Liam-Leaving Puerto Escondido

The day we were leaving, we got up, cleaned the boat, and then went to the
dock, we went for quick swim, got some stuff at the store, I played some
soccer and then we left.
We were going to try to get into Honey Moon cove but there were too many
boats so we went to Bahia Marquer.
When we got there, we watched Doctor Who, the episode was called Curse of
Fatal Death, it was a funny one, it was the episode that the people that

were trying to be the doctor were in. One of the guys was Mr. Bean.

Then the next day we did home school and then went out fishing, we got a lot
of bites, and then my brother caught a really little bass so we let it go,
then I got something but as we were reeling it in it got away. Then I got
something we thought was a rock, but when we got it next to the dingy we
realised it was a really big barred pargo, so we took it back to the boat,
my brother and dad went back out so Kai could catch something. He got little

fish and let them go, but then he got a trigger fish that got away at the

side of the dingy. So then we ate the pargo for dinner.

Now today, June 30, 2010.

We got up and we are doing home school.

Rocky and Brew came in next to us.

Ok, it's over. Now it's time to do something else

By Liam

Kai - Hello

Hello everyone.


We left Puerto Escondido today. We had been there for quite a while. We met some kids at the marina, but we never talked to each other, well, I said sorry when I tripped over their computer cord. My dad also got stung by a bee in the mouth when he was drinking his beer.

We also met Bill again on "Rocky and Brew." His girl friend came down and we all took their rental car to Loreto. The high way was really thin, and Bill said that sometimes cows walk out onto the road. The drive was about twenty minutes and the view was really nice,

First they took us to a Sunday Market. We walked around and we bought new pliers, because a Mexican Barracuda made us drop the old ones when we were trying to get the hook out.

We also bought lots of fresh fruits. Mangos, Bananas, plums, grapes, and apples. We had some of the bananas plums and grapes today.

After we drove around, and we did a bit more groceries shopping. We bought drinks, hotdogs, chips, and beer. After we went to a really good taco restaurant. I had fish and beef tacos. They were great! Then we started walking around a church and checked it out, but we didn't go in. Then we got ice cream. I don't know the name of what I had, but it was rainbow coloured and it was good.

After we were all done we went back to our boats.

Today we got ready to leave. We cleaned up and Liam and I made lunch. (Grilled cheese sandwich). While we were getting everything ready on deck, a really big Whale Shark swam right next to our boat! It was really cool!

After we were all ready, we went to the dock and filled the water tanks up, and Liam and I had a last swim in the pool while my dad sat with everyone else, and then we left.

We motored across the channel to an anchorage, but it was full, so we motored about another thirty minutes to where we are now. We had noodles for dinner and now we are going to watch an old funny doctor who with Mr. Bean tonight. It is called: "The Curse of Fatal Death."

Bye,
Kai

Peter - Catch Up

First off, thanks to everyone who is reading. Kai and Liam are writing this blog as part of their home-schooling while on the boat; it is nice to know that so many folks are stopping by.

Not sure of days as they don't seem to mean much while afloat. However, we went to La Paz a while back to reprovision and to top off our water tanks. It was a successful port as we managed to get in and out in record time. On our way out we were stopped by the Mexican Navy. They explained it all in Spanish, then took a picture of our hand-held VHF radio...

From there we went up to the Islands of Espiritu Santu. The weather was great and Kai and Liam got to explore the coves by Kayak.

We spent a couple of days in these islands. Of course it is not all fun and games. There is serious homework to be done also.

From the islands we sailed north along the coast up to a small town called San Everisto. Kai and Liam fished on route but did not come up with anything. It was a good sail with Kai entertaining us on the way.

We anchored to the north of town. They package salt here. We got to explore the salt ponds.

From there we sailed north. We had planed on stopping at Los Gato - an anchorage we heard was really nice. We pulled in but found it a bit too rocky, so we continued north to the small fishing village of Agua Verde.

 This was a really nice stop as we got to explore and meet up with our friends on the sailing vessel Jacaranda. They were the first people we spoke to on the SSB radio when we first entered Mexico last year, and the first people we met when we finally arrived into the Sea of Cortez a month later. We did not seem them again last year, but have been lucky to meet up with them a few times this season. Chuck on Jacaranda is great fisher, and the Kai and Liam were treated to accompany him on a couple of his dingy fishing excursions.

And an hour and a half later, they are back with their catch. With a bit of help from Chuck the Kai and Liam cleaned the fish, and later that night, Linda from Jacaranda cooked up a great meal for us all on their boat. A pretty good Fathers' Day for me.

Of course, the World Cup is on, so we have to try to see whatever games we can, where we can. We know that if Mexico is playing we can find someone just about anywhere who is watching it. In Agua Verde we went for a walk through the village in the morning and we were invited into someone's house. We did not understand each other, but we were given the main couch in front of the TV.

We spent a few days in Agua Verde and really enjoyed ourselves. Lots of fishing, swimming, kayaking, snorkeling, and hanging out with friends. Kai and I went for a hike on our last night there and we took some pictures. That is us on Outrider on the left and our friends Jacaranda on the right.

We headed north to Puerto Escondido which is where we are now. We have a good friend here on the sailing vessel Rocky an Brew that we have been looking forward to seeing again.

That's all for now...

Peter

Hello - Kai

Hi every one.

We are still in Agua Verde. We were supposed to leave today, but we
decided to just hang around for another day.
Yesterday we went fishing. Liam caught two bass and two Trigger
Fish. We kept one trigger fish, and our boat friends, Jacaranda had it for
lunch. We also got fans hooked up in mine and Liam's bedroom. It is really
nice to have them.
We also moved to an anchorage on the other side of the bay, because
the winds started coming from the north. We had dinner there, and then
Jacaranda came over for a drink. Linda gave us a knot book, and she let us
borrow a book about the stars. Once they left, we all went to sleep.
The next morning, we woke up at eight to go to shore so we could
watch the soccer game, Mexico Vs Uruguay. Some locals let us into their
house to watch the game. I didn't watch too much. I mostly read my magazine.
Apparently Uruguay won one-zero. Liam said it was a very exciting match.
After we went to a little store and bought a drink and chips, and then
headed back to the boat for lunch.
We were going to have our fish we caught, but Jacaranda told us it
was probably too old. We agreed they were probably right, so we went out to
try to catch lunch. We were out there for about an hour. I didn't catch
anything, but Liam caught five fish. A Bass, a Lady fish, a Barracuda, and
two Needle fish. We didn't keep any. While we were trying to get the hook
out of the Barracuda, my dad accidentally dropped the pliers, so Chuck on
Jacaranda came to help us. He also went fishing too, and caught two
Cabrilla, and a big Skip Jack. He didn't keep any. So we went back and had
eggs with bacon instead. While we were gone, two new boat came in, so there
are four boat's anchored here. One is called V'ger, but I don't know the
name of the other one.
After we are done the homeschooling, we are going to go snorkelling
with Linda on Jacaranda. She was the first person that went snorkelling with
us, so she should now a lot about the fish.
Tonight we are going to watch Monty Python, our favourite!

Hasta Luego!

Kai

Liam-Stuff

Sorry but one day was kind of missed . We came to Agua Verde and on the way
I caught a skip jack tuna.

We were supposed to go to a place called Los Gatos but it was to choppy.

In Agua Verde we got a call on the VHF radio from our friends on a boat
called Jacaranda, they were in the bay that's about 15 minutes away from us,
so we went there. When we got there we kayaked to Jacaranda and said hi.
Then we went to the other boat called Masquerade to say hi because they're
friends of Jacaranda, and there was an eight year old girl. Then we went
kayaking with them.

While we were kayaking a manta ray kept swimming from kayak to kayak
underneath. We kayaked for about an hour and a half.

When we got back we had lunch, then we got a call from Jacaranda to see if
we would go fishing, so we went. We went with Chuck in his dingy, while
Masquerade went in their dingy.

We first went to some little rocks that were sticking out of the water and I
got a really big bight but the fish got away. Then I caught a grouper, about
half a mitre. Then we crossed the bay and my brother caught a cabrilla on
the other side but it was to small so we let it go, then we went further on
and didn't catch anything, then I caught a pergo, then further on I caught a
bass, then last my brother caught a bass.

Then we went back to our boat to clean the fish.

Masquerade caught three trigger fish.

We were getting ready to all go to Jacaranda for dinner, Masquerade was
there. We had the trigger fish. Then at sunset Linda on Jacaranda blew her
horn that is actually a conk shell, then we all tried it, it was really
hard.

Then we had cookies for a father's day dessert. Then we played with the
girl, then went back.

Now today, the 21st

We got up, did the boring home school, then did more fishing, I caught two
bass and two trigger fish, my brother got a lure stuck in the rocks so Chuck
cut the line, tide it to a cork, then dropped in the water, so he went back
to his boat and got his snorkelling stuff, so then he would just look for
the cork on the top of the water, then dive down and get his lure.

Then we went back to our boat and here I am again doing the rest of the
blog.

Now shoo

By Liam

Kai - Hi

Hi

We arrived in a small anchorage right on the other side of a small fishing
village yesterday. Most of the men either are fishermen, or they work for
the salt ponds. The people dig big ponds so that salt water fills up in
them, then the sun absorbs the water, but leaves lots of the salt. When we
have better internet connection we will put pictures.
We also explored the village. We bought some chips at a little
corner store in someone's house. We went down to the beach and then watched
the fishermen clean fish. They were cleaning: Jacks, Triggerfish, and
massive Cabrillas.
We headed back to the boat, and then I made pasta for dinner. The
next morning we got off the boat and too pictures of the salt ponds, checked
out the cemetery, and then left for "Los Gatos."
We fished most of the way, and while Liam and I were doing
homeschooling, the boat must have gone through a school of fish, because we
both got tugs. The fish snapped the line I was using, so I lost the leader,
and a really good lure. Liam's was fighting really hard, and when we got it
up to the side of the boat, we realised it was a Skip Jack Tuna. If you want
Skip Jack to taste good, you have to bleed it, and we were not interested in
doing that. So we released it.
We arrived in Los Gatos, but it was to rocky, so we went to a
different anchorage, but it was to rocky there, so we are heading to Agua
Verde right now. We have some boat friends there.
I hope to see you all soon.

Bye

Attack of the Navy

We left La Paz after worrying we were going to stay there much longer. We
came into the fuel dock, went to the restaurant and watched Spain vs.
Switzerland,(1-0 Switzerland) then set off to El Mezteno, Espiritu Santo.

About 5 minutes after I put my line in we saw a panga coming straight
towards us. But when it got to us it was actually the Navy so I brought my
line in. There were 4 guys, one came on board and made sure we had papers
for the boat and that we had safety equipment, and we were all good. At
first we thought that they were asking for fishing license. When we left we
took pictures of them. Then we saw them going to all the other boats.

After they left we put our lines back in.

About 4 hours later we got to El Mezteno with no fish on the hook. We got
there and had pizza for dinner.
(Nothing happened in the next couple hours)

The next day we got up and then went over to Isla Partida. When got there we
got there we went for a swim, it was pretty cold, but worth it.

Then we got the kayaks pumped up, and my brother and I went around half of
the bay and went in all the little caves and coves.

I while after we brought the kayaks back to the boat, and we went for a
swim. Then we had dinner.

After we watched a show called Monty Pythons.

(well come on, it's over, good bye.

Kai - Escape From La Paz

Hello

Whenever we get to a big town like Puerto Vallarta or Mazatlan, we usually
plan how long we are going to be in the place, but always stay longer.
After a long time of deciding whether to go to La Paz to get more
food and water, or to keep heading north. We finally agreed to go to La Paz
for two days. We anchored right in front of Marina De La Paz and radioed all
the kid boats around, but they were all gone. Oh well.
We woke up fairly early to go to the dock café to watch a soccer
game. They couldn't play it, so we went to a different restaurant, but they
couldn't play it either, but we ate there anyways. After we went to one of
the main grocery stores, C.C.C. We there for a while and restocked with
everything. We got a taxi back and unloaded everything onto the boat.
The next morning we cleaned up and the went to the Dock café to
watch Spain VS. Switzerland. Spain won. We then filled up with diesel and
water and left. We were very surprised, because this was one of the first
times we had left somewhere on time.
On the way out of the channel the Mexican Military came and one of
the men got aboard. He asked to see the boat papers, the fire extinguisher,
the sailing instruments, and the hand-held radio. Then he told my dad why
they were doing everything, but they were speaking in Spanish. The only word
he under stood was "Top Secret." So anyways, we left after that and headed
for Espiritu Santo, which only took about three hours. On the way we put our
fishing reel onto our new rod. I used it for fishing on the way with a
small, fake squid. We catch lots of fish with our little lures. But I had no
luck that day.
We had Pepperoni and Hawaiian pizza for dinner, but I eventually
realized the pineapple was actually artichoke (which I do not like) so I am
saving it for lunch tomorrow. Than my brother and I started yelling really
loud and then heard our echo. Then we pretended we were doing the radio on
the deck for about three hours and then came inside to do the blog.
That's all there really is to say.

Bye

Liam-Two day blog

First Day
Yesterday we arrived in Puerto Balandra. There was one other sail boat and three other motor boats but when ever one would leave, another one would come in.

We were getting board so just my brother and I paddled the the dingy in 10-15 knot wind coming strait towards us, finally we arrived about 15 minutes later, and it was only about 20 metres. My brother didn't even get in while I only swam around the dingy once.

The ride back was really good because the wind was pushing us towards the boat.

That knight we didn't do anything special.

Day Two

The next day when we were pulling up the anchor when we decided to stay another day, so my dad took a nap and then we went out to explore the mushroom rock and the beaches for the second time.

At the beach we started walking in the water planing to meet my dad at the other beach but the water was freezing so we all went in the dingy to the good snorkeling spot, I would only go in if there was something I've never seen before because the water was freezing, and there wasn't anything interesting so I didn't go in.

We then slowly went around the bay working our way to the tourist beach. When we got there I went swimming but there wasn't much water to swim in so I just went fishing. I didn't catch anything besides myself.

Then we took a half-an our walk to another beach planing to get something to eat but we just got drinks.

So we then walked back to the other beach. When we got back to the beach we went back to our boat, my brother made Burritos.

Then we watched a show called Doctor Who, the episode was called Vampires of Venice.

Well thats the end of the road fellas.

By Liam

Peter - A Rough Day

OK, my turn. Kai and Liam have had a rough day (no fish caught for dinner) so we made a deal that I would do the blog today.

Mazatlan: We had a long passage from Puerto Villarta to get there. However, once we were there we had a pretty good time. We stayed out at the old harbor for a few days and visited the old part of town. After that we moved north to the new marina complex. The days just sort of blurred together so I am not sure how long we were actually there for. What we did do was get some boat work down such as fixing our auto-pilot (two crossed wires) and fixed the generator (low oil). We managed to figure out the town and the busses and toured most of the city. Knowing that we were crossing over to the Sea of Cortez, we planned all our meals and then did a big provisioning, stocking up on food to last us for a while. We had fun doing the groceries together. Liam negotiated the cost of the taxi back to the boat, getting the driver down from 80 pesos to 60.

While we were in the marina we meet a number of people on other boats. Kai and Liam met a number of kids boats, and got to have a sleep-over on a friend's catamaran. Some nights we played music on friends' boats, or had dinner on others. The really rough part for the kids was spending the afternoons at El Cid - a 5 star resort that has a small, expensive marina. We were told that if we dingied there no one would say anything. So we did and the kids hung out at the pool. I learned when Happy Hour was, so that was when we went. Pretty soon the staff got to know us and Happy Hour was soon extended to whenever we were there and included free appetizers. Mazatlan was fun; we had a good time and met some very nice people.

The 200 mile passage from Mazatlan across to the Sea of Cortez was great. The winds blew from just the right direction and the seas were relatively calm. The kids did most of the watches during the day while I slept. They had a great time, and I felt confident in their abilities to keep good look outs. I did the night. As soon as it got light they were back on watch and I got to sleep. We sailed into a beatiful anchorage and spent a couple of days relaxing and exploring.

Today we had another great sail up to Balandra. The kids fished, and though they hooked and landed some, they did not catch anything we wanted to eat. Other boaters have been giving them fishing gear so they are all set.

The days have been pretty good. We get our own breakfasts. I make one of the meals, and the kids take turns making the other meal and doing the dishes. Kai does not like a messy boat, so he spends quite a bit of time cleaning and making sure Liam and I pick up after ourselves. Both of them have been fixing things up around the boat. Both the kids are keeping up on their reading and math.

I did not realize just how beatiful the Sea of Cortez is until we came back. Tomorrow we are heading north; there is more sailing, fishing, swimming, snorkeling, and friends on boats to look forward to.

- Peter

Kai - Ordinary Day

Hi

Yesterday was a pretty relaxing day. We did fishing, reading, homeschooling,
and I got a bucket of salt water spilt on my bed. We out the cushion outside
to dry, and Liam and I built forts underneath it. After dinner we went
fishing but didn't catch anything.
Early this morning, we woke up to go in the dinghy to a hotel to
watch the first world cup game, but we realized it was too far so we turned
back and listened to the game on a radio on my dad's computer, while eating
eggs and bacon. Today we are going to make my bed again, clean up, do
homeschooling, and maybe explore the beach. We also bought some fans, and we
are hoping to get them connected in mine and Liam's bunk. Last trip it was
so hot, it was unbearable, but lately it has not been too bad, but it will
probably get worse.
Well I don't really have anything else to say. Hope to see you all
soon.
Bye
Kai
Oh, and this is a picture of some other kids we met in La Cruz

Liam - A Great Passage

We are now anchored in Bahia La Ventana just north of Los Muertos, we arived
yesterday from Mazatlan, it was a great passage. We didn't catch any fish
until we got right at the entrance, I hooked a fish but then snapped my 80
lbs test and got away with my lure.
It was pretty chopy on the way here but only took 32 hours. We sailed most
of the way with only our Jib up, going inbetween 4 and 7 knots with the wind
blowing out of the west south west.
When we arived We had dinner, did the net, did the dishes, went jigging,
and then watched a show called Monty Pithon's Flying Circus.
This morning we are still in Bahia La Ventana, and we will still be tommoro
so we can go to Los Muertos to watch the world cup first knockout round
Mexico vs South Africa. But we are not sure how we are going to get there,
we are thinking of taking our dingy but that would take almost an our, so we
might try to get a lift from some one on land. I'm probably going to cheer
for South Africa.
We are going to go dingy trolling some time around dusk, so hopefully we
will catch something.

Liam

Kai - After The Crossing

Hello

At the moment we are in an anchorage just north of Los Muertos. We arrived a

few hours ago after our long, thirty two hour passage from Mazatlan to

here. We were surprised to find out that it took only one night when we were
expecting two. The winds were blowing in just the right directions, so it
pushed us along at about six knots. My dad did all the knight watches, and
Liam and I did most of the day watches.
This morning my dad told me to look at something on the deck, and
there was a small, pink squid lying there, so I used it as bait, but caught
nothing.
This passage was much easier then our others, because our auto pilot
was working. The rest of the day we were fishing and reading, listning to
music. It was a nice sail, but a bit rocky.
We finally arrived at our destination, nothing caught though. We were
hoping to go to Los Muertos because there is a hotel and we were going to
watch the first match of the world cup. Mexico vs. South Africa, but it was
to choppy, so instead we went to another anchorage just on the other side.
Once there, we cleaned up the boat and then had fajitas for dinner.
Liam did the dishes after, and then we all sat in the cockpit for sunset as
Liam and I fished, but didn't catch anything.
In a few minutes, we will be watching Monty Python on the computer.
One of our favorite TV shows.
Well, Bye

Liam - Fishing

 I think fishing is great. Bringing the fish up to the side of the boat, watching it tug around, it's one of my favourite things about sailing.

        Last year I cought 11 fish in 4 months, now our new trip hasn't finished and I've already cought 24 fish.

We went dingy trolling in San Blas with Jason on Third Day but weren't fortunat to get any fish aboard.

         The biggest fish I have ever cought was a 3 foot 10 pound tuni, right at the entrance of Agua Verde.

         The only reall fish that I have cought was a two foot Dorado (Mahi Mahi), the only other fish I have cought were the tuni, catfish, Bonita, and tini little fish I used mushrooms to catch.

                                 I really love fishing.
By Liam

Kai - What we've done so far

Hi
Sorry I never got the time to do this earlier. We’ve been doing a lot of things lately. We were supposed to be in El Salvodor and Honduras and all those places right now, but a lot of things have been going on, so instead, we are going up to the Sea of Cortez for the last two months.

We got as far south as a town called La Cruz, which is right next to Puerto Vallarta. We were there for about a month because my two grandmas and uncle came to visit us. After they all left, we headed north. We had to do an over- night passage which took thirty two hours. My Dad did the night watches, and Liam and I did the day watches. Someone had to be steering the whole time, because the auto-pilot was not working. But it was still pretty fun.

We finally arrived in a little anchorage called “Old Harbor” in Mazatlan. The anchorage is very dirty and smelly, because it is right next to the sewage factory.

We explored the old part of town while we were there with some other cruisers on a boat called “Wandering Puffin.” And after a while, we went to Marina Mazatlan, were we are now. The only problem about our slip is that we are right next a really nice blue sail boat called Over Heated, which doesn’t make our boat look to good. The guy has waxed and polished the boat a whole ton of times.

While here we met a boat with two kids on it. Although they just left to go to Toronto for a few days. We also met boat called Rocinante and the guy plays guitar so we went over and we are going tonight. We also just bought a boat guitar, so I have been practicing.

Also, we just got two new fishing lures, a rod, and a gaff. We really needed one because, when you get big fish, and you’re going to bring out of the water, the fish usually jumps of (especially Mahi Mahi). A gaff is like a giant hook, so you stab the fish with it, and then hoist it aboard.

Tomorrow we are leaving to a place called “Los Muertos,” which means the dead in Spanish. It is fairly close to La Paz. The trip will take forty eight hours.

Bye,
Kai