HAPPY ST. PATRICK’S DAY !!
March 17th already… yikes ! Can’t believe how quickly we’ve arrived back at the start of our cruising circle. I know they say time flies faster as you get older… but ‘wow’ here we are looking at the list of things to do to get the good ship Shannon ready for abandonment (for 6 months) again… The good news is that I think the list might just be a wee bit shorter this year as we’re going to leave her in the water instead of up on the hard (in a shipyard). We’ve reserved a single slip (meaning she’ll be strung out between two small docks so she won’t be banging and rubbing against her fenders) at Marina Mazatlan. That’s the marina that is inside the estuary, mostly free of surge, and hopefully somewhat protected from the worst of the winds. We’ll also be hiring a fellow (Tony’s Boat Management) to watch over her and care for her while we’re away. It’s not cheap (nothing is) but it’s pretty necessary here, especially since she’ll be afloat.
We arrived back at Marina El Cid (love these pools and hot tub!) on Thursday, March 14th. Had a very interesting motor-sail up from San Blas which Kathy is going to tell you about. We’re here, at El Cid, until the 24th… at which time we’ll move Shannon down the estuary to Marina Mazatlan. Unfortunately the washroom facilities at Marina Maz are.. well… to use a word… ‘awful’; and the evening ‘music’ is pretty loud, and Shannon’s interior will be all stirred up as we empty, re-sort and re-pack everything… so, we’ll be moving in to a small bungalow for the last week and while we prep Shannon. There’s also Chuck the Truck…. waiting patiently in La Paz. I fly to La Paz on Wednesday to pick him up and bring him back on the ferry… yet another adventure. We hope to leave here April 1st to begin our drive home. We’ll be stopping in Yuma and Cathedral City on our way north and then we’ll be barreling up the highway to Vancouver for some family business. We hope to be home on the Island no later than the 19th.
This has been a whirlwind season, and it’s not done yet… AND, we’ve lots of things still to share with you, and photos too. So, what we’re going to do is make submissions to the Blog as we have time between chores… They won’t be in any particular order but at least we’ll be able to share.
I will take this opportunity to thank all of you who have kept in touch. While we continue to meet good people at every anchorage, and we’ve made many new cruising friends, we continually think of, and miss, those we’ve left at home. We’re looking forward to catching up with most of you this summer and to hanging out in our beloved Maple Bay. So to all of you from all of us…. have a wonderful day… a great St. Patrick’s Day… and take good care of yourselves. Collect lots of hugs, and dish a few out too. Charlotte Diamond says we each need at least 5 a day… so get started. :-) So, until we write again… and until we see you (soon)
Adios… CJ
