all about the birds and the bees

It's funny about the crusing life, the things you learn, the things you wished you didn't have to learn.
Like someone said ,"well at least you don't have to mow the lawn" well... if you haven't cleaned the bottom of your boat in a while, it is scarry what you find growing there. If you scrap it yourself, it kind of feels like mowing the lawn in a kind of aquatic sort of way. if thats too wet for you well then you can tend to the tidying of the decks, wrapping up the sheets (ropes) kind of like the hoses off the lawn, then watering the lawn, I mean the deck to wash all the dibree and salt off the wood. and the satisfied wife after its all done, just like when the lawn is freashly cut. Pride then the cerimonial beer. Except in Mexico you probably have one going since noon.What has this all got to do with bees you ask.
I was hoping youd ask. I ssems that a small colony of bees living under the sail cover,don't like the sail cover moved when you are cleaning the decks. We have some expertise here, though techically it's with wasps and they were Canadian. These bees were, well, mexican and short honey bees 2/3 the size of there northen cousins.
All my years of experiance tought me 2 things, wait till it's dark and let someone else to pull the trigger. It does not sit too well being a pacifist, vegetarian, don't hurt the animals sort of guy, and then your seen killing bees in a masacure.There could be female bees in there with  babies. So, I got Nikita to do it! He knew the old man doesn't have the stomach for it. He opened the sail cover sprayed RAID, they all died fell onto the deck end of story. Next day we are putting up the fore sail, the one we took down in May so it would not look tatered like the one in Mazatlan harbour, left out one season too long. Things go smooth as the sail reaches the top of the mast, I'm on the haulyard, the rope feels funny, thicker and waxy. About 2 feet of the halyard is in wax. I look up to the top of the mast and a swarm of bees are buzzing the topof the mast head, with the odd one diving to the deck. We all run aft and down below. What the....
Well that turns out to be my entertainment for the next few days, I go to the Halyard, a different one, the one that really makes them pissed off. now the mast is about 50 ft tall and by the time they figure out what the hell is going on, Im at the back of the boat. Then there was this one time they came after me I thought I got away as I turned around this one lone bee does a kamakazi on me and hits me right between the eyes. It hardly hurt,a 2 out of 10. just a bit itchy. next day a little puffy, next day very puffy,on the bridge of the nose. Next day my under the eyes are fat, por puffy, yet droppy just like an old man.this gave me a long time to think. We need a plan.
We will send Nikita up the mast,at night of coarse, with a garbge bag, cover the mast head, poke a hole in the bag and gas the bast...Except that he is my first born, what if they swarm, and that girl by the pool, he would never forgive me.
Plan B the mexican on the dock says they make smoke on deck with news papers vacumn up the smoke and send it up the mast briliant! though a fire on deck did sound risky. Ran this past our nieghbour (Moondance, what a nice couple) Doug says thats how they put them to sleep, the bee keepers that is, it does not kill them.
Plan C We are going to spray RAID into the vaumn and force it up the inside of the mast. but what if the spray doesn't reach the top ,50 ft you know.
Kim says something so stupid, Why don't you tape the can of Raid to the halyard. Man! Women!. the more I thought about it the more I could see it working.
Plan D   tape the can to the halyard that goes into the back pully, only the bottom half of the can so the top can rise over the pully. Tape the can so that when it stops at the pully it is pointing right into the mast head, instead of flapping around. we taped on a band of duct tape over the nozzle and wraped it in the spraying position. Up went the can 3 seconds flat, acually it was only a half a can. It locked in perfectly and sprayed into the mast head for over 2 minetes . a coulpe of bees cam out and started falling. the foam built up and started dripping on us so we moved to the bow. Soon it was all over, then Nikita notices bees crawling out of the bottom of the mast ,stunned and soaked, what to do? he finishes them off with our second can of Raid next day we counted over 100 dead bees on the deck.
Us humans can be so crule, and thats why I don't eat bees
GYPSYWIND on standby just waiting for something else to happen
a good sailor is always prepared

The Dinghy

Well the most unfortunate thing that happened while we were up in Canada Our Dinghy was being used and abused by the Fellow looking after our boat. Now As all cruisers know The Dinghy is our car, Our means of travel to and from shore,  it could dub as a life boat in a real pinch, One would have difficulty without one in the cruising world,  Nikita Babied this rubber dinghy, it was his skurf machine and Kiya had dinghy driving lessons on it,She loves speed and its a bit unpredictable to go with her. Noah has driven it and feels huge when he is given the tiller to take charge.

 anyway we arrived to find it deflated and severly damaged from the barnicles and ocean life attached on the bottom, this guy used it the whole time and at one point it was reported to the marina office as sinking. we spent hours restoring and trying to cliam it to some state of dignity.

Friends

The next few days we spent with Barb and Micheal Harrison and Daniel, There is something mysteriously bonding between sailors, perhaps a common behaviour out of the everyday norm,   it even gets deeper as time goes on, i thought bout it alot and i think,  when we spent the days in the beginning right after the Ba ha ha the Bay of Muertos, several boats there had an interesting bonding and after a few days there, some of us sailed a very rough passage together to anchor in the nick of time,( before dark,) i recall whatcha gonna do, Gypsywind, and Theaopholis, babeze and a few other quietly being grateful that evening, tucked away in a breathtaking anchorage and feeling safe, boat people bond quickly and deeply in these moments , we have endured together and we understood each other. We have had many of these times with Watcha Gonna Do.   Our Children have become best Friends, and this fluke meeting  in Mazatlan after 8 months was not just by chance, it was a happening!!
We arrived to find Babeze 3 slips down from us docked at the El Cid for the last few months
last year on my birthday Barb and Tanya (Meshach)spent the day with me doing yoga and going for coffee and  doing women things. This year for my birthday, who would have guessed i was doing yoga with Barb who has become this most amazing instructor. and out for dinner with the watcha gonna do crew and gypsywind crew (thank-you Micheal for the sweet Caroline in open market Plaza Machado)!!

FRIENDS



waiting for Watcha Gonnado's arrival



dinner together with best friend Harrison

when our paths shall cross

On our forth day here, working on the boat, what else do you do in paradise? ( inside joke) the VHF is on.
A familiar voice on the radio is asking for conditions to the enterance of the channel at Mazatlan. Could it be; it is "Whatcha Gonna Do" is an hour out and coming in. now the channel is 100 ft from our dock they will have to come past us to go up the channel. Our dear dear friends we cruised with for 6 months last winter. Noahs' very closest friend, Harrison, is coming to Mazatlan; What are the chances, us down for only two and a bit weeks, we heard "they" were in La Paz, with Micheal in the States. We gave them a hoop and a holler welome as they entered. Kim in her usual way Invited them for spagetti when Barb hailed us. Kim says who wants to cook after a 36 hr crossing. It was great seeing Harrison, Danelle, Barb and Micheal. It was beautiful to catch up on the last 8 months, what a nice supprise for every one. With some needed servicing they are preparing to head south to Huatulco (south of Acapulco) and then prepare for the puddle jump, into the South Pacific. Well it,s great having friend the kids have been in the pool together every day, Kim, Barb and the girls are doing the Yoga thing, most mornings. Life has a way of unfolding before us like a big blue sea,with a sunset on the horizon, and wind on our backs, one needs to stop and enjoy the moment.
Gypsywind with dock lines still tied.

That's Bitchin

THATS BITCHIN BOB! and Gypsywind crew

Well it gets better, Bob Bitchin, owner of the cruising magazine " Latitudes & Attitudes" comes over with his camara man and asks for an interview, they are doing a piece on El Cid Mariana's ,they return in the morning and ask a few questions "How we like this Marina", Get us to say "We are the Chernoff family from Nelson BC, Latatitudes & Attitudes will be right back" it was short, but we invite them in for coffee (Oso Negro coffee)  and they come below, both know our boat well, Bob had a formossa 51 very simular, then a Formossa 56 ends up we were in the south Pacific at the same time in 1991.Tonga was both our favorite, his friend, owns the Moorings charter up in the Vanu atu group, well we swap lots of stories they stay for an hr, both are casual and the talk is comfortable.
 It was great, Bob Knew where Nelson was, he and his wife had two young crew members from Nelson in the South Pacific, and one came back for thier Atlantic crossing, when they got knocked down by a water spout.
Bob dropped by the latest issue of Lats & Atts, nice people, I forgot the camara guys name, what a nice guy.
 We went out for lunch to the vegaterian place for vegi burgers and on to Home Depot then Sorianas for grocreies . we came back to Gypsywind rich with food. Thats one thing about Mexico thier produce is like off the garden, The cucumbers smell like Babas greenhouse. It was Sunday,after putting away everything, this time  Kim  and I accually got into the hot Tub, a 20x30 pool, it gets cold at night here, the kids are using duvets as blanket, and the mornings are wet with dew, but the sun rises7am and it's gone by 8am it's hot in the afternoon 28c maybe

Noah keeps talking about Harrison (his friend from Whatcha gonna do) we hear they are in La Paz so he writes an E-mail asking if they plan on coming to Mazatlan soon.We  run into a few people we have meet last year but none of our dear friends.
 Next post  "the suprise"
Gypsywind
standing by on the side for now