Friday 21st February 2020
I woke up very early, not sure whether it was nerves or not feeling great. We signed out but pre-booked our slot for the 19th March when we return with Bres. The refuelling at the dock was really easy and we could have done it without help. Having said that Kim and Clay came with us on the boat to the fuel dock and when we got there Hiromi & Brian were there to take the lines. We bid them farewell and also wished Hiromi a Happy Birthday for Monday when she turns 60. Anchoring in the bay went without a hitch. Whilst at anchor we had quiche from the French Baker for lunch and then a little siesta. We worked out our fuel consumption on the way down, got the boat ready for the chance of putting the sails up and tidied the lines after having her polished. Dinner tonight is a sausage casserole, halfway through we had to change the gas bottle. It is lovely being at anchor, it’s very peaceful with the boat rocking and no other noise. Just sent a few messages to the friends- poor Kandy and Dennis are having to have their water tanks done for a third time. they must be so fed up!
The sausage casserole was very tasty as was the really juicy peach. The peaches are just like when you buy them from the market in France when you can smell them before you get to the stall. These have the same smell, sadly absent from the ones you buy in England as they are so under ripe when they are picked and shipped. Lovely news today. Charlotte from Foxholes Farm has had a baby boy, named Sidney, he was 7lb something.
We raised the anchor at about 8.30pm, it was very hard trying to see in the dark and trying to pick our way through the boats at anchor with no lights. Eventually we caught up with Dennis and started the journey down to Bahia Chimela.
Saturday 22nd February 2020
The journey down was pretty calm and uneventful. We say a few dolphins and some whales in the distance. The most exciting thing was a Volvo Ocean Yacht which went past. Not sure why, as it was the only one.
I screwed up on the anchoring again, forgot which way the lock went on the windlass and then before I knew loads of chain had spilled out. It’s just so frustrating, it would be lovely for the process to be perfect just once. Dennis rowed over in his dinghy and we had some wine and a bite to eat for dinner before he rowed back. It’s only 7pm but we are trying to keep our eyes open as long as possible as we are so tired. We are here for at least a day as the weather is not supposed to be very good for the next few days.
Sunday 23rd February 2020
We were in bed at 7.15pm and although John got up in the night several times to check on the boat, I slept like a log and didn’t wake until 8am. We had a big mug of team and cereal for breakfast. Dennis phoned and it was decided that we go ashore with him in his dinghy, have a wander round and grab some lunch. Before that we needed to re-tie the anchor bouy which was under the surface of the water. when we got to the bouy it was too far under the surface of the water to re-tie the line with an extra length. Instead, Dennis came back to the boat and the plan was to raise the anchor, re-tie the existing line on the ball and anchor again. It took two goes to anchor as the first time we were too close to another boat, but even with Dennis there nothing was any different. I had to go down below because the chain snarled going into the locker, plus the windlass is very slow. We put the snubber on, waited for a short time, then headed for the beach for a short walk and a shrimp lunch. On the approach to the far side where there was less surf Dennis instructed john to put his legs out of the side and to jump off on his instruction. Dennis made the call, which John queried but was told to jump again. In he went, unable to put his feet down, so had to swim towing the dinghy. It was later we discovered he had been told to jump as the dinghy engine had cut out again. We did laugh though as John was soaking and he hadn’t got a change of clothes. Starting Dennis’ outboard was not a problem this time and leaving the beach was easier than at Mantachen even though there is a comment in the cruising guide about it. Dennis dropped us off at our boat with the intention of picking us up at about 4pm to go to his for drinks. We have put the instruments on and the wind has increased to gusting at 18knts. John has made a guacamole to take with us. I was going to do some washing, but that will have to wait as I think it would blow away. Drinks on Dennis’ boat were lovely and relaxed as usual. The Guacamole was lovely as was the Humous which Dennis provided. So much so, we all decided that we were full and didn’t have room for dinner. The wind so far is nowhere nearly as strong as expected, everything is relatively calm. I was beaten in all three rounds of Yahtzee. We sat outside on deck listening to the waves and looking for various star formations before heading off to bed.
Monday 24th February 2020
After one of our huge mugs of tea we set about getting the dinghy ready to go ashore via Dolce Vita to collect Dennis. Everything went smoothly. The outboard started first time, we managed to get the wheels down and ashore without any difficulty. We stopped at the little Palapa by the creek like we did yesterday and had a cold drink as they don’t do coffee. We walked along the creek for a short distance to the first turn off on the dusty but flat dirt road. There were a few pangas moored up along the edge, one of which had a catch of fish and some very keen ‘helpers’ in the guise of Pelicans. They were getting so close to the fisherman who were working on deck you could see them hitting the birds on their beaks with their knives to keep them away. We failed to find the small tienda we were looking for, so wandered back to where we had started along the beach. The trip back to the boat was hassle free having dropped Dennis off on the way back. After finishing off the remaining quiche from the French Baker with some sundried tomatoes and cucumber I set about preparing the evening meal. Spaghetti Milanese with a Tomato Sauce. The sauce is made and I have breaded the chicken fillets which were from Kenny the butcher in La Cruz. We are collecting Dennis at 3pm and the plan if for an early dinner after Margaritas. We have left the dinghy tied to the davits at the back of the boat. John is fretting as the wind has picked up somewhat, but the dinghy will be fine there for another hour. Just done the washing, decided not to hang it out as it may not be there later with the wind. So, I have rigged up a washing line in the stern heads from the bodega behind. It looks like Wishy Washy’s laundry, but it will still be there in the morning... John went and fetched Dennis and said that the trip over was a lot easier than he thought as the dinghy planed over the sea. Dennis came with his cocktail shaker and a few ingredients we didn’t have to make his famous Margaritas, which we drank witch the last of the Guacamole. The dinner was delicious, neither Dennis nor I could finish ours, but John hoovered up.
Tuesday 25th February 2020
Dennis listened to the weather forecast on his SSB (Single Side Band) Radio and got conflicting information, however the local information of 10-15 knots of wind and 4 ft swell every 18 seconds seemed more accurate. We decided to poke our noses out of the bay and to return if we didn’t like what we saw. We raised the anchor without any trouble which was good, so we continued on to Tenacattita which was about 6 hours away. Dennis caught a fish, we weren’t as successful. We motor sailed with the mizzen up. We saw a few Dolphins along the way and two other fins, which John was convinced belonged to two killer whales. When we arrived at Tenacatita the bay already had lots on boats in it. Dennis found his spot and anchored. We, however, managed to make a right meal of the whole affair. It took four goes at dropping and raising the anchor and we were failing miserably. Eventually Will from Cetacean who was already moored in the bay brought Dennis over in the dinghy and Dennis oversaw the next anchoring exercise and we finally held. I found the whole process totally soul destroying. I think the errors were that I was dropping the anchor chain too quickly after the anchor, we weren’t letting enough chain out (total 220ft in all for 38ft of water) & John was reversing too quickly for the anchor to take a hold. Dennis and Will came over for a drink and we ate the Chicken Dhansak and as it was Pancake Day I cooked some for pudding. Will left before then as he didn’t want any more to eat. When it came to Dennis going home to his boat his engine wouldn’t start. So, we sent him off with some oars and lit his boat with our big torch, to enable him to head in the right direction.
Wednesday 26th February 2020
John made tea this morning. I fed the Sourdough, cleaned out the fridge and sorted out the rubbish to go ashore. We have been invited to Dennis’ for dinner tonight and he is going to be doing BBQ’d steak, with creamy mashed potatoes and coleslaw. Quite a few boats have left the bay already. We just need to get the dinghy out to go ashore.
We put the dinghy on the beach by a palapa and walked to the hotel and got a taxi into Manzanilla. The driver dropped us off at the square and we found a lovely beach side restaurant for drinks and a bite to eat for lunch. We wandered around a bit, picked up some tomatoes and wine and phoned for a cab to take us back to the beach with the help of an old guy who spoke a little English. Meanwhile, we were waiting a pony came trotting down the street on his own and disappeared down another one. I did a double take and an American lady was walking down the street. I asked her if that was normal here. She just laughed and said that his paddock is there isn’t much to eat and that she has seen him a couple of times. He obviously has a mind of his own and takes himself off when he fancies. Dennis forgot to take the steak out of the freezer, so dinner got postponed until tomorrow. The return trip in the dinghy was uneventful and we got it and the outboard back and on the boat without a hitch. So, we are in for the night and can chill.
Thursday 27th February 2020
It was an early night last night and with either an extra pillow or just being tired after two unsettled nights, I slept like a log. It was a bit of a rock and rolly night but nice and cool. When we opened the hatch to look out there were three Dolphins swimming round the bay. We need to remember to close the butterfly hatch at night as there is now quite a dew and you can feel the settee cushions are damp in the morning. As we just ate a bowl of cereal for our supper last night, I cooked eggs, bacon and tomatoes for breakfast, washed down with a huge mug of tea. I am hoping the agenda for today is a chilled one with bread and cake making on the list and apart from putting the dinghy out, very little else. We have been looking at our water and think the tank will last about three weeks in total, so we will have to refill when we get to Barra.
The cakes and dough were mixed whilst john read out parts from ‘The Complete Anchoring Handbook’ one bit in particular made us roar with laughter:-
The first half dozen Chocolate Chip Muffins came out of the oven and whilst the next batch were cooking, John made a big mug of tea. The dough is proving in the fridge in readiness for cooking tomorrow morning. Every now and then we can hear fish jumping where the Dolphins have herded them into a tight ball. The Dolphins have been in the bay all morning. A few boats have left, and it was interesting to see another yacht re-anchoring, which makes us feel a whole heap better after our miserable performance on arrival. I really wonder how we are going to get on when we go to Barra as I think it is going to be extremely busy and quite limited in space. I suppose if all else fails we either go into the marina or find another bay to go into. We went over to Dennis’ boat a little earlier than agreed but the dinghy had gone in the water with no hitches. We had a lovely time talking and drinking. Every time we pointed out a dolphin, when Dennis looked it disappeared. We also saw loads of fish and lots of tiny jellyfish which were the size of my thumbnail and transparent. Dinner was amazing with beautifully tender steak, creamy mashed potato and coleslaw. As the sun went down there was somebody on another boat blowing a conch shell. We headed back as it was getting dark. We saw the boat but it was dark by the time we were putting the engine and the dinghy back in their proper places. Another end to a lovely day.
Friday 28th February 2020
Today is my Dad’s birthday. I sent him a nice email wishing him all the best and describing the bay and what we have been doing here. We had a very relaxed morning. I made my bread and read my book. John prepped the veg for dinner. We also adjusted the symbols on some of the waypoints on the chart plotter so we could distinguish between anchorages and transits. We also found out the tides for tomorrow as we are heading for Barra. We got the dinghy out and went ashore for 2pm as it was around that time that the Pétanque started. There were too many people, so I went and sat with John and let Dennis play. We all chatted to some people in the palapa. Quite a mixture, some Mexican, some from La Manzanilla and a few cruisers. When getting ready to leave the beach, a French chap had put a line out to anchor his dinghy in the water exactly where everyone comes in and out to avoid the surf and the rocks. Dennis & John had a few words with him, with no effect and were less than complementary about his actions and manner. We came back via Dolce Vita, so Dennis could pick up his Tequila to make Margaritas on our boat. I cooked a Chilli con Carne and we sat on deck as the sun went down. We packed up the dinghy and only have a few things to do in the morning before we head off.
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