S/V Lisa Kay Update

It is 11:30 Sunday night, November 28, 2010. I am very sad. I have just started my night watch, out at sea, as we head south to an anchorage called Tenacatita. Our very good friends, Tammy, Patrick and their nine year old son Jack Finnerty, see sailingsantosha.blog, just pulled in on their beautiful catamaran to buddy boat with us for the next two years. That is a great thing, don’t get me wrong, but we have been in Puerto Vallarta for six months and cannot believe how fast the time has gone by. It has been very painful to say goodbye to the friends we have made. It is not very often that you can say you are a better person having met someone, (Brenda, John, Luce), but we can honestly say that of several friends we have made over the last six months. So, it makes me sad to leave such beautiful people.

Boobies, Boobies Everywhere

(S/V Lisa Kay Update 7)

No, we are not in St. Tropez, yet! But I did get your attention, didn’t I? Ben is working on coming up with more interesting titles for his compositions so I thought I would practice what I preach. Thank you Calvert School for inspiring me! Now, back to the boobies… that would be blue footed boobies on Isla Isabella. Who knew? Like a little Galapagos right in our backyard. (If you live in California, Mexico really is practically in your backyard.) Let’s back up though, let’s see…where did we leave off? Oh yes, Cabo Expensive. A whopping $250 a night got us a slip in one of the boating mecca’s of the world. We had barely pulled in our slip and we had someone washing and shining our boat, all for a price of course, but we were happy to have someone other than our tired bodies to wash the salt and grime off. You can find someone to do anything for you in Mexico. This is a “service” country. I love it. No one is standing at a red light, or a freeway off ramp, holding a sign asking for money. Everyone is doing something to earn a living. Whether it be drawing your picture, playing you a song, washing your windshield at a red light, keeping an eye on your car as you shop, then load your purchases then blow a whistle and back you out (yes, this was even done for us early one morning when there were not even any cars around!). I have to admire this. I know times are tough, but are too many people looking for a free hand out in the US? Even the dogs don’t beg here. They are just very cool and nonchalant, and if a treat happens to make its’ way to them, they are grateful. Okay, so let’s get back to Cabo. We no sooner pull in, stock up at the grocery store (go figure), and realize our fridge and freezer are out. A couple of days and a $1000 later, with a new compressor we are back in business. Cabo was fun for a few days, but everyone begging you to come to their restaurant, or take their tour 24/7, or the very young child selling you Chicklet’s gum, just gets old. We understand, but everyone just wants a piece of you.

Update #6

We’ve finally done it! We have finally cast our lines from the US and are heading south. To think we were shooting for the end of Oct. ’09 and the Baja Ha-Ha. Ha!! Our first day at sea was pleasant enough for us, just a little rolly, which really gets to Ben and I quickly. Several hours in we got smart, broke down and took some Bonine. About 45 minutes later we were as good as new. So, as usual with a boat you usually summarize each day with whatever went wrong. So, why should we change now? After our good friends Renae, Dave, Kelly , and Aaron uncleated our lines yesterday from the Kona Kai Marina in San Diego, Larry quickly discovered one of our 125 gallon water tanks was empty. They both were full, but apparently when he back flushed the water maker the day before, it must pull water from the tank, not off the dock hose. Oops! Worse yet, when he started the water maker it wouldn’t work. Sh__! We still had one full tank, so it wasn’t like we were gonna die, but still…it’s stressfull. SHARK! (I feel like one of the dogs from the movie “Up”, when they would suddenly stop and yell “Squirrel!) By the way, if you haven’t seen this movie…do. Yes, I just saw a shark leisurely swimming by our boat while I’m writing this. See, that is exactly why I’m not jumping in the water in the middle of the ocean just for fun! So, we sailed yesterday, life was good, had the genoa up, which is a really big sail. As we’re passing Ensenada it’s getting dark (of course) and the wind dies. Well we know we’ve got some weather coming at us later in the evening so we think it’s a good idea to roller furl in the sail and motor through the night.

Update #5

Here we are, heading back up to San Diego. We have spent a little over two weeks in wonderful Mexico. Puerto Salina and Ensenada have been our destinations. We have shared time with old friends and made new friends as well. The people in Mexico couldn’t be nicer, even if we couldn’t understand each other sometimes! (Why in the world did I not take Spanish in highschool?!) It’s amazing how far hand signals can get you!