The New Cruising Season

Our summer...

back at Huber Farms was wonderful! 

Although it was a long, cold, lingering spring, 

the garden was finally planted....

only to be hailed upon the day after I planted it!!

Ah....but warmer weather, sunshine, and adequate moisture prevailed 

in the coming days.

Plant survival!!

In June I visited Leslie, her Nick, and Betsy in Denver

where they are all gainfully employed and enjoying the best of a great city!

The end of June brought a significant change in Huber Farms. 

After 101 years of selling milk from Huber Farms to Ellsworth Creamery, 

the milking herd of 71 cows was sold at auction on the farm.

Approximately 50 younger heifers remain,
but the daily grind of milking cows is over.
It was a very emotional day,

but my brother John is now enjoying a

well-deserved change of routine.

Our summer was filled with gardening,
biking, a few music gigs for me,
and two weeks in British Columbia

where we joined our good friends, 

Doug & Jan, aboard their powerboat,
"Snowhawke". 

I will never tire of feasting daily on 

fresh-caught crab, prawn, ling cod, salmon!! 

But we started missin' the boat...!!!

So, in mid-October we began our drive from Ellsworth back to La Paz,

a trip of approximately 3,000 miles. We made stops to see family,

friends, and conduct business in Denver, Sacramento, Davis, CA, 

and San Diego. This was our second drive down the 3-day Baja 1000, and that's always exciting!

Beautiful country, extraordinary vistas, well paved highway (VERY narrow, however), 

and early stops each day to avoid hitting cows on the highway in the dark. 

Ah...Palmira Marina Slip #322~
There's SEA STORY!!!!!

After readying the boat and provisioning,
we headed up into the Sea of Cortez

to one of our favorite anchorages,
Isla San Francisco.

That's Sea Story with the orange inflatable kayak.
See the Sierra Gigantes (mountains)?
Their colors are magnificent!!

That's Sea Story to the far right.
I took this photo from up on the ridge.

 It was quite a hike, and the wind was really blowing!!

Have I mentioned the Baja sunsets yet?

This was sunset on Dec. 8th at Puerto Ballena,
a magnificent anchorage

on our way back to La Paz.
I took soooo many photos off our starboard side 

that night in about 8 minutes......
 it was difficult to choose one to share with you.

Plus....

Can you believe the moon rising
off our port at the same time?

Simply fabulous!!!

Now we're back in port and enjoying evening "sundowners' 

with fellow cruisers here on Dock 3.

Folks are definitely getting into
 the Holiday Spirit...

Sea Story's holiday lights!

The cockpit as viewed from the cabin.
Very festive!!

Captain Jerry and I send you 

Best Wishes for the Holiday Season

& 

Hope for the Best New Year EVER!!

Life is great here in La Paz,
and we hope life is great for you,
wherever you may be!

'Til next time....

Mary Lee

Great Friends, Great Sailing, Great Weather

This has been an unusually cold winter season for not only most of the US, but for Baja as well.  So we departed La Paz on February 26th to venture farther south in search of warmer weather. We crossed the Sea of Cortez from Los Muertos to Mazatlan, an overnight sail of about 30 hours, arriving Mazatlan on February 28th. While in the Mazatlan Marina for a week we reconnected with cruising friends there, and we enjoyed some of our favorite places in the Old Town area that we'd enjoyed on our sail there three years ago.  


Our next stop as we sailed our way south was Chacala, a lovely anchorage with beach palapas, restaurants, and colorful houses.  From there we sailed into and across beautiful Bandares Bay to Puerto Vallarta. This bay is a great sailing destination because the afternoon winds guarantee a exhilarating sail, plus a chance to see whales!! We are never disappointed!  Ahhhh...and it's getting warmer!!!

These are the sculptures that mark the street entrance to
Puerto Vallarta Marina. This is where we catch a bus or flag a taxi
when we want to get around town. 

While Sea Story has been tied to the dock in the marina, we've enjoyed the hospitality of our friends Dana & Gale in their lovely fourth floor condo that overlooks the marina. How great to sleep in their guest room....not a sailing berth, but a king size bed!  First real bed since last Christmas on the farm!

Sea Story is near the far end of the dock on the left.
The tsunami was felt here beginning at 1:30 PM causing the floating docks
to repeatedly rise and fall more than 3 feet.
Jerry stayed with Sea Story on the dock while I watched it all from  the condo's balcony.
The most dramatic visual, however, was the change in the water color rushing into the marina...
from aqua blue to brown/black..... as the tsunami's energy
swept the ocean floor all the way from Japan. Amazing! 

Our friends from Olympia, WA, Doug & Jan, joined us on Sea Story for a delightful week sailing down to two of our favorite anchorages, Chamela and Tenecatita. Then on to the beautiful city of Manzanillo where we first anchored one night in Santiago Bay, then sailed over to Las Hadas Marina for two nights.  At Las Hadas Marina boats must tie up to the dock "med(iterranean) style"...dropping the bow anchor in the middle of the marina, then backing the boat to a tie-up at the dock.

This is Sea Story.
Med-style docking is very common in Europe.
It takes a skilled captain and good crew to coordinate this style of docking,
and we had both!!

We're now back in Puerto Vallarta and enjoying all it has to offer.  Old Town is a favorite haunt, and the bus system and taxis make it easy to get around. Today on our walk back from lunch we encountered a couple of the marina's most common residents:

See the handsome 24 inch devil sunning himself on the rock?
The hibiscus flower is a nice contrast, don't you agree?
He was about two feet from the sidewalk here in the marina.

Mexican iguanas must also love golf because they are all over the golf courses.
This bad boy was about 7 or 8 feet long, and they can move VERY fast.
Don't think I'd try to recover a small Titleist from him...

There are two large crocodiles that reside in this marina, and residents see them all the time. 

We have yet to see them, but I'll keep looking. Must be interesting for the divers cleaning 

the bottoms of the boats here....!

Weather permitting, we'll be heading back to La Paz on Tuesday hoping to arrive in time for Bayfest, the cruisers 3-day celebration, April 7-10. After that we'll begin preparations for leaving Sea Story in La Paz for the summer. Family, friends, biking, camping, music, gardening, the sweet fragrances of life on the farm, song birds. Ahhhh....the tug of summer in Wisconsin/Minnesota has begun. 

Dinner at "Dante's" on the malecon at PV Marina.

Life is wonderful!  I hope it is for you too!

'Til next time...

Mary Lee

Back To La Paz

In mid-December, Jerry and I flew back to Wisconsin where we enjoyed a wonderful two-week visit with family and friends. The old farmhouse was filled to the brim as everyone made it home for this holiday. My daughter Betsy O'Keefe's graduation from UW-Stout (Hospitality & Tourism/Business Management) on December 18th presented a terrific reason to celebrate, and would you believe SHE prepared all the tasty hors'dourves, pairing the wine appropriately, of course!

My Girls...

Leslie, Betsy, & Shemagne

We are so proud of Betsy!!

The day after Christmas we all gathered at brother Bill & Jennifer's new home for a Huber Family Photo Op.

L to R...
Standing: Bill, Jennifer, Leslie, Jerry, 
Mary Lee, Kim, John, Hank

Sitting: Bailee, Billie Jo, Nehemiah, 
Shemagne, Betsy, 
Georgia holding Brooke, Jake holding Jenna

 Floor: Lily, Carter, Gabby

After returning to San Diego to provision SEA STORY, we set out on January 4th for an overnight sail down to Ensenada (60 miles south of Tijuana) where we spent the next six days "on the hard" in Baja Naval Boat Works while the boat received a new coat of bottom paint.

 There's Jerry at our "penthouse" 14 ft above the hard. 

Two days later they raised the boat even more to let the centerboard down, 

and the ladder was extended another 4 feet. 

What a view out over the marina! 

We climbed that ladder many times over six days...good exercise 

and a reason to moderate Pacifico and margarita consumption! 

I must admit, I rather enjoyed living in the boatyard those days. Cooking, reading, sleeping, internet...all from our home in the sky. It was a great bird's eye view of many things: the cruise ships coming and going in the harbor, the expertise of the yard workers as they manipulated every size and kind of boat (sail and power) in and around the yard, the workers daily 30 minute volley ball game during their lunch time, and observing the many folks strolling on the malecon below our boat just beyond the fence.  Watching a sunset from that vantage with a glass of vino in hand....lovely! And we were impressed with the professionalism and cleanliness of Baja Naval.  It's a good place to have boat work done.

Painting completed! Isn't SEA STORY beautiful??!

A moment after I took this photo I climbed up that ladder one last time

before a workman removed it. Seconds later we began our ride on the hoist, suspended in that sling out over the water.  The sling was lowered, then removed, and we were officially "splashed".  

We departed Ensenada on January 11th and made stops along the way at San Carlos, Turtle Bay, Ascuncion, Abreojos, Belcher's Cove at Magdalena Bay, Cabo San Lucas, and Los Muertos.

Very cool gas guy at Turtle Bay! He comes out to boats 

in the anchorage with a "panga gas station".

A full day of dense fog between Abreojos and Belcher's Cove

in Mag Bay!  Gotta love that radar....

Remember, you don't have to shovel fog...

Our 22-day trip from San Diego to La Paz included five overnight passages...Jerry and I each taking watches at the helm while the other sleeps. We truly enjoy having Sirius radio onboard...Jazz, Classical, and the "N's": NPR & NFL.  GO PACKERS!!!  How 'bout dem Super Bowl Champs!!! Cheese is good!!

It's during those night watches that I especially enjoy "Radio Classics" on our Sirius radio.  I mean, who couldn't get into those old programs while sailing under a night sky loaded with stars...or better yet, a full moon......a moon so bright I could read my watch. Honestly.  Just the moonlight reflecting off the waves, the sloosh of the boat slicing through the water...and great music....James Taylor, Sinatra, Diana Krall...or how about....

..."Gunsmoke" with William Conrad, or "Richard Diamond, Private Detective" starring Dick Powell, or "The Shadow", "Jack Benny", "Fibber Magee & Molly", or "Have Gun, Will Travel". Oh, and the commercials from that time: ads for war bonds, Brylcreem, Lucky Strikes, and Rambler cars with "more shoulder room for six people"!!  I know the whales and dolphins MUST hear me hootin' some nights.

 Ahhhh....but there it comes......

....the sun, rising on our port... 

.....while the moon descends on our starboard....

And the smell of coffee perking on the gimbled stove in the galley marks the end of a night sail and the promise of a beautiful new day.

The magnificent Baja coast...

 coming out of Mag Bay, heading toward Cabo San Lucas

On January 26th we sailed into La Paz where old friends greeted us right at our dock here at Marina Palmira. I'm back in the music scene here in La Paz, playing at the jam sessions, and our little trio "Helado" (Sp. ice cream...smooth & cool) Larry on drums, Stefan on bass, and me on piano/vocals performed for the big Valentine's Day Dinner/Dance.  

Next week we depart La Paz for a month..two days' sail down to Los Frailles (winter home of Jesse "The Body" Ventura) on the SE end of Baja, to begin the southern crossing to Mazatlan, Chacala, and Puerto Vallarta.  We think we'll be back to La Paz some time in early April, but who knows...it all depends on the winds and waves...

Jerry just took this photo of me writing this

blog entry. I'd crawled into the V berth (our storage/dressing area)

 to write because there's a lovely breeze coming in that hatch right now.

LIFE IS WONDERFUL!

I hope you are all well and enjoying life also...

'Til next time...

Mary Lee