Adios to Indigo

As the new year of 2018 begins, we are completing the sale of our beloved Indigo to new owners.  Keep your eyes out for her this coming summer along the Inside Passage to Alaska, and, eventually along the Dalmatian coast of Croatia.

And so we wrap up an amazing chapter in our lives, and, also, this blog.

Indigo underway: The Lower Columbia

Indigo has left the dock. We are underway, taking the boat down the Columbia to Astoria, then out across the bar into the North Pacific for a little coastal cruise overnight to Neah Bay, at the southern mouth of the Straits of Juan de Fuca. We have don’t this trip a dozen times, but the open ocean passage is always a little daunting. Yesterday, as we passed Tongue Point, coming into Astoria, we had this crystal clear vista looking toward Saddle Mountain. We also had a twenty knot wind against a strong ebb tide, and hobby horsed into the Astoria West Basin well shaken and soaked.

We took two days to come down river to Astoria. As always, we are stunned by the beauty and the isolation of the Lower Columbia River.  Ten or so years ago, I painted myself a map of the portion of the Columbia river just upstream from Astoria, where it widens out and features a maze of islands. The navigation channel hugs the northern shore, leaving miles of shallow water and tidal islets.  

Tomorrow we head north, but today is Regatta Week in Astoria, and a parade!

Good Friday in Loreto

This morning dawned overcast and without wind, so we pulled up anchor at Isla Coronado and motored the six miles to anchor off Loreto. This small city was extra quiet as we walked to the supermarket. After all, it is Semana Santa, the long Easter holiday that brings all business (except tourism) to a halt. But when we emerged from our provisioning, we were in the middle of a parade celebrating Good Friday, complete with the cross, the Christ, and the Roman Centurions.

Now we are picking up the anchor to head back to La Paz. Adios, Loreto, don't know when we will see you again.

Once Again - Indigo in the Sea of Cortez

A little like a broken record, but Indigo and her crew are back in the Sea of Cortez. Above is a sunset view of the shoreline of Isla Carmen,  from the anchorage at Bahia Marquar, across the bay from the town of Loreto.  We left La Paz a little more than a week ago, and are beginning to feel acclimatized to the hot sun and warm air.  After three mid-winter months in Portland, we were pale faced and sun shy at first.

A Month in the Sea of Cortez

We have just returned to La Paz after a month spent in the Sea of Cortez.  Indigo is in great shape, having been well looked after at Marina de La Paz. We traveled from La Paz north as far as Puerto Escondido and San Juanico, and then reversed direction. We are lucky to be able to choose which days to travel and were under sail for almost the entire roundtrip. We found the shoreline, especially up around Loreto, to be remarkably green after summer and early fall rains. The photo above is taken in the estuary at San Juanico, which we have often seen with only a thin trickle of water.

We wanted everyone to see the latest in Mexican luxury yacht design.  I guess this is the marine equivalent to a large armored SUV with black windows. We didn't have an opportunity to visit with the crew and never saw any passengers. 

In contrast, we had great visits with old and new friends on smaller, more conventional boats. Each year (this is our fourth winter in Mexican waters) we meet more people, and it is always a pleasure to encounters them again. 

In two days, we return to Portland, hoping to come back to sail during the spring months.

On the Water in Portland....

....just not afloat!

A belated report on the current whereabouts of Indigo's Crew.  We are settling in to a new land-based life in Portland, unpacking endless boxes and rediscovering things we put into storage two, five, or even eleven years ago.  It is amazing and wonderful to be back in Portland, close to family (and especially our three month old granddaughter, Maya. Summer weather is beautiful, and walking in this part of town, the river edge of NW Portland, is fascinating.  Because we can watch the river traffic - mostly barges and grain ships - we aren't having very severe withdrawal from life on the boat.

Meanwhile, Indigo remains tied up in LaPaz. We will visit her in the fall, spend some time in the Sea of Cortez, and continue to try to bring her back north. 

A Racy Red Bottom

Here is a photo of Indigo with her newly painted bottom. Red paint, expertly applied by the workers at the Berkovich boatyard in La Paz.
This was the first time we had the boat hauled out of the water using an old-fashioned marine railway. You can see in this photo that the boat is supported on the steel crossbeams that make up the "car" of the railway. What you can't see is the amazing, classic old "donkey engine" nearby, which drives the winch cable that pulls up the car to bring the boat out of the water, or let it back down.

What you must imagine is that we are on the boat as it is pulled uphill out of the water, and lowered back down.  That means we are about fifteen feet up in the air, with the boat at a pronounced slant as we transit the slope.

Imagine also metal wheels on metal rails, and the creaking and jerking as the winch strains with the weight of boat and metal car. 

Like so many things in Mexico, this marine railroad looks a bit dated and rustic, but it works well and gets the job done.  Bit by bit, we learn not to expect things here to look like they do further north.