Thursday, 27 March 2014
Road Trip: Guadalajara
After the Banderas Bay Regatta we were ready for a different kind of fun so we joined our friends, Ed and Connie for a road trip up-country. We drove about a thousand miles, or perhaps it just seemed like a thousand miles throughout west-central Mexico. Here is a list of the notable towns and cities we visited on the trip:
Tequila
Guadalajara
Tlaquepaque
Guanajuato
San Miguel de Allende
Morelia
Angangueo
Patzquaro
Chapala
Mascota
That's a lot of traveling, so for this post I'll focus on Tequila and Guadalajara. Ed has a car here in Mexico and was kind enough to do nearly all the driving so I was free to just watch the world go by from the backseat of his Isuzu Rodeo, and occasionally hang on for dear life as Ed demonstrated his high speed driving prowess on the unpredictable roads of Mexico. Actually, we only stopped in Tequila for some beer and tacos along with a couple of souvenirs from the Jose Cuervo distillery. Anyway, we blew into Guadalajara and took rooms at the beautiful old Hotel Morales in downtown.
After the high speed run into town, I was more than ready for a stiff drink and we were fortunate that the hotel had an excellent restaurant with a fairly good bartender. The next morning we began our tour of this sprawling, gritty, bustling city. With about four and a half million residents in the metropolitan area, Guadalajara is the second largest city in Mexico and is a major center of commerce and industry. It is also the capital of the state of Jalisco. It has a long and colorful history dating back to the 1500's, and if you'd like to know more about this fascinating and diverse megalopolis, feel free to check it out on Wikipedia.
Like most of Mexico's cities, Guadalajara is full of churches, and we wandered around several of the biggest ones, taking photos and people-watching. One thing I have noticed in all of the churches and cathedrals I've visited in Mexico is the strikingly beautiful architecture and sculpture combined with a musty sense of dilapidation inside them. Outside, soaring spires and magnificent bells. Inside, cracked icons and peeling paint. Never a fan of organized religion, these aspects of the churches seemed to me to be a fitting metaphor for the Church itself.
Guadalajara is also a city of music. In fact, it would be fair to say that Mexico is a country of music because almost everywhere you travel in this beautiful country, someone is strumming a guitar or singing. This is a happy country in spite of all the troubles it confronts. I think the US could learn something about enjoying the simple pleasures of life from Mexico. Anyway, Guadalajara is said to be the birthplace of Mariachi music, that distinctively Mexican musical style. We were treated to lots of this kind of music but we also experienced a wonderful classical music concert in the plaza a couple of blocks from our hotel as well.
After a couple of days in the city we were ready to move on. Our next stop was the town of Tlaquepaque, which is known for its artisans and craftsmen. I found it to be a bit too touristy for my taste and Ed agreed, so while the women shopped we set out on a mission to find some decent margaritas. Alas, we failed and had to settle for some watery concoctions that the waiter claimed were margaritas, but tasted like Fresca and lime juice. With that we piled back into the car and headed for the beautiful city of Guanajuato.
Tequila
Guadalajara
Tlaquepaque
Guanajuato
San Miguel de Allende
Morelia
Angangueo
Patzquaro
Chapala
Mascota
That's a lot of traveling, so for this post I'll focus on Tequila and Guadalajara. Ed has a car here in Mexico and was kind enough to do nearly all the driving so I was free to just watch the world go by from the backseat of his Isuzu Rodeo, and occasionally hang on for dear life as Ed demonstrated his high speed driving prowess on the unpredictable roads of Mexico. Actually, we only stopped in Tequila for some beer and tacos along with a couple of souvenirs from the Jose Cuervo distillery. Anyway, we blew into Guadalajara and took rooms at the beautiful old Hotel Morales in downtown.
After the high speed run into town, I was more than ready for a stiff drink and we were fortunate that the hotel had an excellent restaurant with a fairly good bartender. The next morning we began our tour of this sprawling, gritty, bustling city. With about four and a half million residents in the metropolitan area, Guadalajara is the second largest city in Mexico and is a major center of commerce and industry. It is also the capital of the state of Jalisco. It has a long and colorful history dating back to the 1500's, and if you'd like to know more about this fascinating and diverse megalopolis, feel free to check it out on Wikipedia.
Like most of Mexico's cities, Guadalajara is full of churches, and we wandered around several of the biggest ones, taking photos and people-watching. One thing I have noticed in all of the churches and cathedrals I've visited in Mexico is the strikingly beautiful architecture and sculpture combined with a musty sense of dilapidation inside them. Outside, soaring spires and magnificent bells. Inside, cracked icons and peeling paint. Never a fan of organized religion, these aspects of the churches seemed to me to be a fitting metaphor for the Church itself.
Guadalajara is also a city of music. In fact, it would be fair to say that Mexico is a country of music because almost everywhere you travel in this beautiful country, someone is strumming a guitar or singing. This is a happy country in spite of all the troubles it confronts. I think the US could learn something about enjoying the simple pleasures of life from Mexico. Anyway, Guadalajara is said to be the birthplace of Mariachi music, that distinctively Mexican musical style. We were treated to lots of this kind of music but we also experienced a wonderful classical music concert in the plaza a couple of blocks from our hotel as well.
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| Atrium in the Hotel Morales |
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| Central Square with the obligatory church in Guadalajara |
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| Guadalajara is the commercial center of Mexico but it is also a city of music. |
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| Cellists |
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| Violinists |
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| Guadalajara is said to be the birthplace of Mariachi music. This sculpture is a tribute to the genre. |
Monday, 17 March 2014
Banderas Bay Regatta
It is officially called the Regata Internacional Bahia de Banderas. It is a three day, three race event for cruising boats and it is hosted by Vallarta Yacht Club. It was interesting to see how many of these cruising boats opted to fly in crew member from the States. We sailed aboard Snapdragon, a Beneteau 473, which is a big sister to our 423. Instead of flying in from the states we took a bus from our current and very lovely home port of La Cruz de Huanacaxtle to Paradise Village, where the race was headquartered.
Snapdragon is outfitted and equipped, like most Beneteau 473's, with a smallish jib, in-mast roller furling mainsail and lots of cruising gear. By cruising gear I mean dinghy davits, bimini and dodger, and a long list of other cruising must-haves that are never seen aboard racing yachts.
Basic dimensions of the 473:
LOA: 46.92'
LWL: 43.83'
BMAX: 14.16'
DRAFT: 6.92'
SA: 914 sf
DISP: 24,277 LB
BAL: 8157 LB
The photos show a boat with good speed potential, especially off the wind. Like the 423, it's keel shape is not particularly well suited for upwind work, so I was a bit surprised at our upwind performance which was better than that of our competitors in Class D. This enabled "the Dragon" to get to the weather mark first in all three races.
Here are the results for our class. (For complete results go to www.banderasbayregatta.com):
Our pickup crew consisted of a couple of experienced racers and some inexperienced friends. What the friends lacked in experience they more than made up for in enthusiasm and good humor. We didn't exactly laugh our way around the course, but it was a lot of fun sailing together. As you can see from the results, the Dragon finished second in class. To make it even more interesting, none of us, except for Lisa and I, had ever sailed together or, except for the owner, sailed aboard a 473.
In race 1 we won the start and led at every mark of the course which was a triangle-sausage-upwind finish. We sailed conservatively, given that our foredeck crew had never actually done foredeck before, so we didn't have any boathandling errors but we missed saving our time on the second boat by two seconds.
In race two, we won the start and in about 15-17 knots of wind sailed out to a comfortable lead against all of our competition. The course was a 16 mile long triangle-sausage-upwind finish and as we approached the last leeward mark we were about five minutes ahead of the second place boat. Unfortunately we wrapped the kite around the headstay on the jibe and blew the lead, finishing third.
On day three, the wind lightened up. We started in about 8 knots of wind and Snapdragon suffered in this light air. We managed to eke out a small lead at the weather mark and bore off on a reach to the jibe mark which was about four miles away. On this leg we were caught by Adios and Daring just as we approached the jibe mark. There was plenty of drama at the mark as Daring and Adios fought their way around it. We chose to take the high road to the mark and both of the other boats rounded ahead of us by less than a boatlength, but we came out of the rounding going higher and faster than them and quickly regained the lead.
We held onto it until we were within a few boatlengths of the last leeward mark before the finish where we snarled the jib furling line and were unable to completely unroll the jib. Daring passed us and held the lead to the finish. We ended the regatta with a second in class, which I thought was pretty good for our crew. And, like I said earlier, we met some great new friends and had a wonderful time sailing on what is arguably one of the finest sailing venues in the world.
After the regatta we celebrated with the rest of the crew at Paradise Village. To mark the occasion Lisa reached deep into our wine locker and brought out a bottle of 1997 BV Georges de Latour cabernet to share with the crew. It was superb.
In summary, we were fortunate that Russ had his cruising boat well prepared for the regatta and proved to be an excellent helmsman, which was a key part of our success. I also want to thank Greg, Alan, George, Lon, Steve, and most importantly, Lisa for making this a really great regatta.
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| The 473 incorporates many of the same features as the 423, including the cast iron bulb keel and conservative sailplan. |
LOA: 46.92'
LWL: 43.83'
BMAX: 14.16'
DRAFT: 6.92'
SA: 914 sf
DISP: 24,277 LB
BAL: 8157 LB
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| Sistership to Snapdragon courtesy of Yachtworld.com |
The photos show a boat with good speed potential, especially off the wind. Like the 423, it's keel shape is not particularly well suited for upwind work, so I was a bit surprised at our upwind performance which was better than that of our competitors in Class D. This enabled "the Dragon" to get to the weather mark first in all three races.
Here are the results for our class. (For complete results go to www.banderasbayregatta.com):
D Start
Sailed: 3, Discards: 0, To count: 3, Rating system: PHRFTOT, Entries: 6, Scoring system: Appendix A
| Rank | Bow_Num | Fleet | Boat | Class | Owner | Rating | BBR XXII - Race 1 | BBR XXII - Race 2 | BBR Race 3 | Total | Nett |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | D18 | Cruiser Class D | Daring | Dawn 48 Ketch | Craig Chamberlain | 110 | 1.00 | 1.00 | 1.00 | 3.00 | 3.00 |
| 2nd | D16 | Cruiser Class D | Snapdragon | Beneteau 473 | Russ Johnson | 89 | 2.00 | 3.00 | 2.00 | 7.00 | 7.00 |
| 3rd | D67 | Cruiser Class D | Sur | Beneteau 49 | Alajandro de La Pena | 93 | 4.00 | 2.00 | 4.00 | 10.00 | 10.00 |
| 4th | D19 | Cruiser Class D | Adios | Columbia 43 | Craig Shaw | 116 | 3.00 | 4.00 | 3.00 | 10.00 | 10.00 |
| 5th | D20 | Cruiser Class D | Wind Chime | Hunter 430 | Neal Albrektsen | 133 | 5.00 | 5.00 | 5.00 | 15.00 | 15.00 |
| 6th | D17 | Cruiser Class D | Scout | Jeanneau SO 52.2 | Greg Himes | 101 | 6.00 | 6.00 | 6.00 | 18.00 | 18.00 |
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| Snapdragon's Crew. We started the regatta with six but by day three we had recruited a couple more guys. |
In race 1 we won the start and led at every mark of the course which was a triangle-sausage-upwind finish. We sailed conservatively, given that our foredeck crew had never actually done foredeck before, so we didn't have any boathandling errors but we missed saving our time on the second boat by two seconds.
In race two, we won the start and in about 15-17 knots of wind sailed out to a comfortable lead against all of our competition. The course was a 16 mile long triangle-sausage-upwind finish and as we approached the last leeward mark we were about five minutes ahead of the second place boat. Unfortunately we wrapped the kite around the headstay on the jibe and blew the lead, finishing third.
On day three, the wind lightened up. We started in about 8 knots of wind and Snapdragon suffered in this light air. We managed to eke out a small lead at the weather mark and bore off on a reach to the jibe mark which was about four miles away. On this leg we were caught by Adios and Daring just as we approached the jibe mark. There was plenty of drama at the mark as Daring and Adios fought their way around it. We chose to take the high road to the mark and both of the other boats rounded ahead of us by less than a boatlength, but we came out of the rounding going higher and faster than them and quickly regained the lead.
We held onto it until we were within a few boatlengths of the last leeward mark before the finish where we snarled the jib furling line and were unable to completely unroll the jib. Daring passed us and held the lead to the finish. We ended the regatta with a second in class, which I thought was pretty good for our crew. And, like I said earlier, we met some great new friends and had a wonderful time sailing on what is arguably one of the finest sailing venues in the world.
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| Russ and I after the trophy presentation. |
After the regatta we celebrated with the rest of the crew at Paradise Village. To mark the occasion Lisa reached deep into our wine locker and brought out a bottle of 1997 BV Georges de Latour cabernet to share with the crew. It was superb.
In summary, we were fortunate that Russ had his cruising boat well prepared for the regatta and proved to be an excellent helmsman, which was a key part of our success. I also want to thank Greg, Alan, George, Lon, Steve, and most importantly, Lisa for making this a really great regatta.
Thursday, 6 March 2014
In the La Cruz Vortex
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| Sunrise from near the center of the Vortex |
We've been here about six weeks now and probably won't escape what I call the La Cruz Vortex until sometime late in the month of March. The problem is that there is so much to do, friends, projects, inland travel and just relaxing, that it is difficult to leave. Here are a few news items:
1. We spent about ten days anchored outside La Cruz, in mostly picture-perfect conditions. Then a few days ago a large Pacific swell rolled in from the northwest and converted the normally peaceful anchorage to a lumpy, bumpy place, and we decided to return to our old slip on gangway 10 in Marina La Cruz. Here are some interesting boats that were anchored near Finisterra.
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| This steel cruising yacht is named "Go For Broke". Notice the outboard motor mounted on the transom bracket. |
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| Look closely and beneath all the stuff on deck you can just make out what looks like a Newport 41 |
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| Much has changed in the anchorage since we were here three years ago but this fine vessel has been here the whole time. I guess it's having a little trouble escaping the Vortex. I hope that's not the fate that awaits Finisterra. |
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| This Dencho-built Peterson 43, a former IOR racer, has found new life as a high performance cruiser. |
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| "Pied-a-Mer", a Seawind catamaran, looks shipshape and seaworthy. |
2. For the first time that we know of, a cruising couple was attacked while walking home from a local waterfront cantina late at night. There were no injuries and the would-be robbers didn't get any money. Still, it was a wake-up call for those of us who assume that our little community around the waterfront is perfectly safe. Now, before everyone jumps to conclusions about the dangers of life in Mexico it should be noted that this is the first and only time we know of that anything like this has happened around here, and muggings, robberies and worse are daily events in Orange County. I still feel quite safe here.
3. We learned that cruising yachts need to have a liability insurance policy from a Mexican insurance company in addition to your regular boat insurance. A standard policy from Novamar Insurance runs about $200 USD. It's important to have this insurance because Mexico's laws are based on Napoleonic Law, which means that you are guilty until proven innocent instead of the other way around. If you don't have Mexican liability insurance and your boat damages another boat or causes some other property damage, you're likely to be calling home from a Mexican jail. I never liked Napoleon anyway.
4. Since we're going to be here in Mexico quite a lot this year, we decided to join the Vallarta YC. It's the racing club here in the Bay so we'll be doing some fun racing, and we're looking forward to spending lots of time in the club's swimming pool this summer, and perhaps in the bar as well.
5. The Banderas Bay Regatta is coming up March 11-15. This is a cruising boat regatta, but the top boats in the event take it quite seriously, with some boats flying in crews from the States. I'll be sailing aboard Snapdragon, a Beneteau 473 for this event.
6. Sirena, the boat that was dismasted finally had the stump removed and is awaiting a new rig from the states. Fortunately SeaTek rigging is based at the La Cruz shipyard so we're confident that the new rig and other repairs will be first class and it won't be long before Sirena is back to her cruising ways.
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7. After the regatta, we may stick around for Mexorc, which starts around March 23rd, or we may take a road trip to Gudalajara, Morelia and Guanajuato, or maybe both, or neither...
Tuesday, 25 February 2014
A Month in Banderas Bay
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| Banderas Bay Sunrise |
Finisterra has been in Banderas Bay for about a month, and it looks like we'll be here a few more weeks. We've decided to spend the season cruising in Mexico instead of hurrying south to Panama this spring. Reasons for this are multiple, but the primary cause is that we had planned to leave California in November but were delayed a couple of months due to health issues. We considered various schedules for getting to Panama before the wet season starts, but they all would leave us without enough time to explore southern Mexico, El Salvador, Guatemala and Costa Rica. So instead, we'll hang out here a bit longer, then head north into the beautiful Sea of Cortez. When hurricane season begins in late spring, Finisterra will be safely tucked into a slip in La Cruz and we'll go back to the States for a couple of months.
In the meantime, life here could scarcely be more relaxing and tranquil. We loved having guests aboard Finisterra and enjoy the friendly hustle and bustle of life ashore, but out here on the hook we have time to relax. You might think cruising in Mexico is one big vacation, but believe it or not, there is always work to be done, people to see, and places to go. But here in the anchorage on a peaceful morning all of that seems faraway, at least for a while. Here is typical morning aboard Finisterra:
I woke up around 6:00am. Sunrise isn't until well after 7:00. I fix a cup of coffee and go on deck and look around. The first streaks of dawn appear over the mountains to the east and I settle down in the cockpit to watch the show. The boat is gently rocking and the only sound is a few gulls in the distance. A few minutes pass and the sky is brightening, sending streaks of light through the morning clouds that are reflected in the water. I hear what sounds like a sigh and look over to see a couple of dolphins lazily passing by less than 40 feet away. Off in the distance I hear the sound of an outboard motor and see a panga with a couple of fishermen heading out for a day of fishing. By now the sun is about to burst over the mountains and the dinghy traffic begins as people aboard the sixty or so boats in the anchorage head for shore. A few minutes later, Lisa emerges on deck with a plate full of sliced fruit, and the day is in full swing.
Sunday, 23 February 2014
Plenty of Excitement in La Cruz
We stayed in Marina Riviera about three weeks, which is a week longer than planned. My first priority was to get all the maintenance and repair items on the boat finished. There was not a lot to do, but here in the land of Manana, simple things can take longer than you expect. For example, I needed a replacement belt for the alternator on the engine, a simple part that should be available anywhere. But after visiting about a dozen refaccionarias (auto parts stores), it had become more like a treasure hunt. I finally located one with the help of my Bolivian/American buddy Ed, in an Autozone store just outside of Puerto Vallarta. You may be wondering why I didn't bring my own spares with me from the US. Well, I did but it turned out that the belt specified in the engine manual does not fit on my particular engine because the standard alternator was replaced with a high output unit.
La Cruz is a gathering point for boats waiting out winter storms before heading north to the Sea of Cortez or the US. Boats heading south to Central America or the South Pacific also gather here. It is a perfect place to reprovision, repair and upgrade your boat before heading out to more remote destinations so it's a great meeting place for friends, old and new. Of course winter brings lots of Canadians, some by boat but many by plane. Among them are our good friends Judy and Wolf, who we have met in various Mexican ports in the past. They invited us to join them for the Southside Shuffle in Puerto Vallarta. This is a bi-weekly art walk in the heart of the "Zona Romantica". We wandered through the many shops and galleries, sipping free wine and marveling at the surprisingly (to me) high quality art on display.
A few days later friends from the States, Tom and Mary Ellen flew into town. Veterans of Mexico cruising themselves, they were ready to party and visit old haunts in town. In the evenings we listened to Latin Jazz at Philos and Sax virtuoso Bryan Savage at Oso's or played Mexican Train aboard Finisterra. One day we drove into the town of Bucerias for a horse show. The Mexicans do them with lots of pageantry, LOUD music and Big Sombreros. We wandered around the grounds and watched the pageant that preceded the actual competition. Unfortunately, the event was delayed and we had to leave well before it was over.
Another day we went out for a sail on a friend's sailboat and got dismasted. A dismasting is always a lot of work but we had a good, experienced crew and quickly secured the broken mast and rigging and got back into the marina in time for cocktails.
A couple of days later we took a cruise out to Islas Tres Marietas aboard Finisterra and were treated to lots of up-close sightings of whales. Before we knew it, another week had flown by and it was time to say goodbye to our friends.
A few weeks ago the autofocus on my trusty Olympus C-740 camera stopped working properly. It would only focus on things it wanted to instead of what I wanted. I'm not sure if it's fixable, but it was time for a new camera anyway. I've had the Oly for over ten years and during that time it has traveled over three continents and many thousands of miles with me. Some of the hardest on it were the sea miles, where it occasionally got hit with salt spray or worse. So I ordered a new Olympus Stylus 1 to replace it. The photos you see here were taken with it. As you can see, I'm still on the steep part of the learning curve with it.
Yesterday we moved to the anchorage outside of La Cruz. We'll hang out here a few more days before moving out to Punta de Mita.
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| Lisa updating her Facebook page in her new Bumfuzzle shirt. For more info go to www.bumfuzzle.com |
La Cruz is a gathering point for boats waiting out winter storms before heading north to the Sea of Cortez or the US. Boats heading south to Central America or the South Pacific also gather here. It is a perfect place to reprovision, repair and upgrade your boat before heading out to more remote destinations so it's a great meeting place for friends, old and new. Of course winter brings lots of Canadians, some by boat but many by plane. Among them are our good friends Judy and Wolf, who we have met in various Mexican ports in the past. They invited us to join them for the Southside Shuffle in Puerto Vallarta. This is a bi-weekly art walk in the heart of the "Zona Romantica". We wandered through the many shops and galleries, sipping free wine and marveling at the surprisingly (to me) high quality art on display.
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| Map of the Shuffle |
A few days later friends from the States, Tom and Mary Ellen flew into town. Veterans of Mexico cruising themselves, they were ready to party and visit old haunts in town. In the evenings we listened to Latin Jazz at Philos and Sax virtuoso Bryan Savage at Oso's or played Mexican Train aboard Finisterra. One day we drove into the town of Bucerias for a horse show. The Mexicans do them with lots of pageantry, LOUD music and Big Sombreros. We wandered around the grounds and watched the pageant that preceded the actual competition. Unfortunately, the event was delayed and we had to leave well before it was over.
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| Young Girl with proud Poppa. She was one of about a dozen girls in the show. Notice she is wearing a spur on her left boot. This is because she and the rest of the girls in the show rode side-saddle. |
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| The show began with a pageant of sorts, when a dozen or so girls ranging in age from about 6 to 16 rode to the center of the ring and each was called out by name and awarded a big sombrero and a bouquet. Later the men rode out but were not rewarded with any gifts. |
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| Young rider with a brand new sombrero and a bouquet. |
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| Mexican horsemen are called Charros. Notice the young rider on the far left, his hat is almost as big as him. In Mexico, kids learn to ride early in life. |
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| The youngest female rider's horse was led by her mom. |
Another day we went out for a sail on a friend's sailboat and got dismasted. A dismasting is always a lot of work but we had a good, experienced crew and quickly secured the broken mast and rigging and got back into the marina in time for cocktails.
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| A dismasting is always serious, but this time there were no injuries and quick work by the crew prevented more serious damage to the boat. |
A couple of days later we took a cruise out to Islas Tres Marietas aboard Finisterra and were treated to lots of up-close sightings of whales. Before we knew it, another week had flown by and it was time to say goodbye to our friends.
A few weeks ago the autofocus on my trusty Olympus C-740 camera stopped working properly. It would only focus on things it wanted to instead of what I wanted. I'm not sure if it's fixable, but it was time for a new camera anyway. I've had the Oly for over ten years and during that time it has traveled over three continents and many thousands of miles with me. Some of the hardest on it were the sea miles, where it occasionally got hit with salt spray or worse. So I ordered a new Olympus Stylus 1 to replace it. The photos you see here were taken with it. As you can see, I'm still on the steep part of the learning curve with it.
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| A double-ender slipped out of La Cruz at sunset |
Yesterday we moved to the anchorage outside of La Cruz. We'll hang out here a few more days before moving out to Punta de Mita.
Tuesday, 4 February 2014
Market Day in La Cruz
Every Sunday local growers, artisans, musicians and vendors of all sorts of foods and clothing gather on the malecon in front of the La Cruz fish market to sell their wares. It's a festive and colorful occasion that really brings out the eclectic culture of this pretty little town. In the years since I was last here, the town has grown and prospered. When it started, the open air market was a small affair, but now it's a pretty big deal, and people come from miles around to sample and buy fruits and vegetables, breads and exotic sauces, clothing and art. It's a lot of fun to wander among them and enjoy it all.
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| The bread girl sells delicious baguettes. |
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| Fresh foods abound |
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| Basketry made of pine needles |
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| Dolls are a big deal in Mexico |
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| This dancer looks pensive before the start of her routine.... |
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| Her partner looked more confident. |
Cats in La Cruz
We spent a couple of days anchored outside of the harbor before moving into the Marina Riviera Nayarit. As soon as we got into the slip I started on boat projects, one of which was to have the hull and deck polished and waxed. Another was to have the teak cap rails sanded and re-varnished. Finisterra is all bright and shiny now.
I also had a refrigeration specialist take a look at our freezer system. Ironically, it's been working flawlessly since we got here so there was little he could do to diagnose the intermittent problem. We checked all the basics, which I had already done...all good. He did leave me with some ideas about what to do if the problem recurs. The engine also needed servicing and it now has fresh oil and filters, and is ready for the next adventure.
Now that the chores are done, I've had some time to cruise around the marina, renew old acquaintances, and check out all the boats that are here. There is no shortage of cruising cats in the harbor. They range from Profligate, Richard Spindler's venerable 63 foot cruising cat to the beautiful new Sig 45, Vamonos.
Profligate was one of the boats that were "embargoed" by the Mexican government. A couple of days ago it, along with most of the other embargoed boats, was released by the Mexican government. So it appears that this controversy is coming to an end. Profligate is a modified 63' Kurt Hughes design. Perhaps not the prettiest cat in the harbor, it is a functional and practical boat that gets sailed a lot.
Another interesting design is the 50 foot "Kalewa". This boat has a successful racing record and I believe it has also done at least one Pacific crossing. I'll leave it to you to judge the aesthetics of this boat.
This Sunreef 70, Blue Guru, is the queen of the local multihull fleet here in La Cruz. Sunreef Yachts has established itself as a leader in the luxury multihull market.
Lagoon is well represented in La Cruz with at least three of them in the harbor. The 470 is the best looking of them.
The most interesting boat in the harbor is the SIG 45, Vamonos.
Sig catamarans are designed in France and are usually built there, but Vamonos was built in California by Westerly Marine. With tiller steering and a wide open bridge deck, this boat stands out from the more cruising-oriented boats in the harbor.
I also had a refrigeration specialist take a look at our freezer system. Ironically, it's been working flawlessly since we got here so there was little he could do to diagnose the intermittent problem. We checked all the basics, which I had already done...all good. He did leave me with some ideas about what to do if the problem recurs. The engine also needed servicing and it now has fresh oil and filters, and is ready for the next adventure.
Now that the chores are done, I've had some time to cruise around the marina, renew old acquaintances, and check out all the boats that are here. There is no shortage of cruising cats in the harbor. They range from Profligate, Richard Spindler's venerable 63 foot cruising cat to the beautiful new Sig 45, Vamonos.
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| Note the big daggerboards on Profligate (pronounced PRO-fliget) |
Profligate was one of the boats that were "embargoed" by the Mexican government. A couple of days ago it, along with most of the other embargoed boats, was released by the Mexican government. So it appears that this controversy is coming to an end. Profligate is a modified 63' Kurt Hughes design. Perhaps not the prettiest cat in the harbor, it is a functional and practical boat that gets sailed a lot.
Another interesting design is the 50 foot "Kalewa". This boat has a successful racing record and I believe it has also done at least one Pacific crossing. I'll leave it to you to judge the aesthetics of this boat.
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| Racy, spacy Kalewa |
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| Extended transoms with what appear to be kick up rudders on Kalewa. Notice the swoopy contours of the deck house and lack of lifelines. A very interesting boat. |
This Sunreef 70, Blue Guru, is the queen of the local multihull fleet here in La Cruz. Sunreef Yachts has established itself as a leader in the luxury multihull market.
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| Blue Guru |
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| Note the massive proportions of the S-70 and the composite boom. |
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| This Lagoon 470 is much better looking than the brochure suggests. |
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| This Lagoon 420 isn't quite as pretty as its big sister. Yellow for the sunscreens probably wasn't the best choice of colors. |
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| Tigress is a Prout 50. |
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| Sig 45 at speed. Courtesy of Yachtworld.com |
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| Concave bow on the Sig. |
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| The paint scheme on this meticulously maintained 45 qualifies as art. |
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| With accommodations limited to the hulls, the bridgedeck is wide open. This photo courtesy of Yachtworld.com |
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