Journal Entry – Monday February 28 – Puddle Jump Meeting I

Author: Scott and Pam

With excitement we headed into shore today to attend our first Puddle Jumpers meeting which was held at Rich’s bar. We showed up not knowing what or who to expect, it was our first organized cruisers meeting. We found out 13 other boats are in the process of preparing to leave for the South Pacific from Zihautaanejo and we were also thrilled to find out that there are two other 32 foot boats. We have met few boats smaller than 40 feet that are making the crossing, so we are very excited that there will be boats that we can keep a pace with. The group had already had one meeting so the preparation wheels are well under way. The goals of the group are to update and reprint a book published by the puddle jump group last year about cruising to and around the South Pacific, we are looking forward to this first hand information. There is also a plan afoot to compile the list of paper charts respectively owned by each boat and have copies made at a local architecture firm. We are very excited to take advantage of this opportunity. It looks like the group will end up with a full set of charts for the South Pacific for a very affordable price. We found out the earliest boats are planning to leave March 14th and at least one boat will leave as late as the beginning of April. Gary on Pegasus has made the trip before and had a wealth of tips to share, such as an easy to make cockroach killing recipe that can also be used in an ear fungus solution for treating swimmer’s ear. The next meeting is scheduled for next Monday and will focus on comparing electronic information and provisioning. We were so uncertain about where we would jump from once our plans changed and we were no longer going to Panama. Being part of the Zihuatanejo group feels like the right place to be, the energy of the group is wonderful and infectious.