Kaukoe left Ipala just a few hours ago; present position is 20d 14'N & 105d 36'W. They went about 50 miles yesterday and plan to do 50 miles today. Tom caught a fish right after he took his watch - small blue fin tuna, he thinks. They will anchor about 2PM this afternoon along with another boat they heard on the radio - location will be Chamela.
Ipala was very small with 2 restaurants, maybe 12 houses and 1 store. No weather report was given, but it's likely nice for sunning and sailing.
30 January 1998 ThursdayKaukoe got underway at 5:30AM Central time after another perfect vacation day in Banderas Bay. After rowing ashore, Tom headed for a surfing spot. Bus fare was 5 pesos. Arrived at Punta de Meta and surfed with the locals for 2 hours, alternating in and out; apparently the break was narrow so they took turns. Good 4' surf, bought a beer for 5 pesos and took the bus back for 5 pesos. Not a bad afternoon for $2!
Tracy spent the day walking along the beach, reading and writing in her journal, thoroughly enjoying herself. Eventually, they rowed back to Kaukoe and had a relaxing swim before returning to town for dinner and live music.
I told them about the heavy surf in both Hawaii and San Diego (we're expected to get as high as 20' surf today from Hawaii, with strong westerly winds). Waves are consistently breaking over the Ocean Beach pier and have torn some railing away. Their weather is calm with winds from the NW at 5-10 knots, seas are calm, temperature in the low 70's.
Welcome to Bill (Scott) Kemper a long time friend, former roommate in South Mission, fraternity brother, and fellow Physics major. Bill owns Triton technology, a medical electronic company here in San Diego.
29 January 1998 ThursdayKaukoe is still in Banderas Bay - by choice. It's clean, quiet, & peaceful so they are staying another day before heading South.
Tracy's looking forward to finding some good snorkeling places and Tom's going surfing. They're anchored about 1/4 mile offshore and say it is a beautiful spot. The small town they're near is La Cruz. They would also enjoy another fresh catch for another fish dinner. Their final words this morning: "We like the small towns and the quiet bays much better than the smelly harbors and marinas."
Continued Hellos to everyone at SPAWAR and all other friends and families.
To fill out this report, weather in San Diego this AM is 58deg, winds SE@7mph increasing to 15-25 this afternoon; Barometer 30.03 & rising; light rain falling as of 7AM. We've had flooding of Hwy 101 the past 3 days, damage to restaurant in Solana Beach and some light damage at La Jolla Shores when the water broke through the sand barrier.
28 January 1998 WednesdayKaukoe sails today after four fun-filled days in Puerta Vallarta including, of course, the Bronco win.
The big question on everyone's mind: how did the bolt removal go? Just fine, gracias. The sheared off alternator bolt had 1/2 thread showing. Tom tapped on it and it turned, allowing him to grab it and turn it out. If anyone has ever tried removing a sheared bolt, this is the best anyone could hope for. (It's never happened to me!).
A big welcome to a new member, Steve Murray from Tracy's group at SPAWAR. Steve and Mark Rashid comprise a select group; both have PhD's in Mechanical Engineering. Mark is a full professor of Engineering @ UC Davis. In addition, I see that Steve is a registered PE (Professional Engineer) so any and all technical questions can now be forwarded to these two gents.
Back to Kaukoe...Monday was remove-the-old-bolt/buy-the-new-bolt day, along with other boat chores. Tuesday was checkout-and-organize-and-wash day. Today they set sail for either Cabo Corrientes or La Cruz, both of which are still in Banderas Bay but some 40 miles away. Mooring there is good and they will set out for Manzanillo tomorrow. That still appears to be their turnaround point and we will see them back in Puerta Vallarta on March 4th.
Mail from San Diego did not arrive in time so the next mail they get will be when we see them in March. Getting mail at Manzanillo is a poor bet at best. So, send your notes to La Jolla and they will be hand delivered to T&T.
26 January 1998 MondayTom and Tracy are in good spirits, thanks to the Bronco win yesterday.
They managed to visit the Marriott Casa Magna near the marina and recommend that as a good hotel for us to stay at in March. It is north of town near both the marina and the airport.
Today they'll begin work on the alternator bolt. The bolt should not be too difficult because it was loosened and adjusted when the new high output alternator was installed.
24 January 1998 SaturdayKaukoe is anchored in Puerto Vallarta. They arrived Friday afternoon and have the stern tied and the bow anchored. The sheared bolt is easy to get to; hopefully it will back out easily.
Today, T&T are heading into town to check out the Super Bowl party options and then will move on and gather food and supplies. Weather is warm and clear.
They changed time zones and are now on Central Time. Location is 20d 39'N and 105d 15'W. They've been using the stars and planets to navigate and are now seeing Venus in the morning hours rather than the evening. Also, they see the Southern Cross daily. Tracy is enjoying the sextant she got from Tom for Christmas.
We will be arriving in Puerta Vallarta on March 3 to join them for 5 days - they will be heading North then.
A big welcome to Cliff Horikawa, a co-worker of both Tracy and Tom's from the time they were in Hawaii at the Kanehoe Marine Air Station. Cliff's call is AH6BG and he will try to arrange a schedule with them on the air. His good antenna came crashing down in the hurricane so his is now using a wire dipole. Another friend at work, Brian Matsu also sent his best wishes to them.
23 January 1998 FridayKaukoe is limping towards PV due a mechanical problem; the alternator mounting bolt sheared off and they are taking it slow. Replacing it will be a big problem if, (1) the bolt is frozen in the block and (2) if it's inaccessible. Better to be in PV where there are two large marinas and tools available.
Yesterday they were at Jaltembra Bay one hour before sunset. It's so small it doesn't show on my maps. Anyway, the plan is still to make PV on Saturday in plenty of time to get ready for the Super Bowl.
I read them the ships log of the steamer "California" when it traveled from San Francisco to Acapulco in 1849. The section about passing by Isabel Island and San Blas was very familiar, especially a reference to "Blanco Mer, a white rock 11 miles from San Blas.
I also read a short part of the last poem Longfellow wrote, entitled "The Bells of San Blas". The poem was written on 3/12/1882, the last verse was finished on 3/15 and he died on 24 March of the same year. The first three (of 11) verses follow:
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For the Hams in the group, we have been finding conditions on 20M much better at that time. Tom has a 59+ signal on 20 and the band is much quieter. We QSY after making contact on the net to around 14.210 - 14.226 depending on QRM. On days when Tom doesn't need weather info we connect just after 1800Z; on days he does need weather info we wait until 1816Z to connect.
Email arrived today from a former associate from NOSC in Hawaii. He wants to try and join in on some future contacts. Finally, I had the pleasure of meeting Rod, W6MWB, who graciously provided the first phone patch to Colorado. I was delivering the mail last Tuesday to Downwind Marine, the envelope was laying on the counter and Rod walked up, saw Kaukoe and KQ6NU and put 2-n-2 together.
22 January 1998 ThursdayThe Kaukoe crew took to fresh water yesterday riding up the river to the falls. It was a 1 hour trip each way. Swam in the water with some crocodiles in the distance.
They plan to leave San Blas today and take two easy days to PV arriving. That leaves plenty of time to organize a Super Bowl party.
Their autopilot is presently non-functional. Something happened when they last tried it north of San Blas. They plan to work with it today as they sail.
20 January 1998 TuesdayKaukoe crew is dining on pan dulce this morning...going into town tomorrow morning for full hot breakfast. Tom's cold has eased up and he's feeling much better.
Yesterday T&T hiked up into the hills surrounding San Blas and visited both a fort and church built in the 1700's. Very interseting stuff; just what Patty would like to be doing, Tom thought.
A bit of trivia; Longfellow wrote his last poem in San Blas; "The Bells of San Blas."
Today they are going to boat up a river through the forest to a fresh water spring and have a swim. The weather is humid and warm, getting into the high 70's during the day.
19 January 1998 MondayKaukoe crew is dining on pan dulce this morning - they're going into town tomorrow morning for full, hot breakfast. Tom is feeling much better. Yesterday they hiked up into the hills surrounding San Blas and visited both a fort and church built in the 1700's. Very interseting stuff; just what Patty would like to be doing, Tom thought.
A bit of trivia: Longfellow wrote his last poem in San Blas, "The Bells of San Blas".
Today they are going to boat up a river through the forest to a fresh water spring and have a swim. The weather is humid and warm, getting into the high 70's during the day.
They may go to Puerta Vallarta on Saturday, leave there Tuesday and head for Manzanillo, spending possibly a week there. Manzanillo may be their turnaround point - they're still deciding on their Southerly destination.
18 January 1998 SundayKaukoe is in port at San Blas. They arrived yesterday @8:30 baja time. They plan to stay there until after the Super Bowl. (How obvious is it that Tom doesn't want to be sailing on Super Bowl Sunday?!?!?!?!) Their dog, Ptarmingan, has been given a Bronco football and is currently undergoing brainwashing.
T&T will leave San Blas and will arrive Puerto Vallarta on Tuesday the 27th. Estimated stay there is 4 days. Their lat/long @ San Blas is 21d 32'N and 105d 19'W.
Tom has a fever and headache so Tracy is going to town for ice and medicine. They had a good talk with Pat and Gary Sunday. Next Sunday's talk is planned for 1PM PST on 14.280Mhz (so as not to interfere with the Super Bowl).
The checks continue to roll in for this daily newsletter. Latest members are, John Moore, an experienced boater and brother to Katie. Second is my niece Laurie Egan, who just arrived in Chico to begin her Master program in Anthropology. Last, but not least, is Ted Faris from Escondido, a fraternity brother from SDSU. Ted is an ornery cuss and we only tolerate him because he has a very pleasant wife and a wonderful 100# bull mastiff named Ben. The list is now 26 strong and shows no sign of slowing down.
17 January 1998 SaturdayKaukoe set sail from Mazatlán at 0700PST this morning, heading south to San Blas and then onto Puerta Vallarta. The crew has already landed their second catch, another good size Mahi-Mahi.
Winds are from the north at 10k, seas are calm and the skies are clear. Lat/long leaving Mazatlán was 23d 12'N and 106d 25'W.
Their radio is acting up on the 20M band, frequency is unstable and jumping around +/- 200Hz. If anyone knows anything about the Yaseu 757 regarding this problem, please email me (tompastore@juno.com). It seems to only be one band (although we've only talked on 20M and 40M). This was most likely the problem AA0YX had last Sunday trying to run the phone patch.
Some mail is ready to send to them again. If you would like to send a card or letter, please address either to our house or the Forward street address and I'll send it on its way.
15 January 1998 ThursdayKaukoe reported in this AM as usual from Puerto Vallarta. We moved to 20 meters single sideband and his signal was very strong (S9+20). That's what's called "armchair copy" so we talked for 20 minutes or so. They wanted me to relay that everyone can send mail to their Forward street address and I will take it to be delivered.
They have some plan changes regarding the trip. They will not stop at Isabella but will go directly to San Blas. Second, they will probably not go as far South as originally planned. Possible southern destination might be Acapulco. They should be there between 2/15 and 2/20. We (Patty & Tom) plan to meet them in Puerto Vallarta between 3/1 and 3/15. Pat and Gary will meet them in La Paz sometime in May.
They spent time on the beach yesterday and hiked up to the lighthouse. Met a boater that plays the sax and went to his bar to listen to music last night. Sounds like a pretty tough life when they're onshore. Unlike the Super Bowl price for beer of $7.50, the best in Mexico is only $2.
Weather report from just south was clear, 5k NW winds, 75 degrees, 1010 millibar.
15 January 1998 ThursdayGood contact with Kaukoe this morning. I do not have a weather report for the area other than to say it was calm and warm at the last check. They are enjoying the city and took the bus to the other Marina yesterday to pick up their mail that had just arrived by boat from La Paz.
They will leave tomorrow afternoon for Isla Isabel which is about 100 miles south and ENE of the Tres Marias islands. Those three may be on your maps whereas Isabel Island may not. From there they will head for San Blas which is an additional 50 miles.
A big welcome to both Katie Ohlin and Vern, KT6L, both of whom are @ the .sdcoe mail address. Katie is a longtime friend of Tracy and coincidentally a niece of my friend Don Ketchen. In addition, her father-in-law, Jerry, and I were classmates from the 7th grade through San Diego State College. Vern is interested in celestial navigation and boating.
The program I've been using for distance computation is available from the Radiosport BBS here in San Diego. The phone number is (619) 279-3921 (8-N-1). Bob, N6DUR, wrote the program which is listed as BD42.ZIP. It allows you to enter lat/long for two locations and then calculates the distance, in nautical miles, statute miles, and kilometers. Primarily designed for Hams in order to point their antennas, it works well for the trip as well. Kaukoe's dockside bearing was 32.724N and 117.217W, if you need a starting point for them.
14 January 1998 WednesdayContact was made with Kaukoe, but just barely. Once again the radio gods were not cooperating. Very weak signals and a very noisy background made it very difficult to copy Tom's transmissions.
They pass along Hello's to all and they are fine. They are anchored South of town, Tom got a run in this morning.
Bearing in Mazatlán is 23d 12'N and 106d 25'W. It's fortunate they crossed when they did, as winds in the channel have now increased to 20-30 knots.
13 January 1998 TuesdayHello and welcome to the Kaukoe Crew to Joan Baker from "manta.spawar.navy.mil". Joan works with Tom and Tracy.
Conditions were not good this morning when we talked. They arrived in Mazatlán about 7AM, San Diego time. They are presently anchored and expect to stay 2-3 days.
Current conditions in the crossing: winds are light and variable, 10-15k in the afternoon; seas are calm to choppy.
12 January 1998 MondayKaukoe continues on course (of course) towards Mazatlán. Weather on board is 15k NNE, 2-3' seas, 70 degrees.
Tom got the "Final Four" scores from Sunday and the fact that the Aztecs beat Hawaii Saturday night in San Diego. BIG upset! Hawaii WAS ranked #21 in the WAC.
A big Kaukoe type welcome to Dennis, AA0YX from Colorado. Dennis has been the "Sunday link" to Pat and Gary for phone patches. Realizing that he was missing out on the other six days, Dennis wisely paid his dues for the daily newsletter with his Visa card. Because the card just cleared this morning, he is now eligible to receive all copies of the Kaukoe rag sheet. Welcome Dennis!
Weather in Puerta Vallarta and along the Mexican coast appears to be very sunny and warm. They will stay in Mazatlán 3 or 4 days before continuing south.
For you techies, the site's ham page has been updated with boring statistics and lingo known only to ham geeks.
10 January 1998 SaturdayJust finished talking to Tom. They're still @ the Marina in Cabo. Tracy is ashore preparing for the trip to Mazatlan. They will leave the Marina in 2-3 hours and leave for Mazatlan this evening.
They are networking with lots of boaters that they've met on the radio. They've been meeting at a bar/restaurant to talk and tell tales of the sea. They anticipate 48+ hours to reach Mazatlan. I sent them some mail and boat parts on Monday; it actually left for La Paz on Tuesday or Wednesday.
Boaters have an informal mail system whereby mail is picked up from marinas or other locations and taken by whomever is leaving either by air or boat to cetain destinations. In this case, it was flown to La Paz and will go by boat to Mazatlan. When Kaukoe arrives, they will get on VHF radio and find out where the mail is (there are 2 Marinas in Mazatlan). Simple system. Plus, it works and its free!
In addition to our morning net, there is a VHF (Very high frequency) local net that they've joined in Cabo as well as Mazatlan so they are very well connected. In addition, they will again use Dennis AA0YX on Sunday @2300Z on 14.190Mhz to phone patch to Gary and Pat.
7 January 1998 WednesdayTom and Tracy are moored in the bay at Cabo San Lucas. They will probably get a slip today and stay 4-5 days, as expected.
Weather there is warm and nice. I'll pick up with reports when they depart.
6 January 1998 TuesdayKaukoe did not stop at Magdelena Bay. Winds and lack of protected moorings forced them to continue on towards Cabo.
Presently they are just NNW of Todos Santos and about 50 miles NW of Cabo. Once again they are ready for a good night's sleep and some rest. They should make Cabo by sunset and, as before, will spend 4-5 days there.
Radio conditions were poor today, resulting in short contact. Present position: 23d 33.3'N 110d 33'W
5 January 1998 MondayWelcome to Bill Miller, K6DQ from Coronado, our latest land-based Kaukoe crew member. Bill has been there, done that so he will re-live this trip while reading these updates. In addition to being an experienced sailor, Bill enjoys playing tennis at the Hotel Del (who wouldn't) and is an excellent first class Ham operator.
Tom and Tracy were just under way @1600Z this morning (8AM PST). We delayed our talk for 1 hour so they could set their sails. Winds were higher than forecast; between 15-25 knots from the North. They had a full jib deployed with a reefed main. They had left Bahía Santa Maria and had a short trip to Bahía Magdelena where they will spend tonight. Then, it's on to Cabo, about 175 miles away.
They plan to spend 5 days in Cabo before heading for Mazatlán. Presently they are 675 miles from San Diego and the distance from Cabo to Mazatlán is approximately 230 miles, which should take 3-4 days. They plan to spend 5 days in Mazatlán before continuing on south.
They are both feeling fine. Tom got some board surfing in yesterday (yes, it shares his bunk with him). They also had a good "phone patch" back to Colorado yesterday with Tracy's parents, Pat and Gary, compliments of Dennis AA0YX. I was unable to hear either one of them on 20M SSB due to "skip" conditions at 2300Z. (That simply means I was too close and their signals bounced right over me.)
For you chartists, their GPS yesterday read 24d 46'N and 112d 15'W.
3 January 1998 SaturdayThey're still heading slowly (3.5 knots) south, towards Bahia Santa Maria - approximately 130N of there this morning, expecting to arrive in 36 hours. Present bearing is 26d 38'N, 113d 30'W.
They caught a 22" fish yesterday afternoon so it was pescado for dinner & half is still left. It was landed on my old Penn Jigmaster, which is now probably a collector's item!
They have a planned schedule with a ham in Colorado tomorrow which will allow them to speak directly to Tracy's folks (Pat and Gary). Hams use a device called a phone patch to connect to the telephone line, thus eliminating any long distance charges. (Phone companies just love these devices!) It's now legal but once was not. If this works well (and it should), they will probably have weekly phone calls to Pat and Gary. Gary also plans to install an antenna at their house to be able to listen daily when we talk at 8am PST.
Welcome to John Barnes who was added today to the ever growing list of Kaukoe land crew.
2 January 1998 FridayAnother beatiful day of sailing and the reception from Kaukoe was equally loud and clear. They left Turtle Bay about 6:30 this morning heading South.
The latitude/longitude was 27d 02'N and 114d 10'W, for you chartists. That puts them off the coast of Punta Abreojos, heading towards Baja de Asuncion. Wind and seas were calm, they were averaging 3.5 knots, temperature was 68 degrees, wind from the W/NW.
Welcome aboard to Tom Johnson, the newest member of the now infamous Kaukoe Land Crew. Tom's in the Navy in Japan.
1 January 1998 ThursdayAll is well with Tom & Tracy. Yesterday Tom went ashore for a 40 minute run. They had their fresh fish BBQ dinner and rowed to an adjacent boat and partied in the new year with 3 or 4 other couples.
They got up at 7AM and left Turtle Bay at 0815. Winds are light, seas are clam and they're doing about 3 1/2 knots. Depending on the weather, their next stop could be as far as Cabo.