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Shingles, Visit with Ryan and Kylie,

Chubascos and lightening hits….

I haven’t updated this blog for a while because there wasn’t much exciting to report since we had to spend 2 weeks at anchorage in San Carlos due to my “shingles” (adult chickenpox). Have to say I was getting pretty grumpy…not able to get out and swim, hike or do our every other day exercise program or do any Spanish studying as sitting at the computer was really not too much fun. I was mostly just lying around like a lazy slug…fortunately, I had the upcoming visit with Kylie and Ryan to look forward to so it kept me from going completely stir-crazy.

They arrived on Saturday, August 2nd and we had a great time with them. The first night Ryan got his Dad into Tequila shots while we were at a beach bar…Peter was doing 5 or so steps dancing the two-step with his daughter. Suffix to say Kylie and I made sure they got home o.k. and the rest of the week they were a lot more mellow.


Ryan’s goal for the week was to learn how to operate the boat – i.e. anchoring, docking, all the systems, etc. He did really well and feels confident to come back again with his buddies, while we leave the boat in Mexico for the winter. It was a big step for Kylie because she is very scared of being on the sailboat in the ocean. We were really proud of her as she pushed herself to be comfortable (or at least not scared to death!). She is also fully able to operate all the systems so that she can come and use the boat as a hotel this winter while it is moored at the La Paz Marina.
We had a few good adventures…Day 3 we were anchored in a bay and had just put up our new SunShade that Ryan brought down for us. In the middle of the night we were awoken to over 30 knot winds. This is a local summer phenomenon called “Chubascos” which is basically a squall that blows up instantly and howls for about an hour and a half. Since this was the first time we took the SunShade down, it was even more challenging with the high winds. We almost lost it at one point and we couldn’t hear each other over the wind. Kylie was a real trooper while we rocked and rolled in the 6-foot swells for the next four hours with lots of things crashing around since this squall caught us unawares. Peter and Ryan remained at the helm all night making sure we didn’t hit the lee shore that we were blown within 20 feet of. Our anchor held fast though, so it passed the first real test. As dawn was breaking, we pulled up the anchor at 5:00 a.m. and moved to the far side of the large bay where we were protected from the swell and then when it was light we moved back to the anchorage in San Carlos.

Ryan left yesterday…we were sorry to see him go. We had lots of fun playing Scrabble, Boggle and hearts which triggered very fond memories of when they were smaller and we played all these board games on a regular basis. Doug and Glenda arrived as they are spending 3 days in San Carlos before they take over the boat while we go on our horse trek in the Copper Canyon.

Just to keep things really interesting we had another “all hands on deck” call last night. Kylie and I were sleeping topside on the deck under the sunshade, when a huge thunder and lightening storm, complete with pelting rain blew up suddenly. The three of us managed to get the SunShade down (our prior storm practice served us well). It was quite a spectacular storm – very loud and very close. Actually, too close as the boat right behind us was struck. It was an amazing sight to see the lightening travel down the mast. This morning on the local network, the Captain advised that no one was hurt but his entire electronic system was fried. He had to communicate by standing on his deck and using his hand-held VHF.

As for the weather generally, it has been hot and humid. Some days over 100 degrees with up to 94% humidity. There have been 10 named hurricanes so far, none of which have even come anywhere near the Sea of Cortez. Currently there is a Tropical Depression warning that may turn into a hurricane and has the possibility of sneaking closer. This is one of the reasons we didn’t want to leave our boat while we are gone for the next two weeks. Doug and Glenda will be cruising and they know where the hurricane holes are if this one comes too close for comfort. The advantage of a hurricane is that you have about 3 days to prepare for it, should it hit. This is the rainy season and we can probably count on daily thunderstorms on our trek as well.


The Silver Lining after every storm.

As for my shingles….they have not gone away as hoped, however they are getting better daily and the pain is lessening as well. Not sure how it will be in the saddle for 6 – 8 hours each day in the Copper Canyon for 12 days…but I do have Codeine, so this might be one of those times I don’t hesitate to medicate!!!

Enjoy the rest of the summer, and I’ll update the Blog again when we get back around August 24th.

Until next time….. Danny – Happy, happy 24th birthday while we are gone. We miss you.