Posting here, posting there, posting everywhere….but here!

Lo siento amigos! We’ve not kept this blog up to date and the last post was quite a dramatic one. So I guess it is time to face the music and get an update posted! Spoiler alert, the Chubasco didn’t break our will to keep cruising and we are still at it! Since the last post we have: planned a wedding, got married, acquired a Starlink, rode out a hurricane, Perspective got a new set of clothes, and we’ve hosted plenty of friends/family on board. Whew there is a lot to unpack and I’ll try to keep it brief.

We were married in Brookings, Oregon on June 25th 2022 in an intimate ceremony surrounded by immediate family. Planning from Mexico held its share of challenges but thanks to family pitching in, everything went off without a hitch. Capella by the Sea was our venue of choice as it included seating and gave us an option in case the weather went awry. Not to mention it sits in a beautiful forest setting with views of the Chetco River and Pacific Ocean. You can view more photos of our special day here… https://sarahbowlin.smugmug.com/Harley-Wedding-Gallery

People asked us where we would go for our honeymoon and guess what? We went back to the boat to cruise the sea for our honeymoon. It’s a magical place after all! Following protocol for hurricane season we sailed Perspective into the northern sea. It was a special summer as we cruised with some of our favorite cruisers! It felt like a treat to be around boats again after being so isolated last summer. Brad was up to his usual antics of spearfishing and I shot plenty with the cameras. It feels like no summer is complete without some sort of weather drama. This season we were faced with Hurricane Kay. Thanks to Starlink, we were able to keep an eye on multiple weather sources and make real time decisions about where to ride it out. As it turned out, we were in like minded company and decided to hunker down in the La Mona anchorage. Hurricane Kay was a polite weather event making its appearance in the daylight hours. Top wind speed for us was 55kts with plenty of rain to go with it. Aside from my calm being damaged, we had some damage to our already fragile canvas bimini. Brad and I had no choice but to go out during the storm to hold and stitch it together before it completely fell apart. Aside from that hiccup, everything else was completely fine! The storm was a great opportunity to test our Starlink and we are happy to report that it continued to work during the storm. I was grateful because we could communicate to our friends in the anchorage. Plenty of memes and videos were sent back and forth as the day went on.

Brad’s nifty programming allowed us to record storm stats and keep an eye on our friends positions.

And no storm is complete without a subsequent survivor party! Lucky for me, it ended up being on my birthday!

Ok next up…Perspective got some new clothes! Remember how I mentioned that we had to repair our canvas during the storm? We were able to get ourselves an appointment with a local canvas expert in La Paz to replace it. The only bummer was that we had to get to La Paz by October 16th which put us on a schedule. Even more tragic was the fact that we would be missing the best time of the year to cruise the Sea of Cortez! Argh! Brad coordinated with both the welder and canvas guy to come up with a new and improved design for the dodger and bimini. The bimini is now a couple inches taller allowing Brad to comfortably stand at the helm without having to hunch over. An additional 340 watts of solar have been added to the top of the bimini. And perhaps the biggest game changer of all is having a dodger with a zip out panel! This means we can sit in the cockpit with a breeze flowing through. It feels like we added an additional room to our house because the space was stifling and unusable before the upgrade. We are so thrilled!

This winter we have been blessed with lots of visitors! Perspective is a great platform for visitors as she has two cabins and two bathrooms on opposite ends of the ship. This allows for plenty of separation and privacy with a common area between to hang out. The visitors started with Bob and Karen in La Paz. We were able to spend quality time and escape the marina mid canvas project. We snuck out to a nearby anchorage, Caleta Lobos for a few days. We occupied our time together with paddle board lessons, snorkeling at the sea lion colony and plenty of games and relaxation.

Next up we hosted Ashley and Jason. We cruised with Ashley in 2020 and while we were trapped in Penasco, she was our apartment neighbor. She and Jason hopped on board in La Paz and crossed the Sea with us to Isla Isabel and ultimately ended their cruise in La Cruz. They were on board a total of 11 days and time flew! We had our best passage yet to Isla Isabel and once we got there we spent our time hiking, snorkeling, whale watching and diving. We spent Christmas Eve at sea and Christmas day in our favorite place along with great company, Silver Wings!

Next up we hosted Chris and Beth! We cruised the Barra and Tenacatita area together. What makes it super fun is that Chris told us about Barra before we took off in 2017. He had many fond memories of cruising this area on his own boat and now he could share this special place with Beth! We had a boisterous sail together to Tenacatita and acquainted ourselves with the local restaurants and palapas. We stretched our legs at the beach while Sydney dug for crabs as we went. We took the plunge at the aquarium anchorage and saw plenty of fish and coral Before we knew it, we had to return to Barra so Chris and Beth could hop a bus and head back to Puerto Vallarta for their flight. Their adventurous spirits helped us see and experience a new side of this place!

Last but not least, we hosted Jim and Jill! They flew in from Lawrence Kansas to Manzanillo Mexico. They were on board for a week and this was all new territory for them. We spent a couple of nights in Barra and then moved over to Tenacatita to explore the estuary and beaches together. We kept ourselves busy by exploring Melaque, La Manzanilla and Barra. It was fun to watch Jim reacquaint himself with cruisers that he met back in 2017-18. Speaking of fun, Jim whipped up some crepes for the crew! It’s tradition and we weren’t going to let him get away with depriving us. The days flew by and the nights were spent playing Mexican Train. It was an action packed week and now our boat is oddly quiet and lonely after their departure.

So what is next for this crew? We plan to turn our bow south and head to Carrizal, Santiago and possibly Zihuatanejo! Time will tell and for now we are going to revel in not having any specific schedules or plans. It’s been a wonderful season with lasting memories made along the way. We are grateful for it all! Cheers!