Not Blogged for 4 Months????

We have been negligent!

However, we have been busy babysitting, working at the office, Harbor Sailboats, Seaforth Boat Rentals, San Diego Harbor Excursions, a boat delivery from LaPaz to San Diego, putting in refrigeration and a watermaker on the boat, loading everything on the boat getting ready for the cruise and taking a 5 day vacation to Catalina Island.

We will try to be better in the future.

Electronic Charts-WOW!

Claudia and I have had the opportuntiy of teaching "Cruise Planning" with the San Diego Sail and Power Squadron for the past few years. We really enjoy teaching this class. We average about twenty students in each class and teach for about twelve weeks during the winter. One thing we emphasize over and over to our prospective cruisers is "Practice, Practice, Practice"!

To that end we have recently purchased some electronic charts for our trip to Mexico. We used only paper charts for our cruise to Hawaii and Canada. So this is a new experience for us. We purchased and hand held Garmin GPS and linked it to our laptop computer. Also from Garmin we purchased Blue Charts which we loaded into our laptop computer we keep on board. By linking the two we see the nautical chart of where we are with the precise location of our vessel. WOW!!! We continue to be just amazed in this electronic world.

This is all good, but could we figure out how to work it all? We listened to our old adage-"Practice" and went out into the shallows of San Diego south bay. Here the water depths are commonly 1-3 feet at low tide. However, there is a narrow channel about 10 feet wide called Emory Channel that leads to Emory Cove at the extreme southwest end of San Diego Bay. The total distance of this channel is about 2 nautical miles.

We looked at the tide tables, worked out our positions, waypoints, courses, on paper charts and then on the electronic charts. We were ready! Off we went and had a wonderful time exploring the southern end of San Diego Bay. We stayed right in the middle of the channel, depth never more shallow than 7 feet. We made it there and back never touching the bottom.

Are we ready for Mexico? With a little more practice we maybe.

T&C

Only an oil change????

We should change our diesel engine oil in our boat every 100 hours, or one time a year. May is the month we change our oil and the time had arrived. We drained the old engine and transmission oil, changed the oil filter and added the new oil. It all looked rather clean as it had only been 31 hours of use for the year. As I started the engine to insure the new added oil was at the correct level I noticed the engine was shaking a little more than usual. I shut the engine down and checked the nuts on the motor mounts.

A couple of the nuts had worked themselves loose!!!!! It is hard to believe, but the evidence was there. I went to the nut and bolt store and discussed the problem with owner. He said they make nuts that will not loosen. I purchased four. I tightened the new nuts with their new lock washers and placed a double nut on each motor mount.

This should not happen again.

T&C

Summer Musings

When I was growing up our family vacationed during the summer on Balboa Island. We would walk around the island and watch the boats cruising the bay and returning from a day of racing in the ocean. How I longed to be out there with them.

Occasionally we would have a summer vacation where we rented a cabin around Lake Arrowhead, Lake Gregory and I longed for a boat ride cruise around the lake. Our family would walk along the piers and floats and beach and see sailboats and motor boats for rent. Paddleboards, kayaks, and foot propelled pontoon boats could be had for smaller fee. We always discussed renting a fancy boat, but dad being thrifty we more often than not we ended up with a paddleboard rental for an hour or two. Oh how I longed for a ride on the water on a "real boat".

Forty years have passed and things have changed. Last week was a wonderful and exciting. Monday and Friday, as a USCG licensed captain I was asked to help with a sailing regatta on San Diego Bay. I would leave home around 11 AM, drive 25 minutes to the bay to pick up a boat and sail on the bay with a group of six people. We would spend four hours sailing and then return to the dock. Each day I have a different boat, different people and changing weather. They pay me for this and I accept tips too. Monday four hours sailing on the bay, Wednesday eight hours of working in the office, Friday four sailing on the bay and getting paid for it all. WOW!

My longing for a real boat ride on the bay is being realized.

T.

Skype? or Hype?

Communication is very important while we travel. We might want to get in touch with our children, grandchildren, or friends. Emergencies can arise where we need to talk to someone immediately. We are looking into many modes of communication: ham radio, cell phone, satellite phone, phone card, email with Sailmail, email with a Pactor modum and Skype, among others. We wonder what will work best for us.

The important thing is see what will work while we are still in the US. Once we leave it will be very difficult to do the research and determine what will work best. To that end we have obtained our Ham license and listen to the ham frequencies daily. We listen to all the nets which deal with Mexico. We listen at 7:30 AM to the "Chubasco Net", at 7:45 AM "Keels and Wheels" and at 8 AM to the "Baja Net". We are doing mostly listening, however we are doing some transmitting. The Lord looks out after us in strange ways. The radio was not working well and He sent along a new friend Virgil Pattin, an expert ham radio operator into our lives. He helped me set up a new antenna and has worked with me on techniques of how to use it. THANK YOU Virgil. We could have not done it with out you.

Captain Mark uses Skype so today May 4, 2008 we downloaded it off the internet and are trying to determine if we can use it. We need to send it to all we might want to talk to within the next year and make sure they have Skype then hopefully we can talk with NO CHARGE. Sounds pretty good.

Let's see if it works.

T&C

Mariachias Anyone?

We continue to get ready for the trip south.

We had a fine day yesterday(Saturday). I had a captains job with Harbor Sailboats. I took out six people from Minnesota for a harbor cruise on the bay. They said it had snowed two days ago at home. Thank goodness we live in San Diego. We sailed a Beneteau 323. We had a wonderful sail. It was a little windy, 18-20 knots, so we put a reef in the jib and the main sail. We cruised from Harbor Island down east to the Maritime Museum and the Midway aircraft carrier then tacked back up the bay to Ballast Point and out to the end of Point Loma.

I called Claudia when we were finished and asked if she wanted to go sailing. She said it was about 95 degrees in El Cajon and she would love to get down to the bay and get cooled off. We sailed our boat around south Bay and had a fine evening sail. The sun was setting over Point Loma, the breeze was dying off the Silver Strand Beach and we were ghosting through the dog leg that led to our slip in the California Yacht Marina. We eased Fiddler's Green into her slip just as the first stars were coming out in the eastern sky.

It was around 8 PM so we decided we better go out to dinner to eat. Decisions, decisions: where should we go? We were in Chula Vista so why not Mexican food. Great idea! We drove up and down Broadway looking for the right place. We saw cars and people milling around a restaurant named "El Camaron-Mariscos", so we decided to stop. Fine decision. We sat at a small table by the bano and watched all the people go by. A Mexican band was playing with guitars, and accordions. Everyone was speaking Spanish.

Truly we were preparing for out trip south.

Spanish word for the day: bano-bathroom

SPRING TIME

It's spring time in San Diego. Wow, the yards and gardens everywhere are in full bloom. Lawns are green; the roses are blooming like mad and so healthy. Birds are everywhere enjoying the fountains and birdbaths. It is so beautiful to relax in the swing and enjoy the sights of the yard and mountains beyond. If only gardening could be done on a boat???!!!## But that is O.K. I guess.
" There is a time for every event under heaven....A time to give birth, and a time to die, A time to plant, and a time to uproot what is planted," .... "nothing is better than that man should be happy in his activities, for that is his lot." There will be another day for gardening. Now is the time to prepare for the boating life again. Pots with dirt don't do well on a moving boat. There are many other activities to do and put our mind to. We are so blessed to begin this adventure again on the high seas.
There is much to do getting ready. This trip will be taking us out of the U.S. It will be different shopping, communicating with the home front, water, getting medical care, and just our everyday life in a foreign speaking country. But we're excited and getting specific in getting what we will need to have....more on that later....now I'm still land lock...so back to the garden for today.

Answer-YES?, or NO?

Time marches on. It is now approximately six months before we begin cruising. I need to notify my boss I will be leaving.

One thing I never liked at work is CHANGE. Hiring staff is stressful. Firing staff is stressful. Having staff leave is stressful. My leaving in a few months is likely to be stressful to Sergio. I was not sure how he would react. However, it has to be done and with plenty of notice hopefully it will not be to bad.

I called the office and asked if I could talk with the doctor for a few minutes. The staff arranged a time just before lunch on a Monday. I arrived at about 11:55 AM and we went into his office and closed the door. I said I loved working with him, but I needed to go sailing again-sometime around September, October, or November, 2008. By our departure date it would be the end of hurricane season in the north eastern Pacific and we could safely leave and sail south. I would be back in southern California in six months, a year, or????

Sergio responded, "that is a long way off, everything will work out fine". He was off to lunch.

WOW! That was not hard. I think his answer was yes, have a good time and good luck.

The wheels continue to roll toward our future cruise.

Ted

Baja Ha Ha????????

As we continue to plan our trip we wonder; should we go south with the "Baja Ha Ha", or should we go south by ourselves??

We have never been on the "Ha Ha", however we understand the Baja Ha Ha is a "cruiser's race" from San Diego to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico sponsored by Latitude 38. At the end of hurricaine season 150-200 cruising boats leave San Diego for a 10 day race south. Two stops are planned. The first stop is at Turtle Bay 380 nautical miles south of San Diego. The second stop is at Magdellena Bay 380 nautical miles south of Turtle Bay. The finish line, 200 nautical miles further south, is at Cabo San Lucas at the tip of Baja. Parties are planned at each of the three stops . Awards are given to the winners at the party in Cabo San Lucas.

This all sound good, however, the problem is the time. The race, the parties all need to be completed in 10 days. To attend each party you must maintain an average speed of 4 knots to arrive on time. Racing to stops and parties does not seem in harmony with the cruising life.

Jerry Murphy says ".... what ever you do make sure you go with the Baja Ha Ha! You will meet new friends and you will see all throughout your Mexican cruising".

Captain Mark Philbrick says "....whatever you do do not go with all those novices on the Baja Ha Ha".

WHAT TO DO?????

Jerry Where Are You?

April 8, 2008

Dear Jerry,

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! We really appreciate you keeping us up to date on your adventure cruise in Mexico. You are encouraging us to continue our planning to follow in your footsteps.

Sorry! Sorry! Sorry! We have not responded sooner to your wonderful email. However, being Commander of the San Diego Sail and Power Squadron, going through the Change of Watch and then being Membership Chairman has kept us busy. Now things are starting to slow down

We have a group of about 5 boats planning to leave sometime after the Baja Ha Ha, 2008. The Ha Ha is leaving Monday, October 28, 2008. We never know what is going to happen until the day arrives and we see how many boats are there to set off. Maybe we should go with the Ha Ha???????

A few weeks ago I did a boat delivery from Ixtapa to La Paz. I heard you on the HF radio; however, the radio would not transmit so I could not get in touch with you.

Yesterday, Monday April 7, 2008, I talked with my boss at work and gave my notice. I figured it would be best to talk with him first so he would not find out second hand about my leaving. There now is about 6 months before we take off.

Claudia and I are anxious to find out all that is going on with you. What ports we should visit? Should we go south first and then move up the Mexican mainland coast into the Sea of Cortez? What month would be best to be in the Sea? You are visiting all the places we are dreaming of.

We are now debating on whether to buy a water maker. They are very expensive; however, we hold only about 40 gallons of water so having a water maker would help out with taking showers and drinking water. We are thinking of the smallest they make-a Katadyne (PUR) that makes 1.5 gallons per hour and uses 4 amps.

Are you going to be returning to San Diego for the hurricane season? Or, are you going to be staying in Mexico for the season and continuing on? Maybe you have not made up your mind yet? If we leave in October, 2008 we could catch up with you and sail along with a real experienced Mexican cruiser.

We know you are having a phenomenal time. We can’t wait to be there. If you get a chance let us know what is going on.

Your friends,

Ted and Claudia Bowler

Cruise Music!?

Often the watch between midnight and 4 AM becomes long.

During this time we (or maybe I should say Claudia) keep an eye out for other vessels, read, listen to music, doze, or prepare for the new day. We can do all those things in steady moderate weather. As the wind increases and the waves become more steep it becomes increasingly difficult to anything other than doze, or listen to music.

As we look around our den at the house we look at the large number of CDs, LPs and tapes we would like take with us we realize this is going to take up a great amount of storage space on our 28 foot boat.

Is there a different way?????

ANSWER: Apple ipod!

This small electronic gizmo will hold all our music.

Is this really possible?

A bewildered T and C.

Long Distance Accounting

Well slowly we are getting all ready. As we pay our bill each month we are concerned about how we will pay our bills when we are away in Mexico. We have not trusted electronic bill payments, however, not with the trip looming we are going to give it a try. We checked with Bank of America and they have electronic bill paying, so we will see what happens.

This month we will just enter a few accounts on the electronic bill pay and see how it goes. If all goes well we will put all our bills on the account and then hopefully we will be able to set out with no worries about the bills being payed.

We will pray for the best.

Ted and Claudia

CAPTAIN REPLIES

Ted,

Just got home from my marathon deliveries. To respond to your emails:

Claudia said when I stand next to the pressure cooker I look more like Mark than ever.

If you put the cooker over your head, you will look like the unknown comedian.

Sorry to bother you, however I do not want you to have a heart attack.

I almost did when we got the bill with a 25.00 late charge. Thanks for taking care of that.

But I followed the recipe, to a point. Then went off on my own into unprinted areas.

Your first mistake; following the recipe. Just keep messing around and you will get the feel for what works and what doesn't. It is fun!

Just stick with cheaper veggies that asparagus.

I am very proud of you. Claudia better get her dish towel ready!

Cheers, Mark

So-So Meal

Dear Mark and Lonnie,

Well I don't know what to say. Our first pressure cooker meal went just, O.K. We did not have to eat it off the ceiling, no one was killed in an explosion, however, it was not probably as good as it could have been. It might have been because I cooked it, and I am not a cook. But I followed the recipe, to a point. Then went off on my own into unprinted areas.


I changed it a little as I do not always following instructions, as Claudia, or Mark might tell you. I try to be a little creative.

-since there were only two of us I used only 2 chicken breast halves
-we were in a hurry so the chicken was still frozen
-I wanted a few vegetables with dinner so I threw in some asparagus
-I wanted some rice with the meal, so I placed a cup of rice and three cups of water in a separate bowl and covered it with aluminum foil. I then placed the covered rice bowl into the pressure cooker and finally put the pressure cooker lid on and sealed the whole affair.

It took a few minutes for the pressure regulator to begin rocking slowly. I cooked it for four minutes then took it off the stove. We started eating our salads while the pressure slowly came down within the pot. About 10 minutes after we had finished our salads the pressure was released and I opened the cooker. Our first pressure cooker dinner was ready.

Rice was perfect!
Chicken was cooked, moist and tender with a great flavor.
Vegetables were soft and soggy.
At the bottom of the pan there was a great deal of water remaining. Looked like a great soup broth.

I believe Claudia is relegating me back to doing the dishes and staying away from the cooking.

Some of us have it, some of us don't.

What do you think???? Where did I go wrong???? Is there anything you can suggest that can get me out of washing dishes and back in the cooking department.

Thanks for any help you can give me.

Ted

Culinary Preparations

Our friends, Lonnie and Mark Philbrick, are experienced cruisers. They have sailed extensively on the East Coast, Caribbean and Mexico. Mark is the captain I have helped deliver boats along the Pacific coast. They both highly recommend pressure cookers. Mark carries his own personal pressure cooker on all his deliveries. That is quite a recommendation.

Claudia's birthday is coming up so I decided a pressure cooker would be a perfect gift. I ordered her one. Tonight I am cooking dinner for Claudia in her new pressure cooker. I really take care of Claudia!!!! She is a saint to be married to me for 39 years.

The menu will be "Soy Chicken", with rice and vegetables. Hopefully, it will not explode and we will not be eating supper off the ceiling. We will all find out how it all goes in our next entry.

The recipe out of the Presto instruction booklet was "Soy Chicken" it said:

4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
1/2 cup of water
1/4 cup low sodium soy sauce
1/2 cup sliced mushrooms
1/2 onion sliced
1/2 cup sliced celery
3 tablespoons brown sugar

Place all ingredients in cooker. Close cover securely. Place pressure regulator on vent pipe and cook 4 minutes with the pressure regulator rocking slowly. Let pressure drop of its own accord.

The pressure cooker is intended to cook meals more quickly, maintain natural flavors, tenderize meat and help retain all nature's vitamins and minerals. I sound like a salesman, actually I just sound like Mark. Claudia now gets the award now for rapid meal preparation and I cannot see how she can do it any faster.

Using the cooker during our cruising it will mean we will be able to go longer without refilling our propane tanks.

Ted and Claudia

Inspiration from Jerry Murphy

Claudia and I just received an email from our good friend Jerry Murphy. He is cruising in his 28' Bristol Channel Cutter, Destarte, in Mexico. At the present time he is in Bahia de Navidad, which is south of Puerta Vallarta. His epistle was a wonderful encouragement. He is sailing the coast of mainland Mexico. He stops along the way and explores inland. He delves into the history and lives on the local economy. What a wonderful adventure. We can't wait to set out.

At the present time the Baja Ha Ha is leaving Monday, October 27, 2008. We will be leaving sometime around that time. At this time, March 20, 2008 we have a couple of boats that are thinking of going with us. Nancy Renzi, on her 32' Island Packet, Aeolus, Sharon Albert on her 38' Peterson, Pearl of Oakland and there are three other couples we met in our cruise Planning class that are talking about going too. We will have to wait and see how everything turns out. There is still about 7 month of preparation and many things can happen between now and the departure date.

We are now working on our boat music system. Mark, the captain I deliver boats with, believes Apple's Ipod is a wonderful music system, so we are searching how to put it on our boat. This means we will not have to take all our CD, LP, and cassettes. We are also trying to decide on what type of insurance we will need to cruise south. If you stay in a marina along the coast they will want proof of insurance-JUST LIKE IN THE USA!

Figuring our range on Fiddler's Green is about 340 nautical miles will make some of our destinations close to our fuel limit. By carrying 20 gallons of diesel on deck, four, five gallon containers we can increase our range to 543 nautical miles. This will add some insurance that we will not run our of fuel attempting some of the longer passages.

Planning continues.

That is about it from here.

T and C

Leaving Family is Hard

The adventure is always thrilling and exciting. Exploring new places, experiencing new things and enjoying new epicurean foods delights the soul. But meeting other cruisers and the local people makes traveling most rewarding. However great the cruising life is, it is always difficult to leave our family and loved ones behind. We hope they will travel a leg of the journey or meet up with us along the way south. But our hearts and thoughts will be with them in their everyday lives every minute we are away. Hanlan, our oldest son, his wife Elaine and two sons Neven and Nolean live in San Diego. They are a family that enjoys travel, surfing, reading, playing on the beach and keeping our world clean, and especially Thomas the Train! Heather, our oldest daughter, and son Kaleb enjoy running, reading, beach going, with a heart as big as the whole outdoors and lover of Bob-the-Builder live in San Diego. Beth, our youngest daughter, and husband, Phaysane also live in San Diego and are great exercisers playing soccer, basketball and running. They both are gourmet cooks and keep us filled with delicious delicacies. They are there for everyone at a seconds notice. We are so blessed to be close to all. It won't be easy leaving behind our children and grandchildren and our hearts desire is that they will be with us as much as they can.

The wheels are now rolling-albeit slowly

Dear Nancy and Sharon,

Sorry we have been negligent in our correspondence. However, Ted has just finished his year as commander of the San Diego Sail and Power Squadron and I think his final duties are now completed. We are now teaching our 8 week course on "Cruise Planning".

Finally, we are starting to get into gear regarding our trip to Mexico in the fall 2008.

Today we spent the morning going over charts and books at Sea Breeze Bookstore. We purchased all the paper charts and a few books to help us along the way. These paper charts we will use in addition to our electronic charts with our laptop computer and hand held GPS. I believe our software is Garmin Blue Charts

Captain Ann, the proprietor of Sea Breeze said maybe we should not leave until after the "Baja Ha Ha" as they leave rather early. She suggested we may want to wait until after Thanksgiving. She also said you do not have to party naked in Mexico if you do not want to.

Getting Ready to cruise 1/31/08

We are looking forward to cruising come October-November 2008. We have been landed for too many years. We arrived home from Canada in 2002 and began our land routine. Six years of working, babysitting and keeping on schedule is good, however, not best. Best is being out on the high seas and visiting foreign ports.