START PORT _Huatulco_ END PORT _Zihuatanejo, Mexico____

START MILES_8373_  END MILES _8725_  LEG MILES _352_TOTAL MILES _8725__

START HOURS  _1440__   END HOURS _1496_LEG HOURS _52_TOTAL HOURS __1496_

START FUEL(3663) _870_  END FUEL _1098_  LEG FUEL _228_ TOTAL FUEL  228___

AVERAGE MPGs _1.54_ REMAINING RANGE _1790_ GEN FUEL 4437_/_4475/ __45__

END PRT __550_ END STRBD  __550_  END SPLY  _60_ FUEL BALANCE __1160____

SEA STATE_Very Calm _________

WIND DIRECTION__Calm_______

12/7/06 This is one of those trips that makes you really love cruising.  It was as calm as could be and we loved it.  The seas were so calm we skipped Acapulco and went right to Zihuatanejo.  Most folks would think that Acapulco is a great place and it is.  However, it is not great for cruisers. 

A cruising port needs certain things.  It needs a good and safe anchorage.  It needs cruising services and easy access to the land.  It is also preferable to have clean water.  The one thing Acapulco does have is a great view coming into the harbor.  However, it lacks most of the other things.  The anchorage is very tough to get an anchor in. There are really no marinas for visiting yachts.  And – the water is not so clean.

Ziwah on the other hand is right next to Ixtapa and has all the good stuff.  It has a great bay with clean water.  There are dozens of bars and restaurants on the beaches around the bay.  The town is laid back and very cool.  It has great restaurants and lots of small shops.  Lots of live music and even a movie theater.  It is very much a laid back beach town with a “hang-out’ kind of feel.  The people are very friendly and very willing to help.

12/19/06 We have been here almost two weeks and have been doing almost the same routine.  Larry does maintenance on the boat in the morning while DeeDee home schools Isabella.  In the afternoon we will either head into the town to get lunch and do some shopping, or we will head to the beach.  When we go to the beach we just take the dingy in and we can grab some beach chairs at one of the restaurants.   Isabella, like every kid on earth, loves to play in the waves.  She can do it for hours and hours.

One day we took the dingy over to the Marina in Ixtapa and then over to Isla Ixtapa.  Isla Ixtapa is a small island with a few restaurants on the beach.  It is a great place to hang out.  What was interesting is what Isabella had to say.  After spending the last week or so at the beach and around the locals, she asked “Why are these people so happy all the time?”  “They are never sad and always happy”

It is so hard to compare the “happiness level” with the Untied States.  These people truly are constantly happy.  When we spend so much time out of the United Stated one really notices the level of anger we accept as normal in the states. Here and in most of the rest of the world, they have little money and not much in the way of material goods.  We struggle with this because we LOVE the attitude of the people but we still have not gotten used to the third world way of life.  We have been too spoiled by our years of living in a wealthy country as wealthy people.  We are not wealthy as compared to the United States standard of wealth, but we are extremely wealthy as compared to most of the places we are visiting.

This past week we headed to the doctor for Isabella and DeeDee.  They both had very bad colds.  What is interesting is how medicine is different in various countries.  The doctor here said that although they are lacking in the sophisticated surgery options as we have in the states, he feels they are much better than doctors in the states with regard to medicines.  Because they don’t have the sophisticated equipment, they rely more on their personal diagnosis.  The diagnosis is usually administering medicine to address the illness and see what the results are rather then getting equipment being used and tests being taken. 

As an example, a doctors group from the US came down to Mexico and were having a convention.  One of the visitors was playing ball and got hit in the head with the ball.  He went down and was shaking on the ground.  The US doctors all wanted to address the problem by taking him in for an MRI and some neurological tests.  The Mexican doctor asked if he could first give him a shot and see if there were any positive results.  The shot was administered and within moments the fellow was feeling better.  The short story was he had a low blood sugar problem and giving him the shot fixed the ailment. 

DeeDee and Isabella were so sick and the Mexican doctor gave them a medicine which was a combination of an antibiotic and something that shrunk the inflammation in the lungs.  He said it would work in a matter of hours and it sure did.  After literally weeks of a hacking cough and an overall miserable feeling, within a few hours, DeeDee and Isabella were amazingly better.

12/20/06 We love Mexico and we are enjoying the time here.  However, now that we have done the Atlantic and the Pacific, we certainly prefer the Atlantic.  The one thing we love about the Pacific is the calmer cruising.  However, the other comparisons lean to the Atlantic.

In the Caribbean, it is a different style of cruising.  First of all, the cruising there is all islands.  The island mentality versus the mainland mentality is very different.  The island mindset is truly one of being isolated and the community is all wrapped around that island.  The mainland mindset is not as loyal or devoted to the local area.

Let me share some comparisons……..  The tides in the Pacific are big.  Sometimes 20 feet.  In the Atlantic, they are usually no more than 3 feet and often less.  This allows docks and piers to be built on the beaches.  The docks and piers allow us to bring our dinghy into any place we want to go.  On the Pacific side, there are very few docks.  The tides are just too big.  This means we must bring our dinghy into shore.  Everyone on the Pacific side has wheels attached to their dinghies so they can roll them up on the beach.  This is a good idea but the problem is that we need to first ride the surf in to get to the beach.  Not such a problem on the way in, but a big problem on the way out. The rough surf often makes getting to the beach just impossible on the Pacific side.

On the Atlantic and Caribbean side, we could take the dinghy to the beach and leave it all day with no worry about the tides.  Or, we could just take the dinghy to a dock and tie it up there.

The water clarity in the Pacific is poor at best.  Although the water is clean, there is lots of growth in the Pacific.  The visibility is usually no more than 10 to 20 feet.  Compared to the Atlantic where the visibility is often over 100 feet.  (This also requires changing water maker filters every few days in the Pacific and we could go for weeks on one filter in the Atlantic) 

This water difference creates a different style of cruising here.  In the Atlantic, the days are mostly wrapped around the water.  Snorkeling, spear fishing, swimming, diving, etc.  On the Pacific side, it is not so much like that.  It seems like there is a much more social aspect of pacific cruising.  On this side there are many organized groups.  The BaHaHa runs down in a group from San Diego to Mexico.  The Puddle Jumpers head to the South Pacific together.  It truly reflects West Coast or California type people versus East Coast or New York people.  The east is more independent and less inclined to form or join groups where the west is more social and welcoming.  We had maybe 10 pot lucks in the entire time we cruised the Atlantic and Caribbean while there are pot lucks here on a regular basis. 

One last difference is that the east has white sand beaches galore.  On the Pacific side, most of the beaches are muddy or if sand at all, muddy type sand.  This is also another contributor to the cloudy water on the pacific side.  The sand does not mix with the water and goes right to the bottom where dirt or mud mixes with the water creating a cloudy sea.

In the end, so far anyway, we seem to like the Atlantic much better.  The people here are truly great and friendly, but we prefer island cruising and the clear water with white sand beaches.  That is not to say we do not love the Pacific because we do.  The cooler weather is a nice benefit and the mountains views are fantastic.  I guess the reality is that most people will always have a favorite place.

12/26/06  Christmas with 80 degree weather and 80 degree water is not too bad.  We had a great Christmas.  We have been hanging out with two boats the past few weeks…….  Locura which has a Croatian couple aboard. And Salt Whistle, which has a family of five on board.  Salt Whistle has three kids.  A 13 year old girl, a seventeen year old girl and a 20 year old boy.  They have taken a year off of work and school to cruise down to the South Pacific.  They feel like it will be the last time to be together as a family before the kids are doing the adult thing.  They are a really great family and we spent Christmas with them and the couple from Locura.  It was a great day.  We enjoyed dinner with a huge Turkey which DeeDee roasted.  After dinner we sat on the deck and watched the sunset.  We just hung out and chatted until late into the evening up under the stars.

We have also been hanging out on the beach with our new friends and although the Salt Whistle kids are much older, they really spend lots of time with Isabella.  Also our Croatian friends have a small Yorkshire which Isabella loves to hang with.

We are trying to get a slip in Puerto Vallarta but everything is full.  As a result, we have decided to stay in Z-whah for New Years Eve.  As there is not really an anchorage in Puerto Vallarta, we are hoping some slips will open up after the first of the year.

We have also planned to have a New Years Eve Party on the boat here in Z-whah.  There are about 40 boats in the harbor and it will be interesting to see how many people show up.

Not much going on with the boat.  It has been running and operating great.  Larry has spent lots of time these past weeks waxing the boat and doing maintenance.  He just changed the oil, oil filters, and fuel filters in the Main engine, generator, and wing engine.  He also changed the oil in the watermaker.

12/28/06 Well, don’t speak too quickly.  Today the watermaker is not making hardly any water.  The brine production is up and the good water production is down.  The assumption is that the membrane has failed and is letting the water bypass the membrane.  Everything else seems to be working well so the best guess is the membrane.  We will try and get one shipped in.

1/1/07  We are entering our third year of cruising.  We celebrated the New Year in combination with our wedding anniversary by throwing a party on the boat.  We had a record number of people on the boat with about 75 coming thru the night with 55 on the boat at one time.  That is lots of people on a 47 foot boat. 

Isabella has plenty of dancing partners and she danced for hours with guests.  Most of them were young teenagers and really spent lots of time with her.  Once again we take notice of how cruising kids are able to play with all kids of all ages. 

We usually list the boats that come but I think this time there are too many to list.  We probably had over 40 boats.  As with most cruising parties, everyone brought a food dish and their own drinks.  We provided the music and the boat big enough (barely) to hold everyone.

1/8/07 We were trying to leave for Puerto Vallarta right after the first of the year however this past week has been hell for DeeDee and Isabella.  They have both been to the doctor now a total of four times for a virus they have had.  It appears as though DeeDee has had the Dengue(sp?) fever.  It comes with a rash to start and then with very painful bone pain.  They call it the bone breaking disease.  DeeDee has been in constant pain in her bones and joints from the virus.  She has actually thought she was better twice and then has had a relapse.  Finally today DeeDee and Isabella are feeling better and we will be saying good-bye to Z-whah.

DATE _11/12/06___    TIME _8:00 AM_

START PORT _Puerto Quetzal_ END PORT _Huatulco, Mexico____

START MILES_7534_  END MILES _7998_  LEG MILES _464_TOTAL MILES _7998__

START HOURS  _1330__   END HOURS _1392_LEG HOURS _62_TOTAL HOURS __1392_

START FUEL(3663) _466_  END FUEL _693_  LEG FUEL _227_ TOTAL FUEL  528___

AVERAGE MPGs _2.04_ REMAINING RANGE _1468_ GEN FUEL 4265_/_4384/ __142__

END PRT __300_ END STRBD  __360_  END SPLY  _60_ FUEL BALANCE __720____

SEA STATE_Very Calm most of the way, 3 to 5 foot swells_________

WIND DIRECTION__S – SW_______

11/12/06 – From Puerto Quetzal, Guatemala to Huatulco is about 365 miles across the famed Gulf of Tehuantepec.  The Gulf of Tehuantepec is a 260 mile open bay.  The winds blow over 60 knots an average of 140 days a year in this gulf.  It is famous for being hell to get through.  The winds are called Tehuante-peckers by the cruisers.  MANY boats including large ships have been blown offshore 300 to 500 miles when the winds come in. 

The strategy is to cross this bay is of-course to first find a weather window.  However, even with a weather window, we only travel at 6 to 7 knots and we could easily get hit with a Tehuante-pecker.  The other thing we will do is to HUG the shoreline the whole way.  Now when I say HUG, we mean hug.  We will stay as close to land as possible by using or depth finder and staying in 30 feet of water the whole way.  That means we need to be highly attentive at all times and this will be very draining over a two day period. 

The wind usually blows from the north off the land.  This means hugging the coast should prevent us from getting into wind driven huge seas.  We have spoken with a number of boats that have done this trip.  They tell us that when the wind blows the sand from the beach will be like a sandblaster on the boat even ¼ mile off shore.

The weather looks very calm for our crossing and hopefully it will stay that way.  As I write this we have just pulled out of Puerto Quetzal and the seas are as calm as they can be with no wind.  We have about 100 miles until we enter the Tehuantepec and hopefully it will stay calm there as well.

11/14/06  We have been completely lucky.  We have arrived in Marina Chahue in Huatulco and the trip was as calm as could ever be hoped for.  A very easy trip.

We did have one eventful night when DeeDee was on watch.  As we mentioned earlier, we were staying very close to shore the entire way.  Late at night at about 2:00 AM, DeeDee was trying to negotiate around a couple of fishing trawlers.  Fishing trawlers, when fishing, have restricted mobility and have the right of way.  They indicate they are fishing by displaying a certain set of lights.   

The trawlers were doing everything right but they were turning back and forth as they were dragging their nets.  DeeDee was confuse by there erratic path and not able to negotiate a course around them and somehow was in a direct collision course.  Larry was asleep and DeeDee sent Isabella down to wake him up by yelling we were going to hit a boat.  Larry ran upstairs and took over the helm and immediately making the sharpest turn possible to the port.  The avoidance rules state that we were the “Stand-On vessel” However, they had limited mobility.  The avoidance rules state the next course of action is to turn to Starboard to avoid the collision.  However, we were literally 50 feet from the other vessel and a turn to Starboard might not have been good enough.  The rules then say you do whatever it takes to avoid the collision which we did.  We took the hardest turn to port that could be made.

It was a very unnerving experience.  It was the closest we ever came to a collision and hopefully the closest we will ever get.  This is why we don’t like cruising so close to shore.  If we are out in deep water, we have much more flexibility to route around other vessels.

DATE _11/8/06____    TIME _8:00 AM_START PORT _Los Suenos_____ END PORT _Puerto Quetzal, Guat

START MILES__7534___  END MILES __7998____  LEG MILES ____464_____ TOTAL MILES ___7998____

START HOURS  _1330__   END HOURS __1392____ LEG HOURS ____62___TOTAL HOURS _____1392____

START FUEL(3663) _466_  END FUEL __693____  LEG FUEL ___227____ TOTAL FUEL  ______528______

AVERAGE MPGs ___2.04__   REMAINING RANGE __1468______    GEN FUEL EST. 4265_/_4384/ __142__

END PRT __300______  END STRBD  __360_____  END SPLY  ___60____  FUEL BALANCE ____720____

SEA STATE_Very Calm most of the way, 3 to 5 foot swells_________  WIND DIRECTION__S – SW_______

11/11/06  We had a very easy trip.  It is amazing to us that we just take off now for three days of cruising like it is nothing.  I think we have our sea legs back.  We of-course still prepare properly by charting in detail and checking all systems, but it s not as big of a deal in our minds anymore.

This was a particular easy trip.  If the weather is good, the only thing we have to deal with is only getting three hours of sleep at a time.  DeeDee can usually catch up on sleep in the day.  After two or three days, Larry is able to start taking naps in the day also, but he needs to get really tired.

According do the guidebook Puerto Quetzal was a very good port to anchor.  It was safe because it was a military base and it was calm because it was so protected.  Unfortunately, the book was wrong.  They no longer allow anchoring inside the port.  We had to go to a marina.

It was 10:00 at night when we got in.  We calculated our trip to arrive in the day but we had a 1 to 1.5 knot current with us and that had us arriving about 12 hours early.  We HATE arriving into a foreign port at night.  To add to it, a harsh rain squall came in just as we were entering the port.  It was tough to see the entrance.

We made it in OK and were directed by the Port Captain to head towards the marina.  We would go into a slip and then a clearing agent would arrive in the morning.  Poor DeeDee was out in the driving rain and wind getting the lines secure to the dock while Larry was at the helm.  It was just miserable.

The next morning the agent arrived with two sailors from the navy, immigration, and the port captain.  They informed us that it was $165 to clear in for 90 days and of-course we had no choice but to pay.  Then the marina person came down and informed us that it was $2 per foot per day to be in the marina.  That is $100 per day.  This is not all that expensive by US standards, but it is by third world standards.  The marina literally sits one hour away from the nearest legitimate cities.  In the last entry we complained about the Los Suenos marina being expensive, but Los Suenos had lots to offer.  This marina did not. 

Well anyway, we are 0 for 2 in the last two ports.  Live and learn.  There is a real skill to finding the right ports to check into.  The cruising community knows where is good and what is expensive with no real redeeming qualities.  We should do a better job of homework on this stuff but we usually do not.  We usually just read the guidebooks. 

There are “nets” in the morning with all the cruisers on them.  They all work the same way.  They are scheduled at the same time each morning on certain frequencies on the Single Side Band.  They work to keep a watch on each other and to pass useful information between cruisers.  The way they work is first to have all the boats cruising come on the radio and report their positions and current weather conditions.  Then the boats in route will have conversations with other boats they need or want to reach.  After all the cruising boats check in, then the weather is usually given.  After that, anyone wanting to give or get information can come on.  Then lastly, boats at anchor check in.

There are three reasons we are not regulars on the “nets.”   First of all, the nets are run acceding to FCC rules and regulations.  Although the FCC has no jurisdiction outside the US, you will often hear the FCC rules and regs quoted.  In other words, it is much “policed”   Some are better than others but you always have the handful of radio police and that is very annoying. 

Second, our boat has lots of interference when we are cruising.  Our electrical systems and engine or generator cause lots of noise and it is very hard to hear the nets when we are cruising.

Lastly, IT TAKES THREE HOURS TO WATCH 60 MINUTES on these nets.  As we can not hear when we are cruising, we usually are one of the anchored boats checking in.  That means we are last on the list and must sit through usually an hour of other stuff to get our chance to check in and ask questions.  Also, there are usually multiple nets each morning.  As an example, we have left Panama and are heading to Mexico.  We can get the Mexico nets and the Panama nets. 

The moral of the story is we do use the nets on occasion and they are a very good and helpful thing.  However, in all things the effort must be weighed against the reward.  Sometimes it is just too difficult to get information from the nets.  Usually the biggest problem is hearing the other cruisers on the net if you are not near by.  The reception is often horrible and scratchy.

Anyway, back to the check-in and marina.  We take a very American view of these situations.  We believe anyone has a right to charge any price they desire.  The laws of supply and demand work well.  We, as the customer, can decide to use their services or not.  In this situation we decided to not.  We left the next day for Huatulco in Mexico. We have heard great things about Huatulco and many of the places north of it.  Acapulco, Zihuatanejo, Ixtpa, Manxanillo, Puerto Vallarta, and of-course Cabo

DATE _11/6/06____    TIME 10:00 AM_START PORT _Golfito, Costa Rica END PORT _Los Suenos___

START MILES__7394___  END MILES __7534____  LEG MILES ____140_____ TOTAL MILES ___7534____

START HOURS  _1308__   END HOURS __1330____ LEG HOURS ____22___TOTAL HOURS _____1330____

START FUEL(3663) _395_  END FUEL __466____  LEG FUEL ___71_____ TOTAL FUEL  ______301______

AVERAGE MPGs ___1.97__   REMAINING RANGE __2170______    GEN FUEL EST. 4265_/_4294/ ___89__

END PRT __450______  END STRBD  __500_____  END SPLY  ___60____  FUEL BALANCE ____1100___

SEA STATE_Started rough short 4’ then swells on ths port beam___  WIND DIRECTION__Variable_____

11/8/06  We arrived into the harbor very early.  We did our routine of dropping the dinghy and heading over to check in.  At this location, there is one very well known and very exclusive marina by the name of Los Suenos.  It is three dollars per foot per night to dock.  This is more than most American marinas.   Well, we anchored out.

When we cruised in to the marina we learned that there is no port clearance here.  We either had to use an agent or we had to drive to four different locations over an hour away to clear in and out.  After this was explained to us in five minutes by the marina, the marina then informed us that we had to pay $40 for tying up our dinghy to the dock.  We refused to pay because no one had told us ahead of time.  It did not matter though, we had to come in clear out and when we did we would have to pay the $40 to tie up at the marina then.  Long story made short, we only stayed one night and used an agent to get us cleared out.  It was $250 for the agent.

We cleared out to Puerto Quetzal in Guatemala.  It is a long trip to that port.  At least three days and three nights.  There are lots of great things along the coast that we are passing up going north.  We just want to get to the cooler weather and spend more time in Mexico.  We also have some plans in the back of our head to try and put the boat in a marina for a month and go snowboarding.  Isabella is now old enough to learn how to ski.  We don’t know if that will fit our schedule nor our budget, but if it does we will try to go.