Wow... woke up this morning and thought we were in Prince Rupert. Not that there's anything wrong with PR, it's just that the wind, rain and cold... are not supposed to be 'here'. Add to that the fact we're going to be here a few days longer than planned... and it could get downright depressing. Seems the course computer for our auto pilot may be fried... won't know for sure until Kathy speaks with Raymarine this morning, and an electrician/technician this afternoon. But, for sure, we won't be leaving this morning with everyone else. And, therein lies a slight problem as there's yet another 'system' coming in on Friday that will be bringing huge seas from the south... which means cruisers need to be anchored somewhere with protection from the south winds and seas before Friday... and there aren't any of those between here and Turtle Bay. For those of you new to this kind of 'figurin' it's what we have to do every time we're planning to leave somewhere safe. Where are we aiming for? How many nautical miles away is it? How far out should be go considering fore casted seas and winds? How long would it take us to get there if we averaged 4 knots ? 5 knots? 3 knots? Can we get there before the next weather system? If we don't make it, where can we turn in to for protection? Are we ready to go? fueled? watered? victualled? It's what I used to speak of when I described cruising as just the first three steps in the "Hierarchy of needs." You psychologists will know of what I speak.
On another note, we've had some difficulties in being or staying connected to the internet (I'm writing this quickly as we're connected for just this wee moment). And, cell phones are not what we expected either. Seems they're more expensive and less useful than we'd been led to believe. So, sorry about that but it looks like e-mail will be our main form of general communication and you can use either our personal e-mails or the boat e-mail and we will get it. Also, if you call our home phone number (the 604-800-xxxx one), the message will come through on the ships e-mail. Please feel free to stay in contact; we love to hear from home. To those of you who e-mailed yesterday, if I don't get back to you today, it's only because the 'net connection's gone down again... so thanks for writing. It was great to hear from you. To all of you, please know we think of you often and hope all is going well.
Ensenada's changed since we were here last (2003). It's bigger and a few more people in the 'tourist' industry speak a little bit of english... but not much. I got lost yesterday, trying to find the bank. There I was standing on the corner, with the trusty ships dog at my side, and I couldn't tell which way it was to get home... in fact I was pretty sure if I kept walking in the direction I was going, I'd end up in the country, inland somewhere. Best I could come up with after tapping a lady on the shoulder, was to point at myself and say "yachtista"... and then "yacht??". Naturally she thought I was nuts, shook her head and wandered off. So, Sophie and I figured that if 'that' way was inland, then the opposite way must be water.. so off we headed and we did finally find our way home... I have GOT to learn how to speak spanish. Maybe if we're going to be trapped here for a
nother week by auto pilots and weather systems .. maybe I can sign up for some spanish lessons now, instead of waiting for La Paz. Oh yeah, there's another bit of interesting news. The 'northers', those horrible and cold winds that sweep down the Sea of Cortez in December and January.... have already started. Rats ! That's going to throw a kink into our plans too. When the northers are blowing, cruisers have great difficulty even getting up the coast to La Paz... so most just give up and head across to the mainland. That's all well and good, and warmer too... lots warmer, but it extends the time frame as to when we'd be getting near to an airport (and we'd hoped to each head home for a week near year's end). So, as they say (over and over) "
the best laid plans for cruising, are written with a stick in the sand... [wait for it]
just below high water mark." Some things just don't change, and that's one of them :-)
Time will tell and we'll just have to do our best. Bottom line... we're in Mexico !! Yippee.
I know Kathy will tell you more about it, but as I'm here now, I just wanted to say a bit about our faithful companion, the ships dog, the devine and beautiful, princess Sophie. What a girl !! She continues to amaze us as she just takes things in stride... Can you even begin to imagine what this little girl is experiencing? Don't forget, her world is only 14" tall. The sounds, smells, birds (most bigger than her), noise level, number of people, type of people, even the sidewalks, and lack of grass (that she's allowed on anyway), dog-friendly areas (none), and language... are all so very different than what she's used to. Heck, she even had her first over-night passage already...didn't mind it too much once she realized she could sleep with whoever was off-watch. But there you have it, she takes it all in stride... doesn't even bother with the pigeons anymore, unless they walk right under her nose... cocky birds ! And, no, she doesn't bark in spanish yet, but she'll learn to I'm sure :-)
Guess that's all for now.. I just wanted to say hi and let you know we're well.... surviving in this Prince Rupertish climate. This morning will be a bit sad as we bid farewell 'till next time to many of our cruising friends who are leaving early to make the 3 day run to Turtle Bay before Friday. We'll see them some time... but, at this point, don't know where... While we wait for our auto pilot to be well, I've arranged for a diver to clean off Shannon's bottom, and I'll putter away on chores. I want a better and easier system for tying on (and un-tying) our jerry cans and I'm going to build a shelf in the V-berth to hold a couple of things that can't seem to find a home. And, maybe I'll learn spanish, and maybe I'll find a Ukulele and start learning how to play it, and maybe I'll start writing again... who knows. Kathy will be busy with the technical challenges (sorry I can't help her with them... but I keep the toilet working and the engine running, so far..). And she may even have time to pick up her guitar.
Wow, I've been chatty. Hope all's well.. take good care my friends... hugs to all of you. CJ
PS: Just a reminder that our friends Jeanne and Tom on the SV Eagle do a great job of describing their journey, which is parallel to ours, on their blog at www.sailblogs.com/member/bigleftturn . The latest is a great description of what it's like to check into Mexico now.
nother week by auto pilots and weather systems .. maybe I can sign up for some spanish lessons now, instead of waiting for La Paz. Oh yeah, there's another bit of interesting news. The 'northers', those horrible and cold winds that sweep down the Sea of Cortez in December and January.... have already started. Rats ! That's going to throw a kink into our plans too. When the northers are blowing, cruisers have great difficulty even getting up the coast to La Paz... so most just give up and head across to the mainland. That's all well and good, and warmer too... lots warmer, but it extends the time frame as to when we'd be getting near to an airport (and we'd hoped to each head home for a week near year's end). So, as they say (over and over) "the best laid plans for cruising, are written with a stick in the sand... [wait for it] just below high water mark." Some things just don't change, and that's one of them :-)