What we did for Summer Vacation

After summer break, it's only natural to write about what we did for our Summer Vacation.

We sum up our time spent ashore as thoroughly enjoying time with friends and family.
At the end of the summer, we are tired, but thankful that we had great visits with quality time together. Kind of like having the Holidays in the summer.

North American Tour

With family located across the US, we spent lots of time and resources flying around to visit and to play with them.  Highlights of trips included spending several weeks in the New England based family "camp", which is now owned by Elaine and JD (Nancy's sister and husband).  Rob and JD worked hard to shore up electrical and plumbing infrastructure while Elaine and Nancy organized, cooked, and cheered on the good progress.

The family camp in Vermont.  Time to hay.  John Amey was hard at work getting all the haying done so the cows have something to eat this winter.

Vermont / New Hampshire Border: Rob and Nancy at the Connecticut River

This is a very remote area in the woods, beautiful and rustic.We took a break from the hard work each day to venture 15 miles in either direction to have Internet (and ice cream), or Internet and a latte.

Hiking break near the summit of Mt. Success in New Hampshire.

Moose Alley Cones are the best!

Nancy's younger brother Daniel met us up in Montreal for four days.  We embraced the city, savoring fresh local markets, enjoying historic neighborhoods and bistros, marveling at the Olympic Park, touring museums.  Great family time.
 

Bryan has started his internship with GE Aviation north of Boston.  Nancy enjoyed helping him move into his temporary housing, and cooked many meals to keep him going.  After our time in Vermont, we spent more time with him, and were pleased with how well he is doing.

Rob and Bryan geeking out in Lynn, MA

A day trip up to nearby Marblehead, MA, enabled us to visit the East Coast Corinthian Yacht Club, where we enjoyed a lunch on the water, and missed our own CYC in Tiburon a bit more.   On the way back to California, we flew to Park City Utah and spent several days with David and Kathy.  We enjoyed hiking, biking, and catching up in the beautiful mountain town.  Then back to Northern CA for more visits with Nancy's mother who is doing very well at age 87.  She is currently writing her memoirs and will be publishing them this fall.

In early August, we relaxed with Dan and Betsy on their sailboat in the Sacramento Delta amongst a flotilla of Sausalito based sailing friends.  The sail up to the Delta was amazing and the weather was hot, just like Mexico.

Sunset at Three River Reach just off the San Joaquin River

After returning the the Bay Area we got to take in some of the The Americas Cup racing, and we juggled time between Silicon Valley, Sausalito and Sonoma County visiting friends.  In case you missed it, Oracle Team USA had an incredible comeback, to win the final race against Team New Zealand.

Thank you Matt & Julie, Cindy, Julie, Harry & Linda and Kevin for your lovely and generous accommodations -  far superior than our description of "couch-surfing" as our home is still rented out.

In front of the Americas Cup trophy

Oracle out testing with both boats before the start of the regatta

Oracle leading the Kiwis in race 13.  Photo by Tom MacDonald

Oracle Team USA moments after crossing the finish line
WINNERS!!

Rob enjoyed flying his electric powered RC airplanes with his buddies, and ordered more Ardiuno (microcontroller) equipment to bring to Mexico.  He has some new ideas for new electronic wizardry aboard Shindig.

This summer Rob also got some good tinkering time with the Model T, and hopes to debut her next summer.

1919 Motel T.  Got the body panels painted and installed

Nancy reconnected with her music friends through the cello and her piano.  She practiced, and played in several orchestra sessions, string quartets, piano duets.

Our home is now rented for another 12 months and our hearts (and storage containers) are full.
We ended the summer in Southern CA again, visiting Rob's family, and organizing the many shipments of parts and must-have supplies (Solar Panels and  California wine) that we will bring down to Mexico.

Shindig is waiting patiently for our return.  It's time for more adventures in Mexico!


Significant Highlights:


Moose in the front yard: 1
Airline tickets purchased: 14
Air Miles: 8000 each
Number of babies held: 2
Wedding engagements announced: 2
America's Cup races watched: 19
Trips to Trader Joes: >28 

Nancy admires Lucas Birch, 4 mos

Conor, Nancy's godson, displays his pants from Matagascar trip.
He was on a journalism internship in Ghana  thru University of Oregon.

Dan in favorite perch aboard Isla Mia
Dan was also part of our Baja Ha Ha crew and Banderas Bay Regatta in Mexico

Summer Station Break for Shindigsailing.com

"It's time for Summer Break!"   

Thanks to all of you for your feedback on our blogs, either via email, in person or with the comments field.  The main reason we've kept the blog is to have one place where our friends and family can see photos, track our progress and be  part of our sailing adventure.  We also have enjoyed being accountable to the blog, and collecting an archive that will be a great travel diary for ourselves.

With that in mind, we've decided that ShindigSailing.com will be on Holiday until we return to La Paz next Fall.  If you'd like to keep in touch with us, you can find Rob on Facebook.

BTW, if you are driving down to La Paz sometime between  mid-September - early October, let us know. Rob is looking to drive down with some boat parts that would be difficult to fly down with.

Our summer calendar is pretty full with travels to Southern and Northern California, Boston, Vermont, Montreal, Park City and the San Joaquin Delta.  Photos below are from the first "on land Shindig" with Rob's family in Canyon Lake.

Our first season in Mexico has been wonderful.  We have met amazing people on land and on the water.  As we put this year cruising season in the record books, here are the stats.

Nautical Miles traveled: 3186
Months since SF: 9.5
Countries Visited : 2
Anchorages/Marinas Visited: 53
Engine Hours: 329
Generator Hours: 155.6
Gallons of Diesel Fuel Consumed: 684 , ~3.85/gallon
Gallon of Gasoline Consumed: ~45
Gallons of water made: ~450 (consumed more but we took on water at marinas)
Photos taken: ~9000
Fish caught: ~20
Keepers: 3
Peso/Dollar Exchange rate: 11.29 - 13.25 (17% swing)

Wishing you all a Happy and Safe Summer!!  - Nancy and Rob

Another Birthday Celebration for Nancy- with Novak family July 2nd

The handsome Novak men - Rob, Dave and Bert

The Kids: Ali (13), Bryan (20) and Nicky (9)

The Novak gals

Rob's Birthday Dock Party - May 16th
"Hasta Luego" : See you all in Mexico next Fall

Closing Time in La Paz

We returned to La Paz after a month in the Sea, knowing it was our turn to get Shindig ready for the summer.  Our list of to-do's is long.  We also had several boat resources scheduled to start projects such as making a custom boat cover to shade as much as possible, do some varnish work in the interior, as well as thorough interior cleaning after four weeks of sand, sunscreen and bare feet.  My list includes going to as many day spa's as possible - just kidding. But it is time for some basic clean-up for both of us such as haircuts so that we look decent when we come back to the States.  No, Rob is not growing a pony tail this year!

The docks at Marina Palmira are quieter as many of the the seasonal cruisers have already gone home.

The temperature is rising, high 90's most days and sun, sun sun. I try to make it out for early morning exercise walks with the locals to return to the boat before 8am.  After a morning of chores or errands, we stay out of the sun by mid-afternoon, hiding down below in the boat with fans or AC, take siestas, catch up on videos and emails, and then venture out around 7pm or so.

Yes, there are several impromptu Shindigs, as we all need a break from the hard work.  A memorable one was with Tom and Sylvia from Cinnabar and Ken and Patty from Oogachaka was called "Bilge Bulge".  The idea was not to buy anything, but be creative from what you might have in your galley or bilge.  It was another fun Shindig that went quite late. We also celebrated a joint birthday bash with John and Deb from Scot Free Eh, Curtis from Aurora, John from Swagman at the swanky Azul Marino in Costa Baja.  June 30th was my actual birthday.  We celebrated with our good friends Patty and Ken from Oogachaka, starting with an incredible seafood lunch with champagne at McFisher.  The afternoon highlight was a trip to the Platino theater, which is a very upscale Air Conditioned (of course) theater with assigned leather recliner seating, a cocktail waiter, and chairside lamps.  We enjoyed the only English movie playing at that time, World War Z - for Zombie.  After a drink at the Dockside cafe, we said our goodbyes, and then decided to sneak in one more meal at Rancho Vieja, known for their arrachara meats.  It was a great day.

Here are some photos of the hard work and play in La Paz.

Not much room for the keyboard!

Full boat cover under construction

Two June birthdays, Nancy and John
Don't look at the numbers too closely!

Bilge Bulge Party

John from Scot Free, Eh
Azul Marino, La Paz

Nancy's Birthday Margarita at Rancho Vieja

Last week in Bahia Concepcion

Bahia Concepcion is filled with little islands and beaches.  Each beach has its own personality; simple structures to provide shade for RVers, more permanent palapas that touch the waters edge and custom homes for vacationers. Things are still very remote, there is no easy Internet, cell service or laundry. Forget about public restrooms, taxis or pizza.  We are happy with the simple things, especially having a place to take the trash (basura).  We used Gary's tip jar with the recommended 10 pesos for the garbage man, which apparently makes him very happy.  If you're lucky, there may be one restaurant or small tienda (store) to support each beach.  Mexico's Highway 1 provides some audio color with the background noise as the big rigs grind their way up the precarious highway, towards Mulege, the nearest town, 13 miles away.

We made friends with some landlubbers, and spent time with our friends from Tisha Baby, Sirena, and Viva. Afternoons and evenings were spent ashore at the local restaurant, Bertha's, or a picnic lunch on a deserted beach in the 85 degree water. A highlight of our stay was a generous farewell Sunday brunch hosted by Jerry, at his hillside custom home, We arrived via dinghy convoy and hiked up the rocky steps to his place.  Jerry made ramus fizzes and bloody marys and we shared fruit muffins, egg fritattas and comraderie on the balcony enjoying the breathtaking views.  There was more music as Jerry played some fun songs on his vintage piano. (The video above is of Jerry - hope it works) It was a memorable visit for all of us.

Favorite Perro named Como Tu - note the nice assortment of dinghies in the background

This small cove is lined with vacation palapas that support RVers and campers most of the year.
There was one restaurant, Bertha's that was our hang out when we wanted a dinner out

We hiked up from the anchorage at Playa Burro looking for petroglyphs, mostly around the trailhead 

Found one!

We caught a ride Mulege with Jerry who showed us around.
This is the Mission, rebuilt in 1770, overlooking the fresh water river

Beautiful green palms lining the banks of the river

Pam and Richard following our excursion to a nearby swimming beach

Another Shindig on Shindig

Jerry's cliffside rock home 

Rob had a great afternoon of clamming at Dog Beach.
We soaked them overnight and fed them cornmeal to clean and fatten us, I mean, them up

Clams steamed in garlic and wine, served on linguine with parmesan reggiano cheese

Bahia de Concepcion…Music and New Friends

(uploaded via Ham Radio, sorry, no photos possible)

We appreciate the unexpected and continue to have more adventures as we near the turn around point for our trip. Following up on a chance introductions at a local taco restaurant in Loreto last week, we walked two beach fronts looking for Tap and Anita. Many of the beachfront casas (some as simple as a lean-to, others modeling South Pacific palapas including overhangs for RVs) are now boarded up. It is the end of season, and only the hardy, year round gringos stay. Tap started a school here 40 years ago based on sailing and Outward Bound. While in his late 80's, Tap manages a quick smile, especially when the discussion turns to Mexico, shiny watches, pretty nurses and music. He plays the violin, viola, and harmonica. His wife, Anita, invited us into their home to check out the red piano. Their home, like others around it, is "off the grid". There is no electricity, telephone nor Internet. They live here most of the season and then go back to the States for the hot months. Nancy rummaged thru the piano bench, and found some American Folk Songs, with classics like When Johnny Comes Marching Home Again, and Clementine. We all enjoyed as much music as she could play and sing, with Tap humming and playing his harmonicas. That resulted in an invite for dinner the next day.

Last night we moved our sailboat over to their bay, and anchored right in front of their home. Anita had invited several other friends, including Jerry, who made extra money in college by playing piano long hours into the night in local Nevada bars, restaurants and brothels. We re-introduced ourselves to Tap, and settled in for a lively night,filled with more impromptu music, by both Nancy and Jerry (this time Nancy brought her music), a delicious dinner on the bbq, and wine.

Nancy wore another shiny watch which Tap appreciated, and we all chuckled at their stories of living on the beach and the colorful gringo and local community of Mulege, which includes these unique, beautiful playas.
Anita explained that she bought the piano 8 years ago to bring music into their home, especially for Tap's enjoyment. What a wonderful reason to bring friends together. From the stories they tell, as well as our delightful dinner get together last night, her strategy worked well. Tap turns 90 next year, and we are invited to his celebration.

Santispac

Written from the anchorage at Santispac, in the Bahia Concepcion, about 200 nautical miles north of La Paz. After visiting numerous anchorages, each one as pretty or interesting as the next, one would think there would be no more "firsts" on this part of our adventure. Today there were several, notable enough to note, maybe not to blog about. But heck, this is another way to get up to speed on the blog, and keep moving (I mean, sailing) forward.
Here are the firsts:

1) Left the anchorage without calling out goodbye to our friends on Sirena or Tisha Baby (Shindig was uncharacteristically stealth mode)

2) Encountered heavy fog, with visibility down to ¼ mile. That is not fun. Rob was down below doing his communications things, so I called him up. We used the Boat Horn, which is loud, but needed, to alert some pangas that we could see on radar but never saw with our eyes. I asked Rob to let me know each time before he pressed the button - if you haven't heard one of those horns, repeatedly, they give you a mental shock when they go off.

3) Caught our first dorado - beautiful shape and color, but not large enough to keep. Besides, I had a special dish in mind when we anchored down…

4) Despite the online charts, our trusty "A cruiser's guide to the Sea of Cortez", we found the depths in Concepcion Bay were Way Off! Instead of an expected 50-60 feet, we got down to 12-15 quickly, had to do a sudden tack, and went 180 degrees in the other direction to find deep water. We're glad to be here, but the general approach, multiple big rocks and islands to dodge, and lack of accurate charts, made the final arrival and anchor down even more sweet.

5) I shared a dark beer with Rob as our "anchor down" beverage, 9 hours after we left this morning. The wine supply is dwindling and I've saving it for more shindigs this month as we finish up our cruising in this season.

The anchorage at this beach has only two other boats, and a very spartan beach with a few buildings. We had been advised to look for the "green restaurant", which is always exciting after cooking on board night after night. I thought we had identified the restaurant through the binoculars, only to find as we approached, that structure is actually a very nice RV camper and compound. Guess we'll continue with our original plan for dinner tonight, another first. "Curried Coconut Shrimp on Rice Stick Noodles".

Junio (June)

Happy to be June!

The month of May seemed to go on forever – contrary to the rest of the cruising months which used to fly by.  Why?  Maybe all the changes in locations from the mainland to Baja peninsula, celebrations, the trip home,  more goodbyes, reunions and making new friends, other family and friends health challenges, college semesters ending, summer plans being made, and Shindig wanting to be both snug at the La Paz marinas, as well as exploring the Sea of Cortez.  But it is June.  I am excited to have one more month on water, before the summer starts back in the States.

Today, we are about 150 miles north of La Paz, across from the town of Loreto in an anchorage called Isla Coronado.  We left La Paz 15 days ago.  Long passages are not required here, as the new destination may be 4 or 20 nautical miles away (easy day trips).  We’ve done more sailing here than we had on the mainland.  Rob has kept the spinnaker on deck and we’ve enjoyed many downwind jaunts as we head north further into the Sea.  We had winds gusting to 30 knots a few days ago and had to reef the main completely.  But usually we've enjoyed 10 to 12 knots of Southerly wind.

Pigs running free ....mmmm. Carnitas

Sunset in the Anchorage

Our activities for today include hiking to the top of the volcano,  saying goodbye to our friends on Fluenta  having games afternoon aboard Oogachaka, and perhaps a shared dinner potluck.  We will likely head north tomorrow for two more stops to reach the Bahia Concepcion –which we heard is a “don’t miss”.  One more week of exploring and then one week of leisurely heading south as we return to La Paz, our summer home for Shindig.

Most of our anchorages, and even the one "big" town, Loreto & nearby Puerto Escondido, do not offer Internet.  (Nor stores, restaurants, people)   We use the HAM radio winlink communications (see previous blog) for emergency and family updates.  When we do get a “fix” on the Internet, it’s almost comical how we spend a couple of days trying to get online.  I’ve been known to walk a mile in the very hot Mexican  with my laptop down a deserted, paved road to an RV Park and store that charged 10 pesos (less than a dollar) for super-fast Internet.   Their apple fritters were also spectacular.  Rob joined me for the walk the next morning.

We took the dinghy across the Bay to this special Loreto restaurant - the owners were gracious and the food outstanding!

My seafood salad - scallops, shrimp, octopus

Enjoying our meal with Connie and Ed (Sirena) and Patty and Ken (Oogachaka)

Each anchorage is unique, and breathtaking,  and completely silent, except for the wildlife. This morning we had dolphins surfacing among the sailboats, a large school of rays swimming in formation, and pelicans diving for their breakfast.  We try to get exercise each day, either going ashore via dinghy for a hike, exploring the waters with our paddleboards, and snorkeling and swimming.  There can be sudden, unpredictable winds at night,  but mostly we've enjoyed evenings in deep sleeps, and wake up rested. No booming club music from the Cabo dance floors to keep us up.

Entrance of Farmer's market in Arroyo of Loreto

Fresh pollo and meat tostados on the grill

The Darth Vadar boat getting fueled up for its next voyage...we heard it burns 15 gallons in one nautical mile.  Notice the fuel truck on the dock needed to fill it up.

There are Bees in some of the Anchorages....one strategy is to give them a bowl of water so they don't go down below in the cabin

Barbara and S/V Zoe before her trip north

Enjoying Freshly speared Yellowtail Tuna dinner with Sylvia and Tom on S/V Cinnabar