Reflecting

Well, it's been a year since we pulled Chaitanya into Shilshole marina in Seattle- the terminus of our sailing adventure, and perhaps more significantly, the beginning of our family vocational Oregon life. There have been a lot of ups and downs over the past year. First was the speedy sale of Chaitanya to a great family in Seattle. Next came transitioning to Florence- our new hometown (Ian's lifelong hometown). Finding a suitable space in which to open my "Cafe of Life" Chiropractic office was a test of patience. I (Ian) have a hard time relaxing and trusting the Universe to provide what we need, even though it always has. After a two month intensive remodel, we opened Cafe of Life at Florence on December 1, last year. Practice has been a constant lesson in trusting. Trusting myself, my skills, people's desire to heal, and the Universe. I have a way to go in that lesson, but I certainly appreciate this experience for what it offers me in my own evolution. I reflect on our year of traveling by sail on dear old Chaitanya and it always brings me a sense of peace. Although the trip itself was a rollercoaster of activity and emotion, I see so many challenges that were overcome, so much skill and sound decision making. So many qualities came through Heidi and Me on that trip that we may have never been able to recognize in ourselves (although we have always recognized them in eachother!)

So we are coming up on the end of a year in a house we rented that is literally right on the beach here on the Central Oregon Coast. We are looking for a new rental that will fit our new budget- "Homeowners by 2009". We are paring our budget as the practice is yielding greater abundance for us, channeling the surplus to paying debt and saving for a down payment on a home. It is exciting.

Jonah and Gabriella are healthy and certainly growing. They bicker a lot, but they also share some pretty cute (and quiet) moments. Jonah is becoming a master fisherman and Gabriella has a growing collection of baby dolls and ponies. I am working on my kite skills and Heidi is keeping a weather eye on the real estate prospects in anticipation of our move.

If anyone reads this, we hope it finds you in good health. Our email address has not changed, but if you have lost it, it is www. (the word sail, then chaitanya with no space) @ gmail.com

Hey! We're in British Columbia!

Hello everyone- today we are at Pirate's Cove Provincial Water Park on DeCourcey Island in British Columbia's Gulf Islands. Sorry it's been so long, but the computer crashed on the way to Mazatlan and then things just got kinda busy. Anyway, Uncle Hans (Heidi's brother) helped us take Chaitanya from Puerto Vallarta to La Paz, Baja by way of Mantanchen Bay, Isla Isabella and Mazatlan. For the most part, we had really good conditions for the trip. We arrived at Marina de La Paz on about April 1. Hans flew back to Oregon a few days later, and we hung out for a couple weeks. As we were a little wasted, and had "done" La Paz, we decided to fly home to Oregon on the 15th of April or so. During the next month, we (mostly Heidi) started a big organic garden. I (Ian) worked a few weeks for my Dad and stepmom Dana, padding our bank account a little. On May 20th, I returned to La Paz to prep Chaitanya for the big transport to Nanaimo on BC's Vancouver Island. I also wrapped up a few projects and ate Arrachara tacos three times a day!

So three days ago, I drove Chaitanya off the back of Dock Express 12, the transport ship that brought our intrepid yacht 2500 miles in 6 days without so much as a scratch. We pulled into the Nanaimo yacht basin, somewhat shocked. There is a different set of rules, weather, navigation and such for each region one sails in and if I spent thousands of hours of reading to prepare for our time in Mexico, I spent 5 hours reading about Northwest cruising before Chaitanya's keel touched the water here. So I went to work, learning the current and tide tables, charting distances and reading about various possible anchorages and harbors. Today we passed through Dodd Narrows, a cut in the land no more than 150 feet in width through which millions of tons of water pour each day. The current was predicted to reach 8.5 knots through there today, so it was imperitive that we arrived to pass just at the slack between the ebb flood currents. We did just fine, and passed through with about a dozen other boats. An hour later we pulled into Pirate's cove with 6 inches to spare under the keel! We anchored in a spot with 2 feet under the boat. It was low tide, so that's fine. Now, roughly 6 hours later, there are 14.5 feet under the boat!!! And so it goes....

We intend to arrive at Seattle by the 23rd after about 6 more days in the Gulf Islands, then about 5 days in the San Juan Islands (Washington). Finally, we will pass through Deception Pass, spend a night at Whidbey Island, then head for Seattle. On the 26th, I fly to Denver for Masterpiece Training Camp- a 6-day intensive life and chiropractic forum.

Chaitanya will be for sale in Seattle. Hopefully, she will sell quickly and painlessly to a new loving family and we can begin the next adventure- settling in, raising a family, and starting a practice in Florence, Oregon.

Hope this finds all of you in good health and spirit. Please reply with a short or long note. Let us know what's going on in your life. For the next couple weeks, reply to this address. After the 23rd of June, please email us at sailchaitanya@gmail.com

Love,
Ian, Heidi, Jonah and Gabriella Jarman

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Back in La Paz

Well, for anyone still reading the blog, my appologies for the big gaps in entries. Before embarking on this trip, I read lots of other cruisers' blogs and the trend is quite indicative of a dying Blog! So depressing.

Anyway- the big gap between March and April was due to our laptop crashing. Then we went home to Eugene, Oregon from La Paz vs. sailing further up into the Sea of Cortes. I know, you think we're crazy, but we really were pooped. It was a good call, as we had a lot of fun in Oregon including me (Ian) working for my Dad and step-Mom, Heidi (with a little help) getting a big garden going at her Mom's house and the kids stretching their legs. We are enjoying the luxury of letting the kids play in the back yard and not having to watch them with an Eagle's eye as we did at the beaches and parks in Mexico. Our parents have been very generous in babysitting the kids so Heidi and I can go on dates and plan for the next phase of our life. I actually got to go on a small group mt. bike ride in Oakridge, and I have loaded the VW van up for spontaneous camping trips. I am very eager to spend time in the drier equivalent of the beautiful Pacific Ocean- the forests of the Pacific Northwest. My brother-in-law Marc bought a keen fishing boat and I hope we can harvest some yummy dungeoness crab this sumer.

So being as we left Chaitanya in La Paz five weeks ago, I had to return to load her onto the Dockwise Transport Ship that will gently deliver Chai to Nanaimo on the east coast of Vancouver Island, BC, Canada. From there, we will sail her to Seattle to (weep, weep, sniff) sell her. While we were gone, we contracted some locals to redo all the exterior varnish. It was nice to come back to.

It's been four days now since I returned to La Paz (solo) and I am just plugging away at projects and not much else. I am watching some of the early Soprano's episodes that we could't watch with the kids around. It was pretty hot the first couple days, but a breeze has been up for the last two days that has cooled things off significantly. I actually got cold last night on my walk.

It's pretty depressing being here. For one, I don't have my family, and that makes it a little too lonely and quiet. Secondly, most of the boats we knew have moved up into the sea or around Cabo and back to the US. Dan and Noah from Sunbaby will be here monday or tuesday to load their boat on the DYT ship, but I figure they will be pretty busy with puting things away for the transport.

Topaz are here (Mark and Karen) and we will meet for dinner tonight, but they are all the way out at the Marina Costa Baja, which is nice, but a ways out of town. Allen, Kathy and Morgan aboard Love Song have hung out a little, and I got to babysit Morgan (loved playing with Jonah's toys).

I have given up my illusions of alternative transportation home (bus, train, hitching, carjacking) and purchased a flight. I'm sure Heidi will be eager to get her parenting partner back, and we can scout out the rentals in Florence.

Don't know when the next update will be, so please drop us a line at our electronic mail address, which is the word sail followed with no space by the name of our boat, the symbol for "at" and then "gmail" (no quotations) dot com. Sorry about the cryptic address, but spammers have programs that scan all these blogs for contact info.

Be well and follow your heart-
Ian

We're still alive! (and well)

Sorry folks! Our computer died just after we left Puerto Vallarta and we have been a bit lazy about keeping everyone up to date. So, a lot has happened in the last month. We spent 5 days in Mantenchen Bay awaiting a favorable weather window to travel the 120 miles to Mazatlan.
There were a lot of no-see-ums after 5pm on the beach, but we kept the boat screened and almost a mile off-shore. I (heidi) always get the most bites, I counted over 40 at one point. I think the scratching scars have healed by now! We all went a bit stir- crazy but survived. We left for Isla Isabella on a Thursday night around midnight and arrived there the next am just after 8 am. There was some wind and swell but we were the only ones anchored in the main anchorage so that was a little less nerve racking. We went ashore and hiked around for a few hours and met hundreds of blue,brown and green footed boobies. Gabriella was promptly snatched from my arms by a local woman (one of a small colony of probably 20 fishing families) just after landing and paraded around the little fishing shacks. We left that afternoon around 4pm and started bashing our way north in 25knt winds and 3-5 ft seas. My stomach couldn't handle it so I sent Ian down below to hang out with the kids and Hans and I watched the whales breach for over an hour!
The wind moderated by 10pm or so and we were cruising along at 5-6kts. We pulled into El Cid just in time before they closed the channel entrace for dredging at 10am the next morning.
Mazatlan was great as usual, we left just 2 days later to catch some very rare southly winds up to La Paz. The wind was really light so we motored for 2 days but that was fine as it is normally a windy and bumpy crossing. We did pay our dues, however, as we made the last 15 miles into Bahia de La Paz. The wind gradually increased as we approached a narrow chanel into the bay from the Ceralvo Channel. It was sketchy enough looking for the dim navigation aids that mark the shoals and reefs in that passage, but we ended up with 35-40 knot headwinds and 4-5' swells only 4-5 seconds apart. Chaitanya does not like these conditions and protests by slowing foward progress to just 2 knots or less. As we turned south after rounding the (Coyote?) peninsula, the wind also veered and we ended up scratching our way into Ballandra cove. We set the anchor at 4 am in pitch black night and settled in as Chaitanya sailed back and forth on the anchor, getting blown over 30 degrees or so every ten minutes when a gust came from a different direction. But the anchor held well, and we practiced enough patience to wait until about noon that day. By then the winds had subsided below 20 knots and we departed for the final 15 miles to La Paz. That was an uneventful motor. We tied up at Marina de La Paz and imediately set out in search of ice cream! We were not let down. Fuente ice cream shop on the Malecon in La Paz is second to none we've had-anywhere. It's all made on premises and we enjoyed sampling many of their unique flavors over the two weeks or so that we stayed in La Paz. Favorites were Yerba Buena (made with fresh mint), Fresa con Agua (just frozen strawberries and sugar) and Limon con Crema (tastes just like key lime pie- excellent when combined with the frozen strawberries). Another interesting flavor was rose petal. La Paz has something of a European feel to it- especially near the waterfront. There are many upscale shops and restaurants along with the strreet vendors and tourist trinkets. We enjoyed somewhat authentic chinese cuisine, cafe lattes, and even sushi. But Ian's favorite of all was the Bistek Arrachera. It is prime rib marinated and then diced for tacos. You add onions, guac, salsa, lime and hot sauce to make a sumptious and inexpensive (1.50) meal. For the first time on the trip, we were meeting lots of younger cruisers. Some of them were even just entering Mexico, so we were able to share our experiences with other cruisers who had not just done the same thing. Tom and Amy on Sandpiper www.sandpiper38.blogspot.com left Zihuatenejo for the Marquesas Islands while we were in La Paz. It has been a treat following their crossing on their blog- check it out. After talking it out, we decided that we had had enough cruising for the time being and were really looking foward to being around family again and that we were ready to head home rather than sail further into the Sea of Cortes. I know, it sounds crazy, but if this trip has taught us anything, it is that we really need the support system of family and friends in a community, and that while adventuring and seeing new people and places is wonderful- especially in the tropics- there can be such a thing as too much of a good thing. We are ready to do something more meaningful for others and Mother Earth. We want to really contribute to the advancement of our commuity. We will do that by raising two conscientious, loving humans and through our Chiropractic practice in Florence, Oregon. Check back soon for another update from Oregon. Ian will return to La Paz on the 16th of May to load Chaitanya on the Dockwise Barge for Nanaimo, B.C. and then we will be cruising the waters of Puget Sound.

Mantanchen Bay

We are sitting in Beautiful Mantanchen Bay. We left Puerto Vallarta on Friday to Punta de Mita. Spent the night there and awoke to no surf so motored all saturday to here. Now we are waiting for the perfect weather window to go North to Mazatlan. Probably leave here Thursday afternoon and go overnight. Love to everyone, Ian, Heidi, Jonah, Gabriella and Hans.

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Banderas Bay

Howdy all- we are making our way through Banderas Bay to the Punta Mita anchorage on the northern edge. We did an overnight, 90 mile jaunt up the coast from Chacala, our last anchorage. It went fine- no surprises. We intend to check into one of the marinas in Puerto Vallarta in the next couple of days and play a bit more there as we wait for Hans to join us for a casual trip up the coast to Mazatlan and then to La Paz. Hope everyone is well. Team Chaitanya

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Chamela

Hey everyone- Happy Birthday to Ian's Mom, Wende!!! We are anchored in Bahia Chamela tonight, along with about 15 other boats. Some are moving South. Some, like us, are moving North. I think the last general mailing was from Barra de Navidad. Since then, we made the move to Bahia Tenacatita (15 miles), where we explored the Iguana "Jungle" River, discovered Rollo Del Mar, or "fish rolls" and spent 5 days enjoying the beach, light surf and beautiful setting. Yesterday, we made the move (18 miles) from Tenacatita to Bahia Careyes. We left Tenacatita early (7:00) and were anchored in Careyes by 11:00. Careyes is composed of three small coves protected by two islands. We anchored in the Northern of the three coves, strangely all by ourselves while the middle, less protected cove was crowded with sport boats, pangas, sailboats and even two luxury power yachts. The North cove is the site of a defunct and decaying Club Med Facility. I figured they must have a security person, and had heard that when they were in business, they were not friendly to the cruisers, so we didn't land our dinghy there to explore. We rowed the dinghy over to the middle cove and searched for a reported pool. We ended up walking to the southernmost cove to the Hotel Careyes. It was definitely a five star establishment with a great pool, game room with billiards, air hockey and foosball, a gym, spa etc... They even had a mini movie theater which had loungers instead of movie seats! They also had free wireless, so we were able to check on some things and the weather. I didn't sleep too well with the surf crashing along the walls of the cove. I was going to suggest moving on North to Chamela today anyway, but around 9:30AM, I noticed 5 guys with a couple dogs walking around the grounds at Club Med. I assumed they were employees of some sort, but became suspicious whe one threw a couple rocks at the side of a building. They all turned and ran, covering their heads with their shirts, and then they all hit the ground, apparently under attack by a swarm of angry bees. Around half an hour later, I heard them whistling loudly and I peeked out the hatch to see what was going on. They had walked to the other side of the cove, up to a suite, about 60 feet up. When they noticed me looking, they began hurling rocks and bricks towards the boat! Thank God, they were far enough away that they stood no chance of hitting Chaitanya or us, but I decided at that point to pack it in and leave. During our preparations to leave, these 5 guys broke windows (of the old resort), pushed brick porch rails over and into the cove, and continued to whistle and yell. This is something I would be much less surprised to see in California, but it was our first sight of beligerance by Mexicans since we've been down here. Another strange part is that Careyes is in the middle of nowhere, so I have a couple of theories. I think that either they were on some heavy drugs, or they were contracted on the sly to do some damage so that Club Med could collect on an insurance policy- thus dampening the financial burden of a massive resort complex gone bad. Or maybe I have way too much time to think here! At any rate, we will stay here at Chamela for a few days before jumping North to Ipala (52 miles) and then some point in Banderas Bay (30-50 miles, depending where we end up). Heidi's brother Hans, who helped us on the San Diego to Cabo San Lucas portion of the trip will be joining us again at Puerto Vallarta to help with the sometimes tedious legs between Banderas Bay and Mazatlan, and then Mazatlan to La Paz on the Baja side. Hans will be a welcome addition to our crew, as our underway time is so busy with Heidi watching both kids and I managing the boat more or less on my own. Our friends on SunBaby did a marathon day (40 miles) today to get to Camela, so we are back together again. It is so great to have others to share the experience and compare notes with. Be well, all. Sorry this was so long, but we've had an exciting week. Love, Ian, Heidi, Jonah and Gabriella.

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leaving Barra

We left Barra de Navidad this morning and spent 2 hours at the fuel dock waiting to fuel up. Only one pump was operating and some idiot changed their oil on one of the open slip sides for more than 2 hours. Anyhow, the French baker paid us a visit and I loaded up on little pies, danishes, baguettes, and croissants so that part was fine.
We are motor sailing up to Tenacatita, a few hours for the 15 mile trip.

Ian and Jonah did not want to leave. Ian wanted to provision and hang out again today, Jonah wanted to go to the swimming pool. I am feeling like a prune from all the sun and water so I am ready for a days passage.

Yesterday we shopped. We walked all over town at least twice checking out all the little tiendas, visiting the produce lady, the butcher shop etc. There is no one market that is much larger than your average living room so for some reason I visited at least 4 and some more than once trying to provision for 10 days.

I got the stats on that giant blue marlin: 300 kilos (660 lbs) and 7 meters long. The man said it was a record. Unfortunately the meat is not good for human eating when the fish is old. I must go, Jonah is begging for the French baker's goodies.

Heidi

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Another day in Paradise

I know the weather must be cold or quite possibly rainy somewhere, but being here day after day in the sun, some days very hot, some perfectly cooled by the wind, I admit I am beginning to take this all for granted.
So, another day in Barra de Navidad. It will be hard to leave here as we nearly have it all; surf, pools, beautiful beach, great little town, great cheap food, very secure non-rolly anchorage. The only thing I am missing is water I could swim in off the boat.

Anyhow, we will be leaving soon to begin our slog back north.

Yesterday was food day. We had very tasty street tacos, Coconut cookies, mango on a stick, ice cream, an iced latte, and then I made 3 pizzas on the boat. Today I tried to hold back a little but still enjoyed a mango on a stick on the beach and bought a gi-normous piece of cake for only a $1.50! This lady has a little case down on the malecon (beach promenade) with about 6 huge cakes in it, what steal!, and they are delicious.

I saw the largest fish of my life today too on the way to the cake lady. (Cake tasting was a necessary requirement in planning Jonah's "end of diapers" party). Anyhow, picture this: a crowd of people , hooting, hollering, then seeing 7-8 men dragging a blue marlin up to be measured. It was the size of 4 grown men, must have been 800-900 lbs, maybe more, and like 12ft long. I 'll check on the stats tomorrow and see how close my guesstimate is.

All for now, Heidi

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Greetings from Barra de Navidad

Hello all, we have found a wonderful area to be in. This is the best spot we have been to so far. We are in a very calm inner lagoon so there is no rolling except for the occasional boat going by. The town of Barra is close by. It is a really cute little town built between the ocean and a lagoon on the other side. There is a beautiful palatial resort on the other side of the entrance channel that we had the pleasure of visiting yesterday with friends. There are many pools connected by water slides. Jonah finally went down one and decided he liked it.
We will explore the town today and check in with the port captain. We will likely stay a week or so.
All for now. Love the Jarmans.

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