We made it through

the big, bad Gulf of Tehauntepec (Who´s afraid of the big bad Gulf? Not I,not I, not I). We must have picked the right window, because we had a lovely sail, followed by dead calm and flat seas for the evening. We heard from other cruisers that they were not so lucky; they had to wrestle 40 knot winds and 14 foot seas for the 200 mile crossing. We blew right by Guatemala, and are now in EL Salvador, at a place called Barillas.

Barillas Marina is an interesting place, about 7 years old. You wait at a designated spot on the ocean, and call the marina on Channel 16. Then you wait about an hour, and a panga shows up to guide you to the marina, which is 10 miles up an estuary. I felt like Katherin Hepburn in The African Queen, without the bonnet. We meandered up this river, past mangrove forests, expecting to see hippos opening their mouths and elephants trumpeting. It was so very Amazon-ish. We finally arrived at a spot where there are about 25 mooring buoys, a fuel dock, a lovely swimming pool and a nice restaurant. We have taken advantage of all of them.

This morning we got up early and took a couple mile hike into the jungle – there is a family living there who takes care of 25 spider monkeys. The head monkey is named Poncho, and his lovely bride, who is very pregnant, is named Maria. When the man who lives there called Poncho`s name, all the monkeys came swinging out of the trees and fought over a few bananas the man doled out. I was intrigued by the family who lived in the jungle; there were 3 or 4 kids about Molly and Jessie`s age, a young girl with a new baby, a mother and father, and a grandmother who was making tortillas over an open fire. They lived on mangoes, bananas, and had chickens for eggs. They seemed very happy out there.

We are leaving at high tide tomorrow (Thursday) morning, and won`t stop until we get to Costa Rica, about 250 miles down the coast. We are healthy and happy, and are hoping for more wind. We tried to download some new pictures, but it just wouldn´t happen – we`ll try again in Costa Rica. Jeanna

ADVENTURES By Molly Jan. 16

Today, we went on a big adventure. We decided to go to a place up in the hills where you could take a tour of a coffee plantation, see a butterfly house, and hike up a trail to a really cool spot where you could swim by a waterfall. It was a long ways away, so we set out in a rental car with worn front tires. When I say it was far away, I mean it. After about an hour, the paved road turned to dirt, and went on, bounce after jolt after bump, for at least two hours more! When we finally arrived, we were asked what we wanted to do first: see the waterfall, or have lunch. We chose lunch, and they told us to wait a few minutes while they got a table ready. They showed us where the restrooms were, and we looked around while we waited.

There were a lot of chickens strutting around, and there were also ducks, geese, and young ducks with funny hairdos and colorful bills that liked to peck your shoelaces! There were also two lovebirds in a cage, and what I thought was a goat and a big turkey in an enclosure near the birdcage. On closer inspection, I found it to be a turkey… and a small deer! As we walked over, the turkey fluffed itself up and tottered away, but the deer got up and came closer. We held out our hands to it, and we were soon giggling as it licked us like a dog would! We had wondered why it was penned up, but then we saw that it had a hurt foot. When we came back with the camera, it wouldn’t get up again, but we got a good picture of it.

After seeing the animals, we had a delicious lunch of black beans, rice, shredded cabbage, pork, and chicken with vegetables, served family style. Then it was time to go to the waterfall. We needed a guide to go with us to show us the way, so we squeezed three people (Jessie, Mom, and me) into the back seat of the rental car, and our guide sat up front. It took about five minutes to get to where the trail started, driving up and down steep hills on a rough dirt road. When we arrived, our guide gave us walking sticks and we followed her down a beautiful trail by a river. It was amazing: the deep, clear river, all of the different plants and flowers, and the butterflies that fluttered around almost anywhere you looked. The walk was about twenty minutes, and then we reached the spot where everyone was swimming.

The river streamed over huge boulders and made a very large swimming-hole. There was a platform from which you could swing over the water on a rope attached to a tree, and then drop into the river, and you could jump off a big rock into deep water. The water was really cold, but we got used to the temperature and had a great time. We hadn’t brought goggles, but I opened my eyes under water anyways. I had a lot of fun jumping off the rock and the rope, and I even went behind the waterfall! It was neat to watch the water running down from behind. Sadly, we had to go back sometime. I think we were the last group to leave, but I still wish we could have stayed longer.

We hiked to the car, and then drove back, and the guide showed us the butterfly house. The butterflies were beautiful, and we saw the building where they raised them. We didn’t see the coffee plantation, but Jessie and I were worn out, so it didn’t really matter to us.

That was pretty much the end of our day, unless you count the l—o—n—g drive home and the fact that the front tires nearly wore out. Also, once, when we were looking at the tires (which were worn down to the wire reinforcements), I found a Weaverbird’s nest on the ground. Don’t worry, we made it home safely!

See the media gallery for pictures!

POETRY BY MOLLY

In school, we had to write a poem in second person. This is my poem:

You’re a Dolphin

You’re a dolphin, and you knew
That if you jumped from the ocean blue,
I would see you, leaping high,
And blurt out an awed, “Oh my!”

I like the way you twist and turn;
It makes the water froth and churn.
It’s fun to watch you glide and spin,
Right in front of the boat I’m in!

You’re gray and white, with lots of speckles.
They’re almost as numerous as my freckles!
You sparkle in the sunlit seas;
Your tail sprays droplets at my knees.

Your skin is slick, and smooth as rubber,
And though you don’t have as much blubber
As a whale, that’s okay.
I still love you, anyway!

FOR SAILORS ONLY

We are in an area called Huatulco, at a very nice marina called Chahue. We are studying the weather for the Gulf of Tehuantepec, so I have some time to get some information about the boat and it’s gear on the web site.

I’ve been told that Jeanna’s updates have been a little too “touchy/feely”, so it’s time I got to work and talked about some guy things. After about 3500 miles, our shake down should be complete, although we haven’t gone to weather yet. Conditions have been mostly mild.

We started with a stock Jeanneau 49P, a slightly souped-up version of the Sun Odyssey 49. To that we added safety gear, navigation, communication, creature comforts, and sails to keep the boat as fast as the designer intended.

With only 6 weeks to outfit the boat in Anacortes, I am still adding gear as we speak.

We will start with the most important parts, things that keep the crew alive (and happy).

The water maker was the first piece of gear to go in the boat. If we had a fuel maker it would not be as important and convenient as the water maker. We installed an Italian import, a Schenker Modular 60, at the Anacortes Yard and have not had to take on water from another source. The unit uses 20 amps 12 V DC and in this warm water is making about 25 gal an hour. The only problem we had was when we went over 8 knots, the pumps would suck air and shut the system down. We fashioned a small scoop from a plastic elbow and the problem stopped. I should have put a scoop on in the boatyard, but it looked like it might slow the boat down. For info on the water maker go to www.schenker.it

The refrigeration system is a Glacier Bay micro hybrid-plate; the compressor cools cold plates in the freezer and refrigerator. It uses a surprisingly small amount of energy to cool such a large space. I still don’t have all the bugs worked out of the system, but we are able to keep it running, and are fine-tuning the controls for even better economy. The unit also runs on 12 V DC at 20 amps.

The auto pilot is the most used piece of equipment on the boat. It’s on most of the time we are moving. It stopped working in La Paz. It gave me a Sea Talk failure code. Should have been easy to find, but after two days of trouble-shooting, I decided it was the control head. (The only part we did not carry as a spare). We were meeting family in PV, so I gave up looking for another problem and we hand-steered the boat to PV and had them bring the new part for Christmas. When the new part arrived, I couldn’t wait to have the pilot back up and running, so I installed it, thinking my problems were over. No luck, still the same fault code. After another day of pulling apart all the wire harness, retracing the wiring, checking the NMEA signal on each side of all connections, I found one connection that did not give me the same voltage each time I checked it. I cut out the connector (a small 3M phone type) and reconnected the wires using standard butt connectors. All was right with the auto pilot. What I found after taking the connector out was one of the wires was crimped too tight and cut the wire, creating an intermittent bad connection. I will mount this connector and present it to the factory tech next time I’m in France.

For communication, we have VHF, SSB, and a Nera F33 Inmarsat satellite system. The service is from Telenor Satellite Services. All this is hooked into a Shuttle XPC 1000 computer system built into the nav station, with a laptop for backup. We are using a Seattle company called Ocens Wireless Weather <www.ocens.com> for our weather and e-mail. They have a great compression and forwarding system that keeps the satellite time to a minimum. For big files and pictures, we are searching out internet cafes with high speed hookups. We are working with Ocens to speed up our satellite system for pictures, and maybe video. I am still trying to catch up on the new technology; it’s a learn-as-you-go program. More to come on this section later. If you have any questions, I will try to get you an answer that makes sense, or direct you to the right person. <jim@rubyslippers49.com>

To keep all these high powered comfort items running, we are using a Balmar 97-series high-output alternator, charging 12 each 110 amp hr. house batteries. We have been using the engine so much we haven’t pushed the alternator. I have seen as much as 100 amps coming out of the unit. I will be able to get a better idea of how it is performing when we reach the trade winds.

Anchoring has been interesting along the way. We have been using a 45lb. plow with 150 feet of 5/16 high-test chain and 150 feet of 5/8 nylon rode. One night, the anchor lived up to it’s name, and we plowed a nice furrow about 100 yards long. The anchor did not come loose and drag, but we did move in the anchorage. As we are headed across the Gulf of Tehuantepec in the next few days, I am switching to the Bruce with 300’ of chain. I think it will do better in the sand. I will let you know how that works out.

We just tried our first fueling from jerry cans. They make them big down here in Mexico. A 16 gallon plastic fuel container weighs 128 lbs. We were able to back the rental car up to the boat on the pier and siphon the fuel right in. “Nothing handles like a rental.” We had the help of a Mexican dock attendant who had obviously done this many times; he showed us how to “blow the fuel into the hose” instead of sucking on that big ugly hose.

There are a lot more systems to talk about, but it will have to be in the next update. All in all, we are extremely happy with our boat and the choices we have made for add-ons. There is a lot more testing to be done over the next year or so. We’ll keep you posted! Jim

Well, how is your new year going? by Jeanna

Here are a few things that I hope will happen in 2007 (God willing):

Jim and I will celebrate 35 years of wedded bliss

Marine Servicenter will turn 30

Molly and Jessie will become teenagers

My Mother will celebrate her 90^th birthday

My little sister, who I will always think of as being 14, will celebrate the big 5-0

Her son, Erik, will graduate from high school (again, God willing).

Man, I sound like my Dad. He was forever cataloging events. He was a jogger, and would write down each day’s miles religiously. He had a goal of 5,000 miles in 5 years (or something like that), and he faithfully logged each and every step. I honestly think I remember that he figured out how many steps he had taken over a certain period of time. He cataloged his childrens’ accomplishments, his phone calls and visits, his mileage, his expenditures, how many times he’d read the Bible, how many freckles he could count on his arms – everything!

We celebrated New Year’s in a little bay called Chamela, about 100 miles south of Puerto Vallarta. The beach looked like Coney Island in the nineteen-fifties. There were families under beach umbrellas and make-shift tents, a hand-pulled ice cream wagon that played calliope music, and little restaurants under bright blue Visqueen, selling fish tacos and cheesy rice. Brown–skinned children were playing in the surf, and mothers in brightly colored polyester were admonishing their young ones to watch out for the big waves. There were very few non-Latinos on the beach, but the people greeted us and smiled shyly. I notice that when they greet you, they speak very fast and don’t say all the syllables, whereas my Buenos Dias or Buenos Tardes takes a long time for me to say. So, I’m trying to speed it up and mumble a little more, so they think I am a local.

There was a sweet dolphin in Chamela. (See Jessie’s update below for details). I hear he is a regular there. His name is Chip, because he has a big chunk missing from his dorsal fin. He played by our boat for a couple of hours – his favorite thing was scratching his body on our anchor chain. He would scratch and pull against it, then come up and look at us, to see if we were still watching, then he would swim out a few feet and catch his breath, then come back and do it all again. Molly and Jessie couldn’t stand it – they both put on their snorkel gear and jumped in the water. Chip was pretty shy, but he got within 4 or 5 feet of them.

Watching Chip reminded me of a dolphin encounter I had while we were crossing the Sea of Cortez. It was the middle of the night, and I was on watch. I was hand steering, since our autopilot was kaput. This big dolphin came swimming up beside me, with a jet of phosphorus bubbles trailing behind her. Normally, dolphins swim right up to the front of the boat, because they like to play in the wake the boat makes while knifing through the water. This dolphin seemed to sense that I could not go forward and “play” with her, so she stayed right beside me near the back of the boat. I would tap on the hull to “talk” to her, and she would jump clear out of the water and make a sound to talk back. It sounded almost like a kitten mewing. I’m sure it was a girl dolphin for, as we all know, females are the best communicators. She stayed with me for almost an hour, then sped away as if she heard her Mom calling her.

We are anchored in Tentatacita right now – a place Jim and I visited almost 30 years ago when we helped a friend sail his boat down the coast of Mexico. Of course, it has changed – there is a huge pink hotel on the beach, several hundred lounge chairs, and way too many jet skis. It’s still a beautiful spot. Molly and Jessie are kayaking up into a little lagoon right now, carrying a hand-held VHF radio in case they need help. They have named themselves OK1 and OK2 (for orange kayak). I have mixed feelings about their new streak of independence. I am proud of them for taking charge and having the confidence to tackle new challenges and situations, but I miss those trusting little children who needed to hear from their Mom that everything was going to be okay. I am besotted with love for those girls. Sometimes I just say their names out loud just because it is music to my ears. Do other parents feel this way? Am I just goopy because I am with them 24/7? Do I need to get a life? When I try to explain this feeling to Molly and Jessie, they just roll their eyeballs, waaaaay back in their heads and get embarrassed. I think I will keep this sickness to myself from now on.

We are leaving here early tomorrow morning and heading for Xtapa – about 230 miles away, which means night watches. Oh well, I’m getting used to it – I can’t say the I love to be shaken out of bed at 2:00 in the morning, but stars, dolphins, phosphorus bubbles and warm tropical air make it easier…

Chip the Dolphin By:Jessie

Right now (Wednesday), we are in Bahia Tenacatita. Before we came here, we stopped in Bahia Chamela. When we were anchoring in Bahia Chamela, a dolphin came up to our boat as if to check us out; we watched him for a long time. Suddenly he went a ways away, took three breaths, came back very close to the bow, and rubbed up against the anchor chain! He kept doing that repeatedly, and we went up to the bow and sat there watching him. When other people came into the bay he went to say hi to them too, but quickly came back to us. The next day, after breakfast, the dolphin was still here so we hurried to get our bathing suits on and jumped in the water to swim with him. Dad got out the under-water camera while Molly and I swam up to the bow. When we got there, the dolphin went out further than he usually did and when he came back, he went so deep we could not see him. We waited and waited but he did not come close to us; we saw him above the water but when he went under, he went too deep. The dolphin, it seemed, did not like us in the water with him; I was fine with that and I got out because I was very cold. Then I got the job of on-board camera duty; my job was to push “record” on the camera when Molly shouted that she saw the dolphin. Dad was controlling the waterproof lens while swimming beside the anchor. We got some good shots of the dolphin. After a while, the dolphin got tired of us and left to go pester someone else’s anchor. Later, when we went to the beach, Mom found out from a local that the dolphin’s name was Chip, because the top part of his dorsal fin was missing. Chip swims to Bahia Tenacatita too!