Category Archives: Friends and loved ones

A vommer, a barracuda, y la bienvenida a Nicaragua

April 2015 I uncleated our bowline and heaved it aboard, unthreading it from Puerto Barillas’ mooring, to which The Red Thread had been tethered for 17 days. I looked aft over our dirty boat. Weeks without attention in the midst of the estuary, and she was grubby with a film of dirt speckles along her […]
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A troop of monkeys and a duo of Brits

April 2015 “Wake up! Hurry! We have to get moving if we’re going to get to see the monkeys before we have to head to Usulután to meet Tim and Emma!” It was a little after 7 am, and the day was calling. We’d barely rolled out of our v-berth, and we were already breaking […]
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Beaches of Bahia Culebra: Playa Iguanita, a little-known gem

March 2015 After six days in Playa Panama, we weighed anchor and motored a few miles north to Playa Iguanita, the northeastern most anchorage in Bahia Culebra. Devoid of the panga-tethering mooring balls and tourist boats that characterize the other bays, the unspoiled space of water and blonde beach were welcome sights. We’d been enjoying […]
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GUESTBOOK: Musings from the boat-el by Lindsay

February 2015 When our gaggle of friends visited Costa Rica, Lindsay opted for a berth at our boat-el, rather than the all-inclusive hotel. And we were so glad she did. Lindsay is the type of person everyone yearns to call their friend. She is empathic, encouraging, and fun-loving. She finds joy in simple moments and […]
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Rendezvousing with friends in Costa Rica

“There are big ships and small ships. But the best ship of all is friendship.” ~Author Unknown February 2015 We had weathered high winds and a long night of storms and spent the morning close-hauled in 30+ knots as we bashed across the Golfo Papagayo. We sailed as tightly to the wind as Red Thread […]
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Voyage stats: Our first FOUR months

One hundred twenty-four days ago, we waved goodbye to our family and friends in Seattle and sailed into a September sunset beneath the Olympic Mountains. In 124 days (September 30 – January 31), we traveled from Seattle, Washington, USA to Manzanillo, Colima, Mexico. I figured this would be a perfect time to crunch some numbers […]
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GUESTBOOK: Reflections from Gail

December 2014/January 2015 Neil’s mom, Gail, joined us for 10 wonderful days between Christmas and early days of the new year. She sailed 200 miles with us down the coast of Mexico between Mazatlán and Banderas Bay. She sailed the longest distance of anyone yet, and she was our first guest to sail an overnight […]
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Life in La Cruz de Huanacaxtle

January 2015 Loving La Cruz La Cruz has a large and well-established cruising community. The area is lush and beautiful, complete with many merits that sailors find enticing: beautiful scenery and consistent afternoon winds for sailing, islands nearby for snorkeling and diving, good food, and a kind local community. It also boasts a remarkable music […]
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Peña sunsets and saying g’bye

January 2015 It took four tries for Neil and I to set our anchor and to feel comfortable with our holding in the lee of Isla la Peña. After our first unsuccessful attempt, we hauled up the anchor and with it came a large, faded bed comforter. Initially, I was convinced we’d snagged a gargantuan […]
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Feliz año nuevo de Chacala

December 2014 We hauled up our anchor in Isla Isabela while stars still hung in the sky. As is our routine, we put coffee on and let the sounds of the sea fill our ears with music. As the oranges of dawn rolled above the horizon, a pod of dolphins appeared in our bow wake. […]
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Enchanting Isabela + Ep. 3 VIDEO

December 2014 Gail was the first person ever to join us on a night passage. Adventurous and eager to experience one of the quintessential aspects of our cruising adventure, she was excited to get off the dock and to depart Mazatlán. Two days after Christmas, we exited Estero Sábalo in the late afternoon and raised […]
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A merry Christmas in Mazatlán

December 2014 Neil’s mom, Gail, arrived on Christmas Eve. She was greeted by a typical December day in Mexico: warm breezes, blue skies, and sunshine. In the 10 days that she would spend with us, we would enjoy some of our loveliest cruising experiences to date. Our first few days were spent in Mazatlán. Anyone […]
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Taking our wabo to Cabo

December 2014 The anticipation of a long passage tends to be filled with a decent amount of preparation (e.g., weather and route planning, provisioning), a dollop of nerves (e.g., anticipation of sleep deprivation and unforeseen challenges), and a dash of excitement (e.g., will we catch a fish or will there be whales?). For us, the […]
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On the hook in Bahia de Tortugas

December 2014 The first light of dawn The only thing I like about arriving in a new harbor after dark is the exhilaration I feel waking to new vistas. Light crept through our portholes at just after 6:30 am the morning of the 10th, beckoning me to crawl swiftly from our v-berth, much in the […]
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The Umbrella Dumpers: A convoy of southbound boats from the PNW

December 2014 We are in the center of the fleet as the sun melts into the horizon. The sails of our good friends on s/v Namaste look like wings under a pink sky with an early-rising moon. Ahead of us are s/v Sea Rover II and s/v Kialoa, two Canadian couples whom we met just […]
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