Most of this text is from notes taken by Bill Eddy. At Manzanillo Bruce McDiarmid left Virago and Larry and Miriam Baskin joined the crew.
Monday 4/12 at anchor in Las Hadas
Up at 8:00am to bright sunrise and lots of container ships and tankers coming and going from the very large Manzanillo port. Coffee, toast and pastry for breakfast then on to boat projects including:
- Rigged up new Davis radar reflector
- Mounted fire extinguisher in cockpit
- Swept out cockpit
- Quality assured all inflatable PFD’s
- Paul dry fitted his custom made bed board torture devices
- Made attempt #2 on steering system noise. Soaped the rudder shaft
- Checked and adjusted sparkplugs on outboard. Marginal improvement.
- Rigged a Paul Goss experimental whisker pole restraint setup for long-term reaching.
Paul made another attempt to reach the Harbormaster. No luck. We seriously doubt that he works more than a few minutes a day. Such a deal. After projects we all showered and went to shore with 4 other couples/crew of anchor outs. Went to the beachside Delfino restaurant where many scenes from “10” were filmed. Had Margaritas and dinner. I had a nice stuffed chicken breast and rice with salad. Food was a step up from the Paradise Restaurant but expensive. $850 or $70 USD for the three of us. Back to the boat for conversation and a few calls home. Great fun.
Tuesday 4/13 at anchor in Las Hadas
Up at 8:00am for coffee and pastry. Then made ready for Larry and Miriam Baskin to join us later in the day for the leg to Acapulco. I cleaned out the forward suite and we set it up for them. I will move to the main salon with Jim or sleep in the cockpit for awhile. No biggie and will enjoy the evening breezes there. Did boat projects including Jim installing a new solar vent over the galley, interior cleaning and again working on the steering system noise with soap as recommended by Roger Frizzelle. Try #3.
Larry and Miriam arrived by a boat neighbor’s dinghy around 5:00pm. Good to see them and our crew is now 5. Once they settled we headed to shore for dinner at the Paradise but it was closed. Thus we ended up at the Delfino again. Nice food and views. Returned to the boat for conversation and sleep. Music from the Barceló Resort lasted from 10-2.
Wednesday 4/14 at anchor in Las Hadas
Up at 8:00am to nice cool breeze in high 70’s. After coffee we weighed anchor and took the boat to the fuel dock. This was a challenge as we had to med moor to the dock, a first for Virago. Paul, Jim and Larry were on Virago, and Miriam and I took the dinghy to the dock to clear away dinghies and lines so we could squeeze in for fuel and water. All went well, we topped off the tanks and returned the boat to our original place in the Bay.
After 1:00pm, we celebrated our med moor deal and went to shoreside restaurant Fridas for a late breakfast. After, we left Jim at the resort and all went to town for another tour. After our town and market tour (Miriam bought some vegies for salads later in trip) we stopped at the historic Colonial Inn with its incredible woodworking and had Margaritas.
Hotel Colonial, Manzanillo
Typical City Mercado
After, we taxied to Saryano Market for provisions. It was like a super Walmart. Got what we needed and returned to the boat, dinghy’d stuff to the boat. Larry and Miriam stayed on shore to enjoy the Las Hadas pool area. We rejoined at 7:30pm for dinner at Lo Poco Italian Restaurant in the marina. Pasta and meatballs for me and fish for the rest of the crew. Good food and service. Back to the boat for BS, listening to shoreside music and to the sack by 11:00pm.
Thursday 4/15 Departing Las Hadas today (Taxes Due)
Up at 7:30am to cool temps and high fog. Everybody broke out their sweatshirts but quickly changed back to our usual t-shirts and shorts. Had fresh blueberry muffins and coffee while Paul pre-prepared chicken and vegetable soup for later on at sea. We tried to raise the mystic harbormaster for checkout but no luck. We started initial prep for takeoff. Jim and I changed the sparkplugs for the outboard motor. Helped at high RPM’s but did little for idle. Paul and Larry went ashore to find the Harbormaster and had luck. They returned with signed exit documents, we stored the dinghy and motor and weighed anchor at 12:47pm for Ixtapa. Yah!!!
Maintenance Goes On and On and On…..
We beat out of the Bay in 10-12k breeze on main and jib. We passed the giant power plant at the south side of town belching toxic oil smoke all over town and the surrounding hills. Makes you glad the US has pollution laws. After we cleared the south point of the Bay, we headed SE, put up asym and moved along at 4.5-8k. Extremely pleasant with flat sea state and a lot of napping going on in the cockpit.
Manzanillo’s Most Famous Landmark
In the afternoon, the chart plotter, radar, AIS system failed over and over after we started the radar scan/ais function. Same shutoff problem we had during the passage from Cabo San Lucas to La Cruz. We experimented by running combinations of the instruments. Seemed like the AIS was what pushed the setup to shut off. Plotter/radar was a good combination and we were trouble free after we set t
Fresh Bread and Salad Are Big Hits at Sea
At 7:30pm we had Miriam’s great fresh salad with ingredients from the Central Mercado. It was loaded with goodies. That followed by Paul’s Chicken/vegi and Top Raman soup and bread. Perfect ending meal for the day. At 8:00pm the wind died off so we reluctantly dropped the asym and main and motored. We celebrated Miriam’s first overnight at sea with a beautiful sunset but no green flash. Had to motor through 8-12 shift.
Friday 4/16 at sea
After midnight we got a little breeze and sailed on main and jib till sunrise. At that point we tried the asym and various things but the wind would not support sailing being in the 3-4.5k range. We need 11k or better to make rig setup worth it. Started to motor at 7:30am for Ixtapa 70 miles away.
By 8:00am everybody was up. In daylight we discovered that during the night we acquired 12 baby squid on deck. One had even come through an open porthole and landed on one of the recliner chairs in the main salon. Mid morning, we encountered more giant sea turtles and dolphins. Larry used his pro camera to take some close ups of them. Around 11:00am we ran the main and jib and tried the asym again. Both combos worked on motor sail mode and we arrived in Ixtapa at 5:30pm.
Fresh Squid Not a Big Hit at Sea
Turtle Doing the Overhand Stroke
Nothing Says “Welcome” Quite Like a Narrow Rocky Harbor Entrance
In our berth at Marina Ixtapa we were met by a large Crocodile at the bow of the boat. We berthed backwards and scraped the bottom rocks on the way in a long channel. No damage. Went to dinner ASAP at a local restaurant row type place adjacent to many high-rise hotels, resorts and condos on the beach. Very pretty place. There was even a Sr. Frogs blaring music into the restaurant areas. We ate at a small non descript place. Lots of food for a low price. Had giant Mexican combo plates and 3 for 1 drinks. One drink was offered free, the second part of a 2 for 1 deal and the third free because the waiter made a mistake and brought us another we did not order. Language barrier here.
Virago Floats Peacefully Within Sight of this Crocodile Warning at Ixtapa Marina
We rode back to the marina on the bus for $5 pesos $.30 USD Best price yet for transport. Got good views of the resorts at night. Barceló and Tessoro were the biggest all inclusives in the area. A day pass there was $440 pesos or $35 USD. We passed on that. Once back at the marina we called our wives and turned in at 11:30pm. About 90 degrees and humid, but some ocean breeze trying to cool things off.
Saturday 4/17 Ixtapa Marina
Up at 7:00am to bright warm day. Walked into two story Marina Ixtapa office. Includes Harbormaster’s office, golf pro shop, restaurant, meeting rooms, large shower rooms and home to a beautiful but empty 18 hole golf course. Crocs in the water hazards per the greens keeper fellow. Hosed down boat, filled water tanks for Acapulco leg and went to a nice restaurant on the malecon for coffee.
We took the fun bus to Zijuantenejo for $15 pesos for a walking tour of town and the beach area. Saw cruise ship tender dock, surrounded with gift shops and stands. Lots of silver, art and clothes stores. The real people were further in town away from the beach. Bought hats and shirts and made a donation to the local animal shelter SPCA fellow whose mother came to Z-town in 1986 and founded the society. He had a donation jar on top of two cages out front of his crafts store with 2 Siamese kittens on top and a darling German Sheppard puppy under, all up for adoption. The very enthusiastic fellow said that he had more adoptable animals upstairs in his apartment for display tomorrow. I bought a T-shirt from the shelter for Nora and took some pictures to show that someone in Mexico is looking out for the animals.
We took a long walk around the bay taking pictures and stopping for beer at a nice beach palapa. Well developed area. Jim, Paul and I walked deep into town then took a bus back to the marina. Larry and Miriam chartered a panga and went snorkeling out in the bay at 4:00pm. At the boat, we did a little laundry to get us through to Acapulco. We relaxed and went to dinner at 6:00pm at Cocobino’s Lounge and Bar on the waterfront. Like breakfast it was expensive by Mexican standards but not USD. Had a nice salad, sirloin steak and vodkas for $400 pesos. Back to boat after a long tourista day and hit the sack. Music from a nearby club till 2:00am.
Typical Mercado at Zihuatenajo
Captain and Crew at Lunch on the Beach at Zihuatenajo
Street Scenes in Zihuatenajo
Bill at the Street Pound
Sunday 4/18 Departing Ixtapa for Acapulco
Up at 7:30am. Went for a walk on the beach with Jim and viewed the giant resorts from the beach side. Lots of infinity pools, beach/poolside palapas and guards so guys like us won’t wander in. Lots of families walking the beach with us, but the surf was too rough for the kids to swim. We went to breakfast at Cocobinis . Pastries to die for.
Ixtapa Beach
We departed for the 108 mile trip to Acapulco at 12:14pm. Wind at 10-15k and we beat out of the Bay for a few miles and turned SE for Acapulco. Later it built to 14-17k for some excellent 8.5-9.2k speeds. Wind continued to build to 19-23k and we got overpowered with the asym and full main up. After getting pushed around quite a bit we decided to bag the asym and sail on main and jib only. Ride smoothed out and we rode the wind at 7.5-8.5k for 3-4 hours and into the night till 1:00am. Steering noise was getting worse and worse. We’ll work on it some more in Acapulco. At 1:00am we lost the wind and motor sailed till 3:00am. We then sailed till arrival at entrance to Acapulco Bay. The end of Miriam’s second and perhaps too eventful night in the open ocean.
Monday 4/19 Arrival at Acapulco
At 7:45am we entered Acapulco Bay looking at a mass of high rises. Warm sunny day. Our new crew, Harry Reppert called by Paul. He arrived safely and planned to meet us at the Acapulco YC when we arrive. We landed at the club fuel dock at 8:30am. We met Harry who helped us settle in with local knowledge and entered our berth adjacent to the fuel dock. We were incredibly lucky to get any berth given that the YC docks were overflowing with boats in preparation for a sailing regatta next weekend. Once settled in and checked in and hooked up to power, we went to breakfast at the YC. Great food and service and atmosphere. The club is an oasis in the mass of old town Acapulco. Absolutely a place for the rich. After breakfast we cleaned the boat up after a rough night at sea.
We took our laundry into an old part of town, led by a fellow at the docks who was one of those folks who can get you anything and knows everybody. Old town looked a lot like La Cruz area. After we went to the club for beers (96 degrees and humid) then off for a swim in the huge club pool. Got pictures. Larry and Miriam prepared to disembark to stay in Harry’s hotel room for the night before their flight home. Harry graciously offered to stay on the boat that night. Jim and I spent the afternoon at the pool till we picked up laundry for $55 pesos @ at 7:30pm. After we rendezvoused at the club for drinks and dinner to celebrate Harry’s arrival and the sad departure of Larry and Miriam. She, not he, classed up our act considerably. Good food (filet mignon dinner for $22 USD. Back to the boat for BS and bed at 11:30pm. Larry and Miriam retired to their hotel room not to be seen again.
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