April 2, 2017-Tenacatita

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Tenacatita River Trip

Wings rolls gently to the swell at anchor in Tenacatita. Music plays softly on the outside speakers. The sun is bright but the breeze is cool and the air is clear. It is a grand day in Tenacatita.

This is one of the good days.

This cruise was supposed to be sort of a vacation; find some peaceful places, find some beautiful places, places where the water is clear and the birds sing in the morning, and relax. Days like this morning in Tenacatita.

The problem has been that we've had too few of those days.

For one, we've been dealing with boat problems. Some problems, like the broken head bolt, which we fixed miraculously in a few hours after worrying about it forever, went rather smoothly. The toilet problem was also solved in a straightforward manner due to the fact that we've done it many times before, so that turned out OK too. Still, it was a dreadful morning when we realized that the toilet needed work, that day. We hate that job. On the other hand, the battery charging problem was tough and chewed up about five days in which we worked on every sort of wiring issue we could find, changed out the regulators for the spares (which had problems of their own), and even created a jerry-rigged solution. In the end we ordered a new part which cost a few hundred dollars, only to find, in the end, we didn't need it. The problem was a bad temperature sensor, which we disconnected.

Did I mention the inflatable dingy which won't keep the air in or the water out? Well, we had that too.

So, we've been working on boat problems for most of the last three weeks.

Oh, then there was the Mexican Immigration issue which popped up and which has us anxious as hell in fear that they will deport us or something. Maybe we've solved that issue, we're not sure, but it all weighed down on us when we should have been relaxing.

So, in actuality, we've been stressed out. Sometimes it seems like cruising is not so easy. Maybe not even worth it.

But we're here, and we'll persevere.

Back to today. We are anchored in Tenacatita with twelve other boats, most of whom we know. I enjoy being here with them. They are generally fine looking boats manned by young and enthusiastic crews, all of whom seem to love sailing, which is a happy change from the usual cruisers crowds we find in Mexico who apparently have little interest sailing and rarely put sails up. But the sailors on these boats here in Tenacatita do like to sail and the boats show it. These boats are trim and clear and when they come or go they do it under sail.

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Luna Azul beats out of the bay

We also had had some fun ashore. Yesterday we took a dingy cruise up the river to the lagoon and there we went snorkeling in the "aquarium" like 19 years ago and it is still a great place for looking at colorful fish. We spotted a big octopus swimming and looking at us. The river trip itself is great fun too and I ran it full throttle sliding through the narrow, jungle covered, channel until Judy brought some sense to the situation and convinced me to slow down. Same thing she did 19 years ago.

Today I see a sloop sailing hull down on the far side of the bay. When I put the binoculars on it the I see in the foreground the curvature of the earth and the swells which rise and fall in my view. I can't make out what boat it is but it is a nice sight on starboard tack and making steady progress along the shoreline and out of the bay.

Now Luna Azul, the pretty S&S ketch flying an Australian flag, is getting underway; they have the main and mizzen up while they get the anchor aboard, then they fall off and the sails fill and they make their way out of the bay as well.

So it is a nice day for sailing and several boats are taking advantage of the conditions.

Stan and Sally Honey's beautiful Cal40 Illusion lies at anchor nearby. I've been meaning to go over and say hello, and I do, but it is late in the day and I pause for only a brief time next to their side to chat. It is good to see them; world class sailors.

The next morning Cat-2-Fold, Scavenger, and Shawnigan all leave, all under sail, and after that Illusion follows.

And we like to sail too, so probably, if the breeze looks nice, we will also.

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Underway from Tenacatita

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Fred & Judy, SV Wings, Tenacatita