Pirates for pupils, Lucha Libre and the scrotum totem

This past weekend hosted the annual Pirates for pupils fundraising event. On Saturday all the boats participating were to "race" from La Cruz to Punta Mita. Of the six boats racing to Punta Mita only two were mono-hulls Blue the J-160 and Charissa. The rest were catamarans: Capricorn Cat, Endless Summer, Escapade and Sea Level. We were recruited by Jim and Kent Milski to be on Sea Level a while ago. David and I were both looking forward to sailing on this beautiful cat. The start of the race was intense! We were pushing Endless Summer up trying to pinch them out at the starting line, but Steve did an amazing job of turning up and dropping back down barely making it inside the line. Kent couldn't watch as we were about 18 inches away from having Endless Summer crawling up our rear.

Cap Cat was hot on our trail for most of the race, but two not-so-good tacks let them take the lead. We stayed inside hugging the coast to keep with the pressure and Cap Cat had gone towards the middle of the bay. By the time we tacked out of the beach some huge swells were rolling in...we had been in the surf zone! We could tell Jim was pondering going back to that very spot after the race, but for now we had to keep on racing. That little trick allowed us to catch Cap Cat. We kept closing the distance until we knew Cap Cat couldn't tack. We were both on starboard tack and they would have to duck us and lose valuable time. While we kept playing with Capricorn Cat taking them up towards the Marietas, Escapade started to catch up. We knew we had to pull out some serious tactics. We pulled up alongside Cap Cat less than a boat length away and began talking to Wayne. A little history about this tactic: We have raced with Cap Cat many times and David made a rule that no one was to talk to Wayne or vice-versa because he would stop steering the course. So we pulled out all the stops and taunted, yelled and chatted until there were water guns being pulled on us. Once everyone was distracted on Cap Cat we tacked in and made a hustle towards the finish line. Cap Cat scrambled and tacked quickly and were hot on our heels for the remainder of the race, but we are happy to say WE WON!!!

It was a great day of fun sailing so we went over to Cap Cat to congratulate them on a great race and give them their second place prize...the scrotum totem courtesy of Jim and Kent. Jim and Kent found these baskets in Zihuatenajo that turned out to be bulls balls made into cute "little" baskets. Huge and furry bulls balls. Wayne seemed pleased with his new toy and we all got a good laugh. Soon Cap Cat turned into the party boat as every boat came over to hang out, talk tactics, sail trim and mingle.

Later we caught a panga ride (since the swells were big) into the Blue Water Grill for some drinks and food. We got into some playful trash talk and started to throw down some money on the Lucha Libre challenge. The food arrived and my plate was delicious. I had the Pollo Adobada with a green pepper. Mmmm yummy. We enjoyed the socializing, but after a long day of fun in the sun we called it a night by cruisers midnight.

As we piled into Sea Level feeling elated we heard a horrible scraping noise on deck. Jim went up and was astounded to find that a turnbuckle (silicon bronze) broke allowing the now free shroud to flop around. The guys secured it to a cleat and ran the spinnaker halyard down to the deck for added safety. A closer inspection inside the boat revealed cracks in the partition joints. Luckily Jim realized that it wasn't structural part of the boat, but still a pain in the ass to repair. Not the best way to end the night.

The following morning we called Mike to see if he had any 3/4 turnbuckles laying around. Turns out he did. He brought two to the El Dorado brunch for us. We strutted the beach in full on pirate garb and made our way to the gathering. We weren't sure which restaurant it was until we saw two little pirates running around slaying people. Yep, that was us. The brunch made for some more successful donations for the Pirates for Pupils, more trash talk Lucha Libre fun and more Punta Mita Y&SC members. A successful start to the day.

Since we had our two turnbuckles to try out we hoped to be participating in the spinnaker run. We took on the Don Quixote family and after trying both turnbuckles with no luck we quickly hustled with them to Endless Summer. It was a full boat with Manjula, Steve, Dean, Toast, Jamie, Mera, Aeron, David, me and Sookie the boat dog. We were late to the start, but our spinnaker was up and we were on the way. It was a great boat to sail and a decent day for a spinnaker, but we never caught up to any other boat once we blew by Tomatillo. I really enjoyed talking with the Don Quixote family. I think both the parents of the girls and I had preconceived notions of one another and they were quickly set straight once we actually got talking. I love when that happens. The girls are so smart and free in the way that they think. We need more people in the world like them.

So in the end Cap Cat won followed by Escapade then us on Endless Summer. At least we got on the podium. I am told that it was a "photo finish" between Blue and Capricorn Cat. That would have been great to see, but we were busy not catching up, but enjoying ourselves fully. I also heard from Ronnie the Tea Lady that we raised a whopping 30,000 pesos, the most ever for this event! Very cool.

Happy birthday David!!!

There happened to be about four birthday boys all in La Cruz at the same time. Barry of Anna Banana's, a guy named Dale, Mike's son Merrik and of course David. Anna Banana's had live music, dancing, food and a cake. Kameron got the girls up on the dance floor and started to do the macarena. Anna gave us a special little piece of cake complete with relighting candles which thrilled Anna to no end. The festivities got going and the tequila got flowing. We found old friends and made new ones. We got a picture of a hound dog barking the blues and three celebrities all in one place! Gene Wilder (Monty) Clint Eastwood (David) and Michael Caine (Barry, but not the birthday Barry). The party moved on to the Britania where yet more tequila was distributed. We skipped the tequila and I opted to play with the most adorable puppy ever. I have never had dogs or puppies so I fell in love with the little ball of joy. I think David even had a moment of weakness and took a liking to the little puppy.

Puerto Rico for a night

Our first layover was 23 hours in Puerto Rico. After David did some flight research he found the *shortest* layover was 7 hours in either Miami or Puerto Rico. We opted for the longest layover in PR. Once off the plane we had to collect our luggage and an extra empty (read:full) bag that Dona asked us to fly down for her. We thought we would be able to check the bags, but it turns out that is not the case. The bags can not be checked until the same day of the flight. No worries. We grabbed our stuff and got a cab. The driver asked where to and we said "we don't know." He found us a nice hotel for a low price. The Hotel Las Americas was renovating so it cost a whopping $65 USD for the night. We thanked the taxi man, Rafael, and made our way to our room.

The hotel was all old style with paintings of Colombus on the walls, beautiful stained glass windows , fancy chandeliers and some things like the "peeping toms." The ceilings were painted along with banners over the balconies. The room was smallish and bare, but it was practical. We only needed a place for our bags and to sleep and this room was perfect for our needs. We dropped off our bags and headed to the local restaurant for some mofongo. Mofongo is the popular local dish made of fried plantains that are mashed and sometimes stuffed with chicken, shrimp, pork or other meats. I had the chicken variety and it was both filling and delicious. After such a big meal we had to lay down and let it settle if we wanted to be active later.

Later that night we found a nice place for a drink and appetizer before going to see a movie. We saw Milk which I thought was phenominal. We had to return to the hotel semi early so we wouldn't miss our flight the following morning. Not that staying in PR would be bad, but Eupsychia beckoned us.

We had a last chance to get some Puerto Rican grub before we were flying to Dallas and then home to PV. All went well and after flying all day we were glad to drag our weary bodies to our floating home. The cat was very happy to see us and she expressed that love with licks and copious amounts of fuzz all over everything she could reach. Vacation was great, but its is nice to be home.

Always, always, always down wind...except...

On the morning of the 6th we got the boat to ourselves. By six am we were motoring towards our delivery destination of Tortola. We were going to stay the night at Virgin Gorda's Spanish Town if all went according to "plan." It didn't.

As we rounded the west end of the island we knew it wouldn't be just a pleasant sail. The seas were building and the squalls were coming down to us. We motored for a while before getting the sails up under a double reefed main and reefed jib. We were going faster under sail than we had been under motor. Once the waves got to the eight foot area we started taking waves over the side. The winds picked up to 25-30kts. Waves would slap the bottom of the boat with a BOOM and bounce the contents around. We found where the ports leak and that one door refused to stay neither latched open or closed. We sailed on and did eventually make it to Virgin Gorda, but the anchorage was blown out so we sailed on to Tortola's Fat Hog's Bay. We dropped the hook and made a beeline to the closest food joint. We had no beer on board and little food so we were ready for a spot of both by the time we anchored. We found a place called Emily's and we got ordering the food. We met the new owner Jamie who was a really nice guy.

The following day we had to rush to Road Town for immigration. All went well and we explored the town. We found a restraunt called Midtown Restaurant that served good ol' greasy food. We went back to the boat to relax after a filling meal and were startled to see guts floating by the boat. Tripe anyone? Eww, definitely not going swimming here.

Once we got 'Ti Profligate to the charter base, we took the dink to go find sustenance. We hopped around different restaurants before ending up at the Pussers Rum place where we ordered some pub grub and a much too sweet rum drink. The food was good, but the atmosphere was ruined once some stupid frat boys came in rude, drunk, obnoxious and hurling profanities at one another. Time to go.

The day to leave finally came. We packed up and got a cab to the airport. The taxi man was astounded to hear that we came across in such rough weather. He tipped his hat to us as he took us on the scenic route of Tortola.

I have come to a conclusion...I like being in places where roosters roam in and around the airports. That spells out some kind of freedom somehow. Casual I suppose. It was a nice airport even with chickens walking through it. We didn't have time to ask why the chicken crossed the runway. Good times.

Saint Martin

The fun at St. Barts had to end eventually or so I am told. We had a great time hanging out with all of the people we met throughout our visit. What a slice of *expensive* paradise. Our trip was marvelous and the only bad thing we heard about was the day before we left. A boat named Wild Horses reported it's big red dinghy lost or stolen. The worst part was that the last guy that tied and locked it up was not on Wild Horses at all. Anyhow the rumors began flying on such a small island and settled on our ears as a yellow ketch stole it. We had seen the particular yellow boat in question a few days earlier at Fourchue. They had no dinghy and tried to bum rides constantly. With no evidence it meant nothing though. So with nothing more to do we left. Our next stop was to be at Saint Martin.

St. Martin (or St. Maarten) is a Dutch and French island which makes it interesting to observe. The French side seemed rather rundown and bleak looking and the Dutch side looked well taken care of and cleaner. We were to stay the night so we could drop off Dona and Rico at the airport. We arrived midday so we dropped Dona off at an internet cafe and got to touring in the dink. We toured Simpson Bay in the dink and wouldn't you know we saw that yellow boat, but the red dink was nowhere insight. Richard goes on about how Dona shouldn't jump to conclusions based on stupid rumors. After food, beer, buying batteries and relaxing we went over to say hello to Mike Harken of Wanderlust. After a few minutes of chatting we glance over at the yellow ketch. IT HAD THE RED DINK!!! Rico says sayonara and off we go full speed to the thieving boat. Richard starts screaming at the top of his lungs, "WHAT ARE YOU DOING WITH THAT DINGHY?!" One of the scrawny french guys comes out and tried to explain how he found it at Fourchue full of water. Riiiiight. We aren't leaving without the dink so David untied the bow and I got the stern free and off we went. It was an intense situation and thankfully it was over in minutes with no problems. Hours later we would check and see that the yellow boat left in a hurry. Rico owed Dona an apology.

The rest of the night went on rather calmly. The bay filled up with a ridiculous amount of boats that were going to do the Heineken Regatta. There must have been over a hundred boats anchored out and that doesn't include the 50 others that were waiting for the bridge to go up. The bridge goes up twice a day unless you want to spend $5,000 to have it opened just for you. It was a neat spectacle to see, but a big traffic jam for all the car commuters.

Exploring St. Barts

We have made a few friends since arriving in St. Barts. The great thing is that they all want to show us the cool sights, beaches, surf spots, bird wathing hot spots and trails to hike. We met up with a cool guy named Will and toured the island by jeep. We stopped to hike a trail that went from to a beautiful beach called Colombier. The other trail we took was a bit longer and on the opposite side of the island. It was a hike out to what is called the "washing machine". It is a boogieboarding spot with continuous waves and whitewater. It gets churning out there! We hiked on and came to a gorgeous place with natural pools. Ahhhh it felt so nice to take a dip after hiking for 45 minutes.

It is our last night here in St. Barts so we have to soak it all up. We are taking the boat to St. Maartan for a night to drop off Rico and Dona. Early in the morning we will get sailing to Tortola where we will say goodbye to the Caribbean and fly back to Mexico. So no more time to blog...MUST GO PLAY!

St. Barths.

It's normal to arrive in St. Barts on Saturday and pick up your luggage on Monday. We had no ride from the airport since we flew in early, no worries. We hitchhiked our way around. It took a few days for our bags to arrive, but whatever. We like traveling light. No worries is the motto of this trip. We went to Le Select (the local burger joint/hangout) and quickly made friends with an array of people.

On Sunday we upped the anchor and went to Colombier for a couple hours to relax and enjoy the absolutely stunning water. The anchoring was a new experience for us since people seem to anchor really close to each other. REALLY CLOSE! No worries though, right? We survived the close anchoring and made our way back to our original spot before heading ashore to Shell beach. Shell beach....wow, we saw some of the most beautiful people imaginable. The DJ rocked the trance and the people all moved to the rhythm.

I was lucky enough to get a tour of the island by hopping on the back of Richard's motorcycle. Every turn of the island reveals a place more beautiful than the last. The views are breathtaking. I love that every home on the island has one either a red, green or white roof. Nothing flashy, but very purposeful homes that are constructed well. We toured the surf spots, beaches, salt plant, fancy bars, stores, and everything else in between. The coolest part is that it took maybe an hour and a half. We did stop for a while since it started raining so it was probably only an hour around the island.

Drums pounding constantly. It is intoxicating to be in such close proximity to the constant rumble of the drums. Primal and animalistic feelings course through our veins. The smell of pot in the air. Costumes, laughter, confetti and conch shells all mean one thing...Carnaval/Mardi-Gras/Fat Tuesday! The streets are packed with people of every age, sex, color, costume and there are no police (Gendarmeries) in sight. Flatbed trucks with music, dance brigades and flocks of followers slowly move around the town. We were all in the best of spirits and immersed in our new experience. We turned in early...maybe midnight and the festival was still going!

The following day there was a ceremony called the burning of Vaval. Vaval symbolizes the white man. That being said there were tons of whities there, us included, cheering them on to burn the man. The fire chief is the fire starter but apparently he was never a pyro. I guess they have a hard time lighting the man every year. Maybe its because fires usually get started from the bottom to become successful. Once Vaval went up in flames it was truly a spectacular sight. We danced in the firelight as the flames licked upwards into the dark sky.

After Carnaval was over the town quieted down considerably. With no need to hang around town we decided to take a sail. We ended up anchored in the crystal blue waters of St. Jean. One of the spectacular things about St. Jean it that is it right where the runway ends onto the beach. Seriously, right on the beach. So we hug out at the Pink Parrot at La Plague and watched the planes land. David and I walked back toward St. Jean the following day so we could get pictures of the planes coming in. One plane came in not six feet above David's head!

As you can all see, we have been very busy enjoying every last thing the island has to offer which is why the blog has been put off so long. Sorry for the delay and check back often because we might have more coming soon.