Happy V-day and We're Sailing!!!

The first two weeks of February we were feverishly finishing projects that we’d started in hopes of setting sail soon. After much discussion of longer term options, we received a thumbs up from Don Anderson (the HF radio weather guru) that May is a fine time to do a crossing to Hawaii and locked that plan in. The shorter term was a little bit more difficult as there is so much to do and see in Mexico’s beautiful sailing waters we kept putting off making a decision about where we were going. Chris’ dad, Dave, was hoping to visit in late February and was still awaiting a decision on where he should fly to. After much more discussion regarding either more time on the Baja seeing places we’d missed or visiting the mainland with which we were less familiar, we both agreed that we wanted to focus our time on the mainland this season. Dave bought a ticket into Mazatlan and out of Puerto Vallarta, so with that set, we continued our projects, staying warm through a very cold and eerie norther that we were well protected from in the Bahia.

1.) Electrical panel(s): one of Chris’ big hanging projects has been to get our electrical system organized. This included making a new hinged lighted electrical switch panel in the cabin above the engine, adding a hinged fuse panel accessed from the quarter berth, and creating a new water tight engine instrument panel with new improved gauges in the cockpit. For all three panels we used ¼” black polycarbonate and a clear piece to cover the external panel. We opted away from more complicated and expensive marine grade breaker switches (which in our experience have shorted due to moisture) and instead chose to install an easy to maintain ATO fuse junction box. In addition to the already existing Faria tachometer and hour meter, we installed a 4-in-1 Faria engine gauge set to monitor: alternator status, fuel levels, water temperature, and oil pressure. So far so good and we have room for another 16 switches should we choose to wire anything else new.

2.) Head salt water foot pump/vented loop: our head sink was originally plumbed to our fresh water tanks with a difficult to use vertical hand pump. Before we left Berkeley we replumbed it with a T to the saltwater head inflow. This worked fine, but the system begged for a footpump and at the same time our head system begged for a vented loop for the saltwater inflow. After a dinner with loving and not-so-gentle reminders from Coconut Express that how our head inflow was plumbed was a safety concern we reprioritized and quickly finished that project.

3.) Top stripe/Galley sole: with a vision of all of our projects coming together we have started to shift Tao’s colors from white and blue to white and red. We have purchased terra cotta sunbrella material for our in-the-works dodger and this year’s bottom job was red covering the original blue boot stripe. That left only the blue top stripe. So, we got the local Santa Rosa Sherwin Williams to mix us a liter of 2 part polyeurathane paint to match. As the container they provided it in was not going to last very long, we decided we had to implement it before leaving San Carlos so Shawn jumped on it. We mixed half of the paint and had plenty left after three coats on the top stripe (affectionately called our racing stripe) so did an imprompteau coat over our previously painted cabin sole at the base of the ladder in the galley and under the navigation station (which we had previously put sand into for traction). It all looks quite fresh and clean!

4.) Complete reorganization for sailing: After having spent two months using electrical tools for projects every day, the boat required a complete reorganization stowing power tools deep and pulling sailing gear (sails, charts, foul weather gear) to the top. We also moved all the stainless we’re carrying for that planned dodger from the stern lazarette to the V-berth to balance out our water line.

After having spent over two months in San Carlos working on Tao, we finally felt close to ready to have people over. Over those two weeks, we had dinners with Brady and Jodi the young enthusiastic new crew of Anum Cara, fun and supportive Cate and Paul of Coconut Express who are living on the Caricol, Jenny and Randy of Mystic who plan to head to the Marquesas this spring, and an honorary almost pizza dinner with Hermy and Jack of Iwa. Several more trips to Guaymas for final provisions and Valentine’s Day, our hoped for sail date, was upon us. The winds were up and forecasts were looking good but we had yet to get the new computer with Window’s 7 to talk to our HF radio (USB to 9-pin serial port adapter issues). Since we kept our older computer aboard that could still connect and figuring that we could keep coming up with excuses not to go, we decided to deal with it underway... And we're off!

End of January and plans...

Although still laden with projects, we planned a mid-January date for Chris to take Pepe back to the States to be stored. We moved out to a safer anchor spot in the bay, got the dinghy frame built so Eeyore could be a rowing machine if the outboards were being difficult, wired enough of the electrical system to start Yannie if it became necessary for Shawn to move, etc… Chris pulled out of the Marina San Carlos parking lot at 0815 on Monday the 17th, only one day later than originally planned and proceeded to drive 15-hrs straight (thanks to Estrella for the books on tape) making it to his mom’s in Santa Monica and her hugs (and an amazing dinner) just after 10-o’clock. (In case you're wondering, Grizzly did not manage to stow away in Chris' luggage...)

The next week was a whirlwind for Chris, busy with Stateside tasks while also making time to visit with all of his LA area based family members. To further several on-going boat projects, he got Lexan that we had purchased (clear weatherboards and 3 electric panels) professionally cut, obtained an estimate from a US welder for a possible solar panel “turret” to increase the efficiency of our currently stationary panels, went to Boatswain’s Locker for a few Yanmar parts, and had a fun trip to Minney’s Yacht Surplus with his dad where he found several things we “had” to have. Chris also visited several groceries to bolster our provisions with some favorite American foods difficult to find or very expensive in Mexico (good peanut butter, nuts, pesto sauce packets, teas, etc). And of course, the purported reason for the Stateside visit, he parked Pepe in Ledy and Angie’s (many thanks!!) extra garage and mailed the planned non-operation paperwork to the CA DMV. So many details to tie up…

While Chris was Stateside, Shawn and Grizzly were continuing to chip away at projects aboard. With all the daily chores and a computer crash, not much got done quickly. However there was a serendipitous meeting of Tao’s younger sister- Sula, hull #17 (Tao is #10 of 19). Shawn headed into the marina and enjoyed sharing Nor’West stories and getting aboard such a similar vessel to our own and is very appreciative of the perishables they donated to Tao at their haul out the next morning. Unfortunately Nic and his wife are planning to truck Sula back to Seattle and may sell her so no foreseeable Sea of Coretz sister-ship-sailing. It was an exceptionally windy week and time flew by as Shawn attended an unplanned toga-dinner on Mystic one night and a carne asada and Caesar dinner with amazing desserts on Elan another. With much appreciated curb-service from our friends on Coconut Express Shawn was happily reunited with Chris and his two 50-lb bags and carry on at the Guaymas airport.

Over the past week, Chris has neared the end of his grand rewiring project and Shawn has reattached new foredeck netting to the lifelines and pvc turnbuckle covers on the shrouds. Still, unpacking new project parts brought from the States, we realized that we had more work than until our hoped for departure date at the end of January. Trying to go with the flow, we have come to terms with the fact that we can’t fit everything in. The window of time has passed to implement our original plan of sailing down mainland Mexico for a couple months surfing and then jump across the Pacific in March. So, we took a sanity break to climb the Tetas de Cabra we see so frequently from our anchorage with Mystic. We made it into an even bigger adventure by taking Eeyore and the 15-hp (the new surf seeking mobile) several miles out of the Bahia and up the coast to approach our hike from a known trail head on the other side of the mountain from our anchorage and then testing the new dinghy frame rowing back in 3 to 5-ft swell.

Still anchored in Bahia San Carlos, we are alternatively continuing our project work and discussing our newest options. All long passage making is dominated by weather windows and determining where you can safely spend each hurricane season. Our other major constraining factor is that we have realized that we like to move slowly and do not want to feel rushed along (which is why we exchanged our original lofty ideas of circumnavigation to just sailing and possibly crossing the Pacific). Consulting our World Cruising Routes by Jimmy Cornell we have tossed around ideas from: sailing to Hawaii this spring, to sailing to the Marquesas and spending the hurricane season in the Society Islands, to crossing to Hawaii in November in order to spend more time here in Mexico. As we weather the most recent dust-laden-Norther (40-knot winds and 10-ft seas forecast in the Sea) here in the safety of the Bahia, we are still trying to organize our long term and thus the consequent short term plans. What is for sure is that we are nearing the end of this round of project-making and will be setting sail soon.

Rescues bring people together

We play hard and rest hard!

Just minding our business out here in the anchorage for the last couple weeks and have managed to be a part of 3 actually let's make 4 rescues! So let's rewind...

RESCUE 1: Shawn was on her way back to the boat motoring against a stiff NW breeze with a dinghy full of provisions and as she passed the pier-not-yet-developed dock, and saw the catamaran Whiskey Charlie, usually moored upwind of our anchor spot, was lashed downwind of us to a piling. She gave the "are you okay" river head pat and the people aboard just waved. There was already a dinghy alongside helping, so Shawn continued the couple hundred yards to Tao. Chris had been working on the stern arch as Whiskey Charlie, coming home from a day of sailing, had first motored by to grab her mooring and then drifted by. With no dinghy there was not much Chris could do, and the people aboard didn't seem particularly frantic as all they said as they went by in the howling wind was "We're drifting"... Still, throwing the provisions into Tao's cockpit, Chris came aboard Eeyore and we rode to the rescue. After introducing ourselves we asked if we could help. Their engine had died just before grabbing their mooring, and after a bit of discussion, it was decided that our 15-hp side tied to the light catamaran and two smaller dinghys helping should get underway to take advantage of the dwindling sunlight. At that moment another 15-hp dinghy showed up to help, tied to the other side and we had no problem motoring them back upwind to their mooring. A couple nights later we visited Whiskey Charlie for a fun dinner party and started to get to know JC, Hilary and their girls. Turns out the engine problem was a blown fuse.

Whiskey Charlie peacefully on her mooring

Behind Chris, you can see the pier-not-quite-dock, just behind where Tao's inside special anchor spot is that Whiskey Charlie managed to lash themselves to after having dropped to anchors.

RESCUE 2: A few evenings later, as Chris was frantically trying to finish the dinghy frame we got hailed by Mystic. Randy needed his clip-on voltmeter the next morning. Chris jumped into Eeyore to quickly motor over and return it. Starting the rice for dinner, Shawn watched out the porthole as Chris and Seahor motored slowly out toward Mystic. Half hour later, wondering what other boats he must have stopped at to chat, the radio crackled "Tao, Tao, Tao mobile". We moved to a nonhailing channel and Chris said, "I just wanted you to know, everything's OK, but Seahor kicked-the-bucket on me and I don't have any oars." Shawn said "I'm not going to say it" (which is really basically saying it, but in a bad spot he really didn't have to be reminded that Shawn had made a big deal throughout the frame building project that even though Chris had relegated the flimsy aluminum oars to the bottom of the boat, the dinghy needed to have oars all the time even if the frame wasn't ready for them)... Chris continued, "so, I'm going to hail Mystic to let them know I tried to bring the voltmeter and look for some help." "Mystic here following your conversation" Randy's voice broke in. The solution was perfectly obvious to Ranger Randy; he would row his 8-ft fatty knees to shore and then tow Eeyore, Seahor, and Chris back to Tao- no small proposition. At that specific moment a dinghy was flying by Tao, Shawn waved over the gentleman (who turned out to be Ziggy, from Aurora moored a few boats upwind of us) who was more then happy to help. We found Chris on the beach downwind of Mystic (at the east edge of the bay) with a cold tecate in hand. He'd made friends with very nice people in one of the beach homes in "Cotton Cove" who had let him use their VHF to find help and provided him with sustenance (cold beer). Shawn had brought the oars in case Chris wanted to redeem himself, but with a sheepish grin, Chris responded "I'm not too proud to ask for help." Ziggy gave us a tow back to Tao and we did a mid-bay transfer of Randy's voltmeter. After forcing Ziggy to take a bottle of wine in thanks he obliged only if the crews of Tao and Mystic would come over to his boat to drink wine the next evening and look at pictures of him beaching his sailboat.

Eeyore, Seahor, and the frame in the process of being made. Unfortunately, the wooden oars didn't happen to be in the boat when Chris took his trip out to Mystic or he could have rigged something... Seahor is currently awaiting repair.

Randy and Jenny from Mystic aboard their 8-ft Fatty Knees; their mode of transport.

RESCUE 3: The norther continued to blow in the anchorage. Late in the afternoon of a particularly windy day, sustained at about 25-knots, Shawn looked upwind from Tao's cockpit and in horror, saw the trimaran, Windsplittler, floating free broadside to the wind about to T directly into the beautiful catamaran, Elan, moored next to us. She pointed it out to Chris and watched the horror on Guy's face as he realized what was happening to his boat. We immediately started the process of putting our 15-hp onto Eeyore. Our radio was off but we heard Deborah yelling to us for help from Elan; we were doing our best to get there. A few minutes later we roared away from Tao at the same moment that Guy and Deborah got the trimaran loose from their boat. It was racing downwind, broadside again, headed directly for a beautiful motortrawler, Island Grace. Guy with his dinghy was trying to maneuver the trimaran in the high winds, Jacque from Oceaneus showed up with his 8-hp and we raced to the trimaran at the same time. Shawn immediately jumped up onto Windsplitter while the three dinghys tried to work together to move the boat. Not in time. Luckily Guy had thrown a fender from Elan aboard, Shawn grabbed it and ran to fend the tri off the motor trawler. A sickening crash as it T'd its second boat, but being a monohull at anchor, the anchor chain took the brunt and the fender took the rest. Finally with a last scrape, Windsplitter fell off the port side of Island Grace and continued it's race toward shore. After checking that the anchor on deck's rhode was untangled and was attached to the boat and making sure Chris, Guy, and Jacque were ready, Shawn dropped the hook mid-channel... and it set! Phew! The Mexican Rescate showed up just a few minutes later to take over. Windsplitter's mooring chain had broken and Elan sustained the most damage having been nearly holed, but luckily the inner skin had held tight. A few days later, Shawn attended a fun dinner party on Elan, and having built their boat, they had already nearly repaired the damage.

The trimaran Windsplitter whose mooring chain broke in high winds.

Elan, directly downwind of Windsplitter when winds blow from the NW...

This is actually a picture of Gadfly II heading out to sea in the channel we had anchored Windsplitter, but also in the picture is the trawler, Island Grace, that Windsplitter met.

RESCUE 4: After a week of fairly mellow weather and even a little southerly flow, another norther set in and the afternoon winds kicked up again. Yesterday, the late afternoon winds seemed a little stronger than normal. A quick check with our wind meter said 20-knots gusting to 25. Jenny stopped by in her kayak on her way home to Mystic and we talked about how Randy in their Fatty Knees with Skip (the new owner of Dulcinea), were lagging behind a little and must have broken an oar lock... Surely they didn't need any help. Still, twenty minutes or so later, Shawn noticed the winds seemed even stronger and came on deck to check they'd reached Mystic. Though nearly there, they were all of a sudden losing ground and were close to getting blown down to the beach Chris had ended up on a week previous. Shawn grabbed her rain jacket and VHF and hopped in Eeyore to see if she could help. It was windy! Randy grabbed the tow line and Shawn gunned the engine trying to get Eeyore's bow up into the wind. No dice, we were side slipping, but we kept going and slowed only for a moment to attach the tow line. Skip and Randy were keeping their boat upright and Shawn was trying to get her weight farther forward to keep Eeyore's bow down. Seemingly the wrong direction, we headed away from the anchorage into the lee of the anchorage's exit channel's north shore at the south end of the anchorage. Here we were able to gain some upwind ground. Getting to the top of the "eddy" we decided to go for it and with a steep angle, ferried across to Mystic. Not wanting to slow and have the bow blown off, Shawn came in hot, and Jenny was there to grab the bow line and both boats swung to Mystic's well fended port side. All three of us were soaked, but still we got the wind meter out for a quick check, and winds were sustained at 25 gusting above. Then it was down below into the warmth of the heated cabin of their 31' Mariah to warm up and re-live the adventure while waiting for the winds to abate.

Jenny in Mystic's kayak, and Randy rowing Skip in their Fatty Knees- everyone had finally dried out from the wet adventure the evening previous.

A picture of Chris trying out the completed dinghy frame, but this was the rescue vehicle- only imagine Shawn at the helm, 25 knot winds and capping waves...

It's a great community here in Bahia San Carlos, everyone in the anchorage looking out for each other. It is nice to know that when we need help there is usually a helping hand. Still, we are continually receiving gentle reminders that that things do go wrong and vigilance is important as the sailing lifestyle is based in a wilderness. It does pays off to pay attention and be prepared.

San Carlos Work Zone

Shawn has continued to move forward with food and supply provisioning. Chris' focus, however, has little been deterred from the last weeks main goal: the stern arch and solar panels. Long ago ideas for building a stern arch were born, and since, Chris has been taking steps to make them a reality. First, buying a new-to-us 80-watt panel to more than double our solar input. Most importantly though, Chris found 1-inch stainless steel tubing and fittings from the rails of a 40-ft boat at Minnie's and purchased it all. He then found a metal worker that would straighten the lengths and then bend them appropriately. Another couple additional specific stainless fittings later, we strapped all of it (and a ton of other stuff) onto Pepe's roof and drove it to Mexico. Since we've gotten back here, Chris has carefully measured and cut and measured and cut and connected two arches together, tapped, and set all the screws to create our new, beautiful, double stern arch out of nearly all reused material. The panels are now pumping power into our batteries (and we even turned on the refrigerator when our cruising friends from Circe showed up with a delicious cut of Mahi for us, thanks!!). Getting both solar panels attached atop the arches in a secure and yet efficient manner has taken several days of playing, has led to reworking of our "engine lift," and still the ideas are brewing. Projects never really end.

(notice Chris' relative non-comfort below while hooking up the electrical component of the solar panels as viewed from our sternmost lazarette.)

We enjoyed our special inner anchorage and used it well- getting up the mast nearly every day. Shawn even went up a few days and painted around our new steaming light which Chris installed (including creating a flat epoxy base as opposed to the round face of the mast). Also completed aloft this past week was the mast top project. This included installation of a newly made stainless steel plate with another "crane" which is an external stainless eye allowing us to haul an additional line external of the mast just to port of the spinnaker halyard. Most importantly, however, it created a spot to install the radar reflector, now epoxied to stainless tubing and mounted atop the mast. Not only did this installation require MacGyver skills to get the backing nuts and washers on the bolts inside the mast top (fighting constant boat wakes, only one washer ended up in the water and one nut fell to the bottom inside the mast), but this is a project that has been in the works for a long time. Finally, it's up! We've tested the VHF and so far it appears our signal is not hampered. Unfortunately, however, at anchor as the wind blows, our much loved and sensitive wind indicator is doing circles telling us about all the eddies below the newly mounted reflector... Shawn figures that when sailing our wind indicator will not be hampered because we can't sail that far up into the wind and Chris already has ideas for lowering the reflector and raising the indicator. Projects never really end.

Because we wanted to use the car to purchase materials from Guaymas, bumped to the top of the list was building the dinghy frame so we can row Eeyore much more effectively and not worry about flimsy 5-ft aluminum oars or their plastic oar locks breaking. As we write, the frame (made out of PVC with a pine seat and stainless oar locks) is drying from its sparkly red paint job. Although the job is not quite complete, the flimsy oars have been relegated to the bottom of the lazarette and the new-to-us varnished 7-ft wooden oars are coming with us in all of our dinghy excursions. Also, FYI, though we have not been able to find the source in our quick checks, Eeyore has sustained some damage in the floor that leaks water into the boat. Every time we get in, we have to pump out more than normal amounts of water. We'll patch what we find when we get to it. Projects never really end.

We have been juggling getting projects done on the boat, taking care of business on-line in preparation for Chris and Pepe's trip north for storage next week (i.e. taking care of Chris' return travel plans, ordering any "final" gear from the States to bring back, etc.), and the busy social life that the San Carlos cruising community contains. Although we have admitted that we consider San Carlos a designated "Work Zone", Grizzly gets to be "on watch" a lot as we visit other boats. This week we shared stories with longtime cruisers Karen and Mike aboard Beau Soleil, enjoyed an impromptu gathering of 12 adults and 2 kids aboard Whiskey Charlie (a boat that is shorter than ours) marveling at the space provided in a catamaran, we're excited to see fun young sailor/surfers aboard Gadfly out of the yard, on the water and preparing to set sailing this week, and even had a fun wine tasting and story time aboard Aurora with Ziggy (the rescuer, but that's another story...) and Mystic. Another norther is bearing down on us for the next few days, so we have moved back out to the anchorage where we feel comfortable letting out as much scope as we want without worry of hanging into the marina entrance channel. Although we've got it that projects never really end, we are motivated to get as much done as possible here, while still enjoying ourselves and are pushing to set sail by the end of this month. We trust that along the way, projects will indeed (slowly) get done...

Resolutions about energy usage in 2011

Happy Twenty-Eleven to everyone out there! What did you do to ring in the New Year? We heralded in 2011 by firing up our cabin heater and snuggling down as it is surprisingly cold here when the sun goes down. There have even been frost warnings (although a frost warning here is defined by temperatures below 50F)! We awoke thinking about what our New Years resolutions would be and as the morning wore on we decided that we have been living beyond our means, using more energy than our 55-watt solar panel Sunny alone can produce.

When we sailed out of San Francisco Bay in November of 2008 we didn't even have a solar panel, nor LED bulbs for most everything. After a month of headlamps and turning the engine on weekly to recharge our batteries, in our final stateside port, Newport Beach Harbor, we purchased and installed Sunny and also several LED bulbs for lighting around the boat and atop the mast. What luxury! For the next six months of sailing down the Outside and up into the Sea of Cortez our batteries were always topped off (unless we caught a fish and turned the refrigerator on for a couple of days) and our engine was run less than 50 hours total.

When Chris came back to single-hand for the 2010 season, things changed. Without so many hands it became more difficult to sail on and off anchor and the engine became more integral to movement. Plus Chris’ dad had lent us a small 350-watt generator to top off batteries. Chris’ energy needs were different than us as a couple; transmitting on the HAM radio was the same draw but he gained energy from not cooking much and using lights less. However, he used more power to listen to music, watch videos, and charge his cell phone in his down time and the largest energy draw change was his decision to try having our Norcold refrigerator on all the time. In the heat of summer it sure was nice to have a cold beverage and be able to keep butter, and with the engine running more often keeping the batteries charged (nearly 100 hours in only a couple months of use), Chris didn’t mind running the generator every so often to keep things topped off.

On a side note, but still related to energy, that spring, the head gasket blew on our Yanmar 2QM20. Although we did not have to (thankfully, but that’s another story…) or choose to rebuild, our view of engine maintenance changed drastically. It was likely several contributing factors that lead to the head gasket blowout ranging from many years of disuse tied to a dock, to our intermittent engine use during our first few years of ownership and cruising, topped with our lackadaisical care and maintenance schedule; all leading to salt water buildup blocking passageways between the head and block… (use it or lose it comes to mind). So, do we want to deep six the engine and be an engineless sailboat? Although we like to think of ourselves as “traditional” sailing everywhere and rarely using the engine, after discussion we realized that we were not willing to cruise without an engine for safety. With that settled, if we have an engine for safety purposes, it really needs to work when we need it, so our maintenance needed to change. And by maintenance we do not only mean changing the oil and zincs more regularly, but according to our diesel mechanic down here, by running it at least weekly and at higher speeds than we had been in the past.

When Shawn came back for the fall 2010 season we had to adjust to these quite significant changes in energy usage. Enjoying watching movies, listening to music, having cold beverages, butter, cheese, yogurt, and frequently using the HAM radio did improve our quality of life aboard. So we spent June and July living the “high life” and doing some very fun cruising in the Midriffs of the northern Sea of Cortez using more power than in the past and also using the engine more frequently. Although still mostly sailing, it did feel a bit different. Our nearly four month visit to the States gave us each time to mull over how we felt about the changes. We both agreed that since this is how we are currently spending our lives we should be as comfortable as is realistic, so we planned to come back to Mexico with a more efficient Engel refrigerator and an additional 80-watt solar panel to satisfy our increased energy needs. Unfortunately, with so many upgrade projects in the works, buying a new refrigerator was demoted to the bottom of the list and never happened.

Now that we’re back afloat, we have watched the week and a half of holiday power usage quickly drain our batteries. Unfortunately, we have found that although nice, small, and quiet, the generator is too small to charge our batteries if we are less than 90% full charge, and Shawn specifically is very troubled by having to rely on running an engine to power our usage. So as the 2011 New Year has rung in, we find ourselves reassessing our energy requirements. We both agree that our newest resolution is to live within our means which for now means returning to a state of no refrigeration. Our hope is that after giving up using our inefficient refrigerator and installing the new 80-watt solar panel, we will once again have full battery banks and will run the engine when we choose to, not because we have to supplement our energy needs.

If you have any thoughts about energy usage, we’d appreciate your input!

Splash, Christmas, and Feliz Ano Nuevo!

We splashed on the 22nd and were quite happy that we managed to get back to the water before Christmas! It was nice to once again be floating on liquid. Splashing is such a crazy transitional time- the boat, out of it's element being wheeled backwards along a highway by a huge Caterpillar tractor is pushed to the ramp and after a steep entry, hopefully she floats... Of course Tao did brilliantly. Several people showed up to welcome us to the water; our new friends Paul and Cate Bishop of Coconut Express, Caleb from La Carencia, Chuck from Pura Vida (along with his dinghy/engine all ready to go that is Chris' Christmas present) were there, and before we pushed off the dock Jenny and Randy from Mystic showed up with an entire gallon ziplock full of yummy cookies. We love this San Carlos cruising community!

After a quick run on the hard to check her the evening previous, Yannie worked well in the water to get us out to the anchorage, which is good because we hadn't yet had time to bend the sails or get all of the rigging set- all of the above waterline work still awaited attention. So, a successful splash it was. Once the anchor was set the rest of the afternoon was spent reorganizing for life in a liquid world and creating a system (using the boom, a stainless steel extension out the end of the boom, the main halyard, boom topping lift, and our life sling 5:1 block and tackle) to haul up our (Chris') new 15-hp Yamaha dinghy motor (born in 1991 over 10 years younger than the rest of our engines).

Christmas Eve we joined the Bishop's in their beautiful home on the Caracol (called "the snail" for the winding roads around the peninsula at the east edge of Bahia San Carlos) for a shrimp feast put on by Jacqui whose brother Luke and friends Sean and Kim had arrived from the states and were pouring quite strong beverages making for a tasty and rowdy celebration. In turn, Christmas was a slow day for us, recovering from the craziness of splashing and celebrating.

We did manage to Skype many of our family members from the anchorage which was very special and then joined Chuck and Linda of Pura Vida and some of their friends for a gourmet Christmas celebration at their home (aka "the Rose cafe" which is the name of the restaurant they used to run together in Prescott, AZ), on the northwest side of the bahia. We brought mulled wine and decorated shortbread cookies and were treated to fun conversation and a culinary feast (starting with a tomato bisque and strawberry-pecan-spinach salad to a delicious Christmas ham along with sweet potatoes and garlic beans topped with a french apple crisp and ice cream). With our bellys full we ended our Christmas day with a mellow beach bonfire.

Although much still needed to happen on Tao, all work basically ground to a halt for the holidays. We opened presents on boxing day and set up our "Charlie Brown Christmas" tree (thanks Mum!) and sold our newly acquired dinghy (which came as a package deal with the engine) to Coconut Express, as Eeyore is just what we need aboard Tao (fully collapsible, 10-ft, high pressure inflatable floor perfect for short trips with the 2-hp Seahor and the new-to-us 15-hp for longer excursions to come). We continued the holiday by visiting with Jenny and Randy of Mystic the next day, catching up over tea and fruit, and hiking the cliffs along the west edge of the bahia after which our day was spent organizing a new "To-Do" list.

Back to work (except for the afternoon Shawn slipped away for an kiteboarding lesson from Jacqui)! It felt great to get our working sails (mains'l and 100% jib) attached and ready for use. Although there is still much to do before we'll be ready, not only did it make us feel closer to sailing, but created some much needed space in the V-berth for organization. Chris has been climbing the mast near daily and often more than once a day to run more lines (flag and spinnaker halyards, lazy jacks, reef lines), replace the mast head tricolor and wind indicator, remove the radar reflector from the backstay (to be moved to the mast head) and run a new flag halyard there for our US flag, and still more remains aloft. We have also tackled some maintenance and upgrades on Yannie- changed her oil, insulated all near engine galley hoses, re-tapped 1/8" NPT for a new oil pressure gauge and also a 3/8" NPT for a new temperature gauge and have started the never ending process of reorganizing and reprovisioning our food stores.

Some southerly flow brought swell into the bahia making the anchorage a bit uncomfortable (and mast work like riding a bucking bronco) so we've moved inside to our "secret" triangle of space that is more protected; enough for one small boat located between the mooring field and the fairway near the marina. So as the new year rolls in, we continue to chip away at projects to get all (or at least most) of the improvements that we've been plotting for the past several months underway if not fully functioning for this upcoming season of sailing. We are grateful to be together where we are as the year changes and hope you all are also taking steps toward your dreams for the amazing year to come!