McAssey Family Adventures

Savage Birthday Cake

2011-05-24T22:23:00.000-07:00

I (Allison) had a great birthday complete with savage birthday cake. We've been talking about savage cake since before Mother's Day. Today was the day! We got a big chocolate cake and took it to the beach and ate it with no utensils - only our faces and hands! I was the first to bite into it - and I think it is the first time in MANY years that I have had chocolate cake up my nose! It was such a blast! The kids were totally laughing at me. Then they dug in too! We even fed Chilko some. We had to swim in the ocean to get all the cake off ...

Merle is Back!

2011-05-17T22:32:00.000-07:00

Well, Merle is home now, safe and sound from his northern adventure. He returned a few days ago now, but we've been having so much fun with him that I forgot to let you all know he is safe!
He had a great adventure, loved seeing those of you he managed to see in his 'work from dawn till dusk' schedule! And we are still very grateful for the love that poured out of you, both online in the form
of help offered and also in person with places to stay and big hugs. And many times, over the course of his adventure, the universe helped him out in ways we could never have imagined, as is often the case.

So this is a Big Fat Thank You - all the way up and down the coast, as far north as Williams Lake, BC, Canada! - to those who helped Merle on his journey. Thanks to Richard for packing the big heavy dinghy for us, and doing the crazy re-route that made Merle's northbound journey so much easier! Thank you for the delicious food, Haru (and the books!), and Alice, thanks for being so cool about Merle taking over
your V-berth, and for babysitting little Grenadine! And of course Tona for the car insurance, and Javier and Tara for a place to sleep and good company. And thanks Manny and Lola for the crazy gum; always
something to keep us laughing! And Fito and Hilda for being so kind to us, whether our boat is there or not! Thanks Victor and Andre for just being you! And thanks Dan for offering connections, even tho you
are so far away! And Wildflower for the sweet offer of a berth. And Merle says thanks for the hugs all around; in delivering hugs, he was almost overwhelmed on the other end - receiving them! I am sure I
have forgotten some thank you; I know that the universe has it's own way of saying thank you, and I am sure it will!

Thank you thank you thank you. Muchicimas gracias!

Well, it is the beginning of summer here in La Cruz, Mexico. It is hot here early in the morning, and lasts till late at night. In fact, Chilko stays on the boat in the shade (we have half of our boat covered, and what a blessing it is!!) unless she has to get off, because the dock is almost too hot to walk on! We are going to try
frying an egg and see if it really frys! The boys did an experiment the other day with some pieces of wax. They hung a wick in a glass jar, and tossed in some old pieces of wax around it to see if it would get hot enough to melt it into a candle. It did! I could hardly believe it! Anyway, people say it doesn't get hot here until August, so this tropical summer will be a good experiement for us.

We are grateful to have a car now. Grenadine made it down the road a-okay after Merle replaced the seals on the tranny (a one-day job in Nogales for about 1/10 the price it would have cost in the US!) and a
few other small things that make a big difference, like windshield wipers and an oil change. What a sweet car, she is! Thanks again, Michael for pointing us in her direction! We still marvel at her ability to take a lickin and keep on tickin!

Last night (it is cool enough after 7pm to go out and play), we played a game of baseball. Our field was the gravel parking lot - which made the whole sliding thing a bit hard on the knees! But there was not one sob despite many slides into home plate! The boys are stoked to have discovered the game. And Merle and I like it too, so it is a family event.

Well, it is the full moon tonight! I wonder what kind of fun that will bring? Maybe some drumming. We keep a pretty close eye on her.

Luna llena (pronounced Luna Yayna). Nice!

My Merry Mother's Day

2011-05-08T22:26:00.000-07:00

I've just gotta tell you about my Mother's Day. For Mother's day, the boys served me chocolate fondue with fruit for breakfast. Delish!! Made with everything raw and yummy. Then we walked to a berry tree and picked berries and read stories and drew with chalk on the sidewalk in between trips to the ice cream store. And after that, we came back to the marina, all gor dressed up in our glad rags and went to a little restaurant here that has GREAT chocolate cake. So we had that with tortilla soup, chips and salsa and shrimp quesadillas. It was an awesome day!

I did everything I wanted to do!! There was a lot of discussion leading up to mother's day about chocolate cake. We couldn't decide if we wanted to dress up fancy and each eat a piece of cake at a restaurant, or if we wanted to buy a whole big cake and take it to the beach and eat it like savages. The boys chose the dress-up option - imagine?! - so the savage chocolate cake will be for my birthday. I can't wait!!

For some moms, it's a day to be without kids - read a book or get a manicure - but for me it's a celebration of being a mom, and how better than to play with my kids? And play we did. It was so fun! We laughed a lot and every time I said maybe we could do something - the boys agreed wholeheartedly! What a great day!

Thank you God for making me a mom!

News Time!

2011-04-14T22:47:00.000-07:00

Well it's News Time!!

Merle says:

We are becoming 'Mexicans'!! The weather vane is pointing to Banderas Bay for our family this summer and coming winter. After much angle viewing spreadsheet comparing and soul searching we have decided to remain in the tropical zone for a season and further complete Kenta Anae in preparation for even grander sails abroad. We have been toying with a circumnavigation and this is a partial step in that direction. How to mix the "balance" of Mountain Ripppers and Ocean Trippers?? Well hell if I know but for now it's going to be Hot and wet. Bad if your in the jungle, ha, we are on the sea.

We are field testing that the energetics of our world can bring all that we need and more to extend the storyline on or current adventure. We are living simply and happily while the ocean rocks our floating yacht into the nights.

Allison says:

Yup - we are going to experience a tropical summer this year. It is true; and it was not an easy decision, but we are doing our best lately to listen to our hearts as much as possible, instead of our wallets. So we are putting our trust in the universe. Should be interesting...

So far, so good. The sun is hot during the day, but it is still cool and breezy at night so sleep comes easily. No mosquitoes, no bugs at all actually. Living on the sea definately has its perks! On the land, they burn coconut husks to keep the black flies at bay. The boys are going for a tour of a local school this week. I hope that they will learn a bit more Spanish one way or another! They sold palm frond art that they made (grasshoppers, bracelets, fish, and centipedes) at our local market this past Sunday. It was really sweet to see them running their little booth. The only kids at the market. It was Shandro's idea, so we helped him get there and he did the rest. Next week, I get to join them doing face painting. I can't wait!

No other news at the moment, but lots of things up in the air waiting for decisions to be made, so there will be some more news soon!

Meanwhile, love to you all. Sending you many blessings and as much sunshine as we can muster. The boys say hi to all of their friends and relatives. And so do we. We are always so grateful for news from home, so thanks for all the news - especially the baby news (congratulations new Moms and Dads and Grandmas and Granddads to be)!! Love that! No baby news on this end ...

Also a funny note - we almost sent this on April Fools Day, and then thought better of it ...

Happy St. Patty's Day!

2011-03-17T22:58:00.000-07:00

Just a quick note to let you know that we are safe and happy here in Bandaras Bay again, anchored in La Cruz and enjoying the sunshine. We have been waving goodbye to some friends as they head off west to do the Pacific Puddle Jump - 24 days at sea to the Marquaises in the South Pacific. Amazing!

Tsunami sucked a few docks apart in La Cruz, and we rounded the cape of cabo Corrientes with light winds and manageable seas. A beautiful day and night at sea, with some crazy swordfish or marlin chasing us part of the way! Also saw turtles galore, rays, one million jellyfish, and a humpback whale breached just off the starboard side of Kenta Anae.

Anyway, another email in a while. Love you all! Happy Saint Patty's Day! Have a guiness for us!

Decisions in Paradise

2011-03-14T22:52:00.000-07:00

Just a little note to let you know whats going on in our heads at the

moment. We will just keep this amongst ourselves until a decision is

reached ...

We are going to sail towards Bandaras Bay (Puerto Vallarta and La Cruz

area) late today or early tomorrow. Should be there Tuesday sometime.

Merle says: *OK so IMPORTANTE Decision Time *

I have a applic in ar the Capital POwer gas plant in WL, inside line,

porbably have to promise to do a instrument apprenticeship too. $$35 per

hour two weeks holidays 100k per year MTB, enduro, backcountry with the

bros, kids learn to rip the mountains, etc

OR

I do marine elect in Puerto vallarta unkown revenue 50 to 100 per hour and

Allison does yacht tending during the summers here for 130 per monthe each

yacht (approx) live in La Cruz kids go to spanish school and we sweat out

a 35 deg summer on the beach sail lasers and soccer and such

The more I think about it the harder it gets ...

Gold Coast or Bust!

2011-02-23T23:00:00.000-08:00

Kenta Anae is on the move again, but more slowly and leisurely this time. We are heading south from Bandaras Bay (home of Puerto Vallarta) to see more of the Gold coast. We hope to head south to see Chamaela, Bahia Navidad and maybe as far as Manzanillo as well as a few charming places in between. We hope to leave today or tomorrow (Wednesday or Thursday), and we will be gone for a couple of weeks or so.

It has been very fun here, with visits from Lilka and Erica in the beginning of February, and Crystal and Tony yesterday. Great to see the Cariboo crew again, and feel some of that magical vibe that transcends earth and sea!! Love you all. We have had amazing weather here - full sunshine every day, and the heat to go with it. And with the sun comes the great thermodynamics in the bay here, so sailing has also been wonderful.

We have taste-tested some of the taco stands here in La Cruz, and are continuing to eat hoards of fresh tropical fruit and vegetables. Whenever the boys get their way, we head into the ice cream shop to have paletas - essentially frozen fruit smoothy on a stick. There are heaps of different kinds of fruit, and I have a different kind every time. Delish! For the more discerning tastes, there are also creams (made with real heavy cream), and for a refreshing change, we often have a water instead. The waters are flavoured, including jamaica and horchada, and then more familiar tastes such as fraisa (strawberry), (limon) lemonade, (limonada) limeade, alfalfa (the same!), pina colada (pineapple and coconut), barley (and cinnamon), and naranja (orange). Very nice and refreshing on a hot day.

The boys have been doing their home school in the mornings so they can play in the afternoons. We made some friends, Kathy and Mark, who are building a home near here. And out their front door is a huge maintained but deserted freshwater pool, so we go and play there once in a while. Feels like we are at a spa, but we are the only people there!! That has been nice.

Chilko is doing well. She has adapted easily to this life, and enjoys lying on the deck of the boat oscillating between the sun and the shade. She loves swimming and goes in unprompted. And she sticks so close to us that we don't even need a leash anymore. She is such a great dog, and we all love her to bits. She was in heaven while Lilka (her Godmother) was here. Just soaked up all the snuggles and wagged her tail all of the time. She eats any and all fish, which has been nice for her coat. And she still loves to chase cats, and now iguanas, and she goes crazy to watch dolphins and flying fish. All in all, a very happy dog!

As we sail this time round, Merle and I are going to ponder keeping the boat here in the Bandaras Bay this summer. There are a few options we need to explore before we head back north. Next summer (2012) we think we will spend in the Sea of Cortez, for a change, so we are planning for that.

Anyway, that's all for now. Hope that all is well in your homes and boats. We are sending you as much heat and sunshine as we can muster! Love and light to all ...

Trying to Go South ...

2011-01-10T23:55:00.000-08:00

Well, we did try to depart today, but the world would not have it. With everything aboard, and almost everything stowed, we headed over to the fuel dock only to find that there was no fuel! And that they were expecting the fuel truck, but they had been expecting him all day. So ...

... we turned around before low tide made that impossible, and headed back to our slip for a nice dinner, and then up to the top for one last soak in the jacuzzie and one last cold dip in the outside pool. The universe is very determined that we need to take our sweet time! No rushing. This is very Mexico! Now to sleep, perchance to dream of unseen shores and the magical adventure ahead of us.

We are heading straight to Cabo offshore the whole way, where we will touch base with family before heading farther east to Puerto Vallarta. We hope to be there by Dixie's birthday on January 27th. We'll see if we make it by then! It depends on the wind, and also if we decide to hang out in Los Frailles fishing before continuing east.

We have a friend named Alice who is joining us for this leg of our adventure. We are excited to have her along, and I think she is just as excited to join us! She is very musical, so hopefully we get to do some music as we sail along.

Hasta pasta, as Rick would say.

2011-01-03T00:03:00.000-08:00

I'm loving the eating raw. I am not disciplined enough to eat raw all the time, and I do cook for my family. But when I eat raw, it feels really good. And Even just eating alive food, I notice such a huge difference in energy when comparing it to a box of something. Unless it is homemade something. The bought stuff is very low energy in almost every case. We've almost completely abandoned the big grocery stores and gone to markets. It's just better. My kids say they can actually taste the difference. Merle too. I am lucky to be part of such an aware family.

Speaking of that, we ALL just went through some sort of transition between Christmas and New Years. Everyone was sick with a flu - mostly sleeping - during this time. We didn't even want to eat. Not sure exactly what it was, but there is some interesting shifting going on. We have NEVER all been sick at the same time. I hardly ever get sick. We are preparing for something. Merle says it is a large-scale shift that we are experiencing. Affected both Merle and I in balance, which is interesting considering we live on a boat and are in constant motion, balancing every second ... Hopefully now we are fresh and new and ready for whatever enters into our lives ...

Happy Birthday, Mom!

2011-01-02T23:58:00.000-08:00

Well, today is Mom’s birthday. Happy Birthday, Mom! I hope that she’s doing okay. This is her second birthday in the nursing home. Dad was going to see her today. I'm glad. What a crazy life it must be, to have no recollection of some things. Or perhaps the memories are there, but there is no way to access them in any recognizeable way, or to express them. I hope that we have more pain about that than she does. I pray for her to have happiness, and be free of frustration.

And here, we had a bonfire in her honor. Complete with singing even. And drumming. And a little release ceremony. She’d have loved that. It was the dark of the moon tonight – first time we’ve done a drumming night with no moon! It was nice. And I’m glad we started early because it began to rain on us by 8pm, so we retreated out of respect for the instruments, and were back here and in bed by 9pm. That’s better than last night!

One more thing. A sweet lady here on the dock, Kristen on sv Bristol Blue, gave me the fertility goddess in the form of a necklace - almost identical to the one I gave Rea when she talked about being a mom. Interesting that this should have returned to me at this time. I know you get what you give, but to this accuracy? Amazing. And do I need this right now? I guess so ...

Happy New Year!!

2011-01-01T23:05:00.000-08:00

January 1^st, 2011.

First New Year’s Eve I’ve slept through since I was about 10 years old!! It was nice to do it differently this year, and just wake up to the new year already humming along without any help from us!

We did learn about some great New Year’s Eve customs this year, that are worth putting down here. Buy new yellow and red underwear and wear them through New Year’s Eve. The yellow symbolizes wealth, and the red brings love. Green clothes attract a year of good health, and dressing in white invites good vibrations and assures a good year spiritually. Just before midnight, some people walk around their houses with brooms and they sweep out the old cobwebs and clean up, ready for a fresh start. New Year’s Eve dinner is a very late feast, that often includes tamales and grapes, 12 grapes each to be exact. As the clock bongs the 12 bongs at midnight, we gulp down the 12 grapes, one at a time, to assure luck in each of the upcoming months. (I like this tradition best. I think it’s a grape idea.) Another interesting tradition is to pick up an empty suitcase and walk around the house with it, so we will get to travel in the upcoming year. And of course, there is always kissing and hugging anyone close, to pass on wishes of health, happiness and prosperity. The tradition that landed closest to (and farthest from) home, I read in a Mexican newspaper. It talked about the most important Canadian New Year’s tradition (which I have sadly never even heard of until now, never mind experienced) of running a hot bath and have a soak in the tub as the clock strikes 12 !?? I think it was the same guy who wrote that the Polar Swim was a farce ...

So, we did the Polar Swim today, from the Jacuzzie to the cold pool for us Canadians, and back again. It feels good to be a Canadian, even if our traditions do get a bit twisted in translation!

This evening, my family and I decided to focus on spiritual awareness this year. It was a late-breaking, spontaneous decision, but it seems like the right thing to do. I feel pretty good about it. I also feel surprisingly laid back about it, like it’s not a huge task, but a daily ritual instead. We shall see how it plays out in the long run!!

Happy New Year Slide Show

2010-12-31T22:54:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year!!

This is a little slide show of 2010 and the McAssey household's whereabouts since the last entry! The year was jam packed with lots of activities, both in Canada from January till April, and in Ensenada Mexico from May till December. It was nice to be in both places.

Enjoy!! This is 3 minutes of happiness! Just click on the link.

http://animoto.com/play/3pY8pqYCykh35FyHrvEyCQ

Our gift to you.

Goodbye Ensenada, Hello Canada!

2009-06-03T02:07:00.000-07:00

June 3rd ( I think). The past few days have been a blur. That’s an interesting and even foreign thought!! I haven’t thought that for a long long time – about a year or so. The past year has not been a blur, but as we get closer to living in the ‘rat race’ again, time seems to be speeding up a bit. We had thought we would depart here by the weekend. Now it is Wednesday, and we are finally leaving tomorrow, and flying to Canada. We have prepared Kenta Anae for our time away from her. Merle has washed down the decks, stowed the gear in appropriate places, removed sails and canvass and she is ready for a hurricane essentially. Except that they don’t get those here. Our fridge is empty, the laundry is clean, and the boys have packed toys and clothes, and are really excited about flying in an airplane – a big one!! It’s good we will be able to fly at least one leg in the day light so they can see what it looks like up there. Thanks, Love Song. We’d never be going home this way if it wasn’t for you!! We are very grateful! I found, as I was packing, that I am taking way less stuff home than I brought. And I notice that I am less concerned about it than I used to be. Just throw in what you think you’ll need, and what you love, and the universe will take care of the rest.

I never did write about what it’s like to cook in the galley when you are at sea. When the boat is healed over, and I am cooking, I stand on the cupboard wall. Sounds crazy, but its true. Chopping stuff is funny because after you cut something, it wants to slide right off the cutting board (because the cutting board and the rest of the boat are at about 30 degrees off horizontal). So you have to chop stuff so it slides against the cupboards rather than off the counter and onto the cabin sole (floor). Getting the chopped food into the pot or pan is also a good challenge (much like pouring a liquid, see below), but once in the pot, as long as the stove is gimbled, that’s the safest spot for it, as it is level with gravity. So I can cook soup no problem, but pouring the soup – well that’s a completely different story! Pouring liquids is like being on another planet. As you pour, the liquid does not go where it looks like it should go based on previous experience. Rather, it goes down with gravity which is not straight down, but on that 30 degree off-kilter slope that doesn’t match the way the counter sits, and if you actually do hit the catching container (which you have to hold with your other hand or it will slide off the counter), the liquid often zig-zags its way down, depending on the movement of the boat. If I am lucky, the funnel will catch my eye before I begin pouring, and using it increases my chances of hitting the container by about 300%. If not, the sink is the drip tray. I always think how good I will be at pouring when we get back to land and how I’d love a photo of that process because it must look just hillarious! Don’t have one yet. I will put it on next year’s list of things to do while sailing.

I found Shandro and Matero’s wish list two days ago of the things they wanted to do while sailing. All four of us stopped what we were doing and read them – and smiled at each one – until we made our way to the bottom and discovered that we did every single thing on the long lost list. That was a very satisfying few minutes that we all shared. This is the list:

Things to do while we are sailing
1. Go swimming (at night too).
2. Take pictures of fish and go snorkeling.
3. Find an island while sailing.
4. Find treasure.
5. Find a good beach.
6. Find a coconut palm tree.
7. Make music.
8. See a shooting star.
9. Throw anchor into ocean.
10. Sail at night.
11. See flying fish.
12. Taste new fruits and new weird things to eat.
13. Play lots and lots of games.

Goodbye Marina Coral and Ensenada. Goodbye friends. We have truly loved your company and are grateful for the ways you have shaped our lives.

And Canada, we are looking forward to being there again, mostly to see our family (yes, Chilko!) and friends we have so missed while we have been gone. I get a warm fuzzy feeling just thinking about it. See you soon!

June 1st - the boat threw up!

2009-06-01T02:06:00.000-07:00

June 1st. The boat looks like it threw up, and I have no mind to do anything about it tonight! I have just returned from a lesson on the unconscious mind, provided by Mark Bagnall on sv Horizon, just across the water from us here in Marina Coral. He is Victor and Andre’s neighbor, and working on much the same things as we are – manifesting, improvement of self, reaching for a higher consciousness, so the sharing has been fun. Tonight we did a ‘float’ along my timeline, to discover my first experience of anger, and hopefully dispel the anger in my life by acknowledging that. The first time I experienced anger was the day I was born and the doctor slapped me on the bum and I was mad at him. And the lesson was about forgiveness. I can forgive him now (as I could have then, but I chose anger instead), and get the lesson without the anger. I could see other anger events along the timeline, and they all blew out their anger out the side door as I watched. I wonder how this will affect my life now and in the future!! How exciting!! I want to do the releases for sadness, fear and guilt now. Mark says we should do all 4. Also learned a little how to talk to the unconscious mind, and how to ask it questions and receive answers. Could be amazing for teaching my kids, or for releasing bad habits, or for creating good habits, or for changing my perspective on something!! Excellent!! Will try it now before I sleep and see how I do.

I went to the gym this morning. Every time I go, I think of you Trina. It’s very cool how people come to mind with different activities. I don’t know if I will ever go to a gym in this lifetime again without thinking of you. Isn’t that so neat? I love it. Anyway, you’d love this gym. It is surrounded by glass that looks out onto the courtyard with pools and grass and a few patios. It’s beautiful to go there and be in nature while you are at the gym. I can’t believe we are here at this spa-resort hotel. It’s just way over the top. But it’s totally competitive price-wise right now, so here we are!

Yes, the boat. We have everything scattered everywhere. It’s hard to live in here right now. There is no food in the fridge (hooray! No waste!), stuff to take back to Canada is strewn about, the bags for the stuff are outside (Merle bought them today – and he got some nice ones for cheap!!), the clean clothes are in bags on the settees, the electronic devices are covering the chart desk about 8 inches deep all over it. Every surface has something on it. What a mess!! But slowly it’s coming together. The shrouds are clean, we’ve been through the big storage lockers to figure out what stays and what goes. Merle wants to move the boat and clean it tomorrow. I want to pack and finish with food storage and fridge cleaning and toilet cleaning. Hope we can get it all done tomorrow. Might be a very long day. Or might stretch into Wednesday. Guess we will see. Flights are available both Wed and Thurs, so we have some give. Now I have to sleep. I was going to try to burn some music tonight, but am too sleepy. Good night!

May 30 - Happy early birthday, Dayton!

2009-05-30T02:05:00.000-07:00

Friday, May 30th. Happy early birthday, Dayton! Hope that you have a great day tomorrow!!

Today we pulled down our genoa (the front sail) and dumped our holding tanks. (Sails have to come down in case there is a storm with high winds while we are away. The sails are the first things to unravel and rip apart in high winds.) As we left the marina and headed out to sea again, Merle and I looked at each other, and he said to me, ‘I love it out here!!’ ‘Me too!!’ Imagine how much we will love it in November, when we haven’t been on the sea for so long! It’s been less than 3 weeks!! Then I went to the dentist for my final appointment. He did an excellent job, at a fraction of the Canadian cost. I am very happy with my tooth!! The only thing that could make it better in the future would be if I could grow a whole new permanent tooth myself, which I believe is possible. I just haven’t figured out how to do that yet. Perhaps some part of me doesn’t believe it’s possible yet. I’m working on it.

I have been inhaling Ensenada the last few days. I am going to miss this place! I love the people here, where we are. We attract great teachers. Lucky for us, the lessons are relatively gentle – mostly internal. Victor and Andre (moored here) are the sweetest ever, and they are a few steps ahead of me in the higher consciousness department, so I get to enjoy some of the reading materials they have that helped them get where they are now. Mark (also moored here) is a very humerous and delightful British fellow who is hungry for new information to help him advance. ‘Give me the juice’ he says. David Hawkins is a very interesting author, who has written many books on this subject. He experienced ‘enlightenment’ many years ago, but stayed on earth to teach about it. His writing is extremely interesting. I am ready and indeed eager to hear some of it. But some of it makes me itchy because he challenges my current beliefs – which are holding me here in this mindset – and in order to release these beliefs and shed some baggage requires some stretching, to say the least. Excellent!! Might as well stretch. What else are we here to do, besides enjoying this big old earth and all of her beings great and small? Like the movie ‘One’ says: The meaning of life is to live!

Walking up to the hotel and back today with Shandro and Matero was a joy. Matero rides his bike wearing his own helmet, and using Shandro’s helmet for a ‘baby carrier’ for his monkey. Shandro is very patient with his little brother. My children are here to teach me, and I hope I am open to all of their lessons. I hope I can be a good mom and ‘get it’. We did play at the playground this afternoon for a while. Shandro said, ‘You’re going to play with us, Mom?? Really?? You’re finally getting it!!’ The ‘bum bumper’ slide was the worst – as the bumps are in all the wrong places. But we had to do each thing once, so we did it, follow the leader style. The curly tube slide was the best. At the end, Matero pushed Monkey on the swing for a while and Shandro ran around in the sand chasing a football and helped a little slightly unstable toddler slide down the little slide. On the way back, Shandro and Matero both picked flowers and tucked them into the baby carrier with Monkey. By the time they finished, you could hardly see Monkey in there! Then they decided that it made Monkey super happy, not because of the flowers themselves (the ‘stuff’ as Shandro calls it), but because of all the love that accompanied each little flower gift. That was pretty amazing, for a 4 and 6 year old. Kids are really very astute. They ‘get it’ right away. If it wasn’t for us adults teaching them to ignore all that they already intuitively know, they would grow up to be loving and wise and happy spirits. I have to work on that.

May 28th

2009-05-28T02:03:00.000-07:00

Wednesday, May 28th. Today, Merle went to San Diego with Shona to do some of the errands we needed to have done. And I did an Ortho-Bionomy session for her husband Mark. Hope he feels better soon! Merle's back is feeling better he says.

D(entist) Day

2009-05-25T02:02:00.000-07:00

May 25th. Today was dentist day, and there will be at least one more. I have had a crown loose for about a year, and have tried to heal my tooth under it metaphysically, but no go (although the dentist seemed amazed that it was in such good condition given the circumstances, so maybe all the positive thinking was not lost). All I can say is that I’m glad I enjoyed last night’s dinner so much!! Over and out.

May 24th - Happy Birthday to me!

2009-05-24T02:01:00.000-07:00

May 24th, 2009. Happy birthday to me! Shandro drew me a picture of a birthday cake – chocolate with purple flowers on it. It was perfect! The boys and I made a cake in the afternoon while Merle was away helping Dennis, and we ate it for dinner around 6pm because I didn’t feel like cooking and nobody else did either! What a great excuse to eat cake! Then we met Greg and Wendy on sv Jalapeno and they asked us to join them for a late dinner. And the universe helped us make it so, as Mark on sv Horizon came over and sat with the boys (who were asleep) while Merle and I went for dinner with them. A spontaneous and delightful gift! I felt so very lucky!! We ate at the restaurant up here at Hotel Coral. It was really good – and a treat to eat something nice in the peaceful surroundings there with good ‘grown-up’ conversation. We shared some wine with our new friends, and the food was excellent. Merle had steamed mussels in broth to start, then bacon-wrapped shrimp. I had a chicken chick pea soup that came with a side of minced avocado, cilantro, lime and onion, and then a plate of steak and shrimp with julienned zucchini and carrots. And it turned out to be their treat! That was a great surprise for my birthday! And after our meal and conversation, Merle and I returned to our boat and chatted with Mark until 4am, continuing the David Hawkins ‘higher consciousness’ conversation we had going from our potluck. It was absolutely the perfect birthday!

May 23th - Hawkins Ho!

2009-05-23T01:58:00.000-07:00

May 23rd. Tonight we celebrated my birthday (which is tomorrow). Victor and Andre and Mark joined us (and we missed you, Bill!). It was awesome! Mark brought beautiful Mediterranean bread with a flavored oil for dipping which we ate with some crackers and roasted garlic from our kitchen. Victor and Andre brought a divine red rice salad. And I roasted beef and potatoes and made gravy. It was a full fat dinner. For dessert, because Bill didn’t join us, we had the beautiful watermelon sorbet and strawberry ice cream that the boys made yesterday. That was an excellent way to top off dinner! Then while Shandro and Matero watched Charlie and the Chocolate Factory that Victor and Andre brought for them, the hot topic of discussion was about enlightenment or increasing our vibration, or expanding our conscious awareness, and how to apply some of the great tools we have to lead us closer to that goal. It was a good conversation, and I will synthesize what was said in a later entry. The books accompanying the conversation were written by David Hawkins, an enlightened man who has created a consciousness scale from 0 to 1000. The content herein is very thought provoking but also very settling in a way, and has been the topic of many conversations since our arrival here in Ensenada over a week ago.

May 15th - Happy Birthday Anaka!

2009-05-15T01:56:00.000-07:00

May 15th, 2009. Happy Birthday Anaka!! Your first birthday!! Hope that you had a great day today. So sorry that we missed it, but we will see your cute little self very soon. Today the boys found three million baby oysters at an oyster farm. It is at the end of the dock here. The fellow who cares for them showed them to us. Each baby oyster is about as big as the eraser on the end of a pencil. He rinses them and checks them every day. He also showed us the net containers that make up the farm. Each of the 8 containers are about 3 feet long, wide and deep – and have about 4 inches of these babies in the bottom. Once they get to a certain stage, they move them from here to a big oyster farm, and they are sold from there. Shandro wanted one for a pet! But in the end, we thought that he would be happier with all his cousins in the marine environment than alone in a little jar of saltwater on our counter, so we left him there. Pretty cool – never saw an oyster farm before!

We have just settled into the marina here and have begun the boat cleaning. Once that is on the way, we will drag our belongings out of the lockers and look at them and decide ‘should it stay or should it go now …’ That will be a job worth doing, because then we will have quite a bit more locker space, I suspect. Yippee!! But one step at a time, for now. The days include working out, hot showers, and some fun kid time – playground or pool or biking or some combination thereof. Haven’t tried the pool tables yet. Still have a few things to squeeze in before we head north. And we are still eating the groceries meant for our journey north, so that’s been good on the wallet.

Wed, May 13 - We've Finally Arrived

2009-05-13T02:21:00.000-07:00

Wednesday, May 13th, 2009. Long lost friends ho!! We snuck up on Andre and Victor this morning on Easy Breeze to say hello. That was a great hello – for all of us! If we had heard the net, we would have checked in, but we didn’t hear it. And we also saw Frank and Cynthia (s.v. Makani) before they head north in their now completed boat! There are lots of other people to see, and we will get there, one by one.

And there’s more! Apparently Merle has been manifesting for staying at Marina Coral for several weeks now, but I had no druthers about where to keep our boat until this morning. We did our sleuthing for prices and facilities, and ended up here at Marina Coral. It’s fabulous here! Not only can we leave the boat here for several months, plugged in and guarded, but while we are here, we get full use of the facility which includes three swimming pools, hot tub, Jacuzzis, saunas, steam rooms, a gym, games room with pool, foosball, and ping pong, playground, internet, fuel discounts, electricity, running drinkable water, keyed gated entry and security round the clock, free parking, restaurant and bar, hot showers with luxurious towels, and complete spa. And there is a hotel for any guests who’d like to join us here. It’s a great spot. After we moored our boat, we went up to the hotel and as the kids swam and we lounged by the pool this evening, we cautiously made sure they were safe, and we said (again - the other time being at the beautiful Bahia San Fransisco in November, just before Matero fell down the companionway and bumped his head) to ourselves – we have finally arrived! Now, we finally feel like we are on a holiday. That’s funny. Even with all this ‘stuff’, the best parts are the playing with our kids, and that we have good friends right across the dock from us. How are we going to leave this? Might be home later than we thought!

So here we are, safe and sound in Ensenada, with the Baja ‘Bash’ behind us. Amazing. It’s still crazy to think we are here. I am thrilled beyond expression that the trip went so well. It is truly a miracle to me – to us – that we should have experienced that journey in the way we did. I am sure there are other people who have had those conditions coming up the coast. We just never hooked up with anyone who told us a story like that. If we had, maybe we wouldn’t have believed them! Maybe we had to experience it for ourselves to know it could be true. Merle was talking to a delivery captain today who has done more than 30 trips up the coast. He said that he has never strung together a week of good weather like that before, and he doesn’t think it’s that common. Maybe it’s more of a miracle that even I know.

Monday, May 11th - We can see Ensenada!

2009-05-11T02:15:00.000-07:00

Monday, May 11th, 2009. Wow!! We are here!! What an amazing trip! The Baha Bash is over and we are in Bahia Todos Santos, about 5 miles from Ensenada which is just across the bay. We came straight here after anchoring overnight in Colnett. And Behan, your voice was like music on the SSB today. You couldn’t hear us, but we could hear you, and it was the wonderful sound of ‘welcome home’. Man we miss you guys!

Well, our journey was amazing weather-wise. After the first day of oh-my-gosh-winds that turned us back, it has been extremely easy. Winds have been very light to dead calm, except for a few hours near Bahia Asuncion. That’s a miracle right there! And the water has been rolly or flat calm – so calm it is glassy. A second miracle. There has been very little other weather except a bit of fog. Amazing actually. We have had great plans to stop along the way to rest – anchor here or there for a few days and play with the boys while we waited for weather. But it seems like every time we got anchored, the weather looked promising, so we’d depart again early the next morning, and rather than heading to the next port down the line, we just stayed at sea heading north. When Merle asked me if we should anchor or sail, I seemed to be saying sail. And when I asked him, he said the same thing. It has helped us get this far this fast. We left last Monday, so it took us only 8 days to get here. From our research, we figured 10 days to 3 weeks, depending on the weather. We both feel like motoring is cheating, but in retrospect, our goal was to get to Ensenada, so we needed to employ whatever it took to get here, and it seems like motoring has been the best way. When the only choices are wind on the nose or no wind, the second option is far more conducive to a quick trip. So, thank goodness for diesel fuel! And many, many times every day, I have been saying thanks to God, and to Perkins our engine, Pete our autopilot and Kenta Anae of course, and to the sky and the water, and to Merle who has been not only very patient with me in my tired hours, but kind and sweet in lots of ways. We often looked across the dodger at each other and marveled, either out loud or silently, at our incredibly good luck with the weather window we chose. Thank you, and a thousand thank yous.

I am just so grateful things went so well. It’s unbelievable. If we just came and didn’t hear all the stories, we’d never know it could be so horrible! Now we are going to anchor here for tonight and tomorrow night to rest (that sounds funny, but it is true!) and clean up a bit, and do some of that playing with the boys that we promised ourselves during this journey. Tomorrow is a lego day! It is only a short distance now to Ensenada – about 1 hour. We can all taste it, and it tastes good. We have been talking about what we will do when we get there, and it’s really simple things like have a long hot shower, play in a playground, hug some good friends we left behind, and send out a ‘we’re great’ message. When your life is simple, it’s the simple things that become the most important.

Merle says:
The equipment on this voyage has been good and solid – that makes things infinitely easier. She’s a strong boat and good for us – she sails well. (Tatwari is playing in the background. Merle is standing in front of me on the deck. The sky and the water are the same color of grey. It’s very slightly different where they meet. The sky is overcast, and the water is flat without waves. It is reflecting the sky. Occasionally we see the odd bit of bull kelp – big fat floating kelp that is tough enough to stop a prop or hang up a rudder. Or a pelican. Merle is never still very long. He likes to tweak and adjust and fix. He is tightening the lifelines right now as we motor along, talking to me as I type.) Biggest lessons? Paradise is where you make it. It doesn’t have to be in the tropics, hot. It can be wherever you are. But it’s way easier when you are wearing surf shorts all the time! * It’s also not only about what we sought but about what (who) found us. * It’s been a big adventure getting competent with the boat and sailing. It has been a big step. Being able to sail allows you to travel now. New Zealand is not out of the question any more. I’d never fly my family there, but I’d sail there tomorrow. Funny, hey? * We take ourselves with us wherever we go. That’s one of the biggest lessons. That’s good and bad. * Only once you get used to your cart – if you get your cart down slow enough, can you work on other things in your life. But if the cart is too heavy, you have to focus on hauling the cart around. * If you want something, you just have to do whatever it takes to get there. You just have to start, put one foot in front of the other. It’s not rocket science. * Is sailing our style? * It’s true that it’s better to be scared to death than bored to death. Sometimes it’s hard to see though. * We are only now getting to be able to sleep in the anchorage. It takes a bit of getting used to this floating life. * Really what I want is to understand that I am in control of my life. Paying taxes and voting in elections doesn’t seem free enough to me. I can’t just watch the news and vote – it drives me nuts. We just get programmed to do what everyone else is doing. If you get to the point where you are coffin dodging with a big pile of money somewhere, what was the point? Bankruptcy of the purse or bankruptcy of the soul. That’s really a poignantly true statement. * For someone who has been to the sea and seen all of the serendipity that arises on the ocean, it’s incredible. You just can’t make it up. There is no way that I could have guessed at the luck and the things we have enjoyed, when we began this trip. There are lots of messages about how to live that manifesting sort of life, but we just don’t listen. If we ignore the rules and make our own by listening, there is serendipity out there to be had. Somehow we manifested this calm water and no wind and amazing journey north this far. It has been fast and easy, with very little weather to deal with except in a progressive moving-forward way. * When your life is on the line, quality breakage is perfectly acceptable. Cost of fuel is inconsequential. * Simple rules like ‘just go’. You don’t need all the things they say in the books. You need simple and manageable, then just go – and you’re going! And the universe truly will help you along the way. It’s interesting to think that the whole government-moderated-society is still going on out there. Hearing the Coast Guard on the radio today asking about a radio transmission was proof of that other-world. I still like the mountains back home though; I definitely didn’t fall out of love with them. To get this many days of reasonable weather on the Baja is a miracle – definitely special circumstances. This is not regular spring weather here. Regular weather is Baja bashing with 20 to 25 knot winds on the nose, and swell that goes with it. Not flat calm and 0 to 5 knots. At least not for a week plus. This is excellent timing. Amazing. Maybe it’s a sign that we are getting better at listening. We made some good decisions. I am actually looking forward to going back to Puerto Vallarta and helping Tom there. He has a pacemaker you know. He is relying on an electronic device to make his heart pump, while he works on electricity. Now THAT’s a high risk job!! I’m looking forward to Canadian beer. Tall timber Ale – that’ll be so sweet!! And I want to go to teapot!! In Ensenada – sleep for a day. Have a shower. Maybe we should have 1 o’clock lunch, then when lunch is over, play. Celebrate every day a little bit. Have a party for a week!!

Shandro says:
I like sailing. I like fishing. In Ensenada, I am looking forward to buying the things on my list and seeing Laur (from Elan) again. I want a big shower. I want to go to the park, get spray string and bubble pop and party snaps. (That’s a pretty manageable list there Shandro.) And I’m looking forward to getting a boy game (game boy) when we get to Canada. Anaka will be funny. I want fish tacos when we get back. I’m looking forward to more lego and my racetrack. I want to go skating on real ice!!

Matero says:
I like sailing too. I like saying ‘land ho’. Catching fish is fun and eating them is good, but I don’t like the killing part. Anchoring is good. I’m looking forward to a hamburgesa con queso in Ensenada. I want to play with my little town. And see my friends. And play in the snow. And make snow angels!! And I am going to give Chilko the biggest hug in the world. And Auntie Amy. Maybe Morgan and Wyatt could meet us in Ensenada?

Mother's Day - 100 miles to Ensenada

2009-05-10T02:13:00.000-07:00

Sunday, May 10th, 2009. This is Mother’s Day. Breakfast in bed was very cool - on a sailboat, especially coconut cream pie with a big fat heart on top. And some great drawings from my boys. Matero drew this cool spiral with our sailboat driving into it. We sailed in there to be safe and happy, he said. Matero loves spirals – they pour out of him in his drawings and it always surprises me because I work with spirals but don’t talk about them. Then they just show up in his art. And Shandro drew a beautiful cupid heart with an arrow through it, and he also gave me a word search that he made up himself. Very clever for a 6 year old! Excellent! We are still at sea, somewhere south of San Quintin. Merle has been sailing since this morning at 7am, because I did the night watch until we passed Sacramento reef. The sea was glassy when I went to bed around 8am, and there was no wind. It was beautiful. But when I woke up to this lovely breakfast (aka lunch) in bed, Kenta Anae was healed over a little, and Merle had her up to about 7 knots using the wind and Perkins. I see the log book actually says, ‘Ahhhh, Perkins!!’ and later, ‘Overcast, seas flat, no wind, PERFECT!’ Merle says we have only about 100 miles to go, so we will anchor in Colnett tonight, and do two short legs over the next two days. Yesterday, while we floated on the calm water, still, Shandro put on his swim goggles and Merle held him over the side to check the prop for bull kelp and any other yuckyness. He did a great job – and was so brave!! A baby sea lion showed up just after that and played at the stern for about an hour while we cheered.

Turtle Bay - 289 Miles to Ensenada

2009-05-08T02:03:00.000-07:00

Friday, May 8th, 2009. Thank goodness for the log book (where we keep hourly details of our journey) or I wouldn’t know what day it is! Apparently we have already traveled 397 miles – Turtle Bay is half way!! Now we have only 289 miles to go. That’s amazing already! And thank goodness Merle did the night watch last night, because now we are anchored in Turtle Bay, and it’s only noon!! We came through some fog in the last 3 days, we had lunch with whales off the starboard rail (literally 20 feet from the boat) yesterday, and Merle steered us through some wind and swell last night just off Asconcion. (Usually I do the night watch, but Merle did it last night.) Our only goal here is to buy fuel for the next leg. In one of our guidebooks, it says that fueling here is precarious business, as you have to pull up to the dock stern first, throw out a bow anchor, and hope that it is set well enough and holds you away from the dock far enough that the swell doesn’t cause your stern to smash against the dock during the refueling process. Yikes!! You can imagine Merle’s sheer delight when Annabel Fuel came by to sell us fuel from his portable fuel troller while we are at anchor out in the bay. Now, Kenta Anae is being refueled right here, without moving anywhere near a dock. Merle is absolutely beaming with joy, that getting fuel here should be so easy!!

And I am grateful for another night’s rest. It’s not that sailing is really tiring. In fact, especially at night, it is incredibly beautiful when it is as calm as it has been. It’s just something about the watches. For 2 people to share the watches, it means a few shifts. We have chosen 2 six-hour shifts each, so Merle drives from 4am to 10am or so, and theoretically I take over and drive till 4pm, and then he watches till 10pm and I do the graveyard shift. But in reality, we share the driving between 10am and 10pm, as I cook during my theoretical shift, but drive for part of his so he can sleep a bit. Anyway, with a 3rd person, the watch responsibilities are far less taxing, and we each get more sleep, making such a system more sustainable. So I am very grateful for anchoring here, just so we can each have a really restful sleep.

Bahia Santa Maria - 514 Miles to Ensenada

2009-05-05T02:02:00.000-07:00

Tuesday, May 5th. We motored over flat calm seas and out of the fog today, arriving safe and sound in Bahia Santa Maria. We’ve gone 172 miles already! Now we all get to sleep all night!! No-one has to be on watch for the next few hours! We celebrated success for the first leg of our journey tonight with a big fat cheers. And the kids got a little treat for the 24th parallel crossing, which they loved. Sleep is going to taste so delicious, I can’t write anymore, even tho it is only 4 in the afternoon!! Goodnight!

Monday, May 4th - 686 Miles to Ensenada

2009-05-04T02:00:00.000-07:00

Monday, May 4th, 2009. Well, we left this morning. We have 686 miles to go, like the crow flies. There was no wind coming around the point today, so we carried on. We just passed our first parallel – 23 degrees latitude. We celebrated with presents for everybody. (We have to cross 9 latitude lines, so I got treats for each crossing. Hopefully it will keep the kids interested in our progress, and help Shandro learn to map our latitude and longitude on a little chart I made for him.)

We are heading north, whatever may come to pass. I didn’t want to write this before we left so no one would worry about us, but the sail to Ensenada sounds difficult for the crew, and hard on the boat. Some people say it can age the boat terribly with the wear and tear it will take beating up the coast. Way offshore, the winds are unpredictable this time of year, with possible gales and spring storms. But staying close to shore is a dangerous business too, as the rocks and shelves can creep up pretty fast on a lee shore (wind coming onto the shore from the sea) if something happens to disable the boat in any way; the wind pushes boats ashore and the consequences of that are never good. And it’s always a lee shore except at night if you’re lucky. Either way, the waves (both wind waves and swell) are coming from the north-west at this time of year, so we could be smashing into them the whole way, and that is what is so hard on the boat – hull, rigging, mast, and any parts that will be rubbed or shaken with the vibration of the boat. And the people often fair far worse than the boat – poor decisions made lacking sleep or sanity with disasterous outcomes. I have been interviewing people to see what it is like. Some say ‘don’t do it, we’ve heard it’s bad’ or ‘I’ve done it and I’ll never do it again’ or ‘Do it in late June or early July but definitely not now.’ One person said ‘ya you can do it, just take your time’, but he has never sailed it either. We were at a concert the other night and Pat Henry (famous author of a book about her circumnavigation) said that she has never done the Baha Bash, but friends of hers had a terrible time about halfway up, at Cedros Island. And many people know someone who has wrecked a boat there – sunk or otherwise disabled. Lots of fear stories. Merle says we should only talk to people with over 100,000 nautical miles under their belts. Seems like they are few and far between. The baha is pretty remote, often with only anchorages - no food, no groceries, no fuel, no water, few people. And the 'bash' is rough sailing into the weather and into the swell, and hopefully not into the rocks. Most people dread it. Some people buy boats in California and Mexico just so they don't have to do the bash north. Some people sell their boats down here so they don't have to sail them north. We are somewhere between brave and crazy to sail north!

We did talk to Ishi of course, and they have done this trip 9 times, offshore each time. That’s what got us hooked on the offshore route. And then we both decided to go up the coast after our False start at Cabo Falso (aptly named) Saturday. I guess we will see what will come of it. Merle mentioned his thoughts about that wind, which turned out to be my thoughts too: maybe that high wind was just for us? Maybe we needed to be told in no uncertain terms to go inshore rather than the offshore clipper route? Anyway, we both changed our minds as a result of that day, and hopefully it is for the best. It could be stressful, although we have been manifesting for a safe and joyful journey. I don’t know if it can be joyful, but if anything is possible, we might as well ask for joy! Hope the manifesting works…

Happy (early?) Mother's Day

2009-05-03T20:08:00.000-07:00

Sunday, May 3rd. Is today Mother's Day? Or am I a week early? We are still in Cabo San Lucas anchored here. I don’t know when we are leaving - maybe tomorrow. But of course I said that yesterday! The water here is clear and beautiful and the days are hot. The beaches are packed with people during the day, and at night the music from the bars floats out over the water. Last night, there was a lady singing some jazz, and she had an amazing voice. It’s like having front row seats! There are tons of things to do here if you need – seadoo rentals, parasailing, kayaking, swimming, banana rides (a blow-up banana thing that’s pulled by a boat), horseback riding, submarine rides, glass bottomed boats, snorkeling, ferry rides and floating bars, and of course the town stuff. It’s all tourists and business is booming.

Matero makes us laugh. We were talking about our favorite parts of dinner a few days ago, and we had sun dried tomatoes on our pizza that he loved. He said that he loved the ‘sun tanned tomatoes.’ We don’t know if he said it by accident or on purpose, but it made us all laugh. And Merle has this ring on his phone that is a song. It goes ‘wasted away again in Margaritaville’ but Matero sings ‘racing a whale again to Margarita’s grill’. He’s a pretty funny kid. I love being a mom.

And Shandro is so grateful about lots of things, and loves and feels so much. He is a tender and fragile soul - he understands so much by intuition and feelings in the air. He loves to make things for us that we like. What amazing children I have. Being a mom is like giving yourself a gift.

God said not today!

2009-05-02T20:59:00.000-07:00

Saturday, May 2nd. Wow – What an interesting morning! We got up just before 4am and did the last few things before pulling the anchor and heading out in the dark at 4:30. Once we got beyond the bay, the wind picked up. I mean it really picked up. We were running with only a reefed main, and of that only one small corner of it was catching wind, and the wind was so strong we were steering almost directly into it and going over 7 knots. The waves were between 4 and 6 feet so not very big, but there were whitecaps and cresting waves because of the wind. The wind was stronger than either Merle or I had ever experienced. It blew water at us like horizontal rain, and over our boat like a little submarine. Thank goodness Kenta Anae sheds water so well! Both Merle and I were drenched after only about ½ hour of sailing, and we were in full weather gear, thank goodness! The wind was 35 knots gusting to ? So using good judgment, we turned back. On the way back into the bay, the wind was chasing us, and we were averaging 8.5 knots and up to 8.9 knots with only part of the reefed main catching the wind. That’s fast. Unbelievable with only such a small bit of cloth catching the wind! I was pretty excited but Merle becalmed me by saying that I can steer a spinnaker so I can do this. It’s really different, but at the time it made me feel in control and able to deal with the weather, which was exactly what I needed. It took us 3.5 hours to do the round trip, arriving back at anchor after 8am, totally frapped but excited at the same time. I don’t know if I could do that for 6 hours. Especially by myself, while Merle slept. It was pretty intense – I was very completely present and living in the moment! I am sure God’s angels were looking after us out there.

And boy did we enjoy breakfast in a calm anchorage!! It was so peaceful, and I was so grateful to be there instead of in the windy tempest from which we came!

When we looked at the weather information for the area we had just sailed, it said 5 to 8 knots of wind, seas 2 to 3 feet. We couldn’t believe what we were reading. And more than one weather source said the same things! We did not find a single weather source that depicted what we experienced. Perhaps it was just typical cape weather. But how 5 knots becomes a raging 35 is beyond me!

I am about to check the weather again to see what I can see. We may try again tomorrow morning, or we may wait until Monday. Looks like high winds till Thursday on the north end of the Baja, so waiting one more day would be fine on this end, since we will probably have to wait somewhere. Might as well be an amazing beach where the kids can play.

One thing the small tour today did for us was to remind us that resting is important. We both came back full of adrenalin but exhausted. And since we don’t have an extra crew member, we may go the shore route so we can anchor and rest every few days, instead of the offshore route where we have to be on call all the time. (If the wind is normal 10 to 15 knots, offshore would be easy as sailing in that wind is easy, even restful. But if we had to sail through a gale, resting becomes paramount.) There are advantages and disadvantages to both, but resting seemed pretty important this morning. The shore route means motoring likely rather than sailing, as the direction is upwind all the way. Anyway, we will still check in daily on the Amigo net so that someone is keeping track of us.

If you don’t hear from me again, it means we departed Sunday morning. If you do, we didn’t! Gotta love those plans written in the sand at low tide … But thank goodness we have the patience and guts to tell our determined egos to stand aside while we go with the flow of the weather. It is good for us, to remember to listen. This is one of the lessons we are here to remember! Thanks, God, for the lessons and being able to tell about them after the lesson part is over!

Love you all!!

Allison and the crew

Ensenada bound!!

2009-05-01T21:14:00.000-07:00

Well, we are provisioned up, fuelled up, oil is changed, cabin is stowed, canvas is off and kids are asleep. All we have to do is start the engine (or not, depending on the wind), and pull up the anchor to depart. We are leaving tomorrow morning - Saturday, May 2nd - around 4am on our journey. That should get us around Cabo Falso while the wind is still relatively calm there. We shall put up the sails on a starboard tack (wind coming over the starboard side) and sail out and away from the land. We will check in with our location, weather, vitals on the amigo net (upper side band, at 8122 kHz or 8116 kHz, at 14:00 zulu time which is 8:00am Cabo San Lucas time) every day we are at sea. This journey could be as short as 10 days or as long as 3 weeks. It will depend on the wind and on how far out we go. Three hundred miles out will make a shorter trip than 600 miles if the wind is in our favor. Our shifts will be 6 hour shifts and we will see how that goes. We have enough fuel to motor for about 72 hours or so, if we have to. We did not take on crew so it is our tight little family, Kenta Anae and God on this voyage.

Free Range Chicken and Sea Lise departed this morning so they are ahead of us by a few hours.

Bless you all and keep you safe until we get there. If you think of us between now and the middle of May, just send us a pinch of love. That will see us through! We are praying for good weather and great fishing!

We love you.

Love Merle, Allison, Shandro and Matero on sv Kenta Anae

Christmas in April

2009-04-28T20:13:00.000-07:00

April 28th. We are in Cabo San Lucas right now, floating anchored on the big beach here. I am sitting on deck watching a cruise ship come in at the moment actually. We will be here for a few days before heading north on our journey back to Ensenada where we will leave the boat. We have to wait for the appropriate weather window for departure. Right now the Pacific High is somewhere near Vancouver, and the winds on the Baja are strong. So we will wait. Merle said this is the first time in his life that he has ever waited for weather to do what he wants to do. So I said just change what you want to do! Just want to be here swimming in this clean clear water holidaying in Cabo for a week, and you'll still be the Merle that we know and love. He laughed. So once we do finally depart (and I will update the website that day), it will be anywhere from 10 days to 3 weeks to sail up, depending on the wind and the weather and the challenges along the way. I will provision for a month, just to be safe. And we have grains and legumes onboard to last us well into next year if necessary.

Anyway, after we get to Ensenada, we will prepare the boat for sitting for a while, and we will fly out of San Diego to Canada. Our time in Canada is undetermined at this point, but we will be there for the whole summer for sure, departing no earlier than November I suspect, and perhaps as late as 2010. We have commitments in BC between August 14th and 24th or so, but other than that we will probably spend much of our time in Alberta as Merle will be working there. The kids and I might go to BC early or stay later, depending on vehicles and money and stuff like that.

The water here in Cabo is amazing. The clearest and most beautiful we have seen since Isla San Fransisco in November. We all swam to shore yesterday from the boat, and played at the beach for the day. It was warm and sandy and fun! We buried each other in the sand and then busted out, had running and jumping contests and played tag. And we swam and played in the gentle surf. The boys have been enjoying the boogie boards no end! Farther down, the beach is littered with vacationing people and salesmen with various wares from silver jewelry and wooden carvings to cooked food and timeshares. When we answer them in Spanish, if they venture near, they either leave us quietly or strike up a conversation asking us about living on a boat. Anyway, we had an awesome family day on the beach.

Today we went to town to check out the grocery situation and a few other details we need to address before our departure. Looks like the wind might be in our favor by Friday.

Wow!! Christmas in April! Merle picked up two packages today that have been following us around for a while. The cards said Happy Hallowe’en and Happy Thanksgiving, but I am sure it is Christmas! Thanks, Dad! The radio book will be great for me, and the boys loved the cards and the pesos you sent. Shandro can read all of the cards that you wrote. He laughed about the cat bringing the mouse to the door to bring it inside, and you saying – no way, eat your dessert outside! Anyway, they were both thrilled to bits with the pesos. They danced around for a long time before they finally fell into bed. And I am looking at the bountiful package here and wondering what kind of gift I can bring you to say thank you. Really, it would be a plane ticket, and I am sure that is in our future, just not sure when. Anyway, thank you so much. I am glad to have received it before I see you again. (Barely, but true!) Merry Christmas!

These pictures are for you Granddad and Grandma. The boys drew them this morning to say thank you for the great surprises! Shandro's is of a yellowfin tuna, and Matero drew our sailboat with some rough water underneath it (on the left) and a spiderweb thingamajig on the right. And he signed his name by himself.

River Crocodrilo Tour

2009-04-23T20:15:00.000-07:00

April 23rd. What a cool river tour! We were the first ones up the river in the morning, and we saw crocodiles and tons of birds. Also fish, insects including termites at work and huge bumblebees. At the crocodile farm, we also saw deer and worthogs or wild boars. The boys watched intently and it was probably the 4 quietest waking hours they have had since they were born! Today we depart for the south tip of the Baja.

2009-04-22T20:16:00.000-07:00

April 22nd. Happy Birthday, Casey!! Shandro got you a little birthday present today! We will see you soon!! Today we went into San Blas to make arrangements for the river tour tomorrow morning early. Hopefully we will be able to get into shore okay, as we just learned that there is supposed to be a big south swell coming into the bay tonight, making the beach a great place to surf, but a difficult place to land a dinghy with only oars. I have packed the bug dope (very rarely needed at all over the past year – really only in this place), sunscreen and camera for our 4 hour tour. Should see some crazy wildlife on the river! Asta manyana!

Arrive in San Blas

2009-04-21T20:17:00.000-07:00

April 21st. We sailed today all day. It was awesome! And late in the afternoon, the wind died so we started Perkins, and Pete (our faithful autopilot) drove us to San Blas. Shandro did his first watch this evening. He was so excited. He walked around the boat and checked lines and fittings for rattles or signs of wear, checked blocks and deck hardware for cracks and breaks, he secured any rattles he found and made sure we stayed on course, checked the mainsail to be sure that it was well set and not luffing, called out our lat and long, speed, course etc. for our log book entry and plotting our course, and in general just felt very grown up and pleased with himself. It was great to see him so proud of his important position as crew. He has other important jobs too like helping with the spinnaker (actually an asymmetrical sail), fondly known as the kite, and dealing with the fishing gear, and checking in on the radio. He’s a great help. And Matero helps too in his own special way, with the removal and replacing of the canvas before and after we sail, the undoing or doing up of cleats at the appropriate moments, the fetching of winch handles, and of course watching and learning from his older brother. There is sometimes complaining, but once the job is done, he is always very pleased with himself. We arrived in San Blas just after midnight and were grateful for having been here before as it made the night navigation easier. The previous anchor coordinates and track into the bay helped us in the dark.

Yelapa, MX

2009-04-20T20:18:00.000-07:00

April 20th – Happy Birthday Auntie Helen!! Last evening, we talked to Teri and Gary on Ishi. They have done the Baha Bash 9 times already. Except they do the clipper route – offshore all the way – rather than the bash up the coast. It’s way smarter to do it that way. Boats are meant to be in the water, not on the water-land interface. Anyway, both Merle and I are quite hopeful after speaking with them. They said that the strongest winds they see are around 15 knots. Mind you they go in May, and we will preceed them by one month. But still, they are not afraid at all – just go. That was really inspiring. They are one of a handful of people who have said with enthusiasm that we can do it. Most of the others are quite afraid of that little piece of the ocean. I guess we shall see what to believe when we get there! We are leaning hard to the Ensenada return on the clipper (offshore) route.

We departed La Cruz today to begin our adventure north to Williams Lake. We are fuelled up, full of water, provisioned, and happily sitting in the Yelapa bay on a mooring ball after finally visiting this little hippi town south of Puerto Vallarta. We went for a short hike up to a waterfall, which was really pretty – a narrow cobblestone path overhung with tall trees (mahogany and rosewood, and palms and other tropicals) beside a quiet stream. Boy it would be interesting to see this place in the rainy season! The path would be flooded and the creek would be a bouldery river of eddies and crazy lines! The boys loved the hike, and the scrambling over the rocks, and climbing the hill. They discovered some new insects in the water, some cool secret paths, and a sidewalk bridge over the creek. After the walk, we all enjoyed some tacos at a great taco shop, and an exquisite frozen sweet and tangy avocado pie that was amazing. And the boys saw their first little piglet, and a boy with a rooster on his shoulders. Of course, the panga ride to and from the beach was great fun too, with the boys holding onto the painter (the rope in front) and standing up on the bow like crazy waterskiiers. Matero kept asking us if we could go back to the waterfall. We said, yes, when we return to Yelapa again.

2009-04-12T20:19:00.000-07:00

April 12th, Easter Sunday, 2009. Happy Easter!! We heard from the McAssey clan today. Florence had Shane’s family, Ryan’s family, Everett, and a few other folks there for dinner today, so she called us on the cell so we could talk to her and to the others. Isn’t that so sweet? I miss Florence. She is very kind and always thinking of others. We still can’t call out, so I haven’t talked to my family today. We sent love and prayers at breakfast tho. We had easter breakfast of pancakes with strawberries and cream. It was good. No easter eggs to hide tho. Just another day for the boys. No traditions in this house, that’s for sure! Merle is not big on that stuff – that’s my thing. But I didn’t try to source egg dye nor chocolate easter eggs in Mexico. More luck with fireworks and coconut candy!

Above is our view of the PV lighthouse, and below is the view from the lighthouse. (Kenta Anae is in this photo. Can you find her?) We spent the warmest Easter ever here in the heart of Puerto Vallarta. We are moored in the marina here amongst little pangas and colossal megayachts. Tom is letting us stay in his slip in Marina Vallarta for a few days. He said we can stay forever. He's funny and very sweet. We had Salmon for dinner tonight, a tribute to British Columbia and all of the things we appreciate more now that we have been away. Take care. Love and blessings to all of you!

We will be here while Merle does some work on the boom and I do some provisioning. We sailed here today and Merle took the boom off when we got here. Now the boom is ready to go to the shop. Last night, before we left La Cruz, Merle said that maybe we should take the boat to Loreto and leave it there in the Sea of Cortez instead of making the voyage on the outside to Ensenada. That would be great with me. I will do some more research and try to talk to people with lots of nautical miles under their belts about the Baha Bash. Bash up the Pacific or hide in the Sea of Cortez? The long and short is, our plans are in the air again. No surprise there! (We do write them in the sand at low tide …) Provisioning will be fun, not knowing how long we will be at sea. I guess I will just buy stuff with a long shelf life that will last … !

Puerto Vallarta is nice on the water, but very commercial. I much prefer La Cruz to this place. Tho walking down the malacon here is its own funny adventure. When we are approached by the Mexican salesmen who ask us how long we are here visiting, and if we’d like a tour/adventure/activity, we answer, in Spanish, that we are living here aboard our own boat. They smile and grant us a certain respect, like equals almost. Maybe not quite, but it is a step up from being a tourist. Then they start asking curiously about living aboard and sailing around here. Today we climbed the lighthouse and looked out. It is a great view from there. You can even see our boat amongst the rest – everything from fishing pangas to mega yachts, and everything in between. We fit right in! There is a crocodile who lives here in the marina. He occasionally eats people, but other than that, we’ve heard that he is just your average marina pet. So the boys have been instructed to stay off the open ends of the docks, and if they see El Cocodrilo, they can watch him as long as he is visible and far away. The minute he disappears under the water, vamenos! Get the heck out of there! That adds to the excitement of walking down the dock! We didn’t plug in tonight, as the voltage was 135 volts at the plug. Not sure what that will do to our 120 volt electronics onboard. Don’t have a ‘firewall’ for that yet. It is low on the list, but apparently pretty important. Sounds like electricity from Mexico south can be pretty surgey, and the computer is our only connection out. Good that Merle checked.

2009-04-11T21:27:00.000-07:00

April 11. Last night I was enjoying the sound of the water crashing on the beach and the cool wind pouring through the boat at La Cruz. It felt great. Although I woke frequently, the rolling of the boat is still a welcome reminder that Gaia is alive and well around us. I soaked it all up, knowing that we would be here in Vallarta today.

The boys went out for tacos last night for dinner, (the ‘Last Supper’ in La Cruz). This is a photo of our favorite taco place, tables on the street - where else but Mexico!? While they were gone, I had a luxurious evening at the computer (actually visiting, as it turned out, but luxurious nonetheless) and they brought me a great big glass of horchada – a lovely light sweet rice drink that is made here, often flavored with cinnamon and always served icey cold. It cost Merle 80 pesos – around $8 CDN – for all of it. And Kathy bought a dozen eggs in the Marquaises yesterday for $6 CDN. Everything in perspective in these 2 different worlds.

When Merle was describing what it felt like to be down here to some folks yesterday, he said that retirement as we know it is a farce. And that we can ‘retire’ as well, money or not. Retiring doesn’t mean having money to do what you want. It means having the time and being without a schedule. The means will come, if we have the determination to make it happen. I think he’s right. Why wait for that little nest egg at the end if you can have it all now? Why put yourself through the hustle and bustle of daily life in the big city, paying closer attention to your schedule than to yourself or those around you? What’s the point? God is inside. Peace is inside. If that was first, and the other stuff was second, what a different world it would be.

2009-04-07T20:24:00.000-07:00

April 7th, 2009. Well, we made it – one year ho! Exactly one year ago today, we boarded our boat for the first time.

Finally online again!!!!

2009-04-03T13:43:00.000-07:00

This day I began a new website. I am so stoked to be able to journal online again. Seems like this will be easier; I can simply email an entry to the journal (with our new email account). And post-entries seem to be pretty easy. Have entered back to November so far. And adding photos is a snap. Now all I need to do is let people know. And that might not be an easy task as I have been unable to download my address book (so I can use a new email host), nor send out emails except in rare instances. Very frustrating. Once I get this out to you, you can get an email from this website every time we update it, which is a great way for us to say hello!! Meanwhile, I will keep trying on the email front. We love you a bunch!! Allison, Merle, Shandro and Matero

Letter from Love Song

2009-03-31T13:43:00.000-07:00

March 31, 2009. Part of another letter from Kathy & Allen:We had lunch with the locals and it was $4,000 francs, nearly $50 USD! (It's about 85f./$1.00US, so it's a lot more zeros than with pesos!) We withdrew $ at the cash machine and the bills were so huge Allen was wondering what kind of wallets they need to hold such big bills! We got 3 oranges, a grapefruit, cucumber, 2 ice creams, dz. eggs, and a couple beers for nearly $50.00 too! We did manage to learn a few Marquesan words for hello and goodbye, and we were terribly embarrassed that we hardly knew a stitch of French and realized how spoiled we were in Mexico. Today we went to the beach where the river runs into the ocean and we hung with all these little Marquesan children and learned a lot from them, the must've thought we were hilarious with our mixed up Sprench. No kidding, the women mostly wear floral sarongs and a flower behind their ears, for real!

Bandaras Bay Regatta

2009-03-31T09:47:00.000-07:00

Allison says:
We just finished the Bandaras Bay Regatta on Saturday. That is a big sailboat race in Puerto Vallarta. They put us in the class against professional racing boats (because our boat is a ‘racing’ type, even tho the crew members are not 'professional racing types'). Anyway, that made me a bit nervous – my ego worried that we wouldn’t be able to win. Merle and I talked about the spiritual significance of that a bit. We decided that we weren’t supposed to get the ‘ego boost’ from winning, and that the spiritual lesson had to be down some other path, so we were open to finding it. And once my ego calmed down a bit and I realized it was okay if we just did our best, I felt better.

We took on 3 crew members (not including the 5 children aboard) – Jan from sv Cappricio, and Behan and Jamie from sv Totem. Merle, Jan and Jamie spent 2 days prepping the boat – greasing and lubing and adjusting and re-fitting what was necessary, and cleaning and otherwise preparing what was ok. Then we taped the number 17 to our bow, and we raced.

Jan did the mainsail and sheet. He knows a lot about sailing, but is also open to learning new things, which was perfect for his position. We used the mainsail in ways I had never thought of before. He is quite feisty, and has a great positive outlook; a real asset to our motley crew. Behan )pronounced Bee-Ann) baked the most glorious bread and provided decadent lunches every day, as well as being the fordeck crew who ensured smooth tacks and jibes by preventing tangles. She also looked out and called wind changes, proximity to other boats, sighted the marks and gave us great encouragement. And she was the one who gently reminded us to hang off the upside rail (rail bunnies, or rail meat) when we weren't doing anything else. Merle and Jamie ran the aft deck – genoa and asymmetrical sheets and halyards. Merle is very strong, and was great at hoisting and trimming the sails, and at rigging the asymmetrical so that it could be opened easily, dowsed quickly, and even jibed! He also helped me by calling out the speed and bearing, and he makes a very sexy spinnaker pole! Besides sharing duties of the aft deck including winching like a (happy) madman, Jamie was our tactician. He has done a bit of racing, so it made sense for him to call the shots – when to jibe, when to tack, when to let off the mainsail or point higher or lower, when to furl the genoa or dowse the asymmetrical. And all the time watching the other boats and their wind to see what was happening on the course and planning ahead in the best interest of Kenta Anae. Our ears were all tuned in to his words; his positive comments and praise buoyed up the moral of the group, while his calm style and demeanor also transferred into us as we did our respective jobs. And I was the helmsman (helmswoman?) so I steered the boat, and watched only the telltails on the sails and direction; as a result I didn't see out much which is pretty funny for the guy steering the rig! So it was great afterwards to see the race pictures! I also contributed cold drinks to Behan’s amazing lunches. And I did the Kenta Anae pre-race invocation and prayer and the post-race thank you. We made a terrific crew.

I was amazed at the positive attitude of our crew. What a pleasure to sail with this group of people! Even through the tight spots, we were calm and happy. I was the most nervous of all I think, and grateful that it all worked out okay. And we gained great strides over the course of 3 days, both working with each other, and sailing our vessel the best way we knew how. By the third day, we all knew our jobs and could do them well. And we loved each other way more by the end. I would sail with my crew again in a heartbeat. They were awesome.

The first race was Thursday, March 19. Fast, good start, tight sailing with the other boats in extremely close proximity. We came in 4th on the short course, losing 3rd to our closest opponent, Lussino, number 18, a Mexican racing boat. Friday was the long course. Another good start, and then hope for the best with our short (read: slower) hull. An American warship in the bay was our only obstacle besides sailboats. A great day of racing ending with an awesome challenge for the finish line – us with asymmetrical flying between 8 and 9 knots, and Lussino with genoa up ahead of us but at only about 6 knots. We caught up to them fast, and charged across the finish line – only four close seconds after Lussino; a very close race. We ended up with 6th place that day. (We did not know at the time, but our loss to him by 4 seconds made the difference between placing and not placing overall. Who would have thought?) Saturday was the last race, another short race. We thought we had a great start, but it turned out we were over the line. They called us on it and we had to go back and cross the line again – losing both time and distance to the other boats. As we re-started, our tactician kept us on a port tack (wind coming over the port side of the boat, leaned over on our starboard side) rather than following the ‘bad air’ of all of the boats ahead of us on the starboard tack. As we sailed, the wind changed in our favour, and we ended up in a great position, finishing 3rd, and well before our closest opposition. Overall, they gave us 4th place in the racing class! We think that is remarkable considering the training that some of the sailboats undertake for this race. But even better than that was the attitude of our crew, and how good we felt after each race, no matter how we did. We drank beer on the way home, and toasted the crew and Kenta Anae, all with big smiles on. I think it’s the happiest I have ever been when I 'lost'! And in that way, we won! Big time! And recognizing that we did our best and knowing that we could be happy with that was remarkable. That was one of the most important spiritual lessons of the race. Race results and some great photos by Strange Bird are on http://www.banderasbayregatta.com/.

Merle says:
Oh that stupid ham exam was in the way of my preparation. So after I got the 500 questions of nerd-dom downloaded out of the brain, I could focus on what was really important – racing. So luckily (since I am on ‘holidays’) I could go from one job to another and worked for 48 hours on race preparation. So we got some gas out and some brushes and inhaled fumes for the first day, eight winches rebuilt and buttery smooth. And then on the second day we ripped off the dodger, reduced some friction, oh and removed the weight, that’s right too – pulled a bit out of the ends. Luckily the rule book said to remove the anchor – so we removed all the anchors except one (don’t want anyone to hit the back anchor!) Then we practiced for half an hour while there was a introductory parade, showed up at the line green as grass with a good tactician. Something about the usual caribou attitude – pin it till you hit something. And within 15 seconds of the start, we just about hit something - the biggest fastest J-boat race boat in the class. They had starboard tack rights and luckily they had some discretion other wise we’d have had to start a second time or get a hole in our side. The next two hours we learned how much we didn’t know and the intensity levels and learning curves were suitably steep. Tacking your house without losing any speed, and jibing your spinnaker around marks with 18 knots of wind left us with a fairly humble experience. We dualled with the other slow boat in the class for most of the race. And karmically finished fourth, one spot behind the boat who did not t-bone us at the start. Corrected time is a beautiful thing (when you have the highest handicap!) We found that after race 1 we understood that we could hang in there with the racers so we looked forward to race 2 which would show our boat slowness even more as a long waterline has the leading advantage. Day 2 was more relaxed, open starts, longer sessions between frantic boat handling maneouvers, and smoother more experienced crew so we sailed a smooth race and thought we had a good finish in the bag but the waterline monsters sailed faster than us and we ended up with 6th. Little did we know as we were overtaking our nemesis from Mexico (Lussino #18) with our spinnaker flying, in an effort not to lose control of the spinnaker at 9 knots, we gave him some wind, and we finished a mere 4 seconds after him at the finish line, after 23 miles, nose to nose. It was exciting indeed to be hunting down our archrival and have the race course 100 meters too short to beat him. That difference in placement allowed the Mexicans to finish third overall. Day 3 saw us anticipating great boat handling requirements as the triangle windward leeward course demanded accurate sail handling. We wind tested at the start and lined up in our (now) usual ultra aggressive fashion. While trimming Kenta Anae in for max speed at the start and getting starboard tacked by the competitive boats running with us at the line we inched across, not just a little, but the whole frigging boat. Tactician yelling go higher, bowman yelling go lower, helmswoman caught in the middle, we heard the horn. Everyone started, then one boat had to come back. Kenta Anae. It’s like starting a mountain bike race, and with the first 5 cranks of the pedals your front wheel falls off. It’s a bit of a letdown after all the energy you put into a good start.
The penalty for crossing the line early - starting too fast - is to return and cross over the start line again. So the simplest fastest maneouver was to jibe return, cross the line, and head out in the exact opposite direction as everyone else in the field, tacking towards the windward mark. Since we had been doing some manifesting for good wind for just us, now would be an excellent time, and we got it! Clean air and good wind angles had us sailing towards the first turn muy rapido compared to our competitors. Twenty minutes in, we were back up to 3rd and had gotten over our emotional start trauma and pressed on to the finish. With the underdog start, Now the crew with the most to lose became the crew with the most to win. And with everyone focused on making the best of what we had left, we sailed admirably. Tactician Jamie reveled in the ‘lift’ and our lucky break. Helmswoman Allison watched the telltales and spoke to no one. Her only instructions were to sail fast. Mainsheet Jan trimmed the main traveler not for luffing (?) but to help us balance the helm so the rudder could remain straight, and we could go faster. Bowman Merle switched from the a-symetric port to starboard tacks and repacked the tack and clew while hanging onto the boat at 15 to 20 degrees, Kenta Anae’s bow spreading salt water on the decks. Foredeckwoman Behan kept track of everyone else on the course including sail angels (angles?) and wind changes. At the windward mark 1 there were only 2 boats ahead of us over the whole field. Spinnakers were setting and genoas were dowsing. We were becoming a well oiled machine. We flew the asymmetric around the second mark with the intention to jibe it. We had been thinking about this mammoth maneouver for the whole regatta and it still eluded us as to how we could make it happen smoothly. The wind blew, we talked it through. It had been our Achilles heel in race 1 and it would determine how well we did in the last race. At mark 2, helmswoman A carried the boat around the mark, helping the main to blanket the asymettrical and people raced around and winches squealed and everyone waited in anticipation for that thing to reinflate without a twist. It hovered, closed, pulsed, fondled the headstay and by gosh it inflated! The boat surged forward back up to speed on the opposite point of sail. We were doing 8.5 knots. With that maneouver in the bag we were all sure that we could sail and raced merrily along beside half million dollar catamarans from the B class. Only 2 legs left to go. For me the next part of the race was pretty busy and I didn’t get to see out much. It’s a short trip across the course under full spinnaker and good wind. We pulled sails down and put them up and rounded the mark and trimmed, adjusted, and beat to the weather mark. The one good thing about that leg was that we could see the Mexicans far behind us for a change. We beat back to the weather mark for the fourth leg, the wind was stronger the lean angles were greater. Five kids in the boat played down below, sliding from one side of the cabin to the other while we tried to keep the tack angles crisp and winched like demons. We rounded mark 1 for the final leeward leg, a 180 degree turn. We tacked, jibed, dowsed genoa and hoisted the spinnaker all at the same time. Everyone was busy. In the maylay, we lost the sock hoisting rope, dangling 20 feet to the side of the boat and 20 feet off the water from the masthead. There was no way to get it back so the sock hoisted itself, and the spinnaker filled like we had been practicing for years. Sail angels indeed. With that little maneouver underway we were headed for the finish line. Our tactician reminded us we would dowse after the finish line and not a moment before. So that dangling sock halyard, now 45 feet in the air, was going to have to wait. About this time the kids came out to see what we were doing. It was the same as always, other boats around, no one could tell how we were placing, so they went below for more interesting games. Kenta Anae was reaching 9 knots under spinnaker. Everyone was pretty excited knowing we had a good race going and only a little while longer to see how it all turned out. Our helmswoman A, now feeling that she was adept with her craft was putting on sunscreen with one hand, adjusting the chart plotter with her other hand and steering with her forarms. Captain Merle at that point was quick to point out that we were still racing. The spinnakers in the distance were very colorful. We had held onto fourth place as the long waterline boats ripped the downward legs fast. We blew by the committee boat concerned with only one thing – how to dowse the spinnaker without the sock, without running over it, without losing any fingers, and without going aground on the beach towards which we were headed full speed. We talked it over before the finish line, so now was the time to see if it would happen. Jan released the mainsail to blanket the whole operation. We sailed dead downwind to get the most hiding room for dowsing the spinnaker. Fordeck lady B released the tack, mainsheet trimmer J ran the asymmetric sheets, tactician J and bowman M pulled like hell. Fordeck lady B let the cleat go and the previously flaked tack rope zipped out of the blocks so fast that we were glad she didn’t lose a finger, as her body flew forward and landed at the mast. She was quick to recover, and continued to use her body to keep the dowsed portion of the asymmetric under control on deck. Ten seconds later, the head of the sail hit the deck, we opened the hatch and threw the whole soggy mess onto the bed below!! Complete success!! With all the death defying stuff out of the way, we congratulated ourselves on a good race. Matero asked if it was time to drink beer – cheers – and to eat, and sure enough, it was time! We all answered an enthusiastic 'yes'! And as in the previous days, we motored our way home, and fed our bodies and our spirits with ice cold ballenas (beers the size of whales), homemade bread and handmade sandwiches that were the envy of the fleet; the love smooshed out and dripped down your hands! It was a challenge to keep the beer in the glass and the sandwiches off our shirts. We congratulated everyone. White guys were high fiving left and right. At this point, just like the other two days, we had no idea how we finished. And it diddn’t matter. We had just raced our best race in our (very) short racing careers. And all the beurocracy about who won and who lost was immaterial. We got her back to the slip, converted ourselves into concert goers, went out for tacos on the street and live music to celebrate. It was the best music we have found in La Cruz since we have been here – played tableside while we processed endorphins and anticipated the final results. The bean counters awarded us 3rd in the last race for 4th overall, one place behind the Mexican race boat, Lussino that we dualled all weekend. This euphoria lasted several days. We learned more about sailing in 3 days of racing than we had in 5 months of cruising. That was more valuable to us than any hardware at the podium. And now we are more competent cruisers because of it. Our trusty yacht basked in the event without any breakage, took back the anchors, and became a cruising boat and our home once again. We owe a huge thank you to the crew who joined us. Without their help, we would have definitely been outraced. They brought not only valuable lessons to the table, but also the ability to experience the euphoria of success all around. M (One more thing - Merle did pass his ham exams, so he is officially a ham radio operator now!!)

Interview with Shandro, age 6.5 years

2009-03-29T13:36:00.000-07:00

How do you like living on a sailboat?
Shandro: It’s way cool. Slow for a car, but fast for a house! I like jumping off the boat on my boogie board and going for a ride on the water. I like when I get onto my boogie board and dad pulls me with the motor on the dinghy. My favorite parts of sailing … I like when we are going really fast and the big waves are on the deck.

What are the parts of our journey that you liked the best so far?
Shandro: I liked watching that truck when it drove off the cliff. (We don’t remember this part.) I liked the ferry rides near Seattle. And I liked driving through the rain and watching the water taxies from our boat, driving by the police docks (in San Diego, CA). I liked going the special pirate ship park (in Ventura, CA). I liked when Josey and Lulu took me for a ride on their boat and took me to see dolphins and we went to the ice cream shop. And I liked in Ensenada when I was on the boat while the boat lift was moving us and we were driving out into the water. That was fun!

What is your favorite part of being in Mexico?
Shandro: I like it because it is always hot and the water is warm and there’s wavey sunny beaches. And also I like going down onto the rocks and catching crabs. I like the birds, especially the blue footed boobies.

Have you had any magical experiences so far?
Shandro: Rain while we drove. It made a nice smell. I liked going to Laure’s party where there were hamburgers and stuff. I miss Laure.

Have you met any children on this journey?
Shandro: Jose and Lulu, Suzie and Sean, Morgan and Wyatt on Love Song. And Totem kids – Marin, Chibhan and Niall. There were no kids at first, then there were lots. Now we are back to none again. That’s pretty much it.

What parts of Mexican culture seem different from ours?
Shandro: Mexican culture has palm trees and coconut palm trees. And it has cactuses. And really high hills with lots of sand and cool spiders. The people here have a different language.

What parts of the Mexican culture seem similar to ours?
Shandro: None.

How do you communicate with the Spanish speaking people?
Shandro: I use muy poquito de mis primeras cien palabras de espangol. (A little bit of my first 100 words of Spanish. Author's note: Shandro uses Spanish more than any of us, and is constantly picking up new words.) Sometimes I use English words and sometimes I use Spanish words when I talk.

Do you have any messages for people?
Shandro: I liked playing video games with Colton before we left. I miss Laure and I liked catching crabs with her. Send a message to Ty and Taylor – Hi! Have fun riding in the snow in the purple slide park! Playschool – hi! It’s nice and sunny down here you should probably be down here with me it’s probably pretty cold up there. It’s winter down here too but guess what – winter there is pretty cold with snow. The winter down here is sunny and hot! And there is no snow in this winter down here and everything is warm in this winter and you can take your shirts off in this kind of winter. I miss my Chilko dog. Please send a message to her.

Do you have any fish stories?
Shandro: One fish story. I like when dad was pulling in the big big big pacific jack craval. And I liked when we were going through the kelp and we saw a big fish behind and it was a dorado. And I liked watching the shark eating our skipjack tuna. What the - dang shark! I like angel fish and Moorish idols. I like Sierra, Durado and Codfish and sole to eat. I like the raw fish when it has soy sauce on it, especially the sierra and dorado.

That’s it! I’m done interviewing. I’m going to have a tostada.

Interview with Matero, 4 years old

2009-03-28T13:32:00.000-07:00

What do you like best about sailing?
Matero: Um, I like sliding when we sail. We get the lifejackets under our bums and we let go and we slide down the slanted floor. Driving cars down the steep floor is also pretty fun.

Do you have any fish stories?
Matero: I don’t like when there’s a bzzzzzzzzzzzz of the line going out. I like seeing the fish alive. I think it’s sad when dad kills the fish. If we were fish, and if the fish was a person, and that person caught dad and killed him, that wouldn’t be very nice. I like to eat fish cooked, not raw too much.

Do you like some of the new foods here in Mexico?
Matero: Yes. This place has oranges that grow here and Williams Lake doesn’t have that. Remember I had tacos on the street where they serve horchada? Horchada is made out of rice, rice milk and sugar. I like it so much. We eat on the street here, not the sidewalks. (It is true – vendors set up tables right on the street at night.)

What else do you like about Mexico?
Matero: Dolphins and the whales. I like when the dolphins are playful. They (hand gestures) ‘shoooooptooo’ jump out of the water. I like when the whales swim close to our boat and then they blow their air out ‘pshfffffffff’ like that.

Do you miss anything about Canada?
Matero: I miss Chilko our big alive dog. And I miss my town that has car garages in it. The toy one.

Do you have any messages to tell people?
Matero: I have a message to give to my dragon back in Canada. Don’t ever put eggshells in the toilet and flush them down without asking. Or toilet paper.
Baby Anaka – I like to pick her up. And Amy and Shane too. And Grandad. Is Grandma McAssey in Canada too? Is she coming to see us again soon?

That's it. Matero's back to the lego. He's great, and a happy little boy.

2009-03-27T13:30:00.000-07:00

Tonight we went out with Totem, Desiderata, and Oso Blanco for tacos in La Cruz. It was a big group with lots of kids. Good company and good food. Might be the last dinner we have with totem before they head out ... ?

Letter from Love Song – they arrived in the Marquaise Islands today. A great inspiration to us. Perhaps we will do this journey next year.Kathy says, ‘Thank God and His Angels, we made it! Morgan and I spotted land at 1350 today and danced a jig in the cockpit! We turned the motor on at 0730 and 12 hours later we dropped the hook in Atuona, Hiva Oa, in the dark! We are at 09* 48'.236 S and 139* 01'.928 W and there are 5 other boats anchored and a ship on the wharf. I can't even begin to describe the smells that hit us like a train when we turned and dropped the main, at first it was like overwhelming heavy floral and black dirt, then smoke from a fire, and more heavy fruit and floral scent.

2009-03-22T13:29:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday Michael and Chilko!! We miss you both, and hope to see you again soon. Hope that you both had great days. Can't get out on the email right now. Maybe we will try to call from our computer instead on skype. Email right now is impossible. Hope to remedy that soon.

Happy St. Patty's Day!

2009-03-17T13:25:00.000-07:00

Tuesday, March 17th. Well, we've never had a St. Patty's day like this before!! We cleaned the bottom of the boat yesterday, baked up a batch of cookies for our friends Scott, Mary, Tim and Fin on Whisper (who are Marquaises bound), and now we are in a slip at Marina Riveria Nayarit – La Cruz Marina. It is luxurious to be in a slip in some ways. The boys have more freedom here than they do at anchor. They can come and go as they please. And we took the slip next to Totem, so all of the children have been soaking each other up. They play lego and ride bikes and scooters and catch crabs. It’s a great life for kids here on the dock. It’s nice to be plugged in because we don’t have to worry about charging, nor about using battery power. I can use the blender and the sewing machine here. (And mending is on the agenda first thing tomorrow.) There is fresh water here for washing dishes and clothes and the boat and the myriad of other things we use water for. And what a good sleep we get when the boat is steady and still. Like a rock.
(I have to say that anchoring out has its perks too. I have been enjoying them lately, knowing that we would be in the marina for a week or so now. The sound of the surf at night has been wonderful. And there is no better view of the stars than to be away from all of the overhead lights (except the tiny mast lights) in the dark of the anchorage. Peace and quiet out here is wonderful; anyone anchored nearby, even if speaking loudly, cannot be heard unless it is perfectly still without a breath of wind – both rarities here. And of course, the movement is a constant reminder of our beautiful alive Mother Earth surrounding us.)We are preparing for racing. Today was boat prep. Merle, Jamie and Jan worked hard all day. Tomorrow will be the same, with showers at the end!! Yay!!

2009-03-15T13:24:00.000-07:00

March 15th, 2009. Eric Whitehead says ...ok, Milla Fay Whitehead was born today at 12:31 pm, at home to Eric and Michele. (They managed to make it to the bed from the bathroom, just in time!) She came in fast, 1hr from 1st contraction to baby in hand...midwife barely made it, Eric thought he was gonna do the delivery for a while...and almost did. 8 pounds, and lookin for a nipple.
Ma, Pa and babe are all well and are getting to know each other and trying to catch some ZZZ’s.

2009-03-12T13:23:00.000-07:00

March 12th. Happy Birthday, Ken!! Hope I get to email this today! Not so sure I want to leave my boat at the moment …

Today it is blowing about 20 knots. There were three boats that dragged anchor in the anchorage today. Luckily our anchor holds fast (and we test it every time by motoring full throttle in reverse when we set it.) Merle went out there helping save them. It was great for the kids to see their dad being a real live hero. Matero said to me, ‘Mom – if I am ever in trouble will dad come and save me too?’ And I was glad to be able to say, ‘Yes – he will come and save you every time, no matter what.’ We are surrounded by such amazing people, and we used to be too busy to notice. But we are waking up and noticing now, and it is really heartwarming how many good people there are out there.

It is a sunny warm day here in Puerto Vallarta. The full moon the last few nights has been spectacular, and with the moisture in the air, there was a rainbow ring around it on Saturday. It was beautiful. Now it is very hot during the day ashore, but on the boat it is very nice. The evenings have been windy and we leave the hatches open and the windows, and the wind blows through and keeps us nice and cool for sleeping. The boys have been doing school, and Shandro tried out a local school here for a few days and loved it. Now I am looking into registering them for a little while for their Spanish. It would be 3 hours a day for a few days a week. There is some paperwork that has to be done before they will be legal, but we will get there.

I have been doing a little bit of healing trading here, and that has been very nice for a change. I love that time. And the full moon just makes it even more special. I am always so grateful when I can help someone.

Boats are departing here for the South Pacific – French Polynesia and the Marquaise Islands and Fiji and Tahiti. They leave about one boat every 2 days. Love Song left last Saturday, so they have been gone almost a week. This is the time of year for that – as the trade winds that flow in that direction are just developing now. They will be blowing steadily by the end of March.

We talk to the “Puddle Jumpers” every day at 9:00AM Puerto Vallarta Time (Saskatchewan time I think) on the SSB at frequency 8.188 Upper Side Band (USB). Anyway, we have crystal clear radio contact with them and it makes us feel like they are right next to us. If you have a ham radio or an SSB, we’d love to hear from you! Merle is taking the second ham radio exam this Sunday. He did the technical already and he will do the general exam next, so he is studying for it. We’d love to talk to you! We could just set up a time to check every day and then we could talk to you! That would be very cool. Try these frequencies in the next few days and see if you can hear anything. Some of the boat names who will be talking are Bravado, Love Song, Lucy, Apple, Kenta Anae (us), Light Heart, Corinthia, Me Longa, HipNautical. They give their location, wind speed and direction, wave height and frequency, miles covered in the last 24 hours, barometric pressure, and general conversation to keep in touch. It is great for them as they keep track of each other for the 20 to 30 day crossing. Very cool. If we go across, we will be part of a similar group too.

Tonight is a pot luck for anyone racing in the sailboat race this weekend, or in the Bandaras Bay Regatta next week. We will race in the Regatta. The potluck starts at 6pm and there are people there between the ages of 1 year and 98 years or so. The boys love it because they get to play. And we get to meet some of the sailors here. The Regatta is next week. We will be taking another couple with us – maybe even 4 or 5 extra people. (People are asking us if they can race with us now, because we have won all of the races we have entered, so we are the boat to beat. That in itself is pretty funny, considering we have only been sailing for such a short time.) We will let you know how it goes. Ryan and Corie-Ann thought they might come down at the end of March, but I don’t think they will be here for the Regatta. We will try to get some photos of OUR boat sailing. (It’s way easier to get photos of other people’s boats, but a bit tougher to get a photo of the boat you are on …)

The outboard motor on our dinghy gave up a few days ago. One of the cylinders caved, so it lost compression. Fixing it will cost within $50 of replacing it – about $2500 US. So our current focus is earning enough pesos (around 36,000!) so we can get a new motor to get to and from the beach without rowing. (Rowing is fine here near the marina. But in big swell, landing on a beach with oars can be difficult without flipping the dinghy as you have to match the speed of the waves to ride one in. And if you are not successful at that, you flip the dinghy, and that is not fun.) So that is our focus at the moment.

I will go now and make some food for tonight. I am typing this email before I go to shore online, and I should be able to just cut and paste into an email. Then perhaps I won’t lose the connection before I send the email.

We think of you all very often, and would love it if you were here. But even talking on the radio would be great! Or you could call our cell phone, evening-ish.

2009-03-05T13:17:00.000-08:00

March 5th, 2009. My friend Rea says, ‘Santiago James Santos Fraser, born to Rea and Rogelio. He was born at home on March 5th at 10:52 am (Spanish time). Everyone is just fine and getting to know each other. They don't know that much about Yago yet. He is a noisy sleeper, which isn't a great trait in a husband, but is fabulous in a newborn with nervous parents. In this short time he has learned how to breathe, eat, and charm the pants off his parents.

Mexican Cell Phone

2009-03-03T13:14:00.000-08:00

March 3rd ish. An email that never went through … Hope you are awesome! We are good here. As synchronicity goes, we have changed our plans a bit. We will still come home to Canada this summer, but we will be in Puerto Vallarta a bit longer than we initially thought. Weather is better for heading north later in the spring than it is now – May or June. And Merle is helping some of the people who are here get ready to head south. So we will be in Puerto Vallarta for a while – not sure how long – time will tell – but long enough to get a phone …

Merle got our cell phone hooked up yesterday to a Mexican cell service, so you can call us now! I won't publish the number here, but we can email it to you. Haven’t got all of the bugs worked out of the phone yet – a new card in it means that everything is in Spanish, so we have to figure that out to program it. But it does work just fine as far as ringing and answering and speaking to the person on the other end! We’d love to hear from you – any time! I don't think we can dial out of Mexico tho - so we are only on the receiving end at the moment.

The boys are great. We have been anchored out in the harbor at La Cruz for the last while. The wind is ferocious at over 20 knots in the afternoons, but our anchor holds fast and we are grateful. Yesterday, a little boat was dragging through the anchorage. The owners were gone. So, three very kind men took their dinghies and went aboard and let out some more anchor chain to help her stay put. I was so grateful watching them. It warmed my heart and made me feel so lucky to be surrounded by people like that who watch out for us all the time.

One of the amazing things about the community here is the local net. It is a communication on the radio at 8:30 every morning. And it is all helpful and positive. So if someone needs something or help, they ask. And if someone has something to give away or is good at something, they offer. And there is trading and synchronicity and gratitude galore. It is really remarkable what can happen with a community when the communication is positive all the time. It flourishes. It makes us all feel great because we can help people and they can in turn pass it on. It is excellent. It is rewarding. We are so grateful to be a part of it. They are starting a kids net on Monday, and grown-ups are allowed to listen, but they are not allowed to talk. That will be fun!

2009-02-15T13:13:00.000-08:00

February 15th. Well Merle and I had a date today that was really nice. Kathy took the boys for us (she is amazing – had her hands full with 6 children, and still calm and happy!). So Merle and I had the whole day to ourselves! It was peaceful and calm and happy. Merle has a good sense of humor when he is happy, and he mad me laugh a lot today! It was nice to spend the day with just him. When Kathy returned with the boys, they came aboard and told us all of their adventures. We were all refreshed and happy to see each other. Being away even for a few hours now seems like a long time. But it is always time well spent.

I would like to know how to help Shandro be more positive. God, will you help me please? I will wait for an inspiration from you, here at the computer. Thank you. Pray before bed. Say positive things when he is not mad – even happy. Louise Hay is good. Don’t be so hard on him when he feels sad or bad or hurt. Just comfort him. Don’t yell. Try to be loving especially when he’s mad. Teach the ten commandments. Read the positive Wayne Dyer books often. Play. Sympathize. Shut my mouth and actively listen.

2009-02-14T13:11:00.000-08:00

February 14th – Happy Birthday, Florence! And Happy Valentines Day! Hope to talk to you soon! Today we caught a bus and took the boys to downtown Puerto Vallarta to check out the sand sculptures and statues along the Malacon (which is the walk along the seashore). Dad bought us a nice Valentines lunch with fresh juice that was divine. Then we went to the zoo and saw some animals we had never seen before. Some of them were pink flamingos, peacocks, deer, crocodile, panther, leopard, cougar, lynx, tigers, and ring-tailed cats. Then Merle hired a taxi driver to bring us back to La Cruz (which was a great treat all by itself). We arrived just in time for dinner aboard Love Song; Kathy made absolutely delicious chicken enchiladas and we were grateful to be there sharing it with them. The children outnumbered the adults, with 6 kids aboard; Rocko and Mia (Alexandra’s children) were visiting as well. We took the boys home tired and happy.

Happy Birthday, Guerro Matero!!

2009-02-03T13:11:00.000-08:00

February 3rd – Matero’s 4th birthday! This morning before the boys were even dressed, Kathy brought over Morgan and Wyatt – the birthday monsters – and they wished Matero a happy birthday with an awesome book called The Birthday Monsters and fancy presents. He loved it and soaked It all up. At one point, he said ‘Today I’m the birthday (prounounced beethday) boy. Then Merle took the boys downtown to pick up the piniata that a lady made especially for us. It was a colorful star and beautiful! Then when Merle got back, we took our piniata and our food and games and went to the beach where we set up our pot luck tables (Merle’s kayak, rocks and other non-table objects) and prepared for our guests – 30 all together. The kids had a great day on the beach, doing scavenger hunting and chasing and racing and catching crabs. A couple of older boys found coconuts and brought them back to the party and Scott macheted them open and we ate the sweet meat. It was excellent. The piniata was full of good stuff, and Matero took a few good wacks at it before passing the piniata stick along. And several children later, Shandro had a crack at it and busted it to smithereens! The food for the pot luck was amazing! I was actually surprised that Matero picked a pot luck. We told him he could have any kind of dinner he wanted – at a restaurant, or on our boat, and he chose a pot luck. And it couldn’t have been better, Cheetos (at his request) and all! We topped it off with two fires on the beach (a small kids fire and a big fire too) and just after we sang happy birthday to Matero and dug into his coconut cake, we watched the fireworks across the bay! Way cool! So now he is four. And we were explaining to Shandro how Matero has actually just completed his fourth year and that tomorrow is the first day of his 5th year alive here on earth, and Shandro didn’t understand how Matero could skip a year, just like that. A good day all around. Only a few people Matero wanted to have there who were back in Canada. Grandmas and Grandpas and aunties and uncles and cousins. It’s nice that he still thinks of them, even tho our communications have been infrequent.

2009-01-27T13:10:00.000-08:00

Jan 27 – Happy Birthday, Dixie!! We have been to Punta de Mita and back since I last wrote, so Merle had some time in the surf, which was great for him. The adrenalin makes him feel alive, and he likes the action – it keeps him very present and focused on what he is doing; letting your mind wander is not an option when there are rocks just underneath the rushing water on which you are precariously balanced as you rocket forward on the edge of the green water with foam piling up behind you, chasing you to the boulder garden beach. He loves it. That crazy guy! On our return leg to La Cruz, we saw the best whale show of the year! We were sailing along, and I was manifesting for a whale tail photograph, and Merle said, ‘The only thing that would make this better would be to have a whale jump right over the boat.’ And within a few minutes, a whale shot up out of the water, did a pirouette, and landed in a gigantic splashdown just off the bow of the boat, heading towards us. And then, he did the same rocket take-off out of the water, and splashed down next to our boat. We felt his landing before we could hear it; it felt like the thunder of a monstrous drum on our boat. We watched this spectacular stunt 6 times in a row; it was incredible! We were in awe for the rest of the journey. When we returned, Matero and Shandro drew pictures of what we saw. So, Matero’s first picture of a whale shows the whale sticking straight up out of the water, with his black back and light tummy, his great fin and the hole on his head. Shandro’s picture was very similar. Definitely not the ‘normal’ first impressions of a whale, and certainly more magical than I could have ever hoped! It was amazing.
On Saturday, we sailed our last sailing race. There were quite a few boats in this race – maybe a dozen or so. And about halfway through the race, the wind died! So there we were, sitting in irons for a while, unable to move! It was kind of funny actually. And Merle had an epiphany while we were there. He realized that the racing is a game just like life. And you can sail in any direction you want, and you can make your hands bleed or not, and the decisions that you make along the way, the goal posts you set for yourself and the finish line are all arbitrary decisions. And what is winning anyway? Is it crossing the (arbitrary) finish line first? Or is it having fun along the way? The racing has actually been very good for us, because it is easy to say, in the midst of chaos, ‘it’s just a game!’ and it really is. I think life is the same. If I have the presence of mind to look up in the midst of chaos and see that it’s just a game, that delights me! It is getting easier to do that. And Merle can see that too, which is so wonderful!
So in the middle of the race, I looked up and I could see an orb on the front of our boat. It was beautiful and green, just hanging there between the jib and the mast, about 4 feet off the deck, and just under 1.5 feet in diameter – amazing! And just after that, as we followed one of our competitors into the bay and directly towards the finish line, I looked down at our electronic GPS screen, and I could ‘see’ that there was no wind ahead of us in the direction we were sailing. (The screen does not show the wind, but my intuition about it was so strong that I sensed where there was wind and where there was none, and I saw it in my mind’s eye, but it seemed like I could see it on the screen.) So I said we should turn right and sail out into the middle of the bay, away from the finish line which we did. The wind picked up right away, and we were off on a new tack. This allowed us to sail quickly, and we ended up finishing in the allotted time, ahead of some of our competitors for sure, tho we were not sure how many at that time. When we crossed the finish line, we celebrated as if we had won, although we had no idea if we had won or lost. And we told the boys, it doesn’t matter if you win or lose – it just matters how you play the game. We had a big family cheers and told the boys we had a great race. On Monday, we laughed as we listened to the local ‘net’ on the radio and found out that we had not only won the race but also the series! We thought it was pretty funny actually, as we were racing with people here who have been racing here in the bay for many years. Hmmm, I still need some work on taming the old ego.
Watching the dogs for Love Song was nice. I loved running with them on the beach. I forgot how much I loved running with Chilko until I started to run with Dallas and Dulce. It’s a magical time, running with your dog, somehow.
Today, we met the family aboard Totem. They are Behan (pronounced BeeAnn) and Jamie, their son Niall age 9, and their daughters Mairen 6 and Chibhon (pronounced Shivon), age 4. The boys loved having new friends to play with – and girls to boot! They are great people with an open ended schedule and only a few foggy plans. It’s always refreshing to meet people on the same path to nowhere as us! It is so flexible! And so adaptable. And when the spirit moves us, we move too. It is a good way because it teaches you to listen to your heart rather than the calendar or the clock or the schedule. It’s better. It allows for serendipity and co-operative incidences.
We were talking about home schooling today a bit. The sailing community is an interesting and lovely community to belong to for many reasons including the children. While home schooling (HS) is looked on with suspicion by many land based people, HS is the only way for those living aboard their sailboats. It is understood that if you have children, you are home schooling. And the entire sailing community supports and loves that! Typically, HS is done in the morning, so the kids can play in the afternoon. And the schooling is flexible so the kids can learn about their environment – the plants and animals and the cultures and languages – and anything else that interests them can easily be incorporated into the lessons. Because it is one-on-one learning and teaching, they learn quickly so less time needs to be spent ‘in school’. And they get the social skills here because there are indeed other kids in the sailing community. As well, they spend time with people of all ages (rather than trapping them in school amidst only their age group) which further facilitates their ability to communicate and get along with others. We do fieldtrips and outings and there is just plain old beach time or play time too. I am so grateful to be part of such a supportive and loving community in this regard. And it is flexible and open-minded too, so our lessons on dowsing and rock moving, and our attempts at meditating with our children are supported rather than frowned upon.
I was just saying to Merle this evening that I feel very comfortable in this community – very supported by a positive and willing network of people, very much like the ‘tribe’ at home. In fact, I feel much more connected to this group of people living on their boats – our physical neighbors – than I ever felt in our own neighborhood. There were people living only 4 or 5 houses away that I never once spoke to, and would recognize only by the car they drove. I think the morning ‘net’ has something to do with this. Did I mention the net before? In the morning at 8:30 Monday to Saturday on channel 22, someone comes on the radio and directs a net. This net asks all cruisers to identify themselves by boat name and location. Then they proceed with categories including lost and found, treasures of the bilge offered or needed, boater’s assistance needed or offered, announcements including various concerts, parties, and events, tides, weather, crew needed or offered, arrivals and departures, etc. In short, it is a very helpful transmission that connects people to other people, helps with solving problems and fixing things, helps with finding things needed in the area, and offers up fun events for everyone to be part of. It is very positive, and it really promotes the well being of each individual as well as the group. It makes everyone feel as if they belong (which of course they do as we are all so connected), and puts people on an even playing field – this voice only communication that notes nothing of the size of boat you are sailing or the degrees behind your name. I would trade the news for this morning net in a heartbeat. I guess I have already. I don’t even know what is going on in the news these days. And it is better that way.
Must sleep. How am I going to meditate tonight without falling asleep??? We’ll see!

2009-01-17T13:09:00.000-08:00

January 17th, 2009. We are anchored in La Cruz, Mexico. We raced today. And last Saturday. But today we finished in the allotted time, and last Saturday, we did not finish as they announced the race ended at 4:30 and those who would not finish before that time were dnf. That drove Merle crazy. He is quite competitive. It is his nature. We did make some progress this week, other than actually placing. This time, Merle was really patient with me as we raced. I am helmsman and he is everything else. He does sails and sheets and minor adjustments and major sail changes like putting up and taking down a spinnaker, which is no small feat for one person! Most boats have teams for that sport! I just steer. Anyway, he spoke kindly to me and he remembered that it was all just a game. And I am so grateful. I wish I could say I did as well. But I didn’t. We had a mis-communication right at the end, and I could feel my ego wanting to be right, and I was unable to tell myself that it was more important to be kind than right. I tried, but I would not listen. It was aweful. I am always preaching that. And I couldn’t live it myself. I could feel my ego wanting to be mad, and I succumbed! I didn’t listen! I was shocked and disappointed at myself. I will try to remember, if I have the opportunity to be right or kind, always pick kind. Merle did way better than me today; today he was the winner and I was the loser. At least I know it, and I know how to fix it. I just have to work at it some more.
I was lying in the hammock tonight, absorbing all of the movement. The water is in constant motion, washing earth’s shores. One of the things that I absolutely love about living on our boat is that, every time the boat moves and causes me to shift my weight in some way to maintain balance, it reminds me that Mother Earth is alive under my feet. I am reminded of this beautiful truth every other moment. And yet, when my feet are on solid ground, I think of this perhaps every other day, if that. Why is that? Is my life so rushed on earth that I forget? Or is it that I do not spend enough time in nature? Or is it that I am so disconnected once ashore that I need that jostling to remind me of what is important in life? Indeed, once ashore, I know there are daily tasks that consume my life and distract me from the beauty and miracles that happen in nature every day. What is truly important? Is it the paperwork and filling out forms so we can function in this society? Or is it being able to get past that stuff so we can enjoy the real miracles that we step on and breath in and taste and touch every moment of every day? Yes, I think this. Yet, I know from being on land even now, that I become more disconnected than I am on the boat. The moment I step onboard after being ashore even for a day, I feel the sway of our little home as she rocks to the rhythm of the waves, and am instantly reminded of Gaia, alive and well all around me.
In the hammock, the water moves all around us. And the boat moves and rocks on the water. And looking up, the mast also moves across the sky in my line of sight as the boat sways back and forth. Or maybe it is the stars that are moving? And of course, with the sway of the boat, the hammock rocks itself, without any help from me. Although the rocking hammock does not exactly match the waves, nor the boat, we all rock together in perfect balance and harmony. And then every once in a long while, when the water and the boat and the swing of the hammock are just so, the hammock stops and is completely still for a few moments. That is a magical time of synchronicity that is very peaceful. It reminds me of when people and events come together in co-operative incidences. It seems like chaos getting there, and then all of a sudden there is this easy effortless moment when everything falls into place. It seems like when I am grateful, I notice things working out for me, and these moments happen more frequently. But when I choose to be sad or fearful ( or some version of yuckyness), those moments are rare, at best. I am trying to be more peaceful, and live more in the easy magic of synchronicity.
I am doing the course in miracles (TCIM) again. I started over. I just finished the ‘I am determined to see’ and ‘I am determined to see things differently’ lessons and am on the lesson ‘I can escape from the world I see by giving up attack thoughts.’ I loved doing TCIM with Kirsten. She is such an amazing woman, full of inspiration and love. She continues with the course, and I join them from afar in spirit. But it is different somehow than being there. Perhaps as I become more connected, it will not be so different. I wish I could find someone who would do it with me. I will, eventually.
I just started Real Magic by Wayne Dyer. It has prompted me to start meditating again. Now I am going to do just that. Good night!

2009-01-14T13:07:00.000-08:00

January 14th, 2009. Happy Belated Birthday, Kyra! I just finished reading Fatu-Hiva – a true story about two people who leave Norway to travel to the Marquais Islands to experience the abundance and balance of living in harmony with nature and all of her plants and animals. It was an amazing book for many reasons. And even though they experience a version of paradise, the end of the book finds them returning home to Norway after one year. The morning after I finished that book, Merle asked me if I wanted to return home to Canada this spring, after being away for one year. And I think I do. At least for a short while, until we set sail again for new horizons. Our little boat is excellent, but she is not ready for a long journey away from shore just yet. She needs a few things before we can feel safe taking her to places where parts cannot be found and water is not drinkable. So now we have only a few months left to accomplish some of the things we hoped to do on our journey. Funny how an end date – as vague as it is – affects how we think. I will meditate on it a bit, and so will Merle, before we finally decide whether it is to be north or south.

2009-01-07T12:53:00.000-08:00

January 7th – I gave my medical report about Matero’s crash to Justin to mail in Canada. Finally that is off my shoulders. What a burden it was! And now, I feel lighter! I am so grateful that he took it. Wonderful. It should reach them by Jan 27th. Far more likely than mailing it from here. Hopefully they will reimburse us the $9000-ish pesos as the insurance indicates!

2009-01-06T12:52:00.000-08:00

January 6th, 2009. Mother’s Day. Usually Mother’s Day is in May, but this year it is in January. Kathy and I departed Punta da Mida around noon for a night with the girls. We took the bus into Puerto Vallarta’s Marriott Hotel, where we met the other two girls in our party, Dantel and Mary, both friends of Kathy’s. The room was a gift from Kathy’s friend. What a great gift! And we are so lucky that Kathy shared it with us!!
The Mariott is a place of sculpted beauty, both inside and out. The gardens are trimmed and manicured. It seems like every flower is on purpose. The stream gurgles underfoot, and the coy look up to greet you as you pass. The palm trees hang overhead, as much for shade as for an added dimension around the turquoise pool. There are rows of white sun chairs, and stacks of snow white towels. The swim-up bar serves all kinds of exotic drinks garnished with flowers and fresh fruit. Posch and elegant. And abundance. Lots of water, lots of electricity, lots of money, and lots of waste.
I was struck by how man must manipulate his environment in order to enjoy it. I bet if you dropped a hotel patron into a natural tropical forest, he would balk and cry yuk at the insects and thick growth and rotting fruit, and he might fail to see the beautiful flowers and incredible balance of it all – just the right number of insects to pollinate, and just the right amount of fruit to feed the animals. But in this setting, man has chosen the things he loves, and left out the rest. Here there is not balance, but man is happy here in his dominant position of gardener, and even more removed, as hotel patron and observer. And we are unaware of the havoc we reek with nature in this fight for supremacy instead of living in nature and feeling gratitude for the balance. We are so removed from nature in this environment in some ways. And yet, here is the beauty of a single flower, and I can sit and enjoy it all afternoon, and find peace in that one blossom, and in my heart. And that is enough.
I bet no one at that hotel enjoyed the fresh water showers and baths as much as we did - us cruisers, who live aboard and conserve water by swimming in the ocean instead of showering. It was absolutely extravagant to stand under a hot shower for 5 minutes. Amazing. I loved it. And a bath – imagine?!! A hot soak in fresh water, and quiet. Pure decadence. And then, all swum and bathed and perfumed and combed and fancy, we descended on dinner. We chose a Mexican buffet. Now that might sound rough, but at the Marriott, it was divine. The whole room exuded five-star fresh. I ate things I had never even heard of before. Rare mushrooms that grow on rare cacti, seafood caught that morning and prepared especially for us. Exotic traditional salads, various stations where the chefs prepared foods fresh while you watched – fresh fish, guacamole, fahitas. Fresh vegetables, and meats prepared in various sauces and marinades. Everything displayed and served in its own special cup or glass or saucer or plate. They overlooked nothing – colors, textures and presentation were all addressed. And I am proud to say I tasted every single mouth watering dessert they had. Thank goodness they were small! I ate until I could not eat another bite. Like Merle says, you can’t get fat on what you can eat in one day. Then, we returned to our room, and I balanced the girls charkas as they lay on their feather beds and drifted in and out of sleep. Cool slippery dry white cotton sheets feel amazing on clean skin, especially if they are laid over feathers. What a perfect way to end the day!
I did not eat the next day. I did not need to. I just drank water. I enjoyed the minimalist approach the day following such a fat extravagant affair. Dantel and Mary walked me to the bus, and I was grateful for their company. I caught the bus to Sayulita, a new destination for me. I arrived there in the late afternoon to find my boys playing happily on the beach, and our boat moored competently in the bay, bow and stern anchored to meet the rise and fall of the swell head-on. It was good to be back. It felt normal to be walking on a beach with sand between my toes, slightly sticky and sweaty from the bus ride, messy hair, boys running happily to hug me, sand and water and all. Being a mom is really amazing after you have been away from your little ones for a day. I missed them as much as they missed me. And of course I returned smelling like a (coconut) rose for my husband. It’s good to return refreshed and revived. I am a better mom and wife after that for a while. Thanks, ladies - I had a great time!

2009-01-03T12:51:00.000-08:00

January 3rd. Justin arrived onboard Kenta Anae this evening! He said everything went like clockwork, and was amazing at how easily it flowed despite very little planning. Excellent. I think this is an indication that he is supposed to be here! He says Chilko is fine, and he brought us a beautiful calendar of Chilko pictures. It is awesome. We miss her, and love her, but we are so grateful that she has such a wonderful home with them. And we know she is happy, and well cared for (read: spoiled), and loved. And those are the most important things of all. The boys were terribly disappointed that Justin left Chilko at home.

2009-01-02T12:50:00.000-08:00

January 2nd. Happy Birthday, Mom! I hope that you have a great day. I know that Dad is cooking a turkey for your birthday (that is so sweet!), and that you have friends coming for dinner. Donna and Ken I think? I with I could be there with you today to sing with you and hug you and make you smile a bit. I hope you still remember me when I see you again. You are so special to me, and I miss you terribly. I did talk to you a bit today, as we were in port and had a good internet connection, for the first time in a while. Good timing. I love you. I hope that you are awesome!
Make a snowball for us while you have snow! We will try to soak up some sunshine for you while we are here in Puerto Vallarta. It is hot here right now - about 30 degrees C or so, maybe hotter. You sweat just walking it is so hot. The boys are fine and will sing happy birthday to you later!
The Spanish lessons are going well. They are real-life lessons that we get when we attempt to talk to the local people here. It is an excellent experience. Shandro and Matero already integrate the Spanish language into their vocabulary. Matero asked me this morning for his zapatos, and it took me a few minutes to remember that zapatos means shoes!

2009-01-01T12:49:00.000-08:00

January 1st. We treated ourselves to a night at Marina Vallarta today. We washed the boat, charged up the batteries full charge, and I did some sewing while we were plugged in. Morgan and Wyatt came to play this evening while their folks had a break. A good trade from this afternoon, when Shandro and Matero went over there. Being in a marina feels very luxurious now, after being on the hook for so long!

2008-12-31T12:49:00.000-08:00

December 31st 2008 – January 1st, 2009 – New Year’s Eve and Doug’s birthday! We spent this evening with our good friends aboard Love Song, including their visitors. We were treated to handmade margaritas, and a private Indonesian dance recital, and then we went ashore to a little grass topped restaurant for dinner and ended up staying there for the evening, eating, dancing and carrying on. It was really fun! And we had an amazing view of the fireworks at midnight, including those as close as next door, and as far away as Puerto Vallarta. Even the boys made it to midnight, but collapsed shortly afterwards on a blanket supplied by the restaurant owner. Very sweet! We were thinking of you, Troy and Leah and Corie-Ann! Happy New Year, Anniversary and (Belated) Birthday!!

2008-12-28T12:41:00.000-08:00

December 28th – our Mexican family, Maria de Jesus and Paul arrived at our boat this morning, eager to sail with us at our invitation, but just as eager to take us to eat once more at Choy’s parent’s home. And so we went, chauffered once again by this generous crew! We ate cow head tacos – a delicacy here in Mexico. We did not want to know this, but we could not help but notice the ladies in the kitchen pulling the last bits of meat off the skull to add them to the monstrous bowl of meat already prepared. They kept the eyes separate, lucky for Maria de Jesus as they are her favorite! And the dogs got their share before we sat down to eat. Lucky dogs! After we ate, and Choy’s dad David made sure we understood we could come back any time, and that his house was our house (mi casa es su casa), we departed to the boat. Once everyone was aboard (there were 13 of us all together), we set sail. We sailed through an amazing pod of about 30 whales at close range, so we watched them and took many photos. It was absolutely magical! They were rising and diving and breaching and flapping their flippers on the water much like a beaver slaps his tail! And one of them shot out of the water and did a perfect pirouette before her splashdown! It was very spectacular, and we were very close to them, which added to the excitement! I have a couple of good photos. Amazing!
It was very exciting! Then Christian went ashore, and the rest of us all found places to sleep onboard our boat. On waking, we departed to Les Tres Mariettas Islands, anchored, snorkled, Choy (who is deathly afraid of water) swam, and just enjoyed the water. We arrived back in La Cruz by evening, and after a shocking accidental grounding at the entrance of the harbour, (the boat is luckily fine) departed them for the last time in 2008.

2008-12-26T12:41:00.000-08:00

December 26th – Happy Birthday, Uncle Sandy!! Christmas was wonderful, except that we didn’t get to talk to some of our family, even tho we tried. But the rest was excellent. First thing in the morning, the kids opened their presents. We are down to 2 gifts each, plus presents from Love Song and Gaia, which made four. And the kids were incredibly happy about that, since they thought there might be no presents. Low stuff is excellent, especially this time of year. Love Song (Kathy, Allen, Morgan and Wyatt) joined us for a big pancake brunch complete with homemade jam, cream, syrup and fresh strawberries. Delicioso! Then we had a little swim and took our potluck stuffing to Philo’s – a pizza joint and bar in town – where we joined about 100 other folks for an absolutely amazing turkey dinner with all of the fixings and friends too! The dinner was better than I could have made because there was so much variety. My boys had excellent manners, and cleaned their plates (several times). And Merle looked especially handsome, all cleaned up and shaven and smelling delicious. And the music was live, and Santa Clause even came. It warmed our hearts to see the Mexican children lined up out the door and down the block to sit on Santa’s knee and receive gifts from him – all donated by the restaurant and various individuals. They gave away over 500 gifts, someone said. That’s a lot of happy children! We plunked ourselves into our dinghy with full fat bellies, and raced Love Song back out to our sailboats to dream about the fun we had and how grateful we are to be here. Shandro was especially happy because he met a little girl tonight named Olivia, who adores him. He loves to be loved. We all do.
Love Song’s friends Doug and Chris arrived this morning. We will have some fun with them in the next week or so. Having visitors is so exciting!
Justin is supposed to join us as well, we hope, just after New Year’s, for surfing! That will be so excellent! And Ryan just told me on the phone just now that he might come down here at the end of March (if we are still here at that time!) so that will be amazing too!

2008-12-23T12:40:00.000-08:00

December 23rd. Business as usual for people today. We took the kids on a bus to a big store (we call grocery stores ‘big stores’ now, as opposed to markets and street vendors, who sell a smaller variety of goods, but at far better prices). The bus was fun. My favorite part was the older gentleman and his son who were playing guitar and tambourine, and singing loud and clear on the bus for us. And the hardest part was hauling all of the groceries home. Thank goodness Merle came with me! He is so strong, and can carry his weight in groceries. Good thing too, because we bought a lot of beer!
It was interesting to me that business should be open all day today, with such an important holiday tomorrow. One would think it should all stop and rest, if the holiday is so important. But it doesn’t. So then I was thinking perhaps this Christmas stuff is contrived – in our minds, and created as reality because of what we believe. (We watched Zeitgeist a couple of nights ago, so that is rolling around in my head and contributing to this, I am sure.) I guess that is true, to a large extent, because different people have different celebrations. And everyone is always creating what they believe to be true. It made me wonder what kind of celebrations the world would have if we all listened to our hearts rather than to the (possibly contrived) information that our egos (are taught to) believe. What are the ‘true’ celebrations? Or are there any? Maybe there are things to be celebrated every second, but we are too distracted to notice? I will try to notice more.
I was feeling a bit homesick today, but not for home. Home is covered in snow and very cold right now. I was missing my family and friends. Especially Mom and Dad. Christmas really is about family, and I sent you lots of love; I hope that you got it. I wish you were here. I wish I could afford to send you all air tickets to be here with us. If I could, I would.

2008-12-21T12:39:00.000-08:00

December 21st, 2008 – We attended something that I never thought I would attend in this lifetime – the baptism of Jesus at Christmas time! Jesus is the son of Dan’s friends. There was a lot of tradition in that church this morning, not the least of whom were Merle and Maria-de-Jesus playing the devil’s advocate right in church just like Uncle Sandy might do. There were probably 1000 people there for their normal Sunday service – inside and outside listening to the service broadcast over loudspeakers, and there were 32 baptisms that morning!! Following the ceremony, there was eating and drinking and Spanish lessons and broken English and French to figure out just what was in the soup anyway. Tripe soup is apparently a favorite of many Mexican families, and eaten especially for breakfast. Lucky for us, Maria de Jesus helped us finish our tripe. Homemade ice-cream was the appetizer for the evening feast, hosted by the parents and Godparents of Jesus. Among other things, there was beer, punctuated by the odd shot of Tequila, and ribs slow cooked to perfection followed by a huge cake. As if we could eat cake after all that! And speeches punctuated by laughing and champagne – a typical family wedding type gathering, except that it was all in Spanish. So we laughed when they laughed and danced with them and communicated with a lot of gestures and hopeful intuition and a Spanish word here and there where we thought we knew them. Being dropped into the Mexican culture was amazing. We like to think we made leaps and bounds in our Spanish today. But more than that, people are the same everywhere. I felt so comfortable there with those people. They are good folks who love and respect each other, who work honestly and laugh openly, who want the best for their children, and bend over backwards to welcome Canadian foreigners into their town. They visited and danced. There were the handful of older men sitting around the bar area, and babies and mamas. The old people looked like the old first nations people in Canada. It was easy to be there, and I felt very connected, despite my language barrier and my blonde family. It was awesome. And after the party, they arranged to have people return us right to our dinghy, easily 45 minutes from the party by car. How can you predict that, or even arrange it? It seems like the more grateful we are about our lot, the more surprise gifts the universe bestows on us. Mexico has indeed been very kind to us.

2008-12-17T12:37:00.000-08:00

December 17th, 2008. This day is the end of one chapter and the beginning of another in this book of sailing. I can see the chapters now, for the first time, today. Chapter 1 started when we made the decision to live on a boat, followed by its purchase. Chapter 2 began with the move to California, and help beyond anything we could have imagined to assist us in this regard. Chapter 3 was the chapter of working on the boat, spending a lot of money, and preparing her for sailing. When I look back now, there was a lot to do, and Merle did almost all of it without any prior knowledge of sailboats or their inner and outer workings. We celebrated friends at Ensenada and named our boat during this time. Chapter 4 was the ‘creative chaos’ chapter that kicked our buts and helped us realize that it was as much us as the boat that needed work. Thank goodness Shane and Amy were not only tolerant but so helpful through that time for us. Right at the end of that chapter, we said goodbye to Amy and Shane, and said hello to Kathy and Allen, friends we still spend much happy time with. Chapter 5 was the Dan chapter. It began with ‘I hope we’ve done everything that we need to do to take this boat around the cape, because we are leaving tomorrow, gale or no gale’ and it ended today with heaps of gratitude for an incredible insightful journey, and looking south to a bright future. Chapter 6 begins today.
The Dan Chapter. Dan left us today, to fly to San Diego and then to France for Christmas. We were all sad to see him go because he brought a great deal of happiness and enthusiasm to the boat and to our lives. But, as Dan said himself in the words of Fatuhiva, the residents of the islands of the south pacific don’t say goodbye to each other when they depart, because it never occurs to them; their beliefs hold that we are all one, and always connected. So why say goodbye? Us westerners are still trying to figure that out, and no matter how many times I told myself that today, it was still sad to see him go.
The chapter of Dan began in spirit sometime in July with Shane’s intuition, followed by meeting him in person in August. But the chapter truly began on November 9th, when he arrived on our boat, and we departed on our journey. The first days were sick for me, but Merle was delighted that not only is Dan immune to seasickness, but when it was his turn at the helm in 12 foot seas, he was eager for the opportunity, and well able to hold his own.
He brought levity to our boat, and happily took his turns around the clock for watches as we sailed around the clock for 9 days. That was amazing. And once in La Paz, he helped on the boat and brought us delightful new tastes from town that we would never have bought ourselves. He was incredibly patient with the kids, and they loved his great positive energy for everything. He always had something positive to say, no matter what. When we were sailing at 1 knot, which is ridiculously slow, I can remember him saying in his half French half Romanian accent, “This is perfect! It is easy, we can enjoy a beautiful dinner, and we are still moving forward in exactly the direction we want to go! What could be better?” And then later that same evening, “Three knots! Incredible! And perfect timing – we just finished dinner nice and calm, and now the wind is starting to blow! Mucho Gusto!” He did not offer his opinion unless you asked him, and even then he was pretty flexible on beliefs. Very open-minded individual, and very connected in many ways. He has immense trust in the universe that everything will work out, and he was not easily flustered about anything. He inspired us every day, and every night when I said good night to him, I was grateful for his presence on our boat. He was not a guest – he was family in many ways, but with respect and grace uncommon in many people. He contributed characteristics like those of Merle – sports minded, and wanting to extract the most (wind) from the least (effort) – equally delighted at a fish on the hook or a spinnaker day. But he also had Allison qualities like being able to cook, and digging in and doing dishes and looking at the sunny side of life. As Merle aptly stated, he reflected some of the best qualities in both of us, reminding each of us that the other is an amazing human being and completely valid as is, no changes required. How could we have picked someone better suited to our trip? It was so easy – we just asked him and he accepted. The universe really is a fine tuned being if you just allow. We are so grateful that it brought Dan to us, and equally hopeful that we will see him again somewhere. He did say to call him if we are heading in the direction of the Marquaises, in case he isn’t busy during those months. I look forward to that time.

2008-12-12T12:36:00.000-08:00

Friday the 12th – our anniversary. (We celebrate any 12th that we remember. Today, we remembered!) We went to the downtown beach to surf and play and swim. We sat in a restaurant and drank fresh coconut milk (hugo coco) and beer (cervesa). Then we went to town to check out the nightlife there in the square (mercado). We had amazing dinners – each of us something different, from different vendors who were there. Matero had corn on the cob (elote) and a beef (carne) taco. Shandro had a cheeseburger (hamburgesa con queso) and fries (papas fritas). He also had a Marlin taco. Merle had a few different tastes – burritos and tacos for sure. I also had tacos and an amazing ice cream and a bite of Dan’s churros – a deep fried doughnut that is shaped like a long finger, and eaten hot with sugar or cinnamon sugar. Amazing! It was fun to eat a mishmash from the different vendors. And then, to top it off, we saw a parade! People were all dressed up and there were 2 groups making music or maybe 3, and it was awesome! It ended in the church in the center of town. We saw a couple of familiar faces at one taco stand – John and Joanne on Western Grace from Victoria, who sail down here every year, and then sail back again via Hawaii in March. It takes them 3 weeks to sail to Hawaii, and another 3 weeks to sail back to Canada. That’s a long trip!! We did return to the boat after a very full day. Matero was asleep in the dinghy before we returned to Kenta Anae. Saturday we sailed and anchored south of San Blas to avoid the no-see-ums. On route, Merle spotted a couple of whales rising, so we all had a look. That was very cool to see over and over again.
On Sunday we returned to San Blas to meet with Dan’s friend/schoolmate from France (Paul), who just happened to be visiting at this time for Christmas, and his extended family who live in Mexico. Paul’s family became our own personal tour guides and hosts, including Maria de Jesus, Paul’s family Natalie, Mae and Agate, Paul’s sister Perla and her family Choy and Jesus, and Paul’s brother, Christian.
That was a great day! (It was also a really good Spanish test. My Spanish is getting better. I can understand way more, but I still have a lot of trouble saying what I want to say. The verbs are not there.) We ate with them at a restaurant and then they decided to go on a tour of the local castle – which was at one time the only part of San Blas that was out of the sea! Since the sea has gone down, San Blas has grown considerably. Anyway, Paul’s family took us by car inland to the castle. It was amazing!! And up so high! It was a great change in perspective, and we all felt so lucky to be there! Too bad I didn’t take my camera. Amazing photos from there! Following that, we returned to the beach where we had been Friday, and ate and drank until after dark while the kids played on the beach. It was wonderful. Very relaxed, and very typically Mexican – fresh, not commercial, not eroded, just perfectly San Blas.

2008-12-11T12:35:00.000-08:00

Thursday Dec 11th. We go to the beach. Dan surfed, Merle kayaked in the surf, and the boys and I played in the surf on the beach. Shandro learned the skimboard in a couple of amazing hours today. And he was also very successful at riding the skimboard in to shore on his tummy, pushed by the waves. He must have said he was grateful that Shane and Amy gave us the skimboard about a hundreds times that day! Even Matero gave it a go, and rode it easily close to shore. They both had an amazing day. I tried to body surf. There is a lot of power in the waves, that’s for sure!! It scared me so I tried it a few times. When I am 100 years old, I willl probably be fine with not mastering surfing in this life. But I am going to try it some more just in case. Dan went into town and we retired to the boat. I think Merle was up every hour checking for him. When Dan returned (after walking several miles and swimming across a river twice and swimming the mile out to our boat – all happily and not even mentioning it actually) Merle heard him right away. I thought it was so sweet that Merle would care so much that he would watch out for Dan. Merle slept well after Dan was home.

2008-12-06T12:35:00.000-08:00

December 6th, 2008. We leave La Paz at 6pm in hopes of catching the big wind early in the week to escort us across the water to the mainland, but also in hopes of avoiding the bigger wind that is supposed to begin to blow on Wednesday. The shifts are on, every 3 hours as before. Merle started, so Dan would steer 9 to midnight and I took the midnight to 3am shift. The wind was good, and we had a nice sail through the night. Sunday (7th) was also amazing sailing with good wind. By Monday (8th), our Spanish was improving with Dan’s help, and the seas were very calm, with only a breath of wind. Merle and I decided to pretend we were on route to the Marqaise islands, to see what it would feel like being in the doldrums for hours or days at a time. Merle did well and didn’t start the motor.
Tuesday the 9th was also quiet. So quiet that Merle took the sails down and we all jumped into the ocean for a real blue-water swim. Dan was first, as usual. At one point, Dan was so far from the boat we could hardly see him. It was amazing to look down into the water with the sun behind my head; it was crystal blue and clear. I could see down deep – I bet a hundred feet. And the dolphins came!! They came to swim with us! When they came I was pretty excited. I never did get to touch one, but it was awesome to be swimming in the presence of those big beautiful creatures. We washed and all felt totally refreshed, from the swim and from the inner peace that we all experienced in that amazing clear water. These long journeys offshore are really magical.
On Wednesday, within a couple of hours of starting the engine, we had wind, so we sailed some more. We circumnavigated Isla Isabella. Although our initial thought was to anchor here, we changed our minds and carried on to the mainland, arriving by 9pm. As ‘luck’ would have it, we arrived quite by ‘chance’ in San Blas, an amazing truly authentic Mexican town with very little American influence, if any. Everything from the architecture to the food, music and people shone Mexican, and we soaked it all up like little sponges. There we found beaches, surf, fresh coconuts, only Spanish speaking people, sunshine and blue sky, and real tropical smells in the air, wafting down from the tropical forests on the hills – full of bananas and coconuts, Dan told us. He was here once, he said. We were greeted enthusiastically by no-see-ums that evening.

2008-12-01T12:34:00.000-08:00

December 1st, 2008 Yahoo – we made it!! I got a reading last winter and the lady said that we were indeed going to sail, but that (at that moment) it looked like we would return in November, after being away only 8 months. I have been wondering if that would come to pass or if we were able to change our course and get onto a new path before that would happen. And we did it!! We changed whatever it was that put us on that path, and now we have a new future. That’s pretty cool!
Kathy gave me this piece yesterday. It is called In Passing, and it comes from ‘Wanderer’ written by Sterling Hayden (1916 – 1986).
‘To be truly challenging, a voyage, like life, must rest on a firm foundation of financial unrest. Otherwise, you are doomed to a routine traverse, the kind known to yachtsmen who play with their boats at sea – “cruising”, it is called. Voyaging belongs to seamen and to the wanderers of the world who cannot, or will not, fit in. If you are contemplating a voyage and you have the means, abandon the venture until your fortunes change. Only then will you know what the sea is all about.
‘ “I’ve always wanted to sail to the south seas, but I can’t afford it.” What these people can’t afford is to not go. They are enmeshed in the cancerous discipline of “security”. And in the worship of security. And in the worship of security, we fling our lives beneath the wheels of routine – and before we know it, our lives are gone.
‘What does a person need – really need? A few pounds of food each day, heat and shelter, six feet to lie down in – and some form of working activity that will yield a sense of accomplishment. That’s all – in the material sense, and we know it. But we are brainwashed by our economic system until we end up in a tomb beneath a pyramid of time payments, mortgages, preposterous gadgetry, and playthings that divert our attention from the sheer idiocy of the charade.
‘The years thunder by. The dreams of youth grow dim where they lie caked in dust on the shelves of patience. Before we know it, the tomb is sealed.
‘Where, then lies the answer? In Choice. Which shall it be: bankruptcy of the purse or bankruptcy of life?

2008-11-28T12:33:00.000-08:00

Merle says: We are back in La Paz after a few day island excursion to the north for same playa isolote anchorages. We coaxed the Wind through the sails of Kenta Anae for some motor free sailing and anchoring for three days and ended up at a bitchin' anchorage with the teal blue sea and white sandy beaches and terra cotta rojo volcanic rock rimming the beautiful beach. Protection from the wind on three sides – can’t ask for better. And everyone in the anchorage left by the lunch hour leaving only us. We hiked the hills, hurled rocks of the cliffs with the kids, and gathered firewood for a beach fire in the evening. Once back at the boat we swam off the side including Matero solo. Just about the time I spewed the words, ‘we have "arrived"’ as I was air drying on the bow deck beside Allison, there was a loud thump and wail as Matero slipped post-swim on the companionway stairs and plummeted to a cranium landing on the sole below. Well, with blood oozing out of his ear and mouth and the I am really hurting cry on medium (which means its serious) we scrambled back to La Paz for a visit to the emergency room. The kicker was that it was a six hour sail back to town; that is a l-o-n-g Golden Hour window for any head trauma. Dan at the helm, me on the radio. So, maybe due to genetics he stabilized after 30 min and with Allison pouring energy into him sat quietly and watched a couple of movies while we hauled ass to town (for a sail boat). We managed to get a sat phone message relay to town (one of many miracles today) and a rescue boat met us an hour from the first landing in the bay (another miracle). Matero got his first ambulance ride (ambulance waiting for us at the dock - another miracle) to the x-ray machine. Turns out he is quite tough and resilient and with skull intact he is recovering nicely with a little quiet time and extra naps. He is otherwise his infectious humorous self and we are all very thankful. So pefection is liquid, Dan says. Don’t try to squeeze it too tight or it will drip out of your hands. Just relax in it and let it be. It was a nice reminder that we have a lot of good things going as we seek our latest balance. That’s the news lately. I am sure Allison will send a hello too. Shandro adds one more miracle: after his impromptu sleepover at Love Song, Kathy fed them pancakes with strawberries and cream for breakfast while we were at the hospital.
Allison adds: Now we are safe and sound on our boat. We had an excellent dinner of ribs and new potatoes and grilled zucchini, and now I am going to sleep. And I will sleep well, knowing that my family is all here and healthy and happy. Thanksgiving has never felt as good as it feels today. I am so grateful for all that has been done for us. Thank you, universe. Please send out blessings to everyone who helped us, and please help their love return to them ten-fold. Amen.

2008-11-20T12:32:00.000-08:00

Thursday, Nov 20th, 2008 – Revolution Day in Mexico. We are in La Paz, and the boys went to Spanish school with Morgan this morning to try it out. There was a play first thing in the morning to celebrate revolution day – the day when the unfair government of 20 years was finally overrun by a democratic Robin Hood type fellow and the people were finally freed. The children were all dressed up in costumes and we watched. It was all in Spanish, (roughly translated by the gentleman standing behind me) and was awesome! Then Morgan took Shandro’s hand and off they went to his classroom. I went with Matero to a different classroom where we learned some English words during their English lesson. Then they had an augua break and when Matero got up, there were several children who offered him their water, speaking only Spanish. Matero gratefully took a glass and drank and smiled. Love does not need words. He was okay when I left; I hope he will maintain his happiness until I return at 2 o’clock.
Well, when we got there to pick the boys up, they both wanted to return to school tomorrow! That’s so great! They really loved it. Matero joined Shandro and Morgan in their classroom in the afternoon for company. I’m glad they liked it.
Merle worked on the boat today while we were gone. He did some mast work, and he got our SSB working on low power. Very cool. Tomorrow is an SSB check with Pete, Allen’s friend, who is an SSB expert. Long range communication will be excellent after this.

2008-11-17T12:28:00.000-08:00

… Monday, Nov 17th. DAY 9. La Paz ho!! We arrived in the straight around 7:00am and we all decided that we wanted to arrive in La Paz clean and fresh, so we took down the sails, stopped the boat and let it drift, stripped down and jumped into the WARM water. We all swam and washed and it was amazing! And Merle set up a fresh water shower for us, so we were really squeaky clean when we were done. Fresh clothes, combed hair, and we looked like a family out of some sailing magazine! Then we resumed our course, and headed into Bahia La Paz. We immediately found Love Song anchored, and anchored fairly close by. We had not been anchored more than 10 minutes when Love Song – Allen, Kathy, Morgan and Wyatt – roared up in their dingy and said ‘Hello!! You are here!! How long have you been here? You all have haircuts already!!’ We laughed, because it did look like we had been here for a while! I don’t think they believed us when we said we just dropped the anchor 10 minutes ago! Anyway, it was great to see them again, and we promptly went to their boat for a pot luck lunch and a visit, and ended up staying late for a delicious dinner too. Actually, a funny thing happened when Merle took me back to our boat in the dark to put together some food to contribute for dinner; we had our own adventure! I was down below and Merle went up to get into the dingy that I had securely tied up – but the dingy was gone!! We looked around and found it some distance off, so I jumped in and swam to it and brought it back. When we got back to Love Song, Kathy asked me why my hair was wet, so the secret was out; some of my knots still need work! The boys had the luxury of a bath with Morgan and Wyatt – their first bath in many moons! It was an awesome evening, and great to be with such sweet people, who were worried sick about us as we were unable to get any messages to them, despite many attempts.

Part of an email I sent out …

Hello hello! We are here safe and sound!

Our sail here (we are in La Paz - arrived Monday morning the 18th after 7 day sail, almost to the minute!) was awesome! The boat and her crew are all fine. We had big winds the first 2 days - 30 to 35 knots of wind and about 15 foot seas. I was as seasick as a dog, and Merle and Shandro had light seasickness. Matero and Dan are immune as it turned out! We had good speed and once the weather calmed down so we weren't completely focused on that, it became a very magical journey. It was such a blessing having Dan on board with us. We each did 3 hour shifts around the clock, which worked out beautifully because we each got a six hour break. And his optimistic and happy attitude and his sense of humor created a very light, delightful energy on our boat. We saw dolphins who came and played at our bow, looking up at us with their great big eyes, and one feisty dolphin even splashed us on purpose a couple of times - better than sea world!! At one point, before we caught our first fish, we were reading a story by Dr. Seuss called One Fish Two Fish, and we were at the page where we met Ish and his fish wish dish, and we paused at that moment to borrow the fish wish dish from ish to wish for fish, and Matero and Shandro and I all focused on that wish for about 1 minute, saying 'we wish for fish' over and over again. Within 5 minutes, we had caught our first fish, and our fishlines were busy after that! It was pretty cool! After that, we fished with great success - catching Tuna, Bonito, Sierra, and Mahi Mahi (Durado). They were all delicious - truly we ate like kings once I got over 2 days of seasickness and I could be in the galley again. In the calmer winds, much to Merle's delight and with Dan's optimistic help, we raised the beautiful blue and white spinnaker - a great big kite on the front of the boat. In even calmer winds, Shandro played on the halyards, balancing on the boom against the beautiful white sail. And Matero and Shandro both donned their harnesses and, one at a time, hooked into the tow line behind the boat. Then they barefoot water skied! And they loved it!! They learned to twist and turn and ski on one foot - soaking wet and laughing the whole time! One day, squid jumped onto our boat. Dan recognized that they were gifts from the universe, so he prepared them for us and we ate them up with great relish. And although Shandro was very sure that he would never eat squid, now he wishes for calamari regularly. We saw a puffer fish, and we saw a shark who was eating one of the fish we caught!

In short, all is well. I will do my best to update our website while we are here in La Paz, and that will provide pictures and a few amazing details that I have left out here. (I have to go pick up my kids - they are at a Spanish school today with their friend Morgan from the boat Love Song, who came south with us.) I will try to send an email once the website is updated, but it should be done by Sunday.