Transitioning from Surf to Sail

The past month of surfing around Punta de Mita has been amazing. Zipping around in our surf-mobile (which we literally made for this place) to whichever break struck our fancy for the moment. Catching memorable waves; Shawn dropping down the glassy face of a head high wave and riding it out to Whiz's hoots at La Lancha and Chris catching a mini-barrel down the line and carving it up at La Bahia. Solo surf sessions as the sun rose and set. Observing swell in this La Nina year. Getting pummeled by the ocean (mostly Shawn?). Meeting the local surfers, gringo and Mexican alike.

It is to a local surfing couple now living in Punta de Mita, Jason hailing from San Diego and Ana from Guadalajara, that we are leaving our much loved surf-mobile. The finalization of this transfer is the start of our transition from surf to sail. Don't get us wrong, we'll still surf, but next time, we will have sailed our dinghy, Fatty, to the break. Although nostalgic and sad to let go of Eeyore and Ruby (including all the gear we've collected to make it so sweet: dinghy wheels, foot pump, bilge pump, canvas dinghy cover when inflated, dinghy cover when rolled up, dinghy patch repair kit, extra raft material, two gas tanks, extra 2 stroke oil, Yamaha spark plugs and repair parts, engine lock and mega-chain...) we couldn't be happier with the family that is going to take care of them and use them for their intended purpose. Most importantly, now we have a good 300-pounds of weight off of Tao. An added bonus, we look forward to this forcing us to slow down our pace. No longer having a 15-hp to push us around, will require a shift in our thinking from, “Let's just do this really quick” to, “Yes, this is what we want to do, let's make a day of it”.

A quick and relaxing sail downwind to the La Cruz anchorage and tomorrow morning we will take a slip at Marina La Cruz so Ivett (A Stitch in Time) can do the much anticipated first fitting for our dodger. We've lived up the last month spending our energy having fun and trying not to think too much about all the things we still have to get done before our upcoming voyage. So, to be as efficient as is comfortably possible getting everything organized, we plan to be at the dock for the next couple of weeks steadily checking things off of our “to do before leaving for Hawaii” list(s). The only other time we've tied up to a slip during our Mexican adventures has been a day or two prior to hauling out. Wish us luck with our projects and keeping Grizzly aboard!