Thoughts on Huatulco as We Prepare to Leave

Marina Chahue
Huatulco, Mexico

Huatulco Highlights

As we prepare to leave, I thought I’d better jot down our impressions of this great little spot, for those that are following our journey and hope to call in here one day.

Marina Chahue? Meh. Serviceable. That’s about the size of it. The showers and bathroom, in the words of a couple of ladies just finishing up a circumnavigation, are the third worst in the world.

The dust blows everywhere, 9 months a year. The surge at the dock eats lines. No pool. No restaurant. No shop. No amenities. Just a place to tie up, unmetered electricity and good potable water, and friendly security guards and staff who speak little to no English. [Read more…]

…And We’re Back, After a Year of Procrastination

After a year of procrastination, we’ve finally upgraded our website platform from Front Page 2003 to Word Press! Those of you who’ve been waiting for new content have probably already given up on us — but we’ll try to be better at staying current, honest.

All of our original cruise logs are still on the site in their original format, and can be reached by follwing this link:  Emma Jo Cruise Logs 2007-2010.

We’ll try to be better at updating the site, and we’re going to structure it so that the latest blog posts will appear on this page and titles and tags will show up in the sidebar over there on the left.

We’re both well and healthy, and sitting at Marina Chahue in Huatulco, Mexico.  We’ve been here over a year, and will probably head north to Puerto Vallarta or Mazatlan in early 2012.

Ole’s Off Again, Leaving Me to My Own Devices

Marina Chahue
Huatulco, Mexico

A bit of a sad morning — I had to say goodbye to Ole as he’s off to work again.  This time might be a bit longer separation, as he’s been asked to take on a special project in the Miami office until September.  I know I’ll be fine here on my own:  the town is charming and has lots to offer, the weather is great, and the security can’t be better.  I certainly have projects to keep me busy, from varnishing the interior of the pilothouse to recovering the wall in the master head and stateroom, as well as writing projects I want to take on as an income supplement. [Read more…]

Getting to Know Huatulco — And Battling Bureaucracy

Marina Chahue, Huatulco
Mexico

It’s been an interesting week getting to know the marina, the neighbors, the town of La Crucecita, and the reasons for Mexico’s reputation as the “land of mañana,”

Marina Chahue is fairly new and modern, with limited cruiser amenities, lots of surge, and a staff who, though friendly, have limited facility with English. Patricia in the office has been most helpful, understanding my poor Spanish and responding with her equivalent English. I think we’ll get along fine. Our challenge is in securing Emma Jo in the slip, fendering her against the almost constant surge, and making sure we have enough lines out. Many of the boats here seem to stretch their lines across adjacent slips to dampen the movement, and when our delightful neighbors have gone, we’ll do the same. We’re about a mile or so from town, so weather permitting we can walk to grocery stores, restaurants, and beaches. [Read more…]

Hola, Mexico!

Marina Chahue,
Huatulco, Mexico

Well, we made it, voyaging 522 miles over 76 hours across the dreaded and respected Gulf of Tehuantepec. It was the longest passage Ole and I have made together, requiring three overnight runs and constant monitoring of weather, and I must say, we picked a superb window.

Crossing Tehuantepec with Hitchhikers

We left Barillas Marina at 6:50 in the morning, and were guided out to the ocean waypoint by their panguero. The sea state was fairly calm, consisting of loooonnnnnggg 12-15 second Pacific swells of 4-6 feet, with the wind picking up each afternoon, peaking just before sunset, and subsiding throughout the night. We never had wind over 15 knots (actual), and it was mostly from the west or southwest. Occasionally the wind and swells competed with the current, resulting in a chop that reached 3 or 4 feet on top of the swells, but none of it was overly unpleasant – we just spent a few uncomfortable hours bucking like a bronco from time to time.

We had three scheduled “bailout” ports along the way in case the weather turned, and as we approached Puerto Quetzal in Guatemala, Puerto Madero and Salina Cruz in Mexico, conditions looked great to just keep going. The challenge was to make sure we each got enough rest – sleeping 6 or 8 hours through the night is impossible on this kind of passage – so we just took turns standing watch, spelling each other with naps as needed.

Gertrude and Heathcliff, the Hitchhiking Boobies

We were joined by a couple of hitchhikers who jumped aboard somewhere around Puerto Madero and stayed with us for two days – we christened them Gertrude and Heathcliff…and in spite of arm-waving, horn blasts, and fierce yelling, they sat and shat all over the fly bridge, making themselves quite at home. I had to remind myself of “The Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner,” though, and not get too tough with them lest we anger the Tehuantepec weather gods.

Conditions were so favorable, we arrived at Marina Chahue in Huatulco and were alongside at 12:45 (our time) in the afternoon, in good enough shape to meet the neighbors, have a beer or two, and stay up until 10 pm. It’s now just past noon on Monday, April 19, and we’re still waiting for the officials to clear us in. They were going to come yesterday (but it was Sunday) at 3:00 pm, they were going to start coming at 11:00 this morning, but we haven’t seen a soul yet. Aah, Mexico!