Vanuatu needs your help

March 17, 2015

This past week the tiny island nation of Vanuatu was devastated by Cyclone 'Pam'.   
Thanks to fellow sailor Dianna Denny for leading the charge to get the word out and finding a reputable aid organization where 100% of donations will go directly to the communities whom need them most.


As you can see in the links below, Vanuatu really needs some help.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-31917913

http://edition.cnn.com/2015/03/17/asia/vanuatu-before-after-cyclone/index.html

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/mar/18/food-concerns-mount-in-vanuatu-after-cyclone-pam





Want to donate now?  Follow this link to the Butterfly trust:
https://givealittle.co.nz/org/butterflytrust

or this one to Sea Mercy http://www.seamercy.org/ as recommended by long time South Pacific Sailors Jeff and Jose

100% of your contribution will go directly to help these people in a time of great need.

We visited Vanuatu for 3 months in 2007 and count Vanuatu as our all time favorite destination.   Most of the inhabitants of Vanuatu have absolutely nothing from our western perspective, they live in grass huts, they have no shoes or knives and forks and certainly no cell phones.   What they have in abundance is genuine happiness and huge welcoming smiles.  

However in the aftermath of one of the most severe cyclones in the history of Vanuatu, nearly all the crops will be destroyed, homes will be literally blown away.  Torrential rain will have caused mud slides killing many and contaminating water supplies.  These are desperate times for the people of Vanuatu.

Please give a little.



Thank you!

Marshal Island Tropical weather

We're happy to see that tropical storm '03W.THREE' did not intensify over the Marshall Islands. For all those cruising friends in the area we bet this was a scary one.

Baja Road Trip 2015 continued...

Alameda to La Paz via Palm Desert and San Diego.

 Fresa stand.  We picked up a 5kg (11 pound) flat of delicous strawberries and somehow managed to eat all these in only three days.

 Dusty town typical of Baja.

 Lots of rain created some sizable puddles on side roads.

 This one was pretty deep.  Luckily no water leaked in the doors.

 Broccoli farm?

 Google Maps suggested this short cut to Molino Viejo resturant on Bahia de San Quintin.  It seemed pretty rough at first.

 And then it turned to single track.

 And then some nearly impassable water hazards

 But in the end it was worth the drive to check out Bahia de San Quintin as we wondered about the feasibility of bringing our boat into this bay on previous Baja sailing trips.  It looks like a case of calm weather and local knowledge are absolutely required

 Molina Viejo Resturant is unexpected at the end of this muddy road.

 Sea Bass lunch was delicous

 Further down the coast we're stoked our car still runs and drives strait after all the rough and wet roads.

 Our $2600 CraigsList Honda Accord has 175,000 miles and everything still works.


NOTE:  El Rosario is the last Pemex gas station until you get to Guerrero Negro some 224 miles  or 361 km distant.  This is the only stretch on the Baja with any shortage of Pemex stations.  If you miss that last gas station you,  could buy gas from road side vendors with jugs in Catavina.

 Hotel Mision Catavina is pretty nice, book in advance as the alternate hotels looked to be a major downgrade.

 Dinner and Margaritas at the Hotel Catavina resturant... the only game in town.

 Shrimp Coctail was a great value at 85 pesos or $5.81USD at the exchange rate of nearly 15:1

 The next morning we set out to find the some nearby cave paintings.  Going with no directions or local knowledge we made a few wrong turns like the one by this big Saguaro catcus.

 Eventually we found the cave and it was well worth the effort.

 Just a few of the many drawings on the ceiling of this tiny cave.    Be sure to turn off your flash to avoid damaging these ancient paintings.

 This photo really does not do justice to the narrowness of the road.  But if you look closely you can see the white line missing as it has fallen off the edge.  Most of the road abutments are a steep drop and a moment of inattention and you are pretty much dead if you drop a tire off the edge.  The incredible number of crosses along the road remind one to be 100% focused.

 Curious abandon Fontar Marina complex on the Pacific side of the Baja near Santa Rosalita, yes the spelling is correct and near these Google style coordiantes 28.665, -114.24.  Marina basin is filled with sand... Opps didn't design that one too well.  All the infrastructure is there including 16kms of nice new road, a power station, marina basin, hardstand, port captina office, fuel tanks and even a huge and unused travel lift.   Looks like there is a nice surf break at the point.  This could be an interesting anchorage in calm conditions.

Taco stand in Guerrero Negro has some superb shrimp tacos.

Alameda to La Paz via Palm Desert and San Diego.

 Fresa stand.  We picked up a 5kg (11 pound) flat of delicous strawberries and somehow managed to eat all these in only three days.

 Dusty town typical of Baja.

 Lots of rain created some sizable puddles on side roads.

 This one was pretty deep.  Luckily no water leaked in the doors.

 Broccoli farm?

 Google Maps suggested this short cut to Molino Viejo resturant on Bahia de San Quintin.  It seemed pretty rough at first.

 And then it turned to single track.

 And then some nearly impassable water hazards

 But in the end it was worth the drive to check out Bahia de San Quintin as we wondered about the feasibility of bringing our boat into this bay on previous Baja sailing trips.  It looks like a case of calm weather and local knowledge are absolutely required

 Molina Viejo Resturant is unexpected at the end of this muddy road.

 Sea Bass lunch was delicous

 Further down the coast we're stoked our car still runs and drives strait after all the rough and wet roads.

 Our $2600 CraigsList Honda Accord has 175,000 miles and everything still works.


NOTE:  El Rosario is the last Pemex gas station until you get to Guerrero Negro some 224 miles  or 361 km distant.  This is the only stretch on the Baja with any shortage of Pemex stations.  If you miss that last gas station you,  could buy gas from road side vendors with jugs in Catavina.

 Hotel Mision Catavina is pretty nice, book in advance as the alternate hotels looked to be a major downgrade.

 Dinner and Margaritas at the Hotel Catavina resturant... the only game in town.

 Shrimp Coctail was a great value at 85 pesos or $5.81USD at the exchange rate of nearly 15:1

 The next morning we set out to find the some nearby cave paintings.  Going with no directions or local knowledge we made a few wrong turns like the one by this big Saguaro catcus.

 Eventually we found the cave and it was well worth the effort.

 Just a few of the many drawings on the ceiling of this tiny cave.    Be sure to turn off your flash to avoid damaging these ancient paintings.

 This photo really does not do justice to the narrowness of the road.  But if you look closely you can see the white line missing as it has fallen off the edge.  Most of the road abutments are a steep drop and a moment of inattention and you are pretty much dead if you drop a tire off the edge.  The incredible number of crosses along the road remind one to be 100% focused.

 Curious abandon Fontar Marina complex on the Pacific side of the Baja near Santa Rosalita, yes the spelling is correct and near these Google style coordiantes 28.665, -114.24.  Marina basin is filled with sand... Opps didn't design that one too well.  All the infrastructure is there including 16kms of nice new road, a power station, marina basin, hardstand, port captina office, fuel tanks and even a huge and unused travel lift.   Looks like there is a nice surf break at the point.  This could be an interesting anchorage in calm conditions.

Taco stand in Guerrero Negro has some superb shrimp tacos.

Alameda has many dimensions

Alameda is a treat to explore by bicycle or boat.  On Friday evening we peddled out toward then de-commissioned Alameda Air Station.  Out near the end of the airstrip and with a great view of San Francisco, we stopped in at Rock Wall Winery to for Kathy to taste a few wines, then peddled toward neighboring Faction Brewing for a pint of 'Something Different IPA' before peddling home before dark.

Sunrise over Ballena Bay Marina.

Sunset over San Francisco.  To right team Atremis foiling catamaran being lifted ashore (think Americas Cup).

 And then we see this crazy tri coming out of the water.

 Is it looks like a vehicle to test foils.  But where or where is the propulsion unit(s)?