I’m pleased to report that the good ship Shannon’s Spirit sails as gently as her name sake… a caring kind of a feel… and we like that.
After far too short a time under sail, we returned to the entrance of our Bahia, just outside San Carlos Marina, tucked in all the material and lines, and motored into the area used by many of the cruisers as an anchorage. It’s near enough to the marina for land-based activities and far enough away (at the end we chose) to be away from any extra noise or hubbub. After setting the anchor (it went down perfectly) we settled in with a tot to watch the sun sink slowly over the lovely rocky bit protecting us from the northwest winds. They came up just after we’d anchored and we were very pleased we’d come in a little early to avoid them
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For dinner we enjoyed some fine BBQ’d Sonoran beef (rib eye), along with roasted veggies and our latest of many favourite red wines. The evening was a special one. Not only had we enjoyed a nice afternoon sailing (finally) but it was actually our first sail together on this new (to us) vessel. So, as Martha might have said… It was a good thing.
We’re back at the dock now having spent a lovely quiet night at anchor. The fact we had to hoist the anchor by hand… well, that’s another story. Suffice to say we’re in search for yet one or two more boat dollars for trade in on a new windlass :-) We motored into our slip very nicely and came along side with no fuss, no muss. It was kind of fun that our cruising buddies were so happy for us; that we’d actually gone out and sailed. They too have been stuck in San Carlos by El Nino but they’ve been very supportive as we’ve worked through the prepping of our new boat.
Today is Sunday, January 17th, and tomorrow we begin the systematic prepping of SSpirit for her eventual return to the storage yard. She is scheduled to be hauled out on Feb. 4th and, by then, we hope to have her as ready as possible (save the engine flushing, canvas removal, plugging of holes and cracks, and anything else we didn’t get to). Our plan is to pull out early this year and return to Arizona to pick up Lucy (the trailer). As this has turned out to be NOT a sailing season, we are going to turn the last half into a camping season. We have friends in Arizona and California to visit and many places of interest along the way. And, as we meander slowly northwards, we shall try very hard to stay below the cold and frost line.
We hope all is well with all of you and that your 2016 is shaping up as you like it. This is us, signing off for now. Will write again when there’s something to share. All the best. CJ, K and PS
