Thanksgiving Feast

Here in La Paz they have a Turkey Day potluck for all the people who don't want to cook a big dinner for Thanksgiving.  The deal is the chosen marina to host this dinner supplies the turkeys and the mashed potatoes. It is up to all the guests to bring whatever they think a Thanksgiving Day Meal is supposed to have. We chose to bring caramelized onions and black olives. The turnout at the dinner was relatively large. I believe about 200 people came to the dinner. The dinner was hosted by Marina Palmera. The marina has a huge boardwalk so thats where they set everything up. A few of my friends attended the dinner and we all took over one of the tables. All the kinds under 16 were the first to get served so we got the first pick in everything. I was amazed by how many people brought stuffing. There were probably about a dozen bowls for different stuffings. I served my food and went to go sit down and eat when I saw the dessert table. I think in the end I would have been better off if I hadn't seen the dessert table. But, I did. So, of course, I went over and loaded up a second styrofoam plate full of sugar. After the dinner my friends and I tried to play tag but its really hard to do that on a full belly. We ended up just sitting around a playing black jack. 

After the potluck was over we all migrated to Marina De La Paz for a classical Guitar concert. They were really good. It inspired me to practice more. I hope I'll someday be that good. 

I have persuaded my dad to leave La Paz on the 5th. I hope that we will get in to Mazatlan on the 8th. 

All is well on Don Quixote.

Los Frailes

We have been in Los Frailes since the 10th. We pulled in at about 4:30 in the afternoon and then went to bed early. We had a long day. On the 11th, tuesday, we went on a little trip on shore. The plan was to take a two mile hike to a beach that had really amazing snorkeling then a two mile hike back. What really happened wasn't at all like that.

We land on the beach after rowing in and grabbed ll our stuff we would need on the walk/swim/dive. We walked on the beach after some re-con to find the road that was going to take us to the beach. We started the walk along a very dry dusty trail. We walked about a mile before someone pulled over and offered us a ride. My mom and dad did the silent telepathic communication thing that I don't get and told us to climb on. We drove along the road for awhile before dad said I guess we are going past the beach. In fact we were heading for the town there. It took us about 15 minutes to reach the town. The ride in the back of the pick-up truck was really bumpy due to the fact that it was and unpaved, rocky, bumpy road. Once we reached the town though the roads got smoother. They were still dirt roads but they were less bumpy. 

We were driving through the small town when dad said "you girls got all your stuff? He's going to pull over soon." He didn't pull over though he just kept on driving. Right through the town. About a minute later he stopped really fast and turned around. My Mom said "You didn't forget us did you?". Started smiling. He said "Actually I did. I was kind of caught up in the music." It was all cool though because he drove us back to another beach right in the town. It was actually kind of a better reef because it had all the gear we would need for swimming at a good price.

We went snorkeling on the smaller part of the reef. There are two parts the shallow part of the reef that is closest to shore. Then there s a breakwater before you get to the big part of the reef. Thats where all the divers go. We bobbed around the reef looking at the fish and coral for awhile before we all headed inshore for awhile. We knew that we were going to get lunch in town so we scouted out the place with the best menu. And the cheapest menu. We settled for a small restaurant that had lots of beer. That mostly why my parents wanted to go there. We got a few plates of delicious burritos and nachos.

Jaime Conger

Swimming a Reef

Another boat in the Ha-ha has been here before so knows all the cool, cheap, things to do. So they got on the VHF and called all the Ha-ha kids and invited them to so snorkeling. My family said yes, as did four other boats.  Everyone started arriving at our boat at about 2:30 for some swimming on our mini island. One everyone was there we left for the reef. We were heading for a big rock called Seal Rock. Its not really a reef but it has amazing stuff growing on it and tons of wildlife. 

Once we got to the rock we had to anchor our dinghies. The surf was to big on the beach to pull up all our boats so we just dropped a couple dinghy anchors and rafted together. Then we jumped in and went swimming. At first we swam around the shore. The fish and coral was very impressive. Then we swam over to Seal Rock. It was incredible. There was a huge variety of fish and coral. The coral was the coolest. I spent half an hour diving down on the coral, then swimming up for air the going back down again. I love doing that. We are going to try to go back over today and check it out again. It really was a cool experience.

Jaime Conger

Bahia Santa Maria

Bahia Santa Maria was great! It was beautiful and sunny. The wind was at about 5 knots so the sun didn't get a chance to make us sweat. We pulled in the harbor at about 3:00 in the morning. We anchored temporarily near the entrance so that we didn't have to wind through the fleet. That morning we all slept in 'till about 10:00, and then moved the boat next to the "main" boat, Profligate.

After we finally woke up we had a big breakfast and went for a swim. Awhile back we bought one of those inflatable floaty island things from Costco. We decided to get that out and dad put up a homemade waterslide. We did all of this mostly for preparation of a water/kid party we were throwing that afternoon. It turned out to be a blast.  All the kids came from various boats in the fleet and we played games and dunked people in the water and splashed for 3 hours. Then we all sat down to watch a movie. The movie was probably really good, I didn't get a really good chance to watch it since the kid behind me kept dropping food on my head. After he ran out of peanuts he resorted to making farting sounds. Very comforting.

The kids all left with their parents who stayed for my parents' talk/adult party. A few girls spent the night and we spent the morning swimming on the float. That day was the Santa Maria party at the beach. I wasn't at the party much. My friend and I went to catch the really good waves with our boogie boards.  I flipped a couple times and once rode the wave backwards. The waves were pretty substantial. The biggest one was probably 5 feet tall. We decided not to ride this one. After awhile the sun went down and the water temperature dropped the party was over. 

We started for Cabo San Lucas in the morning. The race started at 7:00 on the 5th and quite a few boats stayed behind. We are about 50 miles away now and hope to pull in at 9 on the 6th. Wish us luck! 

Sailing with the Baja Ha-Ha

We are on the second leg of three in the Ha-ha. The first leg was
San Diego to Turtle Bay. This portion was about three days and nights
long. The second leg is from Turtle Bay to Bahia Santa Maria. This
is the portion we are currently on. Its about 6:30 and we are on our
second night. We are hoping to pull into the bay at about 2am
tonight. I am really excited about this stop. Turtle Bay was fun,
but I didn't know any kids yet. Here in Bahia Mera, Aeron and I plan
to meet up with all the kids we met at the beach party in Turtle Bay.
It is going to be really fun. Bahia is supposed to have really good
surfing waves. My friend on s/v Calou has a couple boogie boards we
can ride on. My mom is going to throw us a party tomorrow for all the
kids. They will all come to our boat and the adults will all go to
another boat. We are going to swim around the boat and play a number
of games. I'm not really sure what else we are going to do but we'll
figure something out. It's going to be a pot-lucky kind of deal.
There is also going to be a beach party in Bahia Santa Maria. We
are going to bring dessert. Alot of people are going to bring fish.
We have been listening to the VHF, and about half the fleet have
called in with fish that they have caught. We are included. We caught
a 25 pound Yellow Fin Tuna and before that we caught a bonito. He put
up a fight! We just finished the bonito and are tackling the yellow-
fin. Mom wants to grill it, I want to fry it, and Dad wants to eat it
raw. Mera and Aeron say that they could do without the fish at all.
Just shows how salty the aren't.
Sailing with all these boats around us is definitely a new
experience. I'm not used to sharing the ocean with all other people.
On the way down Vancouver we didn't see many other boats. Now you
can't turn 360 without seeing another boat. It does have its
advantages though. With all the boats spread out and heading in the
same direction, we can get weather reports from up to 80 miles away.
You can just get on the VHF and call the fleet and you come back with
answers. The VHF also has a very entertaining chat room for kids if
I'm ever bored. That doesn't happen much, my parents keep me busy.
I'm the one who has to go out and trim the sails, raise the chute and
scrub the decks.
We are keeping busy and having fun on the Baja Haha!

On the Hard

I forgot how uncomfortable it is to have your boat hauled out of the
water. We hauled out in Mission Bay on the 17th. They hauled us early
so that we could do work that day. Mostly we just scrubbed the bottom
of the boat so that we could paint it. Dad and I tore apart the props
both sides and cleaned every part of them. I'm going to have dirt
under my nails for the next 5 months. On the port engine prop Dad
forgot to drain the sail drive so we had oil everywhere. I caught it
before all the oil spilled out but there still was a lot that went on
the ground.
That took most of the first day and into the second. Mom rented a car
for us to drive around to pick up junk we needed. Mostly just parts
for the engine and sail drive. We did stop at Costco though. Mera and
Aeron pooled there money to get an iTouch. The we went to the sprint
store to get Dads new cell which took a little dip in the water the
other day. Then we went to the best place to buy clothing in the
world..... Goodwill. Wonderful place. We took the cat to the vet that
day as well and ever since then she always thinks that we are going
to take her to the vet if she gets in the car.
Our stay in the boatyard has had an enormous effect on the whiteness
of our boat. It has been dyed from a white to black in just a matter
of days. Its amazing how fast boatyard gunk gets onboard. We spent a
whole day cleaning it with FSR, ( a heavy duty fiberglass cleaner)
and the all of the next day waxing the boat.
Then I took a little adventure off the side of the boat. I was
scrubbing up the transom when I tried to step down one step to scrub
lower. But, there was no step. I fell off the boat and landed har on
the concrete on my side I banged up my head pretty bad, wrenched my
neck, and messed up my arm. It felt broken for awhile and Dad thought
I broke it but I didn't. I just hurt hit pretty bad. I am still a
little sore. Dad says I got away lucky without any major injuries.

Update Time!

Hi-lo!

Sorry for the lack of blogs. I have been... out of it. We have just been doing alot of traveling lately. Since we've left San Francisco we've traveled to Point Conception. What a funny name. For the last few days we had been waiting out the bad weather in a small little cove in San Simeon. Its A beautiful little harbor with a population of ten. Literally. The beach is warm and sandy with large waves that you could body surf in. Not to mention the amazing amount of wildlife there. There are hundreds of pelicans that all dive down on a swarm of herring a the same time. Its really cool to watch. There is an obvious pecking order for the food supply in the bay. By the time the pelicans get there, the large groups of 20-25 sea otters have come  and gone.  Then the big pelicans get to dive on the food first then comes the younger and smaller pelicans then the seagulls and kestrels dive in on the food. This all happen within the time of 5 min. Usually less then that. It was really cool. There were also whales that came in to the harbor get shrimp and krill. They came in at sunrise and sunset. It really was a cool harbor. 

The only downside was how difficult it was to get in to shore. The waves made it difficult to land on the beach. The first attempt we had our dinghy flipped. Of course we had the motor on. That got flooded so we had to row back. And all our stuff got wet. The second time we went the boat didn't flip but we also had to row the distance and time the waves. It definitely takes practice. I just hope that doesn't happen in front of every boat in the Baha Haha.

Speaking of Baha Haha, the race is only two weeks away. I am really excited!! We just heard about a hurricane thats going along the coast destroying things in Mexico. Right now it is just above La Pas. Oh joy. Everything will be recovering from the storm by the time we get there. Any-who i'm gonna sign of and update wen we get around the point.

Jaime

Checking In

For the past week and a half Don Quixote has been stuck in a marina in Emeryville, California. Not that I am complaining it has been really fun. We have been with friends that we hadn't met till the bonfire the first day back from Sacramento. The days have been really simple. We wake up, eat breakfast, do some schoolwork, and play with our friends. we are having so much fun. Every dinner that we have had has been with friends. Te first dinner we've had alone was last night. Dad says this is what it is going to be like on the Baha Haha. If it is then I am so excited to get there its only one month away! We are leaving San Francisco on wednesday to head down the coast. Mom says we are going to stop in Disneyland on the way down for a day. That is gong to be fun. We are going to leave early in the morning and take a bus an not leave untill the park closes. I am so lucky :)

Emeryville

My family is staying in Emeryville in San Francisco while we wait for my dad to get back from Seattle. I am not complaining. Emeryville as been great. I've met a lot of boating families and Mera Aeron and I play with the kids living in the marina all day long. We have gone to potlucks,  bonfires, and parties. Not to mention all the dinners we have had over at Excellent Adventure, a fellow boat. I am having so much fun!! I m going to be sad when we her to leave. 

Today is Aeron's birthday and birthday party so wish her a Happy Birthday!!

Over and Out!

Life is good

I'm chilling with Grandma in La Conner while mom and dad take the boat to San Francisco. I'm being fed pancakes, bacon, and steak.
Life is good.

The Biggest Burger in the world!

The Biggest Burger in the world!
Originally uploaded by toastfloats

While hanging out with friends in Seattle we stopped at a burger joint for lunch. The burger Aeron ordered was 3 inches thick I kid you not. Not to mention Mera and I had to help her to finish it.

Dulcinea a boat cat

Dulcinea a boat cat
Originally uploaded by toastfloats

Heres our kitty:) She has quite a life ahead of her. She will be traveling the seven seas with Don Quixote and crew. She is 10 weeks and weighs less than a pound. She is an etremeley adventures tabby who has already found the food store and the treat store on the boat.

Weeks in Seattle

We have been in a slip at Elliot Bay Marina. It feels kind of weird to be back in Seattle again. It doesn't feel quite like our old life here. It's far too busy to be like our old life. Mera, Aeron and I have been spending a lot of time with our old Seattle friends. We have also been working on training our new kitten Dulcinea. I'll post a few pictures of her for you to see. Between the two I've really been busy. I think the only dinner my family has had together and without guests was the first night we were here. Other than that it has been with friends. Most of the time my sisters and I are at at friends' houses for dinner or our whole family will be at a friend's house. It's been crazy. 

The day after tomorrow, my sisters and I are leaving to go on a trip to visit all our grandparents. We will meet up with Mom and Dad in San Francisco. They're going to take the boat down the Washington, Oregon and California coastline to San Francisco. Then we will all spend a few weeks there and leave for San Diego and the Baja HaHa. YAY!!

Hola!

We are just crossing the border back to America. We heard stories about people crossing the border and being attacked by the Coast Guard. Dad says they want to scare all the bad guys from entering the states so to do this, they scare everyone else. Apparently we are true Americans because we haven't been attacked. We are entering the states from Victoria and we plan to move in to Roche harbor for the night then over to Friday Harbor. We should be arriving in Seattle by 8/26. And we will be there for ten days. I am so excited to go back to Seattle. We'll be staying in Elliot Bay Marina which means showers every morning. 

We arrived in Victoria yesterday at about 10:00am and spent the day as tourist exploring everything. We went to a little building and took a tour of a Miniature World. When you first enter the building it is a little disorienting. They built it so the ceiling would be really low. The gate to enter was short too. You walk through the gate down the hall and enter Miniature space. All the planets are as big as my head. There are little space ships and tiny little people all over the place. I almost ran into one. After the space room/exhibit, there was a civil war exhibit showing scenes from the civil war, World War l, World War ll, and the Boston Tea party. All the exhibits were really detailed, and one man built the worlds smallest functional saw mill. After all that they had fantasy exhibits and extremely detailed dollhouses. All the dollhouses had actual china and real wooden chests. Beds had real bedcovers on them and the chairs and sofas were custom made, just tiny.

We walked over to the mall after that and had a true Canadian lunch. A&W. :) We spent the rest of the day just wandering shops and a grocery store. A fun day in Victoria.

Jaime 

Roche Harbor, Washington

August 20, 2008

Meeting Friends

July 20, 08

We left Port McNeill today and pulled in to Alert Bay once more. We returned to a run down dock with old fishing boats on it. However somebody was already in our spot so we sqeezed in on the other side. The minute we started to relax after pulling in my mom invited a large group of people to come check out our boat. They were from  boat at the end of the dock. With them came a woman named Darcy from another boat named Mycia. When you build your own boat you are supposed to name it after your eldest daughter. Hence the name "Mycia". She lived on the boat with her parents and four crew. The owner John Maher built the boat in his back yard and launched in 1997. She is a beautiful boat. I got to climb up rigging which from the ground doesnt "look" that high up but once you get there, its VERY high. Hopefully someday I will be able to be on the boat during one of there charters. Personally I would rather be crew. They left for Port Hardy at about 6:00. As did Purusha. I think thats how it was spelled. Anyway, each visit in Alert bay has been very nice. I highly recommend it. 

Jaime

Dinghy go bye bye

DrC Paddles His Way
Originally uploaded by toastfloats

We motered ashore and pulled our dinghy in while we went to dinner. What we didnt know however was how far the tide was going to come in. It was extremely far out there and dad and I had to borropw a dinghy to get to it. The dinghy of course had no oars so we, meaning Dad, had to use hands as paddles. When we finally got to the dinghy, the rock that we tied to was 5 feet down. It took about 5 minutes to get it loose and another 15 to get back to shore. Thankfully though none of us had to swim!

Port McNeill

Port McNiell. Interesting place. Sort of. No one smiles when you say hi to them here. They just nod or ignore you completely. We've only met a few friendly people. Those who are paid to be friendly and a grocery clerk. The town does have a few highlights, though. 1. A grocery store 2. A library (which satisfied Meercat until she saw it was the size of a small trailer) 3. A chocolate store. (which satisfied Aeron, period.) 4. A sports shop 5. A "movie theatre" (playing things like Aladdin, the Jungle Book, and Robin Hoods Adventure) And last but not least a vast variety of restaurants to sit at and be ignored. Overall Port McNiell is not my favorite place on Vancouver. 

  We can start to see the ocean from where we are now. You can tell were getting farther north because the water is freezing and you cant see the sun. Ever. An to put the cherry on top of this magnificent place were stuck here until my dad gets back in two weeks. 

All smiles,

Jaime

p.s. Hello to Anna, Sophia, Sophie, and any other person reading this. :)

Grandma Sue's Visit

Grandma came to visit. She was with us for 10 days.  During this 10 day period, I had to share a bunk with Meerkat (Mera). Let me tell you that was definitely NOT one of my favorite experiences. She felt the need to complain about everything, including the non-existent draft. However now that we are no longer living in each-other's pockets, we have resumed our "friendship". I still have the desire to dump water on her head but I am doing my best to refrain. Day before grandma left we pulled in to the Discovery Cove Marina where we interacted with human life forms. There was a Huge Canadian superstore (the Canadian equivalent of Wal-mart). We had lunch at an A&W, bought out the local chocolate store, and ate at the fanciest restaurant known to man. That was our second uber fancy meal. The first one was a gift from a friend of grandmas who insisted on treating us with a dinner at a 35$-40$ dollars a platter restaurant. So I ordered the prime rib special with yorkshire pudding, mashed potatoes and gravy and the best prime rib I've ever had. And as he said you can't have dinner without desert. So we ordered a Key Lime cheesecake and a Chocolate Explosion cheesecake. Thank you John. 

Grandma left yesterday to Sacramento, and we did our long haul up to Port Neville which if I might add is as remote as remote can be. We broke a Don Quixote record that day. We traveled 50 some odd nautical miles that day. Motoring against the current halfway. We left at 7:00 and arrived in Port Neville by 5:00. I unfortunately got seasick on the way up and the whole trip was rather miserable. On a lighter note we had really nice weather the entire way up. Just alot of chop. 

Jaime >^.^<

So far so good

So far so good. Two days ago we celebrated our 1 month anniversary of our long boating trip. Im having so much fun. Yesterday we visited Buccaneer Bay. We had trouble getting our anchor to hook but we had fun on the sand spit there. Might I add, that the water was WARM. The sun baked water was as warm as a bath tub. We were able to scrub off and swim around in the waves. It was like being in California. But windy, very windy. Today we decided it would be fun to go back and play around some more. Were going try and anchor right up next to the beach. This should be an in
an interesting experience. But first, of course, we have to finish our terrible stacks homework. Oh joy. I cant wait to visit all these new places my mom and dad are taking us to. This should ne a cool trip!

Jaime Conger