“Why do bad things always happen in the middle of the ocean in the pitch black night?”

Our Slog (Ships Log) with a Satelite View

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Back in Bahia de Bandaras (Puerto Vallarta)

Posted on Monday Apr 24, 2006

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Heading north from Tenacatita, we stopped at Chamela and decided to try to push on around Cabo Corrientes (a nasty cape about 65 miles away) the next day.  However about 2 hours out we were getting soaked from crashing waves, and Ocean Lady and us made the group decision to go back to Chamela and snorkel for a few days until the weather was better.

 

I’m glad we did because the visibility was over 25 feet and we saw an amazing amount of sea life:  moray eels, tuna, lobsters, angel fish, puffer fish, coral, brightly colored parrot fish and a ton of stuff we didn’t recognize.  So after four days of snorkeling a weather window started to open up and we went for it.

 

Three boats, Kings Way, Ocean Lady and us, all made a bid for the cape at 2pm.  We managed to sail for about 3 hours until the wind clocked around to the NW, right on our nose, so we powered through it.  At 3:30 am we cleared Cabo Corrientes in mild winds and bumpy seas.  And at 10:00 we were anchored back in La Cruz (just north of PV).  We’ll be here for a few days before hunting for more surf further north on our way to Mazatlan.

Going back north

Posted on Monday Apr 10, 2006

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Well, it`s time to start the 1,000 mile journey back up in to the northern
Sea of Cortez to avoid hurricanes.

Our time here in Barra de Navidad is too short, so we`ll have to stop back
by here next season before Central America.

For now though, our sights are set on Tenacatita, a full 12 miles from
here. I don`t know if we`ll be able to handle the long passage, but we`ll
try.

Do Caymans Eat People?

Posted on Monday Apr 3, 2006

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We were exploring the murky waters of some of Barra's Lagoons and we saw a set of eyes and some sharp teeth lurking nearby.


Barra de Navidad

Posted on Wednesday Mar 29, 2006

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We did an overnight leg from PV to Tenacatita, met up with friends for the
night, then left the next day for Barra de Navidad. This place has a
great anchorage, a nice town and even a good surf spot. We`ll probably
hang out here for a while before we start to work our way back north.

More Sailing

Posted on Friday Mar 24, 2006

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We’re going to leave the Puerto Vallarta area and sail further south for a month or so.  Sherrell’s surgery went well and so did our visit with family.  Now we are working on the outboard (plugged jets in the carburetor), changing the engine oil on the boat, restocking our water and fresh produce and last minute internet crap before we go tomorrow.

 

It will be nice to be in a more remote area and to see some of our friends again!

Bahia Banderas

Posted on Sunday Mar 5, 2006

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We departed Mazatlan 3/2 and traveled to Isla Isabela a beautiful bird
sanctuary about 92 miles away. However the tiny anchorage was packed with
boats so we squeezed in and slept for about 4 hours then raised anchor and
left. It is too bad because we both really wanted to see the birds on the
island for over a year now. So when we finally arrived and found it
packed with boats that had no plans of leaving we were bummed.

Oh well, we were on a schedule anyway. We still have to find a slip then
get to Guadalajara for surgery, return back and meet family. So far
everything has worked better than expected. We arrived in La Cruz almost
48 hours after leaving Mazatlan. We found a good spot to anchor near old
friends. We called one of the marinas and found one that would let us tie
up to some pilings while we are in Guadalajara. Pretty amazing. I wish
our logistics always worked out this easy.

Anyway, surgery next week, recovery then returning for visiting family
will keep us busy. I am sure things will keep going as smoothly as
everything has so far.

Heading out

Posted on Wednesday Mar 1, 2006

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We got our papers back from immigration and we're planning to depart
Mazatlan tomorrow! Yeah! We'll head to Isla Isabela, then Banderas Bay
and PV. From there we'll bus it to Guadalajara for surgery then return to
PV to visit family when they fly in.

It feels so good to be getting ready to set sail!

Mazatlan at last

Posted on Saturday Feb 25, 2006

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Sherrell completed her radiation treatment without having to take a break
(it's fairly common to take a break in order to prevent bad skin burns),
on Feb. 17th, after which we rushed back to Mazatlan. Except for having
to rinse the boat before we could even board it, it felt wonderful to be
back. We were told that several weeks ago there was a couple days of very
heavy winds from the North - directly to the North of our boat is a dirt
parking lot hence the 1/4 in. thick layer on our boat.

Right now, we are working hard to get the boat ready to head further South
to Puerta Vallarta next week. In the meantime, we will be watching the
Carnaval parade Sunday, then hopefully picking up our renewed FM3's
(long-term visa's) from immigration on Monday. We say hopefully because
last year it took over 4 weeks to get them due to Carnaval - the whole
city pretty much shuts down during this time. Since we started the
process 1 week before Carnaval started, we have high hopes.

One way or the other, we need to head back to Guadalajara in a couple
weeks for Sherrell's last surgery, to remove her ovaries. This is to
dramatically reduce the amount of estrogen & progesterone produced which
feeds her type of cancer. It's either this, or have a shot once a month
until menopause which doesn't fit in well with our cruising lifestyle.
Then, on March 14th, Eric's dad arrives in PV with his wife and step
daughter for a fun-filled week in the tropics. It sure would be nice to
be there on the boat instead of having to stay in a hotel. We're keeping
our fingers crossed that we can get our FM3's in time.

Linear Accelerator

Posted on Wednesday Feb 1, 2006

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SherrellÃ?¢ââ??‰â??¢s officially half way through her radiation treatments. Our class is almost finished too. WeÃ?¢ââ??‰â??¢re in week 4 of 5 and our final test is next week. Hopefully Sherrell will make it one more week before her skin needs a break from the exposure to radiation. Then we can finish class and leave the city for a while.


At least we got away from Guadalajara for 2 days to visit Ocean Lady anchored in La Cruz (north of Puerto Vallerta). It was great to be on a boat again and even better to hang out with friends in a warm town.


Anyway, about the photo: The technicians allowed me to see how they setup the equipment for Sherrell. She lays on a sliding table and they line up the lasers based on tiny tattoos they made using the MRI. This lines the machine up to properly radiate the tumor bed and attempt to avoid radiating anything else. Once it is setup, the procedure only takes about 15 minutes total. So right after class we race over to the hospital and she gets blasted and weÃ?¢ââ??‰â??¢re getting closer and closer to finishing this phase of the treatment!

Back in the big city

Posted on Thursday Jan 5, 2006

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We're officially students at the University of Guadalajara and we start class next week.  We'll be taking beginning Spanish 2 hours a day for five weeks.  It's probably the most we can handle while Sherrell goes through treatment.   They start the localized radiation treatment tomorrow.  They mapped the area using a MRI machine today so that tomorrow they can target the proper area.  The radiation will prevent any remaining cancer cells from dividing and forcing them to die off.  The treatment requires 28 days with usually a week off somewhere in between to let the skin heal.   Oh yeah, we brought Jezebel with us, so she wouldn't have to stay on the boat alone and she seems to be doing really well.  So far we've kept her locked in the room when the cleaning staff comes, but other than that she has been roaming around and enjoying all the running space at night.  Sometimes I wish she would just sleep like the rest of us though.