The Pacific is Calling!

There was one day when the wind shifted in the bay, and blew in scads and scads of tiny jellyfish. It looked like there were big orange rocks in the water. When we would get up closer to look in the dinghy, it was thick piles of little jellyfish with really long tentacles. That day, we didn’t go in the water, but luckily, the wind shifted the next day, and blew everything out of the bay, and we could get back to having fun.

Soon it was time to start making our way back north towards Puerto Vallarta to meet our friends who were coming for a holiday there. We looked for good weather with low winds to beat back north, and broke up the trip with a few days rest back in Tenacatita, a favorite stop. Life was easy there, with lots of people to see and a nice beach, to wander and easy waves to surf. And it’s a really nice, calm anchorage.

We had one more leg to make it back to Puerto Vallarta in time, and we knew we’d have to go overnight to get there. You have to be careful going around the Cape into Banderas Bay and time it just right to not get in trouble with some wild wind and we seemed to be on the right track for that. 

We had made good time throughout the day, leaving early, and even getting some sailing in heading north, which is a bit uncommon for this time of year. We saw so many whales, breaching and even some dolphins along the way. As the day went on, the waves picked up, and we were motoring for the rest of the day. A few hours into the evening, it was getting a little unruly, and Matt and I had just had a thought to possibly turn into a small bay nearby, and it was then that our engine decided to die. 

It might seem like this happens often, but it really doesn’t. But there’s never a good time for your engine to die. This time in particular was a little hair-raising because it was pitch black, and the waves were quite close together, and we were close enough to shore that it could become an issue. Luckily, Matt knew just what to do, and we hove-to for a moment to do some diagnosing. After a few attempts, the problem was solved, and the decision was easily made to tuck into Ipala, which was a bay right nearby. It’s never fun to pull into a new anchorage in the pitch black but after bobbing around in the dark without an engine, it really was the best choice we could’ve made. 

I called these experiences “the best worst experiences“ because the engine could’ve died at a much worse place, say, as we were rounding the cape, two or three hours later into the dark, and that would’ve been pretty miserable. So, I’m really thankful that it happened when it did, and we were able to tuck into a safe encourage for the night. We all learned something during these adventures, mostly that there’s a fuel filter issue that needs to be resolved, and that’s totally within Matt’s power to fix it.

The next morning we took off in the daylight, and rounded the Cape in perfect sunshine, and calm waters. There was no bad weather in sight, and I even took a nap as we rounded into Banderas Bay.

In no time at all, we were able to meet up with friends who had traveled all the way from Vancouver Island (and area) for a holiday. We were able to show them around La Cruz a little bit and a day or two later, Matt and I explored a nearby town, Bucerias, with them as well. And then we had a really nice family day at our friends resort, complete with pool, and poolside drinks, and the beautiful beach, right next to it. Digory was pretty excited for the buffet for breakfast and the burger bar that opened at noon. It was a really nice time to feel like tourist in Mexico and enjoy some good catch-up time with dear friends.

Not long ago, through a friend of a friend, we were told some sage advice on how to get ready for a passage: tuck into a marina and get all your jobs done, quickly, and easily at the dock. This turned out to be the best piece of advice we’ve gotten in a long time. After saying goodbye to our friends, we were lucky enough to secure a spot at the marina in Paradise Village, also in Banderas Bay.

The name of the marina holds true, this place really was a slice of paradise. Not only was the marina neat and tidy and safe, it’s also part of a resort, so there’s a really great pool, and shopping nearby, even a hospital. The most helpful part of staying at the marina was that we could do all of our passage prep work on the boat quickly, and easily. 

Often the morning would start off with me, and the kid or two hopping on the small buses that were nearby, and getting to a big shopping center like Walmart within 15 minutes. Here, the kids and I could make a list of things we wanted to buy, and always bring full backpacks back to the boat. We knew eventually we would do one or two really big shops where we need to take a cab back to the boat, but it was so cheap and easy to hop on the bus a few times and do small loads back-and-forth. It really helped.

Another great piece of advice we got was to cook as much food as we could ahead of time while at the dock. So we got to work making meals that we knew we already liked and then freezing as many portions as we didn’t eat for dinner. Lots of classics like chili and spaghetti sauce, but also some interesting ones like butter chicken, or Mulligatawny soup, and I even barbecued lots of chicken and pork, just to have on hand to toss on rice, or throwing in a sandwich. I feel so much better having real food that we can easily warm up while we’re underway and we won’t just have to eat Ramen noodles everyday. (But, I mean, who doesn’t love ramen noodles?!?)

We all found a nice rhythm at the marina of a morning filled with food prep, schoolwork, or boat jobs, and then in the hottest part of the afternoon, we would all make our way to the pool to lounge on the chairs, and then take a turn down the wild crocodile waterslides. This also felt like a proper holiday, and it made passage/boat prep a lot more fun. There was even evening entertainment at the resort, and Digory was pretty excited to watch a Michael Jackson performance. That guy was really good!

We’ve been so grateful to have met a fellow Canadian couple who are on the same journey as we are. Not just the sailing journey, but a literal same journey - they plan to go to French Polynesia at the same time as us, then leave for Hawaii at the same time as us, then leave Hawaii for home in the same season as us. It just makes sense to go together.

Stu and Jeanne on SV Flow are a lovely couple who’s kids have grown up and are in university, but were also looking for a buddy boat to do this first big passage with. So we’ve been making some plans with them, and have been able to do some seminars and learning together before we take off. I think we all feel a little more safe and supported just having one other boat out there who’s on a similar track.

We’ve also been able to reach out to some seasoned sailors who have done journeys like this (and then some) and have been able to give us some really good advice, and some weather routing tips. 

At this point in our journey, we feel like we understand weather routing software much better than when we started, but it’s always great to have seasoned pros giving you a bit more intel on what it’s actually like out there. 

Before we knew it, it was time to check out of the marina and head back to the La Cruz anchorage. We were able to do some really big laundry before we left, and Piper and I also got haircuts and we were able to enjoy one more happy hour by the pool (and it was free because Digory won a football, throwing competition earlier in the week, and they awarded him free drinks!).

After more than a week of still calm nights at the dock, it was a bit of a rude awakening when we dropped the hook in the La Cruz anchorage to a really rock ‘n’ rolly night. We had all sort of lost our sea legs while at the marina, and we were all a little uncomfortable that first night. I know it’s good prep for being out at sea again, but it was a really wild night, and I think we all regretted leaving the marina.

Luckily, the weather turned around in the next day or so, and we could resume normal life on the boat while at anchor. Since we had done a couple really big shopping trips while at the marina, we were getting close now to needing produce that will last three or four weeks at sea. 

Another great piece of advice we got was to always do some reconnaissance shopping before you do a big shop, so it was nice to be able to chat with the owner of the fruiteria, and ask him what the best day was to come for the freshest, and most abundant produce. All of this in very broken Spanish but he told us to come on either a Tuesday or Thursday or a Saturday for the most selection. So on Saturday we all brought our backpacks and bags and loaded up with sturdy fruits and veg that will last. Things like potatoes, onions, apples, carrots, etc.. We all had backpacks stuffed and carted them back to the dinghy dock, which was thankfully not too far away, but don’t forget - it’s pretty hot in Mexico right now.

The boat is now getting really full of food and now we have open baskets of fruits and vegetables sitting on the floor, with more to come in a few days. Maybe we’re going a little overkill, if but we’ve been told over and over from lots of people to bring as much food as you can to French Polynesia, as everything is more expensive there.

I was told early on, not just to shop to get to French Polynesia, but shop to get through French Polynesia. So we’re not just shopping for a one month passage, we’re shopping for a one month passage, and 2 to 3 months in those beautiful islands. That’s a lot of food! Obviously, we’ll pick up what fresh fruit and veggies we can when we’re there, but any staples we can store more of we’ll be grateful for later. So we’re getting as much flour and sugar and butter, and meat, and dried beans and pasta as we can fit in our cupboards. It’s a lot of upfront shopping, but I’m really hoping it pays off in the future.

A new routine at anchor, every day, doing a little bit of shopping, or cleaning or prep in the morning, and then making our way to shore for some errands, or dropping the kids off at the clubhouse to play games with other teens in the air conditioning. It’s not a bad place to be, and there really is a lovely community here, full of sailors doing really similar journeys, and it’s a great place to get inspired.

Currently, Matt is off with our buddy boat Stu, heading towards the Mexican port captain to make an appointment to officially check out of the country on Wednesday. That makes things pretty legit, so we’re getting close. 

We plan to do the last fruit and veggie shop on Tuesday, where we get things like bananas, and mangoes, and lettuces and tomatoes – things that won’t last quite as long, and might need space in the fridge.

At this point, we’re all getting eager to just get going already. We’ve all gone through an anxious spell, but now we’re just ready to get this thing started. 

We plan to make some little goodie bags for along the way that we can open at different intervals. A bag for the first 500, then 1000, then 1500 etc. nautical miles and then another bag for our halfway mark and then another bag for the day we cross the equator, etc.. Hopefully they’ll be fun little treats that will get us through and keep things interesting.

We will be turning on our Starlink at least once a day to check in, but probably not posting too much as data is pretty expensive out at sea, but we’ll be in touch! 

You can keep an eye on our track via this link, which is also a button on our website.

Feel free to send jokes or fun facts via WhatsApp, or share any great podcasts you’ve enjoyed or great books. We’ve been told we’ll need lots to stay busy!