COVID Cruising

Soulstice COVID 19 Travels

April 2-22 and UpDate May 3- present

Hola! Hola! Holaaaaa!!!

Well, I have not blogged for multiple reasons. One reason is that we were not able to proceed with our long-planned for and long-awaited sailing journey across the South Pacific due to a pervasive and deadly virus causing border closers globally and I did not feel like we had anything to share. The second reason is that even though this pandemic has affected our plans and our travels, we have been more fortunate than most as our cruising lifestyle has not been dramatically altered and I did not want to be exploiting our good fortune during challenging times for most. I did decide to blog mainly to document our adventure during this historical time and I provide more insight to my reason why below. 

So with that being said and I mentioned in our previous blog, we provisioned for a long journey that has turned into a journey of waiting out a virus to cease transmission. We have plenty of food, although our freshies now consist of onions, jicama, and brown limes ( did you know you can freeze limes to preserve them:). Oh, and we are spearfishing again so we are getting fresh fish almost daily! Our dry goods are going strong and our wise choice of a large purchase of booze at Costco has been helpful. We are making water and were even able to share some for another boat that does not have a water maker. Solar is kicking ass and keeping our battery bank full! Fuel is doing well because we are being more particular about sail days and we have had some great sailing on our recent moves farther north into the Sea of Cortez. 

Restrictions in Mexico are getting tighter and convoluted. The US is starting to lighten up on restrictions but Mexico is just getting more strict. We anticipate this could go on for at least another month. By the time I even post this it will be at least 2 weeks late because I don’t anticipate getting internet until then. We want to avoid any populated areas for safety and just the chaos of being in one.  Cruising already comes with challenges in getting provisions, doing laundry ( which we are doing on the boat bucket style) and other chores so now lets add restrictions on when and how to do this…. ta da…. big PIA and want to avoid. 

We spent so much time in the marina getting ready for the S. Pacific crossing that we have avoided being back in one until necessary. So we have been enjoying uninhabited islands and have been able to swim, hike, paddleboard, spearfish and just hang out. We finally got to the cruising part I like after 3 months of work and it is in the midst of a pandemic.  We are not feeling the effects like others in the US who are working in healthcare ( most of our friends) and other folks working at home or others who have lost their job or had to close a business. We are just literally “cruising” along in life. We have not spent any money either because we have not been to shore in over a month so our piggy banks are liking this self-isolation/quarantine as well. 

This is all I will say for now…. So to blog or not to blog at this time comes with an ethical dilemma. I started to write because Stephen has decided to journal and I thought I might as well write too. It was nice to go back and look at our blog from last year because it is the more modern mode of journaling and it was nice to have a record of our adventure together documented. 

Stephen’s interest in journaling was spawned from I suspect a recent book we read and a common theme of generations past. They journaled! They kept written accounts of their daily affairs and thus helped to write history books, fiction, and nonfiction.  Stephen and I like to read books together. We have a book that I read aloud to us and then we usually have a book we are each reading separately.  We just finished reading together Mawson’s Will, an epic polar exploration novel and we are now reading the River of Doubt, a book about the exploration of an uncharted river in the Amazon with Theodore Roosevelt included. One thing I noted about these folks who have a day of incredible hardship mentally and physically is that they still take the time to write about their day every evening before closing their eyes. It is truly fascinating to me because after a long hard day I am and would be too tired to write. I think this was their decompression time of the past as well as they felt it was their due diligence as explorers to record for prosperity. Their great efforts helped create maps/charts/river surveys and educate the world about other cultures and geography.

Some of us watch a quick loop of the news, listen to music or podcast, read a chapter of a book, watch a show before bed…. At that time they wrote! They also instead of emails and text messages wrote letters to one another. Their ability to describe places, characters, and events with elaborate rhetoric and elaborated with decorate details is my favorite. 

I may continue to blog mainly so I do not lose the opportunity to document our journey in tackling the COVID 19 crisis in Mexico during the cruising season. My biggest appreciation has been for our Single Side Band radio. If you are not in cell range and only get limited news with satellite communications, the world of radio is still alive and kicking. We are getting news from Cuba, the US, and even got propagation for a station in Slovenia. The HAM nets as they call them have proved themselves to be invaluable to get local and international news when we are "off grid" so to speak.  Additionally, they are great for weather updates even though we have Predict Wind via the Iridium Go Satellite. It has kept us in the know on what is happening locally in Mexico with ports being open or closed, small towns or fishing camps that have requested cruisers not visit due to fear of transmission and other new regulations or relaxation of restrictions that affect cruisers. It is an old tool that is still immensely useful and we look forward to continuing to hone our SSB skills. 

Well, that is enough for now….

UPDATE - we are now in Puerto Escondido and have been buddy boating with a great couple, Larry and Nicole, and their 10-year-old daughter  Ellie on SV Milou. We met in Isla San Francisco and they were self quarantined for 30 days on their sailboat and us too so we made the adult decision to hang out! They shared yellowtail fish they scored in Isla San Francisco and made us sushi our first get together! We have been sharing our fish meals and fun times since. We are grateful to be in the company of such lovely folks with shared values! Ellie is a delight and reads 3 books at a time - woah!!! She loves to fish, draw, hike and swim and is very inquisitive. We look forward to more adventures with these guys until they haul out??? They were supposed to haul out in Puerto Penasco but it is closed right now so they are considering other options. They do want to return back to the US in a month. At this juncture for us, we will just continue on until it gets too hot which is soon- ha! Anyway, it has been a pleasure to enjoy some company during this bizarre time. 

 We arrived on May 3 to Puerto Escondido.  I have not been in a marina or in public since March 19 when we checked back into Mexico. We have been on the sailboat as noted above and going to uninhabited islands and avoiding people. The above blogging was done during this time and now we are at marina and face masks are in my life. They have been a daily routine for so many but since we have been isolated on the boat not for us. There are no cases of COVID 19 here and neither in Loreto, the closet town 14 miles north of the marina but people are taking the proper precautions.  We are not allowed to go into town unless for an emergency. The marina is offering for someone to shop for you and they have one day turn around time. The marina does have a small tienda and a restaurant that is serving take out. We did decide to treat ourselves with getting some pizza since we have been not been out for >6 weeks as well as some cold beers!!.  We have been good on fuel and water but decided a tomato or cucumber would be nice again. We still have plenty of dry goods but some freshies would be great. We plan to take advantage and do a fresh water rinse on the boat, clean and shine some stainless, 303 some gear, fresh water rinse our stinky wetsuits/gear, and do an oil change. We have only used 100 hours on the engine since Jan 1 so means we have been sailing more and it has been great! We also have pulled out “big bertha” as we named her, our gigantic A2 cut spinnaker, more and more so we are more comfortable with flying her. 

I wish everyone to stay safe and healthy! 

From Song of the Sirens

Author Ernest K. Gann

Chapter “The Albatros… A Middle Aged Maid” p.51-53

“Voyaging beyond the horizon in a small vessel is knowing removal from all the superfluous vexations and tribulations which have brought modern man to a platform upon which he stands naked and alone in secret terror, not quite sure whether he is rich or poor, or young or old, inspired or despairing, or what his sale price should be. Then the sea becomes a nirvana for the dedicated escapist, but it may also serve as a powerful restorative to the most inhibited realists. The removal begins soon after the land drops out of sight and all the horizon marking the frontiers of the voyager’s world becomes ocean. Soon afterward he discovers that one of the most painful ills which has abscessed his system and obsessed his brain has almost entirely disappeared. As soon as he realizes that whatever he wants is not to be had, and moreover that even if it was available he could not use it, he loses the pox of desire and its inevitable scabs of greed. To observe human beings without pressing desire is to rediscover mankind, and is at times so encouraging that one is not ashamed to walk on two legs. 

The death of desire is linked directly to deep water needs which are very simple. Soap is needed for cleanliness, and desire is born again if it is long unavailable. Some passing thought must be given the matter of clothing, an odd piece of cloth here and there for modesty, and according to the vessel’s latitude, some costume to retain body warmth. Since high fashion of any description is hopelessly impractical at sea, a vicious pair of human frailties is dropped overboard. Vanity and envy will not be retrieved until the sailor steps ashore again.

Soon more subtle influences commence to make themselves known and further soothe the unavoidably troubled personality who only a few days previously had striven to survive in the complex of shoreside existence. According to his political persuasion, status, or social conscience, the voyager may have been distressed by racial problems, international threats or merely by the gyrations of the stock market; now suddenly he realizes they are continuing without his vicarious supervision, and while at first he may experience a sense of futility and uselessness, these frustrations will soon be canceled by the citizen duties of his new world, which is now measured in feet and inches. The abandonment of worry about the course of history is particularly noticeable among habitual newspaper readers. to ease the pangs of withdrawal aboard the Albatros we followed a policy of turning on the radio news for the first three days out of port---after which we found that no one bothered to listen. And then there was peace.

Once rid of such debilitating influences, man stands in the new danger of discovering himself, and for a while, the cure can be as ravaging as the disease. The average underprivileged human being, bearing a minimum of shore-nourished afflictions, may expect to pass through the metamorphosis in a few days and emerge to discover he is basically a friendly creature rarely inclined to hatred in spite of his thirst for argument and, when the occasion rises, surprisingly considerate of his shipmates. A part of this is due to a new sense of mutual security---'Here we are alone in the middle of the ocean and we must stick together if we are ever to reach the safety of shore again.'

There are other fundamentals involved in this undercurrent of well-being. Money has ceased to be a necessity and is not even a useful commodity, so that the handling counting, thinking, and discussion of it is reduced to a minimum. And if the voyage has been properly planned the voyager knows he will not starve; if doubts still haunt him, he can always find some excuse to inspect the reserve. This total security, coupled with the draining of his poison juices, promotes long life; which may be why people persist in going to sea in small vessels. In good weather, the contentment simulates a return to the womb."

Anchored outside of Mazatlan heading north to Sea of Cortez - Raul and his son Raul Jr helped get us fuel. Stephen went with them in their panga to get us topped up on fuel. This way we avoided going into the marina. 

Isla Monserrat hike

Yellowstone Beach, Isla Monserrat - Friend Nicole from Milou and me

Sunset at anchorage Isla Monserrat

Picture 10-year-old Ellie drew for me- that is me! with triggerfish, eagle ray, sea horses, sea turtle, big eel, coconut tree, machete, dog and Stephen paragliding in background.

Barred Pargo on the dinner menu!

Jenny's trigger and ? baby pargo for dinner:)

Hawk fish - so beautiful with colors- turquoise outlined patterns

Anchorage around corner San Marte - hike with Stephen and Nicole

Nicole and Ellie from SV Milou- hike in San Telmo

San Telmo

Yellow and spotted rose snapper!! 

San Telmo

East Side Isla San Jose 

Big teethy Cabria!

Larry and Ellie Trolling!

SV Soulstice

SV Milou

Nicole and I on hike East side Isla San Jose

My award-winning photo of Nicole on our hike

Isla San Francisco

Little cave with Jesus candles and prayer site used by fishermen on cove next to the main anchorage of Isla San Francisco.