Adventures in Paradise
GODZILLA
Saturday, December 14, 2013
Friday, December 6, 2013
Back in Mazatlan......
New look for Godzilla....!!! |
Michael goin rustic..... |
This ended up being a partial disaster as the seemed to be some bug going around. A lot of cruisers were sick part of the time including Wally and me. We DID have a great dock party and also had a great Christmas dinner before we all went down for the count. Christine got a block of Yellowfin Tuna from a fellow cruiser so we had surf and turf to die for.
Christine bailed on us shortly after because she said the aliens were coming after her, and she also claimed the Russians were trying to breed a super-race with Siberians and the Yeti. Maybe it was best she went back to Cabo.
Wally and I sailed back to Mazatlan, both sick as dogs. Not a pleasant ride in that regard. I spent the rest of the season in Mazatlan with a broken boat. Not a lot I could do until I returned to the U.S. for parts.
One good thing was my son Michael flew down in May for a week. He drove back to the U.S. with me at the end of May. That was a real treat!.
Make Sand-Weeetch!!!! |
Two cool guys.....!!!! |
During the summer I got a call from Rick in Mazatlan asking if I wanted to deliver a boat to Ensenada. In need of $$, I agreed and with my friend Ed Staples we flew down in August to deliver "Hotel California north. Ed wrote a great little piece about our adventure north but I can;t seem to figure out how to share it here, LOL.......In any event it was 7 days to Ensenada and what Ed and I both thought was one of the smoothest Baja bashes either of us had done. Aboard was the new owner ( it is a 47" powerboat). Duane turned out to be a great guy and we all had a great time.
In October I drove solo back to Mazatlan (3 days) to get some more projects finished. My boat has sat for nearly a year without going anywhere and it shows. She looks great, but anytime you leave and old girl idle, she revolts.
My plan for this season is to return to the Sea of Cortez this spring and spend at least 3 months exploring all the places I missed two season ago. Also not to wait so long till I update this damn blog!!!
Hard at work...... |
Monday, December 10, 2012
Hurricanes, Storms and a night at the Mambo...
Dry Mambo......three days later. |
Broke-back Taxi @ the Mambo |
T
A bit on the warm side.... |
Anyway, late September I split from SoCal and headed down to Baja. I had left Godzilla in La Paz for the summer. I had hired a local captain to do some work on my boat, and almost none of it got done. In addition, some of my expensive tackle had be stolen. Of course nobody knew anything, and I was very happy I have theft insurance. I called the police, but to no avail. I finally had to bribe them (300 pesos) to come and make a report. I suspect the marina security and the captain I had hired knew more than they were telling.
When I arrived in La Paz I made contact with my friend Captain Jack, who I had met in Mazatlan the previous year. He had just sold his boat and was living ashore. Every morning a few XPats would meet as his house for coffee and conversation. News was comming in of an approaching tropical storm (Norman). On the day it was due to arrive, I had been at Jack's till late afternoon avoiding boat chores.
On the way back to the boat it started to rain a bit. I stopped at a little tienda (market) and when I got back in car to leave it would'nt start. I tried for a bit with no luck and sat there for an hour as the rain slowly increased. After the hour the car started I took off for the boat post haste!!...After almost exactly 5 minutes the car stalled . It did this in a busy intersection, and out I came to push it around a corner, out of traffic. This same scene repeated itself 3 more times as I tried to get back to the boat before the streets became flooded.
The final time the car died I was on the main road to the marina and as I pushed her around yet another corner, in calf deep, fast running water, I was accross the street from a little mini mart called the Mambo!!!! By then it was about 10P.M. and the main highway was totally underwater. I knew if I sat there for another hour the car would run long enough to get to the boat. But what if it died while on the highway???...The water might get so high I would get flooded!!!!......
I sat there for a bit then waded over to the Mambo (I should have had my dingy by then) and asked the two young kids working there to call me a taxi. They tried and tried but could find none who were working with all the flooding. One of the young girls working there even went outside with me in the rain to try and flag down a taxi who might be up and running. Around midnight we finally reached a taxi who agreed to come out. Sometime later he pulled into the parking lot and promptly stalled out.
I waded back to my car , resolved to spend the night there. 30 minutes later I got a tap on my window. It was the security guard from the VW dealer next to the Mambo who had been watching our plight. He had flagged down a passing taxi. This one ran fine and after some hydro-planning we made it to the marina around 1a.m.........WHEW!!!!!.....I was never so happy to see my boat. By then it was raining so hard that water was streaming out of the freeing ports. Wind was howling!!!
It rained for another day and then I got back to work, getting Godzilla ready to cross back to Mazatlan. Mid-October Wally arrived in La Paz to crew with me for the crossing (225 miles). Shortly after he got there we received warnings for Hurricane Paul. By then Jack had taken my car (now repaired) back to Mazatlan on the ferry. So I was without transportation. Lucky for us, Paul passed north of us and slammed into Puerto Escondido, so all we got was more rain and some wind. Not as bad as Norman, though. One thing that DID happen was a power spike on the dock that blew out my inverter and battery charger.
So, Wally and I were marina-bound for a few day while it poured. Watched movies and thanked our stars for air conditioning.
The trip to Mazatlan was a nice milk-run and we arrived 31 hours later, well rested and well fed......
Jack's back yard |
Jack says W.T.F....over!!! |
Friday, June 22, 2012
Godzilla vs The Cartel and other adventures......
San Evaristo |
During a lull in the wind I took the dingy ashore to search for any signs of Cartel activity but once again, found they had moved still further north to escape the wrath of Godzilla..!!!!!
Bahia Agua Verde |
Bahia Agua Verde |
After the wind died down I moved north again to Agua Verde. This has to be one of my all-time favorites. Beautiful green water, warm weather and good friends. I met my friends from the sailing vessel Oya.... Kiki, Craig and Joanne there. They were moving in the same general direction as I was and we had been communicating via VHF radio for a few days. One evening while I was visiting aboard Oya they introduced me to a dice game called "Farkle". A great game, we would continue to play it every time we met up in an anchorage for the rest of the season.
Agua Verde, like San Evaristo , has a small village, tienda, water distilation plant and fishermen
Loreto Fest |
Craig at Loreto Fest |
Kiki and Joanne at Loreto Fest |
Loreto Fest had music, dancing, games and booths with all kinds of worthless stuff and was a blast.
When Loreto Fest was over I moved a bit north of Loreto to Isla Coronados. This another small island with the clearest water I had yet seen in Mexico. Oya and several other crews/boats I had met in Puerto Escondido were there and we all enjoyed the warm water (82F.), snorkling and of course more Farkle.
While in some very shallow water I had fun chasing large Rays in the dingy. It was like herding cattle.
Isla Coronados |
Isla Coronados |
Chasing Stingrays at Isla Coronados |
Jody in La Paz |
Marina Palmira..La Paz |
Sunday, April 22, 2012
Adios Mazatlan, I'm heading.............
NORTH!!!!
My cousin Robert and I had been communicating since summer of 2011 and he, being an old hand at Mazatlan, had expressed an interest in doing some fishing this season. So, in late March we set a date . He will be flying into Mazatlan, and returning home from La Paz. This gives us the opportunity to fish while we cross the Sea of Cortez and do some exploring along the way once we reach the Baja side. But that will be the the next post once that trip is over. In the meantime, there was much more to do in Mazatlan while I waited for his arrival.
Mazatlan is such a great, fun place. It is sooo easy to get stuck here. I have made many friends, cruisers and landsmen alike.
Robert arrived on April 15th (I'll assumed he had already paid his taxes) and we spent a few days in Mazatlan, saying goodbye and getting the boat ready to leave. On the 17th we headed for the fuel dock, took on 200 gallons of diesel and headed out.
The ride accross was uneventful except for the constant headseas. It was a bit bumpy going accross and after 25 hours and 190 miles, we arrived in Ensenada de los Muertos on the Baja side, 58 miles south of La Paz. During the passage we had seen whales breaching, flying fish and Dolphins.
My cousin Robert and I had been communicating since summer of 2011 and he, being an old hand at Mazatlan, had expressed an interest in doing some fishing this season. So, in late March we set a date . He will be flying into Mazatlan, and returning home from La Paz. This gives us the opportunity to fish while we cross the Sea of Cortez and do some exploring along the way once we reach the Baja side. But that will be the the next post once that trip is over. In the meantime, there was much more to do in Mazatlan while I waited for his arrival.
Mazatlan is such a great, fun place. It is sooo easy to get stuck here. I have made many friends, cruisers and landsmen alike.
Robert arrived on April 15th (I'll assumed he had already paid his taxes) and we spent a few days in Mazatlan, saying goodbye and getting the boat ready to leave. On the 17th we headed for the fuel dock, took on 200 gallons of diesel and headed out.
Robert in Mazatlan |
ALL HANDS ON DECK...!!!!! |
Cerralvo Channel |
Marina Palmira |
The Shack |
Shack Burgers |
Muertos |
Malecon de La Paz at sunset |
Friday, February 24, 2012
North or South.....???
After I returned to Mazatlan Jan 5th. the decision on my next destination had to be made. I really love Mazatlan and all the new friends I have made here. But the winds of change have started to blow, and I need to go someplace else for a while. Cruisers frequently get stuck in one place...their boats becomming nothing more than floating condos. I need to snorkle, fish and live on the hook (anchor) for a time. Away from marina life till it's time to go back to the U.S. this summer......
My choices are: Head back south to the places I visited last year, but go a bit further to Manzanillo. Santiago Bay is supposed to be very nice. Clean, clear water and an great anchorage. Along the way, I can re-visit Chacala, La Cruz, Chemala, Tenacatita, and Bara de Navidad. All familiar places I enjoyed. I can make this run solo, like I did before and return to Mazatlan in June to put Godzilla to bed for the summer. It's about 400 miles each way. I know there will be a lot of other boats crusing this area then . I'll get to re connect with people I have met along the way from Mazatlan and my time down there last year.
Or....Wait till the end of March and go north in the Sea of Cortez. This is the earliest time to go, as winds and cold weather prevail up there before then. If I choose that direction I'll probibly stay till a bit later in the season to enjoy the incredible diving and fishing. It's quite a bit more isolated in the anchorages, so I think I'll try and convince some unsuspecting crew to go with me for company, LOL
In the meantime , Elvira, our marina manager had left us and we through her a huge party at Christie's. Elvira had been one of the reasons so many cruisers keep their boats in Mazatlan. She speaks perfect English and does so many things that most managers wont do. It was a great event, and about 85 people attended.
Before I coud even think about leaving, we HAD to have a Super Bowl party......Heres a few pix from that event.....Go Giants!!!
My choices are: Head back south to the places I visited last year, but go a bit further to Manzanillo. Santiago Bay is supposed to be very nice. Clean, clear water and an great anchorage. Along the way, I can re-visit Chacala, La Cruz, Chemala, Tenacatita, and Bara de Navidad. All familiar places I enjoyed. I can make this run solo, like I did before and return to Mazatlan in June to put Godzilla to bed for the summer. It's about 400 miles each way. I know there will be a lot of other boats crusing this area then . I'll get to re connect with people I have met along the way from Mazatlan and my time down there last year.
Or....Wait till the end of March and go north in the Sea of Cortez. This is the earliest time to go, as winds and cold weather prevail up there before then. If I choose that direction I'll probibly stay till a bit later in the season to enjoy the incredible diving and fishing. It's quite a bit more isolated in the anchorages, so I think I'll try and convince some unsuspecting crew to go with me for company, LOL
Elvira's Party |
Elvira |
Before I coud even think about leaving, we HAD to have a Super Bowl party......Heres a few pix from that event.....Go Giants!!!
Donna and Kathryn |
John and Ed |
Captain Sam |
Jack trying to dance |
Julie Mazatlan and her sister Sue |
Kathy, Sam and Mara, who owns Calypso, where we all hang for morning coffee Next post: Which way did he go?....Which way did he go...? |
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