Odile

Tags

anchoring, Hurricane, la paz, Loreto, Odile, Puerto Vallarta

Not that it mattered, or that we could have done anything about it, but we checked the Eastern Pacific Tropical Forecast before we left for a short boat trip on Puget Sound Sunday afternoon. Hurricane Odile was still supposed to pass up the outside (Western) shore of Baja, and while the peninsula would get a little too much rain in a little too little amount of time, all was well(ish).

So when we got a call Tuesday morning asking if Bright Water was OK, we were unclear what had happened.

This happened:

Odile slammed into Cabo San Lucas as a Category 3 (the strongest hurricane there since satellite monitoring), then moseyed on up the land, wiping out everything in it’s path. Communications seem to have suffered, but the word is that nobody was killed. All or most of the common “tropical” tin and tarpaper housing is demolished. I’m sure there’s a lot of broken boats and marinas. There is a lot of work to do there.

EDIT: The best quality rumors are being collected by Holly on the Charlie’s Charts facebook page, and on Latitude38.com. It looks like there was very little yacht damage in marinas or dry-stack yards, with a few significant exceptions. Several yachtistas are still missing in La Paz, but they would have been washed onto the island (the Mogote) when/if they abandoned ship during the storm and may be living in houses on the island (see below).

One friend rode the hurricane anchored in Bahia Marquer (BM on the map), near Loreto. They suffered very little damage and only dragged their (massive) anchor 100′ or so. The “hurricane hole” of Puerto Escondito, just a few miles away, was torn apart as moorings failed and loose boats swept into other boats, creating a cascade of destruction.

Another friend rode the storm out in Bahia Don Juan (DJ). The slightly lighter winds (35-40 sustained, with higher gusts) and well-protected anchorage worked out and they didn’t suffer any damage, although they had to re-anchor three times in the deep harbor.

Bright Water is on the hard in Guaymas (BW) on the mainland. They got less than 1/2 inch of rain and the winds were under 30 knots, so I’m sure we’re fine.

Two people were killed in Puerto Vallarta as the storm swept north. Ironically, we have friends staying there. Someone was swept off the seawall in front of their hotel, then washed up dead 1 1/2 hours later. Crazy.

Now Odile is bringing too much rain in too short of a time to Arizona and New Mexico. I don’t know if that will effectively end the drought there, but it should fill the reservoirs. Hopefully it doesn’t fill the reservoirs with the mountains. The erosion will be epic in some areas.

Ya’ll take care of each other.

Edit: The yacht Princess sunk in La Paz during Odile, taking it’s owner down with it. Gunter was a fixture in La Paz, an icon. Gunter ran the morning radio net every Friday with grace, a loose hand, and a quiet but clever sense of humor that appealed to everyone. Often, after the net (which always ran long), he would tell a story of his own. Those stories probably cost La Paz as cruisers stayed on their boats and listened to their radios instead of attending to commerce and, you know, cruising stuff. We hope Gunter finds rest.

More Yacht Racing

Tags

Mexico, Puerto Vallarta, SDYC, Yachting

The San Diego to Puerto Vallarta Yacht race continued through the week. As the self-appointed official spectator fleet, we had great seats.

We’d wake in the morning, get on the internet to check and see who finished overnight and if there was anyone ready to finish soon,

then we’d load in the dingy and putt-putt over to Andante to hang out for the rest of the day.

Nancy would spend the day being delightful, pressing the horn to signal a finish, and watching Regatta Manager Jeff enter the numbers and manage the regatta.

I would help Mike deliver the beer and SWAG bags to the crews as they finished.

Getting back to Andante was sometimes a little more fun than necessary.

Mike lives here in PV. He and his wife Sharon run a stunning retreat Casa Pacifica Sayulita. Please tell him we sent you.

Often there was a good breeze blowing, and the boats were able to finish strong.  These boats have just sailed 1200 miles, and are drag racing to the line.  Fantastic.

Other times the winds were frustratingly light.  Mirage ghosted in, needing over four hours of meticulous sailing to cover the last five miles and make the line.  Brutal.  That weird-looking jib is called a wind-seeker.  It’s a crazy-light tiny sail that is used to balance the wind loads against the keel lift, allowing the boat to carry the rudder straight(er) and cleaner for less drag.

In between boats, Captain Bob and I would trade boating stories and hair-care tips.  Since he had been a Vietnam-era Navy Captain and Commodore (with 11 of the 15 available campaign ribbons), and I had hair, it all evened out.

The SDYC invited us to the post-race party at the Puerto Vallarta Westin, an epic hotel on the beach in PV.  They found us seats right up front and treated us like royalty.

If this was a fairy tale, there would have been a green flash at sunset, but it was real, so the real sunset in this real setting was even better.

Awards were handed out, stories were told, and some of our pictures were projected on the back-drop.  We had a great steak and lobster meal including a tomato slice and mozzarella appetizer that was perfect. SDYC Commodore Chuck thanked Nancy and me by name from the podium for whatever it was that we did. We spent the rest of the evening talking cruising, racing and boating with rock-star racers, wonderful club members, and past, present, and future Commodores from SDYC and the Acapulco Yacht Club. Then the organizers carted us back to Bright Water safe and sound.

It is impossible for Nancy and I to adequately express how welcoming and generous the people of the San Diego Yacht Club were to us.  What a great week!

Random Puerto Vallarta Stuff

Tags

Mexico, Nature, Puerto Vallarta

A plumeria flower fell off this tree and…

…stuck in Nancy’s head.  If Mexico had a working justice system, we could sue somebody.  Identifying damages may be a problem.

These are apparently what washed up on our deck the other night.  Weird little crawdads.

(Paraphrased from the original Spanglish): We were checking out of Walmart.  The four guys ahead of us had five full carts.  Full.  “Going fishing?” I asked.  The young guy closest to me said “yes, this is our Captain. I’m the cook.”. Old guy nods his head.  “How long are you going to be out?” “Eight weeks!” says young guy.  Cap’n hold up three fingers. “How many people are going?” Young guy thinks for a while “twenty or twenty-four.” Captain says “14.” “Big Game fishing?” I ask.  “Diving and snorkeling and fun,” says the Captain. “All they really do is eat,” says the young guy. “Eat and (poop).” Captain giggles.  “Well,” I said, “better to be the cook than the guy that fixes the heads.” Captain cracks up. Young guy is still giggling while we check out.

There are iguanas in the PV marina.

Next time you want more workplace safety laws, ask yourself: Does my town have a flying cow bar?  And if I get drunk enough, can I swing on a swing next to the flying cow? Then go home and think about personal liberty and personal responsibility and missed opportunities.  My favorite part is the seat belt ties on the swing.

There is a huge problem in Mexico right now.  You’ve probably been following it on the news.  We used to pay about 10 pesos/kilo for limons.  They are now almost 60 pesos/kilo, if we can find them.  Revolution!

Buddhist prayer flags in old town.

Nancy can’t pass a fabric store in Mexico.  I agree.  The colors and textures and details are way, way beyond anything we can get in the states.

There are several small bridges across the river in old town.  I’ll bet they’re a mess when the drunk Americans start wandering around after dark.

The PV Costco is exactly the same as the Arlington Costco at home.  The meat is better. Also, Tillamook Black-label White Cheddar Cheese.

We ate at a great little beach bar two days in a row.  Watch for Tamarind margaritas and aguachile camarones (limon, jalepeno and pepinos pureed; with red onion, shrimp, and cucumber slices, served with chips and bread).  Great, great food.

They even flew in a girl for us.  Woo! We sent her back.  Also, a very nice lady offered to braid my hair for 250 pesos ($21 US).  Nancy said no.

We like Puerto Vallarta.  A lot.

Sortie La Paz.

Tags

Gray Whales, Magdalena Bay, oxytocin, Puerto Vallarta

We’re sitting in Playa Pichilingue with some cell coverage, good internet, and the playoff games on the TV in good old-fashioned snowy analog with Spanish commentary.

We’ve fueled up and checked out and are making for Magdalena Bay on the Pacific Ocean on the west coast of Baja, California.  Grey Whales come from Alaska, Canada, and Puget Sound to have their calves there, and apparently they’re so pumped on oxytocin that they just love everyone and everyboat and they just want to show off their new babies.  We’ll see.

From Mag Bay, we’ll head south to the Puerto Vallarta area.  We may leave in a day or two, or maybe in a month or two.  Plans are vague.  We may or may not have internet or cell in Mag Bay, but we always have the Iridium phone if you need to get in touch.

We may show up on www.marinetraffic.com during the next little while.  If we don’t, don’t panic.  It’s just Mexico.

Adios, amigos.