Here’s a few notes to catch up with folks: Cliff; that’s hilarious that PH Record is going to publish the picture of us all on Espiritu Santo. We’ll look forward to seeing a copy. Send a note and let us know how it came out. Also, you’re right, the moon is most amazing right now surrounded by gazillions of miles of water. The horizon is amazing and the moon is so bright you can almost read by it. (Comment from Ann: The moon, which is actually full tonight, was still setting in all of its splendor as the sun started rising behind me on my shift last night. Not something you get to see everyday!)

Sue; glad to hear Ann’s sewing machine is getting a work-out. Ann is channeling good thoughts toward Missy’s project. On board before we left Ann made a sail cover for the storm jib so we can leave it on deck and it won’t be in the way. I imagine the sewing machine will come out again soon as the sun is getting so intense it would be nice to have a bimini (cockpit cover). We have some Sunbrella fabric and there’s already a zipper on the dodger where the thing is supposed to attach.

Elan; thanks for the info on the trades. We’re in a transition zone and I am looking forward to more solid wind. It’s been mostly less than 10 knots which is why we’re only putting in 90-100 miles per day right now. Also makes night watches more of a challenge because the wind vane won’t steer when it gets really light. Last night I steered most of my watch from 2100 to 0300. I would just aim the boat, tighten down the helm brake, close my eyes and then wake up when my forehead hit the wheel as I nodded off. Recheck helm and repeat. Will be nice when Wilson can just steer all night, but we need solid 7 knots of wind to do that. Good advice on 120 degrees. We’re heading down the rhumb line for now with 128 degrees being our “do not pass” line. Somewhere as we approach 120 we’ll start to look for a “hole” in the ITCZ, duck through and try to dodge bad weather.

Joan: See, it is not Ann who is falling asleep on watch! (This is obviously by Ann.) I spend my watches reading iBooks (just finished The Paris Wife – good read) or playing Scrabble. Not as fun as Words with Friends but keeps me entertained. I have even resorted to Angry Birds a time or two. Luckily I was able to use the iPod and music to keep me awake during my watch last night. Nothing like dancing when no one can see you! (Maybe this is the fishing problem?!) Night Watches: As you probably have deduced, we are not sticking to the 3 hours on, 3 hours off watch system that we originally intended. It works great to go as long as you are awake and then wake the co-captain (see how I snuck that in!) to change shifts. Bob is particularly good about taking longer shifts when the air is light and I really appreciate it.

Jerry; Hmm, a wind dance. We’re already doing a “fish dance”. Problem is that’s not working, so I’m not sure if we’ll do any better with a wind dance, although it IS fun to watch. Ann’s getting quite creative.

For all; thanks again for following us. Also, I have a request. I forgot to research the history behind “Shellbacks” clearing across the equator. Since we’re both Shellbacks at this point, we need to know what ceremony we should perform. Any thoughts/research would be helpful, but please keep it to a paragraph so our email doesn’t get bombed by a long file. I know there’s hazing rituals out there that we need to uphold.

Position: 15 degrees, 27 minutes North; 111 degrees, 14 minutes West

Blue Water Cruising!

Wing and Wing, downwind.

Beautiful conditions today. The sea is so blue it’s actually almost purple the color is so strong. Not too much to report so I’ll leave this one short since I’m tired and have to go on watch (2100 to 0100 or so). Tomorrow we’ll write some thoughts in the afternoon when we have more energy (Ann’s almost in her bunk right now, having just finished the dishes from dinner)

So, see you all tomorrow!

Position: 16 degrees, 25 minutes North; 110 degrees 04 minutes West

The highlight of our day today (simple pleasures when at sea) was the first salt water showers of the trip. It got warm enough that it was refreshing. Ann shrieked with what sounded like joy. I think. Maybe. Anyway, you put the canvas bucket (with rope attached) over the side, pull up a bucket full of water and dump it on your head. Then lather up and do the same thing a second and maybe third time. Then, we get to rinse off with warm, fresh water from our camp shower, which had been heating in the sun. Felt great!

Other than that, a pretty slow day. Only 98 miles in the last 24 hours. We’re still waiting for the wind to fill in. Tonight is not looking very promising either. Right now we have about 4 knots of wind, so we’re not going anywhere very fast. Same as last night. At least the view is good 😉

By the way, thanks everyone for your comments. It’s one of the highlights of our evening to read them out loud after dinner.

Position: 17 degrees, 33 minutes North; 108 degrees, 52 minutes West Hopefully, anyway. This morning the wind backed as did t he seas. Both are now coming from the WNW, so we’re now reaching instead of sailing close hauled. We’re much more comfortable as we’re not slamming into the waves. The wind has been lighter today (looks like we only made 109 miles), but we’re hoping as we get further out it will strengthen soon and back some more so we’ll be going “downhill”.

Ann found a flying fish on board this morning and I found a couple squid all of which were no doubt evading predators just to find themselves in a more precarious position on board Charisma.

Booby havoc ensued this afternoon when a Booby tried to land on the wind vane. We didn’t personally see the disaster, but they have been “eyeing” the masthead for some time now. The wind vane is now bent and useless and there is some bird poop on the deck. I’ll leave the rest to the imagination. Fortunately, said bird just broke the vane and not the wind instruments which are on a separate bar and still work fine. No news on how the Booby is doing.

A note to our friend Dave Nieuwstad on S/V Free Spirit who arrived back in La Cruz just in time for us to leave. Dave: Thanks again so much for the nice bottle of wine (which we are saving for when we catch a fish). Also, Ann made bread from your recipe last night and it came out terrific!

From Ann- I know that Sue (Bob’s sister) will be pleased to know that the Admiral on Charisma has specific rules about claiming “birth month”. According to the Admiral (yes, I know the Admiral very well), if you do not claim “birth month” on the 1st of the month you have missed the opportunity to do so. Sorry Bob, you will just have to settle for celebrating your special day only today out in the middle of the Pacific Ocean! I am sure your family is singing the Swedish birthday song anyway. We celebrated with a yummy pasta dinner (not made by Bob) and those delicious Ginger Spice Cookies!

And in answer to Sue’s question on our last blog, I love the night watches! In fact, I let the birthday boy have a full 8 hours of sleep last night. The moon was glorious, not quite full but shedding lots of light. When the moon finally set at about 5am I was treated to a very special sight. Originally I was concerned and thought that Charisma was passing gas until I realized we were going through a large school of jelly fish. Phosphorescent bubbles were popping up from the stern of Charisma. They were actually all around us. Looked like popping bubbles!

Position: 18 degrees, 47 minutes North; 107 degrees, 29 minutes West

Watched the sunrise this morning and was happy to see we are in the deep blue. Definitely out of the “coastal green” zone, the blue out here is sight to behold. We spent most of the day just getting used to life at sea and adjusting our “sleep clocks” to the watch system. I had the 2200 to 0100 watch and was nodding off toward the end of my watch, so Ann gave me a five hour sleep (Yay Ann!) and didn’t wake me until 0600 when I took over in the morning light and she got her well deserved rest.

We caught a small albacore tuna, but decided it wasn’t quite big enough, so let it go. Other than that, an uneventful day just enjoying the wind, sun and sea.

Woo, Hoo, April Fools!

Position: 20 degrees, 17 minutes; North 106 degrees, 01 minutes West

Leaving La Cruz, Mexico for the Marquesas.

Storing food. Hey, wait a minute. "Ann, where's the BEER!

So, our first day out has been a great one. There’s a nice breeze and we are moving along on a close reach at about 5-6 knots. Wind is about 12 knots and the sea is 3-4 feet from our 2 o’clock (so we’re not yet riding “down” them, more like up and over-I closed the foredeck hatch just in case we catch one over the bow). Wilson (remember him? our wind vane) steered all day. We didn’t need to touch the wheel until a ship coming North, probably from the Panama Canal, crossed paths with us. I look on the radar and saw that we going to cross within a half mile of each other-way too close at sea-so for about 20 minutes hand steered to avoid him, then back to wind vane steering. I made tonight’s dinner this morning in the pressure cooker while we were still at anchor so we wouldn’t have the trauma of cooking a full dinner the first night out while we’re still trying to get our “sea legs” again. Smoked ham hock with beans simmered with onions, carrots, potatoes, etc. Yummy. All I had to do was heat it. We left anchor with style too. Didn’t turn on the engine, just hauled anchor, drifted out and once all the lines were cleared up we unfurled the jib and glided out. Very peaceful way to leave. Now we’re just sitting in the cockpit (in tee shirts and shorts at 2100). The moon is out, we have a reef in the main with the 130 jib and have the view I never tire of; the tip of the mast scribing a circle around the heavens and pointing out the stars as we go up and over waves. Charisma is very happy virtually dancing over the waves despite all the gear and food we’ve loaded her down with. As of this moment, we have 2630 miles to go! Had fun tonight listening to the evening “Puddle Jump Net”. Ann loves to hear where the other boats are. Several of our friends who left a day before us are only 60 miles away. Some we can hear from the other side of the equator. One friend who is going to the Galapagos first, called in about 400 miles North of the Galapagos. They will spend a couple weeks there and then head out to Polynesian where we will likely catch up with them at some point. It was noted on tonight’s net that there are now 23 boats spread out from here to within one day’s sail of the islands. Very exciting! Well, time for starting the watches. Someone gets to go to sleep now. May the negotiations begin! PS (From Ann) – we are still pinching ourselves – hard to believe we are really under way!

no-footer Position: 20 degrees, 45 minutes, 50 seconds North 105 degrees, 31 minutes, 01 seconds West

Well, we’re actually anchored in Punta Mita right inside the coastline of Banderas Bay. We decided that it would be a great transitional step from Marina life from the past month to a month at sea.

So…after a stressful week of provisioning, preparing and otherwise getting ready, we’re chillin’ at anchor. A nice sunset, a “Charisma” some final boat projects and we’re ready.

We checked in on the “Net” tonight. We’re now officially part of the loose group of boats leaving Mexico and heading to Polynesia. We could hear boats all the way on the shortwave radio and were told by the net control that our signal was very strong, so all the work I’ve put into “tweaking” the radio, especially the grounding system and antenna seems to be paying off.. One boat is within 90 miles of making landfall at Hivo Oa (where we’ve going), having left a month ago. That means our radio is working well, as we could hear their signal well over 2500 miles away. Ann was enjoying hearing all the boats that we have met over the past five months of cruising. We’re both excited. Now that we’re anchored and know that we are heading out first thing in the morning, it’s gotten very real (the weather is great, which is why we’ve been rushing to get out-there’s a “window” the next couple days of favorable winds to get us off the coast and into the Tradewinds). There are probably 20 boats out there right now with another dozen yet to leave from here (Banderas Bay, Puerto Vallarta). Might seem like a lot, but it’s covering thousands of miles. When I sailed to Hawaii (twice), in the Transpac race, there were 80 boats all leaving LA at the same time and heading to a finish line off Diamond Head and despite that after the first day or so you don’t see anybody.

OK, that’s it for tonight. We’re excited. Weather’s good. We’re ready. Charisma is ready (in fact, today motoring up here, she “felt” different-like she’s thrilled she’s going to do what she was designed to do. Funny, but boats are like that. They definitely have personalities and some days they are in better moods than others).

And now a word from Ann: It was really exciting listening to the net tonight and hearing Bob check us in (right after the “other Charisma” checked in! We never heard of another Charisma until the Jump! Thank goodness they are a nice young couple with a kid, not a cranky pirate! This is now very real! I was able to do a little checking in with folks before we left La Cruz and it was wonderful! It has been an exhausting pace for the last week and truly, Charisma could not fit anything more! (Yes I took pictures of the water line!) Oh, except for the standup paddle board we bought today! And it’s official, I am tired of shopping, washing, repacking and stowing stuff. I finished the coffee (thanks Andy Knight -we found a place to get it ground and we bought another 20 lbs!) repacking (vacuum sealing) after we dropped anchor at Punta Mita! Nothing left to do! Yay! Our departure was bittersweet. We loved La Cruz and were treated to the music group Tataware at lunch and then got back to the boat, showered and shoved off! Many of the other “jumpers” (Like Blue Rodeo, Bright Angel and The Rose) were there to help us leave the dock! Even Free Spirit Dave made it back to La Cruz to see us off! So we rest well tonight and start sailing tomorrow. Bob says he doesn’t want to run the engine at all for the next 2500 miles! Remember to have fun putting the latitude and longitude that Bob lists on the blog each night into Google Earth and see where we are!

no-footer Position: 20 degrees, 45 minutes, 50 seconds North 105 degrees, 31 minutes, 01 seconds West

Well, we’re actually anchored in Punta Mita right inside the coastline of Banderas Bay. We decided that it would be a great transitional step from Marina life from the past month to a month at sea.

So…after a stressful week of provisioning, preparing and otherwise getting ready, we’re chillin’ at anchor. A nice sunset, a “Charisma” some final boat projects and we’re ready.

We checked in on the “Net” tonight. We’re now officially part of the loose group of boats leaving Mexico and heading to Polynesia. We could hear boats all the way on the shortwave radio and were told by the net control that our signal was very strong, so all the work I’ve put into “tweaking” the radio, especially the grounding system and antenna seems to be paying off.. One boat is within 90 miles of making landfall at Hivo Oa (where we’ve going), having left a month ago. That means our radio is working well, as we could hear their signal well over 2500 miles away. Ann was enjoying hearing all the boats that we have met over the past five months of cruising. We’re both excited. Now that we’re anchored and know that we are heading out first thing in the morning, it’s gotten very real (the weather is great, which is why we’ve been rushing to get out-there’s a “window” the next couple days of favorable winds to get us off the coast and into the Tradewinds). There are probably 20 boats out there right now with another dozen yet to leave from here (Banderas Bay, Puerto Vallarta). Might seem like a lot, but it’s covering thousands of miles. When I sailed to Hawaii (twice), in the Transpac race, there were 80 boats all leaving LA at the same time and heading to a finish line off Diamond Head and despite that after the first day or so you don’t see anybody.

OK, that’s it for tonight. We’re excited. Weather’s good. We’re ready. Charisma is ready (in fact, today motoring up here, she “felt” different-like she’s thrilled she’s going to do what she was designed to do. Funny, but boats are like that. They definitely have personalities and some days they are in better moods than others).

And now a word from Ann: It was really exciting listening to the net tonight and hearing Bob check us in (right after the “other Charisma” checked in! We never heard of another Charisma until the Jump! Thank goodness they are a nice young couple with a kid, not a cranky pirate! This is now very real! I was able to do a little checking in with folks before we left La Cruz and it was wonderful! It has been an exhausting pace for the last week and truly, Charisma could not fit anything more! (Yes I took pictures of the water line!) Oh, except for the standup paddle board we bought today! And it’s official, I am tired of shopping, washing, repacking and stowing stuff. I finished the coffee (thanks Andy Knight -we found a place to get it ground and we bought another 20 lbs!) repacking (vacuum sealing) after we dropped anchor at Punta Mita! Nothing left to do! Yay! Our departure was bittersweet. We loved La Cruz and were treated to the music group Tataware at lunch and then got back to the boat, showered and shoved off! Many of the other “jumpers” (Like Blue Rodeo, Bright Angel and The Rose) were there to help us leave the dock! Even Free Spirit Dave made it back to La Cruz to see us off! So we rest well tonight and start sailing tomorrow. Bob says he doesn’t want to run the engine at all for the next 2500 miles! Remember to have fun putting the latitude and longitude that Bob lists on the blog each night into Google Earth and see where we are!

(From Ann)

I know it’s been a while since we posted anything and we apologize. We are really enjoying being at anchor in La Cruz and find the night life (live music, great food and fun people) very enjoyable, so we aren’t getting back to Charisma in time to post a blog.

Ann and Stephanie from Camanoe enjoying the Margheritas at Huanacaxtle Cafe

Bob, Ann, Stephanie and Dave at Huanacaxtle Cafe

The music at Huanacaxtle

In addition to enjoying the town of La Cruz we have been taking some day trips into other towns. Our first great adventure was joining our friends, Stephanie and Dave from Camanoe for a day trip into Puerto Vallarta which is “just an hour bus ride” away. The bus system in Mexico has much to be admired. We have been told that the buses are privately owned. You look at the windshield where they have written destinations in shoe polish (my guess) to determine which bus you want. They list towns as well as locations like Costco, Airport, etc. Your bus driver will confirm locations when asked as you get on. The most we have spent on a bus ride is 26 pesos for the two of us (about $2.00). Very affordable.

The buses stop when someone on a corner waves them down. They stop often and don’t really wait for the doors to close or people to sit before moving on. We arrived at the bus station in Puerto Vallarta and quickly found the town square full of merchants with handcrafted goods. We wandered around negotiating and purchasing some fun Mexican crafts. The market was at the base of a beautiful church, always a must stop, and right near a local quesadilla stand. While one woman took our order another woman made tortillas the size of a large frying pan. As the tortillas cooked the guy grilled the asada, chorizo and onions. Each meal was made individually and included an assortment of salsas for us to put on them. Bob chose the hottest one and found that his lips were numb from the heat! Great meal!

Yum. Best quesadillas ever

Onward down the malecon (walk-way along the waterfront) we marched, often being enticed into the tequila tasting shops. There are many unique statues along the malecon that we enjoyed being silly around. Additionally local artists had created very intricate sand sculptures along the beach. Each artist puts out a box for tips if you enjoyed it enough to take pictures. It is an incredible amount of work for tips.

On the Malecon (Boardwalk) at Puerto Vallarta

Just one of the arts/crafts areas to shop through. So colorful!

Also among the stores along the malecon we found Huichol Indian art. When we were in San Blas we purchased a beautiful piece of Huichol art made from pressing yarn into beeswax that has been spread onto a board (the best way to describe its look is “embroidery”) and so were interested in seeing more. We saw some really impressive pieces but came away really pleased with our find. And not to be missed in the PV was the church of Nuestra Senora de Guadalupe (the patron saint of Mexico) that has a bell tower topped with a lacy crown that is a replica of the crown worn by Empress Carlota, wife of Maximillan who ruled Mexico in the 19th Century. A stop inside this church and a trip across one of the swaying suspension bridges (made much more difficult with stampeding friends) and we were ready to find our bus home.

We immediately found a bus with Wal-Mart on its window and jumped aboard (actually, it said “Wal Mar”, but we’re not going to pick nits). We had been told that
you needed to take a bus to Wal-mart and then switch to a La Cruz bus from there.
Shortly we realized that it was 5:15 and rush hour.  The bus driver just kept
letting more people on, squishing everyone down the aisle. At one point the
front door did not close due to people standing on the steps and hanging
outside. As we arrived at the “first” Wal-mart Dave made sure to go ask the
driver if we were also going to the “otra” Wal-mart (the one closer to La Cruz)
and was twice assured that we were.

The bus continued to stop and let off a few and pick up many more.  At one point the bus took a right turn we just weren’t expecting – our first hint of confusion.  We chalked it up to a safer drop off point and stayed on.  About 45 minutes later
and deep into the small town of Ixtapa, Nayarit (not the Ixtapa near Zihuatenejo) the bus came to a complete stop with only ourselves and two locals remaining aboard.  As the locals got off they could tell we were not where we expected to be.  With their translations help we were informed that the driver had been mistaken when he told us we would be going to the “otra” Wal-mart.  We think he meant thawe would return to the first Wal-mart.  Oops. He was chagrined, we were laughing.  His fellow bus drivers, also waiting at this barren street corner, told us he was “loco” and gave our driver a hard time. We ended up waiting at the “bus stop” (end of his line) in a dusty little town with no sidewalks, no street lights, just happy people, for twenty minutes
until he was scheduled to head back to —Puerto Vallarta!!! Fortunately
because of the help of the last passengers our driver stopped part way back to
PV and indicated we should get off and cross the street to catch a different
bus.

Our driver. Click the photo to see how they organize the change.

The "bus stop" Hmmm, we were definitely not where we thought we were going.

The buses on this particular line. In reality they are all different...

So the “just an hour to Puerto Vallarta” return bus ride ended up getting us back to La Cruz at about 8 pm – just in time to try “Tacos in the Backyard”, another local  taco
stand. And again we were treated to incredible homemade tacos, more than we
should have eaten, and beers for $10 a couple.

The taco place. This is Pedro. A nice guy. You buy your cerveza across the street at a little tienda then he"ll open it at your table.

It’s always an adventure in Mexico!  We love it here.