Toketie to the Marquesas!

Thank you to those who have complained about the lack of detail on the blog....good to know someone is reading it!  Sorry, have had radio problems (all fixed now) and the surf often kept us from going to shore to use an internet cafe.

Had daughter Phoebe on board for three weeks and really enjoyed having her.  Having flown into Mexico direct from Mumbai, India, she had to be re-integrated into Western Society....not sure cruising the Gold Coast of Mexico qualifies but it was lots of fun!

Have been cruising with Brian & Cathy on 'Tarun' who will accompany us on the crossing.  Also have enjoyed the company of Bruce & Jeannie on 'Jabula' who unfortunately will stay behind in Mexico this season.

Looks like Tuesday, March 18 is the big day!  We are busy with final provisioning, fuel, water, lashing things down...etc.... We will go downtown in Manzanillo and do the official paperwork with the Port Captain and the Immigration office to check out of Mexico.  Weather seems favorable and the plan is to head for a position of about 8 degrees North and 128 degrees West before turning South to cross the Inter Tropical Convergence Zone and a direct bearing for the Marquesas.

It is exciting and nerve racking at the same time!  I think it will settle down after a few days at sea.

Will do our best to update the blog along the way....weather and power supply gods willing!  Also hope to get our position up on the Winlink Position Reporter site....for anyone who can find this website, its a map that shows our progress.. http://www.winlink.org/aprs/aprs.htm .....just enter va7dxf or find it on the list!  Should have it up there in the next day or so.

Meanwhile, we are thinking of all of you back there and hope you get some small satisfaction following our journey!

Cheers David & Linda

S/V Toketie

Back in Melaque!

Toketie and crew are back in Melaque after a week or so in Tenacatita.  HF radio back in service after new coupler delivered via friends net via Puerto Vallarta.  Nice to be back in the airwaves.  Stay tuned!!

Melaque!

Anchored off Melaque!  Big surf started yesterday and waves pounding the beaches.  Put out a stern anchor to keep Toketie facing into the seas....too rolly otherwise.  Makes for interesting shore landings!  Met our friends Ian & Ness from "Eileen O'Donan" and enjoyed catching up.  Plan to cruise the area locally for a couple of weeks with daughter Phoebe on board before returning to Manzanillo for final preparations.  Hoping to repair SSB radio as well.  Meanwhile the beer is still cheap, the wine undrinkable (in our budget) and the rum and pineapply plentiful!! 

crew of S/V Toketie

From Manzanillo Bay!

Anchored in front of the famous Las Hadas resort!  Provisioning like mad and trying to diagnose/repair a radio problem with the SSB!  Just another hectic day in the life of a cruiser.....its not a holiday you know!  This is hard work.  Gotta sign off now and head to the pool.....cheers!

new pic en route Tenacatita!

Toketie cruising under full canvas.....about 5 knots......this is nice sailing!

Tenacatita!

Enjoying relaxing time in the bay....dinghy up the river.....warm breezes...sunsets....surf....:)

Baia de Chamela

anchored in this beautiful sheltered bay....gentle winds swaying the coconut trees...friendly people....unwinding and planning the next stages....

Toketie on the move!

We have finally slipped the lines from the dock at Marina Vallarta and after a lovely two hour sail in company with our friends on 'Tarun'....we are anchored once again in La Cruz.  No noise from the bars, no city dirt in the air...whales blowing, manta rays breaching....an idyllic sunset and a farewell visit from Andre on 'Symbiosis'.  Peaceful, quiet and gently rolling to the Pacific swells which will soon carry us south on our journey!

latest news from mexico!

Well, the first mate has returned.....and the captain is very happy to see her!  Our friends on Tarun arrived carrying a wind generator and the poles to mount it from San Diego for us....also a welcome sight!  Hectic days and muggy nights....the heat and humidity have finally returned here....planned the installation of the wind generator today....lists of things to do before leaving Puerto Vallarta at the end of January!  Mucho provisioning, much route planning, scrubbing, painting, fixing, stowing......give me a quiet anchorage....soon!  Cheers

another day in paradise!

Last week it was the fuel tanks to scrub out!   Yesterday, I removed all the batteries and cooked them on the dock for the whole day!!  Its called 'Equalization'.  Got them boiling pretty good actually.  After cooling overnight, I tested them today and am awaiting interpretation of the results!!  Voltage is good, specific gravity is good but load test has some questions!!  All part of a day's fun for a cruiser!  Attended first meeting of the "puddlejumpers" group two days ago.....very similar to our "fleet" group in Blue Water Cruising, where people who are planning to make the passage to Fr Polynesia this spring get together and share information and resources. 

 

Rice, beans and eggs...maybe I'll have fish for a change!

philosophical musings!

We have lived on board for going on four years now.  We sailed down the West Coast of North America from Victoria in 2006 and spent the winter in Mexico.   We debated going down through Central America to Ecuador but have now decided to head directly for the Marquesas and New Zealand in the spring of 2008.

It is a very seductive lifestyle.  Free from any 9 to 5 constraints you once had, you become attuned to the sun's rising and setting and meet people with a common love of the sea.   Occasionally you cross paths with someone who has never sailed but have that 'romantic' gleam in their eye when it comes out that you live and travel on a sailboat.   I try not to discourage them or dampen this enthusiasm for I believe everyone must come to their own realizations about their hopes and fears and dreams.  For some, it simply becomes a matter of learning the ropes, organizing the voyage and setting out before it seems that they are back home sorting through the thousands of memories they managed to capture along the way.   And others are truly seduced by the lifestyle and become a modern form of gypsy, maybe returning on occasion to that 'other' world to make contact with friends and family.  

It's not always an easy life.  There are times when you are exhausted or nervous or perhaps even frightened by what the ocean can do.   Those who do it for long seem to develop a kind of humility that you learn to recognize in the gentleness of their manner and softness of their voice.   Rarely do they leave more than footprints in the sand.  And when you need a hand, they are seldom far.

I had this dream my entire adult life but what with careers and mortgages and raising children, it remained a dream, nourished constantly by reading the experiences of those who were living it.

You will never have enough money; there will always be ties to family that hold you back even while encouraging you.  There will always be choices to be made.  But we can no more hold back the sands of time than we can stop the tides.

So pick a heading and take a small step in that direction or risk losing those memories and being marooned with regrets for chances not taken!

January in Vallarta

About time for another update!  Fuel tanks scrubbed out....what a job!  All fuel filters changed!  Maybe next time my kids come to visit....I'll be able to take them out of the harbour.  Last week we bounced around at the entrance, blocking any cruise ship egress....till the Capitaine de Puerto came out and yelled at us...didn't offer any assistance or anything as I got the anchor down to hold us off the rocks....fortunately the good ship 'Symbiosis' came along with Captain Andre to tow us in...well the universe was in a perverse mood at the time so after we hitched the tow line to him...his engine failed as well!!  So not sure who was rescuing who but it all turned out for the best in this best of all possible worlds as the good Dr. Pangloss would say!  Engine now running....awaiting return of first mate.....good ship Tarun on the way to deliver wind generator....meanwhile one day melts into another....sun shines hot and roving mariachi bands interfere with attempted skype....more to follow.....

Dec 18 update!

Well, the roller furler/reefing unit is finally on after about 8 months!  Of course its not quite complete....still need a director block at the top of the mast to prevent the halyard from winding around the forestay and the tube has only one sail slot while we ordered two!  So these items are to be addressed...soon we hope!  Also, rumour has sit our new high test anchor chain, all 300 feet of it, shipped from Washington State is now in Quadalajera and could show up here today!  Also holding my breath on that one!  But hey, its almost christmas and that's when miracles can happen!  Found someone that can repair the scratches to the hull, waiting for a quote on it.  Meanwhile cowboy Bob who caused the problem remains elusive.....also got quotes for haulout in January!  Put new vent scoop cowlings on today, brings more air down below!  Missing my first mate though....my cooking has definitely gotten rusty!  New charge controller in place and working great!  Batteries did take a beating though in going dry, maybe lost 20-30 % of their ability.  Wind generator on the way from San Diego on the good ship Tarun, along with mounting poles and brackets!  Boy do we owe those guys big time...meanwhile life crawls along in Puerto Vallarta Marina.....cool at night but sun is very hot during the day.  Almost time for cerveza and siesta.....what a life!

Home Again, Home Again!

Back on board!  Lots of scrubbing and putting back together.

Mexico!

Staying in the village of Guyabitos outside of PV!  Cleaning up Toketie and getting back into cruising mode.  Stay tuned for updates!!

leavin...on a jet plane!

Dec 1, 2007 we fly back to our home in Mexico!  Toketie has been waiting patiently for us.  Her new roller furling gear untested and a new wind generator on the way!  Trying to stuff all the other bits and pieces of boat gear we've accumulated into bags to load on the plane!  Nautical Alamanac, Charly's Charts to the S Pacific, Sailing Directions, new charge controller for the solar panels, etc etc.....the goodbyes are always the hardest! 

into the unknown...

The Captain and First Mate

Dec 07 and on to the next leg

We have been back in Victoria, BC for a few months now and are preparing to return to Toketie in Mexico in December. We have now decided to set out directly for the Marquesas and on to New Zealand from there.

Captain at the Chart Table