cat2fold

From Cat2Fold to Cat2Track….

deidrenorman — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 17:41:07 +0000

It’s been exactly two weeks back here in the mountains and it’s been pretty amazing! Despite the lack of snow in the Tetons this year, we have managed to partake in many, many snow activities (including: ski-jorring with Saba, cross country skiing, backcountry skiing & skiing the Vill and Targhee, snowball fights and riding the back of the groomer attached to the Samuarai!! I have to admit, my nervous self was completely apprehensive of this activity. Before starting, I was imagining all the bad things that could happen…like running over the kids with the groomer, legs+arms+feet all being broken. Ends up, Georgie and Beo loved it and I even took a ride and it was a blast.

For those of you who aren’t aware of where Brian lives….He lives in Felt, and in order to get his house (which I call the ‘magic kingdom’), one must either cross country ski or take a snow machine in 3 miles from a parking lot on a farm. The farm itself, is 15 minutes from the closest town (Tetonia). So, by the time you get out to the parking lot, you have usually been driving for a good 45 minutes. Some of the picts below are of the ski out to house (and the samarai ride).

The time has seriously flown by and I can’t believe Brian is already heading back to Mexico on Tuesday. I have about 10 more days and plan on working a ton, but also doing as much skiing as possible before heading back to Mexico. It is pretty amazing here in the mountains, but I can not wait to get back in a bathing suit and soak up the sun on cat2fold!

Click to view slideshow.

Chamela

deidrenorman — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 03:11:14 +0000

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Vallarta Cup Race # 2

deidrenorman — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 17:50:06 +0000

The Vallarta Yacht Club’s article on the race: http://tinyurl.com/75yyfzt.

“For the day, everyone was delighted that Brian Charette joined again in “Cat2Fold”, taking first place in his tandem-rigged folding cat.”

Click to view slideshow.

Paraiso…One of our favorite spots so far!

deidrenorman — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 17:14:03 +0000

Click to view slideshow.

La Manzanilla to El Careyes

deidrenorman — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 14:38:55 +0000

Sailing from Barra de Navidad to Ensenada Carrizal

deidrenorman — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 16:32:53 +0000

A few more random photos!

cat2fold — Mon, 26 Dec 2011 00:08:09 +0000

A few photos from San Blas and Sailing to Isla Isabel.

cat2fold — Sun, 25 Dec 2011 23:41:09 +0000

Chacala to Punta de Mita

cat2fold — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 23:36:28 +0000

Immediately after yoga, Keith from s/v ANON zoomed by on his dinghy and told me to get my wetsuit and snorkel stuff, because we were going swimming with the whales! Keith has studied whales for quite a few years now, and with a bit of uncertain trust, Deidre and I just followed along as if dinghying up to a pod of humpback whales and jumping in with them was as common as a walk to the store.

With his fast, 20 hp motor, we caught up with the pod fairly quick. When we got close, we all put our stuff on quickly and then after noticing a moment of hesitation, Keith said, “someone get in”! So with my GoPro camera I jumped in first quickly followed by Deidre and Keith. The water was very murky and hard to see any distance. We swam for a bit and after a couple of minutes, it was clear they were moving on… “Back to the dinghy” yells Keith.

Once again we are off. Bouncing around in the large ocean swell, zooming after the whales. We get close and try again, but sadly, the whales din’t want to come play with us.

On our way back toward the anchorage, we check what appears to be a very secluded bay and a very private beach, and excitedly made plans to come spend a night here. Later that afternoon, Aaron and Nicole from s/v Bellastar, and Deidre and I, went on a hike through this crazy nice “subdivision”. At the end of the hike we, stopped at this restaurant and had drinks and some food. Aaron started with a coco con rum, I had a coco con ginebra, and the ladies had pina coladas.

Later that night Cat2Fold found itself hosting an informal round of drinks. The crews from s/v Convivia, Bellastar, and Anon all came over and we played some music and partied to within minutes of “cruisers midnight”…we were in bed by 9:30pm. Everyone was amazed at how smooth, flat, and stable Cat2Fold was.

The next morning, with many of the rocking and rolling mono-hulls pulling anchor early to head for some smoother pastures, Deidre and I casually lifted our stern anchor and our main anchor and pulled out of Chacala. I forgot to mention how Chacala has a lot of swell that finds its way into the bay. Therefore it is advised to use a stern anchor along with the main anchor to keep the bow of the boat facing into the incoming swell no matter which direction the wind is blowing.

As we were leaving, it appeared Keith from Anon was having difficulty removing his anchor and had to dive and get it with scuba gear. We later found out it had taken him 3 hours to retrieve it! Deidre and I traveled the 1-2 miles to get to this next bay. We entered carefully noting a large amount of dangerous, underwater rocks to the north. We again set a stern anchor, and then paddle boarded to shore for some beach/jungle exploration. As we returned to the beach we saw Anon had decided to also stay with us in this tight bay. The swell was larger and more confused in here making paddle boarding fairly difficult.

That evening we went over to Anon for drinks and a bit more guitar playing. 2-3 hours later, I got off of there feeling more sea sick than I’ve ever been…well, not exactly, but kind of! Cat2Fold, and catamarans in general, are really the most comfortable platforms out on the water bar none!

The next morning we plotted our course to Punta de Mita and after motoring for nearly 2 hours (with both sails up running 1 motor at half throttle) I started seeing whales. I quickly turned off the motor so we could listen better for the breathing of the large animals. Over the next hour we saw many whales, we were totally surrounded! I started to think about firing up the motor so we could make our 20+ miles before dark and the wind started picking up. No motoring necessary. We had a beautiful sail down the coast past Sayulita and into Punta de Mita anchorage dropping the anchor before 5pm.

Isla Isabel, Matachan Bay and Chacala!

cat2fold — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 17:56:00 +0000

Isla Isabel was teaming with fish and all sorts of marine life. In fact, just as we were approaching the anchorage, I hooked on to a good sized fish that ended with a broken line and one lost fishing lure. I guess I was determined enough, because I found myself quickly tying on a new lure and trying again. In less than 5 minutes, we hooked a nice Mexican Bonita (so glad we picked up a fish ID book in La Paz). After we dropped the anchor, I quickly filleted the fish, which we had for lunch as fish tacos. This was probably the first time I’ve ever caught and killed an animal, prepared the meat, and ate in all in the same day without being a bit grossed out. I was and still am pretty proud of myself. Now I just need to step it up to the next level and start preparing sushi! I had stayed up the entire night sailing, so I was a bit tired. After receiving an unfavorable weather report, Deidre and I had to make the decision on whether to stay put or play it safe and sail the next 40 miles back to the mainland. It was a hard decision, but we chose to play it safe and sail in to Matachan Bay near San Blas. We had a great sail, and as we approached San Blas, we would catch some surfs that seemed to last an eternity! Every time we would surf down a wave, our speed would go from 7-8 knots up to 11-12 knots! Yeah… it felt good!

We stayed in Matachan Bay for a couple of days. Long enough to go into the cute little town of San Blas, visit the locals, and get reprovisioned. We also took a day to go do the Tovara Springs jungle tour. Along with the crew from s/v Convivia, we rented a Mexican Panga (classic mexican fishing boat) and guide/driver to bring us miles up this overgrown jungle river with crocodiles, turtles and many cool birds. There was also a zoo where we saw some HUGE crocodiles and sadly a caged Jaguar also. The highlight was drinking margaritas and swimming at Tovara Springs, a fenced off section of water where swimming in the fresh water was amazing!

We left Matachan Bay Sunday, 12/18 along with s/v Convivia. The day was hot enough, and we were far enough away from anyone else that we finally had a full day of naked sailing! I’ll see about finding some “PG” pics to post. We sailed most of the 20 miles to Chacala until very light winds were going to put us in after dark, so we fired up a motor and motor/sailed the rest of the way in. This anchorage is quite a bit smaller than some and the way the swell can come in makes most cruisers set a stern anchor along with the main anchor. Having set one of my anchors up as a permanent stern anchor in Matachan Bay, I was ready to deploy mine once in Chacala. I assumed everyone was also using one, but this morning I can see that only about half the boats were using one. We are stern tied to the beach only about 100 yards off. The tiny beach was alive with festivities! At almost every other beach we’ve been to it has been like coming to a ghost town (besides Cabo and La Paz). What a cool scene to come into and hear all the music and seeing people out and about!!!

Deidre is taking a Yoga class that is happening just down the beach. I am trying to figure out where we are going from here, and updating the blog. We’re gonna hang here for a day or two and do some exploring, paddle boarding, and snorkeling in this decidedly tropical paradise!