Sunday, Oct. 13th.... yikes! imminent departure looms... We're out of here, early o'clock on Wednesday morning, heading for our date with the MV Coho - the ferry to Port Angeles... departing at 1030 hrs and arriving at 1230 hrs. Then, we will hopefully clear smoothly into the US and begin our trek south to Mexico.
As usual, there's something a little different about this trip :-) Our primary goal is, of course, to get ourselves to Mazatlan to prepare the SV Shannon for her new life. Her new owners are arriving early in November and we plan to have her up and ready by the end of October... and clean and shiny by the time they arrive.
But we have a second goal as well. We will be stopping in St. Helens, OR to meet the owners of two different Pearson 385s and tour their boats. We just want to get a feel for one, having never actually physically laid hands on one. Then it's on to Lake Shasta and from there to Irvine, CA where we'll meet our friend Grant's wife Lynn. From Irvine it's a short hop to San Diego and we have a date with friends there as well. If nothing else we intend to enjoy a lunch at the Southwestern Yacht Club, the most beautiful and friendly yacht club we've visited. As well, their restaurant and deck overlooking the boats is spectacular. Food and drink is great too. We particularly enjoy the Cobb salad and a glass of chilled white wine :-) I was pleased to see that one of the seminars put on by Downwind Marine for the Baha Baha boats... will be on the Monday night we're in San Diego so we plan to take that in too. When we leave San Diego we'll be heading to Nogales, AZ and then we'll make an early start the next day to cross the border into Mexico. Our first stop will be in Guaymas/San Carlos and then, on the 25th, we'll make the last leg of our journey to Mazatlan.
It's a longish drive, but we enjoy it. This trip we're staying in places we haven't been before and that's always fun. We look forward to the time when we'll have more time to explore the actual places we visit... but that's in the future... for now... we blast south and get on with our season.
We have a Pearson 385 (SV Detachmente) waiting to show us her stuff in Barra de Navidad and we're quite excited about meeting her. She's been a cruiser in the Sea of Cortez for many years, under the caring hands of Jerry and Astrid, but she's been resting in a Barra marina for the past several years... we hope all will go well when we meet.
Our overall goal is to find a boat we will be happy with as soon as possible. Then, if we can, we will cruise the mainland this season and the Sea of Cortez for the next 2 or 3 seasons.. and then, probably, we'll bring the boat home to BC where we can continue our adventures here.
For now... we pack and prepare.... make copies of our paperwork... make arrangements for the dog, the house, the car, and little Mojo... and cross our fingers that we have a safe and enjoyable trip.
We will remain available via email, and will love to hear from any of you who care to write. We also wish all of you and your loved ones a happy Thanksgiving, a merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year.
We'll keep the blog going so you can keep an eye on us (make sure we don't misbehave :-) ... Take good care.... CJ
