Newsletter December 2001

"Marooned for Christmas in Paradise or I Know How Gilligen Felt)"

I promised I would have regular newsletter updates but once a month is a little ridiculous. Here we are in Puerto Vallarta getting ready for the Christmas activities.
Last year, it was La Paz for Christmas and this year PV. The weather is perfect, balmy during the day and perfect sleeping weather at night with all the hatches and ports open, unless you wear clothes! Every morning there is a cruisers’ net on the VHF radio announcing the days or weeks activities. I have trained myself to get up by 8:00 AM so I don’t miss the Net.
It’s astonishing and heart warming to hear about the tremendous outpouring of money and gifts, by the cruising community, for the children and the poor of Mexico during the entire year and especially during Christmas. It’s fun being a part of it. It brings tears to my eyes to see Mexican children receiving a very small sampling of what our kids take for granted during Christmas, be it shoes, a little toy truck or just a bag of candy. We never realize how truly blessed we really are in the United States. This serious stuff must end. You might get the wrong opinion of me.
I left La Paz on Dec. 14th, with my friend Walt Turner, for Puerta Vallarta. We arrived in PV in Sunday afternoon the 16th. Jutta stayed back in La Paz, We had been pounded by Northers (heavy winds with big seas) one after another in La Paz and we were trying to sail out of there for the last two weeks and were turned back. Jutta chickened out and stepped off the boat and Walt crewed for me on the passage. The crossing is about 300 miles of open ocean from Baja to the mainland. If your memory hasn’t failed you, those of you under fifty, on Jan 1, a year ago, we made a similar crossing and got caught in a stalled low pressure system and literally got spanked by Mother Nature for about 14 hours. I am sorry to say, Jutta took the sissy way across and rode the ferry to Mazatlan and hopped the bus to Puerta Vallarta. Can you believe that? Well I made it and finished with a boat full of Dorado, the fishing was excellent. I put Walt on the bus for Mazatlan so he could catch the ferry back to La Paz and meet up with his wife and boat. I was glad to see Walt go, we celebrated our crossing for two days and my liver could not last another night.
When we plan a cruise our itenary is always set in concrete. As you can probably guess, we have changed our plans again. Jutta and I have decided to spend another season in Mexico. The weather is great, the people are friendly, and the beer is cold, now you figure the down side of this trip. Looks like Panama can wait another year, I hope that by then it will still be there. We will stay in Puerta Vallarta through mid January. Carnival in Mazatlan is supposed to be the third best in the world next to Rio and New Orleans, we are planning to find out for ourselves. Looks like we are off to a five day carnival party in Mazatlan, YEE-HA.
The boat is decorated for Christmas, our presents are bought, and I wish all of you a very Merry Christmas and may the New Year bring you an abundance of blessings.

Feliz Navidad from the sailing yacht “Pipe Dream”.

Ferdy and Jutta