love,
Samantha.
Monday, November 30, 2009
A Word From SAM
I have had so much fun on the boat and have seen so many dolphins. It is like a whole other world on water than land. We have also seen a few whales. We are leaving wednesday on a race and skipping the last part. Then we are heading south. Living on a boat is way different than living on land. One of my favorite animals is a sea turtle. My favorite part of the boat is that I get my own bedroom. It is really cooling off. Some nights now I get under my covers. One thing I miss is friends and visiting family.
Saturday, November 14, 2009
Surprise, Charlie D and family are in PV
It never ceases to amaze how small the world really is. So, it is Ashley's birthday and she gets to determine the itinerary for the day. After trips to the OXXO (convenience store), the beach, and the pool, she wanted to go to Wal Mart to look at toys. Who do I run into, in Puerto Vallarta-Mexico-at Wal Mart? None other than than Mister Charlie Drennan and family (former co-worker) for those who are saying who? right now. As it turns out, they weren't staying too far away, so we motored the boat (still no sails at that point) in front of his hotel and anchored in a rather shady spot so that we could drink (which included getting busted by security for imbibing from the hotel all inclusive only stash courtesy of the law breaker Charlie!), catch up on all things job related, and watch the girls frolic for hours. They joined us again the next day for a dinghy ride to the local marina for dinner before bidding us farewell. Thanks Drennan Family for a great time and we hope to see you soon. The following day, I found some straggler business cards from old friends and sent them some e-mails. I found out that a high school friend and his family will be coming down on the 20th and staying at the next hotel over. We hope to visit with them and sing it's a small world after all :) Finally, some great news. After a month long hiatus from sailing the ocean blue, we are back in business! I scrapped the old sail track and cars for a new system after losing faith that we might ever sail again. Not cheap, but nine long hours after we started, the rigger and I toasted Pacificos to a working mainsail. The following day, we promptly headed out into the bay and sailed to La Cruz for a night on the hook. We had boat school this morning and sailed away this afternoon in 15 knots of wind. We reached a personal best boat speed of 8 knots (woo hoo!). We are off again tomorrow for a sail with our friends from Maluhia after I fix the broken toilet pump. The to do list is drawing to a close and we are still hoping to head South around the 30th. We will continue the posts when we can and hope everyone is well.
Hasta la pasta
Troy
Thursday, November 5, 2009
Oct 2009- guests
Thank you everyone for visiting. We had a blast and can't wait to see you in the future. We hope to continue having friends and family join us in our adventure/ new lifestyle. Just let us know when and we will tell you where we will be or if we get somewhere amazing we will wait for you. Miss you all, Brady
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Hello Real World
Hey everyone,
It's been a while since the last post, so I figured I better give a thorough update. We have had three sets of wonderful guests, all with their own little personalities. First, to our friend Melissa, we miss you and hope you join us again soon. Now, however, I have to tell all the rest of you that Melissa's stomach did not agree with the boat very well. We had barely cleared the breakwater when Melissa began to feel a little queasy. She was a trooper and we made it to Yelapa, but not without incident. We had no sooner reached our picturesque little hideaway, when Brady says, with a surprising amount of calmness, "why won't the sail come down?" What do I look like a seasoned sailor? The sail was stuck all the way up. This meant that Brady and her huge muscles were going to have to hoist me up the mast to see what was up (besides the waves and wind). I was going to secure us at our mooring ball and then go up when, as I turned the boat around, there was a loud bang and a shower of ball bearings. At least I didn't have to go up the mast now as the headboard car broke completely free (glass half full :) This put a major damper on our sailing as we have to replace the part that I replaced two months ago by the way. The company that sold me the part is supposed to replace everything free of charge, but three weeks later, we are still not sailing. Bad news aside, my Mom was the next guest to visit with my step dad, hereinafter known simply as Dan, in tow. (I love you Mom and we all miss you. Next time bring a stronger stomach and clothes for two weeks :) They managed to clear customs with our watermaker, which made it back from a month long, very expensive repair. We had hoped to sail them to Yelapa, but thankfully we have two engines. For you guys out there who are wondering why we only go to Yelapa, a brief explanation. It is hurricane season and we are very secure on a private dock. We have taken many day sails, but we have to be at a secure dock/anchorage/mooring ball each night. Our options are La Cruz (anchorage 1 hour North), Punta de Mita (anchorage 4-5 hours North, but with very uncooperative winds), our dock, and Yelapa (mooring balls 3-5 hours South). We usually choose Yelapa, because it is only accessible by water and has a very authentic feel along with the "cascada" (waterfall). There are many trails for walking/hiking and a great beach. Anyway, we motored with my mom, who was feeling a bit under the weather by the time we arrived. She did not want to brave the boat overnight, but found a great little ocean side palapa with a boulder in the bathroom. This was the apparent selling point for Dan. Their trip was only four days, so we motored back the following morning, with no seasickness for anyone (woohoo!) We did the touristy thing in downtown PV and bon voyage to my Mom. We expected Brady's sister Kara two days later, but good thing we checked, they arrived the following day. I am not sure what day it is now come to think of it (cool!). Kara brought the boyfriend (Seattle fireman Ron) and daughter Maia for a week long stay. Guess where we went. Motoring to Yelapa, Brady and I had a revelation. Thank god none of us get seasick (yet). For each of our visitors, there has been someone that got sick. We're not talking 12' waves and 25 knot winds here people. Imagine your local pool only larger and with no kids and you will get a feel for the sailing/motoring conditions. Now in Melissa's case, a funny sidebar. At the mooring ball on our first night, probably the worst night we have had in terms of boat motion, everyone went to bed. Brady, the kids and I have had no problems sleeping, no matter the motion of the boat. My concern always lies with the security of the boat. I will wake up several times just to check that the boat is where we put it. I did this in Yelapa that night and when I went up the stairs to the kitchen, there sat Melissa bolt upright with a bottle of wine in hand and a green look on her face. Surprised, I said "what are you doing"? She responded, "I can't sleep". I looked out the window and said, "OK then, see you in the morning". What a jerk I am. Sidebar aside, 9 year old niece, Maia, was the next seasick victim. She did a little better on Dramamine and we stayed 3 beautifully calm nights (two that Kara remembers:) in Yelapa. It was a very relaxing trip and we enjoyed having Kara, Ron and Maia as our guests. We really hope that our slew of visitors continue as the fun is only just beginning. I have since our last post had to repair the RPM sending unit on the port engine, replace the diesel tank gaskets, remove the leaky hot water heater, install a single sideband radio (spoke with someone in South Carolina yesterday), re-install the watermaker, and homeschool the kids (pretty fun and easy by the way). Today, I contacted a welder to modify our broken sail car in the hopes of having a temporary fix. I am still holding out hope that the U.S. company that sold us the prior car will come through on it's promise, but we must press on. Willson, wherever you are, I may need you to fabricate something for me, so you are on notice :) The plan is to stick around here until our friend Todd visits at the end of November (maybe my Dad too!). I might need you (Todd) to bring us some stuff, so you are on notice as well! After that, we head South. We will sail by day and be some place safe by night (for you moms). We are on the no plan plan so let us know if you want to visit and we can wait someplace cool. Sorry about the el flayko on the el bloggo, but we might try harder in the future :) Ta-ta for now landlubbers!
El Capitan (self promoted)
Troy
It's been a while since the last post, so I figured I better give a thorough update. We have had three sets of wonderful guests, all with their own little personalities. First, to our friend Melissa, we miss you and hope you join us again soon. Now, however, I have to tell all the rest of you that Melissa's stomach did not agree with the boat very well. We had barely cleared the breakwater when Melissa began to feel a little queasy. She was a trooper and we made it to Yelapa, but not without incident. We had no sooner reached our picturesque little hideaway, when Brady says, with a surprising amount of calmness, "why won't the sail come down?" What do I look like a seasoned sailor? The sail was stuck all the way up. This meant that Brady and her huge muscles were going to have to hoist me up the mast to see what was up (besides the waves and wind). I was going to secure us at our mooring ball and then go up when, as I turned the boat around, there was a loud bang and a shower of ball bearings. At least I didn't have to go up the mast now as the headboard car broke completely free (glass half full :) This put a major damper on our sailing as we have to replace the part that I replaced two months ago by the way. The company that sold me the part is supposed to replace everything free of charge, but three weeks later, we are still not sailing. Bad news aside, my Mom was the next guest to visit with my step dad, hereinafter known simply as Dan, in tow. (I love you Mom and we all miss you. Next time bring a stronger stomach and clothes for two weeks :) They managed to clear customs with our watermaker, which made it back from a month long, very expensive repair. We had hoped to sail them to Yelapa, but thankfully we have two engines. For you guys out there who are wondering why we only go to Yelapa, a brief explanation. It is hurricane season and we are very secure on a private dock. We have taken many day sails, but we have to be at a secure dock/anchorage/mooring ball each night. Our options are La Cruz (anchorage 1 hour North), Punta de Mita (anchorage 4-5 hours North, but with very uncooperative winds), our dock, and Yelapa (mooring balls 3-5 hours South). We usually choose Yelapa, because it is only accessible by water and has a very authentic feel along with the "cascada" (waterfall). There are many trails for walking/hiking and a great beach. Anyway, we motored with my mom, who was feeling a bit under the weather by the time we arrived. She did not want to brave the boat overnight, but found a great little ocean side palapa with a boulder in the bathroom. This was the apparent selling point for Dan. Their trip was only four days, so we motored back the following morning, with no seasickness for anyone (woohoo!) We did the touristy thing in downtown PV and bon voyage to my Mom. We expected Brady's sister Kara two days later, but good thing we checked, they arrived the following day. I am not sure what day it is now come to think of it (cool!). Kara brought the boyfriend (Seattle fireman Ron) and daughter Maia for a week long stay. Guess where we went. Motoring to Yelapa, Brady and I had a revelation. Thank god none of us get seasick (yet). For each of our visitors, there has been someone that got sick. We're not talking 12' waves and 25 knot winds here people. Imagine your local pool only larger and with no kids and you will get a feel for the sailing/motoring conditions. Now in Melissa's case, a funny sidebar. At the mooring ball on our first night, probably the worst night we have had in terms of boat motion, everyone went to bed. Brady, the kids and I have had no problems sleeping, no matter the motion of the boat. My concern always lies with the security of the boat. I will wake up several times just to check that the boat is where we put it. I did this in Yelapa that night and when I went up the stairs to the kitchen, there sat Melissa bolt upright with a bottle of wine in hand and a green look on her face. Surprised, I said "what are you doing"? She responded, "I can't sleep". I looked out the window and said, "OK then, see you in the morning". What a jerk I am. Sidebar aside, 9 year old niece, Maia, was the next seasick victim. She did a little better on Dramamine and we stayed 3 beautifully calm nights (two that Kara remembers:) in Yelapa. It was a very relaxing trip and we enjoyed having Kara, Ron and Maia as our guests. We really hope that our slew of visitors continue as the fun is only just beginning. I have since our last post had to repair the RPM sending unit on the port engine, replace the diesel tank gaskets, remove the leaky hot water heater, install a single sideband radio (spoke with someone in South Carolina yesterday), re-install the watermaker, and homeschool the kids (pretty fun and easy by the way). Today, I contacted a welder to modify our broken sail car in the hopes of having a temporary fix. I am still holding out hope that the U.S. company that sold us the prior car will come through on it's promise, but we must press on. Willson, wherever you are, I may need you to fabricate something for me, so you are on notice :) The plan is to stick around here until our friend Todd visits at the end of November (maybe my Dad too!). I might need you (Todd) to bring us some stuff, so you are on notice as well! After that, we head South. We will sail by day and be some place safe by night (for you moms). We are on the no plan plan so let us know if you want to visit and we can wait someplace cool. Sorry about the el flayko on the el bloggo, but we might try harder in the future :) Ta-ta for now landlubbers!
El Capitan (self promoted)
Troy
Thursday, September 24, 2009
It is great to be alive!
After spending four magnificent days in Yelapa, we had to make our way back to civilization. Days in our beautiful little cove consisted of homeschool, swimming, playing in the waterfall, and watching dolphins at sunset. As you can see this was hard to leave, but we have to watch the weather this time of year. No internet in cozy Yelapa means we must head back to the connected world.
We are going to have lots of wonderful guest visiting this next month, so I think we will just have to share our little paradise with each of them. It gives us an excuse to go back:)
P.S. Check out the photo stream at the bottom of the blog
Brady
Saturday, September 5, 2009
A word from the girls
Samantha- We are in Mexico right now. We have been here for about a month and only have had one over night. Today we are siting in the canal playing with caterpillars. We saw a crocodile about two weeks ago in the marina. It was about ten feet long. It was sitting on a rock. I thought that any second it could come up and grab me. I know that they had said they are not as bad as the ones in Australia, but I was still scared. Almost every time we go out on the boat we see a dolphin or a sea turtle or both. I am so excited to leave the canal and go on a big adventure! (mom's thought- that this is part of the adventure:)
Ashley-We went to Yelapa. It was fun. We found a orange caterpillar here at the canal. We went on a lot of boat rides, it was fantastic. I love our boat!!!!!
Emily- It is very fun in Mexico. We saw one crocodile, it was cool. I loved it a lot. We see a lot of dolphins. Our boat is so cool. I love going on boat rides. It is so fun.
Monday, August 31, 2009
THE BOAT LIFE
When we told everyone that we were going to buy a boat and sail around the world, everyone looked at us like we were CRAZY. I kept reassuring people that we weren't going to be just bobbing around to the middle of the ocean, that it was all about the destination. Now, that we are here I not so sure, it might be about bobbing around, because that is definitely one of my favorite parts. I love watching the endless sea and letting all the worries of life just disappear into the distance. So, if life is getting you all worked up, try sailing for awhile, it might help.
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