Tanque de Tiburon: 2009

Friday, December 18, 2009

Getting ready for the winter trip south!

Happy Holidays 2009 from

Tanque de Tiburon

I think we are ready. The boat is packed, prepped, stowed, cleaned and provisioned for the 2009/2010 trip south. We depart manana, December 19th, for the Baja. Plans are to spend less time in La Paz and head back to the mainland for Mazatlan and on toward Puerto Vallarta.
A new adventure so we'll see what unfolds!

Be sure to check the other two new blogs, the prep and Thanksgiving, too...

We have three sets of house sitters for the winter so don't need to be home until May. Red is settled with friends here and there and we'll miss the old guy. But truth be known, he hates the boat! He's 14, so don't think I would like it at age 95, either. The Koi and tortoise are in good hands, too.

So how did the packing go? Here's a few shots. Between stowing, we spent time with friends, attended a fundraiser and saw the lighted boat parade in Guaymas. The weather here has been cool, 50's at night and 70's during the day. Bill is ready for further south and warmer.

Here,of course, is the most important shelf on the boat, haha. Just kidding. But I did decorate it!

Christmas at the Captain's Club, a nice small restaurant/bar we like for lunch.

Honest, I need it all! The before picture. Where oh where will it go...??? Bill's comment ----aaaghhh!

First the salon, then the galley

And Oscar giving us new rigging. So we are safe and sound at sea. He's just about all the way up the 50' mast, BTW.

Our "SPOT" next to Bill's phone....this little guy sends a message when we push the button and lets the kids and sibs know exactly where we are!!!

Ok, a little better - almost ready to travel!

A new transom sign that people can actually read!!! Yeah! Bill's sitting in the new dinghy placing the 5 separate decals while crabs nibble on his toes.

Ta Da!

And of course, gotta have some Xmas decor!

The one guy we'll miss - Mr. Red, now gray, is floating between Lillian, the house and last year's house sitters, the Donaldson's. As long as he has a lap, a head rub and food, he's happy. He hates the boat....

Fall Prep Trip to San Carlos....

Our fall trip in prep for winter; we brought the dinghy down, got it to the boat, cleaned up from the hurrican clutter, swabbed the deck and cockpit, cleaned cabinets, scrubbed heads...saw friends in and around..and relaxed a little.

A sign for the fishing license!

A fundraiser at the Captain's Club Bar

Really, what do we do on the boat all day?

Hang out in the cockpit, read, hangout, read, chores, eat, provision and read....

where do I store this basket?

The pig being roasted at the Soggy Peso!

How about Racoon Tracks on our car after a night in the marina! We see the tracks on the boat occasionally, too. They have been known to find the snack cabinet on many a boat - lock up tight or beware! Who knew, racoons at the beach in Mexico?

Sunset at The Soggy Peso near us - with Tom and Joan...

Delivering the new Dinghy in October! She arrived on the roof of our Blazer, then off and inflated in Folker's drivceway and on Pegasus' truck and to the marina...whew, made it to the boat!

Dinghy trials....ahh, she runs smooth!!!

Herer we are with JUCE...Judy and Bruce at The Soggy Peso for a pig roast!

And a sunset at the Soggy Peso beach....

Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving from Bill & Linda

Sierra Vista and Prescott

Thanks for hosting, Jim and Amy!

Good to see Marilyn and Bill, as well. And we loved having Michael and Daniel for a few days!!!

We met daughter Marty in Casa Grande and picked up the boys for the week! Here we are at the Cracker Barrel....Bill, Marty, Linda, Michael and Daniel.

The exciting week was Kartchner
Caverns, golf, the movies and hanging out - tolerating Linda's cooking....

There was a lot of hanging out. games on the patio.....

For Thanksgiving Day, we traveled to Prescott via Cristy's, picked her up

and spent the day at Marilyn's daughter, Amy's and Jim's , house in Prescott Valley....the kids played some pool and we ate and visited.

...

here's Michael, Courtney and Ashley playing pool...

Megan, Marilyn, Bill and Jim ....toasting in the driveway? who knows....

Now for dinner.
The usual kids table...
Danny, Courtney, Megan, Ashley and Michael

Ahh, the gang...the pics with Linda did not turn out so am waiting Cristy to send.....but here we have Daniel, Ashley, Marilyn's Bill, Courtney, Megan ,Michael, Amy, Jim, Socie and hidden Marilyn (oops), Cristy and Bill.

Nice shot of the kiddos!!! Dan, Mike in the back and Mega, Courtney and Ashley up front. The girls helped out with serving and dishes and hostiung. Thanks, Amy and Jim, for hosting us all!.

Back to Phoenix in the car with Cristy, Dan and Mike in the back seat....sharing an iPod. Cristy worked to 8 PM the night before and had to be up at 0400 for the Black Friday sale at Target. Apaprently, the Rx drugs went on sale, too..always need a pharmacist at 5 AM...????Being the good manager, she went in to help the store. We stayed over at her house with the boys and drove to Tucson the next day to meet Jamie and BF who were to take the boys to Bill's ex and then head back to San Diego.

So....meeting Jamie at Guadalajara Grill, had a nice lunch, met Jamie's BF and turned the boys over....Bill with Marty's kids - Jamie (20), Dan (13) and Mike (16). Nice kids!!

Tuesday, September 8, 2009

Hurricane Jimena hits San Carlos HARD!

Tuesday Sept 8, 2009
Hello ALL!

We started a 6 week NW trip but...made it to Colorado when Hurricane Jimena hit San Carlos....so....

Looks like we need to cut our NW trip short after Hurricane Jimena devastated San Carlos, where our boat is. The news didn’t cover it at all…but the town is a mess! Many boats damaged, roads washed away…no water or electric for a few days. All that is starting to be repaired but it will take quite awhile. Supposedly the worst storm in 80 years! There were reported 90 mph winds and 30 inches of rain in a 24 hour period.

We were also fooled by the news reports when the hurricane itself slipped up the west coast of the Baja peninsula. The news showed some small coastal villages damaged and flooded. The weather pictures showed the hurricane heading west, so we did not worry much. Apparently, Mother Nature had her own mind and decided to send some intense tropical winds (understatement) to San Carlos and Guaymas.

We did correspond…some thru cell phones, Ham radios and cruiser networks…with several people concerning our boat. Our marina, Marina Real, west of the city center, was not hit as hard. Our boat is OK. Some of the marina’s dock’s edges were ripped off but we stayed securely fastened to our dock end, near a concrete piling. We have had neighboring boaters check out our interior. We figured there could be some water leakage due to the constant water pounding the top deck for so long. The hatches and ports can only sustain so much water! Sure enough, there was some water that soaked the salon upholstery and floors. At least, it wasn’t too muddy. We are now concerned about mold if we let it sit too long, so decided we better get there within the week. At least, most of the water is still on the outside of the boat!

Good cruiser friends (thank you Cambria and Pegasus...) have already lifted and tried to dry out some of the cushions. We left the boat ready for any storm and had things tied tight and stowed below…including the jib, all canvas, shade-cover bags and so on - anything that might blow away. Seems all our effort in mid-August paid off to the best extent we could in preparing for the worst storm in 80 years. Still, we need to make an effort to clean it up as soon as we can. And perhaps we can lend a hand to others in worse conditions. We have resources, generator, water maker, etc., that can help if still needed. Pictures of our favorite place, Santa Rosalia on the Baja show an even worse mess than San Carlos.

We have questioned whether it is best to leave a boat “on the hard,” in dry storage, or sitting in the water. Our judgement was to leave her in the water at Marina Real. This storm destroyed the downtown marina seca, a dry storage, and sent boats on trailers swimming and about 50 boats badly damaged. Some floated as far as the main street, heading to the ocean! So in this case and where we were, it was best to have her left in the water. We’ll send links to pics, perhaps can download a few from the storm.

We will make an attempt later in the fall to continue the trip north to visit everyone we promised! Have the car packed and layers of clothes ready for cooler weather - but, alas, we must head back home, change cars and cross the border once again. We hope to also take some supplies that might be needed in San Carlos and the surrounding area. Stores are open but supplies are limited. Many lost homes, a few lives lost and much work left to be done.

We have reservations to stay in friend’s casa in San Carlos. (Folkers are currently in Halifax but their San Carlos Bahia home only lost a front fence and was in many after-math pictures!) The electric is on so we’ll have an air conditioner for rest between boat chores. It will be very hot and muggy and moldy and little water for bathing. Apparently, the Mexican workers are working like crazy to get all systems, water and electric, up as fast as they can. They are doing a great job.

We are in Breckenridge, Colorado as we write - finishing up a timeshare week. We’ll cancel or Park City and north trip, heading back home Saturday after visiting cruiser and other friends in Grand Junction. We may have cruiser friends from San Carlos (we offered up our house for cruisers coming up and any going down from Colorado, etc.) already at the house as they button up their boats and head back to the states for some respite from the mess. There are many stories and horrible pictures. Perhaps, we have a better insight into Katrina damage now? At least, more respect for Mother Nature and more wary that ever of impending storms. Here is a link showing pictures of Marina Seca - the hard-hit dry storage area. http://vivasancarlos.com/bulletin/index.html

All our best and details TF...we'll get to the boat about the 17th....Linda and Bill

Wednesday, August 19, 2009

Take Shape For Life!

Here we are in Phoenix at the annual Take Shape For Life convention...most of my coaches except Debra who was "stuck" in Germany (aaww...). Great time, lots of new information. What a terrific company to work for - with a goal of keeping people healthy!!!

There were 1250 attendees witha total weight loss of 38,000 pounds!
In case you are curious, can check out my web site for TSFL details at http://www.cardionurse.tsfl.com/

The group shot is Patti of Dallas, Eileen and Nancy form Sierra Vista, Brenda from Florida and me....