Provisioning is done, we're cutting loose the docklines!

It's time to set sail across the Sea of Cortez.  The weather window finally opened up and we'll be casting off the docklines and wi-fi.

Right now, we're thinking of a 24 hour sail over to Isla Carmen (near Loretto on the Baja side).  But will let the wind and waves make the final call.

More on the blog when we're back in site of a cell tower!

Suzanne Statler & Tom List

s/v Begone

San Carlos - Mixing work and pleasure!

Everyday we have worked on the boat.  Some days something small. some days something big.  But being here in Mexico is pretty awesome.  

We've enjoyed having a Mexican plan on our Verizon phone, Wi-fi connection (most often), recenly we bought an Aircard for when Wi-fi goes down or is non-existent (but cell service is).

Here are some snapshots of our month here (not working on the boat)
- Dinner and music at "Departmente Adelade" where we stay when the boat is in the work yard.  We invited some new friends and one of Tom's former clients, Christopher Jette, from the work yard over for a Bar-B-Q -- and what a great time.  Turns out Christopher (PhD in Music Composition and classically trained violinist) was quite the musician -- and played our Backpackers Guitar and played as if Bluegrass was flowing in his veins.  Everyone at the hotel enjoyed the evening!

- Once Begone was in the water we enjoyed dinner and music aboard "Begone" with fellow cruisers Janie & Jeff (at least his feet) from "Adagio" and John from "Ichi Ban".  We were pleasantly surprised with John, who said he could play "a little", turned out to be an awesome guitarist joining with Tom on the fiddle and me on the Autoharp:

And then there's a little music at our favorite taco stand "JJ's"  The home of "Por que no?!!" (why not?!) and "Many have eaten here - Few have died" logo wear.

Shopping has many flavors.  

The Sunday outdoor Flea Market in Impalme (30 minutes south of San Carlos)

And the Wednesday outdoor Flea Market in Guaymas (15 minutes South of San Carlos) -
Tom loves the Chickorenes (sp) -- they're fried bits of pork parts (which parts I'm not going to guess), but the best are found at these open air markets.

- There's also the cruiser swap meet where everyone tries to get rid of the things rattling around in their bilge.  Paperback books to boat parts to boats can be found each month.

- Grocery shopping offers some interesting choices.  From huge Wal-marts and the newer Santa Fe and Lays markets you feel like you're in the USA with price checking machines and isles are marked in both Spanish and English:

Lay's Market in San Carlos - could be anywhere in the USA

But I loved this busy market in the working community of Impalme.  It reminded me of shopping in Puerto Vallarta in the mid-80's!  

Busy Impalme grocery market on a Saturday morning

- We took a car trip up to Phoenix to visit our friends John & Dorothy Kiesling.  We had all planned to be together with them while preparing Begone for the season and then sail together over to Santa Rosalia to visit some mutual friends, Brooks & Judy Townes.  But alas, John the day they came down they rushed home and discovered John had a tumor in his abdomen that was removed in a 6 hour surgery in Scottsdale, AZ.  John and Dorothy are so much a part of every part of Begone and they were always on our minds, so we decided to drive up for a few days after his surgery.  We were so glad we did.  Suzanne got to go out for lunch with Dorothy while Tom and John hung out together in the hospital room.  And even in a couple days, John showed his determination for getting his strength back while Dorothy was her usual trooper -- a great support throughout it all!   We're hoping they'll feel like coming down the visit San Carlos when we return from our trip.  We'll see!

Of all the great parts of being here, getting up early one morning to see this sunrise from the  cockpit of "Begone" was pretty amazing!  I know there will be many more skies to photograph, this was my first of the season.
I'll close this entry with this photo.

"Cruising is just going somewhere else to work on your boat"

We arrived in San Carlos on December 29th.  

Because Begone draws 6'8" below her waterline, the earliest there would be enough water in the San Carlos Marina to float the 'ole girl was January 12th.  So we scheduled that date and proceeded to get to work to wake her up after almost 2 years "on the hard".

Here's a partial bit of our TO DO list:

- Remove Boat Cover and Wash and wash 2 years of dirt off the deck

- Inspect and Repair the Wooden Mast - the first time Tom went to the top, he was in a boatswain chair and I hoisted him up on the jib & spinnaker halyards.  Luckily, when it came time to repair the wooden mast, Tom figured setting up a ladder to do the work would be kinder to me and both of "the boys").

Repair Mast 

Clean Stainless Steel (and there's lots of stainless!!)

Varnish toe rail, cabin top, cockpit (and there's lots of wood, too!)

Repair Bimini Cover (thanks Janie - and Jeff - on Adagio for your sewing expertise and Sailright Sewing Machine)

Repair Weather Cloths (thanks Tom for fixing my Singer Featherweight)

Sand and paint the bottom (yes, that's Tom in the Tyvak suit)

Reinstall the halyards

Bend on the Jib & Mainsail

Put the pontoons on the dinghy

Repair the Single Side Band Antenna

Find a Vinyl Letting Artist to make new "Begone" lettering for the boat

...And the list just kept growing.  But we got it all done and sure enough on Saturday morning, 12 January 2013, Begone made the 2 Km trip from the Marina Seca (dry marina) to be launched into the harbor at Marina San Carlos.

And just in case you think it was ALL work, the next entry is about some of the other things to do for a month in San Carlos.

San Carlos - Firefighters sell beer

We were driving to the boat from our little apartment when Tom said, "Could you stop?  I need some pictures of this!"  Every day we had been driving by the the San Carlos Bomberos (Firefighters).  Many of you know that Tom is a volunteer firefighter in the Crockett/Port Costa/Carquinez Volunteer Fire department.  So his curiosity was quite appropriate. 

They had one heck of an old fire truck parked next to a Super Six Beer Store that they worked in when there was no "business".  When the alarm goes off, they close the store and head out in their truck that looks like it and the fire hose last passed inspection around 1978.

The Road to San Carlos - A Quick Travelog Part II

Leaving Albuquerque at 6:30 AM on Christmas morning has its advantages.   OK, driving into the rising sun is not one of them -- but let me say, what a joy to travel when there wasn't a bit of traffic heading down I-25.  

We passed through Hatch, NM, the Chili Pepper capital of the world -- wish I had gotten a picture.  And Geronomo's Last Stand near Douglas, AZ -- another picture would have been nice here.  

We were bound for Naco, AZ.  Get out your Google Maps here.  Naco in the SE corner of Arizona, just south of Bisbee, AZ (quite a cool little mining, dining and tourist town) and right across the fence from Naco, Mexico.
If you're crossing the border into Mexico, I doubt there's a short line.  I will mention that if you're coming the other way, a very large boarder patrol station is in Naco and they are watching! 

We arrived in Naco in time for a wonder Christmas Dinner with John & Dorothy Kiesling (we bought Begone from them) and their across the street neighbors Janet & Chuck.  

And the next morning I enjoyed a 3 mile walk followed by a short round of golf with Janet and Dorothy.  One of the best parts of Naco is their 12 hole golf course!   Thursday was a day of Thrift Store shopping, last minute grocery provisions like Yoshida's Gourmet Sauce, laundry and that evening we went to Bisbee for dinner at a Pizza restaurant in a converted gasoline station.  Quite a good time was shared by all.

On that frosty Friday morning, Tom and I departed for San Carlos, Mexico.  Originally, John & Dorothy were going to caravan down with us, but John hadn't beaten his cough yet so we decided to go on down and have them meet us there as soon as he felt better.

Note - Here's a quick travel tip - When driving into Mexico and you're stopped at the military check point, don't be surprised when they appear "concerned" when they notice a black soft bag about 4' x 18" x 4".  Yes, in hindsight, I could see how it could be mistaken for a gun case.  BUT, we were quick to unzip it to reveal our Martin Backpacker Guitar.  Phew.  With that, we were flagged on.

The next Blog entry will be the reunion with Begone.    

The Road to San Carlos - a Quick Travelog Part I

The route to San Carlos, Mexico and our little sailboat Begone included a few really great stops...First we loaded our PT Cruiser to the Max (that's my car's name and you can see he lived up to his name!)

Max, Tom and a bunch of sailing stuff at the Grand Canyon

Now, leaving on a road trip on the Saturday before Christmas may be ill advised.  But that's what we did.  Plans for an easy 8 hour first day trip to Kingman, AZ was met with a real slog down I-5.  But hey, we were on an adventure and had enough gasoline to make it to the cheapest gas stations in the middle of the state -- Lost Hills, CA.  

And there at the Lost Hills exit Tom spotted a sign for Mexican Food.  Sure enough, behind the Pilot Truck Stop and beside the tire store was "El Dollar Taqueria" truck with a covered outside picnic tables and hand-made corn tortillas.  We'll never drive through Lost Hills without stopping for tacos!  

Back on the road and heading out to I-40 we originally thought we'd stay in a historic railroad hotel in Kingman, AZ...alas, researching on my SmartPhone, we found it was closed.  Plan B ... we found a great motel -- The Rio del Sol in Needles, CA and had breakfast at Juicy's.  Both recommended.

Driving with Tom is interesting.  He tends to want to get just somewhere.  I'm the one who wanders.  But driving across I-40 in Arizona, he all the sudden needed to go to the Grand Canyon.  Only a 3 hour detour (plus time for amazement).  So North we went.  

At the gate to the Grand Canyon, Tom was quite impressed to learn that if you're over 62, you can purchase a lifetime pass to any National Park for $10.  He is now a proud owner of one!

The Grand Canyon is one big hole -- so glad we made the detour.  But we had dinner plans with Betty Jo in Albuquerque...so we headed back to i-40 and made BJ's in time for a fabulous dinner at their wonderful home in Corrales, NM just north of Albuquerque.

On Christmas Eve, while Tony slept following his night shift, Betty Jo took us on the 2nd longest Tram in the world for a 13,000 ft. view of that part of the world.  Absolutely amazing.  Here's a few pictures:

Tom and Betty Jo

We're at the Top of the Mountain -- the other side is the ski slopes

It was a memorable ride up and back followed by a trip to Old Town Albuquerque for a photo opportunity by the Christmas Tree before going back to Betty Jo and Tony's for an amazing Duck Christmas Eve Dinner.

Tony had started preparing dinner but we were able to getaway to attend a Christmas Eve gathering filled with fabulous Christmas music / musicians and warm season cheer.   Then home to enjoy an absolutely wonderful Christmas Eve with Betty Jo and Tony.

Tony and Tony preparing to roasting the Christmas duck

And so we shared a great evening  so happy to see what a warm and welcoming home Tony and Betty Jo had made.  

Christmas morning we were on the road by 6:30 AM to head for Naco, AZ for Christmas dinner with our friends John & Dorothy Kiesling.

2013 Begone Adventure - Port Costa to the Sea of Cortez - The next Begone Adventure

Honestly, getting ready to leave home for a 3 month sailing adventure is far from easy. 

Who will watch the dog?  Who will watch the mail?  Who will watch the house?  Well, thank goodness for Tuala and Mike and their kids who happily are doing all this for us while we gone.   They love Port Costa plus the Bull Valley Roadhouse and the Burlington Hotel are all better because of Tuala's business skills and Mike's electrician and artisan skills!  And we have very happy dog given that she gets all the biscuits she wants along with lots of love.

Port Costa, CA - the best place to come home to!

Then there's Tom's business @ List Marine in Sausalito.  In 2010-2011, he left it in the capable hands of Hans and Jessica and Bill and Dominic while we went sailing.  But this time, Tom really left it!  Hans is now officially running the shop and Tom will only be back when they want him to do a project or two!  Huge excitement all around!

Brother Bill List agreed to watch over the rental houses and be the first line of contact for the tenants in case anything went wrong.

Suzanne had just a few things to tie up before leaving -- for example, a notice of vacancy gave her 15 days to find new tenants for one of our rental properties (happily done in 5 days!), facilitating 2+ weeks of Career Transition Workshops for Lee Hecht Harrison, and purchasing favorite provisions for the boat that were impossible to find in Mexico - like Trader Joe's peanut butter and whole grain pasta.

And then there was saying good-bye to the family and grandkids before leaving.  That was probably the hardest.  But holiday cheer and sharing meals and celebrating our great family gives meaning to the saying "go away slow and come back fast".


Just a little about us.
Both of us had thousands of miles of sailing experience before we were married, but it took us 15 years to manage to find the right boat and right time to take a few months to go cruising together in 2010/2011.  Our plan had been to come back to sail again last year when an interesting work opportunity arose for Suzanne.  
So we are in December of 2012 and here we are at the Marina Seca in San Carlos, Mexico to spend a few months getting ready to get away on our sailboat - Begone!