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