Author: Scott
The day has finally come; today we left to cross an ocean. Today we are going to step out and do what so many would think is impossible and what no one who is visually impaired as we are has done yet.
There have been so many memories that have led up to this day, years of planning, departure dates set and then revoked because as we learned more about sailing we knew we had more to do before making the commitment of crossing an ocean. There are memories of sailing class with Arnstein our instructor, memories of buying boat supplies, of hanging out at Pier 39 working on the boat and afterward eating with the tourists in the best city in the world. There was quitting our jobs and safe income streams to spend our savings on a goal and an adventure, and all this came down to today when we set out with our courage and skills, and thumbed our noses at our disabilities and just did it anyway. But a funny thing happened to us on our way to cross the ocean…
We woke up early; both too excited to sleep in despite the recent late nights of planning and preparation. We looked at our various preparations lists and completed the final chores and moved a few chores to the To Be Completed At Sea list (because you are never completely ready to leave). We called over to Chaletmer to see if they could give us a dinghy ride over to the Capitaina de Puerto and they came right over. I brought the Port Captain our paperwork from Immigration and he gave me the final stamp and the magic paper called a Zarpe that meant we were free to leave the country in good standing, in fact we needed to leave in the next two hours so no dawdling. We checked out of the marina and gave the office our goodbyes. Once back at the boat we sent a few final emails, loaded the rest or our water rations, gave Tournesol a final shower, and we were finally ready. Pat and Gene from Chaletmer helped us cast off our lines and we backed out of our slip, pointed the boat down the fairway and headed for open water!
Our first task before completely leaving solid land was to fill up our tanks with diesel at Marina Vallarta, about a two hour trip. We had also made plans with our friends Kenneth and Sylvia (from the Bay Area) to meet them at the dock for a final hug and so long (and maybe a beer). When we reached the fuel dock we parked the boat alongside a very short finger and almost made it look easy, a far better display of parking than the last time we fueled up in PV and added a few streaks of orange paint to our hull.
We gassed up and Kenneth and Sylvia soon met us. We settled down for a cold drink at the fuel dock café and chatted about the trip. Both Kenneth and Sylvia had thought we were spending the night and so they said we should stay a night in PV so we could have a final scrumptious dinner with them and relax after our labors of preparation. We told them we would love to but it would be a big hassle to get a slip and then find the slip in Marina Vallarta, and that it was a nice thought and thanks anyway. Just then the guy down the bar spoke up and changed our day of departure completely. “I have a slip I am not using just over there, it is number 15 and completely empty, because I have my boat hauled out on the hard” We couldn’t believe it, here we were completely mentally prepped to cross an ocean and a perfect stranger was making us a serendipitous offer for a final night on land. I looked at Pam and thought, sounds good but will she want to change everything for a last dinner out and maybe a shower. Kenneth and Sylvia jumped in and said we could change and shower at their hotel and we could all go out for a great dinner at Kaier Maxamillion’s restaurant. Then it occurred to me that cruising is all about ceasing the moment and going where the wind blows. Here is a completely unexpected opportunity, a chance to eat well, clean up, get good nights sleep, and leave fresh in the morning with the tide. I looked to Pam again decided to go for it. “We would love to use you slip” I said, and that was that, a few minutes later we were parked in the available slip and racing towards downtown in a taxi.
We did get to clean up, and even take baths. We rested up before dinner, and then ventured out into the city for a fabulous dinner. On our way to the restaurant we stopped for a sunset drink at Daiquiri Dick’s and serendipity struck again. We were greeted by the restaurant manager Noy who knew Kenneth and Sylvia, we learned that Kenneth and Sylvia had mentioned us the other night and that Noy had told her friend at Vallarta Lifestyles Magazine that they should consider doing a story about our trip. Well, I guess they had sent a reporter down to our boat to take pictures and interview us but they went to the wrong marina. Here we were in her restaurant and not on the open sea and before we knew it she had a photographer at our table snapping a few pictures while we feasted on complementary scallop ceviche, mussels in curry sauce and Pina Coladas.
Dinner ended up being as good as we had imagined and we even hit a Cuban club for a bit of dancing, but the band was done for the night. We took this as a sign that we needed to get back to the boat and get serious about the departure.
As excited as we were about departing today we received a strong reminder about the sailing life and spontaneity, besides we were in Mexico and in Mexico there is always manana (tomorrow).
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