Spring Regatta - racing again!

Captain Patsy (s/v Talion) asked us to join her again for the 4-day Spring Regatta and we couldn't resist!

Patsy and Marv are excellent racers and instructors and very patient - thank goodness.

Since we were only a crew of 4 this time, we knew we were going to have to work harder and learn quicker. We are getting better, but we definitely have lots of room for improvement.

The Regatta schedule:

• Day 1 - La Paz to Caleta Partida (25 miles)
  
• Day 2 - Caleta Partida to Isla San Francisco (25 miles)
• Day 3 - Isla San Francisco to Roca Lobos (34)
• Day 4 - Roca Lobos to La Paz (10 miles)
  

We had good winds and no winds; big waves and no waves; nasty bobo's that attacked us; and we sailed and sailed and sailed. It is amazing how creative you become when you can't use your engine and want to cross the finish line first!

• Day 1 - finished 3rd - darting through boats at the finish line
• Day 2 - finished 2nd - with our spinnaker flying - heading right for the beach
• Day 3 - finished 1st - and we were happy to be at anchorage before dark
• Day 4 - finished 2nd - no wind in the channel so had to tack, tack, tack (1st place, Detente, set a new record for the leg from Roca Lobos to La Paz!)

We arrived at Isla San Francisco so early on the 2nd day, we had options: snorkeling, hiking, fishing, etc. Instead - Patsy decided to throw a party and invited everyone over.

We had a wonderful time and were successful in cleaning out Patsy's liquor cabinet and reducing our food stores.

Deb and Don (s/v Buena Vista) provided fresh caught tuna sashimi with all of the fixins - yummy.

Everyone had a grand time. Team Talion was moving just a bit slow the next day, but that didn't seem to affect our 1st Place finish on the 3rd leg!

We won't know the "official" results of the regatta until the party on Wednesday, but no matter what - we had a wonderful time!

Thanks, Patsy!

Race Update: We got 2nd Place on the Northbound leg; 1st Place on the Southbound leg. We done good!

Bay Fest 2010

Bay Fest is a 3-day party put on each year by the local Club Cruceros. This is our 2nd year to attend and we had a great time. The Fest was well organized and well attended, plus it was a wonderful opportunity to hang out with our fellow cruisers. Below are some of the highlights!

Race to the Dock - First Place (adjusted) on s/v Talion! Our first racing experience and we had a wonderful time and learned so much from this very experienced crew.

We are going to be doing more of this racing stuff - even on Moondance!

Volleyball - we played the Navy team and the La Costa restaurant team and lost to both. So much for all of that practicing.

We should have stuck to drinking beer! Just kidding - we had a great time and even got some good exercise.

We did have some amazing cheerleaders though - they were very colorful and very entertaining!

Blindfold Dinghy Race - disqualified! We didn't get 5 feet away from the dock - how embarrassing is that? I was supposed to navigate Doug out and around the buoy by tapping him on the knees. We thought it would be a breeze.

Apparently, we needed to practice. I managed to get Doug and the dinghy stuck to a fishing boat instead!

Bocci Ball - made it to the second round by beating two brothers (5 and 7 years old) and were thoroughly whopped by some ringers. I never saw a team make all of their shots like they did - amazing! It was the fastest game on record.

Mexican Train - yup, lost again. We had trouble finding our groove this year - even after lessons. But, we aren't giving up. We will try again at Loreto Fest!

Even though we didn't fare so well at the games, we had a great time at Bay Fest and enjoyed the music, dancing, food, and just hanging with our compadres!

If you are around next year, be sure to check it out!

Rock to the Dock race!

Captain Patsy invited us join her on Talion for the Rock to the Dock race and we couldn't resist. We have never been racing and figured we would learn a lot and we did for sure!

Talion is a 50 foot Gulfstar sailboat that is really setup for racing. I think Patsy said she's got 6 spinnakers on board; Moondance has 1.

Patsy also invited other sailors to join in on the fun. Excellent sailors, plus Captains of their own vessels, that were always trimming the sails, anticipating wind changes, etc. Doug was a grinder; I was rail meat - hah!

It was amazing to listen to everyone planning our next strategy!

Crew included: Shelley (s/v Eros), Dona (s/v Profligate), Marv (s/v Odyssey), Bob (s/v Pantera), Bill (s/v Moontide), and Arjan (s/v RotKat).

Shelley's way of warming up for the race - singing and dancing - and she knew all of the words and had the moves. Shelley has been teaching sailing for ~20 years and was quick to anticipate sail changes and provide excellent advice - we should definitely spend more time with her.

While we were positioning for the start of the race, we were delighted to see humpback whales close by. I wasn't quick enough on the camera, but you get the idea.

The race was approximately 10 miles and started at Isla Rocas and ran to the Municipal pier. We had an excellent start and beat everyone off of the line.

Talion won 1st place in the race - after the handicap adjustment. Adios (Portland) crossed the line first.

Yup, this is Adios passing us - the crew grinning the whole way. We almost caught up with them on the downwind run through the channel, but they had too big of a lead. Next time for sure!

We had a wonderful time and we must have not have been too terrible of crew. Pasty invited us to join her this weekend for a 3-day race to Isla San Francisco.

Wish us luck!

Pig Roast on the Beach!

Saturday afternoon an announcement is made - Pig Roast on the Beach! Shelley, Dave, and the girls on the s/v Imagine are throwing a party and everyone is invited.

Well, we just can't miss that, so we get the dinghy in the water and head across the bay.

The weather was excellent, the pig was yummy, plus everyone brought goodies to share. It was a wonderful excuse for us (Doug) to get away from the boat projects and socialize with our boat buddies.



We met lots of new cruisers.

We are constantly amazed - everyone has different stories on how they got started, how long they plan on cruising, etc., but we all have cruising in common. Sure makes a social gang - never run out of things to talk about!

Boy, it really felt good to be in the dinghy and on the water again. We have been landlocked for way too long. I know, whine, whine, whine!

Chaos... You wouldn't know it from this picture, but the boat projects are coming along very well!

The engine issues we experienced on our trip south haven't been resolved yet, but Doug is starting to work on it next. Hopefully, it will be minor, but you never know.



Sanctuary... Thanks to our wonderful friends, Ana and Steve, we have been staying at Casa Ana - away from the craziness of the boat projects.

Good thing - if we had to live in this mess, there might have been a murder!

If all goes well, we will leave La Paz this month and set sail for Puerta Vallarta and other fun places on the Mexican mainland.

Yeah - we have missed being on the water and sailing!