Scramble and patience

are the description of our last few days. Under way for 1 1/2 days and in the middle of Gulfo De Tehuantepec. As always there are more tasks than you think and they always take longer. We did do things better this time. Took time to talk with people who are important to us and met new friends as well. Ceilidh is full of provisions, clean inside and out, shiny and in perfect working order. So, off we went on Wednesday, Dec 28 at 6am and left our last port of call in Mexico. We are now 129 miles from the Mexican/Guatemala border and 65 miles off the coast. And what a wonderful trip so far. We decided to take our time and sail as much as possible - even just inching along rather than using the engine. So, into our 2nd day we only have 6 hours on the engine.

As a trade off, we are going fairly slow most of the time - only 2 knots or so. Surprisingly, life is very interesting at 2 knots. We have been watching these amazing jelly fish egg pods float thru the water like 6 foot feathery boas. Rich caught on first that they might be some kind of egg sacks. Today we saw thousands of small jelly fish hatching out of these things as we sailed thru the middle of extensive swarms. Rich took a video that we'll figure out a way to share with you all. Wow. Also, turtle watching is supreme when you travel at their speed. The dolphins aren't quite as interested in us but they still come for visits.

During our few 5 knot plus stints we caught 2 yellow fin tuna. They don't seem interested in the fishing lines unless we are traveling 5 knots or greater. Hahoo! Sushi rolls and sashimi is so delicious when absolutely fresh. Seared tuna for dinner tonight and more in the freezer for future treats. No fishing today because the freezer is full and so are we. Today has been a lovely lazy day lolling thru the water watching sea life and taking naps. And this is the Tehuantepec crossing that we have been dreading! He he. There is a 5 day window and we'll be in Costa Rica before it turns ucky again out here. Making it all the way to Costa Rica with our limited amount of fuel is where the patience part of this journey comes in. Going slow is ok and very restful. Who would have figured? New learning for new lands.

Looking forward to posting monkeys and tropical type pics when we make landfall. All is well and life is a blessing. Love to you all!
Latitude: 14 56N
Longitude: 94 31W

From the Yin Side

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Sailed into Bahias De Huatulco yesterday

and rested the rest of the day. Today I started the water celebration - wash all the salt off Ceilidh, start rinsing out all the cushions and airing all the bedding. Yahoo! It took exactly 72 hours from Zihuatanejo to the marina here (marina Chauway). We were able to sail about 1/3 of the way. Oh so nice not to have the engine droning - just the lovely bubbly sound of water under the keel. So many happy sea creatures this passage. As we left Zihuatanejo a huge pod of dolphins (100+) traveled with us for 1/2 hour. They were the smaller variety and jumped through the air and danced in Ceilidh's bow wake. The next day in the morning while Rich was napping I heard a great splashing off the bow. Last time I experiences such it was a whale. Jumping up and looking forward I saw a dolphin swimming along side the port bow and splashing Ceilidh with his tail. And I do mean splashing! Water was on the deck. I made my way forward and watched the display. What a hoot. I laughed so hard. Have never experienced quite that behavior before but this dolphin repeated the performance many times before heading off to the beautiful blue pacific and new adventures. Next? More dolphins as we came into the Huatulco area. They squeaked and dived and showed soooo much joy playing in Ceilidh's bow wave. What a thrill. Then there were the marvelous turtle buoys marking our way along the path. Then, as we made the last turn to port towards the marina I saw 3 whales frisking before us. We slowed down and let them pass. Way cool. Other features of the passage? Full moon, lovely geniker runs at night and contimplative quiet times. Yummm.

So we are in the marina and working on things that require much water and 110 electrics. Looks like the next weather window for crossing the Gulfo De Tehuantepec is next Friday (today is Sunday) so we'll try and be ready to head out then. Next? Not sure. Might be El Salvador, could be Nicaragua or Costa Rica. I'll keep you posted. All for now and sorry for the Sailmail disclaimer at the end of the post. Can't seem to get around it. I'll edit it out the next time we visit an internet cafe.

Love to all from the yin side.

Just when you thought it was safe (yang side #2)

Greetings from Zihuatanejo (17.625183N, 101.547867W). For those of you who were here with us just about a year ago, thought you might like to see some of the friends that have joined us around ceilidh.

The first is from the trip here out in the Pacific.











The others are from just off La Ropa beach here in Zihua (it’s the one we’re anchored off of if you look at google maps … same as last year).















Needless to say we haven't been jumping over the side for our daily swim. We notified the port captain who happened by in his panga, but the beaches weren’t shut down and no notice went out.







This one, at 6 feet, is too small to present a threat.




Eventually they will catch it and relocate it to another swamp. It’s a fresh water croc and is protected in Mexico.

The good news on the cruising front is that the parts for the engine problem came in, have been installed, and ceilidh is back to her effervescent self. It took 5 oil changes to get all the water out of the crankcase, but the last change was 100% oil and nothing but water and exhaust fumes are going into the outside water. Of course, I had to remove (it seemed) about one-half of the engine to get to the one part that needed changing … air cleaner, intake manifold, fuel shut-off and transmission shift cables, two of the four fuel injector lines, the governor bracket, the exhaust mixer elbow, and the fuel filter. And I only made one small mistake. The governor bracket has three bolts holding it together … of course they don’t tell you there is an order to removing and installing the three and I started with the wrong one. That added only an hour so all in all, not too bad.

Plus I must add that Hope is a great assistant. You just can’t appreciate how much of a blessing it is to be able to ask for a tool after you’ve just spent 5 minutes wiggling and wedging yourself into a cramped space with the wrong tool.

So we’ve lost a week in our schedule and the cruising kitty has taken another hit, but the money will be made up in the next tax year. So we’ll be off the Huatulco next week after a bottom cleaning out at Isla Grande. That’s right, I’m not doing it here near La Ropa.

Photo catch up #2

We had breakfast overlooking the harbor entrance. The waves were really crashing into the beach. There were some surfers taking advantage of the action and a few families watching from the side lines.


So many interesting shops and restaurants. Beautiful vibrant colours and friendly people.
This little saw my camera and asked to have his photo taken. What a cuttie!
And finally, for Heather and Zack. Didn’t eat here (a bit spendy) but look what’s on the menu!
So that catches us up photo wise to Zihuatanejo. I’ll take some more snaps and do another posting before we leave. Love to you all!
From the yin side.

Photo catch up #1

We are anchored in Zihuatanejo just off playa de la ropa. Many fun hours spent in the playa palapas with littles and their friends last December. Wish you were all back here with us frolicking in the sun. We arrived here after a 2 day/2 night motor sail from Manzanillo. As we put the anchor down we noticed a large oil slick in the water all around Ceilidh. UGH! Is that from us? Unfortunately (sorry Neptune!) it was indeed coming from us. The sea water engine oil cooler has developed a leak in the inner tubes and oil is coming out and water in and that is all bad. Good news is that it can be repaired. Parts are on order from the US – courtesy of a lovely gent named Smitty – and Rich can replace the broken with the new. In the mean time we are putting fresh oil in and pumping it back out each day to clean out the water that came into the engine crank case. So, we will be in Zihuatanejo for a week or so more than planned but hey, it is a beautiful place to be. The mercado trip yesterday was exciting. Fresh spinach! Dark green broccoli! Yahoo! Ok, so some people are easily pleased. Better that than jaded?

Now for the catch up. I mentioned seeing tigers in Paradise Village, Puerto Vallarta. Couldn’t put the photo in because it needed editing. So here are the gorgeous beings we saw.

And during passages we frequently have feathered hitchhikers along for the ride. We were 12 – 20 miles off shore when this little one came to visit. Happy to be a perch and provide a breather for the little sweetie. Now on to Bara De Navidad. It is so lush there. We anchor in a shallow lagoon in only 12 feet of water, using squishy, our dingy, to get back and forth from town. The Sands Hotel is “cruiser friendly” and allows us to tie up to their sea wall while visiting the town. Check out the hotel murals and lush garden area. As you walk the street from the Sands hotel towards Bara central you come to a beautiful huge tree. It reminds me of the tree outside the Cotati Cabaret that. Littles, do you remember the party tree?