Beautiful crossing

We crossed from Mazatlan to Isla San Francisco one week ago. There has been no email connection since we left Mazatlan so I am a bit behind on my posting, please forgive me!

We had a beautiful crossing that took 40 hours with very mild wind and virtually no waves until the last few hours. Rog hooked a marlin the last morning out and gave it a big fight before he lost him.. The fish jumped at least 20 times as he circle the boat giving his best effort to shake the lure. We had the boat in reverse just trying to keep him close when he finally gave up the lure. We will keep trying.

Isle San Francisco was unbelievable, water was every shade of blue and surrounding hills changed colors as the sun moved. I would go back there any time. Our next stop was Agua Verda that was even more gorgeous. Water was warm enough to finally swim or snorkel which we did every day. The kayaks were deployed too so we were very busy. We thought the dingy had been repaired but no such luck, still leaking.

We stayed in Aqua Verde two nights before heading heading up to Puerto Escondido for the Loretto Fest. That is where we are now, enjoying the company of over 100 other boats. I will post pictures shortly, camera is not working so well right now but I will figure it out.

Change of plans

We are currently sitting in Marina El Cid waiting for our digny to get returned after being fitted with chaps to protect it up in the sea of Cortez.  This was suppose to be a three day project and we are going on day five right now, latest completion should noon on Wednesday.  If we in fact get the digny back we will be leaving around 2pm with Gilly and John on the Catalina 42 Destiny.  Originally we had planned to head up the mainland coast of Mexico to Topolobampo before heading over to Lorretto however there has been thick fog along the coast that has not been breaking up at all.  We have had enough fog to last us a lifetime so we are going to head out on a course of 248 directly to Isla San Francisco which is approximately 240 miles or 40 hours away.

We understand that there will be limited internet connections so I am not sure when I will post again but stay tuned

Beautiful Cayman Waters

I could not retire the subject of our trip to meet Nicholas without tempting friends with the beauty of the Cayman Islands. We have made many trips to visit Jen over the past ten years and one of our favorite spots is Rum Point. The water is very warm, beautifully clear, and the Mud Slides the best on the Island!

The trees on the waters edge are so soft and lacy, just enough shade if you want or full sun if you brought all your lotions. Families are always enjoying the lack of surf so the little
ones can splash for hours. We can't wait until Nicholas is old enough to enjoy this spot.
No dogs allowed!

Do you think Rog looks happy driving the kids beautiful boat!!  Great trip to Rum Point by boat.

Stingray City is a popular tourist attraction however the rays are found everywhere on the Island as we found out as soon as the anchor went down. We had used the kids boat for our final day on the island and only had one place we really wanted to go. Those Mud Slides and calm waters had been calling to us very hard.

The water is very shallow where we dropped anchor so we walked to shore looking out for the rays the entire time. We hope to come back to the Caymans at Christmas to see how much little Nicholas has grown. From the last picture we received from Jen we know he has almost outgrown his newborn outfits it length and in weight. Both very good signs for a little guy who started out so small.





Projects are being finished on the boat, the engine and generator are being serviced this morning, we had the refrig looked at yesterday and made some minor adjustment to increase performance and Tues we get the dingy back with new chaps made. We have found a fabulous US beef market very near El CID Marina so we will provision the boat Tues with plans to head up the Sea on Wed. We will stay on the mainland side for about 200 miles before we head over to The Loretto Fest

Andy's man Cave

Rog arrived back in the Cayman Islands just one day after his successful Banderas Bay Regatta ready to start projects that our daughter Jennifer had lined up for him long ago. She wanted to mosquito proof her husbands outdoor pavilion that houses pool table, BBQ, flat screen TVs and other boy toys with the intention of sending Nicholas outside to play with the guys. So after searching on the Internet Andy found mosquitocurtains.com and we ordered up the necessary drapes for seven doorways. They would ship in just two days so it was time to get busy.

Roger first decision was on the header board that would hide the mosquito netting track and would also work to mount the curtain rods that would be the finishing touch.  Of course he picked out a marine grade deck product that would never warp or discolor.

Andy did provide Rog with a crew of three to help him with the project soo they got up on the scaffolding to install the header board.  Thank you very much for all the help.

While the guys were installing the header boards Jen and Dad were busy picking out the drawer hardwear for the new BBQ and island cabinets.  All the door fronts would be romoved later and treated with a teak oil.  Look for the difference in later photos.








Andy will need a two drawer beer cooler as well as an outside ice maker if he really wants to spend quality time in his man cave.  Sink would be a nice touch too.  The installation was a time consuming project spearheaded by Rog.  The plumbing, the electrical was a challenge but it came together perfectly!

A beautiful black countertop was finally installed.  Notice that the teak has now been oiled.


The drapes and the mosquito netting have both been installed.  The "big ass fan" has finally been wired and tested for air movement.  It moves tones of air

but it sounds like a jet airplane taking off!!!!!!

Final project looks great and we are ready for our first dinner party that Jenny held for us the night before we left.  Andy BBQed and Jen mad fabulous salads for ten of our Cayman friends.

Nicholas and Grandmother gave the room our seal of approval!! No bugs and very cool with the fan blowing.

Next project when we come down at Christmas is to figure out how we keep the dogs off the furniture!

Roger's take on the Race

Banderas Bay Regatta

Every year the highlight of our season seems to be the Banderas Bay Regatta.  It is soooo much fun to get together with friends and folks who want to sail in such an outstanding venue with warm winds and water.  It all starts with a parade out of Paradise Village just before noon for three or four hours of racing.  All the boats work feverishly trying to be assigned a phrf handicap that represents what the boat can do if sailed to it’s potential!

Di’s Dream parade ready with crew ready to go!

Start line with 470 “Cest La Vie” and Di’s Dream

Day one sailing was very good and we managed a

4 ^th place in Class C.  We did pick the wrong side

 of  the course on the second downwind leg and

 let  a few boats get back ahead of us.

Day two we were ready to go but with the Tsunami in Japan and everyone was concerned about a tsunami wave hitting the west coast. We were hit in the Puerto Vallarta area with strong enough currents and tides that the racing for the day was cancelled.  By 12 noon we heard much about the damage to Cresent City and Santa Cruz and made the decision to take the boat offshore before 1 pm to avoid possible damage in the Marina by the torrents of water rushing in and out of the breakwater.

After sailing for 8 hours we were prepared to try to re enter the Marina but the Mexican Port Captains had closed the ports at all three harbors. Dave’s wife Leslie and I had to tough it out by anchoring out, watching the sun go down and having some nice wine and munchies till well after nightfall.  Dave watched us closely!

Then after the patrol boats vacated the area and fellow boats called us on the radio suggesting it was safe to return we returned under the cloak of darkness.

Day three was all clear and we were ready to go again !!!!  We had found on our Friday sail that the La Cruz side of the Bay seemed favored late afternoon so decided on a strategy to tack back to better wind on the second and third legs which proved to be more far more effective on the last day of racing .

Final results we managed to be third. But the greatest fun was sailing with our buddies Kieth and Susan on 470 # 33 Cest La Vie, Orlando and Linda on “Cubre Libra 3” along with their sailing therapist, and Eric and Maryln on Full Shell for the Regatta festivities.

Lou on “Cirque” was for the third year in a row the winner in Class A, Chip and Katie

on “Miss Teak” a Morgan did well and finished 2^nd in Class E as well!  Congrats!!

Kieth and Susan on 470 # 33 “Cest La Vie”

Chip and Katie on “Miss Teak” Morgan 45

Roger, Terry, Dave and Leslie  on “Di’s Dream” Catalina 470 # 147

Terry and Michelle from “Coastal Passage” were able to be down with us and a special thanks goes to Dave and Leslie from “Sunshine Daydream”  for all their help and support during such an outstanding race and event!  They may even bring their new Catalina 445 down next year along with friends Mark and Mimi on their 440.

Lou and Laura on “Cirque “  Always FAST!

Great friends Mike and Sylvia ”Sabatical”

To whom we owe huge thanks to for a sail repair

and assistance getting home to Puerto Vallarta

Andy and Liz phrf handicaps extraordinary,  thank you for taking our washer/dryer into consideration!

Orlando and Linda with     "sailing therapist"!

Eric and Maryln on

“440 Full Shell”

Valerie and Ron   Columbia  43 “Valerie K”

A very special thank you goes to the photographer of race, Jay Ailworth.  Without you none of us would have any memories of the fantastic two days of sailing.  Thank you for all your amazing work

It was as always, a fabulous time with great folks in a fabulous location.

Happy Roger

If you think Roger is only happy out sailing his boat you may have to change your mind about him! He arrived back in the Caymans late Monday after flying from PV to Dallas at 7:30 am, on to Miami and then finally to Georgetown at 9pm. Tues was spent recuperating while Nicholas went in for his six week checkup, he is up to 5 lbs 12 oz!

Wednesday Rog got to go to the local hardware/lumber yard with his two most favorite people, Jennifer and Nicholas! What a great trip too. He figured out how to hang mosquito netting around the pavilion so future basketball games cane be enjoyed outside

It is a wrap!

After all the excitement of leaving the marina on Friday and waiting for the tsunami to arrive the Banderas Bay Regatta got back underway on Saturday. Roger start was in class C right after the very fast boats and then the catamarans and you do want them ahead of you. They extended the race to three times around the course instead of the stardard two times to give everyone more time on the water.

Roger and crew had a fantastic sail and felt much more competitive than day one. However, as the blog title suggests there was one major spinnaker wrap that almost stopped Di's Dream cold. With Terry and Dave working frantically the spinnaker finally flew free after having to head up into the wind for a good ten minutes. Everyone thought the race was over for the day but with Rog holding a steady course and Leslie releasing the jib sheets on cue Terry and Dave were able to reset the sails like pros!

Without knowing the results of day two racing all I can report is that Roger and crew took third overall in their class! Good job.