November ‘96
*Additional notes may appear in italics after my mom’s initial journal entries.
A ladybug means you should check the comments at the bottom of the page to see what Mom has chimed in on after reading these!
November 1, Friday
John painted the decks and helped Bill Gibson install his GPS.
November 2, Saturday
A little more of this and that.
November 3, Sunday
We headed out at 8 am on Prime Time with Bill and Trish and Jim and Kitty. Just a couple of miles out, the engines started pumping out black sooty smoke, so we headed back in. After changing fuel filters they figured out it was one of the injections.
Samie stayed at Kitty’s while John and I went to Bill and Linda’s (John and Maryann’s friends) house for a great dinner, along with Steve and Janet from Grey Max and Jerry and Leann on Tumbleweed.
Jeff got the injectors back in and we fired her up!
November 4, Monday
Kitty and I did laundry. 4 loads, 72 pesos.
Joaquin started the stripe on the boat – new color – sea mist, but he needs a sprayer.
November 5, Tuesday
Joaquin got the starboard side painted – out with the brown and in with sea mist. So now we need to figure out a color for the small blue stripes and the now clashing brown toe-rail.
We started school today and after that, Samie spent the day below watching movies. While I, on the other hand, spent as much time as possible in the warm sun. 82° and only a slight breeze – the first really nice day since we arrived.
November 6, Wednesday
Well, President Clinton was re-elected yesterday.
Joaquin started on the port side but had quit when the winds picked up around 9:30 am (early) and are holding at 20-25 knots.
I finished reading Maiden Voyage, about an 18-year-old girl who sets out from New York – on her own – in a 26-foot sloop to go around the world! Very inspiring book.
*Last February, (2023) I had watched True Spirit on Netflix and was compelled to get the book for the full true version. That led me to Lionheart, which lead me to Dove and finally, Maiden Voyage. These are all true stories about solo circumnavigators ages 18 and under! After finishing Maiden Voyage, I was compelled to ask mom for her journals so I could relive our cruising days in more detail. I decided to type them out for her for easy reading, then went a few giant steps further and created this website so we could all experience the Wandrin’ Star together. How cool is it that the last book to inspire what would become this whole web page dedicated to our travels is one of the books that Mom read and I think the only book she happened to mention?! I am smitten with the synchronicities this project has enveloped me in. 🥰 I also obtained but have yet to read Unsinkable, I’ve Been Around, Indigo Blue and One Girl, One Dream, which are based on the same theme. It’s really amazing what any human can do when they want something bad enough - and all the more impressive to take on these incredible feats at such young ages! Their stories are incredibly inspiring. 🐞
*Here’s one of two sections of sailing books in my beloved library. Fun fact: In The Act of Flight is based on a family of 3 with an 8-year-old daughter on a 42-foot sailboat cruising the Mexican coastline and Sea of Cortez about 14 years before we did. The story is from the daughter’s perspective, so of course I HAD to get the book, based on all our similarities - it’s so interesting to read about all the same places and to compare and contrast with my own experiences.
Novemeber 7, Thursday
Joaquin arrived early and got the painting done before the wind started blowing 25-30 again.
We are already doubling up on school – 2 lessons a day.
It was so windy all day again and when the sun starts sinking the wind turns cold coming off the ocean. Otherwise, the daytime temps are around 82°.
The 3 of us (no one else around to join us) went into town to Piccolo’s for a wonderful pasta dinner.
November 8, Friday
Happy B-day Aunt Janice.
We went with Jim and Kitty into Guaymas to take care of the boat bonding (20 years) fishing licenses, paint for the accent color and keys – all total 5.5 hours! Town really wears ya out.
Mom called, worried, I should have called sooner.
November 9, Saturday
The wind blew most of the night, this morning dawned calm and 50°. A little on the cool side, but better than below 0° and snowing!
John and I got busy and finished all the sanding, then he started painting, all the old brown wood is going to be white. He finished half today. I’d help – but I’m a messy klutz with a paint brush in hand.
The warm 88° sun was wonderful today and the nasty ‘ole wind never blew. The soft pink sunset touched the low, wispy clouds on all sides – oh what a beautiful place to be!
*It was always such a treat to be back in these beautiful places!
November 10, Sunday
John finished the white painting today except under the hard dinghy (the garage) and the gallows.
I got my “work” clothes on, my book, and stayed in the once again warm sun.
Samie, Paula and Kitty took the kayaks out, later, John and I went for a ride in the dink out there in the harbor entrance. It felt great to be speeding and bouncing along in the “sports car.”
John and Maryann called to say hi.
The fish were jumping in the calm marina water, dozens at a time.
The gallows typically consist of a piece of teak wood which crosses the width of the cockpit and is carved in such a way as to cradle the main boom at various angles and keep it from flailing all over the place when the boat is rocking. You can see ours in this second picture, behind my silly momma on our first year out.
I loved kayaking with Paula! I don’t remember if I already mentioned it last season - but she and I would always collect any trash we found in the water while we were out. She made me an award once for the most trash collected! 🙃 Gotta look out for nature!
November 11, Monday
We masked off the windows and painted on the lavender color. So far we’re not real sure – but will wait to see once all the blue is gone and lavender in its place?
We met Bill and Trish at Piccolo’s for dinner, then went to Tequila’s; the Mariachis playing for us were wonderful! They played the Macarena, so Sam and I danced.
*Ahhh, yes - the year of the Macarena! I looked up the lyrics to find the chorus in english. You can find them here, if you’re curious too! lol
Novemeber 12, Tuesday
Joaquin has finished taping off all the trim work and letters to be painted in lavender. He is so good at cutting around the letters. She looks prettier now that the blue is gone, so this year we will spend getting used to the new colors.
Today around 5 p.m. it appeared that Summer Wind is sinking.
Following is the poem I wrote for the occasion:
Low Tide
Summer Wind is about to sink,
Or so we think.
Her colors of tan and brown,
Appear to be going down.
We empty the locker of all her chain,
Only an inch, maybe two, did we gain.
The bilge is bone-dry,
What next, should we try?
Now what do you suppose,
Once again, down goes her nose.
To our wonder and surprise,
A smile lights John’s eyes,
Jim and Kitty won’t hear a splash or thud,
Summer Wind is sitting in the mud!
(Marina Real, San Carlos, Mexico)
Now we can laugh.
And so goes this episode of a very exciting evening.
*It would have looked like Summer Wind was sinking because the mud would have held it in place while the tide rose - which means the waterline would keep rising on the boat, rather than the boat rising with the tide. Definitely not funny until we realized what was happening! Most marina’s aren’t very deep, especially the closer in you are. We were typically about halfway up the dock and more shallow than other areas. I love Mom’s poem - she is so cute! She wrote a lot of great stories and poems while we were on the boat. I’ll make sure to add them in along the way.
The lavender we chose that year would ultimately be too faint and hard to read at a distance, so we later chose a darker purple for the trim and repainted the name in white. As far as I know, she’s still sporting those beautiful colors up in Vancouver, where she lives now. Below are some of the last photos we received from the owners who bought her from us. Fast forward a couple of seasons and you’ll see when I painted the dolphins on her keel! The couple who bought her from us have since sold her and we are not in touch with the new owners - but I hope to be one day ‘cause I still carry a dream in my pocket to buy her back! I think that would really be the coolest thing, ever! 😍
November 13, Wednesday
Samie and I have completed 14 lessons of school in just 7 days.
The painting tarp that we used in Lakeside - we made it into a shade trap for the boat. Worked great.
The Wandrin’ Star sure looks pretty. The new white toe rail and hand rails sure do make a smooth difference.
*haha, pretty sure Mom meant ‘tarp’, for ‘shade tarp’ - but ‘shade trap’ actually works great, if you think about it! 😂 Gotta trap that shade any way you can!
November 14, Thursday
I went out with the girls kayaking today – out beyond the entrance. Nice, lazy day, the wind blew from the south at 5k. It went back and forth between cool and almost warm. At 2 pm John and I went into Guaymas with Jim – Samie and Kitty stayed here. We picked up Jim’s dinghy wheels he had made - $400 U.S. We picked up our windvane we had repaired - $50 U.S. We looked for a fabric store and the possibility of having our cushions and Samie’s bed redone. We found nothing – so decided to wait – find the fabric in the States, then I can match it for curtains – geez, never ending.
November 15, Friday
John waxed the boat. A little of this and that. We stopped at Bill and Trish’s on our way to Tequila’s for dinner. Her son Jason and his friend Mike are visiting – they all joined us for dinner. Real nice evening.
*See Dad hard at work below, and Jim being silly while celebrating some great catch for the day! I miss that guy! ❤
November 16, Saturday
Kitty and I went in and did laundry. The rest of the day was a lazy one spent under clouds and a cool breeze. Heard it’s snowing up on the mountain.
The boat is all put together; Manuel cleaned the bottom. So if tomorrow is nice, we’ll take Bill, Trish and the boys out for a sail.
November 17, Sunday
The morning was calm, so Bill, Trish and the boys came over at 9 am – 9:30 we are out of the marina and underway! All the sails are up, we have 10k. The wind was perfect, so we shut down the engine for about 15 minutes and we’re gliding along at 3k when Mike, Jason’s friend, gets sea sick. Poor thing. So we turned her around and headed back – he puked all the way back in. We never had a bite on the line, but we saw a pod of dolphins come along side. Beautiful sight – spectacular day. It felt so, so good to be out on open waters!
We were back in the marina around noon – 3.5 hours.
We stopped by the Gibson’s tonight, then got chicken, beans and tortillas take out – yummy.
*I’m so glad none of us ever really got sea sick! I would get queasy sometimes, but I would just stick my head out into the fresh air and watch the horizon to make it better. Mom got sea sick once, but she also had a migraine while underway, and those already tend to make a person want to throw up. I can’t imagine having a penchant for sailing but also getting bad motion sickness!
November 18, Monday
John’s doing all the little odd jobs that need to be done.
Tonight, after delicious BBQ pork ribs, we took our video of last season over to Bill and Trish’s to show them some of what cruising is about.
Trish is ready to take to the water and do it – Bill is hesitant.
We got a few more “happenings” in the on-going episodes of the “Gibson Calamities.” Bill’s jeep broke when he was working on it, one of their Ski-Dos sprung a leak and sunk, he has sat down in 2 different chairs, they both broke, the problems on Prime Time keep escalating, and now something is wrong with Prime Time Chico! (Their dinghy). Oh, he also broke the electric window button on a friend’s truck.
Goon and Danielle both called tonight.
*Ooof! Rough run of luck for the Gibsons! It makes sense that he was hesitant to go cruising with us! But they always managed to be in good spirits as far as I could tell.
November 19, Tuesday
The weather report said it was snowing in Seattle today – poor Janice must be freezing.
John finally fixed the fresh water leak we have had since we bought the boat. We had tried to fix it in Ensenada, but it was in an unreachable spot. Well, it has gotten so bad that it dripped enough to fill the bilge every day. Not sure why we didn’t think of it before - he bypassed it and ran a new flex hose. Voila – no more drip!
Don and Sherry on Luna finally made it in today. They brought a new motor, so they might actually go out this year.
We had the zippers replaced on 4 of the cockpit canvases, also the side panel isinglass.
Finished my third book since being here 3 weeks.
*Our cockpit canvases helped keep us fully enclosed, warm and dry inside the cockpit - a true luxury out at sea! They had isinglass window panes so we still had a clear view of our surroundings.
Below, I am donning the Hawaiian lei Janice sent me from Hawaii! I still have it! (Of course I do! Here’s proof!) 🐞
November 20, Wednesday
Samie went into San Carlos with Jim and Kitty to a Revolution Day celebration. There was supposed to be dancing that they wanted to see – but it never happened.
John polished all the turn buckles. Once it gets down to polishing the brass – it’s time to get moving.
I put lemon oil on all the interior wood.
Bill and Trish stopped by so we all had BBQ shrimp and visited. Now Bill is even talking about 6 months next year and traveling down the coast with us on their boat.
November 21, Thursday
Samie is studying hard for her test tomorrow.
We went into Ley’s with Jim and Kitty. We spent $1,115 pesos ($150 U.S.). The 40 beers were 100 pesos ($17 U.S.), 12 pork chops, 6 steaks, 2 kilos of bacon, 3 kilos of burger, 2 bags of ice, 1 loaf of bread, $348 pesos ($45 U.S.). I don’t even want to think what it all would have cost in the U.S.
We stopped by Bill and Trisha’s for a while this evening – it sure has been nice having them here while we’re here.
*Fun fact that I actually just learned this past year - Mom and Trisha went to school together. They weren’t in the same circle, but knew each other. I had always thought they met because Dad and Bill knew each other.
November 22, Friday
John and Jim checked us all out through the San Carlos Marina.
Samie passed her first test with flying colors – an A!
Bill’s turbo for the boat got here today. Cecil, Joann, her parents and another couple brought it down from Pinetop. We all went to the palapa at the Best Western, followed by Tequila’s – great time. Samie stayed with Kitty.
Earlier tonight, still daylight, the nearly full moon was coming up just to the side of Goat Tit mountain. Beautiful. Samie said how Peggy would love it and then added that she’s sure she was also seeing the very same moon tonight.
*Jim and Kitty were so sweet to spend so much time with me! I remember we had some really great times and lots of laughs. We lost touch with them over the years, and I often wonder about them and how they’re doing. I’m not sure what was the last we heard of them.
At the time it was popular to imagine someone you loved who was far away was looking up at the moon when you were. It was comforting that you could both be looking at one same thing while being separated by so much space and somehow that made the distance more bearable.
This is a photo from another night, but this was our view of good ‘ole Goat Tit (😅) in Marina Real, towering above the condos where the pool was that we would use. I used to wander all over those condo stairwells, walkways and halls, chasing boredom away. I think I might have even gone up to the roof, the way I’m remembering those satellite discs.
Oh wow, this photo just brought back memories of the coyotes you could hear howling at night - it was beautiful and haunting at the same time, the way their howls cut sharply through the crisp, quiet, night air. I’d listen to them while reading myself to sleep - my huge hatch above me would catch their calls and slide them down to me and my imagination would go wild. They sounded so close and on the prowl, like they might climb on board and stare down at me from the hatch above, drooling and ready for a snack! Everything else was so quiet - it felt like the only beings awake at that hour were me and the coyotes. 🐺
November 23, Saturday
Happy B-day Debby Maul.
A low, thick fog sat on top of the mountain early this morning.
John dropped Kitty, Samie and I off at the laundromat while he ran into Guaymas to get propane.
By the time we got back to the marina (2.5 hours later) the wind was blowing 25 knots and already kicked up quite a chop out in the bay. It continued to blow like this all day. Miserable, especially after such nice, warm, calm days.
Most everyone stays inside on such terrible days and Samie and I are both bored stiff.
Time to get moving on – as soon as the wind stops whippen it up out there!
November 24, Sunday
Samie and I decided to enjoy the morning’s warm sunshine and do school when the wind kicks up. Well, we never did get it done, it was nice until 3:30 – oh well.
John installed a new head on Prime Time and I visted with Trisha.
Samie stayed with Kitty again while John and I had dinner on Tumbleweed.
November 25, Monday
Hal from Angela came into San Carlos last night. He came down to paint the bottom and sail down to Mazatlan. But for now, he is alone, the rest of the family may come in March.
Jeff got the new turbo in Bill’s boat, but there is still a problem.
The wind has kicked up again today – it’s getting old.
Ourselves, Jim, Kitty, Hal and Alaskan Poor Boy’s Mike all went to Tequila’s for dinner.
November 26, Tuesday
The north wind was supposed to really blow today, so we didn’t leave. Well, guess what? No big blow, only 8 knots out of the SSW.
Kitty has borrowed the sewing machine to put together a dinghy cover. Doing a good job, too!
Our power went out today around noon. John worked on the problem until 4 pm. He changed out a corroded outlet where the shore power plugs into the boat. He also changed out the switch on the panel for going between ship and shore power. That made no difference and he put the old one back in. Ends up I think being a short in the dock cord and/or the dock box. Once we plugged into another box – all is ok.
Frustration makes for a long day.
Goon called, her and Shine plan to spend Thanksgiving with Chelle and Danielle.
*I’m perpetually in awe of how capable Dad was/is at fixing things and finding solutions. As an engineer, that totally makes sense, of course - but man did that help save us a lot of time and money over the years! Both on the boat and in the houses we would rent - he would fix up the houses we rented in exchange for cheaper rent. Mom and Dad have both always left a place in better shape than they found it, which taught me a lot about respecting and taking care of things I own/borrow/rent, etc. 🐞
November 27, Wednesday
Jeff finished working on Bill’s boat yesterday. Bill, Trish and John took it out for a little bit – ran great. Now Bill is dancing a happy little jig!
Kitty borrowed my sewing machine to make their dinghy cover and she’s done a great job of putting one together out of scraps.
Samie washed Jim’s van today, using the long-handled deck brush. She also used the shammy and newspaper on the windows. They tried to pay her more, but she only took 20 pesos – she enjoyed doing it.
*It’s so satisfying to help the people you love, and I sure loved Jim and Kitty. 🥰
November 28, Thursday
Happy Thanksgiving
Shine called late last night to say they weren’t going down to Danielle’s after all.
We skipped school – it’s a holiday, after all!
John ran Hal into Leys this a.m.
We’re all stocked up and ready to go, but now the north wind is kicken it up. So we’ll see.
Jim and Kitty came over with potato salad, we BBQed ribs and I had made beans. Not your traditional turkey, but great none the less.
Danielle called as did Goon and Shine.
On the southbound net, Running Free came up. They are on the east side of Mexico in British Honduras. What a surprise! Too much noise to talk much, but great to hear their voice.
*I hardly remember any traditional Thanksgiving dinners, which means the traditional turkey spread has always seemed odd to me, funny enough. In fact, Mom confirmed my memories of steak and shrimp being the usual go-to for Thanksgiving and Christmas. Yum! 🐞
November 29, Friday
The departure was postponed again, another windy day. So we fiddle-farted around, all on pins and needles, anxious to be underway.
*Another lesson of patience in the cruising world! You don’t get to simply choose a date and time to leave - you have to respect the weather, lest you find yourself in a real pickle of a situation out at sea! Sometimes you’re ready for weeks before you can leave - and other times you realize you have to cut your time short so you can catch a weather window while it’s good! The weather can be your greatest ally or your gnarliest foe - you really have to respect the conditions of each passage.
November 30, Saturday
Weather reports look like it may be good enough to go – or so John and Jim thought. Kitty and I didn’t agree – but at 1:30 pm - out we went. It was blowen 10 knots out of the North with gusts to 18 when we left the marina. About an hour out, we had 20 out of the west. We decided to continue on in the swelly and somewhat lumpy seas. Right at 5 pm, as the sun was setting, we hear a grinding noise and feel a vibration. John finds that the cutlass bearing is breaking away and we are trickling some water. Not good. So at 5:30 pm, we come about and head back to San Carlos. Now, we have 25 to 30 knots on our nose as we plow through very rough seas – here we go again. We could only run the engine at 1200 rpms, which gave us little or no forward motion into the wind and rough seas. Too bad it was dark, or I could have gotten some great video. Summer Wind was wonderful, they also turned back to make sure we got back ok. It’s pretty scary when you’re taking on water, even if it’s only a trickle.
Sherry on Luna and Randy on Abientot knew of our situation and radioed out every hour or two to check on us. They were also on the dock to take our lines when we made it in at 3:30 am. So the 26 miles out took 3.5 hours and the returning 26 miles took 10 hours!
By 4 am John was asleep; Samie, who had been asleep since 10 pm was awake and hungry. She was back in bed at 4:30 and me too.
The water-maker motor mounts broke loose and the membrane fell off on one side during all the bouncing around.
Oh yeah, the last 2 hours in the wind dropped off to 20k – big difference and was only blowing 10k in the marina.
*The cutlass bearing is a fluted rubber tube that holds your propeller shaft in place, and keeps it spinning smoothly. I remember the grinding and having to stop and figure out what was going on - such a terrifying realization, especially when making a longer crossing! It would have been one thing with favorable winds to help us along, but to have to grind along, beating against the wind and seas knowing what was happening and that we were taking on water in any capacity - yikes! And here we have another shining example of the comradery of cruising buddies - we stick together and ensure safe arrival! Jim and Kitty were so great to come back with us for the 10-hour return trip, and it’s so amazing to have people up at all hours of the night, keeping track of updates and being ready and willing to come help you dock safely. I was so blessed to be surrounded by such constant, shining examples of humanity and community! I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: I am forever grateful!! 🥰🐞
Mom pointed out that Jim and Kitty came back with us, beating into all that nonsense despite having no canvas or enclosure to protect them from the elements like we did. To me that makes it all the more amazing that they stuck it out with us, wow! They’re amazing!
