogtrotter and
Pathfinder. Perfect sandy beaches, palms, coral heads and
aquamarine water. Fishing, diving, drinking and partying.
Polynesian hospitality from Ririfatu and Johana |
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| August 7th to August 9th, 2006 |
Passage to Kwauhi in the Isles de Tuamotu,
French Polynesia |
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| August 2nd to 5th, 2006 |
Bay of Virgins on the Island of Fatu Hiva.
Claimed by many to be the most beautiful spot in the Marqueses - we
concur. Trading for fuel, tapas and fruit. Wonderful people
in a fantastic setting. |
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| July 26th to August 2nd, 2006 |
Baie Hanamoenoa on the Island of Tahuata.
Picture perfect Polynesian beach, deserted coconut farm, fresh water,
great swimming. BBQ's on the beach. Paulo, Champagne
Traveler, Ralph. Turned the lights out. |
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|
| July 22nd - to July 26th, 2006 |
Village of
Atuona on the Island of Hiva
Oa. Beautiful, albeit rolly anchorage. Any place would
look good after 21 days on the sea. But it is a lovely
Island and the Polynesians are very kind and honest. Hitch hiking
every where. Amazing fresh climate, refreshing rains. |
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| July 2nd to July 22nd 2006 |
3000 mile passage to the Marqueses
Islands in French Polynesia. Perfect
beam reaching
conditions.
Long sail, tired and worn at the end, but happy to have done it. |
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|
| June 29th to July 1, 2006 |
Islas Galapagos, Puerto Villamil on Isla
Isabela. Easy overnight sail. Beautiful anchorage with 12
other Marqueses bound boats. Getting to know them all and enjoying
the crystal clear waters, pelicans, pink flamengos, etc. |
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| June 18 to June 28 2006 |
Islas Galapagos. Puerto San Cristobal. It was a
perfect sail to the Galapagos. Close reaching conditions the whole
way. Burned three gallons of diesel. Winds reached 30 knots,
but averaged just 15. |
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|
| May 15th to June 11th 2006 |
Peru. Tombes, Lima, Nazca,
Arequipa, Juliaca, Puno, Lake Titiqaqa, Cuco, Machu Pichu, Lima, Tombes
and return. Loved the buses - hated the buses. Loved Peru. |
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| May 15th |
Bahia de Caraquez, Ecuador. The
7 day upwind and up current voyage was without incident. Day after
day of sailing. We used the motors to help when the wind went
light. We are now Shellbacks all. |
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|
| April 18th |
Panama City, Panama. This
vibrant metropolis will be our home for the next week or so while we
haul the boat and paint the bottom. The city skyline and water
remind us of Vancouver and pangs of homesickness touched our hearts.. |
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| April 13, 2006 |
Las Perlus Islands, Panama.
Perhaps the most beautiful Islands we have seen on the entire west
coast of North and Central America. We fell in love with these
thinly populated and remote islands. We will return after our haul
out. |
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| April 11 2006 |
Bahia Baneo AKA Surf City Panama.
A pleasant whistle stop, we hid from the waves behind a small island and
watched the surfers ride the waves while we waited for good weather for
rounding Punta Mala. |
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| April 10, 2006 |
Ensenada Naranja. A another lovely bay all
to our selves and the occasional fisherman. |
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| April 9, 2006 |
Ensenada del Naranja - Isla Sebaco, Panama.
Lovely spot, but the gringo operators of a resort made us feel
unwelcome, so we left the next day. |
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| April 7, 2006 |
Bahia Honda, Panama. The Panamanian's
made us welcome to their rustic tropical villages. We were
amazed by the life style and traded for fruit and desiel. |
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| April 5, 2006 |
Islas Secas, Panama. Remote gems of
Panama. Crystal clear water, great diving and perfect tropical
weather. |
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| April 2, 2006 |
Gulfito, Costa Rica. Hot, steamy and
delightful. We felt welcome and enjoyed our stay in this lovely
tranquil town. |
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| April 1, 2006 |
Bahia Drake, Cost Rica. A lightning
storm more powerful than we have seen in our lives nearly scared us out
of our skin. A beautiful beautiful place, but the electrical
storms scared us away. |
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| March 29th 2006 |
Quepos, Costa Rica. Lovely town - a
laundry stop for us. $60 to have every piece of clothes and all
sheets on Mustang Sally washed. |
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| March 26, 2006 |
Herradura and Jaco, Costa Rica.
Beautiful beaches that soaked us. |
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| March 24, 2006 |
Bahia Ballenna
(Bay of Whales) Costa Rica |
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| March 23, 2006 |
Montezuma, Costa Rica |
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| March 22, 2006 |
Bahia Corrilla, Costa Rica.
Pleasant sail with the kids from Taranindo. Light Papaguyos winds
changing mid-stream to gentle SW breezes. No dolphins, or whales
for the kids to see. Caught an Amberjack. |
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| March 17 2006 |
Land trip with the kids up to
Monte
Verde, Costa Rica and vicinity. Zip line tours, butterflies,
hummingbirds and all things natural. We are surprised to find a
temperate rain forest similar to those found on Vancouver Island, way
down here in Costa Rica! Hanging out at a volcano hot
springs resort - we heard the volcano, but low clouds obscured it. |
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|
| March 14, 2006 |
Bahia Flamingo. The marina is
gone! Closed - according to the coast guard, because of pullution.
Not much of a Marina anyway. Anchored in the Bay instead.
Josh and family flew in from Vancouver and we bask in the pleasure of
each others company after almost 9 months away. |
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| March 13, 2006 |
San Jaun Del Sur, Nicaragua to Playa del
Coco, Costa Rica. Reaching in the Papaguyos winds. 25
knots power us around Punta Elena, then sailing on a beat inside the
islands in 25 -30 knot gusts. Wind drops to ziltch as we enter the
Gulf of Papaguyos. |
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| March 12, 2006 |
El Astrillero to San Juan del Sur.
Contrary Papaguyos winds continue to make for tough going. 25
knots and gusting. Sticking close to shore to minimize fetch.
Long southerly tacks, followed by short shoreward tacks to regain
proximity to coast. Triple reef conditions. |
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| March 11, 2006 |
Planned Barrilles, El Salvador to Bahia del
Coco, Costa Rica. A predicted weather window closes abruptly and
we get slammed by the Papaguyos winds. Gust 25-30 knot contrary
winds from the ENE. Just enough northerly component to the winds
that we can beat south east toward Costa Rica. Tough going.
Decide to stop for rest at El Astrillero, Nicaragua. |
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| March 9th |
Barrilles, El Salvador.
Beautiful harbor, 10 miles up an estuary in El Salvador. We relax
and enjoy a brief stop to re-charge in this luxury resort.
The president of El Salvador frequents the resort. With three
pools, tropical birds, palapas with Internet connections at each table
it is fantastico. Outside the resort, the contrasts
are stunning - scrubby dirt poor sugar cane farms, and third world
towns. |
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| March 6, 2006 |
Puerto Quetzal, Guatemala.
Culture shock hits us like a freight train as we travel to the interior
towns of Antigua and Chichicastenango. Antigua is
the old capital of the Spanish Empire of Guatemala which included most
of Central America. Chichicastenango is a Mayan market town.
Guatemala, over populated and poor, but with a zest for life that shines
through. |
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| February 27, 2006 |
Hautulco, Mexico. Relaxing and
waiting for a weather window to cross the feared Gulf of
Tehauntepec.
We enjoy the harbor and fresh water facilities. Luis the harbor master
is great. We debate crossing strategies with other cruisers and
wait for the winds and seas to abate. The town is just another
canned Mexican tourist mega-resort. |
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| February 23 -26, 2006 |
Puerto Escondito and Puerto Angel.
Beautiful Puerto Escondito is only an overnighter as the waters in the
harbor are rolly and uncomfortable and Dan and Lucy are not here.
The beauty of Puerto Angel outshines Escondito. |
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| February 20, 2006 |
B - B - Back to
Acapulco. Pit stop for
fuel, a new wireless Internet card (thanks Dan) and a web update.
We have a brand new beautiful stainless steel shroud shipped from
Canada thanks to Stuart and the guys at
Pro-Tech Yacht Services in North
Van. Finally beginning our dive south for central American after a
two week delay. |
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| February 1, 2006 |
Back to
Zihautanejo Bay for Sail
Fest. Four days of partying and fun. All proceeds benefiting
the schools of Zihautanejo.
Set to blast off for Central America on Feb 7th and a rig inspection revealed a
weak swage at the top end of the mast. Shoot! Gotta spend a week or
two orchestrating a fix. |
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| January 22 2006 |
Acapulco. Beautiful Acapulco.
Set in a lovely harbor and vista's that rival Vancouver. |
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| January 21 |
Punta Papanoa. Whistle stop on the way
to Acapulco. Imagine 80 miles of white sandy beach, stretching
from Papanola to Acapulco. Wow! |
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| January 14th 2006 |
Zihautenejo. A day and a half of very
smooth motor sailing to get to this beautiful Mexican vacation spot.
Tropical sun, diving and festivas. Dan gone home. Jaunito
and Denito join the pary. |
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| January 10th 2006 |
Bara Navidad and Malake. Placid agoon
- no rocking and rolling at anchor - alas no swimming!. Beautiful towns. re-supply, re-unions with Maestra
del Mar gang and Airborne. Party and feast. |
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| January 7th 2006 |
Tentacatita This may be the most
beautiful place on the face of the earth. Perfect beaches far from
the growing crowds. A boaters paradise. |
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| Janurary 5th and 6th 2006. |
Chemela and Ipala. Whistle stops on
the way to Tentacatita. So much sea life. Whales and dophins,
dorados and rays and Turtles. Hit a big manta ray and knocked him
silly.
Ah, so many beautiful places. So little time. |
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| December 20th |
La Cruz de Huanacaxtle. 12 kilometers
from Peurto Vallarta. Great town with a rolly anchorage and a
treacherous harbor for dingy landings. Joined by Dan san Mary Ann |
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| December 18th. |
San Blas
- Tropical jungle and picturesque
city. And damn them little no-see-ums. |
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| December 15th |
Isla Isabella - Mexican Galapogos.
Stunning wildlife, great diving, fair weather anchorage with a rocky
bottom. |
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| December 11th |
Mazatlan. On the mainland in Tropical
Mexico. |
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| December 9th |
Back to
La Paz
again. Redirect
radar unit to Mazatlan. Try and contact customs, resupply then
that it for the Sea of Cortez. We are heading for Mazatlan.
La Paz is our favorite Mexican city todate! |
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| December 8th |
Espirito Santos. We get eaten
up by the water bugs! Can 't find the wrecks off Isla Bellena. |
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| December 5th |
Back to
La Paz. Chasing radar
repairs and re-supplying. |
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| December 4th |
Cabo San Lucas. Via car through the
beautiful Todos Santos with lunch at the real "Hotel California".
Visit Sharon's sister and borther who bought a timeshare at Esperanza.
A short stay in the lap of luxery. |
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| December 1 |
Ensenada de La Paz. We love this town.
A real Mexican city without the tourist hustle bustle. Excellent
marine facilities, lts of familar faces, a cruisers hangout, and an
anchorage that makes the boats waltz. |
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| November 25th |
Ensenada de Los Muetros (Cove of the Dead)
Hey, inspite of the name it is a beautiful cove with abundant sea life
and a delightful grass roofed restaurant and bar. Coral is growing
in and around the anchorage, but what was likely a flourishing reef,
struggles to survive. A good place to dry out after our first beat
in 2,000 miles and wait for the north winds to ease. |
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| November 22nd |
Los Frailes
(the Friars) This jumping off
point for the southern passage to the mainland is also close to a large
corral reef. We hung out and skin dove the reef with snorkels and
fins. Fantastic experience. |
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| November 14th |
Cabo San Lucas, Baja California, Mexico. With a
lot of wonderful stops in between. Out in the wilds far from
Internet, and phones. |
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| October 20ish through Nov 12 |
Skipping down the Baja. Stops included Isala Todo
Santos,
San Quintin, San Carlos,
Isla Benitos,
Bahia Tortega Bay,
Abreojos,
Bahia Santa Maria, and
Peurto Magdelana |
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| October 10th |
Ensenda Mexico. Kafuffle with an American war
ship, then a motor sail in light winds from the south west.
Anchored in Ensenada habour by 5:00 PM |
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| September 16th |
San Diego, California. stocking up for Mexico,
rebuilding windlass, fixes: escape hatch leak; solar electrics, mainsail
slides etc. Hanging out at Southwestern Yacht Club. Lotsa ways to
spend money and we do our share! |
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| September 6 |
Santa Catalina Island |
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| September 4th |
Venice and Santa Monica (sounds better the L.A.
no?) In Marina Del Rey at the guest dock. Largest man made
pleasure boat basin in the world (according to the local literature ;-)
)
Hook up with Roger and Alice for the weekend. Groovin' on the Babe
Watch - uh - boob watch - uh - I mean...Bay Watch Beach. (Santa Monica
Beach) Shoppin' surfin', swimin', feastin' and catching up
on news from home. |
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| September 3 |
Paradise Cove - Malibu Area |
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| September 1st |
Santa Cruz Island. A couple of days of
diving in the crystal clear coves off of the islands north shore.
Met up with Ventura Yacht club and making new friends. The rolliest
anchorage we have been in yet, but great diving! |
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| August 22nd |
Ventura. There are 2,000 boats docked in the harbor
and just little old Mustang Sally at anchor. Just us and the
Pelicans in the anchorage.
Enjoying Ventura's beaches and surf while waiting for Sharon's
prescription drugs from Canada.
Enjoyed the Ventura Yacht Club's generous hospitality when our dingy
bottom blows up. Docked at thier club on reciprocal moorage,
enjoyed a pot luck with them and lots of Mexico discussions. |
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| August 14th |
Santa Barbara! Wow. A very beautiful
Spanish-American town. Came for a day and stayed for a week.
Loved the architecture and the natural beauty. |
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| August 13th |
Cojo Anchorage. A little hook behind the
feared Point Conception - "The Horn of West Coast North America."
The beach was a little scary with it's man eating pigs, but we
survived. |
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| August 11th |
San Luis. A return to the port where we
recovered from the beating Pt. Conception gave us five years ago.
Engines were banned for this short hop. |
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| August 10th |
Morro Bay. The most hospitable Yacht Club
on the west coast put us up and treated us right. Thanks allot
Morro Bay YC! |
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| August 9th 2005 |
San Simeon. Amid dolphins, whales, sea
lions, and sea otters we motored sailed 75 miles in light winds to this
lovely anchorage. Most sea life we have seen yet. Amazing! |
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| August 8th, 2005 |
Stillwater Cove in Carmel Bay. After 3 days
of rocking and rolling (literally not musically) in Monterey,
Stillwater lived up to its name. But without the waves rocking us
to sleep, we couldn't! |
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| August 4, 2005 |
Monterey. Historical capital of Mexican and
American California. Our favorite spot in California so far.
We love Monterey. |
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| August 2, 2005 |
Santa Cruz. Summer vacation land for Bay
area residents. Amusements, beaches, rides and fun.
Couldn't get the CQR anchor to grab the bottom in 5 tires. But our
good old Danforth bit first try. |
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|
| August 1, 2005 |
Half Moon Bay. Nice town. Too much
fog to linger. Just another whistle stop on our way |
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| July 27th, 2005 |
San Francisco and Sausalito. A few days in
this beautiful inland sea. High prices, low water and big city
briskness. But cool. Watching the the city play peek-a-boo
in the fog. |
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|
| July 26, 2005 |
Drakes Bay. Sir Francis visited it on
June 17, 1579 . Surprisingly it is likely much the same
now as it was then. Only 50 miles from Frisco, but mostly
undeveloped. |
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| July 24, 2005 |
Bodega Bay - immortalized for ever by that Lou
Bega song "I've got a Girl Friend Everywhere", we arrived in the
Bodega Bay and anchored in 10' of water at the north end of the turning
area. Will be looking for Lou's girlfriend ;-)
OK, I got it wrong. It was Beluga Bay that Lou
referred to in his song. No wonder I couldn't find his girl
friend. |
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|
| July 23, 200 |
Arena Cove is a little notch in the coast that
offers protection from North and North west winds. The
friendly harbour master comes on the radio and advises the anchor area and recommends a plow
or CQR anchor as "a Danforth won't work here". Yackety,
yack he goes on and on - free advise is worth what you pay.
We had a tough time setting our CQR anchor. In the middle of
the process a grey whale sounds right behind the boat! I jive the
harbor master over the radio saying "how the heck are we supposed to
anchor when you have whales all over the place?".
After four tries - dragging the anchor over the rocky bottom -
we finally hook in nice and snug. Twin diesels spinning 2000 RPM
in reverse and we don't move!
Next morning, upon raising the anchor, we quietly disengaged
the underwater cable that we have been hanging on and set sail for Bodega Bay.
Thanks for the advice Shelter Cove Habour Master. |
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| July 10. 2005 |
Motoring of glassy sea in sunshine to return to
Fort
Bragg. Friendliest town in California. |
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|
| July 9, 2005 |
Shelter Cove, California. - not the Richmond one,
the one just south of the feared Cape Mendocino. Rounded the Cape
in thick fog. Little to no wind. Capes playing peek - a boo
in the fog. Radar work all day. Closing with the coast in
fading light with thick fog .... big time butterflies in the gut. |
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|
| July 6, 2005 |
Eureka, California. Go now or wait
for a few days. Grounded once and then out the entrance.
Foggy sail with lots of engines |
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| July 4, 2005 |
Crescent City, California. Easy day sail
with a robust start then working with the radar to navigate through a
thick fog. Crescent City put on a great fireworks display. |
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|
| July 2, 2005 |
Port Orford, Oregon. Easy sail until Cape
Blanco decided to give us a kick in the pants. Anchored safely in
the lee of Graveyard Point. |
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| June 28th, 2005 |
Reedsport, Oregon. Easy jump south to the
dune buggy capital of the world. We will be rippin up the sand
dunes soon. |
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| June 25, 2005 |
The original
Newport, Oregon. Tired of
waiting for everything to be perfect. As soon as it was, we
slept in, necessitating skipping the Columbia river and sailing
overnight to here. |
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| June 21, 2005 |
Beautiful Westport, in Grays Harbor, Washington,
USA
-> Laid up with a twisted ankle waiting for the weather and tidal bar
situation to come into perfect harmony. |
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