Lots of time has passed since our last update. The new pictures here are from Turtle Bay and Cabo. More photos soon.
We left Cabo two weeks ago and headed for an anchorage called los Frailes. After beating our way up the coast for 5 hours, Eager Dreamer, Andazas and us (Suebee) decided to turn right and commit to a 23 hour sail to Mazatla. For 14 1/2 hours we had a wonderful "beam reach" sail without the sound of our engine. We were averaging 7 1/2 knots the entire time. Around 4:30 AM, the wind had picked up to around 25 knots and becoming a bit uncomfortable, wishing we had reefed about an hour earlier. As it was too late for that, we reefed under less than ideal conditions and sailed on.
Our arrival to the Mazatlan Jetty entrance to the marinas was not for the faint of heart. As we arrived at low tide the water was shallow and the surf was up. Bottom line, we made it but hindsight says we should not have tried. All three boats concur!
Our stop in Mazatlan was short, more for R & R for 2 nights as we will visit here again for a longer stay early next year on our way up to the Sea of Cortez.
As we become smarter, we left Mazatlan at high tide and slack current. We motor sailed with Eager Dreamer for 30+ hours to Puerta Vallarta. Not much sea life except for what seemed like 100 fishing boats around mid night. We weaved our way through and on to PV.
The arrival here was less eventful. That is a good thing. We have a slip here at Paradise Village in Nuevo Vallarta. A 5 Star resort area, the amenities are many. We must admit, this is not the "real" Mexico we love so much. We have made many friends at the Vallarta Yacht Club and made many side trips. Lunch in the mountain area called La Estancia in San Sebas---Tian, another lunch at the cute little town of La Cruz and yet another lunch in the town of Bucerias (real Mexico), Home Depot, Sam's Club and bought a fresh cooked chicken on the walkway.
We went to the movies and saw the new James Bond film. I hated it, Sue liked it. We are participating in the annual Chili Cook Off on December 6th. More about that later.
Thanksgiving was a unique and fun experience back in the town of La Cruz. We joined John and Rosie from Eager Dreamer and Hank and Betsy from Equinox at a restaurant there called Philos. They cook the turkey and gravy, everyone brings a large side dish and all Phillo wants, and gets, is for us to buy lots of drinks! Philo, a real person from Canada, has a small band with a terrific Sax player that provided live entertainment and they were really good. Of course, after dinner we walked down to the La Cruz Yacht Club for after dinner drinks.
Our next adventure will be a day in Bucerias and then Monday, John, Rosie, Sue and I are off to La Pinita for a stay at our favorite B & B, Casa De Los Amigos for a boat break and a real bed. The owner of the B & B is Rosalie Hope, from the Hope Bosworth Inn in Geyserville, near where we live. This will be our (Sue and Scott) 4th visit and where we honeymooned a few years back.
We will get back to serious cruising in January, heading south. Our friends on Kat Den Rie and Di's Dream should be here any day.
