| DREAMCATCHER VOYAGE Journal 8-Hasta La Vista Mexico |
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Late March 2004
Hasta La Vista, Mexico!
FROM BANDERAS BAY,
Lat 20deg 45’ Long 105deg 30'
This comes to you from Punta Mita, Banderas Bay …… a little lifestyle shock
for us….. we finally prised DreamCatcher off the dock a week ago, in search of
our sea legs, and went sailing. This is our “dress rehearsal” for the South
Pacific passage, which will hopefully start around the end of March. Our
return from our travels pitched us into boat life again, transitioning our daily
lives from land folks to sea folks, getting back to the rhythm of living the life of
boat people…. But there was something missing – we were still tied to the
dock! So, after a couple of weeks of boat chores and ongoing business, we
returned to the sea. This, whilst a significant logistics push-up for us, is really
no big deal…. we have journeyed a whole 15 miles from our slip ! But, its been
great to be back “out there” and on the hook, instead of shoe-horned into a
noisy marina with so many distractions. We’ve spent the past week re-
familiarising ourselves with the boat, our emergency processes, drills and
puting ourselves through the paces of living aboard. Our dinghy engine
seized itself to the stern rail, which initially was a frustrating disappointment,
but it has served to confine us to the 46 feet which will be our home for the
month-long crossing to the Marquesas, and subsequently is good
conditioning. Nothing a hack saw blade won’t fix in due course. We’ve
anchored in different places each night, Punta Mita and La Crux ,being our
favourites.
La Crux is a funky, dusty, friendly township on the northern side of the Bay,
where several of the “Puddle Jumpers” have congregated…. There’s a couple
of dozen boats in the anchorage, in daily VHF radio contact with each other
and we’ve spent some pleasant and useful time in their company. Life,
wittingly or otherwise, generally separates people into two groups: those who
“get it” and those who don’t. Philo gets it. Philo is a sailor who’s boat is in Fiji
and who runs a bar in La Crux, Banderas Bay....it is totally focused on passing
cruisers, complete with wireless internet, (yes, in this funky, dusty village), spa
pool, CNN news, clean $35 rooms for sailors, pool tables, cold beer and hot,
live music….. we celebrated St. Patricks Day there – now that’s something:
celebrating St. Paddy’s Day in Mexico ! what next ? Cinco De Mayo in Ireland?
! There are others in the Puerta Vallarta area, who have had similar
opportunities to create prospering and useful businesses, but who have
wasted those opportunities through lack of understanding of what cruisers
(read, customers) really want, or who have simply spent too much time in the
rum, er, sun.
Punta Mita is inside the northern corner of Banderas Bay, which itself
resembles a back-to-front “C”. ….it’s the first place we stopped in early
December on our arrival in the Puerta Vallarta area, and we’ve returned several
times this week – from a cruisers perspective, it has to be one of the easiest
anchorages on the planet: clearly visible, wide, shallow, clean, and quite
pretty. Surprisingly, it’s not used much, and as I write, we only have 6
neighbours, when there’s room for 50 boats here. We arrived a few nights
ago, near midnight, from an interesting episode at the south end of the Bay,
about 20 miles from here. We’d heard about the tiny village of Yelapa, only
accessible by sea, snuggled around a small beach at the at the bottom of
towering tropical hills…… Yelapa has a reputation as a “difficult” anchorage,
being very deep up to the beach with a rolling swell: Good, we said…. This will
be appropriate practice for the Marquesas whose islands rise in a similar
fashion, steeply from of the sea. When we ventured into that deeply
sculptured indent, we were elated at the scene… it was enchanting: tiny, pretty
palm-thatched houses and palapas dotted among the banana and coconut
palms all nested in elevated, tropical misty environs. We circled the anchorage
a couple of times in very deep water….we were literally one boat length from
the beach and still 197 feet deep!...eventually found the “sweet spot” of 25’
depth (which we later realized was a mere 30 ft in diameter) and dropped the
anchor…… the place was just lovely. We were positioned stern-to the white
sandy beach and we poured ourselves a cocktail to celebrate this find and
marvel at the fact that we were the only boat there. That should have been our
first clue. At sundown, the breeze started to shift from on-shore to off-shore,
and as we started to turn 90 degrees to the incoming swell, the rolling effect
was quite violent….additionally, we started to become uncomfortably close to
one of the moored pangas (high-prowed local wooden fishing boats), and
made a unanimous snap decision……”we’re outta here !!!”….. it was pitch
black by the time we made our getaway, and we will probably forever regret
“Paradise Lost”…… hopefully we’ll get back there by panga, without the
anchoring anxiety! We motored across Banderas Bay to the north end at
Punta Mita, dropped the hook and had a bowl of beans with a rum chaser at
midnight!
Banderas Bay is a superb piece of ocean and a wonderful sailing ground. It is
thick with fish and other sea life, and twice this week, we sailed close to a large
whale while cruising around. There are frequent “fish-fests” when schools of
small fish swim close to the surface, attracting hundreds of feeding,
screeching, seabirds. The fish schools gather under the boat’s hull at anchor
to escape the preying eyes of pelicans, gulls and frigate birds. There are big,
colourful fish everywhere you look – it’s quite surprising (and positive) there
are no commercial fishing efforts here, only the few local fishermen in pangas
with their small nets. On anchoring in La Cruz several days ago we were
fascinated by a welcoming school of small stingrays - probably 3 dozen or so
– who gently flapped alongside the boat in a ballet-style display : just lovely.
Nights are filled with sounds of “splish-splash”…. fish jumping out of the
water during some sort of nocturnal chase.
Now, back at the marina, the MEXORC has been in progress: a significant
sailing event attracting several dozen racing yachts from Mexico and the US….
There have been some pretty serious boats here: the Magnitude 80, just
launched out of San Diego, was slipped in front of us but had to be canted
over 30 degrees, as the water was too shallow at the docks for her 12 ft keel ….
It looked odd seeing a boat “heeled over” whilst tied up! The sleds brought
with them the usual army of bicep-endowed rock-stars and their assorted
bikini-clad followers (“dock spiders”), which changed the scenery and
dynamics of the marina quite significantly for the week…. In addition, one big,
bad Dennis Connor was in OUR slip! Ie, the one we had vacated to go sailing
for a week…., so on re-entering the marina and finding Stars and Stripes as
our next-door neighbour: one couldn’t pass up the opportunity to hoist the
Boxing Kangaroo! We had several positive “good on ya’s!!” from the racers
surrounding us on the docks and were the local heroes till Stars and Stripes
left the day after.
Life is still very busy as cruisers-in-waiting…. We are putting in 12 hour days,
starting with the Amigo weather net then the local cruisers VHF radio net at
0830 (could be described as a cross between the 6 o’clock news and your
favourite soap opera), and working through on projects, ongoing maintenance
and jobs in general… we might take a half hour lunch break and buy a local
banana-leaf tomale or chile relleno from the lovely old Mexican lady on the
docks, but, generally, it’s busy, hard and often frustrating work. The cruisers
cha-cha, we call it: one step forward, two steps back! This week, for instance,
in re-packing the lazarette (large below-deck storage locker) we discovered a
tiny split in the propane gas hose….. a serious matter….. thus started the
business of locating replacement parts….long story spared. On replacing the
items we further found a potential split in the large exhaust hose of the engine
(again, no small matter), probably created through pressure of a shifting load
when we were heeled over or bouncing about during the Sea of Cortez
crossing. Including the detective and foot work, re-design and negotiations
with local suppliers and tradesmen, this has added two full days to our
passage prep schedule: of course, boat jobs only come in half day units –
nothing, particularly in a foreign country, takes less time. But, essentially, we’
re OK with that – better to find these problems at the dock than mid
ocean……and, we have been looking for them: we have eye-balled the boat
critically from top to bottom to seek out any flaws and weaknesses. Best
tended to here in the marina with willing hands and suppliers to help.
Further note on the propane hose: parts & fittings were not available here,
despite Henry’s sorties into all the hardware, pipe, tool & die, connexione,
back street places. So we ordered one custom made from Downwind Marine in
San Diego… they sent it via DHL, wrong fittings. We asked them to send
another, they did, correct fittings. Meanwhile, DHL are making out like bandits
with outrageous fees (letters have been sent!). Upon installing the hose, the
brass fittings on the connection meter cracked, so Henry is back out there in
machine shop land, trying to get them made in Mexico…if we are not
successful by tonight (Mar 30) then it will be a plane trip back to the US. This
has been high on the frustration meter, just days before we are due to depart,
not to mention being without a stove for over a week.
The build up to the Pacific crossing has been interesting so far….. clearly there
have been our own preparations: a multi page list of “things to do”, our own
emotions….. mostly suppressed by busy-ness but sometimes surfacing as
anticipation and anxiety…..we’ve been talking about this for so long, and
yikes! now it’s NEXT WEEK !!!!! We’ve also linked up with the Puddle
Jumpers group – about 48 boats leaving from Puerta Vallarta and other
Mexican ports, between mid March and the end of April, all headed for the
Marquesas and beyond. An eclectic group, some of whom are just not our
kind of people. Interestingly we’ve found our cruising buddies with some of
the single handers (one who worked for HP for 14 years) and the smaller
boats. We’re chart sharing and socializing with one boat in particular and
there are hopes for an equatorial raft-up party. The reality of that happening
because of different boat speeds and courses, is unlikely, but, if we are within
range of a fellow cruiser, we might just “hang out” for a few hours and make it
happen.
A practical positive of these Puddle Jumpers gatherings is that a Single Side
Band (SSB) radio net has been established. This is a daily roll-call including
position, weather and other communication elements. We’ve been calling in
from the marina, just to get into the habit, and it’s been increasingly interesting
as each day goes by as another one or two boats launch out of Banderas Bay
into the great blue yonder…. We listen for their progress eagerly and were
chagrined to find that one of the first boats out lost its rudder completely on
the third day and has had to be towed back 500 miles by the Mexican Navy.
We hope that story eventually has a happy ending. Our exit will be governed
by the right weather conditions. We are personally in touch with Don on
Summer Passage, a highly regarded US West Coast and Mexico weather guru,
and we will also be contracting professional weather forecasters and routers
(Commander Weather Systems): the same group that forecast for the Baja Ha
Ha and who forecast the Whitbread/Vendee Round the Globe and Around
Alone races. Because DreamCatcher is a heavy boat, we need to ensure the
North East Trade winds are well established so that we don’t sit out there and
flap around in a windless sea: we beleive that might happen to several boats
that left within the past 24 hours – the winds are turning light for the next 4
days. We have a 2,704 mile journey ahead of us, with about 1,000 miles worth
of available fuel for motoring, so it’s imperative we plan our engine time. We’ll
save it for motoring across the ITCZ/Doldrums (a predictable but nasty piece of
real estate between 3 and 7 degrees north of the equator) and punching
through (or around) weather systems we want to get out of, including multi-
day calms.
So, we’re asking for your collective karma: 15- 20 knots of wind each day,
please !
Hopefully, we’ll have a hassle-free passage with landfall in Hiva Oa (one of the
5 islands of the Marquesas group) towards the end of April. I reckon the 4
week crossing will give me sufficient time to become fluent enough in French
so I can competently insult the buggers on behalf of all Australians for the
nuclear bombing party they held in Mururoa Atoll in 1969 and 1996.
We’re taking on provisions for 3-4 months and extra fuel and water. Our plans
are to cruise in the Marquesas and the Tuamotos (of which Mururoa is a part,
and still off limits) for 2-3 months, at which point we’ll passage to Tahiti – the
half way point in our voyage to Brisbane – to complete French paperwork and
re-group. We have a new set of clothes on board for Tahiti, too, figuring that
our current wardrobe will be worn, torn and faded (there’s nothing like sailing
for ruining your clothes!) or we’ll just be plain sick of them. A new set of
threads for Moorea and Bora Bora will be appropriate as we become part of
society again for a short while, compared to the relative isolation of the two
prior island groups. Given that we’ve taken the trouble to acquire one year
visas for French Polynesia, it’s likely we’ll have the Marquesas/Tuamotos
somewhat to ourselves as most of the US cruisers (few of whom acquired any
visas) will have to hurry through in their allotted 30 days. We will of course
share the anchorages with the European cruising boats who will have
emerged from Panama and the Galapagos by that time. We’re looking forward
to it immensely.
It would not be appropriate to leave Mexico without saying something about it
and the Mexican people. Of the latter, we have found them friendly, warm and
helpful. We interface with them daily in buses, shops, restaurants but mostly
as boat workers and contractors…we’ve had many small jobs done here, all by
locals, who are competent, responsive, creative and reasonable in their
pricing, quick with a smile and a helpful hand. On Mexico itself….an
interesting country with quite a spectacular (and violent) history… actively
working it’s way out of the third-world category, there are definite signs of
prosperity mixed with scenarios and behaviours of the “have-not’s”. We have
never felt threatened nor frightened here, but have new friends in the town
who have been burgled 3 times in a month. We’ve learned that pedestrians
have no rights, that NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement) doesn’t
exist and is purely a PR scam on the part of the US Government (and we have
the customs bills to prove it!!) and that Mexicans love food, music and
dancing. They’re a people who like to have fun, enjoy their cities and live
closely within the family structure…..(most of the boat contractors are
someone’s brother-in-law or cousin!)
It has been a pleasure being here. Hasta La Vista, Mexico.
Next Stop: the Marquesas, South Pacific.
COMMUNICATIONS:
Between early April and early May we will not be checking our Yahoo land-
based email accounts. So, please hold your photos and attachments as our
mail-boxes will overflow and Yahoo may cut us off.
We have a satellite phone on board for high priority and emergency
communication, and of course, the standard ship-board emergency/distress
tools (EPIRB etc).
We’re also happy to announce the launch of our website:
www.dreamcatchervoyage.com
still a work in progress, but we’ll add to it when time allows….enjoy.
HENRY AND GLENYS
===============================================================
Hasta La Vista, Mexico!
FROM BANDERAS BAY,
Lat 20deg 45’ Long 105deg 30'
This comes to you from Punta Mita, Banderas Bay …… a little lifestyle shock
for us….. we finally prised DreamCatcher off the dock a week ago, in search of
our sea legs, and went sailing. This is our “dress rehearsal” for the South
Pacific passage, which will hopefully start around the end of March. Our
return from our travels pitched us into boat life again, transitioning our daily
lives from land folks to sea folks, getting back to the rhythm of living the life of
boat people…. But there was something missing – we were still tied to the
dock! So, after a couple of weeks of boat chores and ongoing business, we
returned to the sea. This, whilst a significant logistics push-up for us, is really
no big deal…. we have journeyed a whole 15 miles from our slip ! But, its been
great to be back “out there” and on the hook, instead of shoe-horned into a
noisy marina with so many distractions. We’ve spent the past week re-
familiarising ourselves with the boat, our emergency processes, drills and
puting ourselves through the paces of living aboard. Our dinghy engine
seized itself to the stern rail, which initially was a frustrating disappointment,
but it has served to confine us to the 46 feet which will be our home for the
month-long crossing to the Marquesas, and subsequently is good
conditioning. Nothing a hack saw blade won’t fix in due course. We’ve
anchored in different places each night, Punta Mita and La Crux ,being our
favourites.
La Crux is a funky, dusty, friendly township on the northern side of the Bay,
where several of the “Puddle Jumpers” have congregated…. There’s a couple
of dozen boats in the anchorage, in daily VHF radio contact with each other
and we’ve spent some pleasant and useful time in their company. Life,
wittingly or otherwise, generally separates people into two groups: those who
“get it” and those who don’t. Philo gets it. Philo is a sailor who’s boat is in Fiji
and who runs a bar in La Crux, Banderas Bay....it is totally focused on passing
cruisers, complete with wireless internet, (yes, in this funky, dusty village), spa
pool, CNN news, clean $35 rooms for sailors, pool tables, cold beer and hot,
live music….. we celebrated St. Patricks Day there – now that’s something:
celebrating St. Paddy’s Day in Mexico ! what next ? Cinco De Mayo in Ireland?
! There are others in the Puerta Vallarta area, who have had similar
opportunities to create prospering and useful businesses, but who have
wasted those opportunities through lack of understanding of what cruisers
(read, customers) really want, or who have simply spent too much time in the
rum, er, sun.
Punta Mita is inside the northern corner of Banderas Bay, which itself
resembles a back-to-front “C”. ….it’s the first place we stopped in early
December on our arrival in the Puerta Vallarta area, and we’ve returned several
times this week – from a cruisers perspective, it has to be one of the easiest
anchorages on the planet: clearly visible, wide, shallow, clean, and quite
pretty. Surprisingly, it’s not used much, and as I write, we only have 6
neighbours, when there’s room for 50 boats here. We arrived a few nights
ago, near midnight, from an interesting episode at the south end of the Bay,
about 20 miles from here. We’d heard about the tiny village of Yelapa, only
accessible by sea, snuggled around a small beach at the at the bottom of
towering tropical hills…… Yelapa has a reputation as a “difficult” anchorage,
being very deep up to the beach with a rolling swell: Good, we said…. This will
be appropriate practice for the Marquesas whose islands rise in a similar
fashion, steeply from of the sea. When we ventured into that deeply
sculptured indent, we were elated at the scene… it was enchanting: tiny, pretty
palm-thatched houses and palapas dotted among the banana and coconut
palms all nested in elevated, tropical misty environs. We circled the anchorage
a couple of times in very deep water….we were literally one boat length from
the beach and still 197 feet deep!...eventually found the “sweet spot” of 25’
depth (which we later realized was a mere 30 ft in diameter) and dropped the
anchor…… the place was just lovely. We were positioned stern-to the white
sandy beach and we poured ourselves a cocktail to celebrate this find and
marvel at the fact that we were the only boat there. That should have been our
first clue. At sundown, the breeze started to shift from on-shore to off-shore,
and as we started to turn 90 degrees to the incoming swell, the rolling effect
was quite violent….additionally, we started to become uncomfortably close to
one of the moored pangas (high-prowed local wooden fishing boats), and
made a unanimous snap decision……”we’re outta here !!!”….. it was pitch
black by the time we made our getaway, and we will probably forever regret
“Paradise Lost”…… hopefully we’ll get back there by panga, without the
anchoring anxiety! We motored across Banderas Bay to the north end at
Punta Mita, dropped the hook and had a bowl of beans with a rum chaser at
midnight!
Banderas Bay is a superb piece of ocean and a wonderful sailing ground. It is
thick with fish and other sea life, and twice this week, we sailed close to a large
whale while cruising around. There are frequent “fish-fests” when schools of
small fish swim close to the surface, attracting hundreds of feeding,
screeching, seabirds. The fish schools gather under the boat’s hull at anchor
to escape the preying eyes of pelicans, gulls and frigate birds. There are big,
colourful fish everywhere you look – it’s quite surprising (and positive) there
are no commercial fishing efforts here, only the few local fishermen in pangas
with their small nets. On anchoring in La Cruz several days ago we were
fascinated by a welcoming school of small stingrays - probably 3 dozen or so
– who gently flapped alongside the boat in a ballet-style display : just lovely.
Nights are filled with sounds of “splish-splash”…. fish jumping out of the
water during some sort of nocturnal chase.
Now, back at the marina, the MEXORC has been in progress: a significant
sailing event attracting several dozen racing yachts from Mexico and the US….
There have been some pretty serious boats here: the Magnitude 80, just
launched out of San Diego, was slipped in front of us but had to be canted
over 30 degrees, as the water was too shallow at the docks for her 12 ft keel ….
It looked odd seeing a boat “heeled over” whilst tied up! The sleds brought
with them the usual army of bicep-endowed rock-stars and their assorted
bikini-clad followers (“dock spiders”), which changed the scenery and
dynamics of the marina quite significantly for the week…. In addition, one big,
bad Dennis Connor was in OUR slip! Ie, the one we had vacated to go sailing
for a week…., so on re-entering the marina and finding Stars and Stripes as
our next-door neighbour: one couldn’t pass up the opportunity to hoist the
Boxing Kangaroo! We had several positive “good on ya’s!!” from the racers
surrounding us on the docks and were the local heroes till Stars and Stripes
left the day after.
Life is still very busy as cruisers-in-waiting…. We are putting in 12 hour days,
starting with the Amigo weather net then the local cruisers VHF radio net at
0830 (could be described as a cross between the 6 o’clock news and your
favourite soap opera), and working through on projects, ongoing maintenance
and jobs in general… we might take a half hour lunch break and buy a local
banana-leaf tomale or chile relleno from the lovely old Mexican lady on the
docks, but, generally, it’s busy, hard and often frustrating work. The cruisers
cha-cha, we call it: one step forward, two steps back! This week, for instance,
in re-packing the lazarette (large below-deck storage locker) we discovered a
tiny split in the propane gas hose….. a serious matter….. thus started the
business of locating replacement parts….long story spared. On replacing the
items we further found a potential split in the large exhaust hose of the engine
(again, no small matter), probably created through pressure of a shifting load
when we were heeled over or bouncing about during the Sea of Cortez
crossing. Including the detective and foot work, re-design and negotiations
with local suppliers and tradesmen, this has added two full days to our
passage prep schedule: of course, boat jobs only come in half day units –
nothing, particularly in a foreign country, takes less time. But, essentially, we’
re OK with that – better to find these problems at the dock than mid
ocean……and, we have been looking for them: we have eye-balled the boat
critically from top to bottom to seek out any flaws and weaknesses. Best
tended to here in the marina with willing hands and suppliers to help.
Further note on the propane hose: parts & fittings were not available here,
despite Henry’s sorties into all the hardware, pipe, tool & die, connexione,
back street places. So we ordered one custom made from Downwind Marine in
San Diego… they sent it via DHL, wrong fittings. We asked them to send
another, they did, correct fittings. Meanwhile, DHL are making out like bandits
with outrageous fees (letters have been sent!). Upon installing the hose, the
brass fittings on the connection meter cracked, so Henry is back out there in
machine shop land, trying to get them made in Mexico…if we are not
successful by tonight (Mar 30) then it will be a plane trip back to the US. This
has been high on the frustration meter, just days before we are due to depart,
not to mention being without a stove for over a week.
The build up to the Pacific crossing has been interesting so far….. clearly there
have been our own preparations: a multi page list of “things to do”, our own
emotions….. mostly suppressed by busy-ness but sometimes surfacing as
anticipation and anxiety…..we’ve been talking about this for so long, and
yikes! now it’s NEXT WEEK !!!!! We’ve also linked up with the Puddle
Jumpers group – about 48 boats leaving from Puerta Vallarta and other
Mexican ports, between mid March and the end of April, all headed for the
Marquesas and beyond. An eclectic group, some of whom are just not our
kind of people. Interestingly we’ve found our cruising buddies with some of
the single handers (one who worked for HP for 14 years) and the smaller
boats. We’re chart sharing and socializing with one boat in particular and
there are hopes for an equatorial raft-up party. The reality of that happening
because of different boat speeds and courses, is unlikely, but, if we are within
range of a fellow cruiser, we might just “hang out” for a few hours and make it
happen.
A practical positive of these Puddle Jumpers gatherings is that a Single Side
Band (SSB) radio net has been established. This is a daily roll-call including
position, weather and other communication elements. We’ve been calling in
from the marina, just to get into the habit, and it’s been increasingly interesting
as each day goes by as another one or two boats launch out of Banderas Bay
into the great blue yonder…. We listen for their progress eagerly and were
chagrined to find that one of the first boats out lost its rudder completely on
the third day and has had to be towed back 500 miles by the Mexican Navy.
We hope that story eventually has a happy ending. Our exit will be governed
by the right weather conditions. We are personally in touch with Don on
Summer Passage, a highly regarded US West Coast and Mexico weather guru,
and we will also be contracting professional weather forecasters and routers
(Commander Weather Systems): the same group that forecast for the Baja Ha
Ha and who forecast the Whitbread/Vendee Round the Globe and Around
Alone races. Because DreamCatcher is a heavy boat, we need to ensure the
North East Trade winds are well established so that we don’t sit out there and
flap around in a windless sea: we beleive that might happen to several boats
that left within the past 24 hours – the winds are turning light for the next 4
days. We have a 2,704 mile journey ahead of us, with about 1,000 miles worth
of available fuel for motoring, so it’s imperative we plan our engine time. We’ll
save it for motoring across the ITCZ/Doldrums (a predictable but nasty piece of
real estate between 3 and 7 degrees north of the equator) and punching
through (or around) weather systems we want to get out of, including multi-
day calms.
So, we’re asking for your collective karma: 15- 20 knots of wind each day,
please !
Hopefully, we’ll have a hassle-free passage with landfall in Hiva Oa (one of the
5 islands of the Marquesas group) towards the end of April. I reckon the 4
week crossing will give me sufficient time to become fluent enough in French
so I can competently insult the buggers on behalf of all Australians for the
nuclear bombing party they held in Mururoa Atoll in 1969 and 1996.
We’re taking on provisions for 3-4 months and extra fuel and water. Our plans
are to cruise in the Marquesas and the Tuamotos (of which Mururoa is a part,
and still off limits) for 2-3 months, at which point we’ll passage to Tahiti – the
half way point in our voyage to Brisbane – to complete French paperwork and
re-group. We have a new set of clothes on board for Tahiti, too, figuring that
our current wardrobe will be worn, torn and faded (there’s nothing like sailing
for ruining your clothes!) or we’ll just be plain sick of them. A new set of
threads for Moorea and Bora Bora will be appropriate as we become part of
society again for a short while, compared to the relative isolation of the two
prior island groups. Given that we’ve taken the trouble to acquire one year
visas for French Polynesia, it’s likely we’ll have the Marquesas/Tuamotos
somewhat to ourselves as most of the US cruisers (few of whom acquired any
visas) will have to hurry through in their allotted 30 days. We will of course
share the anchorages with the European cruising boats who will have
emerged from Panama and the Galapagos by that time. We’re looking forward
to it immensely.
It would not be appropriate to leave Mexico without saying something about it
and the Mexican people. Of the latter, we have found them friendly, warm and
helpful. We interface with them daily in buses, shops, restaurants but mostly
as boat workers and contractors…we’ve had many small jobs done here, all by
locals, who are competent, responsive, creative and reasonable in their
pricing, quick with a smile and a helpful hand. On Mexico itself….an
interesting country with quite a spectacular (and violent) history… actively
working it’s way out of the third-world category, there are definite signs of
prosperity mixed with scenarios and behaviours of the “have-not’s”. We have
never felt threatened nor frightened here, but have new friends in the town
who have been burgled 3 times in a month. We’ve learned that pedestrians
have no rights, that NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement) doesn’t
exist and is purely a PR scam on the part of the US Government (and we have
the customs bills to prove it!!) and that Mexicans love food, music and
dancing. They’re a people who like to have fun, enjoy their cities and live
closely within the family structure…..(most of the boat contractors are
someone’s brother-in-law or cousin!)
It has been a pleasure being here. Hasta La Vista, Mexico.
Next Stop: the Marquesas, South Pacific.
COMMUNICATIONS:
Between early April and early May we will not be checking our Yahoo land-
based email accounts. So, please hold your photos and attachments as our
mail-boxes will overflow and Yahoo may cut us off.
We have a satellite phone on board for high priority and emergency
communication, and of course, the standard ship-board emergency/distress
tools (EPIRB etc).
We’re also happy to announce the launch of our website:
www.dreamcatchervoyage.com
still a work in progress, but we’ll add to it when time allows….enjoy.
HENRY AND GLENYS
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