One Way Plane Ticket to Hawaii for July

I have been wanting to do a long ocean passage the last few years and I think this is the year, for the first one at least.  I am planning on crewing for a boat from Hawaii to San Francisco in July.  Yes, for my sailing friends, I know that is the harder way, i.e., a beat back to the west coast of the US, and yes, I know it is hurricane season, but I think it will all be okay.  For my landlubber friends and family, I know I won't be able to see land for many days, but again, it will all be okay.
The boat I hope/plan to sail on is a Celestial 48 sailboat and the design has a good reputation for offshore sailing. I also hear good things about the skipper from a mutual sailing acquaintance.  I will be checking out the boat early in May as well as interviewing and being interviewed for a crewing position for this trip.  I am making a trip down to San Francisco and back on the same day.  I am optimistic that it will all turn out great and be another adventure I can add to my list of life's accomplishments.
There will certainly be more to come on this ............

Sailing in Mexico, Costa Alegre, in late March/early April

Sailing in Mexico in the spring is, well let's say much warmer than in the northwest.  I flew down to Manzanillo and took a taxi to Barra de Navidad where I hailed my friend with the VHF radio I brought.  He came to get me in the dinghy and we went out to the boat at anchor.  There were only about a dozen boats in the lagoon.  When I was in Barra in spring 2008, there were 60+ boats there; it was a little late in the season for cruisers this trip.  Ah, and the French baker was still visiting the lagoon, so in the morning I bought a fresh baked loaf

of bread.  Then we hailed a water taxi and went into Barra for some fresh veggies and meat.

We left the lagoon after we got all the provisions put away and headed to the 'secret anchorage'; I can't tell you where it was, or it wouldn't be a secret anymore, but it wasn't far away.  We stayed two nights there and then we headed out for a nice sail and considered options of where to go next.  We decided to head to Santiago Bay and had some nice sailing on the way.  We went into a small anchorage to check it out, Carrizal, and decided to stay the night there first.  We were the only boat there; small but nice anchorage.  There were no buildings we could see, but there are stories about others being asked to leave when they went ashore, so we decided not to.

The next day we continued on to Santiago Bay where there was only one other boat there, but the anchorage is quite large.  We were heading SE when most cruising boats had already started the migration back NW so the anchorages weren't as busy as they probably were a month before.  We didn't go ashore that day, just hanging around the boat is always relaxing.  The next day we did dinghy ashore and he was very careful to watch the waves so we would have a safe landing.  We had a lemonade at the restaurant where we were leaving the dinghy, always a good idea so they know whose dinghy it is.  And then walked to the road to catch a bus into town.
We really didn't know where we were going but we just got off the bus where we saw a Centro sign and then asked someone where the Mercato (outdoor market) was.  We didn't exactly follow their directions, but we easily found our way.
We walked through the whole market, in and around the building and then went to find a restaurant before we bought food.  We had lunch at a great little restaurant and then went back out to shop.  Just to realize that we almost timed it wrong and they had started closing down for their afternoon break/siesta.  So we grabbed a few items, here and there and rushed around to find the one stand where we thought they had the best vegetables.  We got there just in time and pretty much got everything we had on our list.
So a short walk back to the main road to catch a bus and back to the dinghy.  That's when the fun began.
We noticed the surf was higher than when we came ashore, so we watched for a while and discussed how to get back out safely and dryly.  Someone came over to help and we started watching the wave sets and when they would calm down.  Let's just say our first try was not successful and hey, I guess I needed a salt water bath anyway.  But all our food didn't......or my purse.....  Anyway after they got the water emptied out of the dinghy, we walked down the beach a little hoping the waves would be a little smaller.  They were, a little, and we successfully launched that time.  So we spent the next few hours washing salt water out of our clothes, and anything that was in our bags.  I should have taken less than I did to shore - lesson learned.

After that, we decided it would be better to be in the Los Hadas anchorage the next day because getting my luggage to shore and keeping it dry was high on the list now.  So we moved over to the Los Hadas anchorage (there's a dinghy dock at the marina) and had the pleasure of listening to jet skis for the evening, ugh.  We dinghied to shore to try to find some shower facilities.  We did find some in the maze but they were in really sad shape.  There was no water in the women's room, so I used the men's also, no one else was around.
It did finally get quiet after dark and my last night at anchor was a pleasant one, as they all were.  Gee, I miss that.

Bernard's boat is a Freedom 36 and I really loved the interior layout.  It has a beamier stern so the aft cabin was bigger than on Machrihanish.  The cockpit had a nice set up also, and the only thing about the sail configuration that takes a little getting used to is that there is no standing rigging.  For you non-sailors, that means there are no wires holding the mast in place.  Never fear, it is a proven design with a carbon fiber mast larger that mast on other boats of this size.  But it does take a little getting used to. (BTW - there is a Freedom 36 for sale in Friday Harbor, WA........)
So after 8 nights at anchorages, and some great sailing, and good food (we took turns cooking) and great company, it was time for me to leave.  I got a taxi to the airport and was on my way home.
Another great trip to Mexico.  Thanks Mr. B.

Sailing in the Northwest

April 22, 2011 - Went sailing for a Friday afternoon/evening sail, very nice boat, Morgan 38, owned by a friend.  We had sunshine and some nice wind.  Great company, great relaxing time, great way to start the weekend.