Cruiser Net Overload While I was finishing out my job in Seattle I heard a lot about cruiser nets from the publications I read. Web sites like CSBB and “Lectronic Latitude” were always referring to net this and net that – “we heard about it on the net“. What were these curious institutions formed by…
Trigger Fish from Isla Isabella – about 2 pounds each – they were big fighters with very tough teeth for eating sea urchins – they broke several hooks – delicious firm and white flesh. Fishing in Mexico Man – I just lost the big one. I am so sad. I felt worse than when I…
Isla Isabela east anchorage – very rolly – we were here for three days.. We left Mazatlan on a Friday – which is notorious as a bad luck day for departures. Are we superstitious – well – there was good wind, or so we thought, and dead calm predicted for the next day. Reluctantly, MS…
January 28, 2008, marked one full calendar year since we sailed away from the dock at Shilshole Marina in Seattle, Washington, with no intention of returning. The year has been…interesting. Rewarding. Complicated. Satisfying. We have successfully avoided killing each other – though on a few occasions bad words were muttered sotto voce. And sometimes, not…
There we were a while back, sitting in the fine seats of Mazatlan’s Angela Peralta Theatre watching an outstanding flamenco performance by local talent.* Having recently watched an orchestra perform Mozart’s "Requiem," GB turns to me and remarks: "There’s no tuba in flamenco." I replied, "…" What would YOUR answer be? (1) "…Thank Gawd." (2) …
After four days in Guadalajara we traveled a few miles south to Lake Chapala by rental car. At the time it seemed logical to rent a car, not knowing the lay of the land and all, but the next time we make this trip (and it’s likely there will be a next time) we’ll study…
Guadalajara is too big to see in the few days we’d alloted. But, when we took the bus there from Mazatlan we concentrated on the central Historic District for 4 days so got an idea of what the the city might have been like, from the pre-columbian era to the Spanish conquest to the Industrial…
When the Fox is in port for a while (like now), GB and I like to sniff around inland. After all, the cruising lifestyle isn’t only about what you see on the water. We studied a little bit and decided to see Guadalajara – Mexico’s second-largest city at between 5 and 7 million inhabitants, depending…
The cruising life is challenging. So many things demand one’s time: procuring fuel takes longer than simply sidling up to a fuel dock; doing laundry is more complicated*; getting groceries and seeing a doctor require negotiating buses and taxis and speaking in a foreign language in addition to just buying the groceries or walking into…
Mazatlan has a tropical climate. For the likes of me, even in December (winter, here) it’s been in the 80s (F), with 70% humidity, man. I get sweaty, sticky, and short of breath. Also? I got attacked by a gang of no-see-ums, the likes I haven’t seen since BC. Check this out: Insects love to…