Yacht Boat Plans | Mazatlan to La Paz

Yacht Boat Plans

Our week in Mazatlan flew by ever so quickly. This was due in part to the repair project I spent some time on but mostly because whenever I wasnt working on the boat there was lots of fun to be had. One evening we did Mazatlans version of PVs Southside Shuffle, only here there was a lot less art and more wine tasting. On a couple of days we simply strolled along the malecon and up the streets to the Plaza Machado in the heart of Old Mazatlan. Like all cities in Mexico, the public transportation system is excellent, with buses, taxis and other forms of transportation easily available. In La Cruz we often traveled by "collectivo" which is a small van with lots of seats, usually crammed full of people. Its not exactly fun, but they got us pretty much where we wanted to go very inexpensively. In Mazatlan they have a unique and much more fun mode of transportation called "Pulmonias". These are small open topped cars with air-cooled Volkswagen engines that are everywhere in this town. They are cheaper than a taxi, much less claustrophobic than a collectivo and simply fun to ride around in.

Pulmonia. 

"Pulmonia" means pneumonia in Spanish.  When these open cars first showed up in town back in the 1960s, the local taxi drivers were outraged and warned people not to ride in them because they would catch "pulmonia", so people started calling them Pulmonias and the name stuck.

Iguanas are a fact of life in Mazatlan. Around the pool at  El Cid they would gather around people who were eating and wait, with prehistoric patience for a handout.

In the past, whenever weve stayed in Mazatlan, it was at Marina Mazatlan. Its a nice place as marinas go, but we were very happy that we chose to stay at Marina EL Cid this time. It is connected to the El Cid resort, so it also has beautiful swimming pools, private beach, an excellent restaurant and a staff that is always eager to assist you with every little thing. We had a great time basking in the luxury of the place.

Looking east toward Isla Cerralvo in the predawn light.

Just before the sun rose over the horizon a pod of dolphins passed by.

Pelicans roosting on the rocks at Puerto Balandra

After that week of luxury, and with the boat all put back together, it was time to say adios to Mazatlan and head for La Paz, the gateway to Sea of Cortez cruising grounds. So on April 8th, Finisterra cleared the breakwater under a sunny sky and an easy ten knot breeze out of the southwest, perfect for a close reach on port tack to the northern tip of Isla Cerralvo. But within half an hour the wind began to veer and before long we were headed north-northeast instead of our desired course of northwest. We sailed in this direction for about ten miles, basically skirting the coast north of Mazatlan, then tacked.  This put us on a course about 40 degrees south of where we wanted to go, but by evening the wind had veered far enough that we were back on course on starboard tack in about 15 knots of wind. We sailed this way for the next 120 miles of the 230 mile passage. Then the wind disappeared and I started the engine.  We motored the rest of the way in three to eight knots of breeze out of the northwest.

Pelican in La Paz

After passing Isla Cerralvo we were approaching the San Lorenzo channel, which separates mainland Baja from Isla Espiritu Santo around 0300. I slowed down to about four knots as we reached the entrance to the channel. Its fairly narrow and there was a lot of ship traffic passing through it, and I didnt want to arrive at our destination of Puerto Balandra in the dark. We transited the channel around 0700 and by 0800 we were anchored in the southwest corner of Balandra and settled back to enjoy a couple of days of snorkeling, sunning and just relaxing. It was hot during the daytime but at night the Coromuel wind showed up, bringing cool air in from the Pacific which lies not far to the west.

Nesting gull

Our next stop was Marina Costa Baja, which lies at the entrance to the channel leading into the inner harbor at La Paz. This is a 5 star resort with a marina.

"Galeocerdo"

The bulwarks fold outward on both sides of the hull to provide more lounging space on deck. There are lots of videos of this boat on youtube.

In a luxury marina full of large and very large mega yachts, Galeocerdo, a Wally 118 motor yacht stood out. Its like a Ferrari of boats, with a top speed of about 70 knots and a price tag of $30 million. With its dark, stealthy gray/green paint and styling reminiscent of an F-117, it looks kind of dangerous. I dont know why anyone would want to spend $30 million on a boat like this, but there you have it.  Galeocerdo is the scientific name for Tiger Shark.

F117

Tomorrow well head north to some of the beautiful coves of  Isla Espritu Santo and Isla Partida. This area is a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. Were looking forward to some awesome scenery and snorkeling.

Isla Partida, on the left is separated from the larger Espiritu Santo by a narrow channel.  Well anchor in Ensenada Grande, the large cove near the left end of the islands.

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Dinghy Boat Plans | Banderas Bay to Mazatlan

Dinghy Boat Plans

Finisterra finally sailed from La Cruz around 0900 on Sunday, March 30th bound for Mantanchen Bay and then Mazatlan. It was a beautiful morning with a light offshore wind early and the promise of a nice beam reach to Mantanchen in the afternoon. We motored out around Punta de Mita and turned northward in almost no wind, but by noon we had enough wind to sail. We hoisted the main and set the jib and settled down on the reach to Mantanchen in about 10 knots of wind. It was looking like a beautiful day-sail all the way.

Mantanchen Bay sunset

Shortly after we got the sails set and trimmed, I heard a strange creaking noise coming from somewhere down below. This was a new noise, not the typical creaks that I was accustomed to. I searched around the boat in all the likely places that creaks might come from, but couldnt find the source of the noise until I opened the starboard lazarette hatch. When I looked down into the compartment I noticed that the bracket for the autopilot ram was moving back and forth in an unusual manner. Then I realized that the bulkhead was flexing and the joint where I assumed Beneteau had spliced or scarfed together two pieces of plywood to make the aft bulkhead was not a joint at all. It was not lapped or scarffed, or even glued together. Nope, Beneteau apparently saw fit to just butt the two pieces of plywood together without the benefit of any adhesive or mechanical fasteners. Then whoever installed the autopilot ram drilled the mounting holes less than a quarter inch of the edge of this imaginary joint. The bracket was mounted with massive 7/16" bolts and a stainless steel backing plate so it looked like a proper job, but looks can be deceiving.

By mid-afternoon we were gliding into Mantanchen Bay and got the anchor down in about eighteen feet of water three quarters of a mile from the beach, which I hoped was well beyond the range of the no-nos that live around here. Then we had a decision to make: We could go back roughly 50 miles to La Cruz or continue on to Mazatlan, another 130 miles north from here. After looking at the weather forecast we decided to press on to Mazatlan. The wind would be on the nose the entire distance but it would be light most of the way. We would be motoring into it and that would put the least stress on the wobbly bulkhead.

Mountains behind Mazatlan at dawn.

To put this little problem into perspective, we were in no danger and the worst that might have happened to us was that we might have to hand steer if the bulkhead failed completely, which was very unlikely. But it certainly annoyed me as a boatbuilder that the boat was built in this manner. And of course the problem needed to be fixed before we ran into any real weather, which is always a possibility in the Sea of Cortez.

View from the aft side of the bulkhead.  When I replaced the autopilot ram back in 2012 I assumed this joint was lapped but its not.

View from the forward side of the bulkhead.

The repair was easy enough. I went over to Marine Services Mazatlan, which is located in the shipyard next to Marina Mazatlan and had them cut out some plywood reinforcements that I bonded to both sides of the bulkhead with WEST epoxy. Once the epoxy cured it was a simple matter to reinstall the bracket and ram.

Both sides of the bulkhead were sanded and prepped.  

Plywood reinforcements bonded in place. The screws were used to clamp everything together while the epoxy cured.

Bracket and ram reinstalled and ready to go.

With the repair completed, we were able to spend some time around the pool at the marina and wander around the beautiful city of Mazatlan. In a few days well head northwest across the Sea of Cortez to La Paz.

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Boat Plans Skiff | Road Trip Guadalajara

Boat Plans Skiff

After the Banderas Bay Regatta we were ready for a different kind of fun so we joined our friends, Ed and Connie for a road trip up-country. We drove about a thousand miles, or perhaps it just seemed like a thousand miles throughout west-central Mexico. Here is a list of the notable towns and cities we visited on the trip:

Tequila
Guadalajara
Tlaquepaque
Guanajuato
San Miguel de Allende
Morelia
Angangueo
Patzquaro
Chapala
Mascota

Thats a lot of traveling, so for this post Ill focus on Tequila and Guadalajara.  Ed has a car here in Mexico and was kind enough to do nearly all the driving so I was free to just watch the world go by from the backseat of his Isuzu Rodeo, and occasionally hang on for dear life as Ed demonstrated his high speed driving prowess on the unpredictable roads of Mexico. Actually, we only stopped in Tequila for some beer and tacos along with a couple of souvenirs from the Jose Cuervo distillery. Anyway, we blew into Guadalajara and took rooms at the beautiful old Hotel Morales in downtown.

After the high speed run into town, I was more than ready for a stiff drink and we were fortunate that the hotel had an excellent restaurant with a fairly good bartender. The next morning we began our tour of this sprawling, gritty, bustling city. With about four and a half million residents in the metropolitan area, Guadalajara is the second largest city in Mexico and is a major center of commerce and industry. It is also the capital of the state of Jalisco. It has a long and colorful history dating back to the 1500s, and if youd like to know more about this fascinating and diverse megalopolis, feel free to check it out on Wikipedia.

Like most of Mexicos cities, Guadalajara is full of churches, and we wandered around several of the biggest ones, taking photos and people-watching. One thing I have noticed in all of the churches and cathedrals Ive visited in Mexico is the strikingly beautiful architecture and sculpture combined with a musty sense of dilapidation inside them. Outside, soaring spires and magnificent bells. Inside, cracked icons and peeling paint. Never a fan of organized religion, these aspects of the churches seemed to me to be a fitting metaphor for the Church itself.

Guadalajara is also a city of music. In fact, it would be fair to say that Mexico is a country of music because almost everywhere you travel in this beautiful country, someone is strumming a guitar or singing. This is a happy country in spite of all the troubles it confronts. I think the US could learn something about enjoying the simple pleasures of life from Mexico. Anyway, Guadalajara is said to be the birthplace of Mariachi music, that distinctively Mexican musical style. We were treated to lots of this kind of music but we also experienced a wonderful classical music concert in the plaza a couple of blocks from our hotel as well.

Atrium in the Hotel Morales

Central Square with the obligatory church in Guadalajara 

Guadalajara is the commercial center of Mexico but it is also a city of music. 

Cellists 

Violinists

Guadalajara is said to be the birthplace of Mariachi music.  This sculpture is a tribute to the genre.

After a couple of days in the city we were ready to move on. Our next stop was the town of Tlaquepaque, which is known for its artisans and craftsmen. I found it to be a bit too touristy for my taste and Ed agreed, so while the women shopped we set out on a mission to find some decent margaritas. Alas, we failed and had to settle for some watery concoctions that the waiter claimed were margaritas, but tasted like Fresca and lime juice. With that we piled back into the car and headed for the beautiful city of Guanajuato.

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Boden Boat Plans Australia | A Trip on The Adventuress Schooner

Boden Boat Plans Australia

Dick Thies lives on the US West coast and is interested in wooden boats, I discovered him on flickr where he is a member of the Solent Old Gaffers group and has posted some great pictures of traditional boats, many of which were taken at the Port Townsend Wooden Boat Festival and make a welcome change to our familiar local gaffers.

We were delighted to get this account of a voyage Dick made on the schooner Adventuress.

Adventuress is a 133-foot gaff-rigged schooner launched in 1913 in East Boothbay, Maine. She was built as a luxury schooner for John Borden II who promptly sailed her to the tip of South America, through the Straits of Magellan and on up to Arctic waters near Alaska. The goal was to bring back a bowhead whale skeleton for the New York Natural History Museum. They brought back some useful items but no bowhead skeleton. In 1914, Adventuress was sold to San Franciso Bar Pilot’s Association. Her topmasts were removed and modifications were made to make her more suited for use as a pilot vessel, but made her a lot less beautiful. In 1951, she was replaced and then neglected until 1960 when she was brought to Seattle. Eventually she was restored to her former looks and put to work by Sound Experience. They use Adventuress to let folks experience what it was like in the old days of sail and to learn about such sailing and about the natural history and ecology of the Salish Sea (Puget Sound).



I first discovered Adventuress at Port Townsend’s Wooden Boat Festival. I was overwhelmed by this gaff topsail two-masted schooner with a rig height of 110 ft. and 5,478 sq. ft. of sail. So I took a 2-hr. cruise at the festival that was a great way to see other festival boats on the water. They also let us try our hands at some of the rope handling and coiling.



Last summer, I decided to try one of their 4-day trips in the San Juan Islands north of Seattle. The price seemed quite reasonable and they let you know that this was not a fancy-meal and luxury-private-cabin sort of trip. The meals were vegetarian, and I found them very good. Adventuress sailed into a quiet bay each night so it was steady for sleeping. The guests and most of the crew slept on foam bunks that were comfortable enough for me. I don’t think I would have done so well in the hammocks used in the old days. I had not slept in one room with others in fifty years. I discovered that the earplugs they suggested were very helpful. We all had a chance to do some night watch duty, which was very interesting. On mine, we could hear a blowing sound that we guessed was a whale or seal. The sunrise was gorgeous.



They asked why we came on the trip. I wanted to sing some sea shanties with work being done to the shanty rhythm. They let me take over quite a bit of the shanty man’s role. The first thing I learned is the shanty man sets the pace but he has to watch the work to see what pace is feasible. The Adventuress has a huge mainsail with boom and gaff the size of telephone poles. The gaff is raised with one crew on the head halliard and another crew on the peak halliard. The halliard shanty has to go with the hand-over-hand pulling. I found that the pace has to slow down as the gaff is raised, because it gets heavier as more canvas is raised from the boom. The foresail is much lighter and I had sing much faster to give a good pace for pulling those halliards.



The first two days were sunny, light breeze days so we put up all plain sail (no topsails for this trip due to Coast Guard rules). It was pleasant sailing around San Juan, Stewart, Orchas and Shaw islands. The third day started with light wind, but we were soon going very fast with just a reefed Mainsail and one jib. I think they called it a light gale. It was great fun, but some of us felt a bit queasy after a while. The captain decided to take her into a sheltered bay with the comment “We don’t want to risk this 100 year old schooner”.




The paying guests were treated like the crew in many ways, except most of us had much less schooner seamanship, so we learned on the job. Some tasks needed to be done by the real crew, but others were done bythe three groupings that each had some real crew mixed with us guests. The groupings were also good for fun things like skits and songs.



The educational pert of the trip gave us some options on what extra things we might want to learn about. I chose basic navigation and geology of the Salish Sea islands. Both were well presented. The “engineers report” was another way to learn. He kept track of our energy usage (there is some use of the diesel), waste generation (we were better than the teen-agers on the last trip), mpg (quite good since we sailed most of the time).




The last day, we took some time to climb the rigging if we so desired. I did not think I cared to do that at age 69, but the captain nicely pointed out that it is all with a safety harness, and it is a special feeling to be up there. So I did the climb up the main ratlines which put me about 56 ft off the deck. I would not like it in a storm, but anchored in a quiet bay it was fine. The folks below looked like wee ants. I felt a bit nervous doing it, but overall it was enjoyable and memorable.



for more information:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adventuress_(schooner)
http://schooneradventuress.com/default.aspx

Thanks to Dick for letting us share in a great trip on a fantastic boat.

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Boat Plans And Patterns | Road trip Guanajuato

Boat Plans And Patterns

We left the town of Tlaquepaque in the early afternoon and arrived at the outskirts of Guanajuato around 4:00 pm. Its not a very large city, with a population of around 154,000 in the municipality, but it is tightly packed into a narrow and steep-sided valley. The original town was built on the banks of the Guanajuato river way back in the 1500s.  During the rainy season the river often overflowed its banks and flooded the town. By 1905 the place had been flooded 68 times. The federal government then stepped in and rebuilt the city on ruins of the old town, and in the process created a system of tunnels beneath the streets of the new city. Some of these were based on the course of the river and some were dug out of hard rock. Since the town was originally the site of some of the richest silver mines in the world, there were plenty of miners around to do the work. The result is a truly unique city with most of its thoroughfares underground. It makes a lot of sense and for a few moments I tried to imagine what LA would be like if its freeways were all underground.

Aside from its network of tunnels, Guanajuato is famous for its confusion of narrow streets and "callejones", which are really just alleys too narrow for motor vehicles. We were unprepared for this and immediately got lost searching for our hotel. Eventually a local climbed onto the back of our car and, shouting orders from the rear bumper, guided us through a couple of tunnels and bunch of twisty little streets to the staircase that led up to the Hotel Chocolate, which was perched on a steep hillside at the top of a row of tiny hotels and restaurants. It was sweaty work lugging our baggage up what amounted to about nine flights of stairs to the hotel lobby, then to our rooms which were three flights further up. But the view was spectacular and we enjoyed our brief time there.

Hotel Chocolate. The views from this quirky hotel were splendid.

View of the Jardin Union (Union Garden)  from the Hotel Chocolate. This is ground zero for the incredible festivities that go on every night. With lots of loud music and throngs of people out until around 4:30 every morning, its a tough place to get a good nights rest.

We could only stay one night at the Hotel Chocolate so we moved down to the Hotel San Diego, which was across the street from the Jardin Union. We could see all the festivities from our third story balcony and of course it seemed like the band was playing right outside our window.

The narrow streets and classic architecture of the city give it a distinctly European flair that was an enjoyable change from the more modern and Mariachi flavored Guadalajara. Because of the confusing streets and tunnels, and the fact that the car was parked miles from our hotel, we hired a guide to give us a tour of the city. This turned out to be a great way to see the place. With the four of us, the guide and a driver in a van, we visited many interesting places and quickly got acquainted with the lay of the land. After the tour we were able to explore central G-town without getting lost.

The church bells in town toll every fifteen minutes 24-7-365.

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A pair of mermaids guard the entrance to a home next to the Hotel Chocolate.

Guanajuato Cityscape. The building with the beautiful facade on the left is the University of Guanajuato. 

Main mercado in G-town.

Parrots waiting to be sold at the mercado.

The city of Guanajuato has adopted the classic novelist, Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra. His most famous work is Don Quixote and the city has built a museum in honor of the author and the book. It was interesting to learn about the author, but is was far more fascinating to wander the galleries and see modern artists interpret the the main character of the book, Don Quixote.

A whimsical interpretation of Cervantes Don Quixote.  

A bust of the Man of La Mancha

Pipili became the citys most famous hero when he strapped a large stone on his back as a shield against Spanish bullets and set fire to their fortress way back when Mexico was fighting for independence from Spain. He is everywhere in Guanajuato.

Pipili, the hero of Gunajuato stands guard on a ridge overlooking the city

Guanajuato is by far the most interesting and beautiful city we have visited in Mexico. We would have liked to stay longer and learn more about this fascinating town, but after three days it was time to move on to Morelia.

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