Pirates in Paradise

Pirates in Paradise:  Tuesday April 9, 2003

   I flew back from Seattle to Puerto Vallarta early this morning to be reunited with our sailboat “Mariah.”  I had mixed feelings of excitement to continue cruising blended with dread finding out the details of a break in that occurred about 3 weeks ago while at anchor according to other cruisers at the harbor.     

   Reportedly Mariah was broken into at night while she was alone at anchor.  Not until my return did I realize the long list of about 20 items that were missing, big and small.  Luckily the only damage was to the lock hasp on the companionway door.  There were many important cruising items and watertoys gone. Most of my stuff is still here but it made me realize that the more stuff you have, the more you have to protect and maintain.  Cruising is definitely “gear heavy” and I like my water toys.   I took a big risk leaving Mariah alone at anchor while trying to save about $1500 in marina fees.  I had other cruisers watching Mariah but things can happen under the cover of night. Insurance will cover much of the loss but it is an emotional loss for gear that has memories for me.  On the positive side its better to lose some gear then lose the whole boat to theft of crashing up on shore. I heard reports of 2 boats dragging anchor nearby at crashing on the shore (one was a total loss).  So overall I cant complain since this is really the only negative experience I’ve had in 6 months of cruising.

   Now lets get back to the good stuff.  I got back to Mariah about 5pmand got a ride to Mariah from Tim who took great efforts to make Mariah as safe as possible (even fixing the broken latch). After  surveying my losses I decided to blow off some steam by catching some waves just inshore from Mariah. So I literally just paddled from Mariah straight to shore and caught some small waves on my longboard.  It wasn’t the best surf session but I felt good to be in the 70 degree water with 80 degree water.  It gets dark about 8:30 after the recent time change so it was a long and enjoyable dusk.  After reading a bit I went to sleep and slept well with the gentle rocking of the boat.

Work Day: Wednesday April 10, 2013

   I only had dry and canned goods on board so dinner last night was a can of lightly sweetened yams (I was too lazy to make pasta) and for breakfast I made wholewheat pancakes with chopped nuts and honey.  Today I checked some things off my “to do” list. I got started by scraping barnacles and grass off Mariah’s bottom.  Her bottom was the worse I’ve seen. The prop was encrusted with barnacles and her entire bottom had to be scraped and wiped down. This is tough work while holding your breath with mask and snorkel.  I paid to have her bottom cleaned twice while I was away but apparently it wasn’t enough. I only got about ½ done today before giving into fatigue.   I also inflated and assembled the dingy and outboard which I am grateful was not stolen being my lifeline to shore.

 

   I later dingyed over to surf at “Stinky’s” which was named for the sewage outlet which has since been cleaned up, at least we hope.  Again not the best surfing due to small slow waves but it was still great being on the water and I got to chat with my friend Chris who was stand up paddle boarding on the waves with his wife.  I also met Will, Lindsey, and Kalena. Will and Lindsey are visiting from Mt Baker in Seattle for 10 days of surf and sun. Kalena in visiting from the “other” coast and really deserves the warm weather.  We all ended up on Mariah at sunset for food, drinks and conversation.   It was really great getting back into cruising mode with new friends.  It was a needed medicine for my recent gear loss and a reminder that the best thing about cruising is shared experiences with new friends (thanks guys.)

More tasks:  Thursday  April 11, 2013

   My priority today was to make a police report for the stolen items which is required for insurance.  I considered renting a car and running to several stores today but at $70 car rental fee I ended up taking the bus to the Police Station.   This task took much of the day, but the lady who assisted with the report spoke fair English and was very helpful.

   I gave up on taking the bus to Costco or the market because it was too far and too late.  I stopped by the local mini market and got some basic foods to hold me over until I do bigger shopping soon.

   I spent another 2-3 hours in the water scraping barnacles and cleaning Mariah’s bottom.  Image scraping the entire hull with a 3” scraper and then rubbing it down with a cloth all while holding your breath.  It was a great work out but very tiring.  My knuckles are scraped and bloody but  I was fulfilled when finally finished.  I laid down for a nap afterwards.

   I made burgers for Chris and his wife but they never arrived as planned. However I still enjoyed my cheeseburger with grilled onions and BBQ sauce.  Chris, eat your heart out!! 

   Tomorrow I sail to Paradise Resort where I meet Vinnie and the kids in the afternoon.

Family Arrives: Friday April 12

 

   Moved Mariah from Punta Mita to Paradise resort. I motored about 2.5 hours then sailed the last hour as the wind filled in. It felt good to sail again. After arriving at Paradise marina and signing in I hopped on the bus to the airport and made it just in time to meet Vinnie, Maya and Dylan. They were tired after a long flight.  We bused back to the marina, went for a refreshing swim in the pool, BBQed burgers for dinner, and went to bed.

Shopping Day:  Saturday April 13

   Today was a long hot day of bus rides to Wallmart, Home Depot, a marine store and a tool store. We got groceries, a replacement deep cycle battery and inverted.  It was hard carrying heavy groceries in backpacks and a heavy car like battery by hand, but we got it done.

   Vinnie found a friend SueAnn and went to dinner while I took all the kids to Pizza Hut.  Later there was Pinata event for the kids at the hotel and Dylan got a supply of candy.

 

   We are taking SueAnn and her 2 kids on Mariah for the trip back to Punta Mita where they will spend the day and return via public bus.

  That's all for now. Its 11:30 and time for bed.  I may not post again until we return in a week so cheers for now,  Ken