Cruisers often speak of trading something of small value for something really good like a couple of fishhooks for a lobster.

While in Zihuatanejo, we watched many of the fisherman standing in their small narrow canoe like heavy fiberglassed boats while casting their nets or jigging for fish with a light hand line. We never attempted to trade for fish as Zihuatanejo Bay is noted for its pollution. But as we worked on the boat in the Barra de Navidad lagoon, a fisherman became entertained by the show of Christopher being hoisted up the mast and being lowered as he worked.

We had noted him going out before sunrise covered with a heavy duty garbage bag with holes for his head and arms and tied about his waist to fend off the early morning dew and cold. He would paddle while standing in his small boat, pausing occasionally to cast his net. Sometimes he would pitch a fist sized rock and then cast where it splashed, the theory being that the bubbles from the splash would attract the fish. His little hand casted net always seemed to come up with more fish than the bigger boats that laid out hundreds of feet of net. He would work his way around the lagoon then disappear in the heat of the day until then next early morning.

So when the curiosity of the fisherman drew him close to the boat we asked him about the types of fish he was catching. Soon we were all paging through the fish books to ID his catch and we showed him pictures of 100 pound halibut being lifted out through the skylight of Alaskason from when it fished in Alaska. He offered us some Lisa which are a small mullet and would not take any money in return. A small sample bottle of liquor and some trail mix pleased him though.

Now every morning we agonized over what to trade for our daily meal of 3 small fish. Some things he would hand back or would toss into the boat as though he would oblige us by getting rid of them or would be delighted and admire his gift as in the big spring clamp or the small coil of 300 pound test fishing line. It was fun to talk Spanish with him and enjoy his banter as he cleaned our 3 little fish. Just as we were leaving he flagged us down and gave us a big bag of wild plums ... yum.

This is what we came cruising for.

We left Barra de Navida with the vow of finally doing some relaxed cruising and not do heavy duty work on the boat. We wanted a few days of swimming before heading to the marina in Mazatlan to renew our annual visas.

We finally reached paradise ... literally. We anchored in a small bay only big enough for 2 or 3 boats off the beach from a private estate with a name of "LOBO" in stones on the lawn. The official name of the anchorage is "Paraiso" which means paradise in Spanish. Paraiso was our third stop in Mexico two years ago November after Turtle Bay and then Cabo on the way to Zihuatanejo. It was unplanned as we were pounding into headwinds, squalls, lightning, confused choppy seas and making little progress so we ducked in to the nearest anchorage. Both the boat and we were a sopping dirty mess. Dawn was almost incapacitated with seasickness and Christopher was exhausted. We spent several heavenly days sorting out the boat, resting, and swimming. It was our first hint of what tropical cruising was all about. Even the machine gun toting guard on the beach did not dissuade us from enjoying that anchorage. It was there that we met treasured friends Mike and Catharine of S/V Briela who are now down the west coast of South American on their way around Cape Horn.

So it was with fond memories that we returned to Paraiso. This time it was a leisurely afternoon sail of 30 miles from Tennicata Bay. We actually came into the bay under sail and dropped anchor under sail. No engine for these sailors! The water was cool but very comfortable when actively swimming which is fine as Dawn is always chasing down some interesting sea critter and Christopher is always on the hunt for dinner with his speargun. We stock the boat well for a passage with lots of fresh fruits and vegetables and rely on fresh fish for our meat as we do not have refrigeration or ice on board. We were able to make lots of notes in our fish ID books like "saw this one" or "tasted great", or "no more of these please".

It is always nice to share an anchorage with someone you like, so we were pleased when Ray and his Cape George "Pavane" also sailed into the bay and dropped anchor without using an engine which is not as novel to him as it is to us. He rarely uses his engine. So we invited Ray on an adventure to kayak to the next little bay and see if the masses of jelly fish that had surrounded us that afternoon were not in the next bay so we could swim.

Our kayak is a two man inflatable AIRE that was originally designed to white water raft down Idaho rivers. Ours is the sea version and is 18 feet long with three tubes of air inside long zippered pouches and almost a 3 foot beam. We use it as a dive platform, to haul our water and fuel, and as a second dingy to commute to shore, to exercise, and to explore interesting places. So to load an extra person on board made no difference to the kayak.

The next bay was also filled with little brown pulsating jelly fish and an occasional big one. We went to shore instead. We always find something interesting when poking on beaches. This one had a tree that looked like it had grapefruit nailed to the trunk and thick part of the branches. The fruit was hard like a gourd and squishy inside with seeds and stringy pulp and smelled like a wonderful tropical pudding. Anyone have any idea what kind of tree that was?

There was a point off to the side of the beach that had hundreds of little crabs scurrying about on the rocks. Then we noticed that on the rock wall behind us from eye level to arms reach high were dozens of crabs staring at us. They were pink and orange and red and sat unmoving in the sun. In fact they were sun dried with their claws still clinging to the rock ledges! They must have been pitched up there in the surf and never found their way back down. We collected lots of interesting shells and iron man Christopher braved the jellyfish for a swim and claimed to have no ill effect. Ray and Dawn did not believe him. So with the sun ebbing we reluctantly began tugging the kayak back into the water. And with a loud boom, one of the three tube covers gave way exposing a jellyfish like clear plastic tube of air wiggling away from kayak. A good example of corroding metal zippers stressed by overheated expanding air tubes.

So we lassoed the errant tube and roped it to the two good ones, straddled the entire mess like a pony and began paddling back to the other bay where our boats were anchored. As we rounded the corner we saw Ray's boat Pavane had drug anchor and it's stern was backing onto the beach. So we looked like a Chinese fire drill trying to balance the lame kayak, get on board Pavane to get the engine started, rescue stuff from the kayak, get the anchor pulled, and re-anchor Pavane more securely. The owners of the LOBO estate stood on shore for a very long time watching the miss-adventure. We must have been quite entertaining. Nothing was lost, Pavane was safe, the kayak was repairable and we ended our adventure with a nice bottle of wine from Ray, a great meal from the Alaskason Galley, and closed the day with a special toast with a 16 year old bottle of late harvest wine purchased by Dawn the year she met Christopher and had been saving it for a very special occasion.

We were a couple of days out of Paraiso when we saw a bee checking out our galley. Bees are often a problem with cruisers as the bees are attracted to the fresh water and food on the boat and there are lots of bee stories in the cruising world. So a bee on the boat was not unusual except we were 40 miles off shore with nothing floating in sight. So Dawn joked that the bee would have a tough time bringing his buddies back because the boat would be gone by the time he could get back. A few minutes later a horde of about 50 bees showed up. They were flying at us and crawling inside our clothes. One stung Christopher. We had to dive for safety into the boat and put up a screen over the hatch. An hour later the bees were still persistently trying to find a way into the boat. We were under sail and needed to go outside. So armed with a fly swatter and a can of Raid, Christopher did battle upstairs and Dawn did battle downstairs. Score was bees stung Christopher five times and we killed about 50 bees. Never saw another bee after that.

We did not stop between Paraiso which is just north of Manzanillo and Mazatlan. If you look at a map you can see that it is a very long way. We hit headwinds most of the way up but managed to sail a lot in between motoring. We got most of our boatwork done the first week in Mazatlan including completing the refinishing of the wood caprail, rub rails and hatches and cleaning most of the stainless steel items on the boat. Most of the work had not been done for several years if ever. The difference in the boat is dramatic. It is beginning to have a finished look and feel to it. It will become a dignified cruising boat yet.

We are now leaving Mazatlan with a more shiny boat, renewed visas, and two new teeth for Christopher (there is an awsome dentist in Mazatlan). We have our haul out date of June 10 and hope to be enroute back to the states a couple of days after that. Then off to family on the east coast and the seek project work again for the summer and fall in Alaska at the beginning of July. No moss on the Alaskason crew!

Christopher and Dawn of the Sailing Vessel Alaskason

We will give you an update on our final cruising days and answer some of the questions that you have emailed us. Remember, please join us February 5 through 9, 2005 in Zihuatanejo Mexico for the Zihua Sailfest. We think that it is the best place and time to be in Mexico and hope you will too! Check it out at www.zihuasailfest.com

We had Ed of the S/V Tora ask us .... What is a Panga? A panga is a small 20 to 30 foot boat or skiff with about a 6 foot beam that is made from wood and fiberglass. Until the 1960s the panga was a dug out canoe and an American redesigned it as a fiberglass mold. The fiberglass is very thick thus making the boat very, heavy, maybe 1000 pounds. They mostly seem to be made from the same mold and they vary little except for color and the occasional thick fiberglass awning molded to the boat. What surprised us is the huge 40 to 75 hp and as much as 225 hp Yamaha outboard motors bolted onto the transom. Sometimes there were two. The pangas go very, fast. One is never sure they are watching where they are going except the do not seem to run into anything very often. Only have heard of an occasional panga that has t-boned a sailboat at anchor. They often roar past you unlighted in the dark which is unnerving. The Mexican Pacific coast has little in the way of estuaries to shelter a boat. So the pangas run up onto the beaches and then are rolled up beyond the surf line on round palm tree logs. It must be a test of machismo to run at a beach full speed and lift the huge motor up just in time and have the panga slide up out of the water and come to rest often a boat length up on the beach. Pangas are a part of the Mexican cruising experience.

We must also thank Dewey of the SV Chelsea for the Tidibowl comments he made long ago while we worked on the boat in the Ballard Mill Marina. He was lamenting the disappearance of Tidibowl toilet bowl cleaner from the supermarket shelves as that was his favorite stainless steel cleaner. The ideal stuck in the back of Dawn's head for years. Then she made the connection to the chemicals in rust remover and those that clean rust from toilet bowels. Some label reading of Mexican toilet bowel cleaners yielded something that might be like the old Tidibowl. And yes, it works great. It said that it sticks to vertical surfaces and it sure did stick to the stainless chain plates, turning blocks and lifeline posts and removed 20 years of rust and gunk as we watched it without even touching it! Thank you Dewey.


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