Preparing Begone to Be Gone! San Carlos, Marina Seca work yard...

Taking off across the ocean is one of those things that takes quite a bit of planning and a lot of work.  Tom has been contemplating all the things he need to do, Suzanne has been making lists and accumulating necessities, and Vicky Oswald is rounding out the team with her amazing boat finishing, sailing and cruising talents -- not to mention her good nature and ability to climb masts.

We arrived in San Carlos (Vicky had never been here before) with a rather long list of things TO DO but we think we could get it all done during the 2.5 weeks we planned to be in San Carlos - this trip.   

First job -- cut off the 2 year old boat cover made from "retired" vinyl billboard fabric and PVC pipe...clever design, Tom!

Assessing the situation, Tom made the call to pull the mast out for necessary repairs and painting! Now I've never watched a mast come off a boat (well, once when I was racing the mast simply broke off - but that was different) Watching these guys (and Vicky) work was just amazing...check it out:

Loosening the standing rigging and electrical wiring - Tom And Vicky.
Watching and taking pictures - Suzanne (we all need a job to do!)

Tractor Begone over to the hoist with Vicky and Tom watching

Center the boat under the hoist

Shimmy the hoist line up to the spreaders

Inspection, plan and then comes the work

So that's the start of this first trip to San Carlos, Sonora, Mexico in 2015.  The next entry may be titled "There's more to fun than work..."

The Road to Begone - Port Costa, CA to San Carlos, Sonora, Mexcio

We said we were leaving Port Costa, CA at 8:30 AM on Saturday, February 7th...and so we did.
Our PT Cruiser was loaded with just enough room in the back seat for the easily compacted crew and master boat everything, Vicky Oswald.

We had an planned a long 11 hour drive to the reservations Suzanne made (a luxurious King Suite in Tonopah, Arizona).  First stop was 4 hours later for gas and our first taste of Mexico in Lost Hills (I-5) at the El Dollar Taco Truck (everyone should stop and eat there).

No trip to a boat is complete without a last minute stop at West Marine...but thanks to our smart phone, we found out that there is not a West Marine in Tucson and the Tempe/Phoenix store was closed on Sunday -- so our search for Epifanes varnish was looking grim.  Until, Vicky found just 20 minutes off the of the I-10 was a West Marine in Riverside (LA area) who were open and had just 2 cans left!  We programmed the GPS and off we went on a little side adventure!  Success!!!

On the road again for our dinner stop at the Quartzsite Yacht Club (Really?  A Yacht Club in the middle of the desert? Yep!  And we're "members")  The restaurant had a country swing band playing, great little dinner and the "motel" consists of converted mobile homes!

And finally at 10:30 PM we arrived at our motel -- the Sagauro Hot Mineral Wells Motel, Tonopah, AZ.  The clean luxury suite consisted of  king bed, a twin bed, a bathroom, a lamp/night stand and a Gideon Bible -- all for $65.00 on a Saturday night including tax!

 A couple things about Tonopah.  1). The best coffee is at the Shell Station.  2) There's nothing luxurious anywhere in Tonopah.  3)  If you see some amazing plums of steam on the horizon, it's NOT Hot Springs...it's the steam from the Tonopah Nuclear Power Station!

The Chicken Plant

We did find time to uncover the major Chicken Controversy...We saw these signs to stop the Poultry Plant.  Found out this huge Chicken coupe  just west of town.  The smell and flies were driving the price of real estate into the ground.  We had to leave before we could decide what we thought.

We were sure having some fun on the road to Begone.  Sunday night we were staying with Dorothy Kiesling in Naco, AZ, but not before a little gun slinging in Tombstone, AZ....

We had lunch at the Four Deuces, stopped into Big Nose Kate's and headed down the road a bit to visit with our friend, Dorothy Kiesling.  John and Dorothy had restored and sailed "Begone" and we had bought her from them when they decided to design and build their home in Naco.  Sadly, cancer took John from us last year ... but his spirit lives on in our fond memories, in Begone and the house he and Dorothy built in Naco.  What a great evening with our wonderful friend, Dorothy!

Vicky and Dorothy for cocktail hour on the roof overlooking the golf course

Enjoyed a walk around the golf course before heading off to San Carlos.  I love the long shadows in these pics!

We all enjoyed a wonderful evening by the fire pit at the house

 The next day, we left Naco, AZ to cross the boarder to Naco, Mexico (after purchasing our 6 month MX visa, shutting off the data service on our phones, and starting the Mexico automobile liability insurance)...we were ready for the 7 hour drive to San Carlos, MX.

!

Begone's 2015 Big Adventure - The "Plan"

February 17, 2015 - San Carlos, Sonora, Mexico

Greetings from Tom List, Suzanne Statler List and Vicky Oswald!

It's been two years since Tom and I have enjoyed an adventure on our sailboat, Begone.  She has been high and dry in San Carlos at the Marina Seca just waiting for us to come back to play.  So this year, we decided on a Big Begone Adventure!
In the big picture, we're planning to sail from Mexico's Sea of Cortez to the Hawaiian Islands in March/April/May.  Then May and June we cruise Hawaii.  Toward the end of June it's wait for the weather window from Hanalei Bay, Kauai and sail to Alaska or Seattle (depending on our mood and the Pacific High).
Below is a little more detail...

Here's our 2015 "plan" (subject to weather, whimsy or whatever).  

February - Tom, Suzanne and Vicky Oswald (oh so talented yacht varnisher/painter/wood worker/sailor/horse rider/trail runner/adventurer...and friend) drive from Port Costa, CA to San Carlos, Sonora, Mexico.  We work on the boat to prepare her for an ocean crossing.  

March - The three of us drive back to Port Costa.  March 7th, Vicky runs the "WayTooCool - 50K Trail Run" in Cool, CA with Tom, Suzanne and our 1973 GMC Motorcoach "Emma" as ground support. 

To Do items back in the 10 days back in the Bay Area include: Have our spinnaker re-cut into a cruising chute, have our life raft certified, sign our tax return and visit our family & friends and dog (who is on doggie vacation with her pal Peanut) Vicky stays and works until early April.  

Tom and Suzanne drive back to San Carlos -- Begone goes in the water on March 18.  

We finish the preparation, return the car to Arizona, provision and around March 21st start waiting for the weather window to leave San Carlos and Tom and Suzanne sail over to the Baja side of the Sea of Cortez and into La Paz..

April - Sail into La Paz and have tons of fun, make last minute repairs, visit our cruising friends, visit our land friends Melanie and Pat, Vicky flies in around April 3rd, provision the boat, wait for the weather window and sometime around April 14th head out and around the tip of the Baja on a 25 day  (+/-) sail to Hilo, Hawaii (around 2600 nautical miles).

May and June - Sail the Hawaiian Islands, visit friends, meet new ones and sometime toward the end of June anchor in Hanalei Bay, Kauai.  Wait for the window and sail the 2350 nautical miles to Alaska or Seattle (it's about the same distance)..maybe 20 days?  

July - Visit friends up in the Pacific Northwest, sail around, leave Begone up north for the winter and come back to the Bay Area sometime in August.

Well, that's what we're thinking now.  We'll see how it all actually happens.  We'll keep you posted in the blog.  Here's to fair winds and following seas!

Farewell, La Paz - heading North to the islands

The seas are calm and light breeze is a warm 84 degrees - so it's time to be Underway Making Way.
We are planning to spend a couple days heading North to Isla San Francisco and then to Puerto Escondido to visit our friends Otis & Joyce.  Finally returning to San Carlos to have Begone put in dry storage on March 25th.

La Paz

They say La Paz is a "sticky" place.  People sail, drive or fly here and decide to stay - or at least plan to return.  Unfortunately we will won't be able to stay this year, but Begone will Be Back! 

Tom's old habits die hard!

It should not be a surprise that Tom found something interesting to do in La Paz. 
Our friends, Ron & Bette on "Wisp" (a home built 42' sloop), purchased a used Yanmar engine and trucked it down to La Paz to replace their old Perkins engine.  It turned out that the installation required quite a bit more engineering expertise than Ron thought.   And as good luck would have it, we arrived just as the project started.  

Tom would get up in the mornings and after coffee and Spanish lessons would sit at the chart table engineering everything from shaft extension to engine mounts.  He and Ron found a machinists in town who made the parts from Tom's specs -- then happily let Tom work in his shop so they were "perfect".

Yesterday, they finally were able to test the engine (does that eBay used engine actually run?!).  Yes indeed, it does.  And after Ron finishes the exhaust system, Turbo charger, engine controls, fuel system, Wisp will be able to leave the marina and head up to the islands with auxiliary power!

You can step away from the Marine Engine business, but the profession doesn't step away from you!   As a matter of fact, almost everyday someone has asked Tom if they could ask him a question.   

Yep, old habits die hard!

Life in La Paz - on the Land and Sea

Wednesday, 27 February 2013
We have been in La Paz for 2 weeks and the time has flown by.  
The weather forecast says it will be Monday or Tuesday next week before the strong Northerly wind subsides and opens the window for our trip back north to San Carlos.

Marina de La Paz - home to cruisers from around the world

Both of us have kept quite busy.
I was invited to race on "Genesis" (Hunter 34) in the Valentine's Day Regatta -- and we won 1st place in our division! 

Tom has been very actively studying Spanish -- going to a free Spanish class at the marina and regularly spending an hour or two studying with Rosetta Stone.  I've noticed his vocabulary, pronunciation and confidence is quickly improving.  He's starting to correct me now.  You go, Tom!

"Hola, me gusto un 'perro caliente' (hot dog), por favor."

When we arrived, our friends Bette and Ron on "Wisp" were berthed on our dock and happily I was able to join her and other (mostly) women La Paz residents and cruisers in a Zumba exercise class.  The class members participated Flash Mob Zumba performance on the Malecon (boardwalk) to raise international awareness about violence to women and children with the 1 Billion Women program.  Here's a couple pics  of my Zumba class and the diverse troupe of performers:

There's so much to do here.  The Club Cruceros is a cruiser club that have coffee each morning here at our marina and orchestrate dinners for special events like Valentine's Day.  They (we) are also very active in the community helping local people in need - from collecting money toward a kidney transplant for an Agua Verde 15 year old to sponsoring students in advance education (high school).  

While here, we're enjoying our favorite tacos at Super Burro (17 pesos = $1.20ish), dinners out with friends (like last night @ Bandidos where our Ribs were grilled in the engine compartment of a 1970's Chevy), grocery shopping (one of my favorite past-times) and walking around town with new and old friends. 

Tom holding up the famous "La Paz Rock"

La Paz is a wonderful Old Mexico city with over 900,000 residents. And on land and sea it offers an opportunity to be a part of a very special place.

Life in La Paz -fun with Brooks & Judy

February 21-24 - We knew our friends Brooks & Judy Townes were on the Baja in their "MoHo" (named because it's too small to be a motorhome).  They are Sausalito friends who are now living in Port Townsend.  We had heard they were up near Santa Rosalia, but as we came across to the Baja side, we got word they were down close to La Paz and thinking of leasing a little piece of land on the central part of Baja Sur. 

It was such a treat to meet up with them in La Paz...and enjoy visiting with them for a few days.  Judy & I walked all over La Paz.  Brooks & Tom researched Solar Panels.  Then we took off on a couple days on the road in the MoHo and back to La Paz for a day sail toward Isla Espiritu Santos...

Brooks & Judy in El Truinfo (a former silver mining town on Rt. 1 between La Paz and Cabo San Lucas.  Fabulous pizza, salad and bakery restaurant.  Then a walk about town.  And a stop into the piano museum before heading on to Rancho Verde... 

Rancho Verde RV Park on Rt. 1 between La Paz and Cabo San Lucas.  Brooks & Judy stayed there for a couple weeks and made some good friends -- even thought about leasing some land there.  We'll see what they decide, but it was a great overnight there.  Big thanks to the good community of RV'ers and residents, the big bonfire , the little room we rented for the night in the community area and Judy's delicious dinner and breakfast from her very compact galley!

Can you read the sign?  "Rancho Costa Plenty"  Oh, we just thought that was funny!  This Rancho is next to the GranSuenos Resort.  The resort was built on Ensenada de Los Muertos (Bay of the Dead).  We understand that the big investors thought the dead thing would be a problem for visitors so now road signs and maps refer to it as Bahia de los Suenos (Bay of Dreams).  Oh, isn't marketing grand!

Sunday we cast off Begone's dock lines and sailed toward Isla Espiritu Santos (19 km) on a calm breeze.
It was a relaxing day as Begone quietly filled her sails on a flat sea. (look ma, no hands)

We're hoping to sync up with Brooks & Judy again on the Baja in Loreto, Bahia Conception or Santa Rosalia because a good time was shared by all!